Chapter 4:

Thea knew something was fishy as soon as Samantha mentioned that she never called the Queen's landline. Thea first thought that she was either mistaken, and the voice in the recording belonged to someone else, or someone called them with Samantha's number to encourage a member of the Queen family to investigate.

Since Walter found Samantha's identity via the phone number, Thea was leaning towards the answer that someone influenced her to visit Samantha. Plus, Thea checked Samantha's phone while she was sleeping last night, and she saw no phone calls to the Queen's landline. Someone re-routing Samantha's number to call them was more likely than not. The final nail of the coffin was an email Samantha received last night from someone with the initials SM.

Who was SM? He or she was likely someone else who died from the Lian Yu explosion. Most likely an enemy because of the email's threatening nature.

Thea shivered at the thought. If Prometheus, Talia al Ghul, Laurel's evil twin or, worst of all, Slade Wilson came back, Thea had no choice but to become a vigilante again and tell Oliver the truth as soon as they were alone. Thea could try to pretend that she could tell Oliver all about Malcolm Merlyn, Tempest and his other enemies, and end up able to continue an ordinary life. But Thea knew that her knowledge and skills were needed if Oliver had any hope to save their family, and all of their future teammates and friends.

Maybe, Thea was wrong, and none of the villains also time traveled. But this situation had an external manipulating force written all over it. The email had all the signs of being written by a time traveler. She had to trust her gut.

"Aunt Tia, who this?" William's question brought Thea back to the present. She was standing in Samantha's kitchen with Oliver and William. Oliver was looking around the room; his gaze focused on the hozen sitting on the kitchen counter. Thea would have to explain to Oliver why she gave it to William later.

"My brother, Oliver," Thea explained gently. Should she tell him that Oliver was his father? She knew that Samantha wanted to talk to Oliver first. But how could that happen with Oliver here and Samantha outside with her mother?

"I'm your father," Oliver said quietly, looking everywhere but at William. He grabbed the hozen from the counter and twirled it in his hands.

"Tia gave me that! So cool!" William reached out for it. She had given while Samantha slept in this morning, right after having a quick breakfast with William.

Oliver glanced at Thea, frowning slightly. "I meant it for you."

"I don't need it to feel connected to you."

Oliver smiled before finally gazing down at William. "I got it during a trip to East Asia. I'm glad Thea decided to give it to you." He pressed it in William's hands.

The little boy smiled and clapped his hands. "Me too! Love it!" Then, William asked curiously, "I thought you lost at sea. Mommy said. Wanta live here?"

Her brother frowned and he clenched his mouth. "I'm sorry, William. Since you mother and I live in separate cities, I cannot live with the two of you. But I plan on visiting plenty and spending time with you on weekends."

Who knew that Oliver's son would be enough to distract him from his mission his first year? Thea remembered how hard she and her mother tried to get Oliver to interact with them the first year. Thea had tried hard to reconnect with him, but she was never enough to draw him out of the dark place he was in.

But this time, Thea understood that he wasn't ready to talk about his past. She would focus on earning his trust to fight Tempest instead of encouraging him to distance himself from her teenage self's selfish requests that he act normal.

"Awesome! Want to see my Ninja Turtles?" Did he like showing those toys to everyone?

"Sure."

As her brother and William bonded, Thea wandered into Samantha's living room. Her laptop was sitting on a ragged, brown couch.

She needed to re-read the e-mail from SM one more time. Maybe it had some code in it that would reveal the culprit. Samantha would be back soon. Hopefully they would have time to discuss the email that was sent a little after midnight. She hadn't wanted to discuss it in public or around William.

Ms. Clayton,

Let's meet at the place you first saw our favorite islander again. Don't worry; I'll give you one more week to adjust. Come next Saturday afternoon at three. I have a few rules about how to accomplish a great second chance for the two of us.

-SM

PS- If you don't come, I guess little William should visit the island.

"What are you doing?"

Thea turned to find Samantha and Walter standing at the edge of the room. Where was Diggle? Wasn't he supposed to be Oliver's bodyguard? That didn't matter. Samantha was crossing her arms. Walter looked out of place in his formal black suit. Or did he? Thea was still wearing the dress she wore to court, after all. Maybe, Samantha was the one out of place in this scenario.

