Title: Lost in the Memory
Author: Some1FoundMe
Summary: Oliver Queen returns to his home in Star City after a five year tour overseas, much to the delight of his friends and family. There's just one small problem. The injury that effectively ended his military career also erased a part of his memory. As he struggles to put together the missing pieces of his past, his connection to his best friend's little sister becomes something he can't avoid. Who is Felicity Merlyn and why can't he seem to stay away from her? Olicity AU, no Arrow, no island.
A/N: Wow, I can't believe we only have five more chapters left of this fic. It's been such a fun journey and I'm so thankful that I've been able to share it with you. You all are so wonderful and have been so kind. Thank you so much for sticking with me! Also, to my beta westernbeauty, I couldn't do it without you!
Chapter Twenty-One
Thea clung to her, her tiny arms wound tightly around Felicity's neck, her little legs locked around her waist. And Felicity didn't bother trying to move her. She led Mr. Steele into the kitchen and sat across from him with her niece in her lap.
"Mrs. Queen, I am so very sorry for you loss. I only had the privilege of meeting your brother on two occasions but he was a good man," the lawyer said kindly, "He and Mrs. Merlyn were adamant that, in the event that something were to happen to them, you would become the guardian of Thea."
Felicity nodded, "That's correct. Is there – is there something wrong with the paperwork? You're not here to take her from me?"
"No, dear, not at all. Everything is fine. I just have some forms that I'll need you to sign. There is one matter of concern, however, that we need to discuss."
She clutched the sleeping child in her arms tighter, refusing for a moment to let her go.
"Oh?"
Mr. Steele drew a folder from his briefcase and slid it across the table to her.
"At the time that Thomas and Laurel's will was drawn up, you were not yet married."
"Oliver and I were married just before Laurel's accident. I guess I … I guess I didn't realize that Tommy hadn't changed anything since then. We never – we never talked about it."
Thea shifted against her. For the last three days she hadn't left Felicity's side. After the funeral, Thea had spent every waking moment with her. She'd found herself curled around her niece in her single bed each night since, comforting her as she'd cried herself to sleep, begging for her daddy to come home. And each tear broke Felicity's heart. She wished that Oliver was there with them because while she would always be there to comfort Thea, she needed her husband there to comfort her.
"I understand that your husband is still serving overseas?"
She nodded, "He is. He – he couldn't make it home for the funeral. They're imbedded over there somewhere and I … I haven't heard from him since he called to tell me about Tommy."
Mr. Steele nodded, reaching for the folder he'd passed her and flipping it open.
"This is a petition for adoption. You are the sole legal guardian of Thea Dinah Merlyn at this time. If you and your husband decide that he would like to adopt her, I'd encourage you to begin the process when he returns. Everything that you'll need is in this folder. I'd be happy to help you through the process, just have Mr. Queen sign everything and return the documents to me at your convenience."
Felicity nodded numbly, her eyes scanning the documents without really seeing them.
"I certainly hope your husband returns safely, Mrs. Queen."
"Thank you, Mr. Steele. So do I."
Felicity pulled into the Lance's driveway and wiped at the dried tears that stained her cheeks.
She'd driven the nearly sixty miles to Laurel's parents' house blindly. If someone had asked, she couldn't have told them which path she'd taken or what the traffic had been like. The entire drive was a blur.
Her mind was still racing as she tried to process everything that had taken place that morning. From waking up in Oliver's arms to breakfast with Sara and Nyssa to the violent encounter with her father only an hour earlier. As overwhelmed as she was, Felicity couldn't shake the relief that had settled in her bones. John and Oliver had assured her that everything would be okay and she was beginning to believe them. Malcolm had been taken into custody. With any luck, he would be held until he was sentenced and they wouldn't have to worry about any kind of retaliation. She had no doubt that when her father sobered up and realized exactly what he'd done and how she had reacted that he would be furious. He'd feel like she turned her back on him, like she chose Oliver and his family over him. She had and she didn't regret it for a second.
With one last glance at her reflection, Felicity exited the truck and hurried to the front door.
"Aunt Felicity!"
Thea's excited voice carried from the back of the house as Quentin Lance opened the door for her. She smiled up at Thea's grandfather, stepping into the warmth of the house and letting him pull her into a tight hug.
"How you doin', kiddo?"
She sighed, "I take it Thea told you all about Oliver being home?"
Quentin stepped back and held her at arm's length, eyeing her with obvious concern. He looked at her the way a father looked at his child when he knew that they were struggling, like he was waiting for the floodgates to open and for all of her fears to come tumbling out. She worried her lip between her teeth to stop that from happening.
"Thea didn't have to tell us. Sara did."
