A/N: Okay, so this was supposed to be the last chapter but once I started writing it I realized it was getting too long so I had to divide it in two. Next chapter will definitely be the last one and it's already half way through so it shouldn't take long to post it.

Also, I'd like to say I've just written another Arrow fic. It's already finished though I haven't posted all chapters yet, it's an Olicity (promise!), it's short (just three chaps long) and it's fluffy. So if you're in the mood for that go check out my story "Blind Love".

Alfred was waiting for her at the door of the apartment when she arrived.

"Miss Smoke, it's a pleasure to have you."

She gave him a forced smile, "Yeah, you too, Alfred. Where is he?" she asked him quickly.

Alfred smiled indulgently and led her into the apartment and to Bruce's bedroom. Felicity looked at him and sighed. It wasn't that he looked that bad; he had a few bruises in his upper chest and bandages where he had been shot, but the rest of his body seemed to be fine. It was more like a sigh of relief, to see that he was really there and he would be fine.

She slowly walked to the bed and went to sit but then hesitated and turned to Alfred with questioning eyes.

The older man nodded with a small smile, "It's fine. He is stable and won't feel a thing."

She nodded, and with his permission carefully sat on her side of the bed, hesitantly moving to get comfortable until she was lying just besides Bruce.

"Miss Smoke I understand you've had a difficult night. May I interest you in some dinner? I can have something made for you or if you prefer I could order something in?"

She shook her head without paying much attention. "I'm fine," she started but then thought better, "Actually, maybe I could do with a sandwich. But I can make it later; don't worry."

Alfred waved her comment off, "It's no trouble. Anything else I can help you with?"

Felicity stopped for a moment trying to think clearly and practically now that she could see Bruce was fine and she was touching him. "I don't have any clothes. Or toiletries. Or anything really. Could you maybe help me with that?"

"Of course. It will be my pleasure. I'm sure we'll be able to get you a nightgown-"

"No, that's fine," she interrupted him. "I'm just going to take one of Bruce's shirts," she explained and blushed lightly a moment later. "But if you could find me something to wear tomorrow I'd really appreciate it."

"Certainly," he answered nodding and took a look at the scene in front of him. He couldn't be happier that Bruce had finally found someone that truly cared about him. Actually, he had lost hope quite a while ago; even before Rachel had died. But seeing Felicity's relief and affection towards Bruce, specially when the man he saw like a son most needed it, made his heart warm.

"If you need anything else don't hesitate to ask. I'll leave you two alone," he told her before walking to the door and closing it after him.

Once alone with Bruce she turned to him letting a little of her worry turn into something else. "I'm so giving you a piece of my mind when you wake up!" she told him firmly. "You gave me a heart attack, or what felt like one! You can't do this! Not when I'm in love with you!"

It was a little past noon when Felicity finally felt movement next to her in bed and turned to see Bruce blink slowly, regaining consciousness. She could see he was still a little out of it, surely because of the drugs Alfred had given him the night before. He closed his eyes and rubbed his face tiredly before opening them again and at last noticing her.

His voice was hoarse and his eyes narrowed in surprise when he whispered, "Felicity?"

She stroked his cheek softly with a small smile, "Hey. Welcome back."

"What are you doing here?" he asked but his tone showed it was pure curiosity and surprise.

"You were shot," she said as if the answer was obvious.

Bruce hovered his hand over the wound but didn't quite touch it. "Yeah, I remember. I was going to call you today to tell you but I'm guessing Alfred beat me to it," his voice a little annoyed.

"And be thankful for that. If he hadn't you'd have a very pissed off girlfriend yelling at you over the phone right now as she rushed to the airport. He saved you a lot of trouble."

A smile spread to his face at her comment and he took her hand in his and brought it to his lips, "In that case I'll thank him later." He paused before looking her in the eye to show he was serious, "I'm glad you came but you didn't have to; I'm fine, really. I know it sounds bad to hear someone was shot but it wasn't serious, just a shoulder wound that will heal in no time."

