Notes:

Thank you so much for all of you guys support. It brings me so much joy to know you guys enjoy my story.

This chapter took an unexpected turn, lol with a long overdue conversation.

Can we work it out? Can we be a family? In our family portrait, we look pretty happy

Sara

She put the papers she'd been going through aside once the doorbell rang and got up to answer it, checking the monitor of the security camera first, not willing to risk anything right now, who knew what their enemies were aware of, and their next step was. Once she was sure it was her father as expected, she turned off the alarm of the security system and opened the door to let him in.

"Hi, dad." Sara smiled at the older man, stepping aside to let him enter and taking a hold of his hand, squeezing it for a moment, still feeling stupid and sad about the fact that as much as she wanted to just run into his arms, hug him and feel soothed by his familiar and comforting embrace, the smell that was uniquely her dad and reminded her of her childhood and simpler times, she just couldn't. There was a part of her that still shied away at the physical contact, and it pained her so much. The issues she had with physical contact never bothered her more than it did in the presence of her dad. His embrace had been her safe haven for as long as she could remember, long before Ollie had ever taken on that role in her life, something she had longed for on the Freighter, Lian Yu and during her time in the League and she missed it, she missed being able to just fall into her father's loving embrace and this small act just magically making everything better.

Those irrational feelings she had towards her father ripped her apart on the inside and brought so much anguish with them. If only her body and instincts would listen to the rational part of her mind, telling them she had nothing to fear from the first man she had ever loved and trusted and who had raised her with so much love and affection. She hoped a day would come that she no longer feared his embrace.

She had known as soon as Ollie had shared his plan that she needed to do something to distract herself, to not drive herself crazy while the Green Arrow was entering Chase's home. She still wasn't sure what to think of his strategy. And what he hoped to accomplish with it. The chances of it backfiring were bigger than those of him actually gaining anything from it, but she understood why he went to Adrian's home. They were all out of options and no closer to locating Joanna's whereabouts than they were at the beginning.

This was why she had called her dad and asked him to keep her company once Felicity had left. She did have an ulterior motive and hoped it would give them a chance to talk uninterrupted and her a chance to address the underlying tension between him and Ollie. Whatever issue there was between the two of them, it needed to be addressed and, hopefully, fixed, if possible. Preferably before Mila was born.

"Sara, baby, your mom told me you changed your mind and decided you're going to stay once the baby is born and can I just say how happy that makes me!" He squeezed her hand in return and softly placed his other hand on her upper arm and the sheer joy on her dad's face made her happy and she was glad he felt that way and it warmed her heart and reaffirm that this was the right choice. Probably. Hopefully. It didn't matter anymore. She made it and she made a promise to herself, Ollie, and their daughter, so no matter what happened, she was going to stick it out and stop running.

"Yeah, Ollie and I had a long conversation about it, and he had a couple of convincing arguments." Her reply hardly managed to scratch the surface, but this wasn't what she wanted to talk about right now. But felt it was important to make sure he knew; her staying was Ollie's doing. Well, mostly, sort of. It was complicated. But he played an enormous part in it. And her dad needed to know that. Maybe that knowledge would help later on once she addressed what she really wanted to talk about. She let go of his hand and turned around, putting the alarm back on once her dad was inside and the door locked, leading him towards the kitchen to get them something to drink and eat. This was probably going to be a long conversation, and the process of preparing their nourishment would give her a little more time to gather her thoughts and figure out how to bring the issue up.

Once his coffee, her tea, and a plate of cookies and fruit were prepared while they indulged in some random chitchat about Donna and Sin, they headed towards the living room where she got comfortable on Ollie's armchair once again. It reminded her of the time her dad had stayed with her while Ollie had gone to Central City to help Barry fight aliens. She could see a pattern form, Ollie being gone, her being worried about him and asking her dad to stay with her, the comfort of his presence soothing some of her worry. It looked like some things never changed and her seeking her dad's presence while being afraid appeared to be one of those things.

It was once they had both settled, their conversation had lulled, and they'd sat in comfortable silence for a while sipping their respective drinks that she gathered the courage she needed to have the conversation she dreaded but knew she needed to have.

