Chapter 25: Scoobies in Starling

******Where We Left Off******

Felicity smiled at the one-eyed stranger who was being so friendly. She couldn't resist glancing at Oliver, who had his angry-annoyed face on. For some reason, that filled her with pleasure.

"Buffy tells me you're the brains of this operation," Xander said with a grin.

Felicity flushed in embarrassment and gave Oliver an apologetic look, but she shrugged.

Dig walked up and put his arm around Felicity. "She is that. Or was. Now she's going to be giving that brain to the Starling City police department," he said.

"If they're half as dumb as the cops were back home in good 'ole Sunndydale, they could probably use your help!" Xander said.

"Does Buffy know you're here?" Felicity asked.

"Nope. We thought we'd surprise her," Xander said happily.

"So I'm ready for dancing and a drink!" Faith said.

"Let's take this party upstairs," Dig said to her.

"Are you going to join us?" Xander asked Felicity.

"Well, I came down here to do some work. I'll be up later," she promised.

"I'll be looking for you," Xander said with a smile.

Oliver wanted to hit the man and glared him out of the room. "So you wanted to do some work?" he questioned her.

Roy looked nervous as Felicity nodded. "I suggested to Dig that I'd train someone to replace me. I thought we'd start with Roy since he already knew you were the Arrow," she said.

Oliver was disappointed but nodded. He'd fired her, so what did he expect? "That's probably a good idea," he said.

Felicity told Roy to go over to the computers. She walked toward Oliver. "I think, though, Roy would probably be better served out in the field. Eventually," she suggested.

Oliver frowned, not sure he liked that. "I don't know," he said, not wanting to alienate her further.

"Just something to think about," Felicity said with a casual shrug. "I was thinking you could bring Sin in."

Oliver was surprised. "Sin? She doesn't know I'm the Arrow," he said.

"I know. But Sara trusts her with her secret and so does Buffy," Felicity pointed out.

"Yeah," Oliver acknowledged. "I'll think about it."

She nodded and went to turn back to her computers and Roy. However, Oliver reached out and grabbed her hand to stop her. "Felicity, wait, please," he said.

She turned back to him, trying to hide her nerves. Things used to be so easy between them. She glanced back at Roy, who quickly turned back to the computers, pretending not to hear them.

"I'm sorry, Felicity," Oliver said, plunging ahead. "I'm an ass and an idiot."

"Yes, you are," Felicity agreed. She gave him a small smile.

"Can we be friends again?" he asked hopefully.

"I hope so," Felicity said quietly.

Oliver let her turn back to Roy and her computers. Relief that she didn't hate him coursed through him. Maybe he hadn't lost her for good.

******Upstairs******

Buffy blinked, not sure she was seeing things right. However, a loud, "B!" convinced her it wasn't a dream. In a moment, she was embracing her two friends, excited to see them.

"I can't believe you're here!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing in Starling? Oh, I'm so glad to see you guys! I've missed you!"

Xander kept his arm around Buffy. "We wanted to come see how you were," he said, beaming.

"Plus, Will says there's a demon gang heading to your city, gunning for you," Faith shared with a smirk.

"Seriously? Why me?" she asked, rolling her eyes.

"You probably killed one of them once upon a time and they want to get their revenge on," Xander said with a snicker.

"Or die trying," Faith said with a snicker.

Diggle appeared, handing Faith a bottle of beer. "Here you go," he said.

"Thanks!" she said.

He gave Xander one and kept one for himself. "So your friends met Oliver," Dig told Buffy.

Buffy smirked. "I can imagine how that turned out," she said.

"Yeah, he asked if you put an ad in Slayers Weekly," Xander said, grinning.

Buffy burst out laughing. "That's a new one!" she exclaimed.

"So when should we expect this demon gang?" Buffy asked.

Xander shrugged. "A few days probably. Faith and I both decided we wanted to come check out your new beau," he said with a wink.

Buffy brightened even more. "Quentin's so amazing! I can't wait until you meet him!" she enthused.

"We have to give him the shovel speech," Xander said with a smirk.

Buffy pouted. "No! You will not scare off this one! He might be the one," she shared, a dreamy look on her face.

All of them looked at her in surprise. "Seriously, B? It's that serious?" Faith asked in surprise.

Buffy blushed and nodded. "Yes," she said.

Xander hugged her. "I'm happy for you, Buffy, and I promise I'll be gentle with him," he said.

"Well, I won't," Faith said. "If you love him, then he can only hurt you more." She looked grim as she said it. Then she turned to Dig. "How about that dance?"

Before he could do more than nod and put down his beer, she dragged him to the dance floor.

Thea came up to Buffy. "Who's your friend?" she asked. Buffy didn't spend much time talking to their clientele. When she as at work, she was focused on the job.

