The Second Quest

Part 3

Recovery and Relationships

All characters are the property of DC comics. Except maybe the candy striper.

For the next twenty four hours Oliver Queen drifted in and out of consciousness. He was aware of Kyle and Wally as well as Clark and Lois stopping by to see him, but the comforting blackness of rest would soon envelope him and he would be gone again. It was only once that he truly became conscious and listened to the discussion of Dinah, Roy, Mia and Connor.

"A coma?" Roy was whispering in disbelief. "Somebody poisoned Vertigo and now he's in a coma. Well I find that pretty convenient, don't you?"

Dinah nodded, "It's definitely not coincidence."

"So now what?" Mia asked impatiently. "We sure can't stand around here and do nothing."

Ollie grinned at her inpatients, There were times that she reminded him so much of both himself and Roy that it was unbelievable. She was part of the Arrow family through and through, and every day he loved her more and more like a daughter.

"That's exactly what we're going to do," Connor replied.

"What?"

"Connor's right, Mia," Roy said trying to calm her down. "Somebody tried to kill Ollie and that somebody will probably try again. He's not out of the woods yet and if someone got in here now…well, it's up to us to protect him.

"I don't need to be protected," Oliver tried to yell, but it came out hoarse and weak

They all turned to him and Canary smiled, "Of course old timer. Why if Deathstroke and the Cheetah came bursting through those doors right now you could probably take them in seconds flat."

"Well you don't have to be mean about it," he grumbled and let unconsciousness flood over him again.

When he awoke again he was in pain and the room was dark, except for a small light that hovered in the corner of the room. He looked up to see Connor relaxed in a chair with a book and a book-light. He tried to ignore the pain, he did not want to press that damn button and have another dose of painkillers in his system. What he wanted was to heal so that he could find the son of a bitch that did this to him.

Looking at Connor he also had a wave of guilt wash over him. Of everyone in his "family", it was Connor that he felt the most distant with, and yet it was Connor that was also his flesh and blood. He had only got to know him for a short time before he died. I bet not everyone has had a thought like that, and he started to chuckle at himself. The pain intensified and he stifled a cry.

It was enough for Connor to put his book down and come over quickly, "You alright?"

Ollie nodded and cursed as he hit the button and immediately began to feel a little better. "Just ticks me off that I'm lying here," he replied. "I'm going to catch this guy if it's the last thing I do."

Connor tried to change the subject the best way he knew how, "Oh, by the way, Mr. Wayne called to tell you that he hopes you recover soon and if there is anything that he can do for you, to just let him know."

"That's sweet," Ollie mumbled as the medication clearly began to take effect.

"He also said that this would never have happened to him."

Oliver's eyes that had been half shut popped open and he started to laugh until the it became painful, "That sob. Of course he would never get shot in the back, he just gets his broken."

"He did seem genuinely concerned, though."

"Yah, well he can be a good guy when he wants to."

There was a silence that lingered too long and finally Ollie turned his head and saw a tear coming down Connors cheek.

"Hey, what's that all about? Cut it out, I'm still here."

"I know," he said sucking it up. "It's just that this time felt even more real then the last. We've finally got back on track, you and I, and I thought we were going to lose you again."

The elder bowman swallowed hard, "Not going to happen for a long time…son. Obviously I wasn't wanted up there the first time so I'm sure they're not in that big of a hurry to have me coming back. Listen, Connor, I know I don't say it enough, but…well…um…you're a good kid and I'm prouder then you'll ever know that you are my son."

Connor grinned and wicked grin, "Those drugs are working, aren't they?"

Ollie smiled back at him, "Oh yeah."

For a long time they stayed like that, the only light being the moon's beams that shown through the window. Eventually Oliver fell back to sleep and Connor resumed his studies.

It was still dark when Oliver woke up again but the moon's rays had shifted considerably. He looked around and saw Mia sleeping in the chair next to him. He reached out and touched her hand gently.

She jerked up and had almost reached for her bow when it finally registered what had happened. She quickly went from anger to concern.

"You ok?" she whispered.

"Yes, and what the hell are you doing here in the middle of the night? Who's bright idea was that?"

She grinned in spite of herself, "Roy's. He said it's part of the initiation when you join this family. Connor agreed and Dinah wouldn't help me out, so here I am."

"Wait until I get my hands on him. He's knows better then that. If anyone needs there sleep it's…"

"Don't go there," she warned and her face clouded over. "You've rarely done it in the past and you've never won when you did. I'm a big girl and I know how to take care of myself. In fact from where I'm sitting I look better off then you do."

He was about to reply but snapped his mouth shut. He really couldn't argue with her on that one. He did worry a lot more then he let on when it came to her, though. Sometimes he couldn't remember why he gave in and let her become the new Speedy. She should be out with other girls her age shopping and talking about boys, not throwing on a mask and going after psychopaths. It was just more proof that more then not, life was all about trying to kick you down, not lift you up.

