Sew Me Back Together
Summary: Sequel to You Lose. It is highly recommended to read You Lose before reading this.
An: I do not own Arrow. In this Universe, Slade is still a deranged madman who sees Shado's ghost.
Slade's eyes opened quickly. For the first time in a very long time he was anxious to get a start on his day. The last few days had been his happiest in a longest time. His long time enemy, Oliver Queen had landed in the cell next to him. The kid was completely despondent and stared at the ceiling most of the day. He did not eat and he did not drink. He was slowly wasting away. Shado was happy to see the man who had killed her in such a state.
Slade glanced briefly to the side to see that Shado was smiling next to him. She was always in his arms when he woke up. He glanced across to the next cell and found the kid was still lying down staring at the ceiling, an IV feeding him nutrients stuck in his arm. Stupid ARGUS had to come in and ensure that he was receiving some form of nutrients. They probably wanted to use him for that silly squad of theirs.
There was a rustle of sheets from the other side reminding Slade that it wasn't just him and the kid down there. The kid's ex-fiancée was there as well and she had gone strangely silent since the kid arrived. He threw a quick look in her direction and found her seated on her bed with her back towards him. He hadn't seen her face in three days. He wasn't sure if that was because he spent all his time basking in the satisfaction that Oliver got what was coming to him or if she was just actively avoiding looking in this direction.
The door to their containment area opened and he knew it was Chuck with breakfast. Usually he would make idle banter with Chuck and try and intimidate him but that no longer held any appeal. The first person to always get breakfast was the girl. Her meals were always different to his and he was sure he saw her get a burger once or twice at lunch. Chuck placed her breakfast in the feeding receptacle and continued on his way down to him. It was up to them to collect the food out of the receptacle when they were ready. The girl always collected it right away and always thanked Chuck for her breakfast. He wouldn't be surprised if Chuck was sneaking in extra treats for her. He seemed kind of smitten with her. She had a very healthy appetite and never refused food.
Chuck gingerly placed Slade's food in the receptacle and moved quickly on to Oliver's cell. In the last few days, Chuck had been opening Oliver's cell and placing the food on his bed. With the kid in such a weak state, he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. Slade observed that Oliver hadn't moved a single muscle. Not even his eyes moved to glance at the food next to him. He was going to be skipping breakfast again and that made Slade very happy.
Breakfast passed without the usual fanfare and both Slade and Felicity placed the empty trays back in the receptacle. It would be a few more hours before Chuck returned with lunch. In the meantime he and Shado would entertain themselves by watching Oliver slowly die.
"OLIVER JONAS QUEEN! Get off your ass and eat NOW!" Felicity yelled across Slade's cell to Oliver.
Slade actually jumped at her loud voice. He hadn't expected her to have such a loud voice. He looked back at Oliver to see the kid had actually turned his head to look at his precious Felicity. That was his first movement since he lay down on that bed. Slade's head turned from left to right watching the interaction between the two. The kid's vacant blue eyes locked onto Felicity's and she pointed to the tray of food fiercely. Slade swore he saw a little spark of light behind the kid's eyes. He looked back at Felicity, her expression promised pain if Oliver didn't obey her. Slade wondered if she realised that there was really nothing she could do if Oliver decided to ignore her. She was locked up in a cell the same as him and even if she did somehow get out of the cell and in to his, she was tiny compared to Oliver, even with Oliver's recent weight loss.
Oliver's ankle started to twitch. Slade watched amazed as the boy struggled to sit up and then swing his feet off the bed. He was actually listening to the tiny blonde. Shado whispered in his ear that he was underestimating the blonde again. He had made that mistake the first time and lost his battle against Oliver. He needed to stop doing that.
Oliver leaned his back against the wall and stared down at the food for a few minutes.
"EAT!" Felicity ordered again.
Slade's head swung back to look at Felicity. She had moved from her bed to the bars that she shared with Slade's cell. Her hand was actually extended through the bars into his cell, pointed at Oliver's food. Slade's head snapped back to the kid. Oliver's hand was moving slowly to the spoon that rested at the side of the bowl of slop he had been given for breakfast. The kid's breakfast was far less than they had been feeding him and Felicity but that was probably because they needed to slowly reintroduce Oliver to food since he had fasted for so long.
Slade crossed his fingers that Oliver wouldn't be able to hold the spoon and feed himself. He watched over the course of a minute as Oliver held the spoon in his hand and dipped it into the slop. With a very shaky hand he brought the slop to his mouth. An empty spoon returned to the bowl while he slowly swallowed his first bite of food in days.
