Looking out at the skyline backed by the setting sun had Olivia deep in thought. If, and that was a big if, the Mirakuru was in Starling, how did they get it? From what Slade had told her, he had the rest destroyed before Sara and her group stormed the freighter after Olivia's "death". Could someone that Slade tested it on still be alive? Could they have re-created the serum? "Miss Queen?" Olivia blinked, surprised that she didn't hear Isabel enter her office.
"Miss Rochev," Olivia greeted, turning in her chair. "How many times are we going to have to discuss announcing yourself before entering someone's office?" She knew her tone was biting, it was intentional. Isabel frowned. It was the only expression the blonde felt the other woman could make.
"How long are you going to keep doing this, Miss Queen?" Isabel questioned, sitting down, back straight, across from Olivia. The blonde leaned forward.
"Keep doing what, Miss Rochev?" Isabel waved her hand around the office.
"This – this charade you've deluded yourself into thinking will work. How can you run a company worth as much as Queen Consolidated? You," her nose wrinkled in distaste. "A high school dropout."
"If you remember correctly, Miss Rochev, I acquired my GED the month I returned home. You are correct, though. I did not go to business school, yet the board still voted me in to the CEO position." Her head tilted a bit as ocean eyes narrowed in on Isabel's brown ones. "That's what bothers you, right? The rich girl who never had to work for anything in her life gets to be CEO of a fortune 500 company without opening a business textbook while you, a business progeny, has to claw your way to the top." Isabel didn't make any indications that Olivia's words bothered her except for the tightening around her mouth. She opened her mouth, obviously with a retort, but Olivia's desk phone rang, interrupting her. "Queen," Olivia answered.
"Miss Lance and Mister Merlyn are here for you, Miss Queen," Olivia's new personal assistant said through the phone. Felicity had decided to become Isabel's assistant, though Olivia doubts it was to 'keep an eye on the devious bitch' as Felicity had told her and more with IT girl wanting to avoid the young CEO as much as possible. Ever since Olivia, Laurel, and Tommy had told everyone they were together, Felicity had been spending less and less time around them. She was hardly at the Foundry, either, leaving Laurel and Tommy to become the 'eyes in the sky' when the others went out. She was also a bit miffed that Olivia called Barry Allen on his lies about why he was in Starling. The man was heading back to Central that night, much to Felicity's displeasure.
Her new personal assistant was Courtney Whitmore, a bubbly young woman, only twenty, with curly blonde hair and bright blue eyes that could rival Olivia's own. She was working her way through college, and Olivia made sure to pay the young woman heftily; probably much more than most personal assistants. "Would you like me to send them in?"
"Yes, thank you, Courtney." They both hung up and Olivia and Isabel regarded each other coldly and stoically before the door opened and Laurel and Tommy made their way into the room. Isabel stood up, nodding at Olivia as she turned on her heel.
"We will finish this discussion at a later date, Miss Queen," she assured, sending a small smirk towards Olivia. Her eyes narrowed as she watched the woman make her way out of the office, ignoring Courtney's most likely pleasant greeting, and towards the elevator.
"That's Rochev?" Tommy questioned, looking to where the dark-haired woman was standing in slight disdain. Olivia nodded and he let out a snort. "She has the same air as my father." She had noticed that, too.
"Who's the new girl?" Laurel asked, perching herself on the corner of Olivia's desk, motioning towards Courtney tapping away at the keyboard in front of her.
"New PA," Olivia answered. Laurel turned surprised green eyes her way.
"Felicity quit?"
"No, she's Isabel's assistant now." Laurel hummed and smiled down at Olivia.
"Would you like to grab some dinner before you head out tonight?" Olivia, Slade, and Joe would be heading back out to look for any clues on the man responsible for killing the QC security guards and for stealing the centrifuge form the applied sciences division. She smiled gently.
"That sounds amazing." Tommy offered her a hand, pulling her from her chair and into a breathtaking kiss. Laurel appeared next to them, and they stood there for a moment, basking in the closeness.
"We should've started this last year," Tommy breathed, pressing a quick kiss to Olivia's temple before kissing Laurel. The two women hummed their agreement before they exited the room. Olivia glanced over at her PA.
"I'm leaving early tonight," she informed the younger blonde. "You can head on home, Courtney." The Young woman smiled brightly, dimples flaring to life.
