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Disclaimer: I own nothing except for the plot and any original characters that may be added in later. All rights over characters of the TV show Arrow belong to CW Television and DC Comics.


January 2023

Felicity stands up from the couch, one hand rubbing at her lower back while the other carries her plate from dinner. She leaves Robbie playing on the floor as she heads towards the kitchen, hand sliding around to her front. All day she's been having sporadic episodes of pain, the irregularity causing her to attribute it to braxton hicks, which she had a month earlier around Christmas. Oliver is out of town in Gotham for two more days, meeting with Bruce Wayne in person to discuss another new project their teams will be collaborating on. Her fingers dig into her stomach, trying to ease the pain as she places her dirty plate in the sink. All of a sudden, she feels a warm gush of fluid run down her legs and pool around her feet. Felicity gasps and glances down, "Oh my god."

Grabbing some towels, she cleans herself up before laying them across the floor and moving into the living room to grab her phone. Robbie is oblivious to her, focusing on his toy trucks, as she grabs her cell and dials Tommy's number. He answers after a few rings,"Hello?"

She exhales a sigh of relief, "It's me, I need you to come pick me up. And bring Laurel and Savannah."

"Okay," he says, the simple word almost sounding like a question from the confusion in his tone. "Why? Everything okay?"

"Nope," she bends over slightly as a wave of unbelievable pain washes over her, and she can't suppress her yell. Taking a few deep breaths, she tries to talk through the pain, "Because my water just broke and Oliver is out of town, so you need to drive me to the hospital while Laurel watches Robbie."

"Holy shit," he mutters to himself before she can hear him frantically moving, possibly getting dressed. "Just hang in there, okay? Breathe through the pain, we'll be there in five minutes."

Felicity nods her head before remembering he can't see her, mumbling a 'hurry' before hanging up. Her yell of pain brought Robbie from his toys and he stands up, running towards her and tugging on her dress. "Mama! Are you okay?"

Taking a deep breath, she forces a smile, running her fingers through his hair, "Yeah, buddy." The pain finally subsides, and she takes the opportunity to lift him up and stand him on the couch so she's somewhat level with him. "But guess what! Auntie Laurel and Savannah are gonna come over and play with you while I go to the hospital with Uncle Tommy. And then when I get home, I'll have your baby sister."

His eyes widen and he smiles at her, "I wanna go, I wanna go!" Ever since they had told him that he is going to be a big brother, he has been so excited, wanting to be just like his dad and Auntie Thea.

"I'm sorry baby, but you need to stay with Auntie Laurel for a little bit, okay? Just until Daddy gets back, I promise." She brings a hand to his cheek when he lowers his head in disappointment. "Maybe if you're extra good, Auntie Laurel will let you and Savannah have ice cream," she sing-sings the end, knowing it will perk him up. She was right, Robbie's smile returning to his face.

"Really, Mama?"

Felicity nods and lifts him again, placing his feet on the floor. "Now, you wanna come help Mommy get ready before Uncle Tommy gets here?" Robbie nods his head and takes off towards the stairs, running on all fours as to not fall. She huffs a laugh and follows, breathing through the pain so she can get her to-go bag. Robbie helps her pack a few last-minute things, like a toothbrush and her tablet, all too happy to be helping his mom. It's only a few minutes later that Tommy lets himself in with the key he has, Laurel and Savannah following close behind.

"Lis, are you okay?" he asks, face contorting in worry as she sits on the couch, leaning back into the cushions with a hand on her stomach.

Breathing through her nose, she grits out through clenched teeth, "Yeah, just peachy."

Laurel extends a hand, helping her to stand before giving her a quick but loving hug. "Don't worry about anything, I'll take care of Robbie. Just go and give birth to my perfect little niece, okay?" She grins as Felicity nods, "Good luck."

"Thanks," Felicity smiles, tears in her eyes. Turning, she pulls Robbie towards her and he attaches himself, wrapping his tiny arms around her legs. She places a kiss to the top of his head, "I have to go now. Be good for Auntie Laurel, okay baby?"