"Bruce, there is no such thing as 'being shot' and 'not serious' in the same sentence. You were shot; it's a big deal."

He sighed and kissed her hand, "I just don't want you to worry. I just needed a few stitches and there will be no long term consequences."

She knew he was trying to comfort her and that he really thought as wounds go it hadn't been that bad. And considering all the scars on his body, comparatively he probably was right. Still, it didn't make her feel any better.

She ran a hand through his hair and finally asked, "What happened last night?"

"I was trying to retrieve some information that would link a mob boss to a series of recent crimes. He has been arrested a few times but the police can never keep him because the proof is always circunstancial. Turns out it was a trap and it took me a little time to find a way out."

"If I was here it wouldn't have happened," flew from her mouth as soon as he was finished.

He shook his head and squeezed her hand, "No, it would have happened anyway. I had the blueprints but they remodelled it so it looked more like a maze. It was a trap and there was nothing you could have done."

It was her turn to shake her head, insisting, "I could have helped. I could have hacked the cameras to give you a way out or at least keep you informed about where the bad guys were or found new blueprints or something."

Bruce stroked her cheek to make her look at him and focus again, "Hey. I'm fine. And you have no way of knowing if it would have made any difference so stop thinking about 'what ifs'. It won't help." Then he gave her a sly smile and added in a playful voice, "Now if you gave me a kiss to make it better; now, that could help a lot."

She chuckled even though her eyes were still a little teary and leaned down to give a light kiss to his shoulder before giving him a passionate kiss on the lips. Resting her forehead against his, she confessed with closed eyes, "I was so scared. I know Alfred said you were okay or at least mostly okay but- I was so scared! It felt like I couldn't breath until I finally saw you."

He brushed a tear that escaped and kissed her softly, "I'm sorry. I never meant to worry you." He paused, "I can't promise that this won't happen again but I can promise I'll always do my best to come back to you."

Felicity sat back and watched him for a few moments before saying with resolution, "I guess it'll have to be enough." But she added quietly in her mind, 'And I'll do everything I can to make sure you always do.'

The next couple of days were spent cocooned in Bruce's apartment. Even though Bruce insisted he was fine and could go to work without anyone noticing his wound Felicity put her foot down and in no uncertain terms told him he was prohibited to leave the apartment until she thought he was healed enough. And to his annoyance and delight she wouldn't stop fussing over him. Alfred was highly amused with the whole situation and didn't try very hard to hide his mirthful smile; he even made a few comments that earned him a glare from Bruce but they didn't bother Felicity at all.

Officially, Bruce had decided to work from home for a couple of days to spend more time with his beloved girlfriend; and the gossip blogs were only too happy to point out that their relationship was growing serious and Bruce seemed to be off the market for real this time. That part of the articles didn't really bother Felicity. However, the added rumors that Felicity had gotten pregnant to trap Bruce into a relationship or that she had been in some scandalous relationship with Oliver before meeting Bruce made her furious. Apparently, now that she was dating Bruce, she had actually been the stereotypical blond secretary who wore too short skirts and had been not-so-secretly having a torrid affair with Oliver for months before moving on to Bruce - which only had happened after being discarded by Oliver. Funny how no one had thought of that before she started dating Bruce.

Her phone had rung a few times with reporters asking for a quote. No one dared to call Bruce directly but oddly enough there was always some quote from a supposed close friend of Bruce, which it would be suspicious if it wasn't laughable. Bruce's only friends were Alfred and Mr. Fox and it was absolutely ridiculous to believe one of them would actually talk to the press much less to low life bloggers. Not only that but the quotes varied from "Felicity had been hitting on Bruce for months trying to seduce him before he finally succumbed" to "they had been having an open relationship for years and now Felicity had finally been able to trap him with a baby." She supposed the rumors would have to change in nine months when there still was no baby. Until then she really hoped they didn't say anything about her getting fat; that might lead her to teaching them a lesson and their servers would pay the price.

