Author's Note: We hope you guys enjoy this next chapter! After this, there will probably only be 1-2 more chapters before this story wraps up (but we have lots of ideas for sequels if you love this universe as much as we do). Thanks so much for reading and leaving feedback, it means a lot!

There was really no way Leonard could explain to Sara what was going on through texts, so he settled for: "You have to come see this for yourself."

That was all he had time to send before Cisco and Donna's argument distracted him once again.

"Why do you think you deserve this apartment more than me, anyway?" Donna was asking Cisco. "Sara's my daughter, I need to be near her!"

"Uh, hello?" Felicity raised her hand. "Right here."

"Of course you are, dear," her mother said, absently.

"I'm trying to sleep," Thea complained from the couch, pulling a throw pillow over her head in an attempt to block out their voices.

Felicity's phone started buzzing and she pulled it out, frowning. "Okay, Thea, apparently you've sent Oliver over a dozen incoherent texts tonight and –" her phone buzzed again, "– great, now that you're not answering anymore, he thinks you're dead."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," Thea mumbled, removing the pillow from over her head but not bothering to open her eyes. "Hey…tell Ollie…" Her words faded away as she seemingly drifted off to sleep.

"I have to go call him and straighten this out," Felicity told everyone, pointing her phone at Cisco and then her mother. "I'll be back in a minute, please resolve this apartment issue by the time I return." She sent her mother a stern looking, stressing, "Peacefully," and then went off to the kitchen for privacy.

"Donna," Cisco began, "let's look at this rationally. Your husband has a job in Star City and your home is there. Why would you want to leave? I, on the other hand, have been waiting for an apartment like this to come along for years. Years, Donna! Do you know how cut-throat real-estate is in Central City?"

"I'm sure there's somewhere else out there for you," Donna said, placatingly. "I could even help you look if you want! I have a background in real estate."

"You do?" Caitlin asked.

Donna nodded. "I was a real estate agent for three months back in 1994."

"As qualified as I'm sure that makes you to help us find a place," – Cisco didn't even roll his eyes, which Leonard found admirable – "I like this apartment. This is where Lisa and I want to live, end of story."

Donna must have realized her nice-act wasn't working, as her face hardened. "Well, you're going to have to fight me for it. End of story."

"Bring it," Cisco challenged. "I camped out for eighteen hours to get seats for the early premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. And all I had was a lawn chair, a flask, and an empty water bottle. Yeah," he added, at the look on Donna's face, "there was no bathroom! I could stay here literally forever."

"You do have a job, Ramon," Wells reminded him.

Cisco just waved a hand at him. "She'll break long before the weekend's over, I can see it in her eyes."

Donna glared at him. "I can't believe you would be so insensitive," she scolded, putting her hands on her hips. "What if Leonard and Sara have children…someday? Don't you think I deserve to be close to my family?"

All the women in the room turned their eyes to Leonard – and he stubbornly refused to look at any of them, keeping his face carefully blank as he silently cursed. Damn you, Smoak women.

Cisco, oblivious to the questioning looks, just gaped at Donna for a moment before breaking out into laughter. "Leonard and Sara having kids?" he snickered. "Have you met them? I'm pretty sure they don't want kids, and who says their relationship would even last long enough to get to that point?" He paused, glancing over at Len. "Uh, no offense."

Donna was watching Leonard with a glint in her eyes before cutting her gaze back to Cisco to send him a look that clearly said, I'm about to prove you wrong.

Leonard panicked, knowing there was nothing he could say to intervene that wouldn't somehow give away the truth. Lance, where are you?! His eyes met Lisa's across the room, begging her to help.

"As a matter of fact, Cisco," Donna started, "if we're talking about…hypotheticals, I can say with absolute certainty that Len and Sara–"

"Stop!" Lisa cried, gaining the attention of the room and causing Donna to fall quiet. "You don't need to fight. Lenny already promised me I could have the apartment." Leonard closed his eyes, struggling not to growl. Of everything she could've said, she chose the one thing that might make the argument worse?

"What?" Donna gasped.

"Really?" Cisco sounded pleasantly surprised. "Why didn't you say so?"

Caitlin was the most shocked of all. "You promised Lisa the apartment?" she asked Len, somewhat hurt. "Then why did you tell me I could have dibs?"

Lisa's jaw dropped as she turned to face her brother. "You told Caitlin she could have dibs? Over me, your own sister?"

"I didn't know you wanted it at the time," Leonard tried to explain.

"Why do you even want it, Caitlin?" Lisa asked, ignoring him. "You're just one person. You're not moving in with your boyfriend, like I am…are you?"

"Maybe I am," Caitlin said quickly. "And he's my fiancé."

"Sorry, fiancé," Lisa repeated, sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"She will be married soon and need a bigger place," Donna conceded, frowning and turning to the other couple. "Caitlin, Harry, you really want the apartment, too?"

Wells raised his hands, in a motion that said leave me out of it, but Caitlin nodded vehemently.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do," Caitlin said. "And might I add, as a doctor, I think Sara and Leonard would find me very useful to have around…" She eyed Leonard knowingly.

"What does you being a doctor have to do with anything?" Cisco asked.

