" So? Here we are again."

With a smile forming across his face as he glances over to his side to see Laurel glancing around the familiar hospital room that they had occupied just a mere few days ago with a noticeable grin across her face Oliver can't help but let out a silent chuckle as he shakes his head.

" Yeah i guess we are. You do realize that you still owe me though right?"

" Owe you? Owe you for what exactly?"

" Well if i remember correctly someone promised to live out a certain fantasy out for me."

Turning her head as she slowly raises an eyebrow in his direction Laurel watches a grin forming across Oliver's own face.

" Were still not having sex inside of a hospital."

" That wasn't what i had in mind. It was more of getting to see you wearing one of those cute little nurse's outfits. Since you are my head nurse anyways."

" Oh really?"

With a grin forming across her face as she sees Oliver nodding his head slowly Laurel leans forward before she stops just centimeters away from his lips.

" I think that i can arrange something like that. If you behave that is."

" I'll be on my best behavior."

Nodding her head closing the distance between them as she brings Oliver into a gentle kiss the sound of the hospital door opening causes Laurel to break off the kiss to only look over her shoulder to see Dr Lamb standing before them with a clipboard in his hands.

" Hello Dr Lamb? If i may ask where is Dr Stanton?"

" Hello Ms Lance. And hello to you as well Mr Queen. To answer your question Ms Lance it was recommended by Dr Stanton that Oliver's care be reassigned to myself once again. We both agreed that i am more qualified for this unique situation than he is."

With a simple nod as she sees Dr Lamb heading over towards a nearby table taking her eyes away from the doctor glancing over to her side as she sees Oliver staring directly at Dr Lamb's back with intensity in his eyes with a confused look forming across her face gently Laurel gives his hand a squeeze causing him to look in her direction as his facial features soften.

" Now i've been told by my colleague that Mr Queen has been prescribed a few drugs already to ease any pain that he may be feeling from more recent events that have taken place. I know it has only been a day but i have to ask. Has the pain eased up any Mr Queen?"

Glancing over his shoulder as he sees Oliver nodding his head slowly Dr Lamb returns the nod before he looks back down towards the clipboard in his hand.

" Good. Very good. My chart as says here that Dr Stanton was also very concerned about the condition of your right arm. Noticeably that he believes your arm has suffered some nerve damage over the years.

I have looked over your medical records numerous times trying to find something that could help explain to me how exactly this is possible. However the only answers that i'm able to find come from your most recent examine when you returned to the city.

If you feel uncomfortable answering you don't need to. However what you tell me can also help you in the long run."

Looking over his shoulder as he sees Oliver nodding his head as he looks down towards the ground while out of the corner of his eye he sees Laurel gently wrapping an arm around his waist slowly Dr Lamb gives him the slightest of nods.

" Alright. To begin when you first arrived into my care, I found some very disturbing things. I still can't believe what i found when i examined you for the first time mere months ago.

I will not go into anything that we don't need to right now other than this. When you were away did you suffer any major injuries to your right arm on more than one occasion?"

Closing his eyes as he gives the slightest of nods unaware to Oliver's knowledge Dr Lamb returns the nod as he leans against the table.

" Broken? Sprained?"

" Both."

" How so?"

With her eyes focused on Oliver's face as she feels his hand shaking slightly within her own as she gives his hand the gentlest of squeezes slowly Laurel can't help but get lost into her thoughts.

Get lost into her thoughts with the answer Dr Lamb is seeking. An answer that was so simple. Did he have his arm broken on more than one occasion? Yes he did. But it wasn't that simple. Instead only one answer came to her mind.

The same answer that would always come to her mind whenever the topic of Oliver's wellbeing came up. And the answer was simple. The answer was his tormenter. The very same man that had done so much damage to him over the years. Not just physically but mentally as well.

The very same that she had been told stories about. Stories that would forever haunt her dreams and thoughts. Including the ones she is currently experiencing now.

Thoughts about how Oliver had suffered so much damage to his arm. And she knew the answer to this question from him. How he indeed suffered so much damage. It was because of him. His tormenter. A tormenter that took great pleasure in breaking his arm on more than one occasion hoping to inflict as much pain as he could to only reinsert the bone forcefully and begin the session another day.

A tormenter that seemed to take a great liking to him. Even referring to him as his favorite pet. A sickening thought that would always make her blood boil.

" Mr Queen?"

Snapping out of her thoughts as she gives his hand a gentle squeeze slowly Laurel turns to look at Dr Lamb with a blank look coming across her face as he sees him turning his attention towards her.