"Have a good night, Miss Queen, and thank you for the night off!"
Dinner was nice and quiet. They went to a nice restaurant, thankfully all three of them were still in their works clothes so they didn't have to go home and change. Tommy talked about how he was slowly bringing back previous shareholders for Merlyn Global, hoping to get the company back on its feet. "Maybe we can merge our companies together, Liv," Tommy suggested.
"It would certainly get Rochev off my back with how much she's pushing for a merger." They both froze before grinning at each other.
"Merlyn-Queen Consolidated has a nice ring to it, don't you think?" Tommy questioned, eyes shining mischievously as he held up his glass of red wine. Olivia smirked.
"Queen-Merlyn Global sounds a bit better, in my opinion," Olivia countered before tapping her glass of wine to his in a toast.
"The loves of my life planning world domination," Laurel sighed in fake dismay with headshake. "What is this word coming to?" The three shared small laughs before going to back dinner. "I'll be heading to Central in a few days," Laurel said as they were digging into desert. Olivia frowned.
"Is Dinah okay?" Laurel nodded.
"She's fine; she and her boyfriend broke up and she asked me to help her move some stuff to her new apartment. I'll only be gone for two days – three tops."
When they finished dinner, Tommy paid for their meals and the three headed to the Foundry. Slade and Joe were sparing with Diggle cheering Slade on. "You want winner, kid?" Slade questioned, easily dodging a swipe with an escrima stick from Joe. Olivia slid off her stilettos.
"Definitely not," she chuckled. "I'm not in the mood to have my ass kicked by you tonight, pops." Joe paused, glancing back at her with a betrayed look in his brown eyes.
"Why are you so sure he's going to win?" Slade dropped, kicking Joe's feet from underneath him and Joe hit the mat hard.
"That's why," the older Australian grinned, stepping down from the mat. Laurel and Tommy moved towards the computers, booting up some of the cameras throughout the city, scouting for any signs of the man that stole from QC. Olivia got ready into her gear, slipping some flechettes into the holders on her forearm as Slade and Joe got ready. Laurel walked up to her, kissing her gently.
"Stay safe tonight." Olivia grinned.
"Always am," she reminded her. "You worry too much." Laurel shot her a look.
"I think I worry enough," she retorted. "I might not have known about you being the vigilante at the time, but I certainly remember the reports of every time you got hurt." Olivia framed her face with her gloved hands and kissed her again.
"I'm going to be fine." Laurel nodded, going back to her seat and Olivia moved over to Tommy, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. "I'll see you both in a few hours. Though, if you want to head home, feel free to at any time." She didn't want either of them to feel like they had to be there because of her. They both shot her twin glares.
"We're staying," Laurel confirmed.
"If we get tired, we'll just take a nap on the cot," Tommy continued.
"We'll be here when you get back," Laurel finished. Olivia sighed. Great, now she had two mother-hens.
"Ready, kid?" Slade asked from behind her. She turned to see both him and Joe suited up and ready to go. She nodded and then looked over at Diggle who tossed her the keys for her bike. It was finally repaired from a spill she took fighting someone a few weeks previous, and Olivia couldn't wait to be back on the bike.
The three traveled up the stairs to the back entrance and in the parking lot were three bikes; Olivia's dark green and black Ducati Diavel, Joe's dark blue Kawasaki Ninja, and Slade's black and orange, custom made Harley-Davidson CVO. Olivia and Joe's were stealthier than Slade's, but the man himself was flashy and a bit dramatic; why wouldn't his motorcycle be the same?
Olivia straddled the bike, making sure her comms were on to keep in touch with everyone, and the three split up to cover more ground. She was making her way into the heart of Starling, weaving her way in between cars, when her comm crackled to life. "Liv, there was a break in at the blood bank on fifth. Description matches your guy," Tommy reported. Olivia glanced up at a nearby street marker. She was on third; just two blocks out.
"I'm a couple blocks away," she reported, revving the engine and sped forwards.
"We're on our way," Joe replied. "Don't have too much fun before we get there."
"Be careful, kid," Slade rumbled. "If he has what we think he has-"
"Yeah, I know," Olivia agreed, sliding into the parking lot of the blood bank. The doors were completely shattered. "If he has it, he could crush my head like a grape."
