He watched as the sunbeam came in through the window and made her naked body glow beside him. He looked at her beautiful face as she slept in his arms, her hand on his chest and her leg over his waist. He was a happy as he realized how amazing it felt to have her in his arms, to feel her warm, naked body on his. He kissed her forehead and she shifted a little bit, giving him some leeway to get up and out of bed. He wanted this first morning after to be special and he wanted to prepare them breakfast before she woke up. He put his jeans on and as he walked around the bed towards the door, he noticed something he hadn't caught in the darkness of the night.

On the top of her back was a tattoo. He looked at it for a moment. It was a black infinity symbol with four names inscribed in it. He wondered what the story was behind it, as there was most probably one. He quietly left the room and headed for the kitchen. He quickly inventoried the next to empty fridge, desperately trying to find something to prepare, but he noticed that there was really nothing there. It was true, that most of the time they all spent was at the club and they usually ate in.

He was closing one of the cupboards when he felt a stare on him. He turned around and smiled as he saw Emma leaning against the doorframe, in a pair of shorts and an off the shoulder shirt. She too was smiling at him.

He walked over, kissed her and took her in his arms. "Good Morning".

"Good morning", she replied as she leaned her head back a bit to look at him.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to wake you. I was kind of hoping to surprise you with breakfast".

"I don't think it's the noise that woke me. More your absence by my side". He smiled. He liked the thought of that. "Don't worry about breakfast. I don't really have much. I usually grab a bite to eat as I come in to work. And on top of that with Felicity spending more and more time at John's place well, let's just say, cooking for one is not as much fun".

He nodded.

There was a knock on the door. "I'll get it", she said as she headed for the door.

As she neared the door, she could hear a commotion outside and wondered what was going on. She opened the door and was overwhelmed by what she saw. There were people with microphones, video cameras, photographers and they were all talking at once!

"What is it like being Mrs. Queen"?

"Did you marry him for the money"?

"Are you pregnant"?

She could say nothing as her eyes blinked repeatedly and her mouth opened bigger and bigger with disbelief. She only snapped out of her trance when the reporters shifted the subject of their questions.

"Mr. Queen, why did you keep the marriage a secret"?

"Where did you meet"?

"Can we get an official statement"?

The fact that Oliver was standing next to Emma, only wearing a pair of jeans and no tee-shirt made things even more real for the reporters. The good thing with Oliver, was that very little destabilized him and of course he was apparently one-step ahead of Emma, since he had seen the news the night before. He knew it would have taken them no time to come searching for answers….which they didn't have.

"There will be no comment at this time. However, I invite you to the Queen Mansion at 2PM for an official press conference. Thank you".

With that he put his arm around Emma and closed the door. She turned and looked at him.

"What the hell was that"?

He took her hand and walked her over to the couch in the living room. They sat down quietly.

"You didn't see the news last night did you"? he asked.

"No. Why"?

"Someone, most probably Alexi, gave an anonymous lead on the fact that you and I were married. Our wedding certificate was on the television screen of everyone last night".

She looked at him in utter shock. "Wait.. what? I didn't do it for that! I didn't mean for this to happen. Oh my God, what have I done? Why would Alexi do that? What are we going to do now? We're going to have to annul this wedding. Oh, Oliver, I'm so sorry"!

She was a mess.

He tilted his head to the side for a moment and smiled at her. "I know you didn't mean for this to happen. You did what you thought you had to do, what you thought was right. You didn't do anything wrong. As to why Alexi did that… well I have a pretty good idea, but it doesn't matter. What's done is done. And we are not going to annul this wedding".

She bit her lip. "We're not"?

"No, we're not".

"But Ollie, we just openly admitted what we felt for each other, last night".

"I know but if we annul the wedding, it will lead everyone to believe we made a mistake and that's not true. Being married to you wouldn't be a mistake. Of course, it would have been better had we dated for a while, moved in together and then gotten married, but I know deep down inside that it's not a mistake, the timing is off, that's all. And secondly, unless you and I want to get in big trouble with the Bratva, you more than I, then we need to stick to this story".