Anger coursed through Slade. If Oliver started eating then he wouldn't get to watch him waste away.
"Why the hell did you do that?" he turned angrily to Felicity. "He was just perfect the way he was."
"Suck it up Slade," she fired back sticking her tongue out at him. He had to admit that Felicity was quite a hellcat but she had to be if Oliver was attracted to her. The kid always knew how to pick the strong ones.
Slade looked back at Oliver and found he was very slowly progressing through his food. That was unacceptable. Slade needed to do something to stop that.
"Kid," he called out. "I see you still take orders from your woman."
"I am not his woman Slade," Felicity bristled. "I am not some object that men can claim."
"His actions say differently," Slade responded before turning back to Oliver. "Hey kid, guess who's cell is next to your precious Felicity's? I can reach out and snap her neck if I wish so I suggest you stop eating so I won't be tempted to do such a thing."
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Felicity take a few steps away from the bars. At least she was smart enough to take his threat seriously. However he wasn't expecting the response he got from Oliver. He was hoping the kid would stop eating, instead Oliver's eyes snapped to his and Slade could see that the small spark he had seen earlier had caught afire. It was a small fire but it was burning. That was not what he wanted! He turned to Shado for ideas on how to put that fire out.
Oliver defiantly filled his spoon with slop and lifted it to his mouth.
"Good boy," Felicity praised. "Finish the whole bowl. You have your favourite, mushroom soup for lunch."
"How do you know what's for lunch?" Slade asked.
Felicity lifted her chin in the air, "I know a lot of things Slade." She sat on her bed and turned her back to them.
Her interference was not good. Shado had made him understand that he lost to Oliver because he had underestimated his team. That was the critical difference between his attempt at destroying Oliver and Prometheus's attempt. Prometheus had understood the importance of Oliver's team and had removed them from the playing field. That one critical move had made all the difference in the world. Without those props to hold him up, the kid fell hard.
It was once again a member of Oliver's team that was propping him up. Slade needed to stop that. He needed to undo what Felicity had done and he had a good idea where to start.
Felicity was staring at the ceiling when they heard the outer door open. It wasn't feeding time which meant it could only be one of two options, a new addition to their facility or they had come for her. She slowly sat up on her bed and glanced across to the occupants of the other two cells. Slade was peering curiously at the door but Oliver was staring at the ceiling.
Felicity didn't know what had happened between Adrian and Oliver in their finale fight. Unlike Slade she didn't get the daily newspaper from Star City, though she doubted the newspaper had accurate information. She had never seen Oliver so lost. At first she thought maybe he was disappointed that he had failed and ended up in an ARGUS cell but as she observed him quietly over his first few days of incarceration she knew it was so much more than that. Broken couldn't even describe him. It was more like his former self had been shattered and he didn't know how to pick up the pieces.
Felicity waited for a while to see if the Oliver she knew would emerge but she eventually lost her patience. She knew she had to do something or she would lose her Oliver forever. She had lost a lot because of her work with Helix and she was determined not to lose Oliver. She knew the first step was to get him to eat again. He needed to keep up his physical strength if she even had a chance of repairing his mental state.
She had to use her loud voice but she managed to get him eating and by the third day the IV was removed. Slade was furious, trying to convince Oliver that the world didn't need him anymore. He tried to tell him that Oliver Queen was a washed up has been but Felicity knew Oliver was tuning him out. Olive wasn't at the point yet where he was ready to interact with anyone. She knew it was going to be lots of baby steps to get back the Oliver she knew and loved.
Lyla and another ARGUS agent appeared and Felicity knew immediately she was needed for a mission.
"Felicity," Lyla said in a grave voice. The woman's eyes glanced briefly at Oliver and Felicity detected a bit of sympathy in them.
Felicity dragged herself off her bed and prepared herself to face her punishment. This was her hell. She and no one else was responsible for her current position. She chose to follow Helix, she chose to seek her own route to end Prometheus and this was what it brought her. She had to work on a team full of criminals, criminals who would stab her in the back the first chance they got. This was the reward she got for losing faith in Team Arrow.
Felicity glanced across at Slade to see him focused on Oliver. She knew Slade was working on a way to tear Oliver apart and she worried what might happen while she was gone. Slade had started reading the paper aloud every morning to Oliver. Eventually Oliver was going to be ready to interact with the world again and she hoped it didn't happen while she was gone. Slade would quickly see to it that Oliver retreated back into that despondent state he was in when he first arrived.
