Archive of Our Own

3 days ago

Oliver kissed Ben’s head as he dropped him off at kindergarten. It was their routine. Every morning Oliver would get Ben up, dress him and they’d share breakfast. Then Oliver would drop him off on the way to his office. He liked this time they had together. No nannies, no staff and certainly not his wife. Just the two of them. Someone from the staff would pick Ben up later and he always tried to make it home for dinner with his son, or to put him to bed. 

He had no idea if his wife spent any time with the boy throughout the day. They didn’t talk much anymore. He had no idea how she spent her days and nights, the only thing he really knew was how she spent his money. 

Sometimes he felt sympathy for Laurel. It must be hard, knowing the man you’re married to doesn’t care about you. If only she hadn’t been pregnant….

3 years ago

Oliver was nervous. As he headed towards the conference room to meet his new ‘team’ he heard his conversation with Walter clearly in his mind.

“It’s time you led something Oliver” Walter told him the day before. “You’re going to be CEO one day so you have to learn to become a leader. That’s why I want you to head up this project.”

“But I don’t know anything about firewalls and switching thingies” Oliver responded.

“You don’t have to. I’m giving you our best technical people and a good project manager. Learn from them, and learn how to lead them. I’ve hand picked the team myself - you’ll be fine.”

He didn’t want to be a VP, or a CEO, but he didn’t want to disappoint Walter, or his mother. Laurel had also told him she had something really important to discuss with him that night - he just didn’t know what she wanted from him now.

He was looking for an escape route, but couldn’t see any way out. 

Resigned to his fate, he opened the door and walked into the room.

He heard laughter. There were 2 of them standing by the coffee cups laughing at each other. He listened for a moment, both of them talking very quickly but it seemed that neither could actually complete a sentence. One of them was a very tall thin black man and the other a small short blond woman with a long ponytail. He coughed to attract their attention and she turned round and smiled brightly at him.

His heart stopped.  

She was like the sun. She had bright red lips, plump and full, perfect for kissing and beautiful bright eyes highlighted by square glasses. And the smile, so warm, so genuine. She took his breath away.

3 days ago

He knew it was wrong. He knew it was bordering on stalking, but it was part of his routine now. Go into the office, get coffee and ask Gerry for his messages. Then say he was going to check his email and read the latest news.

But that’s not what he did. First Instagram, then Twitter, then Facebook, finally his Google alerts. Was there anything new, was she OK. There was a picture on Instagram with one of her friends, she looked happy and carefree and so full of life. He closed his eyes again, remembering. 

She had given him one perfect moment. A shining moment that he retrieved when life overwhelmed him. 

He paused, took a breath and started his day.

3 years ago

The room was called to order and everyone took their seats around the table. A striking brown haired woman took charge right away.

“Hi everyone, my name is Lyla Michaels and I’ll be the project manager for this team” she said, introducing herself, before continuing “I know that some of you know each other, but it would be good if everyone could say who they are and what they do. It will help Mr Queen here get to know you all.”

Oliver looked round the room, he could tell everyone was a little nervous that he was there. He would try to put them at their ease.

“Curtis Holt” said the tall black man to his right “Hardware specialist. I build the things that make this stuff work”.

“Felicity Smoak. Software and coding.” she said smiling. Oliver smiled back, Felicity, what a beautiful name. And it suited her. When he found out later that her name meant happiness he thought it was so apt for her.

The rest of the team introduced themselves and then looked to Oliver to say something. What could he say. These people were all experts in their field, he felt like an outsider and certainly wasn’t a leader. But no-one was glaring at him so he decided to be honest.

“Hi everyone. I apologise now if I don’t remember any of your names right away. But I will try and learn them. This is a first for me - trying to lead you, so I hope you’re gentle with me and not judge me to harshly when I screw up.”

“As long as you do the same” Felicity said, interrupting him, before she quickly put her hand over her mouth stopping herself. But Oliver laughed, she was quite adorable.

Oliver was screwed.

“Yes” he answered “You don’t judge me, I won’t judge you. Firstly, call me Oliver, and secondly, where do we start?”

3 months ago

Ben had demanded 3 stories that night. He kissed his son’s head and told him he loved him before closing the door to his room.

He made his way down to the kitchen were his friends waited for him. Ben had been so excited to see his uncles for dinner and had been upset when he was told it was bedtime. If he had to leave then he needed 3 stories to calm down.

He saw that the dinner plates had been put in the dishwasher and the table was now set for their regular weekly card game. John Diggle, Tommy Merlyn and Curtis Hoult were patiently waiting for their fourth to join them.

His 3 best friends. All so different but almost brothers to him. Tommy and him had been friends since childhood, Diggle had started out as his driver/bodyguard but they’d become fast friends and Curtis, he’d met Curtis the same day he’d met her. Then one night Curtis had to drop off an urgent report for him and he’d ended up joining the poker game, and he had never left.

He grabbed a beer and joined the group. 

OK, a lot of his life sucked, but he had an amazing son and great friends and his sister wasn’t bad either. Things could be a lot worse.

3 years ago

He loved watching them work. He would sit quietly in the corner of Curtis’s lab and watch him and Felicity go at it. There was something amazing about watching them bicker with each other. It was funny and enlightening and it brightened up his day. It was the only thing that did.

Laurel was pregnant. He’d found out right after the first team meeting. He’d gone to finally put an end to their toxic relationship. Oliver had seen his future and it’s name was Felicity. But before he could say anything Laurel dropped her bombshell. She was having his baby, they were going to be a family. He was trapped.

