Happy Holidays! I am sorry it took so long to get this chapter done. Sickness, work and real life drama sort of took over my life.

I hope the wait was worth it! I would love to know what people think.

As always, a big thank you to misslittlepsycho24 for her never ending support and assistance.

Riding in the back of cars wasn't a new experience for Oliver.

Over the years there'd been plenty of rides in the backs of limousines, Bentley's, even a Rolls Royce on a few occasions. There'd also been other activities in the back of said limos and Bentley's that involved riding of a different sort.

But scrunched into the backseat of a hybrid on a shopping expedition? That was a completely new experience for Oliver.

As promised Jerry had arrived on time, pulling his eco-friendly car to the curb where he proceeded to honk the horn and lean out the open window.

"Wanna ride, handsome?" Jerry waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Behave, Jerry," Felicity admonished.

With her hand nestled in his Felicity tugged and together they walked around the car. With a bit of effort, she managed to wiggle her way into the passenger seat, leaving the space behind her for him to squeeze into.

Oliver had barely managed to get his door shut before Jerry was pulling away and into traffic.

The engine of the hybrid car barely made a sound as Jerry navigated out of downtown Starling and headed for the expressway. Oliver took notice of the scenery as they moved south and west, further and further away from the Glades to the nicer parts of what could only be described as suburbia. When they passed Pennytown he had to wonder just how far outside the city this place they were going to was until Jerry took an exit with a sign that said "Welcome to Bridlewood" and the car turned onto a street named Palomino.

Oliver turned away from the window when he felt a small warm hand on his knee. Felicity looked at him with concern from her place in the front seat. "Are you okay back there?"

He was far from okay. Locked as it were behind her seat, his bad knee screamed at him.

"MmHmm."

Her response was a head tilt coupled with a furrowed brow.

The sudden interest in shopping was something Oliver told himself not to question, but his mind wandered to last night's antics on the couch and he searched for a trigger that could explain Felicity's complete 180 degree turn around on shopping for the twins.

True, they'd finally cleared the air over the morning after and her disappearing act.

True, they'd attempted to find some much needed relief in each other but two little troublemakers had other ideas.

True, they'd finally fallen into bed together not long after and Oliver had managed to wedge himself in between her and her maternity pillow allowing her to use his body to cushion hers.

But he could still feel her reluctance to open up completely to him, to this new life they were faced with. Up until recently Oliver had put it down to her long hours at work coupled with the stress her pregnancy was putting on her body. But he was beginning to wonder if there was something deeper going on that she wasn't sharing.

The multitude of pregnancy books he's read all said it was common for women to start "nesting" before their third trimester. At 27 weeks and 5 days (over three weeks into the home stretch), Felicity showed no interest of wanting to purchase a throw pillow let alone a crib and now suddenly they were on their way to Costco and they had a date to go furniture shopping on Saturday.

It boggled his mind.

Oliver had been completely honest last night when he'd admitted to being freaked out and although their discussion had been focused on their night together in the lair, the end result of their shared passion had him feeling like he was teetering on the edge of a cliff with no safety net. Their relationship had turned on a dime – from deep friendship to a togetherness that left them breathlessly speeding away into the unknown on a train destined for who knew where.

But there was no one else he'd rather have at his side for the roller coaster ride. There was no one else he'd consider venturing into the world of parenthood with.

"Oh, look 'Lissy!" Jerry exclaimed. "A parking spot just for you."

Oliver craned his neck around Felicity's seat and through the windshield so he could see what had Jerry so ecstatic. There in front of the car was a parking sign attached to a wooden stake, not unlike the one's used for handicap parking. Only this one was pink with the side profile of a pregnant woman. The words above the picture said "Expectant Mother Parking".

"If this is a perk of driving you around you can consider me your personal chauffeur, Ms. Smoak," Jerry vowed.

He'd never seen a designated parking spot for pregnant women before.

"If I were you I wouldn't make promises you can't keep, Jerry," Felicity warned.

