Sara Lance had never felt so nervous in her entire life.

Never. Not while writing her senior thesis. Not while doing the MCAT. Not even when she almost got that DUI five years ago. All of those events had been nerve-wracking, but compared to now they were positively serene. At least with the former two, she had months of preparation, and with the latter, she had a cop father who had loads of favors to call on. She had been worried, but there was still a certainty to the situation, the subconscious knowledge that in the back of her mind that everything was going to be alright.

The same couldn't be said with this. This time, Sara was going in blind, as were her parents. They had, at most, a week to prepare for this. But if Sara was being honest with herself, nothing could ever really prepare them for what was waiting for them on the other side of those doors.

Laurel.

Laurel was alive.

Even just thinking about it made Sara want to burst into tears of joy. Her wildest, most desperate dream had, against all the odds, come true. Laurel was alive, and she was home, and finally, finally their family was going to be whole again. Dad had called it a miracle, and he was right.

Of course, intellectually Sara knew that there was more to it than that, that integrating Laurel back into their lives wasn't going to be easy. So much had changed during the five years she was gone, so much that she would have to navigate. And that wasn't even accounting for the changes Laurel herself had undergone during her time away.

"Several puncture wounds, multiple broken bones, many of which were not allowed to heal properly, and she has scars from what seem to be several large cuts and a few burns," the doctor — Dr. Lamb, arguably the best primary care physician in the city — continued to list out, a report given to them at her sister's insistence. He had been contacted to handle Laurel's initial examination upon her return to the city at the behest of the Queens, who had him on retainer. Moira Queen herself had insisted they use his services, stating she would handle any extra fees.

It made her think back to when the Queens had found out about Laurel's survival. Sara had gone to the mansion personally to inform them and had luckily walked in on one of Tommy's visits, meaning she didn't have to make a second trip to tell him as well. They had been just as overjoyed as Sara's own family had been, even if the mood had been dampened slightly by Laurel's confirmation that Robert hadn't survived the sinking of the Gambit. Oliver in particular had been rather tearful, and he had taken out that old picture Laurel had given him and stared at it, muttering constant 'thank you's under his breath. His mother, meanwhile, had made a few calls and called in a few favors to expedite Laurel's return, in addition to loaning Dr. Lamb to them. "The least I could do," she had said.

"I can take a look at the medical report later," Sara offered once it became clear that her parents couldn't bear to hear what kind of pain their eldest daughter had gone through the five years she was gone any longer. It would be hard for her too, but Sara was a second-year med student — she knew how to compartmentalize.

Dr. Lamb nodded to her, filing the report back into the folder in his arms. Mom swallowed, clutching Dad's hand. "Has she said anything about what happened while she was gone?" Dinah asked.

The good doctor shook his head. "Not a word," he admitted. "But whatever she underwent was clearly traumatic. I'll warn you of this now — the Laurel you lost might not be the one here, now. You should prepare yourselves."

They were allowed inside soon after. It took a moment for Sara to recognize her sister — Laurel's hair was no longer the dyed brunette it had been before the Gambit, but back to its natural honey blonde. It only made sense, it's not like Laurel had access to any dye on the island, but it was still strange to see.

"Laurel?"

She turned around, and Sara sucked in a breath. A certain weight was on her sister's shoulders, one that wasn't there before. Laurel always took on too much responsibility for herself, but now it looked like the entire world was bearing down on her head. Yet when she saw them, her expression brightened, and the world stopped.

Nobody said anything. One minute, they were mere feet apart, and the next, Laurel was buried in their parents' arms, the three of them clutching at each other like lifelines. Dad had one of his hands buried into her hair, murmuring something that Sara couldn't hear. Mom was shaking.

Sara kept away, allowing them to have this moment. She'd get hers soon enough.

When they were done, Mom and Dad stepped away, allowing Sara to get a clear view of her sister again. Laurel had been in the middle of wiping away her tears when she saw Sara, and then she started crying all over again. Sara started crying too, as she threw herself at her sister and tried to breathe in her scent.

Laurel's embrace was warm and comforting and oh-so-familiar even after so many years apart. If it were possible, Sara would never leave it again. She'd just hold onto her sister, day after day, and revel in the fact that she was alive.

But, alas, reality crashed in. Laurel gently pulled away and cupped her face. "You've grown up, Sara-bear."

Sara sniffled, and burst into tears again.

