A/N: I wanna thank everybody who read this story and/or reviewed it. It means a lot to me! I had fun writing it and I will finish my other story 'Nobody said it was easy', hopefully in the next few weeks, before taking a small break and coming up with something else.
Thanks goes to my beta reader x. imagine. x (take out the spaces) for sticking with me through the whole story and doing a fabulous job!
Find me on tumblr (katie-049) for picture sets of each chapter. Hopefully once I'm settle again in Germany, I'll have time to do the picture sets, I'm sorry for the wait! The black and white ones are for the flashbacks.
July 11th, 2015
A soft cry sounded through the baby monitor on his nightstand. Oliver blinked tiredly, looking at his alarm clock. It was half past five, earlier than she usually woke up. Looking at Felicity next to him, he saw that she was still asleep, her head resting on his arm.
Gently, hoping not to wake her up, he tugged his arm out from under her, pressing a tender kiss to her bare shoulder. He pulled the covers back over her before heading to switch the baby monitor off and fish a pair of boxers and a t-shirt from the floor. He pulled them on as he started down the hall to the nursery.
The room was still dark, the thick curtains shielding the morning sun from the room. Lily was sitting in her crib, whining softly and Oliver made his way over to her.
"Good morning, birthday girl. You couldn't wait to start your day, huh?" Oliver asked her, picking her up and pressing a kiss to her head.
Lily cuddled up to him, her head leaning against his shoulder, her tiny hand fisting his shirt.
"Well, looks like you're still tired, baby girl," Oliver smiled, walking over to the rocking chair by the window.
Sitting down, he adjusted his hold on Lily, cradling her against his chest so that she was able to look up to him. Once he was comfortable, he let her grab his fingers. She gazed up to him with tired eyes, and he sighed happily.
"Happy birthday, Lily bear," he whispered, stroking her blonde hair. "You're such a big girl now, running around and keeping mommy and daddy on their toes all the time."
"Mama?" Lily asked, looking expectantly up to him.
"Mommy is still sleeping, baby girl. You woke up really early today, earlier than daddy," Oliver told her.
Lily settled down again, snuggling closer to his chest and closing her eyes.
Oliver loved his mornings now. Going for a run at 5:30, he usually made it back in time for Lily to wake up, taking her to the bathroom with him, showering and getting ready.
Felicity wasn't a morning person like him and he always tried to give her some extra time to sleep. When they made it to the kitchen, she usually joined them and he always had her coffee ready.
Lily was much like her mother in that respect. She wasn't a morning person either, but he was never able to put her back into her crib after she fell asleep again. He enjoyed holding her, feeling her even breath against his neck, watching her little chest rise and fall.
After the fire, everything had changed.
The press found out and on the same day, Oliver and Felicity had come up with a convincing story to cover the fact that Oliver wasn't Lily's real father.
With the help of his mother and sister, they decided to release a press statement, explaining the situation and asking for privacy. The PR team from Queen Consolidated acted fast and professionally, avoiding unnecessary rumors.
Oliver and Felicity had met briefly at a party right before he dropped out of Harvard. Felicity found out that she was pregnant after he left, not knowing who he was and moved to Starling City because of a job offer once she dropped out of MIT. Liliana Smoak was born in July and Felicity lived a low profile life, until they met again in the coffee shop. They started dating and Felicity introduced him to his daughter.
Everybody seemed to buy their story this far and he knew that this was the most important part, but silently he hated it. It made Felicity look naive, which she clearly wasn't. Felicity, however, hated it more. She still blamed herself for the mess she created that day, even though Oliver assured her that he didn't blame her for one second.
In a perfect world, they would have made this decision together, talking about the consequences and changes coming with their choice. They also would have had more time to adjust to their new situation, but of course they didn't live in a perfect world.
Everything changed in one day, except for Lily. It actually didn't make that big of a difference. For her, Oliver was still the only man in her life. Someone who loved her and cherished her for the incredible, amazing human being she was. Daddy was just a word for her, but it had taken some time for Oliver and Felicity to get used to it.
