Emma

Chapter 8

"So... have you thought about what you're going to say to her?" Thea asked. The tone of her voice told Oliver that she wasn't exactly curious.

Oliver gave her the side-eye, and then looked straight ahead once again. The road up ahead was mostly empty since it was still quite dark. It was going to be a long drive to Central City, so they had left early. His hands were clammy because of all the conflicted thoughts and emotions swirling around in his head and heart, but he gripped the steering wheel of his ever-reliable pickup truck more firmly. He knew his sister wasn't going to let this one go just like that. It was a good thing that Emma was asleep in her booster seat at the back.

"Ollie, I'm serious," Thea continued.

"Well, if you promise not to keep asking anymore until we get home, then I will answer your question," he said without looking at Thea. He took her silence to mean yes. "If you must know, yes, I did a lot of thinking last night. But, no, I still don't know what say to her."

"I knew it," Thea said, crossing her arms in front of her in sheer frustration. "You are so getting into trouble. I just don't understand why you have to do this. You and Emma and me? We're doing just fine. We don't need her in our lives."

"Emma does."

"Says who? She doesn't care. She cheated on you and then left without so much as an explanation. It's been seven years, Ollie. If she wanted to know how her child's been doing, she would have already done something."

"Thea, I don't want to judge her any more than I already have in the past. Emma was right. When I told her that her birth mother is still alive, do you know what she told me? Emma thought hard and said that her mother must have had her reasons. She's the smartest and strongest of us all." Thea was quiet, so Oliver continued. "This is what Mom would have wanted. She told me so in her letter."

"Well, Mom's not here anymore," Thea replied quite adamantly, trying so hard to keep her voice down so as not to wake Emma. "Look, I know Mom wanted you to give Emma the chance to get to know her mother if and when she asks about her. But Emma only asked to see Felicity because she's fascinated about meeting her at STAR Labs. She hasn't made the connection yet, has she?"

This time, Oliver was quiet. Thea wished she could read his mind, but she was almost sure what his answer was. She heaved a sigh and said, "I still think this is a bad idea." He didn't hear the remark of disapproval from his sister, because his mind was already preoccupied with how his talk with Emma had gone the night before.

Oliver turned on the lamp on Emma's bedside and tucked her into bed. He kissed her on the forehead, hoping that she had forgotten all about his promise to get back to her about the trip to Central City the next day with Thea. When he pulled the blanket over up to her chest, Emma suddenly asked, "So, may I go with Thea to Central City tomorrow?"

"Emma," Oliver paused and sighed, "why do you really want to see Ms. Felicity? If you have an interesting question about tech stuff, we could probably just send her an email or something. I'm sure that could be arranged with STAR Labs."

"It's not about tech stuff, Ollie. It's really important," the little girl replied.

"Why don't you tell me what it's about? Then I get to decide if it's really important enough for you to miss school and travel that far just to ask her in person."

Emma's eyes narrowed and her forehead crinkled as she bit her lip. She was obviously thinking hard about whether or not she would tell Oliver what was in her mind. After a minute, she told him, "I wanted to ask Ms. Felicity if she.. if she was my mother."

Oliver tried to keep himself calm. He knew Emma all too well, and he'd been anxious that she would be able to put the puzzle pieces together, after how things had gone down at STAR Labs last week. But he just wasn't prepared for this. He cleared his throat and then asked, "Why would you ask her that?"

"Well, when you told me that my real mom is still alive somewhere, you did say that you knew who she was, and that you and her were very close friends. Didn't you?"

Oliver thought hard to recall their previous conversation a few months ago. A small smile indicated that he conceded, and he replied, "Yeah, I think I did say that. What of it?"

"Last week when we met Ms. Felicity at STAR Labs, you said that you knew each other, and that you were 'good friends.' It was kinda obvious that there was something more there. Coz you two looked at each other... differently. Like you knew something that I didn't. She looked at me like she was about to cry. And she loved my name! So I thought, if my real mom was a very good friend of yours, and if Felicity too was a good friend of yours from before, what were the chances of them being the same person? If they're not, then maybe Ms. Felicity also knew my real mom," Emma babbled ever so coherently, if there was such a thing.

Oliver shook his head in fake disbelief. He realized that he'd been reading Emma right all along. The only thing he thought of saying was, "Emma, if you wanted to know who your real mom is, then all you had to do was ask me. We talked about his, remember?"

"I know," Emma replied, "but I figured if you really wanted to tell me, then you would have already. After STAR Labs, I thought that maybe, you never really wanted me to know. It's been almost a week. You know that, right?"

"Guess you're right, kiddo," Oliver answered. "But you can ask me now." He smiled at her reassuringly.

Emma yawned, fighting off sleep. She really wanted to know the truth. "Ollie, I want to know who my real mom is. Is Ms. Felicity my mother?"

"Yes, she is," he replied with a nod. "I only found out a few months ago the day after your birthday. Honestly, I didn't know where to find her if and when you asked about her. What happened in STAR Labs had been... a surprise."

Emma was quiet this time, processing the information in her head. Her eyelids were drooping a bit, but Oliver could tell she was resisting the urge to fall asleep.

"So, now that you know who your birth mother is, I guess there's no need to go up to Central City tomorrow," Oliver remarked.

"Oh, I still want to go!" Emma's eyes widened in anxious anticipation.

"But why?"

"I wanna ask her something else."

"Which is...?"

"I wanna know why she gave me up. She seems like a really nice person, and very pretty too. I wonder why she gave me away. She must have been in deep trouble."

Truth be told, Oliver had been scared half to death at the prospect of Emma confronting Felicity, but he had been more amazed at, and overwhelmed by, his little girl's intelligence, empathy, and courage - which was why he couldn't find it in his heart to deny her request. By the time he had turned off her lamp and switched on her night light, he had already given permission for her to go with Thea to Central City.

The only problem was that Thea hadn't been willing to take Emma to STAR Labs. Thea didn't want to be the one there when little Emma faced off with Felicity. Oliver tried to convince her otherwise, but she had vehemently refused. "You want Emma to meet her mother? You go and take her then," Thea had told him sternly. Which was why he was now the one behind the wheel of his truck, driving into Central City.

He dropped off Thea earlier than they planned for her job interview, and then he and Emma stopped for brunch at Jitters. He needed caffeine. And he needed time to pause for a while and think through what he was going to say to Felicity. He and Emma were going to see her at STAR Labs in an hour. He'd better know what to tell her, especially since they were coming to see her without an appointment. He wasn't even sure if she would be willing to see them. He figured he should talk to Emma about that before they left Jitters, so that his little girl wouldn't get her hopes up unnecessarily. He wasn't really aware of it, but perhaps he needed that talk for himself just as well.

A/N: Your thoughts on this one?