The following Story features characters and places created and licensed by DC Comics, and Warner Brothers, and belongs solely to them. The story itself, however, belongs to me; © The Writers Quill

Oliver had no idea how long he'd been asleep when he heard other voices in the room. He opened his eyes and saw Laurel, and… "Felicity?"

"Hi! Yeah-sorry! I just came by to bring Officer Lance some flowers. Well, I'll leave you two- three! You three! To, what, ever. Okay-bye." Felicity seemed more flustered than usually.

"Thanks for coming by, and the flowers." Laurel said.

"Anytime!" Felicity said over her shoulder as she escaped yet another awkward situation she'd probably made for herself. Laurel went over to flowers on the window sill, adjusting them in the afternoon sun.. They must be the ones Felicity had brought.

"How's he doing? Have you heard anything yet?" Oliver asked.

"Yeah, the doctor came in a while ago."

Laurel went into detail about what the doctor had told her about her father's condition.

"If everything checks out, he can go home." She finished, a short time later.

"That's great!"

Laurel nodded. She looked at her watch. It was almost after dinner and they hadn't eaten anything most of the day. "Hey, I'm going to go get something from the cafeteria. You want something?"

"Uh, sure." Oliver said, realizing he was hungry as he stretched from his nap. "Whatever 's fine. I'll stay here with him."

"Thanks. I'll be back as quickly as I can." Laurel picked up her purse, and left the room.

Oliver was left alone with the prone figure lying on the motorized bed. Office Lance lay almost motionless/lifeless, save the slight movement of his chest: up…down…up…down…. From all the tubes and machines hooked up to him/running in and out of him it was hard to believe he was breathing on his own. Oliver knew he'd be okay now, but "how long would it be before someone else he cared about was struck down by his 'righteous' crusade? Would Quentin be the next member of the Lance family to perish at his hands?", Oliver wondered. It was one of the many gloomy thoughts he'd mulled over while he sat with Laurel. He'd done his best to keep them at bay while he was with her, but now came in an unbridled torrent without her presence to purge him. He paid close attention the man in the bed, keeping his promise to watch over him. What had he done to this family? He thought about it everyday: the pain his actions had caused, the avalanche of hurts inflicting deep wounds that would likely never be repaired. He'd destroyed Lance's world: his marriage, his daughters, and the man himself. It was never just Laurel he owed everything to, it was the entire family. He looked at the flowers Felicity had brought. Such a kind gesture to someone she hardly knew, even though they'd saved the city together (whether they knew it or not) on several occasions.

Soon Laurel returned bearing burgers and curly fries. They ate quickly, not realizing how hungry they were; for Oliver, years of learning how to go without food, and for Laurel, worry over her father. After they finished they watched some more TV before they both dozed off.

It was several hours later when they woke up. The TV was still on. Some crime drama was on. "Well, you two got in a nice nap," came a voice from the bed.

"Dad!" Laurel rose up quickly, letting Oliver slump over to wake up fully, and went over to her father hand and gently touched his arm.

He slowly pulled her hand to his lips and kissed it, "Hello, Sweetheart."

"Hi Daddy. How are you feeling?"

"Honestly… I feel like crap." Lance said slowly. Laurel smiled. He seemed like his old self- a good sign. "Hey, have you seen the doctor anywhere?"

"Not in a few hours, why? Are you hurting?"

"No… well, yes, but that's not why…- I need her to get these damn tubes out of me so I can get back to work."

Laurel wasn't in the least surprised. "What am I suppose to do with you?" She said, crossing her arms, though not able to hide the smile of relief on her face.

"… I don't know. You can start by gettin' me outta here."

Laurel looked at Oliver, "Do you hear this man?" Oliver nodded. "Unbelievable!"

"Excuse me folks," A slightly plump nurse poked her head into the room after knocking gently, "visiting hours are about to end in about half an hour. Family members can stay," she added quickly as she saw Laurel about to object, "but non-family members'll have to leave, I'm sorry." the nurse said, kindly.

"I understand." The nurse smiled an apology, then left the doorway. "I guess that's my cue."

Laurel reached out for him, the two embraced. "So, What are you going to do now?" He knew the significance of her question; what she was really asking. He looked at Lance, then at Laurel. Oliver knew the risks of war. Not everyone survives. Sometimes, it may be a blessing not to.

He thought for the longest moment, "I honestly don't know yet," he said finally, "but I know I'm going to be there for Starling, and the people that help me save it. I want to be the hero Starling deserves." And maybe I can pay my friends back for being the friends I don't deserve.

Author's Note:

I wanted to go over how Oliver feels about the Lance's (it was originally suppose to just be Quentin himself, but it quickly became Laurel as well) because… well, it's been a while since most people have watched season one or two, but I don't think it's overkill to restate what they mean to him since that's a major plot of point of season one, and even two. especially since most of us have been away from the good part of the series for quite a while. Also, this is, very early on, establishing something very important for Oliver and part of the many things he's going to be dealing with in My Version of Season Three.

Also, it brings up something different between Oliver and Bruce (Batman), which comes from my desire to separate the two from each other. Oliver wants to be the hero Starling deserves, not just the one it needs, like a certain Caped Crusader from a very famous movie. Also, that he wants to start being there for his friends more. Batman is famous for being a bad father (one of the reasons he's not in my top 10 favorite heroes).

I hope you enjoyed reading! If you know anyone who was bummed out by the latest seasons, any characters leaving, or just gave up on the show, please send them this- share!

Thanks for Reading

~ T. W. Quill

P.S. Most of these "shorts" will not be this long… I hope!