Chapter Text
This was, without a doubt, the worst case scenario. They had just hurried to Iron Heights, fought through a veritable army of inmates while trying to prevent any of them from escaping, barely made it to where Damien Darhk was holed up commanding the attack and failed to actually bring him down before he could take John’s brother hostage. And then, as if that wasn’t enough, Andy Diggle revealed his true colors and simply handed Darhk the last piece of his kushu idol. Oliver’s instincts had been right all along. They had all been played like an orchestra of fiddles. Now Darhk had his magic back and not even Thea’s last ditch effort to stop him had been enough. And every second that passed with her body as stiff as stone and refusing to obey her own commands, Laurel’s fear and frustration grew.
“Ah, that feels so much better.” Darhk said with a delighted smile before briefly turning to the inmates gathered around.
Laurel recognized some of them, like Daniel Brickwell and Michael Amar. She imagined Darhk must have somehow persuaded them to join his cause while he was imprisoned. With the grudges these men held against the city and its protectors, it probably wasn’t that difficult.
“I am sorry about your buddies, but omelets and eggs and all of that.” he said, apologizing for the men he had to kill to recover his magic.
“But I know how to make it up to you though. Who wants to go for a walk outside?”
One by one, wide grins formed on the inmates’ faces as they realized what this meant. They were free, free to wreck all the havoc they wished. And the only people who could possibly stop them were helpless right now. With cheers and cries of victory, they all left the room, leaving behind only Darhk and his subordinates, who turned back towards Oliver and the others.
“Now, Andy here might have mentioned that his brother John worked for the Green Arrow. Or should I say, Oliver Queen? Oh, see, I know what you’re all thinking, but no, he didn’t tell me.” he clarified when he saw their eyes collectively widen.
“It was really just a hop, skip and a jump from the whole Diggle connection to you to your little sister to your ex-girlfriend. But when you came to rescue that boy, William, that look on your face. That was a father’s look. I should have recognized it there and then.”
Laurel’s teeth ground together in fury. What kind of man threatened a child and then used that to taunt the father? How cowardly did you have to be to stoop so low?
“We need to get out of here now.” Malcolm Merlyn warned.
Merlyn. Another traitorous, cowardly, lying bastard. It had been all smiles and pleasantries when he could rely on their team to help him achieve his goals. But as soon as Oliver deigned to do the right thing and stripped his power from him, it was right back to plotting and scheming. Not for the first time, Laurel wished Oliver had taken the opportunity to kill him during their duel a couple months ago.
“Patience.” Darhk replied.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time.”
He then turned and locked his eyes on hers. A cold chill ran down Laurel’s spine.
“Ms. Lance, nine months ago I made your daddy a promise. I told him what I would do if he betrayed me.”
Laurel remembered that promise, the one her father had talked about when he testified in court. The threat on her life. And now that Darhk knew she was the Black Canary, she didn’t have the anonymity of her mask to shield her. A feeling of nausea settled in her stomach as her breathing began to pick up speed. With every step Darhk took towards her the hammering of her heartbeat got louder and louder. Her mind desperately begged her limbs to move, to fight, to do anything but just leave her standing there defenseless. But her body refused to listen. Darhk began to raise his arm… and then the sound of an arrow being loosened cut through the silence as Darhk’s hand caught the green colored projectile.
“Huh. Impressive.” he commented, turning his attention towards Oliver.
“It seems I have underestimated you, Mr. Queen. But not to worry. It’s a mistake I won’t be repeating.”
In three quick strides he changed direction and walked over to Oliver, and Laurel could only watch in horror as he stabbed him through the chest with his own arrow. For a moment the world stopped. The only thing Laurel could see was Oliver, his blue eyes open wide as he gasped for air. Again she begged her body to run to him, to allow her to save him just this one time. Again her body refused to move. Her vision became blurry as she began to feel a stinging in her eyes. A whimper escaped her as each desperate attempt to reach him failed. Oliver needed her! He needed her to do something! Anything! Just…
SCREEEEEEEEEEE!
