I received a desperate plea for fluff from veryplatoniccircunstances on tumblr. I was happy to oblige. Takes place in the koala!verse.
Felicity was sleeping.
Honestly, Oliver couldn't blame her. He wasn't sure he'd ever seen anyone so exhausted in his life. It amazed him how she'd gone from an unstoppable force of determination and will one moment, to barely being able to hold her head up, smiling druggedly down at their new daughter, ten minutes later.
The labor had lasted over twenty hours. She'd finally asked for an epidural thirteen hours in. And after pushing for two, their daughter, Gabriela Queen, had finally been born. The doctor had wrapped her in a blanket, and immediately put her on Felicity's stomach, while she'd shown Oliver where to cut the umbilical cord, and he'd looked up to find Felicity gripping their daughter tight, looking down at her in amazement, laughing and crying, hair tousled, eyes red, and more beautiful than he'd ever seen her.
He'd caught Felicity's eyes, and she'd given him an exhilarated smile, punctuated by soft, gasping cries, tears shining on her cheeks. He felt a lump in his throat and tried to swallow it down, failing miserably and coughing, hands shaking as he stepped up to stand next to her.
The nurse took their daughter a moment later to give her quick check up, and by the time she had cleaned her up and given her back to Felicity, his wife was starting to fade.
"Oliver," Felicity had said, voice soft. "Here, take her."
Warily, he'd reached down, lifting up a bundle that weighed less than his bow. Gaby was swaddled tightly, and he supported her head in the crook of his arm as he looked down at her, tiny nose wrinkled in sleep.
"She's so small..." Oliver said in amazement.
Felicity sighed, smiling sleepily. "She'll get bigger. Soon." The words were slurred with her exhaustion.
Oliver starting walking back and forth across the room, rocking Gaby softly and humming the tune to a song he'd heard Felicity singing the other day.
He looked up to tell Felicity something, but she was already fast asleep.
An orderly came in to wheel her into recovery two minutes later, and Oliver watched her go, holding Gaby tightly.
He stood in the center of the room, feeling lost for moment.
"Mr. Queen?"
Another nurse poked her head into the room.
"Hm? Yes?"
She smiled kindly. "Someone will be by in a minute to take your daughter to the nursery and then you need to come to the maternity ward to fill out some paperwork."
"Okay, thank you."
She left, and he sat in the armchair in the corner, still in a daze. There was so much to do. He needed to call his mother, and Thea, and Diggle... The nursery wasn't completely ready yet... A little snuffle drew his attention downwards again, and a slow smile spread across his face.
The world could wait for a while.
"Hey little girl," he said, voice soft. "I'm-" he swallowed, taking a deep breath. "I'm your daddy." The title sounded strange, but so right, as well... Gabriela slept on, completely oblivious, safe in her father's arms.
Oliver couldn't really believe that he'd had a hand in creating her, in bringing her into the world. For so long, he'd thought all he was capable of was destruction and chaos. Felicity had helped him see that he was so much more. She had given him everything. And he would give her and his daughter everything in return.
"I'll always be here for you. I'll always protect you," he said softly. He'd made many promises in his lifetime. But never one as important as that one.
And he would keep it, too.