Note: And here we are, after years of late updates, an emotional rollercoaster and one of the craziest adventures I've ever written. It's taken me so long to make it through this story and I've probably taken too many breaks from it to count, but it's finally here, you guys!

The epilogue!

This is where you get the ending you've deserved for keeping up with my crazy and for never giving up on me. I want to thank all of you for the support you've given me over the course of this story and for not giving up on me or the story, even when I made if difficult for you to hold on. Thank you so much for everything and remember, I'm already working on my next project, but I'll most likely not post anything until I'm a few chapters in.

Also, Before I let you enjoy this epilogue: There are some time jumps in this one, but I actually wrote down how much time passes between the shifts in scenes. Whenever I don't write anything, it's either because it's a matter of minutes or days, but it will hopefully be clear enough as you read.

Now, please enjoy this final piece of this story. xx

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Epilogue: The Times That Followed

~ Four months later ~

There was something special about the early hours of the morning. Felicity absolutely loved it. Lazy mornings in bed, curled up against Oliver. Feeling his warm skin against her own, his fingers trailing over her arms slowly as she listened to his strong heartbeat. Then there was the early morning rush hour, which she enjoyed in some ways too. It was all about hearing the city and its citizens coming alive; listening to them as they woke up and made their way out on the roads. The arguments, the chaos and in a way, the humanity of it all made it so much more relaxing. Because as her ears picked up on the movement on the outside, she would still be in bed with the man she loved, pressing kisses over his bare chest and making love to him until they absolutely had to get going.

This morning was different, although it didn't mean Felicity loved it any less. Every morning that she got to open her eyes and experience the world around her, was a morning Felicity was grateful for. The thing that was different about today was that Felicity and Oliver had officially moved all of their things into their new loft.

"That's the last of the boxes," Roy said, placing the box labeled 'COMPUTER STUFF' on the floor. He tapped the lid and Felicity shot him a warning glare. Roy only shrugged in reply, turning to Thea who wiped some sweat from her forehead.

"You know, Ollie," she touched her warm cheeks with her fingertips, "Mom and Walter offered to pay for the move. I don't know why you couldn't be a normal human being for once and take advantage of the fact that we're billionaires."

Roy snorted at her complaint and Felicity looked over at Oliver who was opening one of the boxes.

"Come on, Thea," Oliver grinned. "One day we'll look back at this day and remind ourselves of how fun it was to do all this work on our own."

"Yeah, if it had been for my own apartment I might have thought it was fun," Thea rolled her eyes. "Listening to you and Felicity give me instructions on where to put your thousand boxes has surely shortened my life expectancy with about twenty years."

Oliver's grin fell and now he was glaring at her. It was awfully similar to the look that Felicity had shot Roy earlier. "You've been spending too much time with your boyfriend," Oliver stated. Felicity looked down to hide her smile when Oliver winked in her direction.

"All right, you guys," Diggle interrupted. "Do you need our help to unpack too or can you handle that on your own? Lyla just texted and baby Sara's feeling a bit grumpy without her dad apparently. I keep reminding her that it's perfectly normal for a baby that's two months old to be fussy."

Felicity couldn't help but grin widely at John. Ever since he became a father, he had devoted himself completely to his daughter. The little girl was as much a daddy's girl as Diggle was wrapped around her tiny finger.

Months had passed since Felicity and Oliver had been teleported away from the High Coven's prison. Felicity was glad that they had finally been able to move on from everything that had happened. Oliver had gotten the closure he needed and from what he had told Felicity, he had gotten the last word when it came to Isabel Rochev. When Oliver had first approached her and told her that he wanted to contact Barry to see if he knew where Isabel was being kept, Felicity had been worried. She was aware of the fact that Oliver needed closure and she knew that she would be with him throughout everything. It had taken Barry some time and he had pulled a lot of strings in the world of the witches, but eventually, he had gotten a hold of someone who had an in with the Council of the High Coven. Ever since she had learned of the supernatural world, Felicity had never really come across any witches before Barry. After Barry explained the basics to her and Oliver, she got curious and she wanted to know everything there was about that part of the world.

"Magic is ancient," Barry had told her, but he had supplied her with some of his mother's old grimoires. Felicity had read up on as much as possible, but the High Coven was still a mystery to her. It seemed though, as if some mysteries were meant to be left unsolved. She had discussed it with Oliver and Diggle too. Together they had come to the conclusion that the most important thing was that there was no way for Isabel to escape the prison and that they no longer had to worry about anything relating to her.

Together they had all helped one another to move forward. Felicity had accepted her role as pack leader, but she knew deep down that she wouldn't have been able to pull it off without the help of Sara and Roy. As the months had progressed, Sara's role in the pack had grown. The new werewolf had taken it upon herself to take care of the former lone wolves in Starling City. When Nyssa had returned briefly to inform them that her father had released Sara from the League, Sara hadn't been sure whether or not she would be able to make a place for herself in the pack. With time, Felicity had delegated most of the responsibility of the younger teens to Sara. This made it possible for Felicity to keep working with Oliver, Diggle and Roy in the new bunker they had made for themselves, while Sara monitored the streets with the others. The new wolves knew that Felicity was their alpha and they had sworn her their allegiance. Felicity had done as she had discussed with Sara. The pack got together during the full moon in order to help one another through the transitioning and things were working out for the better. Felicity kept her mind under lock and key though, only letting Roy and Sara in when she needed to wordlessly communicate with them to keep the other wolves in check. She had taught Sara and Roy the same trick mostly because they wanted to be able to keep the Arrow's real identity a secret. She was pretty sure that the rest of the wolves knew deep down that Oliver was the Arrow, and it didn't have anything to do with Felicity accidentally revealing it. If one really tried to figure it out, it was pretty easy to do so. The thing was that most of the youngsters were from the Glades and they appreciated the change that the Arrow had brought with him when he had come to Starling City. If they really knew his secret identity, Felicity doubted that they would reveal it to anyone. Wolves were loyal like that. Besides, Felicity had made sure that they knew that only she, Roy and Sara were allowed to communicate with the Arrow. It was one of the terms that the wolves had agreed to when officially joining the pack. The other was that what Sara or Roy said went without questioning if Felicity wasn't available. It wasn't a perfect arrangement, but so far it worked. There hadn't been any complaints from the other wolves because they got the help and the protection they needed by simply being associated with the White Wolf.

After the Siege, journalists had continued their investigations on the White Wolf that Slade had mentioned in his city-wide broadcast. They hadn't found anything concrete, although that was because they didn't know about the supernatural creatures that lived among them. There were still speculations that it was a codename for one of the Arrow's secret companions. Felicity still blushed whenever she overheard someone swooning over the fact that the Arrow might have a secret lover whom he protected above everyone else. Whenever she mentioned what she heard to Oliver, he would just step into her space and kiss her before whispering in a teasing way that people's suspicions were in fact true.

Nevertheless, the system they had created for their team and the rest of Felicity's pack made it easier to keep the streets safe for the humans. The Glades were finally rebuilding and the crime rates were down. Detective Lance and the police force now worked together with the Arrow to keep the streets safe. There had been a reluctance there from the other officers, but with Quentin's help, most of them were willingly accepting the vigilante's help.

Another person who helped was Moira. Since returning after the Siege, Oliver's mother had used her resources to help the rebuilding of the Glades. She had invested in clinics and housing, shelters and even a new orphanage. Moira admitted to the guilt she still felt and the pride that had grown inside of her when she had seen her city and her home make it through yet another crisis. After a couple of weeks, the people had started accepting her and forgave her for the part she had been forced to play in the Undertaking. When the people began trusting her again, Moira announced to her family that she had been convinced to run for Mayor of Starling City. A few months down the road, the election was held and Moira won with a majority percentage. With Oliver's mother backing the Arrow and his work with the police department, very few people still held negative thoughts toward the vigilante. People embraced him as a hero and Felicity was happy to see how the acceptance of the people seemed to change something within Oliver too.

They were in a good place now.

All of them were.

Diggle and Lyla's daughter, baby Sara, had been born late one night when things had been pretty close to going to hell. Their old Foundry had been compromised when a group of vampires had sniffed them out and broken in. Felicity, Oliver, Diggle and Roy had been stuck in the Foundry, fighting off the vampires that just wouldn't stop coming their way, when Lyla had gone into labor. Sara had been on her way to the Foundry to help, but when Lyla's distress call had come in, she had left for her instead. Later, when they had managed to defeat the vampires, they hastily made it to the hospital, only to find that Sara had gone into the labor room with Lyla. She had stayed by Lyla's side throughout the birth and she had helped calm Lyla down even when panic had briefly come over the pregnant woman because Diggle wasn't there.