She didn't know what to say. She was at a loss for words and she didn't know if it was because Oliver had just basically said that he was happy to be married to her or if it had anything to do with what the Bratva could do to her.

He pulled her in against him and kissed her. With the warmth of his lips and his body on hers, she could feel how serious he was when it came to his feelings for her. She pulled back and looked in his eyes.

"So, what now"?

"Now, we get our story straight, we head over to Queen Mansion, where we are going to explain everything first to my mother, Walter and Thea and then we'll give a quick press conference and then we move forward".

She smiled. He made it sound so easy. Could it be all that easy? A fake marriage? An opening up in regards to emotions? A first night together that had been more than she could have ever imagined? She wanted to believe it, but she was worried. Every time something good happened in her life, whenever she was in a good place in her life, something happened and took it all away. She could only hope that this time around, things would be different.

He took her hands in his and looked at them. He first looked at the diamond engagement ring and the wedding band she had bought to portray his wife.

"They're perfect. They suit you. I would have chosen the same, had I had the chance".

She blushed a little.

"We need to stop by the jewelry store where you got that".

"Why"? she asked.

"Because mine is missing". He said.

"That's going to look a little weird, don't you think"?

"You're right. I need to send John over there instead".

He took his phone out of his pocket and was getting ready to call John when it buzzed. "Speak of the devil".

"John, perfect timing. I need you. Where are you"?

"Right outside the apartment door".

Oliver stood, hung up the phone and headed quickly to get his shirt from the bedroom before heading for the front door.

Reporters were still there and kept taking pictures and filming as he let John in and closed the door behind him.

"I thought you might need some help", said John as he followed Oliver to the living room where Emma was waiting.

She stood and they hugged.

"Your timing is perfect as always", said Oliver. "I'm going to call Felicity to get that ring ASAP and we'll meet her before we get to the mansion".

He quickly called Felicity, who was flabbergasted at what she heard. "You're serious"? she asked him.

"Yes, Felicity, I'm very serious about this. Now hurry and just charge it to my account"!

John smiled. "So, you're going through with this huh"? As wild and crazy as it seemed, he found himself standing in front of a changed Oliver and even though this was sudden, heck if he was happy and cool with it then why come raining in on his parade.

"Yes, absolutely", said Oliver beaming.

"Well, I guess I always thought, I'd be your best man or something but I guess I'll have to cope with it".

"You should feel lucky", said Emma. "You only missed out on the best man part. I missed out on the proposal, the white dress, the entire wedding and let's not even talk about the honeymoon"!

They all laughed then Emma went to get dressed. She wore a very beautiful blouse and pair of jeans as well as high heels. They had both agreed that even though it was going to be a press conference, that they wanted it to remain as informal and as casual as it could be, because that's how they were with each other. They wanted to show that they were like any other married couple in Starling City, in love and simple.

Emma had told them about another exit at the back of the building if they took another way down from the rooftop and they felt it was best to not be followed just yet by the reporters.

John who had left through the front door was waiting for them in the car when they reached the back alley.

They drove in silence. Emma looked outside the window. It was one thing to be with Ollie, but playing house was making her nervous. He must have felt how worried she was because he took her hand in his and brought it to his lips to kiss it before laying it back down on his lap. She turned and smiled at him. She remembered how she had feared that working with him, being with him in the beginning would make her lose complete self-control, yet she had never imagined how in the same process, he would be able to soothe her, calm her and comfort her.

A mile away from the Mansion, they pulled off to a quiet road where Felicity was waiting for them. The minute they got out, she ran and took Emma in her arms.

"You're sure about this"? asked Felicity still hugging Emma.

"Everything is fine. I'll be fine, we'll be fine".

Felicity looked at Oliver and give him the ring box. "You'd better be good to her"!

Oliver opened the box and quickly placed the band on his finger. "I promise".

Minutes later they pulled up in front of the Mansion. John got out of the car and opened the passenger door. Oliver got out and then took Emma's hand as she got out in turn.