"Thea, this is Xander, one of the original Scoobies and my best friend. Xander, this is Thea, our newest slayer," Buffy introduced.

Thea gave him excited look. "I've heard so much about you! It's great to finally meet you," she enthused, shaking his hand.

Xander winced. "I can tell she's a slayer. You girls never realize your own strength!" he exclaimed.

"Oh, sorry!" Thea said with a sheepish smile.

Buffy couldn't believe her friends were here. "I wish Willow had come with you guys," Buffy said. "I may need her help tracking down someone."

"I'm sure she'd come if you really needed her," Xander said.

"Are you going to be in town for a while?" Thea asked.

"A few days at least. Maybe a week," Xander said.

"Good. Buffy will have to bring you by the house tomorrow," Thea said. She looked at her bartender who was waving her down. "I gotta go. It was nice to meet you."

"You, too," Xander said. "She seems nice. How's things going?"

"With her? Great. With her brother? Not so great," Buffy said sourly.

"Yeah, we kind of picked up on that. He wasn't exactly welcoming, but he didn't cry too much when Faith beat him up," Xander said with a smirk.

"He fought with Faith?" Buffy asked, frowning.

"Nah. Just sparring. He was in his get-up when some goons tried to mug us. Faith, obviously, didn't need any saving, so he didn't get the fight he was jonesing for," Xander said, having spent enough time around fighters to recognize the signs.

"How did that go?" Buffy inquired.

"She wiped the floor with him and the big guy Diggle. Actually, he lasted longer than Oliver," Xander said with a smirk.

"Really?" Buffy asked in surprise.

"She cheated," Xander said with a grin.

Buffy laughed knowingly. "She kicked him in his man parts, huh?"

"Yep. He cried like a girl," Xander said smugly. "Works every time."

"Oliver is actually very good. He'd be better if he'd train with me, but he's barely come to grips with his sister's calling. I'm not sure he's ready for that level of bonding. She only recently found out about his night job," Buffy shared.

"How did she take it?" Xander asked, curious about their new slayer.

"Not well," Buffy said with a frown. "Her mom's on trial for the Glade's bombing, so finding out her brother has his own dark secret really threw her. She came around, though."

"That's good. She'll need his support in the coming days and years," Xander said. Slayers had each other, but the ones that had the support of their families tended to be the most grounded.

"She has it," Buffy said. "Felicity said Oliver was devastated by Thea's judgment. Now that they've cleared the air, and there's no more secrets, I think things will be fine with them."

Xander perked up at the mention of Felicity's name. "You forgot to mention how cute Felicity is," he said.

Buffy looked surprised by his remarks. She wagged her finger. "She is not for you, my Snoopy dancing friend! One day Oliver Queen will get his head out of his ass. The man's been through hell and has the scars to prove it. Felicity is what he needs," she said.

"But is he what she needs?" Xander asked. "I just met them, and I could sense the tension between them."

Buffy sighed. "Yeah, Oliver's not the sharpest tool in the shed, but he's a good man. He thinks he's doing the right thing pushing her away. But I'm sure he's miserable," Buffy said knowingly.

"He looked like he wanted to kill me just for smiling at her," Xander said with a smirk.

Buffy gave him a considering look. "Don't toy with her, Xander. She's very sweet and very fragile," Buffy said. "And I don't think she's that experienced. She was something of a child prodigy. Graduated high school and college early."

"I'd never play with a girl like that. She did remind me of Willow some, though," he said.

Buffy smiled. "Yeah, I know. I feel the same about her sometimes," Buffy admitted. "I've grown very fond of her."

"But the blonde hair of hers reminds me of you!" Xander said with a grin. He took a long drink of his beer. "So how about you let me take you onto the dance floor! It's been too long!"

Buffy tried to protest. "I'm working!"

"So give me a dance. Or two!" Xander said, dragging her onto the dance floor.

Laurel Lance watched from a corner table as she sipped a glass of wine. She'd been coming in to Verdant the past few days, keeping a low profile. Her father was head over heels for Thea's bouncer. Laurel didn't like her nor did she trust her. The woman was too pretty, too perky, and full of too many secrets. Laurel could tell that the woman had something else going on. It'd be a long time before Laurel would forget the bathroom incident where the woman held her by the throat. Laurel watched her talking and laughing with a couple she'd never seen before. The woman seemed to be more interested in Mr. Diggle, though, so they must not be a couple. The way Buffy was smiling at them told Laurel that they were someone she knew before coming to Starling. When the man pulled Buffy onto the dance floor, Laurel's eyes flashed angrily. If the woman thought she could toy with Laurel's dad, she had another thing coming.

