They spent the afternoon slowly making their way along the trail, stopping every so often so that Felicity could rest. When they reached the lookout, they stood together taking in the view. It was every bit as breathtaking as their waiter had described. From their vantage point, they could almost see the entire lake. The surrounding greenery was in full bloom with spring, and aside from a few canoes, it seemed as if they were all alone on the escarpment. It was perfect.
Oliver put his arm around Felicity's shoulders, and she allowed herself to lean into his touch, resting her head against his chest. And for a few moments, they just stood there silently, appreciating the quiet moment and the nature that surrounded them.
Laying a gentle kiss on the top of her head, Oliver began to reach into his pocket and for a moment Felicity panicked.
"Cookie?" Oliver offered, holding out a small plastic baggie.
Felicity smiled. "Where did you get those?"
"I asked the waiter to pack them up while you were in the bathroom. I thought we might need a snack."
"You thought right," Felicity replied, reaching out and taking a cookie. "I am hungry."
There was a log near the lookout where they sat for a few minutes, sharing the cookies. As they got up to head back down to the Lodge, Oliver held out his hand to help Felicity up. She took his hand, allowing him to help her to her feet, but as they began their hike back down the escarpment, she kept hold of his hand, not letting go until they'd returned.
Arriving back at the Lodge, they headed up to their suite for the first time. As they stepped through the doors, Felicity's first thought was that the photos on their website hadn't done the room justice. It was gorgeous. Like the rest of the Lodge, it had a warm and rustic feel, with beautiful hardwood floors and lush earth-toned throw rugs. The red sandstone fireplace was adjacent to a small sitting area, and there was a French door leading out to the second floor porch, which overlooked the water.
Felicity remembered reading that all of the furniture was handmade, but she hadn't expected that the log furniture would be so unique and beautiful. Her gaze lingered on the luxurious king sized bed in the middle of the room- it was practically a work of art. Rather than using uniform pieces of wood, the builder seemed to have used the bends in each piece of wood to shape his design, creating a unique look. Tired from the hike, Felicity was tempted to climb into the bed right there and then. In that same moment it occurred to her that she and Oliver would be sharing a bed for the first time that she could remember. Although she'd fallen asleep once or twice beside him in his bed or hers, he'd always respected her space enough to move her to her own bed or return to his own. This time there would be nowhere else to go.
They had just enough time before dinner for Felicity to enjoy a bath in the extra deep bathtub. It relaxed her muscles after their hike and allowed her some much needed alone time. After her bath, Felicity pinned up her loose curls and dressed in the fuschia sleeveless dress she had bought the previous weekend when Thea had insisted on taking her shopping for maternity clothes. Felicity was almost halfway through her pregnancy, and it showed. At first she had mourned the loss of her slim figure, but now that her belly had rounded out, she found that she was almost proud of her "baby bump". Of course having Thea take her to find designer maternity clothes that she felt she actually looked good in had helped immensely.
She stepped out of the bathroom to meet Oliver. He was already dressed in a dark blue button down shirt and charcoal grey pants.
He smiled when he saw her. "You look beautiful," he told her, placing a hand on her arm as he leaned forward to kiss her cheek.
"Thank you," she blushed. "You look pretty good yourself."
He held out his arm for her to take. "Shall we head down to dinner?"
Felicity nodded, taking his arm and they headed down to the restaurant.
Dinner was delicious. They enjoyed the chef's tasting menu which included fish cakes made with locally sourced fish, salad made from delicate lamb's tongue greens and a succulent beef tenderloin.
They had a perfect view of the sunset over the lake, and their conversation flowed easily. It had been a long time since Felicity and Oliver had spent an entire day together just enjoying each other's company, without QC or Arrow business getting in the way, and Felicity found that she really enjoyed it. Even after all the time she'd spent with Oliver, there was still so much she was learning about him.
"What was your best birthday?" Felicity asked.
Oliver answered immediately. "Five years ago."
Felicity thought back to the night in question. "That can't have been your best birthday."
"Why not?" Oliver asked. "A good bottle of wine and a great friend- what more could I ask for?"