"Not a grape," Slade disagreed, and she could hear the roar of his bike through the comm. "Closer to a watermelon."
"That was vaguely insulting," Olivia muttered, stepping carefully and silently over the glass as she made her way into the blood bank. "Entering now; going silent. Let me know when you get here." She muted her comms so she could hear them if they needed to warn her about something, but they couldn't hear her. She gripped her bow tightly, nocking an arrow, as she made her way around the area. She glanced into the fridge on her left keeping some blood bags and she noticed something weird. Only O-negative had been taken.
The sound of glass crunching to her right made her twist just in time to dodge a punch to her face. She let loose her arrow, the man swatting it away as if it was an annoyance and ran at her. She blocked another hit with her bow, spinning in a half arc with the force behind it. Shit, they were right. This man was definitely injected with something to make him this strong.
They traded blows for a few minutes, Olivia taking a few bad hits. She knew she had a couple broken ribs on her right side, hearing the cracks when a well-aimed kick was delivered from the man. She was also pretty sure her left hand was cracked in a few places after she punched the man in the jaw. It was like punching cement.
Or when she punched Slade hyped up on Mirakuru. It was looking more and more likely that it's what they were dealing with and it was bringing up more and more questions.
Footsteps sounded near the front entrance, dragging the man's attention to that area and tipping Olivia off that Slade or Joe had arrived. Her small distraction was just what the man needed though. He grabbed two syringes, stabbing them into Olivia's thigh and pushing down on the plunger. She cried out in surprise and was kicked squarely in the chest and into a shelving unit. The unit collapsed under the force, and she went with it. Her vision dimmed, her eyes fluttered, and then she was out.
"Did Olivia just turn her comm off?" Laurel turned towards the voice, seeing Felicity making her way down the steps in a dark red dress with matching heels.
"No," the brunette responded, turning back to face the computers. "She just muted herself. We can still reach her if needed." Tommy had pulled up the security cameras from the blood bank, and they all watched as Olivia entered the area, bow string drew back and arrow nocked in preparation for an attack. She didn't have to wait long. The man was on her in an instant, both trading quick, but powerful, blows.
Unfortunately for the watchers back in the foundry, their fight moved all around the room and a stray flechette took out the camera in that room. "Damnit," Tommy cursed before turning on the comms. "The camera at the bank went dark. We have no eyes on Olivia."
"Understood," Slade answered gruffly.
"Arriving now," Joe interrupted.
"Right behind you- two minutes out," Slade responded. Laurel could tell from the tone of his voice that he was worried. She didn't blame him. She knew how much the man cared about Olivia, and now both of his kids were going up against the guy and he had no way of knowing if they'd be okay until he got there.
She was worried, too. Olivia took a couple nasty hits from the man she was fighting. She flinched every time a hit connected with a part of her girlfriend's body. The tightening in Tommy's jaw told her he felt the same. Moments like these were what made her want to help. She wanted to be on the field.
Laurel was going to learn how to fight better. She already had the basics down, having a cop for a father and all. She knew how to defend herself against some people, but not ones like this. She wouldn't last two seconds alone with this man.
Felicity was at a third computer, pulling up the security footage before it cut off from the hit and was searching through it. She let out a cheer and Laurel peeked at what she was doing, and her eyes widened in surprise. She was so focused on Olivia that she didn't even see that the man's mask had fallen off. Felicity started running the man's face through facial recognition software and different databases, hoping for a match soon. "Good job, Felicity," Diggle praised, clapping a hand on the blonde's shoulder lightly.
"Get a table ready," Joe shouted over the comms suddenly, dragging Laurel's attention away from the two.
"Joe?" Laurel questioned, heartbeat picking up with worry.
"Olivia's hurt," he answered grimly. "It's not good, Laurel." She let out a soft gasp and shared a look with Tommy. She was pretty sure her heart just stopped beating.
"We'll have one cleared and some supplies on standby," Tommy answered, jaw clenching again. Laurel knew he wanted to be out there, too. Neither of them wanted to be on the sidelines any longer and this just cemented their desire to in the field with their girlfriend. All three of them watching each other's backs.
"She was injected with something," Joe supplied after a minute of silence from over the comm.
"With what?" Felicity questioned.
