A/N: Ok, so technically, the season 2 plot is starting in the background of this chapter, but it's mostly some angst and family fluff.

Enjoy!

[January 2016]

"I love New Years," Speedy smiled as she stopped on a rooftop.

"Why?" Green Arrow asked, landing next to her. "Because Red's letting us stay out extra late?"

"Obviously."

"Are you guys keeping an eye on the bar?" Red Arrow asked over the comms.

"Yes," the teens answered at the same time.

"Oooh, group of three women across the street," Speedy said, nodding her head. Below them, three young woman— probably just barely 21, or using fake ID's— stumbled down the street, laughing loudly about something.

"Let's tail them," Green Arrow told her. They started running across the rooftops, parallel to the women. This was, as Red Arrow called it, New Years Duty. Keeping drunk partygoers from being killed, abducted, or otherwise hurt. It wasn't particularly exciting, but the young vigilantes were happy to do anything that let them stay out past their normal curfew.

The women turned down a narrow side street and Speedy sighed. "Why do people always think the side streets are a good place to walk at night? They're barely hospitable in the day."

"Come on." Green Arrow shot a zip-line across the street, then zipped down it. He flipped onto a building and ran to the edge. "It's so dark… How will we see-" A scream cut him off and he dropped to the street. There was some residual light from the main street nearby, so Green Arrow used it to his advantage. He could just barely make out the three women against the wall, but the sequins on their dresses made that easier. A small shuffling just to his right alerted him to Speedy dropping in next to him. As soon as she did though, he attacked. It was their usual M.O. Green Arrow went in for a close-range attack while Speedy covered from afar with arrows. As he got closer, it was easier to see the men, their dark clothes blending in, but he didn't hesitate.

The first one stumbled back with the solid punch to his back and half-turned toward the vigilante, but Green Arrow kicked him in the back of the knee. A red arrow zipped past his face to hit one of the other guys. From the corner of his eye, he saw the spark of the electroshock arrow, then mentally marked that guy as down. He grabbed the arm of another guy as he reached for one of the women. With one, smooth move, he twisted the man's arm behind his back, then shoved him away. The man stumbled but caught himself. He turned on the vigilante, who dodged his punch easily, then slammed dish bow into his face. The man dropped and Green Arrow turned back to the last one just as the man put a gun to one of the women's heads. The other two screamed and cowered, but didn't try to run.

"Drop the bow, kid," the man snarled. "Or I'll shoot." As if to prove his point, he jammed the gun harder against the young woman's head and she screeched.

"Ok, ok," Green Arrow said calmly. "Look, I'm putting the bow down…" He crouched and set his bow on the ground but as soon as he let go, a boxing glove arrow hit the man from behind. He let out a groan before stubbing to the ground. Green Arrow darted forward and caught the woman before she could fall. "Are you ok?"

"Uh-huh…" she nodded. "Th-Thanks."

"Are you two ok?"

"Yeah…" one of the women answered while the other just nodded.

"Ok." He picked up his bow as Speedy joined them.

"Police are on their way," she informed him. "These scum bags are restrained, so they're not going anywhere."

"Do you girls want to stay here and wait for the authorities, or would you like us to escort you home?"

"We're definitely not staying here," the woman who'd had the gun to her head said.

"We'll walk you home then. Speedy?"

"Lead the way, ladies," Speedy smiled.

"Nice kids…" one of the women muttered as they walked down the street.

— —

After they took the women home, Green Arrow and Speedy ended up escorting almost a dozen more people home safely before Red Arrow called them home for the night.

"The streets are pretty empty," Speedy said in Green Arrow's ear so he could hear her over the bike.

"Good," he replied. "Then people won't be in danger."

When they got back to the Arrow Cave, Red Arrow was already there, typing at the computer. "Successful night?" he asked.

"Helped lots of drunk people," Mia replied as she took off her quiver.

"That's what we're all about here. Helping people." Roy glanced at the time, then yawned. "You two get undressed, then head upstairs."

"What about you?" Connor asked.

"I have to write some reports. I'll be up soon."

