Notes:

Again, sorry for the delay, my British English is very rusty so I wrote the Walter part and then had to brush up on my British English while editing, I hope it's alright. Sorry if it's not. Again English in general is not my native language.

It was pointed out to me that this chapter might be confusing timeline wise, and I am really sorry about that. This happens the day before Dinah arrives. Blame the muse for it being slightly out of order.

Let me know what you think.


Chapter Text

Chapter 54

And suddenly it seems like my shoulder blades have just shifted it's like the greatest gift you can get the weight has been lifted

Walter

Oliver's phone call a while back had astounded him. Even more so when the young man had asked him to convene so they could update his financial papers and his last will and testament. Not that it was the first time they went over Oliver's private finances together, but it was usually him contacting Oliver and letting him know there were some amendments they needed to make or new investments to partake in that would be beneficial for him. So, having Oliver be the one to contact him intrigued him slightly. Oliver had never really cared about his private finances, nor been particularly interested in what Walter was doing with them, just trusting him to have his and Thea's best interest at heart. Which he did. But it made this all the more intriguing.

He regrettably had been out of the country until just a couple of days ago and therefore was only now able to sit down with Oliver and look over everything and make the alterations his former stepson wanted to have done. They had set the date for their meeting weeks ago, and that had been the second thing that had been rather odd. Oliver had asked him to meet at his new apartment instead of coming to the offices. That was no trouble at all for him and Oliver was far from the first or only client who demanded house calls, but it was unusual for Moira's son. He had always come to his office before. But no matter. It was pleasant to get out of the building every once in a while, especially after being gone for several weeks. That was the downside of the business trips once he got back, he had even more work to do because a lot of issues had just stacked up and no one had cared to take them on in his absence. So, getting out of the office in order to meet with Oliver was a welcome change of pace. He was also looking forward to seeing the young man again. He hadn't yet seen him since Oliver had got back from his travels.

He walked up the rest of the steps to the top floor of the building, enjoying the exercise this was providing after sitting at his desk all morning, and stopped in front of the only door. There was no name by the doorbell. Just like there had been no name on the mailbox and bell on the street level. You essentially wouldn't know who or if someone was living in the apartment building's penthouse if you were not privy to the information. It was an interesting little detail, not that it surprised him. Oliver did like his privacy and the media did love Oliver. Something the young man had struggled with for as long as Walter could remember.

The lengths he was taking right now to ensure his privacy appeared to be effective so far. There had been nothing on the news about Oliver in months. At least, nothing significant. There had been a handful of reports, mostly by Susan Williams who was currently the only news anchor openly criticizing the new Mayor and her office and questioning her motives, even going as far as wondering if maybe the former billionaire playboy might have been the better choice as Mayor after all, when the media had taken note of his return home after his lengthy absence, speculating if the heir to the Queen name would resume his previous choice to partake in politics or not, and whether he would decide to start his own business again, like he had done with "Verdant" or possibly even try to get his family's company back from his ex-fiancé. But that had been as far as any mention of him had gone and even the gossip magazines had mostly been quiet and decided not to rehash the stories that had followed the end of Oliver's engagement to Felicity and him pulling out of the Mayoral race. He wasn't sure where that small bit of decency the press was showing came from, but it was here and Walter smiled, grateful for it, 'good for him'. He took another step forward, and that was when he noticed the doormat.

'Welcome Home'.

Such a simple design. Such a simple statement. Yet something about it touched him. He wasn't sure why, but it felt significant. He nodded his head towards it and rang the doorbell.

