❛ Don't mean to pry ❜

Two major holidays had swept by the Queen's and Annabelle, yet she was still not recovered from the fight that nearly claimed her and Oliver's life. She walked with a limp around the house (mainly due to the fact that she had a big black boot on it), and hissed every time she bent over for an item from the floor, yet her worst injury was her hand. She had broken two fingers, her wrist, her palm had been severely bruised. On top of that injury, she still had her ulcer, which thankfully hadn't caused her any trouble in nearly a month since she had retired her black hood for some time while the rest of her body fought to catch up and heal.

She left the house only for the Carter Provision, and when she was there, she sat at her desk for hours and did not rise unless she was ready to leave. Jordan had quite a task, always running to get her things and make sure she was pain-free throughout the day. 

Her fight against the Copycat had taken a toll on her, but also on her boyfriend - or perhaps ex-boyfriend. Neither of the two had suited up as their alter egos, and instead watched with sorrow that they had failed their city. 

Annabelle sighed as she sat in her chair at her desk. She stared at the notebook before her, the words catching her attention written in childlike handwriting since her dominant hand still shook with a tremor. 

Her attention was lost in the words that she wrote every so often, always to start a story or memory that had flashed across her eyelids as she slept each night:

My name is Annabelle Carter. For five years I was stranded on an island with only one goal; survive. Now I will fulfill Robert Queen's dying wish: to use the list of names he left me and bring down those who are poisoning my city. To do this I must become someone else, I must become something else.

Annabelle hadn't written an entry in weeks, not since she had been stripped of all her confidence when she was defeated so horribly on Christmas Eve.

As Anna stared at the words, her hand shook vigorously, she didn't notice and stared off into space. However, her door to her office opened and her assistant walked in, saying the woman's name only for her not to respond. He walked around her desk, standing to her side and looking at the journal that her hand rested on. Unfortunately, her shaking hand covered the majority of the words and he could only read the fragments of her paragraph, not enough to piece anything together.

"Ms. Carter," Jordan tried again, this time watching as she jolted back in her seat and stared at her shivering hand. She looked up and saw Jordan watching her with concern, and she cleared her throat while slamming her book shut. "Are you okay?" Jordan asked softly, raising an eyebrow with his question.

Anna nodded and covered her right hand with her left, "Yes, I am," she replied with her head held high. "Is there something you needed, Jordan?"

The assistant nodded and backed away toward the door, "Mr. Queen is here to see you," he said, his hand grasping the door handle and waiting for further instructions, "Send him up," she sighed.

Jordan was quickly out of the room, his hand tugging the phone on his desk up to give orders to the receptionist downstairs that Anna's guest could come up.

Meanwhile, Anna leaned down to slide her journal into her notebook and then stare mindlessly at her shaking hand while trying to will it to stop shaking for one damn minute.

Her door opened and Oliver walked inside, a small smile on his lips. In his hands, he held one bag from Big Belly Burger. "Hey," Oliver called out, Anna lifting her head and drawing her attention away from her quivering hand. She smiled and placed her hands on the chair, ready to get up. "You don't have to get up," Oliver quickly jumped in, one of his hands reaching over to lay on top of Anna's left to reassure her that she didn't have to strain her back to stand and greet him.

"Did you talk with John?" she asked, watching as Oliver took out two burgers and two fries from the bag and set them on napkins on the desk. He nodded and sat in the chair across from Anna's desk. "Yeah, he wants us to get back out there," Oliver answered with a shrug. "You more than me, I hope," Anna scoffed, motioning to her hand that couldn't even hold a pencil.

Oliver smiled and picked up a fry, "I came to eat lunch with you, not talk about that."

"How's your mom?" Anna wondered, her mouth full of greasy burger. "She wants to know where Walter is," Oliver sighed, looking down at his napkin-plate. "I don't mean to pry," Anna muttered softly under her breath. Oliver looked up and reached a hand out, "You live there, Anna, you deserve to know."

Anna silently agreed and continued to eat the lunch that Oliver had so kindly brought to her. "Um, I'm going to try and get my mom and Thea to watch a movie with me tonight, maybe chow down on some junk food. Do you want to join?"

Anna glanced at her clock on the wall and frowned, "I'm getting my boot off tonight, then maybe some after hours physical therapy."

Oliver narrowed his eyebrows, "I thought you were done with physio. The doctor said your foot was fine and that your back will hurt sometimes but -- "

"It's for my hand," Anna interrupted, already knowing what Oliver was going to say. "I can't even lift a pencil, Ollie."

