Chapter 10:

Thea heard her voice starting to crack. She had spent the last several hours telling her brother about Chase and his schemes during the past year. There was so much more to tell, but that could wait. Especially since it was more important to discuss the plan to protect Samantha and William, and everyone else they cared about.

"I'm so sorry you had to deal with all that. Chase sounds insane." Oliver said. His eyes were glazed over; probably thinking about everything she told him. His face then became stern. "But I won't let him hurt you again. I know exactly what to do. You need to go to a safehouse with Samantha and William while I handle him."

"Look," Thea fired back. "I can't do that. You can face him alone. With John not agreeing to help you, you need me to take his place."

"Thea. I want you to be safe. You can't be if you fight alongside me. You deserve more than a life in constant danger."

Thea sighed. Damn, her throat was so sore. "I know. I really don't want to be a vigilante or fight anymore. I hate it when I lose control. I want to be out of all this for good. But I can't be with Chase, Malcolm and Slade out there. I can't let you do this alone."

"But, Thea, if everything you told me about Chase is true, he will stop at nothing to hurt you. I can't let that happen. I can't go after him worrying about you the whole time. Look in a mirror; your head is marred with dried blood, you're limping, your arms are bloody too. My arrow's left scars that will take a while to heal. You are in no shape to fight." Oliver's blue eyes stared deeply into hers, begging her to agree.

This Oliver was so different from the Oliver from her time. Less than a year ago, her Oliver had begged her to re-join the team. But this one wanted her away from the fight. He still thought he should battle the crazies in the world alone. He still thought of her as someone to protect instead of trusting her to make her own decisions.

"But I know how to fight. I was trained in Krav Maga. See." Thea decided to show him. She may lack the natural instincts, but she did know the moves. But as soon as she tried to stretch her leg, she felt a burning pain in one of her legs. She realized then that her body was proving Oliver's point. She had never wanted to be useless ever again, but her body had betrayed her. "You're right." Thea had relented then. She tried to relax, reminding herself that this wasn't the first time she had to sit out of a fight. But, at least, during those times, she knew that Oliver had a whole team to help him. "I'm too weak to help physically. I just wish you had someone to work with. Chase will be gathering followers." Thea paused. What could she do? "I'll go to the safehouse, but, in return, can I at least help you out with some prep first? Can we at least talk over burner phones while I'm away? Also, I can still help with simple hacking like getting into security cameras; Felicity taught me the easy stuff." She may be worn out physically, but she could still help in other ways.

"No. You told me everything about Chase. I can handle Malcolm too."

Thea groaned and grabbed his hands. She shouldn't have mentioned Malcolm; she had been careless from her lack of sleep. "I know. You can handle Chase. His strengths are manipulation, but he's weaker than you are physically. But you can't stop Malcolm. Not yet. He's powerful and has connections throughout Star City, and he's a far better fighter than you. I'm sorry, but it's true. He was trained by an elite assassin. Please wait until you have at least Diggle or someone as back up. Focus on Chase while I'm gone, please."

Oliver gripped her now shaking hands. "Ok. I'll be careful with Malcolm."

"Promise." Thea hated how weak her voice sounded.

"I promise."

"Thank you." Thea hoped he meant it. "And you let me help with the tech stuff." Thea yawned; the past day was getting to her.

"You're exhausted. We can discuss this in the morning. You need some sleep before we talk more."

Thea nodded. "Yeah. But I can't go to school, not when there's so much to do. I'm fine with hiding, but in return, I want you to let me do something before I go. And help me get my own bow and arrows. I tried so hard to find a weapon dealer who sells them, but no such luck. My hand should heal in no time, and I do need a way to defend myself."

"We'll discuss this after you sleep." In other words, he was not ready to relent yet. Great. She was so looking forward to a day of fighting with her brother until he saw sense. "I'll tell Walter we are having a bonding day today."

"Cool. Nothing like another one of your lame excuses." Seriously, how many motorcycle accidents can one person have? Though it was a good one for a novice learner; Thea just might borrow that one to explain her injuries.

