Someone to Watch Over You
A/N: This time it's Oliver and baby Mia all by themselves in the bunker. Let's see how that goes. ;-)
Drabble 2: Cute Little Crawler
Oliver can't believe no one was available to watch Mia.
Felicity is on a business trip in D.C. to woo a possible investor for Smoak Tech, and Curtis is with her. Dinah is in an important meeting with the Police Commissioner. Dig is babysitting JJ because Lyla is overseas on an emergency ARGUS mission, and their sitter isn't available on short notice. Rene is at home because Zoe is down with the flu. Oliver does not have the heart to cancel William's sleepover and ask him to look after his baby sister.
He is down in the bunker with his baby girl, and Felicity's computers have been beeping with notifications. Twenty minutes ago, a fire was reported near his father's old foundry in the Glades. Now there is a robbery in progress, and there is a high-speed police chase due to a shooting in the business district. Oliver had already foregone patrolling to watch over Mia, but now he is itching to suit up and help. He wants to get out there and help, beginning with stopping the robbery, yet he can't leave Mia unattended. He certainly can't bring his nine-month-old baby with him. But being a hero is in his bones. Even when he was imprisoned in Slabside, he was able to help, and ever since he was released, he'd still been suiting up as the Green Arrow unmasked, helping the SCPD and the citizens of Star City in any way he can.
For months since his release and his eventual re-election as mayor, he's been adapting to the repercussions of his past on his present identity. He already accepted the fact that separating his two personas isn't the key to becoming a hero after all the hardships he's endured, despite his morally questionable choices and actions in the past. Since his reunion with his wife and the reconstitution of his former vigilante team, he's been adjusting to who Oliver Queen is now. Now that everybody knows who he is. Now that everybody trusts him as mayor the second time around to protect Star City during the day. Now that he doesn't need to wear a mask to help people at night.
His role as a parent is a different story. It hasn't been easy to parent William, and it had been rough between them in the beginning, but their relationship has grown deeper despite the challenges. Oliver is really good at parenting a teenage son, as Felicity affirms and attests to. However, being little Mia's daddy has been quite unnerving for him. At times, he feels inadequate to be responsible for a tiny baby. Sometimes he feels like he might crush her in his grip. He'd rather take on Mirakuru soldiers or the League of Assassins than look after a helpless infant. The simple task of bathing Mia or changing her diapers scares him at times, as if their nine-month-old daughter is a fragile porcelain doll.
A loud crash steals his attention. He turns to check on Mia, but she is not on the training mats where he left her playing less than a minute ago.
"Mia!"
Oliver scans the bunker for signs of his baby girl. He follows where the loud crash came from, and then he spots his daughter in a corner, sitting in the middle of dozens of green arrows on the floor. Unscathed. He lets out a deep sigh of relief. Mia is smiling at him. Naughty little Queen!
Calmly, Oliver picks her up and sighs. Let the SCPD deal with the emergencies. For now, this cute little crawler needs the Green Arrow's undivided attention.