"Don't," Mia whispered, looking into his eyes. "I know exactly what you're thinking and I'm telling you right now that I would live my entire life over the same way to get to this point, so don't even think all those thing you're thinking."

GA grinned, "You think you know me so well."

"Oh, I know you better then a lot of people do. Well, with one possible exception, but we'll wait until you're stronger to get into that conversation. Now go back to sleep so I can to, and if Roy asks, I was awake the entire time and pacing…got it?

He nodded and another smile crept over his face. Without another word he slipped once more into the dream world and dreamed of his time in that other place, before he was resurrected.

He was jerked awake by a duty nurse who was busy doing what they paid her for. He gave her a dirty look for waking him up, but she went on as if she hadn't even noticed. He sighed and realized that although there was still a great deal of pain, it wasn't as intense as it had been through out the night. He turned his head and saw Dinah leaning against the wall watching him with a look he couldn't quite make out.

"Well hello there, bird lady."

She smiled a sad smile and walked up to the side of his bed and took his hand. He responded and squeezed it tight as they stayed that way until the nurse had left. Her eyes never left his and he almost became over whelmed with emotion. He hid it, of course, with one of his lopsided grins.

"What's a pretty bird like you doing in a place like this."

"Wondering why I can't have you in my life and why I can't have my life without you in it."

"Oh…honesty, ok." He was starting to wish that he hadn't woken up yet. Something else to blame the nurse on, he thought. "I didn't mean to give you such a scare."

She waved his comment away with a flip of her hair and let go of his hand, "This is nothing," she said with a low chuckle. "You and I have been dancing to the tune of death's door so many times that we can do it blindfolded. No, it's just…"

The silence became deafening until he finally he replied quietly, "Yah, I know. Listen my pretty bird…"

"Stop calling me that," she said through gritted teeth and yet in a whisper. "You know I am not your pretty bird anymore. Call me Dinah or Black Canary or just Canary or even 'hey you', but stop calling me by that name!"

His heart skipped a beat. All he saw in her eyes now was anger and hurt and he didn't know what to say. He knew how he felt, what he had been thinking when he was being rushed to the hospital and knew it was bad. She was the only thing on his mind and he knew he had to tell her, tell her that he still loved her and missed her, and how she was the only one who ever really got him.

"Dinah, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for…"

"Shut up!" she screamed at him, letting it all out in one huge burst. "Do not go down this road Oliver Queen, not now! I do not want to do this here, the day after you almost died…again, but I swear to you that I will if you really want me to."

This startled him. Even for Dinah this seemed a bit extreme, especially under the circumstances.

"What is going on Dinah?"

"I knew you were going to do this," she said on top of his question. "I knew as soon as you were coherent enough, you were going to use this to try to get on my good side again. Damn you Oliver Queen. How dare you do this to me. "

She came flying back to the side of his bed and her face was only inches away from his. He could smell the sweet smell of his favorite perfume and those beautiful eyes that he had gotten lost in so many times. This time, though, they were practically on fire.

"No more, Ollie. You're not doing this to me anymore," she whispered in his face so that only he could hear her, and barley at that.

"Just once, why don't you die and stay dead…do us all a favor." She jerked herself back up and walked towards the door. She stopped and turned to him one last time. "You better be careful old timer, cause next time it may be somebody a lot closer to you that shoots you…and she won't miss."

Ollie couldn't move, couldn't speak if he had wanted to. Everything had shut down from the shock of her words. His heart was racing and within seconds monitor alarms were going off. He heard people calling out and footsteps in the hall running toward him, but he could do nothing. He was trying to will himself to breath, but that wasn't working either. She had just threatened him!

He saw two nurses run in and behind them was Roy and Dinah. At the site of her again he took a deep breath and then started coughing. The nurses were trying to calm him down and one shouted for the doctor, but at the same time they couldn't figure out what was going on with him.

Ollie kept pointing at Dinah, his terror was beginning to fade away and anger was taking over rather quickly. How dare she threaten him, and yet with the anger and the horror of the scene there was still a lot of confusion in him. How could she even say something like that to him?

As the doctor came in and ordered a small sedative, his two friends moved towards him.

"What's going on old timer?" Roy asked anxiously. "Was there someone here? Did they try to harm you?"

"Her," he gasped pointing to Dinah. "She just threatened my life."

Roy looked around the room and it took a moment for him to realize that Ollie was talking about Dinah. "What are you talking about, Ollie? Dinah didn't threaten you. She's been with me since we got here half an hour ago."

Ollie looked at his ward with a look of confusion on his face. It was Dinah, he knew it was. It was her voice and her eyes and her smell. What the hell was happening to him? That was the last thought that went through his mind as he let the sedative and pain killers do there work and he slipped back into a dreamless sleep…