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Oliver moved stealthily from building to building, his focus on making sure the man he was sent to catch did not escape again. The Monitor had asked that Oliver come back to Earth 1 in search of the Dominator. He was a ruthless monster who had been a thorn in the Monitor’s side for years and for some reason he felt that Oliver could be the one to stop him.
When the Monitor had first approached him about the mission Oliver had been on board, hoping that he might get to spend some time with his family before heading back to the 3rd Realm where he had been for the last 4 years. His hopes had been dashed when the Monitor informed him that he could not let anyone know he was back and that as soon as his mission was complete he would have to leave.
He pulled his net arrow as he inched closer to the Dominator’s location and when he saw him exit the building he let the arrow fly. It wrapped tightly around his mark and he heard the man cry out in frustration as the netting attached itself to the floor. He would not be able to move.
Oliver touched the comm that he had been given to notify the Monitor when he was caught, and he appeared a moment later.
“Good work Mr. Queen.”
“I have kept up my end of the bargain, but I would like to ask a favor. I know I cannot let my family know I am here, but can I have an hour to just go check on them. I promise they will never see me.”
The Monitor looked at him with a stern expression. “That is dangerous.”
“Please.” That simple word coming from a man as strong and as deadly as the Green Arrow touched something deep inside of the Monitor and he finally conceded.
“You have one hour. But let me be clear Mr. Queen. If they see you or if you make contact in any manner our contract is null, and your family will pay the price.”
Oliver clenched his jaw but agreed. He knew why the Monitor threatened his family. The entire Universe was depending on him to save it, and he could not do that without Oliver.
“I understand.”
“Ok, the portal will open in one hour. Don’t be late.”
Oliver nodded sternly and then hurried back down the alley, making his way to the cabin. He first wanted to look on Felicity. He would receive information here and there on how she, Mia and William were doing but updates were sporadic and small at best. It bothered him that William was still not living with Felicity and Mia but there was nothing he could do about it.
He made his way quietly up the porch, his eyes lighting for a second on the two chairs where he and Felicity had spent the last few months of her pregnancy. They had talked about their future and Mia and the hope that one day maybe they would have another child. It had also been where they had first broached the subject of possibly asking for shared custody of William.
His throat clogged with tears as he pulled his gaze away and when he looked into the window his hand went to his chest. Felicity was in the kitchen packing a lunch for Mia and when he saw the little girl run in from the back of the house his breath caught.
“Mommy, I brushed my teeth.”
“Good job baby. I am almost done. Do you have your coat?”
“Yes. Can I go outside and play until time to leave?”
“Yes, but stay near the porch please.”
Mia nodded and pulled on her coat and Oliver pressed himself tightly against the wall of the cabin as she hurried out the door. He did not feel the tears tracking down his cheeks as he watched her race across the grass to her swing set. Felicity must have gotten that after he had left.
He turned and looked back in the window at the woman he loved more than life itself. The hardest thing he had ever done was leave her and their baby and the days after he had gone had been some of the worst of his life. They were harder than his time on Lian Yu and his hand involuntarily lifted to touch the glass as if he could stroke her cheek through the clear barrier.
“Hello.”
He jerked his head around at the sound of the tiny female voice and he ducked beneath the window, kneeling against the wood. A pair of familiar blue eyes looked at him with curiosity and his widened in wonder as he looked upon his daughter for the first time in years.
“Hi.” He said the word softly and she gave him an inquisitive look. He could see the intelligence behind her eyes and he thought for a moment just how much she looked like her mother.
“You look like my Daddy.” Mia stepped closer. Oliver wondered at the fact she was not afraid, but his heart started to race. Shit! She was not supposed to see him.
“I do?”
Mia nodded, her blonde curls bouncing around her shoulders. It took every single ounce of willpower he possessed not to tell her that was exactly who he was and pull her into a hug. The last time he had held her she had been asleep on his chest and that memory kept him going on days when he thought he would die from missing them.
She cocked her head and then grinned. “My name is Mia.”
“Hi Mia.” Her name made his eyes water and he tried to hold back his tears as her expression turned concerned.
“Are you ok? My Mommy told me never to talk to strangers, but you seem nice.” Oliver gave her a soft smile. “You seem sad though.”
Oliver had to look away for a moment before he could speak. “I miss my family.”
Her eyes brightened. “Do you have a little girl?”
He nodded, “Yes and she is just your age.”
“Why do you miss them? Don’t you get to see them?”
Oliver choked up again. God this was too hard.
“No. My job does not allow me to see them. But I think about them all the time.”
“I am sure they are thinking about you too. I don’t remember too much about my Daddy, but my Mommy tells me he loves me every day. He has an important job too. He had to go away.”
