Author's note: Sorry this is a bit late... got busy cleaning and organizing my house this weekend and hurt my back in the process... now I have a clean house but a sore lower back... so now for the story... I hope you enjoy this chapters... bit of fluff before we get into the story of the bad guys... also we find out about the twins and their names
As always special thanks to my beta warehouseluver13 for all she has done and please review... I love them so much
Disclosure: I own nothing of Arrow
"Okay we have everything in place. The food, the cake, the table for the presents, all of the decorations. It looks perfect." Thea smiled, scanning over her handy work. She had been decorating all morning with Connor and Sara, making sure that the house was perfect. She had a table filled with brunch foods including fresh fruits and juices, banners with 'Team Pink' and 'Team Blue' spelled out on them hung on the walls. There was a small table with party favor bags on them filled with molded chocolates that Felicity had chosen out. Since this was to be a simple family gathering, Thea had even rented a photo booth and had it set up in a corner of the parlor with a table next to it that had different props resting on it for the friends and family to use while taking photos. There was a large table for the gifts, including a diaper cake with a giraffe sitting on top. When Thea had asked how they planned on redecorating the nursery, Oliver and Felicity had chosen a simple muted safari theme that would be gender friendly. The work on the room would actually start the next day, with a meeting with their contractor. Thea had special ordered a two tier cake, each tier in blue and pink colors, with two strollers on top, one in each color. She had a bowl filled with pink and blue pin on ribbons for all the guests to wear the show what they thought the baby would be. The doorway coming into the parlor was covered in pink and blue streamers that had balloons tied at the end of them and on the front door was a sign that read 'He or She. Come in to see.' Thea had had a lot of fun tracking down all the decorations and party supplies for the reveal. She wanted today to be perfect.
"One final thing." Sara stated as she moved into the room. She moved a box into the room with her and set it by the back door. "When we get ready for the reveal, we will move this outside."
"And we have both boxes tied off?"
"Yep. They pulled the bow and reveal the first baby then lift out the second box and repeat. The moving and all won't mess with the box inside since the only string inside is the one tying the box closed."
"Thanks again Sara. The box looks great." The boxes were identical. Painted black with blue and pink dots all over it. One side said 'Boy or Girl' on it and had bows painted on it.
Barry laughed as he came into the room. "So who do you think is more nervous about today, Oliver or Felicity?" A doorbell was heard in the foyer but Thea knew that Raisa would get it.
"Definitely Oliver. Can you imagine if they had a girl. That would just be karma at work." Cisco chuckled.
"Hey! That's my brother you're talking about. Yes he may have broken a few hearts in his day."
"A few?!" Sara, Barry, Cisco and Joe all teased as they fought back the urge to laugh at how Thea tried to downplay her brother's playboy past.
"Whatever. He isn't doing that anymore. So let it go. He has moved on and so should we."
"Not to mention if they do have a girl she won't be dating until she's 30 if Oliver has his way." Lance laughed as he moved into the room, Laurel and Donna trailing behind him.
The teams greeted each other and started to chat and laugh as they each took a ribbon and pinned it to themselves. The only ones who didn't were Sara and Thea. Laurel noticed her sister not wearing a bow. "Sara, no vote on the baby will be?"
"Nope, Thea needed some extra help so I got to know what they are having when they got back from their honeymoon. Of course with everything going on with Damien, we didn't open the envelope until about two days later but I already know so no vote. Also no bets."
"Which is something you should all be ashamed of doing." Felicity's voice rang out. Everyone turned to see the family walk into the room.
Thea had planned it so Oliver, Felicity and Connor would wear both blue and pink so they didn't show a guess on the sexes either. Oliver was dressed comfortably in a pair of dark denim jeans and a light pink and powder blue pinstriped button up shirt. Connor had the blue 'I'm going to be a Big Brother' shirt he had worn for the photos on along with pair of blue jeans and a pink belt he borrowed from Sammy that had a pink bow buckle on it. Felicity was in a grey sweater and dark jeans. She had two bead bracelets on her wrists, one blue and one pink, that matched the earrings on her ears. Around her waist and sitting just above her growing bump was a sash with blue, pink and white satin flowers on it.
