Chase's 12 Days of Christmas

1. The Family She Never Knew She Needed

Rating: All

Synopsis: My gift to you this holiday season: 12 prompts I've randomly picked from my Tumblr queue that I'll be writing and posting every day until Christmas. Happy holidays, everyone! I hope you enjoy!

Pairing: Multiple

Characters: Oliver, Felicity, Diggle, Lyla, Roy, Thea, Laurel

Season/Episode: All seasons

Category: Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, and many more.

Disclaimer: (the usual, don't own, idea was mine though)

Prompt: Anonymous asked: Olicity prompt: felicity has dinner with the queen family to get to know Thea

The first time she saw Thea, it was two weeks after news of Oliver's death, the night before Christmas, at the bar upstairs in the club, her eyes drawn downward on the bar top as she mixed a drink for a customer. Felicity had been tying up loose ends in the foundry, or, more roughly translated, she'd been trying to figure out how to get Oliver's body back from the League. After she'd exhausted her searches for the night, she'd moped upstairs into the club looking for a way to forget everything that was happening in her life.

"What'll it be?" Thea all but mumbled as Felicity took a seat across from her. When she looked up to find her brother's former assistant staring back at her with the same haggard expression, her eyes softened. "Felicity?"

The blonde gave her a weary smile. "I'm surprised you remember my name," Felicity replied.

"My brother talked a lot about you. Kinda hard to forget," Thea said. "Coming in to drink away your sorrows and reminisce?"

"I just wanted to see how you were doing. Oliver talked a lot about you, too," Felicity answered. "I know of all the people in his life, he cared about you the most."

As she sat there waiting for a response, she studied Thea, watching her face as her tired eyes looked up sharply at her and the detached look she'd had when Felicity first sat down at the bar disappeared. It was replaced with raw devastation as she lost her composure and her lower lip began to tremble.

"Oh, frack, I'm so sorry!" Felicity immediately stood up and made her way behind the bar, wrapping Thea up in a hug as she finally fell apart. One of the other bar maids ran over, ushering them towards the back hallway and promising to take care of everything for the rest of the night.

Felicity found a couple of chairs and sat her down in one as she pulled the other up beside her. Had she known Thea was in such a delicate state, she never would have brought that up. But seeing her now, so heartbroken and so devastated, she tried to comfort her. With one hand gently rubbing up and down her back as the other wrapped around her fingers, she said, "It's okay. Go ahead, let it out."

It was surprising Felicity managed to keep her composure even though on the inside, she felt as if her world had disintegrated, leaving a shell of everything in its place. Being there for Thea helped, though. It gave her something else to focus on while she tamped down her feelings for a little while. She'd cried it out the past week: in Dig's arms, in Roy's, and even in Barry's. Losing someone they cared so deeply for hadn't been taken lightly, and now, being able to pass on the comfort, it made Felicity feel just a tiny bit better.

"I've lost everyone," Thea sobbed. "My father, my mother, and now my brother for the second time. I can't help but think this is the universe's way of punishing me for what Malcolm did."

Felicity continued to rub her hand up and down her back as the other squeezed her fingers. "Hey, no, don't think like that," she replied. "Bad things happen to good people all the time. It doesn't mean they're being punished for something that wasn't even their fault. You just… need to keep going."

"But how am I supposed to keep going when everyone I've ever loved is dead?" Thea wept.

Felicity squeezed her fingers again. "First of all, you find some really good friends and you spend time with them," she said.

"If you haven't already noticed, I don't really have any friends. I just had Oliver. Everyone else came and went."

"Well, you have me now, if you'll let me be your friend," Felicity suggested.

Thea's head bobbed up as she gazed at her with puffy, red eyes. "But I barely know you. The only thing we ever had in common was Oliver," she mumbled.

"That's all we really need," Felicity said, "one common thread, even if it's our grief over Oliver. That doesn't mean we can't share in it."

Thea stared at her for several long, quiet moments. "You loved him, didn't you?" she softly asked.

It was Felicity's turn to drop her eyes as she felt the hot tears she'd been keeping at bay suddenly well up. "I love you" was the last thing Oliver had said to her before he left. It echoed in her ears every night before she fell asleep and was the first thing she thought about every morning when she woke up. And she'd never gotten to say it back. She believed that this time he would come back, that he'd do what he'd set out to do and return to her, but it wasn't the case. Now all she had left was the regret that coursed through her veins every waking minute of every single day that passed.