Samantha hoped Felicity Smoak was alright. She appreciated the help and comfort the Felicity she met had provided both times that William was kidnapped by Oliver's enemies. While she was affronted by Felicity's insensitive comment on the island, she still cared about the woman's safety. Samantha had known better than to confront Felicity about believing she deserved to be consulted about the decisions in another woman's son's life. She decided to be considerate instead; remembering how well the other woman took Samantha's apology as they searched for William and Darhk in Oliver's team's secret hideout.

It wasn't like Felicity's expectation to be consulted was rare. So many girlfriends of fathers with illegitimate children had acted the same way. Samantha remembered when she and her friend Megan met Valerie, one of Jimmy's father's, Phil Stevens, former girlfriends. Valerie had accosted Megan during a family barbeque about how she was going to place Jimmy in a private elementary school. Megan, usually so quiet and considerate, yelled at the woman, telling her "No way. My son is staying at his school. All his friends are there. There's no need to waste money on a school he wouldn't even like."

"Well, Phil loves me. He's going to agree to anything that I say. So there." Valerie had hissed back before strutting away.

"I shouldn't have done that," Megan told Samantha and their other friends later. "Phil's business is Phil's business. I should have grinned and bear it and talked to Phil later. I talked to him later and he agreed to talk to Valerie. Apparently, she threw a hissy fit and he broke up with her. I could have avoided so much angst and causing the end of their relationship if I just kept my mouth shut."

With that story at the front of her mind, Samantha had planned to talk to Oliver after William was safely off the island. She had already caused the end of their relationship once before; she wasn't going to cause the end of their possible reconciliation. That was, of course, a moot point now that the Felicity who Samantha had known was gone. The present Felicity was in the same boat as Samantha: a civilian out of her depth.

Instead, Samantha had to deal with a worse problem than a disgruntled ex-fiancé, the deceitful grandmother of her son. Samantha had no clue how to deal with Moira.

Her friend Becky had dealt with her own share of controversies with her daughter's paternal grandmother, but most of those problems were arranging good days for Luke to see his Grandma Lucy. Plus, Luke's grandmother lacked Moira's influence because she was a middle-class, retired paralegal of a small law firm, and not a widow of a billionaire.

If only Samantha could go to the police and reveal Moira's involvement with the destruction of the poor section of Star City. But Samantha knew better than to risk her life; she heard news reports about how many people Malcolm Merlyn killed to succeed in his attack. William was in enough danger.

Samantha needed to stay calm. William was fine. He was enjoying a day with Jimmy and his other friends at school. Moira's men were watching him. As much as she hated Moira, at least she provided a temporary barrier between William and Prometheus. Hopefully, Diggle would agree to watch over William; it would be a relief to have a familiar face protecting her son.

Samantha had called in sick at work because she couldn't handle other people right now. But that left her without a distraction that she desperately needed. She left Thea plenty of voicemails this morning; at some point the woman would catch her up with last night's events.

Did the news report on Prometheus's attack? Samantha checked for news articles in the private browser; she doubted that kept anyone from monitoring her activity, but it felt good to at least try.

Apparently, a man named Max Fuller had attacked Felicity. Not that the article said anything about Felicity. Probably because Felicity was not a public figure. Oh god. Thea killed him. Samantha's body shook and she started hyperventilating. She knew this. She knew that the Queens were killers; she just needed to relax. They were heroes. They were the ones who were going to save William. They were on her side.

The people to fear were Prometheus, Moira Queen and Malcolm Merlyn.

The flip phone vibrated. Finally, Thea was calling her back. Samantha breathed in a deep breath. She was going to sound fearless. This was not a time to sound scared.

"Hi-i Th-he-a." Great. She stuttered.

"Samantha, this is Oliver, actually. Um, Thea's sleeping. She told me everything about what happened."

"Oh," Samantha chirped. She wasn't ready to talk to Oliver yet. Not with him knowing everything.

