I think this will be the last chapter! This one or the next one! So, I want to thank you all again and tell you your reviews, private messages, and all forms of support have been appreciated to the max! I wouldn't have kept this going for so long if it hadn't been for all of you! It started with the intention of being a short story, and it turned into a monster! Much love!
~Sarah~
Chapter 32
Groundwork
Felicity woke up on what she knew was the couch in the foundry. Her throat was on fire, but she ignored it so she could snuggle deeper into the arms around her. She didn't need to know the details of what happened, because she knew it was over and she, Oliver, and the rest of the team were safe. Felicity felt it in her bones.
"I know you're awake." Oliver whispered in her ear as he nuzzled her neck.
"Hmmm. Just enjoying the silence while I can. I'm sure there will be a lot to deal with today." Felicity said as she rolled over to face him.
"We have a few things to discuss. We also need some details from you." Oliver spoke softly.
Felicity went to ask him if she had hallucinated seeing Leonard there or if it had really happened, when she felt an overwhelming urge to vomit. Her eyes widened and she struggled up from the couch as she sprinted into the bathroom, barely aware that the rest of the team was by the computers and staring at her in shock as she passed them. Oliver was close behind her as she launched herself to her knees to empty her stomach. She hadn't eaten in quite some time, so there was little to expel. Oliver rubbed her back and held her hair away from her face until she signaled she was finished. He pulled her back to lean against him as another hand offered a warm cloth. Felicity looked up to Laurel in gratitude as she applied it to her forehead and released a deep breath.
"Are you alright? I didn't think you would want to go to the hospital, but maybe-" Oliver started only to be interrupted by Felicity.
"No. I'm fine. Honestly." She swore as Oliver helped her up gently.
"She's been through a lot, Oliver. And not just last night either." Laurel reminded him gently.
"Seriously. It's been a rough couple of months." Tommy offered as they stepped back into the main area of the foundry. Thea stepped forward and she and Felicity hugged gently.
"I need to talk to you." Felicity whispered in her ear and Thea offered her a small nod. She pulled away from Oliver gently as she made her way up to sit by the computers.
"I need just a second with her, guys." Thea stated more than questioned. The group gave her a couple of strange looks and Oliver lingered, but they all made their way over to the conference table they had set up.
"What's up?" Thea asked as soon as the rest were out of earshot.
"I think I'm..." Felicity trailed off as Thea stared at her silently. Suddenly Thea's eyes widened and a grin split her face.
"You're pregnant aren't you?!" Thea whisper yelled.
"Shh! Jeez, you were the wrong person to pick weren't you?" Felicity said teasingly.
"You are aren't you?" Thea persisted.
"Yes." Felicity admitted.
"Oh my god. When did you find out? Is everything okay? Have you told Oliver? Your mom? Oh my gosh, our mom?" Thea pestered her with questions.
"I took a test a few weeks ago and confirmed it at the doctor last week. Everything was perfect and I'm about two months along. All the hits were to my face last night so I think we're good there, but I'm worried if I tell Oliver now, he'll lose it." Felicity worried.
"Yeah, no doubt. He has a tenuous hold on himself as it is. His nerves are shot." Thea agreed.
"So what do I do?" Felicity asked uneasily.
"Oliver is going to have a conniption fit if everyone finds out before him, but I really think we need another opinion on this. Lyla maybe?" Thea suggested.
Felicity seemed to brighten as she thought about the woman who could offer her wisdom in the situation. She turned hurriedly and searched for her phone, remembering that Sebastian had taken it from her. Felicity felt her frustration mounting when Thea silently handed over her phone before walking away. Felicity teared up at the kindness of the gesture as she dialed Lyla's number.
"Thea? What's wrong?" Lyla answered worriedly.
"It's Felicity."
"Oh! Felicity, are you okay? John called me last night and filled me in. I'm so sorry I haven't been there. They have been trying to get me to take over ARGUS, but I just told them yesterday I'm not doing it. I'm coming home. Where I need to be." Lyla answered in a rush.
"I'm so glad." Felicity answered tearfully.
"Felicity? Oh no, what's happened?" Lyla began to worry.
"Nothing. Nothing, we're all okay." Felicity insisted.
"Okaaay. Why are you crying?" Lyla seemed confused.
"Um. I need your help with something. I'm, um. I'm pregnant and I need to go get checked out after yesterday. I mean, I feel like everything is okay." Felicity reassured.
"But you need to be sure and you haven't told Oliver yet so you don't want to tell him until you know you're okay because you know he will lose it otherwise." Lyla surmised.
"Exactly. How do you always know everything even when you aren't here?" Felicity smiled tearfully.
"It's what I do for a living. I'll be home in a few hours. We'll go to the doctor together. Then you can tell Oliver and show him the proof that everything is okay." Lyla told her.
"Thank you, Lyla." Felicity expressed gratefully.
"Anytime, Felicity." Lyla hung up after speaking and Felicity lost track of how long she had been sitting there before she startled at the feeling of a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Leonard smiling gently at her.
"You alright?" He asked.
"Thanks to you, right?" Felicity questioned.
"More thanks to yourself. You did the hard part, I just assisted with cleanup." Leonard evaded.