"In case any tenants have…medical emergencies," Caitlin frantically backpedaled, not missing the way Donna was narrowing her eyes at her. "I could be like an on-site medical concierge. For a reduction in rent, of course."

"Of course," Len muttered.

Cisco had apparently decided to use Caitlin's own fake engagement against her. "But why would you want to move in here when you could just move into Harry's mansion?" he asked, smugly. "It's like 20,000 square feet or something."

"Uh…too much space," Caitlin said, quickly. "Plus it's so far away, like a half hour outside the city! No, I'd rather live right here. Where I'm close to my friends."

"And work?" Wells stressed.

"Sure, work, whatever," she said, in a tone that indicated it was clearly dead last on her list of priorities at the moment.

"Yeah, a half hour is such a long drive," Cisco mocked. "I'd put up with a two-hour commute to live in Harry's kick-ass mansion. Hey, Harry, what do you think about –"

"No, you can't live with me, Ramon."

"I…wasn't going to suggest it," Cisco sulked. He turned to Lisa. "Clearly some people around here don't appreciate what they have."

Donna must have agreed with him on that point, since she started nodding. "Yeah, Caitlin, you don't need to live in these cramped apartments. Why, there's a distinct lack of natural light and have you seen the security measures? The buzzer on the front door doesn't even work!"

"I thought you loved it here?" Cisco accused, as Donna glared at him and then tipped her head not-so-subtly at Caitlin. "Ohhh, yeah, I hate it here, too. You don't want to live here, Caitlin."

"Yes," she said forcefully, "I do."

"Harry, would you get her under control?" Cisco complained.

Caitlin stepped forward, annoyance written all over her face, but Wells quickly put his arm around her, effectively keeping her back from throttling their co-worker.

"You know," Wells told her, thoughtfully, "I didn't care before, but now I think I want you to win. If only to beat Ramon."

"I hate it when you two team up," Cisco sounded betrayed. "You're both insufferable."

"Maybe Haircut and I should be the ones to decide," Mick suggested, startling Leonard; he'd almost forgotten Mick and Ray were even there amidst all the arguing. "After all," Mick added, "whoever gets it will end up as our next-door neighbors."

"How could we possibly choose from so many great options?" Ray asked, and his smile couldn't possibly get any wider.

"I'd be the world's best neighbor," Cisco declared. "I can bake! Do you guys like apple cobbler?"

"Cisco gets the apartment," Mick decided, enthusiastically.

"Yes!" Cisco cheered, throwing his fist into the air.

"Wait," Donna said hastily, "I can cook, too." She paused a moment. "Or, more accurately, I can order from great bakeries. I could set you up a monthly – no – weekly delivery. What do you boys say?"

Mick instantly switched sides. "Okay, Donna gets it."

"Outplayed at my own game," Cisco hissed.

"You can't decide based on what they're going to give you," Caitlin lectured Mick. "That's unethical. It's bribery!"

"I'm not seeing the problem," Mick shrugged. "How good are you at cooking? Though I'm open to cash, too, if you want me to reconsider my ruling. I hear your boyfriend's pretty rich..."

Wells shrugged and glanced at Caitlin. "Want me to pay him off?"

"Foul!" Cisco yelled, turning to Caitlin. "You have an unfair advantage. It's not my fault that my girlfriend can't support the lavish lifestyle to which I'm sure I should be accustomed."

"Aw, anything you want, name it," Lisa offered. "I'll steal it for you."

"Lisa," Len lowered his voice and leaned closer to her, "remember we have company. Could you at least pretend like you're reformed?"

"Why should I when you hardly bother?" his sister sulked. "But fine," she added, halfway in Donna's direction, "I don't actually commit crimes, that's just me…joking."

"Totally believable," Ray loudly whispered, giving her a thumbs up.

"Let's negotiate a price," Mick was telling Wells.

"No," Caitlin snapped, jumping in between them. "No one's buying me an apartment. Although…" She stared off into space before shaking herself out of it. "I couldn't accept it."

"Mick's not deciding anything, anyways," Ray told them. "I think that should still be up to Len and Sara."

Leonard wanted to strangle Palmer – just when he thought he'd gotten off the hook for deciding, the other man had to remind everyone that "technically" he was the landlord, or whatever. Maybe if he listed the building for sale in the morning, that would absolve him of any responsibility…

That was when Donna (hilariously) proclaimed, "Ray and Mick are obviously refined gentlemen and they'd want someone equally as classy living next door. What's more refined than a renowned police captain?"

"A refined gentleman," Ray repeated to himself quietly. "I like that."

"You do know that Caitlin and I work at one of the most preeminent engineering labs in the entire country?" Cisco challenged her. "I think that at least rivals a police captain."

"Let's stop fighting," Ray said, putting one arm around Cisco and the other around Donna. "We could all live here. It'd be like…our building."

"That might be the worst idea you've ever had, Palmer," Mick told him. "And that's saying something considering your track record."

Ray grimaced. "Okay, I'll admit the last mission was tough –"

"No," Mick clarified, "I meant your track record at life."

Ray just smiled at him. "Good thing I have you around to keep me alive, right?"

