Disclaimer: I don't own Arrow. This idea has been playing on my mind for awhile, rudely distracting me from my attempts to write Artemis, while at the same time being a brat about getting from my mind to the page. Finally, I decided to just put it up. Hopefully it lives up to my standards (FYI, while I have seen a couple of Flash episodes, it was only a couple, so if the Flash characters are too OOC, sorry. It is a fanfic, after all.)

For the moment I'm calling it 'The Social Worker', but that may change later. And this is not for fans of Laurel Lance, so if you like her, read something else. Finally, I have no idea how foster care works, so all of this is creative licence.

Read, enjoy and review!

Chapter One

Meeting William

"So," Felicity began finally, breaking the silence she and Zoe had fallen into after greeting each other when the young girl had climbed into the car, early in the day on the 21st November, 2018. "What's wrong, sweetheart?"

Felicity Smoak had been a social worker for nearly four years now, and her bosses had been impressed from the start at how determined she was not to let any of her kids fall through the cracks, a determination that never faltered, unlike many of her colleagues who grew jaded and too overworked to keep it up. Felicity ensured that all of her kids had her phone number, and she only ever used a select group of foster parents with whom she had a relationship with, and in whose character she was completely certain of. On placing a child with a family, she visited them at first three to four times per week for a month before lessening it.

She also had an incredible talent for getting the hardest and angriest of foster kids to open up to her, though she refused to reveal her secret to her colleagues when they tried to ask. It wouldn't do them much good, anyway.

Her background let her connect with her kids, because Felicity knew exactly what they were going through. Her dad had left when she was five, her mother had turned to drugs and booze to cope, and she had gone into the system after her beloved grandmother died of a heart attack when she was eight. For years she had bounced around the system, often running away from the worst homes to stay on the streets for awhile, until she had been taken in by the Wests. Joe and Cecile had been her last set of foster parents, and they had treated her and their other foster child, Barry, with the same love they gave to their biological children, Iris and Wally. To this day Felicity considered them her family.

Because of that experience, Felicity was able to connect with her charges and convince them that, if they put in enough effort, they really could find something better. Four of her kids had aged out and she remained in contact with all of them. To her utter pride and delight, all of them were still in contact with their final placements as well, to varying degrees.

Twelve-year-old Zoe Ramirez was one of the first charges assigned to her. Felicity had taken over the girl's case two months into her job, when her former social worker retired. She was the daughter of two drug addicts living in the Glades, and had been taken into care after her mother had overdosed and drawn the attention of the state to the family's situation. Her father had managed to regain custody of her six months ago, and things seemed to have been going well lately. But this morning Zoe had called asking if she could pick her up, so they were now on the way to the park to get some hot chocolate and talk.

"I think Dad's using again," Zoe admitted, voice vulnerable. She stared hard out the window, not looking in Felicity's direction.

The blonde social worker sighed. She'd had her suspicions when Zoe called, but Rene had been alright when she collected her, so she'd hoped it was just some women's stuff that the teenager felt uncomfortable speaking to her father about. Felicity was careful to ensure that her kids knew she was there for them no matter what, whether it was puberty questions or the heavy life questions like 'why did my mom give me up?' or 'how come I'm unloveable?' that plagued members of the system. She was also very firm on drilling into their heads to always, always call her if there were problems at their homes.

"Are you sure?" Felicity asked softly, turning on the indicator to go into the carparking spot. Zoe shrugged, wrapping her arms around herself defensively.

"Pretty sure," she replied. "I think I saw some white powder in his bathroom the other day, and last night he was really, really deep asleep. I couldn't get a response out of him."

Felicity finished parking, sighing again and reaching out to turn Zoe's face towards her own gently. The young girl, who was far too mature for her age, had brown eyes shimmering with tears and was biting into her bottom lip to stop it trembling. "You know you should've called straight away, right?" Felicity checked, because this was serious and Zoe's health was her first priority.

Zoe ducked her head. "I know, I just-" she replied. She burst into tears when Felicity pulled her into a hug, letting her cry it out as she stroked the teen's back soothingly.

Eventually Zoe ran out of tears and they were silent as she accepted the tissue to wipe her face, save for the occasional sniffle.

