Disclaimer: I own nothing. I know, totally shocking news.

Loving Her

We return you to your scheduled program of Oliver's P.O.V.

Oliver hadn't intended to stay this long. His original plan had been to meet Olivia, listen to Dinah's explanation for her disappearance, convince her to come back to Star City, and have his whole family united in Star City by the afternoon. Yet here he was, still in Swanann City, and it was after seven in the evening. Dinah hadn't even given her explanation yet! In his heart though... it was worth it. Spending time with his wife and the daughter he hadn't known existed until yesterday? Priceless. Having all twelve of them together would be even more so. (Was the family really that large!? But that was including in-laws and grandkids, so it made some sense.) Needless to say, he was a little anxious to get home, but it looked like it would have to wait till the next morning.

"Olivia, time for bed!" Dinah called for the little girl, as 7:30 was her bedtime.

"Not without a story," Olivia come out of her room already wearing her pajamas.

Oliver's eyes widened and he covered his mouth with his hand to muffle a snicker.

His daughter was wearing light green pajamas, that had arrowheads, that were a darker green, on them.

Dinah rolled her eyes at him. "I'll have you know that she chose them solely on the colour."

"Then she has great tastes." He was barely able to keep his laughter in check.

"And I have had no doubt in my mind that she inherited it from you."

He finally lost the battle over not laughing. To his great appreciation, Dinah joined in.

"What's so funny?" Olivia demanded.

"Nothing," her mommy waved her off.

Frowning, Olivia waited for her parents to turn their attention back to her. "Daddy, please read a story to me?" She offered a book out to him.

"Sure, kid." He took the book. "Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots? , by Carmela Coyle. Huh, sounds like a good one."

Olivia flashed a shy smile. "It's my favourite."

"Well then, we'd best go read it."

Oliver held Olivia's hand as they walked back to her room. Olivia snuggled under the blankets, as her daddy sat beside her, reading the story. He glanced up at one point and had caught a smile from Dinah, who was standing in the doorway. His beautiful Prettybird.

At the end of the story, Dinah came all the way in. "Good night, Olivia," she said kissing the girl's forehead. Oliver then leaned over and kissed his golden haired princess, also on the forehead. "Night, Olivia."

"Goodnight, Mommy. Good night, Daddy."

She was already half asleep as Dinah turned out the light and they left her room.

"Daddy?"

He had pulled the door almost all the way closed when she called out. He reopened it, and saw her sitting straight up in the bed. He asked, "What is it Olivia?"

She bit her lip, eyes wide, and whispered, "You aren't going to leave again, are you?"

He bit the edge of his own lip. This was it, now was the time.

"Olivia."

She looked at him. Her fears of being left were evident on her face.

"I am never going to leave you again."

Her face lit up, and she nodded before lying back down in her bed. He shut the door softly. Turning, he realized that Dinah was crying. Had he just done something he shouldn't have? A promise he couldn't keep, perhaps?

"Do you mean it?" Her voice was soft. "Do you really mean it?"

The tears were not of anger or sadness, as he had feared, but of hope.

"Dinah." He knelt down in front of his golden haired queen, taking her hand. He looked up at her. "I am never going to leave you again, either of you."

Conflicting emotions washed over her face. Joy, of the moment. Sadness, for the promise he could never fully keep. Love, unbound. Pain, of the past. And most of all, Hope, for their future.

He rose, still holding her hand, and she pulled into a kiss. It was sweet, and good for the first kiss they had shared in over four years.

He was the one to break it, whispering to her, "God, I've missed you, Prettybird."

"I've missed you, so much, Robin Hood."

He laughed softly. "Still calling me that?"

"You're still running around with bows and quivers full of arrows." She shot back at him, with a smirk.

They walked back down the hall. He hated to break their moment, but he needed to know. "Dinah. Why did you leave?"

She shot a hesitant glance at him, sinking down as she sat on the bed. He leaned against the wall, waiting for her to speak.