"Come on Blondie. We were just having a bit of fun." A young voice called out from behind them.
"Uncle Roy!" Connor shouted as he ran to the young man and leaped into his arms.
"Yeah there little man. Man, you're getting big. And heavy."
"Yep Dad and Dig have been training me. I work out with them every afternoon. I wanna be big and strong like them."
"He have you slapping at water in bowls yet?" Roy snickered.
"No. We went another way with Connor's training in term of handling a bow. He is really good." Oliver grinned as he welcomed the young man back into his home.
"Seriously? I slapped that stupid water for weeks." Roy groaned causing the party to laugh.
"Trust me. Better to slap it than have it boiled and poured on you." Thea mumbled. Oliver heard her and was worried. He had not asked about her training with Malcolm and what exactly he had done to his sister. He was worried that she had be tortured during her training because no matter how much Malcolm tries to act righteous, Oliver knew there would always be a monster inside that man.
Thea saw the change in her brother but she smiled and waved off her comment, hoping that he would drop the subject. At least for now. Today was for celebrating the light and happiness in their lives. Not for stomping through the darkness that was their pasts.
The group started to mingle and enjoy themselves as they started the party. Catching up a bit with Team Flash as well as Roy. After about 15 minutes, everyone had arrived that would be in attendance. Thea walked over to Felicity and Oliver and smiled. "Ready?"
"Definitely." Felicity nodded vigorously as she smiled at Oliver who looked so pleased in that moment. She wanted to freeze time and live in that second forever. He had rarely seemed so genuinely happy like he was right now.
Thea walked them over to the doors and everyone followed. Sara dropped the box into position and smiled at them then stood aside with Thea and Connor as everyone watched the get ready to open the box's tie. Oliver took one tail in his hand as he stood on one side of the box and Felicity matched on the other side. "Go guys ready?" Thea called out. Once the cheering died down, Thea smiled. "On 3. 1. 2. 3!"
They pulled the string and suddenly a wave of pink balloons filled the air. Gasps, cheers and squeals of excitement could be heard and Felicity ran to Oliver and smiled. "We have a girl. A daughter!"
"Yes we do." Oliver grinned back at her and kissed her. Once they finished kissing, they turned back to the group gathered. "Now we have a confession to make. We have a bit of news ourselves today besides the baby's sex. We are announcing the name as well. But first." Felicity stepped aside as Oliver lifted the second box out and sat in one the ground.
Several voices called out at once. "What?! Huh?! Whoa!"
Oliver held his hand up to calm the party down. "Yes. This is right. Felicity and I are having twins."
"Twins!" Everyone gasped as they each processed the new information.
"Yes twins. Dr. Carmichael said that I am actually at 17 weeks now and that the babies are sitting so that they are one behind the other so we had a lot of false readings in the sonograms and Doppler readings. She found out that my levels were high and when we went to see her after our honeymoon she had a 3D ultrasound done which confirmed her findings. So there will be two more Queens in the near future not one." Felicity explained as she rubbed her hand over her belly.
"And now to find out if it is another boy or another girl." Oliver stated then smiled at Felicity as they grabbed at the tails of the second box's bow and pulled. A flood of blue balloons flowed out of the box and into the sky. "A boy! We're having another boy!" Oliver called out as he ran towards his wife and wrapped her up in his arms.
Connor ran over and hugged his parents, his head pressed into the belly. "I'm getting a brother AND a sister!"
"That you are Buddy." The rest of the guests started to file up to the family and extend their well wishes and congratulations on the happy news.
After a few minutes of cheer, Thea asked, "So what are the names for the new prince and princess in there?"
Felicity smiled warmly as she looked at Oliver. They had spent the last week talking over names but had not really settled on anything. But in that moment Felicity knew what to do. "Our son will be Thomas Alan. Thomas after his father's and aunt's long lost friend and brother. And Alan after the grandfather he will never get to met and sort of the uncle that we hope will also stand as his godfather of sorts." She smiled as she looked at Barry.