Of course Oliver remained quiet about the subject not giving fuel to the reporters though Diggle had very subtly asked her if there was any truth about the baby rumors. Felicity was pretty sure Oliver had put him to it; Diggle might have been curious but she believed he wouldn't right out ask her. She answered with a serious, "Well, yes, I'm pregnant. By the way the baby is due in two weeks, we're having a fancy wedding in a few days and Oliver is the best man; Bruce insists."

Diggle had chuckled before apologizing and saying he should have known better. Felicity waved it off and assured him that whenever she had any kind of news - though it most definitely they wouldn't be about her changing diapers in the near future - she would tell him personally and he shouldn't believe anything he read online or otherwise.

The two days she spent with Bruce went by too fast and her heart was tight when they had to say their goodbyes. He had promised to visit soon and she had done the same though neither of them could set a date. After boarding the plane she couldn't help letting her tears fall as she spent the whole trip back to Starling wishing she could have stayed longer. But she knew she had a job to do and if she worked to anyone else she wouldn't even have had the chance to just drop everything to run to Bruce's aid. Bruce had more freedom about how to spend his time but he was understanding of her situation even if he wasn't happy about it. It was just the way it had to be for now. Still, as she brushed her tears away and looked at the clouds outside she asked herself if it really had to be this way.

Felicity was bored answering e-mails on behalf of Oliver a few days later when Roy called to ask her to lunch. She agreed immediately having missed having some bonding time with the man she considered a little brother but she was also surprised by the tone in his voice. She could tell he wanted to talk to her about something serious and that worried her a lot. Specially since his relationship with Oliver had been on the rocks after Thea had told her brother off. She really hoped things hadn't escalated and she would have to intervene.

When she arrived at the little Italian restaurant a few blocks away from the office she was surprised to see Roy was already sat and fidgeting with his sleeves. She had arrived early and if he was already there it was even more serious than she thought. She forced a smile and took her coat off before sitting in front of him.

"Hey!" she greeted cheerfully. "I was surprise you invited me to lunch somewhere other than the Big Belly Burger. Changing your taste?" she asked knowing it definitely wasn't that.

He scratched the back of his head nervously but gave her a smile, "Just didn't want to risk running into Oliver."

She sighed, "So, this is about him."

"Kinda," he relented. "But how are you doing? I'm guessing it hasn't been great being here when your boyfriend was shot just a few days ago in another city. You seem a little distracted."

Their waiter approached and they quickly ordered before Felicity answered with a shrug, "Obviously I miss him. And I worry about him a lot." She sighed. "It hasn't been great," she finally agreed.

"Sorry about that."

She waved him off not wanting to continue on the subject. "But I'm guessing you didn't invite me here to talk about my relationship with Bruce."

"No, I haven't," he admitted. "I listened to what you said and it makes no sense to ask Thea to stay here and be miserable when there is nothing actually holding me here. She is the best thing that has ever happened to me and I want her to be happy, so I'm going with her."

Felicity yelped in surprise with a grin, "That's so great! So you need help telling Oliver?"

Roy shook his head, "Actually, no. I told him things didn't feel right anymore and that maybe I shouldn't stay in the team. He said I should do what I thought was best. I still went to the lair these last few days since you came back because I asked them to wait until I told you personally."

She wanted to curse Oliver for not having told Roy how important he was and asking him to stay in the team, even though she thought Roy should leave to be with Thea anyway. It was just about showing appreciation to Roy. But she was able to contain herself and remain quiet until she realized something, "For him to say something like that… he doesn't know you're leaving the team because you're leaving town with Thea, does he?"

Roy gave her a smirk that said it all and shook his head. "I didn't think it'd go so well and I didn't see why I should tell him. His issue is with Thea and not with me; she is the one who has to tell her brother. Besides, I'm the one following her, not the other way around."

Felicity nodded in agreement and sat back watching him. "You sounded nervous on the phone. You didn't ask me here just to tell me that."