He nods his head from where it's settled between her knees before kissing one and backing away to stand by Savannah. He lifts a hand and waves to her, "Bye Mama!"

Tommy picks up Felicity's bag and puts a hand to her back, leading her out of the house. Looking back over her shoulder, she blows her son a kiss, "Love you." All three of them yell variations of "I love you too" before the door closes and they head towards Tommy's car. Once she's settled in the passenger seat, she pulls out her phone, clicking Oliver's contact name as another contraction washes over her.

After several rings, Oliver finally picks up, "Hey, I was just about to call you."

"Oliver," she starts before being cut off, screwing her eyes shut as Tommy tries to weave around other cars.

"Felicity, is everything okay?" he asks, confusion and worry in his voice.

"Yeah, I'm just," she pauses, breathing in deeply through her nose and releasing it slowly through her mouth. "I'm just in labor."

The phone goes silent for a few seconds before he speaks, "What? Are you serious?"

"Mmhmm," she hums, unable to get words out as she keeps trying to breath like she learned in class and from every book she's ever read about babies.

Ruffling sounds across the line as her husband is clearly freaking out like Tommy had when she called him. "I'm gonna get a private jet. I'll be there in no time, okay? Everything is going to be fine."

She fights back tears, eyes still closed tightly, "Please hurry. I can't do this without you, Oliver."

"Felicity, I love you and I'll be with you soon, okay?"

"I love you, too," she smiles softly to herself before hanging up and realizing that they are finally at the hospital.

Nearly four hours later, Felicity is still in labor, the pain getting worse and worse. The door to her hospital room opens and the doctor steps in just as she has another contraction, yelling out in pain. "It's okay, Lis, just breathe," Tommy tries to soothe her, hand in hers as she squeezes it with incredible strength.

"I'm trying. Where's Oliver? He should be here by now!"

Tommy pulls out his phone, "Just hold on for one second, okay? I'll call him." He waits until she gives him a quick nod before pulling his hand away and moving towards the windows. He calls his best friend's cell phone and it goes straight to voicemail, meaning that it's off. Which means he might still be flying. He hangs up and runs a hand over his face when he hears Felicity scream again, turning around and running to her side.

Dr. Davis rolls backwards from where she is examining Felicity with a slight smile on her face, "Well, it looks like you're about 10 centimeters dilated."

Tommy gulps, already knowing what it means but asking anyway, "So what does that mean?"

"It's time to start pushing," Dr. Davis stands up, moving to the back of the room where the nurses are readying for the arrival of the baby.

Felicity shakes her head, "No, Oliver isn't here yet. We need to wait. Just go," she stutters, trying to think of something they can do, "Just go down there and push her back in!"

The nurses exchange a look with each other, thinking she's crazy. Squeezing her hand, Tommy grabs her attention, "Lis, they can't. Oliver will be here soon, but you need to do what the doctors say. He would want you to." She nods weakly as the doctor sits in front of her again.

Dr. Davis instructs her to push and she does, multiple times, as hard as she can. But nothing happens. Felicity falls back into her pillows, trying to catch her breath and fight through the pain. Dr. Davis seems to be focused on something and doesn't ask her to push again. Felicity opens her eyes and looks between Tommy and the doctor, "What's going on? Why isn't anything happening?"

"Alright, Felicity. It looks like the baby is breech."

"What?" she cries, unknowingly squeezing Tommy's hand harder, "Is she okay?"

"She is going to be fine, this just means that you're going to have to push even harder now."

"No, no, no," she shakes her head, tears leaking from her tightly closed eyes. "I can't, I can't."

"Yes, you can," the older woman encourages.

She shakes her head more vigorously, face scrunching in pain. "No! Oliver's not here, I need him here. I can't - I can't do this without him, I can't!"