The door to her cell opened and Felicity walked out. The agent that was with Lyla placed a bomb collar around her neck. Felicity had agreed to that. The suicide squad members had chips in their head, Felicity didn't want that and instead agreed to a bomb collar. She was only supposed to be there for one year. She wasn't a major flight risk.
She followed Lyla to the exit when a voice she hadn't heard in a long time asked weakly, "Where are you going?"
She turned around to find Oliver's eyes locked on her.
"Task Force X, I have time to serve, but don't worry Oliver. I'll be back. I learned my lesson. I'm not leaving you again," she answered before following Lyla out.
One full day passed since Felicity left and worry gnawed at his gut. It was the only thing he felt since Prometheus. Visions of the rooftop and Susan's face flashed in his mind. He should never have gotten involved with Susan maybe then she would still be alive reporting on the story of Mayor Queen's fall from grace. He should never have built a team either. He was selfish when he said he did not want to die alone in the lair. If he had done just that then Felicity would not be in an ARGUS jail cell. He wasn't sure where the rest of the team was or if they were still alive. He had no idea what Adrian was up too either. Slade had been reading the paper to him but he hadn't been listening. He replayed his defeat to Adrian over and over in his head. There was no room for anything else but that movie on repeat.
Somehow, when Felicity spoke, she pushed aside the movie. He heard her voice though she sounded much further away than she was in reality. He had once told her if it was her asking he would do it and every fibre in his being knew that when she asked him to eat, he had to eat. It wasn't something he could ignore. Felicity's movement to leave her cell broke through all the replays in his head and a sense of panic filled him but her soft voice reassured him she would be back.
He stared at the plate of lunch Chuck had delivered. He had no desire to eat but Felicity would want him to eat. Hell even Chuck said he had to eat because Felicity wouldn't like it if he didn't. He had disappointed everyone who had ever cared about him. He had failed everyone but could he fail Felicity again?
"You don't have to eat kid. She ain't here. She won't know," Slade said smoothly.
He heard Slade's words and he knew they were wrong. The concept of Felicity not knowing something was foreign to him and he felt this burning need to correct Slade about his incorrect analysis of Felicity.
"She'll know. Felicity always knows," Oliver said to Slade. Those were the first words he had spoken to Slade and with those first words, Oliver started to feel more aware of everything around him.
Slade snorted, "She's not a God."
Oliver looked at Slade, taking him in, dressed in the standard issue ARGUS prison jumper that he himself had on. He looked no different to how he remembered him.
"No she's a Goddess," Oliver replied fondly, a ghost of a smile on his features. Out of the three of them, Felicity looked best in the prison jumper.
"You're still in love with her," Slade reaslied. "Don't worry she'll probably die like the reporter and Shado. She came back really banged up after her first mission with that train wreck of a team. Maybe she won't even make it this time."
An anger burned deep inside of him, "No Felicity will not die because of me!"
He picked up the flimsy plastic spoon and stabbed angrily at his food. The team Felicity was a member of would not take care of her the way he and Diggle did. They always made sure Felicity was in a safe place never exposed to the action. If she were in the field, she was either with him or Diggle and they never let her out of their sight. Her safety was always a priority. With those animals, they wouldn't care if she was shot, tripped over a bush or ate something with nuts in it. That was not the type of environment he wanted her in. She needed someone to watch her back. If this was her sentence to serve for working with Helix then he had to help her. He had driven her to Helix. It was his fault and he needed to fix to it.
The movie in his head came to abrupt halt as he pushed it away in favour of making plans to keep Felicity safe. He needed to convince Lyla to put him on Task Force X and to do that he had to become strong again.
Slade growled under his breath as Oliver started another set of push-ups in his cell. Felicity's departure had spurred Oliver into taking better care of his self. He was putting back on muscle mass and he was getting stronger. If he kept up his current regiment he might be back to peak physical condition by the end of the month. Slade could not allow that. He would not sit here and watch his enemy recover.
He opened the Star City newspaper and started reading aloud about the latest innocent little girl that had been abducted. She was the sixth one in two months. The body of the last girl abducted was found in the bay two weeks ago. Whoever had been abducting the girls usually kept them for three days before disposing of the body. The police had no evidence to go on and the public was getting antsy about the serial killer on the loose.
"Looks like another girl bites the dust," Slade taunted Oliver. "If only the Green Arrow could find this serial killer, oh wait, I just remembered, the criminal Green Arrow is in the cell next to mine."
Oliver ignored him and focused on doing some climbers. Slade was accustomed to that. Oliver tended to ignore him most of the time but certain topics like Felicity would get him talking. His sister Thea was a topic that Slade loved to bring up especially since the newspaper had so much information about her these days. Trashing Thea's reputation got a really good reaction out of Oliver.
