Thank you so much for reading, reviewing, following, favouriting, etc.: YOU ARE ALL SO AWESOME! I truly appreciate the time you take to do all that (I can never say this enough).

To highlander348, thanks for your review. I'm still going to take the vigilante/BC route for Laurel. ;) :) I too am not happy with the way they're handling my favourite character. :(

To OllielovesDinah, don't even get me started on how terrible everyone is being to the PRIMARY FEMALE LEAD! And after last night...Uh...I just don't know anything anymore! I feel like they're treating it as if season 1 (where time and time again it showed that Laurel and Oliver where that 'loves of each other's lives' type of couple) never happened. I guess these writers don't believe in consistent and quality writing! It breaks my heart because Laurel (who's realistically hurting, but no one seems to care) doesn't deserve this! I'll tell you this, though, I read your reviews and the other reviews again because I needed to smile after the last episode! Thank you and everyone else for continually bringing me joy. :) I definitely should start the comics. At least it'll give me Lauriver (especially since the show is doing everything in its power to destroy them). I truly hope we don't become an even smaller ship following. :*(

I truly, truly hope these damn writers prove us wrong! But they've been letting us down lately, so I won't hold my breath! I wish they would stop with the fan-servicing and write good quality episodes.

To Manuela, atlan2007, Joan89, red lighting, and to anyone that I've missed, thank you for being awesome! I CAN'T SAY THIS ENOUGH! :)

Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Arrow, its characters, and everything that relates to it and to them belong to their rightful owners.

Chapter 20: My Heart Has Forever Belonged to You

It had taken at least two weeks before Barry had developed a successful antidote for Laurel. In that time, Barry had also helped Sara and Oliver with Sebastian Blood. He, along with the rest of Team Arrow, had helped bring down Blood and the army of super soldiers that Slade was intending to create.

It was not easy, but they had successfully saved the city from massive turmoil. It had taken the entire night to pull it all off, but they had finally put an end to the madness. With Sara, Diggle, and Barry leaving just a few minutes ago, it was now just Felicity and Oliver in the lair.

"How has Laurel been? I know it's been at least a week since she was given the antidote." Oliver said as he stood behind Felicity, who was sitting at one of the desks, her eyes firmly focusing on the computer screen in front of her. She was utterly tired, but there was still one more thing she needed to do.

Turning her swivel chair around, Felicity studied his eyes for a brief moment. She could easily see it written all over his face. He missed Laurel. "Well, she was slightly unconscious for the majority of the first day, but now she's slowly getting back to normal." Felicity said as she sighed heavily. "The scars may have healed quickly, but the memories they've left behind may never heal. She stills wakes up in the middle of the night, screaming and crying."

"She has Sara back in her life. That right there should help her heal." Felicity simply raised an eyebrow at him.

"You're her salvation, you know that, right? You're the only one that can save her from all of this." She was quite amazed at how oblivious he could be sometimes. However, she sometimes wondered if it was simply all an act.

"Felicity, we've been over this." He closed his eyes for a brief moment and sighed. He knew exactly what she was thinking. "She deserves better…"

Felicity took an annoyed sigh as she leaned back and then adjusted her glasses. "You know her better than anyone, Oliver. I'm surprised that you have yourself believing that she's stopped loving you." She gave him a small smile before continuing.

"Laurel's a selfless person; she's always trying to be there for everyone else…Always trying to please everyone else, never once focusing on herself. You, her dad, Sara, and Tommy all put her on this pedestal. So, she puts up a front, acting like she's completely fine, but, really, she's falling apart on the inside." She closed her eyes for a few seconds before continuing.

"She can't continue to do that anymore, Oliver…Look, I get it, she's a good person…God, just too good of a person, it's scary…But, that's simply what she's done her entire life; living up to this perfect image that all of you have created." Felicity smiled sadly as she thought of her best friend. She had never known anyone with such a heart of gold.

"She's pure perfection." Oliver mentally added. She was simply a million times too good for him. He definitely knew he did not deserve her. He could not deny the fact that Felicity was right, though.

He and everyone else had unfairly put her up on a pedestal. There were times when she could not see the ground below because they had placed her so high up on that damn pedestal.

