Aftershock
Chapter One - Flashback
Felicity lay still on her pillow. For the first time in months she had slept through the night – completely, 8 hours, through the night. That realization and the sight in front of her sleepy morning eyes made her smile and yet made tears form as well.
The first few months she hadn't slept because Oliver was in prison, she and William were in protective custody, and the anxiety, anger and frustration kept her mind in overdrive every night. When she sent William to boarding school – because of the attack in their makeshift home – Felicity had added pure fear to the list of reasons she couldn't sleep. The slightest sound made her jump and reach for anything she could consider a weapon of defense.
For the past four weeks she hadn't slept because Oliver was home. And while she had thought having Oliver out of prison would be the best possible way to get some rest, she soon realized that his nightmares, coupled with her nightmares, might require actual counseling.
But the previous night, for the first time in ages, both of them slept peacefully. She looked at Oliver's gorgeous face, his eyes closed, his lips parted just slightly, and his now-well-trimmed scruff rustling against the pillow as he breathed in and out.
William had been back with them for a week and the family patching was beginning to stick. Donna had come to town to see them two nights prior and was staying at a nearby hotel because she didn't want to be a hassle; she just wanted to know that her baby girl, her grandson and her son-in-law were truly back together.
John and Lyla had come for dinner the prior night and hours of conversation and healing cleared the air along with laughter thanks to little JJ Diggle who warmed up to Donna and Felicity particularly quickly.
And so, when Oliver and Felicity had retreated to bed around midnight both were only slightly surprised to find themselves gently making love into the wee morning hours.
Felicity sucked in a long, slow breath through her nose. This was real. The realization hit her again. They were ok. Oliver was out of prison; William was home; she was with both of them, her…family.
The arguments that she had fought with various people, trying to free Oliver and protect her family, were a distant memory. Fighting off the various villains who tried to hurt Oliver by hurting her and William was another memory. She would readily admit that there was a fear inside her from those battles – both physical and mental – that would never go away completely.
And her fear of losing Oliver… the fear she had tearfully told him at their impromptu wedding… still held a front row seat in her heart.
Yet, at this moment, even with a few tears running over the bridge of her nose and onto the pillow case, she couldn't think of a more peaceful time.
Once that peace settled in, she smiled and decided to let Oliver sleep as long as he could. She would make him breakfast in bed. She smiled wider. She would show him that she had learned to cook an omelet beyond his expectations.
She took another 5 minutes getting out of bed. It only took a moment to realize they were both still undressed under the covers. Felicity almost laughed. Ok, she hadn't wanted to admit that the lovemaking helped their sleep, but perhaps it did.
They had decided soon after she gained the key to Oliver's apartment that they wouldn't sleep in the bare buff due to William's proximity. It was part of their promise, to their son, to be available to him 24/7.
And yet, last night was apparently an exception. Felicity slowly peeled back the comforter and the sheet from her body and tried to remember falling asleep. She recalled spooning with Oliver, him draping a leg over her thigh, a muscled arm around her waist and the feeling of absolute contentment that washed over her entire body.
She nibbled on her bottom lip. Maybe she was his Mr. Square Bear and he was simply hers.
On another positive note, she realized they had somehow gotten most of their discarded clothes into the closet hamper – well, except for Oliver's boxers. Another testament to taking their time and enjoying just being with one another. She chuckled at her lack of basketball shooting abilities when she picked up the navy, plaid, cotton underwear that obviously hadn't even hit the edge of the container.
Felicity looked back at her husband as she pulled a sports bra over her head along with one of Oliver's t-shirts and a pair of her pajama bottoms. Oliver shifted in the bed, pushing the covers off his chest and turning his body toward the wall.
She could see the signs of additional injuries and scars that Oliver had endured in prison. While she cringed, she realized their lives had been similar during his time away. Each of them worked in their own way to make things right and to bring him home. Ultimately, their parallel courses had done just that.
And, whatever scars they had gained would be a testament to the life they now planned to have together.
She quietly opened the bedroom door and padded almost silently down the hall toward the kitchen. William's door was still shut so she happily assumed that he, too, had slept well. That made her happy with a few additional tears.
