A/N: Firstly, a great big BIG thank you to those who reviewed, faved, & followed this story. I greatly appreciate it. Secondly, this chapter totally got away from me, and I'm sure those who read it will understand.

This is my first time writing for Arrow but not my first time writing fan fiction. I have no beta so all mistakes are mine and mine alone but please be gentle. This is my first time writing in almost ten years and I work with numbers all day, every day so please be gentle.

All characters are not my own. They are the property of DC Comics and CW.

Takes place after 3x12…My version of the future.

Tell Him

Tell him that you're never gonna leave him

Tell him that you're always gonna love him

Tell him, tell him, tell him, tell him right now

- Tell Him by the Exciters

Five pregnancy test kits and a pint of mint chip ice cream later, Felicity was beginning to accept her fate.

A baby. A little human that would depend on her for everything, growing inside her right now. She sighed. "Sorry about this," she whispered to her flat tummy.

Her eyes swept around her apartment noticing everything and nothing at the same time. Where was she going to put a baby? Her apartment was barely big enough for her, the closets were bursting with clothes, half of which she never wore, and computer parts that she tinkered with when the stress became overwhelming.

In the last year alone she had built herself a customized laptop with the mountain of stress she'd endured. Her fingers were itching to bring out her soldering gun after this latest life development.

How did she get herself into these situations? Only three years ago she was a boring IT girl with a good job and a blood stain free car. Now she was a VP of a major corporation and the head of an applied science division with a night job that could send her directly to jail. Do not pass GO. Do not collect two hundred dollars.

If that wasn't challenging enough now there was baby in the mix. Gosh, she really needed to stop being such an overachiever.

She moaned, stretching out on the couch that she had never realized until now was entirely uncomfortable. How did Oliver sleep on this thing, she thought to herself? During her recuperation there had been several nights where he fallen asleep out of exhaustion after a particularly difficult Arrow night.

If she was going to have a kid, she was definitely going to need a more comfortable sofa.

And a crib. And baby clothes. And one of those electronic things that watches over the kid. And an extra bedroom.

And a father for her kid.

Grabbing a pillow from the floor, she groaned again and buried her face under it in frustration. The temptation to silently scream was strong.

She was going to have to tell him. There was no doubt about that. Because really she wasn't going to be able to hide this for very long.

She would get fat and this time she wouldn't be able to blame it all on Big Belly Burger.

How was she going to tell him?

"I'm pregnant," she spoke out loud to the empty room, the words rolling off her tongue leaving a dryness behind. "Ugh!" And with that the head went back under the pillow.

A long list of to-do's was percolating in her brain. Like a hamster on a wheel, it never seemed to stop. Glancing at the clock on the wall she saw it was four in the morning. The alarm clock would be going off soon. She sighed.

Maybe she should practice what to say.

She began pacing around her apartment, wondering what the best way to tell someone something like this was. Just come out with it? "Okay, on three…."

"One….two…." She held her breath, "Three…."

Kind of like ripping a Band-Aid, just do it quick and clean. She let out the breath. "Okay, so here's the thing….I'm pregnant."

Straight forward, direct and to the point. That was the way to go right?

"Try that again, Felicity," she berated herself. "This time with feeling."

"Have you ever thought about having kids, because now would be a good time."

The lameness of that statement had her shaking her own head.

"So a funny thing happened on the way home from work….."

There was nothing funny about this. And that sounded worse than the last one. What did work have to do with it anyways? Well….

"Congratulations! It's a baby!"

"Every heard of the expression, bun in the oven? Well that's me."

"You knocked me up, jackass. Now what are you going to do about it?"

Okay, so the last one was a bit extreme. Unconsciously her eyes strayed to a spot on the wall above her TV, and she shuddered. A bad feeling was forming in the pit of her stomach. How was he really going to handle the news when she shared it with him? Would he threaten her with an arrow? She closed her eyes and attempted to force the thoughts away just as a telltale beeping from her room signaled it was time to start the day.

A long night of thinking and little to no sleep wasn't going to help her situation any. The day awaited and there was no turning back.

She padded down the hall to her closet, opening the bi-fold doors with a flourish, her eyes skimming the various outfits and colours she had to choose from. Something…special was going to be needed for today. Fingering the textiles, she stopped on her favourite purple dress. Yes, this would definitely do, she smiled to herself.

Felicity showered, dressed and applied her make-up with a bit more care than usual. Leaning over the sink her face was mere inches from the bathroom mirror as she swept the mascara brush over eyes. Wearing glasses sucked and this was definitely a situation that had her brain screaming, "Laser eye surgery!"

With one last swipe of her flashes, she tossed the mascara back in the make-up bag, turned to go back to her bedroom for her earrings when she was suddenly struck with a wave of nausea. Her dash to the toilet wasn't quick enough and in an instant the front of her favourite purple dress was ruined.

"No," she cried out trying to wipe the mess up with wads of toilet paper.

