Author's Note: Thanks for all of your reviews, follows and faves. I try to respond to them all, but it's harder for me on the weekends. And for anyone who's wondering, the final chapter count for this story will be 10.
Chapter 6
Oliver doesn't hesitate. The second he's through the window he releases four arrows in quick succession. They bounce off their target just like he knew they would, but he doesn't stop.
"Where's the boy?"
Damien Darhk rises from his place behind the big desk and smiles as if he's greeting an old friend. "A visit from my favorite man in green. Always a pleasure. Though I have to say I'm surprised to see you out in the daylight. I was starting to suspect you were at least half vampire."
"Where is he?"
"Could I offer you a drink? A tour of the grounds, perhaps?"
Oliver fires another useless arrow, and that earns him a chuckle.
"You are feisty today. My ghosts have been reporting that you're tearing your city apart, looking for a child, which is just so interesting. I keep a close eye on Amber Alerts- good citizenship- but I haven't seen a single one about a little boy missing in Star City." Damien sits in one of the overstuffed armchairs in the center of the room and motions for Oliver to do the same. "Now, I don't know anything about this child- William, is it? That's what my people have heard. But I have to say, I'm intrigued. Who is William, and why is the Green Arrow so interested in him? Please, share with the class."
He is playing games, and Oliver is tired of losing to Damien Darhk. With every passing hour he feels their chances of finding William unharmed slipping away, and now he is once again standing in front of this man who has tried to take everything from him, and once again, he can't do a thing about it.
"Not in the mood for sharing, then? Well, maybe we did start out on the wrong foot. Maybe a little small talk would help break the ice. Tell me, have you spoken to your friend Oliver Queen lately? How was his Christmas?"
It's not his words that break something in Oliver at that moment. It's the smirk that accompanies them. The memories of Felicity, they combine with images of William, just playing in his room, talking about baseball, and Oliver can't form a coherent thought. It's the only excuse he has for what he does next, which is charge Damien Darhk.
It ends the way it always does, with Oliver on his back, the breath being squeezed out of him. This man is unbeatable, that's the message Oliver receives every time he faces Darhk, and it is fucking unacceptable. It's not until Thea appears through the same window Oliver had bashed in that he sees a glimpse of uncertainty in Darhk's eyes. Then, she is beside him, and he can breathe again.
"And now the little one in red is here. Does that mean I'll have the pleasure of meeting the man in the intimidating but impractical mask next? How does he see out of that thing? Oh, or the woman with the supersonic scream? She's always fun at parties. I'm partial to the computer girl, but I've heard she doesn't get around as well as she used to." He trails off with a shrug, and Oliver is on his feet, ready to lunge again until Thea grips his arm.
"We're going," she says. Oliver turns to her, ready for a fight.
"Well, that is too bad. Do keep me posted on little William. I look forward to learning more about him."
Thea drags Oliver back through the busted window and down the driveway where Dig and the van are waiting. He doesn't resist because even though his encounter with Darhk was yet another failure, Thea's appearance has given him an idea.
"You okay, man?"
"I know how we can get an edge on Darhk. I should have thought about it before. There's an old friend from Detroit who knows about magic. We'll call her in. She can help us understand why Thea affects Darhk the way she does-"
"Oliver-"
"No listen, I know I'm not in a good place right now. I know I need to play this smarter-"
"But, Ollie-"
"My friend can help us. We can't keep going after Darhk the way we have been. We have to attack the source of his power-"
"Do you ever listen to anyone?" The annoyed shout is issued over comms, and it surprises Oliver enough that it does actually make him listen. "Lyla and Felicity found William. They were right, it was the grandparents. They worked with Lance and ten minutes ago the local sheriff's department staged a raid and rescued William."
Oliver is stunned. He can't...that can't be it. How could that be it? "It wasn't Darhk." He says it to himself, but Curtis takes it as a question.
"No. It was never Darhk. But, look, I've got Laurel on the other line. She just spoke with her dad and Felicity. They're taking William's statement now, but he's completely unharmed. They're in a small town about halfway between here and Central City- hey, Oliver, Laurel says Samantha wants you to come get her. She knows the way to the town, and she's ready to get William."
Oliver nods, even though he knows Curtis can't see him. He's acting on rote instinct, still not having fully caught up to the change in circumstances. Distantly he can hear Dig and Thea signing off.