******The Next Day******

Oliver reluctantly went to his family home at his sister's request. Somehow he knew that Buffy and her friends would also be there. He wouldn't mind an excuse to see Felicity, but he knew she'd be at work. She had a few more days at QC before her notice was served. The night before she'd spent an hour in his base, showing Roy the ropes. Then she went up to join Buffy and her friends while Oliver spoke with Roy a bit. Although Roy was excited to help him, Oliver knew that the young man had too much energy to ever be satisfied sitting at the computers. When Roy went up and joined everyone on the dance floor, Oliver brooded alone, thinking about his options.

He didn't want to bring anyone else into his mission. He hated that he needed someone. It hadn't been too long ago that he'd begun his mission all alone. However, working with Dig and Felicity had shown him the value of having a team support him. Losing it would be rough. As he struggled to accept his new reality without Felicity as a part of his team, he pulled up one of the club's cameras. It'd been tough seeing her dancing with Buffy and her friends. She had been smiling and having a good time. Something he'd not seen from her in a very long time.

It made incredibly sad to realize how much happier she was without him.

Now, though, he put all thoughts of Felicity out of his mind as he let himself inside his house. Without his mom there, the place seemed so empty. It was still his home. He stayed there at least half the week—not wanting to leave his sister alone all the time more than a desire to be there.

He followed the noise down to the gym where he knew his sister worked out with the slayer. He heard laughter as he approached. When he made it to the doorway, he saw his sister putting the moves on Xander, who was bouncing around her like a bouncer, throwing out challenges.

"I'm not afraid of you! I eat little slayer girls for breakfast! I got my eye gouged out by a psychotic priest! I can take you!" Xander boasted as he held up his fists like a boxer.

Thea had been slowly circling him and smiling, but his eye-gouge revelation made her pause. "Seriously?" she asked.

Xander nodded. "Yep. But Buffy sliced him in half with her shining red scythe that she King Athured out of a rock, so it's good! Plus, the ladies dig my new, dangerous look!" he bragged, preening.

Oliver glanced at Buffy at the man's claim. She gazed at Xander with sad fondness, so Oliver figured there was more truth than exaggeration to the man's words. He stepped into the door way as Thea swung at Xander, who was surprisingly quick to dodge her blow.

"Ha! Told you I'm not an easy target!" Xander exclaimed with a grin. "Faith slaps me around all the time. I've learned to dodge!"

"True," Faith said with a smirk. "But he was starting to like it, so I had to cut back!" Buffy laughed.

Xander got in a few hits before Thea put him down. He jumped up grinning. "I see the Buffsters been giving you tips," he said.

"She's been great," Thea said. Then she spotted her brother and moved to greet him. "Ollie! You came!" She hugged him.

Buffy and her friends all said hello. He nodded at them before turning back to his sister. "Well, this is my home, too," Oliver said, smiling at her. "I see you've been kicking ass."

"He's not much of a challenge," Thea said, smugly.

"Hey!" Xander protested. "I was a challenge! My face worked out your hand real good!"

Buffy put her arm around his waist, hugging him. She'd missed him and his quips so much. "You sure did," she loyally agreed. "It's good for my girl to actually win a fight!"

Thea gave her a dark look. "I win sometimes with you!" she protested. Then she eyed Oliver with interest. "Maybe, big brother, you can give me a real workout."

Oliver surprised his sister and Buffy by nodding. "Sure," he said. "But let's use batons." He wasn't comfortable with the idea of hitting his sister.

"Batons? I don't have any of those," Thea said with a frown. Buffy trained her with swords.

Oliver gave a half smile and walked to a chest in the corner that Thea never paid much attention to. He opened it. "I have some stuff here," he said over his shoulder. He pulled out what he needed.

"So we're going to see the Arrow take on the Slayer?" Xander said eagerly. "Cool!"

"My money's on big brother," Faith said.

"My girl can take him," Buffy said confidently.

They watched as the siblings got the batons and warmed up a bit. Thea grinned excitedly while Oliver was expressionless.

"The two are very different," Faith observed.

"In some ways," Buffy acknowledged. "They've had very different experiences to fashion them. However, they both have the same inner strength that will never fail them." She watched as they began to spar.

Oliver allowed his sister to take the offensive. It was clear to them that he was testing her to see what she was made of, to see what she'd learned. For five minutes, the batons twirled furiously. Then Oliver gave a smile. "You've learned a lot, Speedy," he said, a note of pride in his voice. Then he took a step forward and began pressing his own attack.

The shift in his approach caught Thea off guard. It was clear that she honestly thought she was just better than her brother.

"Little Sis is a bit cocky," Faith said with a grin. "I like her."

"Yeah, but now she's going to get her ass kicked," Xander said knowingly. They watched as Oliver managed to make her lose one of her batons.

"It won't be long now," Xander observed.

After she lost the first baton, Oliver managed to knock the second one out of her hand two minutes later. Annoyed, she moved aggressively forward. Oliver threw down both his batons; they went hand to hand. Thea looked determined to win and didn't hold back. Oliver grinned for the first time. He let her take the initiative. It looked like he wasn't having too much trouble defending her attack. Then he began pressing her with open palm strikes, apparently not wanting to hurt her.

