Moira Queen rushed through the hospital's hallways, while her mind tried to process the news. Her son, her beautiful baby boy, had been found alive, after five years since the Queen's Gambit went down. she was vaguely aware of the people staring at her, but she didn't care. She had to get to her son. Her heart beat a little faster when her eyes landed on Oliver's doctor.
"How is he?" Moira asked him the moment she was close enough.
The doctor gar her a quick run down of his condition, before closing Oliver's file. "Moira, I think you should prepare yourself. The Oliver you lost, might not be the one you found."
"I understand." She nodded.
"There is something more. He did not come alone." The man said.
"What do you mean?"
"he was found with a woman and he is very protective of her. he almost lost it when we tried to put them in different rooms. He barely leaves her out of his sight, if at all." The doctor explained.
"Have they said anything about what happened?"
"No, they haven't said a word, after we put them in the same room." The man replied.
"Thank you, Richard." Moira said gratefully to the family doctor.
"I am always available if you need anything."
"Thank you."
The man gave a final nod and left the Queen matriarch alone. Moira for her part stayed outside the room for a few minutes looking in through the glass. she could see two beds inside the room, though the one closest to the door was empty. Moira could see her son sitting on the foot of the second bed, where a female figure lay. Though he had his back to the door, she could see that Oliver clearly cared about her. she could feel it.
Taking a deep breath, Moira opened the door quietly, trying not to startle them. She reluctantly stepped in and stood on her spot, trying to find the perfect words to say. Ultimately, she found none.
"Oliver?" she whispered.
The man in question slowly turned his head towards her. upon seeing his mother, he got up and approached her and Moira pulled him in her arms. "Mom"
"My boy, my beautiful boy." She breaths "I have missed you so much."
"I missed you, too, mum." He said quietly.
"Who is the young lady with you?" Moira finally asked.
"Her name is Felicity. She was at the Gambit. Dad needed her as a consultant at the deal he was going to make. We are the only ones … she is the reason I am even alive. She is special." He said looking at her sleeping form. "I told her she could stay with us, I hope it is okay?"
"Of course, dear. I think I owe this woman more than I can express if she is the reason I have you back." She nodded.
"She really is. She was the one that found me and pulled me in the life boat." Oliver said quietly.
"Tell me about her." Moira sat on his bed, as he reclaimed his seat on Felicity's bed.
"Well, she is pretty amazing. She is a certified genius. She graduated from high school at sixteen and got a full scholarship to MIT. Three years later, she got her diploma, majoring in cyber security and computer science, top of her class no less." Oliver said proudly. "But there is so much more to her. She is kind and loving and when I needed it, she talked some sense into me. Never let me get away with any shit. She threw a coconut at my head once." He winced at the memory. Not his brightest moment.
"A coconut?" his mother asked surprised.
"I was being an ass. It was during our early days at the island. I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that dad was gone." Oliver said solemnly. "She has been my rock, all these years. I truly don't know what I would have done without her."
"I am happy that you had her with you. She sounds like a remarkable young lady." Moira said softly.
"She is. She truly is." Oliver said looking at Felicity, a small smile forming on his lips. She was awake, just pretending to be asleep to give him some time with his mother. "Do you know when they are going to discharge us?"
"No, but I will find out before I leave. I will have Raisa prepare your room and the one next to it. I heard you don't like to be far from her."
"You heard right. Though if you find us on the same bed don't be alarmed. We spent five years sleeping next to each other." He knew his mother did not particularly like what he said, but she kept quiet.
"I understand."
"Thank you." He nodded. "When is Thea coming? Do you know?"
"I though it would be best to wait until we get you back at the Manor." His mother replied.
"Mom, if it is possible, I would like to see her as soon as she is able." A hunted look covered his eyes and the woman could not deny him.
"I will take care of it." She relented.
"Thank you, mom. Really."
