ELEVEN FORTY-NINE

A/N: I'm not exactly a fan of Laurel Lance, but I admired the transformation of her character in the last three seasons of Arrow. Although I'm an Olicity fan, the Black Canary's death saddened me just the same. As far as I can recall, there was never really any episode or scene where Felicity and Laurel had the chance to talk about Oliver - the same man they loved. Laurel never really "gave her blessing," so to speak, not in the same way Laurel was able to do with Oliver. I felt like viewers needed something like that, hence, this one-shot. This story is both a tribute to the Black Canary and a wish that Olicity would still be end game in the show. I hope you like it. If you do, please leave a comment. I'd surely appreciate it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Arrow and its characters. They belong to DC and the CW. Some of the dialogue in the closing scenes of 4x18 have been borrowed here as a take-off for this alternate version. No copyright infringement intended.

Felicity came as soon as she got the call from John Diggle. She had almost dropped her phone when John told her that the Black Canary had been seriously wounded in the encounter with Damien Darkh at Iron Heights that fateful night, and was in surgery at Starling General as they spoke. She grabbed her keys and left in haste, not even bothering to give a confused Curtis Holt an explanation for leaving in the middle of what was supposed to be an all-nighter project they were working on. She hopped into her car and drove.

The drive wasn't that long because the hospital was less than ten minutes away. As she parked her car and was about to get off, it dawned on her that she was going to see Oliver there. Again. She hadn't really seen him since Brie Larkin's attack on Palmer Tech, and it was the Green Arrow that had come for her, not Oliver Queen. Before that was the break-up that was still too painful for her to dwell on for more than a minute. At the loft while busy packing, she had reminded him that they weren't together anymore. At the bunker in the presence of the Team – their friends – she told him quite frankly that it was over between them. And then after their fake wedding and after Carrie Cutter had been taken into custody, she had finally closed the door and walked away, telling Oliver that he had to let her go because she's already gone.

She didn't think twice about going to the hospital. After all, it was Laurel, Laurel was not only one of her very few good friends; she was also a member of the Team. The Team. The Team she herself used to be part of, before she walked away from her night job of saving the city behind comms and computers, because she decided that being with Oliver even in that capacity hurt too much she could hardly breathe, let alone move on from a failed relationship and a broken engagement. Oliver's lie hurt her deeply. She knew that in time she would heal, but her heart would be forever scarred.

As she sat in her car musing, holding on to the steering wheel with both hands, she remembered the scar contest among Oliver, John, and Sara in the old foundry that made her feel so out-of-place. She let out a sigh and a faint smile as she remembered trying to prove to her favorite small group of heroes (in the most embarrassing way) that she belonged there by bragging about the scar inside her mouth from a tooth extraction when she was younger. "If only Sara were here…" Felicity thought. She thought she could show Sara this scar – the one that hurt her most, perhaps just as worse as the scar that her father's abandonment had left her when she was a child. It was an invisible scar, but every time anything reminded her about Oliver, each time she'd hear his voice or his name, the scar seemed to mock her, daring her to forgive Oliver, run back into his arms, and risk getting more scars – scars uglier than the first one, more hideous than the physical scar she got after taking a bullet for Sara in a heroic attempt to save her life from Tockman. How could she let herself get wounded again? Why would she?

She still loved him – that she was certain of – and she had admitted it to him when she gave back the ring the second time. She loved him deeply; nevertheless, she believed she couldn't be with him and survive the pain of him not ever trusting her as she had been willing to trust him completely, inclusively, as a true partner should.

She unlocked the door of her car and stepped out of the vehicle with her coat and purse. She locked the car and began to walk towards the hospital's main entrance, putting on her coat while doing so. "No matter what happens, I'm here for Laurel," she said to herself. As she walked into the lobby and headed towards the information desk, she took a deep breath and put on her brave face. She walked down the hallway to the room where Laurel would be brought as soon as she got out of surgery, and muttered to herself, "You can do this. It's all part of moving on."

As Felicity turned the last corner, she spotted her friends at the far end of the hallway. She spotted him. Her feet stopped moving even as she willed them to keep walking, and for a split-second she thought her bio-stimulator chip had suddenly malfunctioned.

Oliver stood there, his head hung low, a hand on his forehead. His usually majestic broad shoulders drooped. He looked… downcast, defeated, and despondent. She knew that look; it was the look he always had whenever he was starting to blame himself for something that he'd convinced himself was his fault. It was the same look he had when she and John had found him in the secondary lair after his mother died from Slade's blade, the very same one he had when they last saw him before he ran away to Lian Yu after Tommy perished in the man-made quake that leveled the Glades, the very same look that he had attempted to conceal from them when Sara lay cold on the foundry's metal table with three arrows in her chest. Because John and Thea must have been struggling with their own issues about what went down in Iron Heights, they seemed oblivious to what was happening to Oliver, but Felicity could tell that he was about to break down crying. Oliver was about to fall apart.

