Hello, everyone.

This chapter started out very short then got out of hand at some point, as is the habit, and ended up far longer than I expected. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed last time and told me their respective opinions on Oliver's past. I really enjoyed reading everyone's take on it, and a few of you even pointed out somethings that I haven't noticed before, so thank you. Stay awesome.

Warning for offensive language. (T rating, people)

I don't own Arrow, its locations, its characters or any legal knowledge of any type except for what I've watched on Suits.. which doesn't really count.

"I'm a fraud," His eyes are dead as he speaks. Fixed to a point on the wall right above her head. He looks hollow, devoid of life, and she wants to touch him in comfort but she knows that he hates to be touched when vulnerable. She clenches her hands into fists. "My sister was right. All I do is lie. To her, to me.. to everybody. I would have deserved whatever he gave me, and I'd have taken it willingly for myself but he went for people I love. He went for everyone around me, when it was just me he wanted."

"Oliver, you did what you had to do." Her voice was gentle but steady and ringing of conviction. He didn't seem to hear her.

"I thought it'd all be over when I killed him. That it'd fix everything," He smiled with the last words. His smile looking pained and so wrong it made her skin crawl."He was my friend once. A brother, he called me. I killed him once and I dealt it with it for years. And now.. now I had to kill him again."

"It was the right thing to do; he took Thea, almost killed Roy and Digg." She offered. He may not hear her now but the words ought to register somewhere in his brain. "You did the right thing."

Oliver didn't respond at first. All along he had kept his gaze fixed to that spot. It seemed as if he was talking more to himself than to her –Now his eyes flickered to hers for a second, anguished and haunted blues making her heart clench, then darted back to the wall.

"I know." He lied with his stare locked at the same spot. She pretended to believe him.

The memory jarred Oliver awake. He didn't know why it had come to him in a dream or why out of all the memories this was the one he'd remember, but he knew that he couldn't go back to sleep after it. The picture of Felicity crouching across from him and offering comfort was clear in his head. How many times has she done that he didn't know, but it was always her who did it. Diggle listened and offered him a drink and a few wise words, Roy was always happy to indulge Oliver and get into a fight with him until they were both panting with exhaustion, even his sister –in her kinder moments- had tried to understand his guilt over Slade but it was Felicity who always gave him what he needed. Always her who came to him and said her piece but backed down when he needed her to. She had spent many nights sitting by his side at the lair as he stared down the walls, neither of them saying anything after the first initial words. Sometimes she worked at her tablets. Sometimes she fell asleep against his shoulder and Oliver, previously tense and on edge, would relax under her weight ever so slightly.

He jumped out of bed now as the phantom memory of her touch made his skin burn. He needed a distraction. He needed to hit something. He knew where to go.

Felicity couldn't sleep. Her fight with Oliver earlier still echoed through her mind. They have been doing so well lately and having an argument again, an explosive one at that, made her feel queasy. They were going to tell Clara, and they were going to make it easy for the kid to accept and it was all going so well as the two adults discussed it with Diggle. Until Oliver voiced his brilliant suggestion to Digg, that was. Felicity sighed and flipped to her right. Stupid Oliver.

"All I'm saying is that if we're telling her that she's my daughter, then we may as well give her my last name." He stated. "It only makes sense."

"Man, I –" Diggle had started but Felicity cut him off with a glare.

"No. Not happening, Oliver." She frowned. "And don't try to convert Diggle to your side because it won't matter what he says –" She threw Digg a quick apologetic glance. "because this is my daughter we're talking about."

"Our daughter," Oliver corrected, his tone hard. "Something you keep forgetting."

"That's not what this is about and you know it!" She exclaimed. She heard Diggle's sigh as he seemed to know what was going to happen before it did.

"Dammit, Felicity." Oliver spat out in a rage. "I thought we've been through this. Talked it through."

"Well obviously we haven't. Not enough times, anyway." She had her arms crossed and chin jutted out in defiance. She was nothing if not stubborn, and rightfully so this time.