Feeling Thea's hand rub up and down her back, Felicity gazed up at her as two silent tears streaked down her cheeks.

"I guess we have that in common too," Thea said, giving her a watery smile. Felicity nodded. "Um… I hope this doesn't sound too crazy or forward, but would you like to have dinner with me tomorrow night? I know it's Christmas and I'm not sure if you're spending it with your family…"

"I'm Jewish, actually," Felicity sniffled, running her fingers beneath her eyes to wipe away the moisture that gathered there. "But if you're not opposed to it, would you like to come to dinner with me tomorrow night? My friend, John, asked me to come and spend Christmas dinner with his family, and I highly doubt he'd be opposed to opening his doors to one more straggler."

"Are… are you sure?" Thea asked, the uncertainty clear in her voice as she gave Felicity the most hopeful look she'd seen on the girl since her brother's death.

"Yeah, I'm positive. We all knew Oliver, and we know how much he cared about you. We also know he'd kick our asses if we let you spend Christmas alone," she replied with a smile.

"Thank you," Thea mumbled before throwing her arms around the blonde and bringing her in for a tight hug.

The following night, Thea showed up at Dig and Lyla's apartment promptly at seven holding a bottle of wine in one hand and a tupperware box full of cookies in the other. Felicity greeted her with open arms, as did the others, and although she was slightly shocked to see Roy, Laurel, and Captain Lance there, she was nonetheless grateful they'd all welcomed them into their little group.

Taking a seat at the table between Roy and Felicity, Thea sat quietly, listening to them talk about all sorts of things. When Felicity noticed her silence, she gently nudged her with an elbow and asked, "Are you okay? Is this too much for you?"

"No," Thea replied. "I'm just… trying to absorb it all, I guess."

"I know it's a lot to take in," Felicity said. "If it's too overwhelming for you, feel free to get up and walk around for a bit. Nobody's going to mind. Hell, I think I might do it right now just to get some fresh air and check on baby Sara."

"Would it be okay if I joined you?" Thea hesitantly asked. Sara had fallen asleep as soon as the festivities had begun, and Lyla had put her to bed.

"Of course not!" Felicity replied, grabbing her hand as she stood up. "We'll be right back," she announced to the table before all but dragging Thea away with her. Together they wandered into Sara's room, gently closing the door behind them so they wouldn't wake the sleeping baby.

"She's so beautiful," Thea commented once they reached the crib.

Felicity smoothed a hand over the baby's forehead, causing her to wiggle slightly, but Sara remained asleep. "She's absolutely precious, isn't she?"

"I've always wanted to have children," Thea said. "But after everything that's happened, I'm not so sure anymore."

"I know what you mean," Felicity sighed.

"I know this isn't my place to say, but I think you'd make a great mother."

She glanced over at Thea, the stunned expression on her face making the younger woman smile. "What makes you say that?"

"Not many people got close to Oliver after he came back from the island, but he got close to you, and I can see why. You've got this genuine quality that none of the people I've ever known had. You're goodness and light and strength. You're the only person who's been kind to me without wanting anything in return. And if you're like this with me, then I know you were like this with my brother. I can see why he talked so highly of you, why he loved you so much," Thea explained.

Tears welled in Felicity's eyes as she turned to the remaining Queen and stared at her. She gave her a questioning gaze, one Thea understood all too well. "He never told you he loved you?" she asked, concern seeping into her features.

"He… He did. It's just…" Felicity stuttered, sucking in a deep breath as she tried to push back all the pain she suddenly felt.

"You never told him," Thea correctly surmised. Felicity shook her head as the tears she tried to hold back fell free down her cheeks. Thea's arms came around her shoulders, pulling her in for a hug. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"The last thing he said to me before he left was that he loved me," Felicity softly wept. "I thought he was coming back. I thought that I'd get to say it to him when he came back, but… He's gone and I'll never get a chance to tell him. He'll never know I loved him just as much as he loved me." Thea continued to rub her back as she buried her face in her shoulder. "I'd give anything… absolutely anything for just one more moment."

"Me too," Thea softly replied, closing her eyes and relishing in the fact that she wasn't alone in all this, that she wasn't the only one who was hurting and had regrets.. "Me too."

She and Felicity found a kinship that night, one that would bond them forever: their mutual love for Oliver. And it would continue on, even after he returned from the dead.