An Almost Moment- Oliver's Point of View (see Ch. 2 to read this from Felicity's point of view)

Her eyes were wet with unshed tears, and her fingers quaked under his. As Oliver crouched beside her on the office floor, latched onto her hand, he watched as Felicity struggled to pull herself together. The danger was gone, but the moment wasn't over. Adrenaline raced through him as the "what ifs" started to run through his head. What if he hadn't made it in time? What if he lost her? It wasn't the first time he'd managed to come through for Felicity with a last moment save, and he was sure it would happen again, but it was the thing he hated more than anything. She didn't deserve a life like this, and events like the one that just passed were occurring more and more often. A man came looking for the Arrow and found Felicity instead. Again.

The moonlight streamed in through the window, and Oliver tried to look away from her as she took a deep breath. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't take his eyes off of her. It was as though if he looked away, she might not be there when he looked back.

"It's okay. You're okay, and it's over." Oliver heard himself reassure her, but he knew it wasn't true. As long as she was around him, it wasn't ever going to be over. But what was he supposed to do, make her leave? At any other time, the thought of telling her she had to leave would have made him smile. One thing he knew was that no one made Felicity Smoak do something she didn't want to do. He also wasn't sure how he would keep going without her, but that was a thought he wasn't willing to finish.

She began to calm down, and as the panic left her eyes, the first thing they did was sweep over him to make sure that he was okay. She always did that, and it left him weaker than any injury could have. People didn't worry about him. No one was supposed to be worried about him. He was supposed to be the strong one, why didn't she get that? Other people just trusted that the Arrow was strong enough to take care of himself, so why did she always have to… care? It'd be so much easier to keep himself separate from her if she would just care a little less.

His hand seemed to move of its own accord up to touch her cheek, and her eyes darted back up to his and locked on. The tension in the room shifted as the mood turned from fear to… something else. Oliver felt the pull towards her like a magnet, stronger and more tempting than anything he'd felt before. The urge to pull her whole body into his and curve around her was almost more than he could stand. He leaned in closer, close enough to feel her breath against his skin.

He jerked his hand back from her face, and he couldn't seem to stand up fast enough. Distance suddenly became imperative.

"Felicity, are you all right?" Good, his tone was perfect. Concerned, but not panicking. He wasn't sure what he was more afraid of at this moment: the fact that he nearly lost her or the fact that he nearly let himself have her. He didn't know which would be worse.

"I'm fine," she answered. "I totally had that under control, you know." He couldn't bring himself to respond to her joke, and he reached down to pull her off the ground. Felicity reached up and took his outstretched hand. As she vaulted up towards him, it wouldn't take anything to bring her the rest of the way into his arms. Oliver tried to shake of the urge and became determined to keep moving. To create some space. Some distance. Slowing down, stopping, was out of the question. There had to be a good reason to leave, to run out of here.

"I didn't get him, Felicity. I have to go after him." He stooped down to pick up his bow. "Call Digg, and tell him to come take you home."

"Fine, I'll call him." When he glanced back at her, the look she gave him was resigned. What was she thinking?

"Felicity—"

"I'm fine, Oliver. Go." He gave her one last look, trying to reassure both of them that everything was fine, and then he took off. As he ran up the stairs to the roof exit, he was ignoring every instinct in his body to stay with her. As far as he was concerned, that meant that he was doing the right thing. People he loved didn't last long, and she was not going to become one of them.

Continue to Ch. 2 to reread this moment through Felicity's eyes.