A/N Takes place after the Season 2 Finale Unthinkable. A more realistic approach to a fanfic Season 3.

Felicity's past catches up to her and tears her world apart. Oliver is not too happy about the additions in Felicity's life. Inevitably, Felicity has to choose whether she stays in Team Arrow or move onward from that stage in her life.

Chapter 1 New Home

"Make yourselves at home."

"Felicity, I can't thank you enough." Diggle gave her a smile and nod, with one arm wrapped around Lyla. "What with our apartment complex caught on fire and Lyla's dismissal from ARGUS, this is a really big deal. We owe you a huge favour." They smiled at the blonde with gratitude.

"And now that I've sold my mansion, I need to look for my own place after I get the company back." Oliver walked through Felicity's front doors several bags in each arm. There was still a limp in his step, but he seemed completely revived and energetic.

"Well, the more the merrier. It was getting kind of lonely by myself in this house. Not that I'm always by myself, I sometimes have people over." Felicity's face whitened. "Not that I have THOSE kinds of people over. I mean I could. But I don't," she added hastily, not sure how to end off the ramble. "Let me show you guys the rooms in the basement."

"Oh Felicity, never change," Diggle said amusedly, taking a couple of bags from Oliver.

The former billionaire and CEO was constantly checking his watch, Felicity noticed. She walked over to take one of the bags in his arms. At first, Oliver was distracted, but he gave Felicity a small smile when she struggled to carry a heavy duffel bag. "There's a guest room upstairs or in the basement, your pick. Diggle's already got dibs on one of the two rooms in the basement."

"I think I'll give them a little privacy," Oliver offered, giving Diggle a nod.

"Great. We'll just have to move the bed from the basement up to the second level. I was using the spare bedroom as a mini-gym."

Ecstatic, Felicity had a good time helping the three of them settle in. It had been a few days since Slade was captured and peace was restored. She had offered to house her friends for the time being, while they fixed the other things in their lives. She found herself enjoying Lyla's company too. They spent the Saturday morning cleaning up the basement and two guestrooms. About halfway through unpacking, Felicity and Lyla had gone to the kitchen to make some tea and brunch. Diggle was his usual good-humoured self, but in contrast Oliver looked like he was a thousand miles away.

"Let's go get your bed, Oliver."

Oliver snapped out of his thoughts. "Oh, right. I think I can carry the whole thing by myself. You should sit and relax."

"I want to help," Felicity protested.

They walked into the small, no-windowed guestroom in Felicity's basement. The room contained a few dusty boxes and a large king mattress plus box spring. Felicity took the old dirty sheets off the bed.

"Sorry, this has been here a while. This was my parents' old bed," Felicity explained. "I'll get you new sheets and pillows when we're upstairs."

"This is perfect," Oliver told her earnestly. "I'd be comfortable sleeping on the couch. You don't need to worry."

Felicity sighed. "Good, I just don't want to seem like a bad host or anything. Hey Oliver, what's on your mind? Something's bothering you."

Taking in a deep breath, Oliver lifted the mattress. Felicity held the dirty sheets and the door for Oliver as they made their way to the upstairs room. "I'm worried about Roy. He said he would come and check in on us, help us settle. I think there's something bugging him."

"It could be Thea's absence," Felicity suggested. "I asked Roy if he wanted to stay and bunk with you too. His place is being repossessed. He didn't want to, so I don't know what he's up to. But after what Slade did to the city, I feel like we should all look out for each other. He'll come around, and we'll help him."

Oliver had little difficulty bringing the mattress up the stairs. The room Felicity was lending him was only a little bit bigger than the one in the basement, but there was a window with pouring sunlight.

"Roy is just one of the things on the list we need to fix," Oliver stated, putting the mattress against the wall. "There's the company, the mayoral elections, the rebuilding of the city… Laurel called and informed me Detective Lance was in the hospital too. There's a lot of work we need to do."

"After everything we've been through, I'm pretty sure we can get through it," Felicity assured him. "For today, I think we deserve some time off."

"We need to move our equipment out of the Foundry."

The duo walked back into the basement to pick up the box spring. "Funny how crime rates are at an all-time low right now," Felicity commented. "Starling City wants to give us a break."

"Hang on…" Something had caught Oliver's eye.

"What is it?"

Oliver placed the spring set down on floor. At the end of the spring set, there was a tiny rip with a piece of paper stuck inside. On closer inspection, it was actually cut with a knife, carefully concealed at the corner. "This was your parents' bed?"

Felicity took the folded piece of paper from the secret mattress compartment. A breath had caught in her throat. "Yes, before my dad left us. After that, my mom started sleeping on the couch, or often wouldn't sleep at home…" She trailed off, but Oliver understood what she meant.

"Did you ever look up your dad?" Oliver asked. He remembered she told him she didn't remember him at all. Felicity had the skills and means to search up her father and find out where he was.

"Never."

Felicity helped Oliver get his bed prepped and found extra pillows too. When they were finished, Felicity retrieve the piece of paper again. Diggle and Lyla had stepped out to buy some groceries, something they felt was their duty as a temporary long-term guest.

