Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Everything belongs to their rightful owners.

AN1: So this is earlier than normal because I'm Australian and it's New Year's Eve Night. Thank you to everyone who added to alerts/Reviewed/left a comment/left a kudos. THANK YOU. PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW.

HAPPY NEW YEARS

"I already don't like this." Lance comments as he sits down on one of the chairs, "Does whatever this is have to do with why you lot disappeared last night?" he asks curious.

"In a way." Laurel answers not really sure how to say what she has to say as even being a lawyer she can't think of the words to explain what she needs to explain.

"Laurel what is it? Whatever it is you can tell me Sweetheart." Lance says as he moves and sits down next to Laurel.

"The reason we all disappeared last night is because Oliver and Felicity found out something they didn't know, something that up until now only Thea, Diggle and Diggle's wife knew about." Laurel explains, "Something about me." She adds.

"What is it?" Lance asks, suspecting that whatever it is is bad.

"Do you remember four months ago, when you were at the cops retreat for five nights?" Laurel asks her father who nods, "Well, your fist night gone Thea and Diggle found me unconscious on the floor in my room..."

"What happened? Were you okay?" Lance asks worried.

"They took me to the hospital and the Doctors run some test, they found something." Laurel tells her father.

"Laurel, just tell me. Whatever it is, just tell me. We'll handle it." Lance tells his daughter, becoming more and more worried.

"I have cancer, Daddy." Laurel reveals, bracing herself for her Dad's reaction.

"What?" Lance asks, sounding horrified, "No, you can't." he says to his daughter, tears coming to his eyes.

"I do." Laurel answers, trying to hold it together, "It's advanced, in my lungs, nose, sinuses, and, as of six weeks ago, has gone into the bones near my nose and sinuses." She reveals.

"No, no, no." Lance says, sounding horrified.

"Oh Daddy." Laurel says, hugging her father.

"Why? Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Lance asks, needing to know.

"John was going to drive to get you the night I was diagnosed, but I asked him not to." Laurel reveals, "I knew it would hurt you, and I didn't want to do that, not until I had to." Laurel explains, "I collapsed last night, which meant that Thea and John had no choice but to tell Felicity and Oliver. This morning Thea convinced me to tell you, even though I was afraid to." Laurel explains and Lance hugs his daughter, tightly.

"No." Lance mutters to himself over and over again, crying, "No, this can't be real."

"I though the same thing for a long time." Laurel admits and for a while she and her Dad just hold each other, Lance having tears rolling down his face.

"What is your Doctor saying? What's your treatment? How did this happen?" Lance asks when they break apart after almost ten minutes and Lance pulls himself together so that he can look at his daughter.

"My Doctor is Doctor James Wilson and he suspects that it developed from what I inhaled when CNRI collapsed." Laurel explains, choosing to go with the two easiest questions first.

"I should have shot Merlyn when I had the chance." Lance says angrily.

"Wouldn't have done any good." Laurel tells her Dad, "The night after I was taken to the hospital they removed as much as they could, they got all of the tumours in my lungs, but they couldn't get all of it out of my nose and sinuses." Laurel reveals, taking a deep breath as she knows that this is going to be the hardest part to tell her Dad, "With treatment Doctor Wilson said that the best case scenario was two and a half years, and that was too and a half years full of side effects from Chemo and radiation, two and a half years of barley living." Laurel reveals as she avoids looking at her father, "Without treatment I would have a year. A year where I could live, where I could continue to do everything I do. I would be fine until I'm not." Laurel reveals.

"You're not having treatment?" Lance asks shocked, "No, Laurel. That's not okay." Lance tells her, "You're having chemotherapy and radiation." He tells her.

"No, I'm not." Laurel tells her father, "It's my life Dad, and I want to live what time I have left on my terms." Laurel informs her father, "I'm having weekly doctors' appointments where my Doctor is checking the progress and administering treatments other than chemo and radiation, and that's what I'm doing to fight this."

"No, that's not okay. I don't accept that." Lance tells his daughter.

"Daddy." Laurel says as Lance stands up.

"No, this is unacceptable, Laurel. You need to have treatment; you need to do this! You have to!" Lance tells his daughter.

"No, I don't." Laurel says, standing up too, "Even with treatment I have two years left at the most. I choose a year of fighting for this city, of living life on my terms rather than two years of misery, and that's my decision." Laurel tells him.

