I must apologize for my portrayal of Roy. It's not accurate, but I can't help it; that's just how he comes out. Maybe I'll get the hang of it eventually.

It figured. Just when the Hood was starting to seem like a good guy… Detective Lance was still fuming when he left the station, his usual scowl bitter enough to curdle milk. He'd told his I.T. guy to leave the Hood case alone, but he hadn't listened; especially when it came to the sidekick. Steve was fascinated by the girl who helped the big bad Hood, and thought he was doing Lance a favor when he took it upon himself to keep track of her after she left the city. Lance probably should've told him that he wanted to avoid incriminating Felicity Smoak, but it would've been difficult to explain why. No one knew he'd helped the Hood during the Undertaking, which was when he'd decided Felicity didn't deserve to be punished for her involvement with the vigilante.

The experience had even softened him toward the archer, but his view quickly changed when Steve showed him the evidence he'd found. It enforced the detective's theory that the Hood had coerced Ms. Smoak into assisting him. Even though she grew to see him as a hero, it didn't mean she wasn't still forced to help.

And considering what Steve had found, there was a slim chance she'd helped him eagerly in the last few months.

He and Laurel were at the Queen mansion, but dinner wasn't improving his mood. Oliver Queen and Roy Harper were present, but that didn't bother him. Irritable, he prodded his salmon with his fork, his mind marinating on the newfound evidence. It was too hard to paste on a smile; he was exhausted from all the extra work the elevated crime rate was putting him through, and then he was wrestling with the Smoak problem. He couldn't push it away. It festered, making him angrier. How could the Hood be so heartless—?

"Dad?" His daughter said, shaking him from his brooding. "You seem really upset. Is there something going on at work?"

"Is it the Hood?" Roy blurted from across the table. Thea surreptitiously elbowed him. He looked half-sorry he'd talked, but still curious.

Quentin eyed him, miffed that this dumb kid still thought highly of the vigilante. If he knew what the Hood had done… Well, maybe he really should know. Maybe all of them should. They were trustworthy enough. And Felicity Smoak made a great cautionary tale.

"Yes, actually. It is the Hood." He dropped his fork next to his plate and leaned forward. "Turns out he hasn't been so nice to his sidekick."

"Sidekick?" Roy nearly choked on his peas, and everyone looked shocked. "Since when does he have a sidekick?"

"Judging by the evidence, she just helps him with tech. Really the only way she could be useful to him."

Roy raised an eyebrow. "His sidekick is some techy girl? Like some badass underground hacker chick who hates authority?"
Quentin chuckled. "Not even close. She's an employee at Queen Consolidated with no criminal record."

Mrs. Queen's eyes widened, and the detective turned his attention to her. "From what I can tell, she's been coerced for the most part. Save for her hacking skills, the girl's clearly not a criminal. And she told me that she once thought the Hood was bad until she saw how much he cared about the people of this city."

"So she hasn't been coerced the entire time, then?" asked Mrs. Queen. "She helps him willingly now?"

"That's the thing; I'm not so sure. She might still think he's a hero, but I doubt she's been happy to help for the past few months."

Oliver finally spoke. "Who exactly are we talking about?"

"Felicity Smoak."

He paled slightly and pursed his lips, then exchanged a glance with his mother.

"Isn't that the girl…?"

"Yeah, Mom."

She smoothed her hair, processing the fact that she'd met this sidekick. "That must mean she helped the Hood find Walter. I suppose I should've thanked her."

"But it can't be her," argued Oliver. "She's great with computers, but… She's so… I don't know, harmless. I find it hard to believe she spent nights helping the vigilante hunt down crooked one-percenters."

It seemed Oliver didn't even know about Felicity's condition; surely he would've mentioned it. Sadly, that further proved one of Lance's more unfortunate theories.

"Wait," Thea said. "Have I met her?"

"She was that woman at the hospital who brought flowers." Mrs. Queen answered. "Oliver introduced her as his friend."

Thea snorted. "Yeah, I agree with Oliver. She couldn't be the Hood's sidekick."

"Oliver," Laurel stepped in. "Is that the same Felicity I met at Verdant? The one who was setting up the internet?"

"That's the one,"

She raised her eyebrows. "She's so…"

"I know, right?"

Lance tried to wrestle back the conversation. "I know it doesn't seem likely, but—"

"Hey, Diggle," Roy interrupted. "Is this the same Felicity you were talking on the phone with three weeks ago?"

"Yeah,"

"Where does she live?"

"She moved in with her parents in Mapleville after the attack on the Glades."

"Dammit! Everyone's met the sidekick except me!"

"She's not his sidekick!" countered Oliver. "If you met her you see she couldn't—"

"Felicity Smoak is the Hood's sidekick." Detective Lance stated firmly. "I don't care how unlikely it seems; there's clear evidence that proves it."