"But we agreed –" Oliver started, only to be cut off by Felicity.

"To nothing. We talked about the name thing but we never agreed to it." Oliver's eyes blazed as she talked and she could see Diggle shaking his head in her peripheral vision. Whether he was agreeing or disagreeing to what she said remained a mystery. "It will be hard enough explaining this to Clara. Drag the media into this and we'll have ourselves a circus each time we leave the house."

"I'm not dragging anyone into anything." Oliver argued back, taking a step closer and towering over Felicity. They stood too close now. She didn't back away. "All I want to do is to change my daughter's last name so it matches my own."

"And that will go over oh-so smoothly," Felicity nodded with her eyebrows raised, the perfect picture of sarcasm. "We won't have our faces splashed over every magazine cover for god knows how long once the media gets a whiff of this."

"We'll keep it quiet." Oliver's tone had gone down in volume but kept its exasperated edge. She could see that he wasn't about to change his mind.

"You know you can't keep it quiet," Felicity fired back. "Do I need to remind you of what happened when you first came back? The articles, the interviews and every freaking camera-holding citizen? Any of it rings a bell?"

"We handled that. It all blew out in less than a month, Felicity."

"Because you paid someone to cause a bigger distraction to shift the media's attention," She supplied in frustration. "So unless you plan on having Diggle dance naked on every TV channel for a week, I can't see how the media would let go of Oliver Queen having an illegitimate child."

"Leave me out of this." Diggle muttered from where he sat but received no answer. Oliver was busy flexing his jaw in a show of anger while he stared down Felicity, and the smaller woman only stared back with unwavering resolve. Diggle sighed again.

"You realize," he spoke aloud this time. "That this isn't solving anything."

"It's because she won't listen to me." Oliver growled.

"It's because he refuses to see my point." Felicity could feel her cheeks flushing with anger. The mere thought of her baby having to go through the shitstorm the media will blow served to sit her nerves on edge. She can take whatever shit the media will have to say about her, but if they go near Clara she may do something very drastic and very stupid and it may include ruining Oliver's pretty face.

"You're impossible," Oliver muttered at her. She noticed that his eyes were darkening and spared a glance to his lips which he, naturally, seemed to catch. Suddenly the air seemed more charged than a moment ago.

"I'm reasonable. You're emotional." Her cheeks were flushed but not due to anger this time. She wouldn't be the first to take a step back, but if they kept standing this close and with this much tension between the two of them it could end up with her pressed against a wall and dammit she really shouldn't have entertained that thought. Her cheeks grew warmer.

Diggle, bless his soul, seemed to be having the same thought process as Felicity –albeit with more disgust and far less blushing- and chose that moment to interfere. He cleared his throat once then got up with an exasperated look.

"Alright, kids, break it up." He said as he laid a hand to Oliver's shoulder and squeezed once. Oliver exhaled loudly, pupils blown out and gaze locked at Felicity, but backed down after a heartbeat. Felicity breathed a silent prayer of thanks.

"How about," Diggle started. "You two call it a day for now, and we take up the issue again later… When you're less likely to kill each other maybe." He finished with false cheerfulness. His suggestion sounded more a command than a suggestion and Felicity was happy to oblige. Apparently so was Oliver who grabbed his coat and headed out of her house without a word. Too angry and worked up to give his friends a goodbye.

"You know I'm right," Felicity whispered in defeat. The fight finally going out of her and leaving a sense of heaviness in its place. "They'll be ruthless and she's too young to deal with it."

"True but Oliver will find a way." Digg stated, not a trace of doubt in his voice. "Think of it from his point, Felicity. He almost missed six years of Clara's life. The least he'd want is for the kid to carry his name. If he says he can keep it quiet then he's probably figured something out already."

Felicity didn't have ab answer to that.