Moira did not stay long after that. She hugged him tightly once more and then left to make arrangements for their return to the Manor and for his sister to be brought to the hospital to visit. Oliver was excited to see his sister again.
"You can stop pretending now." He grinned at Felicity
"So, I am amazing, huh?" she grinned back.
"You are, didn't you know? I am pretty sure that I have told that before."
"Hm, maybe. So, do you want to talk about it?" she offered.
"She seems afraid around me, but I suppose it is expected. She wasn't pleased when I mentioned that we may end up in the same bed, but she should get used to it. I am not sleeping away from my wife."
"Sweetheart, we are not legally married." She placed a soft hand on his cheek. "We may have exchanged vows at Lian Yu, but it means nothing to everyone else."
"For now. Because I do not plan on leaving your finger empty for long." He said and leaned over to capture her lips.
"Just don't propose over dead fish, again." Felicity teased him.
"Don't worry. I will do it properly this time." He grinned mysteriously. He had been thinking of that moment for a long time. He wanted it to be perfect and definitely not over dead fish.
"Good, now all we have to do is put our lives back on track and save the city. Oh, did I mention that I need to get your family to like me?"
"They will love you. I think the fact that you are the only reason I am alive is good enough to make my mother love you. And speaking of mothers, what about yours? You did call her, right?"
"I did, but I don't know anything more. I would have thought that she would be here, considering that I came back from the dead and everything. But who knows what she'll do or when she will come." Her shoulders fell at the mention of her mother. Oliver knew that they never had a great relationship, but he hated to see the affect it had on his wife.
Wife. He really loved calling her that. And he could not wait to make it legal and official.
''We'll deal with whatever happens. Together.'' Oliver said firmly.
''That goes both ways.'' Felicity reminded him. ''And speaking about difficult situations, what are you going to do about Laurel?''
''I will apologize, for one. I am pretty sure she is not particularly happy that I am alive, so I don't think I will need to worry about her wanting to reconnect or something. But if she does, I will make it clear that there is no way we are getting back together.''
''I think this is a good start.'' She nodded. They had a lot of things to take care, but the Laurel issue always bothered her. She didn't like her all that much, from what Oliver had told her she wasn't jealous, but she did not approve of how she treated Oliver when they were together. Not to say that Oliver was an angel back then. Far from it.
''Sooo, when do you think Thea will visit?'' she tried to sound collected, but truth was that she was nervous about meeting the youngest Queen.
''Well, I think mom will send her over as soon as she is done with school, so in a couple of hours. And you, my love, don't need to be nervous.'' He smiled softly.
''Well, I really want her to like me, and knowing me I am bound to do something to embarrass myself. I am sure my mouth will run ahead of me.'' She groaned.
''You worry too much.'' He moved his body to take her on his lap.
''I hope you are right.'' Felicity placed her head on his shoulder.
''I am. Now, do you want to catch up on some gossip?'' he asked turning the Tv on.
''Sure, but you mister will go to your bed soon. You need to rest, too. God knows what we'll deal with until we go back to the Manor''
''Yes, ma'am'' he kissed the top of her head.
Almost three hours later, Oliver was asleep on his own hospital bed. It had taken quite a bit of convincing to get him to get some rest, that man was stubborn. Felicity for her part was trying to occupy herself by watching TV, to catch up on the latest gossip, as Oliver put it, until he woke up. Being in a hospital, back in Starling City was surreal for Felicity. She expected to wake up back at their little cave any minute now. She had dreamt about being rescued so many times, she had lost count. she had come to terms with the fact that they were going to stay at the island forever, and just when she had started letting go of the hope of being rescued, the fishermen had found them. And now they were back to Starling, together.
"Uh, hi." A soft voice brought her back from her musings. Felicity almost jumped out of the bed when she heard it. Her head snapped at the direction of the voice, the door, and she could barely believe in her eyes. A gorgeous brunette was standing here, hesitation written all over her. she knew her, even f she was five years older now. Her eyes were exactly like the photo.
