thank you for the reviews! :3

heads up that artemis does doctor-y shit in this chapter. i am very much not a doctor so plz take what i wrote with a grain of salt i tried my best lol.

disclaimer: i don't own arrow and artemis is an original take on a canon DC character.

"You look like you could use this."

Artemis looked up from her paperwork, blinking in surprise. Oliver was standing at the desk in front of her, holding a paper bag and a coffee cup. Artemis frowned. The last time she'd seen him was at the opening of the Robert Queen Memorial Applied Science Center. She'd texted him a few times since then, getting responses at various intervals.

She couldn't really keep up with Oliver's mood swings, but she supposed she couldn't blame him for them either.

Shaking her head, Artemis looked at the pastry bag again. Her mouth watered at the familiar scent.

"Is that - "

"A chocolate croissant and latte with skim and an extra shot from Quinn's Coffee?" Oliver placed it on the table in front of Artemis and pushed it towards her. "Yes."

"You are amazing," Artemis said with a happy sigh, pulling the paper bag towards her. She spotted Diggle in the hallway, and gave the man a cheery wave and grin. He nodded back at her, a faint smile flickering over his face.

Diggle didn't think particularly highly of his client, or his friend, Tommy, and he similarly disapproved of Thea Queen's carefree party attitude that had led her into a scrape with the police just that morning. In contrast, Artemis Merlyn seemed driven and hardworking.

Artemis pulled the warm pastry out of the bag, biting into it rapidly. She hadn't eaten since breakfast, and it was late afternoon.

Her shift was almost over, and she was counting the minutes until she could get back to Tommy's, order some Chinese takeout and watch TV. Tommy had told her that he and Oliver would be out clubbing that night - research, he'd called it, because apparently Oliver wanted to open up his own night club in the Glades, in an abandoned Queen Consolidated building.

"What are you doing here?" Artemis mumbled around a mouthful of flakey pastry and chocolate. She swallowed her bite, taking a sip of coffee. "Not that I don't appreciate the snacks."

She eyed Oliver as he settled himself on the edge of her desk.

"I just wanted to stop by," Oliver replied. "I figured Diggle and I could give you a ride home. Tommy mentioned you walked this morning." He glanced around the dim office.

It was cramped, barely big enough for the two desks wedged in the small room. It wasn't Artemis's own office, Starling General didn't have enough funds to give every resident doctor their own office. However, Starling General also wasn't the most popular residency program around, and there were only three other doctors in residence who worked with Artemis. Usually their shifts worked out well enough that there was only two of them working at the same time, and even on the rare occasion three or all of them were working, they managed to stagger their paperwork so that they weren't all trying to use the office at once.

Right now, Artemis was the only one there.

"Thanks, I appreciate it," she replied. She waved a hand at the small room. "Well, welcome to my humble abode. I'm almost done here." She filed some of her paperwork, sorting the incomplete files from the completed ones. She stacked the manila folders on the edge of the desk. "Let me run to the bathroom real quick."

Artemis ducked out of the office, and Oliver watched her down the hall and stole a quick glance at Diggle. The bodyguard's eyes were locked on Oliver, and he smiled his devil-may-care grin at the other man. Diggle's expression didn't change, and Oliver turned back around, pretending to look at his phone.

This was the moment he'd been waiting for, his real motivation for coming.

Sliding his hand across the desk slowly, so that Diggle wouldn't be able to tell what he was doing, Oliver snagged a folder from Artemis's incomplete section. He flipped it open on the desk and skimmed the notes. She'd done surgery on one of James Holder's security guards a few nights ago, and was still in the process of completing all the paperwork.

James Holder was a corrupt businessman who made his fortune on exploiting others. His most recent heartless action was installing defective smoke alarms in low incoming housing in the Glades. Oliver, dressed as the Hood, had gone to have a conversation with Holder last night, but the man had been killed by a hired gun before Oliver has gotten any answers out of him.

Oliver hadn't seen the sniper, but the shooter had clipped Oliver in the arm and taken out Holder's men before fleeing.

A medical anomaly had saved one of the security guards life. The man had a reversed heart that had stopped him from dying from the gunshot. He was currently in the hospital recuperating, his recovery made more difficult by the presence of poison in the bullet.

