Like a Bird on a Wire

Part of you is always traveling faster, always traveling ahead. Even when you are moving, it is never fast enough to satisfy that part of you.

It was refreshing to meet someone who didn't care about counting calories or just took the simply pleasure os eating tasty foods that may not be the healthiest options. She smiles brightly at Sara's comments about eating whatever we wanted. Still that nagging voice in the back of her mind reminds her to not over indulge too much. "You know what, you're right. Life is short to be worried about added pounds. This is well worth it." Margo held up her last piece of her donut before popping it in her mouth. Her brows lifted at the mention of sara being in bar fights. "Oh wow really? What are you some kind of martial artist or something? Also that's crazy if guys start fights with you, why on earth would they do that anyway?" Maybe she was in law enforcement or someone who others often underestimated. It definitely had her curious as to who this woman was. When sara had guess correctly about what she does for a living, margo smiles sheepishly. "That obvious huh? Yep you would be correct, I'm a reporter for about two years now. Oh well I'm sure you are gonna like it here. I Maybe biased cause I live here in new york, all my life actually. So what do you do for a living sara?"

“It is beyond worth it,” Sara replied before taking another giant bite. As for Margo’s questions about her being a martial artist, and why guys would start fights with her, she finished taking another drink of her coffee before answering, “Something like that. And they’re not always necessarily starting fights with me. Sometimes they’re starting fights with other people just because they can. Because they’ve found someone that is smaller and assumed to be weaker and decide to take out whatever issues they have on them. I just even out the odds.” Then she asked if it was that obvious that she was a reporter, and Sara pointed out, “Not a lot of other reasons to be hanging around the local new station. I mean, I guess you could be a camera operator or something but... You ask questions like a reporter. You’re curious, you’re trying to put the pieces together so you can see the bigger picture.” And while she’d been hiding who she really was for a long time and was exceptionally good at it, she’d still make a point of being extra careful about what she said around the other woman. “I’ve been here before, but I’ve never really gotten a chance to enjoy it. I’ve always just been passing through. And I’m a nomad. Take on odd jobs - just enough to keep gas in my tank and food in my stomach.”

Oliver listened and tried not to bristle at the even tone as she tried to assure him that she wasn't pulling away. As she spoke about how she had been in survival mode and about how the boys had been living, not just since he had left with the Monitor but back when he had been in prison. Some of it had been able to be seen back then but he'd managed to fit himself back in to the routine. Now? It seemed her system for handling everything that had been left on her didn't have much room for error. Or intrusion. He mentally filed away the information about the boys' nightmares and how her system didn't seem to leave her with much time to sleep herself. "You did. Now I'm trying to figure out where I fit," and the distance and doubt that clawed at him weren't helping.

“I think we’re all trying to figure out where we fit, how things are going to shift and adjust again,” Sara told him, “And while I’m sure you’re sick of hearing it, it’s just going to take time. The boys have had their lives upended over and over and over again. Every time that things started to settle, that they developed any sense of normalcy or even just a routine - everything would come crashing down around them, and they would have to rebuild it all in new and completely different ways.” She paused before adding, “I shielded them, and I know you did, too, but... Despite doing everything we could, we just couldn’t shield them from that.” They couldn’t shield them from the time Oliver wasn’t there or from his death. William had to deal with losing not one but two parents, being left with Sara who wanted to do right by him so badly, but was constantly terrified that she wasn’t. And Connor... He just couldn’t understand any of it, no matter how hard he tried. So as much as they were all glad that Oliver was back - the one thing they’d all wanted more than anything in the world - it didn’t erase what had occurred or what had to be done to survive it.

“True friends are those rare people who come to find you in dark places and lead you back to the light.”

"Why not?" Even without looking up from his task, Carter's tone was cool and sharp. With his gloved fingers applying pressure to her femoral artery, he finally dignified her with eye contact, his expression grim as he prodded, "Why won't you seek justice? This person could hurt others too, Sara. You have to know this."

Sara didn’t say anything. She couldn’t tell him what happened, she couldn’t explain that the responsible person - or people, rather - were currently unconscious and tied up, waiting to be picked up by the local police. Instead, she simply remained silent until he told her he would keep his mouth shut for now, which prompted her to counter, “No. No, it has to be for good, I have to know that I can trust you.” A beat passed before she added, “Trust is... really difficult for me. I trust you, Carter. Please don’t take that away from me.” She then shook her head, “I told you that there wasn’t one. That every time I tried to dig the bullet out myself - I kept hitting something, I kept bleeding harder.” As for his warning that what was coming next was going to hurt, and that she could bite down into his pillow, she simply shook her head, “It’s all right. Do what you have to do.”

"I wanted to see what Gordon saw in you, why he's so concerned about you." Cain said honestly. "We like to look out for friends, and it seems like you could use more of them, even though you try to hide behind a facade."

This photo is hilarious to me

The look on Sara's face and the tears welling up in her eyes had Oliver second guessing everything. Again. Had he misread everything?

Sara’s tone was even, “I haven’t been pulling away from you. I have been in survival mode since the Monitor came and, before that, since you were in prison. I am in charge of raising and teaching two boys, one of whom is a genius and that I have to get help with because - at the rate he’s going - he’s going to be graduating from high school. I am in charge of running an entire house by myself. I go out as the Canary at night, but still make sure that I’m here for when Connor wakes up from nightmares, screaming because the bad man is coming to take him away, too. Or because William - who refuses to even admit he’s having them as well - is found wandering the house at all hours. And aside from you telling Connor that Diggle healed your scars, especially after I’ve made it very clear that this family is done with lies, I haven’t been angry. I found a system for us, I have fought to keep all of us going, and you’re asking me to just shut that off when I am telling you it’s going to take time.”

"I feel like the 100 year cycle thing was meant to break me, to become more compliant to the others, so I'd do what they say. Instead of trying to find a way to break it, with who I wanna spend it with." Gordon explained and laughed at the 'pay grade' comment. and she looked so cute, taking her hand.