Sara had only left Lyla and the little baby girl when Diggle had gotten there. Felicity had told Sara just how proud she was of her and the other blonde had blushed, but remained silent. After some coaxing, Sara admitted that she had never thought she would experience such a thing and that somehow, she had felt responsible for Lyla's safety.

"It's normal," Felicity had told her when they were alone, waiting to be called in by Diggle. "Wolves protect their family and whether you consciously viewed her as a member of it or not, your inner wolf must have."

When Diggle finally stepped outside after having a moment alone with Lyla and their little girl, they were allowed inside. Lyla had smiled through tears, thanking Sara a thousand times over, asking her to hold the baby girl. Sara had been hesitant but eventually, she had accepted the baby. The little girl had been asleep, but a small smile had bloomed over Sara's face when she looked down at the little bundle in her arms. That was when Diggle had shared that they had decided to name the baby Sara after the woman who had basically saved Lyla's life and staid by her side. Felicity had been a bit shocked when she had seen tears fall from Sara's eyes, vulnerability shining through. It reminded Felicity of all the things that Sara had gone through since she had left on the Gambit with Oliver all those years ago. Oliver had wrapped his arms around Felicity then, sensing her own sadness. Of course, there had also been gratitude there, and happiness over the fact that they were finally together and safe, all of them.

Despite being named after Sara, Diggle and Lyla gave Felicity and Oliver the honor of being godparents. Felicity still remembered the heated look Oliver had sent her way when she had been offered to hold the baby for the first time. She knew how he felt and Felicity wasn't exactly keeping it a secret that she too wanted them to have kids at some point in the future. They had been living together for months in her old apartment, but now that they had found a new place together, she wondered if it was something they might bring up again. When they had looked at the loft the first time, neither one of them had commented on how the place had two spare bedrooms beside their own. They had only mentioned making one of them a guest room, so the other one, Felicity assumed, they would discuss whether or not to leave empty for now. They would have plenty of time to do so since they had decided to use their weekend to finally put all the small things in place and finish their move. It was something that they wanted to experience for themselves, because this was meant to be the first real home they bought together. Roy and Thea had moved in together as well, but they had used a moving company to help with their things. After the major rebuild that had been going on, Thea had officially taken over Oliver's place as co-owner of Verdant. Now, she and Tommy managed the club together and Roy worked there with them. Meanwhile, Oliver and Felicity had their hands full with running Queen Consolidated during the day. Their relationship wasn't a secret, but they did keep their PDA to a minimum while working. Considering that Felicity was running the Applied Science Division, she had a lot of freedom when it came to deciding on future projects and investments considering that Oliver trusted her judgment. Oliver did his best as CEO, but Felicity still stepped in sometimes to help if something wasn't clear enough. They held board meetings once every month and the company was once again returning to its former glory. The other board members seemed to appreciate the fact that despite their relationship, Oliver and Felicity put the company first in many ways. They didn't let their relationship cloud their judgment and there had been times when they had left the final decision making up to the board. It made them feel included, but also helped them see that the future of the company seemed bright. The PR-department also loved to use Oliver and Felicity's relationship to enhance this. Despite being private about themselves and their plans for the future, anyone who looked at them could tell that it wasn't just a fling for Oliver Queen. He had been a changed man since his return from the Island and Felicity Smoak was considered to bring out the best of him in every way. Their dates were sometimes caught on pictures by the paparazzi, but there were no scandals. The head of PR often told Oliver and Felicity that people loved to invest in stable companies and considering that the CEO of their company seemed more secure in his personal life as well, investors considered Queen Consolidated to be a safe bet.

"Did you guys need anything else, or what?" Diggle asked again, making Felicity come out of her thoughts on the past couple of months.

"Oh, no, we'll probably manage," she replied. "Thank you for coming to help, Dig. Tell Lyla that we'll see if we can come by some time next week. I need some baby time."

She could feel the others in the room looking at her, but she refused to blush, even when she looked up to meet Oliver's eyes.

"Okay then, I will," Diggle nodded. He walked up to her and gave her a hug, kissing her temple before stepping back. "Call if you need any help tonight in the bunker."

"I'm not sure we'll do more than a check on the searches from yesterday," Felicity shrugged.

"You know, if you and Oliver want the night off to start unpacking, I can check the searches and Roy can patrol with Sara," Thea offered.

Felicity looked over at Oliver and her heartbeat spiked for a second. He turned his attention to his sister though, before she could send him a questioning look. "That sounds perfect, Speedy. Unless there's an emergency, Felicity and I could really use the time to…unpack."

Thea blinked twice and then shook her head, but she didn't hide her smile. "All right, we'll leave you guys to it then," she said. "Come on, Dig. Roy and I will walk you out and then we'll head home too."

They said their goodbyes and the moment Oliver had closed the door behind them, he locked it before turning to look at Felicity. There it was again; that look in his eyes that made her insides warm.

"I'm guessing that we won't be getting anything unpacked tonight?" Felicity asked, even though she already knew the answer.

Oliver closed the distance between them in three large strides, his hands falling on her hips as he pulled her flush against him. He grinned at her as Felicity's hands found their way under his shirt.

"Most of the furniture has already been set up anyway," he said. "Besides, for what I had in mind, we only need our bed… Or any hard surface for that matter."

Felicity smiled, pulling him closer, "I like the way you think."

-§-

~ One month later ~

"We really shouldn't be doing this here." Felicity's words were mumbled against Oliver's lips. The way she pulled on his tie kind of contradicted what she said though.

Oliver pushed her a bit harder against the door and reached around her to lock it. Normally, they didn't do this at the office, but there had just been something about the way she looked when he had walked past the copying room and seen her in there alone.

Okay, so there had been that one time when he had dropped by her office with takeout… And that other time when she had come up to his office to hand over some suggestions for future projects in mobile technology. The way she had summarized her work for him, the passion in her eyes and her mouth moving a mile a minute had just made him snap. She had been wearing a dark pink lipstick and it hadn't taken more than thirty minutes for him to have said lipstick smeared all over his chest. He wasn't sure all those times in his private bathroom counted… Or the time they had gotten a bit carried away inside the elevator when it had malfunctioned and shut down.

Okay. They were pretty bad at keeping their hands to themselves, but whenever there were people around, they were professional. Occasionally, Oliver would kiss her cheek before parting ways and Felicity would tease him about the dreamy sighs the interns let fall from their lips whenever they saw him do something remotely romantic. Like when he would send her bouquets of her favorite flowers, or a special delivery of those chocolate cupcakes that she loved so much from the bakery at the corner of their street. Oliver had never done those kinds of things before the Island, and now that their city was safe, he found that he wanted to give Felicity everything. They were in love and they had been through hell and back for their people. If he wanted to spoil his soulmate rotten, he would, no matter how much Thea, Tommy or anyone else teased him about it when they were alone. As long as it put a smile on Felicity's lips, he would keep doing just that.

Nevertheless, a couple of minutes ago, when he had walked past the copy room and seen her there, kneeling on the floor next to the machine to look at the wiring in the back of it, Oliver hadn't been able to keep himself from stopping. He knew that Felicity had felt his presence, which was why she had stood up and greeted him with a kiss on the cheek.

"You do know that we have people who repair those things for us, right?" Oliver had asked her, and he hadn't been quite successful at hiding the roughness in his voice.

Felicity had only bitten her lip and looked up at him, but before she could say anything in reply, Oliver had let out a growl and kissed her. They had moved quickly after he had gotten the door locked to make sure they wouldn't be interrupted. It was late and they were probably alone on the floor, but he didn't want to take any chances.

Felicity's hands drifted down to his belt, unbuckling it and tugging down the zipper of his pants so that she could sneak her hand inside his boxers. Oliver groaned against her throat when her fingers wrapped around his already hard length. She stroked him lightly at first, but her grip became firmer as he grew harder in her small hand. Oliver's own moved to push her skirt up and out of the way, desperately seeking the heat between her legs. The skirt bunchedup around her waist and his fingers touched her over her soaked panties. Moving his fingers leisurely against her outer lips, Oliver's teeth scraped against the base of her throat, making her moan a little too loudly. His other hand was busy holding her up, but Felicity pressed her face down into the crook of his neck to muffle her own sounds when she realized that he couldn't cover her mouth to keep her quiet. Her legs were wrapped tightly around him as he rocked into her hand again before tugging her panties aside. Felicity pulled him out of his confines, pushing both his pants and boxers down. When she lined him up at her entrance, Oliver waited just a second before he pushed into her slowly, hissing against her skin as he got settled and allowed her a few seconds to adjust. His hands tangled in her hair as he kissed her hard. He began thrusting into her, quickly getting lost in her sounds and their mutual pleasure. As his weeping cock moved inside of her tightness, his mind kept screaming 'perfect, perfect, perfect' every single time he'd hit that special spot inside of her.

