A/N: Thanks for the continued support! I really love this chapter, although I'm sure most people would say not much happens in it. It's a favorite of mine though. There's a few little surprises. And an easter egg of sorts for those who have read some of my other works. :) Hope you enjoy! Please let me know what you think!

The incident with Thea and the picture vanished as quickly as it had appeared. Shopping for a friend had zero appeal to the masses and when nothing else appeared on the radar the reporters outside the office disappeared.

Their week had been normal but different. Other than Felicity no longer driving to work not much had changed. Oliver was avoiding Thea if at all possible. Somehow having to talk to her in person added a level of realness he wasn't sure they were ready for.

He and Felicity had done a very good job not discussing the baby directly which he realized couldn't continue. He'd ask her how she was feeling or if she need to rest more or what she wanted to eat, and she would answer easily but their words never went beyond that. And if the shopping photograph of Thea proved anything it was that they needed to talk about all of that before it got away from them.

His thoughts had been consumed with everything they weren't saying and he'd been quiet on the ride in. Felicity had looked at him out the corner of her eye but didn't ask, and he thought maybe she knew.

They were out of the office most of the morning at the bank, only Walter's presence making it tolerable. He'd sent Felicity back to Queen Consolidated during a break, catching her drooping eyes and knowing she'd never forgive herself if she fell asleep during a meeting.

Walter and his partners had suggested they continue through lunch and he'd agreed. By the time he made it back to the office it was much later than he had anticipated. He'd had to text Felicity halfway through to let her know he was going to be late. Luckily he had a bit of a cushion before his next appointment but there was going to be no down time that day.

He expected to see her at her desk when he exited the elevator and came around the corner but the outer office was empty. However, he did see the familiar form of Isabel Rochev perched on the couch in his office.

A sound almost like a growl rumbled in his throat at seeing her. The last thing he wanted to do right then was get into a verbal sparring match with that woman. He cut his eyes to his desk and did a quick scan of the space to see that there was no one else there.

Brows furrowed he wondered where Felicity could have gone but there was hardly time to think on that before he had to slip on his mask of easy professionalism and push into his office.

"Ms. Rochev, I didn't realize we had an appointment." he said with just a touch of steel in his voice.

"I didn't realize I needed to make one. Although with the incompetence shown by your poor excuse for an assistant maybe I should." she barely glanced at him, her focus on the files she had spread on the table in front of her.

Oliver bristled at her words, his mouth opening immediately to defend Felicity when something made him stop. He looked again to her empty desk and it didn't sit right with him.

"Where is Ms. Smoak?" he bit out, not even trying to hide his displeasure.

Isabel gave a small sigh and looked up at him with a face devoid of expression. "I'm afraid I don't make a habit of keeping track of lay about assistants who think it's appropriate to sleep on their boss's couch. Although I'm sure it wasn't the first time." her implication was clear.

Hot rage spread through him as he shifted in his spot, jaw clenched. "Where is Ms. Smoak." he repeated, barely holding on to his composure.

Isabel shut the folder she had in her lap and squinted her eyes at him like he was nothing more than an irritating distraction. "I came up to get the latest projections and found her asleep. After I informed her to gather her things and remove herself from the building she disappeared into the bathroom. I assume she's gone by now. HR should be able to find you an assistant who is actually qualified for the position."

Oliver had already taken two steps towards the door when he turned back, finger outstretched, "I have an assistant. She will be staying. And I expect you to be gone when I return. In the future, make an appointment."

He didn't look back and he didn't slow his stride as he headed for the bathroom. When his hand fell onto the locked handle he knew she was still inside.

"Felicity, it's me. Let me in." he said as he rapped lightly on the door.

He held his breath as he waited and when he heard a soft click he pushed through the door.

She sat on the closed toilet lid with a half shredded paper towel in her hands looking sadder than he'd ever seen her.

Oliver locked the door behind him and crouched in front of her, "Hey, you're not fired, she has no right." he said as gently as possible, the anger he felt towards Isabel coming back full force as he saw how upset Felicity was.

Sad eyes flicked to his and he could see where tears had splashed onto the lenses. Her forlorn expression made his gut twist and he couldn't stop himself from reaching out and pulling the glasses from her face.

She looked up in surprise as he took out his pocket square and dried the lenses, tucking the folded frames into his breast pocket until he knew she was done crying.

"What happened?" he asked, finally noticing she looked paler than usual. "Were you sick again?" the morning sickness had mostly gone away he had thought.

