Notes:

So, yeah, I got inspired to write a little more in this verse... guess it's no longer a stand-alone, lol. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter

Mama, don't you worry about me, he is good, so good He treats your little girl like a real man should

Dinah let herself into her older daughter's apartment as she always did for their bi-weekly Saturday coffee date. She stopped in her tracks just barely inside the apartment as something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye and made her turn towards the entrance to the living room.

What she hadn't expected was that the movement she had noticed was a little blonde girl, in a flowery dress, knee lengths lavender colored leggings with rainbows on them and bare feet twirling around in Laurel's living room.

She wondered for a moment if she had stepped through a portal and ended up in the past.

She was mesmerized by the little girl, the long curly blonde hair flying around her little face, her cornflower blue eyes sparkling, an enormous joyful smile gracing her freckle covered face and for just a moment she could've sworn she was watching her baby girl.

Except that she was standing in Laurel's apartment and her baby was in her mid-twenties now. Living thousands of miles away in Europe. And wished Sara would let them visit or come home so she could make sure herself that her baby was as fine as she claimed to be. God, she missed her so much, which was probably why she was projecting on the little girl.

Had Laurel a new case at CNRI? Was she representing the girl's family? Or had she made new friends with children? Her daughter was working too hard, and she needed to get out more, meet new people. She's been telling her that for ages, maybe she had finally taken her advice. They could be friends of Tommy's, but she was pretty sure the young man didn't have friends that had children already. He was starting to mature, slowly, but he had been taking the right steps and was really getting his life together and reevaluating his priorities. Even Quentin had taken note of that lately. He loved Tommy, and approved of Laurel's relationship with him, even though he was still regularly giving the poor boy a hard time. It was a good thing those two had known each other for as long as they had, otherwise Tommy would probably feel like Quentin didn't like him, while all he wanted was to make sure Tommy would live up to his full potential and not stay in the role of the billionaire party boy, wasting his intellect and kind-hearted nature.

She was ripped from her thoughts by laughter that was so familiar and yet so foreign to her. It had been years since she last had heard this particular harmony, the combined sounds of both of her daughters' laughter. It didn't take long before her eyes could confirm what her ears had heard. She watched both women walk into the corridor.

Her eyes were glued to the laughing face of her younger daughter.

"No, way! He did not!" Laurel was still laughing too, given the sound of her voice.

"Oh, yeah, he totally did! I swear! He's such a fucking idiot sometimes." Sara was rolling her eyes in amused exasperation, but there was also a softness on her face and adoration in her eyes.

"Well, yeah, but... I mean... "

"Sara?" Laurel never got around to finishing her thoughts, because she interrupted her unintentionally, but she just couldn't believe her eyes and needed to make sure she wasn't seeing things. Between the little girl who had reminded her so much of her little girl, and having her now stand inside Laurel's apartment after a good five years as if it was the most normal thing in the world…

"Mom?" the laughter drained from her baby's face the moment she turned towards her, being replaced by surprise and apprehension.

It took her a moment to actually take all of Sara in and no longer focus on just her face. What she saw took her by surprise. Her baby was obviously pregnant. She hadn't even known Sara was in a relationship. Her eyes automatically trailed from her daughter to the little girl still twirling around in the other room, the little girl who was almost a spitting image of her baby at that exact same age. The realization that this was Sara's daughter, her granddaughter, set in and she needed to sit down and automatically did so on the chair by the bureau by the wall.

Her eyes strayed back to Sara, studying her closely. This was when she noticed the thin golden wedding band adorning her finger. And for a moment, she found it hard to breathe as the cold and harsh reality of the situation set in.

Her daughter, her baby, had found love, gotten married, given birth to her first child and was now expecting her second child all without telling them. Not only had they not been there or even aware of any of those enormous events in her baby's life, no Sara had deliberately and intentionally kept it from them, kept them out of the life she had built for herself. But why?

What had it been that they had done to make her feel like she had to keep this from them?

"Mom. I… look… I can understand that you're mad…" She looked up to her younger daughter who was taking a couple of steps towards her, wringing her hands and biting her lip, as she always did when she was nervous and insecure.

"Sara, honey, I'm not mad I just… this is a lot to take in and I don't understand why you felt the need to keep this from us." And it was the truth, she wasn't mad, shocked most definitely, hurt for sure, but not mad. Bewildered, because she could for the life of her not figure out why Sara thought she couldn't come to them and tell them that she was pregnant. This entire situation made her question her ability as a parent and if she had failed so severely that her daughter chose to keep her child from her, from them and evaluate what she could've done differently, so her baby wouldn't have felt like she had to keep this to herself. She felt like a failure as a mother. It had always been her goal to make sure her daughters knew they could come to her with everything, that she wouldn't judge, and they'd find a solution together.

