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Bloomfield
December 2019
John Diggle looked at the wooden door in front of him. He was pretty sure he'd have had an easier time walking through the gates of Hell than he was having trying to bring himself to knock. From almost the second he'd met Felicity Smoak, he'd known this moment was probably inevitable, that one day he'd have to break her heart by telling her that Oliver Queen was dead. But knowing it was coming didn't make the prospect any more palatable. Just as he finally raised his hand to knock, the door opened and he found himself looking into Felicity's tear-filled eyes. "Felicity, I...Oli-"
Felicity closed her eyes briefly before interrupting, "You don't have to say it, John, I know."
"I'm so sorry. I wish-" John broke off as a baby's cry started behind Felicity.
It was as she walked to her daughter that the wall Felicity had spent two months building against this day broke and she suddenly found herself sobbing on her living floor like she had the night Oliver left, "She'll never know him or how much he loved her or... It's not fair..."
"It's not but Felicity, she will know. You'll make sure of it," John said quietly as he gathered her in his arms.
Somewhere in the universe
December 2019
As he watched his wife fall apart in his best friend's arms, Oliver Queen was sure he'd killed people he'd hated less than he currently hated the man standing beside him, "Take me home!"
"You are still needed to keep the universe from being destroyed, Mr. Queen. I cannot take you home-"
"My universe is in that house and it's being destroyed right now!" Oliver interjected angrily, pointing towards the screen where Barry Allen had just arrived with William Clayton.
The Monitor sighed, "Your destiny changed tonight , Mr. Queen. And so did your family's. In the future I foresaw when I took you, you did die tonight and your children did not meet or even learn of each other's existence for 20 years. I now believe that we will win this fight and you will be able to return home but not yet. I am truly sorry for what your family is suffering right now but believe me when I tell you that it far pales in comparison to what they and the rest of the universe will suffer if we do not win this battle."
Bloomfield
December 2024
The little girl walking towards him looked so much like her mother that it broke his heart. "Hi! Who are you? You look like my daddy but he died and you didn't ."
The words were so reminiscent of the first words Felicity had spoken to him that it took Oliver a second to recover enough to respond, "I'm...a friend of your mom's. I need to talk to her. Where is she?"
As Mia opened her mouth to answer, a voice from behind him interrupted, "Get away from my daughter! Mia, go inside with Grandma and Will and ask Uncle John to come out here."
"But Mom-"
"Mia Olivia Smoak-Queen, do not argue with me! Go inside!" Felicity interrupted the protest and the child stomped into the cabin. "Who are you? What do you want? If you're a reporter, we have no comment and the story's been done."
"Felicity..." Oliver began.
"Who are you?" Felicity demanded again, her voice shaking slightly.
Oliver belatedly realized that he'd said her name with same intonation he always used and that he probably should have had a plan for this conversation, "It's a long story-"
"Who are you?!"
"I think you know," he replied as he turned to face her, his hands in the air. "Felicity, I-"
"My husband is dead...I don't know who you are or what you're trying to accomplish but this is cruel!"
"Felicity, it's me. I know it's hard to believe but I'm alive."
"If you're really Oliver, tell me something only you and I know. What's the most embarrassing thing I ever said to you?"
*-*-*-*-*-*
As she waited for him to answer, Felicity watched the man that everything inside her but her common sense told her was Oliver Queen. She'd imagined this moment a million times before. Oliver had returned from the dead twice before so it had been impossible to stop herself from fantasizing that it was all just a mistake but this was no fantasy. This man was really here.
He smiled, "I'm not sure what you consider the most embarrassing thing but for me, it was 'It feels really good having you inside me' because it took my mind places I wasn't remotely ready for it go."
As her mind finally accepted the truth that part of her had known since she'd seen him standing with their daughter, Felicity stepped towards her husband, "How?"
"I'm honestly not sure, when the time came I just...didn't die. But the fight wasn't over and The Monitor wouldn't let me come home. I'm sorry it took so long to keep my promise this time."
"It doesn't matter. I love you." With that declaration, Felicity launched herself into her husband's arms.
