Separation

An: I do not own Arrow.

Summary: Follow up to Jinxed. Oliver and Felicity have declared their relationship to Management and things don't go how Felicity hoped.

Felicity Smoak had been very wrong. The minute her relationship with Oliver had been declared to Management she had been transferred back to the Think Tank in headquarters and Curtis Holt replaced her on the team. Oliver's response was to pack up her apartment and move her into his place. He reasoned if they were going to be separated at work, they were not going to be separated at home.

It had taken her a while to adjust to being back in the Tank. She used to love it there but now that she had a taste of the field, it was very, very, very boring. She longed to go back out but she had promised Oliver that if she wasn't on his team, she wouldn't be on any other team. The Think Tank consisted of Dr. Harrison Wells, Professor Martin Stein and his daughter, Lilly, Dr. Caitlyn Snow, Dr. Tina McGee, Noah Kuttler, who was Felicity's father and the reason she was asked to join the organisation, and Ronnie Raymond (who was seeing Caitlyn but they were allowed to remain in the Think Tank together because they weren't in the field). The Think Tank did analysis work for all of the teams and developed the missions that were assigned. The Tank also created the training scenarios for the new set of recruits that they were developing as agents so they could expand all the teams. Evil just seemed to be multiplying in the world and they needed more teams to deal with it.

Curtis wasn't a very good fit for her old team. He called her every time there was a communication breakdown in the team which was basically every time they were out in the field. They could never understand what it was Curtis was trying to tell them. Six months in and her old team still hadn't adjusted to him. Their mission failure rate sky rocketed and injuries were starting to plague the team. Their last mission was a great example of that. Mari was in the ICU and John was home injured. Headquarters downgraded Team Arrow's capability levels and sent them on a simple recon mission that even the new recruits could have done in their sleep. That left Felicity to check in on Mari and John every day.

Felicity was given the day off because Management had asked the Tank to analyse the Team Arrow problem. Dr. Wells insisted that Felicity could not participate in the analysis. She argued that she knew the team better than anyone else but he countered that she was biased and they couldn't afford for that to leak into their objective review of the team's performance to date. It was a battle she lost because Management sided with Dr. Wells.

She did not know what to do with her day off other than visit Mari and John. Usually she would spend the day with Oliver but he wasn't there. It only served to remind her how much she missed him every day. She did not know how all the other couples coped with the separation. At first Felicity thought the hardest part was the lonely nights. She slept in his grey T-shirt to fool herself into thinking he was there with her but she soon learnt it was really the small thoughtful things he did when they were together that she missed the most.

She missed his touches; to her shoulder, the small of her back or holding her hand. There was also the way he would stop and stare at her to make sure she was ok. She missed his morning wake up kisses which was always followed by a round of sex on the bed or in the shower. She missed his voice teasing her or challenging her, hell she even missed the damn wet towels on the bed because that meant he was home.

She missed working with him in the kitchen. If Oliver was home, he would insist on cooking her a meal. Takeout was not allowed once he was there. Felicity would clean up after him and then they would settle on the couch with a glass of wine which always led to sex. In his absence, sex was replaced with Netflix which no matter how much she enjoyed her shows could not even compare to sex with Oliver.

Her problem dealing with the separation wasn't because Oliver was her first boyfriend. She had dated others before. In MIT there had been a classmate, Cooper Seldon. That had been fun and the perfect relationship for college but it had crashed and burned as soon as they entered the real world. She followed up Cooper by dating tech guru Ray Palmer. They had met a local Tech Village and bonded over a processor. She had been happy for a while with him but there was something missing that she couldn't quite put a finger on. Eventually, another woman came into the picture and he left her. After Palmer, had been a police detective, Billy Malone. She had been half in love with Oliver at the time and she realised now why it was she had dated Billy. The detective was her attempt at having an Oliver. Sure he paled in comparison to the real thing but at the time she thought she couldn't have the real thing. Their relationship had been good right up until the day that Billy dropped by unannounced and caught Oliver dropping her home one night after a mission. The two men only said two words to each other before the conversation descended into caveman grunts. It was a language Felicity didn't understand and had no interest in learning. Humans evolved from cavemen for a reason and she was not going backwards. Billy had issues with Oliver always being around and Felicity told him Oliver wasn't going to disappear from her life just because he wanted him too. Hence, Billy decided to disappear from her life. That was her last relationship before Oliver.