"Ok." As much as he wanted to argue to let them stay and help with reports, they'd been patrolling since 8 pm New Year's Eve. 'And it's now almost 2 am, New Years Day.' Exhaustion pulled at all his muscles, making it harder and harder to walk as he wen to change. By the time he was actually out of his suit and climbing the stairs, he had to clutch the railing for support. Connor blinked and rubbed at his eyes as he slowly climbed up to the apartment. When he got there, it took him exactly 2 minutes to get to his room, then get ready for bed. 'To tired,' he thought as he fell face-first onto his bed. 'Somehow I don't think I'll be up for sunrise meditation.' Distantly, he heard his bedroom door open, then close.

Mia moved as silently as possible as she laid her blankets on the ground, then laid down. 'Finally,' she thought as she pulled her weighted blanket over herself.

"Have a nightmare already?" Connor asked as he pulled himself under the blankets.

"…Not exactly." Mia was quiet for a few seconds, staring up at Connor's ceiling. "It… It just brought back a lot of bad memories."

"The patrol?"

"Yeah. Seeing all those women…almost being taken advantage of. All those…animals preying on them." Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. "I don't wish that violation on anyone, Con."

"…I'm sorry, Mia."

"New Year's was always a busy night, you know? Lots of drunk men wanting to ring in the new year by screwing some teenage girl they didn't even know." Mia clenched her teeth to keep herself from crying. "I don't want to go to sleep."

"You have to. It's late."

"If I go to sleep, I'll have a nightmare."

"Mia-"

"I don't want to have a nightmare."

"I know, but you're probably just as exhausted as I am. And I'll be here. If you have a bad dream, I'll be right here to help you. Promise."

"…Fine." Mia turned over and closed her eyes. She didn't go to sleep though. Within minutes Connor's breathing evened out. For a while, Mia just laid awake, staring out at the darkness, before her eyes became too heavy and she finally fell asleep.

— —

A high-pitched noise bombarded Connor's unconsciousness. At first, he ignored it, trying to remain asleep. The sound persisted though, pushing through his sleep and dragging him back into consciousness. He sighed low, but the high-pitched noise made him open his eyes. 'Is someone…crying?' he wondered, still fighting against his drowsiness. The high-pitched sound did seem like someone was quietly sobbing. Connor frowned as he sat up and turned on a light on his bedside table. The crying was coming from Mia, who was curled on her side. "Mia?" He didn't get a response, so Connor got out of bed to crouch next to her. "Mia?" It looked like she was still asleep, which was confirmed when Connor put his hand on her shoulder and she rolled over suddenly.

Mia grabbed the hand that grabbed her and had the fingers bent back before she could even think. It took her brain a second to realize who the and belonged to. "Oh!" She released Connor's hand with a slightly guilty look. "Sorry."

"It's fine." Connor shook his hand out a little bit. "Are you ok, or-"

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure-"

"It's fine, Connor!" Mia almost winced at the edge to her voice. She didn't mean to be so angry with Connor. He always showed concern for her when she had a bad dream, and never judged her or denied comfort. 'Connor doesn't judge anyone. He's weird like that.' Weird, but reassuring to her. Mia took several deep breaths and when she looked up, Connor was still there, waiting patiently. She sighed. "Sometimes… Sometimes I dream that…none of it's real."

"None of what?"

"It. This…" Mia gestured vaguely to the room around them. "You, Roy, Lian, Jade. This house. Speedy. It's all…just a dream and I wake up… I wake up back with Richard… I'm with him in my old life and none of this ever happened." She wiped quickly at her eyes as tears started to run down her face.

"Hey, it's ok." Knowing that Mia didn't like being touched, especially when she was upset, Connor kept his hands to himself. "It's ok, Mia. I'm here. You're here. We're both here and safe."

"I know… I know…"

Connor was quiet for a minute. "Do you feel better?"

"…Not really."

"Do you want to go back to bed?"

"…Not particularly."

"Ok." Connor crossed his legs and bit back a yawn.

Mia gave him a tired look. "You can go back to bed you know."

"No, it's ok."

"Connor-"

"I don't want you to stay up alone, and you're not going to bed."

"You're so dumb." Mia was quiet for a few seconds, watching Connor's head nod just slightly. She sighed. "I guess I can try to sleep."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"…Ok."

Mia watched as Connor got back into bed, biting her lip. She spoke quickly before her brain could stop her, "Connor?"

