EMMA

Chapter 20: Closure

She found him in the stables, sitting on the hay-covered ground across where his horse Speedy was kept. She had gone there looking for him on a hunch and was amazed that after all these years, it was still his go-to place whenever he was upset and wanted to be alone. She joined him on the hay uninvited, but he didn't move away or tell her to leave him alone. Leaning against a wooden wall, they sat there beside each other in companionable silence for almost half an hour. The faint glow of the moon coming in through the window was their only source of light.

She could hear him breathing. Thinking. Agonizing. She wanted to help ease the burden by telling him that she was safe now, that there are no threats to her well-being, and that she'd been coping and doing her best to move on after her trauma. But she chose to wait. And she chose rightly.

"I should've been there for you," Oliver finally spoke. His voice was soft but course, laced with much regret. She felt the emotion in his tone, and she wondered how just a few words can carry so much pain.

Felicity did not know what to say. She thought of telling him that it wasn't his fault. She considered telling him to stop blaming himself, but he knew that it was pointless, now that he was overcome by emotion. She kept quiet, choosing instead to allow him to get the anguish off his chest. She knew he was old enough and smart enough to figure it out for himself. He just needed time.

After a while, he spoke again. "I know it's mean and cruel for me to say this, and it goes against everything we were taught as kids in church, but… Cooper got what he deserved. I hope that jail time, no matter how brief, made him taste even just a fraction of the pain he'd caused you."

Felicity sighed. His words – those were exactly the same things that had gone on inside her head when she had learned about Cooper Seldon's demise. She hated him for years, but what she hated more was the fact that he hadn't faced justice and suffered the consequences of what he had done to her. Eventually, though, her hatred began to wane. The counseling had helped. The companionship and concern of her new friends in Central City had helped. The confidence she had regained when she graduated at the top of her class and was hired by no less than Dr. Harrison Wells of STAR Labs himself had helped. But what significantly helped her overcome her pain, calm her fears, and heal her from hatred was love.

When she began to love Emma and Emma began to love her, she was set free in so many ways. When Oliver first forgave her and she forgave him eight months ago at Carly's Diner – despite his limited knowledge of her past circumstances – her life had taken a pivotal, positive turn. Since then, she'd been learning that she had more blessings in life to be thankful for, and that wallowing in self-pity and unforgiveness robbed her of the joys those blessings gave.

She had realized that Cooper had not really taken everything from her. She had a job and a promising career. She had friends and a supportive boss. And she had family again. She was no longer alone. She had also appreciated how the love of God and family can mend a broken heart and a broken life. How she had been reunited with Emma and reconciled with Oliver was truly a miracle that was not of her own doing, and she was grateful that everything was now working together for good. She was just unable to see the big picture before, because she was consumed by the darkness of her tragic past.

"But I guess," Oliver went on to say, "it's pointless now to want to make him pay. You didn't get justice in this life, but where he'd gone, he's already suffering for his crime, if he did not have a change of heart, which I doubt he did." Usually, Felicity was the one that spoke in sentence fragments, but this time Oliver had his chance.

Felicity sensed that it was the right time to respond. "I knew you'd figure it out sooner or later, but I didn't think it would happen so soon. Guess you're all grown up now," she told him with a mild chuckle.

Oliver let out a breath and chuckled, too. "Guess so." He looked at her, the moonlight casting shadows on her pale skin, and she became hopeful at his change in mood. "I'm sorry for running off like that. I wasn't walking away from you, promise. I just needed to blow off some steam. You didn't need to see me throw a tantrum."

"It's quite all right," she replied. "I understand… exactly… how you felt. I was angry, too. For a very long time." And then she teased him, "The only difference is, I don't start throwing things when I'm mad."

"No, that's not you," he affirmed her. He grinned, and she could see his pearly whites in the dim light. "You just run away and vanish without saying goodbye," he teased her back.

"Okay, I deserve that," she responded with quiet laughter, looking away. She let out a deep breath and told him, "Next time, come find me." She meant it as a joke, but it did not come out that way. When she realized it, it was too late to take it back.

Oliver was already looking at her as if he wasn't going to let her out of his sight, out of his life ever again. He found her hand that was between them, gave it a gentle squeeze, and said, "I will. But I really hope I don't have to."

She understood what he meant, which made her turn and look at him again. Their gazes locked, and it was as if time had stood still. Their brief banter had shifted into a solemn exchange of renewed affection and care. Each wondered if the other could feel the depth of emotion filled the air. They were keenly aware of the re-connection taking place between them.

Oliver was sure about how he felt. He loved her still, and he could only hope that she recognized it right then and there. He wasn't sure, though, if that was the proper time to tell her. Maybe it was too soon. Maybe she wasn't ready for it. Maybe he still needed to give her time.

Felicity wasn't sure about he she felt. If there was anything that the past several months of bonding with Oliver and Emma had taught her, it was that Oliver had matured and become a responsible, respectable man. He was an amazing older brother, single parent, and co-parent rolled into one. Despite the mistakes and struggles he'd endured, the last eight years had been good to him, and he had definitely changed for the better. She recognized that, and she had come to care about him deeply once again. But did she see him as anything else, as more than the wonderful man raising her daughter? Did she have feelings for him outside of their relationship as Emma's co-parents? She wasn't sure. But now that she felt the intensity of his gaze on her, she overcame the reluctance to explore what more Oliver Queen really meant to her now.

Finally breaking their moment, she said to him, "Come on." She removed her hand from underneath his and added, "It's late, and I am so ready for bed."

Oliver stood up and pulled her up with him. "You're right. We should be checking on Emma, too. You know how she kicks off her blanket and pillows in her sleep. She might get cold."