When William came home from boarding school she had squeezed him until he gave her the typical teenage, "Okay, okay, that's enough" line. Felicity had laughed behind those tears and put her hands on his cheeks. "I've missed you, okay? I love you," she had told him quite seriously making William look her directly in the eyes with his simple, "I know," as a response.
She took another deep breath and continued toward the tile of the kitchen floor and the refrigerator where she hoped they still had a dozen eggs. Grabbing what she needed, she set things on the counter beside the stove, grabbed a glass of orange juice to help wake herself up and started a pot of coffee.
Then her work began. An omelet fit for Oliver Queen. She rolled her eyes and shook her head. When they were in Ivy Town he had no problem telling her that he preferred to cook.
"You have failed this omelet," she tried to mimic his line but realized her vocal abilities made it sound like Darth Vader, not her husband. She chuckled to herself. Oliver probably would make a good Darth Vader…mental note for Halloween costume… she thought.
Felicity noted the quietness that filled the apartment. In one sense it was nice, peaceful. In another, it was unnerving. So she found her phone and started her music app. Nothing like cooking to a little Taylor Swift. Again she chuckled at herself.
She placed the skillet on the burner and turned on the heat as she pulled out a cutting board and knife to start chopping up the fresh peppers and ham. She had to admit, she was pretty sure Oliver was going to be quite surprised at her new-found cooking ability. Sure, it was no chicken cordon bleu, but that was his specialty…one that he still needed to share with her mother.
As she began cubing the vegetable Felicity found herself lost in the amazing thoughts of her husband, her son, her mother…her family. She really hadn't ever pictured herself in such a familial setting, as a mother…or a wife…
Oliver stopped at the end of the hallway. He had heard Felicity get dressed and had hoped she would climb back into bed with him. When she left the bedroom he lay still for a few more minutes and then decided she was too far away from him. So he pulled his own naked body out of the bed and slowly slipped back into his boxers and sweatpants.
He smiled as he, too, noticed William's closed door. He was home with his family. His wife and son were just fine and in the same home with him. He felt a bit of pride because of those two words, 'family' and 'home'. He wasn't sure there was a time in his life he would've ever put himself in this situation.
But now he was glad to be here.
He thought about calling her name when he first noticed her swaying to soft music in their kitchen. Then again, he was watching his wife sway to soft music in their kitchen. He was watching the woman he loved in a peaceful setting, being herself.
Oliver stared. She was more than beautiful inside and out. Thank God she had proposed. He couldn't imagine life without her now.
He heard her humming. Oliver smiled as he watched her. It was all he could do not to walk up behind her and wrap his arms around her. And then, he thought, that's exactly what he would do.
He started taking the few steps toward her and heard another adorable sound, her sweet sigh.
Then, when Felicity sighed she noticed the shadow behind her.
And with the movement of that shadow all of her good and peaceful feelings flew out the window. Suddenly she was transported back to the sight of Ricardo Diaz standing in her living room, ready to kill both her and William.
"NOT THIS TIME!" She instinctively turned around with the knife raised in her right hand. "You son of a bitch! You will NOT hurt my family!" She screamed at the top of her lungs before lunging toward the figure before her, putting all her might into her knife-wielding hand hoping the damage would be enough to stop him before he could do harm to her.
But as the tip of the blade marked the top of his bare shoulder the man's strong hand grasped her wrist and stopped her assault. His other hand quickly raised pleading for her to stop.
"FELICITY! Honey, it's me," Oliver lowered his voice to a near whisper and eased his grip on her forearm.
Felicity gasped with a look of terror and utter sadness mixed on her face. "Oliver, oh-my-god, Oliver… I, I could've… Oh-my-god…" She swallowed harshly. "I could've killed you," she stated with tears running down her face, her body shaking uncontrollably.
Oliver shook his head and gently removed the knife from her hand, tossing it onto the counter. He pulled her in to wrap his arms around her but Felicity balked.
"I'm so sorry…I- I- Oliver, I'm…"
"It's okay, shhh," Oliver spoke calmly. "You can't hurt me Felicity. I'm fine, it's fine, Sweetheart. It's okay."
"No," she cried adamantly. "No it's not okay. I tried to stab you. I- I thought you were him. I would've killed you." She pushed herself out of Oliver's reach and stared at his chest blankly.