"Walter, it's good to see you and thank you for going to the trouble of coming here." The first thing Walter perceived after Oliver opened the door for him was how well his former stepson looked. He looked healthy, relaxed, almost… dare he say it... happy. Yes, Oliver looked happy. As if a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders. It was a look he had rarely seen on the young man in the last five years, regrettably. It made him wonder what had transpired that had led to this very positive change in his life and appearance. The last thing he had been aware of, thanks to his weekly meals with Thea, was the end of Oliver's engagement to Felicity and how hard he was taking her walking out on him. Thea had been furious about Felicity's choice and Walter was sure there was more to it than Thea's rambles had let on, but he understood the gist of it. Oliver had been struggling with some personal issues and according to his stepdaughter Felicity had decided she didn't want to put up with his struggles and left him during a period in his life when he would've needed her most. He only knew Thea's perspective on the matter and he knew how she could get when she was riled up and upset, especially when it came to wrongs, perceived or true, done to her brother. Thea was extremely protective of Oliver and hated seeing him get hurt. So she had been especially ticked off by the timing Felicity had chosen to end things with Oliver. The news had both been surprising and not that surprising. What had surprised him most had been that Felicity had been the one ending it.

He still wasn't sure when or how those two had ended up as a couple and he easily recalled his first reaction to the news; he had been very surprised and hadn't been sure they were compatible.

He liked Felicity, had appreciated her a lot as an employee, even though there had been some actions or behavior of hers that had been rather problematic and had she not been one of the best in her field within the company, and not had the knowledge about Moira and the Queen family that she had had, he wasn't sure he would have kept her as an employee.

She had the tendency to ignore the chain of command and disrespect her superiors. He had seen it while he had still been CEO of Queen Consolidated but especially after Oliver had taken the company over and given her one hell of a promotion, including a huge raise, which had naturally come with the promotion from IT department employee to Executive Assistant to the CEO. Felicity had ended up in a position she had not been trained for, a position people worked years for, it was unusual for an EA to the CEO to be as young as Felicity had been and there were plenty of people especially in QC who would have been willing to sacrifice a lot for that position, had worked very hard for years to get that position and she had not seemed to appreciate what Oliver had done for her or realized the huge step up she had made career wise.

The rumors Oliver's choice had started had been no surprise at all given her lack of qualifications for the role and behavior towards her boss and Oliver's known past as a playboy. Walter couldn't even really be mad at the people starting it, understanding the bitterness they must have felt at being overlooked for a woman in her early twenties from the IT department. He still wasn't sure if Oliver had been or was aware how his choice to hire Felicity, as his EA, had partially sabotaged his taking over Queen Consolidated and people taking him serious in his role as CEO. Not that Felicity hadn't done a good job, that had not been the point, office politics had been the point and Oliver had broken a lot of those rules by promoting Felicity, former Computer sciences and IT support, over everyone else who had been there longer and actually had the proper qualifications for the job of the CEO's EA.

Furthermore, instead of being grateful, Felicity had actually seemed to be mad at him for her promotion. And she had disrespected Oliver, not just in front of his employees and business partner, no, also in front of clients. Which was enough of a reason for any other EA to get fired over. It had happened before. Robert had more than one EA fired for not acting properly and representing the company right in front of a client. And yet, Oliver had not only kept her on in the position but let her go on with her behavior without properly putting her in her place. To this day, Walter wasn't sure why. It had been something everyone at the office had noticed and which had poured fuel in the fire that was the rumors that Felicity had slept her way up into the position and was only getting away with everything because she was sleeping with the boss. The short dresses she had taken on to wearing once she no longer worked in the IT department, had done nothing to help squelch those rumors. Her behavior had partially been responsible for people not taking Oliver seriously in his role as CEO. Why should they, if not even his EA did? Why should they if his EA belittled him and pointed out his lack of education, especially compared to her degree from MIT, without considering the reason why he had never completed his college education and why he was struggling with the responsibilities he had taken on out of necessity and not because he had wanted to or was qualified for them. Oliver had taken on the responsibility of acting CEO of QC out of necessity. If he hadn't taken it on, they would most likely have lost the company a lot sooner. Walter also knew it had never been Oliver's plan to stay on. He had simply decided to make sure they weren't going to lose the company, and to buy himself time while looking for a qualified person he could trust to take over as the acting CEO. Unfortunately, nothing had gone according to Oliver's plan, and he had still lost the company in the end.