"I'm sorry that I got you and William in danger. I have a safe house near Central City that you can hide out in with Thea." Oliver continued talking, ignoring Samantha's inability to speak. "I'll handle Prometheus."

"I guess you and Thea made all the decisions without me." Samantha snapped. Oh, no! She shouldn't have said that. She wanted her first conversation with Oliver to be civil. That's why she wanted Thea there to be a buffer. "I mean. I get that you both know all about fighting criminals. And I, well, I talked to your mother yesterday. She said that she'll talk to Mr. Diggle about watching over William. So, yeah, that's an option too."

Silence. Great. Samantha was messing up. She made a move without consulting Oliver and then she went and said something hypocritical. What was it about interacting with Oliver that made Samantha screw up in all the worst ways? "I'm sorry I snapped. I shouldn't have talked to Moira about getting a bodyguard for William. I just was rattled when I saw her." Samantha then realized she mentioned Prometheus to Moira. "Oh no! I completely messed up! I mentioned that Prometheus hated you, Oliver, and that he might go after William because of that."

"It's fine, Samantha," Oliver said finally. "I'll deal with what to tell my mother about Prometheus. But John Diggle doesn't want to be involved in this."

"But-t-t." Samantha stuttered. She needed someone to keep William safe before she lost it.

"That's all right, though. Thea is going to take you to a safehouse I have set up."

"Oh," Samantha squeaked. That sounded good.

"Look, Samantha," Oliver's voice turned wary. "I'm sorry about the lawsuit. We should talk about sharing custody of William after this is over. But for now, I'm fine with you hiding."

Samantha's heart started beating fast. No. No. No! That won't work. "No. You see, well, the other you saw that William was in too much danger with you in his life, so he valued William's safety more than spending time with him. He was traumatized by the kidnappings. It's better for you to stay out of his life. Don't you want him to grow up happy?" Samantha argued back.

So much for her dream of a civil conversation with Oliver. They were in two completely different points of view.

"I do," Oliver said softly. "I also want him in my life. I know the other me made a different choice, but I think we can at least try to work something out together."

Samantha sighed. "I do want us to be on the same side. I just wish we didn't have this dilemma where every option hurts one of us. I guess it's best to leave this subject be. Can we agree to just talk about custody in court and focus on keeping William safe with a madman out there?"

"Ok." Finally, some form of agreement.

"Thank you. When do you think William and I can go to the safehouse? Your mother currently has some people watching us. How can I lose them?"

Samantha heard some ruffling at Oliver's end. "Thea wants to talk about that too. I'm going to put us on speaker."

Samantha would bet a million dollars that Thea had been awake the whole time, and Oliver had just pretended that she was asleep in order to have the custody conversation solely between them.

"Hi! I've got a plan to distract mom's men so we can sneak off to the safehouse. Basically, I'll do a prank call and while they're answering, we can sneak out the back, walk a few blocks and then we'll drive away."

"What if Moira tries to use me hiding as an excuse to deny my custody?"

"I'll send you a written agreement I signed. It states that I agree that you can hide in secret until January 2013. That should give me enough time to handle Prometheus." Oliver answered.

"That works with me." Samantha let out a long breath of relief. At least they agreed on something. "When?"

"Probably tomorrow. I've got some more information to share with Oliver, and I'm setting up some alerts on people that Prometheus may attack. Several other last-minute convos like that. You know."

Samantha did understand. It was a life and death situation. "I get it. But why leave Oliver alone? I'm sure you want to help Oliver through this mess."

Thea huffed. "I do, but I'll be more of a hindrance than helpful. I got injured last night and I need some time to heal. I'm still going to help with the tech, but in hiding. We all have a part to play in this mess and mine is to make sure you and William are safe."

"Oh. I'm sorry. But at least you're the one who survived. Did you have to kill Max Fuller?"

"What?" Oliver yelled. "Are you saying that Max Fuller was the one who attacked Thea and the IT girl last night?

"I guess that was one of the three henchmen," Thea said quietly.

"And one of Oliver's enemies," Samantha added. "I think I remember him from some party. Didn't he date someone at Brown? Darla, right?"

