Soo- Hi! :)

This idea was stuck in my head since the season finale, so I finally decided to write it down.

The story is complete, so I'll update it as soon as I have time.

As always, I apologize for any errors you might find, English is not my first language.

Happy reading!


They were walking too slowly.

John had twisted his ankle and now he was leaning on her, limping by her side. She had convinced the others to go faster, promising them that they were right behind.

Slade had looked at her from behind his mask for a long moment before turning on his heels. No matter how much time had passed—he still gave her the creeps.

Samanta just nodded and the others mouthed a "hurry up" before making their way through the forest.

"You should have gone with them, Felicity." John's voice was strong but inclined with pain, and she gripped his hand on her shoulder tighter.

"I'm not leaving you behind in this hellish island- not a chance."

He shook his head. "But-"

She stopped, turning to him a little. "We stick together, we'll catch up in no time-"

He stared at her for a long moment before smiling softly, kissing her head. "We stick together- always."

They started walking again and her mind drifted to Oliver.

"My entire being is telling me to go back and help him- find William and stop Chase."

John nodded beside her. "I know-"

"But we're going on the opposite side of the island- we're running away. We're leaving him behind-"

"He can take care of himself and William, Felicity. You know that-"

She was staring at the ground in front of her. "Yes, he can take care of himself and William. But- what about Chase?"

The moment his name left her mouth- the entire island shook.

They froze in place as the ground under their feet cracked- and their eyes met.

The bombs.

John's hand tighten on her as they turned to look behind them. Explosions were coming off from the other side of the island, trees were coming down and they could see fire and smoke- heading right toward them.

"Shit—" John gripped her waist, digging his fingers in her skin- and they ran.

Despite his ankle, he almost lifted her off the ground as they were running through the forest. And then an explosion went off beside them- rocking the ground and making them stumble on their feet.

They never stopped. They just kept running- until all she could feel was heat.

A blinding heat that made her skin inflame behind her and the air was sucked from her lungs- the next second they were flying in the air, launched forward. She was slammed against a tree and John landed heavily on the ground a few feet beside her.

She groaned in pain- yeah, she had something broke for sure. She turned on her side coughing, the ground under her skin was hot and shaking.

"John-" Every breath was like a stab in her chest. She shifted again, another groan of pain leaving her lips.

He moved, a hiss coming from his mouth as well. At least he was alive.

And then another explosion went off just in front of them, splitting the ground in two- and all slowed down.

She knew it before she actually saw it.

A tree trembled as the explosion rocked its foundations- and all started crumbling down right over where John was slumped on the ground.

And before her brain could catch up with her feet, she was up and running toward him.

"Watch out!" She launched herself on John, pushing him out of the way as what remained of the tree collapsed on her.


She came conscious screaming in pain.

She couldn't open her eyes and she couldn't move. There was something crushing her lower body to the ground, keeping her absolutely still. She tried to open her eyes, but she felt wetness and debris all around her, sticking to her skin.

"Felicity! Please- wake up."

In the midst of the agony coming from all along her body, she felt a hand squeezing hers.

"John-"

"Oh God Felicity- open your eyes, please-"

Tears ran down her cheeks. "I-I can't-"

She felt him move behind her, shifting on the ground. "Hang on-"

And then his giant hand cupped her face, brushing his fingers on her skin, taking away ash, blood, tears, debris. "Open your eyes Felicity, come on- look at me."

She squinted her eyes open- gasping as a wave of pain washed over her. When she managed to take a breath, she opened her eyes completely.

The island was burned to the ground- there was smoke everywhere, the ground was fractured and every now and then there were flames coming up from burning trees all around them.

And then her eyes landed on her body- she was covered in ash and debris- and a part of the tree was crushing down on her lower body, pinning her to the ground.

And the pain- wow, the pain was something she couldn't even understand.

"Felicity- look at me." Her watery eyes shifted to John who was slumped on the ground beside her, covered in debris and blood as well.

"John—the explosions-" The air left her lungs again, and she felt a pressure on her lungs, keeping her from breathing. John cupped her cheeks again, forcing her to look at him in the eyes.

"Felicity, breathe. You have to relax your body as much as you can and breathe, come on."

She did. She allowed every muscle in her body to relax on the ground- and the pressure lifted a little.

"Good—no, don't try to speak. Just breathe."

After a few long minute, she could take a breath normally. "John-" She didn't really know what she wanted to tell- what she wanted to ask. He simply caressed the skin under her eyes, wiping away her tears.

"It's okay—you have to focus for me. I know it hurts, but you have to tell me what you feel- Do you feel your legs?"

