A/N: Thanks to folks who fav'd and followed this story. I always want to write when I know someone is looking forward to an update.

And to people in the U.S., happy Thanksgiving. I've decided it's my favorite holiday. Lots of good food, no gift obligations, and a 4-day weekend.

Oliver awoke the next morning, feeling relaxed and refreshed. Even though he hadn't spent the night with Felicity, he'd slept better than he had in a long time. Knowing that she still cared for him was better than any drug - it was soothing and exhilarating at the same time. He took a long, hot shower and put on a suit and tie for work.

His limo driver negotiated the commuter traffic to City Hall in cordial silence, doing nothing to mar Oliver's sense of ease and goodwill. It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day. The skies were clear and the temperatures moderate; the kind of day that brightened everyone's outlook. He nodded pleasantly to his staff as he entered the city's offices, still focused on the incredible news that he and Felicity were reuniting and Donna had failed to figure out that he was the Green Arrow - despite overwhelming evidence pointing toward that conclusion. He was back with the woman he loved and his identity was safe. The only thing that could make it any better would be returning his ring to Felicity's finger and - suddenly - even that seemed possible. He walked into his office and smiled cheerfully when one of his aides handed him a cup of coffee.

The aide, who couldn't have been much older than twenty, smiled back at him. "You're certainly in a good mood this morning, Mr. Queen," she said. The grin on her face looked a little coy, he thought, and she almost appeared to be flirting, but maybe it was just her youth and enthusiasm. She was new to his staff, yet another in a line of aides who came to work in the Mayor's office for a few months to claim civic involvement on their resume. He knew from experience that she'd be there just long enough to learn that he didn't like cream in his coffee, reserved his first hour in the office to review city news, and should always be interrupted when his sister wanted to see him. Then she'd be gone, off to her next job. He tried desperately to remember her name.

"Well, it's a beautiful day out there," he took a guess, "…Madison? What's not to like?"

He must have gotten it right, because she looked pleased. She stepped closer, affording him a respectable view down her crossover blouse. "It certainly is, Mr. Queen. Is there anything else I can get you to keep you smiling?" There was no doubt about the suggestive tone in her voice this time.

He chose to ignore it. "Could you get me a cup of coffee without cream?" he asked, returning the cup she'd just given him.

She glanced at the pale brown liquid and flushed, evidently disappointed. "Of course," she replied, in a more subdued manner. She started walking away, but then turned from his office doorway to face him. "Sugar?" she asked uncertainly.

"Just black, Madison. Thank you."

"Right, Mr. Queen. Black coffee coming up." She headed down the hallway, her step a little less perky than it had been a minute ago.

Oliver sat at his desk and pulled up the city's news on the computer. William Dennis's arrest was no longer the top story, but it was still figuring prominently. Scanning the latest information, Oliver was pleased to see that the remainder of the Palmer Tech Board was not rallying behind the man. The company had issued an official statement saying: "Palmer Technologies is cooperating fully with the police investigation of William Dennis and will act upon the results as appropriate. Palmer has a strong ethics policy and expects all employees, including our Board of Directors, to adhere to that policy." Oliver was fairly sure this was corporate-speak for, "We'll wait a respectable amount of time to ensure the appearance of fairness, and then William Dennis will be fired." He was less happy to see that the story was putting Felicity's name back in the news. The reaction of Wall Street to her removal as Palmer's CEO was being rehashed, and there were photos of her at local events, including a few older ones with him. There was even mention of a plan to honor her at an upcoming Star City College fundraiser by the local chapter of Girls in Tech. He wondered briefly why she hadn't said anything about it. Even though the media were positive about Felicity, he wished they would stop writing about her. Things felt safer to him when she could fly under the radar.

Now that he was well rested and had the benefit of hindsight, he was a little ashamed that he hadn't done more last night to help Felicity with her mom, leaving her instead to deal with the whole threesome discussion on her own. It was cowardly, but he knew Donna well enough to anticipate the conversation getting a little…direct, and talking about sex with your girlfriend in front of her mother was just too damn embarrassing. He'd thought about a text or a short call to Felicity late in the evening to see how things were going, but didn't want to interrupt if they were in the midst of their talk. Donna's explanation for finding Oliver Queen and the Green Arrow at Felicity's place was definitely unique and – really - a little lucky. He doubted anyone else would have reached the same conclusion. He knew Felicity didn't agree with him on the lucky part, but he was confident she would see over time that the threesome theory was better than revealing his secret identity.