A blur of dark hair suddenly appeared and skinny arms wound their way around her waist as Thea squeezed her tightly.
"Hey, babe, did you have fun with Nana and Pop?"
Thea nodded and grabbed her hand, leading her down a hall that led to the kitchen.
"Yes! We went to the movies yesterday and Pop helped me build a snowman and Nana and I made cookies! You've gotta try one, Aunt Felicity, they're soooo good."
Felicity laughed, letting herself be dragged through the house, knowing that Quentin was right behind them. She took a seat beside Thea at the kitchen island as Dinah Lance set a plate of chocolate chip cookies in front of her.
"Hello, sweetheart, how are you?"
Dinah's smile was warm and familiar and the concern that Felicity heard in her words rang true. Tears blurred her vision suddenly and she blinked them away.
"I'm – I'm good," she choked out, taking a large bite of cookie to buy herself a minute.
She chewed slowly, eyes on her plate, as she gathered her thoughts and decided on what exactly she was prepared to say.
"How much has Sara told you?" she asked eventually, taking a sip from Thea's milk glass.
Quentin shifted to stand beside his wife, his arm going around her.
"Oliver … Oliver has selective amnesia. He suffered a pretty serious head injury a few months back and there are bits and pieces of his life that he can't remember. He do –doesn't know who I am. Well, I mean, he didn't know me. When he first came home. He had no idea who I was. He remembered his parents and Tommy and even Thea but he … he had no memory of me."
Quentin looked at her expectantly.
"And now?" he urged.
She shrugged, "And now he… he knows me but he doesn't actually remember. He only knows because I've told him. He still has no memory of our life together."
Dinah reached for her hand, squeezing it gently.
"Felicity, I can't imagine –"
"I'm okay. We're okay. It's bizarre, I know, the whole thing is just a … it's a mess," she confessed, "But Oliver just wants things to go back to how they were. Which is what I want, too, obviously. So we're… we're trying to live as normally as possible and we're hoping that something comes along to jog his memory."
She turned to Thea and ruffled her hair.
"You ready to head home? You've got school in the morning so we should get going."
She nodded and swallowed a mouthful of cookie.
"Yep. I'll go get my stuff."
Thea hopped off of her barstool and hurried out of the kitchen.
"How is she doing with everything?" Quentin asked, nodding in the direction that Thea'd run off in, "With Oliver being back in the picture?"
Felicity shrugged, "He was never really out of it, Quentin. Yes, he was deployed and wasn't home with us regularly but Thea loves him. He's the only father she has left in her life. She's thrilled that he's home with us."
Quentin looked as if he wanted to contradict her but Dinah cut him off.
"What are the chances that he recovers from his amnesia?" she questioned, "Will he ever regain his memories, Felicity?"
She sighed, "There's no way to know for sure. We've gotten conflicting opinions. It's … it's such a tricky diagnosis that no one can give us a straight answer. But honestly, it doesn't matter either way. We're happy together. We're a family. We won't let this tear us apart."
Thea chose that moment to come bounding back into the kitchen, her backpack slung over one shoulder, and all conversation about Oliver's condition fell away. Felicity slid off of her stool.
"Say goodbye, sweets."
Thea gave each of her grandparents a hug before leading the way to the front door. As she tugged on her coat and shoes, Felicity accepted hugs from both Dinah and Quentin.
"Take care of her, Felicity," Quentin urged, "And don't forget to take care of yourself."
She nodded, her throat too constricted to speak, and relieved Thea of her bag. Their hands fit together snugly and Felicity smiled down at her niece as she walked her to the truck.
"Where's Uncle Ollie?" Thea asked when they'd started the trip back home.
Felicity met her eyes in the rearview mirror. She couldn't miss the anxiousness on Thea's face and the sight of it concerned her. She understood why Laurel's parents would be worried. Thea was their only grandchild and rather than being left in their care, she'd been left with her then twenty-three year old aunt. And now she was dealing with a wildly unconventional situation involving amnesia and – more than likely – PTSD.
She forced a smile.
"He's with Gramma and Grandpa," she explained, "But we're going to stop and pick him up on our way home."
"Okay."
Thea looked away, finding something outside of her window to focus on, and Felicity sighed quietly. She gripped the steering wheel just a little tighter.
"Hey, Thea, what's wrong?"
She shrugged, "Nothing."
"It's not nothing. I can tell when something's bothering you, babe. It's okay. You know you can talk to me about anything. What's going on?"
Thea shrugged again and hesitated. Eventually though, she found Felicity's eyes in the mirror.
"Why didn't Uncle Ollie come with you?"
"He just had some stuff to do with Gramma Moira, that's all."