More tears ran down her cheeks at the thought that she might have damaged the biostimulant again- maybe forever.

She forced these thoughts aside and she started a mental check of her body- from her head and down- shoulders, probably one or two ribs inclined or broken and then- she could feel her hips- and she could feel both of her legs and the pain radiating from the right one.

"I think I can feel both of my legs- " John released a breath. "Good- so the biostimulant still works, that's good. Can you move them? Even a little?"

She tried.

Her left leg moved an inch under the tree- the right was pinned and the pain coming from it was killing her.

"I can move the left one a little- the right one, I think it's broken John- it hurts."

"Okay-"

She blinked her eyes. "I feel sleepy-"

He cupped her face. "No Felicity, you have to stay awake- focus, can you feel where it's broken? Above or below the knee? Do you feel like you're bleeding?"

She closed her eyes for a moment. "I-I think above the knee- I don't know if it bleeds. It's getting dumb-"

"Felicity- stay awake! You have to-"

John's voice became distant as she drifted more and more into the darkness.


She came to her senses again slowly, like her mind was refusing to wake up altogether. When she finally managed to open her eyes again, John was slumped on her right side checking her leg.

"John-" He turned immediately to her, brushing a hand through her hair. "Oh thank God- you scared me."

"I don't feel pain anymore-"

He just nodded, his brows furrowing. "Your legs are getting numb- you're losing blood but the piece of tree is pushing on the wound- actually preventing you from bleeding out-"

She snorted. "That's- great."

"I tried to lift it off of you- but my foot and ankle are useless and I can't make enough leverage-"

She just nodded. "What are we going to do?"

"I'll go find help-"

She turned her face to him. "How? You're hurt, John. You can't even stand-"

"I'll crawl- I can't just do nothing—you're losing too much blood, you could go into shock and I can't-"

She gripped his fingers. "The others will find us- they must have been arrived at the boat in time, right?"

John lied down beside her, taking her hand in his. "I sure hope so."

"They made it, I know it. Thea and Curtis will keep everyone safe— and Oliver will find us."

They stayed silent for a few minutes, the sky was slowly turning dark- the sun disappearing under the remaining trees.

"What you did- you shouldn't have Felicity-"

She turned her face to look at him. "Why? Why it is okay for you two boys to put yourself in danger to save me all the time, but I can't do the same for you? I'm not going to apologize for trying to save you."

"You could have-" His eyes closed for a moment. "You could have died, Felicity."

"Yes. But we're both alive- that's enough for me."

John shook his head, squeezing her hand. "You're better than me and Oliver- that's why."

The words stung and Felicity flinched, her body suddenly rigid. She stared at the sky, mostly dark. A few stars were coming out to light up the night.

"I'm not-" Her voice came out in a whisper before she could stop it.

"What?" John turned to look at her, but hers remained glued to the stars.

"Better than you- I'm not."

"Felicity-"

"Do you ever think that maybe- maybe there's a reason why these things keep happening to us? And I'm not talking about Oliver being the Arrow, just- maybe we hurt too many people- gambled with so many lives. Maybe we deserve all of this- maybe we deserve to suffer."

He sighted. "Felicity- I know it's been a tough year, hell- five years, and that you and Oliver weren't on the same page recently- but it's going to be okay. We're going to be okay-"

She kept staring at the sky, a fear tears running down her cheeks. John squeezed her hand again.

"Oliver loves you- he never stopped. He made mistakes-"

"We both did." A few more tears ran down her cheeks. "I walked, John. I just walked- and that was wrong. I literally gained the ability to stand again just to walk out of his life. I should have stayed, I should have talked to him- I should have told the truth when I had the chance. But I was so scared- and so hurt." She was crying, her ragged breaths coming in sharp quick exhale.

John turned more fully to her, a worried look on his face. "The truth about what? What are you talking about?"

She shook her head, the tears carving a path down her cheeks. "I-I- There's so much you don't know- and it's all my fault. I should have told the truth when I had the chance-"

John cupped her cheek, forcing her to tilt her head to look at him.

"Whatever it is- you can tell me, Felicity. You know that."

She stared at her best friend in the eyes- and she knew it was time. It was time to open the door she had locked more than a year ago—it was time to let the river flow.

He wiped away her tears, and she focused on calming her racing heart. When her eyes returned to John, he was smiling softly at her.

She squeezed his hand.

"T-The night Oliver proposed- and Darkh shot me. Something else happened that night- something that changed everything."

John's brows furrowed, his stance became rigid.

"What happened?"