She could tell because knew him so well, and she knew exactly what he needed right at that moment. She also knew that she had what he needed. Her eyes began to pool with tears, and everything else around her went blurry, except the figure of the man whose appearance desperately cried out for her to take him into her arms. She didn't remember how or when her feet started moving again, but as soon as Oliver heard the familiar tapping of her heels, he turned from where he stood and met her tender gaze until they crashed into each other's arms.

It's been weeks since they last held each other, a while since they even touched. The last time was in her office at Palmer Tech when he held her to make sure she was okay, after saving her from Larkin's tech bees. He had missed that. So much. And even then, all he could say in the presence of those from whom his identity was hidden was, "You never have to thank me." His heart ached each day that passed without her. He was still unwilling to let her go, and he struggled through each day, clinging hopefully to hope that she'd somehow someday find it in her heart to give him another chance.

Oliver clung to her for as long as he could, given the circumstance. Her presence was already a comfort to him, and for a moment there, he basked in her nearness, in her warmth, in her loving embrace. He plugged into her strength at his time of weakness and desperation, as if recharging himself like the battery of the chip that's enabling her to walk, knowing that he might not have the chance at another "power hug" in the near future. As they pulled away from each other, he gazed at her face and felt an overwhelming sense of peace, that even though they weren't together anymore, she had come, she was there with him, and she was still very much his friend after all.

The Team had barely started telling her about what happened in the prison when the doctor and nurses appeared in the hallway, wheeling a conscious yet pale and limp Laurel into her room on a gurney. The doctor told them that their friend was going to make it, that she was strong, and that she had been asking for them. The doctor led them into the room, and they were greeted by a mildly smiling Laurel Lance. Each of them sighed in relief that their friend was going to be all right.

Felicity glanced up at the wall clock hanging above the hospital bed, and she remembered it being 11:49 p.m.

Thea said to Laurel, "We should probably let you get some rest." Laurel nodded slightly and smiled as Thea and John started to walk towards the door. "We'll be right outside. Okay?" said Felicity.

Felicity hadn't taken a step away from Laurel's bedside when the vigilante-lawyer reached out for her wrist and squeezed it.
"Hey, would you mind bringing me what's in the left pouch of my suit?" Laurel requested her. Felicity was a bit surprised, but she did what her friend had asked.

As Felicity turned away to retrieve something from Laurel's suit, which was draped over a chair, Laurel turned to Oliver and mouthed a soundless, "Go." Oliver's forehead creased ever so slightly. Laurel sensed his confusion, so she smiled at him and whispered, "Please go." So Oliver left the room silently, without Felicity even realizing he had gone.

Felicity returned, handing Laurel a small, black leather case. "Thank you," Laurel said, and then she opened the case and took out a worn-out, wallet-sized photograph of herself.

"You look really pretty there," Felicity remarked.

"Thanks. It's a far cry from how I look now," Laurel said with a mild chuckle that made her wince from pain in her chest.

"Oh, you've always been gorgeous, Laurel… even in a hospital gown with bruises and stitches," Felicity responded, smiling down at her.

There was a brief silence between them, and then Laurel's expression became serious as she turned to look at her picture once again. "I gave this to Oliver sometime before the Gambit went down. It turned out he had kept it… in those five years he was, you know… away. He gave it back to me after Tommy died… when he left for that island again. When he came back the second time, I knew that we… he and I… There was no going back. He wasn't the Ollie I had fallen in love with all those years ago, and I didn't even know who I was anymore. And even when I started to heal from my past losses, when I began to discover who I really am and what I can live for, I knew that he and I… we both had moved on and could only be very good friends at best."

Felicity stood frozen to her spot beside Laurel. "Why are you telling me this? Why now?" Felicity asked, both curious and afraid of where the conversation was going.

Laurel was quick to reply. "Because tonight was just a reminder that anything can happen… which is why I need you to promise me something." Laurel took Felicity's hand and looked her straight in the eyes. "Promise me, Felicity. Promise me that you'll give him another chance to prove how much he loves you."

Felicity gasped, her free hand instinctively coming up to cover her mouth. She blinked and brought her hand down to her chest, which was already heaving. "I… I'm sorry, but I-"

"Felicity…" Laurel tried to push herself up to sitting position but failed miserably when her body rudely informed her that it was protesting what she wanted to do. "Felicity, I know I can't force you to get back together with Oliver, and I don't have any right to. But as a seasoned lawyer, I will try to reason with you. As a member of the Team that misses you every night, I will give you my best, strategic advice. As your friend – well, I'd like to believe that we've become good friends by now – I will plead with you to listen, at least."

