spending the day with the Queen women

"Hello?" Oliver answers his phone, stopping his motorcycle as he makes his way to the front of the Queens consolidated building.

"Mom said I'm supposed to remind you to pick her up for lunch." Thea says bored.

"Was I supposed to have lunch with her today?" Oliver asks.

"She said she left you like five messages. Just bite the bullet and have a salad with the woman." Thea tells him.

"You know Thea, sometimes it's getting hard to remember which one of you is my mother." Oliver says ending the call.

When he parks, he waves at his mother and hears another motorcycle speeding up from behind him and turns to look at it and sees the driver aiming a gun at his mother's direction.

"Get down!" Oliver yells, getting the attention of the man Moira was talking to, who turns towards him and gets shot in the chest three times, knocking over Moira to the ground in the process.

Oliver runs over to his mother and checks if she's OK and when employees of theirs come out of the building he tells them to call the police and chases after the gunman, using backalley shotcuts to cut him off but just as he's about to gain on him a truck blocks him off.

|hospital- about an hour later|

"Hey are you OK?" Oliver asks walking into his mothers room, having just arrived at the hospital while Thea was already there as soon as her mother was brought in.

"I'm fine." She says trying to reassure him.

"Did you reach Walter?" Moira asks Thea who shakes her head negative telling her "No, I'm sorry."

"As I was telling your mother and sister, the cat scans showed a minor concussion. She can go home so long as someone stays with her to make sure there are no aftereffects." The Queens doctor informs Oliver.

"Thank you." Oliver tells him as the doctor makes his way out of his patients' room.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left you. I thought you were fine." Oliver apologizes to his mother.

"What did you think you were doing anyway?" Moira questions.

"I wanted to get that license plate of the guy who took a shot at you." Oliver tells her pausing to come up with a good excuse, something Thea notices.

"Yeah, well that was foolish." Moira tells him and Oliver gives her a hug before stepping outside with his sister.

"So did you get a license plate?" Thea asks confronting her brother.

"No, he got away." Oliver replies.

"Maybe you should spend a little less time trying to be a hero, you're obviously not very good at it." Thea tells him judgingly.

"That's cute." Oliver says.

"Wasn't trying to be. You left mom in the street, alone and hurt. In the street. To get a license plate?" Thea asks him suspicious of him.

"You don't believe me?" Oliver asks surprised.

"I love you Oliver, mom loves you but it's getting hard to, when you're not being truthful with us." Thea tells him before she goes back in her mother's room.

"Detectives, do you have any leads on the shooter?" Oliver asks Quentin and his parter, seeing them round the corner and head right to his mother's room.

"Not yet. Did you get a good look at him?" Quentin's partner asks.

"No, he was wearing a helmet." Oliver tells him.

"Don't worry, we'll find him." The man says.

"My head of security is on his way I want to make sure there is someone in front of my mother's door at all times. She needs to be protected." Oliver tells them.

"Well you know your family is at the tippy top on my list of priorities but the guy she was with was connected. Mobbed up to the eyeballs connected, she wasn't the target." Quentin tells him.

"But I'll make sure he puts someone on guard duty anyways." Ryan says having arrived a few moments earlier, having heard from Quentin what happened.

"Thanks." Oliver says stoically, going past the three.

"What are you doing here?" Quentin then asks Ryan.

"What, it's my day off and I came to make sure Mrs. Queen is alright, and that Thea's doing OK." Ryan replies mumbling the last part.

"Yeah, yeah. Just don't interfere with our investigation, got that?" Quentin tells his surrogate son.

"Pretend I'm not here." Ryan says holding up his hands.

"As if you were ever not here." Quentin mumbles as the three knock on Moira's door.

"Come in." Moira says and the three enter the room.

"We're sorry to disturb you Mrs. Queen but we have to ask you some questions and get a statement." Quentins partner tells her politely.

"That's quite alright, come on in." Moira replies and then asks Ryan with wonder "Ryan, what are you doing here?"

"I heard what happened and thought I'd see how you're doing." Ryan informs her.