"I love you so much." Oliver whispered desperately as their lips met.
*-*-*-*-*-*
"Felicity, is everything okay? Mia said you needed-" John trailed off as he took in the sight before him. He wasn't sure what exactly he'd expected to find when he exited the house but this certainly hadn't been in the running. Despite his encouragement, to his knowledge, Felicity hadn't dated since Oliver's death so finding her locked in a passionate embrace and exchanging whispered I love yous with a man she'd moments before sent her daughter away from threw him. He loudly cleared his throat, "Felicity, what is going on?"
At his question, Felicity pulled away slightly to look him and as their eyes met, he suddenly knew. He had no idea how but Oliver Queen had come home, the light that had suddenly returned to Felicity's eyes could mean nothing else. "Oliver?"
"Hey, man," Oliver replied, turning to face him while keeping Felicity wrapped in his arms.
"H...hey, man?!" John repeated incredulously. "You've been dead for five years!"
"I know and I'm sorry for what I put all of you through but I didn't have a choice," Oliver answered calmly.
"I'm going to go talk to the kids. Explain this to them...somehow," Felicity announced, kissing Oliver quickly before pulling away and going inside.
John watched her go, "Do you have any idea what you did to her? In a lot of ways, I lost both of my best friends the night you died."
"I know and knowing how much pain she, William and Thea were in because of me has been the hardest part of five years that were mostly an endless battle. I've missed my daughter's entire life! Do you honestly think I don't know the cost? But what do you want me to do? I can't undo the last five years."
"I'm sorry, you're right. I'm glad you're home, for their sake and my own. I should have said that sooner, I just-"
Oliver laughed slightly, "I think you get a pass for an imperfect reaction. How often does someone come back from the dead?"
"In our lives? Might not be the best argument," John pointed out.
*-*-*-*-*-*
William watched nervously as his stepmother approached. She appeared happier than he's seen her in years but he didn't know why. "Who was here?"
"Um....I don't know how to say this so I'm just going to say it. It was your dad-"
"Felicity...Dad's dead," William began gently, reaching for her hand.
"I know it sounds crazy but no, he's not. He's outside with Uncle John."
William wasn't sure what to say. The last thing he wanted to do was break his stepmother's heart again but facts were facts, "Felicity..."
"He looked like Daddy!" Mia suddenly piped up from her spot beside her grandmother.
"What?"
"Will, listen to me, Oliver didn't die five years ago. He survived but had to continue fighting to save the universe. The fight's over now. He's home."
William hesitated, he wanted nothing more than to believe her and if life as the son of Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak had taught him anything, it was that life was complicated but this seemed too impossible, "I..."
Felicity embraced him, "I know how hard it is to let yourself believe this because the pain on the other side if it's not real is...unfathomable. But Will, I would never tell you if I wasn't sure. He's alive!"
William took a deep breath as he stepped from Felicity's arms and towards the door. "Dad?"
"William?"
As soon as he heard the voice, all of Wiliam's worries about impossibility disappeared. His dad was alive. He hugged him as he had all those years when he believed it would only be a few months before he saw him again, "Dad, I've missed you. I'm sorry I-"
"No apologies. I love you," Oliver cut him off. "Besides, if we're doing apologies, I'm pretty sure I owe more."
Late that night
Felicity looked around her kitchen. She should have been sleeping like rest of her family, her world was finally whole again but she couldn't quiet the voice in her head. The one that pointed out the last time she'd been this happy, it had all been ripped away in minutes.
"Ms. Smoak?"
Felicity whirled towards the voice, for all of her fears, she hadn't expected this, "Get out! You're not taking him again!"
"That is not why I am here. I have taken more than enough from your family. I am here to give something back. I still see your husband's death-"
"What?"
"But it takes place several decades from now. This is your life and it is safe," Mar Novu finished, opening a portal stepping through it.
Felicity stared at the spot where the man who'd both destroyed her life and given it back had disappeared before breathing a sigh of relief and heading down the hall to fall asleep in her husband's arms.