Dr. Davis sends Tommy a helpless look, needing Felicity to push now before the baby is in distress. Pushing some of her sweaty hair out of her face, he wipes away some of her tears and she opens her eyes to look at him. He squeezes her hand, "Lis, I know that this is hard and that you wish Oliver was here. But you can do this. I've said it before and I'll say it again: you are one of the strongest people I have ever known. And you're an amazing mother. So I need you to fight, okay? Fight for your baby girl; for my beautiful niece. I'll be here the whole time. I'm not going anywhere."

Eyes filled with even more tears, Felicity nods her head and tries to take a deep breath, "Okay."

"Okay?" he double checks and she nods at him before he signals to the doctor.

Dr. Davis tells Felicity to push harder and harder, the baby almost halfway out, when the door opens. Relaxing again, she looks to the door and smiles weakly, exhaustion rolling over her that is outshone by the pure happiness in her eyes at the sight of her husband. "Oliver," she breathes out.

Oliver makes his way towards her, Tommy having moved out of his way and towards the windows. He gives her a hard kiss before pulling away, cupping both of her cheeks in his hands and rubbing his thumbs over the tears on her cheekbones. "I'm sorry. There was a problem with the jet, I lost my phone. I'm sorry."

"Don't be; you're here," she smiles up at him before her face contorts in pain.

"Felicity, I need you to push harder," Dr. Davis demands.

He furrows his brows at her, hand clasped in Felicity's, "Why? Is something wrong?"

"The baby is breech, which essentially means she's coming out backwards," the doctor explains.

Oliver's face hardens at the thought of something being wrong with his daughter, "Is she going to be okay?"

"Only if she is fully delivered right now," she answers before turning to address Felicity, nodding her head, "Okay, Felicity. On the count of three, I'm gonna need you to push as hard as you can, okay?"

Felicity sniffles but dips her chin in acknowledgement, squeezing Oliver's hands as hard as she can and releasing a pained yell. One more push and she's out, a wailing sound filling the room causing Felicity to relax and release a teary laugh. A nurse hands him a pair of scissors to cut the umbilical cord, and Oliver's eyes water at the brief glimpse of his daughter before the cord is cut and a nurse takes her to the other side of the room to be cleaned off. A few seconds later, the nurse walks towards them with a tiny pink bundle in her arms, handing her over to Felicity. Taking her in her arms and gazing down, she smiles through her tears and places a kiss to the top of head. "Hi pretty girl," she whispers.

Oliver's eyes land on his baby girl and his heart stops, eyes immediately clouding with tears at what he is sure is the most perfect little girl he has ever seen. When Felicity turns her head to him and raises a brow in question, he nods and accepts the baby as she hands her off. He bounces a little, smiling when her little mouth opens in a yawn. A few seconds later, she opens her bright blue eyes up at him, taking his breath away. "Daddy loves you so much," Oliver whispers, lips against her forehead. She shifts a little and he decides to hand her back to her mother, Felicity happy to have her back in her arms.

Remembering that Tommy is still in the room, Felicity peers around Oliver to the windows. "Tommy," she grabs his attention away from his phone.

He presses something and then pockets his phone, stepping closer to his best friends with a smile, "I was just texting Laurel. She said she's gonna swing by with Robbie and Savannah."

Oliver claps a hand on his shoulder, "Thank you for being here for Felicity."

Shrugging, Tommy looks between them, "You guys both know I'd do anything for you and your family."

"We know," Felicity confirms, shifting her position, "Which is why you're going to be the first person outside of us to hold her." His smile grows and he takes a step closer to the bed, watching as Felicity shifts and maneuvers her arms to slip the baby into his, "Tommy, meet Kennedy Rose Queen."

Lifting a hand, he traces it over Kennedy's rosy, plump cheek, "Hey there, cutie. You are so lucky to have these two idiots as parents. And not just because it gives you me as an uncle," he jokes, making his friends laugh. Tommy lifts his head and looks between them, "She's beautiful, guys. Congratulations."

"Thank you. I couldn't have gotten as far as I did without you," Felicity smiles, lifting a hand to his forearm and squeezing gently.

"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."