"Thea" she breathed, her heart beating a little faster. She was the little girl that kept them going, kept their hope alive. She was Oliver's sister.
"Uh, you know me?"
"Well, it is the first time I meet you, but I know everything Oliver knows about you." she replied. "Come, have a seat. I promise I don't bite, but I do talk a lot. I'm Felicity, by the way. Felicity Smoak." She offered her hand, as the younger woman approached her.
"Thea Queen." She smiled softly accepting it. Looking around, she decided to sit on the chair between the two beds. "I can't believe he is here."
"I know. I expect to wake up in our cave since they found us." She admitted.
"H-How are you? Both of you?"
"Physically, we are fine. We have a lot of scars and some burns, but those will heal. We'll have to ease back in to our old food habits, but I am never eating fish ever again. I've had enough to last me two lifetimes." She laughed softly. "I think the real challenge will be to learn how to be how we were, at least socially. Not that we will ever be the same people as five years ago. I know Oliver doesn't want to be the guy he was at 23, he's said so himself."
"I think that after all you've been through, no one will expect you to be how you were."
"Well, I don't know. It will be easier for me, I think. I never had any real friends. It's been me and my mother ever since I was six, not that we had the best relationship, and I have yet to hear from her." she shrugged. "Oliver, on the other hand, had a certain lifestyle and I think that everyone will expect him to step back in to it."
"I don't want him to go back to his old habits." Thea said looking at her brother's sleeping form. "Everyone saw him as the spoilt trust fund baby that got wasted every night and expected him to end up in custody every other week, too. I really hated that side of him. He was different when he was with me, though. We had ice cream date every week and he would take me to the movies and buy me all the popcorn I could eat. I never set foot at the ice cream shop we used to go since the Gambit sank."
"He loved your ice cream dates." Felicity told her. "when we finally reached the island on the life boat, we tried to keep track of the days, so when Saturday came, well we thought it was Saturday, he left me gutting fish and went to a big rock and sat there for a good two hours. And he kept doing that every week, or island week really. It took him a few months to tell me about your Saturday ice cream dates."
"Our house keeper would bring me a bowl of ice cream every Saturday. I never ate it, so she stopped after a month or so." Thea said sadly. "I ate very little ice cream in the last five years."
"Well, prepare yourself then, because Oliver plans on resuming on the ice cream dates." Felicity tried to cheer her up.
"Really?" Thea perked up.
"One day, we were at the beach, just sitting there, I asked him what he would do if he could go back to Starling for two hours. He said, 'I'd take Thea for ice cream'."
"He would spend his two hours with me? Not Laurel?" the younger woman asked in disbelief. If Thea noticed Felicity tensing up, she didn't mention it.
"Of course, Thea. Laurel is a chapter in his life that has been sealed. They were toxic for each other, his words not mine." She said, and it saddened her to see the disbelief in her eyes. "Don't sell yourself short. Laurel was never as important as you." she shifted closer to the youngest Queen.
"It's just … how did you do it? How did you survive on your own in a deserted island for so long?" Thea asked, her voice heavy with emotion.
"It was not easy, believe me. Some days were better, somedays were worse. The first few days were especially hard. It took some time to pull Oliver from his shock. And even then, he was not the best companion in a deserted island. I threw a coconut at his head once."
"A coconut?" Thea giggled.
"Yup, he was being an ass. But after a few days we came to an understanding. We only had each other, so we would do our best to work together. Not that things were perfect after that. Oh, no. we had a big argument once and he left. I had no idea where he had gone. He was gone for hours and I was worried sick, because god knew what could have happened to him. And he had left me all alone. And I was pissed and worried. He came back when the sun began setting and I was so mad at him. I think it was the first time I ever used my loud voice at him. I yelled at him for several minutes. And when I was so sure I wanted to struggle him for leaving me, he just walked up to me, and he hugged me tightly. He did speak for quite some time, until he was sure I was calm again and he apologized. And he never did that again." Felicity smiled fondly at the memory of the first hug he had given her. "Things were really hard. We had hoped that someone would figure out where we had ended up and they would come and get us. People were bound to realize that the yacht had sunk, so they would send a search party. But after a few months we realized that they were not coming for us."
