Disclaimer: I don't own Arrow.

Thank you to everyone who's enjoying this and who reviewed. Just a reminder, I'm not a social worker or a lawyer, nor do I have any experience with those professions. I'm also not a resident of the US and have only been there twice for holidays, years ago. Anything about them mentioned is creative licence, as mentioned in the previous chapter. In addition, at the start of the story, Thea isn't shown in a good light. I think of it as her being parallel to early S1 Thea, who was quite bratty and self-centred, not to mention a drug addict. She will improve, I promise. This is not a Thea bashing story. Finally, I'll be going away for a few days on Sunday, so there'll be no chance for me to do any writing then.

Read, enjoy and review!

Chapter Two

The Transcript

Oliver was pretty sure he was in shock after the social worker (Felicity Smoke, had she said her name was?) strode out of the lobby, seemingly indifferent to the fact that she had just ripped his world apart with a few short sentences.

"I need to call my lawyers," he said blankly to Dig, who looked grim.

"Do it in the car," his head of security suggested in response, grasping his arm and tugging him away. But there was one thing Oliver wanted to get done first.

He gave a stony look to the receptionist, 'Amy' from her nametag. "From now on," he told the wide-eyed woman in a cold voice. "If someone comes in saying they need to discuss my son, they are to be sent straight upstairs to me, understood?"

"Yes sir, Mr. Queen," she replied timidly.

"And if word of this spreads, I'll know who to fire," he added warningly. She paled and nodded quickly in understanding. There were others in the lobby, but he was fairly certain that they were far enough away to be out of earshot. He'd have them all contacted and warned to keep quiet if necessary, but right now he had to go and sort this mess out.

They couldn't take William away from him. This was all insane. He had left his son with his girlfriend of a year, whom he had only introduced to his son a month ago. The pair weren't too comfortable around each other yet, but today was only the fourth time they had met. He had been with Laurel for a year, known her for around fifteen months (discounting their brief relationship in high school that had broken up when Laurel went to Stanford to become a lawyer while Oliver went to Princeton, the first of the five colleges he had attended and his father's old school). He trusted her. She would never get drunk while caring for his seven-year-old son and then abandon him at some park. He didn't believe it. Laurel was an Assistant District Attorney, for crying out loud!

These thoughts ran around his head in circles as Dig escorted him quickly to the car, pushing him into the back before heading to the driver's seat to get them away as quickly as possible. The movement of the car (which he had no recollection of actually arriving at or getting into), snapped Oliver out of his frantic thoughts. His finger slipped, giving him a tiny papercut and reminding him that he was holding the file the social worker had told him was full of the information he needed.

He quickly flipped it open, speed reading the first few pages that were basically just some documents signed by a Judge Horton-West putting his son in emergency foster care pending a custody hearing on Monday afternoon. Then he found a report from the social worker (Felicity Smoak, not Smoke. Absently, Oliver acknowledged that it was a lovely name.) that he took time reading. It explained how she had been out with another of her children (whose name wasn't written in the report) at a park in the Glades of all places when they noticed a young child wandering the park alone inappropriately dressed for the weather.

Oliver had to pause at that point, hit with a painful image of his young son shivering from the cold. He'd been wearing a long-sleeved shirt and jeans when Oliver left for the emergency at work (a hacking attempt had accessed several old prototype blueprints. Thankfully, his IT department was the best in America, and they had found the address of the hacker. Sara Lance, Laurel's younger sister, a detective with SCPD like her father had been before his promotion to captain and a good friend of Oliver, had arrested the guy and was charging him with theft and hacking.). But while the clothes weren't unsuitable for the weather, that was when they were paired with a coat. Will must've been freezing. A lump obstructing his throat, Oliver forced himself to keep reading.

Ms. Smoak had approached him and showed him her driver's licence to get around the whole 'don't speak to strangers' problems, and gotten an explanation from him on what was wrong. On hearing William's story and making several attempts to call Oliver at the number he gave her without any success (a check of his phone showed several calls from an unknown number had been diverted to his EA, Karla, who had no doubt denied them. Unless she had a very good explanation, he would be firing her for this.), Ms. Smoak had made the decision to place him in an emergency foster home until an investigation could be conducted. She had contacted Judge Horton-West for approval and had everything ready and signed within a few hours.