"I don't know," Joe answered, sounding a bit panicked. "The syringe is coded." Oh, God. Laurel's hand reached out to grip Tommy's tightly, feeling tears spring to her eyes. She was probably poisoned. What if she was dying at that exact moment? No, Laurel shook herself mentally. Don't think like that. Olivia's going to be fine. She had to be fine. Laurel wouldn't accept anything less.
"Get her here as quick as you can," Felicity ordered, taking charge while Laurel and Tommy were trying to gather themselves. She and Diggle shared a look and were speaking quietly in low tones. Laurel could only catch some of it, like "she's going to kill us" and "this might be the only way to save her life."
"On our way," Slade huffed over the comms sounded out of breath, much to Laurel's surprise. Had this man managed to tire the Terminator?
"Understood," Tommy replied, and then turned his head when Felicity and Diggle moved towards the stairs. "Where are you going?"
"To get some help, hopefully," Diggle answered when Felicity hadn't even stopped to look back at him at the question. Tommy frowned, sharing a glance with Laurel.
"Who?"
When Joe entered the blood bank, he was expecting to see Olivia fighting the man in the mask. What he wasn't expecting was to hear her cry out in pain from the back room and then a loud crash following it. Her also didn't expect to see the man come charging out of the back like a bull towards him. Joe's eyes widened behind his own mask and he quickly ducked under the man's blow, shoving his shoulder into the man's sternum. Just like Olivia taught him. The man was barely phased, recovering quickly and as they traded blows, Joe caught an elbow to his cheek, cracking the mask and the bone beneath it. His hissed, stumbling back a few steps.
The man was about to deliver another blow when what sounded like an angry roar sounded behind Joe. He ducked just in time for his father to jump over him and slam a fist into the man's now unmasked face. Joe picked himself off the ground, watching the two fight at a speed he could never hope of engaging in and stepped around the two towards the back where Olivia must still be. "Arrow?" He called, looking around the damage and broken glass around the area. There was a lot of the blood on the floor and he was pretty sure he was about to have a heart attack, assuming it was Olivia's at first, when he remembered he was at blood bank and there were empty bags from getting crushed in the scuffle. "Arrow?" He called again, moving further into the room.
After a couple seconds he saw her. She was lying on a metal shelving unit, knocked out. Joe hurried over to her. He ran a hand down her sides, flinching when he felt the give of broken ribs on her right side, and her left hand had definitely seen better days. His dark gaze traveled further down her body and he froze when he saw the two syringes sticking out of her thigh. Two empty syringes, at that. He relayed the news to the team still at the foundry, surprised when Felicity answered him at one point.
A loud noise sounded a second before Slade crashed through the wall and slammed into another shelving unit. Joe covered Olivia's prone form from any debris and looked up in time to see Slade getting up, shoulders shaking in anger. His mask tilted in his direction before he fully faced them. "Is she alright?" Joe shrugged, feeling helpless.
"I don't know," he answered. "I don't think so." Slade looked back out to the main room where they both knew the man was trying to make a getaway, and then back to his kids. He seemed to be warring with himself before deciding that Olivia needed him more. They could find the man again. He made his way over, Joe stepping back when the older man scooped Olivia into his arms like she weighed nothing. Joe reached out, gently removing the needles from her thigh before pocketing them carefully. Slade told the others they were on their way back and moved quickly towards their bikes. "What about Olivia's?" Joe asked, motioning towards the dark green Ducati.
"I'll come back for it once I know she's safe," Slade answered gruffly, straddling his bike and maneuvering Olivia in front of him with an arm wrapped around. Joe could tell that he was being more careful than he normally would. He most likely felt the broken ribs as Joe himself had.
"I'll meet you over there," Joe promised, getting on his own bike and making his way back towards the foundry, his older sister's cry still ringing in his head.
Laurel jumped when the door above the stairs was practically kicked in and Slade made his way down heavily, Olivia in his arms. Her head was lolling against his shoulder and she was so pale. "Put her over here," Laurel said, motioning towards one of the tables she had freed up. He followed her instructions, gently lowering the blonde onto it. He looked around.
"Where's Smoak and Diggle?" Laurel shrugged.
"I have no idea. They said something about getting help about ten minutes ago and disappeared!" Fury flashed in the man's remaining dark eye, and Laurel knew her own green ones were probably reflecting the same thing. How dare they leave when Olivia needed them? She was hurt; she could be dying, and they left. Tommy moved next to her and Joe moved towards the other side of the table.