"Maybe it's nerves, Bella."

Anna shook her head and looked at her right hand, lifting it so Oliver could see how much it was shaking, "It won't stop shaking, Ollie. I need the doctor to tell me it's normal, and if it isn't I need him to help me fix it. I can't live like this, not when we do what we do and -- "

"You'll be fine," Oliver jumped in. 

Anna didn't reply and instead, she dropped her right hand onto her lap and filled her mouth with another french fry. She didn't want to be 'The Hoodess' again, at least not until she knew she could do it. But she also couldn't imagine not using her hand again. Her bow was a part of who she was, and if she could never shoot it again then she would have to find out who she was all over again, and that just wasn't going to happen for Annabelle Carter.

•••

Diggle repeatedly beat his hands into a punching bag stationed on the training mat floor. Anna watched him carefully, her back brace tightly wrapped around her waist to give support to her back as she leaned against a pole observing Diggle's form. "Rotate your hips, Diggle!" Oliver's voice echoed, Anna turning her head to see him walking into the basement of the club with a bag hanging from his shoulder. "That's where the power comes from, it's not just your arms, even if they're the size of... bowling balls," Oliver trailed off before walking to the center of the room. 

"Hey!" he smiled, motioning to the girl in front of him, "You got it off!"

Anna laughed and did a small twirl, "Doctor gave me the all-clear!"

Oliver beamed and engulfed the woman in a hug, his arms wrapping around her. She smiled as she felt safe in his arms, and when he let go, she turned around so the blush would not be seen on her cheeks. She wandered over to a chair and slowly lowered herself down so she wouldn't hurt her back even more.

"Laurel reached out to the hood last night," Oliver told the two, trying not to look too much at Anna in fears that she still thought something was going on between the two. "Really?" Diggle questioned, "Thought the vigilante spooked her pretty well last time," he grinned. 

"She thinks somebody's killing firemen," Oliver replied, handing Diggle the file of information that Laurel had passed on. Diggle shrugged, "It looks all in the job, seems pretty thin."

"Give it here," Anna called out, extending her arm so Diggle would walk over and hand it to her. He huffed and handed it to the girl who smiled in response, then flipping through the file to do her own research, since she was gifted at that. "Will you look into it?" Oliver asked his friend. Diggle nodded, "Yeah, I have a friend who has a friend in the Fire Investigations Department."

"Are you not the man of connections," Anna smirked, tossing the file onto the table behind her. Diggle lightly shook his head with a chuckle, "No more than you, Belle."

"If you get any leads, tip the police," Oliver said while facing away from Diggle, perhaps to hide his shame. "The police?" Diggle asked. Oliver shrugged, "They just need something to jumpstart them."

"Well isn't the whole idea of being a vigilante is that you do the police's job?"

When Oliver didn't respond, Diggle pursed his lips, "You know, guys, you've been spending a lot of time around here lately. I thought after six weeks you'd be anxious to hood up."

"Anna just got her boot off! She still can't use her hand!" Oliver scoffed, motioning to the girl who was staring at the ground. "She is wearing a back brace right now!"

"And what about you?" Diggle demanded, folding his arms across his chest. Oliver shook his head and was close to responding when Tommy's voice echoed from the floor above. "Let me see what's going on upstairs in the club," Oliver responded with a sigh.

Diggle glanced over at Anna and she smiled at him, "Help me up, please," she begged, the man laughing and lifting her up carefully. "I'm surprised you're not at the office," he admitted, his eyes following her as she walked over to the case filled with her and Oliver's hoods. "Jordan is taking over for the day, I told him I needed a break for a day or two."

"You deserve it."

Anna glanced back at her friend before opening the case and brushing her hand against the metal bow that was accented by purple icons along the handle. 

Anna's hair flew back as the breeze from the ocean surrounded her. She sighed and knelt down on the upper deck, her hands grazing over blood stains from a man she had sparred against days before. Her upper teeth bit down on her lower lip and she stared at the red stains that had seeped into the dirty concrete.

The door opened behind her and the metal slammed against the wall as it retreated to the door frame. Footsteps tapped lightly behind Anna and she glanced behind her, a small smile gracing her lips, "I know that look," she said as she stood to her feet, her friend chuckling from behind her. "It's not a look," she said while rolling her eyes.

Anna rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hips, "It's definitely a look, Sara."

Sara shook her head with a small giggle and folded her arms across her chest, "Fine, it's a look."

