Notes: Here is the final chapter of this story. I want to thank everyone who has chosen to stick with the story and follow me to journey's end. I know there is a lot of really good fanfic out there and you didn't have to read my story. It means a great deal to me that you did. I appreciate each and everyone of you who took the time to send me a review. Your thoughts on the story never failed to brighten my day. I also would like to thank everyone who chose to follow or favorite my story. I know your support helped to draw new readers into the story.

Those of you who are familiar with my writing know that I don't really write explicit love scenes. This remains true in this story. There is kissing and implied sexual behavior in this epilogue, but nothing graphic. If this isn't your thing, you don't need to read this chapter and you won't be missing out on the story.

The Arrow characters and universe do not belong to me.

Felicity awoke to someone pounding on her front door. Groaning, she rolled over to get her glasses and as she sat up, her clock came into focus. If Ray Palmer was knocking on her door at 2:00am again to discuss another of his ideas around miniaturization, she was going to put itching powder in his suit. It had been another long day in what had been a very long week. She'd only been in bed for an hour and her alarm was set to go off in another three. If it was anything short of an apocalyptical emergency, the person knocking on her door was going to get an earful.

She stumbled to the front door, pulling her robe on as she went. The pounding on her door got louder. She threw the door open with some choice words for Ray on her lips when she saw who it was. "Oliver?" He was soaking wet and dripping on her doormat. He was supposed to be home with Diggle and getting some sleep in a real bed. Confused and groggy, she stuck her head out the door to look at the street. It hadn't been raining when she got home and now it was pouring. She tried to remember if she closed her car's windows when she got home.

"You really should ask who it is before you open the door." He said stepping around her and into the apartment.

Felicity sighed and shut the door. "I thought you were..." She froze. Was Oliver really standing in her apartment or was she having a really vivid dream? It wasn't like she hadn't fantasized about a wet Oliver appearing on her doorstep before and it hadn't been raining when she got home. Turning slowly, afraid to hope, she asked, "How do you know where I live?" He grinned at her and her heart skipped a beat. "You remember?"

Before Felicity could process what was happening or ask him if he was okay, Oliver was cupping her face between his hand hands and his mouth sought hers. His hands were cold, but his lips were warm. She leaned into him, her fingers dragging the zipper of his wet brown leather coat down so she could snake her arms around his dry torso. He released her face so he could remove his coat, but his lips never left hers. She heard his coat hit the floor and then his arms were lifting her. She wrapped her legs around his waist as his arms crushed her to his chest. He threaded his fingers through her hair in order to change the angle of her head to deepen their kiss. Oliver pressed her back against her front door and she made a little oomph sound as the air left her lungs. He rested his forehead against hers. "I thought I'd never get to kiss you again," he whispered. "You were the last thing I thought of on that mountain. I'm so sorry, Felicity. Please say you'll forgive me."

Felicity tugged on the hair on the back of his head to raise his eyes to hers. "Forgive you, for what?"

"For, for, for everything. For pushing you away. For dangling maybes. For not being who you deserved. For disappearing. I screwed up." He looked so young with his wide blue eyes that were pleading with her for forgiveness.

She laughed gently as she caressed his face. "Even though you make everything so much harder than it needs to be, of course, I forgive you. I..." The words caught in her throat. This impossible man had unexpectedly appeared in her life and she was suddenly set on a trajectory that she never imagined possible. His cause had become hers, theirs. He was her partner and now he was there with all of his walls down and asking to be loved by her. Maybe they could be true partners in everything. For so long she'd guarded her heart and kept those three words locked away. As she looked into his eyes she realized that the words that she carried didn't belong to her anymore, they belonged to him. "Oliver," she smiled, "I love you."

Oliver's eyes welled with tears. Without taking his eyes from hers, his lips pressed gently against hers. This kiss was soft and slow as they took the time to explore one another. So much that had remained unspoken between them was being communicated with their locked gaze and their lips. She could taste the salt from his tears as they ran down his face and onto their joined lips. He stilled for a moment. "I love you."

He kissed her again, but now there was need. His tongue played across her lips until she granted him entry. There was now a shared hunger and desperation between them as all the years of denial and months of separation demanded to be acknowledged and paid. Her fingers tugged on his shirt as he worked to push her robe off of her shoulders. Anchoring her to the door with his hips, he lifted his arms so she could lift his shirt over his head. When his shirt had joined his jacket on the floor, she placed a kiss over his heart. "I've wanted to do that since you came home."

He smiled at her and ran his fingers through her hair, twisting a curl around a finger. "I've wanted to do that since you told me you dyed it." Felicity laughed and he smiled in return. "God, I've missed you." Felicity raised her arms over her head and then her eyebrows when he didn't move. "Are you sure?" He asked huskily.

"You still have to take me on a date." She teased.

He smiled at her and she thought her heart would burst from the joy on his face. "I think that can be arranged." He took the hem of her tank top between his fingers and hesitated. His eyes returned to hers. "I love you."

"I love you." Her shirt joined his on the floor and their lips found one another again. His arms cradled her tightly against him as he carried her towards her bedroom. She could feel his heart beating against her chest and she knew that whatever it was between them, it was right. They belonged together and to one another. As he laid them on the bed she said, "Welcome home."

Notes: Thank you for reading. Your feedback is always welcomed.

If you enjoyed my story and would like to read more of my writing, I invite you to join me for my latest story, The Year of Good Things. It is the final installment of The Ties That Bind trilogy. For those readers who have already started The Year of Good Things, I am currently editing chapter 2 and it will be posted shortly.

I look forward to hearing from you all again.