A/N: I know that my writing has been seriously lacking lately, and by that, I mean practically nonexistent. T.T I guess between my depression and that lovely issue I had with some version of Covidand no wifi writing was in the backseat unfortunately for a while. I keep coming up with other ideas of things to write on some other fics, like other crossovers, and maybe even diving into the Marvel universe a few times. Meh. Okay, this one might be one of my shorter ones because I'm getting back into the flow of things. I'm not sure whether this is a one-shot yet or night.

A few notes on this one, which if you skip means you might be a tad confused. This is on thin ice as far as being canon, but it is if you squint and tilt your head a bit. The characters are more canon than the plot, more or less. Timeline-wise, I'd say that this is after the singularity in Flash when Barry is working on his own (but now as a CSI in Starling City). In Arrow, it's after what I'd call one of the worst seasons, which is when Darkh is around. Honestly, Malcolm should've been dealt with. Also, Felicity (and obviously Dig, since he'd left) are very minor characters and will be minor in appearance. Thankfully, there is no NTA. Also, since Darkh will have no knowledge of William, Oliver goes to Central City every chance to get to so he can visit him. On a last note, Isabela never appears, thus he still has his company, as a co-Ceo with Ray Palmer.

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Oliver was cooking what most would probably consider way too much food for just him, but he knew that most of it would be gone in a few days if he was lucky. Barry had been staying with him in the guest room of his and Thea's loft, not that she was around all that often these days. Barry staying in the guest room was just a formality at this point, as his sister was with his protégé. When Roy had last e-mailed him, they were tracking down a lead on some new drug that was hitting the streets. He knew that Roy knew what he was doing and had written him a not so subtle…demand that he keep his sister as far away from it, considering her past with drugs. He was pretty sure Thea would be mad at him and probably call him something along the lines of overbearing if he was lucky, but he had let his little sister leave with him. To be honest, there were a lot of things going on at the moment that he just didn't want to think about. As he put the food away, the phone rang and he knew it was Thea. She would probably never say it to him directly, but he knew she hated how he sometimes spent his days when she and Roy weren't there and Barry was working. He shook his head in amusement and wiped his hands dry as he answered.

"Hey, Speedy."

"You really need to drop that ridiculous nickname already. I'm not a kid anymore." Thea told him, as she hit Roy for laughing at her.

"Is that so? Is that why you're pouting?" Oliver asked, with a small smile on his face. There were very few people in his life that could make him smile, but she was definitely one of them.

"Who said I was pouting?" Thea all but demanded, while Oliver heard Roy laughing even harder in the background. His sister was most definitely pouting.

"So how is Roy? He seems to be enjoying himself."

"Hmm. Well, I thought with the hair color change and us being so close to the city again, maybe he should get more lessons from you. He sure seems to have the energy for it right now." After a moment she sighed. She knew that Barry was working and Oliver was probably alone with just his thoughts again. "So, how big of a feast did you make this time?"

He should've known that it would be brought up sooner or later. She didn't care about the food at all, he knew. She wanted to know if he still had Barry in the house or had kicked him out, although that would be hard as Barry's stuff was put in all sorts of places. He called it "organized chaos", but Oliver merely thought it was a mess.

"I didn't do a feast, Speedy. I got bored and started cooking some muffins and cookies," he told her, rolling his eyes.

"Don't roll your eyes." Thea admonished him, knowing that was exactly what he was doing.

Oliver just sighed and then thought about how well they knew each other. Their parents let both Thea and himself get away with far too much growing up. It only took his years "away" for him to realize just how much they needed to grow up, along with putting his sister on the right path. It wasn't always easier, but he loved the way she'd grown up and repaired their relationship.

"It's unfortunate how well we know each other. Do you and Roy have any plans in the next few days or something? I figured that maybe we could have a night spending time with each other, with dinner or whatever you wanted. I'll even let you watch Princess Bride if you want. Of course, Roy is invited to join us if he wants to."

