Arrow in the Heart

Chapter Six

I had been driving around the city for an hour or so when my phone rang.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Emma, it's Laurel. Could you come to the campaign office please?" She asked.

"Sure. I'll be there in a minute. Is everything okay?" I asked, turning onto a side street that led towards the lair.

"Yep. See you soon." She said, hanging up.

I parked and headed down into the lair. When I got there, I found everyone waiting for me.

"Barry called me and told me what happened." Oliver said.

"Seriously? Dammit Barry." I said, collapsing into one of the desk chairs.

"Why did they kick you out?" Felicity asked.

"I told them something I should have told them, and you all, a long time ago. When Roy and I were dating, I got pregnant. When I was only 18 weeks along, I miscarried. When I told my parents, my father freaked and kicked me out of the house."

"He kicked you out over something that happened more than eight years ago?" Laurel asked.

I nodded. Felicity hugged me tightly and offered to let me stay with her and Oliver.

"No, that's okay. I can just sleep here. I only rented my hotel room through today because I thought I could just stay at my parents' but I guess plans change. I'll be fine here." I said.

"Are you sure? You can stay with me." Laurel said.

"I appreciate the offer, I really do, but I think staying here would be my best option. Besides, I want to take inventory of everything you have in regards to medical equipment and I can keep an eye on Roy." I said.

"You can always call any of us if you need something." Oliver said, gripping my hand comfortingly.

"Thank you." I whispered.

He nodded before following Felicity and the others, minus Roy, to the elevator. After the doors had closed, I turned to Roy.

"I need to check your vitals and make sure your wound is healing correctly." I said.

"Do we have to do that right now or can we talk first?" He asked.

"There's nothing for us to talk about right now, Roy. I'm trying to put the past behind us and talking about it is not going to help." I said, pushing him onto the hospital bed and grabbing my stethoscope.

I ran a few tests on Roy before ordering him to get some rest. After a few hours, he still wasn't asleep due to the pain in his shoulder from the gunshot, so I gave him a light sedative.

While Roy slept, I inventoried everything that was in the lair in regards to medicines and medical equipment. Once I was done with that, I sat in the chair next to Roy's bed and just stared at him. I knew I was being creepy, but I didn't care. He had changed since I left all those years ago. He was bigger, stronger, and in a way, kinder. He had laugh lines that hadn't been there when we were dating, and he seemed to have a happier spirit.

All at once, every single emotion I had ever felt towards the sleeping man returned in full force. Love, lust, anger, pain, blind rage, and ultimately, pure sadness rushed through my body. I felt the hot tears run down my face as the memories overwhelmed me.

"Hey." A soft, familiar voice said behind me.

I turned and saw Barry.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, surprised.

"Chasing after a metahuman who decided to seek refuge near here. Joe, Eddie, and Cisco are taking him back to Central City now, but I thought I'd stop by and see how you're doing. Oliver told me you were here. Wait. Have you been crying?" He asked, noticing the wet trails that ran down my cheeks.

I wiped away the remaining tears and shook my head.

"No, I'm fine. Just a little overwhelmed." I said.

Barry pulled me into his arms and hugged me tightly. I let my tears flow again, wetting his navy blue jacket. If he noticed, he didn't say anything. Barry just stood there and held me for what seemed like forever. Finally, I pulled away.

"Thank you. I needed that." I said.

"Anytime." He replied with a small smile.

Barry pulled up a chair next to mine and settled in. We talked for the next hour or so about anything and everything.

"What are you going to do while you're here?" Barry asked.

"I'm not entirely sure. Oliver asked me to join the team and I said yes, so I guess that will take up a lot of my time. I may try and help out at the hospital sometimes. I just wanted to come back and see everyone again. As much as I enjoy taking down metahumans with you and everyone, I needed a break." I explained.

"Yeah, I can understand that. It does get a little tiring sometimes." Barry said.

"Barry, what's the main thing you've learned since becoming The Flash?" I asked suddenly.

"I've learned a lot of things, Emma. I guess the biggest lesson I had to learn was to believe in myself and do what I know is right at the end of the day. Sometimes it's hard to be a superhero. It isn't all super speed and saving cute girls. It's a lot of hard work and getting hurt. But at the end of the day, it's worth it. At the end of the day, I made it so that someone can go back to their family and I protected my city from someone who wanted to destroy it."

"I'm a little scared I won't be able to be the kind of person this team needs, Barry. I mean, I can definitely be the doctor and help Felicity with some computer stuff and I know how to fight from what you and Joe have taught me, but I'm no superhero." I said, running my hands through my hair.

"Then don't try to be a superhero. Be Emma Maxwell. That's what this team needs, Em. They don't need another person who can shoot arrows or who excels in combat, they need a real doctor, an assistant who can cover any holes, they need a friend they can talk to. Right now, they don't have anyone like you. Team Arrow needs you just as much as they need any of the other members, including Oliver." Barry said.

"Thank you, Barry." I said, hugging him tightly for a moment.

"You're welcome. I have to get back to Central City, but I'll come visit you soon." Barry said, kissing my forehead gently.

I watched him get in the elevator before Iturned back to Roy. He was stillsleeping soundly, despite Barry's and my conversation. I sat down in the same chair I had beencrying in earlier and thought back on the time Roy and I had together.