I spotted the first aid kit in Malcolm's penthouse, and so I passed it to Oliver as quickly as I could. Once it was in his possession, Oliver started to create DIY transfusion equipment, using different parts of the first aid kit for different purposes. The three of us were knelt around Malcolm, I tensely watching on as Oliver did what he could, Tommy looking like he was in a trance of shock and a frown permanently on his face.

'Hey, ready?' Oliver checked as Tommy exposed his wrist for Oliver to inject with a needle.

'Do it,' Tommy uttered just loud enough for us both go hear, covering up any resentment he had.

The needle pierced into Tommy's skin, the sharp pain causing him to wince ever-so-slightly. Oliver connected a tube to this needle, which then followed to Malcolm's arm, where Oliver pierced a needle into Malcolm's wrist too. Oliver's plan was definitely ingenious, to say the least.

'Hold his arm,' Oliver instructed Tommy as we all watched as the blood flowed from Tommy's wrist to Malcolm's.

'Come on,' Oliver repeated under his breath until the tube was completely filled with a bright shade of red, the three of us sighing with relief as blood started to enter Malcolm's wrist.

'You're the vigilante,' Tommy stated the obvious, still apparently in shock. 'Why?'

'Later,' Oliver just answered quickly, having no time to talk about his alter-ego while he was saving Malcolm's life. 'He's still gonna need medical attention to fully clean out his system, you understand?'

'Okay,' Tommy whispered, nodding his head as he realised his father was his main priority. 'Thank you.'

As Oliver nodded back at Tommy, Malcolm's fingers on his right hand intertwined with Tommy's. Malcolm was alive.

'Tommy?' Malcolm gasped as he saw his son by his side, Oliver already away from sight.

'I'm right here, Dad,' Tommy smiled with care.

'Aria?' Malcolm turned to me, panting as he grew more and more alert.

'It's all going to be alright, Malcolm,' I joined in with the smiling, all of us happy and together once again.

---

It didn't take long for the paramedics to find us, Malcolm being carried out on a stretcher through his building to the ambulance waiting for him outside. They were insistent on checking if Tommy and I were in peak condition, but we both insisted we were fine.

'What did The Hood say to you?' McKenna quizzed Tommy and I as we helped drag the stretcher Malcolm was on to the ambulance.

'He didn't say anything,' Tommy contradicted the Detective.

'You let a homicidal maniac talk you into a homemade blood transfusion instead of calling the paramedics?' McKenna argued.

'My father's life was at stake,' Tommy pointed out at once.

'We had no other choice, McKenna,' I added firmly. 'Malcolm was going to die if we didn't let The Hood help us.'

'So, first the Hood rescues you and Queen from those kidnappers,' Lance piped up accusationally at Tommy, harking back to the first ever thing Oliver did as The Hood; when he first got to Starling City, Oliver and Tommy were kidnapped, and Oliver acted as The Hood to break them free. 'Now he saves your old man, but he's taken down every other one-percenter out there. Is this guy a friend of yours, Merlyn?'

'I don't know who the hell he is,' Tommy told Lance as we witnessed Malcolm being carried onto the ambulance.

'I thought you'd know better, Aria,' Lance remarked at me now. 'You were helping us catch that vigilante.'

'I'm not part of the SCPD anymore,' I shot back, annoyed at Lance's impromptu interrogation. 'And I couldn't let Malcolm die for the sake of the vigilante's identity. I'm not that cold, Detective.'

As soon as the two detectives had cleared off, Tommy and I found a secluded part of the front of Merlyn Global Group, a porch area over the entrance to the building.

'I can't believe him,' Tommy said, his hands around his face as he tried to comprehend what had happened. 'Oliver, he's him. And he never told me.'

'I am just as amazed as you are,' I half-lied; after all, I was when I found out, but that was months ago. 'But, I don't think he did it maliciously, or out of choice. He was protecting you, protecting us, Tommy.'

'But why?' Tommy pressed further. 'I know you can't know why he would fight, why he would kill... But, you were on that island with him. Why didn't you turn out the same?'

'I was only on there for a year,' I reminded him. 'Oliver, he was there for five. That island was... A dark place, and if I had been there for five years, I don't think I would be sane either.'

'Did you... Know about this?' Tommy wondered correctly. 'You sound so sure about why Oliver kept him being The Hood a secret.'

'Tommy, if he didn't tell you, then he wouldn't tell me,' I blatantly lied this time. 'I know Oliver, and so I know that he would keep this from us if he had a very valid reason.'

'But I feel like I don't even know him anymore,' Tommy fretted irritably. 'And I know that if he hadn't had to tell us who he really was tonight, he would've told you sooner or later.'

'Why would you think that, Tommy?' I was curious about what Tommy meant exactly. 'He's your best friend, not mine.'

'But I know that he loves you,' Tommy contested, briefly regretting what he had said.