The last page was a transcript of Ms. Smoak's official interview with William about his home life, and Oliver felt himself pale in disbelief, unable to accept it as the truth but unable to refute it either.

How could Thea and Laurel have done this?

Interview with William Connor Queen (age seven) in relation to his home life. Conducted by Case Worker Felicity Meghan Smoak on November 21st, 2018 at the Department of Child Protective Services, Starling City branch.

FS: William, do you understand what's happening?

WQ: Yes. Laurel left me on my own in the park and I could've been hurt, and Daddy didn't know, so now you need to make sure that he can look after me properly. He can, I promise. He's a really good dad, just busy.

FS: You're very clever, aren't you?

WQ: Everyone says so.

FS: They're right. Okay, so now I'm going to ask you some questions and I need you to promise to answer them truthfully, alright? I promise, no matter what you say, you won't get in trouble.

WQ: Daddy won't either, right? Zoesaid that her dad's in trouble and that's why she's not allowed to live with him anymore.

FS: Has your dad ever hurt you, or left you alone like Laurel did?

WQ: No, Daddy's a great daddy, but he's really busy all the time, so Raisa takes care of me most of the time now that Mommy *hiccups* went away. And Aunt Thea babysits a lot too, but I prefer Raisa, 'cause she plays more games and teaches me stuff.

FS: I'm very sorry about your mommy Will. And no, seeing as your dad hasn't hurt you, he won't get in trouble. But sometimes adults can get distracted with other things, and they need to be reminded to look after their kids properly. That's what's happening here. I swear, we're gonna do everything we can to get you back to Daddy as soon as possible. But we can't do that while there's a risk to you. Understand?

WQ: Yeah.

FS: Alright then. Brave boy. You're doing really well, okay? Now, you mentioned that Raisa looks after you a lot. Can you tell me about her?

WQ: Raisa's great! She's the housekeeper at Grandmama and Aunt Thea's house. She picks me up from school and takes me there to stay until Daddy is finished work. She helps me with my homework sometimes, but she's not good at math, and she makes the best cookies ever, and she's from Russia and she's teaching me how to speak it. She taught Daddy too. It's a load of fun.

FS: She sounds really cool.

WQ: She's great!

FS: I'm glad you're so close to her. So, she's never forgotten to pick you up, or not fed you lunch, or hurt you?

WQ: No, never. Sometimes she gives me too much lunch, and she never even gives out to me or put me in the corner, like Daddy does when I don't tidy up my room. She just tells Daddy if I do something wrong, and he sorts it out.

FS: That's good. I'd like to meet Raisa. She sounds lovely. And what about Daddy? You said that he's a good daddy but he's very busy now. Was he this busy before your mommy went away?

WQ: I dunno. I lived with Mommy then. But I guess he must've been. He runs a really big business, and he's in charge of lots of people. Nana and Granddad don't like him. They say he's a bad daddy and I should live with them, but I don't want to. I love Daddy. I want to stay with him.

FS: I understand. Can I just check something with you please, sweetie? Grandmama and Aunt Thea are your dad's family, Moira and Thea Queen, while Nana and Granddad are your mommy's parents? Do you know their names and where they are right now?

WQ: Frank and Irene Clayton. They went on a cruise around the Canaries for their anniversary. I thought they were talking 'bout Sara's bird at first, but they meant the Canary islands. They'll be back in a week, and they're bringing me a present from every place they went! I haven't been there, but Daddy said if I wanted to, we could go there for a trip in the summer next year.

FS: Oh, nice. I wish somebody would send me off to the Canaries. Do you know why your grandparents don't think your daddy is a good dad?

WQ: I dunno. Sorry.

FS: That's okay. At the park earlier, you said that Aunt Thea drinks a secret drink. Would you tell me about that?

