Cry on My Shoulder

Chapter 3: Oliver cries.

A/N: With the right amount of coaxing, and another visit to a medical facility, Oliver finally makes the move to take his relationship with Felciity to the next level. Without further ado, the final chapter to this AU ficlet. Enjoy!

In the months that followed the two incidents when Ellie had to be rushed to the E.R., Oliver and Felicity's friendship has grown, much like little Ellie has grown.

In time, they've become more than mere neighbors that do each other favors. They practically go in and out of each other's condo units like they were family. They have each other's names on their speed dial. Oliver comes over to cook dinner for the three of them; Felicity comes over to help him with his tech needs. They've even done laundry together a few times. They've spent weekends doing movie marathons (with or without Ellie), shopping for groceries and Ellie's needs, and sometimes taking the little girl to the park, the zoo, or children's museums and recreational facilities. It's also worth mentioning that both Oliver and Felicity have been glad that they haven't had to visit the E.R. of Starling General because of Ellie for the past six months.

Oliver and Felicity also see each other every day at QC and have developed a distinct synergy after working as partners on three consecutive projects personally assigned to them once by CFO Walter Steele, and twice by CEO Robert Queen, Oliver's father.

Two months ago, Oliver was promoted to Vice President for Corporate Affairs. His mother Moira has been more than proud of her son's promotion and recent accomplishments. Twice she has expressed to her husband that perhaps their son's inspiration to excel in his career (to the advantage of their company) can be attributed to a certain blonde who possessed beauty, brains, and an impressive inner brawn – a rare combination that the Queen matriarch has been looking for in a future daughter-in-law. Moira would have frankly told Oliver so, before he and Felicity even started working on their third project together, but Robert wisely advised her not to spoil things by meddling or teasing. She acquiesced, of course, knowing full well that their daughter Thea can definitely manage with the teasing for the both of them.

And teased, Thea has. Every time she chanced upon her brother grinning while reading a text or talking to someone on the phone, she'd corner him into admitting that Felicity is the one on the other end of the line. Whenever she'd drop by QC and find the two of them in the same work space, she'd drop a subtle remark here and there, which she knew her brother would pick up easily.

One time a couple of weeks ago, Thea had passed by his condo unit and noticed him all groomed up and smelling nice and ready to head out. To the unit next door.

"You really should ask your cute, cool neighbor out, you know," Thea had said. "Feigning offers to babysit is getting you nowhere."

"We're just good friends, Speedy," Oliver had said, like he says to anyone who notices and asks. "And for the record, I love babysitting Ellie. She's a wonderful kid."

In all honesty, he does love watching over and taking care of Ellie. To his credit, the little girl has not only grown accustomed to having him around; she absolutely adores him.

"Wonderful, huh? Like her mom?" Thea had baited a candid question.

"Yeah!" Oliver had enthusiastically replied without thinking. As soon as he'd realized that his response was exactly what his sister had been expecting, he added, "What I mean is, Ellie gets a lot of her wonderful traits from her mother."

"Mm-hmm… Traits that have you falling head over heels for the bigger of the two blondes," Thea remarked with a smirk that she could no longer hold back.

"Thea…" Oliver's tone had become lower than what it used to be a moment ago.

"Ollie, you can deny it all you want, but I know you. This time, it's different with Felicity. She's good for you. I can tell."

Oliver's brows had crinkled in curiosity and fascination. "What makes you say that?"

"You're kidding, right?" Thea had asked, rolling her eyes in disbelief. She'd always known that her brother can sometimes be clueless, but she couldn't believe he'd be so dense when it comes to his love life.

When Oliver remained speechless and clueless, she pressed on. "The fact that you still have to ask that question just means that you're falling for her so fast, that you can't even stop to notice what it's doing to you, for you. Ollie, everybody else but you, can see that your friendship with Felicity is making you a better person. If I were to testify in court, I'd be willing to give a sworn statement attesting to that fact!"

Thea paused for a while to take a breath. One second later, she barreled on. "Face it, bro, you have feelings for her. You care about her, in ways you haven't for any other girl you've attempted to be serious with and failed. Sooner or later, someone with more guts than you, is going to ask her out. And you're going to regret not making a move while you still can. A smart, attractive woman like Felicity isn't going to stay a single mom for long."

Thea's words that day has had Oliver tossing and turning in bed for more than a week. He knew she'd made a good point and had dared to present a challenge, but he still couldn't bring himself to do something about it. Who can blame him? He hasn't had any success so far with his previous relationships, not even with his long-time on-again-off-again ex-girlfriend Laurel Lance. But when his friend John Diggle, the head of building security finally spoke up and gave him his ten cents worth of unsolicited love life advice, Oliver had finally decided to man up and make a move.

