Arrowheart

Chapter Six

It's a Saturday morning, and I am chilling in the kitchen, making breakfast for my daughter, when I get a call from Moira.

M: Good morning, Elizabeth.

E: Good morning, Moira.

M: I am hosting a brunch tomorrow for the Bowens and was wondering if you and Hannah would like to join us.

E: We would love to join you, Moira.

M: Wonderful. I will let Oliver know. Say hi to Hannah for me.

E: Of course, talk to you soon.

She hangs up first, and I bring Hannah's food to the table.

Hannah: "Mommy, who was that?"

Elizabeth: "It was LiLi. She says she loves you very much. She invited us to brunch tomorrow."

Hannah: "Yay, we get to see LiLi!"

Elizabeth: "Yup, and we will see Daddy tonight for dinner. Go ahead and eat while I get ready before we go to the park and see Aunt Thea."

Hannah: "Okay, Mommy."

I kiss her head before I go into my room to get ready. As I finish up, Hannah comes in, and I help her get ready too.

As we are about to leave the house, I get a call from my brother.

T: Hey, sis, I will be sponsoring a benefit for CNRI and was hoping you would come.

E: Don't you mean, 'I'm sponsoring a benefit for CNRI to impress Laurel.'

T: I really want to impress her, and CNRI just lost their only major donor, so I thought this could help her see the real me. So, please?

E: I'll be there. When is it?

T: Tomorrow at 7 pm.

E: Okay, I bet you have a lot of preparations to do.

T: Yes, and I am on my way there right now. You're the best, sis.

We go to the park and meet Thea there.

Hannah: "Auntie Thea!"

Hannah runs to her, hugging her legs immediately, making Thea laugh as she picks her up.

Thea: "Hey, Hannah Banana."

I walk over to them.

Elizabeth: "Hey, Speedy."

Thea: "Hey, Lizzy. Ready for some fun?"

Elizabeth: "Yup."

We walk around the park, stopping for Hannah to play on the playground and the lake. Later that same day, Oliver meets up with Hannah and me at the park after Thea leaves.

Oliver: "Liz, sorry I'm late. I got distracted with the new business."

Hannah: "Daddy!"

She runs into his arms as he bends down to catch her and picks her up in a hug.

Oliver: "Hey, princess. Have you been good for Mommy?"

Hannah: "Uh huh."

Elizabeth: "You are forgiven. So where are you taking us?"

Oliver: "Have you ever heard of a place called Big Belly Burger?"

Elizabeth: "No,"

Oliver: "Well, you have now. Let's get going."

He puts Hannah down, and we both hold her hand as we walk to this burger place he mentioned.

~Flashback~

~Hannah is one year old~

I pick up my daughter, whose giggle makes the room light up, and everything in the world feels right. I smile as I cradle her in my arms.

Elizabeth: "You are my world, my darling

What a wonderful world I see

You are the song I'm singing

You're my beautiful Melody."

Just as I finish singing that verse, there's a knock at the door, and I turn to see my brother with a smile.

Tommy: "Hey, sis, are you ready to go?"

Elizabeth: "I don't know. I don't want to leave her side. After what happened at the hospital, I never want her out of sight."

Tommy: "I figured you would say something like that, so I got a surprise for you."

He pulls out a tablet and a box.

Tommy: "This tablet is hooked up to some cameras that will monitor the house for you, so you can check in on Hannah while you're away. Also, I brought someone with me."

Elizabeth: "Oh really, and just who would that be?"

I follow him into the living room, where Moira and Walter await us.

Elizabeth: "Moira, what are you doing here?"

Moira: "I am here to watch my grandchild for you. I know how stressful it is to be away from your child for the first time. Especially after what happened with Liam. But you do need to have some time away to relax."

Elizabeth: "Alright, you win. But please call me if anything, and I mean anything, happens."

Moira: "I promise."

Tommy: "Let's get going. I have the whole night planned out."

Elizabeth: "Okay."

I kiss Hannah's cheek and then pass her to Moira, who gently starts rocking her.

Elizabeth: "Okay, just remember she is allergic to kiwis, and she hates Barney, the purple dinosaur."

Moira: "I know, Elizabeth. I'll take care of her."

Tommy: "Let's go, sis."

He leads me out of the house, and I almost cry at the thought of possibly never seeing her again, thinking about all of the ways I could die tonight, or she could be kidnapped. Tommy breaks me out of my thoughts as he parks the car.

Tommy: "Here we are."

Elizabeth: "The karaoke bar?"

Tommy: "Yup. Let's go. They are waiting for us."

Elizabeth: "Who?"

He shoots me a smile before getting out of the car. I follow him inside and find Stephanie and Laurel waiting for us.

Elizabeth: "What are you two doing here?"

Stephanie: "We are here to help you release some steam."

Laurel: "Not my idea."

Tommy: "The two of you need this."

Tommy and Stephanie drag us off to a room for the night. They managed to get Laurel and me drunk and singing the whole night.

~End Flashback~

I had just finished preparing for brunch and knocked on Hannah's door.

Elizabeth: "Hannah, are you ready to go?"

Hannah: "Not yet, Mommy! I can't pick an outfit!"

Elizabeth: "Do you want my help?"

Hannah: "No, I wanna do it myself."

Elizabeth: "Can I make a suggestion?"

Hannah: "Okay."

Elizabeth: "Why not try eenie-meenie-miny-moe to pick which outfit?"

Hannah: "Okay, I'll try that."

A few minutes later, she comes out in her selected outfit.

Hannah: "I'm ready, Mommy."