Everything went white behind his eyes when Felicity's orgasm eventually triggered his own. His hips stuttered and lost their rhythm as she clenched down on him. Oliver wondered, for a moment, if he had actually gone blind with the force of his orgasm. The previously rough pace he had set slowed down and he prolonged their pleasure with small thrusts, emptying inside of her. He must have blacked out for real because when he finally opened his eyes again, they were both sitting on the floor. Oliver was still pulsing inside of her, but he was softening, and Felicity was on top of him, pressing kisses against his chest. He let out a harsh breath and it seemed to jumpstart his lungs because all of the sudden he was panting. When had she managed to get his shirt unbuttoned? Instead of thinking too much about that, he just accepted the complete calm that washed over him after the mind-blowing orgasm he'd had left a pleasurable hum in its wake.

They sat there for a while, and it wasn't until Felicity started giggling against him that he met her eyes. Her hair was a mess and her lipstick had been completely smeared. He was certain that most of it was now on him, but he didn't exactly have a mirror in the copy room so he could check.

"What's so funny?" he smiled. Her laughter was infectious and somehow, it still managed to make him feel all fuzzy on the inside.

"This makes me feel like a teenager," Felicity admitted, still laughing softly. She motioned with a finger around the room, but Oliver didn't miss the way that her blush deepened a little, almost like she was shy.

"Is this what you did in high school, Ms. Smoak?" Oliver couldn't help but tease, his thumbs brushing against the tops of her thighs.

"No," Felicity shook her head, "but there was a supply closet once at MIT."

Oliver groaned, shaking his head before he kissed her again, his lips bruising against hers. "Please don't remind me of the fact that there were others before me," he begged, hoping he didn't sound too pathetic. After what they had just done, he didn't want the image of Felicity with anyone else inside his head.

"You kind of walked into that one," Felicity grinned. "Although, the same goes to you, darling." Oliver blinked a little at the pet name but he couldn't help but smile wider. Felicity tilted her head and then pushed him back so that he could lay down on the floor. He'd probably have to send the suit he wore to the dry-cleaner after this. He lost his train of thoughts when Felicity's hips rolled against him and his cock started to harden yet again, still inside of her. "Why would it matter anyway?" Felicity asked, leaning down to lick over his pulse point. "You're my last."

-§-

~ Two months later ~

Oliver took a sip from the beer in his hand, looking over at his sister and Felicity as they cooed over baby Sara who was making gurgling sounds at them. They were at Diggle's place, having been invited over for dinner to celebrate a year without a major crisis in Starling City. Neither one of them had actually said it, but they all knew that they were there to spend some much needed time away from all of their work. The fact that there hadn't been another attack on Starling City for a year was only yet another reason to celebrate and express their gratefulness.

"I'd be careful if I was you, Oliver," Tommy said, nodding pointedly in Felicity's direction. "If she spends more than an hour with baby Sara, she'll end up wanting one of her own."

Oliver raised his eyebrow at his friend, shaking his head. "Tommy, last time I checked, you're the one who started hounding Laurel for a kid after you babysat Sara once."

"My point still stands," Tommy grinned, eyes moving to his wife who was sitting next to Felicity, hand resting on her rounded stomach. The two of them had announced their pregnancy a little over a month back, but it seemed as though Laurel had popped overnight. There was a glow about her, something that transferred on to Tommy as well. They were happy and Oliver was glad that his friends had found each other after everything.

"It's the chubby cheeks," Diggle pointed out, patting Tommy's back. "They make the strongest man weak in the knees. You didn't stand a chance."

"Huh," Tommy huffed. "Now that you say it, maybe Laurel was the one who wanted a kid first after all. Without her suggesting I should offer to watch Sara, I probably wouldn't have agreed to it…" Diggle laughed at that and Tommy shot him a look. "Jeez," Tommy said, "if baby Sara's chubby cheeks worked on me, I wonder how well her charm will work on her peers when she grows up." There was a teasing tone to his words, but they effectively made Diggle stop laughing.

The older man pointed a warning finger at Tommy. "She's not dating until she's at least forty," he said. "Also, if there really is such a thing as karma, you'll end up having an army of girls yourself, Tommy. We'll see who'll be laughing then."

Oliver chuckled at the look of pure horror that covered Tommy's face. Shaking his head as he took another drag from the bottle in his hand. "I should probably help Lyla in the kitchen," he said.

"No, hang on a minute," Tommy protested. "Roy and Sara are in there with her. I'm sure they can hold the fort while Dig and I tease you a while longer."

"There's no reason to tease me," Oliver shook his head. "If Felicity asked me to have a kid with her tomorrow, I wouldn't mind."

Tommy gaped at him, but Diggle only smiled, not seeming the least bit surprised by his confession.

"You haven't even asked her to marry you yet," Tommy pointed out. There was a small smile on his lips as well.

"Felicity is my soulmate, Tommy," Oliver said. "Marriage wouldn't make us any more official than we already are." He looked over at Felicity again. She had pulled baby Sara out of her seat and was cuddling her, kissing her cheek.

"Still," Tommy said. "If the two of you start working on procreating, our kids could fall in love and eventually get married themselves!"

"You're nuts if you think I'd let your kid close to mine," Oliver said, shooting him a glare. "I'm off to the kitchen."

"I don't know why you think you could intervene with destiny, Oliver Queen!" Tommy called after him and Oliver did his absolute best to not smile.

-§-

Thea looked up from baby Sara when Oliver made his way over to them. Silently, she watched as her brother leaned down to press a featherlight kiss to Felicity's cheek. He murmured something barely audible in Felicity's ear before squeezing her shoulder and running his hand over baby Sara's head. Thea couldn't help but notice the smile that bloomed on Felicity's face as she subconsciously leaned into her mate's touch. Oliver didn't say anything to Thea or Laurel as he continued on his way to the kitchen where Lyla, Roy and Sara were working together on dinner. There was a loud bang and then Sara yelled something that sounded an awful lot like Roy's name.

Thea winced."Damn. Even though he knows how to work a grill, I'm not sure Roy should be allowed to spend more than half an hour inside a small kitchen," she said, looking at Felicity and Laurel.

"Oh, come on," Felicity said. "It's a good thing that he wants to help with the cooking."

"Yeah," Laurel agreed. "Tommy has just recently started learning how to cook. I suppose that's what years and years of being rich, privileged and spoiled give you." There was a teasing tone in her voice and Thea rolled her eyes.

"I had the same type of childhood as Tommy and I know how to cook," she pointed out.

"And I have never been rich, privileged nor spoiled, but somehow I manage to burn water from time to time…" Felicity trailed off, shrugging. Thea grinned at her, shaking her head. She loved how Felicity's mind worked. Even though Laurel had only been teasing Thea, Felicity had still stood up for her in her own way.

Not long after the Siege, Laurel had been appointed the new DA in Starling City. After that, it didn't take much time for Tommy to approach the team about possibly filling Laurel in on the presence of Dark Ones in their city. He knew that his wife worked with all kinds of people in the city and he wanted her to be able to protect herself if a vampire or something was ever charged in a human court. Either way, they all knew that most politicians in the city were aware of the creatures of the night and it didn't make any sense to keep Laurel in the dark considering that Sara had become a werewolf.

After they had filled Laurel in on their secrets, the lawyer had had some trouble understanding at first. Thea couldn't exactly blame her considering that her own reaction to finding out about the secret world hadn't been the best. With a little time and guidance from Tommy though, Laurel had come around pretty quickly. She had taken the time to talk to Felicity a lot, much like Tommy had in the beginning, and since Laurel was smart, she had quickly connected the dots between Tommy's absence during the many months of wedding planning. Now, after so much time had passed, Thea knew that Laurel was good friends with everyone on their team. They were family in the most amazingly dysfunctional way that somehow worked perfectly for them.

"So," Laurel said, drawing out the vowel as she raised an eyebrow at Felicity.

"What?" Felicity asked, laughing a little. Thea could see there was some nervousness hidden beneath her facade of confusion.

"Have you and Ollie discussed what might be the next step for you guys?" Laurel questioned, getting right to the point.

"We just moved in together officially three months ago," Felicity replied. "I don't really know what the next step would be."

"Yeah, well," Thea scrunched up her nose and shook her head, "you've kind of been living together for longer than that. The two of you were staying together even before the Siege."

"Yes, but the loft is, like, our first real-real place together," Felicity said. "We're just happy the way things are right now.. And besides, we're soulmates, right? There is absolutely no need to rush things."

