Frosty Arrow

Chapter 32

Oliver was currently sitting in a hospital bed as Dr. Schwartz treated him.

"So doc, how bad is it?" Oliver asked.

"Considering some of the other injuries I've treated you and your friends for over the years, this is nothing. A mild concussion and a few cracked ribs, so maybe take it easy for a few days, but aside from that, I'd say you're good to go. You're staying here overnight as a precaution, but all in all, you should be good to go by tomorrow." Dr. Schwartz said and Oliver nodded as he got settled in the bed as Laurel entered his room.

"How you feeling?" Laurel asked.

"Not the first time I've been kidnapped. Probably won't be the last time either." Oliver said dryly as she walked up to him.

"I kept a strong face up while you were gone, but honestly Ollie, if we hadn't found you in time, I don't even want to think about what I would've done. I've lived through the pain of losing you before and it was awful and this time, there isn't any real baggage between us. We have an honest relationship now." Laurel said as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Laurel, I've dealt with far worse then Tobias Church in my life. I mean, Edward Fyers, Anthony Ivo, Slade Wilson, China White, Matthew Shrieve, Baron Reiter, Konstantin Kovar, Malcolm Merlyn, Sebastian Blood, Ra's al Ghul, Lonnie Machin, Damien Darhk and countless others. The one thing they all had in common was that they all failed against me. Of course I've had help every time, but still, better than Church have tried to take their shot at me and failed. And we're going to stop Church, just like we've stopped every other bad guy who's tried to take over this city. But speaking of Church, I need you to look into something for me." Oliver said as he told Laurel his idea and she grinned when she heard it.

"I'll see what I can do." Laurel said.

Oliver's next visitor was Thea.

"Hey, I'm kind of surprised that there's no Nora." Oliver said.

"Felicity's watching her. I am so relieved that you're back. City Hall is mess without you." Thea said.

"I don't know about that. Laurel told me how you quickly took the reigns and restored order there. I'm impressed." Oliver said.

"Well, I was just trying to help my city." Thea said.

"You did and you also made me think that maybe your talents are being wasted." Oliver said.

"What do you mean?" Thea asked.

"What I mean is that I could use a deputy mayor. Interested in a promotion?" Oliver asked.

"Are you serious. Won't that come off as showing me favoritism?" Thea asked and Oliver smiled.

"Not when I know that the city council agrees with me. I called a few members after Laurel told me and they insisted that I make you my deputy mayor. Interested?" Oliver asked again.

"Absolutely. After all, I already basically run city hall for you in your absence, at least now it's actually in my job description." Thea said and Oliver laughed.

"I'm pretty sure it already was. But anyways, I couldn't help but notice a distinct lack of red in my rescue tonight." Oliver said.

"That's because they didn't call me, since I was needed to keep order in city hall." Thea said.

"Yeah we're really going to have to work out how to make both the mayor and deputy mayor being vigilantes." Oliver said and Thea laughed.

"Well, we've figured out much more difficult problems." Thea said and Oliver could tell she was thinking about another problem they had yet to solve.

"Hey, we're gonna bring him home. Soon. I promise." Oliver said.

"I hope so. I really miss him and I think that Nora would really like him." Thea said.

Oliver's final visitor that night was one he'd expected much earlier.

"You're late." Oliver said to John, who smiled.

"Well, I needed time to work on my defense for wearing your hood." John said.

"You don't need to defend yourself John. But just to be clear, that was a one time thing. I have no intention of giving up the Green Arrow mantle." Oliver said.

"I know man, believe me I do. But I can't deny it was fun to be main hero for once." John said.

"John, just because the team name is Team Arrow, doesn't mean you're any less important. You know how many people I truly trust John." Oliver said.

"Even now, you can count them on two hands and still have 3 fingers remaining." John said.

"That's right. You, Felicity, Laurel, Thea, Quentin, Sara and Barry. The only people who've earned my complete trust. And John, even though you're not the Green Arrow, you are the reason he exists." Oliver said.

"What do you mean?" John asked.

"Remember the Restons?" Oliver asked.

"The bank robbers, yeah why?" John asked.

"Because that was the time the Green Arrow was truly born. And that was because of you. You convinced me to seek justice outside of my father's list. You're the one who made me believe that someday I could become a genuine hero, not the harbinger of fear I was back then." Oliver said.

"That's pretty deep man." John said and Oliver chuckled.

"Don't tell anyone. The only other person who knows I have a sentimental side is Laurel and I'd like to keep it that way." Oliver said and John smiled.

"But anyways, my point is that, without John Diggle, there would be no Green Arrow. Hell, there would be no Team Arrow, since you were the one who convinced me to start letting people in. I'm a better man now than I was then and you're a big part of that John. Never forget that." Oliver said.

"Thank you for reminding me what I bring to this team. Honestly, there are times I wonder what I actually bring to this team." John said.

"I think I can break that down for you John. I'm the leader, Felicity's the brains, Laurel's the muscle, Thea's the heart and you, you're the moral compass. You're the one who helps us do the right thing, even when it doesn't look like there is one. That's something I think we desperately need John. You help me and at times all of us, hold on to our humanity and we will do the same to you if we have to. That's what brothers do." Oliver said.

"And we are the best of brothers." John said with a smile as they clapped hands.

Not sure how you guys felt about that whole Oliver and John scene, but I did want to have Oliver explain to John the purpose he served on the team and the role he's played in Oliver's development as both a hero and a person throughout the series, since I think that their relationship was really abused in season 6 of Arrow, but now I think it's getting back on track.