A chill settled over the car causing Felicity to shiver as her eyes fluttered open. "Sara?" Sitting up slowly, she realized that she was alone in the car. Also, it was pitch dark outside. The lights of the city twinkled on the horizon, miles and miles from where she was currently sitting, dazed and confused. Throwing open the car door, she slipped out. "Sara?" She called again, heading closer to a dark building looming ahead of her. The only sign of life was a light up on the top of the building emitting an eerie glow around the overgrown weeds around the foundation. Blinking rapidly to try and force herself to adjust to the darkness, she vigorously rubbed the gooseflesh on her arms.

It occurred to her that she had been here before…or at least driven past it. The river ran parallel through the fenced in fields that had once housed thousands upon thousands of cows, chickens, and other livestock. What was she doing at the old slaughterhouse?

As she sidled closer, she had to stop and think. She and Sara had made it to the pharmacy in Gotham, grabbed a couple pregnancy tests and had headed to Big Belly Burger. After drinking her weight in iced tea, she had taken all the tests…which quickly confirmed what she'd known all along, she was definitely pregnant. Afterwards they were slated to head back to Starling City but somewhere on the trip, she'd fallen asleep again thanks in part to Slade Wilson's baby sapping her energy dry. Maybe, just maybe, she was still dreaming?

Pinching her arm, Felicity winced. "Nope, not a horror movie dream…" Which meant that this was real. In the spirit of horror movie traditions, she inched closer to the creepy abandoned building. Her spine tingled as she heard footsteps behind her. Felicity lashed out, swinging blindly, "AH!"

"What the hell, Felicity!" Sara grabbed her arm, tugging it to hold her still so she wouldn't take an eye out. Most likely her own eye the way she was clawing at her.

"You scared the crap out of me!" Felicity let out a shaky breath, "What are we doing all the way out here?" She scoffed, "I'm in a delicate condition, thank you very much. Don't tell me this has all been a plot to bring me out here and crazy murder me…"

Sara rolled her eyes, laughing. "Alright Cinderella, trust me, I have no intention of killing you." Taking her hand, she led Felicity around the side of the building. "Although I suppose I'm giving you all the rope you need to hang yourself with."

"That isn't comforting, Sara. What are you—"Stopping short, she felt her stomach drop to the floor when she saw him sitting there behind a shattered, splintered desk. "Slade…" Dizziness slammed into her and she felt off kilter, almost like she'd just stepped onto a boat.

Closing the distance between them, Slade grasped Felicity's shoulders to steady her. "Sara, what the hell are you doing?" He growled. The storehouse space was mostly packed up and ready to move at any moment. Now that his position had been breached by his enemies, he needed to find a new one. The places that he could reasonably set up in were rapidly dwindling so it took a bit more time than he anticipated. All that died away the moment that he saw her. "Felicity…"

It took her half a minute to get her bearings but once she did, her mind was moving faster than the speed of light. "I've been looking everywhere for you. I went back to Merlyn Manor, I've been searching high and low through every channel—legal and illegal—just to find one clue as to where you were!" She smacked him knowing full well that even if she had walloped him as hard as she could, he would be unharmed. It was the sentiment of anger and betrayal she wanted to convey…the last thing she wanted to do was hurt him. "What was that!? We were having a nice dinner and the next thing I know, I'm standing in a pile of ashes and you ran off on me!"

"Felicity!" Slade bellowed, "I did it for your own good!" He snapped, "You deserve the chance to be with someone who can give you what you need!"

"Oh, so you took it upon yourself to decide what's best for me without even letting me have a say? You decided t ride off into the sunset on your dark horse because you thought you were doing me a favor?" She put her hands on her hips. "Well that's crap, Slade. I think you were scared of getting hurt."

He gritted his teeth. When she said it like that, he sounded like a coldhearted bastard instead of the martyr he'd built himself up to be. "I am not scared of anything." He replied hotly, "Especially not you, Felicity." That wasn't exactly true, the feelings that he had for her shook him to his core.

