Title: Under Pressure, Precious Things
Words: 2843
Genre: Romance/Comfort
Pairings: Felicity/Diggle, Laurel/Oliver
Status: Done

Summary: Felicity and Diggle get close to a pregnant Laurel in the five months that Oliver's gone from Starling. They decide enough is enough and bring him back with the help of a sonogram.

Laurel got out of bed and winced at her back pain. She slipped on her slippers and went to the kitchen to the take the prenatal vitamins she took everyday. Everything about this hurt. She was tired. Going back to work was hard. Well, it was getting hard. It hadn't been when she was a month in. She worked around the morning sickness and just didn't go into court, rather letting someone else do that for her.

The phone rang. She picked it up, "Hello," She said, groggily.

"Are you okay? You sound tired. I mean not that that wouldn't be okay. You're pregnant. You have a right to be tired. You just sound tired." Felicity babbled into the speaker.

Laurel nodded and filled her Keurig with the requisite amount of water before she sighed, "That is because I am tired. I am very tired. I didn't sleep well because my back hurt. And I don't have my coffee in me yet," She told Felicity.

"Are you sure you should be drinking coffee? I mean there have been studies showing that caffeine could lead to a preterm birth and that the baby might have a heart rate and breathe rate faster than normal. It also has a whole load of other complications for you and the baby. The research suggest that you should kick the habit till you stop breastfeeding," Felicity said.

"Felicity, do you want to deal with me when I haven't had my coffee and barely slept?" Laurel asked her and for a minute the other side of the phone went silent. This told her all she needed to know. "Now, why are you calling me before coffee? I thought we had an agreement?"

"Oh, yeah," Felicity said as she gathered her wits about her again, thinking about Laurel without Coffee was one of Felicity's nightmares. Laurel was many things, but without her coffee, all she was, was a bear. She looked into her car mirror and turned. "Do you want me to take you to your appointment today? You said that it was pretty painful on your back to drive last week."

Laurel looked at the picture of Ollie on her counter and sighed. "Yeah, I mean I would normally ask him to do it, but he's not here."

"He's gonna come back, babe," Felicity told her with a fierceness that she hadn't counted on.

Laurel still doubted that he'd come back. Their whole world fell to pieces because Tommy died. He left right after the funeral. She still remembered telling him that she had something to tell him and he asked her if it could wait and she said yes. The stupidest decision of her life. "I don't know, he seems pretty comfortable wherever he is."

"Well, I'm gonna take you to the doctor this afternoon and you're not gonna worry about Oliver right?" Felicity asked as she parked the car and wondered how she got here. How she was taking care of Laurel and the baby, when Oliver should have been the one to do it.

Laurel nodded into the phone. "Yeah, I'm not gonna worry. I'll see you at two?" She asked.

"See you at two," Felicity said and ended the call. She got out of the car and went into the little bookshop that she and John used for their meetings.

Diggle smiled as he saw her come in. He looked through the books when she was late. "So how is she?" He asked.

"She's coping, but you know, she misses him." She told Diggle.

Diggle nodded. Laurel, five months pregnant with Eleanor Morgan Lance-Queen, missed Oliver. She shouldn't have to. He should have been a man and in this kid's life. "I was thinking about that this morning." He stated to her.

"Yeah?" She asked.

He nodded. "We should go get him."

"You want to go get him?"

"I do, Felicity. What do you think?" He asked her because he needed her in this plan. He could beat Oliver up and drag him back, but more often than not, she had a better way.

Felicity looked at the books and felt their spines, soft and yet hard underneath her fingertips. "I think he bailed on her before she got the chance to talk to him. He's selfish, Digg. He just left her alone. To deal with everything."

"You want Eleanor to have her father though?" He asked.

She snapped her head to him and narrowed her eyes. "Of course, Digg. I want Eleanor to have everything. I want Eleanor to not have to deal with the fact that he left her before he even knew her. I don't want that to be her life." Felicity said as tears rolled down her face. Being abandoned was one thing when you were old enough to realize that you were being left, but to realize that they didn't even give you a chance, that was unthinkable.

John Diggle put his hand on her shoulder, "We should go get him then,"

Felicity sighed. He was right. "Then we'll go get him," She said.

"Hey," He said as he tilted her chin to look into his eyes, "We'll make sure she knows she's loved, okay? All you need to do is make sure Laurel's taken care of when we're gone."

She nodded to him and looked at the books one more time. She threw herself into those when she realized her own father wasn't coming back. "Right," She said. "I should go then. She needs me."