Oliver could have cared less if they were parked twenty feet or two hundred feet from the door, all he cared about was how good it felt to stretch his knee after unfurling himself from the backseat.

Felicity who had also managed to extricate herself from the car came towards him, placing a hand on his arm and regarding him with her concerned face. "Your knee?" He nodded. "I'll let you call shotgun for the way home."

Oliver shook his head. "I've been through worse experiences than being squeezed into the backseat of a car."

"And I'm sure you've done worse things on the backseat of cars," she teased.

Her remark conjured images in his head to a future time when he could do some of those things she was suggesting to her in the backseat of a car, and he smirked. The knowing smile he got in return told him she was thinking of a similar scenario.

"Are you two going to stand there all day having eye sex?" Oliver reluctantly tore his eyes from Felicity and shot Jerry a pointed look over the roof of the car.

Felicity chuckled and moved around the car to her friend, linking her arm with his. Oliver bit back a growl and followed the pair across the parking lot.

Once inside, Felicity stopped and untangled her arm from Jerry. "So here's how this is going to go," Felicity began. "Bathroom, food, and shopping in that order and yes Jerry I'm well aware that it's only," she paused pulling out her cell phone to check the time, "ten thirty in the morning but I'm a big girl and I am more than capable of taking care of myself so if I want to eat a hot dog this early in the morning then I will. In fact, I'll probably have more than one. Are we clear?"

Jerry sputtered, seemingly a bit taken aback by Felicity's proactive stance against his as yet unspoken objections to her dietary choices. "But 'Lissy, you know I only – "

"You only care about my wellbeing, I get it Jerry, I do. But it's my life and my choice. Are we clear?"

"'Lis – "

"Are we clear?"

Jerry sighed, deflated at having lost a battle he hadn't even started. "Crystal," he muttered.

"Good," she replied, obviously pleased with herself. "Now you," she pointed at Jerry, "can take him," her finger swung towards Oliver, "to get a membership while I go and empty my bladder for the tenth time this morning. I swear I will be thankful when these two stop using my bladder as a platform for the riverdance." Felicity turned and walked away, one hand resting on her belly, the other on her back, and Oliver couldn't stop the smile on his face. How he loved this woman whose guts and determination had seen him through so much.

"I assume you need this membership to shop here then?"

Jerry sputtered looking at Oliver like he was a visitor from another planet. "It's Costco!"

"Is that supposed to mean something to me?"

Oliver didn't understand why they were just standing around.

Suddenly, Jerry gasped. "Oliver Queen is a Costco virgin. Wow…Virgin and Oliver Queen. Three words I never thought I would use in the same sentence." Jerry walked away in the same direction Felicity had gone stopping after a few steps before turning back to Oliver. "Are you coming or not?"

Oliver grudgingly followed Jerry to a service counter where a young woman in a red vest informed them she would be right back before walking away to speak with a guy also in a red vest. The place was essentially a giant warehouse, stuff stacked to the rafters with bright, bright lights. His life as the Arrow had seen him in numerous warehouses of different sizes – some empty and some not so empty but all filled with evil and evil doers. This was his first experience shopping in one, and he would wait and see what all the excitement was about before passing judgement.

"So," Jerry leaned into Oliver. "What's up with the sudden desire to go shopping?"

Oliver shrugged. "Been asking myself the same thing. But I'm going with it because some progress is still progress."

"She doesn't know about, the thing, right?"

Oliver shook his head. The thing was a surprise baby shower and keeping something that big a surprise from one of the smartest women on the planet was a colossally bad idea. And he'd said as much to Thea & Jerry when they first told him of their plans.

"How is it you think she doesn't know?"

"I can hope, can't I?"

"Are you asking for my opinion because I thought I'd made my feelings clear? You and my sister are nuts."

"And Donna. Don't forget Donna."

How could he possibly forget Felicity's mother who made the tenacious trio complete. Oliver had also tried to reason with Donna about the absurdity of the plan via text and when that hadn't worked, he'd resorted to phone calls all of which invariably ended with her crying tears of joy and making him promise to take good care of her one and only baby girl.