"Hm…?"

"Can- Can I sleep with you?"

Connor frowned. "You want to sleep with me?"

"I mean… I want to sleep near you. You make me feel…better. I don't want to like…cuddle or actually…touch you."

"Oh, well… I think there's enough room for both of us without having to touch."

Slowly, Mia climbed onto the bed and slipped under the covers.

As she did, Connor moved her os he was on the very edge on his side and rolled over so he was laying on his side, trying to maximize the distance between them. "Is this ok?"

"Yeah. This is…fine. Would it be ok if we let the light on?"

"Of course." Connor yawned, then closed his eyes. "Goodnight, Mia."

"Night." Like earlier that night, Mia was awake even after Connor fell asleep very quickly. It felt safe being near him. In the year they'd spent sharing a room, she'd gotten used to him there. It was comforting. Eventually, she fell into a dreamless sleep.

— —

It was mid-morning by the time both Connor and Mia were awake. When the latter walked into the living room, she found him watching the news. She sat in one of the chairs, curled up under a fluffy blanket. 'Please don't say anything…' she thought desperately. Even though Mia could still clearly remember how upset she'd felt when she'd woken up from the nightmare, another part of her was embarrassed by her wanting to be sleep close to Connor. He didn't mention it though, just flipping through the channels until he started watching the news. 'He probably won't,' Mia thought as she snuggled under her blanket. 'Connor never mentions stuff like that.'

Connor, meanwhile, half-watched the news and half-read a book, when a gasp from Mia made him look up. "What?"

"Look!"

Following her gaze, Connor turned to the tv and froze. "Is that…an alien?"

"Looks like it."

"Morning," Roy said as he walked in, feeding Lian.

"Roy, look!" Mia said excitedly. "Aliens!"

Roy glanced at the tv as he sat on the couch, then back down at Lian.

"And?"

"Really? That's your reaction?"

"What'd you mean?"

"It's an alien!"

"And? Superman's an alien. One of my friends is a Martian."

Connor couldn't help but laugh as Mia sat back in defeat. "I think you ruined her day," he joked.

"Try not to take it too hard, Mia. I'm sure you're still a little tired after last night. We all know aliens exist, this isn't new information. It's not some crazy conspiracy theory."

"Damn…" Mia sighed as she pulled the blanket tighter. "There goes all my fun."

"I'm sure you'll find something else to keep you occupied."

"Like napping before I have to go back to waking up early?"

"And practicing with our new trick arrows," Connor added, going back to his book. "We have to keep practicing so we can use them on patrol."

"We do have to practice with those arrows."

"Not today though," Roy interrupted. "You guys need to rest."

"We're well-rested!"

"How about you guys keep Lian company while Jade and I try to catch up on some sleep?"

"You want us to watch her?" Connor asked nervously as he looked up from his book. "Are you sure?"

"She's 2 months old, Connor. It's not like she's going to attack you. You guys held up on your own pretty good last night, I think you can handle one infant between the two of you." Roy yawned. "I'll burp and change her, so all you'll have to do is keep her occupied for a few hours. Please?"

"We've got this," Mia said. "Don't worry about a thing."

"Ok."

Connor shut his book as Roy left with Lian. "What're we even supposed to do with her?" he asked.

"I don't know… Watch cartoons? She got a bunch of toys for Christmas, we can play with some of those. If you're so worried about it, go get some from her room."

"Fine." Connor left the living room, then made a quick pit stop in his own room to drop off his book before going to Lian's. He went over to the big wooden chest, then started pulling some out. A couple of rattles, since Lian really seemed to like those, blocks made of a soft, but weirdly tough material, a couple of her stuffed animals, and a few of the soft books. Arms now loaded down with stuff, he returned to the living room, where Mia and Lian were sitting on the floor. Mia had put on Sesame Street, so Lian was currently captivated by the letter C. "Roy go to bed?"

"Yeah, the poor guy could barely keep his eyes open. I think he was up into the morning writing reports."

Connor put the toys in a pile in front of Lian. "Ok, here we go."

"Look, Lian. Look." Mia grabbed a rattle and waved it in front of her face. Slowly, Lian drew her attention away from the puppets on the tv to look at the toy. She smiled and grabbed at it. Her hand closed around it, then shook it excitedly. "You like that?"