"Mr. Queen—Robert, managed to grab me before the yacht completely capsized and pull me onto one of the lifeboats with him and his bodyguard, Dave Hackett. As far as I know, we three were the only ones to escape in time. We drifted for about a day or so in the raft while waiting for the storm to subside, and then…" Laurel trailed off, then swallowed.

Dinah put a comforting hand on her eldest's knee. The four of them were still in Laurel's hospital room, listening to her tell the story about how she survived. Dr. Lamb was in the process of getting her discharged, so they weren't in a rush to leave just yet.

"You don't have to continue, baby," Quentin reassured her softly.

Laurel shook her head. "It's not that. I'll tell you soon. It's just that… I think the Queens should be here when I tell the rest."

Sara felt her stomach sink at those words, as the mood in the room dampened. They already knew that Mr. Queen hadn't survived the shipwreck, that no one else had. That had been one of the first questions Laurel had been asked once they found out she was alive—an unpleasant but necessary one, to give their friends closure. But judging by the grimace on her sister's face, there was more to the story than what she told them on the phone, and whatever it was, it wasn't pleasant.

"Well," she said instead, trying to change the subject, "you'll be seeing them—and Tommy—soon, if that's alright with you. We're having a small welcome-back dinner with them at their mansion tonight."

A blink. "I don't mind, but why aren't we going home?"

Dad grimaced. "We would, but some paps have been hanging around the house lately waiting to get pictures of you. Luke's doing us a solid and trying to clear the place out, but he needs more time before he can give us the all-clear."

"Wouldn't paparazzi be hanging around the Queen estate too, though?"

"Yeah, but they got gates," he pointed out, and Laurel giggled. It made him smile.

"They're very eager to see you again, dear," Mom added, rubbing circles on Laurel's back.

"Including Ollie?" she asked, biting the corner of her lip nervously. Her hand idly fingered the Canary necklace around her neck, a gesture everyone noticed immediately.

"Especially Ollie," Sara said, taking in the way Laurel's face flushed with no small amount of amusement and fondness.

Some things never changed. Sara was glad that this was one of them.

After Laurel was discharged, they left through the back entrance to avoid the loads of reporters hanging around the front entrance. Being vultures, a few of them were hanging around in the back too, and managed to snap a few pictures before they could get into the car and pull out of the parking lot. Sara tried not to take it too badly—in a few weeks, Laurel's survival would be old news and they would move on.

Laurel watched the road through the window during the drive, completely silent. Sara supposed she was taking in any changes she'd noticed. Starling was a bustling, ever-growing metropolis, and while Sara would like to think the city hadn't changed that much in the last five years, she knew that wasn't true. There were always changes, she just wouldn't notice them because she had been living here for the last five years and going through her own transformation. That wasn't the case with Laurel. All of this, she was getting all at once.

They pulled up into the driveway of the Queen Mansion, where a valet was already waiting for them right outside the door. Quentin handed him the keys so he could park the car, while Sara rang the doorbell. The door opened, and instead of one of the footmen or Raisa on the other side, it was Oliver.

Sara smiled, imprinting his desperate anxiousness in her mind before stepping aside to reveal Laurel, who had been standing behind her. She observed as the two stared at each other, almost entranced. "You cut your hair," her sister suddenly blurted out, and Sara had to hold back a laugh.

Oliver had no reservations and chuckled, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "Yeah. Makes it easier to take care of," he explained.

Laurel grinned at that, and in the next moment they were hugging, Oliver's nose buried deep into Laurel's honey-blonde hair. In the last five years, Sara had never seen him so at peace. Not with her or Tommy, or even with Thea or his mother.

When they pulled away, Oliver's gaze dipped down, toward Laurel's Canary necklace rested. "You kept it," he noted, with a touch of awe.

"It was a piece of home," was Laurel's response.

Those words were loaded with so many implications. Oliver silently took out his wallet and opened up, and Sara knew he was showing her the picture of she gave him right before she went on the Gambit. The picture he had carried with him for these last five years. Laurel's eyes took on a particular shine, and she reached over to take his hand and squeeze it.

Then Dad had to politely clear his throat and break the moment, and Sara had to resist the urge to glare at him. Oliver and Laurel finally remembered there were other people present and pulled their hands away, the former snapping his wallet shut and pocketing it back into his pants. "Right," he said, trying not to blush. "Let's get you inside."

