These Prison Walls (An Arrow: Season 7 Fanfiction)

Chapter 2: Trouble in the Water

Five months later... 

Oliver stepped into the bedroom to see Evelyn lying on the bed, a computer on her lap, staring up at the screen. He sat on the edge of the bed and I (Evelyn) looked up at him. 

'Oh, hey, Ollie. Glad you're home.' 

'How are you feeling?' he asked. I closed the laptop and put it aside. 

'Other than this IV drip in my arm that's making me itchy as hell and the massive backlog of paperwork for the foundation, I'm just peachy. The doc came over today.' 

'What'd Dr. Schwartz say?' he asked. 

'She said it'd be another two weeks before I can stand on my own, and another month or so of rehab before I can be in the field again. How'd things go tonight with the graduation?' 

'Good. Black Siren attacked the bunker though. Made a big mess.' I chuckled. 

'I take it the rest of the team is on cleanup duty. You said something was wrong with John the other day. What was it?' 

'He's starting to miss his shots. Rene got injured and landed in hospital.' 

'Oh, no,' I said with tangible concern in my voice, sitting up slightly. 'Is he okay?' 

'He's getting better.' I nodded. 

'That's good. How's Speedy?' 

'Still the same.' 

'Let me know if anything changes.' I yawned. 'I'm super tired right now. I think I might head to bed.' He nodded and stood, smoothing my hair back and kissing my forehead. 

'I love you, Ellie.' 

'I love you too, Ollie.' He left the room. 

Oliver slid the bedroom door open and stepped in to see William on his bed, reading a book. 

'Hey, buddy,' he said. 'William, I know that the last few months have been difficult for you, and I know that you blame me for part of that.' He took a deep breath before continuing. 'I used to blame my dad for things. He wasn't perfect. Neither am I. But he loved me. I know how much your mom loved you. She really did, but you need to know that the last thing that she asked of me was to take care of you. Now you don't have to like me for me to take care of you because I'm your dad. The way that works is that I am gonna be there for you whether you want me to be or not. I am never, ever walking away from you.' He turned around to leave, then turned back to him. 'There's a game on tomorrow if you want to stay up late and watch it.' He began to leave, but just then William spoke. 

'Football or baseball?' He turned and looked at his son. 

'Baseball.' He shrugged. 

'Okay.' 

'Okay.' He stopped for a moment, checked himself and smiled slightly before walking out of the room. Picking up the phone, he called Felicity. 'Hi. I was just gonna give you a call.' 

'Turn on Channel 52 right now,' she said. 

'Okay.' He switched on the television and listened to the television announcer. 

'... with the discovery of a shocking photograph that seems to finally solve the mystery haunting Star City for the past two years: who is the Green Arrow? This photo, which was obtained exclusively by Channel 52, provides unequivocal proof of the identity of the vigilante known as the Green Arrow. We still, as of yet, have no knowledge on the identity of the female vigilante known as Athena that has often been spotted with the Green Arrow. This is the latest controversy to hit the Queen administration.'

'What are we gonna do?' Felicity asked over the line. 

'... What else has the mayor lied about? As always, we'll keep you updated with breaking news on Channel 52.' Oliver put the phone to his ear again. 

'I - I don't know.'