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Chapter Seventeen

Hypothetical and Real Situations

It was a huge relief to the Queen guys when Felicity called to check up on Will and assure them that she was improving more by the day. "I'm a little tired and sore, but I'm fine," she promised Will, who repeatedly asked if she was really okay, not just saying so to make them feel better. Eventually, she persuaded the young boy that she wasn't lying, and agreed to Will's request for the pair of them to come in for a short visit that afternoon. Will immediately ran off with Jesse to go and get ready, while Oliver spent a few more moments on the phone with Felicity.

"I'm glad you're alright," he told her, trying to convey as much of his relief as possible. "We were both worried for you."

"Thank you," she replied gently. "But I really am fine, Oliver. Don't worry. I'm a tough woman, I promise."

"Even the toughest person in the world can be killed," Oliver pointed out glumly.

"But I didn't," she reminded him.

"You didn't," he acknowledged. He paused, then forced himself to go on. Maybe it was cowardly to do it over the phone, but it was easier. He didn't know if he would be able to gather the courage to do so face-to-face (or if he would even get the opportunity. Will had been distraught for the past few days, and Oliver anticipated a great struggle in getting the child to leave his social worker be at the end of the visit, let alone earlier). "Hypothetically, if a parent of one of your kids wanted to ask you out on a date, what would you say?"

She was silent for a terrifying moment before replying, a hint of shyness in her voice. "Hypothetically, I would tell said parent that we have two options to avoid emotional compromise. One, wait until I was no longer acting as W- as the child's social worker and then go out if we still wanted to, or else to have the child transferred to another social worker."

Oliver nodded, despite Felicity not being able to see the motion, and went on. "So, you'd be open to the invite."

"I would, yes," she agreed softly. "But not at the risk of the child's case."

"You're a saint," he remarked hoarsely. His biggest problem with dating since Will's birth, even before Samantha died, was that the women he went out with were usually disinterested in his son at best. Most of the ones who acted caring towards him on the very rare occasions he would meet a woman with his son present did so purely to gain favour with him. With Felicity, Oliver knew that would never happen. Her every action and word proved that her charges, Will included, came before everything else for her.

"Actually, I'm Jewish," she responded teasingly. Her voice softened. "How about we talk more about that hypothetical situation after I'm discharged and back to work?"

"Yeah, sounds good," Oliver agreed. "Are-"

"Da-ad, come on! Let's go!" Will returned, coat and runners on and a box of luxury salted caramel chocolates clutched tightly to his chest. He must have remembered Felicity commenting around New Years that salted caramel was her favourite, and had gotten it from the cabinet where Oliver kept a stock of boxes of chocolate and bottles of wine for when they went on visits to the homes of QC's business partners or investors. It was easier than remembering to buy them every time.

"William, don't interrupt your father when he's on the phone," Jesse scolded him gently. She gave her employer an apologetic look. "Sorry, Mr. Queen. He's eager to go and see Felicity."

Oliver nodded. "Just a moment please. Felicity, are you sure that you're okay for us to come for a visit? I don't want to wear you out or anything. Your recovery is top priority. For everyone."

"I'm fine," she promised. "Looking forward to seeing Will. I'm sure a hug from one of my favourite guys'll be just what I need."

"Okay," Oliver agreed. "We should be there in about an hour."

"Looking forward to it," she answered warmly before they said their goodbyes and hung up.

"Take the rest of the day off," Oliver instructed Jesse as he ushered Will out the door, before teasingly asking his son why he was taking so long as Oliver grabbed his own coat from its' hook by the door and tugged it on, taking advantage of his longer legs to gain the lead. Will let out a sound of indignation and rushed after his father.

As they headed for the car, Oliver made a mental note to organize another session for Will with Dr Stein. He'd had two since Felicity was shot, but while Felicity's recovery was a good event, it was still an overwhelming and emotional one. Another session would no doubt do his kid good when it came to dealing with the tumultuous situation.

Thea had been released from rehab shortly after New Years, and had returned to the Queen mansion. Determined to keep from relapsing, she had severed her ties with her former friends such as Becky Rasmussen and Melissa Bauer. They were continuing with their rich, drug and alcohol-heavy lifestyles, and Thea didn't want to risk getting pulled back into that. Temporary highs that did little to relieve the emptiness she often felt weren't worth losing her brother and nephew over.

The problem was that cutting ties with her former 'friends' (for lack of another word to call them, though she had never considered actually letting any of them in, knowing full well that they would be quick to turn on her and use any secrets she might have revealed to ruin her if they felt it needed or warranted) left her at lose ends most of the time. And boredom to was a risk to her sobriety.

She had gone so far as to actually do her schoolwork, preferring the dullness that was trigonometry to lying on her bed watching the same old sitcoms 24/7. But it wasn't enough to keep her distracted from temptation, so Thea had found herself looking for something to occupy her time. It was her brother who suggested she pick up archery or a martial art of some sort. He had done the same after his own release from rehab, learning archery from a former Olympic champion for China, Yao Fei Gulong at the man's small archery school on the outskirts of Starling. He had also picked up Wing Chun, but that Ollie learned from his bodyguard, Dig. She'd never tell him so, but he was pretty good.