"There is actually something I want to talk to you about." Sara put her cup down and faced her father while easing into it. Or trying to, unsure whether she succeeded or not. But pretty sure it was a not.

"Of course, baby. What is it?" Her dad mimicked her actions and set his coffee down, facing her with a curious expression on his face.

"Ollie." The look on her father's face made it very clear that this was pretty much the last thing he had expected to come out of her mouth, while she thought it was pretty obvious. What else would it be?

"Oliver?" He repeated, unsure, probably wondering where she was going with this and what exactly she wanted to talk about concerning her unborn daughter's father. Which was fair. There were a lot of different directions this conversation could go with only his name as a hint.

"Yes, dad, Ollie. He's the father of my child, your grandchild, and this means he is a permanent, very important part of her and my life and that won't ever change. Ollie is a part of this family now and we've been working really hard trying to clear the air with Laurel and for things between us to be better so that we, you, Laurel, mom, Thea, Ollie and I, all of us together, can be a family, a real family the type of family our daughter deserves. There are already too many people from her family, our family, missing. We don't want there to be any more. But for that to work, I need to talk to you about Ollie and whatever issue there is between the two of you." It was clear that this was not what he had expected. He looked both surprised and taken aback by her words. She assumed he hadn't been aware that she had noticed the tension between them, to be fair, they were both rather good at pretending it wasn't there but she was neither blind nor ignorant and she knew them, they were the two most important men in her life, had been since early childhood. But to her surprise he looked open and willing to talk about it, she had expected him to shut down, but her approach of explaining the reasons behind her addressing this seemed to have worked and made him understand where she was coming from and why she was getting involved in something that wasn't actually her business and between Ollie and him.

"Sara, honey, it's complicated, but I'm sure Oliver has already told you that." The none answer and deflection was expected and his assumption she and Ollie had already talked about the issue was understandable, although wrong.

"Actually, dad, Ollie has told me shit. He doesn't want to talk about whatever happened between the two of you, and I don't like to push. Pushing him into talking about something he's not ready to talk about usually only makes matters worse, especially for him. Which is why I want to talk to you about it. I don't want to cause him unnecessary pain." It was true, being forced to talk about events, especially bad ones when you weren't ready yet, brought so much trauma and anguish with it and that was the last thing she wanted, cause Ollie more pain and sleepless or nightmare filled nights.

"So, you're telling me Oliver hasn't accused me of mistreating him after he made a deal with Malcolm Merlyn and Ra's al Ghul?" There was disbelieve in the former detective's voice but his words were also very telling while he went slightly into the defensive and tried to make things look like Ollie had been the one in the wrong yet might twist the unfolding of events in his favor. Something Ollie would never do. He'd take the blame before he'd ever blame someone else, even if the other person was the one to blame. He still to this day blamed himself for Slade's actions, which was ridiculous, but there was no changing his mind. It was just who and how he was; always making excuses for everyone and their actions except for himself.

"Dad, Ollie would never… Ollie refuses to talk about what happened the year I was dead. All I know is that you two were fine when I left for Nanda Parbat and now there is something going on between the two of you and I don't know what and I don't know why but I do know that you need to fix it. Ollie is a good man and a part of my life. He is the father of my child and that puts him on top of my priority list, right beneath Mila. Which means if I need to make a choice, that would be it." She almost struggled while mentioning her death, it was still strange to say it and she was used to not be that blunt when the subject was brought up with Ollie, trying to soften the blow as much as possible, even knowing there was no way around the subject hurting him. And she was aware that her father would probably feel similarly, but she needed to be frank with him. She couldn't sugarcoat things, not if she wanted them to get solved. Her father was too stubborn for that and needed everything to be spelled out exactly the way it was. It was something she appreciated about him. There was no need to choose your words or use more than were needed with him. He'd rather have you get straight to the point. It was a trait they shared.

"Mila?" If he were anyone else, she'd question whether he was trying to change the subject, but she knew her dad and the look on his face was too genuine and astounded to be anything but real. This was the type of joy and surprise that couldn't be faked, the sparkle in his eyes, the way his mouth twitched into the whisper of a smile, yet slightly unsure whether he had heard right or not.