"We don't have any plans, really, unless something comes up I suppose. We won't be able to be there for another few days, though. His boss is throwing a sort of party and then we could be there." she said, thinking of something she could bring like her private stash of alcohol that she knew her brother liked. She had heard from Barry once, saying that they sometimes go to a bar and just hang out. She thought it was good for him to get out of that place and just talk now that Tommy was gone.

"Well, just let me know when you'll be in town and I'll get everything together, ready and waiting for you and your boyfriend."

Laying back against the couch, Roy was thinking about how much training he could get into with his mentor. Meanwhile, Thea was thinking about how something like this would boost his spirits, ever since that whole catastrophe with the League of Assassins. He usually went on patrol now that he had no source of income besides Barry and Lance had more or less forgiven him.

"Are you going out on patrol tonight? I wish you had Roy or myself to back you up, even though Barry is great."

"Yes I am Speedy, now that Lance more or less had forgiven me and I won't have to worry about getting arrested. Again."

Thea sighed at how the team had more or less split apart. With Roy having been arrested for what he did, it was a miracle they made it out of town. Unless there was some emergency, she would usually stay behind and man the computers. She never went out in the field unless it was necessary. Just as she was going to say something about getting together again Barry walked in the door, obviously done for the day. Of course, having seen the muffins and cookies, he dove straight at them with not so much as a hello. Oliver rolled his eyes and looked at him as Barry ate almost all of them before he realized the stare Oliver was giving him. Laughing nervously, he said hi and stopped eating as he realized Oliver was on the phone. Giving him a confused stare, Oliver mouthed silently that it was Thea. Barry smiled and relaxed, knowing his sister could almost always give him a sense of what he called a nicer Oliver. Walking over to him, he asked for the phone and gave him his most sincere version of puppy eyes. He knew that his sister had pretty much made him immune for the most part, but he had more than a few times succeeded. Handing it over, Oliver watched Barry talk to his sister and confirm their plans. By now he was saying goodbye to her and giving the phone back to Oliver.

As they started talking, Barry told him about this warehouse he had confirmed was being used by a band of what had been left of a group similar to The Triad, which he had been tracking down for a while. It seemed to Oliver that he wasn't going patrolling as he had thought he had been planning on. Of course, he felt somewhat obligated to come, seeing as Barry had been working so hard to find them. As they went to change in what had annoyingly been called The Arrow Cave, he felt something off about the whole thing. Shaking it off, he let Barry rush him there as he was always told something along the lines of "What took you so long?" He liked his bike better, but he reasoned that maybe he'd go patrolling after this whole thing was over and done with.

Having trained Barry to not rush in and had him check for anything like traps, they both went in silently and he felt more than anything that there should have been something. This whole thing practically screamed something like another trap or an ambush. In these situations, he really hated being right. Inwardly he sighed as he saw a gang of what was at least about fifteen guys. Having been an ambush usually wouldn't be too much of an issue, but them having guns and being in an old warehouse wasn't too great of odds. He saw Barry sneaking up to them from behind and took advantage of it. The Flash didn't really have to worry about the bullets, at least not as much as Oliver did. Firing multiple arrows from the shadows let Barry come up from behind them and take care of them what he couldn't as he was busy dodging the bullets. It was finally taken care of rather quicker than he had expected. He heard a creaking noise and turned to see a beam starting to fall towards him, as it appeared that the old and supposedly abandoned warehouse was collapsing and Oliver had tried to dodge it. He couldn't help but feel a pain in his chest as the adrenaline was starting to wear off, and then he felt more than saw Barry speeding towards him. Even with the pain in his chest, he knew he wouldn't be able to totally escape in time. He felt the lower part of his leg get all but completely crushed as Barry almost got him out. He was just barely able to mostly escape with Barry's help. He knew that he wouldn't have escaped without his help. His vision was starting to get blurry as he saw some blood pour his friend's face. Apparently, he wasn't able to completely escape an injury as he saw him stagger and sway a bit. They both needed to go to the hospital, or at least Oliver needed to. Seeing the tears through his blurry eyes, he knew that Barry was blaming himself just as he would have if the situation had been reversed.