"I remember her." Oliver said. "Can't recall her name, but that sounds right."

"You had a one-night stand with her, right? Oh! God! Was that the wedding hook-up?" Samantha remembered hearing the story from her sorority sisters. Fuller likely hated Oliver because of his actions as an irresponsible Playboy.

"The rehearsal dinner." Oliver sounded pained.

"We all have regrets," Samantha said. "You were a different person back then. God, the things I did in college. I'm sure I have a slew of enemies for my actions as a flighty sorority girl." She still hated herself for having sex multiple times with the boyfriend of her former best friend, Fiona.

"I hope you never have to face people trying to kill you for those mistakes." Thea interrupted. "Killing over sex is so passé. Those people need to realize that we're all only human and what we do when we're young doesn't define us."

"I wish," Samantha agreed. "But it is what it is."

Thea stared at the computer in front of her. She had been typing up Billy Malone's name when she joined in on Oliver and Samantha's conversation. She still had several more names to add alerts for - after much back and forth, Oliver had finally agreed to her doing some tech work. Thea had decided to broach the topic of her getting weapons with him another day. Thea hands refused to type up anything. Instead, all she saw was the three men she left bleeding out at the Queens Consolidated fifth floor lobby.

Thea killed Max Fuller. That wasn't supposed to happen.

Sara Lance. The League Men. Possibly any of the people she had ever fought or the arms dealer. Max Fuller.

She only meant to save Felicity's life. She never wanted to kill again. But she lost control and shot and fought three nameless men without thinking. One was dead. The other two must have gone to Chase to report on what happened. Chase most likely knew that she came to the past as well by now.

She had chosen to leave the vigilante life behind because she never wanted to kill again or let her ruthlessness take control over her. But she forgot that last night; feeling like it was more important to be Speedy than protecting the world from a terrible person like her. Oliver was wrong. Thea didn't need to go in hiding to protect herself from Chase; she needed to hide to protect herself from herself.

"What's wrong?" Oliver always knew how to read her.

Thea took a moment to add Jessica and Madison Danforth's name to her alert system. The alerts would allow her to discover if anyone in her and Oliver's life was targeted by Chase. The computer's wireless system was connected to a tablet that she would take with her to the safe house.

"Nothing. I'm just feeling so terrible," Thea sighed. "I tried to be careful, but sometimes I lose control. But there's nothing I can do about Fuller now. It's just another item on the list of my darkest moments."

Oliver was quiet, likely thinking about his own regrets. Thea was sure he wished that he still had his innocent younger sister. But all he got was her. The screw up who keeps running off while a serial killer was on the loose.

"I was thinking," Oliver broke the silence. "That you deserve a break. Since I'm forcing you to hide out after you're done, I thought we could go to Laurel's, check on her. Tommy told me she returned from the hospital and is taking a rare day off from work. We can then go to Tommy's and have some dinner. Perhaps, we can add those security cameras you suggested. I do think it is useful to watch out for them and others that way."

Thea nodded. "I like that. I have the perfect excuse for my disappearance- rehab." Thea was so proud of that idea. It made so much sense and could explain why she changed so much when she returned. "Plus, it would be nice to check on Laurel and I do want to tell Tommy that he's my brother too. It would be good for him to know. Who knows how long Chase will be out there?"

Oliver tensed. "I … What if Tommy tells Malcolm? We shouldn't risk that."

Thea shook her head. "I can't do that. He deserves to know." What if he or Thea died before she had a chance to tell him? She didn't want Tommy to die again without knowing he had a sister who loved him. She hadn't told Oliver about Tommy's, their mother's or Laurel's deaths. She wasn't planning to. She doesn't want him to feel guilty about them. Thea had already burdened him with enough future tragedies.

"You told me Malcolm is dangerous. That you couldn't risk him finding out," Oliver said.

"Tommy won't tell. He's good at keeping secrets. He found out about you and never told anyone. Anyways, it's my secret to tell. It's not like I'm going to make you tell me what happened the first time you returned home. You can either come with me to both or stay here and brood."