"I kind of have to at this point," Mick grumbled. "It's like a point of pride. I can't let all my good saves in the past go to waste."

Donna leaned around Ray to stare at Cisco. "Let's talk basics: can you even afford this building?"

"Yes, thank you very much!" Cisco said, affronted. "Also, I'm sure Leonard would give his sister a break on rent, right?" He shot a grin at Len.

"Considering some people in this building don't pay anything at all…" Leonard muttered.

"Hey," Ray said slowly, as if it were just occurring to him, "I could cover everyone's rent, couldn't I?"

"You don't even cover your own!" Leonard exclaimed.

"Ray, that's sweet of you," Lisa said, "but it's unnecessary."

"Now, now, Lisa," Cisco shushed her, "let's not dismiss Ray with such haste."

"Who would turn down such a thoughtful gift," Donna asked, studying Ray with admiration. "You're a truly generous man."

"Please, Donna," Ray said, feigning humility, "it's in my nature."

"Ray, we're perfectly capable of paying our own rent," Lisa insisted, apparently the only one of them who had any pride.

Ray wasn't listening to her, though. "I'll set up a trust or something," he said. "It'll pay all the costs associated with the building and in turn we won't have to pay rent."

"It sounds like you want to turn this building into some weird utopian community run by you," Leonard pointed out.

Ray nodded enthusiastically. "Wouldn't that be great?"

"Wouldn't that be a cult?" Len asked.

"Eh, semantics," Ray said, unconcerned.

Lisa was watching Mick with growing curiosity. "Ray's idea of paying other people's rent doesn't bother you at all?" Her tone implied that it didn't fit with her image of the man that she'd known for so long.

"Why would it bother me?" Mick asked. "It's Palmer's money, he can do what he wants with it. I'm big on, uh, freedom of choice."

Len wasn't buying it. "Don't forget to add that Ray's been covering your expenses for like two years now. You have a vested interest in letting him continue to do so."

Mick's face broke into a grin. "Yeah, that too."

Leonard shook his head. "I don't know if I want to stay in a building effectively run by Palmer. Maybe it's time for me and Sara to look at other places."

"We'll follow you wherever you go," Ray cheerfully threatened.

"Don't you dare think about moving, Lenny!" Lisa exclaimed, hesitating when a few people looked at her questioningly. "Not when…I've just agreed to live in the building to be closer to you."

"I think we're all forgetting the most important thing here, which is Ray's offer," Cisco told them. "In fact, I took some pre-law classes back in college, so I could draw up some papers right –" He broke off when Lisa kicked him in the shin.

"I can steal plenty of money to cover rent." She looked around, suddenly self-conscious, maybe remembering Len's earlier plea. "And by 'steal' I mean 'earn'. Obviously."

Leonard shook his head at her. "If I don't make these two freeloaders pay anything, how could I charge my own sister rent?"

"I'm not some charity case," she scowled at him.

"That's not what I was implying. Look, pay rent or don't, let Palmer pay it or don't – clearly I'm a horrible landlord at collecting it, either way. But if you want to do something else for me and Sara instead…" Visions of all the changes they'd have to make to their own apartment filled his head. "You could buy us other things, help us…redecorate a few rooms. If you wanted."

Her eyes veritably lit up. "I could redesign your whole apartment!"

Ray actually gasped at the suggestion. "You'd let her redecorate and not me? After I signed you up for all of those catalogues to improve your and Sara's minimalistic taste?!"

Len really didn't have it in him to mediate a pointless fight between Ray and his sister – not when he was already doing his best to stay out of the fight about who got the next open apartment. "I don't think I've stressed enough today that I don't care what any of you do as long as you leave me alone when I want to be left alone. But of course, that's next to impossible for most of you."

"Leonard," Donna was tapping her foot on the floor, obviously annoyed. "I don't want to be presumptuous, but it sounds like you're saying that you've decided Lisa and Cisco can have the apartment."

He was sorely tempted to go wait in the hall for Sara to return. (That was one of her best qualities as far as he was concerned – buffering his interactions with other people so that he didn't end up alienating everyone they knew.) "I…never said that," he hedged.

"Yes, you did," Lisa protested.

"It doesn't matter," Ray said, as if no one should be concerned. "We'll just relocate some other tenants so everyone who wants to move into the building can do so."

"You think people will just willingly break their leases because you ask them to?" Caitlin asked.

"Of course not," Ray explained. "I'll just pay them to leave."

"You can't buy whatever you want," Lisa frowned.

"No, he can," Wells said, as he and Ray nodded at each other. "I've done it plenty of times. Throwing money at a problem almost always works."

"And if it doesn't," Ray added, "you throw even more money at it. It's basically foolproof."

"I wish I had your life," Cisco sighed.

"Relocating people shouldn't be too hard," Ray said. "I'll draw up a list."

"This coming from the man who didn't want to kick anyone out when he first moved in with Mick," Len accused.

"It's different now," Ray protested. "I didn't know so many of our friends would want to move in!"

"But who gets the next open apartment?" Donna persisted, turning to Cisco. "Are we still waiting it out? Whoever stays the longest wins?"