Barry rushed over to his friend's side and looked him over. He saw the bullet in his chest and the hurt leg and knew he had to act fast before Oliver died from the injuries. Speeding them to the condo to change both of their clothes, he rushed him to the nearest hospital he knew. Once they got there, Barry stumbled as he felt the pain in his head pulsating at a fairly fast rate. Managing to barely make it inside with Oliver in his arms and pleaded for someone to help. He sat down as he saw in slow motion as Oliver was rushed by him on a stretcher with an oxygen mask now on his face. It was all his fault that he didn't make it in time. Without him really noticing, tears continually streamed down his face. His fault for taking him there in the first place and for not realizing the danger Oliver was in until it was too late. Wells AKA Eobard Thawne was right. He wasn't fast enough and now Oliver was paying the price.

He knew that he should call Thea right away and tell her what happened to her brother, but the truth was all he could feel right now was guilt and being very numb to everything around him. What would he even tell her? "I'm sorry, but it appears that all that research on this gang ended up for nothing."{?) She'd hate him more than she did her own father, and that's saying something. He felt the nurse keep him still until he was ready to go to an examination room. He knew that it was something that would heal and leave him waiting for news about Oliver. The nurse slowly led him to a private room, holding him by the arm as the pain and dizziness meant he had pushed himself too far. She helped him lay down slowly, but it didn't matter to him as he felt the pain go away into his subconsciousness as he was overwhelmed by everything that had happened in the past hour or so. He couldn't say that he cared too much about his health but just focused on Oliver and what had happened to him. He would obviously be operated on, having been so injured. He couldn't help but think about the worst of the outcomes. Usually, he tried to be logical about the situation. He thought about how Roy and Thea would despise him for not being able to save Oliver, and he'd probably end up working until he dropped. Barry remembered refusing food after his father had been arrested and put into jail with no way to get out anytime soon. He was positive about that.

Oliver knew that he was secretly trying to find out how to free him in his free time. Joe never had believed him growing up, having been just a kid when everything was turned upside down. He could still remember Joe having to unwillingly cooperate with his friend, but knew that the Bratva had started settling in Central City. Things had only escalated to a point when Joe had overheard him speaking in Russian. He had just narrowed his eyes at Barry, obviously having assumed that Oliver was in the mob and had orchestrated the whole thing. They both knew that Barry knew the truth about everything to an extent, but Barry would never tell anyone unless Oliver had said he could. He knew that Anatoly was a good friend and even had become good friends, and in fact met him a few times. He hadn't yet told him what had happened and he didn't look forward to sometime looking through Oliver's contacts to try and call him. Thinking back to the present, he realized that he had a bandage around his head and an IV hooked up to something Barry really couldn't say he cared about. He didn't know when he'd been moved into another room and placed in a room for who knew how long. It was apparent that he was there for at least another day or so, but he couldn't find it in himself to care all that much. After all, he had too much on his mind and he knew that Oliver had dealt with far worse than some head wound. Likely, it had been his issue with his metabolism again. He had run Oliver here as fast as he possibly could and he hadn't eaten any lunch. For the first time in a long time, he detached himself from what was happening. How was Oliver? Was he mad at him and thinking about making Barry and would make him move out? He couldn't help but find himself thinking about the worst possible outcome. He wouldn't want to reflect on the injuries there were and that quite possibly one of his closest friends, had died because of him. Not being able to think about sleeping and just being woken up by the nurses. If they had noticed his lack of sleep, they hadn't said anything about it.

