Oliver woke up to the sound of someone hacking right near his left ear. He turned toward the sound and saw his wife of ten years curled up into a ball with her chest heaving out the sounds of a horrific cough. He put his hand to her forehead and she groaned a raspy sigh. "You're burning up."
"I was fine yesterday," she mumbled. Oliver grinned and shook his head at her. "Don't look so happy. I can't do anything."
"I'll take care of it. You rest," he whispered back. She nodded and buried herself into the pillows around her head more. Before Oliver could continue speaking, he heard the gurgling of the baby on the baby monitor. His wife sighed and started to unburrow herself from her spot. He put his hand on her shoulder and pushed her back into the pillows. "No. Sleep."
He got up out of bed and pulled on his pajama pants. He heard a dry cackle and shook his head as he walked out the door. The sun was barely shining through the trees in the backyard as Oliver went to take care of his youngest child. His four month old daughter looked up at him with her brilliant hazel eyes stared back at him. He pushed his hand through her blonde hair and smiled down at her.
"Hello, sweetheart," he whispered. She giggled at him and Oliver picked her up. He took her over to the dressing table and hummed while she wiggled. He chuckled as he changed her diaper and he kissed her cheeks when he was done. She gazed at him for a long moment and he sighed. "Hungry, huh? Guess we should start breakfast… Mama's not feeling well today."
She giggled at him and he shook his head. "Yeah, Dad doesn't know what he's doing either."
He struggled to get breakfast started as his child sat in the highchair. Oliver got different cereals out, lined them up on the counter, and put bowls and spoons near them. He sighed and gazed at the baby. He pulled up a chair and fed the child until an alarm went off. Two seconds later, Oliver heard the alarm go off. His eyebrows rose. The baby did the same.
"Liv, you shouldn't scold your Dad so early in life," Oliver muttered. Olivia, called Liv, giggled in response and stuck her hand in her baby food. Oliver grumbled and placed the food a safe distance away from his mischievous bundle of joy. He marched up the stairs again and heard his oldest rumbling around in her room.
Oliver knocked on the door. He cautiously opened it. His nine year old daughter, who looked just like him, stood near her door to the adjoining bathroom with a confused expression on her face. "Is there anything I can help with?"
She turned startled eyes on him and shrieked. "Daddy! Get out of here!"
She slammed the door in his face and Oliver stood speechless. He heard a clicking sound and turned to see his seven year old son shaking his head. The young boy was the perfect image of his mother: brown hair and hazel eyes. He had her serious look and her caring disposition. "Not gonna win this one, Dad."
Oliver shrugged. "Cereal downstairs."
His son sighed. "Mom cooks pancakes on Tuesdays, Dad."
Oliver sighed in response. "Mom's sick."
He heard the hacking cough from their room. He went into the room and saw her struggling to sit up. He shook his head and lowered her back into bed. She gazed at him with red and tired eyes. "You need help."
"Sleep," he whispered. He kissed her forehead and pulled the blankets and pillows around her. She gazed at him.
"The demon will be up soon," she cautioned. Oliver nodded. She whispered instructions to him. "Please call my office… I can't."
Oliver nodded. He pulled out his phone and dialed his office number. "Ray, it's me. I need to work at home today. Wife's sick. Yeah, thanks. I owe you one."
He closed the door to their room and dialed her office. "Hi, this is Oliver Queen. D.A. Lance won't be in today. She's…"
Laurel started hacking again and Oliver heard the sharp intake of breath from the other end of the line. "The invincible Laurel Lance got caught by a cold."
The doorbell started chirping. Oliver finished the phone call and walked to the door. His oldest child stood at his front door with a frown on his face. "You forgot."
Oliver shook his head. "Connor, she got sick. I can't do anything about…"
The seventeen year old version of Oliver Queen walked into the household. Hollering started from the second floor and he grinned. "I came at the right time, huh?"
"Your sisters…" Both males sighed and they jumped when a crash came from the kitchen. Oliver walked in to see the baby food splattered all over the floor. Connor slapped Oliver on the back.
"I got baby duty. You do peacemaker." Connor walked into the kitchen and picked up Liv. He tickled her sides and the baby settled close to her older brother's body. Connor looked around the kitchen. "What does Laurel normally cook?"
"Tuesdays are pancakes," Oliver muttered. His son nodded and started pulling out the ingredients needed. Oliver ran up the stairs. He saw his oldest daughter and middle daughter screeching at each other.
"You brat!" Mo, the oldest daughter, yelled at the younger sister, Sadie. Sadie, who had her mother's hair, father's eyes and temperament, yelled back. Oliver walked up to both of them and put his hands on his hips.