"When the League told me that you were dead," she began, shakily. "I couldn't believe it, I didn't want to believe it. Life without you, I had never felt that alone in my life."

Dinah wrapped her arms around herself. "The League created a cover story of your jet crashing into the ocean, so the whole world knew that you were gone. There was a public funeral, with all of those fake high class people pretending that they knew you. The tabloids were living in the driveway... it was bad.

"And in the midst of it all I found out I was pregnant."

*****And we interrupt it again***** *****Dinah's P.O.V.*****

She couldn't believe it. It had to be wrong. Why now? Ollie was gone, why couldn't she had had a child when he was alive?

A child.

Ollie's child.

Dinah pulled back the curtain of the window. Yep, the tabloids were still there. Once those vultures heard about the baby... she was never going to be out of the spotlight. If this child grew up here, that child was never going to be out of the spotlight. Could she live with that?

She couldn't.

She couldn't inflict that kind of torment on a child. But what other options did she have?

'You could leave.'

She flinched at the thought, but it had wormed its way in.

If she left, she could start again without the spotlight. She wouldn't live in a house haunted by the memories of her husband, her love, her Robin Hood. If she left, she'd have to leave the kids... but they were grown. Roy had his own family. Artemis had Wally. The other Roy clearly didn't want anything to do with the rest of the family, he hadn't even come to Ollie's funeral. Mia... Mia was an adult, she had taken over being the primary archer of Star City when Ollie had left for space. She was fine on her own, all of them were. Dinah wasn't needed.

Now she was truly considering it. But where could she go?

She glanced at a map near by her. A city caught her eye.

Swanann City...

Dinah Lancen.

She tried to keep it close to her original name, but she doubted anyone would connect the florist Dinah Lancen with Dinah Queen, who had disappeared in the night a month after her husband's death. Not to mention Dinah Queen had no children, while Dinah Lancen was going to have one sometime in February.

She been hired by a local florist shop, 'Flora and Fauna's'. The owner, Sandra, who didn't even know anyone named Flora or Fauna, had only asked Dinah one question when she offered her the job. "Is he in the picture?"

Dinah had hesitated, not responding to the older woman's question.

Sandra sighed, "I watched my sister go it alone too. Word of advice: have friends to support you, it is not going to be easy."

It had been Sandra who had been there when Olivia was born.

Olivia Dina Lancen. Dinah wished she could have given her the last name of Queen, but then there would have been questions. It had been suspicious enough to put Ollie's name as the father.

Olivia grew up with Sandra as an aunt of sorts. "That little girl sure looks like you. Well, except for her eyes."

"I know."

"Her eyes are your favourite feature, am I right?"

*****Oliver's P.O.V.*****

"And I've been here ever since."

Her eyes were downcast, and she played with her necklace.

"Dinah."

She looked up for the first time since she had started talking. Her eyes were two pools of grief and remorse. He sat down beside her.

"I get it. You did what you felt needed to do. And Olivia is better off for it. I grew up in that spotlight, it does nothing good. It took me falling off my own boat to recover from it."

He wrapped his arms around her, and she leaned her head on his shoulder. He ran his fingers through her hair, wondering when was the last time they had just done something as simple as this. She kept fiddling with the necklace she was wearing. He didn't realize what it was until the light caught it.

It was her rings!

He gently took the chain out of her hand. It was diamond ring and the golden band that he had the match to. He pulled his out of his pocket and held it beside hers'.

"You put yours on a necklace?"

Dinah shifted beside him and whispered, "It was the best way to keep you close without actually wearing them."

Oliver reached for the necklace, asking, "May I?"

She nodded, and he lifted it over head. He then undid the clasp, removing the rings from the necklace. He knelt in front of her, holding the rings. She held out her left hand to him. He took it, slipping the rings on to Dinah's hand for the second time in his life. He kissed the ring, as he had done years earlier when she had agreed to marry him.

She held her hand out to him, palm up. He realized what she wanted, and placed his own ring in her hand. She took it and slipped it onto his left hand.

"I love you."