"But, she's quickly slipping away from the person that she was meant to be. Oliver, she needs you now more than ever." Felicity paused for a brief moment before saying what she had been wanting to tell him for months. Sighing, she quickly stood on her feet and then walked over to a nearby table to grab her purse.

Oliver faintly saw her pull something out. Once she found what she was looking for, she quickly walked back over to him.

When she was finally standing in front him, he saw a mustard yellow envelope in her hands. Studying her movements, Oliver could immediately sense that she was becoming hesitant. He just did not really understand why.

"What is that?" Oliver asked. Still in his Arrow costume, he crossed his arms over his chest as he waited for Felicity to give him an explanation.

"The straw that broke the camel's back." Felicity nervously replied. She still had doubts about how this entire plan would play out. Maybe starting with an idiomatic expression was the wrong way to do it.

Oliver simply gave her a look of confusion, furrowing his eyebrows. Immediately noticing the look of confusion on his face, she started to explain. "Laurel never wanted you to find out about this. She did not want to tell anyone, really. You know what…I think I need to sit down…"

Felicity took a deep breath and then walked a few steps back to sit on the swivel chair that she had formerly occupied, the envelope still in her hands. She had already revealed enough; there was no turning back now. "One night, when I was sleeping over her place, I caught her sitting on the floor of her bathroom, crying hysterically as she held this photo." She looked down at the envelope in her lap, her hands shaking nervously as she held it. Oliver simply stood there, remaining silent. He really did not know what to say.

Hesitating for a few moments, Felicity finally held the envelope up with her right hand and opened it with her left, pulling out two pieces of paper. Oliver watched her slowly pull out a black and white photo and a small lavender-colored paper that seemed to look like a letter. Glancing at the two pieces of paper in her hands, he sighed, his heart inexplicably racing with fear. A million thoughts ran through his mind, each one more confusing than the other.

"She's been through a lot. You both have. For her though, this was what finally pushed her over the edge. She kept trying to push you away because she couldn't face you anymore after this happened. It simply became too much. Then, a few months later, when Carter told her about the job in New York, she immediately thought that was the best way to escape…" She briefly paused. "The best way to escape you…" Felicity stood back up on her feet and held out her arm, giving him the photo and then letter. He slowly took them from her.

"When I went searching for clues in New York, I found this in her purse. She carries this photo everywhere she goes." She briefly paused to give him a fond smile before continuing. "When I saw the photo, this letter was attached to it." Felicity first pointed to the photo and then the letter.

"I haven't read it." Felicity gathered her thoughts for a brief moment before staring intently into his eyes. She could tell that he was still in complete shock.

"You might need to explain it better…" Oliver said, trying his best to make sense of everything.

"The only thing I'll tell you is that that letter and that photo are not related. You need to figure out the rest on your own. Actually, correction, time-wise, they're not related. Start by reading the letter and then go to Laurel. She should be the one to tell you about the photo." She placed a hand on his forearm, patting it gently. "Go get the love of your life back. She needs you now more than ever. And you need her." She gave him one last reassuring smile and a playful wink before letting his forearm go. A short moment of silence befell them before she broke it.

"Oh, wow, it's 8:30. I have exactly thirty minutes to get to work." She looked down at her watch and then at her outfit. Despite being in the same clothes for more than a day, she still looked prim and proper in a teal blouse that was tucked into a black pencil skirt, her golden locks in a sophisticated half ponytail.

"In the same clothes that I wore yesterday…That's just wonderful…I love my night job, I do, but I just hate missions that turn into all-nighters. I really like spending my nights with you, don't get me wrong, but when they turn into long…" Felicity closed her eyes and stopped, trying her best to backtrack her words. "Again, my brain just can't think of a proper way to say something." She shook her head out of frustration before she started to gather her things.

"Felicity, take a sick day. You know what, you don't even need a valid excuse; I'll take care of it…" Oliver offered as he watched her nervously pace around the large lair to collect her things.

"No, but thank you. I still want to have a shot at Employee of the Month, but, tonight, no Arrow-related business. I mean, unless it's an emergency. Otherwise, I think I'll actually take my first sick day." Felicity said as she pushed her glasses up and then gave Oliver an adorable smile.