"Stop!" Oliver scolded. The two children blinked their eyes at their father. Oliver pointed to the master bedroom. "Your mother is sick today. She doesn't need to hear you both fighting! Get dressed. Go downstairs, have breakfast, and get your lunches from the fridge. The bus will be here in thirty minutes."
His youngest son chuckled as he walked down the stairs. Oliver gazed at him. "What do you think you're up to, Thomas Robert?"
TR, as his parents called him, smiled at his father. "Getting pancakes."
Oliver shook his head. The boy even had his mother's tolerance for Queen level drama.
The doorbell rang and the front door opened. He heard a voice call out, "Aunt Thea's here! What's there to eat?"
Oliver heard another set of footsteps walk in. He casually walked down the stairs and his eyebrow raised at Thea and Roy casually taking their shoes off. "What are you two doing here?"
Thea grinned and looked at him sheepishly. "We have a standing Tuesday coffee date with Laurel. What are you doing here?"
"He's trying to be peacemaker," Connor called out from the kitchen. Thea's grin grew. She marched into the kitchen and Oliver heard his son chuckle. "Here's my favorite aunt."
"She's gotten so big!" Thea cooed. Roy rolled his eyes at Oliver.
"You saw her yesterday," Roy chimed in. Thea growled from the other part of the house. Oliver shook his head. "Where's Laurel?"
"In bed… coughing the morning away," Oliver stated as he walked up the stairs again. This time, he saw Liv fly past him and run down the stairs. He heard Sadie's laughter from his bedroom. He opened the door and saw his daughter crawling over his wife. Laurel's eyes met his and Oliver chuckled at her bedraggled expression. Sadie turned to him and grinned.
"I got Mommy up, Daddy!" Sadie shouted. Oliver caught her as she jumped off the bed to him. He took her to her room and sat her down on the floor.
"Get dressed," he said firmly. He leaned in really close to her and whispered to her. "Connor's downstairs."
Sadie shrieked and ran into her room. Oliver walked back to his room and sat on the bed. Oliver took Laurel's hand and kissed it. She chuckled and squeezed his hand. "It's hard being you."
"You're lucky you don't wear heels," Laurel whispered back. Oliver chuckled and gazed at her.
"You have guests downstairs, madam." He shook his head as he rose from the bed. "The children will be gone in about fifteen minutes… what can I do to help you?"
"Get me downstairs?" Laurel asked him. Oliver smiled. He scooped her out of her bed and hummed as he walked her down to the kitchen. Their children saw Oliver walk Laurel into the kitchen, blanket wrapped around her and all, and he set her down in a chair. Before the children rushed over, Oliver put his hand up.
"Your mother is sick. Don't come near her unless you want to get sick," Oliver warned. The three children stood apprehensively. Laurel coughed twice and gazed at them.
"We hope you feel better soon, Mama," Mo spoke up. Laurel smiled at her. Mo awkwardly waved and they stood until Thea walked over from the kitchen. Thea brought her arms around the three children and squeezed them.
"Want me to drive you to school today?" she asked in a conspiring whisper. The children cheered and Thea marched them out to her car. Roy chuckled and poured himself a cup of coffee. Oliver gazed at Laurel.
"They don't ride the school bus?" he asked dumbfounded. Laurel shook her head. Oliver sank to the chair beside her. Connor came up and handed Laurel a cup of coffee and set a plate of pancakes in front of her. Oliver looked at his son confused. "Why aren't you in school?'
"The new term starts in two weeks," Connor told his father. He sat down next to Laurel. Laurel slowly ate the pancakes. "How does he survive without you?"
"I haven't figured that out yet," Laurel answered. Oliver groaned and Roy slid a cup of coffee next to Oliver. A similar plate was set down next to him and Oliver grinned. Laurel smirked at Roy. "Roy helps out a lot."
"Wouldn't have my life together without him," Oliver retorted. Laurel laughed and punched his arm. Oliver looked at her with mock pain and she settled back into her seat. "Guess you help out too."
"Better believe it," she whispered. Oliver chuckled and Laurel yawned. He took his fork and shoved pancakes into her mouth. Laurel laughed and chewed as he smiled at her with his mischievous grin. She shook her head at him.
Oliver's gaze turned serious. "Why're you so sick?"
Laurel looked around the table at the three men and the little baby in the highchair. She sighed. "Because an addition is coming."
Roy's eyes blinked. Connor started grinning like a fool. Oliver ran a hand through his hair. "I'll call Walter about the college funds… and that he's going to be a grandfather again."
He kissed Laurel lightly on the lips as he walked out of the room. She smiled and Connor squeezed her hand. Laurel nodded at Roy, who just shook his head in response. "Can you handle being an uncle again?"