Felicity bit her lower lip and nodded.

Laurel shifted her gaze from Felicity to the picture in her other hand and continued. "I kept this picture all this time as a reminder of when things were simpler… for us… of the way we used to be. I kept it even when I already knew there was no future for Ollie and me." Laurel paused and looked up at Felicity again. She took a deep breath and mustered all her strength for the very important speech she was about to make.

"I'm really glad that Ollie found you, Felicity. Really. And I say that without any doubt or regret. Because even if Oliver Queen has always been the love of my life, I'm certain that I am not the love of his. Felicity, you are the love of his life. You are his light. I've known it long before either of you cared to realize or admit it, even to yourselves. I'd seen it in your eyes. I'd seen it in his. I'd seen it in the way you talked, the way you touched, the way you worked together so perfectly in the countless times you'd tried to save people's lives. You're partners in every sense of the word. I don't know what else you need for Oliver to do to prove that he loves you. He's not perfect, and just like anyone of us, he'll keep making mistakes that might hurt or disappoint you in the future – trust me. But as someone who has known him for most of his life, and has seen him at his worst and at his best – which is largely because of you – I can assure you, beyond reasonable doubt, that Oliver has chosen you, and he will never let you go even if you let him go. He's going to love you in the shadows and in the sidelines of your life with or without your permission. You are it for Oliver Queen, Felicity Smoak."

Laurel grinned, and then she added, "So, don't you give up on him just yet. Don't give up on your dreams of a life together. He's already asked to marry you, and that says a lot about how committed he is to you, despite his fear that you'd change your mind if you found out about William. The Ollie I loved years ago ran away and cheated on me with my sister, just with the mere suggestion of moving in with me." Laurel couldn't help the laughter that escaped her lips, but she paid for it dearly with some pain, as she coughed for a bit.

As soon as Laurel caught her breath, she concluded, "I truly hope you find your way back to each other… because that stubborn man out there isn't going to love anyone else but you. Ever."

Laurel was breathless. Felicity was speechless. Silence descended upon the room as tears slid down both women's cheeks. Their hands were stilled intertwined, and neither one of them was about to let go. So much needed to be said between them – all because of one man and his mission – but not one word was said for the next couple of minutes. They just stared at each other, and they knew. They understood. There was something indescribably special about having been loved by Oliver Queen.

Felicity understood. She also realized she'd been selfish not to even give Oliver a chance to earn her trust back. She realized that Oliver wasn't the only one with the problem of trust and inclusion. She had been equally guilty. Like Oliver, she was unwilling to trust him – that he truly wanted to change and that he could. She was unwilling to trust him that he would try. She wasn't willing to keep being a part of his continuous transformation – the metamorphosis of a broken man into a beacon of hope to people like her and to an entire city.

Felicity understood. Nothing more needed to be said to the woman who had boldly and candidly confronted her about why love ought to be given a chance. Without conditions. Despite imperfections and human failures. No matter how much it hurts.
"I promise… to give us another chance," Felicity finally said to Laurel, wiping the tears from her face with the back of her hand.
Laurel simply smiled, squeezed Felicity's hand in hers, and then closed her eyes to rest at last.

Felicity lingered beside her, but not for long. Less than a minute after Laurel shut her eyes, she fell fast asleep. Felicity carefully eased her hand out of Laurel's hand and walked out of the room.

It had been a week since the Black Canary was laid to rest. The entire team was there to pay their last respects to a genuine heroine of Star City and to condole with Quentin and Dinah Lance. Even Nyssa was there. They all wished that Sara, who had cheated death twice, could've been there, but Laurel's younger sister was traveling in time with her own team, trying to save the world from a psychopathic tyrant that simply wouldn't stay dead.

Felicity had left work early to bring fresh flowers to Laurel's grave. She had asked Curtis to drive her to the cemetery that afternoon, but when they saw Oliver's Ducati parked at the curb of the road that led up to the grave, she requested Curtis to stay in the car. She walked down the grassy path to Laurel's grave and found Oliver standing there, looking down at the grave with his hands in his pockets.

"Hey," she greeted him as she approached. "You brought her flowers, too."

"Yeah," he replied simply, without looking at her.

Felicity closed her eyes and reminisced some of the best times she'd had with Laurel. She then opened her eyes and stared at her friend's names that were etched in stone – the real name with which she served the people of Star City, and the code name behind which she fought villains and helped save innocent lives. Felicity also remembered her promise, the very last thing Laurel had heard before her body violently shook in a seizure due to the embolism that took her life all of a sudden, one minute before the stroke of midnight.