" To answer your question yes he has on more than one occasion."

Letting out a sigh with the simplest of nods slowly Dr Lamb turns his attention towards the clipboard in his hands.

" I thought so but it is better to know for sure. I can help prescribe something that should help heal the nerves that have been damaged over the years but i'm afraid that i can't be sure if the problem will go away.

In my medical opinion there is a very good possibility that in the near future that the nerve damage in Mr Queen's right arm will present even more problems."

Holding back the tears that are slowly forming in her eyes giving Oliver's hand the gentlest of squeezes slowly Laurel nods her head as she blinks the tears away.

" We understand."

With a simple nod as he rips off a sheet of paper off his clipboard slowly Dr Lamb makes his way over towards Laurel before as he extends his hand out Dr Lamb gently feels Laurel taking the paper out of his hand.

" Beyond this there is nothing more that i can do. I would however ask that for the next few weeks Mr Queen comes in here so that i may take a look at the progress of his arm. You are more than welcome to join him."

Unable to speak as she gives him the slightest of nods without having anytime to react Laurel watches Dr Lamb slowly make his way out of the hospital room before as she hears the sound of the hospital door closing behind himself slowly Laurel turns her attention back over towards Oliver.

" Im…."

" Don't. Don't you dare say you're sorry. I knew exactly what i was getting into the moment you stepped back into my life. And i don't care about any of it.

I don't care about the scars. I only care about you."

Reaching out as she gently cups his cheek with her free hand leaning forward Laurel presses her lips to Oliver's own for a gentle kiss.

" Whatever happens. We face it together. Okay?"

Feeling the genteslist of nods against her forehead as she takes a deep breathe slowly Laurel locks eyes with Oliver as she gently traces his cheek with her thumb.

" I need to know."

As she sees confusion radiating from her eyes without seizing her motions across his cheek slowly Laurel gives him a small smile.

" You told me what that man did to you. But i need to know this. Is he still alive?"

Without breaking off contact as she sees him taking his eyes away from her to look down towards the floor the smile across Laurel's face vanishes before mere moments later she lets out a breathe that she was unaware she was holding in when she sees him shaking his head.

" That's all that i needed to hear. You don't have to tell me. I don't need for you to tell me. What matters is that monster can't hurt you anymore.

I will never allow anyone to ever hurt you again. I promise."

With the sound of the automatic doors sliding over to the side filling the air without breaking her stride as she feels light from the sun coming across her face Laurel can't help but smile as she gives Oliver's hand a squeeze as she leads him over towards her parked car in total silence.

Silence that is suddenly broken up as she enters into the driver's side to only look over towards Oliver as she hears the passenger's side door closing behind him just mere moments later.

" Do you still want to attend the meeting? If we go now we should be able to get there for the end of it."

" I guess we should. Did Walter mention anything to you about what this meeting could be about?"

Shaking her head as she turns on the ignition with a flick of her wrist glancing over to her side Laurel looks at Oliver with a concerned look as she slowly starts to back the car out of the parking spot.

" He didn't but i have a bad feeling about this. I don't know why but i feel like this has something to do with your mother."

" What does she have to do with this?"

" She has everything to do with this. I hate to say this but i don't think Walter has always been truthful to us in regard to a few things. Whenever we have had a conversation with him regarding your father's company it was like he was playing for both sides of the field."

" But why? What would she have to gain from something like that?"

" In all honestly in a business standpoint there is a lot for her to gain by just hearing how your mind works. We all know that some of the board of directors for Queen Consolidated are against the direction you want to take the company in according to Walter.

And let's just say what if someone decided to step up and do something about it. To help keep the company in the direction it has for years. That person would not only instantly become the most powerful and likeable figure on the board but they would also gain full control with a group of loyal followers.

Think about it. Could you honestly say that this is something your mother wouldn't do?"

Taking his eyes away from Laurel as he looks out the passenger's window towards building after building that they slowly past a lingering question echoes through Oliver's mind.

A question that he knew the answer to deep down inside. He just wished it was different. He wished that the answer was different. But it wasn't. He knew deep down that she was more than capable of doing this.

She was more than capable of being ruthless to get whatever she wanted. A trait that he has also seen in Laurel of late. However that ruthlessness had a meaning behind it that he could understand. It was to protect him and Thea.

But what about his mother's own? Would she do such a thing? Would she risk shattering whatever was left of their bond? A bond that has been stained for the past couple of months. Would she even consider doing such a thing?

The same question that has been on his mind for the past few days. Only those times it wasn't about Queen Consolidated. It wasn't about their relationship. No it was about something else.