So, he really wasn't sure how Oliver and Felicity had ended up in a relationship. Nothing had pointed towards it. They had appeared to be in constant disagreement concerning pretty much anything and everything, so he really wasn't sure how they had decided to get involved and that it would be a good idea, at least from what he had witnessed during his visits to QC once Oliver had taken over in order to help him get settled in his new role and learn everything he needed to know to run the business smoothly.

"Oliver, it's good to see you as well. And, of course, no trouble at all. Whatever you need to talk to me about sounded important on the phone. I'm just sorry it took me this long to take care of it." He shook the hand Oliver offered and followed him inside the apartment.

"It is. And that's alright, it actually worked out favorably for me, or we'd have needed another meeting. There have been some changes in my life recently and I need to have my finances and other legal documents represent that." Oliver's words surprised Walter, and he wondered what the young man might be talking about when his question was answered by a young, blonde, pregnant woman walking down the corridor towards them.

Oliver's entire being turned towards and focused in on her, as if she were the only thing that mattered in the world. It wasn't the first time he had noticed this reaction in Oliver.

"Sara, love, this is Walter Steele. I don't think you've been properly introduced before." He held out his hand towards her, pulling her closer once she had interlaced hers with his. His focus still mainly on the woman next to him.

Sara Lance, of course. Thea had mentioned her returning with Oliver. Not much else, though. Most definitely nothing about a pregnancy. Not that it would have been her place to tell him, or his business to know.

Oliver was right, they had never properly been introduced before. He had no trouble recognising her as the young girl that used to dally at the Queen mansion growing up and had dropped in at Queen Consolidated once in a while, when Robert had brought Oliver to the company in hopes of getting him more interested in the labor they were performing. To no avail, even less on those rare occasions the younger Lance sister would just "happen to show up there in case Ollie might be here". Walter had always been pretty certain Oliver had contacted the blonde to get her to come by and get him out. He wasn't sure why no one had called their involvement before the tragedy with the Queen's Gambit had happened. Oliver's reaction to Sara had been the same then as it was now, especially closer to the aforementioned trip.

He could easily recall one or two situations in which the blonde had showed up at Queen Consolidated and Oliver had forgotten everything he was doing, saying or focusing on, in order to turn towards the blonde and home in on her. His face would light up and his entire being was focused on her. They also used to leave the building together, Oliver's arm draped over her shoulder, pulling her into his chest while walking out. People should've called it long before the tragedy that had been the sinking of the Queen's Gambit. But they had been friends, old friends, friends who had known each other since childhood, who had had sleepovers and vacationed together and spent hours upon hours with each other, they were like family… so no one questioned their behavior, no one wondered. Even some of their behavior that made people stop and wonder, were easily dismissed as being silly and them simply having known each other forever. Yes, people should've noticed, and they would've had they not been the closest of friends since early childhood and hadn't everyone been aware of that fact.

Sara's visits to Queen Consolidated had been few and far between and she had never stayed for long, but they had always been a breath of fresh air. She hadn't cared about walking into a billion-dollar company wearing casual clothes, or short Romani style dresses, she hadn't cared about the proper etiquette and she had always had the biggest smile on her face, greeting everyone, trying to cheer them up and get a smile out of them. Not caring about all the looks she was receiving. But why should she have? No one would've dared say something to one of the boss' son's best friends. Yes, Sara Lance had always been one of a kind. And she had always had this exact effect on Oliver; to pull him in and receive his undivided attention.