Ellie is turning two in a couple of days. As far as Oliver knows, Felicity still hasn't made any plans to celebrate her daughter's birthday. He thinks that it's mainly because they have no family in Starling City to celebrate with. To the best of his knowledge, the only friends that she has made so far are him and his family, the Diggles, his best friend Tommy Merlyn, Walter Steele, and a handful of people at work. Felicity has not had the chance to connect meaningfully with any of the parents of the kids at the QC Day Care because of her many responsibilities in the company. Hence, there really weren't a lot of people and kids to invite to a birthday party.

So, Oliver comes up with a brilliant idea.

Felicity's phone rings at half passed noon. She had planned for her lunch hour to be a working break because of a deadline at the end of the day, but when she sees Oliver's name and picture on the screen, she is all too eager to take the call.

"Hi!" she greets him.

"Hey!" Oliver greets her back. He's smiling from ear to ear, and it's unfortunate she doesn't get to see it. "I hope I'm not interrupting a working lunch?"

"You know me too well," Felicity replies with a chuckle. "But it's fine. What's up?" She's blushing like ripe cherry, and it's unfortunate he doesn't get to see it.

"Well, Ellie's birthday is in two days, but I don't recall you mentioning anything about how you plan to celebrate. Do you… Do you have plans this weekend?" Oliver asked a bit shyly, with all the courage he could muster inside him. As her latest "unofficial best friend," he already knows she doesn't have plans, but he asks just the same.

There's just silence for a few seconds, and Oliver can't breathe as his chest tightens in suspense.

"No… None so far," Felicity finally answers. As his latest "unofficial best friend," she knows that he knows she doesn't have plans, but she appreciates him asking anyway.

"My mom called last night. She's supposed to fly in from Vegas to visit and celebrate Ellie's birthday. But this morning, her friend from work that usually covers for her shifts, suddenly has a death in the family, so it's actually my mom now who's covering for her for the next three to four days."

She pauses, hesitant to continue, but then she hazards a question that hopefully gets a desired response. "Why do you ask?"

"Uh… I was just thinking… and you can actually say no if… if it's not cool with you. I mean, I don't want to impose. It's just that… I thought it would be nice if… you know…"

"Oliver," she interrupts, "usually it's me who talks in sentence fragments."

"Sorry…"

"It's okay. What's on your mind?" Felicity is dying of excitement, and trying her best to hide it.

"Well, I thought it would be nice if I could take you and Ellie out of state to celebrate her birthday. The forecast this weekend is perfect for a day at the Pine Crest Water Park and another day at Pine Crest Playland." There, that wasn't so hard, Oliver thinks. He lets out a slow breath through his mouth.

Felicity's heart is pounding in her chest in elation at the thought of her and Ellie spending an entire weekend with Oliver. Yes, they've spent weekends together before, but this is the first time he's proposing an out-of-town trip. It's not exactly "asking her out," since Ellie would be there the entire trime, but it thrills her just the same. She tries to compose herself for a second or two, and then she tells him, "It's a great idea. I think Ellie's gonna to love it!" Perhaps not as much as she would.

"Great!" Oliver happily remarks, and suddenly he finds himself standing and pacing in his office. "I'm glad this works out. Listen, we can talk more about the trip later. I think right now I should ask my assistant to book us the tickets for the Water Park and the Playland. Those sell out pretty quick on weekends."

"Okay, yeah! And thanks, in advance. Ellie's going to have a really good time," Felicity thanks him.

"Anytime. And I'm driving. Rob is visiting his folks this weekend, plus I think it's not really ethical to be asking my company-assigned driver to go on non-work-related out-of-town trips."

Felicity doesn't mind. Not at all. She certainly does not want Rob tagging along.

"Oh, you don't have to drive to and from. We can take turns. Pine Crest is what, three to four hours away?" she offers.

"It's fine. I'll drive," he declines politely. "You just sit tight and mind Ellie, make sure she's comfortable. After all, she's the birthday girl."

Felicity bites her lower lip as butterflies dance in her stomach. She wonders when this amazing, thoughtful, and caring guy started getting under her skin. Truth be told, she has been hoping that one of these days, he'd find the courage to ask her out. Just her, and not just as friends.