"Well I don't accept that, I won't!" Lance says as he heads to the door.

"DADDY." Laurel calls after him, "DAD." She calls but Lance just keeps walking out.

As he walks down the corridor away from his daughter's apartment Lance sees Thea walking back.

"Captain." Thea greats, "I'm sorry. I tried to get her to tell you sooner." Thea informs Lance.

"I know." Lance responds, "Why won't she have the treatment?" he asks as after all the time that Thea spends with Laurel she would be the only one to really know.

"The reason she probably told you, she wants to live the life she has left on her terms." Thea explains, "But that doesn't mean she's given up." Thea tells him, "She still doing treatment, just not chemo and radiation and last night, or technically this morning, Oliver promised me that he will do whatever it takes to find a way to heal her, and I will do everything I can to help him. Laurel has never given up on me, so I'm never going to give up on her, I'll find a way to heal her." Thea promises, it being more than clear that she means everything she is saying.

"Thank you." Lance says before hugging Thea.

"You don't have to thank me, she's my family too." Thea responds and she and Lance break apart.

"I'll be back after work; I need some time to think." Lance tells Thea as even though he knows that walking out isn't the best way to handle things he needs time.

"Good choice, I took me weeks to realise what this meant and I was in the hospital with her when she found out how bad it is…" Thea explains.

"Yeah, I'll see you later." Lance says and he continues to walk down the corridor.

"Captain." Thea says and Lance turns back around, "You should call, Sara. Laurel hasn't admitted it, because she knows how important it is for Sara to have some time away, but she could really use her sister right now." Thea explains.

"She has a sister here, she has you." Lance reminds Thea, not doubting that it would help Laurel to see Sara too, but not wanting Thea to diminish her importance.

"I know, but she needs both her sisters right now." Thea explains.

"I'll call her." Lance says and he and Thea go their separate ways, Thea heads back to the apartment while Lance leaves, pulling out his phone to call Sara as he goes.

At the loft Oliver is walking downstairs where he finds Felicity sitting at the table on her computer.

"Have you been up all night?" Oliver asks as he walks over.

"Yeah, I hacked Laurel's medical records and from what I've been able to understand it's not good." Felicity admits, looking desperate, "It's bad, Oliver. Really bad." She says, hating that there is nothing she can do.

"I know." Oliver responds, looking upset, putting his hand on Felicity's shoulder.

"Where are you going?" Felicity asks curious.

"Thea said that Laurel was going to tell Lance the truth. So, I'm going to check on him, then go talk to Laurel and then if Laurel is okay with it I'm going to talk to Barry and see if he and the others at STAR Labs can help." Oliver explains.

"Good, I'll see you later." Felicity responds, "Good luck with, Lance."

"Thanks." Oliver says before leaving.

"Why would Oliver need good luck with Quinten?" Donna asks confused, as she walks down the stairs, "Felicity what is?" she asks her daughter concerned as she can tell that something is wrong.

"We found something last night." Felicity reveals, "Something about Lance's, Quinten's, daughter, my friend, Laurel, and It's bad."

"How bad?" Donna asks worried.

"Really bad." Felicity answer getting upset and Donna just hugs her daughter.

"Hey." Thea says as she walks into the apartment and over to Laurel.

"Hey." Laurel responds.

"I got you coffee and your favourite." Thea explains, "How bad did things go with your Dad?" Thea asks curious.

"About as well as I was expecting." Laurel admits, looking sad, "Thanks for the food. I should eat this and head to work." Laurel comments.

"Laurel…" Thea starts to say and right away Laurel cuts her off as she knows exactly what she is about to say.

"We've talked about this, I'm going to keep working until I can't anymore." Laurel tells Thea.

"I know, just try and take it easy." Thea requests, knowing better than trying to talk Laurel out of it but still not thinking that it is a good idea.

"Will do. Thanks for breakfast." Laurel says before heading to her room so that she can get ready.

When Lance arrives at the station he knows, without a doubt, that he isn't going to be able to concentrate he honestly isn't surprised when he finds Oliver waiting in his office.

"There's visits really are becoming more than a weakly thing." Lance comments when he sees Oliver.

"I know. I wanted to see how you were doing." Oliver explains, it being clear that he is concerned.

"How I'm doing? I don't even know." Lance answers, "She won't do treatment."

"That's what Thea told me, I haven't had a chance to talk to Laurel about it yet." Oliver answers, not sure what to think about that.

