Destiny Rewritten

Chapter 11

The next morning, Oliver visited Laurel in the hospital, since she had been kept there overnight.

"Dig, can you give us a moment and wait out here?" Oliver asked John as they arrived outside her room.

"Yes sir." John said as Oliver entered the room.

"I was hoping you'd visit." Laurel said and Oliver smiled.

"I would've come last night, but I was busy." Oliver said.

"Yeah, taking down Martin Somers is hard work." Laurel said and Oliver smiled.

"Thank you for keeping my secret." Oliver said.

"It's no problem. Honestly, there was always something about the Green Arrow that was familiar to me. Now I know why. But I have to ask, why are you doing this?" Laurel asked.

"It's a long story." Oliver said.

"Well, maybe you could tell me over dinner tomorrow night?" Laurel asked.

"Are you asking me out?" Oliver asked, a bit shocked.

"You saved my life, I think that gets you out of the doghouse." Laurel said and Oliver smiled.

"Okay then. Dinner it is." Oliver said.

"What the doctor say about your shoulder?" Oliver asked her.

"Broken. I'll need a cast for about 6 weeks." Laurel said.

"I should've stopped them before they got that shot in." Oliver said.

"Hey, this wasn't your fault. My dad tried to warn me off Somers and I didn't listen. But Ollie, once I'm healed up, I want you to train me." Laurel said.

"Wait what?" Oliver asked.

"You dodged those shots and attacks easily. I need to be able to better protect myself in the future, especially if I'm going to go up against heavy hitters like Somers again." Laurel said.

"Laurel, it took me 5 years to get to my level in fighting and it's not only fighting. I developed a survival instinct that helped keep me alive. It was created out a need to well, survive." Oliver said.

"I know I can't become quite as good as you, but you can at least teach me the basics." Laurel said.

"You really want to do this?" Oliver asked.

"I do." Laurel said and Oliver sighed in defeat.

"Fine. Once the doctor's clear you, we'll talk." Oliver said and Laurel nodded, knowing that was the best she was going to get.

"And actually, why don't you just come over to my place for dinner tomorrow night? My mom actually had Raisa come over and teach me how to cook so I wouldn't be living on fast food." Oliver said.

"Might be a better place to have this conversation anyway, since it's more private. Deal and I promise that this time, no one will start shooting up the apartment this time." Laurel said.

"If they do, I'll protect you." Oliver said with a smile.

"My dad's gonna be here soon, so you should probably go." Laurel said and Oliver smiled.

"Probably. I'll see you tomorrow night." Oliver said as he walked out of her room.

The next night, Laurel took deep breaths as she rode the elevator up to Oliver's apartment, wearing a pretty black dress and her arm was in a sling to keep from aggravating her shoulder, but what was really bugging her was what was on her mind. Despite what she'd said, she wasn't sure why she was doing this. Oliver had cheated on her repeatedly, taken her sister on the Queen's Gambit and gotten her killed and yet here she was, preparing to have dinner with him. But she could tell that this time, he was a different man and she wasn't just thinking about him being the Green Arrow. He was more mature, more responsible, it was like he'd become an entirely different person in the first place.

Before she could give anymore thought to the matter, the elevator opened and Laurel couldn't help but smile as she saw that the lights were dimmed and candles had been lit around the room and when she entered the kitchen, she found that a candlelit dinner waiting on the table and Oliver was standing there.

"I honestly thought that you would've come to your senses and not shown up." Oliver said and Laurel smiled.

"I thought about it, but then I realized that would make me you. Or at least, the old you and that is something I swore I would never be." Laurel said and Oliver smile as he helped her sit down.

"I made your favorite." Oliver said as he sat down.

"You remembered." Laurel said, impressed.

"Yeah, I did." Oliver agreed.

"So, you promised me you'd tell me why you started doing this. Being the Green Arrow." Laurel said.

"My father and I both made it to a life raft when the Gambit went down and he told me that he was not the man we all thought he was. He asked me to right his wrongs and save our city. Then he told me to survive, put a gun to his head and shot himself, since there wasn't enough food and water for more than person. He sacrificed himself to save me. Part of the reason I'm doing this is because I'm trying to honor him." Oliver said.

"Wow, that's deep." Laurel said as she sipped some of her wine, since Oliver had made sure to remember that she wasn't an alcoholic yet and hopefully he could keep her from becoming one.

"Yeah, I guess so. But after I arrived on the island, I found a list of names in his pocket. I've been using that list to help me determine who I go after. Adam Hunt, Martin Somers, Jason Brodeur, all of them were on the list." Oliver said.

"All people who've been hurting this city." Laurel said.

"Yeah. And I'm also planning on going after people who aren't on this list." Oliver said.

"I think I'm finally starting to see the man you were always meant to be Ollie. A hero." Laurel said.

"I'm not a hero Laurel." Oliver said.

"Maybe not yet. But you can be, someday." Laurel said.

"Maybe." Oliver reluctantly agreed as they continued eating.