They left the stables and walked back to the house. It was cold outside. In their haste earlier, there wasn't time for either of them to wear warmer clothes, so they huddled close and shared the fleece blanket that she had taken from the living room couch. Oliver had an arm around her shoulder, holding the blanket draped around her to keep it from falling. Felicity had an arm around his waist to steady herself as they walked. Neither of them really minded the very close proximity.

When Oliver and Felicity quietly walked into the living room, they were surprised to find Thea sitting on the rocking chair, reading a magazine. Emma lay sleeping on the couch with a throw blanket covering her from the chest down.

Oliver gave his sister a questioning look and asked, "She woke up?"

Thea raised an eyebrow, replying, "We both did."

Thea looked at Felicity then back at Oliver. They still hadn't let each other go. When they picked up on what Thea must have been thinking, they disentangled themselves from each other's arms, and Felicity began to fold the blanket they were using.

"I heard a crash, but I figured that you would handle it, so I stayed in bed," Thea explained to her brother. "But after a few minutes, I heard Emma crying. I went to check on her, but she wasn't in bed. I came downstairs and found her standing there, crying," she said, pointing to the entrance to the den. "She said she was frightened by the loud crash, and that she felt bad that her picture with you and Mom was broken."

Oliver's shoulders slumped as he pursed his lips. "Sorry, that was my fault."

"Don't we know it," Thea replied. "What happened?" she asked them.

Oliver and Felicity exchanged glances. They were obviously figuring out who was going to answer the question.

Oliver knew that it had to be him. And it wasn't just because he was the one that broke the picture frame. He was the one that had told Thea years ago that Felicity had cheated on him, so it was only right and fair that he should be the one to straighten things out. He was simply asking Felicity if he could share the gist of what really happened in the past, so that he could give his sister a clear and concise explanation, which would hopefully change the way Thea saw Felicity from here on.

Felicity nodded and smiled at him. She felt that it was also about time that Thea found out, and was relieved that Oliver was offering to be the one to give his sister the talk.

"Thank you for looking out for Emma," she said to Thea with a smile. "I, uh… I'm gonna go upstairs now and leave you two to talk." She kissed Emma on the forehead and then walked towards the stairs. With one last look at the siblings, she greeted them, "Good night. See you in the morning."

"Good night," replied the siblings.

The next day was Sunday. John Diggle hauled up everyone in his van and drove them to church. It was a good service, and Felicity enjoyed seeing John's family for the first time there. They had lunch together at the Diggles' and enjoyed Lyla's cooking. Emma played for a while with John's kids, Sara and John Jr., and then they headed back to the ranch to send Felicity off.

While Oliver brought her bags to the car, Felicity spent a little more time with Emma on the porch. Emma was not so much the clingy type, but for some reason, that afternoon she hadn't wanted to part ways with her mother. Emma sat with her on the swing, crying. Felicity tried to soothe her and promised that she would come visit them again the following weekend instead of waiting for the weekend after next. That had calmed Emma down, and when she had stopped crying, Felicity made the move to leave.

Emma still would not let go of her mother's hand and insisted on taking Felicity to her car with Oliver. After saying their goodbyes, Felicity kissed her little girl and motioned for Oliver to take Emma before she herself started to cry. Oliver and Emma walked back to the porch as Felicity opened the door of her car.

"Wait!" Thea called out from the front door.

Felicity turned to see Thea coming out of the house and walking briskly towards her. She wondered why. She closed the car door just as Thea came to stand a few feet in front of her.

"Felicity, before you go," Thea said with trepidation, shifting her weight between her feet, "I, uhm… I just wanted you to know how sorry I am… for how I've treated you… all this time."

"Thea, it's okay."

"It's not okay," Thea countered. This time, the hesitation was gone. "When you ran away back then and I found out what happened… rather, what Ollie told me had happened… I took his side… without giving you the benefit of the doubt… even if I knew you were a good person. If you only knew half of the mean things I've thought about you, you probably wouldn't forgive me." Thea looked down, ashamed of her own admission.

Felicity took a step closer to Thea and touched her forearm. "Thea, you didn't know."

"My point exactly. I didn't know the whole truth, so it wasn't fair of me to judge you the way I did," Thea said, teary-eyed. "When Ollie told me everything last night… well, not everything, everything. He did spare me the unpleasant details out of respect for you. But I got the gist, and it wasn't pretty in my head. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I was wrong to think badly of you all this time, and I was wrong to treat you with indifference when clearly, you are the reason that Ollie and Emma are now the happiest that I've seen them since Mom died. Felicity, forgive me?"

Felicity nodded. "Yes," she replied, teary-eyed herself. "We good now?"

"Yeah," Thea answered, and then gave Felicity a hug. "Maybe… maybe we could have lunch or something in Central City sometime? STAR Labs is just a few blocks away from where I work."

"I'd love that."

Felicity drove back to Central City that afternoon with lightness of heart that made her sing-along to the music on her radio for a solid four hours. She had finally made peace with her past, and she had found closure at last.

Oliver got a text from her later that evening, telling him that she had reached home safely. He was grinning from ear to ear as he sent her a reply punctuated with three smileys. (He had thought that three hearts were too much.) At bedtime, he and Felicity tucked Emma to bed via video chat. When he retired for the night, he whispered a prayer of thanks for a second chance at happiness. He, too, had found closure at last.

Oliver went to sleep, dreaming of a future with all three of his girls. He woke up missing Felicity already. And as he went about his daily duties in the ranch, he couldn't help but wish that one day, she would consider giving them a second chance.

A/N: This chapter is a respite from all the heartbreak in the previous ones. Olicity is finally reconciled, and Felicity's relationship with Thea is starting afresh. Oliver and Felicity are going to have to figure out what they are to each other now. So, are you ready for some fluff? I sure hope so. ;-) We've had way too much angst.