After another round of reunions with Tommy, Thea, Moira, and even Raisa, all of them were seated at the Queens' long-ass dining table for dinner. Sara, being the diligent med student she was, had grilled her old nutritionary science professor on what kind of diet her sister should be on after being stuck on a barren island in the middle of the North China Sea. He had advised a diet of organic meals, using food with minimal to nonexistent amounts of preservatives and additives. Sara had passed on this information to the Queens so Raisa was aware, and then rapidly rewrote her family's latest grocery shopping list to accommodate the new recipes she had printed out for her dad to use.

Judging by the brief flash of relief in Laurel's eyes when she saw the spread and the fact that she was eating her food, Sara's hard work had paid off. She congratulated herself with an imaginary pat on the back and watched as Tommy tried to draw Laurel into a conversation. He was telling her about all the things she had missed while she was gone, from Obama to the ending of Lost. Knowing her sister wouldn't care about any of that (except for probably the Obama thing, Laurel always did her best to keep abreast of politics), Sara felt it was her sisterly duty to interject. "You also missed the last three Harry Potter movies," she added, right after Tommy finished.

Laurel blinked. "Really?" she said, sounding genuinely surprised. "But they had just finished the fifth one before I left. There should've only been two more."

"They split the last book into two movies," Sara informed her helpfully. "There was just too much material to cover in one. If you want, we can have the movie night and watch them together."

"I'd like that," Laurel responded, smiling.

"What was it like there?"

An awkward pause. Sara bit the inside of her cheek, as Thea blanched. At least she realized her mistake, not that it mattered anymore.

Laurel's smile turned a little thin.

"Cold and wet," she said after a moment. "A lot of rain. Boring, to be honest."

There was another pause. Thea was cringing, and everyone was looking everywhere but Laurel. Sara took her fork and speared a piece of seasoned asparagus.

"What about all of you?" Sara's sister continued. "What you've been up to?"

The tension in the room dropped with the change in subject. Oliver was the first of them to bite, eager to make up for his little sister's blunder. "I went back to college," he revealed. "Just finished my undergrad in business, with a minor in engineering. A few months ago, I started attending the Michael G. Foster School of Business for my MBA."

"Really? Oh my God, Ollie, that's amazing!"

"Thanks, Laurel," Oliver said, blushing.

Laurel reached over and patted him on the hand before turning to Sara. "What about you, Sara-bear?"

Her turn, then. "I'm in my third year of med school, down at the University of Washington."

Her sister gasped. "That's wonderful, Sara! Have you decided on a specialty yet?"

"Not really," Sara told her, wringing her hands together. "I'm torn between pediatrics or primary care."

"Well, whatever you choose, I'm sure you'll do well," Laurel asserted. "I'm so proud of you, little sister."

Sara puffed up at those words. Everyone had always told her that Laurel would be proud of her for her accomplishments, but seeing and hearing it firsthand was a different thing entirely. Her entire being was flooded with warmth, and she didn't want it to end.

"And you, Tommy?" she asked, turning to the last member of their little group.

Tommy shrugged. "Still enjoying the life of a jobless bachelor and trust fund baby, though I spend my free time volunteering."

"Oh?" Laurel perked up. "Where?"

He shared a look with Sara and Oliver, then turned back to Laurel. "How about we show you tomorrow?" he suggested. "The four of us, we'll go out to town, just like old times. If you're okay with that." He added the last part nervously as if just remembering it.

There was a flash of confusion on Laurel's face, but in a blink, it was gone. "Sure, Tommy. I would love that."

After dinner concluded, Dad got a call from Hilton, telling them that the coast was clear back home. Before they could leave, however, Laurel insisted they stay a little bit longer. "I have something to tell all of you," she said anxiously. "My resurrection hearing is next week, and I'll need to testify about what happened to me. And since I can't perjure myself, I'll have to tell them everything. Including what happened to… Robert."

Everyone fell silent upon hearing that. "I want to tell you what happened now," Laurel explained, "so you don't have to learn about it from some tabloid."

Well, that was as good a reason as any. Sara watched as Moira tried to order Thea upstairs, but the teenager refused to budge. "He was my dad. I deserve to know how he died," she insisted.

So that was how all of them were gathered in the Queens' living room, nervously waiting for Laurel to begin. Their parents and Sara were on one side of her sister, the latter holding her hand. Oliver was on the other side, with his mother and sister close next to him, with Tommy bringing up the rear as extra support for Thea.