Anna beamed and wandered over to the edge of the freighter, her arms pressing against the cold metal railing as she leaned over and stared at the beautiful ocean water. "How did it feel? To have him shaking in fear instead of the other way around?"

Sara shrugged, "Feels like I'm more than I thought I was. Six months ago I never would have imagined myself doing this."

"Doing this?" Anna questioned, raising an eyebrow at the blonde. Sara nodded and pursed her lips, her eyes giving away that she was in deep thought. "Making a difference, leading a cause. I don't know, striking fear in these people. It's got some sort of beauty to it."

Anna glanced at her friend in concern, "This isn't who we are, Sara. This is who we have to be to survive. If we ever get out of here, we don't need to be these people."

"What if this is us?" Sara wondered, her eyes meeting Anna's as she stared into her gorgeous brown eyes. "What if we have been these girls all along, and we're just accepted out roles?"

Anna shook her head and looked back out at the water. "I don't accept that, Sara. You shouldn't either, because... because we aren't those people. We're trying to survive."

"I think we're accepting our roles," Sara mumbled, her honest opinion worrying Anna because she feared Sara was buying into Ivo's plan. "Whatever we do, we have to do it together, else this all has been for nothing," Anna finally said after a long silence. Sara smiled and reached over to grab Anna's hand, sliding her fingers in between Anna's. "Together," Sara whispered, enjoying the company of Anna for at least a little while before they needed to go be the people Ivo and his team thought they were. 

Anna quickly slammed the case closed, her eyes fixated on the wood and her breathing rapid as she tried to shake the memory out of her mind. She told Sara that who they were on that freighter was just a pretend role that had to act out in order to survive. She believed that yet now she was living that role just as Sara said.

That was truly who they were.

It wasn't pretend.

•••

"I want to go back out there," Anna blurted out as she walked into the basement of the club. She thought she had a problem mentally with being a vigilante again, but that vision with Sara proved that she was a vigilante even without the hood, and the only thing standing in her way was her injuries, not her mind.

"No, not happening," Oliver replied quickly, not even turning around to address Anna and instead continued flipping through the file that had consumed everyone's attention for days. "What? Why not? You went out there! There's a firefly burning people alive and the fire chief won't do anything about it! I can do something! I can -- "

"I said no, Annabelle!" Oliver shouted back, his voice rising higher than Anna's had. The girl took a slight step back and scoffed, slightly shaking her head, "I don't have to use my bow, Oliver!"

"You can't hold a pencil with your right hand, Anna! How are you going to throw a punch, hold a weapon, anything!"

"You and I both know that I am the better at hand to hand, I do not need a weapon," she spoke out. "I'm scared, Oliver," Anna admitted, her voice growing softer. Oliver stiffened with his back turned to Anna but she kept talking. "I'm scared I'll get hurt. I'm scared I'll be defeated again. I'm scared that I'm not what Starling City needs. But if I don't go back out there then fear wins, and I'm stuck in last place again. I hate losing a lot more than I am scared, and I know you are scared, too, but giving in to fear is exactly what this guy wants."

"You're not ready," Oliver sighed, finally turning around to face the woman who had a scowl on her face. "Listen," he interrupted as he noticed she was about to put him in his place, "There's too great a risk that you will get hurt. I'm asking you, please just give yourself more time to heal. The party tonight, just be there as you, and if you're adamant in one week to pick up your bow, I will personally help you regain your strength in your hand."

Anna took a deep breath and nodded, giving in to Oliver's plan. "Fine, one week."

Oliver nodded, "Good, now get dressed, we have a party to attend."

As Anna rushed to get her dress on and make sure all her scars were well hidden, Oliver talked with Diggle about Garfield Lynns and how he is responsible for these fires. Anna listened in closely, wanting to be involved in whatever the two were planning, but she knew that she needed to wait, just like Oliver had asked.

After all, there was a party.

•••

Anna followed Oliver through the crowds of people in the nightclub. He smiled at guests and Anna gave several handshakes and hugs, but they had someone they needed to talk to and they were navigating through the crowds for just that. Or at least Oliver was, Anna was following him because she knew he needed to talk to Laurel and Tommy would be with Laurel and that's who she wanted to see.

As they approached them, Oliver asked to borrow Laurel and they both walked away, leaving Tommy and Anna. He gave her a big hug and a kiss on the cheek before looking down, "Woah! Your boot! It's gone!" 

