"In truth a family is what you make it. It is made strong, not by number of heads counted at the dinner table, but by the rituals you help family members create, by the memories you share, by the commitment of time, caring, and love you show to one another, and by the hopes for the future you have as individuals and as a unit."

~ Marge Kennedy

. . .

"People tell you that family is everything. Family means that you're related by blood and that you're supposed to stick together. No matter what."

Pause.

"What they never tell you is that some of us…we aren't allowed to be part of that family…or circumstances beyond our control pulled us away from our family… That's what it all was. I was deprived my family."

Pause.

"No one should be deprived their family."

Sigh.

"Especially not their children."

Pause.

"Children are precious… It's not the same when you come into their lives when they're all grown up… You miss everything. It's not just their firsts. Their first word, their first step, or their first day of school… It's missing being able to be there and shape who they'll become…"

Pause.

"I should have been there for you. I should have. I know that. I got to see you for the first four years of your life…and then…I just couldn't… I was having a hard enough time coping with being alive. And for those first four years, I wasn't even there every day. I wasn't a normal father. I travelled. So, I missed out."

Tears.

"I missed too much."

Pause.

"But not anymore… I might have missed your first day of school and the first time you went to camp…and going to prom…but I'm not going to miss anymore. They can't take you away from me and I'm not going anywhere. I'm not so easily destroyed…"

She just stared at him, tears in her eyes. She was confused and sore and…there was so much going through her right now that it was hard to process. The only thing that she knew for sure was that she needed to do what Oliver would want. Felicity needed to keep Thea safe. Thea was pretty much the only one in his family who hadn't done something to seriously screw up. Thea, even with her wild days, she was innocent compared to everyone else in Oliver's life. Thea needed to be kept safe.

She didn't know…

She couldn't know.

"I'm not your daughter," Felicity whispered as she held an unconscious Thea in her arms.

Malcolm Merlyn, dressed in full Dark Archer costuming, crouched in front of them. His hood was down and tears were still running down his face. "You really don't remember? You were four, but I would have sworn that you would have remembered…"

"Please…don't do this…" she pleaded.

It wasn't just keeping Thea physically safe that Felicity wanted, but she didn't want the secret to spill. Merlyn had blurted out before when he'd rescued them from being held captive by Slade's men that he wouldn't let them touch 'his daughters', but Felicity had hoped that Thea hadn't heard that. Or that it just wouldn't make sense to her. After all, she'd gotten knocked out during the 'rescue'.

Rescue.

Felicity sighed as she looked down at Thea. She just hoped that Oliver and the others were okay. They'd been there to help them when Merlyn had appeared. She wished that she had her phone or some other way to contact them, but she had nothing.

"We'd sing when you were little…" Merlyn told her. "'Beauty and the Beast'…that was your favorite movie… We'd just seen 'Aladdin' before I left…"

Felicity just stared at him in shock.

No.

No. No.

No. No. No.

Panic started to reel through her and she closed her eyes and then opened them again. She looked down at Thea. She needed to focus on Thea. Merlyn being her father would mean far too many things and Felicity didn't know if she could handle what that could mean for her life. No matter how old she was now, that would still impact her life…

"You'd pretend to be Belle…and we'd sing the song where she goes into the village. I'd play all the parts… Don't you remember?"

He could just be making lucky guesses, she told herself. If he knew anything about her background, then he could do the math. He could figure out what movies a little girl was probably in love with. Didn't everyone know those basic Disney movies? Know all the songs? She was fairly sure that Oliver might have even seen them…and Diggle. She couldn't take Merlyn seriously. She couldn't believe him.

"Come on, Felicity… " Merlyn pushed and got closer to them.

She was trying not to look at him. It was harder than it really should be. Felicity was pushing her focus to Thea though. She had her finger pressed against Thea's neck and she was silently counting her heartbeat. If Thea was okay, then she'd be okay.

"You start," he pushed.

She just remained silent, counting the number of heartbeats.