"It would be an honor."
"Now he will also need a godmother and that is where you come in." Felicity looked at Laurel. "Laurel, you have known Tommy and Oliver the longest out of all of us here so I know you will help tell my son about his namesake and what he meant to all of us. Help us keep Tommy alive in my son."
"I would love to do that."
"Sweetheart are you sure?"
"Oliver I'm positive. This is what our son will be called. Tommy. I may not have known the man but I know what he meant to you. What they both meant to you. I love the idea of honoring them this way."
"What about the girl?"
"Well first off I need to announce two more people in our children's lives. Connor is going to be fully adopted by me very soon and when that is done, we would like John and Thea to be his godparents."
Thea nodded as tears rolled down her cheeks, too moved by her nephew's name and the offer to speak.
"I know what this means to you two so I would be honored." Diggle smiled happily towards the couple.
"Now as for our daughter, I have thought long and hard on this one. I wanted her, if we had a girl which we now know we will but I didn't know that before. I did have a feeling. And several dreams of course. Not that my dreams always come true. I mean you don't see me eating my way through 6 gallons of mint chip and not gaining a pound. Although I'm not saying that a lot of my dreams haven't come true lately. I did get married to Oliver. And I am pregnant."
"Fe-li-ci-ty." Oliver grinned.
"Right sorry. Anyway what I was saying before I started babbling is that I wanted my daughter to have a name that was a tribute as well. Oliver and I talked a lot about this so I think we came up with a good name. Harper Lillian. Lillian after my grandmother, who helped my mother and I after my dad left. She was incredible. Lillian is also the name of Oliver's great grandmother, whose ring I wear on my hand. And Harper after the man that gave up all he knew and his own life to protect Oliver." Felicity smiled at Roy who was shocked but also on the verge of tears. She walked up to him and took his hands. "I know you can never be Roy Harper again but I wanted your name to live on. So my daughter will be Harper now so that we will always remember all that you have meant to this team and this family." Roy reached out and hugged her tightly, touched by just how they had decided to pay him back for his sacrifice. "So will you be her godfather?"
"Of course. And she will be in great hands. Always."
"Well then we need someone who can kick your butt to keep you in line with her. Sara?" Oliver teased.
"Me? Are you sure?"
"You are family and a member of our team. I know you will love and protect my daughter if I can not. I couldn't think of a better person." Felicity agreed with her husband on his choice.
"Oh Lis! I'd love to." Sara hugged Felicity tightly. And soon the party started to talk about the babies and the names as they looked at the ultrasound photos.
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"I'm can't wait to put some of these on the babies. They are too cute guys." Felicity smiled as she unwrapped the final set of onesies from Nyssa. Nyssa had given them a set of five gender neutral onesies that were safari themed. Barry had given them a gift certificate for over $100 for diapers and food, joking that if the babies eat like their mother then they would need the cash. Sara, Roy and Donna had found a bunch of cute and humorous onesies to give them.
Donna gave her five total. The first was a golden yellow color and read 'You are my Sunshine. My only...', the second was grey and had 'I heart my daddy', the third was a white long sleeve one with 'I heart my brother' on it, the fourth was a cream color and had 'Little shrimp' with a cartoon shrimp drawing on it, and the final one was black with 'Mommy's cutie pie' with a pie on it.
Sara went more for humor than cute. She also had five in a gift bag for them. The first was white and had blue printing on it that read 'Think I'm cute? You should see my aunts.', the second was black and had 'I drink until I pass out' with a bottle on it, the third was a grey one with 'New kid on the block' printed on it, the fourth was a white one with Harry Potter glasses and lightening bolt, and the last one was white and orange and had 'My mom is hotter than your mom' written on it.
