Disclaimer: I do not own DC Comics or the CW TV shows Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow or any other characters or elements pertaining to the mentioned franchises.
Laurel's Apartment
Laurel woke up in her bed as she saw the opened door and she got up, wrapping the blanket around to cover her naked body as she went to the kitchen to see Henry, already dressed, making a tea. "Hey."
"Hi." Henry smiled as he put two mugs on the table.
"You OK?" Laurel asked as she saw the look on his face.
Henry sighed. "Look, Laurel, last night… it… it shouldn't have happened. It was a mistake from my end."
"What do you mean?" Laurel asked, confused. "What's going on?"
Henry took a breath. "It's… complicated. Let's just say that my and Sara's past has come back to haunt us and neither Oliver, Sara, Chloe or Nicky told me about it for a while. And I'm not sure what to do about it. I don't blame them but… I don't know if I can work with them again."
Laurel sighed. "I'm not gonna pretend I understand what's going on but considering that Ollie didn't tell me the truth about Sara last year, I think that they were trying to protect you."
"Protect me from myself." Henry snorted. "Because they don't trust me that I would be able to keep my emotions at bay and that I wouldn't let the past cloud my judgement."
"Have you considered looking at things from their side?" Laurel suggested.
"That's the thing, Laurel." Henry pointed out. "I get why they didn't tell me and I don't blame them. But, now, with the secret out, I don't know how am I supposed to move on from what happened and act like things are working the way they have been so far."
Laurel took a breath. "Remember last year, how I freaked out, when I found out that Ollie and Sara were together, when they told my parents that she's alive?" Henry nodded. "After every heartbreak, setback, loss… all those things I endured, I realized I was drowning… deeper into the water… because I lost her. And then I realized, I didn't want to hate Sara anymore. All I wanted was to have my baby sister back. It… it never helps to hate someone forever. Trust me."
"But I don't know how to move on." Henry said. "I wish I knew what to do. I don't want to be angry but… I'm not sure I know how to let go."
Laurel held his hand. "Start by admitting your own mistakes. Sara might not have come with Ollie on Gambit if I hadn't called the cops on her at Tommy's party. Ask yourself, what have you done wrong?"
Henry stared at her, considering.
Fyff's House
"Have you called Henry for dinner?" Sara asked as she, Sin, Chloe and Oliver were with Nicole, her son and Richard at the table.
"You know how he gets." Nicole pointed out. "When he wants to come back, he will. It might take a while though."
Oliver's phone rang as he answered the call. "Yes, Detective?"
Elsewhere in Starling City
In an alley, Quentin showed the Arrow and Canary an evidence bag. "CSU just pulled this out of a skel I know named Eddie Walczak."
"I've never seen a knife like this." The Canary examined the evidence.
"It's not a knife, it's a minute hand." Quentin corrected as he showed them a picture of Walczak's corpse, with the minute hand sticking out if his chest. "Like from a clock. I popped Walczak for B&E a few years back. This morning, he and an accomplice were involved in a robbery homicide."
"What'd they steal?" The Arrow inquired.
"Some hi-tech gizmo." Quentin explained. "Kord rep called it a, um, skeleton key." The Arrow sighed, frustrated. "What, you know what it is?"
"It was intended as a military tool to aid in codebreaking on foreign intelligence targets." The Arrow explained. "Queen Consolidated was working on something similar but I shut it down, when I realized, what it could be used for."
"What?" The Canary asked.
"It could be modified to open a bank vault." The Arrow said. "Any bank vault."
"OK, listen, Walczak's small-time on a good day. I doubt he'd even know how to use this thing, let alone break into a place like Kord and steal it on his own." Quentin pointed out.
"Walczak was just the muscle." The Arrow agreed. "We need to find the brain."
Later, the Lair
"I asked my contacts at CIA to help me find anything on Walczak's known associates but so far, nothing." Chloe explained.
"We don't have time for that." Oliver said, frustrated. "OK, the key is not just a codebreaker, in the wrong hands, it's a weapon."
"Whoever killed Walczak is also good at covering his tracks." Chloe pointed out. "It's gonna take a while. If Henry was here, maybe it would be quicker."
"He'll come around." Sara promised.