"You sure do know how to spoil your girls," Felicity remarks without putting much thought into it. When she realizes what she's just said, she fumbles over how to redeem herself. "By girls, I was referring to me and my daughter as members of the female species. And by your girls, I meant that we are two of your many female friends. Not that I consider myself and my little girl as yours, yours. There isn't any particular reason why this crazy brain of mine should think that way. Right? I mean, we are good friends, very good friends actually, so why would you-"

Oliver is amused by her babbling as always, but he decides to cut it short before she embarrasses herself any further. "Felicity, it's okay. I understand what you meant. And by the way, I do like the idea of calling you my girls. Because in more ways than one, you both are."

Felicity is stunned. Her eyebrows shoot up to her hairline and her jaw drops at his words. She doesn't know what to make of them. She doesn't want to read too much into it, and she gropes for words as seconds of wordless silence stretches between them. She takes a deep breath and opens her mouth, but all she can come up with is this: "O-kay… If you say so…"

Their conversation ends soon, and as they hang up, the feeling is mutual. Though both are giddy with excitement, they're also unsure of whether or not something has just shifted between them. No matter, both of them thought that they have an entire weekend to figure things out.

The whole day they spent yesterday at the Water Park was a blast! Ellie loved the wave pool and spent most of her swim time there. She also got on the inflatable raft that went down the long slide with her mom and Oliver, squealing with glee as they dropped from forty feet high. She had so much fun! Felicity couldn't get enough pictures of her daughter in her two-piece, emerald green, polka dot bikini, with matching green sunglasses.

Oliver, on the other hand, couldn't get enough of staring at his girls all day. Just looking at them having fun, laughing, and splashing away – it filled up his love tank in a way he's never experienced before. Thea was right all along, and John Diggle too. He's crazy about the two blondes, especially the older one. In fact – and now he admits it to himself – he's in love with her. When they packed their stuff into the car and got ready to head back to the cabin he had rented for them at Pine Crest, he made a mental note to ask her out to dinner at long last and tell her just how much she means to him.

Today, though, Oliver is preoccupied with making sure that she and Ellie would enjoy their last few hours at Playland before they drive back to Starling City tonight. They've already seen all the attractions and gone on all the rides that a two-year-old is allowed to be on. Felicity wants to check out the souvenir shop, but Ellie prefers to stay a little longer on the toddlers' gym, so Oliver offered to stay with her while Felicity shopped. Felicity thanks him, and they agree that he and Ellie will catch up with her at the souvenir shop, and then together they'll have some snacks before they head back home.

Half an hour later, Oliver convinces Ellie to quit the toddlers' gym, and they both go looking for Felicity at the souvenir shop. When they get there, the shop is crowded, as most of the Playland visitors are doing their last-minute purchases before closing time. Oliver parks the stroller at the entrance of the shop and picks up Ellie to spare the little girl from having to squeeze her way through the crowded store. They wander around for a little bit in search of Felicity, and as soon as the little girl sees her mother's signature ponytail near the souvenir toys area, she yells, "Mommy! Mommy!"

Ellie squirms and insists on getting down. Oliver doesn't see Felicity though, because he's looking the other way. He turns around and looks in the direction that Ellie is pointing to, but before he is able to spot Felicity, Ellie pushes him away and attempts to break free. He lets her and puts her down, but the sudden movement and the rude nudging of a teenage boy passing behind him makes him lose his footing, and he knocks off a stack of souvenir canned candies.

"Ellie, wait! Ellie!" Oliver hollers, as he tries to catch some of the cans and prevents the rest from falling to the floor. Ellie ignores him like any child in the "terrible two" phase, running off in the direction that she thought she'd seen her mom. It takes Oliver a couple more seconds to put a few of the cans back on the stack, and then he takes off like a sprinter in a race to go after the little girl.

A full minute passes by, and then another, and another. Every second that ticks by, his chest constricts more and more. Oliver scours the huge shop from one end to the other, but there is no Ellie in sight. Has he lost Ellie? Good heavens, no! Please, no. He's worried, and he hopes against hope that Ellie has found her mom somewhere in this over-crowded shop. Except, when he decides to turn and go back to where he's last seen Ellie, he sees Felicity approaching him instead. No Ellie.

"Oliver, there you are! Where's Ellie?" Felicity asks him.

"I… She…" he attempts an answer but fails. He knows she's beginning to sense that something's wrong. Anxiety is slowly showing on her face.

"Oliver, where's Ellie?" she asks again, and this time, her trembling voice betrays her worry.

