He was sitting alone on a bench in the park. Felicity looked at him, her hands on her lap, unsure whether to wheel forward or turn around. Hal…who she'd thought was dead and gone, was alive and in front of her. He'd sent her his new phone number with a note asking to meet. He was looking out in front of him. Felicity pressed her lips together; he looked so similar and yet there were differences. His shoulders were broader, his eyes less light and care free. There were lines there that hadn't been there before. He'd been through a lot, where ever he'd been.
"Do you want to go back?" Laurel asked. Felicity had asked her to drive her to this meeting. She'd told Oliver she was going, but it seemed too weird to ask him to take his fiancé to a meeting with her newly resurrected husband.
"I just…" as she looked he stiffened and turned. Their eyes met. He stood and opened his mouth, she could see him murmuring her name. Both of them seemed unsure how to proceed. Then Felicity unfolded her hands and gripped her wheels, wheeling herself forwards. Hal moved towards her, closing the distance between them.
"Felicity." He said. She'd promised herself she wasn't going to cry, but of course her resolve crumbled the second he knelt in front of her. She dimly registered Laurel saying to call her when she needed her. Hal pulled a bunch of tissues from his pocket and handed them to her. She accepted them, wiping her eyes.
"Do…you want to sit down?" She motioned to the bench. He nodded. Straightening up, he was about to reach for the back of her chair to push it, when she wheeled herself forward. She refused to ask him for anything. Not until she had an explanation.
"So." She said, stopping next to the bench. "You wanted to talk."
Hal nodded. "You…um, you look good."
She looked up at him silently, waiting for him to continue. He sat down and fiddled with a ring on his right hand. It was large, green and appeared to be glowing.
"What I'm about to say." His voice was soft. "Is by no means an excuse. I-I know you might not…and you probably won't forgive me, but…" He paused. "Just you hearing me out would be enough." He looked into her eyes. "The day of that test flight, everything was going fine. Then something smashed into my plane. We went down in the desert."
"We?" Felicity asked. Hal nodded.
"The thing that crashed into me was a person…an alien. His name was Abin Sur and-"
"An ALIEN?" Felicity cut him off. "I—" She shook her head and began wheeling away.
"It's the truth." He said, getting up and following her.
"6 years, Hal and the best excuse you can come up with is 'aliens made me do it'? I-" Her words turned to a scream as bright green bubble encased her wheelchair and stopped her from moving. She turned. Hal was holding out his hand, the ring on it glowing even more brightly.
"I'm a member of an intergalactic police force called the Green Lantern Corps." Hal explained. The bubble disappeared. Hal rubbed the back of his head. "So yeah….aliens."
Felicity turned back to him. "You've been in space?"
He gave her a small smile. "Yeah." He glanced around at the people in the park. "But if we want to keep talking, we might want to take this somewhere more private."
"Okay, um…we could." She glanced around. "You wouldn't happen to be able to fly would you?"
Hal grinned.
"Wait…seriously? Hal?"
He stepped forward. "Hold tight." He grabbed her wheelchair and encased both of them in a green glowing light. The ground below appeared to be getting farther and farther. Felicity instinctively threw her arms around him. Even after their years of separation, the gesture seemed second nature. They flew through the air and landed on the roof of the Palmer tech building. Hal put the chair down and waited until she let go of his neck.
"You should have asked before abducting me." She said, not looking at him. She took a deep breath. "So…aliens."
He nodded. "Remember when we were kids and we'd pretend to go to the moon?"
She couldn't fight the smile at those memories. "The year my mom wouldn't let me go to space camp." Hal had built her a rocket ship out of cardboard boxes and old tires in his yard. "Why are you back?"
"The Guardians…the people in charge of the Green Lantern Corps, let me come back to earth after I basically saved the entire Corps from destruction." He hung his head. "A lantern named Sinestro went rogue. I took him down." He looked tired. "The corps maintains order in the galaxy and these rings…" he held up his hand, showing her the green ring. "Give us a lot of power. It went to his head and he decided that simply guarding was enough and the only way to protect the galaxy was to rule it."
Felicity nodded. "And…if you hadn't taken out this….Sinestro guy…would you have come back?"
"I don't know." Hal said. "The second Abin Sur died, the ring chose me. The ring is binding contract. The only way to pass it off is when a Lantern dies. I touched it was transported to another corner of the galaxy. The first two years I fought every day to get back to you. The farthest I got was the rings of Saturn…I was practically certain I'd come back….and then they caught up with me." He shut his eyes. "Ironically it was Sinestro who brought me back. He was my mentor before he went evil. He pointed out that all Lanterns had to lose their families and that I needed to stop pretending that I was special." He reached into his pocket. "So I stopped trying to escape." He met her eyes. "I'm not asking you to forgive me. I can't imagine what I put you through especially…" he broke off and pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. Felicity recognized it was the picture of her he kept in his flight suit. "I needed to see you and make sure you're happy." He closed his eyes. "If being with Queen makes you happy, then I understand. I love you no matter what."