Cisco apparently didn't want to wait for Ray to work his magic, as he nodded at Donna and said, "You bet it's still on. It doesn't matter if Ray kicks other people out –"

"He doesn't have that kind of power," Len insisted, as everyone ignored him.

"– since this fight is for the first apartment to open up next," Cisco finished, as he and Donna nodded at each other in agreement.

"So all of that and we still have nothing accomplished?" Leonard complained. "Why doesn't that surprise me?"

"Settle in, Donna," Cisco said, moving to sit on the opposite end of the couch from Thea, who still appeared to be sleeping. "It's going to be a long weekend."

"Count me in, too," Caitlin declared.

Cisco glanced from her to Wells. "You sure about that? I thought you two had a conference to attend?"

"Oh yeah," Wells nodded, then abruptly switched to shaking his head. "There's no way we're making that."

"You can go," Caitlin offered, moving over to him. "You don't have to stay here because of me."

He squinted down at her. "Yeah, I kind of do. We're fighting for an apartment in the building, right?"

She was momentarily caught off-guard. "We are?"

"Yesss," he said slowly, drawing the word out. "We are." When she stared at him blankly, he prompted, "Because we're engaged?"

She laughed, looking a little sheepish. "Oh! Right, of course."

"Aren't you two heartwarming," Cisco complained.

"Besides," Wells said, looking around in amusement, "this is much more entertaining than the conference on meta-humans we were supposed to attend tonight."

Leonard pointed at him. "Whatever drug you're on, get me some."

Cisco wasn't happy at the addition of another player in his contest. "I think it's kind of late for you to throw your hat in the mix, Caitlin."

"Fair is fair," Lisa spoke before Caitlin could. "Be a good sport. You set the terms and you never limited it to just you and Donna – that means anyone can participate."

"Whose side are you on?" Cisco accused her. "You don't know how Caitlin and Harry work. Individually they're scary – you have no idea the kind of psychological warfare they can engage in together. Remember, I work with them, so I've seen it firsthand."

"You say that like you think we'll do something underhanded, Ramon," Wells said, staring at him. And then he kept staring at him as Cisco became more and more uncomfortable.

"Uh…" Cisco shifted uneasily, looking anywhere except at his boss, and then finally asked, "You guys have snacks, right, Ray? I'm going to go get some for us!" He quickly fled to the kitchen.

"He makes it so easy," Wells said, "I almost feel bad."

Caitlin couldn't help her smile as she leaned against Wells' side. "I think we've got round one pretty firmly in hand."

"We should make an alliance," Donna whispered to them theatrically. "Take out Cisco together and then it'll just be down to us."

"You guys are talking like I won't just report your plan to him," Lisa said.

Donna tried not to laugh. "Do you really want to stay here all weekend with him?"

Lisa must not have thought that far ahead, since her demeanor quickly changed. "Fair point. We could probably wait a few more weeks until Ray pays some people off." She turned to Wells with approval. "Go ahead and scare him out of here."

"That's the spirit," Mick cheered, as Ray shot him a disapproving look.

"What's the spirit?" Cisco asked, returning to the room with a bowl of pretzels.

Caitlin was situated slightly behind him and leaned forward to whisper in his ear, "Psychological warfare."

Cisco jumped and whipped around to face her. "Stop being creepy! Harry, make her stop being creepy."

"Why?" Wells asked. "She's intent on making you miserable – I love this side of her."

Cisco threw a pretzel at each of them in protest. "You'll never win, not with Lisa on my side. She's not afraid to get tough…whereas I have more delicate sensibilities."

"Should we tell him?" Wells asked Caitlin, as they both looked over at Lisa.

"Tell me what?" Cisco turned to his girlfriend. "Lisa?"

"Uh, I kind of told them that we should forfeit this round –"

"What! Lisa…" he whined.

"I don't want to spend all weekend here," she cajoled. "I thought that after finally deciding to live together we could leave and…go celebrate."

"I'm not in the mood for a party," he sulked, crossing his arms.

"No, Cisco…celebrate," she hinted, winking at him.

"Oh come on," Len said, stalking away from them and checking his phone again. If Sara wasn't there within 60 seconds he was leaving – there was only so much a man could take.

"Oh," Cisco said. "Ohhhh. Yeah, Lis, I like your idea much better than mine. Buuut, there's still the principle of winning…" He sounded truly torn before finally shaking his head as her shoulders fell. He leaned over to give her a quick kiss in apology. "I love you – just accept this is something I have to do."

Lisa heaved a sigh and grabbed a pretzel from the bowl. "I'm used to it by now."

Donna shot her gaze over to Caitlin. "Looks like the game is only just beginning."

"Psychological warfare," Caitlin repeated to her in warning.

"Is that all you're going to say this weekend?" Cisco chided, quickly backing away when she took a menacing step toward him.

Wells put his hands on Caitlin's shoulders and leaned down to suggest, "We could still buy our way out of it."

"Not as much fun," she told him, dismissively.

Len felt his phone vibrate (finally!) and checked it to find a text from Sara: "Sorry that everyone we know is crazy, we'll be down in a minute."

That was what spurred him into action. "Alright, I've indulged everyone long enough," he said, stepping into the middle of the room. "Listen to me: Sara's coming downstairs. She's had a very long day. She hasn't been feeling well. And the last thing I need is for any of you to upset her by arguing over who gets to live here."