She knew couples weren't supposed to spend 100% of their time together and that was not what she wanted. Even when they were on the same team they didn't spend all their time together. They had a healthy amount of time apart pre-separation. It was the perfect amount, which was why these long periods bothered her so much. Felicity just needed to see him every day. She never thought she would have been one of those girls. She had always been keen on her independence but she did not feel any less independent when she was with him. He respected her more than any of her previous boyfriends. Oliver practically worshipped the ground she walked on.

It had been six months and they were still going strong. They were not going to let this forced separation break their relationship.

The next day she received a message that cheered her up. Teams Harbinger and Black Canary were back. She could totally do lunch with the girls. She sent them a message and they all agreed to meet at the Panini place that was two blocks away from work. Felicity arrived first which was really no surprise. She requested a table for five on the outdoor patio. The next to arrive was Lyla and she took the seat next to her.

"How are things with Digg?" Felicity asked. With Lyla home, she wouldn't have to check up on him as much.

"He's how he usually is when he's on sick leave, cranky. I left him with lunch," Lyla stated picking up the menu to review the contents. She was really hungry.

"I didn't mean to take you away from him," Felicity said feeling slightly guilty.

"It's not a problem. My relationship with Johnny isn't like the one you have with Oliver. How are you coping?" Lyla asked. She knew both of them were having a hard time.

"Ok I guess, I'm still having trouble adjusting to Oliver not always being there," Felicity admitted. "I honestly don't know how you all do it."

"That's because the nature of our relationships are different. You and Oliver are partners in everything. You have that rare ability to work well together in whatever you do," Lyla explained.

Nyssa appeared at the table then taking the seat on the other side of Felicity. She was always the quiet one and would only comment when she thought it was truly necessary.

"You and Johnny used to be on the same team too," Felicity pointed out.

"Long ago but we have different methods to accomplishing things so we butt heads a lot. How well do you think Tommy would take orders from Laurel?" Lyla pointed out.

Felicity snorted as the scene played out in her mind, "That won't go well at all."

"Tommy would probably end up dead," Nyssa contemplated, "The Laurel that I know doesn't take shit from anyone."

A waitress came to take their drink order and Thea and Laurel arrived at the same time. From the excitement on Thea's face she was just bursting to tell them something. She hoped it wasn't Roy related though. She couldn't quite stomach hearing about the boy in a romantic context.

"There's a major reshuffling of the teams coming," Thea said in a conspiratorial whisper as soon as the waitress moved away.

"I haven't heard anything," Felicity frowned. She was in the Think Tank. She was supposed to know things like that first.

"What triggered this reshuffle?" Laurel asked. They knew not to doubt Thea's gossip. She was always accurate.

"What I overheard my mom saying was something about Team Arrow's poor performance of late and a reassignment of Harbinger," Thea said before turning to look at Lyla, "What gives Lyla?"

Lyla sighed, "I was waiting for all of you to arrive before I said anything."

"Oh no please tell me you didn't resign!" Felicity pleaded.

"I didn't resign," Lyla replied.

"Are you ok? You're not sick are you?" Felicity asked worriedly.

Lyla gave her a serious look that asked her to quit with the questions so that she could speak. Felicity understood the look and made a hand movement of zipping her lips shut.

"I'm better than ok. I'm pregnant. I'm being reassigned to the Think Tank as a tactician," she explained to them.

Felicity's draw dropped open, "Wow Lyla congratulations. John must be thrilled."

"He is. He's asking for six months' vacation to start two weeks before I'm due," Lyla revealed.

"That's the best news I've heard all year!" Laurel said reaching over to hug the older woman.

Felicity's phone beeped with a message and she pulled it out quickly to check it. Oliver's team was still in the field, it could be Curtis trying to get in contact with her.

"What's wrong? Is it Oliver?" Laurel asked when she saw her friend frowning at the phone.

"No it's not about Oliver," Felicity said her eyes still glued to the message on her phone. "Management has requested a meeting with me today in half an hour. Did you hear anything about that Thea?" Felicity asked.

"Nope, didn't hear a word about that," Thea answered with a shrug.

"Maybe it has to do with the reshuffle. Maybe you're being put on another team?" Nyssa suggested.

Thea snorted, "I highly doubt that. Ollie would kick up a big stink. Originally they were going to move her to Team Flash but he practically threatened to quit and cut our parents out of his life to get you back into the Think Tank."