Connor smiled and put his hand into the pile, only for Lian to hit him with the rattle. He drew his hand back and gave her an offended look while she laughed. "She did that on purpose!"

"Oh please… Connor, she's literally 2 months old. Why would she hit you?"

"I don't know."

"I'm sure she didn't mean it. Look at that face."

Connor looked down at Lian, who looked back with her wide, brown eyes. He sighed. "Fine. I'm sure it was- ow!" The rattle hit his hand again, so he moved back an inch. "You're mean."

"Connor!"

"She hit me!"

"She's a baby. She doesn't know better. Huh, Lian? Tell Connor you don't mean it- ow!" The rattle hit her fingers and she jerked them back. "Hey, that's not nice."

"Why don't we give her a softer toy?" Connor slowly reached into the pile to pull out a rattle that had a donut shape on the bottom half and a tiny, plush dog on the top half. "Look, Lian. Want this one instead?" He shook the dog rattle gently to get her attention. Lian grabbed at it with her other hand, but Connor pulled it away. "No, give me the plastic one first." Lian just stared intently at the dog rattle. She held out her hand expectantly. "No, give me the plastic rattle."

Lian made a cooing sound and held out her hand again.

"Just give her the toy, Connor," Mia said.

"She has to give me the hard one first," Connor explained. "We're trading."

"She's 2 months old, I don't think she can understand bartering."

"You never know. Come on, Lian. All you have to do is give me the plastic rattle and I'll give you this one." Connor shook the dog rattle in front of her face again, which made her whine a little.

"Just give her the toy! We're supposed to be keeping her quiet while Roy and Jade sleep."

"…Fine." Connor handed Lian the softer rattle, which she held victoriously in her other hand. She excitedly shook both of them and laughed.

"Now was that so hard?" Mia took a few of the soft blocks and started stacking them.

"…Guess not."

For a while, the three of them sat there quietly playing with the toys. Mia stacked blocks while Connor read the soft books and Lian alternated her short attention between shaking her rattles and Sesame Street. Every once in awhile, she'd try to hit Mia or Connor with one of her rattles but they wise stayed far enough out of her reach.

"Do you think it's strange that Elmo has a pet goldfish?" Mia asked out of the blue.

Connor looked up at the tv and considered it. "I mean…Mickey Mouse has a pet dog, so why can't Elmo have a fish?"

"I guess, but he lives in a crayon house. How does he feed it"

"With fish food, obviously."

"And what's up with this Mr. Noodle guy?"

"He's Elmo's neighbor. It's not rocket science, Mia."

"Yeah, but he's an adult. Doesn't he have a job?"

"…Maybe he works the graveyard shift?"

"Doing what?! Elmo just had to teach him how to open an umbrella!"

"Don't question the logic of a red puppet who lives in a crayon house with his pet fish. Right, Lian?" Connor looked own at Lian, who just smacked at him with her rattle. "It's not nice to hit."

"Get him, Lian."

"Don't tell her that!"

"Us girls gotta stick together."

Connor glared at her. "She's at a very impressionable age. You can't teach her stuff like that. She's like a sponge."

"She just started grasping the concept of object permanence. I don't think we need to worry about her remembering this kind of stuff."

"You don't know what she'll remember. Babies are smarter than you think."

"What're you teaching my baby?" Jade asked as she walked in.

"Mia's teaching her to be violent."

"I'm not teaching her anything!" Mia objected.

Jade smiled as she picked up Lian. As she held her, Lian hit her in the head with the sift rattle and laughed. "A headshot. Nice aim, baby girl."

"See, Mia's encouraging that," Connor said. "Also, should we be concerned about how excited she gets by violence?"

"It's genetic." Jade winked at Connor, then kissed Lian and set her back on the ground. "Play nice, kiddies."

"Your mom is weird, Lian. And kind of scary." The infant just hit him in the face with the soft rattle. "Mhm. I hear you."

Mia laughed as she watched Connor play with Lian. 'You'll learn a lot of good stuff from Connor, Lian,' she thought as she resumed stacking the blocks. 'He'll teach you how to be a good person. It seems like he's got that down.'