"You know kid, this girl sort of looks like your kid sister, or is it half-sister?" Slade questioned. "That reminds me, page four has been covering her public trial let's see what they have to say about Thea Merlyn today."
Oliver stood from his plank and started on a set of jumping jacks.
"Thea Merlyn Denies Her Brother Is a Criminal," Slade read the headline out loud. He looked across at Oliver, "They call me crazy but I think your sister is crazier. You are a criminal. You certainly ain't the hero your sister claims you to be."
Oliver stopped his jumping jacks, "Thea still thinks I'm a hero?" he asked hopefully.
Slade looked at the hope on Oliver's face and knew he had to crush it immediately. "No she thinks you're a dirty rotten stinking liar who has left her in her greatest time of need. She hates you, she despises you and she wants nothing to do with you."
"You're lying," Oliver said staring at him with a small smile on his face.
"I am not," Slade replied.
"If that was what she said you would have read it straight from the paper but you didn't. You made it up on the spot," Oliver said resuming his jumping jacks with much more vigour than he had before.
"Your sister is in jail and where is her big brother? Halfway across the world in a cell as well," Slade taunted. "There is no one to save her."
Oliver stopped his jumping jacks, "In this case it's probably for the better. With my current reputation my presence there probably won't help her. She needs to distance herself from me to be set free," he reasoned.
"Justify it to yourself however you want kid but it's your fault your sister is in trouble," Slade said to Oliver.
"I never denied that is wasn't," Oliver snapped back at Slade. "I know it's my fault. I know everything is my fault."
"And the best way to fix your mistakes kid is to waste away in this cell," Slade reasoned with him. "It's your penance for everything you did wrong."
"No!" Oliver refused. "That won't help Felicity."
Slade knew from previous experience trying to dissuade him from his Felicity obsession wasn't going to work so he returned to his perusal of the paper, "Let's see what else the paper has to offer us today."
He started reading an article about an increase in gun violence in Star City and when he read Mayor Chase's name he noticed that Oliver froze during his work out regiment. That piqued Slade's interest. Shado smiled at him and suggested he speak more about Mayor Chase. It looked like he discovered yet another topic that he could use to antagonise Oliver.
"You were the former Mayor," Slade said. "Does it hurt to know that someone else is in your spot? Someone else is the Mayor and implementing all the programmes you started? Making all your ideas a reality? Wasn't Adrian Chase your DA? I think you appeared together many times. He was standing right there by your side. Does it hurt to know that a close friend, maybe he was even your confidant, took over you post? Did he even fight for you? I suppose he didn't. After all you went crazy and killed the reporter you were fucking."
"I did not kill her!" Oliver shouted charging at Slade's cell. "He killed her. He plunged an arrow into her heart. I didn't do it. He did it. It was all him. I tried to stop him but I couldn't. He was always too many steps in front of me. He knew what he was doing. I failed. I failed my city. I should be shot for my failure."
"Give me a gun and I'll gladly do it," Slade said in a pleased tone.
Oliver retreated to his bed, his back to Slade and curled up in the foetal position. A broad grin spread across Slade's face. He needed to read more articles about Adrian Chase.
Felicity returned to her cell two weeks later with a broken arm, a sprained ankle and a head wound. The last mission had been very rough, and her supposed teammates had left her behind to die. It was only by her share willpower to live and come back to Oliver that she managed to survive. She spent the last week in an ARGUS facility having her injuries attended to. Lyla had refused to let her return immediately to her cell without proper treatment. Felicity was afraid of what Slade could be doing to Oliver while she was gone but Lyla reminded her that they could do as much as they wanted to help Oliver it was ultimately up to him to face his demons and if he couldn't handle Slade then he was nowhere near ready to face Adrian Chase.
While she was recuperating John paid her a visit and he updated her on the team and what they were up to. They had tracked down Vigilante and set up a new base in Star City. They had several plans in train to start destabilising Adrian Chase. As soon as their time was served, they wanted her and Oliver back.
When she entered the containment area she found Slade facing Oliver, and Oliver's back towards Slade but he did turn his head to see who was entering. As soon as he saw her he stood and moved to the bars of his cell. His eyes roved over body and she saw the spark on anger in them.
"A word Lyla," he said roughly.
An ARGUS agent opened Felicity's cell and removed the bomb collar while Lyla made her way over to Oliver's cell. Felicity concentrated on getting to her bed as Lyla and Oliver held a quite conversation. When the conversation was finished, Oliver sat in the middle of his cell cross legged and faced her.