"She thought she saw you from afar and wanted to get down and go to you. But when I put her down, some kid pushed and I lost my balance, accidentally knocking off some candy cans. I tried to catch some, but Ellie ran off. The next thing I knew, she… she was gone. I've been trying to find her, but… but you found me first. I'm sorry, Felicity. I'm so, so sorry," Oliver apologizes. His heart is breaking into a million pieces as he breaks the dreadful news to the woman he plans to start dating. He feels awful that Ellie has gone missing under his watch.

Meanwhile, Felicity isn't sure how to react. She's upset that her daughter is missing, and worse, the only person she can blame is the marvelous man she has fallen in love with. But she doesn't want to blame him for Ellie running off like a speedster in the DC universe. She knows how her daughter gets sometimes. She wants to get mad, but she reins in the emotion. Oliver didn't intend for this to happen, and he has always taken good care of her little girl. As she holds back the tears that are beginning to cloud her vision, she manages to stay calm and say to him, "It's not your fault, Oliver. We can talk about it later, but right now, we have to find Ellie. She couldn't have gotten far."

Felicity knows Ellie couldn't have gotten far; she just doesn't want to entertain the possibility that someone might have taken her. She does not want to go there.

"Right. Should we go looking for her together, or should we split up?" Oliver asks, wanting her to take the lead this time.

"We can cover more ground if we split up. Call me if you find her or if you have a lead, and I'll do the same," she replies.

Oliver nods.

Felicity walks away, but before she could get far, a woman's voice is heard on the theme park's P.A. system. "Paging the parents of a lost little girl, about two years old with curly blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a pink shirt and denim overalls. Please proceed to the infirmary beside the administration office." The announcement is repeated, and both Oliver and Felicity stay frozen in their spots to make sure they got the information right.

Just as the second announcement fades, Oliver walks to where Felicity is and places his hand on her shoulder. "That's Ellie," she says. "I bet it is. Let's go get her," Oliver tells her.

Oliver and Felicity barely steps into the reception area of the infirmary when they hear the ear-piercing cries and screams of a little girl. From the sounds alone, they know it's Ellie. "We're here for the little girl you paged the parents for. I'm her mother," Felicity informs the receptionist behind the front desk. After showing the older woman some identification, the lady kindly directs them to the second door down the short corridor. Oliver opens the door for them, and as soon as Ellie sees them, something completely unpredictable happened.

"Daddy! Daddy!" Ellie cries, her arms reaching out in Oliver's direction.

Felicity's eyes widen like a deer caught in the headlights. She stood at the doorway, and suddenly, her worry is replaced by astonishment. On the other hand, Oliver anxiously darts across the room and closes the distance between him and Ellie. In just a few strides, Ellie is safe in his arms and he can finally breathe. "Oh, Ellie! I thought I'd lost you," he says sweetly.

The nurse that was looking after Ellie smiles at the reunion and leaves the little girl's side. She walks towards Felicity holding a clipboard with the release papers for her to sign. "Thank you for coming so fast, Mom. Apparently, a kind stranger in the souvenir shop found her wandering around, crying, and alerted Security. They wanted to make sure she's not hurt or anything, so they brought her here. I've checked her out, and she's perfectly fine, but I couldn't get her to tell me her name. She's been crying and asking for her daddy ever since she got here."

Felicity still can't believe her ears. But the nurse hands her the clipboard with a form to fill out, so she has to say something in response. "Her name's Ellie, Ellie Smoak." Then Felicity looks at her daughter, snuggling into Oliver's chest, her head nesting between his shoulder and neck. She's already beginning to calm down as Oliver rubs her back and whispers something into her ears. She wants so much to listen to what he's telling her daughter, but she has a form to fill out.

"Aww… She's Daddy's girl," the nurse comments, making a puppy dog face at the adorable sight before them.

Felicity is quick to correct the nurse's mistaken assumption, "Oh, he's not her-"

However, she stops short when she sees Oliver crying. She blinks once, twice, to make sure she's not seeing things. But he is. He is crying. Oliver's tears are rolling down his cheeks. She's not just dumbfounded, she's overwhelmed – too overwhelmed she forgets all about clarifying the nurse's misconception.

Unknown to her, Oliver feels overwhelmed, too. The moment he walked into the room, his eyes became glassy with tears. Ellie leapt into in his arms, and as soon as he caught her, the dam broke. He rested his chin on his little girl's shoulder and cried. He cried because he felt so relieved that they've found Ellie and that nothing bad had happened to her. He cried because he felt so honored and proud upon hearing Ellie call him Daddy. He cried because now, more than ever, he wants this little girl in his arms – and her wonderful, beautiful mother – to really be his. Loving these two – he could do this for the rest of his life.