"Fine." Oliver sighed. "You know I'm not letting you walk around Starling alone while Chase is out there."

"Oh! What would I do without my overprotective big brother?" Thea quipped. He was such a worrier. "Come on, I'm ready to go somewhere without these god-awful fluorescent lights."

"Lieutenant Conahan," Thea greeted in surprise. She recognized one of the police officers guarding Joanna's apartment. She had seen his photo plenty of times after his untimely death as the Throwing Star Killer's first known victim. Thea had organized a small ceremony to honor him. His wife had made a heartfelt speech while clutching her baby son tight.

"It's Officer Conahan actually," The handsome young man said. "Are you all right, Miss. Queen? Do you need to sit down?"

"Gosh, if he was a Lieutenant, he wouldn't be stuck with the lookout duty of a spoiled princess," the grimacing officer beside Office Conahan spoke before Thea could answer. He was another attractive young brunette. Did the police academy put up an ad requesting that fit, ripped men?

"Laurel's not spoiled," Olive blurted, his voice hostile.

"I apologize for my partner, Mr. and Miss. Queen." Officer Conahan said. "He's a bit overtired. I think you should take a break, Daily. I'll keep watch of these two."

Officer Daily nodded and swaggered away. Thea only just met him, and she could tell that Officer Daily was one of those arrogant, dickheaded cops.

"Miss. Queen…" Officer Conahan began with a concerned frown, but Thea interrupted him.

"I'm fine. My leg's healing. It's good for me to stand for a bit. I'm sure you know how it is after an injury on the job."

The police officer nodded. "True. It is good to keep it elevated."

"We are here to see Laurel. We heard she's back from the hospital." Oliver explained.

Officer Conahan checked a notepad. "You're not on her list of visitors. I'll see if she's willing to see you both."

"Thanks. Say we really want to talk, and that Ollie here has a whole big, ass apology to share." Thea instructed.

The officer only nodded and left Thea and Oliver alone in the hallway outside of Laurel's room.

"If this doesn't work, I guess it's on for Plan B." Thea sighed after a few minutes, tapping her good foot impatiently. Plan B involved Oliver sneaking in through Joanna's apartment window as Thea chatted with the police officers on duty outside. It had taken forever to get Oliver to agree to Plan B. "Actually, I'm all for doing it…"

Officer Conahan walked out of Laurel's room and beckoned them over. "She agreed to see you."

A flash of relief encompassed Oliver's face. Thea was sure he was excited to see his ex-girlfriend. It was fascinating to be in a time where Laurel was the girl on the top of Oliver's mind instead of Felicity. Thea considered telling Oliver that he and Laurel didn't work out but realized that Oliver deserved to decide for himself about whether he wanted to pursue a relationship with Laurel. She may want to change the timeline to save lives, but she didn't want to influence other people's love lives.

They entered the apartment together. Laurel was leaning against a wall with her arms crossed. "What do you want, Oliver?" Her eyes widened at Thea and in a slightly nicer tone said, "Hi, Thea. What ..."

"I'm fine. I'm fine." Thea waved her good hand in a dismissive motion. "I just learned that it's not a good idea to try out my brother's motorcycle on my lonesome."

Laurel frowned. "You should be more careful. You already got in the middle of my problems. I'm so sorry."

"God, if someone says I'm sorry one more time today," Thea grumbled.

"Laurel," Oliver said in a reverent tone. "I hope you are recovering."

Thea inwardly groaned. Her brother in this time period was so awkward around Laurel.

"Ok." Laurel rolled her eyes. "I am. Why do you care all of a sudden Ollie? You were fine with not visiting me at the hospital."

"I didn't think you wanted me there." Oliver said.

"Well, you were right. But I don't want you here now, and here you are. So much for a day to recover. I should have just ignored Jo and gone to work," Laurel grumbled as she gripped the edge of Joanna's closet's doorknob.

"I wanted to check on you. I'm sorry I was unable to see you at the hospital." Oliver said solemnly.