"We'll go and get some hot chocolate," Felicity said decisively. "And then we'll get your stuff."

"Yeah, okay," Zoe responded despondently. Felicity gave her a sympathetic look.

"I'm sorry, honey," she told her earnestly. Zoe grimaced at her.

"I know, I just wish..."

"Yeah, I get it," Felicity murmured. They left it there, leaving the car and heading for the small kiosk beside the entrance to the park.

William wandered through the park, frowning to keep from crying. He was a big boy now, and big boys didn't cry. Even when they were lost in the park and their cheeks hurt from the wind and they were cold because they didn't have their jackets on.

He sucked in a shaky breath, hunching his shoulders against the frosty wind.

"Honey!" An unfamiliar woman called out. Will didn't recognize the voice, so he ignored it. A moment later there was the skittering of stones and suddenly a pretty woman with blonde hair in a ponytail, bright pink lips, caring blue eyes and a purple coat over her red dress was crouching in front of him, brow wrinkled in concern. A girl with what Aunt Thea and Grandma would call olive skin (though it wasn't anything like olives), brunette hair in a braid and jeans was with her.

"Sweetheart," she addressed him. "Where are your mom and dad?"

Will hesitated. "I'm not s'pposed to talk to strangers," he told the woman, wincing because while he didn't want to disobey his dad, he didn't want to be rude either.

"Oh, of course not," she nodded. She paused before reaching into her bag and pulling out a purse, opening it to show her driver's licence to him. "Do you know what this is, sweetheart?"

"It's a driver's licence, like Uncle Tommy had to show the policeman that time because he went too fast," Will answered confidently. "It has your name and face on it, and it says you can drive."

"Aren't you clever?" She smiled. "That's right. Do you know what mine says?"

He squinted and read it aloud. "Fuh-li-city Sm-oak. Felicity Smoak?"

"That's right," she nodded, still smiling. But not in the weird way some adults had, more in a way of saying that she was just a happy person. "You're very good at reading. That's me. I'm Felicity, and this is Zoe. Now, if you tell me your name, we won't be strangers anymore, will you?"

Will nodded. "I'm William Queen," he told her. "But everybody calls me Will."

Something like surprise flickered across both of their faces, but they said nothing about his name, though some people did on first being introduced to his family. Will didn't understand why.

"It's nice to meet you, Will," Felicity told him, shaking his hand the way Dad did with other adults in suits. It made Will giggle a bit, feeling silly and grown up. "So, honey," her voice softened. "Can you tell me where your dad is?"

"At work," Will shrugged, feeling his expression fall. "I guess. He's always there."

"I see," Felicity murmured. "And who's supposed to be watching you?"

"Laurel is," Will told her. The whole story burst out of him, prompted by Felicity's caring air and his own distress at the events of the day. He told the pair (because Zoe seemed nice too, even if she was quiet), how Laurel was Dad's new girlfriend, and how Will didn't really like her, but she made Dad happy so he didn't say anything. Then he told them how Dad was supposed to go to the zoo with them today, but work had called with an emergency and he'd suggested that the pair of them go without him. How Laurel had drunk something smelly, the same stuff Aunt Thea had been drinking secretly with her boyfriend, Shane, (he remembered that he wasn't supposed to mention that, he had promised Aunt Thea, but Felicity had promised that she would make sure he didn't get in trouble), and then drove him to the park. How Laurel had taken him as far as the playground, then disappeared while he was playing, and how he had wandered around for ages and didn't know where he was, until bumping into them. Felicity was very kind about everything, embracing him when he started to sniffle again and rubbing his back the way Mommy had when she was still alive and he was upset.

"That sounds like a really sucky day," Zoe told him sympathetically. "Don't worry, okay? Felicity'll help you. Her job is to help kids in trouble."

"You'll take me to Daddy?" Will asked Felicity hopefully.

She gave a soft smile and stroked his hair. "Of course, I'll call your dad," she promised, to his relief. "How about first we go and pick up Zoe's stuff. She has to go for a sleepover you see. Then we'll get you both some lunch while I get a number for your dad. Sound alright? What's your favourite lunch?"

