My Mom & My Dad

Chapter 15: Backlash

Emily:

After lunch at Big Belly Burger's, we picked up Stephen from school. Oliver then instructed Mr. Diggle to head for our apartment, where Thea would be watching over me for the rest of the afternoon. He and Mom were going to the police precinct to formally file a complaint against Mr. Palmer, and they decided that it wasn't exactly a place a three-year-old should hang out at. Thea was very nice about it and agreed to babysit while they were gone.

Stephen:

I, on the other hand, begged my dad to let me come along. I'd missed my grandfather and hadn't seen him for quite some time. Gramps was a very busy man, and hardly had the time to drop by the Queen mansion to visit us. You see, he's Captain Quentin Lance, the big guy of the police force of the 24th precinct in Starling City. He used to be just a detective, but because he was brave and outstanding in his job, he got promoted some time after my mom passed away.

But I also know that the infrequent visits weren't only because he was busy with police stuff; it was also because the Queen mansion, Dad, and I were dismal reminders of Mom, his beloved eldest daughter, the one he lost to cancer. When mom got sick, he came almost every day to visit and often times even stayed over for a night or two, helping to take care of her. He practically lived with us all those months. Aunt Sara, my mom's younger sister, lived in the east coast because she worked as a special agent for the FBI in Quantico, Virginia; she came home only to attend her funeral. During last week's dinner, we heard from Uncle Tommy that just last year, Aunt Sara came back for good. It turns out Gramps had convinced her to ask for a transfer to the FBI headquarters in Central City, which was only about an hour or so away from Starling City, so that she could be closer to family. I figured Gramps had already lost one daughter, so he had wanted his other daughter close by.

When we got to the precinct, I immediately headed for my grandfather's office.

"Hey, Stephen! What are you doing here, buddy?" my grandpa said excitedly as I rushed to give him a nice big hug.

"Missed you, Gramps!" I replied as he ruffled my hair. He looked at my face and became a bit teary-eyed. He had always said that my eyes and my features reminded him of Mom.

When my grandpa looked up, Dad and Felicity were already at the door of his office.

"Good afternoon, Quentin," my Dad greeted him quite formally.

"Didn't expect you to walk into my office today, Queen," was my grandpa's response to Dad's courtesy.

"Me neither," Dad remarked. "It's just that I really need your help with something... someone, rather."

"Anything I can do to help," Gramps replied. "What's this about?"

"Quentin, I'd like to introduce you to my girlfriend, Felicity Smoak. Felicity, this is Captain Quentin Lance. He's my father-in-law, Laurel's dad."

"It's nice to meet you, Captain Lance," Felicity said, "although I would have preferred meeting you under different circumstances."

"We don't want to take much of your time, Quentin," Dad said, "so I'll go straight to the point."

"Go on," Gramps said.

"Felicity would like to file a complaint against Ray Palmer, owner and CEO of Palmer Technologies based in Las Vegas. He was in my office this morning for a brief meeting. After the meeting, he attacked Felicity in the ladies room. And this wasn't exactly the first time he did," Oliver began to explain.

"That explains that thing on her head," Gramps remarked. "Do you have a medical report?"

"Yes," Dad answered. "Dr. Snow of QC's infirmary treated her injury, and then I brought her afterwards to the E.R. of Starling General. They did a CAT scan of her head and a couple of other tests. Dr. Snow and the E.R. resident on duty promised to have their reports ready by the end of the day. Dr. Snow also took some photos of her injuries. I'll have Diggle bring them over later."