Felicity sighed as she took another name off the tag board. It was February 12; the most romantic day of the year was just a few days away and she had yet to consider Oliver's proposed offer of a romantic evening out. Since officially getting together just after Christmas, they'd been taking things slow, and she was beginning to wonder why she kept putting the offer off.
Her phone rang; it had been a quiet night so far and she wasn't expecting a call but since the guys were out on patrol, she decided to answer anyway, just in case.
"Hello?"
"Amanda!" That was the only thing she could understand, because the man on the other end not only had the wrong number, he began screaming at her in a language she recognized as Yiddish.
Felicity took a deep breath and tried to calm him, but he switched abruptly to Hebrew, still screaming. She had heard both languages before but could neither speak nor understand them.
"Sir you have-" she began, but he cut her off, his voice rising.
Her ear hurting, Felicity held the phone at arm's length, unsure what to do. She was about to consider hanging up when he finally stopped yelling.
He wasn't done talking yet however.
Frowning, she brought the phone closer so she could hear what he was saying, but then the phone dropped from her suddenly limp hand at the sound of the gunshot.
Eyes wide, her ears ringing, Felicity clamped both hands over her mouth as she realized what he had done. Bile rose in her throat, threatening to choke her.
Moaning in horror, her stomach heaving, she sank into her chair, shaking.
That was how Oliver found her upon returning from patrol half an hour later; she had cried at some point, as there were tear tracks on her face and she was staring at nothing.
"Felicity?" He asked, sensing something was wrong. When she didn't react, he tried again. "FELICITY!"
He felt bad when she jumped and was intimately familiar with the look of horror she gave him as she met his gaze.
"Oliver . . ."
She sounded so lost and confused; he pulled her to her feet and held her tight against him, wondering what had happened as she buried her face in his chest.
So he asked. "Felicity, what happened?"
She sniffed and burrowed closer, nuzzling him. "A man who had the number wrong called my cell, screaming at me. H-he spoke Yiddish and Hebrew. I don't speak or understand either language but I recognized them and tried to calm him down but t-then I heard a gunshot. I think h-he committed suicide."
Oliver tensed. It was such a sad thing to have happen so close to Valentine's Day. "Did you get a name?" He asked quietly after a moment.
"Not his," said Felicity, sniffing again. "He said the name Amanda, but that's that only thing I could understand."
Pulling back from her then, he held her gently by the shoulders and looked her square in the eye. "Can you trace the call? We should let her know, if she doesn't already."
Nodding, she wiped away her eyes and went to the computer. In less than two minutes, she had the number up, along with an address for an Amanda Namburg.
After Oliver changed, they went up the stairs, across the club floor and out to Felicity's car.
He smiled at the sight of it. "I've forgotten just how small this thing is," he said, and she managed to smile back at him.
Oliver's smile vanished at the sight of faint bloodstains on the backseat. Even though they were now a faded brown, it was a stark reminder of the night he'd been shot and Felicity had teamed up with Diggle to save his life.
Turning his attention away from the stains, Oliver gently took the keys from Felicity and got in the driver's seat. She made no protest and got in beside him.
Arriving at Amanda's address, the door was opened on the third knock by a pretty woman with light curly hair.
Mostly recovered from the phone call, Felicity took the lead. "Are you Amanda Namburg?" The woman nodded. "Um, I'm Felicity Smoak, this is my boyfriend, Oliver Queen. I got a call from a man a while ago; do you know anyone who speaks Yiddish and Hebrew?"
Another nod. "The caller said your name, it was the only thing I understood."
"My ex boyfriend, did he call you by accident?"
"Yes he did, but um, he thought I was you and he was screaming and really upset then there was a loud bang . . ."
Oliver had to react quickly to catch Amanda as her knees gave out.
"What happened?" She asked, her voice a horrified whisper.
Felicity had to work very hard to keep the tears from her eyes and her voice even. "I don't know but he may have shot himself."