"Oh, thank you. I'm quite alright. Thea, why don't you step outside with him I don't think you'll need to be here while I'm giving my statement." Moira tells her and the brunette steps outside with her blonde friend.

"Hey, so how is she really?" Ryan asks the girl, taking a seat next to one another on the chairs across the hall from Moira's room.

"She has a minor concussion but the doctor says she can go home as long as she stays under supervision." Thea informs him.

"That's good, right?" Ryan asks unsure as he sees her bad mood.

"Yeah, sure. Sorry I'm a little distracted." Thea apologizes.

"What's up?" Ryan questions, looking directly at her.

"It's everything with Oliver. He's just so secretive. He left our mother lying on the street hurt to chase after some license plate allegedly." Thea tells him.

"why allegedly? He's quite fast from what I've seen." Ryan replies.

"It's just how he said it. He paused to think of an excuse." Thea tells him.

"And it's not just that it's his sudden disappearances and him never talking about what happened while he was gone." Thea adds thoughtfully.

"PTSD?" Ryan suggests.

"Maybe. I don't know anymore and to be honest I'm getting tired of trying with him." Thea says sounding exhausted.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out sooner or later." Ryan tells her, squeezing her hand supportively.

"Thanks. You know the funny thing I barely know anything about you, but I'm feeling closer to you than I do to him." Thea tells him.

"Well what do you want to know?" Ryan asks chuckling.

"No but seriously, I think they both would like to be honest with you but are too scared to from what I've seen when I told them that they are hurting you by not being honest with you." Ryan tells her.

"You did what now? When?" Thea asks shocked.

"When you were passed out after the CNRI banquet." Ryan answers.

"What did they say?" Thea asks curiously

"Not much, I think Oliver was about to throw me out though hadn't I been leaving already." Ryan tells her somewhat amused.

"Sorry, like I said I don't get him. And thanks for helping me that night once again. I'm seriously starting to feel silly with how often you've already helped me the last few weeks." Thea tells him embarrassed.

"It's alright, we all struggle sometimes. You turn to alcohol while I turned to fighting when I was having a hard time." Ryan tells her, patting her hand.

"OK you can go back in now." Quentin then tells them coming out of Thea's mothers' room.

"See you later dad?" Ryan asks his surrogate father before he joins the Queens' women.

"Sure, just make sure you stay out of their business." Quentin tells him pointing at Moira's hospital room.

"Dad, I'm their friend. If they need my help, I'll help them." Ryan replies and enters the room.

"So Ryan how are things with you?" Moira asks the teen once he entered her room.

"Uhm, OK I guess. NCRI is looking up thanks to Tommy's fundraiser and I got my stitches removed." Ryan informs her.

"Good. So, I'm supposed to be under supervision, care to join us for lunch?" Moira asks him.

"Sure, I'd love to." Ryan replies while looking more at Thea than Moira, making the mother smile to herself knowingly.

|that evening|

Tommy is paying Laurel a visit, having gotten Sushi takeout for them to eat together. During their dinner he Tommy asks her out, to which Laurel agrees.

Oliver is meeting with Diggle in their hideout and Oliver informs him that the target was the man his mother was with, someone who is part of Frank Bertenelli's crew and that he's not the first one associated with the mob boss to die.

After making his way back home Oliver puts on a suit to meet up with Frank Bertenelli and infiltrate his empire.

As he makes his way downstairs to the lobby he sees Thea and Ryan, who spend the day with the two Queen women making their way out.

"Speedy, where are you going?" Oliver asks.

"I'm going to take Ryan clubbing. It's difficult to do in your house and not an actual club." Thea tells him.

"I have to go out tonight, I thought you were going to watch mom." Oliver says.

"I spend the whole day with her. I thought you were going to take the nightshift." Thea replies accusingly.

"I'm sorry, but this thing. It's important." Oliver tells her.

"You know sometimes Ollie, I just don't get you and by sometimes, I mean never." Thea says.

"You're actually not the first person to say that to me today." Oliver replies.

"Why am I not surprised?" Thea says upset.

"Oh, nice dress where are you headed?" Tommy asks Thea, entering their house.