"Unzip her top," Joe ordered, slipping a stethoscope around his head. Tommy did what was asked, and Laurel gasped when the bruising along Olivia's torso appeared. There had to have been some damage done for bruising to already be appearing on her skin. Joe held the stethoscope to Olivia's chest, listening for a few moments. "Her heart rate is slow. She needs a hospital," he urged. "I don't think she'll make it without one." Laurel felt torn. She knew that he was right, but another part of her wanted to protect her girlfriend and her secret. The cops would have to tell the police that the vigilante was Olivia Queen and she'd be arrested and thrown in jail as soon as she recovered enough.
Slade stiffened next to her and Laurel turned to see Diggle and Felicity at the top of the stairs, the former carrying a limp body in his arms. As they made their way into the main area, Laurel saw it was that CSI from Central City; Barry Allen. "What did you do?" She questioned tightly. They both ignored her, Felicity lightly slapping the man on his cheeks to wake him up. It worked, and the CSI came to.
"What?" He questioned groggily, looking around in confusion. His hazel eyes landed on Felicity, who was staring at him intently.
"Please save my friend," she begged. Barry looked over to see the rest of the group, an unmasked Slade glaring at daggers at Felicity and Diggle, and the rest looking at Barry. His eyes then glanced down to the knocked-out Olivia still in her outfit.
"What?" He questioned again, sounding more freaked out this time.
"Jesus Christ," Joe mumbled, slipping his own mask off and reaching into his pocket. For a terrifying moment, Laurel thought he was pulling out a gun to shoot the gangly man, but instead he pulled out two syringes and made his way over to the man. He knelt down, shoving them into his hands. "She was injected with these. Do you know what they are?" Barry blinked up at him, shying away from the rough tone, but glanced down. His eyebrows furrowed as he shook his head.
"No," he answered, looking back up at Joe. "They're coded. I wouldn't be able to tell what they were without to a full spectro analysis on them."
"We'll get to that later," Slade growled, cutting him off from speaking further. "Just do what you can for her, now." Barry nodded, hastily standing up and moving towards Olivia. He grabbed a penlight, lifting one of her eyelids up and shining the light in it.
"Her pupils are dilated," he said, moving to check something else. Laurel watched as he narrowed his list down each time he checked another one of her vitals before grabbing an empty syringe and drawing some blood from her elbow. Laurel knew that blood wasn't supposed to look like that. "Do you guys have any-" He cut himself off, looking at the shelf.
"What are you doing?" Diggle asked in alarm when Barry reached for rat poison.
"Her blood is coagulating," Barry explained. "Rat poison is a blood thinner. She needs that – now." He used a few other things around the room, creating a mixture and injecting it straight into Olivia's blood stream.
They waited tensely for a few moments before her breathing evened out. Barry took another sample of blood, seeing the effects of the rat poison already. "Oh, thank God it's working," he breathed. Laurel's gaze shifted to him quickly.
"Why do you sound like you weren't sure it would?" She questioned icily, Tommy and Slade solid, and just as angry, forms at her back.
"I-" He cut himself off with a choke. Well, technically, Olivia's hand wrapped around his throat did that.
Olivia came to with voices surrounding her. Most she recognized, one she didn't. Unluckily for that one person, they were standing close enough to her that when her right hand lashed out and closed around a throat, it was obviously going to be them. Her eyes opened slowly and gazed up to see the person she was choking out was Barry Allen, Central City CSI. "What are you doing here?" She growled; voice hoarse. He couldn't answer for obvious reasons, and she sat up slowly and gingerly. A hand seized her wrist, and another grasped her arm, both attempting to pry her hand off of the man's throat. She snarled over at them, noticing it was Felicity and Diggle.
"Olivia, stop!" Felicity tried to order, fingernails digging into Olivia's forearm. Olivia glanced around, finally seeing the amount of people surrounding her on the table and she started to twitch. There were too many; she was surrounded on all sides. She let out another growl, releasing Barry from her grasp and rolling off the table. She tried to stand but stumbled. Tommy was there to catch her, and she leaned fully into her boyfriend's arms, Laurel appearing behind her as a steady weight against her back. Both of them were shielding her from the outside world, letting her get her bearings back in order. She took a deep breath, pulling away from slightly, but not enough to disrupt the pair of arms encircling her.