"Ollie? We've got him. He's safe." Thea nudges him. "This is a good thing right?"
It is, but Oliver feels immobilized by how wrong he was. It's too...it feels like it should have been harder. And the idea that Darhk had nothing to do with it…."Oh fuck." He meets Dig's eyes in the rearview mirror and sees that the other man is already a few steps ahead of him. "Darhk had nothing to do with it. He didn't know about William at all. But he does now. I put William on his radar."
Dig shakes his head. "That's a problem for later. At least now, we all know about William, and we can all help protect him. For now, you've got to just take the win. It's time to go get your boy."
oOo
It takes twenty excruciating minutes to return to the loft, change into regular clothes and pick up Samantha. Laurel ushers them in and tells them Samantha is in the bathroom trying to get herself together a little before she sees William.
Oliver can't help himself. He has to ask. "Can you tell me why anyone thought it was a good idea for Felicity to be the one to go face kidnappers while you stayed behind."
"Oh, Oliver," Laurel shakes her head. "I'm not touching that one, and if you're smart, neither will you."
"Nothing else can happen to her."
The fire in Laurel's eyes diminishes at the broken sound of his voice. "It's what made the most sense. Lyla was with her. And you know she'll never stand for the kid gloves treatment anyway."
Samantha comes back into the living room, so Oliver doesn't push it. Besides, he knows she's right.
Laurel and Thea agree to stay back with Sara because Dig is afraid to let either Oliver or Samantha drive. With Samantha sitting up front navigating, Dig makes the 120 mile drive in 78 minutes in Samantha's minivan. Oliver counts every single one while Samantha perches on the edge of her seat, seatbelt straining, pointing out every turn from memory.
They reach the sheriff's department, which is so small it resembles a rest stop, and Oliver is out of the car before Dig manages to put it in park. He turns back and sees Samantha still frozen in her seat. Dig nods at him, and Oliver opens her door and crouches beside her.
"Hey," he squeezes her hand. "We're here. It's over."
Samantha turns to him slowly, tears spilling over her cheeks. "I'm so sorry, Oliver," she whispers.
"Stop."
"I did this. I wasted hours making everyone look in the wrong place. I didn't even know there was a danger, and I didn't protect him, I-"
"Samantha. Stop. I know what you're doing. I am an expert in what you're doing, but the only people at fault here are the people who took William out of his bed, and they've been caught. He's okay." He forces a smile for her and is able to take a little comfort in his own words. For now, William is okay. He pulls Samantha out of the car. "I bet he can't wait to see you."
She smiles back, and he watches her accept it too. In this moment, everything is fine.
When they get to the station, which is really just one big room, Oliver and Samantha start frantically scanning for William. Dig spots Lance and Lyla and waves to them.
"He's not here. This place was too crowded," Lyla gestures to all of the men and women in old t-shirts and worn, linen pants leaning against the walls, looking dazed. Oliver realizes that these are the people who took his son, "A deputy took him over to the elementary school after they finished with his statement. Felicity's with him," she says with a smile. "She had the picture of his mom and his Flash toy, so he's sort of attached to her now."
Oliver's heart clenches at that. William and Felicity- he'd wanted that, wanted her to be able to know him. He'd been holding on to the hope that with time Samantha would trust him, would relent and let him tell Felicity. That it had to happen like this...Oliver closes his eyes against a rush of pain. William's okay. That's all that matters right now.
"Why?" The anguish in Samantha's cry is visceral and for a moment Oliver thinks something has gone wrong, that she's gotten news he missed, but then she is rushing to a man and a woman handcuffed to a desk in the far side of the room. "Why? Why would you do this? Why would you take him?"
Before Oliver can do anything, Lyla is leading Samantha away. The older woman, her mother Oliver assumes, has her head bowed and is crying. The man, however, is shaking with rage and quoting something that sounds vaguely biblical. Oliver can hear Lyla whisper to Samantha in soothing tones, telling her she won't get any answers from them, that she should just go to William.
Oliver agrees. His rage has all been spent, and all he wants is to see his son. He joins Lyla by Samantha's side and leads her to the car.
The elementary school is deserted when they arrive, just a lone deputy's car in the lot. The front door is propped open with a rock, and at first they don't know where to go. Then they hear a shriek of laughter and a voice that Oliver knows to be Felicity's shouting, "No fair! You're cheating!" and they are running in the direction of the gym.