WQ: I won't get in trouble? I promised not to tell anyone.

FS: You won't, I swear.

WQ: Well, she keeps it in her closet. I was playing hide and seek with my friends Akio and his sisters Yuki and Reiko* while Aunt Thea was in charge of us at the mansion. I went to hide in her room, and I found her drinking it with her friend. I think his name's Shane. They were kissing on her bed too, and neither of them were wearing their shirts. Aunt Thea got annoyed when I came in and yelled at me and said to go away and play somewhere else.

FS: I see. And she was the only adult in the house at the time? When was this do you remember?

WQ: It was, like, four months ago I think. And there were the guards, but they stay outside at the gate. Aunt Thea was in charge.

FS: Right. Sweetheart, have you ever seen your aunt have anything like this around? [shows picture of drugs]

WQ: I think so. She had a plastic bag with some white rocks in it in her coat pocket a few weeks ago. I wasn't snooping! Daddy sent me to get the keys from Aunt Thea 'cause he'd left his at work, and she pulled the bag out of her pocket when she was getting them.

FS: Don't worry, I didn't think you were. Does your dad leave you with your aunt a lot?

WQ: Yeah, if Raisa or Aunt Lyla can't look after me he usually asks Aunt Thea. Usually she's fun, but if Shane's around or she's had some of her special drink she's mean.

FS: Who's Aunt Lyla? And has Aunt Thea ever given you some of her drink?

WQ: Aunt Lyla is Daddy's friend, Uncle Dig's wife. Uncle Dig is charge of security Daddy said. I don't really get why we need him, Mommy didn't have security and Nana and Granddad don't have any either, but lots of other kids in my school do. Aunt Lyla's really nice. She and Uncle Dig have twin babies, Sarah* and JJ, and she lets me help look after them when I'm over. And Aunt Thea has offered to let me have a few tastes of her drink a couple times, but it tastes yuck so I said no after the first time. I don't get why she likes it.

FS: I see. It's good you did that. That drink is only for adults. Your dad would probably be very upset if you had some. Now, the last thing we need to talk about today is Laurel. Laurel is your dad's girlfriend?

WQ: Yeah. They've been together for a while I think, but Daddy only introduced us a month ago. He hasn't done that before.

FS: Does your dad date a lot?

WQ: No, I don't think so. He's too busy.

FS: Okay. How often have you met Laurel, Will?

WQ: Uhm, three or four times I think. This is the first time she was with me without Daddy there. All three of us were supposed to go to the zoo, but Daddy had to go into work for an 'mergency.

FS: I see. And you said that Laurel had a smelly drink like Aunt Thea's with her?

WQ: Uh-huh. It was a really strong smell, even stronger than Aunt Thea's stuff. I didn't like it. She was really annoyed about Daddy cancelling, and she was complaining but I couldn't really hear her words 'cause I went into the other room to play Mario Kart. I could just hear her voice, you know?

FS: I do. Where did she get the drink, William? Did she bring it with her?

WQ: Nuh-uh. She opened the special cabinet in the kitchen where Daddy keeps the adult drinks like wine for when his friends come over.

FS: It wasn't locked?

WQ: No. Daddy says I'm not 'llowed to touch it, and it's too tall for me to reach anyway, even with a chair.

FS: I see. So she took the drink from your dad's special cabinet. Does your dad drink stuff from that cabinet a lot?

WQ: No, never. He only has it for others who come over. He and Uncle Tommy don't touch it.

FS: That's good. He shouldn't be having that drink around kids. Sometimes it makes people get angry or forget things.

WQ: Including kids?

FS: Yes, I'm afraid so.

WQ: Oh, so is that why Laurel left me at the park? She forgot me 'cause of her drink?

FS: I think so. Was Laurel acting strangely after drinking?

WQ: Yeah. She was kinda swaying, like this. And she drove weird too. Kinda jerky.

FS: I see. Thank you for telling me all of this, Will. We're done now, okay? You can have your treat now.

End of interview

"God," Oliver mumbled, stunned by the revelations within the interview.

