"Malcolm I swear to God, one more peep out of you and I will take my bo-staff out of storage!" Sara hollered across the yard, her hands resting on her hips. It was a little late to be having a baby shower, as far as Sara was concerned. She'd given birth to the twins three months ago. Ava and Michael Merlyn had surprised their parents by arriving a little bit early.

It was a cold, moonless February twenty-first. The last of the snow was brown and would soon be melted by the warmer March days to come. Sara and Malcolm had been in quite the disagreement for most of the week. Sara was eager to get the house ready for the babies as she toiled through the last few weeks of her pregnancy. The renovations were almost complete but she was sick of the dust cloths and being relegated to the living room. Malcolm was working on some secret project and she was not allowed anywhere near the upstairs under the guise of paint fumes and exposed beams…

Invoking the power of a pregnancy craving, she sent Malcolm to get takeout from the farthest restaurant in town while she went exploring. The staircase had been perfectly crafted in solid, fine cherry that featured throughout the entire second floor. The new master suite was at the end of the hallway. Already there was a new bed, dresser, and twin nightstands underneath drop cloths. The walls had been painted beige with a soft yellow tint that would make the room look sunny, even on the grayest of days. Attached to that was a giant bathroom complete with steam shower and whirlpool tub, both of which Malcolm had picked out without her…but Sara wasn't complaining. She wouldn't have gone for Italian marble when the regular granite was exponentially cheaper, but she couldn't argue with how it had turned out.

Her heart leapt as she exited the room and walked across the hallway. This was the nursery and while she'd picked out all the furniture and baby items, she wasn't prepared for the scene that greeted her when she opened the door. Sara gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. The nursery was painted the same cream beige as her bedroom but there were hand-painted baby animals tastefully arranged on the wall. The first ultrasound picture of the twins had been matted and was hanging over the cribs. A matching changing table and wardrobe sat opposite a large rocking chair. It wasn't new, like the rest of the items. This was a perfectly preserved antique. Settling down on the comfy pillows, Sara closed her eyes and smiled, dreaming of nursing the babies in this perfect chair.

Malcolm's voice startled Sara, "I knew it."

She jumped slightly, folding her arms over her extremely gravid belly. Several times Malcolm had remarked that he couldn't believe how she got around being as pregnant as she was. The doctors had warned her that given her relatively short height, she would likely not go until her due date. March thirteenth seemed so far away as Sara toiled and her poor back ached fiercely. "I know what this looks like…"

"It looks like you ignored my warnings and came up here anyway!" Malcolm groused.

"The paint fumes have completely dissipated, Malcolm. This is amazing, I absolutely love it…" Moving toward him, she rested her hands on his shoulders. "This is perfect."

"No it's not perfect, Sara! There's dust everywhere, the floors haven't been completely sealed, and you could've tripped over tools lying around somewhere. You should not have come up here!" He snapped.

"The only tool I'm in danger of tripping over is you if you keep sniping at me!" Sara warned, her icy blue eyes sparking with danger. "I'm three weeks away from giving birth and I'm not going to apologize for wanting to have the house in order!" She huffed.

Uh-oh. "Sara. Calm down—"

"Don't tell me to calm down!" Sara shrieked, her hormones reaching a fevered pitch as she turned away from him to stare out the nursery window. "I am not made of glass, Malcolm. You may think because I'm hugely pregnant and living in suburbia that I have lost my edge…but nothing could be farther from the truth."

Malcolm laughed…that was his fatal mistake. He saw Sara, soft and round with his child. He thought to all the times over the last few months that they'd made love until they both fell asleep. There had hardly been an argument between them for weeks. Malcolm had deferred to Sara on everything: where to eat, when to sleep, what the temperature in the house should be—which meant wearing three sweaters because she was boiling hot all the time. In that time he'd nearly forgotten that she was an assassin and she hadn't lost her skills. The next thing he knew, he was waking up in the Arrowcave.

"I can't believe you nailed him in the head with your bo-staff," Oliver was having a hard time controlling his laughter as he placed the steri-strips onto the wound on the side of Malcolm's head.

"I was aiming for his balls but there's no moon tonight, it's really dark!" Sara whimpered. "Oh god, I killed him…"

"You didn't kill him. He's got a laceration…and a minor concussion…" Oliver replied. "OW!"

"Stop enjoying this so much!" Felicity warned, having pinched Oliver's butt cheekily. "Sara is clearly distraught." She sighed and wrapped her arms around Sara. "He's going to be fine. He shouldn't have been such a jerk," Felicity soothed. "Look, he's already starting to come around."

Sara's back was acting up tonight and it nearly stole her breath away. She was pacing the floor, her hands pressed against the aching bundle of nerves. "Malcolm!" Bounding over to the gurney, she sniffled, "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have hit you so hard."

Malcolm groaned, stars still bursting behind his eyes as he sat up quickly. "You shouldn't have hit me so hard?" he repeated. "How about you shouldn't have hit me at all!" He cried. "I wanted to surprise you once everything was done, Sara. Everything I do, I do because I love you. I…I need to lie back down…" Letting out another moan, he laid back.

