CHAPTER 29
This whole trip feels surreal. From the goodie box Oliver arranged for her to the flight on the QC Jet, spending time and getting to know Moira and Thea a bit better….she's so happy right now.
Moira and Thea were so attentive from the moment they stepped onto the plane. She knows Oliver probably told them about her shaving her head because they acted like they didn't even notice, not until she told them about the wigs Oliver organised for her. She appreciates the gesture though and it makes her love Oliver even more. He's been so supportive and it's not just in the big things, it's the littlest of the little things that he thinks of and he's spot on every single time.
He's also extremely strict and mindful so she doesn't get carried away with all the delicious food and getting wrapped up in the excitement. Unfortunately she still has a terminal illness, and even though she agreed to come on this trip she still needs to be wise in her decision making. Nap times and bed times are built into the trip schedule and come hell or high water he will enforce that schedule because….he's just that awesome!
Today just once again proved that he's even more amazing than she already knew he was….despite everything going on he still wants her to experience every item on that 'bucket list' of hers and it makes her feel so thankful to have him in her life. She has no idea how or what she did to deserve this man, all she knows is that she will treasure him for as long as she has breath.
Of course another highlight of this trip is getting to see the Star Labs building in Central City.
The view from their hotel room window overlooks the magnificence of this piece of architecture, that is Star Labs and although she's in awe of this beautiful building she's burning to get on the inside.
She's completely ecstatic when they leave the hotel room and she's informed that their meeting with the investor will take place inside of Star Labs. They have a Science Convention for the weekend and seeing that Moira wants to pitch a few ideas for the QC's Applied Sciences Division, she thought it would add a nice touch to meet at the Science Convention.
She's dressed to the nines and she loves her new look. Despite all the emotional trauma of her shaving her hair off, the wig definitely makes her feel confident and she's ready for this meeting. At least she can concentrate on what's being said in the meeting instead of worrying how the strangers will react to her not having hair.
Oliver leads her across the road, holding her hand tightly in his own. They enter the building and are immediately greeted by Star Labs personnel giving them VIP passes. These passes will get them access to any part of the building and of course she wants to do a little happy dance at this thought.
As soon as they enter the large hall, her mouth opens in awe of all the brilliance, the experiments displayed. She would totally loose herself in there, but when she feels Oliver gently tugging at her hand, she understands that she needs to concentrate on why they were here in the first place.
"What?" she asks when she sees him smile.
"You're cute." he answers and gives her hand a squeeze. "I've never actually seen you in this part of your life you know."
"Yeah, that's right. You know about my job, but we only really started after I got so sick and couldn't really go into work anymore."
"It's nice though. I can see how passionate you are about these gadget-y things. It explains why you love your job so much and why you didn't even think twice before accepting the invitation to go on this trip." he winks at her and she blushes, but it's the truth.
Sitting home feeling sick all the time, it kind of made her feel like she wasn't able to do the things she loved anymore, made her feel useless. When Moira phoned, she knew she was taking a huge risk, but being her, feeling like herself again, it's definitely worth it.
They enter the elevator at the far end of the hall. They stop on the seventh floor and when the elevator doors open, it's a large open plan room leading to another large room with a huge sign reading 'Boardroom'.
A short brown haired woman stands up from one of the comfortable looking chairs and Moira goes into CEO mode….now this is the woman she knows.
"Tina, it's so lovely to see you again. Thank you for meeting us here." Moira and the short woman exchange cheek kisses. She doesn't really know if the pleasantries are fake, but this is a mystery to figure out another day.
Her stomach starts to do a few tumbles when Moira turns around to introduce Tina to them.
"Tina, I'd like for you to meet my family." she says with a smile and starts pointing to each member as she introduces them. "This is Thea, my daughter; Oliver, my son and Miss Felicity Smoak, the head of our Applied Sciences Department at Queen Consolidated. Everyone, this is Dr. Tina McGee from Mercury Labs here in Central City."
Felicity shakes the outstretched hand of the lady in front of her and smiles. It's like Oliver can feel her anxiety and he holds her hand even tighter. "It's a pleasure to meet you Dr. McGee." she says, hoping that the shiver in her voice is well hidden.
"Likewise Miss Smoak." the woman answers and returns her smile.
"We're just waiting for the rest of the party, but in the meantime please help yourselves to some coffee and something to eat." Tina gestures to the counter filled with all sorts of delicious looking pastries and a little coffee stand to the side.
She can feel Oliver's eyes on her and she doesn't even need to look at him to know how he's already warning her to take it easy. She can't help the smile forming at her lips and tries to hide it so he doesn't realise she's on to his sergeant major persona.
Although it all looks very enticing, she decides to heed Oliver's unspoken warning and pours herself a glass of water instead. She walks over to one of the couches in the middle of the room and sits down waiting for Oliver to join her.
While waiting, she takes out her phone and starts scrolling through her emails, when a tall man enters through the door. He's young, dark haired and when she looks closer she recognises him. It's Dr. Raymond Palmer! He is the CEO of Palmer Technologies. He's done amazing things in their line of work and genius too.
She sees him greeting Tina and she introduces him to the rest of the people standing close by. Could this be the mystery guest Oliver organised for her?
She immediately decides against this thought when Oliver is by her side within split seconds, sitting extremely close to her on the couch as if he wants to hide her from this new person. She bites her lip to stifle the giggle forming at the back of her throat, at the thought that Oliver Queen could actually be worried that Dr. Palmer could make a move on her.