Oliver's own bullet wound throbbed, and he grimaced. He'd cut it too close with his own scrape with the poison. But now he needed to figure out what kind of poison this bullet contained; it would be key for finding the shooter.

Blue eyes running down the neat scrawl of Artemis's notes, he found what he was looking for.

"...after surgery, patient presented with dilated pupils and respiratory distress. Further examination revealed complications to be toxic; testing confirmed the poison present in the bullet as curare. Patient was administered with Neostigmine, an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor and is expected to make a full recovery..."

Oliver closed the folder, committing what he'd read to memory. Curare. Now he just had to track it.

He slid the file back into its place just as Artemis rounded the corner back to her office and smiled at her as she walked back in and began to gather her things.

"Ready to go?"

Artemis's phone was buzzing as it rung, getting precariously closer to the edge of her bedside table as it moved with every vibration. Artemis lunged across the bed from where she'd been standing at the entrance to the en-suite bathroom of Tommy's guest room, fresh out of a shower.

Snatching it up, Artemis peered at the screen. It was her father.

Frowning slightly, Artemis held the phone up to her ear.

"Dad?" she said hesitantly.

"Artemis!" Her father sounded pleasantly surprised that she'd picked up. She supposed both of them were too used to dodging each other's calls. "Hi, sweetie. How are you feeling?" Artemis frowned. She walked over to her dresser, putting her phone on speaker as she picked up her comb and began running it through her still-wet hair.

"I'm fine." She paused, guessing that he hadn't just called to check in on her. Still, she wished. "What's up, Dad?"

"Well..." Malcolm hesitated, and Artemis's heart sank. "There's a benefit tonight, an auction for Unidac Industries." Artemis distantly remembered hearing about that auction on the news. Walter Steele, Oliver's stepfather, was bidding on Unidac on the behalf of Queen Consolidated, and it didn't surprise her that her father was trying to make a move as well.

"Tommy said he had plans," Malcolm continued, "But I was hoping you'd want to come."

Artemis frowned slightly. She was all set to rattle off an excuse - a night shift, even though she'd literally just gotten back from the hospital - when her father continued.

"I'd like us to be closer, Artemis. I know I missed a lot of your childhood, and nothing I can do will ever be able to make up for that. But I want to be there for you now. I want to spend time with you." Artemis bit the inside of her cheek, conflict warring in her mind.

Going to an auction was about the last thing she wanted to do, but when she thought about, the other option of staying home by herself wasn't much more appealing. Every little noise still made her jump.

And besides...maybe she had to start meeting her father halfway. Maybe he really was ready to start being present in their lives, if only they'd let him.

Or maybe she was an idiot. But she couldn't help herself.

"Okay," Artemis said finally. She studied herself in the mirror. "I need to get ready. Text me the address?"

"I'll come pick you up on my way from the office," Malcolm said. Artemis frowned.

"No, don't worry about it," she said dismissively. "I was at the hospital, I need to shower and pick an outfit. Don't want to make you late." She was lying, of course. She'd just showered, and the clothes she'd brought to Tommy's limited her options for what to wear, which would make it easy for her to get ready. But she wasn't ready for an awkward car ride with her dad.

"Alright," Malcolm agreed. "It's at the Exchange Building. The auction starts at 8:30." Artemis glanced at her phone as the text came through. It was close to Tommy's apartment, only a ten minute drive. She'd only be a little late.

"Sounds good," Artemis replied. "See you there." Malcolm murmured an assent before hanging up, and Artemis stared at the phone.

She couldn't remember the last time one of them had said "I love you" to the other, but somehow it still hurt.

Artemis followed the sound of talking and laughter through the hallways of the building the auction was being held. She glanced around for her father, trying to catch sight of him through the crowd.

Someone grabbed her elbow, making her jump. Artemis spun around, her breath catching and then letting out when she realized it was Oliver.

"When did you get so quiet?" she demanded, placing a hand over her racing heart.

"What are you doing here?" Oliver asked. He seemed tense, his eyes flicking around the room. Artemis chalked it up to him still getting used to being around so many people, but a flicker of a frown crossed her face at his tone of voice.

