FF#20: Deputy Mommy – Part Nine

Flash Fic Prompt #20: Truth or Dare

She was dating Oliver Queen.

She, Felicity Smoak – mother of one little boy and keeper of four, was Oliver Queen's girlfriend.

It was hard to believe just how much their lives had changed in nine months... which was just a coincidence, because she'd still never been pregnant and had never given birth, despite being a mother. It had just been that long since OJ had come into her world. In that time, not only had Felicity become a mom, but she'd also become a girlfriend after what she had assumed was not so much a breakup but an acceptance of something that, despite its promise, simply would never be given a chance. She knew that Oliver being a part of her life as more than just her friend, partner, and fellow politician wasn't because of OJ, but sometimes it felt like her son was the reason nonetheless.

And whether it was official or not, OJ was most definitely her son.

After OJ came to her and Sara died, Oliver had gone from the man who believed he could be nothing more than his own myth to someone who was embracing life at its fullest. For months, she had watched him make a concerted effort to change, to conquer his fears of being his own worst enemy. It was like having a child around forced him to realize his own innocence. In OJ, he came to know a beautiful, mischievous, smart kid who lost everyone he loved through no fault of his own.

And OJ was a child you couldn't help but want to be around... which made understanding his mother's decision to abandon him just that much more difficult for Felicity. But she had made peace with OJ's birth mother, because, in her gratitude for having been given the gift of motherhood, she had forgiven OJ's mom for hurting him. And Oliver seemed to love the little guy just as much as she did. Felicity still wasn't sure if Oliver had claimed OJ as his own or if OJ had claimed Oliver, but, either way, the two of them were close, and, in loving a child, Oliver could no longer hold onto his fear of loving her.

So, they were together. Sort of. There were no Italian dinners... unless pizza counted. They didn't attend events together, and they didn't go to the movies, and they didn't have sleepovers. In fact, somehow, they had managed to keep the changes to their relationship a secret – not because they were ashamed of it and not because Oliver was afraid of what would happen once the world realized how important she was to him but because there was a little boy to consider – a little boy who loved them both, and, if they eventually went their separate ways and didn't find their happily ever after with one another, Felicity was determined that OJ would still be able to love them both without there being any awkwardness for any of them.

With that said, though, there were kisses. And more than kisses. She and Oliver were just... careful. In more ways than one. When they were with OJ, they kept things platonic and focused on him; when he was in bed and she and Oliver were alone, then their interactions became a little less PG and a little more... well, more. Just thinking about everything that word – more – encompassed, Felicity found her toes curling into the hard, unforgiving tile of her kitchen floor as she waited impatiently for their popcorn to finish its dance with her microwave. Oliver and OJ were propped up in her bed, the DVD she had queued up paused as she gathered up their snacks. It was a rare night off – Oliver having declared it Ladies' night, so she was allowed to choose what they watched, but, really, he was still recovering from his injuries after yet another bout with a psychopath, and it wasn't like there weren't enough superheroes in Starling to keep the streets safe while Oliver took a much needed break. That was just another reason why he was allowing himself the chance to be happy, to live.

The microwave beeped, making Felicity jump. With jittery fingers because the bag was so hot, she removed the popcorn and dumped it into a bowl, tucking the snack under one elbow and against her left side while grabbing three bottles of water with her other hand. She should have just made two trips, but Felicity was eager to return to half of her men. Felicity had selected Gilmore Girls – the pop culture oblivious Oliver not realizing that it was a television show rather than a movie, and she couldn't wait to see his reaction when he realized Ladies' Night would actually be lasting for several weeks as they made their way through seven seasons. Plus, he was going to hate Lorelei, so that would be fun, too.

Making her way through the living room and then down the hallway, Felicity approached her bedroom but wasn't actually paying attention to what was going on around her, what was being said. Distantly, she could hear Oliver and OJ talking, but that was nothing out of the ordinary. Those two were as thick as thieves. And she had no doubt that they were equally as distracted, because her bare feet were silent against the hardwood floors – the late spring night warm enough that socks were unnecessary, and they would be far more interested in their boy-talk than they were the popcorn she had been making.

