Chapter 15
Epilogue
Felicity had a lot of titles. IT-guru, proved genius, Head of the IT Department of Queen Consolidated, The Oracle (Sara's creation after a very lengthy conversation about code names) and more recently Mrs. Smoak-Queen.
But if there was one thing all those accomplishments never prepared her for and probably would never turn into an everyday thing was Oliver's nightmares.
She felt him turn and grumble beside her. His pained voice calling someone.
"Thea... Please, don't... She didn't do anything..." he begged to an invisible threat.
But Felicity knew better. She knew what her husband was seeing, like all that happened just last week, yesterday or even ten minutes ago. She knew because she felt the same way. The images were still as fresh in her mind as they were in following days. She was still unsure if she could ever forget those moments for how long she lived.
Even with all the protection Oliver and Diggle were able of finding through Lyla, Slade was still able of taking Thea away.
The days that followed Thea's kidnap were some of the worst of Felicity's life. Oliver was insane, running after any kind of clue, putting himself in danger, keeping Felicity away.
But when she was finally able of finding the younger woman, what happened later still haunted Felicity's nights.
They found an old dynamite factory by the port, where a car belonging to one of Slade's fake lawyer firm's associates was recorded by some kids playing with their phones and uploading the videos to YouTube.
Felicity could still remember the face of the girl when they found her, so different from the strong and independent woman she learned to respect. It was pale, tear stricken and in a drug induced haze, that left her repeating over and over the same words.
"Malcolm Merlyn is my father. Oliver lied. Mom lied. Felicity lied."
Felicity could only imagine the kind of torture the girl had gone through and when Slade appeared from the shadows, she felt a hatred rise inside her like she had never felt before. But Sara, that was right beside her, was quicker. She ran towards him, trying to take him by surprise. For some seconds, Felicity looked between Thea and the couple engaged in the fight. Removing her jacket she put it over Thea's shoulder and rose to her entire height.
From the moment she entered the foundry after being released from the hospital, Sara and Diggle took her training into their hands in a much more brutal way than she could imagine. But she knew it would pay off someday.
Even if she was clearly at disadvantage, she had to try. Oliver, Diggle, Roy and the Suicide Squad were fighting off Slade's remaining mirakuru injected soldiers, the former not because they wanted to help save Thea, but because Amanda Waller didn't like having someone that powerful out of her domain.
And the only person that could help Sara was Felicity. And she tried, but Slade was much stronger.
She had only flashbacks of those moments. She remembered him kicking her while yelling.
"Your father killed Shado!"
And then, she heard him move towards Sara.
"Because of you!"
But before he could end them, she felt, rather than hear, someone pulling him away, followed by grunts of pain that she recognized as Oliver's.
She tried to open her eyes and saw the two men in a life or death fight. They were quicker than her eyes could follow. Unfazed by the blood pouring from their mouths. Slade was super human, but Oliver was not. And she was not sure what all those punches and kicks would do to his internal organs.
However, before she could do or say something, she felt herself being grabbed and taken away. She tried to see who it was and found Diggle's face. She noticed Roy carrying Thea and Sara being dragged by Lyla. The rest of the Squad followed them with bloody hands and bruised bodies. But someone was missing.
"Oliver..." she yelled, trying to fight Diggle, but he didn't budge.
It was like he couldn't hear at all. He kept running, increasing the distance between them and Oliver.
When the night air filled her lungs she looked back to see the warehouse where he kept Thea prisoner. Looking around, she found Roy with the young woman against his chest, kissing her hair. Sara was cursing under her breathe, but looked better than she thought she would be after a beating like that.
"I promised I would get you to safety, and then I would in back." Diggle whispered to Felicity. She felt a lump inside her throat and couldn't swallow.
Felicity rose, ready to run into the warehouse when an explosion from inside stopped her in her tracks.
"No! Oliver!" she yelled, while watching the flames starting to lick the foundation and the roof start to crumble.
Before Diggle could do anything, Felicity bolted from between his arms. She had catch him in mid movement when he was going to run towards the place and easily dashed. If there was one thing Sara taught her was how to use her small body to evade another person. She just never thought to use it against Dig.
"Felicity!" she heard him yell behind her, but she didn't stop. Just like she knew he was running behind her.
When she re-entered the building she found herself in a labyrinth of smoke. Call it irony.