Shaking her head, she folded her arms in anger, "Maybe scared isn't the right word but it doesn't change the fact you walked away from what we were building." She sighed. "Ran away is more like it. I thought I meant something to you…"

Steeling himself against the onslaught of guilt, he took several steps back, "You do mean something to me, Felicity. But that doesn't make what we're doing right." He caught sight of Sara who had perched in the corner, rolling her eyes skyward. The bitch had betrayed him and brought Felicity here…so why didn't he have the urge to crush her? Maybe it was the fact that Felicity didn't let him move away, he took two steps back and she made two forward. They kept doing this dance until he realized that he wanted to stop dodging her and wrap her up in his arms. He had missed her terribly. "You've been working yourself half to death…"

"That's what you do when you care about someone, Slade. You don't give up!" She sighed, "We've barely had a chance to see where this goes. Don't we owe it to one another?" Unthinkingly, her hands rested at her waist where his child grew inside of her.

Slade was unable to stop himself from cupping her cheek, "It's not that simple, love."

Felicity found her resolve weakening as he reached out to her. Leaning in, she rested her head against his chest. His arms closed around her, cradling her close. In that moment she let herself go, "Nothing worth fighting for is simple, Slade." Resting her head against his chest, she relished in this fleeting moment. When he pulled away, she didn't immediately open her eyes. She needed a moment to compose herself and so she turned her back to him. Quickly wiping the moisture from her eyes, she centered herself, "You don't need to make any decisions today."

That caught him off guard. "You're not forcing me to choose, then?"

"I won't stand idly by while you destroy everyone I care about." She refused to give him the ultimatum; that would only drive him further away. "I want you to give me a chance to see things the way that I do. So postpone your plans for war and destruction and just spend some time with me. And with my friends…"

Slade was silent for a long moment as he pondered her. Any other woman would have demanded that he choose. Then again, Felicity wasn't any other woman. Bending down, he kissed her gently and in turn she responded immediately without a moment's hesitation. "I…will try." He said softly, "But I make no promises."

"How about just one?" Felicity gazed up at him, "Promise you don't disappear without telling me again?" Her fingers gingerly slid down, palms resting on his chest.

Nodding swiftly, he pecked her on the lips again, "On my honor, love."

Felicity gave him a gentle smile. "So then I'll expect you at Verdant tomorrow around six?" The club didn't even open its doors to the public until eight, so they would have ample time to clear the air before club patrons began to arrive. Once the dust settled, they would be in a better place…or at least in a place of clarity. After that, she could let the chips fall where they may.

Sara had been silent this whole time but when Felicity decided to make plans, she moved from her position. "You sure you want to do this where people can get hurt?" She asked, staring Slade down, "It's only a matter of time before someone whips it out. The Glades has suffered enough." She licked her lips, "How about at the Clocktower? I'll have Sin and Roy help me spruce it up. Not to mention, it's on neutral ground."

"Yes, the Clocktower," Felicity smiled, "That sounds perfect. Slade?"

"I'll be there." He glared hard at Sara, "But if there's anything amiss at all, I will lay waste to every last one of you and anyone who stands in my way." Returning his attention to Felicity, he kissed her swiftly, "You need rest, darling."

"Don't go looking for trouble, Slade and maybe it won't come find you." Felicity was still incredibly tired, it was written all over her face. "You're right. I could use a good night's sleep." Standing on tiptoe, she smiled gingerly as she pecked him on the lips once more.

"You two don't have anything else to discuss?" Sara was more than ready to get out of here but she was a little confused as to why Felicity wasn't sharing the big secret, "Anything at all?"

Felicity smiled gently, "Nothing more for now." Squeezing Slade's hand as she left, she could feel Sara's gaze on her as they traipsed back to the car. Slipping into the passenger seat, Felicity buckled in and slid down. "You're probably wondering why I didn't tell him…"

Sara laughed, "That's putting it mildly. I brought you here because I thought it was important for you to hash it out with him. I figured you'd want to tell him." She paused, "The fact that you didn't leads me to believe you have more sense than I gave you credit for when it comes to Slade." Pulling away from the slaughterhouse, she looked over at her. "Just in case you think I've been holding out on you, I only figured out where Slade was today…that's where I spent most of the afternoon."

"I know. I bugged your cell phone weeks ago." Felicity smiled innocently.