"She said that her Doctor suspects that the cancer was caused by what she inhaled when CNRI collapsed, which means, this, all this, what's happened to my daughter is Merlyn's fault, and I will make him pay." Lance promises, it being clear that he is completely serious.

"And I won't stop you, but first I'm going to need his help to try and find a way to heal Laurel. He has connections that I don't, and if I'm going to find a way to Laurel, which I will, I'm going to need his help. Once that's done you can do whatever you want to him." Oliver says as after everything that Malcom has done to the Lance family Quentin should be the one to decide what happens to him.

"Thank you." Lance responds, "How long is it going to take for you to find this way?"

"I don't know." Oliver answers, "But I'm not going to give up." He says and Lance nods.

"I need more time." Lance informs Oliver, "Can you try to convince her to have the treatment?"

"No one can change Laurel's mind once she's made it, we've both know that, but I do plan on talking to her." Oliver says, "Which I'm going to do now. I'll see you later." He tells Lance who nods.

When Laurel arrives at the DA office Laurel is honestly glad that she's going to be spending the day with people who don't know. Even though she knows that she still has to talk to Oliver and Felicity Laurel feels that the worse is over, though she knows that her talk with Oliver is going to be far from pleasant.

"Hey, Laurel." One of her co-workers' greats.

"Hey."

"Your friend John dropped by, he left something on your desk." The Co-worker says to Laurel, everyone at the DA office is quiet used to Diggle being around as he often comes into see Laurel, sometimes with baby Sara, to bring her lunch or take her out to lunch, sometimes with both him and Lyla, or, unknown to the others, update her about what's going on with their latest problem.

"Okay, thanks." Laurel says and she heads to her desk. Once she gets to her desk Laurel sits down in her chair and puts her bag down and as she looks at her desk she sees a box and a note on top so first she opens the note.

Laurel,

I thought that after talking to your Dad you could use these. They're your favourite. Hope they help like they have been,

John.

"Thank you, John." Laurel says as she opens the box to find her favourite chocolates, chocolates that Lyla got her after her first surgery and that Diggle has gotten her every time, that he knows about, that she has had a bad headache. Looking down at the chocolates Laurel eats one then gets started on her work, being thrilled to do something normal.

After leaving the station Oliver heads straight to Laurel and Thea's apartment. Once he arrives he knocks on the door and a few seconds later Thea answers.

"Hey. I was wondering when you'd come round" Thea says as she lets Oliver into the apartment.

"I wanted to talk to Lance, first." Oliver explains, "How's Laurel?" he asks curious.

"Considering how things went with her Dad, she's okay." Thea answers.

"Is she sleeping?" Oliver asks curious as he looks round for a sign of Laurel.

"No, it's Friday, she's at work." Thea informs her brother, wondering why he didn't realise that.

"What?" Oliver asks surprised.

"Look, first thing you've got to know is that Laurel is living her life in the exact same way that she was living it five months ago. She's not letting this stop her or even slow her down, and hasn't listened to me and Diggle when we've tried to convince her that slowing down is exactly what she needs to do." Thea explains, "She's going to keep doing what she's been doing until she can't anymore."

"That sounds like her." Oliver realises, "Guess I'll head to the DA's office. I'll see you later." He says before giving his little sister a hug and kiss on the head before leaving.

Fifteen minutes after leaving Laurel and Thea's apartment Oliver arrives at the DA office and as he walks straight to Laurel's desk where she is working.

As Laurel sits at her desk and works she hears footsteps footsteps that she knows to belong to Oliver and so she doesn't look up when the footsteps stop right in front of her desk.

"Laurel." Oliver's voice says and Laurel actually looks up, "Are you really busy? Or can we talk?" he asks.

"I can take a break." Laurel admits, "How about we go for a walk." She suggests as she would rather have this conversation away from her co-workers.

"That would be good." Oliver says and after locking her computer Laurel gets up and the two of them leave the DA's office.

A few minutes later Laurel and Oliver are walking in silence, neither sure how to start the conversation that they both know that they need to have.

"You should have called me." Oliver says, breaking the silence, "I would have been here as soon as I could if I knew."

"You were living a normal life. I didn't want to destroy that for you and Felicity. I wanted you to be happy." Laurel informs him as they walk.

"Thank you for that, but I still wish that you would have called me." Oliver reveals, "So, how bad is it really? I want to know everything." Oliver tells her as even though he heard what Diggle and Thea said he wants Laurel to explain it to him.

