This is my very first fanfic ever, so please be kind.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Arrow characters or places. The story however is completely mine.
It had been 4 days since Sara failed to protect Felicity. 4 days since HE failed Felicity. And now Sara had left.
"I can't do this anymore Ollie. I can't keep pretending everything is okay between us, because it's not. And I'm beginning to wonder if it ever really was." He had just stood there, with an incredulous look on his face, as she continued her monologue. "You haven't touched me since it happened, haven't even really looked at me." He flinched when she mentioned 'It'. "Ollie." She had said, her voice softening. "You can stop pretending now, it's alright. I know you don't love me, how can you, when there's already someone else that has a hold on your heart." "What are you talking about?" He had asked her, a questioning look on his face. "I'm talking about her." She pointed across the room, to the empty desk-chair that stood a little away from the computer desk. A chair that hadn't been sat in for 4 days. Because of 'it'. "I could see it in the way you look at her, the way you two interact with each other, but I chose to ignore it. I could hear it in the way you talk about her. Calling her your go-to-girl. I can see it in the way you sit by her bedside, holding her hand, talking to her. And I can see it in your eyes, the blame you send my way, for not protecting her." He looked a little uncomfortable at that statement. Because he was, blaming her for what happened to his 'go-to-girl', his favorite IT tech, his rock. Felicity. "That's why I'm leaving. You deserve a chance to be happy Ollie. To leave the island, once and for good. She is good for you Ollie, she balances you, brings out your lighter side. Take this chance Oliver, tell her how you feel. Live a little!" And with those words, she had turned around and walked out of the foundry, out of Starling City, and out of his life.
After she had gone, he had gone upstairs, sat at the bar and did some soul searching. He had searched for his soul at the bottom of a bottle of vodka and proceeded to look for it at the bottom of several other bottles. He wondered about what Sara had said. Was he really in love with Felicity? He went back in his mind looking for clues. The way they banter together. The way she could make him laugh – really laugh – with her adorable ramblings and inappropriate comments. She was kind and considerate and modest and, well, hot has hell. But she was also fragile, as was proven by her whereabouts at this very moment. He was scared of bringing her into his life, really in his life. She was strong, yes, but that was more of a mental state than a physical one. She had trained with Diggle, but that was mostly rudimental self-defense.
Diggle had come in then, finding Oliver in a less than sober state. Oliver had spilled all of his musings to his second, his friend. After that Dig had given him a stern talking to, about Felicity already being in his world, and her being a big girl, and to stop wallowing in self-pity, and to tell her honestly and have her make her own decisions. Dig had walked out after that, leaving Oliver to his hangover. And a hangover it was.
She'd gone through emergency surgery, to retrieve the 2 bullets stuck in her body. The one in her shoulder did little damage, but the one in her abdomen was a lot worse. To top it off she'd fallen on her head when she got shot, so they had to drill a hole in her head to relieve the pressure that was building. To help with the recovery, the doctors had put her in an artificial coma. Earlier in the day they had stopped the drugs that induced the coma, so she could slowly wake up.
When he arrived at the hospital, his hangover was … well, it could have been worse. He'd live. And thank god, she would too. He stood in the doorway to her room, looking at her beautiful face. He was again struck by how pale she was. He didn't realize he'd gone into pensive mode until a small voice called out to him: "Are you going to stand there staring like a creep, or are you going to come in?" His breath caught, she was awake. "When did you wake up?" "A little while ago. The nurses told me you've been at my bed for 4 days." "I was. It's my fault you're in here, and I didn't want you to be alone." "What do you mean, 'your fault'? Did I get shot by an arrow, because I distinctly remember you only shooting arrows." "You know what I mean." " Do I Oliver? Because it seems to me that you are taking blame for the actions of others, again. Didn't we talk about the whole 'world on your shoulders' bit? You are not responsible for every bad thing that happens Oliver, some things are out of your control."
She stared at her boss, who was, again, determined to take blame for all the wrongs in Starling City. Things had just gotten a little better, with Slade being 'dealt with'. He'd exposed Slade's relationship with Isabel, which got the board to undo the CEO switch, and got Isabel thrown in jail (serves her right, that conniving little – anyway). Either way, Oliver had come out, mostly, on top. Slade was gone, he had his company back and his relationship with his mother was on the mend. The flip side of the medal was that Thea still wasn't speaking to him, Roy had left the city for god only knows where and apparently Sara had also left. Or so John had informed her when he came to visit. He didn't say why though.
And then she had to go and get herself shot. Not even on a mission. It was a ridiculous robbery gone wrong when she had left the club with Sara. Oliver had insisted she be accompanied home at all times, because they had not yet caught all the criminals Slade let out. Sara was closing up the club when the two guys came out of the shadows. They jumped her, took her purse (with her tablet full of vigilante related stuff). She had yelled for Sara, who reacted lightning fast. Jumping the guy with the purse, but not noticing the other one. The one with the gun. When she caught on, the guy had already took aim at Sara. Felicity did what she thought was right and jumped in front of Sara. Ending her up in this situation.
