Swim To You

Summary: Oliver may detest swimming but he pushes that aside when on a scouting mission with Felicity, she is caught and placed in a cage on the floor of a lake. She has only a limited amount of time before the cage floods and her air runs out.
Words: 3251
Pairing: Olicity

Their new mission had once again taken them out of Starling City, this time down to Australia. Normally things like this wouldn't be so important but when Slade Wilson's name was a connection that had come up in a search, the team new they had to act quickly.

They managed to get everything prepared without worrying about Isabel accompanying them this time around. While completing searches for information on Slade, Felicity had stumbled upon the file of an ex policeman who had been fired from his job when the Chief of Police had found out that he was working alongside the inmates, devising a plan to free them all. The name had been linked several times to Slade Wilson and had come up on the list so the team had quickly worked to find everything they could on Clancy Dremal.

"Can you see him yet?" Felicity asked. Currently, she and Oliver were laying down flat on a rock, that could oversee the current location Dremal. Diggle had been unable to go with them due to a broken arm from their last mission.

"Nothing yet," Oliver said with a sigh. He placed the binoculars down and ran a hand through his hair. Felicity looked him for a moment and saw the tense way he was holding himself. He was on edge and she knew it wasn't because they were waiting to make a move on Dremal. Looking down at her hands clasped in her lap, Felicity spoke softly.

"I'm sorry you had to bring me out here with you instead of Digg," Oliver hesitated for a moment before he looked back at her. She looked incredibly small sitting against the large tree truck and refusing to look at him.

"Hey," Oliver started softly, knowing what tone to use to get her to look at him. It worked and Felicity lifted her eyes to his. "I know that I usually come out on these types of missions with Digg but that doesn't meant that I would rather him than you. Yes it was unfortunate how this happened but this is a good skill for you to learn and I'm glad that you are here."

Not expecting a comment like that, Felicity was speechless. It didn't help things when Oliver went around saying things like that. Oliver smiled and her and opened his mouth to say something extra when a twig snapping broke the silence. Instantly alert, Oliver spun on his heel and quickly armed his bow. Felicity crouched down low, hiding in the small grove of the tree as Oliver had instructed her to do incase they ran into some complications.

Felicity held her breath and tried to calm her racing heart as she watched Oliver. Just as she started to think that maybe they were hearing things, shots began to ring out. A bullet hit the tree above her head and Felicity ducked down even more with a scream. Oliver spared a glance at Felicity and seeing that she was not injured, returned to the task at hand.

They were severely out numbed and Felicity watched in horror as Oliver was knocked down. Before she could do anything, rough hands grabbed her arms. She was yanked into a standing position and thrust forward. Twisting and turning, Felicity tried to free herself.

"No! Oliver! Let me go! Oliver!" she screamed out. Oliver looked up and made to move but stilled when a gun was pressed against Felicity's head. Felicity stopped her struggle when she felt the cool barrel of the gun. A hand moved to grip her tightly at the back of her neck and Felicity couldn't help the whimper that left her lips. Oliver's eye's narrowed at the sight but he made no movement, not wanting to endanger Felicity's life any more than it was.

"What do you want?" Oliver growled out. He was forced up onto his feet and felt the barrel of a gun pointing into his side.

"You have gotten too close to Mr Dremal and he doesn't like that. He knows that you have been following him." One of the men, holding Felicity said.

"There's reason for that," Oliver said.

"If you want to live, you will drop your investigation."

Oliver went to reply when the sounds of a helicopter were heard.

"Time to move!" another man yelled and Felicity felt herself being dragged away from Oliver.

"Oliver!" She screamed out, struggling against the men.

"No!" Oliver yelled out. He quickly overthrew the men holding him back and raced towards Felicity, only to be stopped by a gunshot sounding off. He looked up and saw Felicity staring wide eyed at him. The moment was short lived however as he saw the but of the gun come down on her skull, her eyes rolling back into her head and her body slumping forward. The last thing Oliver saw before his world went black was the sight of Felicity being carried away.

Oliver woke up with a groan, the throbbing in his head lessening as he lay still for a moment. As everything came rushing back to him, Oliver was on his feet. A stoney look crossed his face as he looked down at where Dremal was located. Grabbing his bow, Oliver took off. He would find Felicity, whatever it took.

He made it into the house in no time at all. Dremal was cowering behind his desk when Oliver walked into the study.

"Where is she?" Oliver demanded, an arrow pointed straight at Dremal's heart.

"Five kilometers south of here," Dremal said quickly, doing nothing to withhold the information. "In a cave along the waters edge. She's locked in a cage."

Knowing that the situation wasn't going to be good, there was no choice for Oliver to make. He could corner Dremal again and demand the required information but he only had one chance to save Felicity. Lowering the bow, Oliver released the arrow into Dremal's knee, his screams of pain echoing throughout the room.