Roy had a lot of fun finding ones that they would definitely know came for him. The first one was white and read 'You can do this Dad' with the arms and legs holes labeled, the second one read 'I'm cute. Mom's cute. Dad's lucky.', the third one was black and had 'Sorry ladies my daddy is definitely taken' written on it, the fourth one was white and had 'Sportin' daddy's looks & mommy's brains' printed on it, and the last one was black with a red heart on it and read 'I heart boobies (like my daddy)'. Felicity had cracked up when she opened his gift while Oliver just glared and growled a bit at his one time apprentice.
They had been enjoying the brunch food and cake while Felicity and Oliver sat together and opened the gifts. They received a beautiful porcelain giraffe coin back and some play blocks from Martin and Clarissa Stein. Raisa had made a gorgeous hand knitted baby blanket for them and promised to make another for the other baby. This one was pink because Raisa had a feeling the baby would be a girl. Laurel had given Felicity a mommy to be pampering kit, complete with lotions, bubble bath and other items that could help her relax. Walter had given them a sterling silver picture frame with spots for several pictures throughout the baby's first year and a set of sterling silver dishes to hold the baby's first hair timings and first tooth lost. He had promised to go and get another set for the other baby later in the week. Lance had given them a mobile that was safari themed and a stuffed elephant doll and a stuffed lion doll. Donna had secretly bought a second mobile and put it in the bag for him so that he wouldn't have to go get another one. Caitlin and Ronnie, who were watching all the fun through a Skype session, had given them two towel sets for the baby's bath time. Joe had a laundry basket filled with items like baby shampoo and wipes and other things first time parents need wrapped up for them like a gift basket. Iris had given the idea to her father by taking a bunch of white onesies and wrapping them in colorful onesies so they looked like little babies bundled up and placing them in a basket and wrapping them like a gift basket as well. Cisco had given Felicity two shirts that she could wear as her belly grew. One was pink with 'loading..." written on it. The other was a dark blue with 'future geek' printed on it and an arrow pointing down at her belly.
"Okay so now for our gift." Lyla laughed as she held out a large gift bag for them to open. Just as Felicity was getting ready to open it Diggle pushed a large box towards Oliver as well. "You have to open both of these." Lyla giggled, knowing what was in the box. Felicity opened the bag first to find a diaper bag around packed with supplies. Then Oliver stood and went open the large box.
"It just lifts off." Diggle chuckled. They all watched as Oliver lifted the box off to find a stunning dark wood bassinet with cream curtains around it. Oliver burst into a fit of laughter as he figured out what it was and why Diggle had given it to him. "Now you don't have to worry about putting a bassinet from hell together. We can get another one just like it and I can help you put it together." Diggle snickered.
"Dig it's perfect. Thanks man." Oliver embraced his friend as he remembered that moment in their shared past. He had come to rely on Diggle for a lot over the years and realized just how much they shared.
"John it's beautiful. Thank you." Felicity smiled as she hugged the man as well. She was looking forward to redecorating the nursery a bit to make room for the second baby. The room itself was large enough for two babies. They just needed the extra furniture and she and Oliver had already talked about it all as they stood in the room that morning.
"Okay. Now for my gifts. I got to cheat a bit and get stuff that I knew would work for the babies since I knew their genders. I know that there is going to be a photo shoot once they have arrived so I got them a couple outfits to wear for that." Thea smiled as she handed two boxes to the expecting parents. Oliver opened the first one and found a set of matching outfits. Each had a white onesie but there was a grey and white polka dotted bow tie for little Tommy to wear and a skirt and hair bow in the same fabric for little Harper to wear.
"Speedy these are adorable. Thanks." Oliver hugged his sister, happy to share this moment with her. For a bit of time last year he wasn't sure if he could have get a relationship with his sister back again. But now they were stronger and closer than they ever had been.
Felicity opened the other one and found two onesie outfits inside. The first was meant for little Tommy. It was a green and blue striped onesie with a blue and white spotted bowtie. There was a headband with a grey felt crown on it and a blue beaded pacifier clip with a crown logo on it. The other onesie was meant for little Harper. It was a pink onesie with 'Little Princess' embroidered on it. It had a tutu to go along with it. There was a soft pink headband with bows and flowers made of satin on it and a crown pin glued in the middle of a flower. She also had a pink beaded pacifier clip with a crown on it. "Thea! These are so cute. Thank you." Felicity teared up at the thought that one day she would be holding her daughter and son in her arms in these.
