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Chapter Text

“We know they are going to attack one of the banks tonight,” Oliver said as he gathered his gear. “We just need to find out where.”

“I’m trying to narrow it down.” Felicity chimed in from her computers.

Sara walked over to Felicity, dressed in her canary attire, trying to come up with a solution. “Maybe we can look through the traffic cams,” she said. “You know, see if there are any shady vehicles near any banks or surrounding buildings?”

“That could take forever,” Roy said. He was still trying to get used to his new get-up. “By the way, does moving in this leather get any easier?” He asked, clearly frustrated.

Diggle chuckled from across the room as he gathered his guns. “Maybe you just have to break them in, Harper.”
“I’m trying,” Roy said. “But it’s so tight! Am I supposed to be wearing underwear?” He smirked.
“I’ll mark that down as a judgment call.” Sara threw him a smile from over her shoulder.

“I got something!” Felicity exclaimed, turning to Roy. “Oh, and I would recommend underwear because if you’re ever injured, I don’t want to have to remove your pants and reveal and big surpri-“
“Felicity!” Oliver yelled.
“Oh, yeah right.” She pulled up various traffic cams.
“Big surprise, huh?” Roy added silently.
“These vans have been sitting here for a while. Seems to be movement inside. They are parked a block away from Hemps Bank on the corner of 12th Street. What do you think?”

Oliver examined the screens. “Are there any signals?”
“Slight ones.” She stated. “And the other banks have no activity in the surrounding areas.”
“Alright, let’s go.” Oliver said.

Roy, Diggle, and Sara made their way up the steps, while Oliver walked towards Felicity. “Let me know if they move, or change positions. Okay?” He began walking towards the stairs.

“I want to come,” She stated as if it was an obvious statement.

Oliver stopped in his tracks. “No. We need you here.” The look he gave her showed this wasn’t up for negotiation.

“I’ve been reading up on their bomb equipment that they use to hit the banks with and what if you need me to deactivate it.” She said as she started walking past Oliver towards the stairs. He grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him.

“Dig can deactivate a bomb.”
“But I have small hands.” She smirked, trying to ease the tension. But Oliver didn’t budge. He just looked at her and said, “There’s no time to debate this. You’re staying here. Please.”
He walked quickly up the stairs, only turning back once.

“Be safe.” He said. The look on his face made Felicity’s heart flip. And then he was gone.

~~~~

Things had been tense since the Slade incident. Felicity didn’t go out in the field. Oliver always seemed to be watching her, as if she might disappear.

He looked at her more, and she noticed it. He would touch her shoulder, or her hand, or her leg casually. But it didn’t feel casual to her. Every time he touched her she felt the heat of his skin and it sent shivers up and down her spine. He even started talking to her more about the island. Although it wasn’t the terrifying events he faced, it was more lighthearted topics like what he ate and how much he worked out. She knew she was breaking down some walls, and hoped to break down more.

She wanted him. It was a not surprising confession. He is Oliver Queen. But she wanted him on a different level. She wanted to show him he wasn’t damaged, that he could have light in his life. He deserved happiness. But he didn’t agree.

“You know, it’s okay to be happy for once.” Felicity told him one Friday night. He had come back to the foundry after Thea’s birthday party.
“I am happy.” He said with a slight smile.

Felicity walked up to him. She could always see right through him. “No you aren’t.
Let me guess, you’re beating yourself up over the fact that your sister loves you even though she has no idea who you are?” Oliver sighed.

“You need to stop beating yourself up. It’s exhausting to watch.” She smiled and turned around, grabbing her purse, ready to leave.
He quickly stepped in front of her, blocking her exit.

“What do you think I should do then? If you’re full of answers,” he smirked. “How do you suggest I should be happy?”

They were right in front of each other now. His face was close to hers. At some point she stopped breathing, but she didn’t know when. She looked into his eyes and saw it. That look. The one he gives to her but to no one else. The look that speaks so many words without saying anything. And god, she loves that look.

“Based on that look,” she hesitantly replied, “you already know.”
And with that she left.

Oliver knew he could be happy with her, but he also knew he didn’t deserve to be. And despite Felicity calling him out on it, he just couldn’t do that to her. He wouldn’t.