About something that he had thought about on some of his nights staring deep into the fire. A thought that he has never shared to anyone. Not even Laurel. A thought to this day terrifies him to even think about.

The thought of could she have been the cause of everything. For the Queen's Gambit sinking. The cause for the months of torture that had taken place while he was away.

Even the cause of this. For the pain that he is now feeling across his body. A thought that has creeped back into his mind as he relived the night out without missing a single detail.

Remembering everything to its fullest. Remembering the tone his mother had spoken to them upon arrival. A tone of such confidence. A tone he had heard so many times before when there was already a guarantee of success. An ace in the hole.

But would she be capable of this? Be capable of murder? Be capable of so many men and women to be slaughtered within minutes?

A question that deep down he didn't even want to think about. But a question that somewhere deep inside he knew to be true. She was capable of doing this. And the pieces of the puzzle were slowly coming together.

They were just not there yet. There was still a couple of pieces missing. A couple of unanswered questions that still needed to be answered.

" Ollie?"

Snapping out of his thoughts as he glances away from the window and over towards Laurel to see a concerned look being directed in his direction slowly Oliver looks down towards the floorboard.

" What is it?"

" There is something that i have wanted to tell you for a while now. But i don't want to believe it myself. I don't want to believe it but something deep down inside knows it's the truth."

" It's okay. You can tell me. What is bothering you?"

" I don't think that the Queen's Gambit being lost at sea was an accident."

Taking his eyes away from the floorboard as he takes a deep breathe Oliver looks forward towards the road ahead of them unaware of a pair of interested eyes glancing in his direction.

" I've thought about this so many times. And everything just doesn't add up to it being an accident. You know just like myself and Thea that my father loved to be out at sea. His pride and joy was the Queen's Gambit.

He would always make sure to double check that everything was in perfect working condition before going out to sea. He even would hire the best personal to go out to sea with him.

But what happened out there wasn't an accident. And i think…."

Coming to an stop at a red light as she gently reaches out to place her hand down on his shoulder with a small smile coming across her face Laurel watches Oliver turn away from the road to look at her.

" You think that someone sabotaged the Queen's Gambit. Instead of the equipment failure that everyone claims it to be. Don't you?"

" I do. It would make sense of so many things. Why a perfectly working boat would all of a sudden start to sink without any chance of help being on the way.

Why my father did what he did. It makes sense. I could never figure out why or who would want that to happen.

But then one night it came to me as to who could have hired someone to do the task. As i've thought about it the answer continues to make sense. Especially after everything that's gone on for the past couple of months since i've returned.

I was only back in the city for a week before a group of masked men kidnapped me and started to question me about my father. I can almost guarantee that whoever hired those men is the same person that had caused the Queen's Gambit to be lost at sea.

Then what happened a few nights ago. Just think about this for a second. All of the men and women that were killed at the hands of that sniper were considered the competition. I don't want to come to an sort of conclusion but please tell me that none of this is some sort of coincidence."

" I think that you are right about some of what you said. Since the night that Thea brought you over to my place i've had similar thoughts. But without any sort of evidence there is nothing neither of us can do. There is still too many unanswered questions.

But i agree with you. I don't think the Queen's Gambit being lost out to see was because of equipment failure. I think someone did sabotage the boat. Who would have hired the men responsible, I still don't know. There is many that benefited from you and your father being lost out at sea.

What i can't tell you is whoever is responsible for hiring that son of a bitch who shot you just a few nights ago. There is a lot of people in the city that want to see us both dead.

What i do know is despite our differences your mother isn't one of those people. She maybe a cold hearted bitch but even she wouldn't hire someone to kill so many innocent people. Even if the competition was tougher than she originally thought."

Taking a deep breathe as she glances back at the light to see it still red gently Laurel gives Oliver's shoulder a squeeze as he sees him looking out towards the road as though he is lost in thought.

" But there is something else. I don't know exactly what it is but your mother is guilty of something. And i'm not saying this out of hatred or spite. Whenever i look into her eyes when all three of us are in the same room together it feels like there is something she is hiding from us.

I know this and deep down you do to. There is something there. Something that neither of us can see. Whatever it is though is masked with nothing but guilt. I've seen it so many times on a witness stand. And she has the same look to someone that is hiding something.

Maybe it is guilt for feeling as though she could have done more as a mother. One day we'll find out together what she has been hiding from us. But right now we can't worry about that. All we can do is slowly take steps forward and just let things play out. When it happens it happens and when that day comes we'll be ready."