His parents were delighted, they thought Laurel would be the perfect Queen wife. His sister just gave him a disapproving look. A small wedding was quickly arranged and Oliver was married. He hadn’t touched his wife since.

Now he sat there, playing with his wedding ring, hating it on his hand and watched as Felicity lit up his world. 

3 months ago

There was a lot of laughter during the game. Curtis managed to bluff Oliver twice before he threatened to throw his friends out. They just laughed at him even more.

John started telling his friends a really funny story about trying to build a cot. John had met his now wife when he had to drive Oliver and Lyla to a meeting and it had been interesting to him to watch a healthy relationship develop between them. They had married 18 months ago and were now expecting their first child. Lyla had assured Oliver that John would still be able to make poker night, she said she liked getting him out from under her feet. 

They were startled by a door slamming and all three men looked at Oliver when they heard his wife drunkenly screaming for him. He moved quickly to the entrance hall, not wanting her to wake up Ben.

“Laurel, what are you doing?” he asked, quietly, trying to calm down the situation. 

“Oh it’s my husband” Laurel spat “Perfect Oliver, perfect father. Pity you’re such a shitty husband.”

“Laurel, stop it, there are people here.” He quietly begged her. 

“Is it one of your little whores again?” She shouted

“I have never been unfaithful to you” Oliver countered.

“Really” she replied loudly “I don’t believe that. You’re must be getting it from somewhere, because you sure as shit aren’t getting any from me.”

What could he say. She wasn’t lying. 

“Laurel, go to bed. You’re drunk. We will talk about this in the morning.”

“No we won’t. Unless you want to come with me, you know, to bed. I’m sure I could…” but Laurel stopped, as she could see the look of disgust on her husband’s face. 

“Call me when you’re single” the words echoed in his mind again. As clear as the day she said them. 

Oliver turned to leave, to walk back to his friends, when Laurel grabbed his arm and spoke, clearer than she had for a while and full of malice “You’ll never get rid of me. I’m your precious son’s mother. If you try and get me to leave I’ll take him and take everything you have. Never forget that”. 

Oliver closed his eyes and sighed. This was his hell. This was the price he paid, every day for his son, and for the promise he made.

3 years ago

It was getting ridiculous. Oliver was spending every hour he could in the lab with Felicity and Curtis, he told everyone he was learning from them but he just wanted to be in her company. It was the only time he didn’t feel trapped and the churning in his stomach stopped.

He also started eating lunch with them where they’d talk about pop culture and it would go right over his head. He didn’t care though, he just loved how animated Felicity got. He’d even stay with them, late at night, running errands for them if they needed anything. 

It also meant he could avoid his new wife as much as possible. Because of the hours he was working he’d moved back into his old room for sleep, rather than the marital quarters his mother had given them when Laurel moved in to the mansion. He told her he didn’t want to disturb her when he worked late.

He knew Felicity liked him, she smiled at him more than anyone else. And she treated him differently from any other woman he’d ever known. It was as though she saw the real him, not just heir to the Queen fortune.

He was a moth to her flame. She’d stolen his heart forever.

3 months ago

“You OK?” Tommy asked as Oliver walked back into the kitchen. 

“I’m fine.” Oliver replied. “If she didn’t shout at me and was sober, then I’d be worried.”

Why…” John began but Oliver shook his head. They’d had this conversation many times and Oliver wasn’t budging. He’d resigned himself to a life of celibacy until Ben was old enough. It was better this way.

‘Let’s change the subject, anyone got any good news?” John asked.

“I do” bounced Curtis “Paul, you know Paul, my hot physio, has agreed to join me at a wedding this weekend”

His friends nodded at his news, happy for him.

“Should be a good one, Felicity always throws a good party.” Curtis continued.

Oliver’s heart stopped. No, it must be another Felicity - not his Felicity.

“You remember Felicity, don’t you Oliver?” Curtis asked, oblivious to how pale Oliver had suddenly gotten “She was my lab partner on that first project we worked together.”

Oliver nodded, yes he remembered. The woman he dreamed of every night, the woman who occupied all his waking thoughts. “Who’s she marrying?” he asked quietly, knowing the answer would cut him to the bone.

“Oh no, she’d not getting married, her friend Catlin is. She’s just throwing the party.” Curtis told the group.

Oliver started breathing again. The relief on his face was obvious. Oliver masked it quickly. Not quick enough though, Tommy had seen and for the first time Tommy knew that he needed some answers.

3 Years ago

The project was done. They had delivered early and the product they’d developed was so much better than the original specs. The company was going to make a fortune. Oliver had already negotiated large bonuses for the entire team. 

He went back down to the lab to have lunch and was surprised to only see Felicity there. Oliver had made sure that he was never alone with Felicity, he knew that was a path he could never go down.

“Where’s Curtis?” he asked.

“He had to go to the dentist. He’s been putting it off for weeks as we’ve been so busy, but I made him go this morning.” Felicity answered.

Oliver smiled. He could just imagine Felicity nagging Curtis until he did what she asked him to do.

“Do you want to go out for lunch?” Oliver asked before he could stop himself. “Instead of the usual stuff from the staff cafe, we could go somewhere, your choice?”

Felicity smiled, that smile that could light up the world and answered. “Big Belly, we could go to Big Belly Burger. I’ve been craving one for ages but we’ve been working so much.”

“Never had one” Oliver stated.

“Felicity grabbed his hand, dragging him out of the office “Oh, you are in for such a treat” she told him. Her hand in his just felt right.