"My dad asked me to come," she replied, casting another look around the room. He was still nowhere to be seen. She glanced at her phone, trepidation curling in her stomach as she saw the unread text from her dad. She clicked onto the message, her heart sinking.

Dad: Got caught up at the office - one of my associates will make the bid if I miss the auction. I'll see you at the banquet after?

"Figures," Artemis muttered under her breath. She crossed her arms over her chest, debating whether or not she should leave. She truly couldn't be less interested in the auction itself. She was never going to work Merlyn Global Group; she had no interest in business. That would be Tommy's birthright, if he ever got his act together. She'd come only to support her father - because he'd asked her to come, and he was a no-show.

Like always.

Then again, she didn't want to go home to an empty apartment.

"What's wrong?" Oliver asked.

"He's not coming," Artemis said with a sigh. She took a glass of champagne from a nearby table and sipped it sulkily. "Or he's late, I guess." As usual.

"Go home," Oliver urged her, too desperate for her to be out of here to care if he was being rude. She gave him a surprised look, and then her expression hardened.

"Nah," she replied, flipping her long hair over her shoulder. She drained her champagne and placed the glass back on the table, where it was whisked away by a nearby waiter. She picked up another drink and headed away from Oliver. "I'd rather get drunk on free champagne."

"Artemis - " Oliver started after her, his heart skipping a beat when he heard her next words.

"Thea! Moira!" Oliver's eyes went wide as he saw Artemis walk up to his mother and sister, hugging them both. He'd expected his mother might be there, but he hadn't thought Thea would be. He couldn't keep them all safe - he needed to get them out of there.

All of them in an open space while the sniper Deadshot perched somewhere, concealed, waiting to make his move. Of course, Walter and the other buyers were really the targets, but there was a high chance of the others getting caught in the crossfire.

Oliver quickened his step, weaving through people to reach the three women. He caught Diggle's eye, waving over his bodyguard.

"Oliver!" Moira said, breaking from her conversation with Artemis. She smiled at her son, pleased and shocked that he'd come. "What a wonderful surprise." Artemis looked at Oliver quizzically. His expression had gone from tense to completely panicked. He didn't respond to his mother, instead looking at Diggle as the man approached, also looking confused.

"I need you to get them out of here right now," Oliver said, dead serious.

"Oliver, what is - " Before Artemis could finish her question, a loud noise made her jump. She whirled around, her mouth falling open as she saw Detective Lance and Walter hitting the ground several feet away. Next to them was a waiter, dressed in a white tux, red spreading from his suit jacket and pooling on the ground around him.

Lance had tackled Walter, saving him from a bullet, and the shot had hit the waiter instead.

There was a moment of stunned silence, and then another shot fired, hitting a woman on the shoulder. She shrieked, falling to the ground, and pandemonium broke out.

Distantly, Artemis was aware of Oliver shouting, ushering his mother and Thea away from the windows.

"Artemis!" Oliver appeared at her side again, scanning her. "Are you okay?" She ripped her eyes away from the people lying on the ground, staring at Oliver. He didn't wait for her response, grabbing her by the hand and pulling her towards Moira, Thea, and Diggle.

"Where's Walter?" Moira asked, looking around desperately as she tried to find her husband. Oliver looked around as well, catching sight of Walter moving across the room with Lance, crouched down to avoid being seen by the shooter.

"Walter's fine," Oliver replied.

"Sir, I need to get you out of here," Diggle said, grabbing Oliver's arm. Oliver was already backing away, pointing at the three women. Artemis grabbed for his arm, confusion washing over her. Why was he leaving?

"No, them! Them!" Oliver insisted to Diggle, before he took off. Artemis's hand closed around empty air, and Diggle sighed, beginning to escort the three of them away. Moira protested, calling out her son's name and trying to follow him.

"I'll find him, ma'am, I'll find him," Diggle insisted.

Artemis was aware of her heart pounding as Diggle left the three women in the care of the police officers, who were trying to calm the crowd and keep everyone safe. They'd been moved into the auction room, away from all the windows. As people rushed in, officers began to barricade the doors leading to the exits, leaving the ones from the banquet hall open so the people still streaming in could get to safety.

She sank into a chair, pressing a hand to her chest as she took a deep breath. She was trying to control her breathing when a panicked shout split through the air.