"So, are you and Felicity going to get married?" Felicity was so caught off guard by OJ's question, she tripped over her own two feet, and her left shoulder landed harshly against the wall, causing popcorn to spill all over the floor. She knelt down under the pretense of picking up the fallen kernels, but, really, she just wanted to stay as far away from OJ's question as she possibly could. Oliver could take one for the team.

"Why would you ask me that, buddy?" Oliver answered a question with a question. It was a classic deflection. Felicity approved.

"Because you're having babies."

What?!

"What?!"

Apparently, she and Oliver were sharing more than just spit these days, because his astonished voice said the exact same thing she had just been thinking. She was also pretty sure that he looked over towards her open bedroom door... as if searching for her, hoping that she was about to return so she could field OJ's inquiries, so Felicity very carefully, very quietly slid back on her knees, putting even more distance between her and the awkwardness that had become Ladies' Night.

"We're not..." Changing tactics, Oliver asked, "why would you think that Felicity and I are having babies?"

"Because Roy said so."

Oh, she was going to kill Roy – slowly and painfully... with a bobby pin. And he was going to like it.

"What exactly," Oliver's voice had a sudden edge to it, and Felicity smirked. Her bobby pin was safe; Oliver would handle the hit for her. "Did Roy say to you, OJ?"

"Well, he said that Felicity's your girlfriend." She was his girlfriend... not that Roy was supposed to know that, but girlfriend and babies were several lightyears apart. "I said 'duh,' because she's a girl, and she's your friend, but Roy said it was different. I asked him how, and he said because the two of you kiss." She still didn't see how this led to baby making... or why Roy had implied to her very impressionable child that she and Oliver were making babies. "But then I said that I kiss Felicity, because she's my new mom, but Roy said that was different, too." Felicity didn't even get to savor hearing OJ call her his mom for the first time before Roy was ruining that moment for her as well. "So, I asked him how that was different, and he said because you and Felicity were going to make it rain." Oh, for crying out loud... That was it. Roy was never spending any time alone with her kid again. "I asked him 'rain what,' and Roy said babies. I didn't realize babies fell from the sky. Don't they get hurt when they land, or do people always catch them? And what about colds? Felicity says that I'm not supposed to go outside when it's raining without my boots, coat, and hat on, so that I don't get a cold, so then why aren't babies all sick when their parents catch them? And what if you catch the wrong baby? Is that what happened to me; is that why my old mom gave me to Felicity, because she found out that Felicity was my real mom? Felicity and I have the same hair color, but my old mom had brown hair. My eyes don't look like hers, though. They're kind of like Digg's, so that does that mean...?"

Thankfully, Oliver finally chose to interrupt OJ, because Felicity knew, once he got on a roll, he could ask questions until he exhausted himself and fell asleep. "OJ, I'm about to tell you something really important, okay, so I need you to listen carefully and pay attention." There was a pause during which she assumed OJ was nodding his agreement. "Roy is an idiot." Felicity had to lift a hand to cover her mouth, stifling her laughter so that OJ and especially Oliver didn't hear her. "Never, ever listen to him."

"But what about..."

Cutting OJ off, Oliver continued, "Felicity is my girlfriend, and I do kiss her, and it is different, because she's not my mom, but babies don't fall from the sky." Before OJ could ask where babies did come from, Oliver distracted him by saying, "and I don't know if Felicity and I will get married. Maybe. Someday. But not now." Tacking on one last thought, Oliver added, "and we're not having babies either. Not for a long time."

The bedroom fell silent for several moments, but Felicity didn't stand up; she didn't dare move, because she knew that OJ was not finished with the conversation – not that easily. Eventually, he told Oliver, "well, I think you should get married, so, then, you could be my dad. I've never had a dad before."