He'd had his suspicions, of course, that Thea might've been dabbling in drugs. And he had known for a fact that she was drinking, despite being just nineteen. But whenever he tried to discuss things with her she erupted in anger and accused him of hypocrisy, and he had no real proof of the drugs, just suspicions. His work and raising Will had distracted him from looking too much into it. Perhaps a part of him had avoided doing so, hoping that, if he didn't actually find any evidence, his baby sister would remain the sweet young girl he remembered her as. And what teenager didn't dabble in alcohol while still underage? Oliver certainly had little foot to stand on when scolding her, given his own past.

But he had never dreamed that she might get drunk and have sex with that idiot she was dating while babysitting not only his son, but the children of his CIO and friend, Maseo Yamashiro. God, Oliver hoped he would be able to keep Maseo from learning about that. The Yamashiros doted on their three children, twins Yuki and Reiko and their son Akio, and were always fretting over Akio's ill-health (he had some rare auto-immune disease that had him being admitted to hospital six times a year on average). If they found out about that incident, he wouldn't put it past them to try and sue or something. They were his friends, but their children came first, naturally. Oliver would probably have done the same thing in that sort of situation.

"Oh, what am I going to do?" Oliver groaned to himself. God, at times like this he missed Sam desperately. They hadn't been together, just co-parents, but she had become one of his best friends over their years raising Will together. If she were here, this would never have happened.

"So, it's bad then?" Dig said from his place up front.

"It's a disaster," Oliver replied glumly, before going on to read out the transcript for his friend. Dig was always a font of good advice and calm, and Oliver was in dire need of his sage wisdom right now, when he felt on the verge of falling apart.

"Well," Dig said finally after a few moments of mulling the whole thing over. "I think we can fix this. It seems to me that the main problems are Laurel and Thea, not you. So-"

"Laurel won't be a problem any longer," Oliver cut in sharply, fury surging in his chest at the thought of her.

Now things were sinking in, he was enraged. How dare she abandon his son? In a park in the Glades of all places, without a coat in November! He could have caught pneumonia if it started to snow as weather forecasts were warning was a possibility, to say nothing of the dangers of an adult, let alone a young child, wandering such a dangerous area alone.

Oliver shuddered to think what could have happened had some gang member or criminal recognized his son and decided to take advantage of the lack of supervision for the young boy to kidnap him and get a ransom. Oliver would pay any amount necessary for his son's safe return, naturally, but the thought of what might have happened would haunt his nightmares for a long time, the CEO was sure. Although the circumstances were still terrible, Oliver had to admit he was relieved the person who had found his son was a good person (even if he resented her removing his son from his custody), not a psycho.

It could have been so much worse.

"So, you're breaking up with her then?" Dig confirmed. "I have to say I'm glad."

"No, 'I told you so'?" Oliver asked grumpily, though it wasn't Dig's style. The dark-skinned man had disliked Laurel from pretty much the first day, though he had limited his disapproval to a single conversation and a few pointed looks.

"No," Dig said simply. "But breaking up with Laurel only solves one problem, and the easier one at that. What'll you do about Thea?"

Oliver swallowed thickly, hands curling into fists and unintentionally crumpling the pages he was holding. While he really was furious that Thea would be so irresponsible, she was still his sister. He loved her.

"I bet it's that guy's fault," he declared. "Shane, her boyfriend. I've never liked him. He's a bad influence."

"Oliver, man, don't do that," Dig urged him. "Don't sweep what she's done under the rug. Maybe peer pressure is part of it, but Thea's nineteen now. She's not twelve anymore, she makes these decisions knowingly. She knows she's too young to be drinking, she knows the dangers of doing drugs, and she still chooses to do them. She chose to get drunk and have sex while in charge of four kids under the age of ten, and she chose to press your son into keeping quiet. What if something happened and she was too drunk to deal with it? Don't brush this off, Oliver. Did it do you any good to have your parents pay your way out of all consequences?"