Oliver gave her a watery smile. “My Mommy says I look just like him. Sometimes I will be playing and she will just stare at me with a funny look on her face.” She shifted on her feet, her pudgy hand going to scratch her nose. “Sometimes she stares, and her eyes tear up like yours.”
Oliver did not speak, he couldn’t. The tears were clogging his throat to the point he could not breath.
“Sometimes she says I look like him and she starts to cry. I hate when my Mommy cries.”
Oliver cleared his throat, the thought of Felicity crying over him tearing his heart to shreds. “Does she cry a lot?” Please say no, please say no .
“Sometimes I hear her crying in her room at night when I am supposed to be asleep. She lets me crawl into bed with her and that seems to help.”
Oliver nodded with a soft smile, “I am sure you do a wonderful job of making your Mommy feel better.”
Mia stepped closer. “I am sure your little girl takes care of her Mommy too.”
Oliver felt a tear slide down his cheek. He could not stop it any more than he could stop his body from taking a breath.
Before he could stop her Mia reached out and touched his cheek. “Don’t be sad Daddy.”
Oliver looked at her in shock. He needed to deny it. He needed to tell her that he was not her Daddy. He could not form the words.
“We know that you are watching over us and saving the stars is important.”
“You remind me so much of your Mother. I knew you would grow up to be just as beautiful and as smart as she is.” He thought back to the words that he had said to Felicity right before he had to leave. That day would forever haunt him.
Oliver placed his hand over hers and the feel of her soft skin broke him. His tears fell unheeded and she stepped closer and gave him a hug.
“I will tell Mommy that you miss us and that you are ok.”
Oliver could not stop himself as he wrapped his arm around her tiny body. Mia was wise beyond her years and as smart as Felicity and he could see that Felicity was keeping her promise to him. She was keeping Mia safe and that was all that mattered.
Oliver slowly pulled away, his time coming to an end. “Mia, I have to go. Know that your father misses you and your Mommy so very much and that he loves you both with every single beat of his heart.”
Mia took her hand and placed it over his heart. “I know.”
"Also, you cannot tell anyone that I was here, ok?"
Mia nodded with a smile. Somehow he just knew she understood.
Oliver could not take any more. He stood and looked through the window one last time. Felicity was packing some things into a bag by the couch and he let his eyes linger on her one last time, sending her his love the only way he could, through his thoughts. I love you Felicity!
He turned back to Mia and she smiled that innocent four-year-old smile and he memorized her face before he vanished into the woods.
Mia watched where he had gone for some time and soon her Mommy came out of the house carrying her bag.
“Alright baby girl. We need to go. Aunt Nyssa is waiting for us.”
Mia looked up at her Mommy. “Daddy was just here.”
Felicity looked down at her and frowned. “What?”
“Daddy was just here. He wanted me to tell you that he misses us. But we cannot tell anyone.” She whispered the last part as if it was a secret.
Felicity felt a lump lodge in her throat. Mia did not remember much about Oliver. She had been tiny when he had left but Felicity had kept pictures all around the house and she had told her every day that even though he could not be with them, that he loved them. That he loved her.
“Mia, what have I told you about fibbing?”
“I’m not Mommy, I promise.”
Felicity started walking to the car. “Come on baby, we have to go.” She was not going to admit that Mia’s words had affected her more than she was showing. She needed to stay strong.
Mia walked up behind Felicity as she loaded the car and said, “He was crying like you do sometimes Mommy. But I told him that we understood he had to go.”
Felicity froze at her daughter’s words. How could she scold her for her story when it was about the man who was her father? The man Felicity loved more than life itself?
“Mommy? He said that I remind him of you. That he knew that I would grow up to be as pretty and as smart as you are.”
Felicity’s eyes widened, and she turned and looked at her daughter in shock. She had never uttered those words to her daughter, having wanted to keep something of him just for herself.
Felicity knelt before her and cupped her tiny face between her hands. She saw the sincerity and the truth in her daughters face and she stood and looked around hurriedly, trying to find him.
“He had to go Mommy. But he said he misses us, and he loves us.”
Felicity felt her heart sink and she nodded, tears now falling down her cheeks as she motioned for her daughter to climb up into the car and get into her seat. As she buckled her in she wiped her face. Tears would do her no good. She had to keep her promise to Oliver and keep Mia and William safe and with Nyssa’s help, she would do just that.
That night as Felicity laid in their bed she thought of him. Of where he might be and what he might be doing, and she smiled for the first time in a long time. Today had proven that he was not out of her reach. He had been able to return if only for a short time and now she was more certain than ever that she would be able to keep her second promise to him.
She would find him again.