3 months ago

Oliver cleaned the kitchen after he friends left. Apart from the interruption, and the moment of panic, it had been a good night. He was about to go up to bed when Tommy came back in saying he’d forgotten something and he’d just need to look for it. 

Oliver gave him a quizzical look but left him to get on with it.
After a moment Tommy stopped, looked Oliver in the eye and asked him forcefully “Who’s Felicity?”

Oliver was speechless, he gulped and took a breath, shrugged, then decided not to answer. If he didn’t answer it wasn’t lying.

“So you’re not going to answer” Tommy continued. “Oliver Queen, you and I have been friends since we were in diapers. I’ve seen you in a million situations but I’ve never seen such panic on your face as I did today when Curtis mentioned Felicity. So who is she?”

Oliver had never spoken to anyone about Felicity, even Curtis who’d been around for a lot of the time. He held it close, into himself. It kept it pure, it kept it safe. 

“She use to work with me and Curtis” Oliver said, almost in a whisper. 

“Is that all?” Tommy asked.

“Nope” Oliver replied.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Tommy continued.

“Nope” Oliver countered.

“I think you need to, man” Tommy told his friend. “You’ve been so closed off since you and Laurel got married. The only time I see you happy is with Ben. Until tonight, it’s the first time in years I’ve seen real emotion on your face.”

Oliver closed his eyes slowly. He breathed in, he’d bottled it inside for so long, but when he thought for a moment that Felicity was going to marry someone else there was a crack in his armour. Tommy listened as his friend finally opened up.

“I love her” Oliver admitted. “I’ve loved her from the moment I saw her. I met her the day I met Curtis and she was dazzling. She is kind and funny and smart and pretty and the best person I’ve ever met. I knew from the moment we met that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.”

Oliver stopped. There were tears in his eyes as he spoke. A million moments came flooding back to him. How she teased him, cajoled him, told him if he didn’t like it he could fire her. The way she touched his arm, gave him confidence that he could do the job he was destined to do. 

Tommy could see the pain in Oliver’s eyes. How much he’d buried, how much it hurt.

“Why aren’t you with her?” Tommy finally asked quietly.

Oliver paused before he could answer. How could he explain this to Tommy, he’d never told anyone. “On the day I met her I went to see Laurel, to tell her we were over, finally. But before I could say anything she dropped the bombshell. She was pregnant, and had already told my mother. I was trapped. Felicity made me promise to stay, to be a father to Ben. So she left and I will love her until I die. In my heart I belong to her and I’ll stay faithful to that.”

Tommy was shocked. He knew that Oliver and Laurel had issues, but didn’t realise they were this messed up. 

“I’m so sorry” Tommy finally said. 

“I should go to bed” Oliver said, pulling himself together “I have to be up early for Ben. I’d appreciate if we didn’t talk about this again.”

Tommy nodded and watched Oliver leave. He had no intention of talking to Oliver about this again, well not for a while, but he was going to talk to some other people about it, starting with Curtis.

3 years ago

“This is the best burger I’ve ever had in my life” Oliver stated to Felicity and he meant it. They were having the most enjoyable lunch he’d ever had with laughter and teasing and great food. This was fun. Was this what a date with her would be like.

Felicity giggled as she munched on her fries. She was glad to see Oliver so light. He’d looked as though there was a black cloud over his head for months now and it seemed to be lifting a little.

“I knew you’d like this, all my friends do.” She told him, she then continued “We’re friends, right, do you think we’re friends?”

Oliver nodded as he watched her go into one of her rambles “Well, I like to think I’m your friend, even though you’re my boss, well my boss’s boss’s boss. But I think we get on, we get on, not like that, because you’re married…”

She stopped.

She looked at him, right in the eyes.

And he looked back at her so longingly, so much want in his yes. She felt as though she could see him, his true self, right down to his soul.

But he could see her too. There was love in her eyes too. And it was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. His heart soared, it was written all over her face, she loved him.

She quickly looked away. She was embarrassed, she’d shown him everything in her heart. She didn’t realise he felt the same way. He had to make her understand.

“Why couldn’t you have been two months earlier?” he asked quietly.

“What do you mean?” Felicity asked perplexed.

“The day I met you. The day you bounded into my life, changing everything, why couldn’t you have been earlier.”

Oliver put his hand under the table taking her small hand in his. She deserved to know the truth.

“Felicity I fell in love with you the first time I met you. I knew that you were, oh I don’t know, I think we could call it soulmate, from the first time I saw you. But the same day my now wife told me she was pregnant and by the time I found out her and my mother had arranged the wedding. I’m so sorry. If I could change anything, it would be that.”

“So it wasn’t just me” Felicity responded after a moment. A single tear fell from her eyes. She pulled her hand away quickly and got up to leave.

“We should go” she stated, regaining her composure. Oliver followed her, wanting to continue their conversation but she brushed him off.

She walked quickly back to the office without speaking and dismissed him in the elevator without a word.

3 months ago

Tommy sent a text as he walked out of the Queen mansion. 

“Meet in 30 minutes, SOS, Big Belly.”

Curtis and John both changed direction in their cars and headed towards their favourite burger joint.

If Oliver wouldn’t sort his life out, it was time for them to intervene. 

3 years ago

Oliver sat in his office in the dark. The only light came from his computer screen. He hadn’t looked at his screen for hours and he’d ignored everyone for the rest of the afternoon. He heard heels on clicking in the corridor outside and looked up to see Felicity walking towards him.

He stayed seated, looking at her, frightened to talk.

“I came to say goodbye” she said quietly, “No, let me finish, or I’ll never get this out. I’ve been in the lab all afternoon, just thinking, don’t worry you can dock my pay if you want. But anyway, what you said, at lunch. I’ve always felt the same way.”

