New Earth: Arrow

Chapter 28

"Hey, why wasn't this Dinah person here? I was really looking forward to getting to meet the woman who took up my mantle and then disgraced it." Laurel said.

"Laurel, look, I get why you're pissed at her, but honestly, thinking back on it, she really was a perfect successor for you, since you two are more alike than you realize." Oliver said.

"How? She betrayed the team and furthered the division between the team and nearly killed John and Felicity and my dad." Laurel said.

"And I seem to recall you going down a very similar path after Sara was killed." Oliver reminded her and Laurel flinched.

"Okay, fair point." Laurel said.

"Look, I will admit things got a bit messy during that time, but there was blame on both sides. If I'd actually trusted her, she never would've quit and after Vincent died, she wanted someone to hurt, I know the feeling, it's exactly how I felt after every single I loved died. Especially after you died." Oliver said and Laurel smiled.

"I suppose I should be flattered that my death is what caused you to finally put Darhk in the ground." Laurel said with a smile as they kissed.

"I should've put him down before he had a chance to touch you." Oliver said.

"What's done is done. What's important now is our decisions now." Laurel said.

"I agree. Including Dinah's." Oliver said.

"How can you be so forgiving? The Oliver Queen I know holds on to grudges." Laurel said.

"And I do. When they're worth holding onto. This one with Dinah isn't. And I'm sure that once you've worked with her, you'll see that she's a hero. But she will need a new codename." Oliver said.

"I agree, because the only reason she became the Black Canary is because I died. Well, I'm not dead anymore." Laurel said.

"I know. And very few people are more happy about that than I am." Oliver said with a smile as they kissed.

"Anyways, to answer your question, Dinah is looking for a place to crash, since she wants to have an actual apartment before she rejoins or I guess joins the SCPD." Oliver said and Laurel nodded in understanding, deciding that she'd give this Dinah a chance, but she still didn't completely trust her. Not yet.

The following day, Oliver and Thea were visiting their mother at Iron Heights.

"I was really hoping we wouldn't have to visit you here again." Oliver said to his mother.

"I knew this would happen the moment I decided to confess. And hopefully I'll be released again at my trial." Moira said.

"Mom, you have to know things are a bit different this time around since Malcolm isn't here to bribe the jury." Thea said.

"True, but there are other key differences that can work to my advantage Thea." Moira said.

"Such as?" Thea asked, but Oliver understood.

"Well for one thing, Malcolm was nothing more than a friend of Mom's, they don't have any kind of romantic history, since we've confirmed that you are dad's daughter biologically and mom confessed before anyone died. Really, the only thing she's guilty of is being an unwilling accessory to a plot conceived of by a madman that never even had a chance to succeed." Oliver said and Thea calmed down as she saw those points.

"Fair point, but will the jury see it that way?" Thea asked.

"We can only hope." Moira said.

"You sure you don't mind moving back in?" Thea asked her brother as she and Laurel helped him unload boxes from his loft back into the mansion.

"It's the best play right now. I talked to Jean Loring and she said that mom's entire defense is centered around her being a good parent who was just trying to protect her daughter. Leaving said daughter living alone while she's still 17 does not help that defense." Oliver explained and Thea nodded.

"Fair enough. But Laurel, you know you don't need to help with this right?" Thea asked.

"I want to. Besides, it might be good practice for the future." Laurel said with a smile, which Oliver returned.

"Will you two please stop playing games and just move together already?" Thea complained.

"Thea." Oliver said.

"What? It's obvious that you both want to take that step, so why don't you? I'll even take the loft if it makes it any easier." Thea said.

"We'll talk about this later." Oliver said and Laurel nodded her agreement.

"Okay, but it's clear that you need to have it and please be honest with each other when you do." Thea said.

"We'll have that talk later." Oliver said and Laurel nodded in agreement as they continued moving boxes into the mansion.