Oliver turned when the sound of another body in the room caught his attention.
"What happened?" William looked between his father and step-mother, demanding to know more about the situation.
"William," Felicity looked at him.
Oliver reached toward her again to try and calm her down but instead she raised her hands, not wanting his touch, and found her way past her husband. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," she looked at William and stopped just long enough to put a shaking hand on his cheek. "I love you. I do."
Felicity pulled her hand away from his young face and looked back at Oliver. "I can't do this. I just can't."
With that she retreated to their master bathroom where she sat on the floor and let her tears flow.
-
"What the hell happened here?" William watched his father reach for a paper towel and wipe the blood from the minor cut on his shoulder.
Oliver grabbed the knife from the counter and quickly squirted soap on it. He turned on the hot water tap and waited until it was warm enough to rinse off the scant amount of blood that sat on the tip of the utensil.
"Is that blood?" William asked another question. "What happened?" He asked a little more forcefully.
"Your mom- Felicity, was making breakfast. Apparently I startled her," Oliver explained calmly, keeping his back turned to his son in order to hide the tears that sat in his own eyes.
"You can't just sneak up on her. You of all people should know that. You weren't here for months. You don't know what she's been through," William sounded like a parent, or a teacher scolding someone.
"Hey!" Oliver turned around and faced his young man. "Watch your mouth," he warned softly but sternly.
William stepped back slightly but didn't fully back down. He looked Oliver eye to eye with determination that Oliver would swear the boy learned from Felicity.
"She went through hell trying to protect us. I know you had a hard time to, at the prison and all, but Felicity… I watched her go through it all. Diaz would've killed me. I thought he had killed her." William turned his back quickly as he remembered the morning the evil demon infiltrated their home.
Oliver finished cleaning the knife and put it in the dish drainer. He turned to look at William now sitting on a bar stool, leaning against the counter with his head in his hands. Oliver rested a hand on the sink and pointed his eyes to the floor.
"I thought that, too," he admitted.
William looked at him curiously.
"One of Diaz's men, inside the prison… He told me Felicity was dead, that Diaz had killed her."
"She sent me to Cambridge after that," William supplied before Oliver could go any farther. "I was mad. Mad that she was sending me away – abandoning me," his jaw set as he thought about those first few days at the school, completely alone.
"She didn't abandon you, William," Oliver breathed, hoping to set his son straight. "I did. I abandoned you both and left you alone and vulnerable and… None of this was Felicity's fault. It was mine."
"Stop it!" William raised his voice. "I don't need an excuse or explanation or apology. I'm just trying to say that I know what she went through. And you can't just swoop back in here and pretend everything is fine. Cause even though things may be just fine in the bedroom for you two, there's a lot more to deal with."
"Do you think I don't know that?" Oliver fired back.
The two stared at each other for a moment as they both thought about the woman who rushed past them completely panic-stricken moments before.
William took a breath. "You should go to her," his shoulders relaxed and he looked at his father through a softened gaze. "She needs to know you're ok."
Oliver nodded at him, knowing the boy was right. "Okay," he accepted the advice and pushed himself slowly away from the sink.
"Dad," William called out as Oliver walked past him. "We're glad you're home."
Oliver stopped for a second to listen to the teen. Then he reached his hand out, requesting William's help. "Come with me, please. I think she needs both of us."
William nodded in agreement and followed his father to the locked bathroom door.
Oliver used one knuckle to tap on the door. He and William could still hear Felicity's muffled crying on the other side.
"Felicity, Honey, can I come in?" Oliver's voice was nearly childlike as he asked permission.
They waited for a minute and noticed the crying softened, but it didn't end.
"Sweetheart, can you unlock the door and let me in, please?" Oliver tried again.
"No," was the simple, soft answer he received.
"Felicity, Dad's not mad, you know that, right? He didn't mean to scare you. And he's fine," William tried to explain.
"I'm sorry, William, I know. But still, no. I- I need to be by myself right now, please," Felicity struggled to push the words out of her mouth.
Oliver looked at William with a bit of worry in his eyes. "Hey, go call Donna, okay?" He gently instructed his son. "Maybe your mom will talk to her."