Three years ago, Africa
"We don't need another peacemaker to interfere with our business." A mercenary glared at the woman, who was at her knees.
"Please, I have a family."
"I had a family once too." The mercenary shot her in the head. "And I've spent forever trying to love them down."
"Might we please at least bury her, sir?" Another mercenary asked nervously.
"You humans and your superstitions." The mercenary boss snorted. "If you must."
As they buried the body in the desert, suddenly a cloud of black smoke surrounded them as they quickly withered into husks.
Sara, Jack, Richard and a woman with white hair went to the desert as they saw the skeletons on the ground. "Dear God…" Jack whispered.
"Mother was right. The Essence is merciless." The woman said.
"Elian." Sara held her shoulder. "We'll stop them."
Present, Laurel's Apartment
Henry and Laurel were at the stove, cooking before the doorbell rang as Laurel went to open the door to see Sara.
"Hey." Laurel smiled. "Everything OK?"
"Laurel. Would you mind going on a dinner tonight at Nicole's?" Sara asked as Henry whirled around and rushed into the living room. "Henry, I…"
Henry sighed. "What do you want, Sara?"
Sara raised her hands. "Look, I know you're mad and I don't blame you. And all I can do is apologize on our behalf and I want to make it right, OK? You're my friend and I don't want this to strain our friendship."
Henry scoffed. "It's not about you lying to me. I don't blame you for that one. It's that you so easily forgive him after what happened and move on. After Naomi. After Jack. After Africa. You let him in and pretend it's all good."
"Henry, he's not that person anymore." Sara implored.
"You don't know that." Henry protested.
"He wouldn't have risked his life to save us if he was the man you think he is." Sara snapped. "Please. Do it for your nephew and sister. One night. That's all. For your family. That's all I'm asking." She said with an imploring look.
Henry sighed. "OK. One night."
Then, Sara's phone rang as she smiled at him. "Yeah, Chloe?"
Later, elsewhere in Starling City
The thieves opened the vault with the skeleton key and were filling the bags with cash until the Arrow and the Canary entered, causing for the thieves to run away and enter the van.
"They're already gone!" The Arrow said.
"I can try and track the signal from the skeleton key." Chloe said. "They're in an alley next to the bank."
"But you won't be heading there." A mysterious voice said.
"What was that?" The Arrow demanded.
"He must have intercepted our transmission." Chloe realized.
"My associates may be headed to the alley but the 9:40 bus from Crescent Circle is about to collide with the Starling Freight Express." The mysterious voice said.
"Oh, God…" Chloe gasped. "He's right, the bus is about to crash with another one heading at Amherst."
"I'll take the bus." The Arrow said as he and the Canary stormed off.
The Canary was chasing the criminals as they were entering the van as a man in glasses, presumably the man in charge, went out and fired a gun at her but she threw her baton, hitting him in the head as he dropped his gun and staggered back inside his van, while the thieves aimed their guns at her and fired, causing for her to take cover.
The Arrow was getting ahead of the bus, stopping it as it was nearing the railroad, just as the train drove down.
Later, the Lair
"I double-checked the system, I think he shouldn't be able to hack into our comms again." Chloe assured Oliver and Sara.
"I think I have something that might help us track him down." Sara showed the blood sample from her baton as she went to the microscope. "There's some significant cell damage and the platelet count is extremely low." She went to the computer. "MacGregor's syndrome. It's a genetic defect that creates fluid build-up in the lungs, which leads to oxygen deprivation and multi-system organ failure. It's terminal."
"That should narrow our search down." Chloe nodded. "If I cross-reference people with this kind of disease with people, who have a background in computer science… William Tockman. Used to work at Kord Industries as an encryption engineer."
"What's the point?" Diggle asked. "He'll be dead before he can spend all the money."
"It's not for him." Chloe said. "His sister has cystic fibrosis and needs a lung transplant."
"Give us an address, please." Oliver ordered as he and Sara were about to suit up.
"52 Nelson Way."
Elsewhere in Starling City
The Arrow and Canary were checking the address and found the van but it was empty, save for a router.
"Tockman's not here. Just some device." The Arrow announced.