It took a moment for everyone to except that. Then Oliver got surly and crossed his arms. "So then the hood guy has been forcing her to help him? Has he hurt her?"

Quentin stared at his food. "He's probably scared her, but I don't think he's physically hurt her."

"Then what did you mean when you said he hasn't been nice to her?" Roy asked. "What's got you scowling at your salmon?"

The detective's jaw tightened. "One of my I.T. guys has been keeping track of her since she left the city. I didn't know until he came to me with a file today. There hasn't been any suspicious activity on her computer but he'd been tracking the family's purchases, and that's where things got interesting. The Smoaks have been buying some telling things since their daughter moved in, so Steve looked up her medical records."

"Is she sick?" Oliver looked concerned.

"I'm beginning to think the vigilante really did a number on her. I'm thinking she tried to get out, but he convinced her she was needed. Whether it was with a speech about justice or just an arrow pointed at her forehead—"

"Detective Lance, what exactly did you find in her medical records?" asserted Mrs. Queen. "You seem hesitant to share."

He cleared his throat and stared at his dinner again. "Felicity Smoak is pregnant. It's likely she tried to stop helping the vigilante when she found out, but he wouldn't allow it. I know for a fact she kept half the Glades from being destroyed when the Undertaking happened. The Hood got her involved. It was really important, but the girl is pregnant. She's been pregnant since February, and who knows how much danger he's put her in besides the Undertaking since then. That bastard has to have been forcing her to stay involved. And considering that she's been keeping it a secret, it might even be the Hood's baby. Who the hell knows."

When he looked up, he saw the expression of shock and horror on Oliver's face. The statement had hit him like a Mack truck.
"The father's identity is the reason she's keeping it a secret," explained Diggle, "but it's not the Hood."

Then everyone finally understood why Oliver was so freaked out. Except for Roy, who thought Diggle was the father. But he caught on quickly and turned his attention to Oliver.

"Ollie?" asked Laurel, trying to contain her anger. "What is Diggle talking about?"

Oliver put his head in his hands, oblivious to everyone. Then he sprung out of his seat and dashed from the room. Diggle hurried after him, and those who remained sat in their chairs and tried to process what just happened.

"Felicity Smoak is the Hood's sidekick and Oliver Queen's baby mama." commented Roy. "Who the hell is this girl?"

"I hadn't thought of that," confessed the detective, thunderstruck. "She didn't seem his type."

"She didn't seem like she could be the Hood's sidekick, either." countered Laurel, anger just beneath the surface. Quentin understood her frustration, seeing how this I.T. girl seemed to have stolen both the vigilante and Oliver from her. However close Laurel was to either of them, this girl was closer.

Not that that was such a good thing.

"This girl's in more trouble than I realized."

Bubble baths were one of those things that made Felicity forget there was anything wrong with the world. She lay in the tub watching the rubber ducky float around covered in bubbles. It was like an iceberg. A bubbleberg. She jabbed it with her knee and it careened to the left and bounced off the side of the tub.

Felicity really needed this. Her father was so obviously trustworthy, but it was nerve-racking to think that she'd told someone Oliver's secret. Granted, she hadn't told him immediately…

The first day at their house had been intense. Her mother had fretted over her incessantly and occasionally brought up Ed. Her father tried to calm her down, but she was unstoppable in light of the circumstances. So Felicity hadn't told them about being pregnant until the day after, and even then it felt too soon.

Stammering out the words had been nearly impossible, but she managed. Her parents had been so quiet at first. Then her mother had squealed, "I'm going to be a grandma!" then hugged her tightly before going to the kitchen to make lunch. Her father gave her a sad half-smile and asked for more details. She told him when it had happened, but not who the father was. He nodded and patted her shoulder. "It'll be okay, Flick."

Supportive as ever. Probably because they could tell how worried she was. That, and Mrs. Smoak was really excited about being a grandma. Her parents would run errands and come back with baby things: diapers and wipes and onesies and stuff like that. Judy's old box of maternity clothes was brought down for Felicity to go through. They were surprisingly cool with their daughter having a child out of wedlock and not knowing who the father was.

That's actually what made her spill the green beans. They were being so understanding and it made her feel awful for lying to them. And since her mother was too high-strung to handle the truth, she told her dad. They sat out on the front porch and the story gushed from her like a broken dam. She left out some details, obviously, but Mr. Smoak knew about the Hood and everything.

So yeah. But the time between both confessions was very relaxing. Felicity had been confined to the couch or her bed because "she'd had enough excitement oh my that city is a death trap and sweetie you really should've left earlier." So she gave into her food cravings while watching Netflix. She liked Teen Wolf and thought Stiles was basically her as a teenage boy. Jackson was her other favorite character, mostly because he was so pretty. He also seemed kind of familiar, but she couldn't remember where she'd seen him before. And Derek had a very, very familiar personality—

"Flick? Someone is here to see you."