"Trouble in paradise?" Oliver was expecting the amused voice, so he didn't so much as flinch at the words. He kept hitting the still training figure with a vengeance. "Maybe you should try hitting something that hits back. More therapeutic."

Oliver finally turned to look at Roy. The younger man had his arms crossed and his lopsided smile fixed in place in a picture of nonchalance. His hard eyes gave away his act.

"Dying to punch me, kid?" Oliver motioned to the training mat then headed towards it.

"Oh you have no idea," Roy grinned manically. There was something about him now that spoke of madness. A sick gleam in his eyes that only came out during a fight. As if the only time he came alive was when he caused pain or received it. Oliver could sympathize. "Don't pull back your punches."

"When have you ever known me to?" Oliver challenged. He was the first one to land a solid punch.

An hour and a half later –they both had impressive pain thresholds- they were both laying side by side on the floor, bloodied and sweat soaked and sharing bleak smiles.

"Digg says you're telling the kid," Roy starts and Oliver is a bit startled. They have been training, if it could be called that, for a while since he got back but they never talked anything outside of fighting stances and weakness points. "How you gonna go 'bout that?"

"We figured a way," Oliver would have shrugged but both his shoulder ached. "We'll lay it down lightly and hope she doesn't hate me afterwards."

"Sounds promising," Roy offers dryly. Oliver almost smiles. "then what are you and the Mrs. fightin' about?" His tone is just so edging on curiosity, as if he doesn't really care for the answer but is indulging Oliver. " 'cause I know you're not here for my pretty face."

"She doesn't want to change Clara's last name." Oliver states after a beat of contemplation.

"Can you blame her?" Roy glances at him sideways. "Nothin' good ever comes from bein' a Queen."

"You're a dick." Oliver is too tired to be angry and Roy of all people has the right to say whatever he wants. They haven't gone over it yet, but Oliver knows just how angry Roy is with him. It shows in the kid's punches and betrayed eyes. Oliver walked out on Roy when he needed him most. They were both broken over Thea and Oliver could have helped, would have helped, had he been in a better state of mind.

"I hear that a lot." Roy is getting up and retrieving his hoodie as he says it. He looks at Oliver for a moment then down at his feet as he offers his next words in a low voice. "You've been given a second chance, Oliver. Don't go ruinin' it. Some of us would kill for what you've been given. She's angry 'bout a lot but it's fixable, so get your ass off of your high horse and go fucking fix it."

Oliver is too stunned to answer. Roy smirks in triumph then walks away.

Felicity is used to surprises. She may have been out of the criminal fighting business for a while but she still expected someone to spring at her from every dark corner, and she sure had the training to kick their ass if that happened without being startled first. So the only reason she yelped when Oliver knocked at her window was due to her being lost in thought and she's willing to fight anyone over it. She was usually more alert but as it is, her shock only lasted a moment before she got out of bed and slid her window open.

"Did you lose my cell number?" She questioned in ways of greeting. "Because I could have opened the door for you, instead of you climbing to my second floor window."

"I missed doing it," Oliver shrugged lightly then sucked in a pained breath. "It's been a while."

"Oliver, are you injured?" Felicity changed from skeptical to alarmed in a heartbeat. She walked to the window quickly to pull the curtains shut then flicked the lights on. Oliver had a small smile on his face -Which was thankfully empty of bruises.

"I was training with Roy," He said in ways of explanation. "Kid has grown a bigger attitude somehow."

"Seems to be going around," She allowed her tone to be light as she settled on the edge of her bed. He lowered himself to the floor with a groan to sit directly across from her. "Care to tell me what you're doing in my bedroom at 3 in the morning?"

Oliver raised his eyebrows at her phrasing but otherwise showed no intention of answering. She knew that he had probably come here on an impulse and that it may take him a while to collect his thoughts. She didn't really mind waiting however, because something about the quiet nighttime and Oliver's thoughtful expression told her that this could be resolved here tonight, no shouting involved. And if she was swaying more towards agreeing to his request.. then he really didn't need to know that just yet. She'll let him explain his plan first. Maybe grovel a bit. It'd serve him right for scaring her.