"Really, he didn't tell me that," Felicity said astonished by what Thea was telling her.

"I only found out recently from Raisa," Thea admitted.

"You mean Thea Queen actually missed a juicy bit of gossip!" Lyla retorted in jest.

Thea crossed her hands in front of her chest and pouted, "I'm not perfect."

"Tell that to Roy," Felicity mumbled.

The waitress arrived with their drinks and Felicity decided to skip lunch since she had an urgent meeting to attend.

Felicity nervously walked into the room for her meeting with Management. All of the members were already there: Robert and Moira Queen, Malcolm Merlyn, Quentin and Dinah Lance, Joe West, Rip Hunter, Henry Allen, and Dr. Carla Tannhauser. They were all former field operatives. All of their children had been raised in the Organisation and served on teams. Between all of them there was over 200 years' worth of experience in stopping bad guys.

"Ms. Smoak," Mrs. Queen greeted. "Please have a seat. We wish to discuss a matter with you."

The room that Management held meetings in was exactly like a courtroom except with nine judges. Management sat up on the high area where the judge sat and you were put on a simple wooden stool in front of them. It was very unnerving and Felicity often felt naked when she sat in front of them.

"Ms. Smoak, you are aware that the Think Tank conducted a complete review of Team Arrow's performance," Dr. Tannhauser stated in that cold tone she was famous for.

"Yes," Felicity answered. Oliver had always told her to keep her answers simple and not give them any information that they could wield against you. His mother was particularly good at that.

"Dr. Wells submitted the official report and we find the results most curious," Malcolm Merlyn said. "According to him, besides the drop in Team Arrow's success rate, your own productivity has dropped significantly as well, almost by the same amount as Team Arrow."

Felicity's eyes widened. She hadn't realised that she was doing worse of a job. She knew she had hit some problems that probably took her a bit longer to solve but that was because she didn't have Oliver to soothe her frustrations when she hit a brick wall. He would either rub her neck gently, bring her ice cream or make her take a break with him. He knew how to help her mind work out a problem.

"Ms. Smoak, I'm sure after your lunch with Ms. Michaels you are also aware that she is pregnant?" Mrs Queen asked.

"Yes," Felicity replied. She wasn't going to ask how they knew about the lunch. It was Management and they were really good at keep track of their operatives.

Mrs. Queen continued, "As a direct result of this report and her pregnancy we are going to reorganise all the teams. Sara Lance and Mari McCabe will captain their own teams. Ms. McCabe will take over Lyla's team once she has recovered and fairly experienced operatives will be shifted to form Ms. Lance's team. Nate Heywood for example will be moved to Team White Canary. The new recruits will fill in the spaces left."

"Ok," Felicity said wondering why they called her into a meeting to explain that to her. The usual memo that went out to all the divisions would have sufficed.

"Rene Ramirez, Rory Reagan and Iris West will be added to Team Arrow," Dinah Lance added.

"Iris? Isn't Iris on Barry's team?" Felicity asked confused.

"She was until an investigation into Team Flash's drop in success rate revealed that she and Mr. Allen have been breaking Rule 11," Dr. Tannhauser stated while she side eyed Joe West and Henry Allen.

"Oh," Felicity reacted. She was still very sore about Rule 11. She had complained to Oliver numerous times that she didn't understand why Rule 11 didn't apply to Management. There were two married couples in Management.

"Curtis Holt will return to the Think Tank," Rip Hunter stated.

"But who will run comms for Oliver?" she blurted out. When they all frowned at her, she corrected herself, "I meant who would run comms for Team Arrow?"

Robert Queen sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ms. Smoak, you're a scientist, you're aware that there are exceptions to rules."

Felicity nodded hesitantly not sure where Mr. Queen was going with his point.

Moira Queen cleared her throat and took over for her husband, "What Mr. Queen is trying to say is that the Think Tank has reviewed the performance of Team Arrow in great detail since the team was started. There are three clear levels of performance, the lowest being with Oliver Queen without you or Mr. Diggle. There is a clear jump in performance when one of you is added to the mix. There is also another clear jump in performance when the three of you are on the team. It was easy for the Tank to conclude that separating you from the team has been an absolute disaster. There's something about the way you, your Captain and Mr. Diggle work that's exponentially stronger together than the sum of your individual strengths. The point of calling you here today, is to personally inform you that we are willing to reassign you to the team on a trial basis."