~~~~
Sara, Roy, and Oliver arrived at the scene ready to eliminate the threat while Dig waiting several streets away in case the mission failed or the men tried to escape. Meanwhile, Felicity discovered a problem.

“Wait…” She said, confused.
“Felicity?” came Oliver’s voice through the comm.
“That can’t be right…” She whispered to herself.
“Blondie?” Roy sounded concerned also. “What’s wrong?” added Sara.

“There’s a big signal that just popped up. It’s coming from America Bank across town.” She said in a raised voice. “I think this is a set up.” Just as she said that the men came out of the van, attacking Sara, Roy, and Oliver.

“Diggle, get to America Bank!” Oliver yelled, while he shot an arrow through on of the assailant’s knee.

“I’m closer.” Felicity said.
“No!” Oliver screamed, avoiding the flying bullets in the air. Sara knocked over three men at once while Roy fired more arrows and took cover behind a nearby dumpster.

“Felicity, stay there!” No answer. “Felicity!” Another van approached, unleashing 20 more men into the streets.

~~~~

Felicity arrived at America Bank and ran to the back entrance. Meanwhile, Diggle managed to get there too and entered through the front, ushering everyone out.

“You are in big trouble.” Dig said as he approached Felicity and the bomb.
“I’m trying to help.” She stated as she disarmed the bomb by clipping the two blue wires in the back. “See, easy!”

Just then, the center broke away revealing a bigger bomb and a timer set for two minutes.
“Dig? What’s going on?” Felicity heard Oliver’s voice through Dig’s comm but she was too busy focusing on the bomb. She didn’t know what to do. It seemed impossible.

“I…I didn’t expect the bomb to be this complex. Most of these wires are trick wires. I don’t think I can do it. I…I-“ she stuttered.

“Then get out of there!” Oliver’s voice roared through.
Felicity shook her head back and forth, even though Oliver couldn’t see her. She was concentrating on the bomb, nothing else.

Roy then arrived, having gotten away before Oliver and Sara and sped his way over on his motorcycle in record time. “We need to go. Now.” He stated, as the timer ticked down.

Diggle crouched down to the bomb. “I’ve seen this before. You can tell which ones are trick wires by their weight.”
Oliver spoke through the comms first. “Dig, there’s only a minute left. You guys need to get out of there.” He said loudly, apparent that Sara and he were on the bike.

“If we don’t do this, the surrounding people will be hurt.” Diggle looked directly at Roy. “Get her out of here.”

“What?!” Felicity yelled. “Like hell! I’m not leaving you!”
Diggle didn’t look at her, continuing to work on the bomb. “Roy, remember what we agreed.” He said in a steady, calm voice.

Felicity felt confused. “What are you talking abo-“ She was cut off by Roy picking her up and running toward the streets, away from the bank.

“Roy! Stop! Dig’s in there!” She screamed. She begged. She tried to wiggle free, though she knew it was useless. “Roy, don’t do this!”

“I’m sorry,” was all he said as they made their way outside. He placed her down and briefly let go. That was her chance. She slipped away from him and started running back.

And that’s when the building exploded.

~~~~

The next few hours went by in a haze for Felicity.
She briefly remembers screaming until her lungs gave out.
She briefly remembers Oliver and Sara arriving.
She briefly remembers being taken to the foundry.
And she briefly remembers Oliver trying to talk to her.
But it didn’t faze her.
She sat there, looking at nothing.

There was tension in the foundry. They watched the news while the police cleared the scenes. Felicity heard Oliver’s phone ring and he answered immediately.
She wasn’t listening though, her mind focused elsewhere. He couldn’t be dead, she thought. This couldn’t happen. She didn’t just fail her best friend and send him to his death. Not like this.

She was thinking about all these things while Oliver walked over to her. She wasn’t listening to him. She couldn’t. Her brain wouldn’t let her.

All of a sudden she heard the words. “He’s alive, Felicity.” And her head snapped up. Tears began to drip down her face.