Even though her words were quiet, Amanda dissolved into sobs and would have collapsed completely had Oliver not been holding her.
Felicity crouched down so she was eye level with the other woman. "Was there ever any indication that he would do something like this?"
Amanda nodded. "Evan has - had - an intense dislike of the holidays, didn't matter which one; he wasn't really close to anyone. Christmas always made him depressed, he had no interest in Valentine's Day and thought Halloween was a joke. My family and I tried to help him but he never took our advice. We broke up in late January; he threatened to do something like this."
Passing a look to Felicity, Oliver helped Amanda to her feet. "Is there someone we can call?"
"His mother, Sandra Keller, lives in Central City. I don't know of anyone else. He never really talked about his family."
"Felicity, please call our speedy friend," said Oliver. "Maybe he can help. Locate Mrs Keller."
While Felicity made the call to Central City and filled Barry in on the details, Oliver helped Amanda into her house. "Can I get you anything?"
Amanda asked for tea and told him where to find everything. As he was coming back with a filled mug, Felicity came into the room. "Amanda, Mrs Keller would like to talk to you."
She took the phone. "Hi Sandy . . ."
Sounding miserable, Amanda left the room and was wiping away tears when she returned a few minutes later. She handed the phone back to Felicity. "She's going to take the first flight out tomorrow and wants to say thank you."
Accepting the woman's words, Felicity had a sudden idea. "Mrs Keller, please don't book a flight, I know someone who can get you here a lot faster."
Catching on, Oliver raised his eyebrows.
Felicity ignored him. "He's called the Flash, he'll come get you in twenty minutes."
She made another call and Oliver stifled a groan. If Barry Allen was one thing, it was not being careful with his secret identity.
"He'd better not reveal himself to her," he growled to Felicity as she hung up.
"He won't," she assured him. "All set, they'll be here in less than an hour." She turned back to Amanda. "Do you want us to wait with you?"
"Yes please."
It seemed like no time at all before there was a knock on the door.
To Amanda's surprise, Sandra Keller stood there, accompanied by a tall thin man dressed head to toe in a dark red suit. It had to be The Flash; he was vibrating so she couldn't see his features, but she could see the gratitude from Sandy.
The woman gave him a tight hug. "Thank you for bringing me," she said.
Barry handed her a card. "No problem," he said, his voice vibrating as well. "Give me a call when you're ready to go home. I'll come get you. I'm really sorry about your son."
After one last hug, he sped away.
Even though she was sad and seemed a bit flustered, Mrs Keller greeted Oliver and Felicity warmly enough. "Amanda's like a daughter to me," she said. "Thanks for being here for her."
"Will you be alright now?" Felicity asked Amanda.
Amanda nodded. "I'm sorry you got caught up in all this."
Felicity smiled, hugging Oliver close as they finally made to leave. "I've been through worse, Oliver too."
"I imagine five years alone on an island does strange things to you," Amanda said. "By the way, how did you manage to find me so quickly?"
Felicity opened her mouth to reply but Oliver beat her to it. "We work with the Arrow on occasion; Felicity is his tech expert."
Giving a discreet pinch to his ribs he didn't react to , Felicity said, "if you ever need help, with anything, let us know."
Amanda smiled. "I will. Thank you both, very much."
With a final goodbye, Oliver and Felicity went back to the car. They didn't speak the entire ride back to the club and only when they were back in the lair did she round on him.
"Did you have to mention your identity? What happened to keeping things secret?"
Oliver shrugged as he wrapped himself around her. "I wasn't worried," he said, planting a firm kiss on her. "Have you given any more thought to our plans?"
She sobered. "Today has taught me that I should enjoy things, no matter what. Can I pick?" He nodded. "You."
Oliver frowned, and Felicity laughed. "I don't need a fancy supper or a night out, Oliver."
Grasping her meaning, he took her to his cot, and they spent the rest of the night reaffirming their bond, determined that they would never be separated.