"Yeah, Mila. Mila Beatrice Queen." She couldn't help but return his ghost of a smile with a real one of her own, a reaction her daughter's name usually brought with it. But she also wanted to make sure that there was going to be no doubt about which last name her daughter was going to have.

"Oh, baby, that is a beautiful name." Yes, yes, it was. Ollie had chosen well. Her dad's words, the look on his face and his emotional reaction to his granddaughter's name warmed her heart and made her choke up. Stupid hormones. But his genuine happiness at her daughter's name was something she hadn't been aware she needed until now.

"Thank you, I think so too. Ollie chose it. It means 'Dear one, she who brings happiness'. It's perfect." She wasn't sure why it was important to her to make sure her dad knew who picked her daughter's name, but it was and part of her almost felt like she needed to justify it, make sure she pointed out all the good about Ollie. It was silly, and she knew that, yet she couldn't help it. Defending him from her dad had become second nature somewhere in the last few years. And given the tension between them, she felt it even more necessary.

"It really is." She hadn't thought her father's look could be even warmer, more affectionate, and happy than it had been before, but she had been wrong. Sharing the meaning of his granddaughter's name intensified those feelings on his face even more and she had to wipe a tear away, only now aware just how much her dad's love of the name that was chosen for her daughter meant to her and how important his approval was. The knowledge that he seemed to understand just what Ollie was accomplishing with his choice by making sure their daughter would always be aware of just how much she meant to them was everything she had ever needed from him. And she felt like something small had shifted when it came to his view of Ollie. She also knew that knowledge about her father's love for their daughter's name would mean the world to her husband, and a part of her wished he'd been here to see her dad's reaction to it. She felt bad and a bit guilty that he had missed it, but there was nothing she could do about that now.

They were once more surrounded by a comfortable silence. She bent forward and took hold of her cup, taking a couple of sips from her tea before once again putting it back on the table in front of her. Sara took a deep breath before shifting their conversation back to their original topic before the little detour her daughter's name had taken them on.

"Look, whatever it is, you can tell me, and I'll talk to Ollie if I have to, to make sure this can be fixed and the two of you are actually on good terms, you used to treat and look at him like a son, dad, what happened? And is there any chance whatever it is that's broken can be fixed? For me? For your granddaughter? Is there any chance you can get past it and make amends to him?" She understood some of the issues that had been between them once Ollie had come back home, understood why her dad had stopped looking at Ollie like a son. She got that. But she also understood that her return home a year later had solved some of their issues, had even led to her dad apologizing to Ollie and admitting that he had done him wrong, something that she knew hadn't been easy for him and completely taken Ollie by surprise and flabbergasted him. Even hours later, when he had shared that moment with her while they'd been lying on the cot in the Foundry, he'd still been dumbstruck and in disbelief. Understandable after the way he'd been treated by her dad ever since his return home, at least given the little information she had gathered from the people around them.

So, she knew there was hope that whatever issue they had now could be solved, too. She was once again alive and home, so that should help solve some of the issue, right?

"What happened? That's a loaded question, baby, a lot. So much… after you… died… there was a lot he chose not to share with me, with us. Information about you, about your shared past. He lied to me. He purposely misled and manipulated me." There was anger present in her father's voice now, he was still calm, but it was obvious he was still very mad about what had transpired and it sounded like most of it came from Ollie's choice of not over sharing, opening up and talking about events he couldn't or didn't want to talk about at that point in time and events he knew she didn't want her family to know about.

"… information about your shared past…" was he talking about Lian Yu? He had to, there was no other shared past her dad hadn't been aware of at that point in time, he'd known about their affair, and that was pretty much the only other event that could be referred to as their shared past aside from the year they had spent on Lian Yu together. And if that was what he meant and what he was angry about, he was angry at the wrong person. He should be mad at her, not Ollie. It had been her choice to not share that piece of information with them, not Ollie's.

"All Ollie is guilty of is respecting my wishes, even at the cost of his relationships and extreme emotional pain." Her dad needed to understand that. All Ollie did, all he'd ever done, was try to protect her and honor her wishes.