It wasn't the right time to tell her about Malcolm. Oliver had assured her that he would stand by her, that they'd tell Thea together, and she was looking forward to that. Not, of course, having to tell Thea that her grandfather had attacked them but to actually having Oliver with her when she did. She'd been the bearer of really awful news to her niece over the years so it would certainly be a nice change of pace not to have to face that burden alone anymore. It certainly made her more comfortable knowing that Thea would have both of them to lean on.
"So you're not fighting?"
"No, honey, we're not fighting. Thea… Uncle Oliver and I aren't always together. But that doesn't mean that we're fighting or that something's wrong."
Thea nodded but Felicity could see uncertainty in her eyes.
"Listen to me, sweet girl. Uncle Oliver isn't going anywhere. He's not going back to the Army and he isn't going to live with Gramma and Grandpa. He's going to stay with us no matter what. Because the three of us? We're family. Okay?"
Thea's lip quivered slightly and if she hadn't been traveling at a steady speed down the interstate, Felicity would've pulled over and pulled her into her arms.
"I know it's hard for you when people leave, no matter the reason, but I promise you, you're stuck with us, kid."
Even though she didn't say anything more, Felicity could sense that some of Thea's fears had been eased. By the time they arrived at the Queen manor, she was sound asleep and huddled into her coat. Leaving the truck running, Felicity hurried out and jogged to the front door.
Crossing the threshold into the foyer, Felicity turned to the family room as she was met with the quiet sounds of the television. She was more than a little surprised to find Moira napping quietly on the sofa, a cashmere throw wrapped around her. Oliver slept, too, not quite as comfortably as his mother, where he sat in a chair opposite the couch with his feet propped up on the coffee table between them. She stood motionless for a long moment, her eyes drawn to his relaxed face. It caught her off guard, the wave of calm that settled around her in his presence.
"They've both had a rough day."
She let out a startled squeak, clapping a hand over her heart as she whirled around to face Oliver's father.
"Oh my god," she gasped.
"I'm sorry, Felicity. I didn't mean to startle you. Where's Thea?"
It took her a second to catch her breath.
"It's alright. She's in the truck. She fell asleep and I didn't want to wake her. Apparently she had a long weekend."
Robert nodded and for the second time in the span of an hour, she felt like she was being stared down by a concerned parent.
"I'm sure you're ready to head home," Robert said gently, "It's been a very long day for everyone."
She scoffed, "That's putting it mildly."
His hand wrapped around her elbow, the touch surprising her, and she looked up at him.
"Felicity, I just want you to know that you made the right decision today. I know that I – that I hesitated when Oliver wanted to call the police but he was right. And you were right to want to press charges for the things that Malcolm has done to you. I'm sorry that Moira and I didn't step in when you were younger. We both suspected and we should've done something about it."
Her chest felt tight and the tears she'd been battling for hours pushed their way to the surface again. Her voice cracked as she spoke, giving her away.
"Thank you," she murmured, "Honestly, I don't know that anyone could have really done anything about it. Not then, anyway. But Oliver always did what he could to protect me. And … and I think my dad may have been afraid of him."
Robert chuckled, giving her arm a gentle squeeze before releasing her.
"He loves you very much. He always has, even though he may not have known it. He'll never let anything happen to you. I hope you'll stick with him, Felicity. He needs you now more than ever."
She glanced back at Oliver where he slept on, head back and mouth slightly open.
"I'm not going anywhere. At least not without him."
Robert simply nodded and walked away, leaving her to step across the room until she was at Oliver's side. She scraped her fingers through his hair, leaning over him and pressing a soft kiss to his cheek. He shifted immediately, coming awake quickly and stretching.
"Hey there," she whispered, "Are you ready to go home?"
He turned his head, finding her mouth easily.
"Where's Thea?"
He stood and stretch some more, the hem of his sweatshirt rising just enough to give her a brief glimpse of toned abs. She shook her head.
"Sleeping in the truck. She was exhausted."
Oliver slipped his arm around her waist and they headed toward the front door. He only released her long enough to slip on his coat.
"How are you?" he asked as they climbed into the truck.
She sighed, shrugging.
"I'm… I'm okay, I think. Or I will be."
He reached for her hand, lacing their fingers together.
"I hope you didn't feel like I was pressuring you earlier, with your dad."
She shook her head, "Not at all. It's okay, Oliver, really. I was just… overwhelmed with what it all means. Thinking about what comes next. It's a lot."
Leaning across the console, she kissed him soundly.
"I'm sorry I ran."
"Baby, if you need time or space, that's perfectly fine. Just as long as I know you're coming back, we're okay."
She smiled, "Okay."
"Ready to go home?"
"Absolutely."