Paradigm Shift

By MaryKent

Disclaimer: I don't own any aspect of the tv show Arrow.

Moira was startled awake in the middle of the night. She drowsily reached over to the other side of the bed to seek comfort from her husband before drifting off to sleep again. The blankets were cool to the touch and neatly laying across the mattress. She was alone.

First Robert and now Walter had been driven from her bed and she was not blameless. Guilt overwhelmed her and she let out a gasping sob. Moira only allowed her anguish to envelop her in the solitude of her room at night.

Her sob was echoed by a shriek from elsewhere in the mansion. Fear gripped Moira's heart. Malcolm took Walter; she would unleash an army on him if he returned to take one of her children. Grabbing a dressing gown, Moira ran from her room to investigate.

The mansion was completely empty. An eerie silence hung heavy in the air. Everything within the home felt completely hollow. Thick rugs lined the floors, art hung in massive gold platted frames, and all the trinkets remained strategically positioned by interior designers to make the space feel homey. During the day, the rooms were lit by rays of sunlight coming in the windows, but the corners were filled with shadows blacker than night. The house felt like it had lost its soul, and tonight it felt positively bleak. She heard gasps coming from down the hall and went to investigate.

Meanwhile, Oliver searched the house in a frenzy. Running from room to room, he called for anyone who could hear him and searched for a sign of anyone else in the house. Oliver realized that the house was arranged like it was before he was stranded on the island. Signs of a rebellious Oliver filled the rooms and Thea's middle school books and school uniform were scattered about.

As he searched for anyone familiar, the shadows grew darker and the house began to change. The growing shadows enveloped the familiar things that he remembered from years ago. Oliver arrived in the living room. He looked at the pictures resting on the mantle to see the familiar faces. One by one, his family members in the picture frames disappeared. They were replaced by images of him, alone and grim. He stumbled backward and fell onto a couch but the cushions enveloped him and he could not get up. The shadows grew and overtook him.

With a shriek, he awoke. Chilled and gasping, Oliver detangled himself from the sheets on his bed that held him captive and moved to stand in the moonlight bathing his room. There he stood, paralyzed in his fears.

Moira realized that the gasping breaths came from Oliver's room. It was unlikely the house was being attached. Memories of the first night Oliver had a panic attack upon his return came to mind.

Dr. Lamb said that Oliver may have changed, but he had adjusted so easily and quickly. He only had one panic attack the first night home. Unfamiliar with the situation, Moira was unsure how to proceed now. Quietly, Moira opened the door.

Oliver stood in front of the window, his skin slick with sweat and gasping for air.

Where was her maternal instinct? Why couldn't she run to comfort Oliver? The terror that she kept beneath the surface threatened to overtake her. Every day, her actions with the undertaking endangered those she cared most about. Walter was already captive due to her involvement. Now she was plagued by the thought of harm coming to Oliver or Thea.

As she stood watching Oliver quaking in his own fear, she remembered she did this to him. Oliver was on the boat that was sabotaged, but he was not the target. Oliver was the innocent civilian caught in the crossfire of a war he did not even know existed.

The only way to continue to protect her family was to keep secrets from them. Their ignorance would protect them. In order to keep them from asking the probing questions that would endanger their lives, Moira needed to remain distant. Her maternal nature drew her to her son to offer comfort; however, her desperate need to minimize his involvement in the undertaking, and herself by extension, forced her to remain in the background.

Moira slowly closed Oliver's door and sank to the floor. Tucking her head into her knees, she wept.

She wept for her hurting son, for her horrible choices in the past, for both her husband of the past as well as her current husband, and most of all for herself, because she felt like there was no way to right the wrongs of the past.

Felicity could not fall asleep. Restless tossing and turning did little to calm her mind. Oliver was clearly distraught when they meet at the restaurant the night before. She could really use a drink. "Oliver, why couldn't you give me that bottle of wine tonight?" Felicity moaned into her pillow. A nice glass of wine would sooth her nerves, but her apartment had to be completely void of alcohol tonight. Maybe one day she would have enough time to do some proactive grocery shopping. It sure would save her money compared to daily take out purchases.