"Someone, please, help! My wife - she's bleeding, she's been - " the man choked on the word shot, his breath catching as he lowered his wife to the ground. Even from a distance, Artemis could see the blood spreading from the woman's leg.

Before she even knew what she was doing, Artemis was on her feet, moving towards the couple.

"Let me through!" she shouted as people crowded around. "Let me through, I'm a doctor!"

The crowd parted for her, and she raced over to the woman, dropping to her knees. She moved on autopilot. The woman was still conscious, and when Artemis checked her pulse, it was racing fast but strong. She took a deep breath.

"Okay, come here," she said to the husband. "Take off your jacket, and put pressure on the bleeding." He obeyed her, stripping off his jacket and pressing it to his wife's thigh. She moaned in pain and he flinched. Artemis soothed both of them. "I know it hurts," she said, making her shaking voice as gentle as possible. "It's going to be okay, I promise." She glanced at the husband. "Put all your weight on it."

Artemis took stock of the situation, her training coming back to her and taking the forefront of her mind away from her own terror.

"I need a tie," she said. The husband moved as if to take his off, but she shook her head. "Don't stop applying pressure!" She turned to the person nearest to her, and the man was already unwinding his tie from his neck. She took it from him, nodding her thanks. She looked around the room. One of the police officers, already knowing what she was looking for, held out a pen.

Artemis took the pen and the tie and began to wind the tie around the woman's leg, using the pen to tighten the bandage. The tourniquet would help slow the bleeding.

Artemis glanced at the grandfather clock near by, noting the time and committing it to memory. Leaving a tourniquet on for too long was dangerous, so she had to make sure she knew when she'd put the bandage on.

"Hi," Artemis said, looking down at the woman. She smiled at her as gently as possible, pleased to see she was still conscious. "My name's Artemis," she said soothingly. "I'm a trauma surgeon at Starling General. And you're going to be just fine." It was true, Artemis thought. The woman's injuries, while serious, weren't life threatening if she got help soon. As long as the police cleared the area that night...

The woman gritted her teeth, looking up at Artemis through tear-filled eyes.

"What's your name, miss?" Artemis asked calmly, trying to get her patient to focus on something other than the pain she was feeling.

"C - Carol," the woman whispered, taking a deep shuddering breath. "Thank you."

"Of course," Artemis murmured.

As they waited for help to arrive, Artemis sat by the woman and her husband, holding her hand and talking to them both quietly. To her abject relief, the sniper was quickly apprehended, and the police had cleared the area and brought in paramedics within the hour.

As EMTs surrounded Carol and began to work on her, Artemis gave a list of hurried information.

"Bullet to the bottom of the left thigh, just above the knee. It shattered her femur but missed the femoral artery. She never lost consciousness, the tourniquet was applied 31 minutes ago. Blood type is A negative." She followed them out to the ambulance, making sure Carol was safely loaded up in one of the emergency vehicles before she relaxed.

As the ambulance drove away, sirens wailing, Artemis heaved a deep sigh and turned around slowly. People were milling about, talking to paramedics and police officers. She spotted Moira, Thea and Walter talking to Detective Lance, but Oliver was nowhere in sight.

Worry welled in her chest as she realized she hadn't seen him since the shooting. He could be hurt, or worse.

Pulling her phone out of her pocket, Artemis dialed his phone number, counting the rings slowly. To her relief, Oliver picked up before it went to voicemail.

"Ollie," she breathed out. "Where are you? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he replied. He sounded distracted. "Diggle found me, he got me out."

"Where are you?" Artemis repeated. Before Oliver could respond, she heard someone shouting her name. When she turned around, a confusing rush of anger and relief surged through her when she saw her father.

"Artemis!" he shouted again, rushing up to her. Artemis could hear Oliver on the other end, but she was focused on her dad as he rushed up to her, scanning her up and down. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," Artemis muttered, turning away from her father. She was distantly aware that the call to Oliver has disconnected, but she was too focused on her father to respond.

"You're bleeding - "

"I'm a doctor," Artemis snapped at him. "I was helping someone." Relief washed over Malcolm's face, but angry as she was, Artemis couldn't resist a jibe at her father. "Not that I'd expect you to know that," she said coolly, crossing her arms over her chest. "When have you actually been to one of my graduations, huh?" Malcolm's face twisted.