“Can…can we see him?” she sounded so small, so vulnerable. And it pained Oliver’s heart. “Yeah, let’s go.” He grabbed her hand as they left the foundry with Sara and Roy, and made their way to the hospital.

Felicity hated hospitals. They smelled bad. They were too white. They either had a promise of death or hope. They made their way to Diggle’s room. Before they got inside, the doctor came forward to tell them of his condition.

“It seems John managed to avoid the initial blow of the blast. He suffered from severe head trauma along with wounds on his body. Those will heal in time. The head injury however, is more serious.” Oliver heard Felicity suck in a deep breath at the doctor’s words.
“How serious?” Sara asked in a worried voice.

“He is unconscious now. There was bleeding in the brain and he is in a comatose type state. We don’t know when he will wake up. It could be hours or days. These things are unpredictable. We will know more with more time, but you are welcome to see him.” The doctor walked away and Felicity was still dazed from all he said. Head trauma? Coma? Will he wake up?

This was all her fault. She should have been able to defuse that bomb. She should have stayed behind with it instead of him. He’s more valuable. He has Lyla and a baby on the way. How could she do this to her friend?

Felicity couldn’t take it. She stopped dead in her tracks right before entering Diggle’s room.

“Felicity…” Oliver approached her questionably and reached out to touch her arm.
“Don’t!” She yelled. “Just don’t.” She started to back up but Roy was right behind her. She accidently bumped into him.

Roy was looking at her with a worried look. “Maybe you should sit down, you look pale and tired.” She ignored this.
“What was Diggle talking about?” She asked him.
“What do you mean?” Roy replied, confused by the change of subject.
“Before, when he said “remember what we agreed?” what was that?” She demanded.

Roy sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He looked at Oliver and Sara before he continued. “We agreed that if the mission goes south,” he hesitated, “we get you out. No questions asked.”

Felicity’s eyes narrowed. “Who is we?” she asked.
Roy was about to answer when Oliver stepped towards her. “All of us.” He said casually.

Felicity was furious. How dare they value their lives less than hers? Sure, they were trying to protect her, but she wasn’t a piece of expensive artwork. She would give up her life for them, all of them, without a second thought.

Instead of yelling, instead of fighting, instead of screaming, she simply walked towards the exit.
“What are you doing?” Oliver asked as he followed her. “You wanted to see Dig.”

Felicity stopped at the door and turned to face him. “No, I think I’ve done enough. Don’t follow me. Please.” And she left.