"Hey, you can take the night off tonight." Oliver reassured her, smiling back.

"Let's hope we can all take a night off." Felicity added, hopefully. She took a deep inhale as she studied him. He looked so lost. So she decided to give him a bit of encouragement. "Read the letter first and then go talk to her right after you do. Why don't you come over our place for dinner tonight. It's just going to be me, Tommy, and Laurel, so you'll be able to talk to her then." Oliver simply looked at her, his face emotionless. "I'll be making my famous vegetable lasagna."

He finally gave her a genuine smile. Happily clapping out of victory, she continued to gather her things. The first part of the plan was now complete.

"Laurel, I can't let you do this…" Sara said as she took a deep sigh, leaning her body slightly against the doorframe. They were in the guest bedroom of Felicity and Tommy's apartment.

"Sara, I've taken self-defense classes since forever and we were taught how to use guns since we were, like what? Twelve?" Laurel reminded her.

"Those are not good enough reasons to become some sort of vigilante, Laurel." Sara retorted, glaring at her sister. "It's too dangerous."

"I don't know if you've noticed, but danger seems to follow us around. You know what, if you don't want to help me, then I'll just figure out a way to do this all my own." That probably came out a little more harsh than she would have liked, but she was not intending to offend her in any way. "I need to have a purpose again, Sara. I need to do something that's fulfilling. I need to feel like I'm making a positive difference. I want to do something that will help change the world for the better." Now she felt like she was rambling.

"You could quit your fancy-schmancy legal analyst job and go back to being a badass lawyer? You can change the world for the better as a lawyer too, you know? Isn't that what you used to do?" Sara reminded her.

"One of the hardest things I've learned over the past two years is that the law is definitely not sacred; it's a completely corrupt system. Stop acting like you don't agree with me."

"Laurel…"

"No, Sara, I can do things as a vigilante that I would never be able to do as a lawyer."

Sara gave her a long and studying look. She knew that no matter how much she tried to change her sister's mind, Laurel was still going to go through with this. "I'm giving up; you're just too stubborn!" Sara unfolded her arms and then raised them in defeat.

She slowly paced around the room before finally reaching the bed. She gave her a devilish smirk before sitting on the edge of the bed. "I'll help you, but only on one condition." Sara said as Laurel fearfully looked at her. "I am not moving to New York. You are going to move back home and I will train you here."

"Sara…" Laurel frustratingly started to say as she raised her hands out of annoyance.

"No, you want my help, then you are going to have to move back here. Besides, there's no way I or anyone else for that matter will let you go back to New York."

"That's my new home now. My job, my life…Everything is there…" Laurel sheepishly replied.

"You may have everyone fooled, Laurel, but I know just how much you hate living there. You may love New York as a city, but you hate everything else about it. And, besides, the only reason you moved away was because you were trying to get as far away from Oliver as possible." Sara grinned mischievously at her. "I can still see right through you, Rolo."

"God, please don't call me that." Laurel exclaimed as she let out an agitated sigh. "You haven't called me that in years." She walked a few steps forward so that she could stand in front of her.

Sara simply laughed at her sister's annoyance. As a toddler, she had had a hard time pronouncing her name, calling her 'Rolo' instead of 'Laurel.' Her older sister absolutely hated it. "I think I stopped calling you that when I was like nine or ten. I guess it was no longer cute."

Laurel simply frowned as a long moment of silence befell them. Sara simply smiled at her sister. She thanked God every single day for bringing her back to her family.

"Sara, you're doing it again…" Laurel said as she caught her sister smiling at her. Ever since they had reconnected, Sara would have moments where she would simply just stare and smile adoringly at Laurel. To Sara, it still felt like she was dreaming.

"Sorry, I just…I just never thought we'd ever get this. You and I." She never thought she would come back and then develop such a close relationship with her older sister so quickly. It was simply a dream come true for Sara.

Laurel could not stop the single tear that rolled down her cheek. "I'm just so happy to have you back in my life." Laurel held out a hand, palm facing up. Sara grinned happily and then connected her palm to Laurel's.

