This is my first fanfic ever so please be nice! Please review and tell me what you think. Any advice form you seasoned writers out there would be greatly appreciated! Also, this isn't beta-ed so let me know if there are any mistakes. BTW- I don't own Arrow but I'm getting a bow for Christmas!

Tommy Merlyn was not happy. He paced Verdant's dirty floor. Oliver was supposed to meet him an hour ago. As owner of the night club, Oliver Queen had plenty of paperwork to fill out. And, as manager of said nightclub, it was Tommy's job to make sure all the seemingly useless forms were actually completed.

He gave out a huff. Ever since Oliver revealed his true identity, their friendship had slowly begun to crumble. Tommy still couldn't wrap his head around it. Oliver Queen, his friend since childhood, was the vigilante known as the Hood. The man who had put a stop to thugs like Adam Hunt and Frank Bertinelli. The man who saved his father's life. The man who killed….

That phrase echoed in Tommy's mind. Oliver was a killer. Over twenty corpses now resided at the local morgue because of Oliver. Tommy didn't understand. How could Ollie turn into this? What happened to his friend? What could have changed him so much to go from irresponsible but charming playboy into a ruthless killer? What exactly happened on that island? Oliver had claimed he was alone for five years, but Tommy knew that couldn't be true. Someone had to have trained him. Tommy had never seen him in action but he had seen the results of a fight with "the Hood". If there were no dead bodies, the closest hospital received several new patients.

How could Tommy accept this? When he had asked Ollie if he was ever going to share the secret, Oliver had said no. Did he not trust Tommy enough? Was that it? Did his ordeal on the island scrape away whatever sense of family and friends he had? Tommy shook his head. He was sick of using the island as an excuse. Oliver wasn't as broken as everyone thought. The island changed him, yes, but not the way you would expect. Oliver came back with a sense of responsibility, a duty that he never shared with his best friend. Although Tommy was hurt, he had to wonder sometimes. What was this mission? How important could it be if Oliver was willing to kill for it?

Tommy finally pulled himself from his heavy thoughts. He glanced at his watch. Oliver was now officially REALLY late. Tommy angrily shook his head. He has had enough. He stomped towards the door which led to Oliver's secret lair. He knew someone was down there. If Oliver wasn't at the club or at home, he was off doing some vigilante mission. Tommy secretly hoped Felicity was the one there. The IT tech girl was a lot less intimidating that Oliver's bodyguard-slash-driver. He punched in the key code to unlock the door. He made no attempt to quiet his angry stomps down the stairs.

"Okay, where is he?" He said to no one in particular. Right now anyone would do, whether it was Felicity or Diggle. When no one responded, he walked a little further in. Tommy hardly ever came down here. And never when Oliver was there. He hated feeling the tenseness that weighed on his shoulders when he saw the green hood.

"Hello?" Tommy said after a few more moments of silence. He noticed the computers were on and running some sort of search, so he surmised that the spunky IT girl was here. Suddenly, a blonde blur whipped past his field of vision.

"Oh, thank God you're here! I tried to reestablish the com but….." Her voice trailed off as she realized who she was talking to.

"Oh! Uh, hi Tommy." She paused. "What are you doing down here?"

Tommy gave Felicity an exasperated look. "Looking for Oliver. He was supposed to meet me to sign some documents, but clearly he has more important things to do. Again." He shook his head. "You'd think if Oliver actually wanted the nightclub, he's at least take somewhat of an interest in it."

Felicity gave Tommy a sympathetic nod. "I think the club was more of a front for his... activities."

Tommy nodded. "I get that, but if he doesn't do what it takes to keep the club afloat, he won't have a front to cover his night time excursions."

Felicity, knowing that this argument should be between Oliver and Tommy , nodded quickly and tried to change the subject. "Well, Oliver isn't here so….."

Tommy interrupted her. "Who did you think I was?"

"Huh?" Felicity pretended confusion.

Unfortunately, Tommy saw through it. "What's going on?"

She sighed. "I lost contact with Oliver."

Tommy began to feel a bit of unease. He knew that Felicity stayed in contact with Oliver via earpieces.

"I thought you only kept in contact on really important missions?" Tommy remarked.

"Exactly." She replied as she made her way to her computers. She sat down in her chair and took a deep breath. "Oliver was going after some… potentially dangerous smugglers."

"Doesn't Mr. Diggle go with him on…" Tommy raised an eyebrow. "Potentially dangerous missions?"

Felicity nodded. "Normally yes, but Dig came down with the flu last week. Ollie sent him home. I did call Dig once I lost contact with Oliver. He should be here any minute."

As if on cue, the big man came plodding down the stairs.

"You look better." Felicity remarked as Dig entered.

"I feel better too. What have we got." He said, giving Tommy an odd look. The Merlyn kid didn't come down here often.

Felicity went into full "tech mode". "Oliver made it in, but I lost contact with him a little over…" She checked her watch. "Ten minutes ago."

Dig was even more worried now. "That's not good."

"Why?" Tommy asked. "Surely he can take care of himself?" He scoffed.

Dig felt the heat of anger and protectiveness rising in his chest. "Oliver isn't bulletproof, Merlyn." He gruffly said. That seemed to hit a chord with the young man.