A few days later he was discharged, given that he didn't drive or do anything too strenuous. He mentally scoffed, thinking about how many things he had to do. He knew that Lance would understand his wanting to be with Oliver and probably let him do his work while staying with Oliver. He knew that he had to tell Thea about what had happened and that it was purely his fault. Having filled out the paperwork for his stay, he asked about Oliver and was surprised to find out he had been put on his list for next of kin. At first, he was a little confused why it was only him before his sister. After a few moments, he realized that he never really knew where his sister was, only that she was somewhere with Roy. It was probably only due to convenience more than anything else. She told him to wait there for the Queen physician, Dr. Lamb, which made him feel fairly apprehensive. That could only mean that Oliver was fairly hurt and that meant that Thea was being updated. That made him even more depressed because he could remember Oliver telling him about how she had been so angry at their mother and he could also remember her just having made up with her just before the trial. He winced, wondering how mad she would be at him about everything.

Seeing the doctor approach him with a neutral if not grim look on his face made Barry feel more than a little nauseous. The doctor had only to tell him that it looked less than promising as he sat down next to Barry. Oliver was doing somewhat well, considering everything. He saw that Barry turned whiter as he was unfortunately told about his leg and because of the bullet and head wound, one of his closest friends was now in a coma. He felt like the world was spinning around him, faster and faster when he heard everything. Dr. Lamb was quick to help him before he passed out, telling Barry to breathe deeply while he softly told him to put his head close to his knees. He didn't deserve the help, after all, that had happened. There were so many people that would either hate him or just be disappointed in him. He had messed everything up, and now the city would hate him too, now that the Green Arrow had been put in a coma. Things weren't spinning as much as they were some minutes ago and so he was the only so-called "protector" left in the city.

Looking at the doctor, he asked the one dreaded question that he knew he had wanted, but yet at the same time dreaded to know the answer to.

"Has Thea been told yet?"

Dr. Lamb nodded solemnly, wishing he hadn't told her face-to-face. Either way, it felt like having to tell Moira about her son probably not being the same one she had remembered. Looking at the man next to him, he felt just as awful. He hated delivering such bad news, especially to people that couldn't be told face to face. As he looked at Barry, he noticed that he had gained some color; but at the same time, he just looked…resigned. As he led him towards Oliver's private room, he matter-of-factly told him that there were going to be tubes and such things. Opening the door, he heard the man behind him gasp in both astonishment and maybe some kind of acceptance of the situation. Barry walked in slowly towards his friend and wept silently. It should have been him in that bed. Again, he wasn't able to save someone who had become as close as a brother and close friend. He had failed him and everyone else by not getting to him fast enough. Reluctantly, he sat down in a chair and looked at the person he hadn't been able to protect. All he could see were the wires and IV, but he wasn't able to look at his face for more than a moment. He knew that Oliver had an oxygen mask on and all he could do was silently cry and watch as he breathed in slowly. He sat there at his side, staring vigilantly at his friend, vowing to not move until Thea and Roy had gotten there.

By the time a frantic Thea got to the hospital, it had been a few days. There had been no way, except by car because of all of the rain where she was. Roy had barely talked as they walked to where Dr. Lamb had said Oliver was. She knew Barry quite well by this point and knew that he was going to blame himself. The two of them were completely alike and yet polar opposites at the same time. It was no wonder they got along so well. She knew that they were living together in the loft she had shared with Oliver for a time and had always managed to get him to not be so broody all of the time. Barry had become close enough that she saw small smiles and even the occasional laughter whenever they all got together. That alone made her anxious to see them, but especially well. As Roy struggled to keep up with her, he was the second through the door. She saw her brother tangled up with wires, an IV, and an oxygen mask. She couldn't believe what she was seeing and struggled not to cry. Roy saw the same thing, but couldn't help but hate the state his mentor was in. He hated it and couldn't help but feel like he should have been there. Oliver was one of the first ones with the potential Roy had, instead of just some thug off of the streets. Thea was touching her brother's hand, trying her best to keep herself composed. She saw Barry, who was obviously in no better shape than she was. He looked like he hadn't slept since this all had happened and there were silent tears falling down his face, even in what seemed like just a light doze. He looked like he probably hadn't moved since he got here, and probably hadn't eaten either.