"Artemis..." he sighed, reaching out for her again. Artemis took a step back, glaring at him.

"I was here for you," she told him, her voice cold with fury. She blinked, her vision becoming blurry as tears filled her eyes. "What did you tell me last week? That I'd never be in danger again? That you wouldn't let it happen?" Malcolm flinched, but Artemis continued. "Well, guess what, Dad! You're doing a real stand-up job of keeping that promise."

Artemis was quiet for a moment, taking deep breaths as she struggled to calm down. Finally, she looked up at her father again, her eyes filled with tears.

"Where were you?" she whispered, her anger leaving her voice as her fear took over.

Malcolm closed his eyes. God, that question...that question had haunted him for years.

Where was he when his wife was dying of a gunshot wound in the Glades?

Where was he when Tommy and Artemis grew up without him, learning to resent him on the way?

Where was he when Artemis was in danger?

"I'm sorry," Malcolm whispered in response, his voice shaking. He reached for his daughter again, and she stood stiffly in his embrace as he wrapped his arms around here. "I'm so sorry."

Artemis closed her eyes, trembling as she let out a shuddering breath. Once again, she felt conflicted. She didn't doubt that her father's apology was sincere - he was usually so composed, to see him even slightly shaken meant that truly did feel bad about what had happened. And she knew logically it wasn't her dad's fault what had happened that night.

But she was still angry at him. She couldn't help it.

"I'm going home," she said stiffly, turning away from Malcolm. She had only walked a few paces away when her dad called out to her again.

"Artemis, wait." She paused, turning back to look at her father over her shoulder. Malcolm took a deep breath. "I want you to be safe," he said, walking up to his daughter again. She scoffed, expecting him to say he was going to hire security for her, which she was ready to steadfastly refuse. She had no idea how the hospital would react to her bringing a bodyguard with her on all her shifts and surgeries, and she didn't want to find out.

"Dad, I'm not - "

"Maybe you'll consider taking self defense lessons," Malcolm said in a rush, shocking Artemis into silence, "I could hire a trainer."

Malcolm was an active man, and for as long as Artemis could remember, he'd been training. Fencing, mostly, but she knew he'd taken boxing lessons and assorted other martial arts when she'd been younger. She remembered the instructors coming to their house.

"Self defense lessons?" Artemis raised her eyebrows and scoffed again. "What the hell is knowing how to throw a punch going to do against a bullet?" Malcolm dipped his head.

"I understand that," he said quietly. "But the training I'm thinking of - it won't just be showing you how to fight. It's going to show you how to protect yourself, no matter what the situation is." Artemis frowned, confused.

Taking her silence and scowl as a mutinous response, Malcolm sighed.

"You don't have to say yes," he told her. "But please...just tell me you'll think about it." Malcolm looked at his daughter, and Artemis was shocked by the raw pain in his eyes. "If there's anything I can do to make you safer," he said, his voice soft and ragged. "I want it."

Artemis thought of how scared she'd felt facing the Hood, when the intruders had broken into her apartment. She remembered Diggle and the white haired woman fighting. She thought about how helpless and terrified and frozen she'd been tonight when the shooting started. She hadn't known what to do, not until she was faced with saving a patient's life. Not until she could focus on her medical training, and forget to think. Artemis thought of her mother, dying alone and scared after being mugged in the Glades.

Artemis wondered if it would be the same with self defense training. If reacting to a dangerous situation would come so naturally to her, she'd forget to be frightened.

Rebecca hadn't taken self defense classes. And maybe they wouldn't have helped her if she had known how to fight. But come to think of it...Malcolm's obsession with learning to fight had started after Rebecca's death, after he'd been away for two years - business, he told Tommy and Artemis, when they knew what he really meant was grieving.

"Okay," Artemis said. She hadn't even realized she'd spoken until she heard her own voice. Malcolm blinked, looking at his daughter in surprise. He hadn't expected her to change her mind so quickly, for the anger to bleed out of her so suddenly .

"Okay?" he repeated. Artemis nodded, her eyes turning steely.

"I'll learn," she replied, tilting her head to the side. She didn't look excited or happy - her face was almost grim. "Whatever you want me to, I'll learn."

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