"How are you?" he asked. She picked up on the worry and concern in his voice.
"Despite what it may look like, I'm good," she said to allay his fears. "I have news of the team. Everyone is well." She noticed Oliver cast his eyes to the floor. From his posture and the openness with which he faced her Felicity assumed he was ready to start talking. "Oliver there is still a team and they are working to clear your name."
"I don't deserve that Felicity. They were right to leave me. If they had stayed they would have just sank with me. They should stay far away from me. I only bring pain to the people I love," Oliver stated angrily.
Felicity growled, "Oliver pain is a necessary part of life. Yes, some of us experienced pain by being involved with you but you also brought us so much more than pain. You gave all of us a purpose. A purpose that fulfilled us and still drives all of us today. You gave us friendship, love, loyalty, although the loyalty one is kind of up for debate considering your actions with Susan Williams, but you gave us so much more than pain. No one looks at you and thinks of the pain you caused us."
"I sure as hell do!" Slade snapped. "And I'm sure if that reporter lady was here, she would as well."
"Su, Sus," his voice cracked as he tried to say her name, "Su, she died because of me," he finally settled on saying.
"The papers said you shot her with 15 arrows," Slade pipped in helpfully.
"She was already dead," Oliver snapped. "He had killed her already. I was trying to kill him and he used her body as a shield. Her death was my fault. I never should have gotten involved with her."
"No it was not your fault Oliver. Susan was a grown woman who played with fire and got burnt. She messed with forces she did not understand all for the sake of a story. I know you cared for her Oliver and I know in your head you thought you were doing right by Thea by trying to stop her from heading down a path you had but Oliver, at some point you have to let the person realise it for themselves. The team wants you back Oliver."
His gaze dropped back to the floor, "I'm not worthy."
"Maybe not now but eventually," Felicity said hopefully. "I wasn't the best example of teamwork either Oliver. I split my time between Team Arrow and Helix. We both have some growing to do in these cells. I heard a nice piece of gossip though, you would never guess who Vigilante is?"
"Adrian Chase?" Slade asked.
Felicity frowned, "What makes you say that?"
"It's my new favourite name. Oliver doesn't care for it much," Slade said chucking his finger in Oliver's direction.
Felicity's eyes landed on Oliver and she saw the tension in his posture but he still seemed to be listening. He hadn't checked out of the conversation or returned to that despondent state.
"I imagine he wouldn't," she admitted to Slade, "but it is good that you are desensitizing him to it."
"Good!" Slade protested, "I don't intend to do anything good for Oliver."
"Well you failed again. You've really been helping Oliver," Felicity said with a smirk rubbing it in. "I probably couldn't do a better job myself of getting him to face his past with Chase."
"Who is Vigilante" Oliver asked. "Slade said he took a few shots at Chase the other day."
"Yeah he most certainly did," Felicity agreed. "He recently discovered the truth about Chase when the team tracked him down."
"So who is he?" Oliver asked curiously.
"Oh he's just the ex-husband. Who do we know that recently had a divorce from their husband?" Felicity asked him cryptically.
"You're kidding me! Wasn't vigilantism the cause of the divorce?" Oliver said astounded.
"Yes quite hypocritical of Vigilante to think he's the only one in a relationship capable of fighting for his city. Remind you of anyone?" Felicity asked sarcastically.
Oliver pursed his lips and gave her the look he usually did when he knew she was pointing out something he did wrong. It was nice to see her Oliver was returning to her.
"So what did I miss while I was gone?" she asked looking over Oliver's body. His shirt was definitely much tighter across his chest.
"Not much," Oliver said with a proud smirk as he pulled of his shirt and moved into a plank position. He then started doing a set of push ups.
Felicity felt herself flush. Oliver was still the sexiest man in the world to her.
"What is this some sort of weird mating dance for you two? Get Lyla back here. I rather join that silly team than be subjected to this shit!" Slade screamed.
Felicity chewed on her bottom lip, "You think we can get a salmon ladder to fit in your cell?"
"No! No! No!" Slade said holding his head, "You two are going to drive me crazy!"
"Newsflash Slade, you are crazy!"
Felicity's new favourite hobby was torturing Slade. She and Oliver sent many flirtatious looks and comments across Slade's cell and he hated it. When things got really heated between Oliver and Felicity, Slade would retreat to his bed and cover his head with a pillow so he couldn't hear or see anything. It was Felicity's way of fighting back when Slade tried to hurt Oliver. Some days she succeeded in keeping Slade at bay and others, it was Oliver who was curling up on his bed and blocking out the world.