Somehow, Barry had awoken to her and Roy's arrival. He looked at Oliver and saw he still could see no signs of him waking any time soon. He slightly flinched as he saw Thea right next to her brother. She looked at him and inwardly sighed, knowing she had been right. He looked even worse awake, with hollow eyes and tear tracks on his face. She wished she had been wrong about the situation, but he was in probably worse shape than she had originally thought. She had heard from her brother once. He looked like he hadn't seen the sun in more than these past few days. She slowly got up and approached Barry carefully, not wanting to startle him. As soon as she put her hand softly on his shoulder, he flinched and his eyes and then focused on who was touching him. He started crying at her look of concern and couldn't help but try to speed out of his chair, away from the others. As he hadn't moved for at least a few days, he didn't make it that far, due to his metabolism; it was due to him obviously not having moved, let alone eaten before passing out. Thea covered her mouth in shock as Roy had gone to find a doctor for help. Barry's reaction surprised and scared the both of them. Practically pulling the doctor inside, and he looked puzzled as Oliver had looked just fine and then saw Barry sprawled on the floor. Sighing inwardly as he took Barry's pulse and found it just as abnormally fast as it usually seemed to be. According to the files and what he had previously seen, Barry seemed like he hadn't slept most nights and had an obviously extreme metabolic issue. Leaving for the moment, he had the same treatment that had previously been done due to him, according to some files, being placed right across the room to Oliver's room.

Thea looked horrified at the process while leaving Roy to watch over her brother. Barry had become a part of the family and she knew that he was blaming himself for whatever had happened to her brother. She supposed in her situation, she could sympathize with what he was going through. She hated Malcolm for what he had done to her mother and all of the things he had done, one of them being killing Tommy. She had been told that Oliver had been with him, at the end. She both envied and sympathized with her brother, wanting to be with him but knowing she would've broken like she knew that Barry was right now. She didn't and would never blame him for trying his best to get to Oliver. She knew that her brother had been his rock after what had happened in Central, and knew that Oliver had all but dragged him to Starling to start a life where they all knew he could learn to be happier eventually. It seemed to her that all that self-blame that they had steadily more or less leached from him was down the drain, metaphorically speaking. She wished the both of them would stop blaming themselves for anything and everything that went wrong. Right now, she didn't know which room she should be in. It was two of her family, both in the hospital. The doctor had said that after a few hours or so, Barry would wake up and she also was determined to give him a lecture that her brother would definitely be proud of. Roy was with her brother and she trusted him to tell her if anything changed. She held Barry's hand and unconsciously rubbed it back and forth, willing him to wake up. One of the nurses had kindly wiped him over, shaking her head. She was probably thinking the same thing that Thea was.

Roy wasn't usually one to pace, but just looking at Oliver made him feel anxious. Oliver was way too motionless for his taste. His mentor/friend was always practicing, whether it was shooting arrows or making himself stronger on the salmon ladder. His being so still just bothered him and gave him a general sense of anxiety, thus the apprehension. He knew that Thea was trying not to fall apart, but was compartmentalizing, just like her brother did. Right now, she hadn't really processed it, he knew and was dealing with what was happening with Barry. But the moment he woke up or her brother's condition changed, she wouldn't be able to handle it as well as she was at the moment, being sure on the way here that whatever had happened, Barry would blame himself. He was pretty sure that he hadn't slept or eaten during that time. He sighed and sat down in a nearby chair, running a hand over his face. He also knew that Oliver had the same tendency to blame himself.

Thea wondered exactly how her brother would wake up, but Barry's own condition worried her. She knew he had collapsed, and why he had, but slightly wondered why he flinched when she had approached. She watched their friend, knowing that he was undoubtedly very tired. Once he had collapsed, he had hardly moved at all. She supposed that were the situations reversed, she would probably be in the same position herself. She kept on gently rubbing his hand, almost willing him to wake up. She knew she just wanted to be okay if nothing else. He would undoubtedly fall back to sleep, but the doctor didn't know her as she and Oliver did. They would need to make sure he didn't have a relapse, not having eaten for so long. Thea watched Barry flicker his eyes open slowly, obviously trying to wake himself up. He felt the rubbing on his hand stop, and then just gripped it. He looked in that direction and flinched again. Thea sighed, wondering if he was going to do this with her brother once he finally decided to wake up. She watched as Barry looked anywhere else but her. 'As I thought, he's scared I'll hate him I bet.'

