A/N: Here's the second chapter! Enjoy!

For the longest time, Roy didn't talk. He didn't talk, he didn't move, he didn't even breathe. He sat as still as a statue with Connor's words echoing in his head.

Connor stared up at him in concern. "Ray?" he asked eventually. "Are you ok?" He waited for a beat. "Ray-"

"Prove it…" Roy replied, his voice shaking.

"What?"

"You- You said you're- That your father is…." Roy shoved himself to his feet and stared down at Connor. "Prove it. Prove you're his son."

"I- I don't know how I would… I just know what my mom told me."

"No…" Roy shook his head as he started pacing. "No, no, no! This can't be happening. This-" His breathing started getting faster. Absentmindedly, he found his way behind the couch and gripped the back. "Explain!"

"Explain?"

Roy took a deep breath. Then another. And a third. "Explain from the beginning. Tell me everything."

"Ok… Um, my mom told me that she slept with Oliver Queen. She got pregnant and decided she didn't want him raising a kid, so she left. She told me right before I entered the Buddhist monastery. A couple of months ago, she- died in an accident. The social services people, they wouldn't let me stay at the monastery, so I had to go live in a foster home. I- I thought if I came here and found Oliver then he could take me in and send me back to the monastery."

'Why, out of all the people in the world, did I have to be in the same room as him-' Roy looked up and the look on Connor's face made him stop. The teen had a look of confusion and fear on his face. It sent a bolt of guilt through Roy. 'I need to calm down.' He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. 'Why is Connor being here so bad? He's Oliver's son.' Except Connor didn't choose to be related to Oliver Queen. No one got to pick who they were related to by blood. 'Oliver isn't here. He's in the Green Lantern prison. He has been for years. I'm safe. Connor shouldn't be making me this nervous.' Roy opened his eyes, then walked back around the couch. Connor was still looking at him with caution. 'Can't blame him,' Roy thought guiltily. 'If he's telling the truth— and I have no reason to believe he isn't— he's lost his only parent and been taken away from a community where he felt safe.'

"Did- Did I do something wrong?" Connor asked quietly.

"No, you didn't. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have freaked out like that."

"Why did you?" Connor waited patiently, watching as the hesitation crossed Roy's face. "Did you know my father?"

Roy flinched involuntarily. "Connor- What do you know about Oliver Queen?"

"Just that he's my father. He was a rich businessman, and he's missing now."

"You don't know anything else?"

"No."

Roy sighed and, for the second time that day, the thought of consulting Bruce for help crossed his mind, but he quickly dismissed it again. Knowing Bruce, just mentioning that Connor was Oliver's son would bring the wrath of the Bat down on this poor boy. 'How much do I tell him then?' Roy wondered. 'I barely know this kid, but I don't think I can get around this without a full explanation.' He sighed and rubbed his hands on his jeans. "Ok, Connor. There's… There's so much I have to tell you about your father."

"So you did know him?"

"Yes. Very well. First thing you should know…is my name isn't Raymond."

"It's not?" Connor frowned pulled in confusion and his muscles tensed. He almost seemed to be leaning back, like he was getting ready to bolt from the apartment.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. Raymond is just a fake identity."

"Why do you have a fake identity?"

"…Because my real name is Roy Harper."

"Roy Harper?" Connor's brow furrowed into even deeper confusion. "I'm sorry, I don't know that name."

"You might be the only one. I was Oliver's ward for two years. He took me in when I was 12 and I…stopped being his ward when 14."

"Why?"

"Because he was abusing me."

"He abused you?"

"Yes."

Connor blinked a few times. "Did you run away or were you…removed from him?"

"….Kind of both." Roy sighed again and resisted the urge to run his hands through his hair. "I- I was rescued by Batman and Robin." Connor just stared at him in silent shock. "Because Oliver was the Green Arrow."

"No."

"Yes."

"No! You're- You're lying, you have to be!" Connor jumped to his feet and glared at Roy.

"I'm not lying-"

"No! You have to be lying! Green Arrow- He was a serial killer! He murdered so many people! He-"

"I know this is shocking-"

"It's a lie! I'm not related to someone that horrible!" Connor's eyes widened even more as if something else had just occurred to him. His hands flew to his mouth. "My mom. No, my mom would've never had any kind of relationship with someone like that!"

"Connor-" Roy reached out but Connor practically slapped his hands away.

"You're lying." He glared at Roy, his voice so raw it was on the verge of tears. "You lied about who you are, of course, you're lying about this!"

"I'm not lying." Roy stood up, holding his hands out in a palliating gesture. "I didn't intend to lie to you, but I have to-"

"Stop. Please, just stop." Connor shook his head almost desperately, then ran from the room. He was so fast he slipped past Roy and into the spare bedroom before the man could react.