She waved her hand dismissively, tiny bits of worn paper falling from her hands to land on her lap. "Just once." she said through a throat still clogged with tears.

Oliver ran a hand over his face and reminded himself that she needed him more than he needed to go have another conversation with Isabel just then.

"Tell me what happened." he encouraged, one hand coming out to take the bits of paper from her and throw them in the trash before they were nothing more than confetti.

Her head shook once like she was going to try and avoid it. "Tell me," he said again with more insistence.

She shot him a small glare and began to talk. "You told me you were going to be getting back late and my lunch was almost over and...I just couldn't keep my eyes open. I've been so tired lately and with the office empty I didn't think there'd be any harm. I even set my alarm for ten minutes. I just needed ten minutes." she said, almost like she felt like she had to justify what she'd done. "And then, of course, because I have the worst luck ever with that woman she just breezed into your office like she owned it." her eyes were on the floor again and a faint flush covered her cheeks.

He'd known she'd been exhausted lately. Most days she didn't even start work in the lair until after she'd had a nap and he'd been fine with that. That's why he'd sent her back early from the bank that morning. For her to sleep on the couch in his office must have meant she'd needed it. A surge of protectiveness grew within him and he didn't stop himself from covering her hands with his. "You didn't do anything wrong." he assured her but she just scoffed.

"Well, Ms. Rochev disagrees. She informed me I was a disgrace to the company and to you. That I didn't know how to comport myself in a professional environment, and that I should gather my things and leave." her voice had grown weaker as she went on, sounding nothing like the strong, capable woman who had no problems going toe to toe with him on a regular basis.

"You know none of that is true." he was shocked she wasn't pacing the floor, arms waving as she ranted about Isabel. He'd seen her get worked up about a lot less.

Her head shook back and forth and tears dripped down her face again. "No. I don't. I know why you put me in that position, but I really don't know what I'm doing. And I'm not used to that. I feel like I'm drowning. I can't make it through the day without feeling so tired I think I'm going to fall over. I worry that at any moment the wrong person is going to notice I'm pregnant. Half the time I feel like I'm doing more to hurt your attempt to save your company than help it. I was the worst person ever to choose to be your assistant and I tried to tell you that but you didn't listen. And if I can't do this then how am I supposed to help you at night. And how am I supposed to be a good mother too? I have never felt like this before in my life and I don't know what to do."

He'd pulled her towards him before she'd finished speaking, her slim shoulders shaking as she wept. He expected her to resist, but she fell into his chest, hands grasping his lapels. Her face buried into his neck and all he could do was stroke one hand over her head and whisper in her ear as her hot tears disappeared into his collar.

When she'd quieted to a few ragged breaths he sat her back and tilted her chin up immediately when she tried to avoid his gaze.

"None of that is true." he said fiercely, needing her to see herself for the person he knew she was. Blue eyes were now reddened and dull.

"Felicity, you are not the wrong person for the job, any of your jobs. You are exactly who I need. Isabel is just looking for ways to undermine me at every turn." he held her eyes waiting to see a spark of life, but saw nothing.

"I'm a terrible secretary Oliver." she protested, "And I'm going to be an equally terrible mother. I can't manage to make it through a board meeting without saying something I'm not supposed to. How am I going to take care of a little person whose entire existence depends on me?" she was getting that high, panicked tone to her voice again.

Before he could consider what he was about to do his eyes dropped to her lips a split second before he leaned forward and pressed his mouth to hers. A strangled noise came from the back of her throat as a warmth flushed through him leaving him slightly light headed. When he pulled back she was staring at him in shock, but that dead eyed expression was gone.

He licked his lips unconsciously, tasting her tears as he waited for her reaction. "Wh...why did you do that?" she didn't even seem to blink as she stared.

"Because I wanted to." he answered immediately, and by the way her mouth opened and shut without any sound coming out he didn't think she was expecting it.

He wiped the rest of her wet face with his thumbs and then gently held her cheeks in his hands. "I've wanted to do that for awhile."

It didn't seem possible that her eyes could get any wider, but they did. She swallowed heavily and finally found her voice. "You have?"

He answered by drawing her closer, his lips moving gently over hers, feeling her soft sigh as her breath brushed across his skin. "Does that answer your question?"

The cocky grin he felt creeping over his face was hard to subdue as he looked at her half lidded eyes and slightly swollen lips.

"Yeah," she said, almost lazily. "Yeah, that's a...a very good answer. Not a D+, no sir. You get top marks there."

