Chapter Text
‘Jonah Mason Smoak, get your hands off my computers,’ scolded Felicity.
‘Mooom,’ he whined.
‘No. These aren’t computers you play with. This is work,’ she tried explaining. When the pout on his face didn’t recede, she sighed and handed him a tablet with a sticker of an arrow on the back. ‘That was supposed to be your birthday present, but I guess you can have it...’
The sound of the door letting someone in stopped her and she stopped talking and stood in front of Jonah. Diggle stopped abruptly and stared at her for a moment before walking towards her slowly and stopping, leaving a few metres between them. Behind him, stood Lyla, who looked extremely happy to see her.
‘Diggle I...’ she began, but was cut off by Jonah pulling on her skirt.
‘Mom, what’s the password? And who’s the big guy?’ he asked.
‘Uh...it’s “smoak419”,’ she answered.
Diggle stepped back from her awkwardly and the look on his and Lyla’s face would have been funny if the ensuing reaction from her explanation wouldn’t be scary.
‘Did he just call you...what...Felicity, can you explain to me what...whoa,’ he said, turning from her. Lyla went to him and put a hand on his arm, trying to calm him down. Felicity was pretty sure that if he had fairer skin, his face would be completely red.
She didn’t know how to start explaining and she definitely didn’t want to say anything with Jonah anywhere nearby. She was saved from speaking by Jonah speaking up.
‘Hello big guy and pregnant lady. I know you’re pregnant because I’ve seen pictures of my mom with me in her tummy and she looked really big and tired and my grandma told me she nearly died and anyway, my name’s Jonah,’ he said, grinning a big, toothless grin and holding out a hand for one of them to shake.
Diggle was staring at the boy like he had two heads, so Lyla took charge of the situation and shook his outstretched hand saying, ‘I’m Lyla and this is my...husband, John Diggle,’ looking completely unbothered by what the boy had just said, even though her eyes belied her demeanor.
‘Diggle as in wiggle?’ he asked, scrunching up his nose, just like Felicity always did.
Lyla laughed softly and answered, ‘Yes, Diggle as in wiggle.’
‘I see you’ve met Jonah,’ said Oliver from behind them. No one had heard him come in, even though he had caught a good part of the conversation, especially the part where Jonah said that Felicity had almost died. He had to ask about that.
Felicity smiled at him, grateful for his entrance. She didn’t bother stopping Jonah, not sure exactly how to begin explaining things to John and Lyla and she was glad that Oliver would be here to do it with her.
‘Liver!,’ yelled Jonah, running towards Oliver, who bent to catch him. ‘How’s it going Jonah?’ he asked, walking towards his teammates, carrying the little boy.
‘Good. I just met the pretty, pregnant lady called Lyla and her husband John Diggle as in wiggle,’ he explained.
Oliver sputtered and Felicity was impressed that he didn’t double over laughing at what Jonah had just said. ‘Oh really?,’ Oliver asked, hiking an eyebrow.
‘Yup and I have a new tablet and it has an arrow on the back, look at it,’ he said enthusiastically, ‘and I just love archery and the superhero guy called The Arrow and I can make a bullseye now’
This was new information for Felicity and she felt her heart stutter in her chest as Oliver turned his eyes to her and smiled widely.
‘Okay, now I really need an explanation. You knew Oliver? And you didn’t even bother telling me?’ asked Diggle, looking more than a little hurt.
Jonah was trying to get down from Oliver’s arms, and he put him down. The boy ran to the chair behind Felicity and settled into it, opening Angry Birds.
Oliver walked the short distance to Diggle and put a hand on his shoulder saying, ‘I just found out yesterday and it was purely by accident. I swear Dig, it was by accident. Jonah barreled into me yesterday and then he called Felicity his mom and she...it is so bad John,’ said Oliver, his voice cracking.
‘I need an explanation. Now,’ demanded John.
And so, with Oliver’s help, Felicity explained. ‘It was in 2007, the night before my birthday,’
***
‘Oh god,’ whispered Diggle when she finished. Oliver squeezed her hand as she looked over to Jonah who they had all moved away from.
‘I’m so sorry Felicity,’ said Lyla, a look of horror and revulsion etched into her face.
‘It’s fine. It was so many years ago and they never found him and now I have Jonah so there’s not much to be sorry for. I love my son,’ she said, a small, sad smile taking over her mouth.
Diggle had stepped away from them for a moment as he wiped his hands over his face and tried to calm down.
‘Diggle, it’s okay. I’m fine,’ said Felicity, putting her hands on his shoulders and looking up at him, ‘I’m fine,’ she repeated.
‘What did he...Jonah, mean when he said you almost died?’ asked Diggle. ‘Oh that,’ she said, waving a hand, almost dismissively, but seeing the look on her friends’ faces, she knew she had to explain. ‘I carried Jonah past term,’ she said. At the confused look on the men’s faces, she rolled her eyes and clarified, ‘He was in my womb for longer than nine months. Thirteen, in fact. I was in the hospital from the seventh month. I’m surprised I graduated college sometimes, when I look back on it. I was sick from the very beginning of the pregnancy and I was even sicker by the time he was born. I wanted a natural birth, which added to the stress on my body and he was so tiny when he came out...I was in the ICU for two weeks after he was born. The doctors who knew about his uh...conception, said that Jonah’s sperm donor’s family might have a history of those things, but no one could know, could they?’ she said, ‘he was awesome though. I loved him from the moment I knew I was carrying him and that was so hard for me. I remember the police saying that I had every right to abort. I knew I would never do that of course. It wasn’t his fault his father was a...whatever.’ She was crying by then and Lyla was hugging her to her chest.
Oliver sighed as he watched the little boy. He wished he could find the bastard that did this to Felicity. He felt so angry thinking about her unconscious while someone...
He ground his teeth in frustration and left his teammates. He changed into sweatpants and began to work out his anger on the salmon ladder. He found Jonah looking up at him in awe and grinned at him. Despite the circumstances surrounding his conception, the kid was amazing. He had Felicity all over him, which made him even better.
He finished his workout and got down from the ladder. Diggle and Lyla were still talking to Felicity and by the look in her eyes; he guessed that it was probably about Jonah. He smiled at them and then at the kid.
‘So you think she’s pretty right?’ asked Jonah. Oliver choked on air as he tried to find an appropriate answer to the question.
‘Uh...’ he said, confused at what tactic to use to get out of answering.
‘Don’t worry, I think she’s pretty too,’ said Jonah in a ridiculously loud stage-whisper, making Dig, Lyla and Felicity look at them.
Felicity smiled at the two of them, feeling her heart constrict at the image the two presented, Oliver with his head bent to Jonah’s and Jonah looking up at him with a grin on his face.
‘I need to go to the bathroom,’ announced Jonah, walking toward his mom. ‘I told you that extra juice box would be a bad idea,’ said Felicity taking his hand.
‘No one likes a know-it-all Mama,’ said Jonah, making the other Lyla and Oliver laugh and forcing Diggle to crack a smile.
On the way to the bathroom, Roy burst in and did a double-take when he saw the male Felicity lookalike kid. He was even more confused when he heard him call Felicity “Mom”.
‘Uh...what the hell?’ he asked.
‘It’s a long story,’ said Oliver. ‘One you will definitely not like hearing.’
‘Okay, let me just tell you my news. I think I know where Thea is.’