Roy sighed as the door shut. 'At least he didn't leave.' For a few seconds, there was nothing but silence. It felt like every nerve in Roy's body was frayed. A tremor started shaking his hands and his heart was once again speeding up in his chest. Jitteriness plagued him. Anxiety was pushing his muscles to move. The desire to patrol was buzzing on his muscles, and he was even standing and turned toward the door when he remembered Connor. 'Right,' he thought. 'Can't patrol with Connor here.' So, he went to the kitchen instead and started dinner. As he pulled out pans for shrimp and noodles (tofu and noodles for Connor) he kept going over the situation in his head, using the movement of cooking to help him think. Oliver Queen's son was in his apartment. The son of Oliver Queen, the man who'd made Roy's life a living hell for years, was staying in his guest bedroom.

'If he is Oliver's son,' a voice in his head said. 'He could be lying.'

'Why would he be lying?! We've just met!' Roy dumped the frozen shrimp onto a pan to fry it, along with the tofu on another pan. 'Plus…his eyes are green. And he has blonde hair. And that smile…' Connor's smile appeared in his mind and a shiver ran down his spine. 'He's definitely Ollie's son. And I believe his story about never knowing Oliver. He has no reason to lie and his reaction… That's not the reaction of someone who already knew what a terrible person Oliver was.' A sickening feeling suddenly hit his gut. 'If Ollie had known about Connor….he wouldn't have needed me.' While he didn't really know this kid, the thought of Ollie hurting and manipulating his own son like he'd done to Roy was nauseating. 'No kid deserves that.' Roy focused on his cooking for a few moments. 'I can't tell Bruce.'

That felt incredibly obvious. While he loved Bruce, Roy knew that the man wouldn't take Connor's presence well.

'Besides, I don't need Bruce's help,' he thought as he stirred the pot of noodles. 'I'll just tell Connor that Oliver is gone and send him home. As long as that home isn't abusive. If it is, I'll call CPS and let them handle it.' He nodded to himself. It really felt like the only thing he could do. Roy kept telling himself that as he finished dinner, then put the food on plates, and carried them to Connor's room. "Connor," he said, using his foot to knock on the door gently. "Connor? Dinner." There was no reply, so he carefully balanced one of the hot plates on his arm to open the door. When he walked in he found Connor sitting on the floor at the foot of the bed. "Hungry?" Connor merely shook his head. "Well, can you try?" Roy set the plates down, then sat down across from Connor on the floor. It was silent between them for several minutes as they ate. With the tension building though, Roy eventually had to stop and set his fork down. "You can't stay silent forever."

Connor stared at his plate, cutting the pieces of tofu into even smaller pieces with his fork. "I- I don't know what to say…"

"I know what I told you isn't what you were expecting to hear…but it's the truth." That got a head shake from the teen. "It is. I wouldn't lie about something like this-"

"Just about who you are." Connor set his plate down and looked at Roy. He held the man's gaze calmly, but it was easy to see that calm was barely being held. "Tell me the truth. The whole truth."

"I have." Roy waited, but Connor still held his gaze.

"I told you the truth."

"Ok, ok. Oliver was the Green Arrow. When I was 12 I met him and he took me in after my adopted dad died. He wanted me to be Speedy and I agreed. What I didn't know though, was that Green Arrow killed criminals. When he wanted me to kill, though, I refused. So he kept manipulating and abusing me to get me to do what he wanted. As you can imagine Oliver had anger issues so the abuse was…bad." There was a movement that might've been flinching, but it was so sudden and Connor went back to being so still that Roy wasn't sure that it happened. "After two years, Oliver forced me to kill someone, then Batman and Robin saved me. I trained under Batman for a while and worked as a vigilante in Gotham." While working through PTSD that he was still working through, 7 years after the fact. "Three years ago, Oliver tried to take down the Justice League by breaking into their headquarters, so he was imprisoned by the Green Lanterns." Connor stared at him for a moment. "I swear that's the whole truth."

"….I believe you…" Connor looked at the carpet, absentmindedly rubbing the bottom of his big toes. "So…my father is gone?"

"Yes, he is."

"….What happens now?"

Roy sighed as he picked up his plate again. "Now I send you back. I don't know what you told your guardians-"

"Nothing."

The response made Roy freeze with his fork halfway to his mouth. He stared at Connor without moving for several seconds. "What'd you mean nothing?"

Connor shrugged. "I left tor school and instead of going, I started hitchhiking to Star."

"You're a missing person?!"

"Yes?"

Roy set his plate down. "Please tell me you're joking."

"I'm not?"

"Oh, no…" Roy moved his hands to press them against his face.