"So I was thinking." He started.

"That's never good."

"Indeed," Oliver smiled as he carried on. "that you were right about the media; they will throw a fit and make big news out of it, but what if I can make sure the news doesn't leak all at once? We can do it gradually and pull a few strings so it doesn't make headlines. I talked to my lawyer on the way here –"

"Bet he was happy to hear from you." Felicity mused. Oliver ignored her remark.

"And he can make Clara's school sign a confidentiality agreement or something right before they alter her records. The court hearing can also be made private and if we both agree to signing whatever he needs us to sign without custody issues, which we don't have, we will only need the DNA test for the judge to see and a few documents.. I think." He concludes with a proud look and Felicity is a little impressed that he remembered all that. "That leaves the threat of tabloids finding out later but I have some dirt of my own on almost everyone working the media industry in our city; courtesy of my days as Starling's playboy. I can pull my weight there and I know the best closer in New York city, he owes me a favor so I can fly him over here and he'll shut them up and have them sign whatever he pleases. Man is a machine."

"Wow." Felicity says. She could argue that all of this depends on the skills of two lawyers and how far some people are willing to go but she won't. Diggle's words are still imprinted in her mind and the guilt that's been plaguing her for months is pushing her to say yes. Maybe she'll feel better once this is resolved. "You really thought about this, didn't you?"

"I've been thinking of nothing else for weeks," He admitted. "Just needed a push to come out and say it. And, if we need to send a message here or there, we have a hacker and a vigilante at our disposal."

Felicity gave a faint smile then nodded once. She caught her lip between her teeth a moment later andworried it as she thought.

"Look, I know you're not completely sold on it and I know you have Clara's best interest in mind," Oliver spoke in earnest, keeping his eyes fixed on Felicity who stared back. "But so do I and I want to make things right for her. And for you. Just let me start with this, and I'll go from there. Give me a second chance."

Felicity knew that Oliver was asking for more than a simple approval of the name change. He was asking for permission to fix what he did. Maybe even to fix them. She banished that last thought and focused on Clara. Wishful thinking be damned, she held tighter to the receding wisps of her anger because once she loses those, she loses her last line of defense and it'd be easy from there on for Oliver Queen to break her heart. Again.

"Let me think," She knew she was going to say yes, but this was a last ditch effort at being guarded and in control. Oliver can't hurt her if she treads through his request slowly and with reason. "And ask again tomorrow."

"Yes ma'am." Oliver complied. He knows her well enough to know what this means. Still his smile is cautious. "I'll leave you to rest then." He says as he backs down towards the window.

"You're seriously using that again to leave?"

"Like I said," Oliver fixed her with a steady stare. "I missed it."

His lips twitch at her parted ones and a moment later he's gone. She shook her head then closed the window again and if her heart was thudding a bit too fast then she completely ignored it.

They were telling Clara and they were giving her Oliver's last name. The thought made Felicity anxious but she knew it was the only way to do it, whether she liked it or not. She stayed up for a while longer and groaned at the mental image of her last wall crumbling but, for some reason, she only slept easier after that.

A/N: So Roy is back and Diggle is breaking up fights and Clara is on her way to find out who her dad is. That's all to say that I'm telling you guys how many more chapters the story will take to end pretty soon because we're coming closer to the ending.

We're almost to 200 reviews and I'll love you forever if this chapter crosses the 200 mark, so do tell me what you think and leave a review.

Thank you so much for reading, you people are all so great.

P.S: yes I know that the legalities Oliver stated are somewhat flawed because someone -cough dad cough- pointed out a loophole to me after I asked about it, but since Oliver is no lawyer I figured he wouldn't know about it anymore than I did and that his lawyer, who actually practices law, will figure that out and solve it easily since it's a small loophole (yay!).

Tell me what you think, stay awesome, and review!