He looked down coyly and shook his head, "No." He paused and met her eyes with unsureness, "Thea chose to study fashion at Gotham's Fashion Institute. We're moving to Gotham."

Felicity's eyes widened at that and her mouth opened but no words would come out. So he continued, "I don't want to put you in an awkward position so feel free to say no. But I couldn't help but wonder if maybe Bruce would like some help with his mission. I mean, you've mentioned he works alone and he has been hurt; maybe having someone working with him could be good? And after helping people the way I did with Team Arrow… it's hard to give that up. It becomes a part of you, you know? And I'm not sure we will get along and maybe it won't work out, but I though it couldn't hurt to ask-"

She cut him off holding a hand up, "Roy, you're babbling. That's my thing."

"Right."

She leaned forward on the table and shrugged, "To be honest I don't know what Bruce would think about that. I can ask him but I won't push it. I've helped him one time when he asked and I may have made some suggestions while in Gotham but I don't really work with him. And in this kind of work you can't choose people just based on their ability, there is more than that… It has to be his choice."

"I completely understand. Just the fact you're willing to tell him I'd like to work with him means a lot to me."

"Of course," she paused. "So, when are you moving?"

"In a few weeks. Thea still has some things to take care of. As soon as she's done we're moving. I'm already looking for a job and hopefully I'll find one soon. She has already applied and her classes start in a month and a half so we'll have some time to settle in."

Felicity held his hand on hers, "I'm so happy for you! You both deserve this!"

"Thank you. We're really happy, too. It's scary to think we'll be living together just in a few weeks but it's also really exciting."

"I can imagine."

"So, what is Gotham like?" Roy asked and she started ranting about all the things there were to do in Gotham and all the best places to go to eat and her favorite spots in town for the next hour.

A little over a week had gone by and it still felt like it was getting harder every time she had to go back to Starling. She would just get so sad missing Bruce all the time. Of course spending time with Diggle and Roy was fun and even Oliver had been nicer to her and joined them more often to have lunch or pizza at the lair after patrolling the city. But still she felt something was missing like there was a hole in her life. She knew it was a bit crazy because Bruce was in her life even if he was miles away. She didn't worry about him cheating on her even if a few magazines had hinted on that on the last few days. They talked and texted constantly during the day and video chatted at night. And she was sure he would visit her in the first opportunity he had. But none of that mattered because she still couldn't kiss him when she got home at the end of the day or go on a date with him whenever they felt like it. She couldn't share a bed with him every night nor go to his aid in minutes if he needed help.

Work at Queen Consolidated was much the same; answering the phone, replying e-mails, scheduling Oliver's meetings and doing any inane work that was asked of her. At the lair things were going pretty easy; no super villains like they had to deal with in the last couple of years. A few robberies now and then but mainly the guys helped everyday people who found themselves in a bad situation because of some low life thug. Which she oddly found comforting, considering the problems they had had to face before.

But every night as she left the lair she thought she hadn't made that much difference. Of course her work was important for the team but she believed with a little training Diggle could have done the same. And even if things got a little out of hand and they needed help she could do that from somewhere else. Her work was done online; it didn't matter if she was in Starling or on the other side of the world, her job would still be the same and if she had the right tech she could do it from anywhere.

The last straw was eight days after she had gotten back to Starling. That night as soon as she got home after a particularly tiring day she was startled by someone knocking on the door and then surprised once she opened it to find a beautiful pack of flowers. The delivery man asked her to sign a form before handing her the vase and wishing her a good night; and she did that on autopilot, not able to take her eyes off of the flowers. With a smile and a sigh she took the flowers inside, closing the door with her foot, and put them on the coffee table to read the note attached to them. And suddenly she was crying hard. Less than an hour earlier she had confessed to Bruce she had had a hard day at work with all the gossip running around and missed him too much. Apparently that was reason enough for him to send her flowers not an hour later to brighten her mood. And just like that, as she sat on the couch to gaze at the flowers for the next half an hour, with a grin on her face she made her choice.