He glared around the room. It would be hard to forgive them, family or not, if they ruined this night for Sara.

"Why would people fighting upset her?" Mick asked, frowning. "She's more than used to us by now."

Leonard just sighed, ignoring him. "There are a few more apartments that may be opening up in the next couple of months," he informed them, "and that's not even counting anyone Ray seems convinced he can make move by the power of his bank account alone. So we can talk about it civilly, but no one is going to argue about it. If you don't agree with that stipulation, you can leave right now."

He made eye contact with each of them, noting with satisfaction that Donna, Cisco, and Caitlin looked appropriately chagrined.

The wheels appeared to be turning in Cisco's head. "Wait…Sara's had a long night, and she was acting strange earlier, and apartments are opening up…" He stared at Leonard with increasing dismay. "Are you and Sara breaking up? Is that why she's been distant all night?"

"You're breaking up?" Mick asked, scowling. Then he just shrugged, dropping a heavy hand on Leonard's shoulder. "Well, it happens, buddy. Relationships run their course, it'll be okay." He paused. "I'm sure Sara will find someone else."

"Gee, thanks," Len sighed, rubbing a hand over his face.

"Wait, you're breaking up?" Donna asked, face falling as she turned to Leonard. "But I thought…does that mean Sara's not…?"

Felicity had returned to the room and heard her mother's questions. "What are you guys going on about? They're not breaking up," she chided, before looking sharply at Leonard. "Wait. Are you?"

"See?" Ray gloated. "It's not that far-fetched! You can't blame me now for thinking the same thing earlier."

"I can blame you for anything and everything, Palmer," Len promised. "Trust me. And no, we are not breaking up." He glanced toward the door. Seriously, where are you, Lance?

Thea, as usual, chose the worst moment to return to consciousness as she sat up on the couch. "Len, what was that about you and Sara breaking up?" she asked, face scrunched up against tears at the thought. "What happened while I was asleep?"

That was when Leonard heard knocking at the front door (had Ray seriously locked it again?). "Hold on, I'll be right back." He went to answer the door, sighing in relief to find Sara and Quentin on the other side. He quickly stepped into the hall, pulling the door shut behind him.

"Hey, what's –" Sara stopped when Len wrapped her in his arms and lifted her off her feet. (She was always what he needed when things got to be too much.) He held her much longer than he normally would have – especially with Quentin right there – but he was too damn happy to see her. And a bit desperate to keep her by his side for the rest of the night, because when it came to the others, he just couldn't deal with them anymore.

"What took you so long?" he asked, somewhat aggrieved, when he finally set her down. "Did you get lost on the way down here?"

She sent him a knowing look, not even bothering to answer his questions. "What's wrong?"

"We need to tell them now," he said.

"Now?" she asked, nervously, "Like, right now, now? I thought we could go back upstairs and –"

"No, right now," he interrupted. "Trust me. If we wait any longer, they'll be the ones telling us."

He moved back from her, and to his surprise, Quentin grasped his shoulder and pulled him into a half-hug of his own.

"I'm so happy for you guys," Quentin said, softly, patting Leonard on the back. "And I want you to know, Donna and I are going to be here to help as much – or as little – as you guys want. You just have to call, and we'll be over as fast as the – well, not as fast as the Flash, but pretty close."

"Thank you, Quentin. That means a lot," Leonard said, wondering how Quentin would react to the standoff going on inside the apartment. He was also unexpectedly pleased at the other man's offer, given who it was coming from. "Can we talk later? We're going to tell everyone in a minute."

"Sure," Quentin agreed, as he entered the apartment. "I'll just be inside."

Leonard took Sara's hand, rubbing the backs of her knuckles with his thumb.

"Ready?" he asked.

She took a deep breath, then smiled at him. "It's going to be crazy once they all know."

"You're implying it's not already," he pointed out. "Crazy is what they do best."

"It's funny," Sara added, leaning into him. "Earlier today, when I first realized I might be pregnant, I told Cait I didn't want anyone else around when we found out. I thought it would be too much."

"These people? Too much?" he joked.

She smiled a little. "I was also worried, if everyone got excited, and then something happened…" she trailed off, biting her lip, and he gripped her hand tighter. "But, I'm glad," she continued, "because they're all going to be there for us. No matter what, we're not alone in this. And I couldn't imagine them not being here for the best moment of our lives."

"The best moment so far," he clarified. "There'll be many more."

"With you, I never doubted it," she said, quietly, as he kissed her temple. "So let's tell them."

They entered the apartment, moving through the short entryway and into the living room. Sara took a deep breath, slowly looking around at all her friends. Her family.

A hush had fallen over the room as they watched her and Leonard expectantly, and she felt a strange attack of nerves.

Most of them suspected she was pregnant already, so why did it seem so intimidating to tell them now? Maybe it was because once she said it out loud, it'd be real in a way it wasn't before. There was no taking it back. This was their new reality, no matter what happened next.

"I…we…" She heard her own voice shaking, and couldn't say anything more. She felt like she wanted to collapse, and then Leonard put his arms around her shoulders, clasping them across her collarbone, and she leaned back against him in relief.