He was less confident he understood Felicity's position (no pun intended) on threesomes as a whole. When they had been living together, they'd shared what he considered to be a very healthy and active sex life – and the topic of anything too quirky had never come up. Oliver had been surprised last night to see that while she seemed disconcerted about her mother thinking she was in a threesome, she hadn't appeared as shocked by the general concept as he would have expected. Oliver, frankly, had been more uncomfortable. The thought of sharing Felicity in bed with another man went against all his instincts. She was his and his alone – to keep safe, to keep happy and to keep satisfied. He had no interest in watching someone else help her…reach the top of the mountain. That was his job.

Hypocrite that he was, he'd actually had some experience with threesomes himself, back during his very short enrollment at Stanford University. The difference, of course, was that the ratio had been the inverse of Donna's; he'd shared a bed with two women. Not long into his freshman year, he'd been approached by a pair of juniors proposing that the three of them hook up for an evening. Oliver had been 19 at the time and already considered himself a veteran in the bedroom, but his high school sexual encounters had never taken him quite that far. He'd been a little nervous and very intrigued, and he'd accepted their offer. Both girls were athletic (they were two thirds of the starting outfield for Stanford's softball team) and very enthusiastic. He'd spent the entire night with Aimee and Kathee (or was it Amannda and Karenn?), and had emerged with a smile on his face and a muscle strain in his lower back that required a week to heal. He also became an instant legend among the freshmen males.

Still – while he wouldn't admit it to anyone at the time - he hadn't enjoyed the experience as much as he'd anticipated. It had been a bit like bungee jumping or swimming with sharks; one of those things you did once, just to say you did it, but weren't that eager to repeat because it didn't live up to the hype. Maybe at heart he was too traditional, but even in his youth he'd felt that sex was best when you gave your partner your undivided attention, which was tough to do when you had two people to pay attention to; good sex was about connecting, he believed, not geometry or numbers. He made a mental note now to ask Felicity whether she felt the same - although he thought he might omit his experience with the Stanford outfielders when he talked to her. She'd already told him he had far too many skeletons in his closet. This one certainly didn't need to be exposed to the light of day.

"Mr. Queen?"

Startled out of his thoughts, he turned to see Madison in the doorway with his cup of now (hopefully) black coffee. She appeared tense and was wearing a worried expression – a far different girl from ten minutes ago. Something must have happened.

He gave her an encouraging smile. "Come in, Madison. Thanks for the fresh coffee." As he took the cup from her hand, he added gently, "Is anything wrong?"

Her answer came out in a rush. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Queen. I know it's my job to help manage your visitors, but I can't get her to leave. She's in the lobby and I told her she needs an appointment, but she refuses to move. She's standing there demanding to see you, and she's getting loud, and she's starting to make the other people uncomfortable. She won't listen to me at all. She says she has to talk to you…now."

He frowned. "Take a deep breath, Madison. Who won't leave?"

"Some blonde woman in a really tight dress. She says she knows you, and has a story about being a former or future mother-in-law…I can't remember which. Her name is Donna Something or Other."

Donna. Here now. Oh crap.

Oliver slumped back in his chair. He'd known he was going to have to face her at some point, but he'd counted on having more time to prepare and had definitely wanted Felicity at his side when they had what he was pretty sure was going to be The Threesome Talk. He should have realized that Donna would work to her own schedule. He glanced at his phone and, sure enough, there was a brief text from Felicity that contained a frowny face and said: She's on her way, I couldn't stop her. He stared into his coffee and sighed. Knowing Donna, it was going to take a Mirakuru soldier to get her out of the building. He may as well confront the dragon, he thought, because she wasn't going away and she was clearly distracting both visitors and staff. And there was a risk she might say too much in her agitation.

He took a swig of the coffee, grimacing when he found it was still very hot. "I know who it is," he said grimly to Madison, "and, believe me, there wasn't anything you could do to make her leave." He took a deep breath. "Send her in."

"You're sure, Mr. Queen? We could call the police."

For a few seconds Oliver was tempted, but then he shook his head. Exposing more people to Donna and, potentially, to her theory was not a good idea. If she was already disturbing folks in the lobby, who knew what she might let slip when the police showed up? And besides, a fair number of the SCPD knew that Donna had dated Quentin Lance when he was their captain. They were a tight community; the story of her being escorted out of City Hall would get back to Lance in a heartbeat and Oliver would have even more explaining to do. No, as Felicity had said last night, it was time to face the music.

"Send her in," he repeated firmly.

His aide shrugged. "You're a brave man, Mr. Queen."

Madison, Oliver thought, you don't know the half of it.