At the funeral, Felicity had resolved to make good on that promise, not just for her friend's sake, but also for hers and for sake of the man she loves. It just didn't feel like it was the right time; they'd all been grieving that day, and she didn't want to take anything away from the solemnity of the occasion. But then again, if she waited for the Team to find Damien Darkh and finally defeat him before she acted on her resolution, she might lose her nerve altogether, or she might never get the chance, because going up against their most formidable foe yet just might put Oliver or her six feet under next to Laurel.

She bent down and laid the flowers in front of the gravestone. Her eyes trained from the flowers she brought to the flowers he brought. They were exactly the same kinds. She smiled. She knew it was as good a time as any to follow through with what she had realized she ought to do. She stood up and stood beside Oliver, wrapping both her arms around his arm and leaning against him. This took him by surprise, a pleasant one at that.

Felicity then said, "She was truly a hero, wasn't she?"

"She was. As the Canary, and as Star City's best ADA," Oliver replied.

"She was some lawyer," Felicity remarked, grinning slightly at him. He turned to look at her and smiled back. She asked, "Did you know what her last act as legal counsel was?"

Oliver's facial expression was a mixture of being puzzled and being amused. He could sense that she was going somewhere with this, but he had no idea whatsoever that his heart's prayer these many weeks was going to get answered that day. "No, please tell me," he replied.

"As your defense attorney, Laurel Lance argued and convinced me that you and I deserved another chance." Felicity paused, bit her lip, and bowed down. When she looked up, Oliver had already held her by her shoulders and turned her to face him.
"What are you saying?" he asked, the corners of his lips already turning up to form a smile.

Felicity placed her hands on his wrists and pulled down his arms. She then slid her hands into his and intertwined their fingers. "I can't remember exactly how many times you've already apologized and promised that you'll never lie to me again," she began to say, looking down at their joined hands. Then she looked up and gazed into his beautiful blue eyes and continued, "But I remember how many times I've actually forgiven you and promised that I'll always trust you no matter what. Zero." Felicity blushed, and Oliver grinned.

"Laurel helped me see some things that I'd been too blind or too stubborn to notice," Felicity went on to explain. "I realized that I'm just as guilty of not trusting my partner, just as guilty of non-inclusion as you were. I deserted you at a time when you needed me most, when you decided to give up a life with a son you'd just begun to know. I shied away from my commitment to be your partner and retreated to my childish fears. I'd been too wrapped up in my own pain to even consider that you were hurting as well. I told you I couldn't be with someone who didn't trust me enough, yet I realized that even if you trusted me with your life – and I know you do – there was some part of me that didn't trust you, too. There was a part of me that was too scared to get hurt again. And that's why I found it nearly impossible to forgive you."

Tears were beginning to roll down Felicity's cheeks. Oliver let go of her hand and brought his hand up to cup her cheek and wipe a tear away with his thumb. "Nearly impossible? Are you saying there's a chance?" he asked tenderly, expectantly.

Felicity smiled, and as she did, tears from her other cheek fell in between her lips. She licked her lips dry of the tears, cleared her throat, and said, "I forgive you, Oliver. I told you I loved you. I still do. I told you to let go because I'm already gone. Well, I'm back. If you'll still have me, that is."

Oliver's eyes welled up with tears as he lifted her hand and rested his face on her palm. His eyes were closed as he let her caress his stubbly jaw with her soft fingers. When he opened his eyes, he replied, "Always, Felicity. I'll always love you, and I'll always have you."

He pulled out something from the inside pocket of his brown leather jacket. He held something in his clenched fist as he told her, "I always carry this with me. It keeps hope alive. It keeps you close to me." That's when Oliver turned his hand over and with an open palm revealed her engagement ring.

Felicity's eyes glimmered with joy and widened with excitement. "I know I told you to keep it permanently, but… can I have it back now?" she asked with a sheepish, embarrassed smile.

"Of course," said Oliver, his heart bursting with inexpressible joy, "it's always been yours." He slid the ring onto her finger where it belonged, and then he kissed her hand.

As soon as Oliver looked up again, he leaned forward and kissed her. He kissed her like he'd never kissed her before, with all the passion stored up in him for many weeks since she left the loft, when she miraculously stood on her own two feet and walked again. Felicity kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck. She had as much fire burning inside her. Despite the hurt and bitterness she'd been nursing in her heart, she had missed him as well, with every fiber of her being. When they broke up to get some air, they fell into an embrace.

After standing together in silence for a few more minutes in front of Laurel's grave, they bid their friend goodbye and thanked her for everything. Then, they walked down the grassy path together, hand in hand. For always.

*** THE END ***