Oliver getting back together with Sara once she had come home had made sense to him, for several reasons, even if Moira had strongly disagreed with him and not been happy about it. Yes, Moira had had a very complicated relationship with the younger Lance sister. There had been several reasons for that. But the biggest one had been Oliver, and the effect she had on him. And Moira had not been happy about the two of them rekindling their romance. He had been surprised once he had learnt that Sara and Oliver had broken up and Sara had left town. He had not seen that coming. They had seemed very serious and solid. The reason why they had broken up was still a mystery to him and everyone else, as far as he knew. It had been a shame. Sara had been good for Oliver and he had seemed very serious about her. At least it had looked that way to him that last time they had met before Sara had left town. Oliver had been looking at apartments, and from the way he had talked and the financial choices he had made, it had appeared Sara had been a permanent fixture in his plans. That suspicion of his had been even more confirmed when Oliver dropped all of his plans of getting his own place after Sara had left town. Oliver had made plans back then, life altering plans that had Sara in them. He had been very serious about the younger Lance sister.

That had been why he had been all the more surprised once he had found out Oliver and Felicity were dating approximately six months after Sara had left, even if only for a very brief time period at first. It had made no sense to him. There were little the two of them seemed to have in common, and Felicity's behavior towards Oliver was problematic at best and very disrespectful and belittling at worst. At least, what he had borne witness to himself and what Thea had mentioned to him later on, once she had returned home and Oliver and Felicity had become more serious.

He had often wondered what Moira would've thought of it and whether she would've wished Sara back had she been alive and known her son's choice in partner after the blonde had left. Moira had been even less fond of Felicity than she had been of Sara.

No, that wasn't true. Moira had been fond of Sara. She had cared deeply for the young woman and trusted her with Thea's life. She had mourned her as she had Robert and Oliver and the only issue she's had with Sara had been the fact that Sara didn't fit the image the Queen family represented, while Laurel had fit it perfectly. And yet, Sara had been the one Oliver had chosen in the end. There had been something between those two for as long as he could recall, just a bond, an understanding. A similarity. So he was very happy to see the two of them back together. Sara was good for him, she had always been.

But no, he and Sara had never properly been introduced. The blonde had never stuck around the company long enough for that to happen, usually dragging Oliver away within minutes of arriving and had the tendency to avoid as many people as possible during any of the Queen hosted events she had been to while growing up, again usually taking both of the boys with her to places unknown.

"Hi Mr. Steele, it is good to finally meet you. Ollie and Thea speak very highly of you. Can I offer you something to drink?" The young woman offered him her hand too, which he shook, smiling at her kindly.

"Likewise, Ms. Lance, and call me Walter. A cup of coffee would be nice. Thank you." He replied politely. Sara nodded at him and turned in order to walk back the way she had come from, when Oliver's hand on her shoulder stopped her and made her turn back towards him.

"It's alright, I get it Pretty Bird. Why don't you show Walter to the living room?" Oliver pressed a kiss to her temple before walking past her towards what he assumed was the kitchen. Walter followed Sara to the living room and sat down on one of the couches, getting his items out of his briefcase and placing them on the coffee table. Sara sat down on the couch across from him, moving around a little in order to get more comfortable.

"Ollie and I really appreciate you coming here and not having to go to your offices. Helps avoid the public's attention." He looked up from the papers he had been arranging on the coffee table when Sara began to speak, and was only mildly surprised by what she was saying.

"Of course, it's no trouble at all. It was actually quite nice to have an excuse to get out of the offices for a moment." He had assumed Oliver asked him to come here in order to avoid the public's eye, for some reason. The reason was now clear, sitting right across from him, one hand softly stroking her rounded abdomen, the other rearranging the pillow behind her.

Oliver returned with their drinks and sat down next to Sara, softly placing one of his hands on her thigh, squeezing it gently for a moment. They appeared very comfortable with each other, more so even. The entire scene looked rather domestic. It brought a warm feeling to his chest and a tender smile to his face.

"We need to redo the paperwork that added Sara as a sharer of my accounts. Just like my will. But everything that we discuss here and now needs to stay between the three of us." Oliver went straight to the matter at hand, foregoing any possible chitchat that otherwise might have taken place. This was nothing new. Oliver had no patience for proper etiquette and the small talk that came with it if there was an issue at hand that needed addressing. It was something he appreciated about him.