"Felicity." Thea couldn't help but sigh. "If you're saying that you and my brother rush things when it comes to your relationship, Roy and I must be moving at lightspeed."

"Hey, you've been watching Star Wars," Felicity pointed out happily.

"Nope, just reading physics," Thea deadpanned. Felicity stared at her and Thea sighed. "Okay, I'm a sucker for the Millennium Falcon and Han Solo, so sue me."

"Okay, back to topic," Laurel said, clearly trying to get the conversation under control. "Have you and Ollie talked about marriage?"

Thea saw the way that Felicity's cheeks reddened and she couldn't help but smile at how absolutely adorable the blonde was.

"Perhaps not in any official terms," Felicity shrugged. "I mean, we know that we're It for one another, and that's with a capital 'I'. Not It, like the Stephen King novel or the movie based on it, because I think that would be quite terrifying, but rather It, like, we're destined lovers. By the way, have you ever noticed how weird the word 'lovers' is? It sounds kind of creepy in whichever way you say it, doesn't it?" Thea and Laurel stared at one another for a moment, watching as Felicity finally clamped her mouth shut. There was a crinkle between her eyebrows and then she let out a small breath. "Huh, that hasn't happened to me in a while."

Thea knew she was referring to the babble, so she couldn't help but laugh a little. She shook her head a little as she looked over at Laurel. "Don't worry about Felicity and Ollie, Laurel," she told the older woman. "The two of them are practically married anyway. Signing some papers won't make it any more official than it already is."

-§-

~One month later ~

Oliver stepped off the elevator and into the bunker. He looked around and found the place empty, just as he had expected it to be. They hadn't planned on meeting up here tonight, but since Felicity was out of town on Queen Consolidated business, he didn't feel like staying in the loft alone all night. Instead, he figured he could use the time to work out. It would tire him out enough to fall asleep easier tonight. He gave himself two hours. That left him plenty of time to get back to the loft and get showered before Felicity called him. She had been so excited about traveling to Gotham for the Annual Science Conference. New projects would be presented by all companies attending and it was an opportunity for new alliances to develop.

Oliver missed Felicity immensely. Despite the fact that he could feel her through their soul bond and he texted with her frequently, he couldn't help himself. He didn't like being apart from her, but he knew that he had to bear through it because he didn't want to make things any harder on the two of them.

After an hour or so of working out, the elevator leading down to the bunker signaled someone's arrival. Oliver looked past the dummy he had been punching, only to see Roy entering the place, head lowered.

"Hey," Oliver said, eyebrows furrowing. He was a bit confused as to why Roy had come to the bunker tonight considering that they all had the evening off.

"Hi, man," Roy greeted, still not looking directly at Oliver. "You mind if I join you?"

"No, not at all," Oliver said, moving away from the dummy as he grabbed the wooden sticks he knew that Roy had recently been trying to master. Roy pulled off his hoodie and then joined Oliver on the training mat. The two of them hit and dodged for a good while, switching places every few minutes as they worked on both their offense and defense.

"I've been wondering something," Roy started, ducking under Oliver's arm, successfully deflecting another attack. The kid was faster now that he was in control of his wolf powers.

"Yeah?" Oliver leaned back, avoiding a hit. "What?"

"When are you going to propose to Felicity?"

The question came out of nowhere and distracted Oliver long enough for Roy to sweep his leg under him. Oliver landed on his ass with an ungraceful thud, wincing before he could stop himself. Roy looked down at him, blinking twice and it didn't escape Oliver's notice that the younger man's lip curled up into a smile. It didn't happen often, but whenever Roy got the better of Oliver in a fight, he enjoyed it a lot and didn't hide the fact. This time though, there was something else in Roy's eyes, Oliver noticed. There was a nervousness to him that made the younger man's hands twitch and shake, even as he offered Oliver one of them to help him up.

Oliver stood, taking the fighting sticks from Roy. He returned them to their proper place and grabbed two water bottles from the mini-fridge that they had installed there. Roy caught the bottle that Oliver threw toward him with ease, but then he was back to avoiding Oliver's gaze again. Now, Oliver was certain that there was more to Roy's question, and he had a pretty sure that he knew what it was.

Taking a sip of the cool water, he pointed at Roy. "You want to propose to Thea." Oliver said it so casually, that Roy nearly dropped the water bottle in his hands, looking at Oliver sharply.

For a second or two, Roy didn't say anything. Then, his shoulders slumped forward and he lowered his head once again, nodding. "Yeah," he sighed, sounding almost defeated.

"If you want to marry my sister, then why are you asking me about when I'll be proposing to yours?" Oliver wondered. The little burst of happiness he saw in Roy's eyes when Oliver referred to Felicity as his sister was heartwarming. It wasn't a secret that Roy's family life had never been the best. Since he had joined up with their team and become Felicity's beta, Oliver knew that the two of them were just that: brother and sister. Still, it seemed as if Roy sometimes needed the reminder that Oliver completely understood the bond that he shared with Felicity. Oliver respected it and knew that he would never do something to come in between that.

"Look, Oliver," Roy started, finally looking at him. "I want to marry Thea, I do. I just– I just know that our relationship hasn't always been the smoothest. Since I joined the team, we've butted heads quite a few times, but you know that I respect you, especially now that you and Felicity are together." Roy shrugged before he continued. "Thea is your sister though," he said, "and since her dad isn't alive, I kind of feel like I need to ask for your permission to marry her. I would have asked your mother, but she's kind of terrifying, even for me… So, yeah, I'm asking you."

"I didn't know you were this traditional," Oliver said, smiling a little. "Roy, you have put my sister and her safety before everything and everyone else, even yourself. Knowing that you and Thea share the same bond that I share with Felicity, I think it would be stupid of me not to give you my blessing."

Roy grinned then, "Really?"

"Yes, really," Oliver confirmed, holding out his hand. Roy took a hold of it and shook it firmly before he stepped closer. Oliver was a little surprised to be pulled into a hug by the younger man, but reciprocated.

A month later, when Oliver and Felicity are cuddling on the couch and exchanging sweet kisses while completely ignoring the movie they had set out to watch, they get got the phone call. It was Thea, crying, telling them that she's getting married.

-§-

~ Two weeks later ~

Felicity leaned back against the couch, burrowing under the thick blanket as she waited for Oliver to return. They had the fireplace going, opting to spend the evening at home and get some well-earned cuddles in. They'd had a scare the week before. A rabid wolf had turned during the full moon and as they had tried to subdue it, it had gotten its claws into Felicity when she had jumped in front of Oliver. She had been turned then, but once they had gotten back to the bunker, she had returned to her human form. Oliver had given her some of his blood to speed up her healing process, but she had still felt a little stiff in her shoulder since then. The more exhausting part of it all was that someone had caught the whole thing on video and now the media was once again going crazy over the Arrow apparently having a pet. To say that Felicity was annoyed was mild, but everyone else on the team seemed to find it amusing. Even Oliver had cracked a smile in her direction, but then again, he had spent the next few days showering her with so much love that Felicity was sure she would burst from the attention. Either way, the whole ordeal had forced Felicity to lay low and only work from the bunker. She preferred it that way, although sometimes, she missed being out in the field.

Oliver made his way back from the kitchen, carrying two wine glasses in one hand and a bottle of red in his other. Felicity grinned at him, lifting the blanket enough so that he could get settled under it. He handed her one of the glasses and she held it up while he filled it for her. She breathed in the scent of the wine before tasting it, savoring the aroma in her mouth. A noise fell from her lips that she was sure was a cross between a moan and a sigh.

"That good, huh?" Oliver raised his eyebrow at her, sounding amused.

"Almost better than sex," was her reply, a teasing tilt to her voice. Oliver's eyebrows shot up and Felicity couldn't help but laugh, leaning into him. Their lips brushed in a soft kiss and she sighed against him, her forehead resting against his. "I did say almost," she pointed out.

"Hm… Maybe it's time I do something to make sure there's no way for a bottle of red to surpass my sexual prowess…" he mused, humming as he kissed her forehead.

"There's no risk of that happening anytime soon," Felicity grinned.

They sat in silence, savoring their drinks and their alone time. She would never have expected that she would get the chance to have a life like this. A part of her still expected something to go wrong and every single day was a struggle to overcome that fear. It didn't consume her, but rather just simmered under the surface of her conscious mind. With the close call that they'd had, she had almost berated herself for believing that everything would magically be fine once the Master was defeated. There were still dangers out there, still people who needed protection…

It didn't change the fact that Felicity had discussed the whole thing with Oliver and the two of them had come to an agreement. They were allowed to worry and be afraid, but they would never let the other drown in their own thoughts. Felicity knew that if she was ever frightened, Oliver would be by her side. This past week had been wonderful, despite the few moments that Felicity had thought Oliver might actually end up making her spontaneously combust. The time they had spent away from the bunker had given her the opportunity to see the life that they were headed toward; a life where they could be a normal couple in love, living together and fighting together to keep their city safe.

