A/N: Really hope this chapter doesn't disappoint.
Laurel knew that with just one slight movement of his index finger, her life would be over. With the barrel of the gun looming between her eyes, she tried to rack her brain for ways to get out of the situation, but there was nothing. This was it. Laurel squeezed her eyes shut and braced herself for the inevitable blow. She heard something whiz through the air, and not seconds after, the gun went off.
The man howled in pain as he grabbed at the arrow embedded in his arm. The gun fell from his hand and clattered onto the sidewalk as Oliver leapt down from the roof of the bank. He grabbed the shaft of the arrow and jammed it into the wall of the bank, promptly pinning the man's arm, and then Oliver rushed over to where Laurel lay sprawled on the sidewalk. "Laurel! Laurel, come on. Come back to me," Oliver said as he pried her body for injuries. Her eyes slowly began to open as she looked up at him.
"Oliver?" Laurel whispered, her forehead knitting with confusion. "How am I…? I heard his gun go off," she said, and then the pain hit her. Laurel reached down her right leg and pressed a hand up against her thigh. When she raised it back up, it was covered in blood. Oliver's eyes widened as he examined the bullet wound in her leg.
"We need to get you out of here before you lose too much blood," Oliver demanded as he began to slide his arms under her to pick her up. He spoke into his comm, "Felicity, get the med table ready." He started to lift Laurel up, but she pushed his hands away. "Laurel, you've been shot," Oliver stated angrily.
"I'll be fine," Laurel replied, trying to make her voice stronger. She gestured over at the man pinned to wall. "I came here to help you stop a robbery, and that's what I'm going to do," Laurel said indignantly, pulling herself up into a sitting position and took of her jacket. She tied it tightly around her thigh to stop the blood and then she reached over to the duffel bags that were left on the ground and quickly unzipped one. Just as she had expected, it was filled with of stacks of cash.
Oliver growled and went over to the man pinned on the wall. "Who are you, and why are you working with Jacob Ruther?" Oliver asked, grabbing the man's face and forcing him to look up. The man groaned in pain, but didn't answer. Oliver wrapped his hand around the arrow sticking out of the man's arm and began twisting it around. "Arrow's hurt just as much going in as when they're getting pulled out," he growled, slowly pulling the arrow from his arm. The man yelled out in agony.
"Fine, fine," he sobbed, his face red with pain. "I helped him get-"
"Behind you!" Laurel screamed before the man could continue. Oliver whipped around just in time to dodge a swinging metal pipe. Oliver quickly jumped out of the way, and his eyes widened in surprise when he realized it was Ruther. Ruther growled and swung again, this time catching Oliver in the gut and causing him to keel over.
"You were supposed to have a clean getaway!" Ruther yelled at the man, as he tried to unpin him from the wall.
Laurel knew she had to do something. She tried to ignore the pain in her leg as she reached for the gun that had been discarded on the ground. Snatching it up, Laurel aimed at the robbers and fired. She heard Ruther yell out and grab his shoulder.
By now Oliver had recovered and when Ruther tried to swing at him again, Oliver ducked and kicked out Ruther's legs causing his him to fall hard on his knees. The fall caused the pipe to fly from Ruther's hands and it smashed into the window of the bank. Alarms immediately began going off. Oliver growled in frustration because he knew the police would be arriving at any second. He tied both of the robbers together and pinned them to the wall with another arrow.
"We have to go!" Oliver shouted at Laurel, as he kicked the bags of cash against the wall. "The police are on their way right now."
"No," Laurel replied, getting up and leaning on Oliver for support. "I need to know what's going on with these robbers." She began to limp towards where the men were pinned to the wall.
"Laurel…" Oliver warned, his fists clenching with frustration.
She leaned heavily against Oliver. "Who are you, and how do you know who I am?" Laurel said, pointing at the man that almost killed her.
"That's Michael Dobbs," Ruther growled out, surprising both Oliver and Laurel. "He was at both of my trials."
"Why the hell would you tell them my name?" Michael said angrily, trying to grab at Ruther.
"Well for one, it doesn't make a difference because we're gonna be taken in anyways thanks to you!" Ruther replied, looking just as angry.
"You should be grateful! I got you out of two trials. You would've been in jail three years ago if it wasn't for me," Michael yelled.
Ruther snorted and replied, "Sure, yeah, you get me out of jail and then force me to rob banks to pay you back!"
Oliver and Laurel watched as they practically confessed without even being interrogated. As they continued to argue, Felicity's voice spoke in his ear, "Oliver you should get out of there. The police are less than three blocks away. They're gonna get there soon."