"What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?!" Roy looked at him. "Connor, you're 13 and a missing person! There are people in San Fransisco looking for you! Your foster parents are probably worried!"

Connor looked at the ground. "….I- I just wanted to find him."

"Why?! Why did you want to find Oliver so bad when you'd never met him?!"

"Because I want my life back! I- I want to go back to the monastery! I thought if I could find Oliver, I could convince him to take guardianship of me, then he could send me back. I- I lost my mom and then they took me out of the monastery…" Connor's voice started to waiver, heavy with unshed tears. "Everything was changing and I just want something to go back to normal…"

Roy felt the anger quickly drain and was replaced by guilt. "I understand that. I really do get it."

"But I guess I can't now… If- If Oliver is gone and…he probably wouldn't have taken me in any way."

'He would've,' Roy thought with a wince. He picked his plate up again so he could avoid looking at Connor. 'If you'd shown up at his door, looking for shelter and needing help…' The thought made it difficult to swallow his food. 'He would've jumped at the opportunity. You would've been the next pawn in his game.' It felt like a terrible thought, but Roy was glad Connor never met his father. He knew the teen wouldn't fully understand how lucky it actually was.

"Why did you stop?" Connor asked suddenly. He slowly ate a few small pieces of tofu.

"What do you mean? Stop what?"

"Stop being a vigilante?"

Roy looked at his plate and pushed a piece of shrimp around. He could feel Connor looking at him. "I…uh…didn't."

"You…didn't?" Connor stared at him for a few seconds before his eyes widened. "You're Red Arrow!"

"Shh! Not so loud, huh But yeah…I am." Roy focused on his food as Connor continued to stare at him. "Please stop."

"Teach me…"

Roy frowned and looked at the teen. "Teach you what?"

"To be a vigilante!"

"You want to be a vigilante?"

"Yes!"

"No."

"Why not?!"

Roy flinched as Jason's face flashed in his mind. "Just because. You're what….12?"

"13."

"Thir- No, no way."

"Why?!"

"Connor, you're; 13. You're a kid."

"You started when you were 12."

"And I was tricked and manipulated into it. Weren't you paying attention to the story?"

"But I can already shoot and I know how to fight-"

"I don't care. Kids doing hero work is dangerous."

"…But, you can't just tell me all this and just send me back!"

"I can and I will."

"I could tell-"

"I'll deny it. I'm very good at denial. It's kind of a required qualification."

"I want to though! And…I'll listen to everything you say."

"Connor, it's not that simple."

"Why not?!"

Roy sighed and set his plate down again. "Are you done eating?"

"Don't change the subject."

"I"m not. Are you done?"

"I- yes?"

"Ok." Roy picked up both the plates, then stood. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" Connor followed Roy out of the room. He hung around in the doorway as Roy put the plates in the sink. "Ray?"

"It's Roy. Grab a sweater and put your shoes on."

Connor frowned as he grabbed his sweater from the guest room and quickly put his shoes on. 'Where is he taking me?' It occurred to the teen that Ray- Roy might be taking him to the police. The thought made him freeze. 'I'm not letting him turn me in, but could I really just stay here and refuse to leave?'

As Roy grabbed his keys, he looked back and saw Connor hanging back in the doorway. "What's wrong?"

"….Are you turning me in?"

"No. We're not going to the police." Yet. "You want to know why I won't train you, I'll tell you, but not here. My apartment isn't… There are just some things we shouldn't discuss here."

"Ok." Connor tore himself away from the doorway and followed Roy out of the apartment. He was still tense as they left the apartment building. The nauseating feeling that had taken over this gut when he learned about his father as still there. Goosebumps broke out over his skin again. 'Did she know?' he wondered as he followed Roy down the dark street. 'Did Mom know what he was really like?' Part of him wanted to deny it. His mother had been a wonderful woman and she never would've slept with Oliver Queen if she'd known what kind of monster he was. 'But she also never told him she was pregnant. And never told anyone I was his son. Could she have known at least on some level?' That felt like the most likely. His mother had been a smart woman. She could've been a little aware of who Oliver really was and not wanted Connor to have anything to do with him. A shiver went through his body. 'I can't believe I'm related to a monster like that…'

The silence from Connor had Roy a little concerned, but he was also grateful. The last thing he needed was to try and keep the teen from asking him questions about his vigilante identity while they were out in public. He led Connor down a side street, then in to the back alley that separated the building where his private detective business was located, and the building behind it. They slipped between a loose fence post to get onto the property.

"What're we doing here?" Connor asked as they walked across the small yard that was composed solely of dead grass and dirt.

"You'll see." Roy unlocked the back door and let Connor go in first, then relocked the door and followed.