Oliver reached out to take her hand and she let him, before continuing. “But you have a wife, and you’re going to be a father. My father wasn’t there when I was a child and it hurts. It hurts so much. You have to be there for your child.”

“Felicity…” Oliver pleaded.

“No, promise me. Promise me you’ll never leave your child. If you love me and I know you do, promise me.”

“I promise Felicity. We can find a way.”

“We can’t. I’m sorry but I just can’t do that. I love you. I love everything about you. But I have to go now. You know it would destroy both of us if I stay.” she said as she cupped his cheek in her hand.

Oliver was crying now, all he could feel was the pain of his heart breaking.

“I love you” Oliver said.

She leaned in, cupping both cheeks in her hand and kissed him. It was soft and chaste and full of love and want. The world just disappeared as they both lost themselves in a perfect kiss. Neither wanted it to end. Her lips were warm and soft and inviting. It was a perfect moment that he would treasure for his entire life.

She finally broke away and moved towards the door.

“You can’t abandon your wife or son for me, but if you ever… call me when you’re single.”

She left and Oliver so wanted to go after her. But he didn’t. 

For her, he’d live for his child, he’d be a man that she could be proud of. And maybe one day…

3 months ago

The summit at Big Belly Burger had gone on until the small hours of the morning. Once Tommy had briefed his friends and explained what he’d found out they were in agreement. Curtis filled in what he could, but even he was surprised - Felicity was always evasive when asked why she left so suddenly. Diggle enlisted Lyla first thing the next morning, and she began planning it like a new project.

They met next at Diggle and Lyla’s place where she had already plotted out their tasks.

Curtis was to spend time with Felicity to try to suss out if she still had feelings for Oliver.

Tommy was to go and talk to the best family lawyer in the city to engage him for the upcoming divorce and custody battle.

And John put his investigator hat on. It was time to gather enough evidence against Laurel so that no judge would ever take away Oliver’s son.

3 years ago

It was after midnight when Oliver arrived home. His eyes were still red and swollen from the tears he’d shed. If anything, he loved Felicity more for her selfless decision. She had denied them both happiness for the sake of an innocent child. He quietly made his way to his room, wanting nothing more than to sleep, hoping he’d see her in his dreams.

He was shocked when to see Laurel sitting up in his bed.

“What are you doing here?” he asked pointedly. She was the last person he wanted to see.

“I wanted to see my husband.” 

Oliver just stood at the door, silently watching her. 

“I think it’s time we consummated this marriage, husband of mine.” 

“Not tonight Laurel, I’m not in the mood.”

“You don’t ever seem to be in the mood these days. What’s the little whore’s name?”

“I’m not sleeping with anyone else.” Oliver told the truth on that. “I’ve just been working really hard.”

“You’re a liar. But it doesn’t matter to me. I’m Mrs Queen now and I’m going to have your child. I’m here to stay, you’ll come around eventually”. Laurel spat at him.

He turned and walked out the room. He’d sleep in one of the spare rooms tonight. 

He knew that he’d never be with Laurel again. Even if he couldn’t be with Felicity he would never cheapen the sacrifice they’d both made and he would remain faithful to her until he died.

2 months ago

It was time for a debrief. Lyla was running a tight ship and wanted a desired outcome. She had broken the ‘project’ into 3 parts, get Laurel out of Oliver’s life, get Oliver full custody of Ben, and get   Felicity back for Oliver.

Tommy was dealing with the lawyers. It turned out a very large retainer was all it took to get the lawyers working. They thought it unusual that they’d never met Oliver but were doing all the work for him. Tommy just gave them more money and the questions went away.

Diggle was gathering evidence showing Laurel’s behaviour that would be used against her. After a casual chat with her driver, Diggle discovered that none of her staff liked her and were more than happy to keep Diggle apprised of her comings and goings. The staff also started keeping note of time she spent with Ben and Diggle was shocked to find out that weeks could go by without her seeing her son. 

Curtis was their conduit to Felicity. The two didn’t keep in touch as much after Felicity moved to Central City. He reported back that there was no-one in Felicity’s life now and, according to her, she was far too busy for a relationship anyway. Curtis casually mentioned Oliver when he told her about their regular poker game and watched her go pale for a moment before she recovered and quickly changed the subject. She wanted to know all about Diggle and Lyla, and how things were with Paul, but would avoid talking about Oliver and would divert the conversation every time.

Curtis told the group he thought this was bad, but Lyla countered, saying this was the best sign. The fact she couldn’t even talk about it showed it was still to raw for her.

According to Lyla, Felicity was still waiting for Oliver.

The men just shrugged. Lyla knew better than them about these things, but they all agreed that no matter what, they needed to get Oliver alway from Laurel and make sure Ben stayed with his dad.

2 years ago

Felicity flopped on her couch. Another Friday night, another disastrous date. She liked him, he was funny and sweet and pretty cute. But as he flirted and tried to charm her she felt nothing, again.

She was trying, so hard, to forget what could have been. 

She’d seen the announcement online about the birth of Benjamin Queen, about how proud the family was to welcome their new addition. She allowed herself to cry for one hour before she put it away. 

She knew then that her heart would always belong to Oliver and that there was no point in trying to love again, because she never would. They were a once in a lifetime type of connection and that one kiss they shared had been perfect. But had the price been too high.

Could she have stayed, become his mistress, waiting for scraps, for any time he could spare. No, that would have destroyed so many lives when the truth came out. 