"Just think, after a year, you and I will be fighting crime side-by-side." Sara lightly teased as she looked into Laurel's eyes. "I don't think the world will ever be ready for the badass-mother-fuckery us Lance sisters will bring. Rolo and Sara-Bear, kicking tremendous amounts of ass." Sara let out a soft laugh as Laurel simply gave her an angry glare.

"A year?" Laurel angrily asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, Laurel. You need proper training before you can actually go through with this. Even a year isn't enough." Sara explained.

"But I have…" Sara immediately put up a hand to stop her from continuing.

"You have amazing fighting skills, yes, but vigilantism is different. Look, I know that you've continued your fight training, but I need to make sure you are completely set before I let you go out into the streets to fight crime."

Laurel opened her mouth to say something, but Sara beat her to it. "No, don't say anything; let's not ruin a perfect moment. We'll talk more about this another time, okay?" Laurel reluctantly nodded. She gave a her sad smile before letting her hand go.

She wanted to ask Sara about her island experience, but she was too scared to. She knew that Sara was still not ready to talk about it. She could also sense that her sister was keeping something from her, but she just was not sure what it was. She stopped herself from asking questions, though. When her sister was ready to talk, she would be there for her. All that mattered right now was that she was back in their lives. They both had gotten a second chance at fixing their relationship. And they were both utterly grateful for that miraculous second chance.

Sitting at her small desk at Queen Consolidated, Felicity nervously started to shake her right leg as she tightly held the phone to her ear. After what felt like an eternity, Thea finally answered.

"Felicity?" Thea responded.

Felicity could faintly hear the hustle and bustle of traffic in the background. "Thea, why haven't you picked up Laurel yet? It's almost noon! You were supposed to pick her like two hours ago." Felicity snapped.

"Good morning, Felicity. How are you doing this fine morning? I'm fine, thanks for asking." Thea sarcastically replied.

"Thea, you were supposed to pick up Laurel at ten!" Felicity said, trying her best to speak in a low voice, being mindful not to disrupt her co-workers.

"Relax, Blondie, I'm walking into your apartment building as we speak. Did you get a hold of Oliver? He didn't come home last night."

Felicity closed her eyes for a second and then took a heavy sigh. It was starting to get quite tiring to come up with lies about how she and the rest of Team Arrow spent their nights. "Thea, he and Tommy run a nightclub; most of their nights and early mornings are spent there. And, yes, I already spoke to him. I did everything according to our plan. Unlike some people, punctuality is very important to me."

"Okay, you've been quite snappy lately. And I am about to walk into the elevator, so I'll let you go. I'll text you later."

"Wait, Thea…" Before Felicity could continue, the line immediately went dead. Placing her phone back on the desk, she brought a hand up to her forehead and rubbed it out of frustration. Initially, she was hesitant to include anyone in her little plan, but she needed someone like Thea. She was—as Tommy had put it—deliciously manipulative but with a heart of gold. And that made her the perfect person to help her bring this plan to fruition.

Once Felicity had left, Oliver had sat on the edge of one of the metal tables, fearfully holding onto the slightly wrinkled photo and the faded lavender letter. Now sitting in a dark gray shirt and jeans, he had spent the past two hours staring at the photo and the letter, unable to do anything else.

Sighing, he placed the photo gently down beside him as he returned his attention back onto the letter. It was folded in half, the writing barely visible through the thick paper. He had already wasted too much time staring at it. He had to do this now. The sooner he read it the better.

With his decision finally made, he opened it slowly. He smiled gently when his eyes caught sight of Laurel's loopy handwriting. Taking a deep breath he silently started to read it.

Dear Oliver,

When we were in grade six, Mrs. Greenburg told us to write letters to the person we missed the most. She said that writing was a way to relieve stress. She said it was a great way to connect with the people that have left us. You wrote a letter to your grandfather, Tommy wrote a letter to his mom, and I wrote a letter to my Grandma Cece, remember? I don't know about you and Tommy, but I felt better after writing that letter. So, today, I've decided to write you this letter. I hope that after I finish writing this, I will somehow feel closer to you.

