*A/N: Thank you all! As promised, here is the ending! -KM
Izzy looked up from the letter with tears in her eyes. Roy's head spun. He knew the Merlyn family by reputation only, and what he had discovered from Felicity of Malcom's involvement with the Undertaking. For Izzy to go from complete stranger to mortal enemy, to reluctant ally-and now this-was almost too incredible for belief.
Gordon eyed her carefully, tears in his own eyes.
"I checked over the paperwork, and Rebecca Merlyn did indeed transfer legal guardianship of her baby over to my wife. Therefore, Isabella," he cleared his throat, "I would like to offer you a home-in my home."
Izzy was still fighting to reconcile the reconnection with the woman she once knew and the revelation of the mother she never knew. "What?" she gasped hoarsely.
Gordon glanced at Roy, "This goes for you too, young man. I would be happy to welcome both of you as members of my own household. No more watching from trees, no more hiding in plain sight-you have both lived so long without family, but no more... if you will accept." He glanced from one sibling to the other.
Izzy's chin quivered. The dream she'd suddenly fallen into wouldn't seem to end. She reached out slowly, as if one touch would make the whole scenario disappear. Her hand met Gordon's, and he squeezed it comfortingly. Impulsively, Izzy stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Gordon. He laughed and hugged her. It felt every bit like she always imagined it would.
"Yes!" She gasped as the tears ran down her face and soaked into his polo. "Yes!"
Gordon kept one arm around Izzy's shoulders and extended a hand to Roy. "How about it-son?" he asked.
Roy couldn't make his voice work. He heard Oliver's voice in his earbud. "You can if you want to," his mentor said. "We were wrong; Gordon DuPries is a good man. We have full confessions out of the real conspirators."
In that one comment, Roy knew exactly what he would decide.
"Thanks for the offer," he told Gordon. "But I sort of already have a family."
Gordon nodded. "That's fair; well, anyway, you're always welcome here."
Roy nodded. "I have to go," he said.
"Of course. I'll see-"
"No thanks," Roy shrugged away his offer. "I'll find my own way out." He turned and slowly trudged back toward the front hall.
"Roy, wait!"
Izzy's voice caught him just as he walked out the door. He turned in time to catch her full-on embrace.
"I don't hate you anymore," she whispered to him. "I'm glad I finally got to meet my brother." She pulled back, and the two half-siblings smiled at each other. "Don't be a stranger, 'kay?" Izzy asked.
Roy chuckled awkwardly. "Yeah, okay."
Two weeks later...
Oliver straightened the cash register drawer of the Verdant-finally able to reopen under his management-and clicked it shut. Across from him, behind the bar, Roy was poring over the manual on how to mix various drinks and familiarizing himself with the various ingredients. So what if he had at least a year still before he would be legal? Roy Harper had come a long way in earning Oliver's trust, and Verdant needed a bartender. So long as nothing happened during the six-month probationary period beginning with the grand re-opening, Oliver was confident he had nothing to fear.
"Hey!" A voice called. "You guys have anything to drink in here?"
Oliver looked up toward the front door and grinned as Izzy and Geraldine DuPries sailed in hand-in-hand. He straightened his collar and met them in front of the counter.
"Pardon me," he said gravely, "can I see ID's from you two ladies?"
Izzy snorted and rolled her eyes. Gerry giggled.
"Busted!" the younger girl smirked.
Izzy dug out her wallet and showed Oliver the ID. It plainly showed that she was a year older than the legal age. Geraldine, on the other hand, was only a few weeks shy of 21.
Oliver shrugged as if he couldn't help but uphold the rules. "Sorry, we don't serve minors here," he stated.
"Whatever!" Izzy cried, dragging Gerry over to the bar where Roy stood. "What's your policy on being served by a minor?" she jabbed her finger at her younger brother.
Oliver sighed; she had him there.
Just then, Izzy's face broke into a grin, and the three friends shared a laugh. Even Gerry joined in.
Izzy surveyed the club approvingly. "It looks a lot better than the last time I was here," she mused.
Oliver, meanwhile, was surveying her. "You look better, too, Izzy." The young woman had forgone the scuffed jeans and dirty hoodie for fashionable skinny jeans, suede ankle-boots and a cute floral top.
She shrugged and hopped onto a barstool. "I go by Bella now," she stated easily.
Oliver nodded; Bella seemed to fit her and the new look much better than Izzy had.
Bella slapped the bar, "We'll take two strawberry daiquiris," she said.
Behind her, Oliver cleared his throat noisily. Bella huffed.
"Make one virgin," she groaned.
Roy grinned and shook his head as he mixed the drinks.
"What's the occasion?" Oliver joined the pair at the bar.
Bella took a sip of her drink, nodded her approval to Roy, and announced, "Gerry and I are getting ready to go overseas as exchange students with a girl's academy in Oxford."
"Of course, we're going to tour Europe first," Gerry added.
"That sounds great," Oliver remarked.
Just then, a cell phone beeped. Gerry pulled one out of her purse. "It's Dad," she told Bella. "He wants to know if we'll be back in time for dinner before the ballet."
Bella took one last sip of her daiquiri. "Have I ever gotten you home late?"
Gerry nodded and began texting the reply.
Oliver walked the two girls to the door. Bella stopped as they reached the entrance and she told Gerry, "Go wait in the car, I'll be out in a sec." Gerry nodded and left her with Oliver.
Bella waited till Gerry was out the door, then she told Oliver, "The DuPries' may be my legal family now, but y'all are still my real family," she confessed. "Take care of my brother, okay?"
Oliver nodded. "He'll be fine, I promise."
Bella smiled and exited the building. Oliver watched the two of them pull out. As one "guardian" to another, he thought, it's going to be okay.