"Right. That's not how this family works, so thank you." Felicity insisted.
"I'm beginning to see how you all work. It's kind of nice." Leo admitted.
"Oh no. You're a part of it too, now. Brace yourself because we can be overwhelming when we accept someone into our fold." Felicity said the last part as she stood with a smile. Leo looked nervous.
"I don't know if I've been accepted. But thanks for saying so. I'm glad I got there in time." Leo said. He was then taken by surprise as Felicity launched herself at him and he found himself hugging her in return without really thinking about it.
"You saved one of our own. You're accepted." Oliver spoke from behind him.
"She's already gotten to you hasn't she? Don't worry. She has surprising effects on everyone she meets." Sara reassured with a smile as she came to stand by Oliver.
"This whole group hug thing isn't going to become a habit, is it?" Roy groused as he and Thea joined the rest.
"I think it's just wishful thinking on your part, Roy." Diggle said while Tommy and Laurel laughed and came to stand with the rest.
"I don't hug. What is happening?" Leo asked the group as the rest of them laughed, including Felicity. She stepped back and placed a hand to his cheek. Their eyes met and an understanding seemed to pass between them before she made her way to Oliver's side and Sara stepped up to him. Leo instinctively wrapped an arm around her and pulled her to his side gently. The team eventually took their places around the computers and Felicity, Diggle, and Leo filled them in on all the missing pieces of what had happened the night before.
"So it's really over?" Felicity said in awe.
"For now. Don't worry, we'll have a new baddie next week." Roy reassured her with a pat to the shoulder. Which earned him a smack from Thea.
"Don't borrow trouble, dummy. It will come on it's own." Thea chastised as the others smirked. They all looked to the stairs as the door opened, tensing slightly. They relaxed when they saw it was Lance. He embraced Sara and Laurel tightly before heading to Felicity and hugging her too.
"Glad you're okay, kid." Lance said with a gentle kiss to her brow.
"Me too." Felicity agreed with a smile. Lance winced as he took in the bruises on her face and gently put a knuckle under her chin, turning her face one way and then the other.
"Jeez. Glad I already got to see the other guy, otherwise I wouldn't be too clear on who won." Lance commented.
"She had Isabelle down by the time I got there." Leo added. Lance turned and gave the man a hard stare before finally stepping towards him and putting out his right hand. Leonard looked at it like it was a bomb about to go off before swallowing hard and placing his own right hand in Lance's
"You've been taking damn good care of my Sara. And you saved one of my surrogate daughters. You're alright in my book. Regardless of what you've done before." Lance lamented.
"Thank you. You're a weird bunch of people." Leo threw out. No one disagreed.
"Let's just say it's good you met them now and not a few years ago." Lyla commented as she made her way down the stairs. She didn't get halfway there before Diggle had wrapped her up in his arms and she rained kisses on all the bruises she could see.
"Johnny. You downplayed your ass kicking over the phone." Lyla accused.
"Didn't want you to worry." John admitted.
"I always worry." Lyla told him gently.
They disentangled from each other and made their way over to the others. Lyla embracing Laurel and Sara on the way. She surprised everyone when she pulled Oliver into a tight hug. He closed his eyes and hugged her back before she pulled away and quickly clasped Thea's hand on her way to Felicity. The women hugged for a long time before Lyla pulled away and inspected Felicity's bruising, scrutinizing every one before nodding as though she now believed Felicity was truly okay.
"You're such a bad ass." Lyla commented as she stepped away with a chuckle.
"Well, I learn from the best." Felicity replied with a wink.
"Hey!" Oliver protested halfheartedly and she turned and smiled.
The group slowly dispersed and headed for their separate homes, all of them going to hold onto each other tighter than usual. All it took was a moment for everything to change and they all knew it.
Felicity had to remind Oliver the next morning that the entire ordeal was over several more times and swear that she was okay a couple hundred before he agreed to let her go have lunch with Lyla and the girls. Felicity let out a deep sigh of relief as she was able to slide into Lyla's car without incident.
"I am so glad we are getting this done today. He is watching me like a hawk. He thinks I'm puking because I must have a concussion and is two seconds from whisking me to the hospital. And the crying at nothing? Oliver is starting to think I have lost it." Felicity groaned.
"Everything will be fine after the doctor's. Then you can come home and tell him before the two of you meet the rest of us for lunch." Lyla assured. Felicity agreed wholeheartedly as she sat back and relaxed while Lyla hurried them off to the doctor.
Oliver looked up from the desk in surprise as Felicity walked into the bedroom. He glanced at the clock, thinking he must have lost track of time, but went back to being puzzled as he saw that he hadn't
"Hey. What are you doing home so early?" He asked as he stood and came to meet her.
"What are you doing?" Felicity asked instead as they shared a heated kiss before walking back to the desk together. Oliver sat down and pulled Felicity down onto his lap.
"Well, I've been thinking. The whole Blood situation really got my mind reeling about him wanting to be Mayor and whatnot. I don't like being a CEO. I never have. I only took part in the company because mom and Walter wanted me to. They left for their trip today, by the way. I was finally able to convince them to stop putting it off. They'll be home in a few weeks." Oliver added.
