"Slow down Felicity. Slow down, I have no idea what you're saying. What's going on did someone hurt you? "Oliver's concerned eyes helped her to calm her breathing and start putting a logical train of thought together.
"No not me" Felicity replied, "I just ran into my friend Heather, we went to grad school together, shared a dorm room, we were really close, but anyway yeah I just bumped into her on the street on my way here and she had a black eye and so I asked her what happened and she totally just broke down in my arms, her douchebag boyfriend is hitting her Oliver, he hit her. She didn't want me to tell anyone, I told her I'd go with her to the police but she told me to stay out of it and just leave her alone, but I can't Oliver, I can't let him do that to her, I can't let him do that to my friend, to anyone." She had worked herself up into a state and Oliver thought she could be pretty close to having a panic attack. He grabbed a chair from behind him and sat her down and the got himself down to eye level with her, holding her hands in his own. "Listen to me Felicity, we can do something about this, you and me together, we'll fix it, I just need you to take a deep breath, and you need to be strong for Heather OK." Felicity was still focused on Oliver's blue eyes, and she found her breathing steady as she held his gaze.
"Alright Oliver, what are we going to do? Will you come with me to talk to her? I really need your help."
"I've got a better idea" he spoke as he rose from his position in front of her. "You stay here and I'll be back as soon as I can."
"No Oliver! Don't get the hood, you can't just go after this guy, we need to do this properly." Felicity pleaded.
"You have to trust me Felicity; I know what I'm doing. No hood, I promise. I'll be back soon, you stay here, have a drink or something, you deserve it." And with that he was halfway up the stairs before she knew it.
A glass and a half later of Verdant's finest Merlot and Felicity still didn't feel any better and she was getting a little edgy. She wanted to know what Oliver was doing. Heather was one of her oldest and best friends and she couldn't stand to see her hurt like this, Oliver was the only person she trusted to help, he always knew just what to do, but he had a habit of not sharing this information with anybody else and that frustrated Felicity to no end. Just as she was about to give in and call him to find out where the hell he went her phone beeped with a text from the man himself. "Meet me up in Verdant, we can't come down." We? What did that mean? Felicity made her way up the stairs and as she came to the top she could hear an unmistakeable voice, she couldn't quite believe it. Laurel.
"Hi Laurel nice to see you again" she greeted Oliver's ex in a clipped tone. "Oliver can I speak to you for a minute, over here, alone."
"It's OK Felicity, Ollie told me what happened to your friend, I have a bit of a background in dealing with these types of situations and I'd be glad to help." Laurel was looking at her with pure pity and Felicity didn't like it.
"That's really nice of you Laurel but I really do need to speak to "Ollie" for just a minute" Oliver looked pretty confused as he made his way over to the other side of the room to where Felicity had stormed off.
"How dare you Oliver, I trusted you with a secret, a really important secret, and the first thing you do is run to Laurel for help? What happened to 'you and me together, we'll fix it', maybe you don't understand what a sensitive situation this is but domestic abuse is not some catalyst you can use to show her how much you've grown, how much you care about other people now, this is not about you Oliver. This is about Heather." The tears were threatening to spill over Felicity's lash line as she let it all out, hurt that he had betrayed her trust.
"Hey, I know you're angry but you don't get to say things like that. I went to Laurel because I know that she can deal with this situation the way it needs to be dealt with, delicately and professionally. Your friend needs someone who can sit down with her and give her the facts face to face, tell her that she needs to get away from this guy, and go to the police, and realise she is not to blame, but at first Heather is going to really resent that, she is going to hate Laurel for telling it like it is, and that's why you'll be there to comfort her. You are going to be there and be her friend, but a friend isn't all she needs right now. Laurel is willing to be the bad guy here, and when you have listened to Heather, when you've let her cry on your shoulder and tell you everything she needs to let out, when all that's been said and done, you'll need a friend too. I'll be here." Oliver pulled her into his arms and held her head against his chest, running his hand along her soft blond curls. "I'll be here."
She sighed softly against him, "Thank you."