"First of all, that was a great bottle of wine- 1982 Lafite Rothschild. I dream about that wine. But what I meant was- you were in a bad place that night, still in shock over Tommy's death. You were a complete mess, what with the arrow wound in your chest and your Atlas complex about what happened in the Glades being your fault. All we did was sit around drink wine and talk about nothing until we both passed out. How was that a good birthday?"
"I will admit I was not in a good place that night. And you are right; it wasn't a good birthday or a happy birthday for that matter. It was the first birthday since I'd been back from the island and all I could think about was how much I just wanted to go back there, to escape. I had been trying so hard to make things better and all I could think about was how I'd made things worse. I felt so lost, and I needed someone, and you were there."
Oliver reached out to take Felicity's hand in his, running his thumb lightly across the back of her hand. "You let me in with no expectations, no judgment and you just sat with me. I didn't even tell you that it was my birthday, but you knew."
Oliver smiled. "You always know."
He paused for a moment, looking thoughtful. "And I remember you said 'I know this sounds silly but I want to tell you something. Tommy died yesterday. He didn't die today, and you shouldn't remember it like it happened today.'"
Felicity thought back to that night. She remembered how he had looked so lost, so devastated, like his entire world had collapsed. She knew that he always tried to be in control, he always tried to take responsibility for everything that happened to those around him. She knew that Tommy's death would haunt him for the rest of his life, and she didn't want that to keep him from having at least a little bit of happiness. Birthdays should be happy memories, and Felicity knew that Oliver could use more of those. She didn't want Tommy's death and the Undertaking to ruin that.
"I might not have been able to tell you then, but that meant so much to me," Oliver continued. "This is always a hard time of the year for me, but ever since then we've always done my birthday just like this, just the two of us, away from everything else. That night was just the beginning for us, and that's why it will always be my best birthday."
Felicity smiled, squeezing his hand.
"Though, I have to say, this birthday might be a pretty close second," Oliver added.
"It's been a pretty good day for me too," Felicity told him.
The waiter approached their table, holding a plate of cake with a candle on top.
"Don't worry, I won't sing," he assured them as he set the plate down between them, producing two forks. "This is an Italian chocolate cake with homemade brown butter ice cream. Enjoy."
"Well birthday boy," Felicity said as the waiter left. "Time to make a wish."
Oliver gave her a small smile. "I don't need to make a wish. I already have everything I could ever want."
After dinner Oliver and Felicity headed back down towards the lake, having been persuaded by the staff that it was the perfect condition for stargazing. However it wasn't the stars in the sky that first caught Felicity's attention, rather the twinkling lights hovering over the lake, like hundreds of fairies dancing together.
"What in the world," Felicity wondered, gaping at the sight before her.
"Fireflies," Oliver said softly. "Wow, I haven't seen fireflies since I was a kid."
"I've never actually seen them before," Felicity shared. "I mean, not in person. I've seen pictures, of course, but this is incredible. I can barely tell where the stars end and where the fireflies begin."
Placing a hand at the small of Felicity's back, Oliver led her over to a bench beside the lake where they could take in the incredible view. He stretched out his arm across the back of the bench, behind Felicity and as she leaned back, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
They sat in a comfortable silence, taking in the view before them. The moon was high in the sky, shining brightly amongst the dozens of stars. The fireflies continued to dance over the lake, which seemed full of stars itself, as it reflected the light from the sky. After a few minutes Felicity toed off her shoes, tucking her feet up underneath her on the bench, and resting her head on Oliver's shoulder. She felt his arm tighten around her ever so slightly and smiled.
For a moment, time seemed to stand still and Felicity found herself trying to memorize every detail. The perfect view, the feel of Oliver's arm around her and the heat of his body warming hers. More than that, though, she wanted to remember the peace that she felt in that moment. This had been the first day in a long time where Felicity had felt truly relaxed. It was a perfect moment, at the end of a wonderful day, and Felicity found herself wishing that they could stay like that forever.
A while later, Felicity's eyes fluttered open as Oliver kissed the top of her head.
"Hey," he whispered. "You're falling asleep."
"Sorry," she mumbled, straightening up.
