❛ Look out for her ❜

Anna sat in evident pain at her desk in her room with her computer on in front of her to make it look as if she was doing work for the Carter Provision. Oliver had forced her to stay in house for two days as he was overly concerned with her ulcer and with that she was monitoring his progress on the most recent truck takeover by Blackhawk while at the same time lying to Oliver and anyone who asked how bad her pain truly was. She heard glass breaking and she cringed knowing that it was a bullet that caused the commotion. She would love to be out there helping Oliver but being in no shape to do so she had to sit back and worry about his safety instead.

"Are you alright, Ollie?" she asked with her head buried in her palm. "Yeah, but they got away. Be home in t-minus 10."

The woman sighed and yanked her earpiece out before chucking it to the other side of the room and dropping her head into her arms. Soft breaths escaped her mouth as she tried to regather herself for the party happening just downstairs, and after swallowing two - okay three - painkillers, she rose to her feet and approached the full body mirror in the corner of her bedroom.

Her hands traveled down her sides as she flattened her tight dress and with a deep breath she placed a hand on the reflection of her face and looked down. "Shengcun," she whispered to herself before pulling her hair from her bun and allowing it to freely cascade down her shoulders. 

The girl opened her door and was immediately engulfed by the music being blasted in the Queen Mansion and the glowsticks lighting up the room. Anna stood uncomfortably in the corner with foundation coating her shoulders and a fake smile planted on her face as her eyes scanned over all the guests.

Oliver was on his way but he would not be prepared for the sight of his sister's party. The woman stood all alone in the corner of the room in her black dress and she almost appeared as a club bouncer. However, Thea was quick to spot the girl who was so much like her sister and raced over to her and engulfed her in a hug. "Happy birthday, Speedy," the girl smiled as she admired the girl that just months ago she remembered as a twelve-year-old. "Thank you! And thank you so much for your gift! I am never taking it off!" she giggled as her fingers fumbled with the silver chain around her neck. Anna grinned, "You've grown so much, Thea. I wanted you to have something that showed it." Thea smiled and glanced down at the necklace, "What does it mean? It's beautiful, so it must mean something like it, right?" 

Anna looked at the Chinese symbols and her heart raced a bit. How did she explain what a word that meant so much to her and to Sara means to a girl that thought it meant beauty? Taking a deep breath, Anna looked into Thea's innocent eyes and tilted her head, "It's Chinese for - "

Anna was interrupted by a friend of Thea's squealing and Thea was instantly dragged away from her older friend. "Thanks, Bella!" the girl called over the extremely loud crowd. Anna pursed her lips and turned around to walk away. The noise was too much and the added stress over thinking about Sara and shengcun was just too overwhelming. How could she have been so stupid? Getting Thea a necklace that says shengcun was ignorant. Yes, the one simple word got Anna through so much and made her feel as if Sara was still with her because it was the word they swore by on the freighter but it wasn't a word that Thea would understand. Anna's gift was an act that kept Thea close and made Anna remember that she was still the little girl that she said goodbye to before boarding the yacht. But it was an act that didn't mean anything to the new adult because she didn't understand its real purpose. 

As Anna was walking away from the living room filled with adolescents, she nearly bumped into a man that she hadn't spoken to in two days. "Going somewhere, Ms. Carter?" the voice asked. Anna stopped and looked before her to where John Diggle stood in all his glory. "The noise is too much for me," she admitted before looking around at the dancing bodies. "Oliver said you haven't been feeling too well these past few days. Is everything alright?"

"Feeling well isn't part of what I have been feeling these past few days, you know that," she muttered while looking around the room so she could avoid Diggle's eyes. "You should be resting, ma'am."

Anna looked at the man and shook her head, "Then people would know something was wrong, wouldn't they?" she questioned though she knew the man already knew the answer. Before he could respond she lifted her hand and silenced him, "Look, John, we both know what my problem is here and before it goes public you should really just let me walk outside where I can escape this. If you wish to follow me then go right ahead but you know Oliver has not been letting me fight as much as - "

The girl stopped her interview as Oliver approached the two talking and placing a hand on the small of Anna's back she smiled at him as if nothing had been bothering her. "You okay?" he whispered in her ear to which she replied a quiet 'yes.' Oliver hummed and kissed her cheek before looking at Diggle as he began to speak. "I head the Hood foiled an armored car heist this evening."

Oliver sighed, "Gaynor wasn't running the rocket launcher."

"I know, I was with him the entire time it was going down," Diggle responded.

"Looks like you were right," Oliver said in defeat, causing Anna to bite her lower lip and look down. "Look, if someone from Blackhawk is involved I'd put my money on Knox," Diggle added to the conversation. "He started right before the heists began. He has military training."

"Okay, I injured one of them. He was bleeding pretty badly when they made off in their van."

"Okay, so if any of Knox's blood is in the motor pool vans we'll know for sure."

"I'm going with you," Oliver spoke up while glancing around. Anna was about to interrupt when John beat her to it, "No, no, no. Listen, you have this party, and I told you I would handle this. If there's any problems, you're just a phone call away."

John was about to depart and Anna was prepared to step the opposite direction to walk away from Oliver so he wouldn't see the pain that the painkillers didn't stop when Oliver grabbed John's arm and disrupted Anna's getaway. "Hey, head on a swivel," he told John while slipping an ear piece in his suit jacket."

"It's the way I was born, man," Diggle grinned while taking a backwards step and still looking at the duo. "And hey, look out for her. She's not looking that great," he motioned to Anna who briefly closed her eyes and mentally cursed Diggle out. Now she would definitely not be able to escape Oliver's watchful eye.

