I own nothing.

Starting from the Ashes

Time to change this up! Introducing... Dinah's P.O.V.

Warmth.

That was the first thing to filter through her mind, in that early morning. It was also distinctly not the warmth of waking up in warm blankets. At least, not entirely, she could feel the presence of said blanket. However, she could feel another source of heat, something behind her. She pressed her back into what was not something, instead it was someone, behind her. Her eyes flew open.

Who was sleeping in her bed with her?

She tried to twist around, but found that the other person in the bed had his arms wrapped around her. She struggled around, and came face to face with Oliver Queen. Memories of the previous night came flooding back.

He was alive.

She drank in the sight of him. The darkness of the night hadn't allowed her to get a complete look at him. He had a full beard now, and as much as she and the kids had enjoyed teasing him over his it, she had loved the look of that dorky goatee on him. Not that the beard looked bad... but it another thing that had changed, however minor that it was. She wondered what the kids would think of his absent goatee. The kids... no she didn't want to think about them. It hurt too much to think of them. Especially since the hurt was her fault.

She dragged her thoughts back to Ollie, not that that involved too much dragging. It was nice to be able to think of him without feeling like she was about burst into tears of grief. She might cry with joy though, but that was better.

There were newer, though faded, scars on his face and arms. She disentangled one of her arms, and reach up to touch his face. It just felt too good to be true, but here he was. Her Robin Hood was back.

He stirred, his eyes opening to reveal those green eyes that she hadn't seen in over four years.

Yet she had seen them every day for the last three years. When Olivia was born, she had looked very much like Dinah. Olivia looked so much like her, that Dinah had worried that Olivia wouldn't have any features that was obviously Ollie's. Then one day, about six months after Olivia was born, Dinah had picked up her sleeping daughter. Olivia had begun to wake as soon as her mother had picked her up, and her eyes had opened then for a split second, giving a flash of green. Dinah had frozen, disbelieving what she thought she had seen, but then Olivia fully opened her eyes, blinking sleepily and giving a small yawn. Dinah hadn't imagined it, Olivia eyes had settled. And they had settled in the shade of green that Ollie's had been. Or rather, were.

"Morning, Prettybird."

Her breath caught in her throat, it the nickname she had never expected to hear again. Her breath was just going to keep getting caught and stolen away from her today, wasn't it?

"Morning, Ollie."

Ollie seemed content to hold her, and as much as she simply wanted to lie there with him for the rest of the day, she knew that they had things to do. It was a good thing she had today off from the store. If she hadn't had it off, she would have been calling in to get it off.

The first order of business, it appeared, was to disentangle herself. Ollie eased his hold on her as he realized that she was getting up. She walked over the chest of drawers, dug through a lower drawer, and threw the articles of clothing at Ollie. She was choosing her own clothes to wear for the day as Ollie called out:

"Now I have to wonder what you were doing having my clothing in your possession." She didn't have to see his face to know that he was joking. She just rolled her eyes and ignored him.

She got dressed, and as she reached for her necklace, she paused. Should she wear it? She had worn it every day since he had appeared to have died... but he was back now, was it appropriate? She made up her mind, slipping the chain over her head.

"I'm going to go get Olivia up," she called as she left the room.

Olivia had insisted on dressing herself in her favourite outfit, which consisted of a green tee shirt and a knee length black skirt. Olivia's favourite colour had always been green. Dinah had the opinion, which she hadn't shared with anyone, that the colour was something she had somehow inherited from Ollie.

"Who were you talking to last night?"

Dinah smiled at her daughter's sharp mind, she certainly hadn't forgotten the promise made the night before. "Olivia, you know you have a daddy, right?"

"Yeah. Everyone does."

"Well," started Dinah. "I was talking to your daddy last night."

"Really?" Olivia looked in awe at her mother.

"And he's here to meet you."

"Really, Mommy?"

"Yep, he's waiting in the kitchen, right now." Olivia grabbed her mommy's hand and pulled her towards the door. As they neared the kitchen though, Olivia ducked behind Dinah.

"What is it Olivia?"

"What if he doesn't like me, is he gonna leave again?"

Dinah crouched down beside her, "He is going to love you. Now come on."

Olivia trailed behind Dinah as they entered the kitchen. Curiosity though, got the better of her. As Ollie got up out of the chair he was sitting in, Olivia looked out from behind Dinah.

"Ollie, this is Olivia. Olivia, this is your daddy." Dinah watched as Ollie sank down to their daughter's level.

"Hello, Olivia," said Ollie with a smile.

Olivia moved to beside Dinah, instead of hiding behind her. The little girl pointed at Ollie's eyes, at her own, then back at his, in wonder.

Ollie grinned, "Yep. We've got the same eyes, kid."

"Like I got Mommy's hair?"

He nodded. "Just like how you have your mommy's hair.

After breakfast, it was decided that the three of them would go to the park. She had watched in amusement as Ollie had realized that Dinah was including him in the decision making. Olivia had been ecstatic at the idea, as the little girl's favourite place to go was the park that was a few blocks from the house.

They left the house with Olivia holding Dinah's hand, Ollie trailing a step behind them. It felt kind of wrong to have him not walking beside them, but it was his choice. They were about half way there when Olivia stopped and let go of her mommy's hand. Dinah looked over in alarm, had she fallen? Instead of her child possibly being hurt, Dinah watched in amazement at Olivia as she held out her hand to Ollie.

Take her hand. Please, take her hand Ollie.

"Please, d-daddy?"

Ollie froze at her unexpected action and words. But he took the small hand in his own larger one.

Olivia beamed, and dragged him forward. Ollie stumbled forward with the momentum of his daughter. As Olivia run past, she grabbed her mommy's hand. Dinah looked over at Ollie, and they shared a grin over their daughter's antics. Laughter danced in Ollie's eyes. It had been too long since the last time she seen that.

She never wanted to be separated from him again. It was time to start again, from the ashes of the past. It was time to start healing.