"How about the song…" He laughed. "The one where Belle sings about the Beast… The one that goes…" Merlyn stopped speaking and started to sing. "There's something sweet…and almost kind…but he was mean and he was coarse and unrefined…but now he's dear and so unsure…"

Felicity stopped counting and just stared at Merlyn. His voice was beautiful…and familiar. Before she could completely place it, tears were falling from her eyes. She knew that voice… Why did it have to be him? Why couldn't he just be someone else? Anyone else? She knew what it said on her birth certificate, it didn't say Malcolm Merlyn…but then she was certain that if he was her father that he'd used a different identity. It just made it all the worse…

"Why are you doing this?" she asked, tears falling and her voice breaking.

"What do you mean?" he questioned.

"You've been gone for over two decades…" Felicity said as she really thought about every word. This really wasn't the time and place for all of her questions, but it was a start to get some answers. "Why did you come back for me now?" she questioned. "I've been in danger before—"

"I didn't realize you were here…"

"You didn't care—"

"Don't say it like that," Merlyn told her. His voice was gentle and full of emotion.

"When I finally came back to civilization after my wife died… There was so much in this world to try to do… I had Merlyn Global… I had Tommy…" He was quiet then. "You were within arm's reach of me… I was trying to be a better person, Felicity. I was—"

"You destroyed The Glades!"

"It was for the safety of everyone…"

Felicity just stared at him for a long moment before replying. "Thea and I were both in The Glades when that earthquake machine went off… Tommy…" Then it hit her. If she really was Merlyn's daughter, then that meant that Thea AND Tommy were her half siblings.

Tommy.

She'd met him, but she hadn't really known him.

Now she never would.

How did you mourn a loss that you really never had?

She found it suddenly hard to breathe. Her finger was still against Thea's neck and she began silently counting again as her eyes closed. More tears fell from her eyes. She'd missed out on really getting to know Tommy…and Thea… Thea could never know.

That broke Felicity's heart.

"No, you don't understand," Merlyn said. His hand touched her arm and she pulled away. She stared at him as he spoke. "We're all going to be a family, just like it should have been… I'll keep you all safe. Nothing bad will ever happen… You'll see…"

"Tommy's dead," Felicity said slowly and all too sadly.

She remembered Oliver after Tommy's death. They'd been best friends growing up. It seemed like she'd never be able to get any of that time back. At least Thea had known him growing up. Thea and Tommy had probably practically been siblings growing up since Tommy and Oliver were friends. Even if Thea never knew, Felicity knew that Thea was lucky to have known him like that.

"Don't say that!" Merlyn spat.

Felicity held tighter to Thea. She shrunk back and wished that he'd just go and leave them. She wondered if he'd just lost it. Obviously, he wasn't dead. He had to have known that Tommy was dead and how he'd died. There was no way that he'd look for them and not for his son…the heir to his name and company.

Was this why Merlyn's estate was taking so long to be taken care of?

It seemed like puzzle pieces were falling into place suddenly. There'd been a prototype of the earthquake machine at the Merlyn Mansion. Bronze Tiger had stolen it and they'd been able to destroy it. Did whoever took care of the Merlyn fortune know that Malcolm Merlyn was still alive? Was that why things hadn't been settled?

Felicity felt like perhaps they were in a lot more trouble than they'd originally thought. If Merlyn had been plotting this whole year… It was bad enough that Team Arrow was going up again Slade Wilson along with bad guys popping up left and right, they didn't need Merlyn to top it all off. Plus, to mix in this family drama…

Family.

She stared back down at Thea and tried to remind herself that she had a family. They might not all be related by blood, but they were her family. They'd come for her and Thea. They'd make sure that they got home safe. They'd hug her and tell her that everything would be okay, even if it wasn't going to be… She knew that Oliver would try to make it okay just the same.

Oliver…

How was she going to tell him?

She suddenly felt like she'd betrayed him somehow.

"Don't say it like that! He's not dead! He's not!" Merlyn screamed suddenly like he had totally lost it.

Felicity started to sob as she pushed herself and Thea back. She was trying to distance herself from Merlyn as much as she could without completely pushing him to flip out anymore. That was the last thing that she needed. All she could think was how much she wished that Oliver would show up already.

"We're going to be together! We're going to be a family!"

. . .

TBC…