And so started an hour of running back and forth to the toilet that ended with her frantically texting her EA that she was running late and would be there as soon as humanly possible. But before she could hit send she was overcome again. Only this time her phone slipped and before she could grab it, fell into the abyss of her toilet bowl.

Great.

"Where have you been?" her EA Jerry hissed as she hurried past him three hours later. "I've been calling and texting for the past hour and a half."

"I am so so late. Oh my god,….." She flew into her office dropping her purse on a chair before going straight to her desk searching for the report she was to present at this morning's meeting.

"The department people have been waiting in the conference room for almost a half hour." She groaned at Jerry's statement, his face showing the disapproval the department would be showering her with once she finally put in an appearance. Felicity didn't tolerate tardiness to meetings. "And before you ask, no, they are not eating the bagels. I checked."

"Seriously? What do people have against bagels for breakfast?" Her stomach rumbled at the mention of food and she swallowed fighting like hell to keep the nausea at bay.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but you look like you've been ridden hard and put away wet." His hands went up in surrender at her glare. "I'm just saying. And ahh…you don't look so good. Did you put any make-up on this morning or were you planning on dazzling everyone with that green tinge to your face?"

"Don't start, Jerry," she warned. "I'm having the morning from hell today."

"Well excuse me, little miss VP. But did you have to make up some lame excuse this morning to the Big Boss as to why you suddenly weren't available for the conference call you specifically asked me to schedule yesterday." She winced. Damn she forgot about the call with Ray. "And then have to spend ten minutes listening to Shirley whine about how Mr. Palmer is a very busy man and she's just his EA, not a magician? I think not."

"You know, most assistants would be fired for speaking to their boss like that."

"Ha! If have the stories I've heard around here are true, you said that and worse to Oliver Queen when you were his EA."

She scoffed. "Don't believe everything you hear, Jerry."

He smiled. "Oh you'd be surprised at what tidbits you can pick up in the lunch room. Especially above the twentieth floor. The higher the position the more they gossip. And that's just the women. Don't get me started on the men around here."

Felicity rolled her eyes. "And on that note….I really need to run to this meeting."

After five hours of continuous meetings, Felicity finally got back to her office, back to her comfortable desk chair. She really should mention to Ray that replacing the boardroom and meeting room chairs would be a good investment. A fine sheen of perspiration formed on her forehead at the thought of her boss.

Reaching for the phone, she hesitated before dialing Ray's Coast City number.

"Get yourself together, Felicity," she whispered to herself. "You can do this. You can this. You can do this…." She stopped the mantra when she heard Ray's voice come over the line.

"Ray….We need to talk…."

What remained of the afternoon went much more smoothly than the morning. She plowed through several proposals for new Applied Science division projects, caught up with her email and even managed a quick note to her Mother. Before long it was five o'clock and Jerry was poking his head in her office asking if she needed anything else before heading out.

"I'm good Jerry, thanks." She smiled at him, feeling better and more relaxed than she had all day.

He looked at her skeptically. "Are you sure you don't want me to grab you a sandwich from the machine downstairs? You haven't eaten at all." She grimaced at the suggestion. "Okay, maybe not a good idea. Why don't I order in something from that Greek place you love down the street? A little rice and souvlaki, maybe a salad…." His voice trailed off then stopped as she grabbed the trash can just in time to throw up.

"Are you okay? You know, I was joking early about that green tinge but now that I see you like this…." He wrinkled his nose at the smell wafting from the can she was holding in front of her. "You're like…. never sick."

"Yeah, well….things change, Jerry," she muttered.

He continued talking as if she hadn't spoken. "In fact… I haven't seen you this sick since the day after that Russian Vodka incident you told me about six weeks ago..." Jerry's expressive face changed, realization dawned and she didn't like the look of horror that quickly came over his face.

He gasped. "Are you preggers?"

"Jerry!" She hissed. "Keep your voice down."

"Why you – "

"Don't even think about saying - "

"...dirty little stop out!" The grin that spread across his face lit up the room. "It was the Vodka, wasn't it?"

"Jerry!"

He snorted. "Repeating my name won't change anything and it certainly won't alter the fact that you," he said poking his finger at her, "Miss MIT graduate genius, are knocked up."

"Jerry, please…." She was interrupted by a sharp knock on the glass wall separating her office from that of her EA's.

Roy stood tentatively in the doorway and she hoped on all that was holy that he hadn't heard a word of their conversation. "Sorry if I'm interrupting something, Dig mentioned you might need a ride to your ahh….night appointment." His inquisitive eyes moved back and forth between her and Jerry.

Her EA swiftly shifted gears and from the smile plastered on his face and the tone of his voice her situation had been quickly forgotten at the site of Roy's chiselled jaw. "Well hello gorgeous," Jerry gushed at the newcomer. "What cloud did you fall from?"

Felicity laughed despite herself…well that and the face that she was holding a trash can she had just hacked into not minutes earlier. She rose from her chair to make the introductions. "Roy, this is Jerry my EA. Jerry this is my ahhh…friend, Roy. Roy Harper."

Jerry's eyebrows shot straight up and she couldn't help but notice his questioning look. "Yes, he's a friend, Jerry. Just a friend."