"Upstairs apparently." Thea says pissed and goes upstairs, pulling Ryan along behind her.

"Hey, I heard about your mom is she alright?" Tommy asks Oliver once Thea and Ryan are gone.

"She's resting upstairs, more shaken up than anything. I gotta run to this business thing but I do appreciate you stopping by." Oliver tells him.

"It's no problem just so long as your mom's alright." Tommy replies.

"Yeah." Oliver confirms again and walks past his friend.

"Hey, one more thing. Mainly because I don't want you to find this out from someone else, that someone else being Laurel. We're going to dinner, as in a date." Tommy tells him.

"That's good. Laurel deserves someone special and so do you. I gotta run." Oliver tells him after a short pause.

"Absolutely, so I'll catch you later?" Tommy says.

"Oh and Tommy if you hurt her I'll snap your neck. I'm just kidding." He tells him jokingly.

After Thea and Ryan went upstairs she tells him "You know if you want to you can leave. I don't think there will be anything exciting going on tonight if I have to sit in my mom's room."

"I don't mind. I don't have anything else planned anyways and Laurel wanted the apartment for herself tonight, so I think I'd like to stick around rather than spend the night wandering around the city." Ryan tells her.

"OK. Just give me a second, I'll go change out of this dress." Thea tells him and enters her room while Ryan sits outside leaning against the wall.

A few minutes later Thea comes out of her room, now dressed in her pjs.

"Don't laugh." She tells him once she sees him looking her new attire over.

"I wasn't about to, I think you look cute." Ryan tells her with a grin.

"Thanks." Thea says not fully convinced and goes to her mothers' room, knocking on the door.

"Oliver did you come home already?" Moira asks and Thea opens the door, looking in to see her mother in her bed looking through a magazine.

"No mom, Ollie already left again. Apparently some business deal. It's me and Ryan again." Thea tells her.

"Oh, Ryan is still here?" Moira asks surprised.

"Yeah, I hope you don't mind Mrs. Queen." Ryan says as he and Thea enter her mothers' room.

"No, that's quite alright. I'm sure Thea appreciates the company." Moira tells him.

"So what are you in the mood for? We could watch, the reality housewife cooking show, or cop-docs. That's where doctors run around fighting crime when they're not all sleeping with each other." Thea asks them as she lies down next to her mother, while Ryan takes a seat on the large chair in the woman's room.

"Whatever you want, you two. You are the ones giving up your evening out." Moira says looking through her magazine.

"Well it's not like there is anybody else that could be staying with you. Oh wait, yes there is!" Thea says dramatically.

"Don't be too harsh on your brother." Moira says.

"Why not? I mean aren't you getting sick of his lies?" Thea questions.

"Everyone has secrets, we all have things we'd rather keep to ourselves. But I think this is not something we should discuss while we're having a guest." Moira replies.

"Don't worry about me. I already know the gist from my chats with Thea." Ryan says sinking further into the plushy chair.

"I just don't get him sometimes." Thea complains more quietly.

"I know, I know. You know being in that hospital and seeing doctor Lang again, it made me remember the day Oliver came home." Moira tells her daughter, pulling her closer to herself.

"It was Doctor Lang that told me that the Oliver we lost, might not be the Oliver that they've found. You know it's easy to forget that he lived apart from civilization for 5 years." Moira continues.

"So what? He gets a free pass?" Thea questions.

"No,no. I just think we need to stop judging him for the Oliver he was and start accepting him for the Oliver he is." Moira tells her.

"If I may say something?" Ryan asks looking at them from the side of the chair and Moira nods at him.

"I might have information that would further help you understand Oliver, but it's your choice if you want to hear it. Laurel told me that he hides it so people don't judge him by it and see him differently so I'm guessing he wouldn't be too thrilled that I spilled the beans." Ryan tells them.

"I still want to hear it, if you think it'll help." Thea tells him.

"Yes, me too." Moira agrees.

"Alright, as you might know Oliver took a polygraph when he was accused of being the vigilante and during the test he revealed that he wasn't alone on the Island, but instead was tortured by its inhabitants. So it's safe to say that he might need some more time adjusting and maybe to start relaxing a bit. Because from what I've seen he's wound up tighter than an exploding spring." Ryan informs them.