Oliver gently tugged on Laurel's arm as a way of saying they had to go, but before they walked away, Oliver took out one of his arrow's and jammed it into the wall above their heads. "I recorded your full confession," he said, and then he helped Laurel into her car. Oliver watched with amusement as the two men tried to reach the arrow with the recording on it. He quickly got in, and turned into the back roads just as the police arrived.
When they arrived back at Verdant, Laurel was half asleep. "Why do I feel so exhausted?" she murmured as Oliver carried her out of the car.
"It's just the adrenaline wearing off and probably your blood loss," Oliver replied. He carried her down to the foundry where Diggle and Roy stood waiting. Felicity was no where to be found.
"You're looking pretty pale, Laurel," Diggle observed as Oliver placed her on the metal table. Laurel nodded in reply and grimaced as Diggle slowly unwrapped the jacket from around her leg.
Oliver stood by her side and held her hand and Diggle removed the bullet and patched her up. After a couple minutes, Diggle peeled off his gloves glanced up at Laurel. "You're all set," he said, rummaging through a drawer. "Just go home, get some sleep, and take it easy on that leg. It should heal in no time." He handed her a bottle of painkillers.
"Let me go change really quick and I'll take you home," Oliver said, finally releasing her hand. Laurel nodded and watched as he walked away.
"You shouldn't have gone after him," Diggle said, once Oliver was gone.
Laurel glanced up at him. "Isn't this a team? We're supposed to help protect each other," she replied.
Diggle sighed and paused to choose his words. "I know you've probably had some self defense lessons, and you are capable of protecting yourself, but what we do is a whole nother level," he looked at Laurel meaningly. "You going out there today was really risky, and not telling any of us made it even more dangerous. If you want to be part of the team, you're going to have to work with us-all of us." Diggle gestured at himself and Roy. Roy nodded in agreement.
"Fine," Laurel answered curtly.
Felicity was thoughtfully chewing on her thumbnail when Oliver rounded the corner to the bathroom. His brow furrowed when he noticed her. "What are you doing over here?" Oliver asked, slowing to a stop in front of her.
Instead of answering Oliver's question, she asked, "How's Laurel?"
Oliver pursed his lips. "She's fine. The bullet only grazed her muscle, but it's a good thing she didn't bleed out," he replied.
"I can't believe she just went after you like that. She could've gotten it worse," Felicity said, shaking her head and looking at her toes.
"I can't believe you didn't notice her leaving the foundry," Oliver replied, his voice low but laced with a darker undertone.
Felicity's head shot up, and she looked into Oliver's hardened eyes. "I was busy trying to help out you and Diggle," she defended. "How was I supposed to know she would try to sneak out?"
Oliver shook his head. "Felicity, you have got to get your A-game on," he replied, his voice getting slightly louder. "Diggle and I have trained you to be aware of your surroundings, and if you can't do that, at least give me complete information before I go into a mission."
Her jaw fell open. "Do you think I did that on purpose?" Felicity replied, incredulous. "I made a mistake, Oliver! We all make them!"
"That mistake would've led to the money getting away had Laurel not found that information!" Oliver replied, his voice getting closer and closer to a shout.
"Oh, I get it," Felicity replied, stepping right up to Oliver. "I was the one that messed everything up, and Laurel saved the day!"
Felicity could practically feel the frustration rolling off of him. "That's not what I'm saying, Felicity!" Oliver growled in reply.
"Well it sure sounds like it," Felicity replied, before spinning on her heel and stalking off.
Diggle paused mid-punch and shot a glance at Roy, who had also stopped training, as Oliver and Felicity's voices got louder. He could only make out a few words here and there, but it was obvious they were arguing about the mission. He turned and looked at Laurel and saw that she had also stopped flipping through her folder and was listening to the conversation around the corner.
Not seconds later, Felicity walked around the corner and they all tried to pretend they hadn't been listening in. She didn't acknowledge them at all and just continued to march towards the stairs.
"Are you okay?" Laurel asked when Felicity passed the med table. She gave a rough nod and climbed the stairs, clearly intent on getting out of the foundry as quickly as possible.
Roy took a step towards Diggle. "What do you think Oliver did this time?" he whispered. Diggle just shook his head. Oliver and Felicity were both so hard headed, it always surprised him how well they could work together-at least when they weren't arguing.
When Diggle looked up, Oliver was changed and was quietly talking to Laurel. Diggle sighed, shook his head slightly and went back to throwing punches at the dummies. He knew changes were bound to happen when Laurel joined the team, he just hoped those changes wouldn't drag the rest of them down.