William thought for a second and then nodded. He headed out of the bedroom to grab his phone and call his step-grandmother. She wasn't normally one of Felicity's confidantes, but maybe this time she could help.
"Felicity," Oliver bit on his bottom lip. He wanted more and more to just be in the same room with his wife so he could wrap her in his arms and hold her through this – whatever was going through her mind.
"It was my fault. I shouldn't have snuck up on you like that. I didn't think about it. I- I just saw you standing there and…" He took a deep breath, "It was the most beautiful sight I've seen… I mean, you're beautiful and I stood there watching you and I just wanted to put my arms around you. I… should've said something. I'm sorry."
"Oliver," Felicity's voice spoke of the tears she was crying. "Please, just leave me alone."
He pressed his lips together, leaned up against the door frame and slid his body to the floor. "Okay," he complied. "But I'm right here. I love you, and I'm not going anywhere."
Donna Smoak found her grandson pacing just inside the door of the apartment. She stepped just far enough in to put her coat and purse on the couch and then turned to look at William.
"What happened?" Her usual, cheery demeanor was more parental, more serious, which went along with her apropos wardrobe of a nice blouse and slacks.
She leaned against the back of the couch, and much like her daughter, she quickly discarded the four inch heels and sighed deeply as her bare feet grew accustomed to the cool hardwood.
William looked at his step-grandmother. He stood almost a head taller than her already, especially without her heels. But, as an anxious, Jewish grandmother is apt to do, she stepped toward him and gently took his chin in between her thumb and index finger. "Will, what happened?" she reiterated.
"Felicity stabbed Dad," he said the line that had been playing over and over in his head – although the physical situation wasn't nearly as serious as the mental one.
"What?!" Donna's eyes widened, her breaths became short and anxious and her mouth simply parted with a loss of words. "Dear God, is he ok? Is she?" Donna hurriedly asked as her hand began to shake against William's face. "Did you call an ambulance?" She jerked her hand away from him and reached for her purse to dig out her phone. "Where are they?"
William shook his head and weaved his fingers together. He realized the severity of his words and now needed to retract them.
"It's not… Dad's fine… it's just… Felicity freaked out and now she won't come out of the bathroom." William tried to find a counter effect to now calm Donna.
Just down the hall Oliver stepped outside the bedroom. "Donna," he stated calmly.
Donna looked at him. She gently patted William's cheek and then walked down the hall looking directly into Oliver's face. "What…happened?" she questioned him while trying to look for a fresh injury on Oliver's scarred body. "When I left here last night everything was fine."
Oliver nodded at her slowly and stopped her before she could go any farther into the bedroom. "It was fine. It was more than fine. I just – Felicity was making breakfast this morning. I snuck up behind her – which was a really bad move on my part, I know that now. She had a knife in her hand and I startled her and she came at me on the defensive." He shrugged his shoulders. "I understand. But she won't talk to me. She won't let me come in. I need to hold her and she won't even unlock the door."
"Is she hurt?" Donna asked.
Oliver shook his head. "Not physically. She nicked me with the knife but I don't think it touched her."
"Why don't you just unlock the door or take it off the hinges, Oliver?" Donna asked frankly.
Oliver looked at the floor. "Because that would just do more damage. She told me to leave her alone. I can't just go barging in." He looked back up at his mother-in-law. "It's left over from the attacks and the running while I was in prison, Donna. Felicity and William, they went through hell and those fears and anxiety aren't going to go away anytime soon. It's the same kind of thing that still haunts me from my years on the island. It's PTSD of sorts. And if I go barging in there it's just going to make things worse for her. I can't do that."
Donna listened and tried her best to understand. The man in front of her now was the same man who had made her angry when Felicity was shot and paralyzed and yet he had loved her with more care than Donna could imagine. He was the same man who proposed to her daughter in front of the entire city; the same man that Felicity loved with all of her heart and soul. And yet this was the man who had put himself in prison and left her daughter and grandson to fend for themselves for months.
She had put that last part behind her until this moment. Because she thought Felicity had put it behind her. Obviously, that wasn't the case completely.
