We Could Be Heroes
The call stays with her long after she gets home, and spending the next hour soaking in the bath drinking half a bottle of wine doesn't help.
There's still tension in her back that appeared as soon as she recognised the voice on the line as that of a young girl's, and it hasn't let down since - no matter how many times she tells herself that it's okay, that they saved her, that no one got hurt.
She replays the hour in her head, from the moment she picked up the call; to when she got in touch with Officer Michaels who struggled to cover the area search herself in the sea of similar-looking houses; to when they needed a fire engine and Lieutenant Diggle said one of his men finished the shift early but might still be at the firehouse; to when he was there and relief flooded her because they might actually have a chance; to when he finally said he had the little girl in his arms.
The tension only eases for the briefest of moments when she remembers his voice; firm and sure.
"You're the real hero."
Felicity plays the words in her head on a loop until she manages to fall asleep.
She knows him only as a voice on the phone.
It's probably best it stays that way.
Felicity doesn't expect to see him on the morning news she watches before she's due to start her shift a month later, but she doesn't hesitate to turn up he volume when she does.
He looks handsome as hell and the screen says his name is Oliver Queen. His answers are professional and short, but there's something about the look in his eyes that makes Felicity's stomach drop and she soon finds out why: he lost someone, a man who fell off the rollercoaster.
Somewhere in the back of her head, she remembers she still has his number on her phone from the call they did together, and after some consideration she decides to call.
She lightly jumps in surprise when he actually answers.
"Hello?"
Felicity clears her throat. "Hey, hi- My name's Felicity Smoak. I don't know if you remember me, but I was the dispatch on the-"
"-the little girl case." he cuts her off and she thinks she can hear a smile in his voice. Felicity shakes her head, removing those thoughts. She is not getting her hopes up. "Can I help you with anything?" he asks, and she suddenly remembers they're actually talking.
"No, no- it's not that." she quickly corrects. "I, um, I saw you on the news this morning. Just wanted to know if you were okay. I know it can be hard, to lose someone."
There's a pause and she can hear him sigh. "Yeah, it is." he answers. "I'm still processing it."
They stay in silence for a bit, but it's not uncomfortable. Felicity only breaks it because she sees that, if she doesn't leave soon, she'll be late for work. "My shift is starting, but if you need to call, you have my number. Or dial 9-1-1." he makes a face at the dumb line, but he laughs.
"You know, I might just take you up on that." he replies. "Thanks for calling."
Felicity smiles. She likes to think Oliver is smiling, too. "No problem."
She hangs up.
Felicity doesn't actually expect him to call back, so when he does she's pleasently surprised.
But then he calls again. And again. And it suddenly becomes a routine of calls and texts that don't really surprise her, not anymore, but still make her feel something like butterflies in her stomach.
Neither of them mentions going any further to actually meeting, though, but Felicity doesn't let that break her heart. After her last few failed relationships - no matter the good terms they've ended on - she's decided to take this as it is and see how it progresses naturally. If anything, Felicity is a patient person - it's a must in her line of work - and she is having fun. And feeling good. Happy, even.
She won't risk that. Not yet at least.
"You picked up." she sighs into her phone. "You always pick up."
"Is everything okay?" he sounds worried. "I'm on shift so I can't talk for long. Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, don't worry." she says. "Are you at the crash site?"
"Yeah, why? Did you have any family here?"
"No, thank God." she says. "But a man called 9-1-1 from the plane. Left a message for his wife."
She can hear him moving. "I've got the manifest, what's his name?"
She answers and holds her breath until he checks.
"Felicity, I'm so sorry-"
She doesn't hear him anymore. Putting the phone down, she composes herself, a tear going down her cheek. Felicity takes a deep breath and puts the phone back to her ear.
"-ou okay?" she catches the end of his question and nods, knowing he can't see her.
"I have to be." she answers.
Oliver's voice is soothing. "I'll call you when my shift ends. Hang in there."
She can't sleep, her thoughts haunted by the memories of the pregnant wife asking Felicity to play the message over and over again, sobbing throughout.
Felicity held her, keeping herself together as long as she could, before crying in the bathroom stall as soon as her shift ended.
When her phone rings, she answers but barely says anything. Instead, she listens to Oliver speak about everything and anything, letting his voice calm her enough until she feels sleep overcome her.
Weeks later, she's on her way to her apartment when the elevator suddenly stops.
She furrows her eyebrows in confusion before going to push the emergency button, but nothing happens.
Felicity sits down, and waits for about fifteen minutes. When nothing happens, she grabs her phone and is relieved to see she has service.
"I can't believe I'm actually doing this.."
"9-1-1, what's your emergency?"
"Hey, Curtis? It's Felicity."
A pause. "You okay?"
"Oh yeah, I'm great. Totally fine. Just stuck in an elevator, no big deal. Send over some firemen when you get a chance."
A laugh. "You in your apartment building?"
"Yup."
"I'm on it." he says. "I'll make sure they're hot."
"This is why you're my favorite dispatcher, Curtis."
The call ends and Felicity ties her hair, searches around her bag for today's crossword, and finds a red ballpoint pen.
She's all set for the next ten minutes.
She's stuck between the floors, and knows the opening would be enough for them to just push open the doors and she'll be able to push through, so Felicity doesn't flinch when she hears the firemen call out to her and the noise of the doors being opened. Instead, she just continues solving the puzzle, the pen between her teeth as she's thinking through the answes.
Quickly, the doors open and a fireman makes his way in. When he turns around to help her up, she recognises him.
"Oliver?"
He pauses and looks her over again. She tries not to blush. "Felicity?"
"Of course this is how we'd actually meet."
Oliver laughs, and it sounds so much better in person.
He offers to buy her a coffee as soon as she's out.
She recommends they just go up to her apartment instead.
The innuendo makes her babble - something she often ends up doing when nervous, even when they talk on the phone - and Oliver smiles, looking down at her. Suddenly, their lips are touching.
She feels it all the way to her toes.