Some sort of shockwave sent Darhk flying across the room, releasing the hold his magic had on the vigilantes. As soon as she got her movement back, Laurel rushed over to Oliver, taking him in her arms. He was shaking, still trying desperately to get air into his lungs. There was a string of blood starting to drip from the corner of his mouth. Laurel was vaguely aware of Merlyn rushing Darhk out of the room with Andy Diggle and his Ghosts in turn. But Laurel didn’t care. All that mattered right now was Oliver.
“It’s okay! Just hang in there, Ollie! Please, just stay with me!”
*
Laurel’s heart was still racing even now, at least an hour after they had escaped from Iron Heights. They had brought Oliver to Glades Memorial Hospital as quickly as they could, then left to quickly change into their civilian clothes before rushing back to the hospital. Now they could only wait until they heard any news from the doctors. And it was agonizing. Having to stand there in the waiting room not knowing if he was going to survive, forced to watch John do his best to avoid her gaze as he tortured himself over what had happened, all while she did her best to comfort Thea. It was torture.
“Hi.”
Laurel looked up to see Felicity standing at the entrance, hands nervously clasping the straps of her purse.
“John called me. Is Oliver…”
“He’s in surgery. We’re still waiting to hear news.” Laurel answered.Laurel answered.
Felicity nodded.
“What about Darhk?”
“He’s in the wind along with 50 or so inmates.”
“And Andy.” John growled out.
“He warned me. And I didn’t listen. I’ll never be able to forgive myself.”
Laurel was gearing up to try to talk John out of blaming himself for things that he had no control over, when the doctor in charge of Oliver’s procedure entered the room.
“He’s just out of recovery.” she announced.
“He’s gonna be fine. He’s been asking about you.”
With her nerves fighting her relief, Laurel led the group towards Oliver’s room. Upon entering, her eyes immediately landed on the dark green suit that was bundled up in the corner. They’d all known it was inevitable. It was the choice between Oliver’s secret or his life. And they all knew what they would choose.
Her attention then moved over to Oliver himself. He was pale, paler than she had ever seen, most likely due to all the blood he’d lost. He looked like the antithesis of everything Laurel had come to associate with Oliver Queen over the last three years. Frail, tired, weak. And despite all that, he still gave them a smile when they all walked in. Still found a way to show an unbreakable inner strength.
“Hey.”
“Hey, yourself.” Laurel replied.
She winced as he struggled to try to sit up a little.
“Did Darhk…”
“Forget about Darhk. Just worry about getting better.” Thea interrupted, moving over to Oliver’s bedside.
He eased himself back down, though Laurel could tell he didn’t really want to drop the subject.
“Not exactly how I was hoping tonight would go.”
“I don’t think it’s how any of us thought it would go, man.” John said.
A weak chuckle sounded from the whole group, though it was somewhat undercut by Oliver’s grimace as he clutched his side. Still, he did his best to hide it, along with any signs of discomfort.
“Thank you guys. For being here. All of you.”
One by one, he locked eyes with each of them, even Felicity. They each gave him a smile. However, when his gaze landed on Laurel, it lingered.
“Could I have a minute alone with Laurel? Please?”
Laurel did her best to hide her surprise at the request. The others all raised their eyebrows, but after a few minutes of Oliver holding firm and refusing to elaborate, they conceded and left the room. Now alone with him, Laurel found herself both curious and nervous. What reason could he possibly have to want to talk to her alone? Was he planning on insisting she leave the mask of the Black Canary behind, using his current condition to prove his point?
“Laurel, I’m sorry.”
Laurel frowned.
“Oliver, you don’t have anything to apologize for.”
“No, I do. I’ve been selfish, I’ve been a coward and I’ve been lying to you for way too long.”
Ah, William. This must be because he was still feeling guilty about having to hide his existence from the team. And that was probably combined with the guilt of the affair that produced William, along with the guilt of cheating on her with Sara. And even though Laurel had forgiven him for all those things, she couldn’t really fault him for hanging onto that guilt. After all, Oliver had always been his own worst critic.