'You can't be serious,' I laughed at what I thought was Tommy messing with me, but I soon realised that wasn't the case. 'Oh, you are being serious.'

'You don't see it?' It was Tommy's turn to laugh. 'Whenever you walk into the same room as him, he's the first one to look at you. Whenever you talk, he stares at you like you're the most beautiful thing in the world. He mentions you all the time when he's with me, when he's not talking about Laurel, and he always smiles whenever I mention your name.'

'I think you've got it all wrong, Tommy,' I shook my head, not able to accept what Tommy had told me. 'He loves Laurel, and he can't be with her because you are. And... I should not have told you that.'

'I know he likes Laurel still,' Tommy rolled his eyes, like that was old news. 'But he loves you, Aria.'

'Why are you telling me this?' I inquired, not knowing what to think. 'Why do you care?'

'Because, I... Like you too,' Tommy answered me slowly.

'You have Laurel, Tommy,' I stated. 'You can't like me too! We've already been over this before, remember? At the hospital? And I tried to tell you I loved you when you found me when I was a drunken mess, after the Count had disposed of me, and yes, I remember, you can't pretend that never happened. So, just stop messing me around, because I've had enough of both you and Oliver telling me things and then not reciprocating them. I don't need a man, and you can't have both me and Laurel. You're going to have to choose, and quick, because I'm not going to let you mess me around any longer.'

Tommy had just made everything feel one hundred times more complicated, for now I didn't quite know what to do with myself. Both the boys in my life, especially Tommy, had a knack for confusing me and making me feel torn between the two, and I didn't want to constantly bounce between them both like a wandering minstrel. I was capable of being strong and single at the same time, but Oliver and Tommy never seemed to get that. Plus, my last relationship ended with my partner being murdered, and as annoying as they were, I didn't want either of them to have that same fate.

Taking one look back at Tommy, I gave him a sorry smile, and with that I marched off, heading towards the Arrowcave.

'Oh my God, what happened to your dress?' Was the first thing that Felicity picked up on when I entered the Arrowcave.

'Floor-length dresses are way too impractical when you're fighting the Triad,' I smirked at her reaction, glad there was finally another female on Team Arrow who I could relate to.

'I'm guessing that you and Oliver kicked the Triad's ass,' Diggle commented, amused at our girl talk. 'We heard that Tommy's father is recovering in hospital, thanks to you.'

'I didn't really do that much regarding Malcolm's health,' I admitted. 'That was all Oliver.'

We heard footsteps coming down the stairs, Oliver meeting us while he put his bow down on the worktop.

'So how's it feel to save a one-percenter?' Felicity asked him when he swivelled back to us.

'Looks like Malcolm Merlyn is gonna be okay,' Diggle added positively. 'They took him to Starling General. Good thing he was wearing a bulletproof vest.'

'He's not in the hospital because he was shot,' Oliver told his friend with a heavy heart.

Of course; Floyd Lawton was the man who assassinated Diggle's brother, Andy, and Diggle had been overjoyed when he thought Oliver had killed Lawton. Now that he was alive and back in business, Diggle was surely going to be devastated.

'He was poisoned by curare.'

Diggle met Oliver with silence, his eyes becoming glassy and a lump in his throat. I wanted to do something, anything, to ease the pain Diggle was going through all over again, but I couldn't.

'Lawton's alive,' Diggle concluded after pacing around for what felt like forever.

'I'm sorry, John,' Oliver apologised empathetically.

Diggle just left us silently to a hidden part of the Arrowcave, at an incomprehensible loss.

'This Lawton kick his dog or something?' Felicity interjected with the worst timing possible, completely oblivious.

'Nope,' Oliver answered her in a hushed voice. 'He killed his brother.'

Felicity's face was a picture, looking as though she felt terrible for her sweeping statement. The three of us just stood there, not knowing what to do, waiting to think of something to do to somehow help Diggle. But we couldn't; no one could except himself.

---

A knock came from the door as I was catching up on the latest series of Doctor Who that had passed me by amidst the chaos of the start of the year. It often comforted me to watch British TV shows, them reminding me of my home overseas, especially of my parents. I missed them immensely, but yet I had people that needed me in Starling City, who I couldn't abandon after all this time.

'Hey, I'm sorry if this isn't a good time,' Adrian greeted me at the doorway.

Was Leyla's hideout not a secret to anyone?

'This place was hard to find,' Adrian observed with a friendly smile as he entered. 'Nice place you got here.'

'How did you find me here?' I questioned him at once, confused at why he would be here, of all places. 'And, this isn't actually my home, it's my sister's.'

'The SCPD knew,' Adrian explained easily. 'They wanted me to talk to you, off the books.'

'Vanch's case has already been closed,' I pointed out. 'I dealt with the Dodger. I'm not under any threats, since I was kicked out of the SCPD. So, why are you here?'