Laurel's lip twitched. "You didn't miss much. Just your little sister being attacked."

"What?" Oliver growled and he turned to Thea, his eye's burning. "You didn't tell me that?"

"I forgot about that." Thea snapped. She had been so focused on covering Chase's misdeeds in her timeline that she forgot to mention her little fight. "There's so much to tell you. I can't remember to say everything."

"Whose fault is that?" Laurel gripped. "You were gone for years Oliver. But here you go again, so caught up in your partying and boozing and fucking to bother to check in on your sister. Here you go, using your sister as a shield to keep me civil."

"Laurel, calm down." Thea snapped. "Ollie hasn't been doing all that. It's just so hard to be around people that Ollie needed a few days away from the world. You know everything is so loud and crowded here. A rough transition from a deserted island."

Laurel sighed. "Sorry. I guess I just don't understand. Your brother said he was going to leave me be, but here he is ignoring that."

"Ollie," Thea turned to her brother who appeared irritated. She really should have remembered to mention her fight with Chase. "Give us the room. I think it's best that I talk to Laurel solo before you both burn down Joanna's apartment."

Oliver nodded, probably grateful for the excuse for time to put up the surveillance cameras. He was always better at secretive, vigilante-type work than interacting with his friends and family as himself.

After Oliver left the room, Laurel's shoulders relaxed, and she smiled. "I know you don't want to hear it, but I am sorry. For the Triad and for fighting with Oliver in front of you."

"I know." Thea limped over to stand closer to Laurel. She could smell the familiar lavender scent of her friend's perfume. "I don't blame you. Somers was a terrible person who should never have owned a company. He's the one I blame for the Triad. And I understand that it will be a while until you and Ollie can get along again."

"I don't think that happened. I tried to see the best in him, but he just … can we just not talk about him? I don't want to say something that I'll regret later."

"Yeah." Thea glanced around the room and saw a linen sofa in the nearby living room. Looks like Oliver was finished with that room. "Want to sit down? I have so much I want to tell you."

Thea chatted casually with Laurel for a few minutes. She talked about some celebrity gossip Margo mentioned and asked some questions about CNRI that she already knew the answers to, but she wanted to distract Laurel. Oliver needed time to effectively ensure that they could videotape Chase's possible incursions into this place.

"Anyways, I want you to know that you're not alone and, while I need to do something, after it is over, I'm here if you ever need someone to vent with," Thea told Laurel when she saw Oliver standing in the corner near the apartment's closet. It was time to end her reprieve with her old friend.

"Thea, thank you." Laurel smiled. "But don't worry about me. I'm not alone. Between you coming into my life again, my dad, Joanna, everyone at CNRI, I'm perfectly happy. I can handle being around Ollie again. I just hate..."

"I thought a bit about what you said at the hospital," Thea cut in. Oliver didn't deserve to hear more of Laurel speaking badly about him. "About my own problems with substance abuse. I can't expect to persuade you to encourage your father to get better, if I don't help myself. So, I decided to go to rehab for a few weeks."

"Oh." Laurel's eyes widened in surprise. "That's terrific. I'm glad you're doing that. But what about school?"

"I can always repeat the semester or get a GED. It doesn't really matter." Thea doubted the importance of attending or graduating high school. She managed just fine as a high school graduate who barely passed her classes. "I just want to spend some time clearing my head from all the pain. I've been so lonely the past few years. I lost people I cared about, and I couldn't handle thinking about it too much." That was true. "So, I'm going to use rehab to talk about it with others who understand."

Laurel leaned in and gently hugged her. Her friend whispered. "Get the help you need. I'll be here when you get back."

Thea felt tears drip from her eyes. She hoped that was true. She hoped choosing to leave town to protect Samantha and William instead of staying near her closest friend was the correct path forward.

