Follow me on tumblr - my username is emily-betts.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except for the plot and any original characters that may be added in later. All rights over characters of the TV show Arrow belong to CW Television and DC Comics.


August 2026

Pushing the cart down the aisle, Oliver reaches out a hand and grabs a box of Honey Nut Cheerios, placing it into the cart. He turns around and moves towards the opposite shelves, grabbing a box of Felicity's favorite granola bars before turning back to drop it into the cart. As he sets it down, his eyes land on a box of Cocoa Krispies that he doesn't remember grabbing. Picking it up, he raises a brow at his daughter, "How did this get into the cart?"

"I don't know," Kennedy says with wide, innocent eyes, her legs dangling where she sits in the built-in seat.

"Oh yeah?" he asks.

Kennedy tries and fails to hide her giggles as she swings her legs back and forth, "I think the krispisies wanna come home with us, Daddy."

Oliver can't help but chuckle at her pronunciation and he sets the box back into the cart, unable to say no to her big blue eyes. "I think so too."

The little girl laughs again and holds up her arms, signaling that she wants out of the seat. Reaching forward, Oliver grabs her underneath her arms and lifts her out, settling her against his hip. She leans forward and smacks a big kiss to his cheek, giggling as his stubble tickles her lips. Kennedy wiggles in his arms and he sets her feet on the ground, his daughter immediately running down the aisle, grabbing her favorite crackers and stomping back to throw them into the cart. He laughs and pushes down the lane, following her as she bounces around. They round the corner and he stops in front of the chilled shelves, grabbing a few different kinds of cheese and adding them to the pile of food.

"Daddy, look!" Kennedy exclaims before running the short distance to where she sees her favorite food in the world, string cheese. He doesn't understand it but for some reason, that girl just can't get enough.

"Kenn, what did I say about running away from me at a store?" he warns.

She stops where she is and turns to him, "Sorry, Daddy. I just want to eat the string cheese." He chuckles as he closes the distance between them and when he reaches her, she starts walking again. He stops a few feet back from her so that he can pick out some meats, keeping his eyes on the little girl. Kennedy reaches for the bag but she is too small, her arms not long enough the grab it from the angle she is standing at due to a tall woman standing in her way. Straightening back up, she tugs on the hem of the woman's shirt, "Excuse me. Can you help me?"

The woman turns slightly and glances down at the little girl with a smile, "Sure, sweetie, what do you need?"

"The string cheese, please," Kennedy grins and then ducks her chin, giggling, "That rhymes." The woman laughs and picks up what the blonde pointed to, handing it to her. "Thank you!" she says with a wide smile, her eyes lighting up as she hugs the bag to her chest.

Oliver pushes the cart towards her and starts talking, eyes trained on his phone reading a text from Felicity telling him that she just used up the last of the coffee creamer and that he needs to get some more. "Kenn, c'mon, we have to go get something for Mommy." Lifting his eyes from his phone, he freezes at the sight of the woman standing in front of him that he hasn't seen in years.

"Oliver, hi. It's been awhile," she says with a smile, slightly taken aback by the surprise of seeing him.

"McKenna," he greets, not really knowing what else to say.

The air around them falls into an awkward silence before Kennedy breaks it, looking between the two adults, "Daddy, this is my friend. Look! She helped me!" She holds out the food to show him and looks back at McKenna before he has the chance to respond. "My name is Kennedy Rose Queen. What's your name?"

The older woman laughs lightly, "McKenna Hall." She shakes Kennedy's outstretched hand.

"You're pretty. Are you friends with my daddy?"

"Uh," she lifts her eyes to Oliver, who is just standing there, silently watching the exchange before shifting her eyes back to Kennedy, "Yeah, we're old friends."

"Do you know Mommy?" she asks with furrowed brows before smiling, adoration shining in her eyes as she talks about her mother. "Her name is Felicity Meghan Smoak and she's the prettiest, bestest mommy ever. She's not here cause my big brother is sick and she's taking care of him," she explains. Kennedy holds out a strand of her hair, "My Auntie Sara says that I look just like her and my mommy cause we all have yellow hair!"

"I do know your mommy, she's a very nice lady," McKenna assures. She lifts her chin again and finally, Oliver unfreezes and speaks.

"How have you been?" he asks, eyes moving to where his daughter migrated towards a stand with small stuffed animals before looking back up.

McKenna sighs, "Good, really good actually. I just got engaged." She gives a half shrug before holding up her left hand, displaying her diamond ring.

"Wow," he breathes out before sending her a small smile. "That's amazing. I'm happy for you," he congratulates genuinely.

"Thank you," she smiles. Her eyes move to Kennedy a few feet away and she nods her head slightly towards her, "She's beautiful."

Oliver grins as he watches his daughter play with a stuffed unicorn in one hand and securely hold on to her precious string cheese in the other. "Yeah, she's somethin' else."

"How's Felicity?"

Turning back to her, he takes a deep breath and hopes he doesn't come off as awkward as he feels, "She's good. Our son Robbie has a pretty nasty cold, so she's home with him."

McKenna nods her head and smiles softly, "You have a beautiful family, Oliver. I'm really happy for you, you deserve it. I have to run but tell Felicity I say hi." She offers him one last smile before turning slightly and waving, "Bye, Kennedy. It was nice meeting you."

"Bye!" Kennedy waves quickly with a toothy smile before running back to her father. "Daddy, can I have these?"

He grabs the stuffed animals from her outstretched hands, "Both of them?"

"No, silly," she giggles. "The unicorn is for me and the dragon is for Robbie cause he's sick and it will make him feel better."

Oliver's heart melts at her words and he scoops her up into his arms, pressing a kiss to her cheek, "You're a good girl, y'know that?"

"Duh! I'm just like Mommy," she laughs.

Smiling down at her, eyes overflowing with love and happiness, Oliver presses another kiss to her cheek, "Yeah, you are just like your mommy."