Oliver started to go after her, but Sara put her hand on his shoulder. “She needs some time Ollie. She blames herself. She’s mad and upset. Just let her cool off.”
Oliver sighed, but nodded and the three of them walked into Dig’s room. They sat there waiting, hoping he would wake up.

~~~~

Felicity knew she should go home and rest. She should get some sleep, eat something, or maybe shower. But instead he went to the foundry. She wanted to do something useful. She felt slightly better knowing that Dig was alive, but she was still unraveling. She felt guilty, so guilty and that feeling wouldn’t go away until Dig woke up, if he woke up. Felicity shuddered at the thought.

She pulled up everything she could find on the bombs and traced every signal about ten times, always coming up with nothing. She ran numerous amounts of searches but again, there was nothing.

She pulled up police pictures of the scene and found a picture with half a serial number on it. It was the transmitter that used to be attached to the bomb. It was broken and burnt, but some numbers were readable. She did a search of the numbers and associated those numbers with high frequency signals that went off around the time of the bomb.

Felicity grabbed her keys and immediately drove to the building.

When she got there she regretted not changing. She was wearing the same loose, flowing skirt and blouse that she was wearing earlier at QC. Luckily she swapped for flats mid-day for it was eerily quiet and she didn’t want to draw attention to herself in the glades.

The building was old and run down. Felicity walked in, making her way through the ground floor but found nothing. It was dark considering it was the middle of the night, and a little cold but she continued to the second floor. There had to be something, anything that could help her find out who was behind this. It wouldn’t help ease her guilt, but it would help put her mind at ease.

She was walking down a hallway when she heard a creak. She whipped around quickly, but nothing was there. As she turned around to continue, there he was, standing right in front of her, wearing his hood and gear.

“What the hell are you doing?” he growled. She couldn’t see his face due to the darkness, but if she could, she knew it would look tired and worn.

“How did you find me?” she replied, ignoring his question.

He walked towards her. “You left your searches up, which you never do. That proves to me how careless you are being right now.” He said harshly. “Now what the hell are you doing?”

“I’m following a lead, obviously” Felicity replied, annoyed at him for interrupting her search. “The signal lead me here, and I wanted to see-“
“You can’t just run off alone!” He yelled, grabbing both sides of her arms forcefully. “I know you’re upset and scared but you can’t-“

“Yes I can!” She cut him off. “I did this. He’s in there because of me!” She began pushing him back against the wall. “I couldn’t stop that bomb! That was MY job and Diggle almost died because of it!”

She was close to him now, probably too close. She was in his face yelling and crying at the same time. Oliver knew she was about to have a breakdown. He tried to calm her down with a quiet voice.

“No, it’s not. It was his choice, Felicity.”
“Please just yell at me! Please say it was my fault! Blame me! Don’t treat me like a child, Oliver!” She started hitting his chest with her hands out of frustration, and out of the guilt piercing inside of her. “Be mad at me, punish me, something!” She cried.

“Stop!” he yelled. And Felicity looked up at him, looked right into his eyes. She saw how worried he was. How worried he was for her. It would have made her heart flip if it wasn’t for the guilt eating at her.

She pushed further into him, Oliver still holding her arms that were once hitting him. He hated seeing her like this. It hurt him in ways no one would understand. He wanted to save her from this, from the guilt and despair that was eating at her soul. Suddenly, she closed her eyes and leaned in, planting her lips on his.

Oliver paused. He knew this was a bad idea, a very bad idea. With all that had happened the past 24 hours, this was the last thing that they should be doing.

But instead of pulling away, he pulled her closer.

With his back to the hallway wall, she wrapped her arms around his neck.
The kiss was warm and slow. She could feel in all throughout her body. As his hands came around her waist, she lifted the hood down, wrapped her hands against the back of his head, and drew him closer.

She was lost in him. And his worries began to fade and he became lost in her too.

Her tongue came out and beckoned entrance to his mouth. He gave it to her without putting up a fight and felt her sigh in front of him. His loss of control would’ve embarrassed him if he wasn’t so lost in her touch right now. She pulled his mask off and threw it somewhere while their tongues danced together.

When they broke for air, she kissed down his jaw to his neck, but she wanted more. She needed more of his skin of hers. She needed to feel this. She started to unzip his jacket and her hands snaked around his abs and his chest, reaching his lower abdomen. Oliver let out a shuttered groan and immediately pushed her back, so that it was now Felicity up against the opposite wall.

Everything then became more desperate. Her kisses were more forceful. Her hands were more aggressive. She managed to get off his jacket while he was kissing down her neck to her collar bone. Oliver’s hands traveled up her thighs and pushed her skirt up so that he was now cupping her ass. She gasped at how good it felt to finally feel him touching her. She has wanted this for so long and if he stopped now, it might destroy her.

Her legs came up and gripped his waist as he carried her to a nearby table and set her there.

Felicity was kissing up and down his chest while his hands were in her loose hair. He pulled her head up to his and kissed her hard and with so much emotion she thought she might faint. He got rid of his gloves and his hands started unbuttoning her blouse. When it was parted open he explored every inch of skin with his mouth and his hands, cupping her breasts and panting heavily.

Oliver wanted this, he wanted her. He wanted to love her, and protect her, and make her happy. He always imagined this happening, but not like this. Not in some abandoned building while she was on the verge of a breakdown.

His thoughts were interrupted by a moan that escaped her mouth. Overcome by emotion and lust, he passionately took her mouth in his. She rolled her hips against his and Oliver groaned, chills being sent up his spine.

He began pulling her skirt up so that it was now bunched around her waist. Her legs came up to rest on his sides as her hands came down from his chest to the tops of his leather pants. Felicity began undoing them. She had just gotten the zipper down and was about to reach in when his hands quickly grabbed hers and held them away.

Oliver’s forehead came to rest on hers and when he opened his eyes he saw her confusion. “We can’t do this.” He whispered.

Her confused look quickly turned into disappointment.
She dropped her gaze down. “Yes we can.” She replied, but he gently shook his head back and forth as he stepped back from her.

Oliver stared at her. Her hair a mess, shirt open, skirt pulled up and eyes watery. It took him all the strength in the world not to reach out and grab her.

“Why?” Felicity said softly. “I want this. I want you.” She stood up and walked towards him. “I need you.” She added, wet tears slowly making their way down her face.

He reached out with both hands and cupped her face. Felicity sighed into his hands and stared at him. “You aren’t thinking clearly, Felicity. Your body is hyped on adrenaline. You’ll regret this.” He wanted to reason with her, but maybe he was trying to reason with himself more.

“I could never regret you.” She whispered. Then she reached forward and placed her lips on his. “Never.” She said against them.

Oliver hesitated at first; her mouth against his is what he wanted for so long. He dreamt about it while he was asleep and while he was awake. He could never get enough of her; he would never be the same now.

But it couldn’t be here, and it couldn’t be now.
He pulled away, zipped up his pants, and grabbed his jacket.

“Go back to the foundry.” He stated dryly. “Or better yet, just go home and rest. Please.” And then he was gone. Just like that.

Felicity stood there. She knew better then to do this. And now she feared she ruined everything. Just like how she ruined Diggle. She cried all the way home and when she got into her apartment, she realized that she was no longer crying. Apparently she had run out of tears. But the guilt was still there.