"It's transmitting the same signal that was at the bank." Chloe explained.
"Can you trace it?"
"Already on it. Wait, that's impossible… it's in our network. It's a trap! He's piggy-backing it and trying to hack our system!"
"I'm not trying. I am." Tockman said.
The Lair
The lights, monitors and servers exploded as Diggle pulled Chloe away from the computer.
Chloe was trying to salvage what she could as Oliver and Sara entered the darkened lair. "How bad?"
"He breached the firewall and recoded our system. Self-destruct command." Chloe grumbled. "It's gonna take a while to fix this."
"Sara stopped Tockman's men before they could get away with the cash. So, Tockman is going to look for another score." Oliver pointed out before an idea hit him. "So, let's give him one." He dialed a number on his phone. "Zehra, it's Oliver. Could you please ask Walter to liquidate five-hundred thousand shares of Q.C. stock? Deposit the cash in my vault in Starling National by tonight. I'll explain later. Yes, it's the other job. Thank you." He hung up.
"If Tockman wants to make another score…" Diggle started.
"Who better to rob than a suddenly cash flush Oliver Queen?" Oliver finished.
"And what if he doesn't take the bait?" Sara pointed out.
"That's a good point." Oliver nodded as he pulled out his phone and sent a text. "Eight-hundred thousand."
"I'll try to fix the computer but without Henry, it might take a while." Chloe said.
Sara then noticed her phone ringing. "Speak of the devil." She answered the call. "Hey, Henry."
"Look, Sara. Can we clear the air about Richard? For real this time? I'm sorry about earlier, OK? I promise I won't freak out on you or Chloe this time." Henry pleaded.
Sara smiled. "Actually, would you like to go to dinner at your house in an hour? I think you and Richard should make amends."
After a pause, Henry spoke up. "OK. I'll do my best to… be civil."
Later, Fyff's House
Oliver and Sara entered the house as Barbara, Richard, Sin, Nicole and her son were at the table already. "Hey." Sara and Oliver hugged Nicole.
"Hi." Nicole smiled. "I'm making pizza tonight. Where's Chloe?"
"Too busy, she apologizes that she couldn't come." Oliver explained.
"Oh." Nicole gapped. "Come on in, we're having spaghetti."
A few moments later, Henry entered, apprehensively looking at everyone, with a bottle of champagne in his hand. "Hi. I appreciate the invite."
"So, what have you been doing, since you moved here?" Barbara asked Nicole.
"An accountant." Nicole smiled.
"Yeah. Math and economics major." Henry quipped, smiling before looking at Richard reluctantly. "You deserve to be happy."
"I'm glad you're alive." Sara smiled. "And that you're with your family."
"What happened to Ian was no one's fault." Nicole held Richard's hand.
Henry took a closer look at how they were looking at each other and then, it hit him as he sighed, frustrated, wiping his face. "Oh, you—"
"Hank, please, don't. I can explain this." Nicole pleaded.
"You… you two… after everything that's happened…" Henry seethed, then he got up on his feet as he groaned and stormed off as Barbara and Sara followed him.
Three years ago, Africa
Richard, Elian and Sara were driving down the road before they stopped as in their opposite direction was another car and Sara sneered as from it went out a Vietnamese woman in green dress.
"It's been a long time, Miss Lance You really cocked things up, wouldn't you agree?" Jade said as around them were burned corpses.
Present
Henry went out from the house and kicked a nearby trash bin. "Damn it!"
"Hey!" Sara shouted as he was about to walk down the street. "Henry!"
"What?!" Henry whirled on her. "You knew. You knew for months that he was alive and it is so easy for you to forgive him after that mess in Africa, all those people dead. Because of his stupid treasure hunt and what he dragged us all into.
I get why you didn't want to tell me he was alive and I get that it wasn't his fault but how do you expect me to act that we're all good, just like that? As soon as he returns to my sister's life, they start sleeping again and… I don't know how am I even supposed to process all this!" He kicked the bin again as he exploded. "I'm so angry I can't even breathe!"
"Take it easy, OK?" Barbara held his arm as he panted out.
"I… I wanted to apologize to him but now it's all dredging up… I don't want to hate him anymore but…" Henry took a breath. "I don't know what am I supposed to do."