Felicity closed her eyes, tears coming back. "That doesn't sound like the Hal I knew." Hal let out a weak laugh.
"Well I didn't say I liked it, but I don't have the right to come back after all these years and demand you back."
Felicity wheeled closer. "The night…I got this chair, I remember your voice and a light….that was that color."
Hal nodded. "I was there. I was the one who brought you to the hospital." Felicity looked at him in shock.
"No one told me."
"I'm not surprised." Hal said. "Donna seemed pretty shaken." He hesitated before adding. "She told me about…the baby."
The words were like being stabbed with a white hot knife. Felicity clutched her chest. Hal knelt in front of her and held her as she shook, unsure how many tears she had left inside.
"It was girl." She said after a few minutes. "The doctor said there was nothing I could have done and that sometimes these things just…happen."
"I should have been there." Hal said. "I-"
Felicity shook her head. "You must be so disappointed…coming back all these years a Lantern guardian person and…" she motioned to her wheel chair.
"No." Hal wiped her eyes and kissed her forehead. "I'm just grateful that I got the chance to see you again." He paused. "I got rid of Darhk." He continued. "He won't be bothering you again…he's not dead." He reassured her after seeing the momentary look of panic on his face. "He's rotting in a cell on a prison planet awaiting trial for interference in the advancement of a species."
Felicity felt a weight lift off her shoulders. Darhk was gone. "Is that why you weren't there when I woke up?"
Hal looked guiltily at his hands. "I had to go back to Oa…the planet where Lantern headquarters is, to plead my case to the guardians. I made them see that my planet needed me as much as m galaxy sector. They…they're giving me a chance to see if I can successfully balance watching both."
"So you're going to leave again." Felicity couldn't keep the bitterness from her voice; she'd just gotten him back.
"I don't know." Hal sounded heartbroken. "I wish I could promise you that I could stay. That there's nothing in any piece of the galaxy that…" he sighed. "But I won't lie to you and I refuse to make a promise to you I can't keep." He exhaled sadly. "All I can say is that I'm sorry."
Felicity wiped the tears from her eyes and turned away. "Why does it hurt this much?" she asked. "I should be overjoyed; you're….alive." She looked back at him.
I've wanted that more than anything. " she covered her mouth in surprise, frightened by her admission. "I…"
"Yes?" Hal was looking at her with so much hope in his eyes. He was waiting for her to say how muich she loved him. That she'd throw away everything and be with him. She'd be lying if she tried to hide that part of her wanted to just that. It would be so easy.
"I need to…think about what you've told me." Her voice was strangled. Hal's expression faltered and turned into a serious mask. He moved back.
"I understand; it's…a lot."
She turned her chair towards the roof access. Wheeling over, she paused, her hand on the knob. "Hal…" he was standing there, watching her. "I…I forgive you." Then she opened the door and went inside.
She had a company car take her straight home. She entered the apartment silently. She heard Oliver upstairs. He was on the phone so she shut the door quietly to not disturb him. He'd been so understanding about the whole…dead not dead husband and she felt guilty for not telling him, but…until she'd found the ring she hadn't wanted to open up that particularly painful part of her past. She was about to go to the kitchen to get a snack when she heard a snippet of Oliver's conversation.
"I can't get away….she's….in a bad place right now."
Felicity froze. Was he talking about her? She wheeled closer to the stairs to listen. Part of her told her that she was being paranoid, but her curiosity won over.
"It's been a difficult adjustment." Oliver continued. "Thanks for understanding, Samantha….yes…say hello to William for me. I'll see you soon."
Samantha? William? Who was he talking to? She rolled to the front door and slammed it loudly so Oliver would know she was back. Then she waited. Oliver rushed to the top of the stairs. He seemed to momentarily assess her. She placed a fake smile on her face.
"Hey…" He smiled and seemed to relax. "How was…your husband?"
"He's still legally dead." Felicity said. "And it turns out he's been gone for 6 years because he was drafted as a member of an intergalactic police force." She crossed her arms, thinking of Hal's admission that he'd been at the hospital. "You don't seem surprised." She commented.
Oliver came down the stairs and sat on the couch across from her. She wheeled closer. "I…should have told you. I told you he was alive, but I figured knowing that was overwhelming enough without adding superpowers to the mix." He looked at the coffee table. "He saved you from Darhk's men and flew you to the hospital."
"Why would you keep something like that from me?" Felicity asked.
A small flicker of anger crossed Oliver's eyes before he said. "I thought you had enough to deal with." He glanced at her chair.
"Was it some kind of punishment?" Felicity asked.
"What?" Oliver looked shocked.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Hal, okay?." She said, bringing up the subject they'd been dancing around ever since her release from the hospital. "It was…too painful and I promise that the second I found that ring I was going to make time to explain, but then I was kidnapped and….one thing led to another." She closed her eyes. "I should have told you earlier, but losing Hal and then our child were the darkest parts of my life and I wasn't ready to share it…not because I didn't trust you, but because I didn't think I could handle revisiting those memories." She closed her eyes. "But I'm telling you now, because I need to be honest if we want this thing to work….so any question you have about Hal, I'll answer."