It was time to accept her life. She had a job she loved, had amazing friends here in Central City, and for one moment had experienced true love. 

She locked her heart away and accepted her lonely fate. 

Maybe she’d get a cat.

2 days ago

Oliver arrived at the office. He was tired from the night before, spent trying to calm Laurel down and protect Ben from her ranting. Laurel had started lashing out at Oliver, sometimes while Ben was in the room, last night was pretty nasty. He didn’t know how he could make it stop. 

He booted up his computer and started his day. No photos today, no updates. He didn’t like it when that happened. He just wanted to know that she was OK, that she was happy.

Gerry, his assistant, walked into the room. “Your sister called. She told me to block out your diary for the afternoon. She said she wants to steal you and Ben away for the rest of the day. She also told me that she wasn’t taking no for an answer. She’s scary you know.”

“Yes she is” Oliver replied. Maybe it was a good idea to spend the afternoon with his sister. He had been reluctant to come to work today, wanting to keep Ben at home, but his mother had advised him to keep to Ben’s routine. Disruption could cause more damage that what he’d witnessed last night. But he had asked John to stay at daycare and keep an eye on things, he didn’t want Laurel trying to take Ben away again.

He nodded to Gerry and started his work day.

1 month ago

Tommy was slightly late to the ‘project’ meeting as they called it. And he didn’t come alone. He walked into John and Lyla’s apartment with Oliver’s younger sister Thea.

“It’s OK” he told the group, “She’s on our side and wants to help”.

‘You told her?” Curtis asked.

“She came to see me yesterday. Saying she was worried about Ollie and asking if I could talk to him”.

“What happened?” Lyla asked Thea.

“It’s Laurel” Thea interrupted before Tommy could answer. “Her behaviour is getting dangerous. She took Ben out of daycare yesterday morning without telling anyone and no-one knew where she was.”

“Her driver?” Diggle asked.

“Nope, she ditched him and was driving one of the family cars. We’re just lucky nothing happened. What you don’t know, because we kept it in the family, is that Laurel lost her licence last year for a DUI. Her father and our family money covered it up on the condition she wouldn’t drive. She came home eventually, but by that point Ollie was frantic and Ben was hysterical - he doesn’t really know who she is - she never spends time with him. She’s been getting more and more unstable. She screams at Ollie, accusing him of everything and threatening to take Ben away. That’s what he thought had happened yesterday and my heart broke for him. We need to fix this.”

“That’s the plan” Curtis told Thea, standing up to put his hand on her shoulder. 

“Tell me what it is, and I’ll help in anyway I can.” Thea replied.

It took a while to fill Thea in on everything. She had a lot of questions and some very interesting suggestions. She also demanded to see pictures of Felicity. She wanted to see the woman who had stolen her brother’s heart. 

1 week ago

Curtis could not believe that Thea had tagged along with him to Central City. But she was adamant, she wanted to meet Felicity and she was crashing their lunch date. Lyla had arranged it that Curtis’s latest project meant weekly visits to Star Labs, where Felicity worked. Lunch together was a tradition. 

“I won’t tell her who I am, I promise” Thea told Curtis, “I’ll just tell her I’m your friend from your new project and that we were at a meeting together in Central City.”

“But what if she recognises you.” Curtis responded.

“We’ve never met. I’m sure she won’t know who I am.”

But Felicity recognised Thea instantly. Even though it hurt, every so often she’d google Oliver just to make sure he was OK. Most of the time his sister would come up in searches. She knew exactly who the young woman was.

“Hi, I’m Thea” she said, outstretching her hand to shake Felicity’s.

“Queen” Felicity replied instantly.

“Have we met?” Thea asked

Felicity shook her head, regaining her composure, “No, I recognise you from gossip blogs. You're quite famous.”

“I hope you don’t mind that I invited myself to your lunch. It’s just I’m here with Curtis and didn’t want to eat on my own. He said he was meeting an old friend and I tagged along. Is it OK?”

No it wasn’t OK, she minded, with everything in her she minded. There was so much of Oliver in his sister that it felt like a stab in the heart. But she couldn’t say that so she said “No, it’s fine. It’s lovely to meet you. It’s not often I get to have lunch with someone famous.”

As they ordered their meals Thea felt a little nervous. She was so keen to meet Felicity that she hadn’t thought about what would happen if she was recognised. Curtis picked up on that and quickly broke the ice with a funny story and soon the table was echoing with laughter.

Thea kept it vague about what she was doing on the project and kept diverting the conversation back to Felicity. 

On the train on the way back Thea was quick to give her opinion on the woman his brother loved. “I like her, I like her a lot. She’s funny and smart and seems so kind and caring. Not like Laurel.”

“You don’t like your sister-in-law?” Curtis asked.

“Never have. I’ve always thought that she was a bit of a gold digger. More interested in the Queen name and the money than Ollie. Even more so now.”

“I don’t understand” Curtis stated.

“Some of the things she says when she’s screaming at Ollie, it’s horrible. If half of the things are true, about him never touching her, ignoring her, well. If it was me, I’d be long gone.”

“John thinks it’s going to be hard to get her to leave, especially without Ben.” Curtis told his friend.

“She needs help. She’s still Ben’s mother and Ollie will take that into account. And from what you’ve all told me about Felicity, she would never allow Oliver to do anything that would hurt another person.”

“She is the kindest person I’ve ever met. I hate the thought that she’s in pain” Curtis said.

“We need to fix this” Thea stated forcefully.

2 days ago

Oliver was surprised when he asked Thea where she wanted to go. She instructed him to go pick up Ben, then onto Big Belly Burger (where she got an enormous order) and finally to John and Lyla’s apartment. 