"I think that's because you still see him as the guy from three years ago. The selfish person, who almost forgot to put into consideration his own family." Barbara pointed out. "But he was your friend once."
"And besides, he's not that person anymore." Sara added. "All he wants is to make things right and make amends for what he's done. Don't you think you should stop hating, who he used to be and accept, who he is now?" She pleaded as Henry stared at her.
"And how am I supposed to do that?" Henry asked, tears forming in his eyes.
"Start by realizing what he's done for you to help you. He's saved your family more than once." Sara pointed out.
Henry could find no reply as he kept walking down the pavement. "Hank!" Barbara called out.
"Leave me alone, Barbara."
"Hank, please—"
"Let him go." Sara said. "I doubt there's anything else we can tell him to make him listen to us."
Later, the Lair
Henry entered the lair as Chloe was fixing the servers. "Hey."
"What the hell happened here?" Henry asked.
"We're chasing a guy, who's got a skeleton key." Chloe summed up. "Mind giving me a hand?" She noticed the look on his face. "Henry, I'm sorry for lying to you but I really need your help."
Henry remembered Barbara's words as he grabbed a toolbox as Chloe smiled.
Starling City
Oliver and Sara were walking down the pavement as Henry called. "I'm sorry. I over-reacted. I… shouldn't have taken it out on you. It was unfair from me."
"No. It's… I don't blame you. It's OK." Sara assured him.
"But that's not, why I'm calling you, Sara." Henry said. "Tockman. We got him. We found the skeleton key's signal."
Later, Starling National Bank
The Arrow, the Canary and Diggle were scouring the area. "We can't find Tockman."
"We'll see if we can reboot the security system." Henry said. "His men are blocking the exits. The signal from the skeleton key is strong though."
"Find him." The Arrow ordered.
"No need." Tockman said. "I'll tell you exactly, where I am. I'm everywhere. At the moment, I'm particularly focused on the sublevel. The gas mains, specifically."
"Oh, God. The gas main release is blocked." Chloe gasped. "If you don't find a way to open that valve ASAP, the explosion will take out everything within three square blocks."
The Arrow slid down the stairs, shooting a bola arrow at the feet at one of the thieves, causing for him to fall down before knocking another one out before the thief on the floor pulled out his gun and fired at the Arrow, forcing him to take cover and then disarm him.
Diggle was in the basement, opening the valve.
"Sara, I have his signal." Chloe said as the Canary was walking towards the section in reconstruction as Tockman pulled out his gun but the Canary dodged as she stared at Tockman.
"You don't even know why I'm doing this." Tockman said. "The money's not for me! I'm doing this all for her!"
"Doesn't make it right." The Canary shot back.
"Tempus fugit." Tockman said as he aimed at her with his pistol but the Canary threw a knife, disarming him before approaching him and knocking him out.
The Lair
Henry was finishing the repairs as Oliver, Diggle and Sara went down.
"And we're all set." Henry quipped as the lights turned on.
Chloe tried to turn on the computer and she clapped her hands. "Nice work." She high-fived with Henry.
"Thanks." Oliver smiled as he shook hand with Henry and Sara was about to reach out and Henry hesitantly shook her hand as well.
"You're welcome."
"Are you still mad at us?" Sara asked.
Henry sighed. "Honestly, yes." Sara frowned in disappointment. "But a good friend told me that I shouldn't hate people for their past mistakes and accept them for who they are now. I'm not saying I forgive you… but I'd like to try and find a way to work things out and move past everything. I just hope you're willing to give it a shot too." Sara smiled as she hugged him. "Despite everything, you, Chloe, Barbara are among my best friends, Sara. And I don't want that to change."
"I'm glad you're back." Sara smiled before noticing the look on his face. "But that's not everything, is it?"
Henry then moved Sara aside as he leaned onto a table as Sara noticed the guilt in his eyes. "There's something else I… should tell you. After… I left, I moved to Laurel's." Sara scowled. "And… there was a moment I… wasn't in right mind and Laurel and I—"
Sara groaned as it clicked. "Good God. Henry—"
"I know, I know." Henry raised his hands. "I told Laurel it was a mistake from my end and established my limits. I made pretty clear to her, where we should stand. I didn't mean to but… a lot has happened lately. I'm not trying to make excuses, I just want you to understand."