"Really?… Is that what they call it these days?"

"Am I missing something here?"

"Ignore him, Roy." She swatted Jerry on the arm and told him to behave himself.

He pouted, "Where's the fun it that."

Jerry was a lot of things – gregarious, flirtatious, and too direct for his own good. But he was nothing if not good at his job and he had a knack for making her smile even on the toughest of days. Like now for example.

"Well, it was nice to meet you, Jerry, but I just came to get Felicity for her appointment." He looked directly at her before continuing. "Mr. Diggle got your email earlier, said you had car trouble this morning and would need a ride."

Jerry turned on her, his face showing disappointment. "You never said anything to me about car trouble."

She waved him off. "Flat tire," she explained. "One of the reasons I was so late this morning."

"Oh…"

Grabbing her coat and purse, she pushed past Jerry into the hallway outside her office. "Goodnight, Jerry. I promise to try and not be too late tomorrow."

"Good to hear especially since tomorrow is Saturday," he called out from behind her.

She walked to the banks of elevators, pushing the down button, Roy beside her, his usual quiet brooding self.

"So, ahh, that's Jerry. He's…" he hesitated unsure of what to say. "Nice?"

She chuckled. "Yup. And totally gay."

"Yeah, I kinda got that part." The elevator dinged and they got on, Roy pressing the button for the lobby.

"Actually Roy, I'm kind of glad you came to get me – which by the way I really appreciate – because there was something I wanted to talk to you about…."

The doors slid shut, cutting off her words.

Fortunately it was a quiet Arrow night. Two hours of patrols saw the team bring in two low level drug dealers and stop a robbery in progress at a liquor store only a couple of blocks from the foundry.

For her part, Felicity was grateful. After a long – and let's face it – sickening day she was glad to have it almost over with.

Almost.

There was still one person she needed to talk to and it was going to be the hardest discussion of all.

"Are you sure you don't want a ride?" Dig asked again.

She smiled up at him from her computer chair. "For the tenth time, thank you but no."

"Goodnight, then."

"Night, Dig."

The team had left for the night, each of them scattering to their own homes, their other lives. Only she and Oliver remained. Felicity returned to the program she was writing, another thing she had a habit of doing when she was stressed. She was so involved and focused on it though that she didn't hear the shower turn off, or Oliver emerge green leather-free and it wasn't until a strong hand rested on her shoulder that she jumped slightly.

"Hey, are you okay? The concern and tenderness in his voice never failed to melt her heart just the teeny tiniest amount. "Roy mentioned earlier that you weren't yourself and he's right. You've been jumpy all night and, if I can be honest, looking a bit…sick."

She swivelled the chair to the left, effectively forcing his hand from her shoulder leaving a coolness behind where his warmth had been. Rising from the chair, she stood and faced him meeting the concern in his eyes with what she was sure was a touch of panic in hers.

"Oliver, we need to talk."

Not a word was spoken, only the lift of his eyebrows showed her he was listening.

She took a deep breath. "Remember the Band-Aid," she whispered to herself.

Clearing her throat – why was it suddenly so dry in here? – She began. "We're friends, right? And I mean friends do things together and friends share things and friends are there for each other, right?" He nodded his head. "Right, well….So we're friends and well….friends they bring each other coffee, and bagels, of course a true friend would only get bagels from The Great Starling City Bagel Company, because," she snorted, "they are the best and a friend would only buy a friend the best, right? And well.."

"Felicity…"

"…Friendships are important and well…Because they are important only a friend would get a friend pregnant, right?" The last words rushed out of her mouth with such speed she wasn't even sure she had actually said them until her eyes came up and met his face, a face that had gone from shower fresh to colourless in zero point three seconds.

Silence filled the Arrow cave – deafening and deadly at the same time. She squeezed her eyes shut willing the last six weeks away, wishing like hell that she wasn't there in that moment, wondering and waiting to see what he would do and say.

"Are you sure?" he asked, his voice hoarse and tension filled.

Her response was to grab her purse and place a positive pregnancy test on the computer table.

The white stick practically glowed against the metal table. His hand reached out and picked it up, tentatively like it was a bomb about to explode.

"Positive," he whispered. "But I mean these things aren't always right, right?" The hopefulness in his words broke her heart just a little. "I mean, they ahh…can be wrong?"

She reached into her purse again, only this time she took out and placed four more additional pregnancy tests, all different makes and manufacturers. All positive.

"I'm nothing if not thorough."

The silence stretched on and on until even the thump thump of the music from the club upstairs could be heard.

"Oliver…" His name came out strangled around the frustration she was beginning to feel from his lack of response.

Instead of words, he closed the distance between them and folded her into his arms, one hand gently stroking her back, while the other cradled the back of her head. Her nose pressed against his clean shirt beneath which she could feel the dampness of his skin from the shower.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered into her hair. "So sorry, Felicity."

A/N: Thank you in advance to any and all who read this chapter. My apologies for not getting it done sooner but darn it all those scene transitions were killing me.