"Why don't we take this to the living room where we can sit down." Laurel was gesturing towards the door, which would lead to the mentioned room and the little girl. She let Sara and Laurel pass her and enter the room first, not wanting to scare the little girl. Dinah took a moment to take a deep breath and gather her thoughts before following both of her daughters so she could meet her granddaughter for the first time.

"Eli, baby, I want you to meet someone. This is my mommy and your grandma." Sara was kneeling next to her daughter, one arm around her, kissing her temple while pointing towards her when she walked into the room. "Mom, this is my daughter, Eloise."

"Hi Eloise, it is really nice to meet you." Dinah crouched down to be closer to her granddaughter's height but made sure there was enough space between them, so she wouldn't intimidate her. She received a quiet 'hi' before the little girl hid her face in her mother's neck. Sara kissed her crown and whispered something in her ear, which led to Eloise nodding her head and Sara reaching out to the backpack next to the couch. She opened it and took out a coloring book and a little bag filled with colored pencils. She watched her daughter sit down on the floor, placing Eloise on one of her legs, one arm wrapped around her while the little girl picked up the book and flipped through the pages until she found one she liked and placed the book on the floor next to Sara so she could go through the bag with the colors in it, and then began do turn the white page colorful.

All three women spent the next several minutes just sitting quietly, watching the little girl work. It hadn't taken long for her to move off of Sara's lap and lie on her stomach on the floor next to her so she could better reach the book.

"I get that it's a lot to take in, mom… I just… dad… it's complicated." Sara broke the silence to answer her previously asked and so far abandoned question and tried to put her feelings and thoughts into words, something that had never been her strong suit, her baby felt a lot, and she was very compassionate but vocalizing those feelings had always been something she'd struggled with and it looked like that hadn't changed in the five years she's been gone.

"Are you happy, baby?" Dinah decided to help her pregnant daughter out when she noticed her getting agitated, which wouldn't be good for the baby and she didn't want to worry Eloise.

"Yes, happier than I ever thought I could be." She could literally see Sara relax at that question and a small smile grace her lips while her eyes strayed to the little girl coloring next to her on the floor while she softly placed one of her hands on her rounded stomach.

"Good, that's all your dad wants, baby. That's all your dad and I have ever wanted." And that was the truth. Yes, Quentin might have some issues and strong opinions at first, but the only thing he had ever wanted was for his daughters to be happy.

"I know I just thought… he wouldn't have understood my choices, he wouldn't have approved of…" Sara never got to finish her thought and explanation because Laurel's entrance door opening, and the crying of a baby, interrupted them. Dinah took a step back when she watched her daughter push herself up from her place on the floor, not an easy feat at her advanced stage of pregnancy, brushing her hand over her daughter's head before walking towards the front door, she couldn't see what was going on, because of the wall between them but the crying stopped and it was only moments after, that little Eloise jumped up from her place on the floor where she was quietly coloring to run after her mother and it was only seconds before she called out "daddy" followed by squealing and the most adorable happy giggles she's ever heard.

She looked at Laurel and they both shared a smile.

"She's really happy, mom. They both are. Trust me, you'll love him." There was an almost conspiratorial glint in her older daughter's eyes and she wondered what Laurel was keeping from her. Tommy walking into the living room interrupted their little moment and the chance she'd had to ask her about it. The young man greeted her before walking up to Laurel and giving her a kiss hello and sitting down on the couch next to her.

It didn't take too long for Sara to reenter the room too. The last thing Dinah had expected to see when her daughter returned to the living room, was another child, which was currently nursing, even though the position he was in seemed anything but comfortable for both mother and son, something that the man who had little Eloise thrown over his shoulder, the little body obstructing his face from her view, seemed to be aware of, given his actions of rearranging the pillows on the couch. Sara sat down on the sofa after he was done, shifting around a bit until she seemed comfortable before doing the same with the baby on her breast, who complaint for a moment when he was interrupted while eating, an action for which Sara apologized to him, kissing his little head. So, Sara wasn't pregnant with her second, but her third child.

This meant she had two grandchildren already.

The new position looked less awkward than the one standing had looked, but nursing a child while being in your third trimester looked challenging position wise. But they seemed to somehow manage.

She took her eyes from the mother and son to take in the man her daughter had kept from her. Expecting the worst, if Sara had been worried about letting her father know, he probably fit the boys she used to bring home. Juvenile delinquents, according to Quentin. The last person she had expected to see was Oliver Queen. She had to do a double take. To make sure she saw correctly, Oliver looked so different. But this was exactly who was now goofing around with Eloise while Sara was feeding their son.