"Really," Felicity said letting the excitement sink into her tone. She had argued with them six months ago that they were making a mistake by separating her from the team. They were acknowledging that mistake and she would have gloated but she didn't want them to withdraw their decision. You don't bite the hand that feeds you.

"We will be watching you closely," Quentin Lance said.

"Yes sir we won't disappoint you," Felicity said confidently.

Oliver was exhausted. The mission, though easy, had been long and without John there he was even more moody than usual. His teammates won't even look at him at the moment because he had been a real jackass during the mission. He just wanted to put the mission behind him and see Felicity. He was very pleased to find her waiting in the underground parking garage for him as always. He knew she kept a close tab on their estimated arrival times. She was practically bouncing on her feet. Something had her very excited. He had barely made it out of the SUV before she had thrown herself at him.

"Someone's very happy to see me," he said. The scent of her citrus shampoo relaxing him immediately.

"I'mbackontheteam," she rushed out quickly.

She had said it so fast he almost missed it but he was fluent in Felicity now.

He looked down at her. Her whole face was glowing with happiness. He didn't know where the energy came from but he lifted her up in the air and spun her around. Her laughter was music to his ears.

"Someone's very happy, you pregnant too?" Sara asked jumping out of the front passenger seat.

He felt Felicity tense in his arms and he put her down.

"No, but is that the only news that a woman can have?" Felicity bristled.

"No but it's the only news that carries fast," Tommy pipped up.

Felicity rolled her eyes while Oliver looped his arm over the back of her shoulder securing him to her side. "She's back on the team!"

"Wow that's great! Congratulations," Sara said the rest of the team following suit with similar sentiments.

"So what happens to me?" Curtis asked a hint of fear in his voice.

"Back to the Tank," Felicity told him.

"Oh thank god," Curtis said and Oliver agreed wholeheartedly with that decision. Curtis was far better in the Tank than on the field.

"Great so the team is going back to normal," Tommy said.

"Not exactly," Felicity said handing envelopes to Sara and Nate. Oliver knew very well what those envelopes meant, reassignments.

"My own team!" Sara squealed when she read the contents of the envelope, "Team White Canary. I'm following in my mom's and Laurel's footsteps," she gushed.

"Yeap," Felicity said with a large smile. "They're waiting for you upstairs to celebrate."

"Congratulations Sara," Oliver said placing a hand on her shoulder, "You deserve it."

"Hey, I'm on your team," Nate said to her as he read his letter.

"Mari is recovering quickly and will be back on the roster in a month. They've assigned her to Captain Lyla's team. They will be Team Vixen," Felicity explained.

"You know I think there are now more female Captains than there are male," Sara said with a cocky smile. "Guess women are the better leaders."

"I wouldn't gloat too hard. Let's see what your performance record looks like first," Oliver stated.

"Oh, it will be much better than yours," Sara said confidently.

"So who replaces them on our team?" Roy asked Felicity.

"Rene Ramirez," Roy made a face at the name. The two men didn't get along, particularly since Roy thought Rene paid too much attention to Thea. "Rory Reagan and Iris West."

"Wait isn't Iris, on Team Flash?" Tommy asked.

"Yes, she and Barry broke Rule 11," Felicity explained to him.

"Oh..." they all said before Tommy added "Barry finally got the balls to ask her out!"

"I guess we inspired him," Felicity said looping her hands around Oliver's neck.

"Hey no PDA!" Tommy complained.

"Tough luck Merlyn, I'm allowed!" Felicity gloated before she pulled Oliver down to her and kissed him passionately.

"Uh," Tommy groaned, "Don't tell me I have to put up with that on missions."

"But at least it's much better than broody Oliver," Roy pointed out, grabbing his gear from the SUV and walking to the elevator.

"That is true," Tommy conceded. "I wonder where my girlfriend is. Those two are making me horny."

"Everything makes you horny," Roy countered pushing the button on the wall for the elevator.

"That's true too," Tommy admitted.

When Oliver and Felicity broke apart the team was gone. Oliver linked his hands with hers, "Let's go drop this report into the Tank and head home to celebrate."

She gave him a brilliant smile. The team had three days off and she had stocked their home with enough food so they could celebrate for three days straight.

An: One more one-shot left tomorrow!