AN: The first chapter is from Diggle's POV, the rest of the story is from Felicity's. The main pairing is Oliver/Felicity, but the Felicity/Diggle friendship is a strong part of this story as well.
I started writing this about a week after the finale: BEFORE the New Zealand 2015 promo, and ALSO BEFORE anything else that came out after it, like the official 3.10 episode description. I did watch the promo, but I decided not to read the episode description. The only thing I ended up changing for this story was I had Felicity alone when she got the news (as hinted at in the promo) instead of being with the others as I'd originally planned. In my plans, Merlyn was ALWAYS the one to bring her the sword, and Felicity was ALWAYS the only one to doubt that Oliver was dead. Any similarities to the episode description are pure coincidence.
Promises
Oliver leaves at 8 o'clock on a Wednesday night.
He boards a plane at 8:30. At 8:32, he sends Diggle a text:
"If I make it out of this, I will contact you within 72 hours. No matter what it takes, I will let you know that I'm all right."
At 8:35 he sends him another, and he prays it's not the last text he will ever send:
"John, this is the hardest thing I've ever had to ask, but if I don't make it home, please take care of Felicity."
At 8:37, Diggle texts him back. Two words.
"I promise."
Oliver closes his phone, rubs his hands through his hair, and takes a deep breath.
He will make it home. He has to.
He has no idea who he is anymore. Is he The Arrow…or Oliver Queen?
Can he really be both?
He told Felicity that he was sure of two things.
He will do whatever it takes to save his sister. He will die for Thea if he has to.
And for Felicity, the only other thing he has ever been sure of? For the woman he loves?
For Felicity, he will live.
After Oliver leaves Felicity with three words and a tidal wave of emotions that threaten to drown her, Diggle and Roy return to the Arrow Cave.
No one says a word.
There's nothing to say. Nothing that matters, nothing that will make any of them feel better.
They sit quietly for nearly an hour.
At 8:40, Diggle breaks the silence.
"72 hours."
"What?" Roy asks from his spot on the floor. He lifts his head up from his knees and looks at Diggle in confusion.
"Oliver. He'll let us know if he's…."
If he's alive.
The words sit unspoken between them all, filling the air with a heavy sense of dread. Diggle watches Felicity sink even lower in her chair from the weight of it, and he has to say something to ease the tension.
"In 72 hours, we'll know that he's okay."
He puts as much confidence behind the words as he can, and he almost believes it.
Almost.
The three of them spend the next 72 hours in the Arrow Cave.
Waiting.
Just waiting.
Feeble attempts at conversation are made and quickly abandoned.
They watch movies to pass the time – stupid movies, happy movies – but no one really pays attention.
Diggle and Roy leave occasionally to bring back food.
What little sleep they can get is taken on cots, or, in Felicity's case, in Oliver's old bed.
They get maybe ten hours between them.
Felicity calls in personal time at work, claiming that her aunt is sick.
Seconds, minutes, hours crawl by in a silent vigil.
They wait, and they watch.
Twelve hours becomes one day.
One day becomes two.
And somehow, some way, 72 hours pass, taking forever and yet no time at all.
It's 8:30 PM on Saturday. It's been 72 hours, 30 minutes since Oliver left. Diggle knows that Oliver is gone. Oliver promised he would contact them within 72 hours, and he knows that nothing short of death would keep him from doing so.
Nothing short of death would keep him from contacting any of them, but especially….
"Felicity."
Diggle's voice is hoarse from lack of use, but it's a stark contrast to Felicity's, which comes out strong despite the fact that she hasn't said a word in three days.
"No."
Twelve more hours pass.
Diggle doesn't want to believe it, but he does. Oliver is gone, but none of them wants to admit it.
He doesn't want to be the one to break the silence, but he has to. Someone has to say something. They can't sit here in silence forever.
He made a promise, after all, and he intends to keep it.
"Felicity…I don't want to be the one to say it-"
"So then don't, John."
Four words. It's more than Felicity has said in almost as many days. But it's her tone more than anything that surprises him. He's not sure he's ever heard her talk to him – or anyone for that matter – with so much disdain in her voice.
He knows it's not directed at him, but at what he wants to say, and he doesn't take it to heart. But someone needs to say it.
"Felicity…it's been nearly four days. If he was still…."
He can't say it. God help him, he can't say it.
He takes a deep breath and forces the words out.
"Don't you think he'd have found a way to contact us by now?"
"He's not dead," she responds bluntly, her eyes never leaving the fern.
The fern. Felicity's been staring at it for the past hour. She's been staring at it on and off for three days.
Out of the corner of his eye, Diggle notices how Roy flinches at Felicity's use of the word "dead." Roy isn't handling this any better than Felicity is.
Or any better than him.
Diggle is trying his damndest to hold it together – for Roy, for Felicity, for all of them – but it feels like part of him has died. The part of him that admired Oliver, the part that loved him like a brother…the part of him that swore to protect this man at all costs.
The part of him that wanted to save him like he couldn't save Andy.
He's trying his damndest to hold it together, but it feels like he's lost his brother all over again.
"Felicity…." He says her name like a plea, as though he's begging her to see reason.
Finally, Felicity tears her gaze away from the fern.
"Go," she says quietly, and he's floored by the sudden softness in her voice.
"What?"
"GO," she says again, more vehemently this time. "Go see Lyla. Go see your daughter."
"I…."
He promised Oliver he would take care of Felicity, and yet here she is trying to take care of him.
"Go see your family. Go tell them you love them."
Diggle shakes his head. How is it that she knows exactly what he needs when he wasn't even aware of it himself?
Finally, he takes a deep breath and gets to his feet.
"Okay."
Felicity nods, and an understanding passes between them.
And suddenly, it hits him. Of course. Felicity knows what he needs…because it's what she needs, too.
"I have to go," Roy says suddenly, getting to his feet. "I have to…I just have to go."
He turns to leave without another word, but Felicity stops him.
"Roy."
He turns back, tears falling silently down his face.
"I'll be here when you come back."
Diggle recognizes the promise in her words, and as Roy nods and leaves, he remembers his own promise.
Take care of Felicity.
And he will. He will die before he ever lets anything happen to her.
"I'll be back in a few hours."
"Take all the time you need. I'll be here when you come back."
Diggle hears the promise in her words yet again. He nods at her and turns to leave.
Halfway to the door, he turns back.
She's staring at the fern again.
"Felicity."
She tears her eyes away once more, and in her gaze Diggle sees a determination he didn't think to find there.
"If you need anything…anything…call me. Please?"
She doesn't say a word in response, but she nods.
He's halfway up the stairs when he hears her whisper three words into the silence.
"He's not dead."
...tbc..