"Of course. Everything we discuss here will stay confidential and will not leave this room." He confirmed the request, slightly intrigued by what Oliver may want to discuss, already suspecting some of it.

"Thank you. We appreciate it, Walter. I need you to create two trust funds. One for William Clayton and one for Mila Beatrice Queen. They both get access to it on their twenty-first birthdays, or eighteenth in case something were to happen to me and Sara before they turn twenty-one. Should something happen to both of us, Quentin Lance and Thea will get signing rights and oversee the accounts together until both of my kids reach the age of eighteen. Should something happen to me, Sara will be the one overlooking both trust funds and she will be the one deciding when they will get the money in it. Both of the trust funds need to be equal in everything. I'd appreciate it if you made some suggestions as to the type of trust you would recommend and whether to add real estate or other material objects to it or have them simply be compiled of money and precious metals. You can add Sara to those accounts, too. She gets the same rights as she's had with all my other accounts for the past three years. Or make whatever changes to those documents that need to be made when one gets married besides her last name on them." Both of his kids? Married? Oliver asking him to come to the privacy of his home instead of the possible exposure of the offices made even more sense now. Even in a closed office, complete privacy could not be granted, and one could never know what might be overheard in a company as big as Starling City National Bank. He could understand why Oliver would want none of this to become public knowledge and for the press to get wind of it.

He looked at the couple in front of him closely. Oliver had gotten married to one of his childhood best friends, a woman who had meant the world to him for a very long time. They both looked good, happy. Walter almost felt like this was the first time in years that he's seen Oliver look genuinely happy.

"Congratulations, you two. I am very happy for you." He smiled at them and shook both of their hands.

"Thank you, Walter. We'd appreciate you not telling people about it. It was a private decision we made, and we would like to keep it that way for now." Oliver's smile was genuine but turned serious as soon as he addressed the status of their relationship. It was not difficult for Walter to understand why they chose not to share their nuptials with anyone yet. Everything concerning those two had always come with a lot of gossip or even scandals. So, it made sense for them to not want the public to know. Besides, Oliver had been engaged to another woman not a year ago. That added to the field day the gossip columns would have if the news broke of Oliver Queen's secret wedding to his pregnant former affair. Yes, people not learning about Oliver and Sara's marriage was the only way for them to protect their privacy. And especially the privacy of their unborn child. So far, the press hadn't caught wind of Sara's pregnancy yet. As long as this was the case, they should be safe from prying eyes.

"Of course. No one will hear it from me. Your privacy will not be jeopardised because of me." He made sure to keep eye contact with the young man across from him the entire time, before breaking it to catch Sara's eyes to ensure she understood he would not cause any problems for them, quite the contrary, he was hoping he could help them solve some of them. He jolted down a note to gather information concerning the different insurance options they had as a family and which ones he would recommend, and which ones were necessary for them to get for their daughter. Oliver had rarely ever asked him for anything. One of the handful of times over the past years that he had asked him for help had been concerning the woman across from him and ensuring she would be financially taken care of and never want for anything. He had given her full access to all of his accounts, including her personal credit and bank cards, even against his advice of caution and to maybe limit the access he gave her to one account. Oliver would have none of it. Telling him there was no reason for that. He trusted Sara with his life, so there was no reason not to trust her with his money. He also bequested her in his last will and testament. Until now, Sara had been the only person besides Thea that Oliver had had in it.

Mila Beatrice Queen, it was a beautiful name they picked for their unborn daughter and easy to understand why he chose to add her to his will and open a trust fund for her.

William Clayton was another story. This was the first time he had heard the name. He understood Oliver's need for privacy and knew the young man didn't like to talk about private issues with people, but there was some information he unfortunately had to ask for in order to proceed with Oliver's wishes.