As soon as Diggle left, Anna turned around and began to walk off before her arm was grabbed and she was gently pulled back. "Hey, want to dance?" Oliver asked to which she softly smiled and nodded. "But then I have to see if any Blackhawk vans were taken into any late night car washes."

"That sounds like added stress to me," Oliver reprimanded while placing a hand on her hip and holding her left hand in his own. She sighed and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Please don't say it, Ollie," she whispered as she knew what was next to come out of his mouth. "You're not okay, Bella," he pushed. Anna looked into his eyes and saw the regret of him saying it anyways but also the courage that he did. "What do you want me to do, Ollie?" she said quietly as the two swayed back and forth in each others' arms. "I want you to admit it, Bella. Once you do then we can go to the doctor's and figure this out together. Jordan can handle the Provision, but if you keep denying this sickness then I may lose you. And I can't lose you. I can't."

Anna nodded, "I'm not okay, Oliver. I told you I was in pain and then I lied and said I felt better. Okay? I admit it. And I was wrong not to tell you earlier but I had things I needed to take care of. Things I still need to take care of."

Oliver smiled and carefully lifted his arm to spin his love around. She laughed as he pulled her back to him and they swayed once more. "Remember the last time we danced like this?"

"The Bratva? In that gross room with one twin bed and what looked like mold in the corner?" Anna chuckled as she stared at her feet that were moving effortlessly with Oliver's. "But we had music. Frank Sinatra playing on that old stereo near the mold. And that one light above us that kept flickering everytime we moved," Oliver picked up with a bright smile gleaming on his cheeks. 

"I'm surprised we remembered how to dance," Anna whispered as she relived that one dance in the gross room with the one twin bed and what looked to be mold in the corner with Frank Sinatra playing on the old stereo near the mold and the one light above that flickered every time she moved. "Aw, you don't forget something like that. I bet you still remember how to drive stick, too. You don't forget those kinds of things," Oliver reminded her.

She giggled at the memory, "Yes, but I remember how to drive stick because I remember running over my dad's foot when he was trying to teach me. You often remember things associated with bad memories."

"He only walked with a limp for four months," Oliver shrugged. Anna laughed and Oliver joined in. And for those ten minutes, it was just two people in love dancing in the middle of a high-school party and they acted as if no one was around them.

•••

The dance between Oliver and Anna had been interrupted by Ted Gaynor's plan being recorded by Diggle through the earpiece Oliver had given him. With a heavy heart, he bid Anna adieu and left the party in a rush to go help Diggle save Carly and ultimately stop another truck heist.

Oliver and Diggle had of course stopped the heist and Carly was fine, but Anna had little time to celebrate before Moira was answering a phone call saying there had been a car accident involving Thea and Moira was frantically trying to leave the house. Once the mansion had been cleared of any guests and the crew hired to clean the party had begun their task, Anna and Moira quickly departed and phoned Oliver on the way.

The three had arrived at the hospital nearly all at the same time and after walking in together and nearing Thea's room, Oliver noticed Anna's shaking arms and he slipped out of his suit jacket before placing the material on Anna's shoulders. She smiled warmly at him, "Thank you," she whispered to which he nodded in response.

The door opened to the hospital room where Thea was staying and the three filed in with Thea looking up at their entrance. "Oh, Thea," Moira sighed in relief as she approached her daughter's bedside. Anna hung back at the foot of the bed and watched the worries of the Queen's leave their mouths. "Are you okay?" Oliver wondered while giving his sister's hand a tight squeeze. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," she said with a raspy voice. Just headachy, really. The car... is... is it - "

"The car isn't important right now," Oliver replied sternly. "Do you remember what happened, sweetheart?" Moira asked. Thea scoffed and dryly laughed, "Just go away."

"Thea, please."

"I said I'm fine," she glared into her mother's eyes. Moira sighed and walked away at the request of her mother and Anna watched her depart before looking at Thea who was avoiding Oliver's confused glance. Before the tension could rise anymore in the room, Anna smiled, "How about I bring you your pajamas?" she suggested, giving Thea's hand a soft hold. "The purple satin ones with the white bow? You'll sleep better, and I can throw them in the dryer for ten minutes. What do you say?" 

Thea softly smiled, "That would be great, Bella."

Anna nodded and gently lifted the small necklace that sat on the nightstand next to Thea due to the doctors taking it off as they evaluated Thea's injuries. Oliver looked at the necklace for the first time and his eyes softened at the symbols in silver. "It means survive, Thea," Anna told her in response to the young adult's question nearly an hour earlier. "It got me through some hard times, and I'm sure it will do the same for you."

Thea smiled and Anna released her grip before sliding out of Oliver's coat and handing it back to him with a gentle kiss on the cheek. "Stay here," she commanded him before exiting the hospital room to go back to the mansion and get Thea's pajamas.

Oliver smiled as she left and Thea smirked at her brother, "So, when are you guys getting back together?"

As she awaited her brother's response, Anna left the hospital and drove to the mansion. She did as she promised Thea. She placed the purple satin pajamas with the white bow in the dryer for ten minutes and waited for them to be done. 

However, as she was loading the pajamas in the car something snapped behind her. The girl stood up in a rush, ignoring the pain blaring in her stomach. She was anticipating something to come next and it was evoking a stress like never before. But she was right to anticipate because the next thing she knew there was a cloth with chloroform over her mouth and blackness covering her vision.

As her eyes rolled into the back of her head, her car door shut and inside laid Thea's purple satin pajamas with the white bow.