Complicated, indeed.

Dinah could admit that she might understand her daughter's choices a little bit better now, given the new knowledge. Yes, Quentin would've not been too supportive, given the fact that Oliver had just broken up his four-year relationship with Laurel, when Sara must have gotten pregnant… it made her wonder. She looked at Eloise again, and back at Sara and her son on the couch… before going back to Eloise and then Laurel. Oh, sweet Jesus, she really hoped her assumption was wrong or if not, Laurel would never come to the same conclusion as her. Depending on Eloise's birthday, she may or may not. Because it would hurt her, even now, while she had found a new love, a better fitting one and was very happy with her life, it would still sting.

"Dinah, hi, it is so good to see you again." Oliver had stepped towards her, holding his hand out. Eloise was once again thrown over his shoulder, and she was still giggling.

"Oliver, it is really good to see you too." Dinah took the offered hand and smiled at the young man, the father of her grandchildren, her son-in-law. A title she had always expected him to wear at some point. She had just figured it would be her other daughter who would make him an official part of their family. Oliver returned her smile before switching his focus from her back to his daughter, who was calling out to him, telling him to make her fly. Whatever that meant. A comment that was followed by a "Not inside!" from Sara, which both her husband and daughter seemed to decide to overhear, as Oliver set his daughter on her feet, for a moment, only to take hold of one of her arms, and one of her calves and picking her up again and then spinning them both around.

"Ollie, seriously?!" her daughter rolled her eyes and looked exasperated and Dinah was under the impression this was not the first time they were having this conversation. He stopped, looked at Sara, and rolled his eyes, but put Eloise back on her feet before joining her on the floor after Sara suggested she finish her drawing.

Dinah learnt that her grandson's name was Benjamin. Tommy jumped in soon after and got the conversation flowing, while Oliver helped Laurel get them all some drinks and taking his son from Sara before handing him a slice of mango, which he enthusiastically chewed on. All in all, it turned out to be a lovely Saturday, not at all what she had expected but a million times better. Her baby was back home. Dinah spent most of the time watching Sara, Oliver and their children, while upholding her end of the conversation. They mostly stayed away from the heavier subjects, which was fine by her and wouldn't be appropriate in front of Eloise anyway.

Her first impression hadn't misled her. She'd watched the young man she'd known for most of his life, ever since he and Tommy had come back to Laurel's apartment. Watched the way he acted towards Sara and their children, how affectionate and loving he was. Watched the couple goof around with Eloise and Benjamin. And the picture they presented made her smile. It was what one would think of when picturing a happy family.

It took her a while to actually put a name to what was different about the young man, besides the obvious physical changes. Oliver and Sara had always goofed around as kids, so that wasn't it.

He looked more relaxed, calmer. He looked as if a heavy weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

She watched him pick Eloise up by her calves, so she was upside down, her dress falling over her head and obscuring her view. The little girl was laughing almost hysterically, and Oliver was laughing himself. Sara, who was sitting on the floor again, her back leaning against the couch, was also grinning at her husband and daughter's antics, while stacking wooden blocks for Benjamin to push over.

Yes, it must be so freeing not having to constantly ensure that you looked presentable to the very high standards Starling City's elite expected. Oliver was dressed casually. There were stains on his clothes that looked like grass, dirt, water colors and what was probably some of the mango his son had chewed on a while ago. This wouldn't do at all. Just like his anything but proper behavior with his children.

Life was funny sometimes. Who would've thought that what was supposed to be a punishment had actually been his liberation and the keys to the golden cage he had spent his entire life locked in?

Oliver looked happier than she had ever seen before, and that realization warmed her heart.

And a part of her understood Sara's choice even better. It hadn't necessarily been about her and Quentin, or Laurel. Had she told them, the world would've automatically been made aware of it. And with that, Oliver would probably have ended up locked in his cage again, just like Sara and their children would've probably been forced to join him.

Sara had given him the greatest gift she could've, aside from their children, she gave him the chance to free himself from the shackles that came with his last name and the freedom to discover who he was when he wasn't the Queen heir and what was important to him, the life he wanted to lead.

Dinah looked at her younger daughter again, seeing her in a different light. How had Quentin and she managed to raise such a selfless and caring person? She couldn't remember the last time she had been filled with so much pride.

Notes:

As always I'd love to hear your thoughts.

And I am currently also writing on the next chapter for What's wrong with us when happy hurts, I'm just struggling a bit to connect what I have written with parts of the plot from Arrow Season five but I'm working it out and it's taking on form.

Chapter title is from "Mama's Song" by Carrie Underwood.