Tommy Merlyn grinned as he staked his clothes that he gathered from his living room into his closet. He needed his apartment somewhat clean before his best buddy and Oliver's sister came over tonight. He had been beyond thrilled when he received Oliver's text that they were coming for dinner. Tommy had barely seen his friend since he came back from the dead. Thea did a great job at convincing him to interact and to stop moping over Laurel's attack.

Speaking of Laurel, has she replied to his text yet about coming over tomorrow night? The message remained unanswered. No problem. She was probably busy having a pillow fight and girl talk with Joanna. At least she was out of the hospital and made a full recovery. Hopefully the Triad had left town now that the Hood killed Somers.

Now, less thinking of serious stuff. What else did he need to do? Right! Find the perfect shirt just in case Oliver decided it was time for a night at the clubs. What about the light blue button-up shirt that a hot girl fondled over the other night? There it was! Splendid.

Either Oliver or Thea knocked at his door. Yes! Time for some fun.

Tommy opened the door to Oliver's grinning face and Thea. Oh, no!

"Thea! How did that happen?" Her hand was bandaged, and she appeared to be limping.

"Ollie let me try out his motorcycle. Didn't go that well," Thea explained.

"Well, don't stay standing, come in. Take any chair you want. I can get you some ice."

"No need," Oliver said. "We already have. We now just need to wait for Thea to heal."

"I'm fine. Trust me. This is nothing." Liar. Tommy inwardly squirmed as the girl he saw as a little sister stumbled over the marble floor to a velvet chair at his dinner table.

Oliver followed in and pressed three Big Belly Burger bags into Tommy's hands. "Now host, be a pal and put these on some plates." He then whispered to Tommy, "Try to not ask too many questions about the accident. Thea had a hard enough day already."

"What happened?" Tommy asked back.

Oliver stared at him. His eyes unreadable. "We had a few disagreements. But after much convincing I convinced, er." Oliver paused. "Her to go to rehab." Oliver stared blankly ahead as if he was actually sharing bad news.

"Wow," Tommy said cheerfully. "Good job, Ollie." Tommy had been trying for years to convince Thea to stop taking drugs. He hated the low-life drug-dealers that ran rampant in the Glades. The people who spread drugs in the world cause innocent people like him to be blamed for their actions. Laurel's father would never let him live down the rumor that he drugged a girl for sex.

It wasn't like he was blind to the fact that other wealthy people could be horrible. He won't forget that Martin Somers hired the Triad to kill poor Laurel. He still was spooked up about seeing the woman he adored lying in a hospital, only surviving thanks to the miracle of a successful surgery. He just wished that all the criminals in the Glades would be jailed for good instead of multiplying before more innocent people like his mom and Anna Ballard were murdered. And don't get him started on the serial killer murdering rich folks that was most likely from the Glades. He spent enough time wondering why the Hood spared him and Oliver.

Enough bad thoughts. He needed to think positively. Life was good and getting better. Just three weeks back and Oliver was already making headway with Thea. Everything really was better now that Oliver returned from the dead.

"That's not the reason we're here though," Oliver was saying. "Thea has something else to tell you and please promise that you won't tell anyone. Especially Malcolm."

"Oh, yeah, whatever it is, my lips are sealed." Now Tommy was curious. Why would he tell his dad anything? Oliver knew that he and his dad had an estranged relationship. His dad was far from the person he would share private information to. What secret could make Oliver so serious? Not that Oliver being serious was abnormal since his return. Closed-off and mysterious; that was the new Oliver. A stranger in his best buddy's skin.

Soon afterwards, the three of them were eating the burgers at Tommy's table. Since Oliver and Thea were remaining quiet, Tommy tried to lighten the mood with some light babble about his date the other night with a lovely blonde and his thoughts on the football season.

As soon as he paused - he needed a second to figure out another topic to talk about, Oliver said he needed to use the restroom. After Oliver left the room, Thea finally spoke, "Sorry if we seem quiet. I recently told Oliver something and he's still gathering his thoughts about it."

Tommy nodded. "Ollie told me about rehab. I'm glad you're going."

"I'm sorry I gave you such a hard time about it." Thea looked so dejected. Poor girl.