Laurel leaned heavily on Oliver as he helped her to the car. As they walked through the parking lot, she tripped and almost went tumbling forward, but Oliver caught her in his arms and pulled her upright against his chest.
"Whoa there," he whispered, "Let's not get anymore injuries." Laurel let out a light laugh and squeezed his arm gratefully.
When they got to the car, Oliver helped her into the passenger's seat and then he got in to drive her home.
"I'm sorry for recklessly just going after you," Laurel said once they were on the main road. "John made me realize that I could've gotten really hurt. I guess I don't have the proper training, do I?"
Oliver sighed. "Yes, that was careless of you, but I also have to thank you," he said, glancing over at Laurel. "I would've had no clue about the other man if it weren't for you."
Laurel smiled at him. "Thanks, but in the end, you were the one that saved me," she replied.
"That's what I do," Oliver said, with a small smile.
"I guess I went after you because I wanted to return the favor," Laurel said, staring at her hands. "You do so much to save this city, and I just wanted to help you out and make it easier for you."
There was a moment of silence and Laurel glanced over at Oliver and saw him thoughtfully staring at the road ahead. After a moment, Oliver replied saying, "You'll need training then."
Laurel's eyes widened. "What are you saying?" she asked.
"I'm going to train you," Oliver stated.
Laurel couldn't help thinking about what it would be like to train with a shirtless and sweaty Oliver. Her mind flashed back to when she had tripped earlier and Oliver pulled her up against his chest. She wondered if they would get that close when they trained.
"Really?" Laurel asked once she cleared her head of thoughts of Oliver.
Oliver nodded as if he was trying to convince himself. "I know you know self defense, but you've gotta be prepared for the people we deal with," Oliver said. "Just because I agree to train you, does not mean you get to go out into the field in every mission." Oliver shot her a knowing look.
Laurel smiled. "Thank you, Oliver. You don't know how much this means to me," Laurel replied, reaching over and squeezing his free hand.
"It's Sara isn't it," Oliver said knowingly.
Laurel paused and then nodded. "I guess I just want to make a difference like she did," Laurel said. "How did you know?"
"I know you better than you think," Oliver replied, shooting her a smile. The way he said it so confidently made Laurel's heart flutter in her chest.
When they arrived at Laurel's house, Oliver got out of the car like a gentlemen, and helped her to her apartment. "Do you want to come in?" Laurel asked, trying to hide the hopefulness in her voice.
Oliver offered her an apologetic smile. "It's past one in the morning, I think sleep is going to do you good," Oliver said.
"Do you wanna get breakfast or something tomorrow?" Laurel asked.
"How about you stay in bed, let that leg heal, and I'll bring the breakfast to you," Oliver replied with a smile.
Laurel grinned. "That sounds fantastic," she said, "See you tomorrow then."
Oliver nodded. "Goodnight, Laurel," he said, turning and walking down the hall.
Laurel watched him leave for a second and then gently closed the door. She limped over to her bedroom and quickly changed. She took one of the pills Diggle gave her and then got into bed. As she lay there, she went through everything that happened that day, and she finally fell asleep thinking about how good it felt finally getting to spend time with Oliver.
Felicity returned to the foundry expecting it to be empty, but instead Diggle sat waiting in her chair. "Go home, Diggle," she said once she reached her desk.
Diggle just shook his head. "Not 'till you talk to me," he replied. Felicity sighed and leaned up against one of the metal tables. Diggle started to get up from her chair to offer it to her, but she just shook her head.
"I shouldn't blame Laurel should I?" Felicity asked, fiddling with her bracelets. "I mean I was the one that encouraged Oliver to let her join in the first place. I guess I didn't really think about her history with Oliver."
"To be honest, I'm not sure she's a good addition to our team," Diggle said with a shrug. "You saw how she just ran into the field today. She doesn't know how to work with the rest of us, and I think that's going to cause a problem."
Felicity wrung her hands. "I feel like she deserves a chance though," she replied timidly. "Think about Sara. At first it was really uncomfortable with her around, but then she and I ended up being really close. What if it's going to be the same with Laurel?"
Diggle nodded slowly, but Felicity could see in his eyes that he was definitely not convinced. She sighed and pushed herself off of the table, reaching over to gather her things.
After she shut off all the computers, Diggle got up and walked Felicity to her car.
"See you tomorrow, Felicity," Diggle said as she got into her car.
Felicity smiled up at him. "'Night, Dig," she replied.
As she drove home, Felicity wondered if she actually believed what she had said about Laurel. Yes, she might've been able to get along with Sara, but Laurel was definitely not Sara.