Chapter 6: Explanation
Felicity couldn't believe Oliver's audacity! As if it weren't bad enough that he apparently texts with her mother, her MOTHER! when and how did that happen?!, but he then had to invite her to stay with them?! Not to forget the fact that he promised he would make them dinner, not that she had time for all of this, Ray was still in trouble!, just to show up extremely late and then leave again less than five minutes after showing up?! And with no explanation, mind you. What had just happened? She so did not need this right now. She had enough going on as it was. She probably wouldn't have minded Oliver's fast departure, it did mean that he wasn't bothering or distracting her and trying to get her to do everything except find a way to help Ray, if it weren't for the fact that she was now left alone with Donna. The biggest distraction possible. Her mother was just so infuriating and annoying. How could Oliver do this to her? He knew that she didn't want her mother here, and that she did not have time for this. Was this another one of his plans to get her to take a break? Well, she would tell him exactly what she thought of that when he returned home.
"You know what mom? Let's go out and have dinner." She just decided that she was done sitting around and waiting for Oliver. They've already been waiting for him for hours.
"Are you sure hon? Maybe we should wait for him." Her mom sounded unsure and slightly concerned.
"No mom, we've been waiting for hours and I'm starving." She got up and grabbed her purse, walking towards the door, waiting for Donna. Donna stood uncertainly for a moment before following her annoyed daughter out the door.
The two Smoak women walked into Big Belly Burger and looked around for an empty table. That was when Felicity saw Captain Lance sit at a table by himself. She stood just inside the restaurant, uncertain when the older man spotted her and waved her over.
"Hello Felicity. What brings you here this time of the evening?" his voice was friendly but slightly curious.
"Well, Oliver had promised to cook dinner but apparently something more important came up." She realized too late just how bitter and snippy she sounded. Lance looked at her questioningly and was just about to say something when she hastily added: "Captain Lance this is my mother Donna Smoak, mom this is Captain Lance a close family friend of Oliver and Thea's." to stop him from asking questions she really didn't feel like answering right now. Plus, she didn't really know the answer as to where her missing boyfriend was or why he had left.
"It is nice to meet you Captain." Her mother said charming as ever while offering him her hand.
"Likewise and call me Quentin."
Felicity and Donna ordered their food soon after, and they spent the meal enjoying light conversation. The older man thankfully referred from asking questions concerning Oliver's absence. She was pretty sure it was thanks to her mother. Felicity had to admit the older blonde was a blessing right now, not that she would ever tell her or anyone, really, that. The thought had just barely crossed her mind when she unfortunately had to recount it.
"I think we should order something for Oliver and take it with us. What do you think, hon? He didn't look too good when he left." Donna sounded concerned. She could restrain herself from uttering the snippy and sarcastic comment that sprang to her mind at the last minute. Mostly because Lance seemed to take this as his cue to ask the questions he hadn't until now.
"Why what happened to Oliver?" the former detective's interest seemed to be piqued now.
"Well…" her mother started to answer, but Felicity interrupted her with an annoyed "Mom!". Both of the older adults looked taken aback by her sudden outburst, and an awkward silence followed. The quiet was made even more obvious given the comfortable atmosphere and nice conversation they had enjoyed during dinner.
Lance suddenly perked up and waved his hand toward someone behind the Smoak women. Felicity turned around just as Lance called whoever he saw over: "Laurel, Thea over here." She saw the two brunettes walk to their table. Thank God! This should lighten the mood and give them a change of subject. They sat down, and the five of them small talked for a while, her outburst and the awkward moment form before forgotten for the time being. Until the only man at the table turned to his daughter with a confused look on his face.
"Where's your sister?"
Felicity perked up at the question, suddenly wondering about the other Lance's absence. She hadn't had the chance to spend any actual time with Sara yet, and she was looking forward to it. She had missed her friend and she couldn't wait to catch her up on everything that had happened in the last year. The blonde then noticed the strange look Laurel and Thea were exchanging, wondering what that was all about.
"Please tell me she hasn't already managed to get herself in trouble again."
It looked like Quentin had noticed the silent conversation between the two brunettes, too.
"No, dad, she's not in any trouble. At least she wasn't when we left. It has been a couple of hours though. She's at home." Laurel explained, yet not really. Why would Sara stay home and not join the other two for dinner? It seemed strange to her Sara was close with both Laurel and Thea. Why wouldn't she want to spend time with them? Plus Sara loved burgers, so her staying home instead of coming with them made no sense to her at all.
"Speaking of a couple of hours… how much longer do you think we should wait before going home?" Thea looked at Laurel questioningly. And Felicity's confusion was just getting worse with everything any of the two said. What was going on?