"When the Gambit sank, I was in my cabin at the time," Laurel began, her voice breathy and far away. "I nearly washed out to sea and almost drowned, but Robert managed to grab me before I could and pull me into one of the lifeboats with him and Dave Hackett."

"He helped me put on my life vest and helped me warm up while we waited out the storm. After it was over, we just… drifted there, for I don't know how long. Hours, days, it just all blurred away. Our supplies slowly dwindled, and eventually, I guess he saw something wrong with me because he started repeatedly telling me that I needed to survive and get home."

"All I told him in return is that he need to rest. We couldn't do anything about our situation, and I wasn't in any position to think about much else. It was all just too much at the time. And—I don't know what, but that seemed to wake up something in him. Or maybe he had been thinking about this for a while, and that was what made him act."

She was breathing hard now, her pupils dilating. A traumatic response. Sara squeezed her hand. "Laurel, if you can't continue—"

"No, no," Laurel cut her off before she could finish. "I'm fine. I just… I just need a moment."

They gave her a moment. Laurel screwed her eyes closed, breathed out, and then continued.

"He had a gun," she revealed, turning to the Queens, and there was a sharp inhale. "It was strapped in his jacket. He got it out, and he—he shot Hackett, letting his body fall into the sea. And then he turned to me, and he told me to tell all of you that he loved you. He told me to survive, and then—then—"

Laurel choked out a sob, burying her face in her hands. The Queens were frozen, and the realization hit, and they were crying too. There wasn't a dry eye in the room as the grief hit them full force. Sara put an arm around Laurel as she felt her parents reach over to pull them both into a group hug.

"I'm sorry," Laurel told the Queens a half-hour later, once they all managed to regain some semblance of control. "If I hadn't been on that boat—"

"No, Laurel," Oliver cut her off, taking her hand. "It wasn't your fault. You didn't cause the boat to sink, and D-Dad… he made his choice."

"But—"

"But nothing, Laurel. The last thing I made him promise me before you guys left was that he'd take care of you while you were gone. He's the one who chose to keep his promise."

"Oliver's right, Laurel," Moira said next to her son, her daughter nodding tearfully beside her. "You aren't to blame for what happened."

"They're right, Laurl," Tommy asserted, firm. "Listen to them."

Laurel stared at them all, red-eyed and in complete disbelief, before giving them a nod. She looked down, and Sara saw a small bit of that weight leave her shoulders. Something in Sara's heart loosened—her sister had been carrying that burden for five years. It must've been a relief to finally be able to let it go.

"Did Dave Hackett have any family?" she asked, after another moment of silence. "If he does, I'd like to speak to them as well. I don't want them to get blindsided either."

"He has a son named Sam," revealed Moira. "I'll get you the address and have it sent to you tomorrow."

"Thank you, Mrs. Queen."

Moira smiled sadly. "Feel free to call me Moira, dear." She hesitated, then, "I know this is hard, but could you tell me what happened to Robert's body?"

"I buried him on the island, alongside another friend of mine. If you want the location, I can give it to you. He has a marker for his grave."

Sara's brow furrowed, and from the corner of her eye, she saw her parents frown. So Laurel hadn't been alone on the island? She hadn't mentioned that, though Sara supposed she hadn't wanted to. They should've expected as much after that brief snippet of the medical report that Dr. Lamb gave them. Even accounting for treacherous terrain, all the injuries Laurel received couldn't have been from self-inflicted accidents. Something to file away for later.

"Thank you, Laurel. I'll send someone to collect his remains so he can have a proper burial and memorial here," Moira decided, seemingly oblivious to the thoughts running through the Lances' minds. "You are, of course, invited to attend. All of you."

"Of course, Moira," Dad answered for all of them. "It's the least of what we owe him."

With that settled, it was time for them to leave. Tommy finalized their plans for tomorrow before letting them go. Sara slipped her hand into her sister's and intertwined their fingers together, as they waited for the valet to return with their car.

For the first time in five years, they were going home together.

Finally, the start of Season 1. I've already finished the first eleven or so chapters of this season a while ago, I just held off on editing them until now because I just got back from vacation. Been trying to get rid of the jet lag for the last week or so.

But I've been feeling better now, so here's the first chapter. Updates will be weekly on Sunday this time around, that way I don't have to worry about this during work. Please comment and let me know what you think.