Oliver kissed her cheek and smiled at her. "I have something too. Connor helped me pick it out and it really isn't any use right now but we needed these." Oliver smiled as he handed her a medium sized box. She lifted the lid to find two beautifully stunning porcelain Christmas ornaments inside. Each were white and had touches of blue and pink in them. The edges were all gilded in a bright yellow gold. They both read 'Baby's First Christmas' on them. The first was a baby carriage and the other was a baby rattle. "I know they aren't due until the end of January but this will be theirs once they come. Whether it is this year or next year. I wanted to get something that they could hold on to for the rest of their lives."
"Oliver I love them." She leaned over and kissed him deeply.
"Dad got me one too. It is a superhero one. So that I will always remember my first year as a Queen." Connor smiled proudly.
"First of many, Sweetie." Felicity smiled as she pulled her son into her arms. Soon the party was laughing and sharing stories as they cleaned up again.
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"So twins huh?" Diggle asked as he stepped into the nursery. Oliver had stepped away as Felicity helped the other clean up the last bits from the party and enjoyed getting advice from Lyla and Donna about what she could expect.
Oliver stood overlooking the crib that was already in the room. His hand brushed across the edge, glancing at the soft pink colored fabric he found there. "A daughter and a second son." He stated as a small smile grew across his face. He felt a warmth grow as well.
"Well I'm glad. I just can't believe you two kept that a secret for weeks." Diggle sat down into the chair in the corner of the room.
"Yeah. Bout killed Felicity to. She has been dying to tell everyone for weeks." Oliver stepped away from the crib and sat down on the ottoman next to Diggle.
"Well I'm happy for you two. You're gonna have a lot on hands with those two munchkins."
"I know. I can't wait."
"So when does work start in here?"
"Tomorrow. I have to head to QI to start the hiring process for two assistants for Felicity plus start taking over some actions from Walter. I want everything to be easy for Felicity when she returns to work. I need it to be."
Diggle saw Oliver's protectiveness coming out. "Listen man, I know what it feels like to want to protect the woman you love and the mother of your child from harm. But you have to realize that this is life and life comes with its own dangers."
"Dig, she has to be okay. Those babies need that and if I can take away some of her stress than I will. I will do anything for her and our children."
"I know that man. And so does she. Just don't try to run her life for her. Felicity is her own person and very independent. Something you fell in love with if I might remind you. She is going to do what she wants to and you are either going to try and stop her from it and cause a lot more fighting and yelling and hurt feelings or help her in any way you can by supporting her. She does that for you. You think she liked watching you walk out the Foundry all those times you went after bad guys and not knowing if you would be coming back safely? She was always nervous with you in the field."
"You said..."
"I know I said no when you asked about it when Ray was in field but I was telling the truth. She was anxious for Ray because he had no business being in the field at that time. He had no training or skill. You, on the other hand, have loads of training and skill. She was always nervous that you would take a risk you couldn't come back from in order to protect those you love. She was worried that you never saw just how much you meant to others so you saw yourself as expendable. You're plan with Ra's and the plane proved it to her."
"And now with Damien." Diggle glared at him curiously. "I have been spending all my time at the Bunker hunting down Damien. She thinks I am obsessing."
"She isn't the only one. We're all worried about you."
"I know. Sara already chewed my ass about it. Banned me from the Bunker too. Then I got home to Felicity doing the same."