"It's okay," he said softly, smiling. "We've had a long day."
Felicity nodded, as she yawned.
She sat up, and began to reach for her shoes, but Oliver grabbed them first.
"I need those," she told him.
"Nope," he told her, with a sly smile.
Felicity was still crafting a response, when Oliver scooped her up into his arms, one arm under her legs and the other around her back. She let out a small shriek, and wrapped her arms around Oliver's neck.
"Oliver, put me down," she insisted. "I'm too heavy, what with the yam and all."
"Hardly," Oliver scoffed. "Wait, did you just call the baby a yam?"
Felicity blushed. "Yeah, at 18 weeks, it's the size of a yam. I have an app."
Oliver chuckled. "Well rest assured that I am perfectly capable of carrying my wife and the yam back up to our room. Besides, you and I both know you don't really want to put your shoes back on and walk."
Felicity yawned in spite of herself, knowing he was right. So, she held on tight and let him carry her the short distance back up to the Lodge.
Back in their room, Felicity headed into the bathroom to wash off her makeup and change into her pyjamas. She fixed her hair into a loose braid, and headed back out to the main room where Oliver was already lying in bed. Felicity felt oddly nervous as she padded across the room and climbed into bed beside Oliver. Silly as it seemed, sleeping in the same bed felt like a big step in their relationship.
Once she was settled under the covers, Oliver reached over and turned out the light.
"Goodnight Felicity," he said softly. "Thank you for today."
"Goodnight Oliver," Felicity replied, turning onto her side and closing her eyes.
Despite how tired she was, and the fact that the king sized bed was one of the most comfortable beds that Felicity had ever been in, after several minutes she was still struggling to get comfortable. Felicity had reached the point in her pregnancy where she was limited to lying on her side, and was finding that her back and legs were more sore than normal, probably from their hike. She fidgeted with the pillows and blankets, trying to find a comfortable position to no avail.
After a few minutes, the bed shifted as Oliver slid closer.
"Hey," he whispered. "You okay?"
"I can't get comfortable," Felicity said, yawning as she turned to face him. "My back is aching. I should have brought the body pillow from home. It usually helps."
"Maybe I can help," Oliver suggested. "Turn around."
Felicity did as Oliver asked, rolling back onto her other side. A moment later, she felt the bed shift again as he moved even closer, wrapping his body around hers. His chest pressed up against her back, and his bent knees nested against hers. The warmth of his body against hers seemed to provide some relief to her sore body, and Felicity could feel her muscles start to relax.
"Is this okay?" he whispered, his warm breath against her neck.
"Yeah," Felicity said nodding. "This feels good actually."
Oliver's arm came across her body, his palm resting on her swollen belly. Felicity closed her eyes as he gently stroked her belly with his thumb, finally allowing sleep to overtake her.
Felicity awoke the next morning in much the same position that she had fallen asleep in, Oliver's body still curled around hers. At some point in the night her tank top had ridden up, exposing her swollen belly, so Oliver's palm was spread across her bare skin. She thought that it would have been weird waking up in Oliver's arms, especially in such an intimate position, but it wasn't. She felt safe and well-rested, and if it weren't for the pressure that the baby was exerting on her bladder, Felicity would have stayed in bed as long as possible.
Reluctantly, she extricated herself from Oliver's embrace and padded to the bathroom. When she returned a few minutes later, Oliver was awake. He rolled to face her, smiling.
"Hey," he said, his voice husky with sleep.
"Good morning," she replied.
Felicity only hesitated for a moment before climbing back into bed beside Oliver. It was still early and they were on vacation, so she figured she might as well enjoy some extra rest. Oliver rolled onto his back and opened his arms to Felicity. Felicity lay on her side, facing him, her belly pressed up against his side, and her head on his shoulder. One of Oliver's arms wrapped around her, while the other came to rest on her stomach.
"Hey little one," he whispered, gently stroking her stomach.
Then Oliver laid a gentle kiss on the top of Felicity's head. "This is nice," he whispered. "I've missed this."
"It is nice," Felicity replied, laying her hand on Oliver's chest and nestling into his side. "I could get used to this."