As much as Felicity loved seeing someone she once feared cowering because of her, it was beginning to become torturous because she couldn't touch Oliver. From the way Oliver had started to rub his index finger and thumb together again, she knew he felt the same way. Words and looks were no longer enough. They needed to be closer to each other.
Felicity was humming to herself when the doors to their containment area opened. She recognised the ARGUS agents that arrived and knew it was time for a mission. She had been cleared last week to resume field work and she knew they would be coming for her soon. She jumped from her bed and moved to the front of her cell where they would open the door to retrieve her. As they snapped the bomb collar around her neck she noticed that they had a second one in their hands.
"Who's the other collar for?" she asked curiously.
"Queen," the agent called. "Get up and come to the front of the cell."
Felicity stared in shock as Oliver followed the instructions. She knew he was supposed to serve on the team eventually but she didn't think he was ready yet.
"Turn around," the agent instructed when Oliver reached the front of the cell.
Oliver turned around and the agent reached into the cell and snapped the bomb collar around his neck.
"You are now a member of Task Force X. You have a mission to complete. Should you fail to complete the mission or attempt to escape this collar will be detonated. Do you understand?" the agent asked.
Oliver turned around to face the agent, "I understand."
"If you attempt to hurt any ARGUS agent or undermine an agent in any way you will be terminated," the agent continued.
"I understand," Oliver confirmed. "Open this cell, Felicity and I have a mission to complete."
The cell door opened and Oliver stepped out of his cell and straight to her side. His hand brushed against hers and Felicity was tempted to hold it but she knew the agents liked them to walk in single file.
"Do me a favour and don't bring them back!" Slade said as they headed towards the exit.
They were briefed on the mission and boarded a small aircraft that would take them to Hong Kong and then on to Russia where they were needed. Oliver's fluency in the language would come in handy. When they landed in Russia they were taken to an ARGUS safe house and introduced to other members of the team.
Felicity realised Oliver was sticking close to her. She didn't know if that was because he didn't want to interact with the rest of the team or he was being protective of her. She took him into the room that held the weapons they would be assigned for the mission. She looked for the specific case that Diggle would have sent over for Oliver. It contained the bow he used to use in Star City.
When she found it, she ran her hands over it gently before opening it for Oliver. He inhaled deeply when he saw the bow. He stared at it for a while not budging an inch.
"It isn't going to bite you," Felicity admonished.
"I'm not sure I should be using a bow again. I'm dangerous," Oliver said in a small voice.
Felicity reached out and held his hand. She had been itching to do that the entire plane ride over but the agents were watching them. It was safe to touch him now and she started to memorise the changes in his hand since she last held it.
"We're all dangerous Oliver. Pick up the bow," Felicity instructed in a firm voice.
Oliver stepped closer to the case, his free hand reached out and he ran his index finger along the curve of the bow. He glanced up at Felicity and she nodded her head. It was time for him to use a bow again. She watched as Oliver picked up the bow and weighed it in his hands.
"Been a long time," she said to him.
"Yes," he agreed.
Felicity picked up his quiver and began fastening it to his body. She hadn't been this close to Oliver in over a year and she felt his body tense at her touch. It reminded her of the immense distance they had between them. She pushed away the thoughts about the state of their relationship and she focused on making sure the straps were tight. Once she was satisfied that the quiver was secure she loaded it with arrows.
"A little target practice," she suggested. "Just to make sure you're not rusty."
She opened another container and started throwing tennis balls in the air. One by one, Oliver focused in and secured the balls in the wall with an arrow.
"Just like riding a bike!" she chirped happily.
"I suppose. I hadn't realised how much I missed this until it was in my hands," he admitted looking down at the bow in awe.
"Good, practice a little more, there's also a salmon ladder in the basement if you're interested in doing your old routine. I'll be working on hacking the Russian government mainframe in the parlour," she told him before she started making her way to the doorway.
"Felicity," he called to her. She turned around to look at him, "The bow isn't all I missed." He swallowed, "I missed you. I want us to get back to what we used to be."
Felicity gave him a soft smile, "It's a work in progress."
He nodded his head. "I'll be in the basement in two hours, if you wish to take a break from your hacking."
"I'll keep that under advisement," Felicity said with a smile before turning away to do her work. She heard the thwick of the bow string followed by a tennis ball hitting the wall and her spirits lifted. She was 100% positive that Oliver was going to be alright.
