Panting. Grunting. Oliver ran through the dense brush. His legs aching, his lungs burning, his hands pushing away the bushes and conifers in his path. He was almost out, almost at the edge, endorphins firing in his brain. Finally, he burst through the brush and finally laid eyes on his target…

The Queen Mansion.

Skipping past the groundskeepers, he ran all the way up to his room. There she was, still lying in bed, as beautiful as ever. Kara Danvers. Luckily, she was awake.

"Good morning," she said, as he entered.

"Morning," replied Oliver, walking over to her side.

"How was your morning run?" she asked, turning to face him.

"How about I tell you about it in the shower?" asked Oliver, kissing her forehead.

"Sounds good to me," she said, as she got up and walked to the bathroom with him.

Oliver got out of the shower first, wrapping the towel around his lower body before handing Kara a towel for herself. She came out with same glowing smile that she nearly always had, the one that made him like everything in the world was alright.

"Kara Danvers," said Oliver cherishingly as she walked towards him, "Will you marry me?"

"I think I already answered that question," she said, giggling as she lifted her left hand, displaying the diamond on her ring her. She sprung towards him as they kissed for several seconds, savouring every moment. "I'm going to get ready, my sisters should be here soon."

Oliver always found it cute that Kara referred to Laurel and Sara as her sisters. She was the only child and after her parents died when she was 16, Quentin offered to take her in and care for her since she had no other family. The Lances were the closest thing she had to siblings.

Oliver couldn't believe that he was marrying her in less than 48 hours. He didn't know why, but for the first time in a long time, he felt at peace.

"You didn't have to get me a gift, Speedy," said Oliver, as he and Thea sat together in one of the living rooms.

"It's just a little pre-rehearsal dinner gesture," she replied

"Well, little is right," remarked Oliver as he pulled out the… rock? The rock from the small gift box. He looked at it intensely. It seemed oddly familiar. Perhaps it just resembled something he saw at a gift shop a long time ago.

"It's called a Hozen. It symbolizes reconnecting like you did with Kara."

"Thea, it's a rock."

"It's a very thoughtful gesture from your amazingly loving sister."

"Thank you," said Oliver, feeling a little bad for not showing more appreciation towards her.

"Yeah. That's better."

"Well, what's going on here?" said Moira as she and Robert walked in.

"Thea gave me a rock," said Oliver as he stood up.

"Haha! Let's go, champ. You got a 6:00 appointment at the tailor's, got to fight traffic," said Robert.

"Oh, dad, you know I'm not much of a fighter."

"Tell that to the paparazzi you punched," remarked Thea mischievously.

"10 years ago," said Oliver, throwing his hands up in protest.

"Still."

"Might as well be a lifetime. You're practically a completely different person. You both are," said Moira proudly.

"Don't start crying again, mom. Just save all the tears for the actual wedding," said Thea.

"I think what your mother's trying to say is that both of us feel blessed to have watched the two of you grow up," said Robert, as a maid walked in with a tray full of tea cups. She slipped and a vase fell forward off the tray. In a matter of milliseconds, Oliver's hand reflexively whipped forward, catching the vase.

"Whoa! Sweet reflexes," said Thea.

How the hell did I do that? Thought Oliver to himself.

Just as Oliver and Robert were exiting the front door, a black Rolls Royce pulled up in front of them, and despite the black-tinted windows making it impossible for him to see who was inside, Oliver still cracked a smile for he knew exactly who was inside the car.

"Oliver Queen," said the bearded man as he got out of the car.

"Tommy Merlyn," replied Oliver before embracing his long-time friend. Oliver always thought a full beard suited the now older, more mature Tommy, just as Oliver's tapered crew cut suited him now much more than the mop that he used to have in his playboy days. The door on the far side of the car opened and Oliver's smile grew even larger when he saw who stepped out.

"Hey Ollie," said Laurel as she then hugged Oliver.

"It's so great to see both of you," said Oliver.

"My best friend is getting married. I wouldn't miss this for the world," said Tommy cheerfully.

'I wouldn't miss this for the world…'

Suddenly, Oliver was feeling tremendously light-headed. Momentarily the strength of his legs left him as visions started flashing in front of his eyes.

Oliver, Tommy, Moira, Walter Steele…

Another one… Tommy on a hospital bed… the sound of a heart rate monitor flatlining…

"Ollie, are you okay?" said Laurel, snapping Oliver out of his vision.

But just as soon as he was snapped out, he was snapped back in.

Laurel on a hospital bed too… A clock… 11:59

Finally, Oliver pulled himself back into reality and regained his composure.

"Is everything okay man?" asked Tommy as he concernedly put a hand on Oliver's shoulder.

"Uhh, yeah. I just… remembered something," said Oliver, forcing a smile, "Anyways, I've got a tailor appointment. I'll see you both later"

Oliver pondered as he and Robert walked towards their car. What were those memory flashes? Visions? Dreams? Whatever they were, they felt extraordinarily real. He chalked them up to some bad dreams in his subconscious that he remembered upon seeing Tommy and Laurel. Or at least, that's what he was trying to convince himself.

"How much luggage did you bring? What, do you think you're moving in?" said Laurel sarcastically as she helped offload the multiple bags from the car.

"Oh, I wish!" said Sara, laughing as she ran and hugged Laurel.

"I miss you," said Laurel

"I miss you, too. This is beautiful," remarked Sara, spotting the pendant on Laurel's neck.

"Thanks. Tommy got it for me," replied Laurel.

"Is it a bird?"

"It's a canary."

Canary…

Sara jumped back from Laurel, startled. Canary…

"Sara?" said Laurel, concerned. Sara jumped back into Laurel's arms, embracing her even tighter than she did the first time.

"It's just that I missed you."