Something else had happened of course; something that had shocked the hell out of the both of them, but that had lately been making Felicity think daily about that future she kept imagining.

"I can't believe that Roy and Thea eloped," she said, voicing her thoughts.

Oliver took a sip of his wine. She half-expected him to go all serious on her, but instead, there was a small smile on his face. "Mom went absolutely nuts," he chuckled. "Fortunately, I wasn't there when Thea got an earful about how the Mayor's daughter running off to Reno to get married when said Mayor is facing a big debate soon wasn't appropriate."

"Trust me, Thea didn't spare any details when she told me about it either," Felicity laughed. "I know your mom is still happy for her though. She probably just feels cheated that she didn't get to plan the wedding."

"Probably," Oliver agreed and the two of them once again fell into a comfortable silence.

After a few minutes, Felicity spoke again, "Why haven't we gotten married yet?"

She saw the way that Oliver's shoulders tensed before he slowly turned to look at her. If she hadn't been able to feel him through their soul bond, she would have worried that she had said the wrong thing. There was something in his eyes though, something that told her she had said exactly the right thing.

"I mean, we're soulmates, Oliver," she continued, her nerves suddenly getting the better of her. "All our friends know it, as does your family. If we had been a bigger part of the supernatural community, that would have been the equivalent of an unspoken marriage, so why not just make it official?" Oliver just stared at her and she bit her lip. "Unless you want to wait, that is. I don't want to just assume that you'd want to marry me. I mean, when I was younger, I never really would have expected myself to get married and then after I found out I was a wolf, I thought it was completely off the table for me. If you don't want to, this," she motioned between the two of them, "is enough for me. I don't want to pressure you, so– So, no pressure." The end of her speech was kind of lame, but she figured that as long as it got the point across, it didn't matter.

"Felicity Smoak, are you asking me to marry you?" Oliver asked, his eyes shining with something that made Felicity all warm inside.

"I– I think so. Maybe? Yes," she replied, nodding.

"Felicity." He placed his wine glass on the table that they had pushed to the side, taking her glass as well, removing it from her hand so that he could hold on to it instead. "I would marry you tomorrow if you told me you wanted to. I wouldn't want to wait a second to tell the world that you are mine, just as much as I am yours. We've been together for well over a year now and I know deep in my heart that I've been in love with you since the moment I laid eyes on you, whether I knew it or not. But," he said and Felicity held her breath as he shook his head, chuckling, "I don't really think my mother would be happy about the two of us eloping too."

"I love you too," Felicity said, a choked laugh falling from her lips. She hadn't even realized that she'd started crying. They were happy tears though, so she was okay with it and she made sure that Oliver knew she was fine too by kissing him again.

"Wait," he said against her lips. "Wait." He pulled back from her and stood up before he walked over to the kitchen again. She heard him looking through some things, pans clattering together as he looked for whatever it was he was searching for. When the sounds ceased, he returned, his cheeks tinted, but eyes still shining with happiness. He lowered himself down to sit next to her again and Felicity waited for him to say something. It took him a moment, but he was smiling widely when he took her hand in one of his. The other hand that he'd been keeping behind his back came forward and Felicity's eyes welled over with tears at the sight of the princess cut diamond ring that he held pinched between his thumb and forefinger. He didn't say anything, just looked at her and she felt his question. The connection between them was flooding with love and joy. She couldn't remember ever having felt as happy as she felt when Oliver slid the platinum ring home on her finger. The diamond sparkled in the dim light and the side stones seemed to wink at her, but she looked up and then, she only had eyes for Oliver; her fiancé, her great love, her soulmate.

It was a good thing that he'd put away the wine too, because she wasn't able to stop herself from climbing into his lap after that. She kissed him hard, she kissed him softly and she kissed him more passionately than she had ever thought herself to be capable of kissing anyone.

And even though the reply to his question had been just as unspoken, Oliver proceeded to spend the next couple of hours making her scream her answer for the whole world to hear.

-§-

~ Three weeks later ~

Felicity shifted on her feet. Her brain went over every possible scenario that could occur as she waited in the driveway of the beaten down house that Oliver had left her at. He would be back in a couple of hours, but she had told him that this was something she needed to do by herself. The engagement ring on her finger was a comforting weight and she momentarily ran her thumb over it, twisting it this way and that. She was nervous, but at the same time a little excited. The rest of their family had supported her decision to travel back to Las Vegas, the place she had grown up in. After weeks of contemplation and years of no contact, Felicity had decided to look up her mother. Deep down, she knew that Donna Smoak was a generally happy person, albeit a bit ditsy at times when she got overly excited. However, she was still Felicity's mother and after years of avoiding her mother, Felicity suspected that Donna might have thought she had moved out of the country.

Or maybe, she just thought Felicity was dead.

Over the years, Felicity hadn't allowed herself to think much about the mother she had left behind when she'd gone to MIT. She had talked to Oliver about her mother a couple of times over the course of their relationship, although she'd made it quite clear that she hadn't wanted her mother in her life while there were so many dangers surrounding them. After getting engaged though, Felicity had woken up the next day with a longing in her heart to seek out the woman she had tried to cut all ties with. It wasn't Donna's fault that Felicity had turned into a werewolf while studying at MIT and it most certainly wasn't her fault that Felicity had been captured and turned into a hybrid against her will. When Oliver had felt her emotions, he had questioned her about the regret that flowed through their bond. Felicity had told him that it had nothing to do with him, but rather her absent mother. Whenever they decided to have their wedding, Oliver's family would be there, and despite having friends to stand up for her, Felicity knew that she would never forgive herself if she didn't at least try to mend the broken bridges between herself and her mother.

So early this morning, they had caught the first flight to Las Vegas and driven out to the area just on the outskirts of town where Felicity had spent most of her younger years. As they had driven through the streets, the familiarity of it all had made Felicity teary-eyed. Oliver hadn't said much, but he had reached over and taken her hand in his, kissing it gently as his thumb moved over the ring he had put on her finger. He'd promised her that he would give her a couple of hours before coming back. They had asked the neighbors if Donna Smoak still lived at the end of the street, even though Felicity knew that she did. She had looked her mother up after feeling the urge to see her again, and from what she had found, it seemed that Donna hadn't moved at all over the years.

It was early still, so Felicity had been surprised to find that her mother wasn't at the house. According to the neighbor, Donna had left an hour ago, most likely to buy some groceries. It was a ridiculous thought considering that Felicity couldn't remember if her mother had ever cooked a single thing during her childhood. It was more likely that she had gone shopping for a new dress.

So she stood there, waiting, and an hour later, a cab came up the street and let out a blonde whirlwind. Her mother looked just as Felicity remembered her: long blonde hair falling down her back, a sparkly dress that was probably too tight and a tad too inappropriate for a woman of her age, with long fingernails and ten different bags that definitely did not contain any groceries. As her mother paid for the cab, Felicity stood still, afraid to even breathe.

But then her mother turned around and froze, staring right back at her without a word. Felicity shifted on her feet again, nervously twirling her ring and she saw when Donna's eyes dropped down to her hand. It was impossible to miss the sparkler, mostly because Felicity was certain her mother had an ability to sniff out everything that was of great value.

"Mom."

Felicity wasn't expecting to choke on the word, but she did. It wasn't out of disgust or spite though. No, it was because of the ache she felt in her chest when she saw the other blonde, and the recognition of just how much she had missed her during all these years.

A second after Felicity's voice had cracked, Donna dropped all the bags she had been holding and stepped forward. She closed the distance between them quickly, an impressing feat considering that she was wearing six-inch stilettos, and Felicity fell into her embrace.

"My little girl," Donna sobbed against her, running her hand over the back of Felicity's head. "My little Felicity."

Felicity let out a shaky breath, returning the hug, holding on just as hard.

-§-

They sat in the living room talking for what felt like hours. Deep down, Felicity knew that too much time couldn't have passed considering that Oliver hadn't texted her yet, but it felt like years passed as she told her mother everything that had been going on in her life. She was a bit weary in the beginning, afraid to discuss the fact that she was a hybrid, but Donna was quick to tell her that she had been aware of her husband's secret.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Felicity asked, sipping on the coffee that Donna had made her. It was the only thing her mother knew how to make, but she'd had some cookies in the cabinet too that she had offered Felicity once they had gotten settled.