Donna put a hand on Oliver's bicep and looked up into his face. She didn't say anything else but her smaller stature easily moved the man out of the way so she could get to her daughter.
She tried the doorknob first and found it locked still. She couldn't hear anything on the other side of the door but trusted Oliver that her daughter was ok on the other side.
Donna leaned her head against the door and spoke toward the latch. "Felicity, Sweetheart, it's mom. I'm here."
She heard a little bit of rustling so she continued gently. "Baby Doll? Can mom come in and talk to you? I just wanna make sure you're ok, my baby girl. Will you let me in, please?" She requested.
Oliver and William sat down on the bed watching Donna and hoping Felicity would respond.
All three were happy to hear a clicking sound when the lock unlatched. Donna looked at the men with serious eyes and pointed a finger at them. "Just me; you stay put."
The two boys nodded at her and sat still on the bed.
Donna opened the door just enough to go in and then closed it behind her. She looked at her daughter who sat practically crumpled in the floor.
Felicity looked like she had been nursing the commode after a night of drinking. Her face was drawn, her eyes practically blood shot and she appeared weak. She sat on the floor, leaning against the side of the bathtub with a bath towel as her blanket, holding her head up with one hand.
Donna gingerly sat down on the lidded toilet and took Felicity's other hand in hers.
At the slightest touch more tears formed in Felicity's eyes. She looked up at her mom and shook her head. "I could've killed him," her eyes glazed over as she whispered the words. "I thought he was Diaz. I was aiming to kill him."
Donna tugged on her daughter slightly and then instinctively moved herself to the floor beside Felicity. She wrapped her arms around her daughter and let Felicity's words sink in. Oliver was correct. The thoughts flooding Felicity's brain were afterthoughts from the previous months.
She was living in the present, but one ill-advised move sent the past half year coursing through her mind and heart. Donna, too, realized she was going to have to pull feelings from her past. She wasn't sure how her ex-husband's abandonment would tie into their daughter's current situation, but she knew that was the most maternal time of her life, single-parenting. And, if she had seen their daughter through that trauma, she felt sure she could help her through this one as well.
Felicity and Donna sat on the bathroom floor for another half hour before either said another word. Donna's emotions ranged from sadness for her daughter to anger at Oliver, bewilderment for William and then a strong feeling of love surrounding them all. She realized the Queen-family-of-3 needed to find the same page of the same book of their current life story and get on it together.
She squeezed Felicity's shoulder, pulling her closer to her so she could place a lingering kiss against her forehead.
"Sweetheart," Donna spoke softly against her daughter's hair. "You can't stay in here. You need to talk to me. You need to face Oliver."
Felicity shook her head. "I can't. I can't look at him. I just got him back and I nearly killed him. I can't face him."
"Honey," Donna nudged her daughter's cheek with the shoulder that had been Felicity's pillow and was a cushion of pins and needles after the past half hour. "Oliver doesn't see this situation that way. He's worried about you. He knows… Honey, he knows what happened. He's not angry. But you have to let him help you."
Again Felicity shook her head. "He just wanted to hold me and I stabbed him because I didn't recognize him. I overreacted. Something's wrong with me. I couldn't even recognize the man I love."
Donna nodded her understanding. "Because you have six months of fear and anxiety, resentment and anger running through you. That evil man may be in jail, Felicity, but he is far from gone in your mind. I know it's not the same, but when your father left us I spent years angry at him. You know that. I would see someone who didn't resemble him at all other than height, maybe, and it would make my blood boil because of how he treated you…me…us."
"I cannot imagine what you and William have been through, Baby," Donna continued. "Fear, worry, trying to protect both of you…no one deserves that. But you…YOU, Felicity Smoak-Queen, have survived the unthinkable. And the reason you did that was for the man who is sitting on the bed outside that door."
"He loves you. And I know you love him. And I know the two of you – the three of you can get through this together because you love each other. But you have to let them help you. Let me help you. You are stronger than you've ever been because of this situation, Felicity. But you've got to lean on them and help each other. I'll be here too, but you need Oliver and William. Especially Oliver. I missed that with your father. I'll be damned if I'm going to watch you go through this alone."
