Just a Kid • Book 1

• Chapter 2 •

Third Person's POV

Rory spent the night at the Queen house that night, but she found herself unable to sleep. Her mind just couldn't relax after the day she had. I mean, it's not everyday that a family member returns from the dead.

Her room was right next to her dad's and so when he started calling out in his sleep, Rory went over to investigate.

It was storming out and so Rory was surprised to see his window side open and him laying on the floor near it, covered in a layer of sweat. She could see he was having a nightmare and Rory immediately ran over to him to wake him up from it.

She fell to her knees beside him and started shaking him. "Dad? Daddy, wake up." Oliver woke up with a start and instinctively flipped Rory onto the floor and held his hand against her throat, cutting off her air supply.

"Dad!" Rory managed to gasp out, making him snap out of it. Realizing what he was doing, Oliver quickly took his hand off her throat and scurried back away from her in horror.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, I'm so sorry." He quickly spoke as Rory sat up, coughing a bit. "It's okay, Dad." Rory tried to reassure him, but Oliver couldn't meet her eye.

"Really, it's okay, I'm okay." Rory said as she walked over to him slowly as to not startle him.

Oliver was still pressing himself against the wall, trying to stay away from her, but she wouldn't allow that. Rory sat down right next to him and leaned against him. "I'm alright, Daddy. Everything's alright."

Rory stayed in that position for a while until Oliver finally calmed down a bit and allowed himself to actually come into contact with her again. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders hesitantly, giving her time to pull away in case she was scared of him. But she didn't.

So the pair just sat there on the floor together, no words spoken, just being in each others presence.

~~~

The next day, Oliver stood with Thea in her room as he gave her an arrowhead that he brought back from Lian Yu. One that symbolized reconnecting, which is what he wanted to do with her.

"A rock. That is sweet. You know, I want one of those T-shirts that says My Friend Was A Castaway and All I Got Was This Crappy Shirt." Tommy spoke as he entered the room and walked over to the siblings, Rory trailing behind him.

"And if you're taking requests, I'll take a coffee mug that says Shipwreck Survivor with a little picture of the island on it." Rory added on, a joking smile on her face.

"Kiddo, you don't even drink coffee." Oliver automatically responded before pausing and furrowing his eyebrows. "Wait, do you?" He questioned and Rory laughed and shook her head. "No, Dad."

Thea smiled down at her niece in amusement before glancing at Tommy and then back at her brother. "Don't let Tommy get you in any trouble." Thea warned Oliver, a light tone to her voice.

"I won't. I mean, how much trouble can we really get into with Rory there with us?" Oliver said, placing a hand on his daughter's shoulder.

"I don't know, Ollie. You were gone for five years and in that time, Tommy's been influencing and mentoring your daughter. She can be just as much of a troublemaker as him when she wants to be." Thea told him, flashing a teasing smile at her niece.