“What’s going on Thea?” Oliver asked.

“You’ll see” she replied as she cradled her nephew in her arms as they knocked on the apartment door.

Oliver was even more surprised to not just see John and Lyla, but also Curtis and Tommy as well. And when his son shouted “Grammy” he turned round to see his mother sitting in the corner.

Lyla took the lead, “We’ll explain everything Oliver. But right now it’s time for lunch and then Ben’s going to go for a nap while the adults talk.”

Oliver felt very wary about all these people being in one place. He didn’t even know they knew each other, but everyone seemed friendly and chatted happily through lunch.

Ben tired himself out quickly, enjoying the attention from all the adults. Moria Queen excused herself and the boy, telling the group to bring Oliver up to speed and she’d be back directly. Everyone looked at Tommy, it was his idea, he now had to come clean.

Tommy stood up. It was time to face the music. For all their planning and discussions this was the part that actually scared Tommy. How would Oliver react to what they’d put in motion.

“Right Oliver. What I’ve got to say here will take a while. Before I start I need you to promise us two things?” Tommy said.

“What?” asked Oliver warily. 

“That you’ll hear us out and that you won’t hit anyone.” Tommy tried to put humour into his voice, but he was serious.

“That bad, eh” Oliver replied. “OK, I promise the first one, not sure about the second one. I have a very bad feeling about this.”

Tommy took a deep breath and promptly told Oliver everything. How the original plan was hatched, what they’d done to make sure Oliver could be free and how both his mother and sister were roped in. The group had decided not to mention Felicity, just make it about him freeing himself from his marriage. Felicity was for later.

Oliver sad quietly and listened. His anger was growing as each of them spoke. How dare they interfere with his life, make decisions for him. He’d made a promise, one he intended to keep.

He stood up, anger radiating from him about to let rip when he felt his mother’s hand on his arm. He stopped, looked at her and she spoke “I’m sorry Oliver. This is my fault. All of this”.

“What!” Oliver exclaimed.

“I forced you into marrying Laurel. I might have even been the one to tell her that a child would settle you down. But I was so worried about you. You had no direction. I thought marriage and a baby would anchor you. I’m so sorry.”

“I don’t understand” Oliver said quietly, trying to let this all sink in. His anger was dissipating and all that was left now was regret. 

“I thought I knew what was best for you. In the beginning I also kept telling Laurel to hold on, that you’d come around. But what it’s become, the pain you cause each other, it has to stop. It’s all twisted inside of her, she feels worthless because I kept telling her to stay but you didn’t want her. She uses drink and drugs to mask her pain. She needs help. But now it’s affecting Ben. She put my precious boy in danger. I will not tolerate any threat to my grandson.” If she lost her son, so be it, but she had to absolve his guilt, show him this wasn’t his fault.

Oliver stood there. Letting everything sink in. Was there really a way out. A way that he could still be Ben’s dad, but be single. 

For the first time in three years Oliver felt something he hadn’t felt in a long time, hope.

1 day ago

Felicity smiled when she saw Curtis’s face on her phone. He hadn’t made their lunch date yesterday, urgent meeting or something. But he was calling now.

“You need to come to Startling City tomorrow” Curtis said quickly without any preamble.

“Eh?” Felicity replied.

“I really need your help. You have to come.” Curtis was adamant. This was his job, get Felicity into town.

“I can’t Curtis, I’m busy” Felicity did not want to go anywhere near Startling City. She might run into… 

“No, you are not Smoak. You are planning to spend the day with your Netflix queue, like every other Saturday.”

“That’s busy” Felicity laughed back. Curtis was right, that was going to be her Saturday.

“Please Felicity” Curtis decided to turn to begging. “It’s a matter of life or death.”

“No, it’s not” 

“OK, then, I need your help to make someone really happy. Please, it will only take a few hours. I’ve even bought you a ticket on the high speed train. I’ve just emailed it to you.”

“I have no choice in this, do I?”

“If you don’t come, I’ll send Thea to get you. And you know how insistent she is.”

Against her better judgement Felicity agreed to visit.

Curtis hung up the phone and high fived Thea. The next part of their plan was coming together.

2 days ago

Moria had decided to take the lead on the intervention with Laurel. She’d also contacted Laurel’s father and sister and asked them to attend. She came clean to them both about what was happening and promised the Lances’ that Laurel would be taken care of by the Queen family. It was time for them all to face up to their current situation and try and find a way to escape the pain that everyone was in.

Moria had told Laurel that morning that there would be a family meeting at 4pm and that she was expected to attend. She also told her daughter-in-law quite pointedly that she expected her to be sober. To help with this Laurel’s driver had be ordered to make sure she was home in time. John took the final precaution of making sure that all the keys for the family’s cars were well hidden.

They’d decided to leave Ben with Lyla and Curtis to keep him well out of the way. Tommy needed to be available but was going to stay in the kitchen until he was needed.

Laurel arrived last. She stumbled into the room and was shocked to not only see Moria, Thea and Oliver, but also her father and sister. She’d not really spoken to her family since her DUI, as they’d been pressuring her to stop drinking. There was someone else there who she didn’t recognise, but dismissed him, he looked as though he was trying to blend into the background a little.

Moria gestured for Laurel to sit down. She handed the young woman a cup of strong black coffee telling her to “drink up Laurel, we need you to try and sober yourself up a little.”

“Is this an intervention?” Laurel snapped.

“Yes’ Moria replied.