"Look." Thea waved Samantha over. "I found the perfect boots. Tell me what you think." She then told Walter, "Oliver's upstairs with William. Want to get him so we can leave?"

Walter nodded and left Thea alone with Samantha.

"Do you have any sense of personal privacy? That's my ..." Samantha gasped as she read the email.

"Someone came back too. One of our enemies," Thea said sadly. "The person probably left the message on my family's phone."

"And also knows I came back too." Samantha rubbed her eyes, tears started to fall. "How can I protect William if someone's out there? Worst of all, the person wants to meet next weekend. Why does he want to meet? Is he planning to kill William?"

Thea clenched Samantha's hand. "Don't worry. You won't be alone. I'll talk to Oliver and tell him everything. We will both be there to protect him. I know you won't want mom's help, but please let me. I can see if A.R.G.U.S can hide you too, or, better, Ollie must have a safehouse."

Samantha continued to cry, slumping down on the floor, completely ignoring Thea's attempt to comfort her. "It's hopeless. Between your mother and whoever came back, I don't think I can deal with any more of these threats. I'm not like you and Oliver."

Thea wrapped an arm around the older woman. Samantha continued to sob as Thea rubbed her back. "It's going to be alright. We will make a plan. Our enemy can't outsmart us if we work together."

"You can't guarantee that," Samantha snapped. "I'm sure you're happy with the thought that William has to stay here now that your mother and Oliver know. I can't leave town without it looking like I want to deny him of his paternal rights. So, none of your ideas work. It's hopeless."

Well, Thea knew that Samantha wanted to continue to deny Oliver his paternal rights. But she knew better than to mention that. Thea did understand Samantha's point of view, though. She wanted to use this second chance to protect William from the evil in the world just like how Thea wanted to protect Roy.

"I spent the entire last year running from my problems," Thea shared. "It didn't help at all. All it did was make me unavailable when my brother needed me the most."

Samantha looked away, leaning against the foot of the couch. "I wish things were simpler. But I know, no matter how far I run, there's always a chance that whoever wrote this email will find me again."

"You won't be alone. I'll be there to get rid of the bastard." As much as she hated ending lives, Thea was ready to kill the person who was threatening her nephew. She was leaning towards Slade or Prometheus because those two loved playing around with other people's fears and threatening Oliver's love's ones. Talia would be more subtle. The other Laurel had no personal reasons to target William. Evelyn was too much of an idiot to stay in the shadows this long. The worst option was Malcolm. She would hate that a time-traveling version of him would endanger William a second time. Especially knowing that she had plenty of chances to end him. "And don't worry about mom. I'll talk to her. Get her off your back for a few weeks at least." Thea hoped that helped. But it was hard to read Samantha's face; it was too closed off. But at least she was no longer crying.

"Thanks." Samantha said softly. "Though I barely know you, I'm glad you came back too. It's nice to not be alone in this mess." That was nice to hear, but Thea expected her to take back that sentiment any minute.

"Mommy!" Thea turned to find William running into the room. Walter and Oliver remained in the hallway. "Can daddy stay the night?"

Samantha took her son's hand and pulled him beside her on the floor. "Sweety, your father lives in another city far away. He has to go back to his life."

"But he'll be back next week." Thea chimed in. "Once we figure things out. He'll visit plenty."

Samantha glared at Thea, but Thea felt undeterred. What did the woman expect? Oliver knew about his son. Moira knew that he and Thea knew. Oliver's enemies would target William no matter where he lived. There was no point in forcing Oliver to never interact with his son. The best plan was to deal with all the crazies in the world head on. Thea needed to up her training and inform Oliver about his future enemies as soon as possible.

"Samantha, can I talk to you for a moment?" Typical Oliver, trying to relieve the tension.

Samantha groaned, but motioned Oliver to the kitchen.

It was as if Samantha was reliving a memory. Oliver looked exactly the same as when he confronted her in her home about William. His eyes glared at her with scorn and betrayal. He was insisting that he should be allowed to be in William's life. He followed her again into her kitchen. The only differences were Thea and Walter with William in a nearby room, and Moira waiting outside in her BMW.

As Oliver rattled off the same questions, Samantha found herself defending herself once again. "What did you expect Oliver? You were unable to raise a child. You were reckless, and a drunk, and a playboy with no sense of responsibility. I did what was best for our son."