Anna laughed and nodded, "It is," she beamed. Tommy laughed and gave her another hug, this one tighter than before. "How does it feel?" he shouted over the loud noise. Anna shrugged and lifted her foot that was encased in a flat. She moved it in a circle and grinned, "It feels different," she yelled. "It's a good different."

Tommy chuckled and gave her a small twirl. "As long as you're okay."

Anna opened her mouth to say something when someone nudged past her. She glanced up to apologize as the nice person she was, but when she caught the person's face she froze. Tommy looked up at where she was looking, and he stuck out his hand, "Thank you sir," he said, his hand held straight out to thank the man for the service he had done around the city. 

The man ignored his hand and continued moving past, Tommy not being someone he needed to speak with. "Tommy, I'll be right back," Anna whispered, giving Tommy a peck on the cheek before rushing through the crowds and pushing past dozens of people. 

She finally found Oliver talking with the police chief and she sped up to stand before him, her hands latching on to his arms. He stopped his conversation and looked at her, but before he could say anything she beat him to it. "Garfield Lynns is here," she rushed out.

"That's impossible," the police chief retorted, disbelief written all over his face. Anna shook her head and moved out of the way, Lynns slowly approaching them for the chief to see. "Gar did not make it out of that building," he said while shaking his head.

"Just like you won't make it out of this one," Lynns replied from behind Anna, making her and Oliver whip around. A fire-grenade like object was chucked behind them and an explosion went off, fire blasting everywhere. People began screaming, shouts were heard, and everyone was on route to escape. 

Oliver hid Laurel behind him as Tommy rushed to get everyone out of the building. Lynns lifted his sprayer and pointed it at Laurel, before nudging his head to the side, "Go," he demanded, watching as Oliver and Laurel split directions and sprinted out of the way. 

Anna ran away as well, however, she only ran to behind a post where fire was quickly reaching. Lynns doused the chief in terodine and she watched carefully, debating her options in her head. Oliver was off to suit up, but there wasn't any time. She thought about the conversation she had an hour ago with Oliver. She told him she wouldn't fight, that she would wait at least a week, but this wasn't a situation where she could wait.

She watched as the two had a heated conversation, and when she saw Lynns flip open a lighter, she built up all the courage she could and ran in front of him, kicking her foot up and knocking the lighter out of his hands. It toppled somewhere in the fire and Lynns shouted with rage, swinging a fist at her. 

She ducked beneath his punch and hopped backward, already seeing the shock on the chief's face. "Go," she commanded, watching the chief rush away carefully. She backed up, noticing that Oliver had arrived and was now circling around Lynns, his bow in hand. "It's over," he spoke, his eye catching Anna's and hinting of not rage but disappointment.

"I'm not afraid to die," Lynns admitted, not fearing the arrow that was pointing at him. "I know," Oliver replied, slowly lowering his arrow. "You're afraid to live. Let me get you out of here. Lynns, let me get you help."

"Thanks," Lynns nodded, dropping his head to study the flooring as he contemplated his next decision. "But I'm already burned."

"Lynns, don't do it!" Anna shouted, knowing that he was going to walk into the fire to leave behind his regrets and mistakes. Anna gasped as he proceeded on and Oliver turned around, watching her. She gripped onto Oliver's arm and he tugged her away, not wanting her or himself to watch a man burn himself alive.

Garfield Lynns was dead. 

•••

"I wish you hadn't done that," Oliver whispered to the woman sitting next to him on the couch as they listened to the news discussing the fire last night and the heroic intervention of the vigilante. "We talked about this last night, Ollie," she whispered back, glancing over at the man who was staring at the television. "I know I said I would wait a week but there was no way you would be there in time. I did what I had to do, what I know how to do."

Oliver sighed and stood up, watching as the woman on the news signed off and gave credit to the actions of the vigilante the night before. He ignored Anna's words and instead found himself smiling after being accredited a hero. Thea scrunched her eyebrows in confusion as she saw her brother's smile and scoffed, "What's got you all smiley? Your club's a briquette."

Oliver grinned and playfully pushed her shoulder, "It was under construction before and now it's just more under construction," he responded with a laugh escaping his throat. Anna stared at her feet as he spoke and finally pushed herself off the couch, a small huff of air leaving her mouth. "Good morning," Moira's happy voice sang out, causing each of the three people in the room to stare questionably at her entrance. 

"Sharp suit, Mom," Thea said as she stood to her feet and watched her mom confidently stroll into the living room with a pantsuit on and her hair all done nicely. "Not used to seeing you without your bedroom wrapped around you."