Laurel jumped up, ready to leave the room but her sister Sara stopped her. “Please stay and listen” Sara begged. Her father echoed that remark saying “Baby girl, please, we just all want to help you.”

“Laurel” Moria began “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Either way we have the same outcome. It’s time to end your sham of a marriage, but it would be much better for you in the long run to stay and listen.”

“There’s nothing you can do to me….” Laurel began but Moria cut her off with just a hand gesture.

“We want to help you” Moria stated “Because this situation is getting out of hand and there needs to be changes.”

“Why?” Laurel asked pointedly. “Things are going just fine.”

“Stop it Laurel” Sara cried. “Stop it. You’re miserable, so is everyone else. Can’t we even try to find a way out of this?”

“What they mean is that I’m being kicked to the curb and then they’re going to steal my son.” Laurel stated, “I’m not going to give them that satisfaction”.

Thea stood up and moved towards Laurel. She’d had just about enough of this. She had to say her piece. “That’s happening anyway Laurel” Thea said. “But as mom said, we do this the easy way or the hard way. You put Ben in danger so as far as I’m concerned I’d throw you in jail. But my brother is a much nicer person than me and he wants you to get the help you so desperately need.”

“Ben is my son, I can do what I want with him missy” Laurel argued but Thea did not care.

“Really, your son? The young child who barely knows who you are. The one who sees you once every few weeks. You may have given birth to him but you’re not his mother.”

“I bet you have another mother all lined up, don’t you Ollie” Laurel said, turning her attention to Oliver who’d sat quietly. “One of your little whores, all ready to play the dotting mother. Not going to happen. I’ll make sure you never see your son again, that none of you ever see him again”. The way Laurel said this chilled Oliver to the bone. There was a serious threat in her voice.

“Stop!” Oliver shouted. “Just stop it Laurel. It ends here, today. We can’t go on like this.”

“Oh yes it can. I’m just getting started, I’m going to make your life, all of your lives, a living hell.”

“We’re already in hell” Oliver replied. 

“Good” snapped Laurel.

The man Laurel didn’t know stepped up and whispered something to Moria.

“And who is this?” Laurel queried “Another servant to do your bidding”.

Moria wanted this over, she’d seen hope on her son’s face a few hours ago and it was fading. She turned to Laurel, taking her time to find the right words and was brutally honest with the young woman. “Laurel, this is Doctor Richards. He’s attached to a rehab facility, one of the best actually. He’s here to help you. You need help, with the drinking and the drugs and all the other bitterness that’s in you. And I’m here to apologise to you. I’ve already told my son how sorry I am, that this situation is partly my fault. I encouraged you to get pregnant to tie Oliver to you. And when you did I arranged a very quick wedding. Then I kept telling you to hold on, that he’d come around. But he never has and he never will. This is my doing and it’s time we need to fix this. You and Oliver are over. You need to try and sort your life out. Because if you don’t I will make sure that you never see your son, my grandson again.”

“You can’t do that” Laurel said confidently.

“Oh yes I can” Moria replied. “We have all the evidence we need to make sure that no judge will award you even supervised visitation. And how do you expect to pay for a lawyer, one that can stand up to the army of lawyers I’ll send after you. Because I’ll make sure you don’t see a penny from this family.”

“Oh, I’m sure I could find one to take on my case, it wouldn’t be hard” Laurel spat at her mother-in-law.

“We have enough witnesses, including your sister, who will testify that you’ve told them the marriage was never consummated. You have been shouting it round the house for the last few years. Ben was conceived before the wedding so that doesn’t count.”

“You wouldn’t do that” Laurel said quietly, the fight starting to leave her.

“I told you” Moria said forcibly “we will do this the easy way or the hard way. That’s the hard way. We kick you out today and you never see a penny or your son again. Or… you go to rehab, get your life sorted out, we help you financially and you get to see your son, when you’re sober.”

Laurel turned to Oliver. “Oliver no, tell them to stop. I’ll change, we can try again, maybe have another baby.”

The look on Oliver’s face said everything Laurel needed to know, that was never going to happen.

Sara took charge at this point. Turning to the group she said “Can I have a chat with my sister, Dad, you better come too?”

“You can use my study” Moria replied, directing them to the other room.

1 day ago

Felicity boarded the train in Central City. It had been 3 years since she set foot in Starling City and it was a place that she never wanted to set foot in again. But Curtis said her urgently needed her help. Three times she turned back, but eventually she steeled herself. That part of her life was over and maybe going back for the day would help her move on.

Seeing Thea last week had unnerved her, that’s all this was. It was stirring up the past, bringing back memories, that was all. 

She really needed to see about getting a cat.

Today

Oliver was woken by his son jumping up and down on his bed. 

“Get up daddy, get up. Ben back, want to play...” he kept repeating until Oliver opened his eyes.

It had been a very late night. It took a long time to sort everything out, with Laurel finally leaving with her family and the rehab doctor around 1am. She kept changing her mind but it was Sara who finally took charge. Tommy had already got the lawyers to draw up a settlement agreement, which he thought was a bit too generous but Oliver had insisted that his child’s mother would always be taken care of. 

Oliver hadn’t slept much, especially with Tommy’s last words ringing in his ear “So, you’re single now, any plans?”

Oliver had plans, and dreams and hopes. He even thought about calling her last night when he got to his room, but he needed time to prepare. He wasn’t even sure what he was going to say.

Thea was sitting in the kitchen holding her phone in her hand as Oliver walked in holding Ben in his arms. She smiled when she saw her brother, she thought he looked years younger. Her phone bleeped again and she smiled when she read the text. It was all coming together.

“What are your plans today?” Thea asked.