Since the first time she saw him in passing in the Queen Consolidated building, she recognized the air of entitlement and privilege Oliver exuded. It was exactly the personality that she avoided at all costs. She worked hard to build her resume and career. She began building computers when she was seven, was shunned during high school for being a computer geek, was completely anti-social in college. Finally, she found a place for herself in the Queen Consolidated IT department where she was both respected and occasionally admired. She buckled down and did her work with pride. And she was good at it. She did not put in all that effort to be screwed over by a rich snob with an incredibly charming smile.

But that smile haunted her thoughts despite her desire to pommel it out of her mind. No one else could completely disarm her like Oliver did. Suddenly she was researching obviously fabricated lies without asking questions. But she had questions. What was going on? How was it all related?

The notebook of names obviously meant something to Oliver. It was a huge risk to give it to him in the first place, but now she knew how deeply it rattled him. She had caused him anguish over some unknown secret.

Secrets bugged Felicity. They needed answers so Felicity reached over to her laptop. As the computer boated up, Felicity thought about Walter. He disappeared right after giving her the notebook to investigate. Researching the origin of the names was a bad idea. It was an even worse idea on her personal computer, regardless of how strong she built the firewalls.

Resolutely Felicity told her empty room, "Tomorrow I will get some answers from Oliver. After all, he is seriously in my debt; he owes me alcohol."

Oliver was restless. He was done sleeping for the night. Reliving memories was bad enough, but the terror of old happy memories morphed into nightmares was unbearable. He needed to escape.

After a quick shower, Oliver was on his motorcycle flying down the dark driveway away from the demons that haunted him in the mansion.

From her second story room, Moira watched Oliver's dark shape speed down the driveway. He was surely off to cause a stir in the Starling City nightlife. She could not help but think that it was better that he shame the family name rather than get wrapped up in the Undertaking.

Oliver rode for hours, stopping only for gas. As he rounded a bend in the road, he came upon a small park at the edge of a town. A family was gathered for an early morning adventure at the local park. A little girl and an older boy were climbing a low growing crabapple tree. Oliver slowed down and watched the boy tug on the girl's pigtails before jumping down from a branch and running over to the mother lounging on a picnic blanket while watching her children.

The scene reminded Oliver of one of the Queen family's rare vacations. The Queen's frequently traveled, but there were always work meetings or social appearances to attend. Once, when Oliver and Thea were about the age of the children at the park, they bought a camper and went to the mountains to spend time together.

As he speed onward down the road, Oliver reflected on that long ago trip. He smiled when he remembered his mother swearing the family would never venture so far away from civilization again. Her perfume attracted all the bugs in the campground and her high heels sank in to the muddy ground at the campsite. Oliver had loved the experience and the time the family spent together. Almost subconsciously, Oliver turned around to begin the long trip back to Starling City, toward the dream of feeling close to his family again.

"You got my messages," exclaimed an excited Moira.

Oliver turned to face his mother as he was about to dash up to his bedroom after returning from his long ride. "Your messages?" he asked while wearing his rehearsed and completely blank expression.

"Yes, I left you three messages about dinner tonight. I decided we should all have a family dinner. I never get to see you and Thea these days with the demands of running the business and you are always gone. So tonight we are going to relax and catch up," she declared.

Oliver dipped his head in recognition that he would not be escaping this time.

He began walking to the dining room when his mother called, "No, dinner is in the kitchen, like we used to have it years ago."

As he followed his mother to the kitchen, his stomach growled. He did not remember eating anything today; being caught up in his emotional turmoil caused him to forget things like food. He hoped his mother requested an old family favorite for dinner instead of the latest trendy diet food she typically requested but then barely ate anyway.

"Oliver," Thea drawled sarcastically as he entered. She was already seated at the table with a plate of food in front of her. "It's about time you turn up and complete this little family gathering, but you might as well leave now since your phone will ring in a minute and you will leave again"

"It's nice to see you too, Thea." Turning to his mother he stated, "oven-baked macaroni, I am sure it's as good as I remember it."

Moira smiled gently, delighted that Oliver recognized the food she had requested from the kitchen staff. Finally, she had succeeded in finding a way to unite her family without endangering them. A pleasant family meal would put her mind at ease and bring her closer to her children.

Oliver watched his mother during the meal. She looked so serene tonight. It was not the face of a women involved in organized crime. This was the mother he remembered earlier today who thought camping for a weekend would be good for the family. Everything she did was well intended, even if it was a complete flop. He could not doubt her. How could he doubt her?

"So Thea, have you thought about looking at colleges anymore? Starling City has a great university, but you can go anywhere you like," Moira asked.

