From the Darkness Into the Light


April 24th, 2008, 5:09 PM

Laurel Lance entered the family home and called, "Dad? Mom?"

Her father came out of the living room into the hall entry with the TV remote in his hand. "Laurel. Your mother's upstairs." He paused for a moment. "I'd wait until she comes down so you can tell us both together."

She could see in his eyes that he was dying to ask how Moira was, but was restraining his curiosity for the moment. She had spoken with him briefly on the phone while driving home, telling him Moira and the baby were both fine and that Dr. Gill would be making a statement shortly.

Footsteps sounded on the stairs and Dinah Lance entered. "Laurel." She crossed to stand beside Quentin. "Your father told me you called. How are they?"

"They're both fine." Laurel exhaled slowly, readying herself to answer the question they both wanted to know. "It's a boy."

Her mother gasped, hand flying to her mouth. Quentin blinked slowly, then said, "Well, I'll be damned. When I saw her at Easter, I had a feeling, from the way she was carrying, that it would be a boy." Laurel did not miss the slight shine of tears in his eyes; though he had raged against Oliver and the Queens in the early days after the Gambit's sinking, the unexpected news of Moira's pregnancy, as well as the memory of his affection for young Gabriel and Thea, had muted the worst of his rage. He made it clear to Moira that while he would always despise Oliver for taking Sara on the yacht, he deeply grieved the loss of Gabriel and Robert. "If you or Thea ever need anything, call me and I will come," he had said. "It's the least I can do after you lost Gabriel. I know Thea is taking it hard. He was her twin." Laurel herself still found it difficult to believe that the cheeky, smiling 12 year old was gone forever. "How's Thea doing?"

"She's thrilled to have a baby brother, but at the same time I know she misses Gabriel terribly," Laurel said softly. "She cried when Mr. Merlyn came to tell us the baby was a boy."

"Poor kid," her father muttered. "She shouldn't have to cope with such loss at her age." Silence fell as they all thought of the young teenager who now had to live the rest of her life without the brother she had been inseparable from since their birth.

"Are you going back to the hospital later?" her mother finally asked.

Laurel nodded. "After dinner. I told Mrs. Queen I would come back for a short while. Tommy is taking Thea back to the mansion and staying with her tonight, as will I. I'll head over there when I leave the hospital."

Quentin nodded. "Good. Thea doesn't need to be alone. Did you say Malcolm Merlyn was there too?"

"Yes." Laurel blew out a breath. "He was by her side the entire time."

Her father's eyebrows shot up. "In the delivery room?" He whistled. "I didn't see that coming. Of course he was close friends with both her and Robert." And Oliver's godfather, was left unsaid.

None of the Lances could even guess at the real reason Moira had asked Malcolm Merlyn to be by her side, a reason that went far deeper than his friendship with Robert and standing as godfather to Oliver -

because all four of her children were not Robert's, but Malcolm's.

The familiar tone of a breaking news alert on TV interrupted them, and the three hurried into the living room just as a live feed from outside Starling General Hospital came on the screen. A news anchor was saying, "We are coming to you live from Starling General Hospital, where Moira Queen is confirmed to have been admitted around 8:30 AM this morning in the early stages of labor, three weeks before her due date. Mrs. Queen's doctor, Philip Gill, is expected to make a statement any minute."

Laurel and Quentin both leaned forward as they spotted the hospital doors opening in the background and Dr. Philip Gill emerged, followed by Tommy Merlyn, much to the surprise of both. The clamor from the reporters rose to a crescendo as they shouted questions at both the doctor and Tommy. Gill, in his white physician's coat, radiated calm confidence and authority as he stepped up to the microphones. Tommy stood two paces behind the doctor with hands clasped, an inscrutable expression on his face.

"Mr. Merlyn," a reporter shouted, trying to get Tommy's attention, "have you visited Mrs. Queen?"

Dr. Gill held up his hands for silence. "I will issue a brief statement, but neither I or Mr. Merlyn will be answering questions, so please, save your breath." That prompted some grumbling from the press, but Gill continued, "Mrs. Queen was safely delivered of a son at 2:58 PM this afternoon." The press went wild at his words; he had to wait a full minute for the clamor to die down so he could be heard. "Both she and the baby are doing well. With her permission, I can tell you that his name is Robert Alan Queen Jr, for his father."