Two hours later, an alarm Felicity set went off on her computer. She was alone in the parlour. The rest of the squad was upstairs resting but she knew one member was in the basement. She set a few programmes to run and then locked the computers. As she made her way down the steps into the basement she heard the tell-tale sounds of the salmon ladder.
"Oh how I missed this view," Felicity said when she came to the bottom step. Oliver was shirtless hanging from the bar.
As soon as he noticed her he jumped down and approached her. From the confidence in his stride she knew he was up to something.
"You know what else I missed?" he asked her.
"No what?" she said shaking her head, her ponytail flipping from side to side.
"This," his hand encircled her waist and he pulled her flush against him. Felicity's mouth opened in surprise and Oliver used that opportunity to crash his mouth against hers and kiss her hard, his tongue entering her mouth and battling with tongue.
When oxygen became a problem Felicity broke away from him and Oliver rested his forehead against hers, "I'm sorry I wasn't there."
"I'm sorry too Oliver," Felicity replied reaching up on her toes and kissing him again.
Oliver settled into an easy routine in the cell. Meals came at a set time, Slade antagonised him and Felicity was, well Felicity, his ray of sunshine in the darkness. After breakfast, Oliver would exercise, after lunch, he and Felicity would talk about the events that led up to their current situation and then after dinner he would exercise again and then sleep. He was beginning to sleep for a solid six hours before waking up. The nightmares had slowly started to recede as well. It used to be two or three every night now, he had one every other night.
He had a lot of time to think about Adrian Chase and all the things Adrian said to him. He had time to dissect each move he made and realise that Adrian had controlled him throughout their entire game. At first he hadn't known who Adrian was but once he found out it was too late to catch up. He had tried but he had already given Adrian the keys to burn his world to the ground.
He had many regrets, the biggest being the way he treated his team. He didn't put enough faith in them. He let a madman tear him away from everyone that was important to him. He failed to protect them, he failed to protect his city and he failed to protect himself. He sometimes wondered if it was not for the best that the Green Arrow had been discredited. He had done a lot of wrong in his life.
He glanced across at Slade who was reading the Star City Newspaper looking for news of Adrian Chase. It was his way of trying to torment him and get him to descend into the darkness again. Slade was an example of some of the wrong he had done in his life. He had failed to save Shado and that one failure set off a series of deadly events. He killed Justin Claybourne as an attempt to right his father's wrongs and that too set off another series of deadly events. He was dammed either way.
The opening of the outer door interrupted his thoughts. Two masked ARGUS agents appeared with bomb collars. It was time for another mission and Slade let out a relieved groan.
"Please keep them! I can't take the disgusting heart eyes they keep sending each other," Slade pleaded.
There was a snort from one of the masked agents. "Try working with them for five years," a very familiar voice said.
"Digg?" Oliver guessed. He hadn't seen him since he had been kicked out of the Arrow Lair.
The man pulled off his mask to reveal John Diggle. "Hello Oliver."
"What are you doing here?" Oliver asked.
"I'll be joining you on this mission," John revealed. He stepped towards Oliver's cell and opened the door.
Oliver nodded his head. He stepped out of the cell and John secured the bomb collar around his neck. Oliver walked the entire way to the plane deep in thought. Felicity and John were engaged in conversation about Star City. He was bringing her up-to-date on the latest news in the city and the rest of the team. He also had a bit of interesting news about the capture of Alena from Helix. Oliver's gut churned at the mention of Helix, the organisation that drew her away from him. He should have supported her more but he didn't.
It turned out the mission involved an illegal casino and if he and Felicity specialised in anything, it was illegal casinos. Felicity was to go into the casino and gamble until their target arrived at which point she would sit at his table and clone his phone. Once that was achieved she would leave the casino. The boys were waiting outside in a non-descript van. Felicity hacked into their camera feed and boys watched her on several monitors inside the van.
She looked beautiful and Oliver hated sitting in the van while the woman he loved was doing something dangerous without him by her side.
"Boys I'm going to mute my mic, I think the both of you need to talk and I mean talk," Felicity said.
The mic went silent before Oliver could protest.
"Stubborn woman!" Oliver said loudly.
Digg chuckled, "We certainly know how to pick'em."
Silence fell between them for a little while before Oliver spoke up.
"Digg I don't blame you for the decision you made," Oliver told him sincerely.
"Of course not, you wouldn't be Oliver Queen if you did," Diggle replied flippantly.
Oliver looked away. There were so many mistakes he had made in the way he treated Diggle.
"I didn't mean to choose her over you, I just couldn't abandon her. I know what it is to feel abandoned and left alone. I couldn't do that to her. She wasn't strong enough to survive. She, she died because of me," Oliver admitted.