"Sara, baby, Oliver decided he knew what was best for our family. To not let us know you were on the island with him. We had to learn about it from Ra's al Ghul. How do you think did that made us feel? He made choices that weren't his to make and kept information from us that wasn't his to keep." The anger was still there just under the surface, but he was still keeping his temper in check and she gave him props for that. She knew how he could get Laurel got her explosive temper from somewhere. He was trying, and that was all that mattered right now. He was trying, and he was listening and giving her a chance to explain, to try and understand his side and explain Ollie's to him, as much as she could.

It told her everything she needed to know, and that was that he wanted to solve the issues too, that he wanted to try and mend what was broken. That he wanted all of them to be a family again, just as much as everyone else did.

"Daddy, it wasn't Ollie's fault. He didn't tell you because I asked him not to. Because he was keeping a promise he had made me on Lian Yu. This wasn't on Ollie, dad, it was on me. I made him promise that if I shouldn't make it home, he'd tell you guys that I died on the Gambit. He didn't tell you because it wasn't his secret to tell. It was mine, and I wasn't ready to share that with you, or anyone, really. What happened to us on Lian Yu… it's not something I like to talk about, to share, and neither does Ollie. Talking about it is too much, too private, too painful. Talking about Lian Yu automatically comes with the anguish of the years following those events, the years we both spent believing the other was dead and it was our fault. You can't possibly understand… I lost Ollie twice. I thought he'd died twice. And he believed he'd watched me die twice. He blamed himself for what happened to me, for not being able to save me when it wasn't his fault, when there was nothing he could've done to change anything and yet he blames himself to this day, while I never did. I made my own choices, and those led to the events that unfolded. Ollie tried everything he could to keep me safe, to make sure I'd get to go back home. It wasn't his fault that we ended up being separated and, in the belief the other had died, yet again." She took a deep breath, gathering her strengths and trying to keep her emotions in check. Sara hated this. She hated the way her heart constricted remembering the events, the way her hands shook and her throat closed up. She could feel the water swallowing her whole again, the way she reached out for him desperately calling his name, knowing there was no way he could reach her in time, she could recall the horrified, helpless and anguished look on his face and the exact pitch of his voice when calling her name franticly reaching for her while understanding how useless it was, he was once again too far away to save her and they'd both known it.

She reached for her cup with shaking hands, hoping the warm liquid would soothe the scratching in her throat and help her swallow the lump that had formed. It was only once the images had faded to the background and the shaking of her hands had ceased slightly that she placed the cup down again, and dared to glance in her dad's direction once more. She had replaced his face with her lap once the memory had taken her over and it was only now that she could make her eyes turn to him again that she noticed the look on his face and it nearly did her in. The worry, the love, the compassion and understanding wasn't what she had expected, but she was grateful for it. Maybe her brief panic attack had actually helped the situation for once and brought her point across. Sara cleared her throat before continuing with her explanation.

"What I had asked of him wasn't fair to him. And I should've never made him make that promise. I just never assumed… at the time I figured either we both make it back home or neither of us will." It was the truth. She'd been naïve enough back then to believe whatever would happen to them would happen to both of them. Certain that they weren't going to be separated again. It had been stupid, and she'd been proven wrong, but she honestly had believed neither of them would have to keep the promise they had made.

"Baby, that might be well and true concerning your time on Lian Yu, and I can understand now why he wouldn't have shared that information with us and I respect him for his choice, but still, he decided I didn't have the right to know you died, more than that, made me believe you were still alive when you weren't and he knew you weren't. What gave him the right to decide whether I had a right to know about my daughter's death or not and then deceiving me like that? You can't possibly expect me to just get over that!" She didn't miss the seething anger toward the end, just as she hadn't missed the surprise and understanding after her curve-ball revelation. This was good, this was progress. He had listened to her and understood Ollie's choice concerning sharing the information about her past with her family. He was willing to listen to her and reason. If her explanation made sense to him, he was willing to accept it and try to see their point of view, and not keep Ollie as the obligatory bad guy in the story. That was a good sign, especially since it seemed that her husband was not to blame for any of the issues her father had with him. If she got him to see the error in his thinking and that what he was made to believe to be the truth was actually a lie, she was sure he'd be willing to make the first step towards Ollie and mending the parts of their relationship that were damaged and broken. It would take time, of course, but a step forward was a step forward, and that was all she asked for.