"My diagnosis is Paranasal Sinus and Nasal Cavity Cancer that has mastatised to the lungs and, as of six weeks ago, the surrounding bones in my face." Laurel explains, speaking slightly faster than normal but Oliver can still understand every word that's she is saying, "They managed to remove the tumours in my lungs, but couldn't get the entirety of the tumour that was in my nose and sinuses, they removed as much as they could." She informs Oliver.

"Which is very bad." Oliver realises, "Both Thea and your Dad said that you're not having treatment, why not?"

"The only treatments' that I'm not having are chemo and radiation." Laurel explains.

"Did your Doctor recommend that you have those treatments?" Oliver asks.

"Yes."

"Then why don't you do it? If it gives you a chance, then you really should."

"Chemo and radiation will give me another year and a half, at best, but it will be a year and a half of ministry, of pain, of barely living, and I don't want that." Laurel explains.

"Damn it, Laurel! It's another year and half, it will give you more time. You need to fight this!" Oliver says forcibly, "You can't give up." He says, his voice calmer.

"I haven't given up." Laurel says angrily, "If the chemo and radiation was more than just a stall then I would do it, but it's not. The only thing it would do is make the time I have left miserable, even unliveable." Laurel explains, "Do I you think I like this? Do you think I like the fact that I've spent every minute of every day of the last four months thinking about what this means? About whether I've made the right choice? Do you think I'm doing this to hurt you all? Do you think I like the fact that at least once a week I wake up to Thea screaming in terror about how she can't lose me too? Because I don't, I hate it." Laurel says, becoming upset, "I have months left Ollie, that's the truth. I can't control that that, I can't change that, but what I can do is choose to spend the time I have left under my terms, around the people I love, without being miserable; and that's what I choose." Laurel says and Oliver just hugs her, wanting to help because he sees how upset she is and honestly he is trying to keep his own emotions in check.

"I understand that, Laurel. I do. But, I don't like it." Oliver informs Laurel as they hug.

"I don't expect you too, but I need you to know that if there was something that would really help, if there was a cure, or something that would give me more than extra year of misery then I would say yes in a second." She reveals as Oliver hugs her.

"Promise?" Oliver asks as they break apart, but he is looking Laurel right in the eyes.

"Promise." Laurel responds, not breaking the eye contact.

"I'm going to look into ways that might be able to heal you. I'm going to call in any favours or use any connections that I can think of, and if I find something, something that will cure you or help and give you a better quality of life than the chemo and radiation, do you promise to give it a chance?" Oliver asks, needing get Laurel to give it a chance as he is so far from ready to lose her, he's not ready to give up and doesn't think that he ever will be.

"Yes, I do." Laurel says with a nod.

"Thank you."

"And now I need you to make a promise to me." Laurel tells Oliver, "If you can't find a way to cure me or something that will help then I need you to look out for my family after I'm gone, to protect them and help them because they're not going to be okay." Laurel explains, her voice shaking, "And if I die then you're going to have to there more for Thea. After everyone, and everything she has lost, losing me might destroy her, and she'll need you more than ever, you can't leave her again."

"And she'll have me." Oliver promises, "I won't leave her. And I promise that I will be there for your family, just like you've been there for mine." He says.

"Thank you." Laurel says and the two of them hug once more.

"You don't have to thank me for that, but it won't get to that. I'll find a way for you to beat this." Oliver says as they break apart.

"Yeah, I hope that you do, but Ollie, you can't do something like what you did to save Thea, you've come so far. I don't want you to ruin that because of me." Laurel says.

"I'll do my best, but that's the best I can do." Oliver responds, and honestly it's better than what Laurel was expecting though she knows that she is going to try again to get him to agree that he won't go down a dark path to save her, "So, if you're okay with it I want to reach out to Barry and the others at STAR labs, if there are new treatments they'll know, they might even have an idea about something that can help." Oliver explains, "Felicity has already hacked your medical records and I would like to pass them along to the them, is that okay with you?"

"Yeah, that's fine." Laurel says with a nod, not even surprised that Felicity has hacked her records, "I should get back to work. I'll see you later." She tells him.

"Yeah, see you later." Oliver respond and Laurel turns around and heads back to the DA's office and Oliver watches her go, thinking that he's going to whatever it takes to save the life of his oldest friend as he can't lose her, he won't.