Oliver exhaled slowly. "Do you still love him?"
Felicity had been afraid of this question, but she nodded. "I've known him my entire life and I may have grieved him, but I never stopped loving him. That doesn't change that he's a part of my past. You're the man I chose for my future."
Oliver nodded and stood.
"Oliver." Felicity said. She didn't know why the phone conversation she'd heard was bothering her, but something in her gut was telling her she needed to ask him about it. "Who's Samantha? I heard you talking to her….you seemed close."
"She's a campaign donor." Oliver brushed the question aside. "She knew my mother." He went to the kitchen. "What do you want for dinner?"
Felicity forced another smile on her face. "Turkey bacon carbonara sounds good." Inside she was in turmoil. Hal was back and now Oliver was lying to her. She knew he was…but why?
3 days later she had her answer. She was in the Arrow cave in front of her computers.
"Oliver," she called over to the salmon ladder where he was working out. "Who's William?"
"Hmm?" Oliver dropped down and grabbed a towel.
She turned the computer screen towards him so he could see the matching DNA sequences. "Who's William?"
He froze.
"Did you know?...stupid question, you did, because his mother, Samantha went to the same college you went to before magically moving back to Central City 10 years ago with no explanation. She then gave birth to a son. William. Who has no father listed on the birth certificate and whose DNA sequence magically matches yours.
"How did you?"
"I hacked his hospital records."
"WHAT?" Oliver growled.
"I admit that was crossing a line, but you lied to me the other day and I found Samantha's number on your phone and when I looked into her." Felicity felt the tears threatening again. "You said she was a campaign donor. You looked me in the eyes and lied to me." She glared at him.
Oliver covered his eyes. "That's really something considering what you've been keeping from me."
"Excuse me?" Felicity hissed.
"I've been trying to be understanding about what you're going through." Oliver began.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize how hard my paralysis has been on you." Felicity spat.
"I'm not talking about the chair Felicity." Oliver raised his voice. "I'm talking about HIM. You've been calling out for him in your sleep ever since the...the shooting. You've been crying in corners, you refuse to throw out that stupid sunflower he left in our apartment."
"How can you even compare…" Felicity gaped at him. "I never lied to you about Hal. I never looked you in the eye and said 'Hal? No I've never heard of him…he's definitely not my dead husband'." She wheeled closer to him. "You've made me feel guilty about not being upfront about my dead husband and miscarriage, meanwhile you've had a living, breathing, child that you've been hiding from me?" She paused. "Wait…have you been sneaking away to see them?" She back away and covered her mouth. "Did Barry even need your help that time you went back to Central after we took down Savage…or was that just an excuse?"
Oliver hung his head, his silence saying the answer loud and clear.
"Were you ever going to tell me?" She asked, softly.
"Samantha made me promise-" Oliver began.
"Don't you dare…" Felicity shook her head. So now it was the mother's fault. How could he stand there and try to justify his actions by throwing the blame on someone else. "Why is it that telling the truth is such a challenge for you?" She looked down at the engagement ring on her finger. Instead of the excitement and happiness it usually gave her, all she could feel was revulsion. What if one day he decided that this side family was better and he left? What was he doing with Samantha when he went to visit William? She pulled the ring off. "I can't do this…"
"Felicity." Oliver's voice sounded broken.
"I can't just over look something like this, Oliver…I don't think I can…" She put the ring on the table in front of the computers and rolled towards the elevator.
"Please…I love you." He said.
"I do too." She said. "Which is why this is so painful." She got onto the elevator and didn't turn around until she got to the upper floor. She rolled through the campaign office and was just about to reach the door when Digg walked in.
"Hey Fe-" he trailed off as he saw the stricken expression on her face. "What's wrong?"
She shook her head. "Can you take me to my old apartment." Her mother was living there ever since she'd moved to Starling and Felicity did not want to go back to their…Oliver's apartment.
"Is everything okay?" Digg asked as he helped her into the van.
She shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it."
By some miracle, she managed to keep it together the whole car ride. She caught Digg staring at her ring finger, but thankfully he didn't say anything. He pulled up outside her old place and helped her down.
"Do you want me to come in?" he asked. She shook her head.
"No, thanks." Felicity murmured. Rolling up to the door, she rang the doorbell, hoping her mother wouldn't ask too many question, yet at the same time she was hoping to be smothered.
"Donns, you're back from your date early-" Hal opened the door and gaped down at Felicity. Then he saw her expression and frowned. "Who hurt you?"
"You're…staying here?" Felicity asked.
"Donna's letting me crash on the couch…" Hal trailed off as the dam broke. "Hey." He picked her up and towed the wheel chair inside with his ring, shutting the door behind them. She grabbed hold of him, clutching him as she cried. He sat on the couch. He didn't push, he just waited for her to be ready to share.