~~~~

She took a quick shower, put on shorts and a loose tee and hopped into bed.

Felicity woke up not much later then when she laid down, sweaty from trashing in the sheets. She couldn’t sleep. Every time she closed her eyes she saw the explosion. It was like it was playing on a loop in her mind. She was smart enough to realize that Dig would never want her to feel guilty. He wouldn’t want her to be acting like this. The rationality of this started to settle into her. She still blamed herself, but when Dig woke up, she didn’t want him to have to worry about what state of mind she’d be in.
She at least owed him that much.

She walked out into her kitchen and turned the light on. She thought maybe some tea would get her to sleep. Not long after she had gotten out of bed she heard a knock on the door.

Slowly opening it, she saw him.
“What are you doing here?” Felicity asked, recalling the last time they were together.

“I saw your light on. Why are you awake?” Oliver said, his brows drawn together.
“I was thirsty…wait” She stopped. “Are you watching my house?”

Oliver walked past Felicity into her apartment, ignoring her question. He turned around and looked at her. “Are you okay?”

“Um, let’s see. My best friend is in a coma.” She said, clearly annoyed. “So yeah, I’m good.”

Rolling her eyes, she walked back into her kitchen, Oliver following behind her.
“He’ll wake up. I know you’re scared.” She was about to cut him off when he added, “So am I.” His voice lowered. “I don’t want to lose him….And I don’t want to lose you either. I don’t think I could handle that.”

Felicity was speechless. What do you say to that? She had nothing to say. She had already said it. He knew how she felt about him.

After what seemed like endless silence, she took a deep breath and lowered her head, staring at the ground.

“You know what I want.” She stated, sounding small and innocent.
“Yes.” was all he replied with.

She continued looking down. “If you don’t want it, just tell me now.” She raised her head, gaze meeting his. “Tell me, and I’ll never bring it up again.”

There, the ball was in his court. He could only answer one of two ways. She was prepared for the worst because she knew him. She knew he just wanted to protect her. But there was this little ounce of hope within her that kept her thinking that maybe, just maybe, he would give in.

Oliver stepped forward, “I don’t want you.”

Felicity tilted her head back down. “I need you.” Her head snapped up in an instant, but his mouth was already on hers, pushing her against the fridge, hungrily devouring her.

And she was in heaven.

Chapter Text

Oliver stepped forward, “I don’t want you.”

Felicity tilted her head back down. “I need you.” Her head snapped up in an instant, but his mouth was already on hers, pushing her against the fridge, hungrily devouring her.

And she was in heaven.

