Malcolm
Thea had been in the hospital for a week.
She has done physical therapy everyday.
All Thea was doing was complaining about it.
"And here I thought Miss. Tough Girl got no complaints."
"I got plenty of complaints. I just don't voice them as much anymore."
"Because Malcolm told her only snobby bitches complain that much."
Thea snickered.
"I complained a lot when I was on the Island at first too."
"Who's Shado?"
"What?"
"Slade mentioned a Shado."
"There was a man- Anthony Ivo. He gave me a choice. Shado, who I was dating at the time or Sara."
"Sara?"
"Yeah."
"Like Sara Sara?"
"Yeah."
"She made it to Lian Yu too?"
"Where the hell have you been?" Laurel questioned.
"So, he told me to choose one of them. Or he'd shoot both of them."
"And you chose Sara?"
"Ultimately, yeah."
"And I'm guessing Slade was in love with Shado?"
"Yeah."
"Wow."
"You already saw all those scars. Half of them were from Slade."
"Wow."
"Yeah."
He looked down.
"We buried Shado next to Yao Fei. Her father."
"Wow. Sentimental."
"Yeah."
Oliver shook his head.
"I tried to warn you, Thea. I did. I told you to stay away from Slade for a reason."
"Mm."
"But that wouldn't have mattered anyway. The entire Queen family has been blasted across the net multiple times."
She sighed.
"He only knew about Laurel. He didn't know anything about us. Until he got to Star City."
Sara ran in.
"Hey. Are you okay?"
"Yeah. I'm fine."
"So sorry it took me a week to convince Rip to let me leave."
"I'm just glad to see you."
"Glad to see you too."
"Lance's daughters are staying out of the field. That includes you too."
"You're not the boss of me."
"Laurel, some help here."
"Darhk already tried to kill Thea and me. He's gonna try to kill you too. That's why he pulled both of us out of the field."
"You get a month to defeat Darhk. And then I don't care if you have or not."
"Fine."
Curtis
I was just checking the implant.
Malcolm
The female Doctor walked in.
"I am gonna release you tomorrow."
"Okay."
"But I want you to stay with a family member for now."
"Um... I'm living with Laurel. So..."
"Okay."
She handed a piece of paper to Laurel.
"That's for you."
"What is it?"
"She refuses to clean her own tracheotomy tube. So..."
"Fun."
"And keep her out of the shower for another week."
"Really? Two weeks without a shower? Are you kidding me?"
"No."
Thea scowled.
"And only soft foods for about a month."
"Okay."
The female Doctor walked out.
"I'm not cleaning that."
"I will stop by and do it everyday."
Oliver snatched the paper from her.
"I love you but not enough to mess with that."
"Mm."
"I'll even cook your soft foods for you."
Thea shook her head.
"Stupid rules. Stupid soft foods options. I can't eat what I want."
"Not right now."
She sighed.
Laurel
I had went back to our apartment.
I was going through Thea's clothes.
I was trying to find something comfy and easy for her to slide on.
I heard footsteps.
I spun around.
It was Nyssa.
"God! Give somebody a heart attack. Sneaking up like that."
"Sorry."
I sighed.
"How is Thea?"
"Getting released tomorrow morning."
Nyssa was going through the clothes with me.
"I am sincerely sorry she got hurt."
"I know."
"If there's anything I can do, I want to do it."
"You can replace Thea and me out in the field temporarily."
"Yeah. Of course."
"Thank you."
"Of course. Not a problem."
I picked out a long-sleeved hoodie and leggings.
We walked out of the apartment after I grabbed her a clean pair of panties and bra.
Malcolm
Laurel walked in with Nyssa.
I scowled at her.
"Nyssa will be filling in mine and Thea's absence in the field."
"Goody." Diggle commented.
"Well, what? You two are gonna take down HIVE all by yourselves?"
"Never mind."
"And aren't you supposed to take Diggle with you as your bodyguard?"
Nyssa pulled Laurel back.
"He's not even worth it."
Sara and Thea were talking.
She laughed at something she said.
Thea had fell asleep.
Oliver, Laurel, Sara, Lance, and Felicity were sleeping.
Darhk
I was wondering where Malcolm was.
"Track down Merlyn." I ordered Andy.
He ran out of the building.
Malcolm
Oliver had woke up after an hour.
He ran a hand through his hair.
Andy appeared.
Oliver ran at him.
Andy grunted as he plummeted him into the floor.
"Ollie?"
Thea was half-asleep.
Her eyes weren't even open.
"My little Sister?!"
Oliver was punching him across the face.
Diggle was awake.
He wasn't moving to stop him.
Laurel had woke up too.
She groaned.
"It is too early for fighting."
"Darhk will come after your Sister again. He's expecting me back."
Oliver grunted, getting off Andy.
"I will end you. Make no mistake of that."
He stared up at him.
"And you can count on that. Because I swear on my mother's grave, I'll end you, you punk."
Oliver laughed.
"You think you've killed a lot of people?"
Andy stared.
"Triple that amount."
He ran off.
"Yeah! You better run away, little boy!" He yelled.
Oliver slammed the door closed.
I laughed.
"That was a bit excessive, Ollie."
"He shot a bullet in Thea's chest. That was not excessive."
She sighed.
"Since you're benching me for an indefinite amount of time, I'm taking the DA position."
"You should. That way you can keep the team out of trouble."
Laurel laughed.
Darhk
Andy returned.
His face was a mess.
Murmur whistled.
"Let's just say- Oliver doesn't appreciate that I shot at his little Sister."
"Wow. Okay."
"That was a bit excessive, Ollie."
"He shot a bullet in Thea's chest. That was not excessive."
Laurel sighed.
"Since you're benching me for an indefinite amount of time, I'm taking the DA position."
"You should. That way you can keep the team out of trouble."
She laughed.
Malcolm
"We all got a role to play in making this team work. If we don't work together, this all goes away."
"Yeah."
"We'll find something for Thea to do. That does not require doing anything excessive."
Laurel laughed.
"I can give Thea my implant."
"Curtis is making another one, Felicity. It's no guarantee that it will actually work."
"I know."
Next Morning
Thea was wide awake.
The female Doctor walked in.
"How are you feeling?"
"Ready to go home."
"Well, you have spent eight days here."
Oliver laughed.
"Just take it easy on the extracurricular activities at night, huh?"
"Yeah."
She put the release papers down in front of her.
Thea signed "Thea Queen" in cursive on the dotted lines.
Laurel helped her stand up.
"I can help you get dressed."
"Thanks."
They headed into the Bathroom.
Laurel
I pulled Thea's hospital gown over her head.
She looked down at the incision in her gut.
"Battle scars. Shows I'm stronger than anything Darhk can do."
I pulled Thea's pink hoodie over her head.
She was holding onto me.
I slid Thea's black leggings up her legs.
She slid her feet into her black ballet flats.
Malcolm
Thea and Laurel walked out of the Bathroom.
She was in a pink hoodie, black leggings, and black ballet flats.
"Let's go."
"We going to Ollie's apartment. We're staying there until you feel better."
Thea was using the wall.
Oliver lifted her up into his arms.
"How am I ever gonna walk by myself if you keep carrying me around?"
He smiled.
Curtis
I had finished the implant.
I put it in a clear box.
I wrapped it.