Oliver started to comment yet again on the subject when the lady in the red vest returned to the counter. "Hi there. How can I help you today?"

The name tag said "Becky" and she'd been a member since 2012.

Jerry spoke up and answered. "My friend here would like a membership."

Becky smiled, her gaze shifting from Jerry to Oliver. Her brow crinkled and her eyes narrowed in that universal sign of recognition. It was clear she was trying to determine why Oliver looked familiar to her.

"Okay, sure. Which membership were you interested in – Gold, Business or Executive?" She pointed to the large sign on the wall behind her.

Oliver frowned, not knowing (or caring) about the difference. Jerry sensed Oliver's confusion and answered for him, "Executive."

Becky asked questions and Jerry answered on Oliver's behalf while he stood at the counter, mute until he was asked for his ID to which he pulled out his driver's license and slid it across the counter.

Oliver's days of being recognized as a billionaire playboy were more than long gone but his name wasn't. His name was still identifiable to the residents of Starling City and beyond. So if Oliver thought his name wouldn't spark some recognition with Becky he was wrong. He'd already sensed her reluctance that he wasn't just another unknown face in a city of them.

Becky fingered his ID, her eyes flickering over the information as her fingers moved towards her computer terminal but they halted before they hit a single key. Oliver watched as her eyes and smile grew wide in unison before she let out a gasp.

"Ollie Queen! I can't believe I almost didn't recognize you." Becky's words coupled with the use of his pre-island nickname quickly formed a pit in Oliver's stomach. He frantically searched his memory for any trace of her. With her long straight dark hair, wide brown eyes and slightly upturned nose, she resembled far too many women (Laurel included) from his less than pristine past.

She was openly and unabashedly staring, waiting for an epiphany from him at any moment. "It's Becky, Becky Schlossinger." She flashed him her wide pearly white smile. "SCU '05."

2005, two years before the Gambit, two years before Lian Yu and the hell his life would become, seven years BFS – before Felicity Smoak.

2005, the year he'd attended Starling City University, his parents attempt to keep him in school and close to them; their misguided and failed plan of trying to control him and his destiny.

Oliver remembered not going to class, he remembered the frat parties, the drinking, the girls, but not this particular girl. The pit in his stomach twisted with foreboding.

Becky glanced left and right, making sure none of her co-workers could overhear her before she leaned over the counter. When she spoke her voice was husky and dripping with something he hadn't been subjected to in several years. "You, me, my roommate Cindy… a bottle of strawberry massage oil. Ring any bells?"

He was Oliver Queen, Lian Yu survivor, Arrow and vigilante fighting to save his city. One eleven year-old drunken (what else could it be) mistake shouldn't be causing his throat to dry up or make his palms sweaty. How did he tell this girl that he had no recognition of the night she was describing? Because, he didn't. He well and truly had no memory of such an encounter.

"That was," he coughed, trying to clear his throat, "A long time ago."

A tell-tale blush spread up her cheeks but despite it she boldly answered, "A girl doesn't forget the best night of her life."

A man didn't forget the best night of his life either. For Oliver his was the very reason he was standing in a warehouse dressed in a ridiculous t-shirt purchasing a membership from a woman he had no memory of sleeping with.

Miraculously, Jerry had remained silent but Oliver could feel the man practically vibrating beside him, itching to make a smart ass comment.

Becky in the meantime was batting her eyes at him and it made Oliver shift his feet nervously on the other side of the counter. Unknowingly his fingers began rubbing together.

A warm hand suddenly clasped his, stilling his movements and a throat was cleared bringing Oliver's focus back to the present, back to an expectant Becky waiting for him to respond and the knowledge that Felicity was somewhere nearby. Not that he was concerned about Felicity discovering that he'd had a past interlude with the Costco girl.

"Will this take much longer?" Jerry asked Becky. "We have someone waiting for us and you know, places to go, people to see."