"He didn't know Laurel and Felicity did that. We only just found out. Ollie was in Nanda Parbat, recuperating from life-threatening injuries while they chose to make you believe you were talking to me. Ollie would've never, ever agreed to any of this had he been here. Just like he didn't agree with Laurel's choice not to tell you about my death, but he felt it wasn't his place to go against her wishes. You are angry at him for things that weren't his fault, he had nothing to do with and wasn't even aware of. Dad, Ollie respects the shit out of you and your opinion of him is extremely important to him. He's always looked up to you. He really just wants to make you proud." She studied her dad closely, not wanting to miss anything his body language would reveal to her. And she wasn't disappointed, he shifted slightly, his face turned into a mask of shock and disbelief, and she could practically see the thoughts he was struggling with, the two sides fighting inside trying to make sense of what she had said and searching the past for the truth in her statements. It only took a couple of minutes for understanding and truth to win and the shame and horror that took over his face when the realization of the implication that everything he had believed, everything he had judged Oliver on had been a lie, that Oliver had been a victim in the entire ordeal just as much as he settled in. His entire body slumped into the couch and he let his head drop into his hands, taking several deep breaths.

She understood. It was a lot to take in. She was still struggling with that revelation herself. But it wasn't about her right now. It was about her dad, she still didn't know what exactly had happened between the two men, and that was alright, she didn't need to know specifics to understand whatever had happened had been bad and her father felt terrible about it now that he had all the facts. That was all that mattered. It meant he was going to do whatever he had to, to make things right between him and Ollie. This was all she had wanted. All she needed. If either or both of them decided at one point to share details about the events with her, she'd be here to listen, but she wasn't going to push. It was none of her business and they were both grown men. She'd done her part. Now it was up to them to sort this mess out on their own.

Sara placed her hand on his shoulder and softly stroked it, hoping to bring her dad some comfort, he lifted his head and looked at her, he still looked horrified, guilty and slightly sick, but there was also a soft look in his eyes when they met with hers, he placed one of his hands on top of hers.

"He's idolized you and looked up to you since childhood. Don't you see that? All he ever wanted was to make you proud, be the kind of man you'd be proud to call your…" Sara caught herself before she was going to say something she wasn't ready to share yet. Not that she didn't want her dad to know. It just wasn't the right time. It might be selfish, but she wanted him to be happy for her and nothing else when she told him she had married Ollie, the love of her life. And she was terrified he wouldn't be right now because of whatever it was that was still between them. She was also very aware of the fact that she was providing her dad with more ammunition towards Ollie, not once doubting that he'd find a way to blame her getting hitched in a secret ceremony, without her family and friends and then keeping it from everyone on Ollie if he wanted to. It was a joke, if she'd wanted a big, fat, upper echelon wedding, that was what Ollie would've provided her with, he'd hated it, but still he'd given it to her if she'd wanted it, because that was who he was. It was as sweet, thoughtful and heartwarming as it was annoying, infuriating and moronic. Things like this led to her always having to make sure that he'd get what he wanted too and that he knew that his feelings, his wants, were important too and mattered just as much as hers did.

"Thank you, baby. Thank you so much for talking to me, for sharing with me, for being honest and truthful. You will never know what that means to me. To answer your question from earlier, I'll do whatever I can to right my wrongs and try to fix what is broken between Oliver and me. I was in the wrong, and I wish someone would've pointed out the error in my thinking and how misplaced my blame was before you. I am sorry it took you to point out Oliver's innocence in the situation." Her dad's words touched her, and she felt her eyes mist over, yeah, she was sorry too that it took her and with that two years for someone to take Ollie's side and explain the situation to her dad. This made her angry at his entire team, for letting Ollie take the blame and with that the entire wrath of her grieving father rather than having some of it rightfully pointed at them. Cowards, all of them. She pushed the thoughts and her anger to the side for now. It had no place here.

Notes:

So Quentin reacted differently than I thought, I hope you guys don't think it was out of character. I did not plan for it to be this smooth, lol. But Quentin still worries about her health and baby and therefore works extra hard at keeping his emotions in check as to not agitate her. I hope that makes sense. Let me know if it doesn't.

As always I'd love to hear your thoughts.

The chapter title is from the song "Family Portrait" by Pink. It felt fitting somehow...