Felicity breathed slowly while still leaning on her mother. She slowly wrapped her arms around Donna's waist and nuzzled against the crook of her neck. "He doesn't hate me?" she whispered around sniffling in a coarse voice.
"No, Baby. No. He loves you. He's scared for you and worried about you. There's no way that man will ever hate you," Donna placed another kiss in her hair.
"He's going to think he married a woman who freaks out all the time," Felicity's voice sounded slightly stronger.
"He proposed to the woman who babbles all the time in geek-speak. Maybe he won't be able to tell when you're freaking out and when you're just lost in your computer world," Donna offered.
Felicity took a deep breath and pushed herself into a solitary sitting position. "Mom, what if I had really hurt him? What if that knife had come down on his neck or his chest… What if…"
Donna interrupted her with a finger against her lips. "You can't play the 'what-if' game. And, you can't play the 'if this happens again' card either. You have to talk to Oliver about this incident. He knows exactly what happened, Felicity. He understands why you reacted the way you did. But you can't just glaze over this and pretend it didn't happen. Talk to him. Keeping this from happening again could be as simple as him saying your name to get your attention next time. Work through this…together."
Felicity took in a deep breath and held it. She wiped her fingers under her eyes, ridding the excess wetness and hopefully pushing away some of the puffiness – which she knew was hopeless.
Donna moved around to regain some of the feeling in her arms and legs after sitting on the floor for nearly an hour. "Are you ready?" she looked at her daughter who still frowned and shook her head with more tears forming as she thought about even looking at her husband.
"Sweetheart…" Donna started to reach for her daughter once more but a tap at the door interrupted.
"Felicity, please, can I just come in?" Oliver's voice sounded as though he, too, had been crying.
Felicity knew that tone of voice. It was one that didn't just tug at her heartstrings. It played them like a masterful classic guitar.
Donna looked into her daughter's face. "Oliver, just another minute, ok?" Donna instructed as more tears dripped from Felicity's eyes.
Felicity's mom placed her palms on her daughter's cheeks and used her thumbs to wipe away the new wet streaks. "I'm going to go and let Oliver come in, okay?"
"Mom, no…" Felicity tried.
"I'm going to take William to the kitchen and the two of us are going to fix some brunch. Then maybe I'll take him back to the hotel with me to go swimming – once he's had a chance to see that you're ok. Take your time in here…with your husband…and I'm not making any kind of sexual reference there. I'm just saying you two take your time. William and I will be fine and we won't be far away until you tell us we can go. Ok?"
Felicity knew Donna was right. She knew – since Oliver didn't leave her the moment she spun around with the knife in her hand – he was being patient and waiting on her. And she knew, in her heart that she needed to face him and work this out with him.
So when Donna stood up, Felicity followed suit. She also stood and actually stepped ahead of her mother to the door. She let Donna turn the knob but as soon as the door was ajar she could see her husband waiting on the other side. And when the opening was barely wide enough to reach her Oliver stepped even closer and reached a hand out to her.
"I'm so sorry," he whispered.
Felicity reached up with one hand and then the other to wrap around his neck. She buried her face against his collarbone and let him wrap his arms around her small frame.
William watched from the spot on the bed where he hadn't left his father's side since Donna had joined Felicity.
Donna squeezed her way past Felicity and Oliver to put an arm around William's shoulders. "I like it better when you're sitting down, you know?" She smiled at her grandson who leaned his head against Donna's shoulder.
"Is she ok?" he asked with heartfelt concern.
"She will be," Donna hugged him a little tighter and took the opportunity to kiss the top of his head.
Oliver looked toward the other two members of their family without a smile. They had a long way to go, he knew, but he appreciated Donna's words of encouragement.
"Hey, Will," Donna ran her fingers through his short haircut and then let her hand rest on his cheek. "Let's go find something to fix for brunch and let your dad and mom have a little time here, okay?"
William looked at Oliver who gave him a simple blink of the eyes in approval. He wasn't about to relinquish his hold on Felicity or press her to move in any direction until she was ready.
When they were alone Oliver took in a deep breath and restated his apology. "I'm so sorry," his lips moved against her scalp.
Her fingers moved against his neck, playing with the hair that had just recently been trimmed. She still couldn't bring herself to say anything so she simply placed a kiss against his neck.