Felicity tried to call Oliver, but her throat closed and she felt her lungs burning. The smoke was entering her airways too quickly. She had to keep herself from panick, breathing slowly, with her blouse raised over her mouth.
She ran between the hallways, searching for any sign of Oliver. The corridors were dark and confusing, but she finally found the place where she saw Oliver for the last time. There were fallen walls of metal and stairs, keeping her from running at full speed. She had to jump and run around. Looking back, she realized Diggle wasn't following her and she panicked, afraid he might be lost in that crumbling place. But before she could do anything else she found Slade and Oliver.
Slade had his hand around Oliver's neck, hanging him over his head. Felicity tried to run, but before she could approach more than two steps, a deafening noise from above made her look up. Part of the roof was flying towards the reckless humans in there.
"Oliver!" Felicity yelled and she saw the man look up. Even within that distance she noticed his fear while looking at her and how his lips mouthed "Run!"
But she couldn't, she couldn't run and let him there. She had to try, so Felicity ran towards him, but the debris were too quick and so, she was left in the half distance between herself and Oliver looking at a mountain of iron and bricks.
"Oliver!" she yelled once again and behind her, she heard Diggle's voice calling.
"Oliver!" Felicity called, jumping over the fallen debris.
She didn't remember about the flames eating the building, or the smoke intoxicating her. The only thing she remembered was Oliver's closed eyes before he disappeared from her view.
The tears pricked her eyes, but she cleaned them furiously.
She found the place where they had been standing and she started moving whatever she could. When she felt Diggle by her side she nodded at him, their minds one and they started pushing.
Their hands were bloody and slippery when they heard a cough from under a last part of the roof.
"Where is Roy when we need him?" Diggle asked out loud, but when Felicity started pushing the part aside he stopped her.
"Oliver?" he asked and Felicity looked at him like he was crazy. What the hell was he doing?
"Yes." came Oliver's moaning from under them and Diggle started pushing as well.
"It could have been Slade." he replied when they were finally able of pulling the thing aside.
"Oliver!" Felicity sighed when she found herself face to face with him. She kneeled beside his body, checking for injuries.
He had an iron stabbed through his right leg and another smaller one through his left shoulder. His face was bloody and she could barely discern his features, but she knew it was him. Some part of the iron structure of the roof kept him from being smashed, forming a kind of cage around him.
"Felicity..." he whispered and with Diggle's help they dragged him away.
"Where is Slade?" Dig asked and Oliver pointed a crooked broken finger towards another big chunk of the roof.
They could see an arm and a leg appearing in a poodle of blood.
"We have to go before we end like him." Diggle said and was ready to take Oliver when they heard Roy's voice.
The younger man appeared running from the hallway. In a second he was in front of them, already grabing Oliver and taking him away. Felicity and Diggle ran behind his dirt covered red hoodie.
Their bodies were covered with ashes, sweat and blood, but they couldn't care less.
Felicity could still remember how the night air felt so pure after that suffocating atmosphere and she never took it for granted anymore.
While immersed inside the memories, she noticed Oliver had quieted and stroked his hair.
"Felicity." he whispered and she smiled openly.
Thea knew the truth. She knew the lies that were keeping her family apart. And she fought back. She fought like a soldier and she won the control of her life once again, even if her relationship with her mother would never be the same. Even Oliver was pushed away for months until the younger woman was sure she was Thea Queen once again.
Even if it took many, many months, they were able of recovering some part of normality, at least what normality could be applied in their case.
At least until Oliver heard about the true culprits behind the mirakuru research...
And he left. He left for six months to hunt them and bring them to justice for any kind of crime they might have committed.
He didn't kill anyone.
And during those six months, Felicity didn't know if he was alive or dead. When he returned, the first thing she did was punch him. She almost broke his jaw, she could have done it, but she stopped herself from using all her strength. In the end when Sara found out about Felicity's reaction, she said she should have done it and warned Oliver about Felicity's new abilities. She was no Oliver, but she was no shrinking violet either.
Felicity grinned to herself remembering how he looked at her after the punch. It was definitely an instagram moment. It was a pity Diggle didn't have his cellphone with him.
Felicity was ready to fall asleep once again, spooning against Oliver when a whimper from her bedside table made her reopen her eyes. Her hand grabbed the monitor and quickly rising from the bed, she tiptoed through the bedroom quietly. At least she was already awake.
She walked towards the room in front of her and, opening the door, found the culprit kicking his feet on the air.