'You're still vulnerable,' Adrian stated. 'And you need someone to talk to, someone to listen to your problems, and it so happens that I previously trained as therapist before I became an attorney.'

'I don't need help!' I reacted to Adrian's proposal rather badly. 'I'm fine, and I'm much calmer now that I don't work at the SCPD anymore!'

'It's this or jail, Aria,' Adrian contested me, seeing my resentment at once. 'Hey, I don't make the rules up, it's your police buddies who do.'

'Well, go ahead, but you're not going to be much help,' I shrugged at him. 'I'm fine, like I told you a few seconds ago.'

'You should be grateful I was the one who they asked to do this,' Adrian grinned openly. 'I am just going to listen to your problems, and I won't push you to say anything you don't want to. Think of me as... One of your friends instead of an acquaintance.'

'You're going to be disappointed,' I reiterated my point. 'I'm okay, really. And, just to be clear, I did not intend to kill the Dodger... What was his real name, Winnick Norton? Anyway, I did not want to kill anyone, it was an accident... But I did pull the trigger, which I really regret.'

'You're dwelling on what happened in an unfortunate incident,' Adrian pulled me up on my actions. 'You said yourself it wasn't your fault, so why are you trying to talk your way out of it?'

'I... Don't know,' I said hesitantly. 'I think I actually do blame myself, for Winnick Norton's death. I... Can't believe I killed him. He wasn't threatening me, well, he was threatening my friends, but that's beside the point... I am a terrible person. I deserve prison, Adrian. I can't go on like this, I'm too much of a threat-'

'You are not a threat, Aria,' Adrian tried to calm me down. 'You were defending yourself, the officers that witnessed it said that. And you don't deserve prison, people like Mr Norton are the ones who do.'

'Wow, you were right,' I finally agreed with Adrian's methods. 'Talking about it really does help, it makes me realise what I really think.'

'Hey, it's only my job,' Adrian grinned at my new-found enthusiasm. 'And I have a feeling this is something you need to do more often.'

A good hour passed, being in Adrian's company making a minute feel like a second. I felt like I could confide in him, he being one of the most understanding people I had met in a long time, in this secretive city. It was as if we were on the same wavelength, the attorney just getting me. However, in no time, our session was at a close, my new therapist bidding me farewell.

But I knew that now, I needed to pay a hospital visit to Malcolm, before he wondered why I hadn't been to check if he was okay.

Hurrying towards Starling General, I found where Malcolm was being held, colour back in his cheeks and his eyes wide open.

'Malcolm!' I exclaimed in delight as I he met my gaze, his face breaking into a wide grin.

He seemed much more positive than he usually was, his near-death experience somehow enlightening him.

'Aria,' he acknowledged back happily. 'You just missed Tommy, he left for the nightclub.'

'Oh, that's great,' I muttered sarcastically.

'You seem... Off,' Malcolm sensed immediately. 'Did something happen between you and Tommy?'

'It's nothing,' I dismissed swiftly. 'And none of that matters right now. I'm here to see how you are, not the other way round.'

'Well, if you insist,' Malcolm managed to smirk through his pain.

'Do you know... Why you were targeted?' I inquired anxiously.

'No,' Malcolm denied confidently. 'But I do know that someone has stabbed me in the back, Aria. Somebody, somebody close to me, has betrayed me, when all I want is to make this Starling City a better city, a better home. You heard what I said at the Gala, in my acceptance speech, and whoever attacked me opposed my ideas for this city.'

'The Triad were the ones who attacked you first,' I remembered how the 'traitor', as Malcolm had called them, approached the task. 'And then Floyd Lawton finished the job, nearly finishing you off.'

'I thought curare-laced bullets sounded familiar,' Malcolm realised what had happened. 'And, I thought The Hood dealt with that assassin.'

'So did I,' I admitted. 'I tried to take him out myself at that Unidac Auction, before The Hood got involved and shot an arrow through his eye. I guess he wasn't as easy to kill as we thought.'

'And now I cannot trust someone,' Malcolm circled back to his first point. 'They must have been close, close to our project.'

'Your... Project?' I turned to him, trying to figure out what he was implying.

'We call it the Undertaking,' Malcolm told me confidentially. 'I thought I had a tight-knit team for the project, but somebody decided to branch out to the Triad.'

Was this the same Undertaking that Diggle had recorded Moira talking about with Malcolm? And if so, what did it involve?

'Why are you so sure the person who wanted to get rid of you were involved in this Undertaking?' I challenged him aptly. 'You have a lot of friends, Malcolm, but you also have a lot of enemies.'

'My intuition tells me they are to do with the Undertaking,' Malcolm claimed. 'But, you could be right, Aria. Once I get out of this hospital, I will be as ready as ever, and I won't stop until I find out who this traitor is. Then I can give him the payback he deserves.'