"I don't know. But I guess I'd wait another hour, or maybe two? I really don't want to intrude, and I think they really need this Thea." Laurel sounded slightly concerned.
"Yeah, I get that. I mean, I really don't want to interrupt them. I just… Do you really think a couple of hours is enough? I've never… god, I've never seen either of them like this. I just… what if it can't be fixed? They looked so broken, Laurel." Oliver's little sister was very emotional and appeared to be close to bursting into tears. Laurel reached out and took one of her hands in hers and looked at her in understanding.
What were they talking about? Who were they talking about? Well, Sara obviously, but who was the other person? Sin? Or maybe Nyssa? Did she know Sara was alive? Felicity felt completely lost with the conversation, and a quick glance around confirmed that her mom and Quentin were in the same boat as her.
"Thea…" Laurel started in a very serious but warm voice. "I'm honestly not sure that this is something that can be fixed. Neither can they. Look… maybe Nyssa and Malcom were right." Felicity straightened up at that. Why would anyone EVER agree with anything either of those two people said? So, Nyssa maybe… but Malcom? And why would Laurel of all people agree with him? What was going on here?
"Don't get me wrong. I love having Sara back and I missed her so much, but I never considered what this would mean for her. The consequences this would have for her. And that she won't talk to any of us about it because she doesn't want to bother us or make us feel bad or guilty or carrying the burden of the consequences of our actions. But I'm sure, now more than ever, that if anyone can help her, it's Ollie. I think he might be the only person she'd actually open up to. As for Oliver… I think he's going to be okay, eventually. It took seeing them together tonight for me to realize that Oliver never dealt with loosing Sara. He was so focused on helping us come to terms with her absence and dealing with everything that was going on at the time that he just pushed all of his feelings aside and never took the time to say goodbye. Which I'm sure was the reason for his uncharacteristically emotional state from earlier. I guess it hadn't sunk in yet that she's really back until he actually held her in his arms." Laurel took her time and seemed very thoughtful during her explanation and the conclusion she had reached after watching Oliver's reaction to her sister and chose her words carefully given Donna's presence.
Laurel's words reminded her of Oliver's over a year ago, after Sara had died.
"If I grieve nobody gets to."
And she felt like someone had just punched her in the stomach. She should have been there for him. Should've helped him grieve after everything with the League was over. This was Sara that they were talking about. Oliver's Sara. She knew how much the other blonde meant to him. It was all so obvious now. How had she not seen this before? Of course, her resurrection would have an impact on him, and he wasn't okay. And all she had done the last couple of days was snap at him and subconsciously blame him for what happened to Ray and why she hadn't been there to help her ex-boyfriend. And Oliver had taken it all and tried to help her. Being patient and understanding. Pushing his own feelings aside, as usual. She had been such a bitch to him instead of the person he could count and lean on in this situation. She should've been there for him. She should've realized that he wasn't just going to be fine.
"You've seen Oliver?" The question came out of her mouth without thinking. Of course, they've seen Oliver. They just mentioned that. "Is he okay?" and the stupid questions just kept on coming. Felicity could've hit herself when she saw Thea and Laurel exchange another one of those looks.
"He will be eventually. I think. And yeah, he showed up at our place a while ago to see Sara." Laurel answered her questions but seemed unsure whether she should. Felicity was just about to ask another question when Laurel continued: "Look Felicity I get that you probably have some questions given the conversation Thea and I just had… but it's not our place to answer those, not that we really have the answers. Both Oliver and Sara are very private people that don't like to share their emotions, you know that. Thea and I inadvertently ended up witnessing a very private moment between them that neither one would've let happen had they been in a different state of mind." Laurel seemed to choose her words very carefully to ensure that she wasn't saying too much. And violate their privacy.
Felicity's breath suddenly hitched at the words "very private moment… neither one would've let happen" what had happened between her boyfriend and his ex-girlfriend? They wouldn't, right? And definitely not in front of their respective sister. But then again Laurel had said that they "inadvertently had witnessed…" which means they hadn't meant to. So maybe Oliver and Sara hadn't been aware of their presence? Part of her felt bad having those thoughts and questioning both her boyfriend and her friend. But given the fact that she knew their history and how Oliver and Sara had started out as an affair, could people really blame her for having thoughts along that line? But they were young back then. They wouldn't do that now, right? Oliver loved her. Sara was her friend. Felicity's eyes strayed to Laurel for a moment. Oliver had loved Laurel, everyone knew that. And Sara had been her sister. Her mind couldn't help but go to that place even more so after it reminded her of the way she had treated her boyfriend the last couple of weeks. But they wouldn't… would they?