"I can... I can still be your dad without marrying your mom, without marrying Felicity," Oliver offered, shocking Felicity, though she was sure that the words shocked no one more than they did Oliver. "If you want me to be."

Rather than agreeing to the very thing that he said himself that he wanted, OJ wondered, "but who would I tell people my dad was – Ollie or The Arrow?"

And the surprises just kept coming! Thank goodness, she was already sitting down on the floor. Otherwise, Felicity was pretty sure she would have fallen. Or fainted. She had no idea how Oliver was still conscious.

"You know... that I'm The Arrow?"

"Sure," OJ replied. Felicity could hear the obvious shrug in her little boy's words. "I've seen your picture on the news, and that's what they call you when you're wearing the green mask – The Arrow. Why do you wear a mask? That's silly. You're only supposed to wear masks on Halloween. And why do you have two names? Why don't they just call you Oliver Queen like they do when you're at work with Felicity?"

"I... you say Ollie. Or Oliver. Nobody... knows that I'm The Arrow – just your mom, and Digg, and Roy, and now you. Just the family know that."

But the fact that Oliver was indeed The Arrow was old news already for OJ, because he had moved onto something else, though Felicity was pretty sure she and Oliver would be stuck on that little bombshell for a long time to come. "So, since you have two names, can I have two names, too?"

"Like... a secret nickname as well?"

"No," OJ chuckled, oblivious to the turmoil Oliver was in. "Like... can I still be me and OJ? I heard Felicity talking, and she wants to adopt me, but she can't do that without my real name, right? But I like being OJ, because it's like you, and you're my dad now, right?"

Apparently, there were no secrets in the Smoak household. Felicity had been adamant that OJ not know that she was trying to adopt him until everything went through. She didn't want to get his hopes up only for something not to work out. He had already been hurt enough by his birth mother. She wasn't going to continue that pattern of poor parenting. However, biologically her child or not, OJ certainly shared her curiosity and ability to satisfy that curiosity.

"Right," Oliver slowly, quietly agreed.

Finally deciding to take pity on him and wanting to be there with OJ when he finally told them who he was, Felicity stood up, leaving the popcorn and the water behind as she walked into her bedroom. Without preamble, she asked, "does this mean you're ready to tell me your real name, OJ?" She had never once pressured the little boy for information; she had wanted him to feel comfortable enough, safe enough, with her to broach the conversation without prompting.

Instead of answering right away, however, OJ held his arms out, insinuating that he wanted Felicity to hold him. She immediately crossed the room, settling onto the bed so that OJ could crawl into her lap – one arm wrapping around the little boy, the other reaching over to lace her fingers through one of Oliver's hands. With a squeeze to both of her guys, she waited, holding her breath.

OJ twisted around so that he was facing her, smiled, and said it so calmly it was as though she should have known it all along. "My name's Connor."

A/N: Hello Everyone,

As you've probably noticed, there is only one part remaining to this little ficlet now, and I wanted to give you an update as to what will be posted next. Though I've been horribly remiss in updating my other ficlet - Love Me Like I'm Not Made of Stone, I DO plan on finishing it. So far, I've written two of the remaining three chapters, so I'll start sharing those soon. I also have several flash fic one shots and another one shot that got so out of hand that it will now be a multiple post ficlet. I also have plans to write one last one shot to conclude the Devil series, though I'm not sure when that will happen. As for my next major fic, it's all planned out. And it's Bratva... esque. Sort of. Kind of. With a twist? You'll see. (Plus, I'm penning a Sons of Anarchy/Jax and Tara ficlet right now, too, if you happen to read my work for that fandom as well.) With this addressed, I hope everyone enjoyed this penultimate chapter of Deputy Mommy.

Toodles!
~Charlynn~

P.S. No, I haven't forgotten about the sequel to The First Time. I have many ideas and even started to outline it a while ago, but I'm... not sure about my plans, maybe? I think I'm stuck on format and length, but it's still in the back of my mind; I'm still thinking about it.