"But I'm alive now. I changed. I should be in his life. You can't just stop me from building a relationship with William." Oliver's blue eyes were begging her to relent.

But Samantha wasn't a fool. She knew the dangers and she wasn't willing to risk her son's life again. "You know as well as I that your life is not one that should involve a child. I know what you are doing at night. I won't say the direct words because Walter is nearby, but I know, and I know that you know what I'm referring to."

"I went to a party to celebrate coming home. I'm not partying every night anymore. I can handle a night with William at the mansion."

"It's not about partying. It's...," Samantha paused. Why couldn't Oliver see what was so clearly the right choice? He was a vigilante with enemies for miles. One had come back in time and knew everything. He was the worst person to be near William.

"I don't want to take him away from you. I just want to be in his life. I'll come to Central City and take him to dinner, if you prefer. Just let me spend time with him."

This was truly a living memory. Oliver was still so stubborn, and still insisting to be William's father. There was only one way to convince Oliver to stand down.

"I'm sorry. I hate myself for keeping him from you." Samantha said, surprised by how much she meant those words. "I hate to make your life any worse than it already has been. I'm sorry that you had to suffer for five years. I'm sorry you will never lead a normal, happy life again." Maybe Oliver would understand if she explained the danger. Samantha leaned in and whispered in his ear. "I know you're the Hood."

Oliver stepped back for a moment before gripping her arm. "I don't know where you got that idea, but you're wrong."

"Oliver, I'm not going to tell anyone. Thea and I know what you're doing is good. I'm more afraid about the people you target. What they would do to William if they find out." Should she tell him that an enemy time-traveled?

"Samantha." Oliver's face stared at her intensely, darkness in his eyes. "You are wrong. I'm simply a man who came home from a deserted island who found out about his secret son who wants to know his son."

"It's fine, Oliver." Samantha sighed. "I'm not scared of the Hood. Look, think about it more. Think about the dangers that could happen to William. Then, come back, and we can talk more."

Oliver's grip tightened, and he leaned in. Samantha felt his hot breath on her skin. No. It was better for Thea to inform him about the dangers of the future. She needed to get away from this dangerous version of Oliver before he lost control. "If you say a word about your outlandish theory, I will have my lawyers sue you for libel."

"You mean slander," Samantha instinctively corrected. "Libel means writing what someone claims are untrue; slander is stating a lie. Not that I'm lying in this case."

Before Oliver could respond, Thea barged in, Walter and William were right behind her.

"Let's go home, Ollie," Thea insisted. "We had a long day. I think we all deserve some time to cool down."

Oliver nodded, he glared at Samantha one last time, before letting her go.

Samantha's body shook the whole time as Oliver walked to William and hugged his son. He was dangerous. Oliver had just contemplated killing her. Samantha was sure of it.

Thea placed a hand on Samantha's shoulder, and she flinched. "Stay away from me," She hissed. "Convince Oliver to leave us alone."

Thea raised her eyebrows. "There's no point at keeping them apart. He's not a mayor with the pull that can keep you in the witness protection program. Mom isn't going to let you control the situation. SM isn't going to stop bothering you if Ollie doesn't see William."

"So, you want me to give in? Let Oliver threaten me without any repercussions. So much for having my back," Samantha hissed.

"I'm going to do what I can. But I can't fix everything," Thea snapped.

"Aunt Tia!" Thea turned from Samantha to William. He raced into her arms.

She hugged him tight. "I'm going to miss you tons! Please remember to listen to your mother. Have fun with Jimmy!"

"Be besta playtime evah!" William cheered.

Like the girl cared; Samantha knew the girl was more than happy with the high probability of Oliver being involved in William's life.

After letting William go, Thea turned to Samantha, and said, with fake cheerfulness. "Thanks for letting me stay the night. I really enjoyed the chance to meet both of you."

Samantha nodded halfheartedly. "Just go, Thea. Do whatever you want."

Thea whispered in her ear. "I'll be back as soon as I can. Watch a gun tutorial and practice it when William's away. It's seriously not that hard."

"I can handle this myself. I don't need you." Samantha retorted.

Thea patted her shoulder like she was a child. Despite her younger body, Samantha was in her thirties for Pete's sake. "Yes. You do. See you soon."