"Honestly?" Donna looked down at her lap, contemplating her answer after Felicity nodded. She needed to know. A part of her had always thought her mother hadn't known about her father's wolf-genes. "I guess I wanted to protect you from that part of your father's life," Donna finally replied. "Las Vegas is a hotspot for the supernatural world, but I didn't know that when I first met your father. When I found out about him being a werewolf, I was already so deeply in love with him that I just didn't care," Donna shared. "We got married and after a few months, you were born and we were happy. Your father didn't feel the urges that came with the full moon and he told me it was because he had learned to control himself from a young age. He'd been very young when he'd turned the first time and back then, he'd had his family to help him.

"Your father always said that you were more like me than him," she continued. "When he left us and you didn't show any signs of being a wolf, I thought he meant that you were human." Felicity contemplated her mother's words, knowing deep down that she had, in fact, never really shown any of the attributes of being a wolf until after she left for MIT. She told her mother as much and then proceeded to tell her the story of how she had turned for the first time, so unexpectedly.

"Oh, my poor baby," Donna said afterward, tears welling in her eyes. "If I had known, I would have done something to help. I swear, Felicity, I never meant for us to lose contact."

"Mom, it's my fault that we did," Felicity said. "I tried to protect you… Especially after I was– After I was turned into a hybrid."

Donna gasped, covering her mouth as she stared wide-eyed at her daughter. "Does that– Does that mean that you're… Dead?" She whispered the final word, looking around as if she expected someone to arrest them for discussing the topic of hybridism.

Felicity couldn't help but laugh as she shook her head. "No, mom," she said. "I am very much alive." She told her about what had been going on in Starling City, withholding only the fact that the vigilante that she had been working with to save the city was Oliver Queen. She did, however, tell her about falling in love with her friend, but she knew that it was important to keep Oliver's alter ego a secret until he was ready to share it with Donna himself. First, they needed to get to know one another and telling her mother that she was engaged to marry the love of her life would certainly lead to introductions.

"My God, Felicity," Donna said after a moment. "When your father said you were more like me than him, I didn't realize until just now that he probably was talking about this need to help people. There's a loyalty and light in your heart, something that Noah unfortunately lacked…" There was a forlorn look on Donna's face as she got quiet for a moment. Felicity knew deep down that after all these years, it still hurt her mother that Felicity's father had left them. It was something that had changed their lives and continued to impact on their character, even today.

Felicity's phone buzzed and she turned her attention to the screen. Oliver had texted and wondered whether or not he should come by. Looking up from her phone, Felicity glanced at her mother who was once again smiling lightly.

"How would you like to meet Oliver?" Felicity questioned, already knowing the answer.

"Honey, I'd love to meet him," Donna said. "I don't even know why you're asking me such silly questions."

Felicity returned the text message to Oliver and reached out for her mother's hand. Donna took it gratefully and squeezed back, emitting some kind of feeling of support. Her mother's emotions had always been something that was easy to pick up on. Felicity knew that she didn't need enhanced senses in order to understand what her mother was feeling. Or perhaps it was something that came with her wolf genes? Maybe she had always been so attuned to Donna's feelings because she had felt it through her underlying instincts as a wolf?

Half an hour later, Oliver joined them and Donna spent a good couple of minutes praising Felicity for catching such a fine specimen of a man. Oliver had always had charm when it came to his public persona, but seeing him nervously answer every question that Donna sprung on him was kind of amusing for Felicity. When Oliver excused himself to take a phone call, Donna quickly turned to Felicity in order to gush about the man.

"I am so happy for you both, sweetheart," she said.

"Thank you, mom," Felicity smiled. "I… I can't even begin to explain how happy I am with him. Without him, I don't think I would have been where I am today."

Once again, Donna's eyes filled with tears. "Oh, baby… I know what a soulmate bond looks like when I see one. I've been around wolves enough in my life to know that what you and Oliver share is rare in the most wonderful of ways," she told her. "I'm happy that you reached out to me, I'm happy that you brought him here to meet me and I'm most certainly happy that I didn't find out about your engagement through some gossip magazine." Donna was teasing her and Felicity couldn't help but laugh again.

"It's a wonder that they haven't caught on to it yet," Felicity mused.

"They have to be blind if they haven't noticed this sparkler," Donna grinned, taking Felicity's hand in hers to inspect the ring further. "I know I've said it, but I'll say it again: I'm so happy for you, baby."

Felicity smiled gently, looking up when Oliver entered the room again. His eyes met hers and she felt the way his love washed over her, as it always did when he looked at her. "I am too, mom," Felicity said. "I am too."

-§-

~ One and a half months later ~

Oliver wasn't used to waking alone anymore. Ever since moving into their loft, he had woken up with Felicity next to him every single morning. Sometimes, she was draped across his body, other times, her back was pressed tightly against his chest. Then there were the times when he'd woken up to her kissing and licking her way down his body, gently coaxing him to awareness before meeting his eyes with a mischievous glint in hers.

He loved those mornings.

In fact, he loved all of his mornings that meant waking up to his fiancée, getting to hold her for a while before they both needed to get going for the day.

So this morning, when he woke up to find Felicity's side of the bed empty, Oliver frowned. He reached out and found that the sheets were cold and for a moment, dread filled him. Trying to keep calm, he closed his eyes and reached out for her through their bond. It was something that they had learned to do over time and not usually something he did unless he found it absolutely necessary. He just needed to know that she was safe, wherever she was.

It could have been considered a desperate move, especially considering that he hadn't even gotten out of bed yet. Later, he realized that he probably should have checked the other rooms before immediately jumping to conclusions, but it was only natural for him to want to feel her. There was a tugging in his chest, something invisible pulling him toward her. Oliver got out of bed and he only stopped long enough to put on a pair of boxers. He made his way out of their bedroom and was confused to find Felicity's sleeping t-shirt neatly folded over the couch. Oliver picked it up and looked around the room, silently wondering where Felicity could have gone off to while nude.

Of course, the rational part of his brain told him that she probably put on some clothes before stepping out, but he found her keys in the little bowl by the front door, which told him that she hadn't even left the apartment. He walked back to the living room and startled when he finally spotted her.

She was laying on the floor, in front of their fireplace, curled up, but awake. Her golden eyes blinked back at him and shifted to blue as she let out a little whine. Oliver walked up to her and sat down on the floor next to her. Running his fingers through her pelt, he immediately felt calmer. Felicity let out a low sound, shifting her head to rest on top of his thigh.

This was the first time since the death of the Count that Felicity had turned into a wolf without having a motive. Normally, when she turned, it was because she was leading her pack during the full moon or because it was needed in the field. When she had turned after killing the Count, she had told Oliver that her reason had been that she'd needed to get a hold of her emotions. Oliver wondered now what could have prompted her change, but no matter how much he tried to pick up on something through their bond, it seemed like he just simply didn't understand it.

After a couple of hours of talking to Felicity without her changing back, Oliver decided to call Roy. The younger man came over immediately, but both of them were shocked to find out that Roy couldn't pick up on anything either,

"She's blocking me, for some reason," Roy said. "There's something going on that she probably doesn't want either of us to know about." The white wolf seemed to huff at that and both Oliver and Roy looked at Felicity before returning to their conversation. "Whatever it is that she's going through, she just assured me that she'll be okay. She just needs some time," Roy shared.

Oliver nodded curtly, but ran his hand over Felicity's head once again for comfort.

That night, Oliver fell asleep on the couch with Felicity as a wolf draped over his legs. The next morning, he woke up when he heard the shower turn on and he stood instantly, sensing Felicity more clearly through the bond again. He headed for the main bathroom, glad to find the door unlocked. When he entered, he was hit by the warmth coming from the shower. Through the foggy glass, he could see Felicity's silhouetted body as she stood under the warm spray of water. The mirror was already fogged up, but Oliver paid no attention to it as he stripped quietly. He pulled the shower door open and entered. As he joined her under the spray, his hands found Felicity's hips, trailing over her hot skin without thought. Felicity hummed lightly, not even turning to look at him as she took a small step back so that she could feel his body pressed up against hers.

Ignoring the effect Felicity had on his body, Oliver gently moved to massage her shoulders, knowing that she sometimes felt sore after a turn. Felicity let out a low moan of appreciation and it was a sound that sent his blood rushing south in less than a second. Still, Oliver continued to ignore his not-so-little problem, content to just keep comforting Felicity with his touch. He kissed her shoulder and Felicity's head fell back against his chest. Her eyes were half-lidded, but he could feel the way that her thoughts were all over the place. She was worried, excited and scared all at the same time. Her emotions were wrapped up in happiness too though, but somehow, it only served to confuse Oliver even more.

"Why did you turn into a wolf?" he found himself asking. As he waited for her reply, he reached over to grab a bottle of shampoo. He massaged it gently into Felicity's hair, his fingers pressing down gently against her scalp in a way that he knew she liked.