"They were looking for you for months." Thea assured her. "But from what I know they couldn't find any proof of survivors. The search was called off after six months. And I was so mad at my mother. I felt like she was abandoning dad and Oliver and the rest of the crew, but she wouldn't hear it. I knew Oliver was alive, I could feel it, but it wasn't good enough for her." tears filled her eyes. "All this time, I felt like I had let them down because I didn't fight hard enough to make them restart the search."
"No, Thea." Felicity put her hand on the girl's shoulder. "You didn't. Don't say that, please."
"But if had fought harder …"
"No. the island we were at is uncharted. They wouldn't have found us. And it is not your fault. You didn't let Oliver down. far from it." she soothed her.
"What do you mean?" silent tears ran down her cheeks.
"Come here, I am going to let you in on a little secret." Felicity patted the foot of her bed and Thea complied, sitting there.
Felicity reached over to the night stand she shared with Oliver and retrieved something from the drawer. She looked at it for a moment and then, she gave it to Thea. Thea took it and looked at it curiously. It was a worn photo. A photo that showed her twelve-year-old self, wearing a Santa hat, climbing on Oliver's back. Both siblings laughing happily at the camera.
"You were our hope." Felicity said softly.
"Me?" Thea asked with wide eyes.
"You." she confirmed and saw something changing in her. not in a bad way. More like a realization, a new determination. "The first time Oliver showed me the photo, I was pretty sure I was going to die."
"What?!"
"I had fallen while trying to climb a rocky area, when we were searching for shelter. Something stabbed me when I met the ground, underneath my ribs. H did his best to patch me up with the first aid kit from the life boat and what little we had, but I had lost a lot of blood. He started a fire to keep me from hypothermia and sat next to me. He pulled the photo from his wallet and gave it to me. He started telling me about you, and how you'd be disappointed if I died without having meet you. and that you wanted to meet me, and you always got what you wanted, so I had no choice but survive, so that we could meet." Felicity explained to her. "And it worked. I survived so I could meet you."
Thea said nothing for a moment. She just stared at Felicity and then did something the resident genius did not expect. She hugged her. A warm, heartfelt hug. And after a second hesitation, Felicity hugged her back.
"I am so happy that you survived, and I got to meet you." Thea whispered shakily, not letting go.
"I am happy I got to meet you, too." Felicity smiled.
"Just so we are clear, you are not allowed to die now that you met me." She said seriously.
"Oh, I don't plan on dying now that I can actually us hot water again." Felicity tried to lighten the mood.
"What are your plans now that you are back?" Thea asked a bit lighter now.
"Well, good question. I used to have so many ideas about what I'd do if I ever managed to leave the island, but now, I don't know. Oliver offered me to stay at the Manor…"
"Oh, that's great! Please stay at the Manor with us!"
"I will actually, at least until I can get my life back on track. Oliver wouldn't take no for an answer. I need to catch up with all the technological developments of the past five years. That will take some time, but I have to. I mean I can't work if I don't. and I need to figure out what my mother did with my things, plus I need to get myself a job. Oh, and I have to come back from the dead officially and legally."
"isn't your mum here?"
"Oh, no. she lives in Vegas, though I had thought that she would be here when we arrived." She said dejectedly.
"I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault." Felicity gave her a small smile. "Enough gloom, though. Let's talk about something else.
"Well, I want to say that I am really happy that my brother had you and you him. I really like you."
"Thanks, Thea" she blushed a little.
"It's the truth. I think you are pretty awesome."
"That, she is." A deep voice said.
"Ollie!" Thea exclaimed.