“Nothing much.” Oliver replied.

“Wrong answer, brother dear” Thea said. “I think you should take Ben to the park and I’ll meet you there for with a picnic for lunch.”

“Park!” Ben shouted. “Play at park daddy!” he looked imploringly to his father.

“I don’t have any choice, do I” Oliver grumbled. Thea smiled and kissed her nephew. 

“It’s going to be a beautiful day” Thea smiled. 

Oliver sat down for a moment and watched his son run around the park. He had no idea where the boy got his energy. He pulled out his phone and started filming. He wanted to treasure the memory. Eventually, he hoped, Ben’s mother might want to see this part of his life as well. 

It was all new. He was single, something even a few days ago he didn’t think was possible until Ben was grown. The papers had been signed and his mother had called in a favour with a friendly judge. His marriage to Laurel had been annulled early that morning. Tommy had done all the groundwork with the lawyers so it was a simple matter. He had full custody of his son with the provision for visitation for Laurel in the future. 

Would he call her, he knew Curtis would have her number. Or should he go and visit her in Central City. 

It was so close now, he was free. He just hoped she was too and would give them a chance.

It was almost as though he could hear her, hear her voice and her laugh. He must be getting caught up in memories because it sounded so real. 

He heard Ben shout to his aunt so he looked round, and she was there walking towards him, flanked by Curtis and Thea. She hadn’t seen him yet.

“Curtis” he heard Felicity say “Why are we in a park, and what is the emergency?”

“I have to drop something off, urgently” Curtis replied.

“What?” Felicity questioned.

“You” Curtis told his friend smiling as he started to move away.

They were level with Oliver now and Felicity suddenly focussed, seeing him. She didn’t think she could breathe.

Thea walked over to her nephew “Ben, wave Daddy goodbye. You and I and Curtis are going on an adventure and Daddy needs to talk to the nice lady.”

“Felicity?” Oliver whispered. 

“CURTIS!” Felicity shouted trying not to look at Oliver “What the hell is going on?”

Thea grabbed Ben and Curtis and started walking quickly away. Ben was shouting something about not kissing daddy but Thea shushed him.

Oliver looked at Felicity in awe.

“Hi” Oliver said.

Felicity just stared at him. She wanted to run, but all she could do was stare, drinking him in.

Oliver touched her arm softly, almost startling her. This was a dream, it had to be. He hadn’t woken up yet and this was all going to fade when his alarm went off. 

“You’re here” she said quietly. 

“So are you” he whispered.

“What’s going on?” Felicity murmured.

“I think we’ve been set up.” Oliver remarked.

“How…” she puzzled. She’d never told anyone about Oliver.

“It’s a long story, which I only know a bit of. I think we should go and have a coffee and I’ll fill you in.”

“I can’t” she told him. “You know that. You’re married, and I…”

“I’m not” he smiled, “As of 10.12 this morning I’m a single man, no longer married.”

Felicity just stared at him. Was she dreaming, was this real? She didn’t care, real or a dream there was only one course of action. She stood on her tiptoes and grabbed his head and pulled him down into a kiss.

Oliver concluded later that it was better than their first kiss.

3 years from now

Ben ran from his mother. He had so much to tell his dad about his visit. But he squealed and ran faster when he saw his stepmother walking with his dad.

Laurel and Oliver smiled at each other. They were friends now, working together to give their son a good life. And they both knew that even though their son loved them both equally, his favourite person in the world was Felicity. Thea even grumbled sometimes, but she wasn’t at all bitter about it. Felicity had quickly become her best friend, the young woman’s humour, intelligence and warmth had won over everyone who met her. 

Ben ran to Felicity to hug her. He then whispered into her swollen stomach “Not long now baby sister, can’t wait to meet you.”

Felicity had kept her balance as Ben careered into her, her centre of gravity had disappeared as her pregnancy progressed. But she couldn’t mind at all, she loved Oliver’s son as much as she knew she’d love their daughter. 

Laurel and Oliver held back, she wanted to talk to her ex-husband. “You look well, and happy” she said.

“I am, thanks. And you look good too. Are you happy?” Oliver replied.

“Yes, I am. College is going well, I think I’ll make a good lawyer.” Laurel told him. “And I’ve met someone”.

Oliver smiled. He didn’t wish Laurel any ill will. He knew he was partly to blame for their history, but was overjoyed that they’d all managed to put things in the past.

“It’s early days, but he seems to like me, for me.”

“That’s all I’ve ever wanted for you” Oliver replied. “For you, for us both to be happy. And no matter how bad it got, something good came out of us.”

“Ben” Laurel said. Oliver nodded. They stood for a moment more watching Ben talk rapidly to Felicity. Oliver smiled, knowing he’d picked up the babbling habit from his wife. He had spent some of his happiest days just watching them talk rapidly at each other. 

“Daddy!” Ben called “Are you coming?”

“Yes!” Oliver shouted back. He turned to Laurel “See you in a few days. Ben, come and kiss your mother goodbye.”

Ben ran back to Laurel, kissed his mother then ran back.

As they walked back to the car Oliver felt his heart swell with joy. 

“What is it?” Felicity asked “You’ve got the biggest smile on your face”.

“I’ve got everything I’ve ever wanted, thanks to you Felicity” 

Felicity smiled back at her husband. “You are the biggest sap I’ve ever met in my life.”

He turned and kissed his wife.

“Daddy stop that, kissing is yuck!” Ben shouted trying to get his father’s attention.

“You’ll change your mind someday” Oliver smiled at his son. “When you find the right person to kiss”.