Sara wiped her face. "Jesus Christ, you're unbelievable, you know that?"
"I wasn't trying to get back at you, I swear." Henry pleaded. "I'm not expecting forgiveness, I just want you to see things from my perspective."
Sara sighed as she stared at the wall in front of her, considering. "When you put it like that… I guess… I shouldn't have to blame you. The past few weeks have been pretty crazy. And maybe I should have been honest with you from the start."
"I'm sorry. I really am." Henry said. "But I want to fix things between us as best as I can. Our friendship means a lot to me."
"To me too." Sara nodded. "Besides, you're not the only one, who's messed things up."
"Look, can we both agree to try to move on and try to trust each other again?" Henry asked.
"I think we can try." Sara smiled, shaking hand with Henry. "And about Laurel…"
"Believe me, the last thing I want, is to hurt you or your sister." Henry said.
Sara nodded. "But if she makes you happy, I won't stop you."
Henry smiled. "I don't know if we're crossing that bridge yet. But I care about her as much as I care about you. I know that much."
Later, Laurel's Apartment
Laurel heard the doorbell as she opened the door to see Henry. "Hey."
"Hi." Laurel smiled.
"Laurel, do you have time next week?" Henry asked.
"Why?" Laurel asked.
"It's just that… after that mess with the guy in the skull mask, I thought maybe it would be best if someone taught you to handle yourself. I mean, couple of self-defense classes won't help you." Henry pointed out.
"What do you have in mind?" Laurel asked as Henry showed her a flier.
"Wildcat gym. Next week. I'll teach you some better moves."
Later, Fyff's House
Henry entered the house as Richard was reading a book to Riley, who was sleeping on his shoulder. "Can we talk in private, please?" Richard got up on his feet and followed Henry to a corridor. "For so long, I did hate you and blame you for what's happened to my family. When you employed me and Ian, and he died… I let you into my sister's life… and she did love you. And after we thought we lost you, you dragged Sara and my nephew into that mess in Africa."
Richard looked sad as Henry listed the things.
"But Barbara and Sara made me realize that you've saved our lives, more times than I can count. And what happened back then, shouldn't have to erase all that. And maybe I should stop hating you for, who you were back then. And start accepting you for who you are now. You were willing to die to save my family. Twice. I wish I had realized that three years ago. If I could take back what happened and what I said back then, I would."
Henry's sister was upstairs, eavesdropping as her eyes were getting wet.
"Despite everything, you were my friend once. And all that mess that you brought into our lives, shouldn't have to change that. I don't know where you and I will end up from now on… but I'd like to find out, if we can be on good terms once again." Richard nodded as he shook hand with Henry and then, hugged him tightly.
"Welcome home, Hank."
"Welcome home, Richard."
Nicole was on verge of tears as she watched her brother and the man she loves, make amends.
Queen Manor
"Thea!" Oliver called out as he entered the manor.
"Oliver." Moira approached him. "What's wrong?"
"Thea texted me there was an emergency at the house." Oliver explained as he faced her.
"There's no emergency. I'm in the middle of the meeting and Thea's not even here." Moira said.
"Well, then why would she…" Oliver paused as it hit him. "I can't believe she would do this."
"Do what?" Moira asked.
"She's trying to force us to talk because she's sensing the tension between us." Oliver said.
"And what did you tell her?" Moira inquired.
"Nothing." Oliver told her. "To protect her. Not you."
"Mrs. Queen? Is everything OK?" A male voice with an Australian accent, familiar to Oliver, called out from the living room.
"Yes, thank you." Moira said. "Uh, my son just dropped by." Oliver followed her. "Oliver, I'd like you to meet Slade Wilson."
Oliver froze and his blood ran cold as he saw his former best friend on the couch, with an eye patch as Slade got up and neared Oliver. "It's a pleasure to meet you…" He sneered at Oliver as soon as Moira couldn't see his face any longer. "Mr. Queen."
So, what do you guys think about it?
Please review and let me know if you are enjoying this so far and want for me to continue.