"Why is he here?" Olivia asked, gaze drifting between all of them before settling on a guilty looking Diggle and righteous looking Felicity.
"Saving your life," she responded, chin lifting defiantly.
"Bringing him here wasn't your decision to make," she hissed. The other blonde's blue eyes darkened in anger.
"We're a team, Olivia," she spat. "We get to make decisions, too!"
"We were discussing taking you to a hospital when they burst in dragging this one with them," Joe added, and Olivia's gaze narrowed in on him, zeroing on his obviously cracked cheekbone. Her protective big sister urges reared its head.
"Are you okay, Joe?" She asked. He nodded, brown eyes looking at her anxiously.
"I'm fine, Liv," he answered. "I'm honestly much more worried about you."
"That guy packed a punch," Slade agreed, not staying silent any longer. "You should be resting, kid."
"I'll rest when we're done here," she replied, staring at Barry again. "You should not be here." Her gaze shifted to Diggle and Felicity. "And you two should not have brought him."
"It was to save your life," Felicity argued again.
"That doesn't matter," Olivia snapped angrily, voice raising.
"Hey, she was trying to help," Barry defended and put himself back the blonde's crosshairs. When her furious gaze landed on him, his eyes widened, and he backtracked. "I'm just saying, she was worried. They were just trying to save your life."
"That doesn't matter," she snapped again. "What you did not only put everyone here at risk, but you just put him at risk, too. A civilian." She aimed that last part at Diggle, and he clenched his jaw tightly.
"You told us," Felicity said, motioning between herself and Tommy and Laurel. She felt the other two stiffen around her.
"I looked into you and Diggle," Olivia said, feeling the headache pounding behind her eyes turning into a migraine. "I didn't blindly trust you two with this secret. And I've known Laurel and Tommy for almost my whole life. I'd trust them with anything."
"I trust Barry."
"You don't know Barry," Olivia retorted hotly.
"Miss Queen, ma'am?" Barry interrupted, moving between the two. Olivia raised an eyebrow at him questioningly. "You really should get some rest. Even though I managed to negate the worst of the symptoms, you were still poisoned," he pointed out. "This can probably wait until later." She knew he was right. She felt worn down and sore. She nodded, taking a step back.
"Liv, I need to wrap your ribs," Joe said, holding out a hand for her. She gently pried herself away from Laurel and Tommy, giving them both what she hoped were comforting looks, before sitting back on the table she had been lying on earlier. Her suit top came off, leaving her in the tight bandeau she normally wore. As Joe was wrapping her ribs tightly, she was suddenly glad she decided to not go braless. He looked over her left hand, determining the knuckles were cracked, but not broken.
"When did you get so good at this?" She asked. "Australian Spy School?" Slade let out a snort and Joe grinned, patting her lightly on the leg that didn't get needles shoved in it.
"Something like that." He helped her off the table and she let a groan when her injuries were starting to make themselves known. Diggle stepped up behind Joe, tossing a bottle towards her. Olivia looked at the label and saw it was some Codeine. Strong stuff.
"Take one of those before bed. You should sleep like a baby." Olivia saluted him with the bottle before pulling Joe into a gentle hug.
"Are you sure you're okay?" She asked, pulling back a little, to cup his broken cheek. He grinned crookedly down at her gently and nodded.
"Yeah, I literally only fought the guy for a minute before dad showed up. This was the only hit he landed." Olivia nodded, pulling away fully and making her way over to Slade.
"How about you?" His eye looked at her, a fire burning in the gaze. It reminded her a lot of when he first got injected, but this time the look wasn't aimed at her. She just happened to be where he was looking at.
"I am much more worried about you, kid," he answered honestly. She rubbed a hand along his armored arm, knowing he couldn't feel it but hoping it would still offer a little comfort. He leaned into it, so she knew she did okay.
"I'll be fine." Her eyes shifted over his shoulder to where Barry and Felicity were talking, bent over the computer consoles, talking quietly and pointing at the screens. "Keep an eye on him," she said lowly. "I'm still not sure about him." He nodded in understanding, pulling her into his side gently and kissing the top of her head.
"Go home, take a shower, and rest," he ordered. "Also, call off. Let the bitch handle the company for the day."