Sniffling, Sara nodded. "I know…I know you love me. And I appreciate it. The bedroom, the nursery, they're both perfect." There were two other rooms upstairs too that would eventually be used as bedrooms as the twins got older. For now, there was an office for Malcolm and a spare bedroom for guests. Everything he'd done was for her. "I'm just not used to being kept out of the loop. I'm very impatient…"

"Tell me about it…" He murmured, his hand snaking out and rubbing over her rounded belly. Their impulsive behavior had gotten them these two children growing inside her. He started to realize that he shouldn't have tried to surprise her at all…assassins hated surprises. "Look, I'm sorry too." He gripped her hand tightly. "I hope you can forgive me." This time when he sat up, he didn't get dizzy. He stood, wrapping her in his arms. Sara snuggled against him, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. After a moment, he looked down at his shoes and cleared his throat, "Please tell me you're so happy we made up that you peed yourself…"

Sara cleared her throat, "Nope, my water just broke."

Panic erupted in the Arrowcave. Given the fact that Malcolm had a concussion, Oliver and Felicity drove them both to the hospital. On the way, Felicity called Thea and Nyssa. As Sara paced the floor of the delivery room, gripping Malcolm's hand through each contraction, she felt stronger and more fortified than she ever had in her life. Malcolm was there every step of the way. Right before midnight, Sara gave birth to the twins. As she held them in her arms for the first time, kissing their tiny heads, and marveling at their beauty, Sara finally felt whole. After she'd been transferred to the maternity ward, Oliver, Felicity, Thea, and Nyssa came in to greet the newborns and to congratulate the new family. None of them stayed long, given the late hour and how exhausted Sara was. Malcolm never left Sara's side, and switched off twins as they reveled in the new life they'd created. That day the Merlyn family saw their first dawn and it was perfect…

Unlike today. Malcolm huffed angrily, "I don't know why we're even having a baby shower. We already have the babies…and I can afford to buy everything that they could possible need a thousand times over!" He whined.

"Yes, well today is not about gifts. This is about spending time with family and friends." A sharp cry over the baby monitor dragged Sara's attention away. She shifted uncomfortably, "I need to feed Ava before I ruin my dress. Finish putting out the snacks or I swear—"

"Alright!" Malcolm strode forward, catching her around the waist and planting a kiss to her lips. "I love you," He murmured softly.

Sara grinned, "I love you too." Flouncing into the house, she fed and changed both of the babies. By the time she finished, the guests had started to arrive. Thea and Roy were canoodling in the garden, ignoring Malcolm's death glare. Sin was circling the punch bowl and Sara cleared her throat, grabbing the glass bottle from her coat before she had a chance to spike it. "Don't even think about it…" Sara warned, slinging an arm around the girl who was like a sister to her. Sin shot her a sly grin and nodded.

Laurel and Quentin arrived shortly thereafter along with Dinah Lance. They had been much closer as a family since Sara returned to Starling City, married and pregnant. Malcolm greeted the Lances very cordially, having reached an understanding with Quentin some time ago. Laurel immediately helped herself to one of the babies and snuggled Michael close to her while Dinah consoled Ava. Nyssa and Sandra were talking quietly, keeping to themselves. Sara expected nothing less.

"Where are Oliver and Felicity?" Thea padded over, folding her arms. "I figured they would've been here by now, being the guests of honor and all…" She noticed Malcolm's anger and quickly scooted away.

"What?" Malcolm's face darkened. "I thought this was a baby shower…" He peered down at Sara with fire in his eyes, "Am I hosting an engagement party for Oliver Queen? Sara Merlyn, for the love of God…" Oliver and Felicity showed up seconds later and the crowd of people burst into applause, cooing over Queen and begging to see Felicity's new engagement ring.

Standing on tiptoe, Sara kissed Malcolm sweetly and handed him a plate of appetizers. "Make yourself useful and see if our guests would like anything." Malcolm's expression became apoplectic and she leaned in, pulling his ear close to her lips. "Be on your best behavior and tonight I'll do that thing in bed…"

"You said you'd never try it…" Malcolm hissed, his cobalt eyes widening.

Sara smirked, playfully slapping his ass as she kissed him, "Appetizers, Malcolm. We can talk more about this later." After that, Malcolm was the epitome of a happy host. He poured drinks, he made chitchat about the state of Starling City's economy, and he asked after Nyssa's sister Talia who was the acting leader of the League of Assassins while Nyssa took some time for herself. Nyssa and Sandra really hit it off and were enjoying a moment of domestic bliss before the next crisis called them back to Nanda Parbat.

Malcolm even remarked, with no provocation, that Oliver Queen had never looked happier. He also was quite sure that this little engagement party could have easily been a baby shower if Felicity's glowing face was any indication.

Later that night as he lay in bed, completely spent and exhausted from a very inventive lovemaking session, he held Sara tightly in his arms. The twins were both sleeping peacefully and Sara was sated. "Did you ever think we'd be this happy?"

"Yes," Sara said softly, gazing up at him. She licked her lips, "Although I never thought we'd be this ordinary…it's everything I've ever wanted."

Malcolm beamed, nodding, "I never realized it before but you're right. We're normal…" Gazing over at his bow leaning in the corner, just in case any poor soul was stupid enough to try and break in, he smirked. "Well, sort of."

Sara chuckled and snuggled in tighter, "I love you, Malcolm."

"I love you too, Sara…"

Together, they fell asleep knowing that they had found their true heart's desire.

The End.

Well, friends, it has been a pleasure. As always, please leave a review. Even if you're reading this years later, it really means the world to me! Once again, thank you so much for your support. God bless!

Again, none of this would be possible without my beta JustVisiting80. She ROCKS. Thanks for sticking with me through this, mamacita!

Love,

Marina