"Don't have a choice. Wait until you get it back," Roy cautioned. Laurel shook her head and gazed at Connor.
"Thank you," he said. He looked around the house, a smaller one than the one his father was raised in, and one that had much more love than Connor had anticipated. "I'm excited to be a brother again."
"This is the last time," Laurel remarked. Connor gazed at her. "He's starting to get white hairs… after only one solo morning."
"Doesn't count if I rescued him," Thea's voice called out from the front doorway. She walked into the kitchen and sat down at the seat Oliver left empty. She took in the two men's expressions and looked at Laurel. "Finally told them, huh?"
Laurel nodded. Roy looked at Thea incredulously. "How did you know?"
"She peed on one of my pregnancy tests," Thea informed him. Roy blushed. Thea shrugged. "She wanted to know… and before she could tell anyone, she got sick."
Oliver came walking back with a dazed expression. Thea chuckled and the group watched as he pulled Laurel's chair out from under the table. He knelt down and put his hands on her stomach. Roy shook his head and took Connor to get more pancakes. Thea simply sat and drank part of her coffee.
Oliver's eyes held Laurel's for a long moment. He smiled at her. "I love you."
"I love you too," she whispered back. He knelt and kissed her stomach. Laurel put her hands on his head. "We'll love whoever is in there too."
"Already do," he replied. He smiled at her as he kissed her gently on the lips. "Because the child came from you."
"So cheesy," Thea remarked. Oliver tossed his sister a glare. She shot her hands up. "Just saying. You two are so on the cheesy train right now."
Laurel shrugged and ran a hand through Oliver's hair. "We don't get to be cheesy very often."
"Ray and Felicity may be over later to check up on you," Oliver stated. Thea groaned and rose from her seat. Laurel chuckled and Connor looked at them all with a confused expression. Roy focused on the extra pancakes.
"Team Atom is coming? Ugh, I'm going," Thea muttered. She looked at her brother. "Make sure you call Diggle.. And Nyssa."
"One big happy family," Oliver retorted. Laurel lightly smacked his arm and he kissed her. "If I get sick, I'm blaming you."
"I can handle filling your shoes for a day or two," she remarked. Oliver laughed and picked her up from her chair. "Where are we going?"
"You are going back to bed, madam." Oliver walked her through their house, up the stairs to their bedroom. He gently put her on the bed and wrapped her back up into the blankets and pillows. "Get better. I can't handle another morning like this."
"It's not that hard if you practice." Laurel said as she blinked and began to cuddle back into the bed. "I love you."
"With all my heart, thee are mine," Oliver recited. Laurel chuckled again and closed her eyes.
"With my soul, I believe I bind," Laurel finished. "In all days, good or bad, will be divine. Thee and I walk side by side, no matter how big or small, the trouble can find."
Oliver kissed her lightly and closed the door behind him. He smiled like a fool all the way to the kitchen. Roy and Thea stood together while Connor stood awkwardly waiting. Oliver stood next to his son. Connor gazed at Thea and Roy. "When we first met, I never thought you'd turn out this way."
"Neither did I," Oliver commented. He smirked. "You saw me at my worst, kid. Felicity and I… we shouldn't have been together. Not when she loved Ray, you know? The only person to knock some sense into me was Laurel. She told me I was 'being a pretentious and egotistical prick that should remember his head head doesn't belong up his ass because he talks enough shit as it is.' So, she made me think a little bit."
"More like a lot," Roy retorted. Oliver glared at him and Roy chuckled. "She burned your ass to the point where you went crawling away. Best person to ever make you realize how much you were being an ass."
Connor chuckled. "Dad, an ass? Say it ain't so."
"Hush now, delinquent," Oliver joked. Connor smirked and Oliver shook his head. "Don't you have class or something?"
"Break," Connor told him. Oliver looked over at Roy and Roy shrugged in response. "What work do we have to do today?"
Oliver ran a hand through his hair. "A shower first… then we'll figure everything out."
"One step at a time," Roy stated. Oliver nodded.
"One baby step at a time," he whispered. Liv giggled from her highchair and Oliver smiled. "Guess it can't be helped… everyone's taking over."
He heard laughter come from upstairs. He felt his heart grew as he heard Laurel's tired voice talk with Thea.
She was everything to him, and the gifts they shared… they were priceless, even if they gave him white hairs on his head. The love of his live and the gems of his heart were worth protecting over anything.
A/N: This is a standalone story, and I hope everyone enjoyed it. needother-reason on Tumblr asked for fanfic with Laurel and Oliver having kids, so here it is!
Leave a review if you would like.
Until Next Time,
DBA