"I was already scheduled off for a personal day, so it works out fine," she chuckled. A shower sounded lovely, though. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"You most definitely will not," he argued. "Take the whole day off. Come back on Thursday." She rolled her eyes but relented.
"Fine, fine. See you on Thursday." She finally made her way over to Laurel and Tommy. Laurel was holding a pair of jeans to help her into as Tommy handed her a white tee shirt that smelled like him. She slipped on a pair of Converse and tossed her suit at Diggle when he said he'd put it up for her.
The three made their way up the stairs and to the front where Tommy's car was parked. Olivia climbed into the back, lying down on her side with a groan. She didn't realize how tired she was until then. She must have fallen asleep because the next thing she knew she felt herself getting gently jostled. Her eyes opened and she gazed around; Tommy was carrying her up the steps of the Merlyn mansion, Laurel in front of them.
She was placed back on her feet in the bathroom and Laurel disappeared for a minute before coming back with some more wraps and tape. They helped her undress and unwrap. The two undressed quickly and the three were under the warm spray of water in a matter of seconds in the spacious shower. Olivia sighed, leaning into Tommy as the water cascaded over her tired muscles in her back and shoulders.
They showered quickly, and once Olivia was dried off, Laurel re-wrapped her ribs, taping the ends closed so it wouldn't unwrap in the middle of the night. They got ready for bed and Olivia was in the middle this time as they crawled into Tommy's large California king. Tommy was pressed up against her back while Olivia's head rested on Laurel's chest. They both had their arms wrapped as tightly around her as they could without hurting her. "We almost lost you," Tommy whispered suddenly, sounding broken and choked.
"I'm okay," Olivia promised in a whisper.
"No, you aren't," Laurel muttered back, sounding like she was in the beginning stages of tears.
"No, I'm not," Olivia amended. "But I will be." Her boyfriend and girlfriend moved closer to her before Olivia let herself get pulled under.
Sunlight warming her face woke Olivia up the next day. She turned her head to see it was about two o'clock in the afternoon, which surprised her. She couldn't' remember the last time she slept in so late. She lifted herself up, wincing when the pain in her broken ribs flared to life and reached for the Codeine left on the nightstand. There was a glass of water and note from Laurel stating that she and Tommy had to go to work, but to give either of them a call if she needed them and they'd head back home right away. She smiled at the note, downing the pill and a couple drinks of water before settling back down in the bed and closing her eyes.
She heard movement by the door and quickly jerked back up into a sitting position, ribs protesting, and scanned the area. Her eyes widened when her eyes met with cold blue ones. There was a man standing in the room. His skin was pale and there was a hole blown through the side of his head from a bullet wound.
"Daddy?"
Two Thousand and Five; Lian Yu
Olivia kept her grip around Slade as the four of them made their way towards where the downed submarine hopefully was. Slade was getting weaker but was too proud to ask for them to stop and rest, so Olivia did it for him. "We should stop for a couple minutes."
"No," he argued. "We should keep going." One of his legs gave out on him, making him and Olivia both stumble. "Okay, yeah, a rest sounds good." Olivia leaned him against a tree gently, rubbing her thumb over the apple of his good cheek affectionately before making her way over to Sara. Shado took her place with Slade.
"How much do you know about this miracle drug?" She asked the other blonde. Sara looked over at her, looking much older than her fourteen years should allow.
"Anthony has spent many years looking for this," she explained, glancing down at the hozen in her hands. "He says it can cure almost any illness; whether it be mental or physical."
"As long as it can cure him, that's all that matters." Olivia looked back over at Slade and could see him weakening further.
"We shouldn't have much longer to go," Sara whispered. Olivia nodded in understanding and she and Shado worked to get Slade back up on his feet. Shado moved out from under him and joined Sara up front to keep an eye out, bow ready. Slade's breathing was getting more labored and raspier. He didn't have much time left. Olivia had to fight back the tears threatening to obscure her vision. She couldn't lose another father right in front of her. She didn't have it in her.
Sara stopped at a ledge, looking down in wonder. "Why are we stopped?" Olivia questioned. Shado looked back at her, relief on her face.
"We found it," she breathed. Olivia and Slade made their way to where the other two were and Olivia smiled. There it was; the submarine with cure to save Slade. Maybe everything would get better, she thought, relieved.
If only.