Thea had taken his advice to give archery a go, and though she felt ridiculous at first, she found that Ollie was right when he told her of how relaxing and stress-relieving it was to go through the motions of knocking the arrow, pulling it back and releasing it at the target. She wasn't great yet, but she was hitting the target four times out of five already, and Yao Fei had shamelessly informed her that she was doing far better than Oliver when he first started. Some of the stories of her brother's first attempts at archery had reduced her to crying from the laughter.

It was through Yao Fei's archery school that she met the teacher for the kids' class, Roy Harper, guy from the Glades who, coincidentally, also worked at Verdant, the club Oliver and Tommy had opened together years before. He fascinated her, mainly because of how little he cared for her surname. Most people Thea met fell over themselves to be accommodating towards her the instant that they heard the name 'Queen'. Roy was the reverse, scoffing and mocking her as a 'Princess' and scorning the possibility of her life being anything but charmed. His reality check had hit her even harder than Ollie's had.

Some of the stuff Roy told her about life in the Glades had really made her think. And in doing so, she had become even more ashamed of a lot of her actions and her entitled attitude. She wanted to do better, to prove Roy wrong when he called her out for being selfish and spoilt. She wanted to use her influence to improve things in the Glades, so that twelve-year-old boys wouldn't be left to fend for themselves, joining gangs to have money for food.

The fact that he was so cute might have played a part in her willingness to endure his smart mouthed remarks about her life as well, even if she wasn't prepared to admit it.

Thea was just home from a visit to the archery school, eager to soak in a bubble bath and ease her sore shoulders, when she saw a dozen police cars pull up the driveway from her window.

"What the hell?" She muttered in bewilderment, pulling her shirt back on and hastening down the stairs to the foyer, where Raisa, looking concerned and bemused, was letting in a large group of cops, both uniformed and plainclothes. Captain Quentin Lance was at the head of the group, two documents in his fist and a grim expression on his face. Unease and fear twisted Thea's stomach into tight knots.

"What's going on?" she demanded as her mother came into the hall from the direction of the small, secondary sitting room.

"I would like to know that as well, Captain Lance," Moira said sharply, frowning deeply. "What do you think you're doing, barging into my family's home like this?"

"Moira Dearden Queen, you are under arrest," Captain Lance replied, ignoring Moira's question. Thea and Raisa both gasped, and the young woman was grateful for her housekeeper's support when the Russian woman immediately wrapped a supportive arm around her slim shoulders. The heiress could hardly find the words to breathe, never mind speak, as she watched the scene in utter disbelief and shock that it could really be happening.

"The charges are as follows," the police captain continued, ignoring Moira's outraged protests as a young, olive skinned detective stepped forward to cuff her. "Conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, bribery, coercion, embezzlement, fraud and tax evasion. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand these rights as they have been explained to you?"

"I do," Moira confirmed, visibly fuming. "But this is outrageous. I have done nothing wrong. I will be expecting an apology when this is all over and done with."

Thea's heart thudded heavily against her ribcage. She hiccupped and pressed a hand to her mouth to keep from bursting into sobs. She was positive that only Raisa's arm around her kept her on her feet instead of falling to her knees. The Russian woman whispered soothingly to her, but she couldn't make the words out through the rushing in her ears.

"The evidence will clear everything up quickly, I'm sure," Lance responded mildly, before gesturing to the detective who had cuffed Moira. Thea didn't fail to notice his wording, and lack of apparent concern over the fuss that the Queen family would kick up over Moira being wrongly arrested, meaning that he had reason to believe their actions wouldn't matter. Bile burned her throat as she stared at the scene, barely able to breathe.

"Take her out to the car and head for the station," Lance instructed his subordinate. "You know the procedure. Make sure everything is followed to the letter."

"Yes sir," the woman confirmed, urging Moira towards the door.

"Mom!" The panicked exclamation finally escaped Thea's lips, and she took several steps in her mother's direction as Moira turned her head to look at her daughter. The cops all looked her way too, looks of pity and sympathy on their faces.

"It's alright Thea darling," Moira promised her. "I'll call Adrian the moment I'm at the station, this will all be cleared up in time for dinner I'm sure. These charges are ludicrous, and we all know it."

Thea gave a tiny nod, the knot in her stomach tightening even more. Her vision was blurry with the tears she was holding back, but she still watched with a trembling bottom lip as her mother was escorted out to a police car, put in the back, and driven away.

"Miss Queen," Captain Lance gained her attention, his voice gentle and sympathetic. "I'm sorry, but we have a warrant to search the premises. We need you and the staff to all leave the grounds while we do so, as we can't allow the risk of evidence tampering."

Thea wrapped her arms around herself and gave a faint nod. "Alright," she agreed quietly. "Raisa, can you-?"

"Yes, Miss Thea," the Russian woman agreed, giving her a concerned look before heading off (a uniformed officer trailing her) to gather the rest of the staff. Thea, meanwhile, pulled her phone out of her pocket and tried to call her brother. When it went to voicemail, she left him a message telling him to call her back ASAP as there was an emergency, and then went to sit on the porch steps, knees hugged to her chest and chin resting on top of them.

Despite what everyone probably thought, it wasn't distress over her mother's arrest that had her acting so quietly compliant and tearful. Not entirely, though it was part of it, and linked to the other reason.

It was the fact that she couldn't shake the memory of Moira's expression when she was arrested from her thoughts. Most people wouldn't have noticed the minute changes in her face when Captain Lance read off the charges against her, but Thea was not most people. She knew her mother.

The thing that was upsetting Thea the most was that she knew from the moment the charges were read that Moira was guilty.