She reassuringly places her hand on his knee, drawing random patterns with her fingers, when Dr. Palmer walks in their direction and stops in front of her with an outstretched hand.
"Good morning, I don't believe we've met yet. I'm Ray Palmer." he smiles, oblivious to the little territorial growl Oliver is making next to her.
"Yes Dr. Palmer, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Felicity Smoak." she smiles and shakes his hand, quickly noticing an important item on his left ring finger. She wonders if Oliver missed this little fact.
"Pleasure is all mine, and please call me Ray."
Without an invitation he makes himself comfortable on the couch opposite to theirs and silently enjoys his muffin and coffee.
She looks over to Oliver and instead of seeing daggers pointed at the man opposite to them, he keeps on checking his watch and the door….he's waiting for the mystery guest no doubt and right now she couldn't care less about whatever just happened with Ray, she's excited to meet this person Oliver arranged for her.
A few more minutes pass, and then the elevator dings. Her eyes are fixed on the door and when he walks through she has to contain her emotions. She wants to jump up and scream like a teenage girl meeting her favourite band member for the first time….Dr. Harrison Wells….
She grabs Oliver's arms and tightens her hold the moment he walks into the room. She doesn't realise that she's lodged her finger nails into his arm, when Oliver tells her to breathe with the biggest grin on his face.
"You arranged Dr. Wells as my surprise?" she asks in a whisper, careful not to draw attention to them too quickly.
"Yes. Do you like your surprise?"
"Do I like my surprise? Do I like my surprise? Oliver what kind of a question is that? Are you freaking kidding me right now? If we weren't in a room filled with very important people…and your mother, I would be kissing you senseless right now!" she says, the whisper growing a bit louder at the end making him chuckle at her excitement.
"Mmmm, promises promises Miss Smoak." he teases.
"Oh don't you worry, this is a promise I intend to keep, you will be very well rewarded Mr. Queen, very well indeed." she winks at him while standing up, preparing herself to meet one of her idols.
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Making her happy makes him happy. When Dr. Wells agreed to join the meeting, he knew this would make Felicity's day. She deserves all the happiness in the world and he will do anything and everything to make it happen.
He watches her as she meets Dr. Wells and the way she interacts with him makes his heart melt. He almost feels like he's missed out on this side of her completely. He's seen her excited before, but the way she lights up about tech and science is something else entirely.
She gives him a quick goodbye kiss on the cheek and joins the others when they walk into the boardroom for their meeting, leaving him and Thea behind. He can see she's nervous again, but he knows his girl has got this. She'll be fine.
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They wait for more than an hour when the boardroom door finally opens. He instantly becomes a bit growly when he sees Ray Palmer deep in conversation with Felicity. He saw the wedding band on his finger earlier, but there's something primal that kicks in when he sees him interact with her….maybe he's insecure about Ray actually understanding this side of Felicity, but when he sees them interact all he wants to do is bash his head in.
He stands up, trying to remember his manners and when Felicity sees him, she gives him a big smile, quickly says something to Ray and hurries over to him as she envelops him in a tight hug.
"I presume it all went well then?" he smiles at the feel of her body pressed against his.
"Better than well. They loved my ideas Oliver and I think your mom got her investor."
He softly kisses her forehead. "I had no doubt you could do it. I'm so proud of you."
She looks up at him. Her eyes are filled with the familiar sparkle he's come to love and lately got so little chance to see. His heart skips a beat and he knows he's not waiting a second longer.
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They say their goodbyes and to indulge Felicity they take their time to walk through the Science exhibit. He's once again fascinated about her knowledge and love for everything displayed. He gets a huge kick out of her trying to explain things he has no idea about. He lets her talk though, he loves the sound of her voice, of her happy voice and stores this moment deep in his heart.
After the exhibit they go back to their hotel room where he makes sure she naps for at least 90 minutes before them heading to the beach for some fresh air and alone time before dinner with his mother and Thea.
They sit on one of the benches overlooking the ocean and he drapes his arm around her shoulders. The sunset is beautiful and reminds him of their first jump together. He already knew back then there was something special about this woman. He holds her a bit tighter and the crisp fall air makes her snuggle closer against him for warmth.
"Thank you for today." she says looking at the waves crashing on the shore.
"I'd do anything for you Felicity."
"I know, and I love you all the more for it."
"Felicity…" he says, breaking their cuddle and turning his body to face hers. Her eyes are so incredibly blue and for a moment he just wants to get lost in them. "….today, seeing you so excited about a part of your life I had absolutely no part of I realised something. I realised that there is probably many more things I don't know about you and that I probably will never understand everything the way that say Ray Palmer will understand you."
The happiness on her face turns to a frown and he can kick himself right about now, because his sentence is giving her a whole other idea and it's not what he means.
"Wha….what are you saying Oliver?" she asks with a shaky voice.
"Oh no, no Felicity….I'm sorry, I've never really been good with words….this…it came out wrong."
She's still confused, but the frown eases a bit and he takes a deep breath to start again.
"What I'm trying to say…you have so many facets of your life that I haven't had the privilege of getting to know and even though I'm not as smart as Ray Palmer in understanding all those facets, I really want to try Felicity. I want to know every part of you….on the inside and the outside and I don't want to wait another second to do it."
He gets up from the bench, takes both her hands in his and kneels in front of her.
"I love you with every fibre of my being, I love you and I want to spend every second of my life with you by my side. I know this might sound rushed, but I can't wait any longer to ask you this….Felicity Smoak, will you marry me?"