"Big Belly Burger," Will answered, now feeling much cheerier, as he accepted her offered hand and went back to Felicity's car. It was bright red with some toys and books in the back, and the doors made a chirruping sound on being unlocked that made him giggle.

"Thanks so much for doing this so quickly Cecile," Felicity sighed in relief at her former foster mom. Cecile was the judge that Felicity always turned to when possible. Not only did she trust her completely, but Cecile was one of the rare judges who refused to allow politics to affect her decisions. The Queens wouldn't be able to bribe their way out of this one the way they had everything else.

"No problem, darling," Cecile answered warmly, scrawling her signature across the document granting the state temporary custody of William Connor Queen on grounds of suspicion of neglect. "Have you explained to him what's happening?"

"When I dropped him off at Iris and Barry's, yeah," Felicity confirmed, grimacing in recollection of the little boy's distraught confusion. Thankfully, her siblings were experts at soothing a newly minted foster kid's distress, and had distracted him with questions of what he wanted for dinner. Iris and Barry had registered to become foster parents a year after their marriage, and were Felicity's preferred emergency placement. They had twins of their own now, and another baby on the way, but they had refused to stop taking in children who needed it.

"He doesn't understand very well, but it does seem that Mr. Queen isn't a bad father," Felicity went on thoughtfully. "Just swamped with work and unable to pick up on his family and friends' faults, so I promised Will he'd be able to see his dad soon. On the other hand, William has to be my first priority, so until I'm satisfied, he's staying in care. He mentioned his mom's parents, but he also said they went on a cruise, and Thea Queen is apparently drinking while living with her mother, so I can't give him to any family members at the moment."

"The Queens are the type to bring pressure on their opponents," Cecile warned her. "They won't take this lying down."

"I don't care," Felicity answered defiantly. "I'm used to doing everything the hard way. Something tells me they aren't used to dealing with somebody who fights back."

Cecile smiled at her proudly. "That's my girl," she stated approvingly. "Hold onto that attitude. You're gonna need it."

Felicity strode into the lobby of Queen Consolidated, glancing around with a hint of curiosity. She took in the modern, sharp features, surprised at how busy the place was for mid-afternoon on a Saturday, then tucked her impressions away. She had a job to do.

She arrived at the receptionist's desk, pulling out her DCPS badge. "Excuse me?" She began. "I'm Felicity Smoak, with the Department of Child Protection Services. I need to speak to Mr. Queen."

"Mr. Queen isn't available right now," the secretary replied boredly, not even glancing at her and obviously not paying attention at all to what Felicity was saying. Felicity's lips flattened in annoyance.

"I have to speak to him about his son," she stated tensely.

"He's not-"

"What about my son?" A man's voice called. When the two women looked, they saw Oliver Queen himself, following by a large man Felicity assumed was his bodyguard, hurrying over to them from the lifts, brow furrowed in worry.

"Oliver Queen, father of William Connor Queen?" Felicity fell back on protocol to avoid gawping. Pictures did not do the man justice. He looked like Adonis.

'Focus, Felicity' she scolded herself mentally. 'You're here to do your job, not gawp at fathers with bad taste in babysitters.'

"That's me," Queen confirmed anxiously. "My son? Is he alright?"

"I think we ought to do this in private," Felicity stated, glancing around at the lobby. It wasn't too full, but it was full enough.

"No, tell me right now what happened to my son," Queen pressed, eyes angry and worried.

Felicity sighed and pulled out the file, holding it out to him. "Mr. Queen, I am Felicity Smoak of the DCPS and these are documents relieving you of custody of your son on grounds of negligence," she informed him softly. Queen's face went white and he shook his head in denial. "The file has the full details inside but here is a basic summary of what happened.

He was found wandering around the Glades park at around eleven-thirty today, without a coat. On being questioned, it was revealed that the woman you left him with was drunk and abandoned him there. As such, it is the duty of the state of Washington to put your son into an emergency foster home for the time being, until we have finished out investigation into your suitability to act as William's guardian. My card is included. A court time will be arranged as soon as possible to arrange a hearing."

Before they could do anything to stop her (she had experience with some people getting physical when receiving news like this), she turned and strode out, in dire need of some mint chocolate chip ice cream and a Doctor Who binge. It had been a very long day.