He let her go and she drove to Laurel's apartment and to find Laurel stood on the street waiting for her. "Hey, pretty lady," Felicity smiled to her.

Laurel rolled her eyes. "I'm a whale," She said, flatly.

"But you're a beautiful whale. Seriously, you're glowing with life."

Laurel looked ahead, "Well, it's certainly easier to believe that now that I'm not literally puking my guts up at every opportunity."

"Past the morning sickness? That's good." Felicity said as she turned out of the parking lot and to Starling General.

Laurel put her hands on her belly and rubbed it. "She's starting to move. I always thought I'd be excited for that, but it's different because I can't share that with him," She told Felicity.

Felicity smiled sadly, not exactly sure what to say. She couldn't tell Laurel they were going to get him. That would make a lot of questions that she didn't want to explain to Laurel right now. "Have hope, I think your luck on that one is changing," She told her confidently.

"You always say that," Laurel pointed out.

"I do," Felicity agreed, "But I actually mean that. I can feel it. Something in the air. I can see good things are going to happen to you."

"I thought you hated mumbo jumbo like that?" Laurel asked, skeptical at Felicity.

Felicity just shrugged. "Sometimes it's just good to believe,"

Laurel's appointment went swimmingly and Felicity smiled when Eleanor got a clean bill of health and the doctor admired her movements. Felicity even got to feel her kick.

Laurel smoothed her shirt over her belly and looked at the painkillers the doctor gave her for her back. They weren't really anything special, but it was something to focus on that didn't mean talking about the baby or Oliver. Which is what she did a lot with Felicity.

They got back in the car. Laurel buckled up and looked at Felicity who hadn't. "Are you okay?" Laurel asked with a smile.

"Yeah," Felicity said. "I just I need to tell you something."

Laurel nodded. "Felicity you're kind of freaking me out a little,"

"Sorry," Felicity apologized. Her cheeks flushed as she looked to Laurel and started, "So John's brother, he got killed in iraq and Carly wants to visit the plot they gave him among heros in DC. But he doesn't want to go alone. Because him and Carly are kind of weird. So I need to go with him. We're only gonna be there a couple of days, but I thought, you should know."

"Oh, well, you guys should have fun." Laurel said with a smile. "Seriously, he should see his brother. If there is one thing I know, it's how much a grave helps. How much talking to it helps," She said. She buried too many people. Robert. Oliver. Tommy. Sara. She talked to all of them at one point. She talked to Tommy a lot now. Especially about the baby.

Felicity smiled. She wished Laurel knew how strong she was. She still managed to smile after all that death. "Let's get you some fro-yo, you deserve it and I promise, I will get someone to help drive you around."

Felicity and Diggle took a plane to China, only to take a smaller plane to Lian Yu. God, the place was a hellhole and they were probably the first people in a long time to willingly step on it in a long while.

And then of course, there was the landmine which Oliver saved her from but after that when he took them to the carved out airplane he seemed like he wasn't really in the mood to talk or see them and that pissed her off. "Could you at least pretend like you're glad to see us?" Felicity asked him. "Digg and I spent weeks tracking you down. We traveled half across the world. And this morning, we flew in a plane so old, that I actually think I was safer, once I jumped out of it. So you could, at least, offer us a water. Or coconut."

"Fresh out of coconuts," He said as he slipped a canteen into her hand and nodded. "And I am happy to see you. But I know why you're here. I'm not coming back to Starling City." Diggle looked at Felicity like do you want to tell him or should I beat him and just get it over with? And then Oliver kept on. "I can't. My mission. My father's list. It was a fool's crusade and I failed. Malcolm Merlyn destroyed the glades. Tommy died. And the hood couldn't stop it. So don't ask me to put it on again. Ever."

"This isn't about you being the vigilante. This is about you being Oliver Queen," Diggle said and Felicity smiled to him. There was so much truth to that statement. The hood, he was a nice guy to the city, but there was so much else that needed him as Oliver Queen. "Your mother's in prison, her trial's coming up. Thea's out on her own. Your family needs you."

"So does the family business," Felicity explained to him. There was a lot her didn't know. There was a lot he needed to come back home for. These were not all of the reasons.

Diggle saw he still wasn't convinced. "Look, I understand why you had to leave, probably better than anyone. I've been there. After what happened, no one can blame you for leaving, but it's time to come home," He said and gave a sigh. "And if none of that convinces you, well, then the picture felicity is holding might."

