New Earth: Arrow

Chapter 4

The next morning, Laurel woke up and the first thing she realized was that she was not in her bed, or even in her apartment. Instead, she was lying in Oliver's bed in his room at the Queen Mansion, which was honestly not a place she ever thought she'd be again. In this reality or the old one. She thought that since Oliver had chosen Felicity over her before, he'd do it again. To her pleasant surprise, she was wrong. It turns out that the only reason Oliver had ever shown interest in Felicity is because she had told him that they couldn't be together because of Tommy. But now she knew that was a mistake. She'd known on her deathbed that Oliver Queen was her soulmate and this time, she intended to make sure he knew it, especially since he was now the man she'd always dreamed he could be and more. Now he was a hero, the protector of Star City. And now that she thought about it, it was because of that that she was able to become the person that she was meant to be. The Black Canary.

Anyways, the next thing she realized was that she was alone, which for a second made her think that she'd been wrong, only to have Oliver walk into the room, dressed in running clothes and all sweaty and she sighed in relief to realize that he'd just gone for a run.

"I thought that you'd want to sleep in after having such an exhausting experience." Laurel said with a smile as he sat down on the bed next to her.

"Still an early riser I guess." Oliver said and Laurel smiled as she kissed him.

"I'm glad I get to do that again. Even if you are sweaty and disgusting." Laurel said.

"And you have some of the worst morning breath I've ever smelt." Oliver countered and Laurel smiled.

"Well, I think there is a way we can solve both of those problems at once." Laurel said with a smile that Oliver easily interpreted.

"I'll get the shower going while you brush your teeth." Oliver said and Laurel smiled as she smacked his shoulder before he headed towards the bathroom and she quickly followed him, grateful that she'd brought clothes for today with her, since she'd suspected that she'd be spending the night if Oliver had reciprocated her feelings and he had.

Moira smiled when she saw Laurel come downstairs with her son.

"Laurel, I'm glad to see you were quick to make yourself at home here again." Moira said and Laurel smiled.

"I'm glad that you're okay with me staying over for breakfast." Laurel said, not even pretending that she hadn't spent the night, since she knew Moira wouldn't buy it.

"You're the only girl I've ever approved of Oliver dating, so of course I don't mind, especially since you didn't insult my intelligence by trying to pretend you didn't spend the night." Moira said and Laurel smiled.

"So, when's my next court date?" Oliver asked.

"It's weird to hear that when he's not in a holding cell." Thea said as she joined them.

"Tell me about it." Laurel agreed.

"Anyways, your court date is next week. I couldn't get you one any sooner." Moira said.

"That's fine. It gives me some time to start looking for my own place." Oliver said.

"Really?" Moira asked.

"Mom, I love you, but I want my independence." Oliver said.

"Are you sure?" Moira asked and Oliver, Laurel and Thea all knew what she was worried about.

"Maybe we could get Oliver a bodyguard so that you're not worried about him as much." Thea suggested.

"Not a bad idea." Oliver admitted, since he already knew who he wanted to be his bodyguard to be.

"Okay, I guess I can agree to that." Moira said.

"I can help you start looking for places. I mean, I figure I'm gonna be stopping by several times, so I might as well make sure it's a place i like to." Laurel said and Oliver smiled and resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"I'll take any help I can get. Then maybe after the hearing, we can start talking about my role at Queen Consolidated?" Oliver asked and Moira nodded.

"We'll take it slow. One step at a time." Moira said and Oliver nodded.

The next day, Oliver was reunited with another familiar face from his past.

"Oliver, this is your new bodyguard, John Diggle." Moira said and Oliver actually smiled and he could tell that John was in a similar state.

"Can I call you Dig? It sounds catchier." Oliver said and John smiled.

"Of course sir." John said.

"It's Oliver." Oliver reminded him.

"Oliver it is." John agreed.

"Anyways, I have to meet Laurel for an apartment viewing, so can we get going?" Oliver asked and John nodded.

"After you." John said as he followed Oliver out of the mansion and got into the car.

"Glad you got my call." Oliver said as they drove away from the mansion.

"Just be glad our numbers are still the same as they were before. Thanks for the tip man." John said.

"Needed to see my brother again." Oliver said and John smiled in the rearview mirror.

"So, should I call in the rest of the team to meet us at our destination?" John asked.

"No, Thea's in school right now and I'd like to keep her on a better path than she was on before at this point. Tell them to meet us at the building over the bunker tonight, since I need Felicity to start working the plans for it, since after my legal resurrection, I'm to Central City to have a talk with Barry and if Cisco's had his memories restored, then he can help Felicity build the bunker." Oliver said and John nodded.

"Speaking of Felicity, how exactly are you going to tell her about you and Laurel?" John asked.

"You think I'm making a mistake choosing Laurel over Felicity don't you?" Oliver asked.

"No man. I think that we both know that you really just used Felicity to distract yourself from your feelings for Laurel and she deserves more than that. And while I will admit that I was rooting for you guys, I could tell that you have always held Laurel in a higher regard than you did Felicity. Probably why you two always had such a problematic relationship." John said.

"I am gonna talk to her about that, I just hope she understands, since honestly, I think our marriage was never like what you and Lyla had or Barry and Iris had." Oliver said.

"Good luck with that man." John said.

"Thanks. And also John, you should know that I don't blame you for what happened during Crisis." Oliver said.

"Oliver, even if I couldn't save you, I still should've been there with you in the end." John said.

"You risked everything to try and save me John. That counts for something." Oliver said.

"And this time, try to stay alive. I said to you before when we were on Earth Two, but I'll say it again, this world needs you Oliver Queen. It's a better and brighter place with you in it." John said and Oliver smiled as they pulled up to what was actually Oliver's old loft building.

"You're getting sappy on me Diggle. Come on, let's go meet Laurel inside so you can clear you conscience with her." Oliver said and John nodded as they got out of the car and headed inside.