“Oliver, if this is about William and Samantha, I’ve already told you I forgive you. And that was truly an impossible situation. You did the best you could.”
“No. It’s not that.”
Now Laurel was confused. What was it about then?
“What happened tonight… it made me think about things.” he continued.
“I haven’t been a good friend to you. Ever since I came back from the island I’ve pushed you away. I’ve lied to you. I’ve hurt you in a dozen different ways. I’ve ignored your advice. I’ve tried to make decisions for you that I had no right to make. And even after I promised to be a better friend, I’ve still been hiding things from you. I have failed you, Laurel.”
For a few moments, Laurel couldn’t form any words. Of course she had noticed these things. But ever since finding out Oliver was their city’s hooded protector, she had understood the motive behind them. And the things he’d done after that, well, they had both agreed not to dwell on them. To hear him mention it all now and express regret over it, it was something she had never expected. But what did he mean that he was still hiding things from her?
“Oliver, what are you trying to say?
“I nearly lost you tonight.” he stated.
“We both know who was really in Darhk’s sights. For a second I was forced to confront the possibility of living in a world without you. And it terrified me. Because you’re my anchor Laurel. You’re the thing that allowed me to pull through five years of hell. The one thing that kept me fighting all of these years. I’ve never been any good at showing it, but I need you, Laurel.”
Laurel took a shaky breath. He really should not be saying these things. It was taking everything she had to maintain the careful hold over her emotions that she had crafted the past few months, rather than just throw her arms around his neck.
“Ollie…”
“I know that you’ve said you couldn’t remember a time when you were in love with me. And god knows that I deserved that. But tonight made me realize that I need to be fully honest about how much you mean to me. The truth is that I’ve never moved on from you. No matter how many turns I take, it always leads back to you. My Pretty Bird. Laurel, I…”
Oliver stopped abruptly. At first Laurel thought he might be trying to think of what to say. But then she noticed a wheezing sound. Just as she was about to ask what was wrong, the heart monitor started beeping. His eyes rolled up and his body began to shake violently. A team of nurses and doctors rushed into the room with an equipment cart, pushing Laurel to the side as they surrounded Oliver and tried to stabilize him.
“What happened?”
Laurel turned briefly to see that Thea and the others had come in after the doctors.
“I-I don’t know. He was fine.” she sputtered.
She was desperately trying to compose herself, to cling to some sense of control. But as the seconds ticked on, it looked like everything just kept spiraling. She could only watch as the doctors first tried an oxygen mask, then the defibrillators, then chest compressions and CPR. With each attempt the nurses and doctors seemed more desperate, and each time it failed a coil of pressure in Laurel’s chest tightened.
Eventually, the lead doctor stopped. For a moment the only sound in the room was the heart monitor flatlining.
“Time of death: eleven-fifty-nine.”
It was like someone had muffled the rest of the world. Vaguely, almost as if watching through a curtain, Laurel noticed Felicity and John clinging to each other while Thea dropped to her knees with a wail of despair. But Laurel’s mind still hadn’t quite registered the words. Dead? No, that couldn’t be. Her tired mind must be playing tricks on her. If she left and came back he would be fine, giving her a confident grin and reassuring her that everything would be alright.
She stepped out of the room, and her eyes met her father’s. And that’s when her mind finally caught up with it all. Because she could see it in his eyes, the pity and sadness that told her he knew what had happened. And it would not have been there if this were all just a figment of her imagination.
“Oh, honey.”
Laurel’s lip quivered. Her father opened his arms and she launched herself into them, desperately needing some form of comfort. Something, anything that could tell her that it was alright. Because it was not alright, it was the furthest thing from alright. This was a nightmare she couldn’t wake up from. Oliver had saved her life, had let her know how much she meant to him. And she couldn’t do the same. The love of her life was gone. They couldn’t save him. She couldn’t save him. Oliver Queen was dead.