Oliver started referring to himself as daddy and at first, it had sounded strange on his tongue, but it changed quickly. He got familiar with his new title, openly calling himself her father in front of his family and friends. Yesterday he had even called Lily his daughter in front of a room full of business associates, telling them that he had to leave to pick up his daughter's birthday cake. He got some strange looks and raised eyebrows, but Martha had smiled knowingly at him, standing up and shutting off the presentation. He felt proud calling her his daughter.
The first time he heard Felicity call him daddy, his heart clenched with love. It was a week after the fire and he had literally just opened the door to see Lily and Felicity walking towards him. Felicity was holding one of Lily's hands, the only support the little whirlwind needed to walk around at that time, and they came closer to him. Lily squealed excited once she saw him and Felicity chuckled calling her daddy's little girl. Tears had sprung to his eyes and in a matter of seconds, he had them both enveloped in a bone crushing hug. Lily wasn't as happy as he was and Oliver had put her to the ground, pulling her mother into an earth-shattering kiss.
Even that, however, was nothing compared to Lily saying 'dada' for the first time, actually meaning him. It was a few days ago, Felicity was fixing a client's computer and Oliver and Lily were playing on the floor in the living room. They were throwing a ball around, when Oliver's phone had started to ring. Seeing that it was his sister, he answered it. She had some info about the club and wanted to hear his opinion about a choice of cocktails. He stopped throwing the ball back at Lily and she got incredibly angry with him. She started whining loudly until she had enough, slamming her little hands on her legs, yelling 'dada'. Oliver stopped talking, looking at his daughter in disbelief and surprise. He had hung up on Thea without another word, tossing his phone onto the couch and gathering the baby into his arms, covering her in kisses and telling her he loved her. Since then dada has been her new favorite word.
His thoughts drifted back to the sleeping baby in his arms. Standing up, he walked back into the bedroom, lying down next to Felicity, Lily resting on his chest.
A deep sigh left Felicity's mouth and she rolled closer to him, putting her head onto his pillow, leaning her head against the side of his head.
"Morning," she mumbled, her voice still thick with sleep. "Thank you for getting her, I guess she couldn't wait to start her special day."
He pressed a kiss onto her head, looping his arm around her back, welcoming her into his arms. "That's what I told her, too. She went back to sleep though; you should too. It's going to be a big day."
Another sigh left her mouth and she snuggled closer to him.
He felt her drift back into the land of dreams and closed his eyes as well, letting sleep take him over.
Putting the grill fork down, Oliver closed the barbecue grill, looking over to Felicity and Lily who were playing on the grass with Lyla and Sara.
They were all gathered in the garden of the mansion, celebrating Lily's first birthday. It was mid-June and Oliver and Felicity had decided on a small barbecue and pool party, just inviting Sara, Tommy and the Diggles.
His mother and sister were there as well and they had decorated the small terrace with colorful balloons and garlands. There was also a big banner saying 'Happy first birthday, Lily' hanging over the door that led into the house.
"Oh man, look at you all domestic and happy," Tommy greeted him, patting his shoulder.
Oliver turned around to see his best friend standing behind him, holding a big present wrapped in pink paper.
"Tommy," Oliver welcomed him, smiling. "What can I say; my days as your wingman are over. I found something more worthy than partying all night, no offense."
"None taken," Tommy chuckled, shaking his head. "You're so cheesy these days; no wonder Felicity is crazy about you."
They walked over to the table with all the presents and Tommy put his down, having trouble fitting it on because of the amount of other presents.
"You have one spoiled kid there, Ollie," Tommy laughed, looking over to Lily. "You're still coming to the club opening next week, right?"
"Of course, I wouldn't miss it. Felicity is coming too. We got Lyla and John to agree to take Lily for a while," Oliver assured him, handing his best friend a beer.
Tommy and Thea had worked hard over the last few months, finding the right venue and building up the club. All their hard work had paid off. The club looked amazing and Oliver was sure that it was going to be one of the best clubs in town.