"What? That's how he got those scars?" Moira asks shocked.

"Apparently so, look I know that doesn't mean you have to cut him some slack but believe me, he had a rougher time there than you think. I consider myself a better than average fighter but when I saw how Oliver fought with that hitman, you have to fight a lot of guys for a lot of time to get that good." Ryan tells them.

"Why didn't you tell me this sooner?" Thea asks expectantly.

"I figured it isn't my tale to tell and I couldn't have known you were in the dark until today when I heard you talking over him during lunch." Ryan tries to defend himself but Thea looks at him distrusting, suspecting he's not telling them everything.

"Alright, I think I should head out after all, it's getting dark now anyways. I had a nice time during lunch Mrs. Queen. I can show myself out." Ryan tells them politely and slips through the door, closing it behind him quietly.

"Thea, don't you want to show him outside?" Moira asks her daughter with slight surprise.

"No." Thea replies.

"Sorry, I was under the impression you were starting to like him." Moira tells her and looks back at her magazine.

"I thought so too, until he just confessed to keeping secrets from us." Thea replies disappointed.

"Well can you blame him? Oliver tried to scare him off for him having an interest in you, would you have blabbed a secret about the person who's already not too fond of you and just waits for a chance to pounce? But I guess he doesn't have to anymore now that you aren't interested in Ryan, right?" Moira asks knowingly.

"Well I didn't know he was already on Oliver's bad side." Thea says pouting a little.

"Now you know, does that influence your view of him?" Moira says looking at her daughter expectantly.

"I'll be right back." Thea tells her mother quickly as she hops out of the bed and runs after Ryan, who by now is already halfway across their entrance.

She stops shortly when she reaches the gravel road, considering shouting out to him but ignores her discomfort and goes after him barefoot.

"Hey Ryan, stop." Thea tells him once she's in hearing range.

"Huh?" Ryan asks turning around surprised and sees Thea going up to him.

"It's Christmas soon." Thea says.

"I guess." Ryan replies, not having celebrated the holiday in almost 10 years.

"Do you have anything planned for Christmas?" She asks now standing directly in front of him.

"I don't think so. The Lance's don't celebrate it anymore since their daughter died." Ryan tells her.

"OK, we probably don't do anything either, but would you like to come anyways?" Thea asks him.

"Sure, but I got the impression that you're not too happy with me just now." Ryan tells her confused.

"I just thought you were keeping things from us intentionally, but mom explained why you kept quiet." Thea tells him embarrassedly.

"OK, so we're good?" Ryan asks.

"Yes." Thea answers.

"Good, so Christmas is going to be what? Dinner? Party?" Ryan asks wanting to come prepared, since it is already in about a week.

"I don't know yet. I'll let you know, but why don't we say a date, for now." Thea tells him a grin playing at her lips.

"Date as in, you and me date?" Ryan asks pointing between them with a smile.

"Yes, a date. If you smile any wider my mom will be able to see it from her window." Thea says teasing him.

"I can't help it. I got the feeling you old thought of me as a friend and not boyfriend material." Ryan tells her.

"Yeah, well that might have been the only thing Oliver did right ever since he came back." Thea says.

"What was?" Ryan asks confused.

"He told me that if I am interested in you, I should pursue it, regardless of our different backgrounds." Thea tells him.

"You know I'd thank him, but I think I'll keep my distance from him for as long as possible." Ryan tells her with a laugh.

"You know if you want to you can come back inside." Thea tells him a slight blush developing on her cheeks.

"Thanks, but I seriously should make my way back. But first." Ryan says and picks her up, bridal carrying her back to her house.

"You should've put on shoes. Now I know why they always call you speedy." Ryan says teasingly.

"Don't start with that! But thanks." Thea says warningly before thanking him and giving him a peck on his cheek.

"Oh and Thea, if you need anything. And I mean anything, like to talk or even just someone to drive you home from a club, you have my number." Ryan tells her before he starts his way back to his and Laurel's apartment.