 

Oliver grabbed her by the waist and pulled her against him, fiercely. Felicity’s hands traveled from his firm chest, up and around his neck, to pull him in closer, as if he could never be close enough. His lips worked seamlessly with hers as he tasted her mint lips from her brushing her teeth previously. Her hands worked through his soft short hair and she could feel Oliver’s rough hands through her thin, flimsy shorts, setting her skin on fire.

But she wanted more.

Felicity gently bit down on his bottom lip, begging for entrance which Oliver gladly gave. His hands seemed to be everywhere. They traveled up to cup her soft cheeks. They traveled down to grasp her breasts through her lose fitting shirt. They traveled further down to her hips and over her smooth thighs to lift her up, her back still cool and pressed against the fridge.

He carried her, clumsy, to her room and they tumbled onto her bed. They became a mix of limbs as they explored each other’s mouths and skin for the first time. Her legs were still around him and he rested between her legs, both of them breathless from the pressure being admitted there. Smells, tastes, touches, all coming together in a heated moment that both of them had always wanted.

Oliver was hovered over her, planting hot kisses down her jaw and her neck. It left chills upon her entire body and she grinded her hips with his causing a groan to escape his mouth. Felicity sighed with content. She felt complete bliss. She felt like with Oliver on top of her, hovering over her, that she couldn’t be harmed, that the world couldn’t touch her here. And she would gladly stay right there forever.

She closed her eyes and released a shaky breath followed by a giggle.

“What’s so funny?” Oliver asked against her collar bone.
“Nothing,” she replied. His face was now in front of hers and she lay beneath him. “I’m just…happy.” She continued, “Happy this isn’t a dream again.”

“Again?” he questioned as Felicity’s cheeks released a slight, rosy blush.

Oliver gave her a soft smile and planted a slow, sensual kiss on her delicate lips.
He pulled away slightly and whispered, “Definitely not a dream,” he assured her as his ocean blue eyes bore into her own.

“I…” she stuttered. She wanted to say it, say those words. Her heart ached for them to be released.

“I think we should wait,” she said instead, as she silently cursed herself, clamping her eyes shut at her own words.

He started to roll off of her to give her some more room but she grabbed his face and kissed him hard, the stubble of his jaw pressing firmly against her own skin. She sighed into his mouth, never wanting to part.

When she finally pulled away, she explained.
“I want, you know, this,” she glanced down at his lips. “But I want it when things are right.” Oliver drew his brows together, not quite understanding.

“No, I mean, obviously things are right,” she waved her hands between them, “here. But…” she continued. “Dig is in the hospital and those guys are still responsible and I just want that to not be on my mind when this happens.” She rambled on and put her hands over her face, feeling as though if she didn’t say all that was on her mind, her hormones might win over.

Oliver stared back at her, removed her hands, and cupped her cheek with one of his own hands, gently.
“You’re right,” he whispered against her lips. “You usually are.”

He rolled off of her and sat up. Felicity instantly shuttered at the loss of warmth. The coolness crept through her cracked window and wrapped around her.

“Don’t go though,” she said, placing her hand on his forearm. “Stay here. And we…we can just talk.” Although she wasn’t sure how much longer her body would allow her to stay awake, she wanted him here. She wanted him in her bed and she wanted his scent to take up her entire room.

Even though she craved him intimately, she also craved something much more valuable to
her: his thoughts.

Oliver looked at her. “For you, I’ll talk about anything you want,” he said, barely above a whisper. And she knew he meant it.

She was nervous, to say the least. She knew he didn’t like to talk about the horrors he faced, but the fact that he was trying for her, well that made her heart race.

“I know you don’t like talking about the island or anything,” she started to say. “We don’t have to-“
“Felicity,” he said softly. “There isn’t a person on this earth who I want to talk to about it,” he paused, “except you.” Oliver gave her a soft, half smile.
“Okay.” She took a deep breath.

“Take off your shirt,” she said, causing Oliver to grimace. “Just do it.” She demanded with a soft chuckle.

Oliver removed his grey tee shirt and threw it off to the side.
“Alright, come here.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him to the middle of the bed. They were both sitting crisscrossed on her bed, facing each other, knees almost touching.