Becky frowned, clearly perturbed by the change in topic and reluctantly slipped back further to her side of the counter where she silently did whatever she needed to with the computer, slipping his license back to him. He paid the necessary fee and (reluctantly) had his picture taken and less than a minute later Becky was sliding the membership card across to him. Oliver reached out to take it, desperately wanting to remove himself from the awkward situation, however he paused when he saw a small yellow sticky note attached with a series of numbers that looks remarkably like a phone number scribbled across it.

Oliver's eyes flew up and met Becky's heated look. The smile on her face held a seductive promise that gave him goosebumps, and not the good kind.

"My old roommate Cindy is back in Starling for a visit next month, in case you know, you were interested in a repeat performance."

Getting out of difficult situations was the Arrow's speciality. Yet somehow Oliver found himself at a complete loss of what to say or do…again.

Jerry rode to his rescue.

Leaning in, Jerry snaked an arm around Oliver's left, clutching and clinging in a lover-like way. "Sorry sweetheart, he's taken."

Oliver was sure it was the way Jerry stroked his arm that had Becky's eyes switch from sexual come hither to surprise in a split second. He could practically see the wheels turning in her head as she processed Jerry's words coupled with his actions, actions that now included leaning his head on Oliver's shoulder.

"Oh…" Becky's smiled slipped with each stroke of Jerry's hand. "I ah, guess the gossip's true."

Jerry winked. "Oh sweetheart, believe everything you read."

Becky's brow furrowed, clearly thinking hard. "Well…Ollie was always up for trying something new so I guess it makes sense…"

Throwing his head back, Jerry laughed, the sound shrill and false to Oliver's ears. Allowing Jerry to have his fun suited his purposes and letting this girl believe what she wanted didn't bother him one bit. So far everything was conjecture and misrepresentation. Nothing confirmed or denied. And if it kept the press from getting wind of his relationship with Felicity, all the better because he wasn't ready to share that part of his life with the rest of Starling City. Outside of the paparazzi shot of him gorging on fries at two in the morning and the speculation that he was going to become a father, the gossips were holding firm on the idea that Oliver was a switch hitter and he'd defected to his own team.

The other members of Team Arrow got a big chuckle out of it, Oliver was ambivalent towards it all, Jerry was permanently on cloud nine, and Felicity, well… Felicity laughed it off but secretly Oliver wondered if she was annoyed by the talk that she had purposefully gotten herself pregnant to act as a surrogate.

"This pregnancy thing is hard. It boggles my mind that someone would go through this hell for someone else with nothing to show for it when it's all over."

Other than some nosey press badgering her with questions, wanting her to confirm the parentage of her unborn child (thankfully the press had yet to get wind that she was carrying more than one) Felicity had been relatively left in peace.

But Oliver knew all that could change when they were seen out in public together. The vultures would sink their claws into the news and despite his fall from grace, they would still be out for blood.

"Oh, this one," Jerry giggled, whacking him on the chest. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you what tickles his fancy. But I've got one word for you – leather."

That was his cue to step in. "Jerry," he growled.

"Do you hear the way he talks to me?" Wordlessly, Becky nodded in response to Jerry's playful comment.

Oliver had to hand it to Jerry, the girl was completely taken in. Poor Becky transitioned quickly from propositioning him to resembling a deer in headlights and it didn't take long before she remembered where she was and what she was supposed to be doing and gave them a perfunctory smile in response. "Is there, ah, anything else I can do for you?" She pointed at Oliver and added, "Cute shirt, by the way."

Oliver frowned and looked down at this chest. Seeing the word "TWINS" staring upside down at him. He'd forgotten what he was wearing.

He barely had a chance to mutter a "thank you" to Becky before Jerry was pulling him away, the membership card grasped in his free hand.

Jerry waited until they were a safe distance from the counter before he hissed, "Whatever you do, don't look back."

"And why would I want to?"

Jerry stopped abruptly and attached as he was to the man, Oliver jerked to a halt. "You weren't temped? Even for a second?"

"Nope."

