So this is just a short little story of what could happen when Oliver returns from the LOA and a conversation with Felicity about what he learned while he was away. This is mostly just speculation since ep. 9 hasn't aired yet and I don't really know much of the details of Oliver leaving...

The soft click of Felicity's heels echoed loudly through the empty foundry as she descended the stairs. Roy and Diggle had gone home after an easy bank robbery bust that night and she was returning only to retrieve a drive she had left in her computer. When she turned the corner at the bottom of the stairs she stood frozen and stared at the scene in front of her.

"I'm hallucinating, great now I'm hallucinating, I am so far off the handle I am losing my grip on reality and now I'm talking to myself and-"

"Felicity!" Oliver grunted, cutting her off.

Felicity stepped forward and recoiled slightly at the sight of Oliver's battered and bloody body lying on the table.

Months.

It had been months since she had last laid eyes on him after he had left to fight Ra's, her forehead burning with what she thought was the last time she would feel his lips. She tentatively reached a hand forward and touched the side of his face, running her thumb gently along a small cut.

"It's you. It's really you," her voice cracked as tears began to well up in her eyes despite her best efforts not to cry, "I thought you were dead." She scanned her eyes down his body and felt her stomach flip at the amount of blood soaking his shirt, "Oliver you need medical attention, how did you even get here?"

"It's not as bad as it looks, you can handle it," Oliver reassured her, covering her hand with his own.

Felicity took a deep breath and went to retrieve the medical supplies. She cut open his shirt and peeled it off. Oliver was right, most of the blood was old and dried; she carefully began to clean his torso so she could assess what wounds were fresh. There was a million questions she wanted to ask but Oliver looked so tired and she was just overcome with relief that he was here and alive.

Oliver however, began to talk without her prompting, "After the fight, Ra's was impressed with my skills and deemed I was more useful to him alive than dead. I had to do what he said. If I couldn't beat him I had to comply. It was the only way to keep everyone safe."

Felicity started to sew delicate little stitches into his side. A harsh contrast next to the rough stitches he had probably done himself while he was away.

"I couldn't do it though, live that life again, I mean I tried, but I'm just not like them anymore," Oliver continued, "maybe I never really was like them. I wasn't dismissed without consequence, which is what all this is from, but I don't think the league will have any more business in Starling."

Felicity just listened quietly as she started to clean another wound.

After a few minutes of silence, Oliver continued, "I realized something important though. I thought that I couldn't be the Arrow and Oliver Queen. That I had to give up everything that made me who I am when I'm not wearing the hood. But it's because I haven't fully let go of Oliver that I can be the Arrow. The members of the league, they have shed everything of their former selves. They can't be heroes, they have to stay in the darkness because they let go of their light."

Felicity finished her final stitch and looked up at him.

"Felicity, I need you. I've always known that, but it wasn't until I was away from you for so long that I realized how much."

She thought she understood what he was saying but there was still the part of her that had been hurt so many times by him dangling maybes around that kept her from assuming anything. Guarded.

"Clearly, I mean these stitches you did yourself are atrocious and I don't know how you could find anyone without my facial recognition software and-"

Oliver pulled her down to him and kissed her gently "That's not what I meant," he whispered, "I need you because you're the one who brings out the light in me. I need you because I love you."

The walls she had spent months constructing to protect her heart came crumbling down, "I love you too."

He sat up with a grimace.

"Should you be moving?" Felicity asked with concern.

"I got here in one piece, I think I can sit up." Oliver flashed her a smile.

"Yeah well I don't even want to know how you got here considering the mess I just cleaned up," Felicity shot back, even though deep down she was relieved he was still his frustratingly stubborn self. It surprised her that of all the things she missed when Oliver was gone, their banter was high on the list.

"Fine Dr. Smoak, why don't you help me over to my bed then. A night on a metal table isn't really what I had in mind after months without much sleep."

She slung his arm over her shoulder and helped him walk slowly over to his bed. When they passed by the fern she could have sworn it looked perkier than it had in a long time. She helped him lie down and pulled a blanket over him.

"I should probably call Diggle and Roy and Thea and Laurel and-"

"Felicity, it's 1 am. They can see me in the morning. If they think I'm dead, a few more hours won't make a difference. Will you stay with me though?"

She sat down on the edge of the bed and slipped off her shoes and glasses, "of course."

She laid down next to him and he pulled her in close despite the pain she imagined was shooting through his body. It was something they had never done before, lying so close together, their slow even breaths matching each other, but it felt so normal, so natural. Their hands intertwined. Neither of them could sleep though so Felicity talked about everything that had happened while he was away. Sara had started talking- well, babbling. Roy had stepped up in his absence and had led the team so well. Cisco had sent over some new toys - erm gadgets. Her mother had visited again. The hours passed and she realized that Oliver had fallen asleep. She had never seen him look so peaceful and the sight brought a smile to her lips. She pressed a kiss to his forehead, echoing the one he had given her all those months ago and closed her eyes.

Hope you liked it :)