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Oliver loved every moment of being a husband and father. Especially knowing that he came close to never seeing his family again. But by the grace of God or whatever higher being was out there, Oliver was brought back to his family after the Crisis. He did not know how or why but neither did he care. All that mattered to him was that he was back in Bloomfield, living in the cabin with Felicity and their children.
It had been two years since the day Oliver returned home. He came back just before Mia’s first birthday. He and Felicity managed to regain custody of William and he was overjoyed to meet his baby sister. Mia, now three, was the apple of her entire family’s eye. They all simply adored the bright and beautiful girl.
Which was not to say that Mia did not cause more trouble than should be possible for a child that young and small. She was precocious and intelligent beyond her years, probably due to being the daughter of an actual genius. She was also very advanced in terms of agility and speed, owing to also being the daughter of the Green Arrow.
But the current trouble she was causing her doting parents had nothing to do with her intelligence or ninja skills, as Felicity liked to call them. It was her eating habits. Mia was not a picky eater, no. That was not the problem. She would eat anything and everything that her father put in front of her.
Oliver was a humble man as a result of the life he has led over the past ten years but he was not falsely modest when it came to his cooking skills. He readily admitted that he was a great cook. In fact, he took great pride in being a stay-at-home dad and taking care of his family. Felicity had been working hard, growing Smoak Technologies into a very successful company with a vast reach, all within the past two years. But it was a family rule in the Smoak-Queen household that they would all sit down to dinner together every night.
And that’s where Mia’s little problem came in. Mia would happily eat whatever meal Oliver prepared for her. But she would get full after just a few bites. Oliver and Felicity did not want Mia to grow up with any issues about food and what was too much or not enough. They wanted her to grow up trusting herself and what she believed was right for her and her body. So when Mia told her parents that she was full and did not want to eat anymore they listened to her.
After dinner, Oliver would give Mia her bath and then would tuck her in bed and read her a story. Felicity would often join them but some nights she would be so caught up with her work for Smoak Technologies that it would just be Oliver and Mia. After reading her a bedtime story, Oliver would kiss Mia good night and Mia would fall asleep very quickly. Oliver and Felicity were lucky that their daughter was a good sleeper. This allowed them the chance to spend some time together as a couple in the evening, cuddling up on the couch to watch TV or a movie or just simply basking in the fact that they were together and safe.
But over the past few months, their peace and quiet would be broken about half an hour after putting Mia to bed because Mia would wake up and say that she was hungry. She would come out of her room and with her big eyes and irresistible pout tell her parents that she needs a snack. So Oliver and Felicity would give their baby girl some fruit or vegetables or other healthy snacks and once Mia was done they would take her back to her room and she would fall back to sleep. And a half hour later, the same thing would happen. Oliver and Felicity would settle down together but then Mia would wake up, announcing that she was hungry, and her parents would fix her a snack and take her back to bed. This happened three times a night, every night.
Oliver and Felicity loved Mia and would do anything for her but they could not help but admit that it was frustrating. It had been going on for months and they decided to take turns waiting on their daughter. They just hoped that Mia would grow out of this phase soon.
One night, Oliver and Felicity were trying to watch a movie. Felicity had a glass of her “mom juice” in her hand and was just about to take a sip when they heard the familiar pitter patter of small feet and the door to Mia’s room open.
Felicity sighed, turned to Oliver and said, “It’s your turn.”
Oliver begrudgingly got up and walked over to Mia’s room. Mia stopped short when she saw her dad.
“Do you need something to eat, sweetheart?” Oliver asked.
Mia shook her head no.
“Do you need to go to the bathroom?”
Again, Mia shook her head no.
“Then what is it, Little Star, why were you coming out to get us?” Oliver asked as he picked up Mia and carried her back to her bed.
In her sweet little voice she said “I just wanted to hold your hand daddy.”
At that moment, Oliver felt his heart melt. He kissed Mia on her forehead and sat down on the edge of her bed as Mia laid down, holding onto his hand until she fell asleep.
Oliver would gladly wait on his daughter, hand and foot, as long as he got to have these moments with her.