"Huh." Jerry looked at Oliver speculatively for a few seconds before taking a step forward.

Oliver stood his ground, digging in his heels knowing there was no way Jerry would be able to move still attached to Oliver as he was. "Did I give you the impression I was? Because I seem to recall you allowing the poor girl to think something very different."

"Well no – I mean yes, but…"

Oliver raised his brows waiting for Jerry to elaborate.

Jerry sighed and looked away. Oliver had to wonder where the man could possibly be thinking. Had he not proven his loyalty and commitment?

"I know you love 'Lissy, I see how much, we all do but no one knows better than me what's holding her back. She's brilliant and amazing with her own unique way of kicking ass." Oliver smiled, Felicity was one of a kind. "But despite that genius brain of hers she's still the product of a broken home, of a father who abandoned her. She loves with everything she has while at the same time guarding her heart ferociously."

Jerry's words helped Oliver to recall a Mayoral press conference, a distraught Felicity and her own family confession before the truth about his own came spilling from of her trembling lips. He also recalled the attempts he'd made over the months spent re-building their friendship to make her feel comfortable enough that she would want to open up to him about her childhood. Despite the newfound trust they'd built, she shared very little of her adolescent memories.

"I would never hurt Felicity, Jerry."

"Oh I believe you, Oliver, but I just – "

Oliver cut him off with a look. The two friends might not be connected by blood but he understood Jerry's protectiveness – Felicity was like a little sister to him, someone he felt charged to look out for. No matter that this was Felicity Smoak they were talking about, Miss I'm-Not-Leaving-If-You're-Not-Leaving. But having a younger sister of his own, Oliver knew he would do and say the same things to a man who loved Thea. Though in his case there would probably be a weapon involved.

"I'll let you in on a little secret, Jerry. Even after everything that's happened, how far we've come and what's still to come, Felicity Smoak is far more likely to hurt me than the other way around."

"You have to understand, she's scared, Oliver," Jerry pleaded. "All of this…it's overwhelming and throwing her off balance."

Rocking back on his heels, Oliver pulled away from Jerry's grasp and stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "I'm well aware. At least this shopping trip is a step in the right direction. So how about we go with the flow and let the woman we both love have whatever she wants today?"

Jerry's attention wandered then and he turned away from Oliver. "Speak of the devil. The object of our affection is waddling towards us."

Oliver caught sight her and she was indeed waddling their way, a move she'd slowly been gaining over the last several weeks as her belly grew. Only hours before he'd told her she was beautiful and it was so incredibly true even at that moment with the fluorescent lighting beaming down on her. Pregnancy only made the light inside her radiate in such a way that it could not be reproduced by mankind. And today in her red tank dress, white sweater and matching flip flops she was stunning, more so than the first time he'd caught sight of her across a crowded ballroom of a Charity Benefit.

Knowing how sensitive she'd become about her changed walk and posture, Oliver whispered to Jerry, "Careful with the "w" word."

Jerry huffed in annoyance. "Three times this week I let it slip and I got threatened with unemployment in return. I don't dare say it to her face."

With a hand on her bulging belly, Felicity came to a stop in front of them. "Say what? What did I miss?"

Jerry plastered a huge, slightly fake, smile on his face. "Have I told you how beautiful you look today?"

Felicity narrowed her eyes. "Can the flattery, Cordick. You were discussing my waddle, weren't you?"

Jerry batted his eyes trying to look innocent. "What? No, of course not."

Her head titled to the left, the eyes narrowing further.

"I know better, 'Lissy."

Her arms crossed and there was a distinctive tapping of her flip flop encased foot. Jerry's smile slowly faded under her scrutiny.

"We're not at work. You can't fire me," he replied nervously.

"Technically it's during work hours, so I think I can do what I want when I want when it comes to my assistant."

Jerry's shoulders sagged in defeat, mumbling, "If it counts for anything, you're adorable when you waddle."

Felicity huffed out a breath through her nose that sounded more like a snort. "Penguins waddle. Ducks waddle. I," she pointed to herself, "Do not waddle."