Oliver looked over to her and she took the picture out of her back pocket and gave it to him. "What's this?"

"That is a baby." She said to him. "That is little Eleanor Morgan Lance-Queen,"

He looked up from the picture, "What?"

"Laurel's pregnant." She told him.

He smiled to the picture. "This...is my baby?" He asked her.

"Yep, she's super cute already. Now, will you come home?" She pleaded with him.

He looked up from the photograph, he couldn't stop looking at it now. "Yes," He told her. "Let's go home. And I will make sure that you keep your job." It was the least he could do after he realized he had a baby. A little baby girl that needed him.

They got back to China, picked up their bags and went back to Starling City in the Queen Jet. Well, the wealthy really did travel differently, Felicity thought as she put her bag on the plane and sat down on the couch.

"Thank you," Oliver said to no one in particular as they took off and Felicity and Diggle looked at each other, a little confused. He saw them and laughed a little. "You guys kept her safe in the way that I couldn't in the last months. Thank you for that. Also thank you for bringing me back out of the dark."

Felicity shook her head. "We didn't bring you out of the dark. You did that yourself. Laurel and that baby just gave you hope," She said to him.

They got off the plane and Felicity called Laurel, "Hey, Digg and I got you a present, can we come over for a while?"

Laurel stirred her coffee and smiled, "Yeah, come on over. I was just getting ready to sit down and read awful parenting books, so thank you for giving me an out."

"Perfect, we'll be there in about twenty." Felicity said.

"Sounds good," Laurel said, "See you soon."

They piled into Felicity's car and drove to Laurel's complex where they unlocked the door with the key that Felicity had been given. "You've spent quite a lot of time here," Oliver noted.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I mean Laurel gives her key out to strangers." Felicity made a funny face and laughed a little.

They took the elevator up and went down the hallway to the left where Laurel's door stood at the the end. Oliver stood at the edge of the hallways so she wouldn't see him before they wanted to and Felicity rang the bell.

Laurel opened the door and smiled to them. She took her headphones out and pressed pause on the music that both she and the baby were listening to via a Ritmo Baby belt. "Hey, guys, how was DC?" She asked.

Felicity looked back and that was Oliver's signal to sneak in with them. "It was good," Felicity said, "But the plane ride was ridiculous, you think you could show me what you have to drink?"

She nodded and Diggle tapped the door, and Oliver snuck in.

"So what'd you get me?" Laurel asked with an animated face. She was adorable. And probably a little tired of only getting stuff for the baby.

Felicity pulled out a replica of the constitution and the declaration of independence for her and smiled, "These two are the souvenir things we got you from DC, but we also got you a surprise." Felicity said.

"These are great. They look great, Felicity, seriously, you didn't have to go through all that trouble to get me this." She told her as she hugged Felicity.

She'd closed her eyes when she went to hug Felicity, and everything was exactly as it had been for the last five months. the three of them, trying to get ready for Eleanor. "Yes, she did, because you are the most incredible person in the universe. And you deserve the very best." He told her.

"Oliver?" She asked, a little excited and out of breathe. "Is that you?" She asked as she hugged him.

He nodded into her shoulder. "It's me. I'm home."

"Like Felicity said, we found a little surprise in DC." Diggle said.

Laurel looked to him and smiled. "Thank you, guys." She said.

"We should go. You two have a lot to talk about," Felicity said as she pulled Diggle out of the apartment. "We need to open a matchmaking business."

"You know," Diggle said, taking her into his arms, "I think you just might be right. I mean we got those two idiots together. That's the biggest hurdle, done."

Meanwhile in Laurel's apartment, she looked at Oliver. "So I'm pregnant." She said as if it wasn't obvious.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't there for you from the very beginning." He told her as he looked down at his feet.

Laurel cupped his cheek. "Let's not live in the past. All I need is for you to be here now. For me. And for Eleanor." She said as she put a hand of his on her belly and watched him in amazement as she kicked. If he thought he fell in love with the picture, actually feeling her sealed it.

"I love you, Laurel." He said as he kissed her.

She smiled. "I love you too. I'm just so happy you came back." She cried. In all of the times she thought about what would happen, she never thought he'd come back to her.

"I'm never leaving again." He promised and sealed that with a kiss. He truly couldn't see himself leaving again. He created life, despite all of the destruction he created and fostering that, maybe that was what he should have learned from his father's mission, that it was better to create good in this world than bad. And Eleanor was the epitome of the good he could make in this world.