"May I ask, to write up the documents I'll unfortunately need some more information concerning William Clayton, when was he born? And who is his mother? Do you have any copies of his birth certificate and passport? I apologise for prying, but those are required in order for the documents to be valid in a court of law." Walter felt very intrusive asking those questions, but it was the only way Oliver's wishes could be ensured.

"It's alright, Walter and thank you. William was born in Central City on November 16th 2006 to Samantha Clayton. I unfortunately don't have their current address and hope this poses no problems drawing up the papers. I do have copies of those documents, though, and will give them to you before you leave. It is important that no one but you will have access to those and know his connection to me." Oliver answered his questions right away. This meant the boy had turned 10 years old just a few weeks ago. Given the expression on Oliver's face and the fact he only now brought the boy up, Walter was sure that he had probably not known about him and things were a lot more complicated than they even appeared to be now, given his words. Oliver was not the type of man who wouldn't be a part of his child's life, not if there wasn't a good reason for him not to. Even back when he was younger. Walter had seen the way he had been with Thea… knew how much family meant to him. The lengths Oliver was willing to go for his family was admirable. His love for his family had always been one of his best traits. So there was no way in his mind that Oliver would abandon his son for no good reason. This knowledge worried him and made him wonder what could have led to Oliver deciding not to be in the boy's life after learning about his existence. He hoped William was alright.

He felt a lot of sympathy for Oliver and wished things would be simpler where his son was concerned. He assumed they were complicated, given the fact Oliver had no knowledge of their current address. His heart went out for him. He couldn't even imagine how difficult this must be for him. Walter noticed Sara taking hold of the hand on her thigh and interlacing them and her other hand stroking his back comfortingly once their conversation turned towards William. This just confirmed his suspicions, and he wished he could do something to help.

But for now, all he could do was what Oliver was asking of him.


Notes:

Okay, so I'm not sure whether all of the companies in Starling also changed their names when the city's name was changed from Starling to Star so I decided to keep the original Starling City National Bank here. It would take a lot of money for a company to change their name and everything that came with it.

I made a slight change in the previous chapters, Laurel is not the DA, she's only the assistant DA, sorry! I read up on DA's and what they do and stuff like that and decided she's only the ADA, all will be explained in time. Sorry! Should've done my homework sooner.

Plus I swear I have been writing, just parts of upcoming chapters. I've restarted my Arrow season 5 catching up thing… and I've actually reached Episodes 15 and 16 and I'm sort of positively surprised… there is some plot, and there is stuff I can use for my story, finally, still think there's a lot of filler stuff going on, not enough focus on Adrien and Talia, can't believe what they did to Thea, and I just can't vibe with all the new characters. So, every scene with them in it is filler for me… which makes it like at least half of every episode.

So I finally got back to my Arrow Season 5 rewatch, the episodes are so bland and I can't believe how cheap Thea leaving was done. Yeah, Thea is Moira's daughter we always knew that, it's why Oliver needs her around. It's why she needs Oliver around.

Still don't like New Team Arrow. I'm sad they didn't put more effort into Susan Williams and her and Oliver's relationship. It could've been interesting to watch her figure it all out and making that one of the main subplots including the aftermath of everything. Thea and Felicity's actions would have been so much more impactful had we gotten the chance to actually get to know and care about Susan and not constantly forgotten that she exists and have Oliver tell us that he had once again cancelled on dinner with her, for the third time in a row… how about showing us? Susan and her storyline had so much potential, it's sad how they wasted it.

Same goes for her kidnapping.

I really wish they'd been bolder and would have gone all the way with Felicity and Helix and turned her into the enemy otherwise it was pointless... no fall out for her, no reason for that storyline. Period. What I liked about that plot so far is that it shows that no, Felicity is not the best Hacker in the world, far from it. That was nice. Lol.

So, yes, watching Arrow has inspired me a little and I'm finally able to start and put all of the underlying Plot with Ruvé, Prometheus etc together… this is why it's taken me so long to update this time around. Everything is coming together, lol.

Chapter Title is from the song "Hailie's song" by Eminem.