"Penguins, ducks, you…all cute and adorable. I rest my case."

Felicity looked at her friend with skepticism but chose not to argue the matter further. Instead she waddle walked away and parked herself at a table in the eating area under an umbrella emblazoned with a Pepsi logo. She told Jerry what she wanted to eat and he quietly did as he was asked and came back mere minutes later with a tray loaded with food.

Oliver eyed the food filled with grease and salt and who-knew-what-else and bit his tongue. There was no doubt this was the unhealthiest thing for Felicity to be eating but he'd promised to keep his mouth shut and let her have whatever it was she wanted.

Even if it was a hot dog (or two) loaded with so many toppings he couldn't see the meat.

Oliver and Jerry contented themselves with sipping on lattes while the pregnant woman moaned, sighed, guzzled and inhaled two hot dogs, a container of fries swimming in gravy, and a large lemonade. A mere ten minutes after she'd finished eating she asked for ice cream and Jerry grudgingly obliged. Getting up from the table he muttered to himself something about "being an uncle" and "better be worth it".

"Pushing your luck, aren't you?"

Felicity didn't even hesitate. "Nope."

Oliver smiled. "You do realize we're having kale for dinner, right?"

She smiled in return. "You realize you'll be eating alone, right?"

"Felicity…" Oliver sighed.

"Yes?" She batted her eyes at him innocently and he couldn't hold back a soft laugh.

"You're incorrigible."

Jerry returned and plunked a plastic container filled with what looked to him like vanilla soft serve ice cream topped with chocolate sauce. "Anything else, your majesty? There are still a few items on the menu you haven't ordered."

Felicity completely ignored Jerry's wise ass comment and dove into her ice cream, moaning around a spoonful of cold vanilla and warm chocolate.

Oliver turned and stage whispered to Jerry seated beside him. "I think she's happy."

"Who knew all it took was $8.69."

"Oliver spends more than that on kale per day, don't you, dear?"

The corner of his mouth lifted in mirth. She was enjoying this a little too much. "But I do it all for you, hon."

Felicity leaned across the table towards her friend. "That's his excuse but I know better. Secretly it's the dye in the leather seeping into his veins that gives him this compulsion to eat like a herbivore."

There was no way he was going to let that pass. "I seem to recall you extolling the virtues of broccoli and how much you loved all things green," Oliver teased.

"Oh I do." Her smile could only be classified as mischievous. "The greener the better."

Their banter filled him with something warm and wonderful and for him it was one more confirmation that together they could get overcome any challenge.

Jerry, not to be left out, slyly said, "Need I remind you 'Lissy, it was your passion for green things that got you in this situation?" Despite the telltale blush spreading up Felicity's neck Jerry continued needling her. "Or was that the vodka? I can never remember."

Jerry's comment about the vodka surprised Oliver. He knew Felicity and Jerry were as close as siblings but he hadn't considered that the relationship extended to sharing…well everything.

"Don't worry, lover boy. She doesn't tell me everything." Jerry shoulder bumped him. "Just the good stuff."

Oliver shouldered him back, albeit a bit more forcefully and a lot less playfully. "Maybe Chatty Cathy should stop living up to his moniker."

"That would take away all my fun," Chatty Cathy replied, grinning ear to ear. "And so far today has been loads of fun."

Across the table Felicity sighed. "If watching me stuff my pregnant face is what constitutes fun in your book, Jerry then you need to start getting out more."

Oliver knew exactly what "fun" Jerry was talking about and he could feel the man practically vibrating with glee at the thought of regaling Felicity with their service counter encounter.

"Get it out of your system. I'm surprised you kept it in this long."

"I wanted to give the pregnant girl a chance to eat first. Less likelihood of retaliation if she's satisfied with food."

Felicity's eyebrows shot up and she regarded them both speculatively. "Something you two want to tell me…?"