Emerging from around the corner as he slowly leads Laurel hand in hand towards a large room that he knew to be the meeting room filled with every member of the board along with a couple of armed security detail standing on guard just outside of the glass door leading to the inside of the room a confused look comes across Oliver's face.

Confusion that only deepens as he sees the two armed security guards suddenly block his view of the door as they slowly reach for their side arms.

An act that unaware to his knowledge causes Laurel to suddenly take a step forward with intensity in her eyes before mere seconds later as he comes to a stop Oliver glances away from the security guards to look over towards Laurel to see her staring directly at them with a glare across her face.

" I'm afraid you are not authorized to attend these meetings. Please turn back now."

" What is the meaning of this? Oliver is a CEO of this company. He has every right to attend this meeting."

" I'm sorry mam. I've been given my orders."

" Orders? You can tell them that they can take their orders and shove…."

Suddenly as they see a security guard from the other side of the glass opening up the door taking their eyes away from the security guards in front of them slowly Oliver and Laurel look over the security guard's shoulder to see a member of the board ushering them inside as he stands up from his seat.

" Let them through. They have every right to be here."

With a ghost smile coming briefly across his face with a simple nod Oliver watches as the man returns the nod as he feels himself being slowly lead by the security guards into the meeting room before slowly as he hears the sound of the glass door being shut Oliver comes to a complete stop along with Laurel on the opposite side of the table away from Moira and Walter.

Two individuals from by the different looks on their faces instantly makes Laurel concerned unaware that to her side Oliver feels the same exact way as he glances back and forth between them as though trying to read them. The very same thing she is trying to do.

And what she was reading wasn't good. Across Moira's face brought no surprises. A stone cold blank look that she had been accustomed to seeing from the queen matriarch for years. Only her eyes these days told a different story.

As for the man sitting by her side a mixture of emotions could be seen across his face. Emotions she had seen countless times come across many behind the witness stand before they would be hauled away. Emotions from guilt for what they had done to even anger.

Emotions that were clearly across his face as he avoids eye contact with either her or Oliver. But why? Why was he doing such a thing?

" Now gentlemen. As Dr Miller has stated Mr Queen and Ms Lance have earned the right to be here. There is no need for any unwanted hostility towards my son. Any that do so will be escorted out of this room and will not only be terminated instantly but will also be facing countless lawsuits. Is that clear?"

Glancing around the room as she sees every member of the board nodding their heads with some of them mumbling a few choice words under their breathe as they stare down at the table slowly Moira takes a deep breathe before slowly Moira ushers towards a few unoccupied seats at the table.

" Please sit. This meeting is just about over. All that needs to be settled is the final vote. All those in favor?"

Taking her eyes away from Moira as a confused look forms across her face slowly as she glances around the table to see nearly everyone except for a handful of men raising up their hands Laurel's confusion deepens as she sees out of the corner of her eye the same confusion riddled across Oliver's face.

" Then it has been decided. Today marks a new chapter for Queen Consolidated. A day that i'm sure many of you will never forget. This meeting is adjourned."

Without having any chance to react as he watches every member of the board rising up out of their seats to only each one by one exit out of the room Oliver can't help but glance over towards Laurel with a confused look across his face before slowly as he sees out of the corner of his eye Moira slowly making her way around the table just behind Walter slowly Oliver turns to look at them.

Suddenly as he sees Walter coming to a stop just in front of him to gently lay a hand down on his shoulder Oliver's confusion deepens.

" I'm sorry Oliver."

With his confusion only deepening by the second as he watches Walter make his way past him and out of the room slowly Oliver turns to look towards Moira as he hears her taking a deep breathe.

" Mom? What's going on?"

" I guess it's better that you hear it from me than from someone else…."

" Hear what?"

" Oliver, this afternoon an emergency meeting was called by the members of the board. The meeting was about you. More importantly about your leadership role."

" My leadership role? What does that have to do with anything?"

" It has everything to do with it. Many on the board have had concerns about the direction you had wanted to take the company in…."

" Had? What do you mean by had? Oliver is the CEO of the company. No matter what anybody here thinks he has the final say."

" Not exactly. Your assumption would be incorrect Ms Lance. The board has right too. And for the fear of what was about to transpire to the company that could potentially cost the company millions of dollars an injection had been filed against Oliver…."

" What!? Who would even…."

" I did."

Suddenly as she sees Oliver's eyes going wide without giving him a chance to react reaching out Moira gently lays her hand down on Oliver's cheek.

" I'm sorry Oliver. But it was the only way that i could protect you."