The clamor rose again and a breaking news banner flashed across the bottom of the TV screen: CEO's Widow Gives Birth to Son.

"They will be discharged from the hospital in the next few days. I know that if Robert Queen were here now, he would be delighted by the birth of his son. I request that the press give Mrs. Queen and her children their privacy over the next few weeks. Thank you."

Gill stepped away from the microphones, ignoring the shouted questions from the press. He and Tommy turned and headed back into the hospital as the cameras flashed behind them.

The feed switched back to the news studio as a photo of Moira Queen appeared in the top right corner of the screen. "Quite a turn of events," the anchor said. "Moira Queen's pregnancy was announced in late October when she was 10 weeks along. At 43 years old, she surely never thought it possible she would be a mother again. However, her new son's birth may help fill the hole in her heart left by the death of her husband and older sons in the sinking of the Queen's Gambit last September." A photo of Robert, Oliver and Gabriel appeared - Gabriel smiling cheekily while Oliver had his arm around his younger brother. Robert Queen stood behind his sons with his hands on their shoulders. "Oliver and Gabriel will be in her heart always, while Thea and little Robert will be at her side."


It was almost 6:30 by the time Laurel returned to Starling General and made her way to Moira's room. She rapped on the door. "It's Laurel."

"Come in, Laurel," Moira replied.

Laurel pushed the door open and entered the room. To her surprise, Malcolm Merlyn was still there, standing at the window looking out at the lights of the city. He turned as she approached and she saw he was holding little Robert in his arms. The baby was fast asleep. Tommy was sitting in a chair while Thea perched on the edge of the bed beside her mother.

"How is little Robert doing?" Laurel asked Moira as she sat in the other armchair.

"Dr. Gill just came by and examined him," Moira replied He was very pleased with how well Robert is doing."

Just then the baby stirred and began to fuss. "Shh," Malcolm whispered, rocking him slowly back and forth. "Shh, Robert." He adjusted the boy's blanket, tugging it up to cover his chest. Laurel caught the look in Moira's eyes as the older woman watched her long time friend and her little son. It almost looked like ... regret mingled with a bit of pride. Regret that Mr. Queen isn't here to hold his son, the lawyer thought - completely unaware that the baby was in the arms of his true father.

Tommy stretched leisurely before he stood. "Thea, we should go back to the mansion. It's late and I'm starving."

The young girl looked reluctant. "I don't want to leave Mom."

Moira nudged her daughter's arm. "Go on, Thea," she said gently. "You need to get a good night's sleep. Tommy will drop you off at school tomorrow." She raised a hand to forestall Thea's protest. "I know tomorrow is Friday, Thea, but I want you to finish out this week without having to miss more than one day." Thea looked sulky, but nodded. Moira looked at Tommy. "Will you bring her by in the afternoon?"

Tommy nodded. "I will, Mrs. Queen," he said seriously. He leaned down to give her a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow." Moira hugged him before turning to her daughter and taking her in her arms.

"I love you, Thea." The thirteen year old gave her mother a brief hug.

"I love you too, Mom." Malcolm stepped away from the window and sat down on the other side of the bed, transferring the baby to his mother's arms. Thea leaned over her little brother, emotion clear on her face, and pressed a kiss to his forehead.

Thea will be a great big sister, Laurel thought as she watched the siblings. Watching over and protecting little Robert will help her heal. They'll have Tommy too; he's always been as good as a brother to Oliver and the twins.

Little did any of them know that at that moment, on the inhospitable island of Lian Yu in the North China Sea, two castaways had partnered with an ASIS agent and a young female lawyer/pre-med student to rescue her father and thwart the plans of a mercenary who sought to destroy the economy of the PRC.

Far from drowning when the Queen's Gambit sank, twenty-two year old Oliver Queen and thirteen year old Gabriel Queen were very much alive, but it would be another four and a half years before their survival could be revealed to the world and they returned home as the Emerald and Scarlet Archers to bring justice to Starling City and right their presumed father's wrongs - a mission that would pit them against their true father and his plans to destroy the Glades.