Sara raised an eyebrow, "You never cease to surprise me." She smirked, shaking her head. "I thought about telling you when we were eating dinner but I…"

"You don't need to explain," Felicity said softly, "I understand why you might want to take some time before you sprung it on me. I have been going a little crazy hacking lately. By the way, I only bugged your cell phone because I wanted to make sure that I knew if Oliver got to Slade first." She laughed, "I should have known that you'd be smart enough to figure it out long before Ollie did."

The sun was starting to inch up to the horizon, casting a muted pink glow over the world around them. "Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me…you do understand that I'm going to throw this phone in the bottom of the pool now, right?"

She chuckled, "I had no doubt." A peaceful moment of silence passed between the two women before Felicity broke it again. "I didn't tell Slade about the baby is because I didn't want him to feel obligated." Her hand slipped to her waist. She hadn't yet begun the signs of the sweet burden she carried but it was only a matter of time. "One of the things that I really like about Slade is that he has a very deep sense of honor. He even uses it to justify his revenge…" She replied, "If I told him that I was pregnant he'd do anything to protect me. He would never walk away from me, even if it meant his unhappiness. I would like to think that the three of us can be this little happy family but I'm not delusional…"

Sara treaded lightly, "You clearly love him and he adores you. I've never seen Slade like that before. He actually smiled, Felicity. Maybe this baby is what he needs to snap him back into reality."

Felicity's thumb traced gentle circles over her womb while her eyes were focused straight ahead. "I don't want to force his hand. He needs to realize he wants to be with me on his own, Sara. And if he doesn't, well, I'll have my hands full with the baby and I won't dwell on it." Swallowing the lump of emotion clogging her throat, she was quickly realizing this was going to be a lot harder than she thought. There was so much riding on this now…

Pulling into the driveway, Sara turned to Felicity. "There's something I've never, ever told anyone about my time on the island…" She cleared her throat, "It was right after I escaped from the ship. Slade was holding Ollie hostage and I was on the island with the refugees. I was pregnant, very briefly…"

"What happened?" Felicity's eyes widened.

"It was just the course of nature, honestly. The island was extremely demanding and I was only a few weeks along. I honestly…I don't know if the baby was Ivo's or Ollie's. Until now, I hadn't given it any thought." Sara let out a shaky laugh though the pain behind her eyes was evident. "The truth was, when I lost the baby I was relieved. There was just no way I could have survived. Not for very long, anyway. I wasn't ready to be a mother…" Peering over at Felicity, she smiled, "But I'm going to help you fight for your baby. Whatever you need to do, you can bank on the fact that I will be in your corner."

"Even against Oliver?" Felicity asked softly.

"Especially against Oliver," Sara smirked. "He knows that I make my own decisions. It's why I know that our relationship ultimately will never go anywhere." She shrugged, "He needs someone like Laurel. Someone who will do anything to make him happy, even if it means throwing an argument or two…and that is definitely not me."

Unbuckling her seatbelt, Felicity braced against the chilly morning air. "I think he needs someone like you, Sara. The island brought out the man in him but it also gave him a false sense of his importance in the world. It wouldn't hurt if he was knocked down a peg or two…"

Sara wrapped an arm around Felicity's back as they headed into the house, "Maybe you're right. But for now, I'll settle for what we've got." Taking the pharmacy bag, she winked, "I will incinerate this along with my cell phone. Then I am going to butter Ollie up before I tell him that we've got a double date with Slade Wilson tonight." She was halfway up the stairs before Felicity said a word, "Take a shower and get some rest. That's an order."

Felicity did not have to be told twice. Slogging upstairs to her room, she did just as she was told. After the torture of the last few weeks, she enjoyed the relaxing heat of the shower and just as soon as she crawled into the bad, she was out cold.

Slade breathed a heavy sigh of relief from once he could see that Felicity was tucked in safe. Now he could focus on the preparations he had to make. Tonight he would be face to face with Oliver Queen and somehow would have to manage not to kill him outright. After he picked up his suit from the cleaners, he was going to have to blow off some serious steam if he wanted to keep his cool. Stepping away from the monitors, he moved to the window to watch the sun climb in the sky. Undoubtedly he would make sacrifices tonight but above all else, Slade knew that Felicity was worth it.


Twists and turns, I do love them! And I also love Sladicity... I hope you do too. Please keep reading and reviewing! Reviews fuel my muse and keep me writing and uploading these chapters for you all. How are you liking things so far? Weigh in! And TGIF!