The door closing made Connor jump a little. He waited for a second, then Roy turned the light on. The frown on his face deepened. They were in a room with file cabinets against two walls that were across the room from each other. On his left, the file cabinets were broken only by a door. "What is this place?"

"This is my office." Roy went over to the door and opened it.

As he peered around him, Connor saw a staircase ascending into darkness. "What-"

"Just watch." Roy approached the stairs and knelt down. He pried up the first stair, then raced under and undid a latch hidden on the underside. The first five stairs swung down, revealing another staircase underneath, this one going down. He looked back at Connor and smiled at the shocked look on his face. "It's safe, I promise."

Connor approached slowly and peered down at the stairs. "You sure?"

"Absolutely."

"…Ok."

Once Connor started down the stars, Roy followed, taking the time to re-latch the stairs and use a handle he'd put on the underside of the loose board. He then followed the teen down the stairs. There was a landing, which had another staircase going down. Despite how dark it was, he could tell when Connor had reached the bottom when the teen gasped.

In front of him was a large concrete room that looked like it was the size of the property. Across from him were two tables with some computer monitors set up. Next to it was three workbenches set up in a U shape littered with metal pieces and tools. Beyond that was a bunch of mats laid out on the floor. Connor walked in farther and saw that the other half was set up into an archery range. He turned around slowly and saw the wall where the staircase ended there was a display case with Red Arrow's suit. Next to it were several racks of arrows and three bows on racks. "This is yours?"

"It's my arrow cave."

"Did you build it?"

Roy smiled. "I wish. I spent weeks studying old city maps before I finally found this. It's an old fallout shelter from the cold war. It's not on any modern maps of the city, so it's essentially invisible. And I own the whole property so there's no reason for anyone to come digging."

Connor spotted a motorcycle at the far end of the archery range, near an opening in the corner of the room. "Is that an exit?"

"Yeah. I think it was meant to be some kind of emergency exit or something. If you follow it, it actually leads to an old sewer that isn't used by the city anymore and you can get out through a drainage pipe a few blocks away."

"Aren't you worried someone will go exploring?"

"Already ahead of you. I put up a bunch of caution and danger signs. If they get past this, I have sensors and cameras that will let me see when someone is coming. I built a door that looks like an old access door, so no one would be able to get in."

"Huh." Connor turned in a circle to take a good look around again, then turned back to Roy. "Now will you tell me why you won't let me be a vigilante?"

Roy's face fell and he sighed. "Because of Robin."

"Robin the Boy Wonder?"

"Yeah. The Robin who rescued me was the first one. Another boy took the Robin mantle after him and he- he died."

"….How?"

"He was murdered by the Joker." A chill settled into the room.

"How- How old was he?"

"14." Roy saw a flicker of fear on Connor's face. "See? That's why I won't let you become a vigilante. It's dangerous, especially for someone who doesn't have any superpowers."

"I know it'd be dangerous."

"You say that now-"

"I know it's dangerous, but…I have to."

"Why do you have to do this thing you've known about for an hour?!"

"Because…." Connor hesitated. 'Would he understand? He has to…'

"Connor."

"…Because I have to- to do something."

Roy sighed. "I'm sorry, but the answer is no."

"But-"

"No, Connor. Now come on, I need to get you home so you can go to bed."

Connor's face fell. "Please, Ray-"

"It's Roy, and no. Letting teenagers fight crime is irresponsible and I won't be a part of that." Roy stood up and gestured for Connor to follow him. "Come on." There was no reply, but Connor did follow him, so Roy didn't think about it too much. 'He just doesn't understand how dangerous this really is. He really doesn't understand. I'm doing this to protect him.' Even if he was Oliver's son, Roy knew he wouldn't want to endanger a young, innocent teen like that.

— —

When they got back to Roy's apartment, he sighed and stretched. 'How is it so late already?' he thought when his eye caught a clock.

"Are you going out tonight?" Connor asked quietly as he hovered around the door to the guest room.

"Probably not. It's been a…long night."

"Oh. Ok." Connor turned to go into the room, then he stopped and turned back. "Can you not send me back until Monday?"

"Monday?" Roy frowned as he did some quick math. "Connor, that's 5 days away."

"I know but, I kind of like it here and I don't really want to leave."

Roy sighed and rubbed his eyes. 'I need to send him home. He's a minor and a missing person. His poor foster parents are probably worried sick.' However, he made the mistake of looking at Connor, and some of his resolve melted at the kid's innocent face. "Fine. You can stay until Monday, but that afternoon I'm taking you to the police station. Understand?"

"Absolutely. Thanks, Ra- Roy." He went into the bedroom and shut the door. "You won't regret it."