Thirty seconds later, Donna Smoak blew into his office in a whirlwind of big hair, blue spandex dress and very high heels. She wasn't smiling, but she wasn't exactly scowling either. Her face wore a frustrated and perplexed expression, as if she were trying to follow the assembly instructions for Ikea bookshelves. Oliver wasn't sure if that was a good thing, but it made him a little optimistic. Maybe she wasn't as angry as he'd thought and maybe this conversation wouldn't be as bad as he was expecting.

That optimism disappeared quickly as she stood on the opposite side of his desk and demanded, "Oliver, what on earth are you thinking?"

It was a broad question, and there were a number of strategies for answering it – or avoiding it, if he were lucky. Oliver decided that ignorance was his best option. He tried to look caring, concerned, and more than a little clueless. "Donna – good morning. I can certainly see you're upset. What's the problem?" he asked innocently.

She narrowed her eyes and leaned across the desk. Given the neckline of her dress, Oliver couldn't help but notice that Felicity hadn't inherited her mother's cup size. "Don't play dumb with me, Oliver Queen," Donna said sharply. "You know exactly why I'm here. I'm sure Felicity filled you in on my discovery at the loft. I came to talk about Felicity, you, and the Green Arrow." She held up a hand and fiercely counted off on her fingers. "One, two, three. Three people, Oliver, in the shower yesterday morning. Three people in Felicity's bed." She shook her head. "It's a recipe for disaster. I can't believe you've agreed to go along with it."

Her voice was loud and Oliver prayed that Madison was not standing on the other side of his office door. He attempted to interrupt. "Donna…"

He may as well have tried to hold back the Pacific Ocean. "Have you thought about the risks, Oliver?" she continued angrily. "The potential consequences? It may seem like fun now, but suppose Felicity gets pregnant? We won't know who the father is. God knows I wouldn't mind grandchildren, but I want them to have your eyes and cooking skills, not shoot arrows and swing from chandeliers. How would he even attend parent-teacher conferences? In his hood and mask?"

"Donna…"

"And while I'm all for Felicity having a little fling because she's had a tough time lately, at some point she is going to have to settle down in a meaningful relationship and build a family. What if she compares you with The Arrow and decides he's the one she wants to spend the rest of her life with? He's already got the whole mystery man who saves the city and looks great in leather thing going for him. No offense, but compare that to a politician in a suit and the mystery man wins every time." She paused just long enough to catch her breath. "And he works with her, Oliver. He values her skills. Do you know how flattering it is to a girl like Felicity to have a man appreciate her brains as well as her looks?"

"Donna…"

She shook her head and tapped his desk crisply with one long, lacquered fingernail. "You need to stop this now, Oliver, before someone gets hurt – especially my daughter. She's had enough pain in her life." With those words, her expression softened. "I know you still love her. Maybe you think going along with this…arrangement…is the only way you can be close to her. But I believe she still loves you, too, and there is a way you can be with her, without having to share her. You just need to find it. Start by going back to the basics – a little romance, red wine, and a lot of foot rubs. Talk to her – tell her what's going on in your life and ask about hers. Let her see that you're the only man she needs."

She stopped abruptly, evidently having said what she'd come to say. The two of them stared at each other over the desk for a long moment. Oliver didn't think he could reply with anything that would change Donna's belief about what she'd seen at the loft, so there seemed no point in arguing. All in all, it hadn't been as bad as he'd expected, and it was over pretty quickly. The good news was that she still wanted him to be with her daughter; it would have been harder to take if she'd ordered him to leave Felicity in favor of the Green Arrow. At last he said, quietly, "Well, thank you for the advice, Donna. You've certainly given me a lot to think about."

"Don't think, Oliver. Just fix this, before it's too late and you lose her to the guy in the hood."

"Right. I'll do my best." He looked down at his desk, unsure of where to go next. "Anything else we need to talk about?" he asked a little nervously.

Donna smiled. "No, I think that about covers it. I've said my piece." She began to leave his office but then stopped when she got to the doorway. Turning to face him, she added, "You probably should know, though, that your aides have a pool going on who can seduce you first. Apparently, there's big money riding on whoever can get 'Mayor Handsome' into bed. I overheard them talking when I was in the waiting area."

Oliver felt his brow crease. "I only have two female aides. It can't be that much of a pool."

Donna shrugged. "I'm not sure it's confined only to the females. And you should watch out for the one that brought me back here – she bet big because she thinks she's going to win. Now that you're back with my daughter, I certainly assume that she has no chance." The smile returned to her face. "Have a good day, Oliver."