"Good," he let his voice lower and felt a shiver go through her as he dropped his hands to her shoulders and then down her arms to take her hands again.

"Don't let Isabel get into your head. You're more tired than usual. You need to take a break when you need to take a break. I told you, there is no one else I would want to do this with and that means everything. The office, the lair, and the baby." when she nodded she'd heard him he let out a breath of relief.

"I'm sorry, she brings out the worst in me, and I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed with everything. It was just bad timing." she sounded stronger and the knot in his gut eased.

"Well, at least with part of this we've still got some time to get used to the idea and figure things out." he said easily, hands itching to feel the small bump hidden by her fuller skirt but holding back.

She let out a laugh, "True, I mean, it's not like someone left a baby at Verdant's back door for us to raise or anything. That would really be crazy."

His mouth ticked upwards at the thought and she returned the smile.

"Better?"

"Yeah," she said softly, "Thanks,"

"How many times have you talked me down? Only fair I return the favor." he countered.

Oliver slid one hand off of hers and pulled his phone out. "I'll call Digg and he can take you home."

"No," she said immediately, fingers dropping down to pull the phone from his grasp. "I don't need to go home."

"Felicity, you need to get some rest."

"I'm okay. I feel better. I do." she insisted, "And besides, if I go home I let her win and...I can't have that." her jaw was set, and something flashed through her eyes he hadn't seen since he walked in there.

"Okay, it's your call." he said as he stood and pulled her to her feet.

She brushed out her skirt, tiny bits of paper floating gently to the ground and when she flattened the fabric he could just see the slight roundness she'd been successfully hiding.

He had to drop her hands and shove his in his pockets. He didn't know how she felt about him touching her. Even though he'd just kissed her twice, touching her belly seemed even more intimate somehow.

When she grasped his forearm and dragged one hand out it was his turn to look shocked. She gave him a small smile and laid his palm on her abdomen. "It's yours too. It's okay to touch."

His exhale was loud and uncontrolled, flying from his chest like he'd just been struck in the back. She waited patiently until he took another breath and then carefully moved his hand around, outlining the bump.

"It's bigger." he blurted out, pressing his lips together as soon as the words were out, hoping she didn't take them wrong. "Sorry. Not much but…" he hadn't expected so much to change in only a few days.

Her light laugh let him know she was okay. "I know. I don't know how much longer these skirts are going to work, a few more weeks to a month probably." there was a hint of nerves and he knew they needed to talk about how they were going to go forward publicly.

"That's something we need to figure out."

She gave him a tight nod but didn't say anything.

"We will, we'll figure it out." he assured her, lightly running his hand over her belly. He gave himself another minute and then pulled his hand back. "Ready to get back to work? My two o'clock is probably here already."

She smoothed her hair one more time and took a deep breath before stepping to the side to look in the mirror. "Yeah, let's do this."

Oliver undid the lock and opened the door for her, grateful no one in the outer office could see them exit the bathroom together.

Her heels clicked a steady tattoo all the way to her desk where she turned her computer back on and made a few keystrokes before she paused and looked towards him with a strange look.

He stood at the corner of her desk and looked at her quizzically as she made her way back around and lifted one eyebrow as she reached a hand inside his suit jacket. Even through his shirt he could feel the heat from her fingers and the small jolts of electricity that shot through him at her touch. When her hand dipped into his breast pocket he remembered he still had her glasses.

She pulled them out with a flourish, but along with it she also pulled the sonogram picture he still carried with him every day.

She recognized it immediately and was already stooping to swipe it up before he could react.

"Oliver," she breathed out, and he could see tears gathering in her eyes again.

He didn't know what to say and could only watch as she folded it carefully and tucked it back into it's place, patting his chest twice before she dropped her hands to clasp behind her back.

She looked like she wanted to say something else but was choosing not to. Instead she leaned her head to the side some and gave him that softly scrutinizing look she had like he was an especially difficult puzzle she was trying to solve.

"You're a good man, Oliver Queen, you deserve a happy story." her words slammed into him like a freight train. His mind fizzing out into nothing but whiteness as her voice rolled over him repeatedly like some sort of antidote, searching out a poison.

When he came back to himself she was behind her desk again, chair turned slightly away from him like she'd known he'd need some time to process what she'd said.

He felt her eyes on him as he made his way into his office. He knew he had a two o'clock meeting but if you asked him later, he wouldn't be able to remember a second of it.