"Good," Tommy interrupted his thoughts, holding his beer bottle towards him. "To Lily."
"To Lily," he agreed, nudging his bottle against Tommy's.
They each drank a sip of their beer, before he excused himself to go and check on Felicity. He'd noticed a while back that she'd gotten up and handed Lily over to Thea to make her way inside and he was curious to see what she was up to.
Entering the house, he walked through the living room and dining room, entering the kitchen, where he found Felicity filling up one of the pitchers.
"You know Raisa would be happy to do that for you," he said.
She flinched at the sound of his voice, putting the pitcher on the kitchen counter. Stopping behind her, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against his chest.
"Oliver," she hissed. "You scared me. What did I tell you about creeping up on me?"
Smiling, Oliver started nipping at her neck and he felt Felicity lean into him, placing her hand on his arm.
"Have I told you how beautiful you look today?" He asked, his breath tickling her behind her ear, sending shivers through her body.
"I'm pretty sure you already told me several times," she replied, stretching her chin up to give him better access to her neck.
His lips trailed wet kisses down her neck and her fingernails dug into his arms around her waist in response. "You've got to stop doing that or both of us will regret it for the rest of the day."
Sighing in defeat, he turned her around in his arms, capturing her lips in a sweet kiss.
"I can't help myself, sweetheart," he whispered as he placed his forehead against hers.
"You're insatiable, Mr. Queen," Felicity laughed, caressing his back lovingly. "But you will have to wait until tonight." She pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. "Our daughter requires our full attention today."
His heart started to beat faster, hearing her refer to Lily as their daughter and he was yet again left breathless. It wasn't the first time, but he was sure that it would never get old.
"I love you," he said.
"I love you too," Felicity smiled, taking the pitcher of water and waiting for Oliver to move.
A little later, they were all standing around the table, Lily sitting at the head of the table in her high chair, a birthday cake with one candle on top of it. Oliver and Felicity stood next to her, one on each side, making sure that she didn't try to touch the candle or the cake.
Everybody was singing 'Happy Birthday' and Lily looked around, her eyes wide, unsure of her situation.
After they had somehow managed to convince Lily to at least pretend to blow out the candle, Oliver and Felicity both helping her, everybody started to clap and cheer.
"I wanna thank every single one of you for coming and spending the day with Lily and us today," Oliver spoke up, looking at Lily who was reaching for her cake. "Half a year ago all of this was just a distant dream for me, something that I longed for in silence and sometimes I still can't believe that this is not a dream."
Everybody chuckled softly and he brushed a hand over Lily's head, making her look up to him.
"Meeting Felicity was one of the greatest moments in my life, even if she kept me on my toes for some time. She's this incredible strong woman who tackles every single problem life throws at her and I fell for her, before I even had time to realize any of it. I was more than happy with just her, but she gave me more." He stopped, looking at Felicity who had moved closer to him, her head tilted to the side, her eyes soft. "She gave me Lily and I don't think I can ever thank her enough for that. Being able to love her and call her my daughter, is making me impossibly proud and I love her more than anything."
He grabbed Felicity's hand, squeezing it softly, before pulling her closer to him. He puffed out some air, taking a deep breath, a soft smile grazing his lips.
"I'm gonna stop now, before anybody thinks I turned into a sappy old man." Laughter filled his ears and he focused back onto Lily. "Happy Birthday, baby girl. Daddy loves you."
He leaned down, pressing a kiss onto her head, which she barely recognized, too busy squishing a cracker with her fingers. Moving back up, Felicity leaned into him, tilting her head up. "I love you."
"I love you too."
They gently kissed, probably a little longer than was appropriate in front of his friends and family, but he didn't care. Warmth radiated through his body and his heart was racing, drumming in his chest. He was surrounded by the most important people in his life and he finally felt like his life made sense again. He was happy and he knew that he would be able to take every challenge life would throw at him from now on, knowing that there were people out there who loved him unconditionally.