"We have something to tell you," Len told everyone.

"Let me save you the trouble," Cisco said, "because I know it's going to be hard for both of you to say out loud, but it's okay if your relationship has run its course. You guys don't have to pretend for our benefit."

That snapped Sara out of her haze. "What?"

"It's been obvious for a while now. The two of you acting strange and how you've been avoiding each other, and I see that now you're both putting on a strong front, but…" Cisco looked truly dejected.

"It'll be okay, Sara," Mick consoled her. "You'll find someone new. Someone better."

Leonard truly had no idea if Mick was deliberately trying to bait him or not. "Can you just stop talking?"

"He has a temper," Mick whispered to Sara.

"We're not breaking up," Sara said, confused. "Why does everyone think that, tonight?"

"Oh, no," Cisco moaned. "He didn't even tell you,yet? That's low, Snart. Even for you."

Len pressed his forehead to the top of Sara's shoulder. "Lance, please. Help me. I can't do this anymore."

"We're not breaking up," she repeated, looking around and finding more strength – both from the man behind her and from the knowing looks of her friends – Felicity, Lisa, Caitlin, Ray… They were just waiting, clearly hoping, and her eyes teared up against her will. "We have a very different kind of news."

"Do you?" Ray asked, grinning widely. "Whatever could you be talking about?"

"Go on," Lisa urged, completely failing to hide her smile, "we're on the edge of our seats."

Sara wiped at her eyes. "Do I even have to say it? Most of you know already."

Caitlin's face broke out into a smile as she took a step toward her friend. "It was positive?"

"Yes," Sara said, matching her smile, and Len let her go so that she could open her arms right before Caitlin dove forward to pull her into a tight hug.

"I'm so happy for you," Caitlin whispered. "So, so happy. I knew it was okay to hope…I knew it."

"What's positive?" Cisco asked, still confused. "What am I missing?"

"I'm pregnant," Sara said, and it was apparently the permission everyone needed to react, as the room erupted into chaos with everyone calling out their congratulations and circling around to take turns hugging her and Len.

"What!" Cisco shouted, voice rising above the din. He had a grin on his face, but he looked a little sheepish, too. "Leonard, I'm sorry man, I didn't mean anything before when I said you guys would never, uh, get to that point…" he shrugged, helplessly.

"What's he talking about?" Sara asked Leonard, peering at him in question over Lisa's shoulder.

"Much like we do with Palmer, you're best off learning to disregard everything Cisco says," Leonard replied, as Cisco frowned in annoyance. Sara didn't have time to dwell on it though, too distracted by Donna rushing at her.

"I knew it! I knew it!" Donna yelled, practically crushing Sara in her hug. She only released her to turn to Quentin. "Did you know?"

"Yeah," he smiled, "Sara just told me upstairs. Guess this makes us Grandma and Grandpa now."

Donna burst into tears, and Quentin wrapped his arms around her, laughing a little as his own eyes watered.

Felicity took Donna's place at Sara's side, squeezing Sara quickly before letting go to wipe away her own tears. "I can't believe you're really pregnant!"

"And," Thea announced loudly, from the couch, "it's not Oliver's!"

The room quieted a bit as people looked between the two women.

"See, I got your back, Sara," Thea said, saluting her and then falling back into the couch cushions – it seemed even sitting up straight was too much for her at the moment.

"Who said anything about Oliver?" Felicity was confused. "Wait, he mentioned you rambling about babies in some of your texts. Honestly, Thea."

"It was nothing, just a misunderstanding," Ray coughed. "No need to get into that now."

Sara turned to see Mick standing a little outside the rest of the group, staring at her without much of an expression.

"You okay, Mick?" she asked hesitantly, nervous at his reaction. She approached him, trying to mask her worry.

"You mean you…" He pointed weakly at her. "And you…" His eyes and finger moved toward Leonard, who had come to stand beside her. "Are…?"

"Having a baby?" Sara supplied, smiling faintly. "Yeah…" She paused before continuing, "What do you think?"

He frowned, considering her. "Where does that leave me?" he asked. "Us?" he added, pointing at Ray.

"Well," Sara started, taking a step closer to him. "How do you feel about being Uncle Mickey?"

Mick raised his eyebrows. "Uncle Mickey, huh?" He seemed to be thinking about it, and for a moment she worried he was going to storm out. Then his face broke into a huge grin, and he barked out a laugh. "Uncle Mickey and Aunt Haircut, I love it!"

"Hey," Ray whined. "Why am I an aunt?!"

Mick ignored him, instead scooping Sara into his arms into a tight bear hug. "It's gonna be the luckiest kid alive with you two for parents," he said softly into her ear as he squeezed her a little tighter. Sara sighed in relief, hugging him back.

"Careful there, Mick, or you'll squish the baby," Ray joked.

"What? No!" Mick dropped Sara suddenly, throwing his hands up as he stared, horrified, at her stomach.

"Ray," Sara chided, throwing him an annoyed glance. "You can't squish it, Mick. It's pretty well-protected. And it's like, this big." She held her thumb and forefinger apart, showing him. Behind his back, Caitlin coughed, inching her own thumb and finger closer together while mouthing "Smaller."