Annoyed, she sank down and blew bubbles in the water. It had to be sometime after nine, and someone wanted to bother her. Who could it—

Oh, shit.

"Who is it, Dad?" she asked, her voice too high.

"Oliver Queen."

Felicity took a moment to scream under the water. Why was he here? She wasn't ready yet! Every time she considered telling him she nearly had a panic attack. She didn't even know why. He loved her and this was a happy thing, right? But she was still terrified to tell him. No amount of practicing on Paperweight had helped. Whenever she and Oliver had spoken on the phone since she left, it was about boring things or Hood stuff. And after every call she told herself next time. Next time he'd finally know. But it never happened and now he was here and it just felt like she wouldn't be able to hide it anymore.

"What?" she squeaked.

"It's time, Flick. I'll send him in."

Yeah, so he can drown me once I tell him, she thought as she put on her glasses.

The door opened and she resisted the urge to hide in the bubbles. He didn't look happy, but he didn't look homicidal, either. But he was pale and sweaty and he might've thrown up before coming here. Does he already know? Dammit, Diggle!

"We need to talk." he stated, closing the door behind him.

"So I've gathered."

He walked over and sat with his back against the tub, only glancing at her. "Do I scare you that much?"

Felicity sighed, squeezing her eyes shut. He knew. He knew and he understood why she didn't say anything. "You were cold and distant towards me for so long, all because you wanted to keep me out of danger. So if you knew I wasn't the only one…" Her lip quivered and her hand rose to cover her mouth. Tears blurred her vision. "Yeah, you scare me." she admitted, her voice breaking. "Before you told me you loved me, you were always yelling at me. And you're so violent. I wasn't sure what you would do. And even after you explained everything, I still thought it wasn't safe to tell you. I thought you'd abandon me again. I thought you'd abandon the both of us. Or tell me to do something I didn't want to do."

Oliver was crying too, quietly. The confession had hit him like a stab in the gut. She'd been going through this alone and afraid because he'd pushed her away. He slowly turned around and rested his arms on the edge of the tub. "I'm so sorry, Felicity."

She put a wet hand on his. "I know." To show she meant it, she leaned toward and kissed him tenderly on the lips. He responded eagerly, placing his hand on the back of her slippery neck. After a few seconds they pulled away, their foreheads pressed together and their eyes closed.

"I'll be there for you, Felicity. I promise." he said. "I want you more than anything and I'll never leave you again."

She giggled. "That kind of sounded like a proposal."

"Maybe it was one."

Gasping, she opened her eyes. Gray-green and blue met as color rose in her cheeks. "One big thing at a time, please."

Oliver smirked. "Just trying to make an honest woman out of you."

"You did not just propose to me."

"No, not intentionally. But now that you put the idea in my head, I'm going with it. Felicity Smoak, will you—"

Panicking, she clapped her wet hand over his mouth before he could finish. "Rain check?"

He nodded, and she could feel him smiling. She dropped her hand back in the water.

"I recall you taking a rain check for something else a while ago." he said, wiping at his mouth. "What was it again?"

It was Felicity's turn to smirk. "Showering with you."

"Yes, now I remember." Oliver peeled off his Henley.

"You're really going to try to get in the bath with me?"

"You say 'try' like it will require effort." he replied as he undid his belt.

"My parents are home!"

Oliver got up and locked the door. "There."

She chewed her lip. "They'll hear us."

"Then we'll be quiet." he whispered.

Felicity rolled her eyes. "You're being ridiculous." she said as he removed his shoes and socks.

"Fine, then." He stepped out of his jeans. "Then say you'll marry me. It's one rain check or the other."

He actually said the word. It caused a big, stupid grin to stretch her lips. "Well, you've been waiting for the shower one a lot longer…"

"Have I? Have I really?"

She slapped the water. "Get in here."

He crossed his arms and smiled. "Is that a challenge? Because I'm a water-slapping master."

Felicity tilted her head at him. "Oh, really?"

His boxers went down. "It's how I got strong enough to draw a bow."

Her smile slowly faded as she realized he was talking about the island. She moved aside so he could get in behind her. "That's a strange way to build strength."

"Not as strange as you think," Oliver rested his back against the tub, and Felicity cuddled against his chest. "Do you two want to hear about it?"

For a split second she thought he meant her and the rubber duck, but then she realized he was referring to the baby. She happily nuzzled his chest. "I think Baby Hood would enjoy it."

Oliver threw his head back and laughed. "'Baby Hood,' huh?"

"Yep,"

He kissed the top of her head. "I love it."

I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) by Sleeping at Last.