"We are not done here," Oliver stated before leaving the room. He took in his surroundings before heading off in the direction Felicity was in. He would save her, no matter what.

Felicity was quiet as the men led her into a dark cave. The water level was steadily growing more shallow as the walked through that Felicity was able to determine that the tide was only just beginning to go out. This could only mean one thing and it wasn't going to be good. The cave dipped down and Felicity could see the outline of a cage. She stopped short in her tracks.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Keep moving," the man behind her said. Felicity did as she was told but once the cage was within reach, she lashed out. Using the moves that Diggle and Oliver had been teaching her, Felicity threw an elbow into the nose of the guy behind her and twirled around to land a kick to the his ribs. The guy went down with a groan. Adrenaline was running through her veins and she turned on the other men. A gunshot went off and Felicity screamed out as a burst of hot pain ran down her left arm.

"Pull a stunt like that again and the next bullet will go through your heart," he said. "Now get in the cage."

Holding her arm to her chest, Felicity meekly nodded and entered the cage. There was enough water left at the bottom to cover her feet and Felicity knew that the tide was going to start coming in now. Looking around her, Felicity noted that the water marks on the cave walls were higher than the height of the cage. If Oliver didn't find her in time, she would surely drown.

"Now sit tight," the man said. His grin was enough to cause Felicity to retreat into the corner of the cage and make herself as small as possible. The door to the cage was locked and Felicity watched him walk away. The severity of the situation fell on her and there was nothing Felicity could do to stop the sob escaping her throat. The tide was coming in and right now her only shot at survival was the man in the green hood.

"Please hurry Oliver," Felicity whispered, praying that he would know where to find her.

Oliver had never felt the amount of fear in his heart as he raced towards the location of Felicity. The closer he got, the more he could hear faint screams for help.

"Help! Please! Somebody help me!"

Skidding to a stop at the end of the water, Oliver could see the entrance of the cave. He sprung into action when he saw how high the water levels were already. He had a fleeting thought about how much he hated swimming but none of that mattered at the moment.

"Felicity!" he called out.

Felicity, exhausted from the events of the day and struggling to ignore the pain, whipped her head up at the sound of Oliver's voice.

"Oliver! Please hurry!" she yelled. The water had rises surprisingly quickly and was already reaching her collarbone.

Without wasting a minute, Oliver jumped into the water and began to swim into the cave. There wasn't a lot of visibility inside now but he could see the outline of the cage sitting in the water.

He reached her just as the water was reaching her chin.

"Oliver," she breathed out.

"Just hang on Felicity," Oliver said. "I'll get you out of here." Felicity nodded her head and used her good arm to keep her above the water. Oliver took a deep breath before diving under and reaching out for the lock. He found it quickly and knew without seeing it, that it had been made with cheap metal. This meant that it would fall apart easily if crushed under something. Oliver pushed up and broke through the surface.

"The lock will be easy enough to break with a rock alright Felicity. Just hold on a little bit longer and I'll have you out."

"Okay," Felicity said softly. Before Oliver could move away, Felicity slid her arm through the bars and grabbed a hold of his shirt. Moving quickly, Felicity pulled him close and kissed him. Pulling away, Felicity looked up at him with a small smile. "Thank you," was all she needed to say. Oliver nodded before diving under again. He was quick to find a rock at the bottom. Picking it up, Oliver made his way back to the cage and began to smash it against the lock. Time was running out and looking up, Oliver could see that the water was level with the cage. Felicity didn't have the same lung capacity as he did and that thought spurred him on.

He hated the way the water slowed down the momentum of what he was trying to do. He hated the way the water blurred his vision. He hated the way the water reminded him so clearly of the island. He hated the way his mother told the press how much he loved to swim, when in fact he really did detest it.

Felicity's hand came to grab the cage bars where he was working. One of his hands reached up to grab hers quickly while his other hand continued to work. After a particularly hard thrust, the lock broke and Oliver removed it from the latch. He opened the doors and pulled Felicity out. Together they swam towards the surface but suddenly the hand within Oliver's fell limp.

Looking back, Oliver could see that Felicity was loosing consciousness. More determined than ever, Oliver pushed them to the surface with as much power as he could find. They broke through and Oliver took a deep breath of air. He was quick to pull Felicity up but she was still unresponsive. Cursing under his breath, Oliver began to pull her towards the mouth of the cave. The sooner they were out of here, the better it would be. He was not going to let Felicity die. That wasn't allowed to happen.

Oliver took in large gulps of air as he hauled himself and Felicity onto the shore nearby. As he lay her down on the ground, it was then that Oliver became aware of the bullet wound on her arm. Pushing that to the back of his mind, he started chest compressions. There was a desperation to his actions but at the moment he didn't care. Felicity had to survive. She just had to. She was the glue that held this team together and she was the one who reminded them of who they were. She was their encourager and their voice of reason. She was also the person who Oliver was afraid to let in. He was afraid to let her get close, to let her see him and love him. He couldn't live without her. That was not an option.