Sara shrank her fingers together. "Oh. This big." Caitlin just shook her head, moving her fingers even closer together. Sara shrugged, giving up with a wave of her hand. "Don't worry about it," she finished with a smile.

Mick nodded, grin reappearing on his face. "I can't believe you guys managed to keep this a secret," he said.

"Secret" is a relative term, Sara thought, gazing around at the knowing looks on most of her friends' faces.

"Wait," Wells said, confused. He took the bowl of pretzels Cisco handed him so the younger man could take his turn hugging Sara. "This is a surprise to everyone?"

"What do you mean?" Caitlin asked.

He shrugged, tossing her a pretzel. "I just assumed it was common knowledge already." Upon seeing their confusion, he added, "Come on. It was obvious."

"How so?" Cisco demanded, grabbing back his snack bowl.

Wells seemed genuinely astonished. "She had all the textbook symptoms. She felt sick, she was excessively tired, she was overly emotional, projecting onto that plant of all things –"

"My plant…" Sara agreed, mournfully, as Ray snapped his fingers to get her attention and mouthed "I'm repotting it for you."

"She spent half the evening in the bathroom, for God's sake," Wells finished, turning to Caitlin. "You're a doctor. How did you, of all people, not know?"

"It's not like I didn't suspect it," she told him, "but we couldn't be sure until she took a test. There are lots of things that share the same symptoms as pregnancy," she added, defensively.

Wells just laughed. "Sure. Okay. But congratulations, you two," he added, hugging Sara and then shaking Len's hand.

"So I should have just asked you, huh?" Sara asked him, amused.

"I guess so," Wells said, lightly. "Keep it in mind for next time."

"You won't have to worry about anything," Caitlin told Sara. "We're going to move in."

"Move in?" Sara asked. Wait a minute. "We?"

"We're engaged now," Caitlin smirked, motioning from herself to Wells.

Sara shifted her gaze between the two of them several times. "What?"

Wells was nodding in agreement. "It's a complicated story."

Sara turned back to Len. "How long was I upstairs?" she whispered.

"Far too long," he assured her.

"We're not in some…alternate timeline, are we?" Sara questioned, warily.

"Nothing like that," Caitlin told her. "More like Harry wanted to avoid being set up by Donna and…it kind of grew from there."

"As long as you're on the same page…" Sara said, sending Caitlin a critical glance – she knew her friend's true feelings and hoped that whatever this was, it wouldn't end with Caitlin getting hurt.

"It's fine," Caitlin said, sunnily. "We're getting married in the Caribbean."

"You're what?" Sara demanded.

They'd spoken loudly enough that Donna had overheard. "I'm helping them plan the wedding!" she called to them.

"We're talking later," Sara warned Caitlin, as Donna came over to hug Sara again.

"I can't believe I'm going to be a grandmother now. Finally, one of my children will give me that much-longed for grandchild." Donna patted Sara on the cheek before sending a glance toward Felicity who sighed and went back to the kitchen, muttering something about needing another drink.

"We're very excited," Sara said, as Donna squeezed her hands.

"Which brings me to a small matter you can settle for us once and for all," Donna said. "Since Leonard refused."

"Donna –" Len tried, but it was too late.

"Cisco, Caitlin, and I all want the next open apartment in the building," Donna explained. "Leonard won't pick any of us over the others, so who would you most like with you? In your time of need?"

Sara sent an anxious look toward Len, having no idea what was going on, before turning back to her stepmother. "Wait. You all want to live here?" She glanced at her father. "Dad? Were you on board with this?"

"Donna and I had been talking about moving to Central City to be closer to you," he said. "Now that you're having a baby, well…" He smiled, holding his hands out. "I couldn't pass it up."

Sara turned to Caitlin. "And you?"

"My apartment's awful, so yeah, I was strongly leaning toward it," Caitlin said. "Though that's not the main reason – the main reason is you."

Sara felt like her entire world was flipping upside down as she turned to Lisa and then twisted another half-foot to face Cisco. "You really want to live in the same building as Leonard?" she asked, perhaps shocked at his desire to move in over anyone else's.

"We'll barely ever see each other," Cisco said, hint of question in his voice as he sent Len a wary glance. "Anyway, it's worth it – this is the perfect place for me and Lisa. And now that I know you're pregnant, I'm beginning to understand why Lisa was suddenly so eager to move here. So," he concluded, "who gets to move in first?"

Sara slowly looked around the room, taking in everything they'd told her, and… "You all want to move in because of…me? Because of the baby?"

They all started talking at once, a nearly incomprehensible chorus of "yes" and "of course" and "why wouldn't we?" that had her on the verge of tears (again, really?!). The show of support was overwhelming. "I can't choose," she said, shaking her head and trying not to get too emotional. "I want you all to live here."

"Oh honey," Donna said, regret all over her face, "we didn't mean to upset you by asking!"

Lisa and Cisco were nodding in agreement. "We'll figure it out on our own," Cisco assured her.

"Right. What Cisco said," Caitlin added, rubbing Sara's arm.