"Can I tell you why I did what I did?" Oliver stumbled over his words slightly. The previous time he attempted to explain she had told him to leave her alone.
This time she nodded her cheek against his pectoral.
"I was too far away from you. You got out of bed and left the bedroom and it was just too far away. My first few nights at Slabside… Felicity… I cried myself to sleep. I felt like a baby. But I cried because you were too far away from me. And after last night, finally feeling as close to you again as I possibly could, that little bit of distance this morning brought those feelings back."
Felicity pressed her forehead against Oliver's collarbone and he could feel the tears welling out of her eyes. He rubbed his hands up and down her back and took another breath.
"When I saw you in the kitchen I realized yet again that I'm living a miracle. I don't understand why you've put up with me, why you married me, why you love me. But I believe you do. And seeing you standing at that counter in our home…just being in our home, together…it was the most beautiful thing I could imagine right now. I just wanted to put my arms around you and kiss you and hold you."
Felicity pulled her face away from his chest and looked up into his eyes. Oliver tentatively bent his head and placed a gentle kiss against her lips.
"I-" Felicity started hesitantly, "I wanted to fix breakfast for you. Will says my omelets are pretty good now. I just wanted to make breakfast for you. It seemed like the simplest thing in the world…"
"And it will be. We will get there, okay? I promise you we will get there together," Oliver took her face between his hands and studied the beautiful sadness. He took a moment to kiss her eyelids, her cheeks and then placed another soft kiss on her lips.
"Are you okay, really?" Felicity pulled herself away from him and looked at his shoulder, trying to inspect it closely.
"I am fine," Oliver declared. "You barely got me. I'm more worried about you."
"Maybe that counseling that Lyla suggested isn't a bad idea after all," Felicity recalled part of the conversation they had had the night before.
Oliver nodded. "We can talk to them about it. All 3 of us could probably benefit from getting some of this stuff out in the open."
"Oliver Queen," Felicity's hands moved around to the short beard on his face. Her fingernails ran through the stubble gently and she blinked to focus on his eyes. "You would be willing to open up to a counselor?" She truly was slightly surprised.
Oliver blinked and looked away from her for a moment before setting his gaze on her blue eyes again. "If it means helping our family move forward, then yes, I'm willing to try."
Felicity put her arms around his neck again and pulled herself closer to him, happily accepting his tight hug around her waist.
"I'm sorry," she spoke softly once more, again remembering the past couple of hours.
"You don't have to be," Oliver knew she would try to protest. "But I accept your apology and I hope you'll accept mine. I won't sneak up on you again. Although, if I see you dancing in the kitchen again I can't say that I won't stop and watch you." He smiled against the top of her head. "That was almost as adorable as your geek-speak babbling."
Felicity pulled away from him with a furrowed brow. "What did you just say?"
"Your dancing was adorable?" Oliver attempted to answer.
"I wasn't dancing, but no, what did you call my babbling?"
"Geek-speak?" Oliver looked at her with a matching crease above his eyebrows.
"Were you listening to my conversation with Mom before we came out of the bathroom?" She wondered.
Oliver shook his head honestly. "No, Will and I were plastered right there on the bed until Donna opened the door. Why?"
Felicity breathed in and out a couple of times, focused now on the peculiar phrase that both her mother and husband had used to describe her normal talkative nature.
"Which one of you came up with that term?" she truly wanted to know.
Oliver thought for a moment, trying to pinpoint a conversation or message when it was first used.
"Actually?" he pressed his lips together in thought and took her hands, linking their fingers together. "I believe your son coined that phrase a couple of nights ago when Donna got to town. William was trying to explain something computer related to Donna about her phone. After a couple of attempts and when he realized I wasn't getting it either, he said 'Oh, forget it, the only one who understands is Mom in her geek-speak babbling.'"
In a split second Felicity sat down on the bed, keeping both hands linked with Oliver's. The phrase in question had completely left her mind and been replaced with another word that Oliver just shared.
Her face softened and she looked at Oliver with a smile beginning to form beyond her worry and anxiety. She bit her lip almost shyly as she asked, "William called me 'mom'?"
Aftershock - Chapter 1 - Flashback