Jerry began telling the tale and ten minutes later he was still only half way through the story. He was more than living up to his new nickname. For her part, Felicity listened, her expression never changing while she ate her ice cream. Oliver watched Felicity closely but surprisingly he found her hard to read and when Jerry got to the part about pretending to be "with" Oliver, she didn't bat an eye. Jerry finished shortly after, thankfully leaving out their conversation regarding Felicity's heart.

Seated where she was Felicity had only to turn her head slightly to the left for a full view of the customer service counter and red-vested Becky, which she did before her eyes settled back on Oliver.

"Strawberry, Oliver, really?"

He could feel his brows disappear into his hair line. "That's what you took from that?"

Felicity wrinkled her nose in disgust. "You don't even like strawberry."

"Let's just say my tastes have evolved."

"One would hope," she replied, dropping her spoon in the now empty plastic cup. She smacked her lips, showing her enjoyment of the icy treat. "I guess this puts me back in the surrogacy limelight. Seriously, Jerry couldn't you think of something other than draping yourself all over my boyfriend and letting people infer that you're a couple?"

"You should have seen the poor man, 'Lissy, he was shaking in his boots."

Oliver frowned. "I was not shaking in any kind of footwear or shaking at all for that matter."

Jerry cupped his hands around his mouth and pretended to whisper, knowing full well Oliver could hear every word. "He was scared."

"I was not scared," Oliver protested.

"Well you were doing that thing with your fingers," Jerry qualified.

"You mean this." Felicity placed her elbow on the table and mimicked that thing he did with his fingers when he was itching to use his bow. Jerry nodded. "Yeah, he does that when he's nervous. And sometimes when he's excited too."

Jerry grimaced. "And we're back into things-Jerry-doesn't-need-to-know-about territory."

"I was not nervous," Oliver growled. This was getting out of hand.

"Awww," Jerry gushed. He reached out, and before Oliver could stop him, he was squeezing Oliver's cheeks together between his thumb and middle finger. "Look at that face."

Oliver swatted Jerry's hand away eliciting a laugh from Felicity. "I was not nervous. I was merely taking my time trying to find a polite way of letting the girl down."

"Because you had no recall of ever having been with her?" Felicity supplied.

Oliver exhaled. "Yes, exactly."

"He's so bad," Jerry sighed dramatically, placing his head on Oliver's shoulder. "But, he does it so well."

Felicity snorted. "Taylor Swift? Really, Jerry?"

Just when Oliver thought it couldn't get any worse, Jerry started singing. "He's so tallllll and handsome as helllllll…He's so bad but he does it so welllllll…"

Despite the store having only been open for a half hour and the eating area being somewhat deserted, Jerry's singing caught the attention of an elderly couple two tables over who were clearly enjoying their morning latte together. The older woman gave Oliver the once over and smiled knowingly while her husband's smile was more polite.

"You make a lovely couple," the lady called out.

Oliver smiled tightly back at the woman while trying to nudge Jerry off his shoulder.

"Thank you," Jerry replied, "He's quite the catch, isn't he?"

Oliver glanced at Felicity and noticed her lips had disappeared in her mouth in an attempt to keep her mirth from spilling out. Everyone thought it was funny to laugh at Oliver's expense. He was very glad Diggle was miles away completely unaware of what was going on.

Oliver wasn't easily embarrassed, in fact it took quite a lot to embarrass him. Not even the verbal gaffes and innuendo's Felicity was famous for ever truly bothered him. And despite the gossip article that surfaced months ago thanks to Max Fuller implying Oliver's relationship with Jerry was more than platonic and despite what had transpired since walking into Costco, Oliver wasn't embarrassed in the slightest. He had nothing but respect for anyone willing to put themselves out there looking for love and companionship. Two guys, two girls, a girl and a guy, a guy and a goat…as long as people weren't getting hurt, who was he to judge?

So he wasn't embarrassed for people to think he was in a relationship with Jerry. However, Jerry's invasion of Oliver's personal space was beginning to grate on his nerves. Since his five years away, only Felicity and Diggle had ever initiated physical contact with him outside of his family and close friends (notably Laurel and Sara). After years of being physically hurt by others, Oliver was wary. And it had nothing to do with trust. Oliver trusted Jerry with Felicity's life, with his children's lives.