Ray was looking around, none too pleased with them. "You won't have to worry about anything, Sara," he informed her, "since as I already told everyone, I'm going to put a plan into motion that ensures anyone who wants to live here will be able to do so."

"How are you going to do that?" Sara asked.

"He wants to throw money at the problem," Leonard answered for him.

It wasn't hard for her to deduce what that meant, as she continued, incredulous, "He's going to pay people to move out?"

"I know, right?" Len shook his head. "It's absolutely insane, but that's Palmer for –"

"That's one of the sweetest things I've ever heard," Sara cried, clutching Ray's arms as she stared up at him in earnest. "You'd do that for us?"

"I'd do anything for you guys," Ray said, sounding a bit choked up, and Sara caught a glimpse of the dismay on Leonard's face before Ray pulled her into a hug.

"We love you, too," Sara told him, pressing her cheek to Ray's shoulder.

"Lance," Leonard hissed, "stop encouraging his brand of insanity."

"Sara!" Thea cried from the couch, interrupting them. "I just remembered, you're pregnant!"

"I know!" Sara called back, laughing as Ray let go of her and Thea launched herself off the couch and across the room. The younger girl threw her arms around Sara, apparently forgetting they'd played out this scene upstairs already. Thea then hugged Leonard again, as well, and Sara noted that he didn't even seem to mind.

"How far along are you, anyway?" Thea asked. Suddenly, all eyes in the room were back on them.

"Um, I really have no idea," Sara said, a little sheepishly.

"I'll bet it was during that mission to London six, seven weeks ago?" Mick suggested, knowing smirk on his face. "You two went off the grid for way too long. As if any of us bought that you were 'sight-seeing' – unless it was each other naked."

Sara tried to refute it, but she fell into some awful mixture of coughing and laughing and couldn't get a word out edgewise.

"I don't think so," Ray told Mick. "Based on Sara's cycle, I'd bet it was after the trip to ancient Greece, five weeks ago. Remember? Rip went looking for you two, wondering why you hadn't checked in – I can still hear his scream of shock..."

"Rip is overly dramatic," Len said quickly, in their defense. "We were only kissing and we were still dressed. Mostly. He needs to learn to knock."

"Or you could enable the locks," Ray said, dryly.

"We weren't exactly thinking about that," Sara said, before realizing that didn't help their case. And wait a minute – she turned back to Ray, asking, "What do you mean based on my cycle?"

"It's not exactly hard to figure out," Ray said, rolling his eyes, as if that was the questionable part here.

"Stop," Lisa begged, squeezing her eyes closed and covering her ears.

Sara couldn't help laughing as she watched a faint blush work its way onto Leonard's cheeks. Then she heard her father clear his throat, reminding her that he and Donna were there. Oh god, all her teenage nightmares were coming true.

"Okay guys, hilarious…uh...jokes. But that's enough," Sara said sternly, sending both Mick and Ray sharp looks. They exchanged grins as Mick pantomimed zipping his lips and throwing away the key – even as he looked suspiciously ready to make further suggestions.

"I bet you're earlier along than they're saying," Cisco spoke up. "I mean, you're still looking pretty fit, Sara." When Len just looked at him, Cisco cleared his throat and added, "It's a compliment! I'd guess you're around four weeks."

"Do you know anything about pregnancy, Cisco?" Lisa asked, rolling her eyes.

"Do you?" he shot back.

"I've seen my share of medical dramas on TV," Lisa said, haughtily. "I bet she's at seven or eight weeks."

"Hmm, but she already has a glow about her," Donna said, considering Sara. "I think she's into her third month."

"I have to agree, Donna," Wells nodded, thoughtfully. "I'd guess…nine weeks."

"Guys, I'm literally right here," Sara said, feeling uncharacteristically self-conscious under the weight of their scrutiny.

"Why don't we find out?" Caitlin suggested, and everyone looked at her curiously. "Let's just go down to S.T.A.R. Labs. We'd be able to get a pretty good estimate with the equipment there."

"Good idea, Snow," Wells agreed, checking his watch. "Shouldn't be too much traffic now, either."

"Right now?" Sara asked, a little incredulous. "With everyone?"

"Oh, what a great idea!" Donna gushed. "We could be there for your first ultrasound! Come on everyone," she added, "let's grab our coats from upstairs." When no one immediately moved, she looked around, somewhat threateningly. "Move!" she repeated, and that got them heading toward the door, no one daring to disagree with her when she was being that forceful.

"What's happening?" Felicity asked, emerging from the kitchen with a glass of wine in her hand. Everyone was gone except Sara and Leonard.

Sara couldn't deny that the more she thought about it, the more excited she was about actually getting to see a picture of the baby. "Well, it looks like we're going to S.T.A.R. Labs for a sonogram. It was Cait's idea, but your mother was…insistent."

Felicity took a long sip of her wine and studied them, far too amused, before heading to the door. "Aren't you glad you're a part of this family now, Leonard?"

"Ask me that again in a couple years, Smoak." He paused dramatically. "If I make it that long."

Sara gave him a sharp nudge in the back as a silent rebuke, and he just laughed. "More like if I let you make it that long," she warned, trying not to smile when he just laughed at that, too.