After the chest compressions, Oliver tilted her head back and pressed his lips to hers to breath air into her lungs. He repeated this process a couple of times before Felicity arched her back and coughed up the water in her lungs.

"That's it," Oliver gently said, turning her on her side so that she didn't choke. Felicity coughed before shuddering and wincing in pain.

"Oliver?" she asked, turning her head to look at him.

"I'm here," Oliver said. He helped her to sit up and pushed the wet strands of her hair out of her face.

"You saved me," Felicity stated.

"I'll always save you Felicity," Oliver said with a smile. Felicity returned the smile, before wincing as the pain in her shoulder became noticeable. Oliver's eyes were drawn to the movement and he frowned as he remembered seeing it earlier. "They shot you?" he questioned. Felicity nodded.

"It was only after I managed to knock down one of them. Apparently they aren't too happy when that happens," Felicity said with a shrug, immediately regretting it. Oliver raised his eyebrows.

"You knocked one of them down?"

"I had to try something," Felicity said with a laugh. "I wasn't going down without a fight."

"You are something else Felicity Smoak," Oliver stated with a laugh. He stood up and extended a hand down to Felicity. Felicity took it without question and Oliver pulled her to her feet. She swayed lightly on her feet and her water logged clothes were beginning to feel heavy.

"Now I get why it's always you two that go out on these things," Felicity said and Oliver didn't miss the teasing tone in her voice. He admired that she wasn't fragile or retreating into herself after her ordeal. He couldn't find it in himself to smile though. He had come too close to loosing her today and it wasn't something he was keen on repeating.

"Oliver, are you okay?"

"Let's get moving," Oliver said sternly, avoiding the question as be started to walk up the path. They needed to get out of sight and back to their base quickly. Felicity frowned and slowly followed him. They walked in silence for a few moments before Felicity couldn't take it anymore. She hurried her steps and placed a hand on his arm, spinning him around.

"What's wrong?" she asked, her tone leaving no room for arguments. Oliver looked down at her with fire in his eyes. She could also see the stubbornness in them. "We are not taking another step until you talk to me."

"I promised I would keep you safe when you joined our team," Oliver said quietly and Felicity was surprised to see that he was listening to her. She kept quiet, knowing that Oliver needed to say this and that she needed to hear it. "I was hesitant to bring you out here with me because that promise always lingers in the back of my mind and there are so many 'what if's'. What if I can't protect you? What if I don't get to you in time? What if I lose you?"

"Hey, you're not going to lose me," Felicity said and she could see the effect the words had on him. He knew she was repeating what he had said to her all those months ago.

"When I saw you being dragged away, my heart sunk Felicity. I thought for sure that I had failed. But then Dremal told me you were still alive and I knew I had a chance to keep my promise to you. I got you out of that cage but then…" Oliver trailed off, not wanting to relive the momentary panic he had felt at her limp body.

Felicity stepped forward and placed her hands on his cheeks. She knew that she was crossing a boundary they had both somehow set but at the moment she didn't care.

"Oliver, you got me out of the cage and I'm standing right here. I'm right in front of you."

Oliver's eyes widened slightly, not knowing if she caught the double meaning of his words. Their brief kiss flashed through his mind as Felicity continued talking. "You kept your promise to keep me safe. I'm alive because of you."

"But you almost weren't" Oliver said with a sigh. Felicity could feel her heart breaking at the look on his face.

"Don't dwell on that what could have been Oliver. Live for now. Live for the future. You cant' live your life in fear that something is going to happen to the people around you. That's not living at all. Live for me Oliver." Felicity said, her thumb brushing against his cheek. Oliver closed his eyes and leant into her embrace. Felicity watched dumbstruck almost as Oliver let down his guard. Before she could second guess herself, Felicity leant up on her toes and pressed her lips once more against Oliver's. Oliver stilled under her touch and Felicity drew away with a small smile. There was a mixture of emotions behind Oliver's eyes that Felicity couldn't place. She removed her hands from his face and stepped out of his space.

Before Felicity could process her thoughts on what she had just done, Oliver stepped forward and placed a hand on the back of her head and tilted her head up to kiss her. Felicity gasped against his lips in surprise but wasted no time in wrapping her good arm around his shoulders. Oliver brought his other hand up to cup her cheek as he continued to kiss her. This was more than just a desperate kiss in the heat of the moment. There was too much emotion behind it to be forgotten. They both pulled apart gasping for air and Felicity watched as Oliver smiled before leaning in to gently kiss her again. She could feel the curve of his smile against her lips and found herself smiling also.

"I want you to be my future Felicity," Oliver said against her lips. The pain and exhaustion Felicity felt melted away at Oliver's words and she found herself nodding her head.

"You were always mine Oliver," she whispered before bringing his lips down for another kiss.

The End

Well I hope you enjoyed that little story :)