He took a strand of her hair and gently placed it behind her ear. "You're beautiful. I'm a very lucky man". He kissed her deeply and then they headed up the stairs to the front door.

The minute he opened the door and they walked into the foyer, everyone that had been in the living room came to meet up with them. There was Moira, Walter and Thea of course, but also to their surprise, Tommy and Laurel.

Oliver knew that it was better to speak first rather than not. "I'm sure you have tons of questions and I know that some of you have already met her before, but I'd like you to meet my wife, Emma".

Moira was the first to smile. She walked over to both of them and took them together in a warm and genuine hug. "Welcome to the family, Emma"! Of course, she was disappointed, she had questions, but knowing how Oliver had been before he lived on that deserted island for five years, she would never have thought that there would come a day when her son would get married, so besides all her questions, she was happy and relieved. Walter and Thea followed quickly after.

Tommy came and smacked Oliver on the arm. "You son of a bitch! How the hell could you keep this hidden from me? Here I thought you were single while all along you've been playing me and being married"!

Laurel had been reserved about the whole situation but it was evident to Emma why considering their past relationship. Even if she was in love with Tommy, it must still have come to a shock for her to realize that Oliver was married to her!

Raisa came in to meet Emma and congratulate them as she told them that brunch was served. Everyone headed for the dining room with Moira and Walter closing the group just behind Oliver and Emma. As they walked Oliver pulled Emma in closer to him and very naturally whispered sweet words in her ear. Moira and Walter looked at each other and smiled happily. It was evident that those two loved each other. You could see it in the way they looked at each other, how they reacted to one another.

"So why didn't you tell us"? asked Moira after other questions had come their way.

"Mom, I proposed to Emma just a day before you were arrested. You had other things on your mind after that, your main goal was preparing for the trial. I didn't want to wait to marry her so we just did it at Town Hall a week before the trial. We didn't publicly announce it because we felt the focus should have been on you and your trial, it would have given the family more publicity than it needed at that time".

Moira nodded then turned her attention to Emma. She had already met Emma, and just as she had told Malcom, she'd had a good first impression and the more she discovered of her now, the more she liked her. "But why didn't you come to the trial"?

Emma smiled. "Mrs. Queen". Moira cut her off. "You're a part of this family now, you better get used to calling me Moira".

Emma nodded. "Moira". She paused for a moment.. This was getting very very real. Oliver, who was sitting next to her, took her hand. "It was a family affair and I felt at the time, it wasn't my place to be. On top of that, Ollie is right, my being there would have brought on more attention than needed when what needed to be achieved was more, let's say, low key. But, I was there for Ollie, when he couldn't be with you".

She wasn't lying. She had been there, whether it had been from a distance quietly or with sometimes reassuring words, she had been there.

"You are an amazing young woman. My son is very lucky".

Oliver smiled. "And after that, well, we just never found the opportune moment and to be honest, being married to one another is so natural that it's as if we've been married since the day we met, so I guess we were so wound up in our own little bubble that we kind of forgot".

Once brunch was over, Thea kidnapped Emma to show her around the mansion and Oliver quickly briefed his mom on the press conference. Luckily, she had seen the news and had already started preparing everything.

"I'm just kind of disappointed I missed seeing my only son get married", she said as she walked with him outside towards Robert's grave. They stopped in front of it. "Your father would be proud and so happy for you, that you have finally found someone you are in love with and decided to settle down and maybe start a family with".

Oliver looked at his father's tombstone. "You think so"?

"I know so". She looked at her son. "I'd like to organize a proper and decent wedding for you and Emma. You didn't have one on my account, so I'd like to fix that".

Oliver had not expected that or seen that coming. "Mom, I appreciate the gesture and I'm sure Emma will also, but I have one request".

"What is it"?

"I would like to do it on our one-year anniversary. It will be nice to renew our vows then. I think it will make it even more special for Emma".

Moira put her hand on her son's face. "When did you get so romantic"?

He looked back towards the mansion and thought of Emma. He then looked back at his mother. "The day her heart spoke to mine"!