They're racing. Felicity in her chair, William in a rolling chair that Oliver assumes was stolen from a teacher's desk, and a deputy who reminds Oliver of Barry Allen with his baby face serving as ref. Felicity and William are taking the race seriously, so they don't notice when the door bursts open. And William is smiling. His little boy, who just hours ago was missing, is smiling.
Samantha yelps and William sees her then, his whole face lighting up, his race forgotten. They are both running, and he is back in his mother's arms where he belongs. Then William is calling Oliver's name, and suddenly Oliver is part of the embrace too. He takes time to savor the realness of this moment, the safety of his little boy. When he opens his eyes, they go straight to Felicity. She's crying, but she's also smiling.
William catches Oliver looking. "Do you know Felicity? She says she knows you!" He hops down and drags his mother and Oliver over to her.
"I know Felicity," Samantha says with a smile. "She helped us find you."
Oliver tries to speak, but it's like his throat is blocked. If he says anything in this moment, he's afraid he'll fall completely apart.
William is oblivious. "She was so awesome when she came to get me. She and Lyla tricked all those people! And then we came here and she said we could race, but she keeps letting me win-"
"He cheats," Felicity breaks in with a smile.
Samantha kneels down to give her a hug. "Thank you." She says it over and over. "I'll never...I owe you more…."
But Felicity cuts her off. "You owe me nothing. I'm just glad we could get this guy back to the people who love him."
Oliver still can't say anything, but he also can't take his eyes off of her. Samantha clears her throat and says, "Come over here with mommy and Lyla. I want you to tell me everything. I'm so sorry, baby boy…."
They drift over to the bleachers and Oliver and Felicity are left at the finish line. "We did it," she starts.
Oliver finds his voice then. "You did it. I didn't listen and made everything worse."
"You did what you thought you had to do. It doesn't matter who was right." She nods to the bleachers where Samantha is blowing raspberries on Williams stomach. "That's all that matters now. This one was a happy ending."
"Felicity," he blows out a breath on her name. He wants nothing more than to collapse beside her, lay his head on her lap and beg her to forgive him. His need to be close to her, to be touching her, is painful but he holds himself back, not knowing where they stand. "I am so, so sorry."
She looks at him with pity, and he feels himself crumbling.
"I know. But now isn't the time to talk about it. Take your son home, Oliver. Tuck him into bed. Kiss him goodnight and tell him that no one will ever hurt him again."
Oliver nods. The tears are falling again, and he doesn't bother to brush them away. "I will, and then I'll be home." He asks the question he has to ask, but is terrified to voice. "Will you be there when I get back?"
Relief slams into him when she nods.
"I'll be there. Everything can wait tonight. We can talk in the morning."
oOo
It's after midnight when Oliver returns from Central City. He'd done exactly what Felicity suggested- he'd tucked William into bed, and he'd kissed him goodnight. He'd asked Samantha if they could talk, but she asked him for time. And space. She'd seemed so undone, but Oliver was just so fucking afraid. He'd gotten her to agree to extra security and Barry had agreed to help with that. They'd talk again in a couple of weeks when maybe they were capable of rational thought again. When Oliver left, he'd try to feel the kind of joy or at least relief that should accompany a win. He mostly failed.
The last 48 hours had crushed him and now he stood in his home, still afraid. Afraid he'd open the door to the bedroom and Felicity, the very best part of his life, would be gone. But Oliver's too tired to stand there waiting in the middle of the living room. He holds his breath and pushes open the door.
And she's there. Just like she said she would be. The relief steals his breath.
He moves quietly so as not to wake her- he knows the last 48 hours have crushed her too. He pulls off his clothes and climbs carefully into bed. And he just stares at her. Again, he wants to touch her. Again, he doesn't. It's enough, he tells himself, just to be here beside her.
Felicity opens her eyes. "Hi," she says in that sleepy rasp he's always loved.
"Hi. I didn't mean to wake you."
She waves her hand like it doesn't matter. "William okay?"
He nods, tears filling his eyes again. She cups his cheek and rubs her across his jaw, and he it is all crashing down on him. He's trembling, and it feels like he's spinning apart. And Felicity, who has every reason to hate him, who is probably planning to leave him in the morning, wraps him in her arms and holds on tight. He clutches at the ridiculous unicorn tshirt she always sleeps in- the one that gets glitter all over the bed- and he doesn't let go. For the whole night, neither of them lets go.