"Oh! Good for them! I'm glad you were finally able to convince them to go. Now go back to the not wanting to be CEO thing." Felicity told him.
"Yeah. That. I want to leave the company to you and I want to run for Mayor." Oliver said it in such a rush that it took a few moments for Felicity to process it.
"You want to….run….for mayor?" Felicity questioned.
"Yes. Is that a bad idea? Of course it is, what was I thinking? I'm not qualified to be mayor, I'm not even really qualified-"
"Hey! Stop it. You are qualified. It's not that, I swear. I'm just thinking. And the more I think about it, the more I think it sounds like an amazing idea. Oliver! You would run be in charge of the police, so we wouldn't have to worry about them all the time anymore and it would take some pressure off Quentin. Oh! You could promote him! He deserves that. And you could protect the city in another way. As yourself." Felicity said the last part tenderly.
"So. You think it's a good idea? That I can do it?" Oliver asked.
"I think it's a wonderful idea and I know you can do it. But wait. Did you say leave the company to me?" Felicity made a rewind motion with her hands.
"Yes. You pretty much run it anyway. And I may have already mentioned all this to Mom and Walter before they left for their trip today. Sorry." Oliver winced.
"That's okay. What did they think?" Felicity inquired.
"They said whatever we decide is perfectly acceptable to both of them." Oliver rolled his eyes.
"Well, I think you should do it. And in the spirit of big news..." Felicity trailed off.
"What? You want to be mayor too?" Oliver laughed and Felicity joined in.
"No. Also, I'm going to need some time off soon from the company, so we should start making plans now." Felicity stated.
"You mean for the wedding? That's not for months. And it's already arranged, remember?" Oliver reminded her with the smile he always seemed to get when their wedding came up.
"We may have to move that as well." Felicity mused.
"What? Move our wedding? Felicity what is going on?" Oliver's patience was running out.
"I'm pregnant." Felicity blurted.
"You're? I'm going to be? We're?" Oliver felt tears welling and couldn't seem to process a coherent sentence. Then everything they had been through lately, especially the previous night began assaulting his brain and he clutched Felicity to him tighter, worry beginning to gnaw at him.
"Are you okay? Is they baby? We need to get you to a hospital, Felicity! I knew I should have just taken you last night, what you prefer be damned!" Oliver raged, almost dumping Felicity off his lap in his haste. She just clung to him tighter.
"Hey. Listen. That's where I was this morning. Lyla took me to the doctor and they said the baby and I are both perfectly healthy. Not a thing to worry about. I wanted to wait to tell you until I knew everything was okay. You've been stressing out so much lately, I wanted to be able to give you good news without causing any more worry." Felicity said as she smoothed the lines between his brows. Oliver took a few moments before he relaxed. He pulled Felicity in tightly and they just held each other for a long time.
Eventually Oliver and Felicity got up to get ready to meet the rest of the team for lunch. Oliver wasn't mad about Thea and Lyla knowing before him because he knew they were just trying to stop him from a full meltdown. Felicity had stared at him in shock when he told her he had asked Leonard to be a part of the team, and the man had agreed. Finally she had recovered enough to tell him how proud of him she was.
"I'll tell you another thing then." Oliver added smugly.
"I don't know if I can take anymore." Felicity joked.
"I also asked him if he wanted to be in our wedding. I mean, he did save your life. I know we haven't known him long, but he matters to Sara and I don't know if we would be getting married if it weren't for him. Seems only right that he be up there with us." Oliver shrugged.
"Why, Oliver Queen, I do believe you have completely evolved." Felicity said seriously.
"Well, I am engaged to one Felicity Smoak." Oliver said by way of explanation.
"That must be it. The always wise guidance of a John Diggle doesn't hurt either." She added.
"True. Speaking of our wedding. You mentioned it getting moved up and I am inclined to agree. The sooner I make it official, the better as far as I'm concerned. How does next month sound?" Oliver threw out casually.
"Next month? Well...I don't….I mean. I guess I could make it work. Our moms have pretty much had everything at the ready since they met. And Lyla agreed to be a bridesmaid this morning. I suppose we could probably get it done in a month." Felicity agreed.
"Probably? I'm Oliver Queen and you're Felicity Smoak. Together, we can do anything." Oliver stated as a fact. They laughed and made their way to lunch to share all of the news with their friends. Their team. Their family.
This has been one HELL of a ride! I started this story at the end of May in 2015. It was the first story I have ever put on fanfiction not already complete. While, I'm not sure if I would be able to force myself to do that again, it has been a positive experience. You have all been so unbelievably kind and supportive of me and that is the only reason this story developed into what it is. You are all amazing and I know I've said it many times, but I just can't thank you enough. I wrote this so we can all hold on to the faith and hope that Oliver and Felicity will reunite. I know they will. In the meantime write stories! Express yourselves! There's a writer in all of us, just waiting to get out. This site has truly helped me develop and grow as a writer. I never would have believed I could be writing for Arrow on an actual website! I know it's in thanks to what the community here has been able to teach me over the years! So THANK YOU! And I hope to see you in my next story!
~Sarah~