"Barry look at me, or else", sighing as she forced him to look at her by turning him towards her with her hands. Silently, she hoped that it wouldn't be as bad with her brother, but knew they were exactly alike when it came to their stubbornness. "I'm not mad at you, and I certainly don't hate you." He looked at her and was biting his lip, like he was thinking about something. 'He's probably not sure if I'm lying or not,' Rolling her eyes, she thought that this whole stubbornness issue was going to be long-term or if, as a scientist, he could accept what she was trying to tell him. "Barry, would I lie to you?" As he shook his head as much as he could with her having a hold on his chin.

"No, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't unless it was to protect me," he responded quietly. He saw her roll her eyes in what was probably exasperation. He felt himself getting sleepy again but wanted to talk to her and ask her about her brother. She leaned in, kissed him on the forehead, and started to stroke her hand through his hair as if reading his thoughts.

"It's okay, Barry. Just sleep for now, and we'll talk later," she said quietly. He nodded slightly before finally giving in to sleep. He barely felt her slip her hand from his and continued stroking his hair for a few minutes, making sure he was asleep. She quietly walked across the room and went to check on her brother.

Roy looked up at her when she came into the room, sighing a bit.

"Did he finally wake up?" he asked her, knowing that she had wanted to stay with her brother, but had to choose Barry for the moment. He was in pretty bad shape at the time, and she knew that Oliver would want to know about his best friend's condition when he woke up. She'd probably give the both of them the lecture of a lifetime about needing backup, but he saw that she was concerned a lot more about Oliver.

"He did for a short amount of time and I had to set him straight about a few things. I can tell that he won't be himself until Ollie wakes up. You know how stubborn they can both be sometimes."

Roy snorted and then got up so Thea could be closer to the bed and stood by her side for the moment. There was a couch that looked oh so tempting for a short nap at least, but he knew that she needed him for the time being. Glancing at her, he could tell that she was exhausted but was just desperate to be near him. They both wanted more than nothing for him to wake up and for Barry to be better.

Thea spent the night holding her brother's hand didn't have the IV in it and got a few hours of sleep. When she woke up from her very short sleep, she had been naively hoping that his eyes would be open and staring back at her with that almost smile he seemed to always have these days. She knew from running Verdant that things could get overwhelming at times, so she knew that it must be quite tiring. Plus, if she included the night job that he was always at, he was probably fairly tired and just needed the rest. It was the only thing that kept her going these days, knowing he would wake up and apologize. She later couldn't sleep and went to check on Barry, having nothing else to do except wander the halls or something. As she opened the door as quietly as she could, she noticed that she wasn't the only one awake at this hour. He hadn't noticed her come in, so Barry jumped slightly. Thea gave him the same look that she gave her brother at times he was being a tad thickheaded. Unfortunately, it had somewhat rubbed off on Barry. She decided to let him settle down before she gently berated him for thinking like she knew he was. Inwardly sighing, she figured she would have to tell her brother a similar talking to.

"Barry, you know that I love you as if you were a close brother, but this constant liability you are shouldering, thinking we'd hate you is ridiculous. I know that you tried your very best to get to Ollie before anything could have happened. I know that you think its your fault that you couldn't get there in time is not reasonable by any means. So please stop blaming yourself. Please? I know that it won't be easy, from personal experience, but I promise I'll be there to help."

A/N: I figure this will probably end up being a few chapters, but I'm already exceeding 5+ words, and have to get going onto my other stories to update them. I am sorry for not updating sooner, but things have been spiraling lately. Have a good day!