Elizabeth: "Alright, let's get going. You picked an adorable outfit, sweetie."

We arrive at the Queen's house and join Moira, Thea, Mrs. Janice Bowen, and Carter Bowen in the dining room.

Janice: "Well, I'm sorry Walter couldn't join us."

Moira: "Oh, yes, well, the Australian trip came up suddenly. He sends his apologies."

Carter: "And where's Oliver? Not out of town, too, is he?"

Moira: "Well, I'm sure he's just-"

Oliver abruptly enters the room, cutting off Moira.

Oliver: "Stuck in traffic. One of the things I didn't miss on the island Sunday drivers."

He turns and hugs his mother, and she kisses his cheek.

Oliver: "Sorry, I'm late."

Moira: "Mhmm."

Then he hugs Thea.

Thea: "Thank god you're here."

He hugs me.

Elizabeth: "Hey."

He kisses my cheek before hugging Hannah, who is so happy to see her father. Janice hugs him.

Janice: "It's so good to see you. We all thought you were-"

Moira: "Oh, we are just happy he's home."

Carter shakes his hand.

Carter: "Hmm, and returning a celebrity too."

Oliver: "How do you mean?"

We go to our seats as Carter talks to Oliver.

Carter: "Billionaire scion, castaway for five years. You know there's a bidding war 'for the rights to your life story.' At least that's what my agent says."

Oliver: "Agent? I thought you were a neurosurgeon, Carter."

Carter: "I know. It's crazy. One minute I'm publishing this book on how long-term potentiation initiates the creation of slow-moving protein synthesis, and the next, an agent is trying to make me the next Dr. Oz."

Oliver: "Why would he want you to be a wizard?"

Everyone, except for Oliver, laughs while he looks confused.

Moira: "Oliver."

Thea: "For all of our sakes, start reading 'US Weekly.'"

Carter: "Well, the truth is, I feel it's our duty as Starling City's more fortunate to help those most in need."

Moira: "Oh, of course."

Carter: "Wouldn't you agree, Oliver?"

Oliver: "You're the hero, Carter."

Hannah: "No way. Daddy is the hero."

Hannah's comment makes us all giggle.

Janice: "So now that you're back, what are your plans? Will you be taking a job at Queen Consolidated?"

Oliver: "I'm opening a nightclub."

Thea giggles while Moira has a look of disapproval on her face.

Hannah: "Mommy, what's a nightclub?"

Elizabeth: "It's a place where people who are 21 and up go dancing with friends."

Before Hannah can ask any other questions, Mr. Diggle has a phone in hand.

Diggle: "Sir, your liquor distributor's on the line."

He whispers something in Oliver's ear before walking out.

Oliver: "Sorry. Business."

Oliver gets up and leaves. Then Moira excuses herself and follows after him. When she comes back, I can tell she is displeased by Oliver's absence, but continues to act her part as a gracious host.

After the Bowens leave, Moira offers to watch Hannah for the rest of the day while I go to my mother's free clinic in the Glades to help. On my way there, I texted Oliver that I wanted to talk to him later.

The next evening, I leave Hannah with my assistant, Mary, while Stephanie and I go to Tommy's fundraiser.

When I arrive, I see Tommy talking to Laurel until he spots me. He makes his way over to me and kisses my cheek.

Tommy: "Hey, sis, I'm so happy you could make it."

Elizabeth: "As am I. You know I wouldn't turn down the opportunity to help a friend in need. How is it going, by the way?"

Tommy: "It's going amazingly well. I think it is impressing Laurel."

Elizabeth: "I am happy to see you doing something wonderful for her. Now where do I go to make my donation?"

Tommy leads me to the area I must go, and then I mingle with other guests. I spot Oliver on his way out, but I can't catch him, but I find Moira instead, and she seems exhausted.

Elizabeth: "Moira, is everything okay? I just saw Oliver rushing out."

Moira: "I'm unsure. Oliver needed to take care of some business. I don't know what's gotten into him."

Elizabeth: "Is there anything I can do?"

Moira: "No, I'm alright, dear. Let's forget about it now and mingle with the other guests."

I smile and nod before going and dancing with a man. My dance is interrupted by a crashing sound with cups clattering on the floor. Everyone turns to see Tommy escorting Thea out of the building. I excuse myself, and on my way out, Laurel and I bump into each other, both going out simultaneously, only to find Thea throwing up and Tommy there to watch over her.

Laurel: "Tommy?"

Tommy: "Yep."

Elizabeth: "Is Thea okay?"

Tommy: "Oh, she just ate some bad crab cakes."

Laurel: "Are you sure it wasn't something she drank?"

Tommy: "[Clears throat] Don't worry. I got this. You can go back inside. Keep having fun. It looked like you were having a nice little doe-si-doe with the good doctor."

I roll my eyes at his words to Laurel.

Laurel: "Tommy, I'm going to let you in on a little-known secret about Dr. Carter Bowen. The man is a gigantic ass. And the only reason why I danced with him is because he wrote a massive check to CNRI. Why would you think anything else?"

Tommy: "I guess when it comes to you, I tend not to think straight."

Thea: "Can you call me a cab?"

Tommy: "Absolutely not. I am taking you home. [He opens the car door] Get in."

Thea: "I apologize for making such a scene."

Laurel: "Just feel better, okay?"

Elizabeth: "I will see you two later. I need to get Stephanie and go home. It was a wonderful fundraiser. Thank you for the invite."

Laurel: "Thank you for coming, Elizabeth, and for your donation. I really appreciate it."

I hug Laurel and then Tommy before finding Stephanie and going home to my daughter.