You Found Me: An Arrow Fanfic

Chapter 11

For Laurel, the next two days passed in a blur. Slade had spent the first night in the holding cell at the police department and so she'd had to juggle her time between him, her work and placating her father. He'd finally heard the news that the "foreigner" had been caught and that his daughter was defending him. Suffice it to say, Laurel expected him home at any moment.

She and Slade hadn't had much time alone and the little they had was spent going over legal processes and strategies to handle the media. They were relentless in their hounding, wanting to know how she knew Slade, when they'd met and what made her decide to take his case. The circus that had ensued had been the worst bit for her.

The only relief she got was when any of the Queen's or Merlyn's were around. Thankfully they were far more interesting to the press than she was and she suspected they knew it. That was probably why Oliver and Tommy had gone out of their way to engage with the journalists camped outside the police station. That way, she was able to get in and out without too much unwanted attention.

Her emotions though were completely ragged. She knew that every minute that passed brought Slade's moment of departure ever closer. Already the Australian government had made contact, insisting that they would cover all the financial costs of getting Slade back home. Seeing as all the charges against him had been dropped and he was scheduled for release later that day, his ticket had already been booked for the following morning. It was an early flight and she suspected that everyone would make the journey to the airport to see him off.

Laurel was sitting at her desk at CNRI. It was the Boss's birthday and he'd invited everyone out for drinks, which meant that the office had closed early. For obvious reasons she'd declined and sat by herself as she watched the clock wind down before she left to fetch Slade.

Staring at the pile of paper before her, she felt her vision begin to swim, the hold she had on her feelings were tentative at best.

"Knock knock," came a feminine voice from the door.

Laurel glanced up to see Felicity, covered in a black coat, approaching her slowly.

"Hey," she said, blinking rapidly while closing the file she hadn't even been looking at.

Felicity removed her coat to reveal a black and navy print dress over black leggings and ankle boots. She pulled up a chair and sat down beside Laurel.

"I thought I'd pop in to see how you're holding up."

Laurel gave her a small smile. Felicity was always so thoughtful.

"I'm okay," she said, her voice much more cheerful than she actually felt.

Felicity raised an eyebrow. "Is that why you look like you're about to cry?" she asked softly.

Laurel slumped forward in her chair, her hands covering her face as she lost the tenuous grip she had on her self control. Feeling Felicity's hand on her shoulder was her undoing and the tears she'd been holding back for days came flooding to the fore.

A sob escaped as the other woman pulled her unresisting body into her arms and held her close. She didn't know how long they sat like that, or for how long she cried. All she knew was that once she started, she couldn't stop. Her heart was breaking and the last time she checked, there was no cure for that. Felicity just held her, gently running a hand over her head, whispering soft words of comfort.

Eventually, her sobs subsided and she pulled back. The quirky blonde was looking at her sympathetically and Laurel couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know that was going to happen," she said self-consciously, running her hands unnecessarily down the front of her white shirt.

Felicity laid a hand on her knee. "It's okay. You have nothing to feel embarrassed about."