“Okay, I’m going to touch a scar.” She looked up at him. “And you tell me how you got it.”

He started to shake his head. But before he could protest, she placed her hand on his knee. “Not the whole story,” she explained, “or even who, or when, or where, or why. You can just say one word for each. Okay?”

Oliver looked at her. He didn’t want her knowing. Those stories were dark, sick, and not something worth being repeated. But all she asked for was one word. He could do that. For her, he could open up, even in the slightest way. Because he wanted to open up to her. He wanted to prove to her that she mattered, that she was most important.

“Okay,” he whispered.

Felicity exhaled slowly. Small progress was still progress, she thought to herself. She knew this wasn’t something he wanted her to hear about. He’d always been closed off about the harsh cruelties he experienced. But loving someone means exposing them to your demons, all your demons.

Her hand moved and rested against his upper chest.
“Arrow,” he said.

Her hand moved down.
“Bullet.”

To the left.
“Knife.”
Her hand paused. Torture, she thought silently.

Her hand moved down again.
“Knife again.”

Further.
“Fire.”

Around the left side.
“Electricity.”
She let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding.

Her hand went down slightly. It rested upon a large scar that a blade could’ve made.
“Slade,” he said, voice almost too quiet to hear.

She glanced up at him for the first time since she put her hands on him. Their eyes met. She could see him, all of him. The pain bore into her own eyes from his. But she didn’t know what to say.

So, she moved her hand to the front, right above the top of his pants.
“Animal.”

She kept her hand there, on his lower abdomen.
“You’re really testing my self-control right now.” He looked down at her and she quickly removed her hand and scooted back against her pillows.

“Sorry,” she said quietly.
Oliver scooted closer, hand coming up to gently stroke her cheek.

“It’s okay,” he whispered.
She knew what he meant. It’s okay that you asked that from me. It’s okay that you know now. It’s okay, I’m safe. It’s okay, I trust you.

“Thank you,” she replied, eyes closing against his hand.
And he knew what she meant. Thank you for letting me in. Thank you for telling me. Thank you for being here. Thank you for trusting me.

Oliver gave her a smile as Felicity eyes opened. Her lids felt heavy. Half yawning she said, “We should go to the foundry. See if there’s anything new.”
“Roy and Sara are keeping an eye on things,” Oliver said. “You need some sleep. Fresh eyes will be better in the morning.”

“I want to help now,” she mumbled as she tried to get up from the bed. But Oliver simply pulled her down, drawing her to him as he rested against the headboard.

“Just a couple hours of sleep, okay?” He glanced down at her. “Please?”
“Mmkay.” She sighed as she curled up next him, against his side and his bare chest.

“Wake me up at six,” she said. “We can get an early start and I want to visit Diggle.”
Oliver sighed. “That only gives you four hours of sleep Felicity,” he said.

“6am,” she simply said. She opened one of her eyes, and peeked up at him.
“6am,” he repeated.
“Promise?”

He wouldn’t keep her from seeing Diggle. He knew she regretted not seeing him earlier.
“Promise,” he said.

~~~~

As promised, Oliver woke Felicity up at 6am.

During her sleep, Felicity never moved from the safety of Oliver’s side. When he woke her up, she moaned and let out a sigh against Oliver’s skin. He felt as the sensation of it sent chills up his spine.

She sat up slowly and glanced at him next to her.
“Hey,” she smiled. “Did you sleep?”

“A little,” he answered honestly. “Come on,” he continued. “I’ll make coffee while you change.” He sat up and planted a soft, gentle kiss on her lips.

Felicity leaned into his warm lips and then pulled back and went into the bathroom. After changing into a pair of simple jeans and a v-neck tee, being too tired to get properly dressed as she usually does, she drank the coffee Oliver had made and they headed out, hand in hand.

~~~~

They arrived at the hospital and headed towards Diggle’s room. As they walked in, they noticed Lyla softly sleeping in the chair next to an unconscious Diggle. She woke up when she heard Oliver and Felicity make their way into the room.

“Oh, hey guys.” She gave them a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

Felicity didn’t know what to say. Her mind gave a blank for what to say to the pregnant woman who was watching the love of her life lay in a hospital bed.