Oliver grimaced, conceding to his friend's valid point. For most of his life, he'd been a selfish asshole, drinking and partying his way through life, thinking nothing of hurting people so long as he himself was satisfied. Then he had gotten drunk and ended up crashing his car while driving his hook up for the night back to his place. The woman, Sandra, had survived but at a cost. She was paralyzed. Given she had been studying on an athletic scholarship, this was especially devastating. At twenty, her life had been pretty much ruined because of his selfishness. The Queens had paid for her medical costs (still did, in fact), and for her to finish her degree, avoiding him being hit with charges but Oliver had received a painful reality check, one he had urgently needed.

He himself had also been injured in the crash, though not nearly as severely. He had refused his mother's suggestion of having his scars removed by a plastic surgeon. They served as a reminder and a warning to him, stopping him from ever becoming 'Ollie' again. Sam's announcement of her pregnancy only two months later had been the final push to make him become a better man, son, brother and friend. He had taken a long, hard look at himself, and he hadn't liked what he saw. He had wanted his son to be able to be proud of having him as a father.

Up until today, he had thought he'd done a decent job, but now he was regretting his arrogance.

"You're right, Dig," he sighed at last. "But still, she's my sister. My baby sister. What am I supposed to do?"

"You need to prove that Will's safety means more to you than Thea's comfort or your family's reputation," Dig told him seriously. By now, they were parked in the driveway outside of the mansion (it showed how well Diggle knew him, that he had realized Oliver would want to speak to his family in person about everything right away). "Tell Thea to either get clean, or she won't be allowed to be in contact with Will again."

Oliver grimaced, but nodded. Dig's advice was sound, and he had no real options in the matter. None that would get Will back, at any rate. He caught sight of the mention of Sam's parents in the interview and swore as a thought occurred to him.

"Frank and Irene," he said disconsolately. "They'll use this to press for custody."

The Claytons had never liked him, always judging him based on his 'Ollie' days. After Sam's death, they had tried to get custody of William, citing Oliver's long work hours and history of alcohol and drugs, but they had settled for regular visits after some negotiations. According to the agreement drawn up by their lawyers, Will was required to spend a minimum of two weekends per month at their house in Ivy Town. To their credit, their dislike of Oliver didn't extend to their grandson, on whom they doted, but nothing would soften them towards the boy's father. Oliver had no doubt that this mess would solidify their beliefs on his character, and result in a renewed custody battle.

Dig nodded understandingly. "Probably," he admitted. "But that's a problem for later. They're out of contact right now. Right now, you gotta focus on getting Will back ASAP."

"Yeah," Oliver nodded, reaching up to rub his eyes tiredly. "Thank you, Dig," he said to his friend, pouring as much sincerity as he could into the words. "I really appreciate everything you do for me. I don't know what I would do without your advice."

Dig grinned at him lightly. "Ah, you can give me a raise instead of words if you really want to thank me," he teased lightly, before sobering and clapping Oliver on the shoulder. "Seriously, though, man. It's going to be alright. You've hit a rough patch, but you'll make it through."

Oliver nodded, squaring his shoulders and bracing himself for the coming confrontation, and a confrontation it would certainly be, as he would do what Dig suggested and warn Thea that, until she was clean, she would not be allowed around his son. He had two days before the hearing on Monday and he was determined to have everything in order by then, so he could regain custody of his son.

William mattered more to him than anything and anyone else, including Thea. He would do whatever it took to get him back. Starting by cutting off Thea, speaking to Jean Loring about pressing charges against Laurel, and installing a lock on the alcohol cabinet in his kitchen.

And maybe he would cut back on his hours too. If Will's testimony was to be believed, then he had clearly been spending too much time at QC, and too little time with his son. William came first. Always.

* While in the show the Yamashiros have just a single son, Akio, who dies from the Alpha-Omega Virus outbreak in Hong Kong, in the comics they have twin daughters Yuki and Reiko, who are killed in a fire (I believe their evil uncle Takeo Yamashiro, Maseo's twin brother who was angry that Tatsu fell in love with his brother instead of him, set it, but I can't remember). In this, all three children exist, but they're side characters and shouldn't have much part in the story.