"Well, I could hardly go to the office in my pajamas," Moira responded blatantly. "I'm taking Walter's position at the office."

Oliver nodded, "What changed your mind?"

"Not what, who," Moira corrected, then glancing to Thea. "My daughter, my family. Now I promise you Walter will get back to us. I will keep looking for him and I will find him. And I'll see you for dinner," she beamed, pointing at Anna, then Oliver, then Thea with her purse. Oliver turned around with his arms open wide to Thea and once he saw that she wasn't smiling he raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"Just feeling the whiplash," she shrugged, her arms folded across her chest. "She went from shut-in to chairman pretty fast."

Oliver nudged his head to the left, "Sounds like you got through to her."

"Yeah, I guess," Thea sighed, collecting her bag from the couch and resting it on her shoulder. "Are you taking me to school?" she then asked Anna who lifted her head and glanced at the teenager. "Sure," she smiled, holding her hand out and waving the teen over. "I can certainly take you to school," she giggled, excited to spend time with the young girl. 

Thea nodded, "Sweet, let's go."

Anna grabbed her purse off the coffee table and was about to follow Thea when Oliver called out her name. She turned to face him and he sighed, "I wanted to protect you, Bella."

Anna bit her lower lip and took a step towards the foyer where Thea was waiting with the car keys. She took a deep breath and briefly closed her eyes before smiling at the man.

"I know, Ollie. Believe me, I know."

As Anna dropped Thea off and sat in a parking space in the preparatory parking lot, she gripped the steering wheel, her right hand beginning to shake again though it had stopped for two days. She stared at it, watching as it looked like it was vibrating like a phone.

Her mind trailed back to her conversation with Oliver and what he had told her before she left for the day. He wanted to protect her. She had heard those words before. Somewhere, sometime.

"You know I am just trying to protect you, don't you?" Anna asked as she sat against the cool concrete wall of her and Sara's living quarters. She held a small slice of bread in her hands and her fingers slowly picked it apart piece by piece.

"I know," Sara replied, her feet touching the floor as she sat on the thin mattress with her hands gripping the edge. The blonde glanced over to Anna and a small smile formed on her face as she admired the girl that was years older. She observed how she delicately tore a small piece of bread off the tiny loaf and brought it to her mouth, then humming at the satisfying taste of plain old wheat.

She found a way to appreciate the little good they had in a world that seemed like hell. Sara admired that about Anna, like the way she admired everything Anna did. "Anna," Sara whispered, her voice squeaking slightly at the end as she tried to get the girl's attention. Anna looked up and caught Sara's hopeful eyes, a small smile tugging at the brunette's lips, "Yes?"

"Remember when I told you that I got on the yacht because I had a crush on someone?" she questioned, Anna nodding along to the memory. "Sure, one of the crew members, right?"

Sara's voice was caught in her throat and she gulped hard, "Actually, I, um, I lied about that."

"Oh?" Anna wondered, raising an eyebrow and pushing herself away from the wall. She walked over to the bed and sat next to Sara, placing her bread on the blanket resting atop. Sara was engulfed in silence and Anna reached over to grasp Sara's hand, running her fingers over top her knuckles to reassure her that Sara was alright. "Tell me when you're ready, Sare-Bear," Anna softly assured her, a slight giggle leaving her mouth as she used the nickname for Sara that she had created years ago.

Sara smiled and nodded, "Thanks, Bella."

Anna beamed and scooted back to the wall where the bed met and she patted the spot next to her.

Sara crawled back as well and laid her head on Anna's lap, staring off into the distance as Anna's fingers began to run through Sara's hair softly as if she was brushing it for her. Sara closed her eyes and breathed in and out through her nose, feeling safe that Anna was with her. "I love you, Anna," Sara whispered.

"I love you, Sara," Anna whispered back, though meaning it in a different way than Sara did. Sara's eyes fluttered open and for a second she thought it was the same meaning, but when she said it over again in her head, she knew it wasn't. And she closed her eyes again to try and fall asleep in the presence of someone who made her feel special.

Anna's eyes snapped open to the sound of someone honking their horn and quickly she backed out of the parking lot. Deep breaths escaped her lips as she drove on the road, and for minutes she mindlessly drove while trying to process the vision she had just had.

However, as she neared The Carter Provision, one phrase echoed in her mind and in the same voice of the person who whispered it.

I love you.