A/N: Warning, fluff ahead! Lol. I don't usually do fluff, so I apologize if it feels a little… forced. It's just not really my thing, but I wanted this to end on a good note! There is an epilogue to follow, so watch for it, but mostly their story is done. I have been considering a sequel, because heaven knows all their problems are far from figured out… let me know what you think.

Part Ten

Chloe woke to sunlight flitting in through the dark green curtains adorning the large windows of their bedroom. She gently turned over to observe Oliver's sleeping form. "Past the point of no return" had a totally different meaning to her now. There was no going back from the line they had crossed last night. There could be no denying how she felt now. She was irrevocably drowning in her feelings for the man next to her and she wasn't even sure when she had started slipping.

Maybe it was when he had held her while teaching her to shoot his bow, or maybe it was his silly text messages he always sent her. It might have been his carefree marriage proposal that had sent her into a fit of laughter. Though she had a feeling the deepest emotions were born on that night of anguish that neither could fully remember, when they had found solace in each other, fear and anxiety propelling them forward. It really didn't matter how or when, all that mattered was that she was fully and totally lost to her husband.

She gently shook his shoulder, rousing him from his sleep.

"Hmmm?" he mumbled, never opening his eyes.

"It's ten o'clock, Oliver. Time to get up."

"Nah, the world can wait," he said, a small smile gracing his perfect lips.

"They might can, but your baby can't. We're hungry," she announced, openly speaking of the baby she carried for the first time.

His eyes burst open at her words, wonder etched in his expression.

"Well, we can't have that, now can we. What would you like?"

"A bagel?" she asked, afraid her stomach couldn't handle anything else.

"Sure thing," he responded, dragging himself out of their warm bed. "Then we'll talk," he told her quietly.

She just nodded. She didn't know what she would say, but she had to say something and the truth would probably be the best thing.

~*~*~*~*~

Oliver ran down the street the to the small local bakery that he knew made the best bagels around and picked up an assortment of flavors, not knowing what would draw Chloe's attention this morning. He also grabbed a gallon of milk and a quart of orange juice. As an after thought he grabbed a two-liter of Sprite, just in case her morning sickness reared its ugly head.

He made it back to the penthouse rather quickly and was surprised to find Chloe already up and dressed.

"Feeling okay?" he asked, handing her the bag of bagels.

"Pretty good. A little queasy but I think it will go away once I have something in my stomach," she told him, fishing through the bag to select a blueberry bagel that looked particularly appetizing.

He poured some milk for himself and asked what she wanted.

"That Sprite actually looks pretty good."

"Sure thing."

When they both sat at the bar, drink and bagels in hand, he broached the subject he had been dreading. He knew how Chloe acted, and when she was uncomfortable or unsure about something, she tended to just pretend it didn't exist and he wanted to stop her before it got to that point.

"Chloe, about last night…" he started.

"If you are going to apologize or say something about forgetting it happened, then you can just pack your bags and hightail it to Star City," she told him, looking him square in the eyes.

Oliver was taken back by her vehement words.

"I wasn't going to say anything like that," he blurted out with surprise.

Chloe's eyes shone in confusion.

"Okay, then go ahead," she mumbled, embarrassed at her outburst.

"I was going to say, I'm sorry if you regret last night, but I don't. I don't know when or how, but somewhere along this twisted road, I've started to care. I know that wasn't in the deal and I'm sorry about that, sorry if you don't feel the same way, but I can't pretend I don't care," he spit out before he could lose his nerve.

Chloe just stared at him in wonder.

"Define care," she commanded.

"Care as in, I don't want this marriage to end. I want to be with you, really with you, I want our baby to have a family, a real family. I've screwed up a lot of things in my life and I don't want this to be one of them. Chloe, I… I lo-" he couldn't finish his sentence. Looking down, he swallowed hard then met her eyes again.

She just stared into his brown depth, begging him silently to finish that sentence. To be open and honest with her so she could tell him what was sitting on the tip of her tongue.

"Chloe, I love you," he whispered, his heart in his throat, knowing it was that moment, the fight or flight moment, the one defining moment that would point them down their future path.

Chloe just leaned over and pressed her lips to his, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I love you, too, you big oaf," she told him, her voice scratchy from the tears she was holding back. "I have for the longest time I think, I just couldn't see it. I've never been good at seeing what was right in front of me."

"We've gone about this all wrong, haven't we?" he asked, smiling as he rested his forehead against hers.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Isn't it supposed to be, 'First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage'?" he asked.

Chloe couldn't help but laugh.

"Well, since when have we been 'by the book'?"

"True that," he told her, pulling her to him and kissing her gently.

"I love you, Chloe Queen," he murmured against her lips.

"I love you, too, Oliver Queen," she told him, snuggling against him. Their moment was ruined as her stomach gurgled. Chloe laughed.

"He's hungry," Oliver said, smirking at his wife. "You better feed that boy."

"And how do you know it's a boy?"

He shrugged.

"Father's intuition?"

"You're just afraid of what you'll do if it ends up a girl. Admit it," she told him.

"Alright, I'm terrified, therefore it has to be a boy."

Chloe just shook her head at her husband. Heaven help her but she loved that man.

Oliver held up her bagel, encouraging her to take a bite.

"Just keep wishing," she murmured, biting off a piece of the delicious blueberry treat hanging in front of her face.

"Oh I will," he promised with a smile.

~*~*~*~*~

Hours later the two lay in their bed, exhausted and sweaty, his arm gently resting across her still flat stomach.

"So, should we head out this afternoon to look at houses or would you rather wait until tomorrow?" she asked.

"Hmmm… how about sometime next week? I finally got you back in this bed, I'm not quite ready to get out," he told her, gently kissing her shoulder.

"Oliver, we just finished, surely you can't want to go again?" she asked, a laugh bubbling up in her throat.

"What can I say? You bring out the devil in me," he said with a smirk.

"Heaven help me then. I'm tired, Ollie, give a girl a break," she told him, turning on her side to face him. "We'll have plenty of time… all the time in the world."

"Promise?" he couldn't help but ask. He still felt a little unsure, almost as if she was going to fade away if he took his eyes off of her for a minute.

"I promise," she whispered sleep already claiming her.

"I love you," he told her yet again, never tiring of saying those words.

"Love you, too," she murmured as she faded away into slumber.

Oliver smiled. For the first time in a long time, he felt complete, fully and totally complete, and it was a nice feeling.

THE END

A/N: well, whatcha think? Lol. Anyone else absolutely LOVE Escape? Can NOT wait for Friday… Oliver is going to flip when Chloe gets kidnapped!!! Hehe!! SQUEEEEEEEE!!!! Okay, back to reality. Sorry about the delay but RL was a bit hectic. I'm back now and working diligently on "A Slight Change of Scenery"!!