Felicity swung her legs out from under the table and slowly stood up. "C'mon, Bert & Ernie…The pregnant woman has been satisfied with food so let's get this show on the road. Time's a wasting."

Oliver stood up and followed Felicity, leaning in close he whispered, "Bert & Ernie?"

She looked confused for a moment. "I'm going to pretend you didn't just ask me that."

Jerry who had somehow overheard their exchange (did the man have super hearing?) chuckled and shook his head. "I am so getting you a subscription to PEOPLE for Christmas."

Four years back in civilization and Oliver continued to be the butt of everyone's pop culture jokes.

"I know who Bert & Ernie are," He replied hotly. "I just don't understand the context of the comment."

Jerry fell into step beside Oliver. "You're cute when you're mad, you know that?"

On their way towards the exit to enter through the entrance (Jerry's words) they passed the latte sipping couple who smiled at them and stopped Felicity, inquiring when she was due.

"If you don't mind me saying, dear," the woman went on not giving Felicity an opportunity to answer, "You look like you should be on your way to the hospital instead of shopping."

It was a polity way of saying, "You look like you're ready to pop."

Felicity being Felicity, smiled her most patient smile the one she usually reserved for him when he was being a jerk or dense or whatever it was he was doing to irritate her. "Thank you for your concern but I'm having twins," she replied and the older woman actually gasped in response which Felicity ignored. "And yes they're identical."

Three of the most common things people said to Felicity after learning she was pregnant with twins were; Are they natural? Are they identical? Or his personal favourite, were you trying for twins? Considering Felicity spent nearly all her time either at Palmer Tech, the loft or (when she could manage it) in the basement at Verdant, 99% of the questions came from colleagues or business associates. It made him wonder about Ray's hiring policy if the half the staff displayed that level of stupidity.

A few weeks ago he'd taken her to lunch at an Italian place around the corner from her office only to have the hostess comment, after overhearing Oliver asking her how the babies were doing, "Two for the price of one. Way to go!"

Afterwards he'd had to promise to never take Felicity to that particular restaurant again, no matter how much she'd enjoyed the carbonara.

Just last Thursday while they were in the elevator on their way to a doctor's appointment a woman had asked Felicity how far along she was. Felicity had indulged the woman and the bug-eyed reaction coupled with "How did that happen?" had Felicity clenching her hands and Oliver glad when the elevator had dinged signalling their floor. Even now he didn't like thinking of the possible bloodshed that might've occurred if he hadn't ushered Felicity away from the bewildered woman when he did.

This woman, this sweet elderly woman who reminded Oliver of his grandmother regarded the woman he loved, the mother of his children, the smartest most badass woman he'd ever known with pity and replied with, "Oh, you poor dear."

Jerry having been witness to the ridiculous comments, reactions and questions at work quickly stepped in front of Felicity, blocking her view of the grandma-look-a-like. "I'm terribly sorry, but we really must be going. She gets testy when if she doesn't get enough time to shop. Women," Jerry sighed, "Can't love 'em, can't shop with 'em. Am I right?"

The last comment was addressed to the elderly man who nodded wide-eyed at Jerry then muttered, "Amen," which caught the wrath of his wife and her attention away from them which they quickly took advantage of and walked away.

Felicity protested, not pleased at being thwarted over expressing her opinion on the "poor dear" comment. "Testy? You haven't see testy yet, Cordick. And don't think that a public setting will save you if I'm forced to use my loud voice!"

As they passed through the exit Oliver noticed a red-vested man looking at them strangely, obviously he'd overheard Felicity's words. Oliver flashed the man a smile and mouthed, "Hormones." The guy nodded knowingly.

Thankfully Felicity was too engaged in a verbal battle with Jerry to have noticed. Otherwise he would've been on the receiving end of her loud voice.