"You too, Donna."

He watched her sashay down the hall until she disappeared around the corner, and then settled back into his chair. While their conversation had been better than expected (although very one-sided), he still found it a little discouraging - maybe because there had been a small element of truth in Donna's perceptions of Oliver versus The Green Arrow. If you forgot for the moment that they were really the same person, then you might think that The Arrow treated Felicity better than Oliver did. The Arrow was honest with her, respected her skills, and dropped everything to be by her side when she was in trouble. He spent almost every night with her – she knew where he was and what he was doing. Oliver Queen couldn't say the same thing.

He took a sip of his coffee only to find that it was now cold. He thought about asking Madison for another cup, but after Donna's story about the seduction bet he suddenly found himself leery of too much private time with any of his aides. At any rate, it was time to get to work. He was the Mayor of Star City; he needed to focus on his duties. With a sigh, he turned back to the computer and once again started reading the city's news.

"So, did you survive?"

He looked up to see Felicity grinning from the doorway. Suddenly those duties didn't seem so important.

He grinned back. "How did you get in here?"

She glanced over her shoulder, down the now-empty hallway leading to his office. "My mom has your staff pretty distracted. I was able to walk in without anyone noticing." She frowned and added, "You should probably talk to your security team about that."

He shrugged. "Well, as long as it's you sneaking in, I don't mind. And, as we both know, I can take care of myself."

"Yes, we know that."

Oliver studied her as she leaned casually against the doorframe. She was wearing a simple black and white dress that fell just above her knees, and her hair was not in its usual ponytail. Whatever her mother had said to her last night, she must have made peace with it because she appeared cheerful and at ease. Seeing her, smiling in his office, he suddenly felt better. He said lightly, "And as for surviving your mother, I think I'm still in one piece, although I'm not quite sure. She certainly didn't pull any punches."

"Yeah. I'm guessing you got the same lecture I did." Felicity fluttered her hands in imitation of Donna. "'I'm all for you having a little fun, Felicity, but you eventually need to settle down with just one man. You won't be young forever. So choose one of them and get on with it.'"

Oliver frowned. "She said, 'choose one?' She didn't say, 'choose Oliver?'" he asked a little worriedly.

Felicity stared at him for a few seconds. "No, I'm pretty sure she just said, 'choose one,'" she repeated seriously. Then she broke out into a teasing smile.

He rolled his eyes. "Very funny."

"I thought it was."

He gazed at her - she looked beautiful with her hair loose and a little disorganized – before remembering that they were together and he was allowed to kiss her again. "Why are you still standing in the doorway?" he asked abruptly. Remaining seated, he rolled his chair back from the desk and pointed to his chest. "Get over here." She smiled and stepped into his office, shutting the door behind her. As soon as she was within reach he put a hand on her hip to pull her the last few inches into his embrace. Then he tilted his head up to kiss her, warmly but not too passionately. They were in the office, after all; he didn't want to start something he couldn't finish. After a minute or two, he released her lips and gently spun her until she was facing his computer monitor. Then he tugged on her waist until she sat down, partly on the chair and partly in his lap, her back pressed against his chest.

He leaned forward to rest his chin lightly on her shoulder as they both looked at the screen. "Why didn't you tell me about this?" He pointed to the story about the award dinner in her honor at Star City College.

Felicity shrugged, tickling his cheek with her hair and causing his head to bob slightly. "You've had a lot on your plate lately, between your day job and your night job, and with John not here," she said easily. "My getting some silly award really didn't seem that important."

Oliver recalled Donna's words about The Arrow's obvious respect for Felicity and her accomplishments. "If it's happening to you," he said truthfully, "then it's important to me. I would have liked to have attended the banquet to see you accept the award."

"Does that mean you can't?"

He sighed and nuzzled her neck. "Unfortunately, no. We've got a dual-city council meeting that night – our city council plus Central City's. We're supposed to talk about improvements to the Star-Central high speed rail-line. It's been on the calendar for a couple of months."

She patted his hand, still resting on her waist. "Well, that goes with the territory when you're Mayor," she said philosophically. "You can't always do what you want. Anyway," she added, "it's not as if it will be a ton of fun. There'll be some speeches, I'll get a plaque, and we'll eat some rubbery chicken. Watching two city councils argue sounds much more entertaining."