"I had a lot on my mind," Felicity finally admitted. "I needed to clear my head and– I needed to go with my instincts on this, Oliver."

"On what, Felicity?" Oliver questioned, still working his fingers through her hair. Felicity reached up though, taking his hand in hers. Oliver didn't speak as she slowly guided his hand down her front, over her stomach before she stopped moving. He didn't say anything as she pressed down lightly, but his breath hitched when he felt the slightly hardened swell of her lower abdomen. His hand rested there as a thousand emotions welled in his chest when he realized what it was that he was feeling. He understood now why Felicity had needed the momentary escape because everything that he had been feeling from her through their bond, he now felt too.

Felicity turned her head to the side and glanced at him over her shoulder. It was clear to him that she was nervous as hell now that she had revealed what she hadn't been ready to discuss yesterday. Despite the worry, Oliver's most prominent emotion was happiness. How could he not be happy about this development? Wasn't this what he had imagined so many times over the course of their relationship? They had talked about it a couple of times and he knew that they hadn't planned this, but on the other hand, they hadn't really been playing it safe every time they'd had sex.

The result of it was literally under his hand and even though he knew he should probably be thinking that it was too soon for them, he couldn't feel anything other than gratitude toward the woman in his arms and complete joy when he thought about the path they would be heading down from now on.

Oliver moved then, turning Felicity so that she was facing him. He gently guided her back, carefully so that they wouldn't slip in the soapy water. Her back connected with the tiled wall and Oliver lowered his face down to hers, claiming her lips in a slow, languid kiss. His palm once again found the little bump of her stomach and he just couldn't stop from kissing Felicity even deeper, when he felt her smile against his lips.

-§-

It just so happened that the following weekend, Moira had invited them all over for dinner. Felicity was both nervous and excited when it came to sharing their news, but over the week, she and Oliver had enjoyed keeping it a secret from everyone else, wanting to give themselves a moment to just be happy about it in private.

Throughout the dinner, Moira had opted for discussing wedding planning, all while sending small looks and comments toward Roy and Thea who had obviously deprived her the experience of planning their wedding. The young couple didn't seem to mind Moira's jabs though, clearly happy with their decision to elope, although Felicity could tell that Roy was a little embarrassed over the fact that Moira kept bringing it up. It helped a little that Donna was there to diffuse the situation. Felicity's mother had been dropping by to visit every few weeks and she had even confessed that she was thinking about relocating to Starling City permanently to be close to Felicity. Despite being too different in character, Moira was welcoming of Donna and it appeared that the two women bonded over their love for their children as well as their troublesome pasts. Donna might not have been threatened into helping a terrorist, but she did know a thing or two about bad men. Even though Moira was a successful politician, the woman didn't have many friends, which was why Felicity figured that her soon to be mother-in-law was so nice to Donna.

It was somewhere between the main course and dessert that Moira asked Felicity whether she and Oliver had decided on a date yet for their wedding.

Nervously, Felicity laughed and blurted, "I think I'd like to get married before I start looking like a whale." It took the words a second for her to register and when she realized what she had said, she looked over at Oliver who only gave her a reassuring smile. They hadn't really planned on telling anyone about the baby yet, but he didn't seem to mind one bit that she had blurted it out like that due to her lack of brain-to-mouth filter. She could always claim that it was due to her pregnancy-brain, but she wasn't sure that it would float with the rest of their family as an excuse.

"You would be the most beautiful whale ever," Oliver said quickly and Felicity couldn't help but laugh at his comment.

"Hey, that's offensive!" Thea protested from across the table and Felicity realized that the rest of their company, hadn't connected the dots just yet.

Just as the thought had crossed her mind, everyone around the table fell into complete silence. Felicity looked at Oliver, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he only gazed lovingly at her as he reached for her hand under the table.

"Oh my God! Oh my God!" Donna screeched suddenly, rising from her seat as she started jumping up and down, squealing. "My baby is having a baby!"

Felicity blinked a couple of times, but a smile spread across her lips nonetheless as she took in her mother's excitement. The others reacted accordingly after Donna's exclaimed realization. Thea joined her in squealing about becoming an aunt and Walter offered them his congratulations as well as a very manly handshake to Oliver before they threw caution to the wind and embraced. Moira's eyes were teary but there was happiness in them.

Felicity didn't stand until Roy did, though. He walked around the table, grinning widely as he pulled her into a tight hug. She laughed, holding him just as tightly as she finally felt her own tears well. It was hard to remember when she had been this happy. Seeing everyone else's happiness seemed to just fuel her own.

"So, you're having puppies now," Roy smirked.

"Hey!" Felicity smacked him on the arm, but she couldn't help but laugh at his teasing tone. "We're not having puppies. Just one pup. I mean baby. We're having a baby."

The rest of the evening was spent laughing and teasing one another over whatever the future might hold for them. The next day, they shared their good news with Diggle and Tommy as well and Tommy didn't waste a second to suggest their kids eventually get married. Oliver shut the idea down, of course, but the smile never left his face as he did.

-§-

~ A little over a year later ~

Oliver made his way into their bedroom, a heated bottle in his hand. He made sure that it wasn't too hot, because after a couple of trial and error on both his and Felicity's side, they had learned at which temperature their daughter liked her formula.

Whenever Oliver thought of his daughter, a smile was never far from his lips. Diggle, Tommy and Roy used to tease him about it; how he had been walking around like a kid on Christmas during Felicity's final weeks of pregnancy. Oliver had brushed them off, but deep down he had known that he was ecstatic. The pregnancy had been pretty standard, or at least he figured that it had been. Both he and Felicity had had their respective freakouts a couple of months in, realizing that they were, in fact, bringing a child into the world; a defenseless little baby that their enemies could get their hands on if they didn't watch out for them. That was when Diggle and Tommy had come in, reassuring them that it was normal to be worried, but the two of them had also reminded them that the baby would have their entire family watching out for it. Felicity and Oliver wouldn't be alone and that eased their minds a little. Then there was that other time when Felicity panicked because she wasn't sure how her hybridism would affect their baby. Oliver hadn't had any knowledge in that matter, but he told her that if their baby did inherit some form of hybridism, they would love him or her either way.

There had been many moments like that, when they had felt insecure about whether or not they would be good parents. Whenever they occurred though, they always managed to pull one another back from the edge.

They had gotten married just two months after they had announced that they were expecting. His mother hadn't been very happy about having to rush the planning of the wedding, but Felicity had stepped up and told her that she didn't want anything too extravagant. In truth, Oliver and Felicity had been ready to just invite their friends and family and sign the papers at City Hall, but Moira had insisted that they have a real wedding.

It went off without a hitch, with just a single panic attack between the two of them which was quickly diffused. Felicity had without a doubt been the most beautiful bride Oliver had ever laid eyes on and they had exchanged their vows in front of their loved ones and some other high profile people from around the country that his mother had insisted on inviting.

The tabloids had gone nuts, of course, because it wasn't until after they had made a public announcement of their engagement that the gossip magazines had realized that Felicity had been sporting a ring on her left ring finger for quite some time. Then, the big mystery became figuring out exactly when Oliver had proposed, which meant that they reposted old pictures that had been taken of them in order to set up a timeline. Oliver couldn't for the life of him figure out just why that would be the interesting part, but whenever a paparazzi approached him or Felicity on the streets, they were always smiling and expressing nothing but pure happiness. Once they released their official wedding pictures, Oliver's mother made a statement as the Mayor, thanking everyone for the well-wishes on her son's behalf.

Of course, they didn't find out about the baby until Felicity literally popped overnight, much like Laurel had when she had been pregnant with her and Tommy's son. Oliver had had to argue with Felicity to stop reading the magazines online that suggested that Felicity had fallen pregnant while they had been involved in some torrid office romance and that the wedding had been a shotgun wedding.

"It's ridiculous, Oliver!" Felicity had said angrily one night. "I mean, my mom doesn't even own a shotgun, much less know how to use one."

Besides the small hiccups caused by their doubt and the annoyance from the press, everything else had gone off without a hitch. Oliver could still remember the first time that he'd heard their baby's heartbeat. Neither he nor Felicity had told anyone that he had actually shed some tears when the doctor had given them some privacy. It had been difficult to hold in back then because the unadulterated joy that he'd felt had just been too much.

Felicity's contractions had started late at night and Oliver had been in such a rush to reach the hospital that Felicity had threatened to call Diggle to pick them up if he didn't slow down, so he did. Early the next morning, their daughter had been born and she had been the most perfect little thing that Oliver had ever laid eyes on.