"Why do I need to go to college?" Thea crossed her arms as she glared at her mother.

"Thea, sweetie, there are so many opportunities for you at college. You can choose any major you like and - "

Thea angrily cut her off, "Oliver doesn't have a degree and you are not forcing college down his throat."

"That is entirely different." Moira gestured to Oliver, "He was at college and would have graduated years ago … if things were different," she ended weakly.

"Then why don't you go back to college now, Oliver?" Thea challenged her brother. "Oh, right, you just went to school to party and then drop out so you could start at a new school with new girls."

Oliver looked down at his hands. When he was at school, he partied all the time and only occasionally went to class, and even then he was hung over. He would not wish that life on his sister when there was so much else she could do with her life. The little sister he remembered was studious and mature whereas he had been wild and unmanageable. Now he wanted to tell her how much potential she had, how much she could help the city. But instead she thought he was still the center of the party scene and making a career out of it by opening a club. How could he make her understand that none of the actions he let her see were truly him?

"Thea," Oliver said with a pained look in his eyes. "There are so many things I would do differently." He paused for a moment. "I can tell you starting your own nightclub would be a whole lot easier if I took management and accounting classes."

"Well, I could just get a job at your club like Tommy did. Are you hiring dancers? That doesn't require a degree."

Oliver sighed. "Just think about college. There are plenty of classes you can take to see if you are interested in the subject before you even select a major."

"Don't count on it," she replied before angrily setting down her fork and staring out of the room.

Oliver and Moira tried to look interested in their food, but the atmosphere remained saturated in tension. A buzz came from Oliver's pocket. A hint of a grin stretched across his face when he saw Felicity's name on the screen.

"What, do you have a real girlfriend calling you now Oliver? A hot date that will take all night so you won't be back until tomorrow afternoon?" Thea viciously said to Oliver.

"No, but if you excuse me for a second I will be right back," he responded, attempting to be diplomatic.

Moira sighed before nodding to Oliver. This dinner was bringing on a headache. Why couldn't the family enjoy a peaceful meal together? Thea would pick a fight with anyone these days. She didn't even know what to make of Oliver's behavior lately.

Oliver stepped outside of the kitchen before answering his phone. "Yes?"

"Oh! You startled me," Felicity hurriedly answered.

"How can that be? You called me."

"I guess I just hyped myself up for this phone call all day," Felicity admitted.

"Hum," he responded.

"Okay so here's the thing," Felicity began. "Something is going on here with this notebook and you and Walter that I do not know about. I have no idea what I am doing but I really need to talk to you because I get the feeling you want this to remain secret and I can only contain myself for so long. On the one hand I want to just forget it all, but on the other hand I can't let this go, and apparently I am at least three eighths octopus in this analogy because on an additional hand I keep coming up with these increasingly horrible ideas about what happened to Walter. I need some answers or else I am going to start researching it all on the Queen Consolidated servers. And if I do that, I keep imagining someone will follow my incredibly well hidden but most likely illegal searches and threaten to kill me. So I need some answers now."

"So you are threatening me by making yourself the victim?" Oliver asked incredulously.

"Well, I wouldn't call it threatening. It's more like I am telling you how my vivid imagination is going to endanger my own life within a matter of hours if I don't get some answers fast."

Oliver paused for a moment. Giving Felicity enough truth to stop her questions seemed like the only path to take. If she had a small bone to gnaw on, she would be satisfied for long enough for him to come up with a good cover story. He hated cover stories.

"I am talking cheetah fast on answers here, no dead airtime on the phone," Felicity insisted.

"Alright. Now is not a good time, but I will meet you at the Big Belly Burger again in an hour," Oliver replied and was about to hang up when Felicity cut in.

"Don't forget my bottle of wine. I think I am going to need some alcohol if I am going to live through the stress you are putting me though."

Felicity smiled to herself. Felicity score one, Oliver score, well, she had no idea how to keep score in this situation. She was going to find out what was happening and she was going to get her reward. Perhaps Oliver would split the wine with her. He looked like he needed a glass the night before. Well, a girl could dream.

Oliver hung up and returned to his awkward family dinner with a small smile.

"Was it a stripper? Why haven't you already left to meet her?" Thea asked bitterly.

"Thea," Moira shushed.

"No," Oliver responded. "It was…work, I guess," before digging into his dessert with gusto and the hint of a smile dancing across his lips.