“We just came by to check up on him before we head to the foundry,” Oliver explained.

“The doctors say he’s healing slowly,” Lyla said. “It’s just a matter of time until he wakes up. It’s up to Johnny.” She looked up from her chair to Oliver. “I should be out there,” she nodded her head towards the window that was overlooking the city, “trying to find who did this. But,” she paused. “It’s not good for the baby and he wouldn’t want me out there. He’d have faith that you guys would be able to figure it out. And I have faith in you guys too.” She glanced from Oliver to Felicity.

Felicity felt a tear run down her cheek. She immediately wiped it away. “Lyla, I’m so sorry. I was supposed to be the one to disarm the bomb and I couldn’t and I feel terri-“

Lyla got up from her chair and walked over to Felicity, cutting off her words with a hug.
“Shhh.” She rubbed Felicity’s back. “No one blames you, okay? He’ll wake up.” She pulled back and wiped more of Felicity’s tears away with a tissue she had pulled out. “Everything will be okay. Johnny wouldn’t want you beating yourself up.” She gave Felicity another hug and went back to her chair.

Felicity looked at Diggle. He had small cuts on him and some areas were wrapped in gauze, probably from the fire. But his face looked peaceful, as if he was just sleeping.

Felicity walked over and planted a kiss on the top of his head. “Wake up soon, Dig,” she whispered.

Then she and Oliver headed to the foundry.

~~~~

When they got there, Roy and Sara were already busy. Sara was on the computers while Roy was doing some target practice.

“Find anything?” Oliver asked as he approached them.
“I’ve been looking at the police reports but nothing we don’t already know,” Sara explained as she got up from the computers, letting Felicity take a seat.

Sara placed a hand on Felicity’s shoulder and looked at her with questioning eyes. Felicity smiled up at the assassin and nodded, having understood the silent: Are you okay?

“I went out and beat up some low lifes,” Roy said over his shoulder as he fired a bull’s-eye at the target in the distance. “But again, all I got was information we already know.”

“I wish I could just do a simple signal trace,” Felicity explained as she began typing. “But it piggy backed off of over 50 different signals, some of them being long decoys.”

“That could take days to sort through,” Sara said.
Oliver sighed. “Well it seems to be all we have at this point.”

“Okay, well here are all the signals released within a five hour time frame of the explosion,” Felicity stated as she pulled up what seemed to be an endless list of numbers. “That’s our best bet.”

Roy walked over to the computers. “So we look through all of these?” he questioned.
“Seems like it,” Oliver replied, “or at least enough to get a sample size.”

“Everyone take a screen. Mark all above average frequencies that stand out, even if it’s only by a little,” Felicity instructed. “If you finish one page, go to the next.” She took a deep breath. Let’s do this, she thought.

~~~~

Hours went by. Roy complained for what seemed like the entire time.

“I’m the muscle, not the brains,” he whispered to himself at one point.

Sara’s stomach made multiple noises indicating food was much needed for all of them.
But they didn’t stop. This was too important.

After a couple more hours Felicity decided they had enough numbers marked.

“Okay,” she began. “We have enough frequencies marked for the lowest possible sample size. So this might not even be accurate.” She looked up at Oliver who was standing behind her.

“It’s worth a shot, right?” he said. “Even if it gives us 10 locations, we can check them all out.”

Felicity pulled up all the frequencies the four of them had marked over the hours. She plotted them at their locations during the detonation of the bomb and hours before and after the bomb. Needless to say, the map was a mess. There seemed to be no patterns.

“This doesn’t look helpful,” chimed in Roy as he looked over the map.
“There’s literally a signal everywhere.” Sara’s brows came together. “That doesn’t seem possible, right? Signals on every single part of the map?” she asked.

And she had a point. There were signals coming from places in the Glades where there is known to be nothing but dirt there.

“Wait…” Felicity said. “There are signals everywhere. So where isn’t there a signal? That’s got to be it.” She searched the map.

“There.” She pointed to a point on the map that was strangely radiating nothing. “What’s there?” Felicity asked.

She felt Oliver go still beside her.

“That’s. A.R.G.U.S.”