"Don't worry about it. Ollie's your brother. Of course, he'd be the one to get through to you." Tommy envied Oliver for many reasons - Laurel loving Oliver more, Oliver's better parents, Oliver's luck in charming strangers-, but never the bond he had with his sister. "Anyways, Ollie did say you had something to tell me. But if you don't want to..."

"No. I do. I really do. It's just don't tell Malcolm. Please. I don't want him to find out. I have enough to worry about without him bothering me about a relationship." Thea glanced backwards. "Anyways, here it is. My mom and Malcolm had a relationship back in the day. It was after your mother's death."

"Oh." Tommy wasn't expecting that. He had thought that Moira knew better than to become romantically involved with his aloof and selfish father. But why did that matter? If what Thea said was true, his dad never cheated on his mom. Her mother was the sordid one.

Her next words fried his brain. What the hell? Why? This couldn't be true. Why would Moira keep this from his father and him? Moira had taken the place of his mother after she was killed by some sicko in the Glades. She raised him during those two years when his father disappeared. How could she keep this from Thea, especially after Robert Queen died? She needed a father so badly the past five years. There was only so much a screwed-up kid like him could do.

"Tommy?" Thea's voice was soft. "I know this is a shock. I'm sorry if this disturbs you to know."

"It's great news." He tried to sound happy. He should be. Thea really was his little sister. He finally did have a family member who was warm for the first time since he was eight. He had more than his cold and uncaring father who he rarely understood or could simply relax around. But all he felt was anger at Moira for not telling him. She saw how hard Thea was struggling and how many times Thea told him to piss off because he wasn't her brother.

"Glad to hear." Thea beamed at him. "I'm really glad that we're really siblings. Though I guess it doesn't really change much because we're already close."

"It changes everything." Tommy tried to laugh. What was the perfect goofy joke for the situation? His mind was drawing a blank. "I can finally say, well I'm your brother when your boyfriends ask me why I'm getting into their business." Damn. That was pathetic. Not funny at all.

Thea snorted. "Have at it. But trust me, if I want to be with someone, no amount of intimidation can stop me."

Oliver came in and glanced between them. "All good?"

"Everything is swell, buddy." Tommy changed seats to sit beside Thea and threw an arm around his sister. He needed to stop thinking about Moira's deception for a few hours. "I'm ready to celebrate! Drinks on me!"

"Um." Thea patted his back. "I don't think that's a good idea. I'm going to rehab for a reason."

Right. Stupid Tommy, forgetting that very vital detail. "Then a mocktail. Janice's and the Juice serves the best virgin pina coladas."

"That won't work tonight. Our mom returned home from a trip. She wants to talk to me and Thea about something."

Damn Moira. He really needed a night out with his favorite people.

Thea nodded. "We should head over. Give her my news." She turned back to Tommy. "Only the three of us, mom and Walter know what I told you. I like to keep it that way."

"And Diggle."

"Right. He overheard, but he won't tell anyone."

"Guys," Tommy interjected. "What about dad? Ollie told me to not tell him, but he really should know." He couldn't imagine keeping this secret from his dad. So many people knew about this who shouldn't like Walter and the bodyguard. His dad deserved the truth.

"I'm not interested in a relationship with him. I know he's a terrible father." Thea said darkly. Woah, Thea's eyes looked so furious. What did dad do to make her so hateful towards him?

"But."

"It's Thea's choice. She's his biological daughter. She can choose who knows." Oliver's tone left no room for disagreement.

"Please Tommy. Think of all the times he ignored you. All the times he forced you to call Ollie's driver for a ride home from school. All the times dad, Robert, stood in for him when you both got into trouble. The two years Malcom disappeared. He's nothing to me."

"Fine. I'll keep it from him." Tommy knew she was right. It just hurt him to hear the words. Thea had a choice in fathers: Robert, Walter, theirs. All Tommy had was the terrible one.

Author's Note:

I'd like to thank RubySanders; our discussion on Thea and rehab inspired me to use that as an excuse for Thea's disappearance.