Part 3

Ollie poured some custard into a bowl, and threw in the slices of banana he had chopped up..giving them a quick stir with the spoon to make sure they were mixed into the custard before placing the bowl in front of the little boy who sat in the kitchen, on a pile of books that Ollie had carefully stacked on the chair to prop the boy up high enough to reach the table properly. "There ya go kiddo..get that into ya." he said as he stepped back and leaned against the sink watching the boy eat.."So Kyle wants you on this case with him huh?" he asked the young man who sat at the other end of the table.

"It'll only be for a couple of days...But maybe you should ask Dinah to watch Roy..." Connor began.

"Nah kid..I can handle this..'sides Dinah is deciding whether we should tell Lian yet or not...We were gonna wait and see what Bats finds out from Zee before we make that decision...so for now we need to keep the kids apart." Ollie replied.

"But Dad...Mia's been called in to the Titan's..you're going to be here by yourself for a day or two, an..."

"Hey..your not thinking I can't handle this are ya?..'Cause I can..I raised this kid once before and...Hey don't do that!" Ollie said, moving quickly to grab the dish cloth out of the sink as the little boy, who had just spooned the first piece of banana into his mouth screwed up his face in disgust and spat the chewed up fruit into his hand, before flicking it on to the table and delving his hand in to the custard to pick out the other pieces of the offensive fruit.

Roy looked up surprised as Ollie began wiping up the banana. "Yuck." he said.

"Sheesh kid..I don't remember you being such a grot the first time around." Ollie grumbled, moving quickly to avoid the custard covered hands that reached for him.

Connor rose and walked over, picking up the bowl and going to scoop the remaining banana into the waste bin. "Perhaps that's because he was slightly older when you first encountered him." Connor said, returning the banana free custard to the boy and resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

The little boy pointed to the cloth that Ollie had wiped the last of the banana into. "That's yuck Boss man." he repeated.

"Yeah...I gathered that kiddo." Ollie replied, turning towards the sink as the boy returned to eating the remaining custard with gusto. "What kid doesn't like banana anyway." he grumbled to himself..trying to think about whether he'd ever even seen Roy eat the fruit.

"Obviously this one...maybe he hasn't eaten it before...Look Dad..I think it might be best if I tell Kyle..."

"Don't even think about it kid..It'll be fine..We'll be fine, won't we kiddo." Ollie said as he walked back over and ruffled the boy's hair."

"But.."

"Connor, stop worrying..if I get stuck I'll call someone...I'll call Dinah for crying out loud..I know what I'm doing...sheesh Roy's done it for the last five years with Lian, if he can look after a kid anyone can."

"Roy's a good father..."

"And I'm not?" Ollie said, knowing the question was a low act, but knowing it would get the result he wanted.

"I didn't say that, but...All right, all right, but I'll be ringing you tonight to see how things are going. Connor said..deciding any further discussion would only irritate his father..He would give Kyle a hand and get back as soon as possible...with any luck he would be home by tomorrow afternoon.

"Atta boy..Don't worry about a thing...we'll be fine." Ollie said pleased.

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Ollie's confidence was completely shattered...he had no idea what to do..He thought he'd done everything right, he'd read the boy a story and put the kid down for a napin the afternoon..just as he remembered Roy doing with Lian when she was younger, he'd played with him and found some old crayons Roy had in his room for Lian to use when she and Roy stayed with him..and he hadn't lost his temper when he'd turned his back briefly and the boy had scribbled all over the coffee table..in fact he was proud of himself for keeping as calm as he had when that happened.

He'd bathed the kid and even threw in some of that perfumed bubble stuff that Mia left sitting around the bathroom...He doubted that Roy in his adult form would appreciate bathing in a product call 'Lilac Whispers" but his younger self seemed to like the bubbles...Then thinking he was doing a great job, Ollie had even made the kids favorite for dinner...But that was where the trouble had started...the kid wouldn't stop crying..had been for what seemed like an hour, though Ollie thought, rationally it was probably much less but his pounding head felt it was that long at least. "C'mon kiddo..ya normally like the stuff." Ollie said yet again, as he paced back and forth in the kitchen with the child on his hip, the little boy's cries died down slightly and he rubbed his face yet again on Ollies shirt that was now soaked with drool and tears.

The boy sniffled and paused in his cries... looking up at Ollie with his big green eyes reddened from crying..Before starting again.

"Damn it... you're not leaving me much choice." The Archer mumbled..he hated the thought of having to call Dinah...and even if he did she wouldn't be able to get there for a while..she'd have to fly in, and that took time..Ollie paused in his pacing as an idea came to him..Well normally it took time..but not if you had the right associates.."Hang on kiddo...I'll get us some help." he said swallowing his pride and heading for the phone.

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"Let me get this clear...You want me to loan Dinah a Bat wing, so she can fly to Star City?" Batman asked seriously.

"Yeah Bats..look it's real important..an emergency..I can't get this kid to stop crying." Ollie said as the little boy who had momentarily fallen quiet began to grizzle again.

"What's wrong with him?" Batman asked, frowning under his cowl.

"He ate something.." Ollie replied

"What?" Batman asked.

"Something he usually likes...but now he doesn't..I think it gave him a pain in the belly or something..although he didn't eat that much..just a spoonful..and he spat most of that out...He's good at that..spitting stuff out I mean..."

"What did you give him Ollie?" Batman asked, his voice becoming hard in order to cut through the archers ramblings.

"Chile...it's his favorite..I always make it when he's visiting, He..."

"You gave him chille?...Your chille?" Batman asked incredulously...he knew about Ollie's chille..Dick had tried it once and it had taken three days for the boy to get any taste sensation back in his mouth again..in fact Batman remembered his ward complaining about small blisters that had formed on the inside of his lips afterwards..."You did make it a much milder version of your normal recipe didn't you?" he asked concerned.

"No..Well a little bit..he usually puts extra chille in his..but I didn't give him any this time..he just had it the...Hang on a minute will ya." Ollie said as he put the phone down for a minute.

Batman waited patiently, noting with mild alarm that the cries on the other end had ceased.

"Wew..he's okay...he's not dead or anything he just cried himself to sleep..had me worried there for a bit." Ollie said when he came back to the phone.

"Dinah will be there within the hour." Batman said.

"Aw..no it's okay Bats..kid'll probably just sleep it off and be okay when he wakes up...I won't give him no more chilli unless I make a mild..."

"She'll be there within the hour." Batman repeated, cutting the archer of and ending the call suddenly...As much as the adult Roy Harper annoyed him he wouldn't wish any harm on the boy...especially as an innocent three year old...he thought as he placed a call to Dinah.

end 3