"Aren't you tired?" she asked, bending beside the crib and grabing the baby. He quieted immediately and Felicity sighed.
"You just wanted to see me, right?" she cooed and the baby giggled.
"Thomas Queen, you have failed your mother's resting time." she said, touching his nose with her own and laughing softly.
The baby smiled at her and Felicity felt her breathe catch in her throat. It were moments like those, when she had this little miracle inside her arms, smiling at her, that she felt all the heartbreak and pain they went through was worthwhile.
"Oliver, stop lurking around." Felicity said without turning around, while she rocked the baby and hummed a lullaby.
He chuckled behind her and stepped out of the shadows. His hair was wild and she had to stop herself from smiling. Oliver Queen with his multibillionair smile transporting two bears, one fox, one canary and an elephant over his arms was a sight to be seen.
"I found it next to my side of the bed." he explained and Felicity nodded in understanding.
"Tommy and Thea were playing there earlier. I forgot taking them away! But that serves you right! You shouldn't enter through the window and crawl all over me." Felicity said and Oliver smiled meaningfully.
"Stop that right now!" she said, recognizing the signs of him making fun of her remarks.
"You wanted this, right son?" Oliver asked, showing him the fox and the small hand stretched towards the orange animal.
Felicity smiled and putting her son inside his crib she saw him snuggle against the soft object, yawn and close his eyes.
They waited a few moments until they were sure he was asleep and then left the room soundlessly.
"It was my time." Oliver said when Felicity opened the bedroom door.
"I was already awake, it was no big deal." she said, shrugging her shoulders.
Oliver observed her, while Felicity pushed the covers, sat on the bed and pulled them over her shoulders.
"Why are you looking at me like that? If you are going to say my hair looks like a nest yours is no better Mister my hair is always sexy." Felicity said with a smile. That was quickly erased by her husband demeanor.
"Hey, come here. What is going on?" she asked when her husband finally joined her on the bed.
"I was the one that woke you. Again." Oliver guessed, his arms surrounding Felicity's frame and his chin over her head.
"Oliver!" she said in her stop-with-that-crap-right-now-or-you-will-sleep-on-the-couch voice.
He already knew what she was going to say and she already knew what he would argue.
"I love you, you know?" Oliver whispered.
"Yup!" Felicity said, grinning. "And I think the kid that we just left and this shiny ring on my finger kind of prove it." she replied with a grin.
Oliver kissed her smiling lips and she giggled.
"We have to sleep." Felicity said. "You and Diggle have to go to Central City and I have a meeting with Mr. Fox."
Oliver grumbled under his breathe. It was no surprise he hated going away from Thomas and her. And Felicity would be lying if she said she didn't feel damn smug about that.
"You will see Barry! You can even race him!" Felicity said with mirth and Oliver grumbled.
"Way to boost a man's confidence." Oliver said grumpy, but Felicity could see his lips trembling with the repressed smile he was trying to contain.
When Oliver finally fell asleep, Felicity stayed awake, observing him. She could see his scars, the old ones and the new he gained throughout the years they were together. They were not always visible on his skin, but she knew every one of them. Every time he had to say goodbye to his son without knowing if he would return to see him again, every time he watched Thea say goodbye to Roy before they left to patrol, every time he separated from Diggle to follow a mission, every time he saw Sara talking about her family with that guarded demeanor, she knew he hurt inside. From all those moments a new scar was born. She knew he still fought against his own demons, the nightmares only a small physical reaction about everything he still had inside his mind. And just as she knew he would never give up the fight, she knew he would always have her in his corner. Waiting to patch his wounds and see the scar forming over his skin. She would kiss it and feel him sigh.
Just like all those years ago, it was still her choice, but now, it was not her life, it was theirs and she would always bet on them.
The end (for now)
Just like I said, I'm going to write some outtakes. I'm already working on one of them, where Oliver goes away for those 6 months to find the ones behind the mirakuru research and where we can see Felicity's reaction to that. But I won't probably write scenes after the last one of this chapter.
So, about Felicity Smoak-Queen - Behind a great Queen is always a great Smoak... (literally and figuratively) I didn't want her to be just Mrs. Queen, I think she would want to keep that identity/part of her before Oliver and what she is after marrying him.
Well, if you know the Batman storyline, you already know Mr. Fox, I really like his character and since he is so techy like Felicity I thought it would be funny to use that small remark.
The toys Oliver carries were given by each member of the team, and so all of them represent the members.
And that's it for now...