"Is that how you spar with her?" Faith asked with a snicker.

"Of course not," Buffy defended. "Oliver Queen, though, is only programmed one way. Protect those he loves. At any cost. Even if it hurts him." She added that last part as Thea got in a blow to his face that caused his lip to bleed.

Oliver must have decided he'd had enough because he back handed her hard enough to turn her head. Then he swept her feet out from under her, and she landed hard.

He reached down and lifted her to her feet. "You've come a long way," Oliver said, smiling at her.

"I have a good teacher," Thea said. Then she looked curiously at her brother. "Your friend Slade must've been some fighter."

Oliver had given her a brief outline of his time on the island. He nodded. "He was," he acknowledged. "However, he wasn't the only teacher I had. I only spent a year learning from him before he died."

"What happened to him?" Thea couldn't help but ask. Her curiosity about her brother's time on the island was large. He'd shared more lately than he'd ever had. However, there were still so many unanswered questions.

Oliver was putting up the batons when she asked the question. He shut the chest and turned around to face her, his face hollow. "I killed him," he said simply.

The shock over his confession reverberated through the room. "What?" Thea asked before she could stop herself.

"It's not something I want to talk about, Thea," Oliver said grimly. "He went off the deep end. Tried to kill—" he paused. "Someone I cared about."

Buffy couldn't help but wonder if it was Sara he was referring to.

"I'm sorry," Thea said with compassion.

Faith, wanting to dispel the awkward moment, said, "So, B, how about you and me give it whirl?"

"Not had a beat down in a while, huh?" Buffy asked with a smirk.

"Kennedy tried to take me a few months ago. Got pissed that Giles still calls me for the really nasty jobs," Faith shared with a smirk. "I beat her real good."

Buffy couldn't help but laugh. "I am so glad Willow dumped her ages ago, and I don't have to pretend to like her," she said.

"You and everyone," Xander agreed.

"Are you going to fight or what?" Thea asked, growing bored with talk about someone she didn't know.

"Little sis is eager to see you get beat," Faith said smugly.

"Keep dreamin'," Buffy said, rolling her eyes. "You couldn't beat me back when you were young and spry."

"Yeah, that was the funnest coma ever!" Xander teased. Faith smacked him on the back of the head. "Ooww!"

"You were in a coma?" Thea asked worriedly. "We can be put in a coma?"

Oliver frowned, not liking to hear about how dangerous it was to be a slayer.

"Only when beaten, stabbed, and then thrown from a building," Faith said, her eyes glaring at Buffy.

"Well, you were evil at the time," Buffy reminded her.

"You put your friend in a coma?" Oliver asked in genuine surprise.

"I told you that I understood you. I meant it," Buffy said grimly. Then she turned back to Faith, walking toward the mat.

Oliver didn't know what to think. It never occurred to him that the woman truly got some of the pain he went through. He'd seen the shadows in her eyes, but they were distant. His were still too close.

The two women began fighting. Oliver expected a sparring match like he and Diggle would do. Instead, the two women went at it like they were trying to kill each other. Oliver watched in concern, fearing he'd be forced to try and separate the two highly skilled slayers.

"Is this normal?" Thea asked, concerned herself. The two women were not holding back at all. Buffy was hitting Faith much harder than she'd ever hit Thea.

Oliver was watching the two woman in awe. He'd not seen such a display of sheer power combined with several different fighting styles used by anyone in a very long time. He wasn't sure if he'd ever seen such skill.

When Buffy used a roadhouse kick to knock Faith off her feet, Thea gasped.

"Relax. She's fine," Xander assured her.

Faith jumped up, laughing. "Oh, I've missed you, B," she exclaimed. She ran to Buffy and pulled her into a tight hug. The Queens both finally relaxed.

"They've never been exactly normal," Xander remarked. "Fighting is how they bond."

"I'll take dinner and a movie any day," Thea said dryly. Her brother put his arm her shoulder.

"I could use a dinner and a movie," Oliver admitted.

Thea looked at him in surprise. He'd not wanted to do anything so normal since his return. "You want to catch a movie? Seriously?" she asked.

Oliver shrugged. "Why not?" he asked. Maybe doing something normal would make him feel better. Too many things were slipping away from him. His sister had changed so much already. He didn't want to lose her to this new supernatural world. Buffy had already claimed Quentin and Felicity. Thea would never just be his sister anymore. However, he didn't want to let he slip any further from him. He'd lost Felicity. He couldn't bare to lose her, too.

"I can eat," Faith said, overhearing their conversation.

"I haven't seen a good movie in a while," Xander said. "I'm game."

And that's how Oliver spent a day doing normal things with very un-normal people.

******Chapter End******

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