"No Oliver, she didn't. She poked the bees nest and she got stung, a lot. Her actions led directly to her death. There was nothing you could do to prevent that. She pursued you and even after she discovered the truth about you, she refused to let go. As Felicity likes to say, her life, her choice. It's time to let it go and move forward," Diggle said echoing what Felicity kept drilling into him.
Oliver let the silence fall between them again as he thought over what Diggle said. He glanced at the screens to see Felicity was at the blackjack table. She was on the fourth deal and she had a discreet stack of chips in front of her. Their target hadn't arrived at the casino yet and Felicity was supposed to be pacing herself. She lost the next hand and the hand after that before winning the next two.
Diggle cleared his throat to get Oliver's attention.
"Oliver, I want you to know that it wasn't very easy for me to make the decision that I did. It was a very difficult decision to make but I knew you would want me to prioritise the team's safety. Felicity was on the run from the law, Thea had disappeared, everything was falling apart and I had to make a decision. I was confident based on Prometheus's history that he wouldn't kill you. I knew that whatever he did we could fix it. I knew you would survive because that's what you do Oliver, you're a survivor. It's a given fact that you're strong. That was the only reason we weren't there on the roof with you. The whole team would have burned with you and we would have lost the war. We couldn't lose the war Oliver. We gave up that battle but the war is still going on. Oliver we are going to make everything right again. We are going to restore your name and the name of the Green Arrow and take down Adrian Chase."
"I can't Digg," Oliver said.
"Well we're doing it Oliver. Are you going to abandon us?" Diggle challenged him.
The question stunned Oliver. He had never thought of himself as abandoning his team.
"No," Oliver said firmly.
The comms clicked back on, "Sorry to interrupt guys but the target is here."
Oliver stiffened. They watched as she moved to where he was by the roulette table. Felicity placed one bet on the number 11 and waited next to him.
"Why 11?" Oliver questioned.
"The number of members on the team," Digg answered for Felicity.
"Really?" Oliver asked confused counting on his hands and coming to six.
"Roy and Rory are back. There's Dinah, Rene, Curtis and Paul, Lance, Thea plus us three, that makes 11 Oliver," Diggle explained. "And that's not counting Team Flash or Sara's group."
By the time the wheel finished spinning, the ball landing on the number 9, the mission was done. Oliver imagined Felicity fish pumping. "Always bet on Team Arrow," her happy voice came across the comms. She left the casino +$30,000.00. The rest of the mission went smoothly and Diggle returned them to the island.
"Oliver, when Felicity's year is up, she's determined to come back to Team Arrow. Think about what that means," Digg advised.
Oliver nodded his head. He would think about it.
After one year and a month, the extra month was to serve out Oliver's time on the island, Felicity was finally getting to leave Lian Yu as a free woman. A boat awaited them on the docks to take them away. Oliver led the way, his hand firmly holding hers as they trekked across the island to the docks. As the boat came into sight, Felicity saw Team Arrow waiting on the docks for them. Oliver came to an abrupt halt. With the exception of Diggle, he hadn't seen anyone else from the team. Felicity squeezed his hand for support.
"Let's go," she said with an encouraging smile as she stepped forward.
She let of a relieved breath when Oliver fell into step next to her. When they reached the docks, Felicity started the reunion process by stepping away from Oliver and hugging Diggle first before moving on to other team members. Oliver followed quietly behind her.
"Welcome back," Digg said with a large smile as he clapped Oliver on the back.
The others followed suit, Roy embracing Oliver a little longer than the others as it had been longer for him. With Adrian revealing that Oliver was 'The Hood,', 'The Arrow," and 'The Green Arrow,' Roy's name was clear and he was able to return to Star City.
Thea stepped shyly up to her brother, "We probably need the advice of a shrink to sort through all of our issues," she said with a dry laugh.
"We probably do but that doesn't mean I'm not happy to see you," Oliver told her.
She threw herself forward and wrapped her arms around her brother, "I missed you Ollie."
"I missed you too Speedy," he said hugging her just as fiercely as she hugged him.
Thea eventually pulled away and stepped over to Roy's side. Felicity returned to Oliver's side and offered him her silent support.
"It's good to be back," Oliver admitted as he looked at the hopeful faces of Team Arrow. "I know it's been a while since I last saw everyone and I know you've been working hard to restore my name. The going has been rough and the evidence against Chase is still pretty scant but we are going to win this war!"
An: Thanks for reading. Arrow starts tomorrow, YAY!