You were the only man I let inside my heart. Now, you still have this hold on heart that I can't seem to break. They say that time heals all wounds, but I honestly don't believe that time heals anything. It's been two years, and as each day passes, I am slowly but surely dying inside. It's not less painful. That whole 'time heals everything' quote is a lie.

When you died, a part of me died with you. My heart, my soul…Every ounce of my being died with you.

I don't think I'll be able to pull through without you here. There are simply no tears left to fall now. No words...No feelings…Nothing…There are times where I struggle to breathe. Honestly, I feel like I am swimming in an ocean of pain, and I am drowning, Ollie. I am utterly drowning. I don't think I can keep pretending that everything is going to be okay. I just can't. I'm powerless to stop this pain from completely overtaking me. God, I feel so cold and empty inside. I've never felt this terrible.

I should hate you. I really, really should hate you, but I just can't. I love you so much that I just can't, for the life of me, understand why you and Sara would hurt me the way that you did. All I could ever give you was my heart. I guess that just wasn't enough for you. Maybe I wasn't enough. I don't understand anything anymore.

I don't hate you. I think it would be a lot less painful if I did, though, but I could never hate you. Even if I tried.

No matter how much I try to let you go, I just can't. I won't. I'm utterly incapable of saying goodbye to you. My heart simply refuses to let you go. You have no idea how much I've tried, God help me, I have tried to let you go, but I just can't!

All I have left now are memories. There are times were I still feel you. I can hear your voice. I can see your smile…God, how I miss that gorgeous smile of yours. There are simply no words to describe how much I truly miss you. I would give anything to be with you…To fall back into those magical arms of yours… Wanna know a secret? My favorite place in the entire universe was being wrapped in your arms. Sadly, I'll never get the chance to be in my favorite place again.

I hope that you know that I love you very much. I will always love you. I guess it's heartbreaking to know that my heart belongs to a dead man. It will forever belong to you, Ollie. No one will ever replace you. Honestly, no one could ever replace you. It just breaks my heart to know that we'll never get our happy-ending.

I love you, forever and for always,

Laurel

His already devastated heart shattered into a million pieces once he finished reading the letter. If he had ever doubted her feelings for him, the letter clearly revealed that she had never stopped loving him. Sighing deeply, he started to wonder how he had completely ruined the best thing that had ever happened to him. He had no one else to blame but himself.

Folding the letter in half again, he turned slightly to grab the black and white photo that sat beside him on the table. He needed to talk to Laurel. He desperately needed answers, and she was the only one that could give them to him. He was surely not going to wait for tonight to talk to her. He needed to see her now.

Before he could do anything else, his phone started to vibrate. He angrily got off the table and stood on his feet, reaching for the phone that was in the back pocket of his jeans. He quickly pressed it to his ear after accepting the call.

"Thea?"

"Hey, where are you?" Thea whispered.

"Verdant. Why are you whispering? Is everything okay?" Oliver fearfully asked.

"Yeah, are you able to come home?" Thea asked, still whispering.

"There's something I need to do first. What did you need?" Oliver wondered as he waited for her to respond. "Again, why are you whispering?"

"Because I don't want Laurel to hear me…I brought her over here to help me with the mountains of legal paperwork that I have to sort through. I never thought starting my own business would be this damn complicated." She took a deep breath before refocusing her thoughts. "Anyway, I need to meet with my oh-so-very incompetent contractors, but I don't want to leave Laurel alone. Is there any way you could stay with her while I'm gone. I literally couldn't get a hold of anyone else. I'll be two hours tops. When you get here, say that Tommy couldn't make it, so he called you instead because I told her I was calling him. If she catches me, I'm dead."

"I'm on my way." Oliver immediately replied.

"Well that was easy. Step three is now complete." Thea happily said, her voice still just below a whisper as she looked at her phone. Completely lost in her moment of victory, she did not even hear Laurel open the patio door behind her.

"Is everything okay?" Laurel questioned, poking her head through the door.

"Yeah, everything's fine. I was just dealing with my pain-in-the-ass contractors." Thea replied as she turned around to face her. "Come on, I'll have Geoffrey make us some tea." She quickly walked a few steps forward as Laurel waited for her by the door. Thea could not stop smiling as she walked back inside.