Felicity completes the paperwork, and soon, Ellie is released and they walk out of the infirmary with million-dollar smiles on their faces. After a heavy snack of pizza, pasta, and milk shakes, they check out of their rented cabin and head for home.

The drive back to Starling City is quiet and uneventful. Ellie slept through most of it, thankfully. All the crying and the drama sure did tire her out.

When they reach the city, they decide to go straight to Felicity's condo and just order Chinese since they're both too tired to make dinner. Their dinner arrives in record time, and Oliver immediately gets to work preparing the food and setting the table while Felicity puts Ellie to bed and unpacks.

Not much conversation happens over dinner. They're both just as spent as the little lady sleeping soundly in her nursery. But Felicity thinks that their wonderful weekend getaway deserves to be capped by a simple celebration, since they got home safe and sound despite the scare earlier in the afternoon. She stands up and brings out a bottle of red wine and two wine glasses.

"Join me?" she asks Oliver, who immediately answers, "Glad to." In spite of the tiredness they both felt, which also showed on their faces, she thinks he has the most gorgeous smile in the world.

They move to the living room and settle on the couch. Oliver takes the bottle and pours wine for the both of them. "What shall be drink to?" he asks her.

"To Ellie," she replies.

"To Ellie," he says, lifting his glass. "Happy Birthday, munchkin."

After a few swigs, Oliver speaks. "I'm so glad we found her. And again, I'm very sorry for what hap-"

Felicity is having none of his guilt-tripping and interrupts him, "Oliver, please stop feeling guilty about what happened. I'm not blaming you or anything. Sometimes things like this just happen. Ellie's fine. We're fine."

Oliver smiles at her. "Thank you. Shall we drink to us, then?" he asks with a twinkle in his eye. He's liking the direction this conversation is taking, and he is definitely taking the opportunity to bare his heart.

Felicity takes the hint, but she wants to make sure she understands him clearly. "What about us are we toasting to exactly?"

"Well, for starters, there's our friendship, which I truly appreciate and value."

Felicity nods and takes a sip of her wine. She doesn't say anything, hoping that he doesn't stop at that. And when he speaks further, she sighs in relief.

"Then, there's you, and there's me. And quite frankly, I'm hoping that there could be an us."

Felicity gasps, not just at his words, but because Oliver moved and leaned closer to her. She watched his fingers crawl on top of the fabric of the couch until they touched hers, and she willingly opened her hand so that they could intertwine their fingers. She then shifts her gaze from their joined hands to his face.

"Oliver, what are you saying?"

"Felicity, since I met you months ago, that night when Ellie's crying woke me up, my life has never been the same. The more I got to know you, and Ellie, the more I realized how precious you are and how much I need someone like you in my life. And while I do cherish our friendship, I'd like for us to be more than just friends. I'm in love with you, Felicity Smoak. And if you feel the same way – I'm hoping that you feel the same way – I'd like to ask you to consider being in a committed relationship with me. Because I'm 100% in this for the long haul. With you. With you and Ellie."

Felicity looks him straight in the eyes, and he sees the tears sparkling in her eyes. The tears don't fall, because she smiles instead of cries. At that moment, he already knows her answer.

"Well, you've already actually called us your girls. And since Ellie pretty much already thinks you're her daddy, I don't think I'm left with much of a choice," she says with a chuckle. She puts down her wine glass on the coffee table, takes his wine glass from his other hand and puts it on the table as well. She then leans into him more closely until their knees are touching, and cups his scruffy jawline with the palms of her hands. With much affection and eager anticipation, she tells him, "The answer's yes. I'd love to be in a relationship with you, Oliver. Because I'm in love with you, too."

"Good to know…" is all Oliver is able to say. For in a split-second, their lips instinctively find each other and connect in a passionate kiss…

…which is cut short by the sound of Ellie crying in her room.

"I guess, I better go see what's wrong," Felicity says, smiling shyly as they pull back from the kiss. Nothing she could do can hide the blush that's crept from her neck up to her face.

"I guess you should," Oliver responds, giving her one last kiss on her nose before letting her go.

Whatever is wrong, they both wish it doesn't involve them having to bring her to another E.R. or clinic or infirmary. Not that they're complaining. Ellie's episodes have brought them closer to each other, but they really don't want their relationship growing at her expense.

It turns out that their wish is granted. For the next two years, Oliver and Felicity don't set foot in another medical facility on account of Ellie. The next time they do, however, is because he accompanies her to her first sonogram, three months after they're married.

*** THE END ***

A/N: That wraps the story up. If you liked it, please let me know. Thank you for reading, following, and/or favorite-ing this. It's been fun!