Diggle snickered at the image of the two small but powerful blondes terrorizing the strong willed vigilante that his friend was. "You said it yourself man. Months ago when we took down Ra's together. You are no longer alone in this fight. Yes I was mad at the time and didn't want to stand by you anymore and although we have all come a long way since then, one thing hasn't changed. You are not alone anymore. You have a team behind you. Willing to fight beside you, stand by you, risk their lives with you. You need to believe in us and trust us to know how important this is. We love Felicity and Connor just as much as you do." Oliver grunted and smirked at his friend. "Well maybe not as much but we care for them. We will do all we can to keep them safe as well. So trust us. And trust Felicity. She has more to live for now. She's not going to put herself in harm's way if she can help it. She is just as excited about those two babies as you are so she won't let anything bad happen to them or her. And as for Connor, the fact that she threatened to take him from you means she loves him as if he was her own."
Oliver was stunned by the knowledge that Diggle knew of her threats from the other day. "How did you...?"
"Man she talks to me. I know a lot about you two. Some things I wish I didn't." Diggle chuckled as he stuttered at the thoughts. "She loves you man. Let that last wall fall and let her in. Believe in her. She is here because she wants this, wants you. Hell she married your stubborn ass. If that doesn't show you just how committed she is, I don't know what will." Diggle laughed as Oliver glared evilly at him.
"Always knew you were the wise one on the team." A sweet voice giggled from the door. The boys looked up to see Felicity standing in the doorway.
"How long have you been there?" Oliver grinned tenderly, embarrassed a bit at what she could have overheard.
"Long enough to know you owe the swear jar a dollar. Each." Felicity quietly laughed as the two men groaned. "Also to know that John is right. Oliver, I want these two babies to come into this world as safe and healthy as possible. I know that relies a lot on what I do now. So I planned on delegating a lot of my duties at QI and holding off joining the team again until after the birth. The less stress and worry in my life, the better I can guarantee my children's safety. I want them to be comfy and stay in there as long as possible so that we don't have any problems later on. It will be hard but when I think of the two happy smiling faces I will see later because of my choices now, it's worth it. But I need your help." Felicity moved and sat on the ottoman he had vacated moments prior. Oliver helped her sit down then knelt next to her, gazing up into her eyes. "If I can't worry over you then you have to do the same for me. Believe that I will take care of myself. Stop trying to control everything in my life. Let me breathe a bit. And trust in the team. If I can't be in the Bunker keeping an eye on you and keeping you safe, then I need you to let the team do that for me. I need you to let them help you get home to me and our kids every night. That will put my mind at ease a bit while I am waiting patiently in our bed for you to return from fighting bad guys and keeping the city safe."
"I'll try. It's hard to just change. I can't do it overnight."
Felicity reached out and cupped his cheek, her thumb skating gently across his cheekbone. "I know. I'm just asking you to try. Know that the team has your back and are skilled enough to help. If need be, train a bit more with them and get used to working together before going out in the field. But promise me that you will not take the risks you have in the past. I just got you in my life. I'm not ready to bury my husband yet."
"I promise. I love you Sweetheart." Oliver wiped away a couple loose tears from her cheek as he leaned into her.
"I love you too." Felicity whispered against his lips as she lined them up with his. She leaned in the final few inches and latched onto his lips, feeling the softness of them against hers. She felt as Oliver's hand moved and twisted into her hair. He tilted her head to line up a bit better with her. Her blood heated and a soft moan escaped her throat but was quickly devoured by Oliver's mouth. His tongue snuck out from behind the curtain of his lips and licked across her lower lip. Just as they started to lose themselves in the kiss and each other, a throat cleared next to them. They separated to find Diggle leaned back into the chair with a knowing grinning on his face. Oliver chuckled as Felicity blushed. "Sorry John."
"No prob." Diggle waved it off.
"Oliver, people are starting to leave. Team Flash needs to get back to Central City so they are packing up. Wanna come down and say goodbye?"
"Of course dear. I'll be right down." Oliver smiled as he helped Felicity up on her feet again. He watched her leave, her smile joining her rosy cheeks. Diggle followed her out after leaving a final pat on Oliver's back for support. Oliver looked around the room and smiled to himself. "A daughter and a another son." he whispered as the thought of the two small inhabitants this room soon would have filled his mind. His smile grew as a new warmth filled his chest. He walked out of the room trying to picture just what the twins would look like.