"I doubt that." Glancing down, he slid his hands from her waist to the tops of her thighs, delightfully exposed by her short dress. He'd intended to rest them there, but pretty soon found himself caressing her legs - lightly at first along the top, and then more deliberately as he moved his hands toward her inner thighs. Felicity's legs felt sooo good; soft, silky and firm, all at the same time. They were irresistible. Despite his earlier resolution to behave professionally in the office, he started moving his hands higher. He knew it was inappropriate; he just couldn't help it.

She closed her eyes and shivered. "Oliver…" she warned.

"Hmmm?" His hands made it all the way up to her underwear.

"This probably isn't a good idea."

He slid a couple of fingers along her panties. Damp…most definitely damp. "No," he agreed softly in her ear, "it probably isn't. Although your body seems to want me to continue."

Her eyes remained closed and she shook her head weakly. "That's such a cliché, Oliver. My mind rules my body. And we're in the Mayor's office. What if someone walks in?"

He put his lips against the pulse point in her neck, feeling her rapid heartbeat. "Well, cliché or not, your body definitely appears interested." He moved his fingers inside her panties to touch her, and damp suddenly became wet. "Am I making my point?" She nodded limply, and he felt a surge of delight knowing that Felicity wanted him. His resolution to behave in a Mayor-like manner vanished entirely. "As for being in the office," he continued quietly, kissing her neck, "the door is closed and staff knows I usually spend this hour with the news. We should be fine." He wiggled his fingers lightly.

Felicity moaned very softly, and he felt himself go from hard to really hard. With one hand still caressing her, he moved the other to the zipper of his pants. Normally he liked to take more time with these things, but he was ready, Felicity was ready, and there was a lot of lost time to make up for. And after months of mainly hearing from disgruntled constituents, it seemed only fair that he had the chance to enjoy himself in the Mayor's office. He started to slide down his zipper.

"Mr. Queen? Your 9:30 appointment is…oh. Oh shit – I mean, oh, I'm sorry."

Oliver looked up to see his office door open and Madison standing there. Quick as a flash he returned his zipper to the closed position and arranged Felicity's dress more discretely over her thighs. They were still seated, facing his desk with their legs half under it, so there was a chance his aide hadn't seen all the glorious details. Felicity blushed and started to get up, but Oliver wrapped one arm back around her waist and held her firmly on his lap. He wasn't interested in exposing his more personal assets to Madison.

There were a few seconds of a very awkward silence. Felicity stared at her shoes, Oliver stared at his computer screen, and Madison continued to stare at them.

Oliver decided to brazen it out. He didn't have much choice, really - nothing remotely believable to say came to mind. "Madison," he said matter-of-factly, "I don't think you've met my girlfriend, Felicity Smoak?" He kissed Felicity on the temple for emphasis. "Felicity," he continued, "this is one of my aides, Madison."

Felicity gave Madison a wobbly smile. "Hey, Madison. Nice to meet you."

His aide struggled to smile back. "I didn't see you come in, Felicity. It's…nice to meet you, too." Turning her gaze to Oliver she added glumly, "I didn't realize you had a girlfriend, Mr. Queen. Someone on staff told me you were single."

Judging by her disappointed expression, Oliver figured she must have bet big in the "Seduce Mayor Handsome" pool, and now realized she wasn't going to collect. He gave a mental shrug; it wasn't his problem. "No," he affirmed to Madison, "I'm definitely not single." Anxious to end the discussion, he added, "Now, what's this about a 9:30 appointment?"

His aide shook her head as if to clear it. "Councilman Ramirez is in the waiting room. I'll tell him you'll be with him," she stared pointedly at Felicity, still seated on Oliver's lap, "in ten or fifteen minutes. I trust that's enough time." She turned sharply on her heel and headed back down the hallway, leaving the office door open.

Felicity sighed. "Well, that was definitely embarrassing." She paused and leaned back against him. "But would it sound weird to say that almost doing it in your office was also kind of exciting?" She frowned. "Maybe I'm a closet exhibitionist and never knew it?"

Oliver chuckled. "I doubt it. And I think closet exhibitionist might be an oxymoron."

"I suppose it is. Well, I should let you get back to work before your aide returns." Felicity tugged on his arms and he reluctantly let go of her waist. She stood up and smoothed her dress. "Mayor Queen, let's hope my mother has left the building. I'm in enough trouble already over the threesome; if she hears about sexcapades in your office, she'll think I've lost my mind completely. Not," she continued awkwardly, "that we actually had a threesome…or at least I didn't. I'm not so sure about you and the Stanford softball players…"

He snapped upright in his chair. "How the hell did you hear about Stanford?"

"Twitter logs go back a long way. And if it's online, I can find it." She smiled sweetly. "We can talk about it tonight."

Oh boy.