Tommy subconsciously gulped. He never thought that Oliver could get himself into a situation that could cost him his life. Oliver always came out on top. That got him to thinking. How many times has Oliver almost died? Tommy shook himself out of those thoughts. There was time to think on that later. Right now, all that mattered was getting Oliver back on the line. Then he would chew out his friend on being a jerk. Tommy watched as Felicity and Dig tried to raise Oliver in the com. He would never understand all the computer "stuff" Felicity could do, so he just watched and waited. He could feel the other's anxiety. They were worried. Which is what worried Tommy. These two knew what Oliver was capable of. They knew he was a proficient fighter. If they thought he was in trouble, then more than likely, Oliver was in trouble.

More minutes passed. Felicity was able to get some static on Oliver's com but he never responded.

"Okay," She began. "I'm officially worried." She turned to Dig.

A fresh sheen of sweat covered his brow but it wasn't from recovering from the flu. He feared his nightmare was coming true. That Oliver was killed out there and he was the only one that could explain his death to the Queen family. How would he do that? Would he reveal Oliver's secret? Could he?

Dig took a deep breath. Calm down, Diggle. He told himself. Take a step back and assess the situation. His Army training, permanently drilled into his head, was the only thing keeping him from foolishly grabbing his car keys and driving straight to Oliver. If the kid was still alive and kicking, he would need every advantage he could get. And Dig barging into whatever Oliver had gotten himself into was definitely not an advantage.

Felicity was barely holding it in. What if this was it? She had known from the beginning that Oliver was constantly in dangerous situations. She knew that he could come back hurt or worse. She just never thought that "worse" might actually come true. She took a deep breath. She would hope as long as she could.

"Oliver?" She tried to reach him one more time.

Suddenly, a loud clang sounded out behind them. All three jumped. Dig was the first to respond. He instinctively placed a hand on his pistol located at his back. He cautiously edged forward to see who was making their way down the stairs. He felt a presence behind him. He glanced over his shoulder and was surprised to see Tommy right behind him. The kid had a determined look on his face. In that moment, Dig knew why Oliver had told Tommy. Tommy Merlyn was many things, but loyal friend had to be on top of the list.

More bangs resounded up above. "Oliver? That you?" Dig called out.

Something resembling a groan was the response. Tommy, seeming to find the sound familiar, pushed him way around Dig. A glimpse of green confirmed the identity of the visitor. Dig shuffled forward to catch up with Tommy and immediately was on the alert.

Oliver's hood was down. He was slumped on the wall by the stairs as if he didn't quite have enough energy to make it down the short flight of steps.

Tommy, who was closer, realized what happened.

"Oh my god…" He put a hand to his mouth, hoping that maybe it would help keep the bile rising in his throat stay in his throat.

Dig came up behind Tommy. He sucked in a sharp breath at what he saw. Blood covered Oliver's entire left side. Semi-dried blood caked his left temple and the red liquid oozed out of his nose.

Felicity, realizing that the intruder wasn't really an intruder got up from her chair and attempted to peer over the two men's shoulders.

"What's going on? It is Oliver?" A coppery smell filled her nostrils. She hadn't sniffed that particular scent since Oliver showed up in her car with a bullet hole in him.

"Oh, no." A giant ball of dread filled her.

Everything happened in a blur, Dig pulled Oliver's limp body from the floor and placed him on a table. Felicity, seeing massive amounts of blood, immediately grabbed some of Oliver's stored blood.

Tommy couldn't believe his eyes. Oliver was bleeding out right in front of him. Dig caught his wide eyes and knew Tommy was in shock.

"Hey, Tommy!" He yelled to get the kid's attention. "I'm gonna need some help."

If the kid was repulsed by the sight of blood and gore, he sure didn't show it.

Tommy took a breath to steel himself. "Uh, yeah… what do I need to do?"

"We need to get his shirt off."

Tommy and Dig peeled of Oliver's green jacket. He groaned and suddenly jerked. Felicity, trying to get an IV line into him, yelled.

"Whoa, Oliver! It's okay!"

Oliver struggled against the two guys still. Dig pushed against Oliver with both his arms, trying to keep him from thrashing around.

"Oliver!" Tommy yelled at his friend. Oliver, recognizing the voice started to calm down.

"Keep talking to him…" Dig murmured to Tommy. He nodded.

"Hey, Oliver. Stop struggling. Dig is just trying to make sure you're okay." Of course, anyone could see that Oliver was not okay, but Tommy's gentle reassurances began to calm Oliver down. He and Dig relaxed their grip holding Oliver down.

The young vigilante relaxed against the table. Tommy began to pull away but Oliver grabbed his arm and stared pointedly at his friend. He groaned and tried to talk. All that came out was a mangled squawk. He cleared his throat and tried again.

"Sorry."

Then, he passed out.

Tommy wasn't sure what the "sorry" was for. Was it for missing their meeting? Ruining Tommy's night? Or was it for lying to his best friend? His answer would have to wait. Tommy had no idea what to do as Felicity finished inserting the IV in Oliver's arm and Diggle hooked up a heart monitor to his chest. Tommy winced as his friend struggled to draw breath. Time seemed to slow as Tommy watched Oliver's chest rise ever so slowly then fall flat. A loud grating alarm pierced his eardrums.

Oliver's heart had stopped.