Audrey was a healthy little baby girl, with ten fingers, ten toes and a crazy set of lungs that had made themselves known when she came into the world. Oliver had cried, but so had Felicity, so it was okay. Their family had been in the waiting room when Oliver had stepped out, tears still fresh on his cheeks as he announced that they had a daughter.

Now, a couple of months later, they'd learned that Audrey wasn't as fussy as they had thought she might be. No, she just liked her formula lukewarm, and anything less or more wasn't acceptable.

"She's a little princess," Roy had teased once when Felicity had complained. "Of course she wouldn't want to drink anything that isn't high quality."

Felicity normally breastfed Audrey, but they had just recently started supplementing with formula. Oliver was always happy to get the bottle ready for Audrey while Felicity held the baby close, because they had found that she would settle much easier after she was fed.

Now, Oliver made his way into their bedroom and found his wife holding the little baby girl that was gurgling in her arms. He smiled, climbing onto the bed as Felicity took the bottle from him with one hand and then transferred Audrey into his arms with the other arm. Oliver kissed the baby girl on the forehead and she made a face before letting out a small cry of protest. Felicity chuckled and Oliver knew that Audrey's reaction was due to his beard that he'd let grow a bit longer than usual. Felicity tested the formula and then leaned back against the headboard, holding the bottle against Audrey's mouth. The baby latched on to the nipple instantly and started sucking with vigor, making Oliver chuckle as well.

"Someone's hungry," he said, grinning up at Felicity who was smiling as she watched their daughter. Oliver gently took over with the feeding and Felicity laid back down, still turned toward them.

"Hm… I can't even begin telling you just how big you look with Audrey curled up against your chest like that," Felicity said, voice low.

Oliver offered her a wink. "You've told me plenty of times already," he cheekily pointed out. "I seem to remember a couple of them, when you could barely wait for me to put her back in her crib before you attacked me–"

"Oh, please," Felicity interrupted, hand smacking his thigh before resting there completely. "As if you didn't enjoy every second of those 'attacks', as you so kindly put it."

"What can I say? I do have a thing for you taking charge, especially in bed," Oliver said.

"Baby ears," Felicity objected.

"It's not like she'll remember any of this, Felicity," Oliver laughed, shaking his head. He looked back down at his daughter, feeling that warmth bubble up inside of him as her blue eyes fluttered. Removing the bottle, Oliver made sure to burp her before returning her to her crib. He stood there for a moment, looking down at the little girl who had brought so much light into his life, just like her mother had.

As Audrey fell asleep, Oliver placed the blanket over her and then turned back around to face Felicity. She had tears in her eyes and Oliver quickly realized that he must have voiced his thoughts and gratefulness out loud.

"If you keep talking like that, it probably won't be long until I'm pregnant again," Felicity teased, wiping the corner of her eye.

Oliver crawled onto the bed and quickly covered her body with his, his face hovering above hers. "I'd have a hundred babies with you," he professed and Felicity laughed quietly, careful not to wake Audrey again.

"That's easy for you to say since you don't actually have to carry the baby around for nine months or go through labor pains or actually give birth to the child," she said, her hands resting on his shoulders.

"Trust me, I felt the labor pains," Oliver joked, wincing internally as he recalled just how hard Felicity had squeezed his hand.

"Hm… How about we give Audrey a chance to grow up a little before we start working on baby number two?" Felicity suggested as she started pulling him down.

"I think I can agree to that," Oliver smiled and sealed it with a kiss.

-§-

~ Three years later ~

There was something special about the early hours of the morning. Oliver absolutely loved it. Lazy mornings in bed, with his wife curled up against his side… After so many years of not sleeping well, Oliver was finally able to enjoy a good night's sleep and he knew that his wife was a part of that change.

It was a sunny morning after a long week of rain. Winter in Starling City had always been like that; either rainy with the rare occurrence of snow, or cold and sunny with lower temperatures, compared to the rest of the year. One could never really prepare for what they got, although this particular morning, Oliver had woken up feeling more energetic than he had all week, despite waking early. After kissing his wife on the forehead and having her mumble "Five more minutes," in his general direction, Oliver decided to make both her and Audrey some pancakes for breakfast.

He was deep in thought about how the holidays were coming up soon and how he and Felicity really needed to get their shopping done started, so he almost missed it when a sleepy looking Audrey walked into the kitchen. She was rubbing the sleep from her eyes, her stuffed toy wolf that she had gotten as a gift from Sara in her hand. Oliver smiled at her as she pulled out her special chair and sat down close enough to watch him cook. He leaned down toward her and kissed her cheek, "Good morning, baby."

"Morning, daddy," Audrey returned, yawning again as she leaned her head against the table. She watched him work in silence for a little while, but he could tell by the way that she was shifting that she wanted to ask something. It was a trait she had gotten from her mother and Oliver loved it.

"Is there something on your mind, Audrey?" he questioned, stacking the pancakes on top of one another.

There was a concentrated look on Audrey's face, her eyebrows pinched together as she seemed to contemplate how to put her thoughts into words. "Daddy," she said, and the frown she was sporting at that moment reminded him so much of Felicity, that he had to actually stop himself from laughing. "Why is mommy a wolf?"

The question caught him by surprise. Both he and Felicity had discussed Felicity's abilities with Audrey when they had realized that she both picked up on and understood more than the average kid would at her age. She had clearly gotten her brains from her mother, something that Oliver was immensely grateful for, but it also meant that she had a lot of questions for her parents.

"We talked about this already, baby," Oliver said, not really sure why she was asking him that. Felicity had explained some of her powers to Audrey, including the fact that she could turn into a wolf at will, but they had told Audrey that it was a secret that needed to be kept from everyone who wasn't a part of their family. They had told them that Felicity's abilities helped keep their family safe from bad people, but they hadn't gotten around to explaining the fact that Oliver was the newly dubbed Green Arrow.

"I know, daddy," Audrey rolled her eyes. "I mean, why is she a wolf right now? There are no bad men here."

Oliver turned his attention to the door when he heard the soft padding approaching. His breath hitched when he saw Felicity, changed into her wolf form, just standing there as if waiting for him to react. Audrey giggled at the dumbfounded expression on his face, and the sound made the white wolf step closer. Oliver stared at Felicity as she moved to him first, nuzzling against his leg before continuing over to their baby girl. It took him another second, but he recognized this move from a little over four years ago and through their bond that was wide open, he knew that his suspicions were right. A bright smile bloomed over across his lips at the realization of what was happening and he continued to focus his gaze on his wife that sat down next to their daughter.

Audrey let out a delighted laugh again, running her hand through Felicity's warm fur before climbing directly from the chair onto her mother's back. Oliver observed them and met the wolf's eyes as the golden irises turned light blue. His heart beat wildly in his chest when Felicity approached him again, this time with Audrey sitting astride her back. He found himself forgetting all about the pancakes and he lowered himself down to kneel on the floor. Audrey climbed from her mother's back into Oliver's lap and the white wolf nuzzled its nose against Oliver's palm when he reached out to her. She moved closer, tongue licking across Oliver's cheek in affection and the move had him grinning like a madman. He kissed the top of Audrey's head when Felicity brushed past him, toward their bedroom.

Oliver stood, Audrey still in his arms as he placed her on her chair again and offered her a plate of pancakes.

"Stay here, baby," he said gently. "I just need to talk to mommy for a bit."

Audrey only hummed in reply before digging into her pancakes and Oliver hurried to the bedroom, but not before making sure that the stove was turned off. He found Felicity in human form again, tying her silk robe together. She was smiling when she turned in his direction and Oliver's eyes trailed heatedly over her body as he took her in. Felicity walked up to him, brushing back a strand of hair behind her ear as she looked up at him, almost nervously.

Oliver's hand found her lower abdomen and there, he felt it, confirming what Felicity had wordlessly tried to tell him in the kitchen. The smile that graced his face might have been blinding, although it had nothing on the toe-curling kiss that he dropped on Felicity when she grabbed his t-shirt and pulled him close.

The End.

(For now.)

---

Note: Phew! *Wipes away a drop of sweat* I honestly can't believe I've reached this point in the story, but I suppose it's time to once again say thank you for reading and supporting me and my story. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and wishes and I can only hope that I've fulfilled some of them with this epilogue. The reason that I wrote the "For now" after the end, is because I have a plan to eventually write some one-shots in relation to this story. It won't be tomorrow, or the day after that. Most likely, it won't be for a good while, but I know that I will revisit this universe at some point in the future... When I feel like it. It will be tooth-rotting and domestic as hell, but I'm sure you guys wouldn't mind a closer look at Audrey growing up and everything else.

So, for the final time for this story: Thank you for reading and don't forget to share your thoughts. Lots of love, until next time. xx