A/N: Sorry for the short chapter. But I have good news on the next update. I'm working extra hard to bring you the next chapter as a much longer one. Titled "Revelations", this next chapter will finally answer the question "Why is Ollie estranged from his family?" Instead of making several short chapters, and having to update every few days, I'll have the whole chapter finished in a few days. And I suspect it will be the longest chapter I ever published. Hope you enjoy it. See you soon.

Chapter 29: Pole Vaulting

-set after "No Pressure"-

I miss my family. I think about them a lot, but I never seemed to have the stones to call them and say how sorry I was for leaving. Lucy I miss the most. My relationship with her when we were younger made me wonder if I really would be the type for kids. I've thought about it many times before, and I know I'd be great. But I've never found the right girl yet. I guess I could join the club with Ted.

Robin and I gave each other advice on certain situations as we became closer friends since Halloween. I always seemed to know what to say to help her in her situations, but that night she came into the bar with something so sad, that I wasn't really sure how to respond to.

"Kevin and I broke up." She sniffed. She had clearly been crying.

"What? Oh, that sucks. I'm so sorry-" She didn't know about my therapy sessions with him, so now I knew they'd be awkward. Very, very awkward.

"Not finished." Robin interrupted. "Afterwards, Ted claimed he loved me, so I moved out. It was Marshall advice. He knew how Ted felt about my rejection."

"What? Ok, that sounds awkward-"

"Still not finished." Robin interrupted again. "To top it off, I found out I can't...be a pole vaulter." It looked like she was about to say something else.

"A pole vaulter?" I said, confused.

"Yeah. Pole vaulting is the rage up in Canada. I found out I can't be a pole vaulter for Canada in the Olympics."

I thought for a second that Robin was telling me the full story. I really believed her story. Until I saw it in her eyes.

"Don't bullshit me, Robin. I know you better than that. Don't think of me as an idiot."

"Excuse me?"

"Excuse you. You're my friend, and I have this thing where I can tell when my friends are hiding something. Plus, it's *hockey* that's the rage up there. I know this because I've been there before. So what's this really about? It's not pole vaulting that's got you in a rut. What is it?"

Robin looked around the bar. "Can you promise not to tell anyone? Only a few other people know."

I crossed my heart.

Robin took a deep breath, and then laid it out to me. "I can't have kids."

I felt like I got smacked in the face with a bat. "What? For real?"

Robin nodded.

I was still confused. "Well, isn't that good? You said you never wanted kids. So it would-"

"Ollie, get it into your head!" Snapped Robin. "Yes I didn't want kids. But now that I can't have any, now I feel cheated. I didn't know what I wanted until I couldn't have it." She started to tear up, then looked hard at me. "You aren't telling anyone I said those things to you, or I that cried in front of you."

I shook my head, raising my hands. "You know I won't."

I poured two glasses of scotch and gave one to Robin.

"You know, I feel a similar way." I said.

"No you don't." Said Robin, angrily.

"No, seriously. I went to the city hoping one day, I'd own my own bar. I've been in New York for over 10 years, and nothing's happened. The only thing that's changed is what bars I've worked at."

"Let's toast to that." Said Robin. "To all that shit we went through, and endured."

"So what now? Where are you living now?"

"I got a co-worker who invited me to stay with her for a while until I get back up on my feet."

"Sounds about right. Listen, Robin. If you feel at all angry, or lonely, don't hesitate to talk to me here. I got the best ears around, ready to hear as much bitching as possible."

"I somewhat doubt that you could handle it, after all I've been through."

"Robin, I know what you've gone through. In my own way I've been dragged through hell, years ago. 2003 was my shit year. I'll never forget what happened, because it was traumatic for me. Now I wish that things had gone differently, but I know that'll never happen."

"What happened?" Asked Robin.

I paused. There it was. That stupid question. But I then understood what I had to do: There was no more running away from my problems. No more hiding. I had to admit what happened. "I think it's time I told someone what happened to me almost 9 years ago."

"All right." Robin sat up, ready to listen.

"As you know, I come from Port Angeles. My family and I ran a hunting business. I was known around the town as 'Oliver the Archer' or the 'Real Green Arrow'. I was close to my family, but no one was nearly as close to me as my cousin, Lucy. She and I were like peas and carrots as Forrest Gump might say. Before I left for New York, she told me to pursue my dreams instead of work on Wall Street. Because we both know I'm not the person for that kind of thing. But my dad wanted me to do it, so I had no choice."

"Boy, do I know how that feels." Said Robin.

"I know you do. But I trained in secret to become a bartender instead of becoming a corporate prick. But everything changed as June 2003 began..."