Someone to Watch Over You
A/N: This is a bit too long for a regular drabble, but I couldn't help it. Enjoy reading just the same. :-) This one is in both Oliver's and Felicity's POVs.
Summary: Green Arrow and Overwatch are on a search and rescue mission. Who they're supposed to find and keep safe is what sets them on edge.
Drabble 3: Search and Rescue
"Oliver, please hurry," Felicity's frantic voice comes through the comms.
With a low, growly voice, he assures her, "I'm going as fast as I can."
She can hear the revving of his Ducati in the background, drowning out the noise of the streets in downtown Star City. She knows that her husband is telling the truth. He isn't Barry Allen, but she knows in her heart that he's doing everything he can to get to their kids, hopefully before anything bad happens.
It's Oliver's first time to suit up as the Green Arrow again after taking a much-needed break. He's had to recover from a recurring knee injury. (It's the knee that Slade had badly hurt years ago during the Siege – the same one that gives him nagging pain from time to time.)
Two months ago, he and the team had helped the SCPD take down an illegal weapons dealing gang in the Glades two months ago, and he had injured the knee when he had to jump off the third floor of a dilapidated building just before a bomb exploded. Other than that, he and the team had made it out relatively unscathed and had rounded up the criminals for arrest; however, Dr. Schwartz had specifically instructed him to rest the knee and allow it to heal. John, Rene, and Dinah had been taking turns patrolling at night since.
Tonight of all nights, Oliver can't believe that his first mission back from hiatus is to rescue their kids from possible danger. John isn't there for back-up because he's out-of-town assisting Lyla on a mission. Felicity has already sent Rene and Dinah after him, but they're coming from the other side of the city. They might not get there in time. Oliver knows he has to get to his kids and make sure they are safe.
He and Felicity have made a pact the day they decided to continue their mission of saving the city even as they raise their children and build a family. They promised each other that the safety and well-being of their kids is of utmost priority. That is non-negotiable and certainly not subject to compromise. They would be the heroes that their children needed them to be.
Oliver has been out patrolling for barely an hour when he heard Felicity's anxious voice in his ear, alerting him that an emergency notification has just popped up on her computer in the bunker. Derek Stone, the notorious leader of the weapons dealing gang they'd taken down, had escaped Iron Heights Prison the day before.
"Why are we getting this news just now?" Oliver asked earlier, his teeth clenching in utter frustration.
"Apparently the new warden wasn't too happy about the security breach and had kept the prison break under wraps until now. The report has just been filed with the Department of Corrections and Penology, which is why my programs hadn't pick it up earlier," Felicity explained, clearly upset like him.
The very first thing on their minds was William and Mia, whom they'd left at home in Raisa's care this evening. If Stone is out for revenge against the Green Arrow (who is also the mayor of the city), their kids would be at the top of the list of targets to be used as leverage against him.
Before Felicity could even alert Oliver, another security alert sounded on her computer, notifying her that one of the doors in their house had been disarmed. Raisa's phone wasn't ringing, and Felicity couldn't get through. That had been cause for worry. Felicity had accessed the CCTV real time feeds inside and outside the house but had found nothing out of place, yet no sign of their kids or Raisa either. There was just no time to go over earlier recorded footage. That had been cause for more worry.
Which is why Oliver is now breaking every speed limit and traffic rule just to get home – that is, a two-storey house a few miles outside Star City, known only to the trusted members of Team Arrow, Team Flash, and Lyla Diggle.
"I'm home." Felicity hears his voice in her ear. Everything else around him seems quiet. She can't see any cause for alarm through his body camera yet. She waits with baited breath for what she will hear or see next.
Oliver goes around the house and enters quietly through the back door that leads to the porch and the spacious backyard, which in turn leads to a pond where Mia loved to play with her pet ducks. The door, which is supposedly armed with security locks protected by Felicity's system, is ajar, and it makes him even more suspicious that something has gone horribly wrong. He doesn't call out the names of his kids. Instead, he sweeps the house stealthily in ninja-like fashion.
"House is clear," he whispers into the comms. "How far out are Rene and Dinah?"
"About ten minutes out," Felicity replies, her voice wavering. "Are they… gone?"
Oliver does not answer. All she hears is her husband's deep breaths. How is it that she can practically feel his heart pounding in his chest? It must be her own she's feeling.
"Oh, Oliver… our kids…" she whispers, as tears begin to pool in her eyes. "I knew I should have insisted on the tracking nannites," she adds with regret.
"Honey, calm down. We will find them," Oliver reassures her.
"But what if Stone has them? What if he hurts our babies?" she says worriedly. "What if…" She is cut off by the faint sounds of voices in the background. "Oliver, do you hear that?"
He is silent for a beat, and then he answers, "Yeah." Even in the dim light of the moon, she sees him dart across the backyard and run off towards the pond. She hears the voices in the distance, and she thinks she can recognize Mia's and William's voices, but she still can't tell if they are okay or if they are scared or calling out for help.
"Dad!" At last, she hears William call out. After a couple of seconds, their sixteen-year-old comes to view. He doesn't seem to be hurt or frightened.
"William? Where's Mia?" Oliver asks.
"Hey, Dad. Mia's over there with Raisa. They're trying to fish out her phone. Mia played with it and then ran off. She says she wants to take a picture of her ducks. She accidentally dropped the phone into the pond," William explains.
"What? How did she get out of the house?" Oliver asks in exasperation and disbelief.
"She's the daughter of Felicity Smoak, Dad. It shouldn't come as a surprise if she's figured out how to disarm the lock on the door," William replies, smirking.
"She's three!" Felicity yells over the comms in protest. She is just as exasperated and incredulous as Oliver. "How did you and Raisa not even notice she was gone?"
William chuckles and says, "She's also the daughter of the Green Arrow, you know."
Just then little Mia comes into the camera's view, Raisa following a short distance behind her, obviously upset. Felicity lets out a heavy sigh at the same time Oliver does. "Oh, Mia…" she speaks into the comms.
"Daddy, you're home!" the little blonde toddler shouts as she runs into her daddy's arms. She beams happily at her father as if she isn't going to be in any trouble at all.
She isn't. Oliver is just relieved that their children are both okay.
"Yes, sweetheart, and I am so glad that you and William are fine," he tells her. He hugs their daughter with one arm and reaches for William with the other. When they pull away, he tells his wife over the comms, "Honey, they're okay."
"Of course, they are," Felicity says. "For now…" she adds. "Tomorrow, they're both grounded."
Oliver chuckles. He knows his wife is just as relieved, yet she also means business. They can deal with the kids tomorrow, and make sure that the house, City Hall, Smoak Tech, and the bunker are secure in case Derek Stone is planning anything. But for now, he is just glad that William and Mia are okay.