Teamwork

Chapter 44 - Dinah Laurel Lance

Sara could not contain the smile and laughter that bubbled up when she heard Thea's comment about Felicity and Oliver's comment in reply. She had been tuning the siblings out so that she wasn't intruding on a private conversation, but when she heard the laughter she listened in for a moment, just long enough to hear Thea say that Oliver was scared of Felicity. That same smile was on her face when Laurel came around the top of the stairs.

"Hey." Sara said quietly to her sister, still not wanting to interrupt the conversation inside. However, when she saw the look on her sister's face her own smile faded as she could see that something was wrong. "What is it Laurel?" She asked her sister concernedly.

"Can I talk to Ollie?" Laurel asked quietly. She had been hanging out downstairs but her own thoughts had gotten the better of her and she could no longer wait to talk to Oliver.

"Now's not a good time." Sara explained carefully, not wanting to upset her sister further but also not willing to let her interrupt. "He's talking with Thea right now."

Inside the room Oliver and Thea were still laughing when Oliver heard voices at the door. When he heard Laurel asking to talk with him he realized that this day would not be over until he had a conversation with everyone.

"Sara." Oliver said just loud enough for her to hear. "Laurel can come in." Then he turned to Thea to explain since she looked confused. "I need to talk to Laurel for a bit."

"How in the world do you even know who is standing out there?" Thea asked confused and curious.

"My hearing has improved." Oliver offered in explanation, with a small smile.

"Do you want me to stay?" Thea asked, knowing that Laurel and Oliver had not been getting along very well recently.

"No, we'll be fine." Oliver said as he squeezed Thea's hand in reassurance before she turned to leave the room.

"Actually, it seems that he and Thea have just finished." Sara said with a smile, just as her sister had turned to walk away.

"What?" Laurel asked turning in surprise. "How do you know?"

"My hearing has improved." Sara offered the same explanation to her sister that Oliver had provided to his. "He said you can go in."

"Oh, okay." Laurel said quietly.

Sara could see that whatever Laurel wanted to talk to Oliver about was a heavy weight on Laurel's shoulders. I hope Oliver can help her work through whatever is bothering her, just as he has for everyone else. Sara thought as the door to Oliver's room opened and Thea walked out. She caught a glimpse of Oliver, still sitting on his bed, through the open doorway and he gave her a small nod to let her know that he was still fine. She then closed the door quietly after Laurel went inside.

"How are you doing Thea?" Sara asked the younger Queen.

"I'm doing fine." Thea said with a hint of a smile. "Much better since we actually talked."

Sara was happy to hear that people were finally starting to talk about what had happened, seriously, and come to terms with it. She turned to again stand guard at the door and allow privacy for yet another conversation.

"Laurel?" Oliver asked quietly as that woman entered the room and Sara closed the door quietly behind her. He watched as she took a few tentative steps into the room before stopping and simply looking at him for a moment. He chose to keep silent, allow her to move at her own pace, in order to allow her to address exactly what it was that she needed to talk about.

"I'm sorry Ollie!" Laurel suddenly blurted out.

Oliver was taken slightly by surprise when Laurel apologized. He didn't know why or what she was apologizing for but he could see the pain in her eyes and chose to allow her time, yet again, to continue when she was ready. It took another two full minutes before she spoke again.