"It wasn't Sara's fault, you know that right? I just…" "You just what Felicity, you just got the uncontrollable desire to feel what it is like to get shot? Sara was supposed to protect you, she's the trained assassin you know!" "Maybe I just wanted to be the hero for once. Actually help somebody, the way Sara and Diggle and you do. Maybe I just wanted to know what it meant, being the hero!" If she had had the power to yell at Oliver, she would have. He was being a suborn ass, but then again, what did she expect from him anyway.
His deep blue eyes locked on her, softening by the sight of the bandages around her golden hair. "You think you're not a hero? Felicity… " Oh, when he said her name like that, she would go weak in the knees. Good thing she was already lying down. "Felicity… you're always a hero! You've saved my life more times than I can count. You're the voice in my head warning me, telling me to be safe, guiding me. You are the most important part of this team. Without you, we'd be running around aimlessly." He stepped closer, taking her hand in his. "You are important Felicity. To the company, to the team and you are important to me. You scared me so badly, I can't even begin to describe what I felt." "I can picture it. I've felt that way to, seeing you get hurt."
He looked at her. Her eyes were down, looking at the covers, the floor, her bedside table, anywhere but at him. She had a little color returned to her cheeks. "Just look at all the scars you've gotten since you got back in town. Not that I look at your scars, I mean they are hard to miss with you always being half naked. Not that I notice you being shirtless although you look really good shirtless….I'll stop talking now." She always did this. Kept rambling on and on, making a complete fool of herself in front of her extremely sexy boss, who she had absolutely no fantasies about.
He liked it when she babbled. It gave him glimpses of what was going on inside her head.Dig was right, she was a big girl, and very capable of making her own decisions. But, did she want him? No way of knowing unless he tried. His life was so much better when she came in to it, he wanted that forever, and not strictly hood-related.
"Felicity, I need to tell you something. But please, don't say anything 'till I'm done, because I want to get it all out." She nodded compliantly and waited for what it was he wanted to say. "I know I haven't always made the most, wise decisions in the past. No, shhhht, let me finish. But I think I'm making the right decision now by telling you how I feel. I honestly don't know when it started. But I think it's been there for quite a while. I've just not wanted to admit it, because if it wasn't mutual, it would make things very awkward in the foundry. But with this happening," he gestured at her body, covered in tubes and hoses underneath the white sheets "I can't not say it. Because I at least want it to be known. I'm in love with you Felicity. You've captured my heart in a way that nobody else has. You challenged me to be a better person, a hero instead of just a vigilante. You make me smile, you make me angry, you drive me mad. But mostly you just make me love you, more with each word out of your mouth." Felicity stared at her boss for a moment. Did she hear him right? It can't be, she must be still in that coma, dreaming sweet dreams of Oliver proclaiming his love to her.
He's getting worried. She's been staring at him for about two minutes, wide-eyed and totally engrossed in her own thoughts, or so it seems. He's beginning to panic a little. She's probably trying to come up with a way to let him down easy. Oh man, this was a bad idea. He shouldn't have listened to Diggle. Damn.
Getting her head together, Felicity got the distinct impression her makebelieve Oliver wanted her to respond. "I know this is just a coma induced fantasy, but still, to finally hear those words out of your mouth, it's really amazing. Now I really don't want to wake up. This dream is amazing." "Felicity.." Again with her name, she really really liked the way he says her name. "You are not dreaming." She wasn't? She tried to move, but stopped when a searing pain went through her abdomen. Right, hospital, gunshot. But, aren't you suppose to not feel pain in a dream. She wasn't dreaming. She wasn't dreaming. And Oliver just said he loved her. And, she wasn't dreaming. Oh. My. God. She blinked and looked at her boss. "Are you okay? Do I need to call a doctor? Are you in pain?" "What? No, I'm fine. I just… I'm.. I don't…" "You don't feel the same. I get it. I.." Oliver started to say, but he was quickly interrupted. "No! That's not what I mean. I'm just trying to collect my thoughts, so just give me a second okay?!"
He closed his mouth quickly. "I've wanted to hear you say those words for so long. I've dreamt of the where, the how and the time. But I never imagined it would be with me in a hospital bed. But that's okay. Because you finally said them. Oliver, you've brought excitement to my otherwise very nerdy life. You light up my day when you walk in, with your cool confidence and your sarcastic snips. You make me laugh because sometimes you really are a little clueless. You always try to protect me. And it's taken to long for you to finally get with the program, but that doesn't matter." She stopped to take a breath just then. And he took advantage of the moment to plant a kiss on her lips. She was caught a little off guard, but returned the kiss. He settled himself on the bed next to her, tucking her head carefully under his chin. She sighed content. Oliver Queen loved her. And she loved him. Gunshot wounds are really not that bad. And as she drifted off to sleep, she murmured: "not that bad at all."
The end, for now. If y'all would like a sequel, just let me know in the comments. Hope you enjoyed it!