"It's a letter from my dad to my mother. He just says that he loves her, and will come back for the both of us one day," she said with a wrinkled nose. "This means nothing to me. He never came back." She threw away the piece of paper with a slight huff. "Do you feel like getting more pancakes? I want pancakes." She got up and walked out the door.

Oliver followed Felicity out the door, but on the way out, the letter caught his eye. The signature following the name 'Edward C. Whyte' made him narrow his eyes, but he kept his expression in check. There was no benefit from telling Felicity that he had once met an Edward Chester Whyte, and it may actually cause her more grief. He resolved to keep this piece of information private.

"There isn't a single case to investigate."

Oliver and Diggle were training with wooden sticks in Felicity's basement, which had been cleared to make room for some of the equipment they managed to save from the Foundry. Felicity sat in a comfortable sofa, scanning the computers in her oversized hoodie.

"What, there haven't been any crimes at all?" Oliver asked, panting heavily. Sweat was dripping down his temple as he spoke.

"Nothing that the police haven't been able to take care of straight away. They've been on every case in a snap, and it looks like security's been tightened everywhere. Looks like we've got the night off." Felicity gave them a smile. "This is so much easier to do now that we've relocated to my basement."

"This doesn't classify as a secret location, it's unsafe. As soon as I find another place, we're moving our stuff there," Oliver said determinedly. "We're putting you in danger."

"You are also right across the hall from me now," Felicity pointed out. She tried to hide a blush. "And with Diggle and Lyla just two floors under, I think I'm very protected."

"Are you well enough to start fitness practice?" Diggle asked.

"I still get headaches sometimes, or bouts of dizziness. I should be alright by next week," Felicity said.

Diggle placed a hand on Felicity's forehead. "Good, I'm glad you're feeling better. You were in a lot of pain that day."

"No I wasn't," Felicity denied.

"Don't try to fool me. I know you were trying to hide it, to be strong. But it's okay to admit it now."

There was no use trying to fool John Diggle. He was an observant person.

Oliver had been putting away their work out equipment into a box, but twisted around to look at Felicity at Diggle's words. He had noticed Felicity flinching from time to time, but she had acted so strong when they were taking down Slade. Oliver remembered the car accident that injured Felicity the most, and immediately thought back to her head wound.

"Diggle, I'm tough."

"You are tough I agree, but you have the physique of a marshmallow," Diggle teased. "You bruise easily."

Felicity responded by throwing a cushion at Diggle's face.

Later that night, they retired to their respective bedrooms. Oliver walked with Felicity up the staircase, trying not to make noise.

"I just realized that you're probably not used to sleeping in a small bed like mine. I mean yours. Well, it's still technically mine, but you know what I mean," Felicity said with a cringe.

"You also forgot that I did not have a bed to sleep on while I was on the island," Oliver replied easily.

"Well, I guess that makes my place seem like a castle, now that I think about it. You should do that more often."

"What should I do?"

"Smile like that more. You don't do that often."

Oliver gave Felicity a look instead as they approached her door. "Good night, Felicity."

"Night, Oliver."

That night plagued Felicity with dreams and uneasiness. She tossed and turned for some time, and she even caught herself waking up in sweat. Felicity glanced over at the clock, which said it was only 4AM. She sighed and hugged a pillow tightly. It was at this moment that she remembered that she was not alone at home. Diggle, Lyla, and Oliver were playing housemates for the next couple of weeks. It had taken a lot of persistence to convince Oliver to lay low at Felicity's.

Getting up, Felicity went to the kitchen for a glass of water. On her way back to her bedroom, she noticed a figure sitting on the sofa in the living room.

"Oh my gosh, Oliver, you scared me," she whispered when he turned to look at her.

"Couldn't sleep?" he asked softly.

"Thirsty," she replied quickly. "It looks like you've been awake all night. Did you go out and do your Arrow stuff?"

"No, there was no one to hunt." Regardless, Oliver still sat with his hooded coat and gear ready.

"You're really anxious to get out there again." Exhausted, Felicity let out a yawn.

Oliver looked down at the bow in his lap, wordless.

The rest of the house was silent, and the windows were still dark and still. There was little sign of life other than the two of them in that room. Felicity gave Oliver a pat on the shoulder. "If you need to talk, I'll be here. But I'll be upstairs, sleeping, but just know you're always welcome to wake me up." She suspected he still had thoughts about his mother on his mind.

Felicity had been spending a lot of time lately with Oliver. That was saying something, considering they spent many nights with Diggle in the lair. But they weren't alone often, and even if they were they only discussed business. To her surprise and content, Felicity found she was getting to know the casual Oliver Queen better that could joke around. She suspected this was what Oliver was like before he disappeared. Now, he was serious and more mature about eighty percent of the time.

Nevertheless, this Oliver Queen only appeared once every several weeks, but this was more than Felicity ever remembered Oliver to be.

"We're getting flowers, some wine, and extra wineglasses, since I only have a pair. This shouldn't be so difficult for you," Felicity told him. They were both dressed in jeans and casual t-shirts, and it was Sunday afternoon. She knew that since Oliver no longer had any family in Starling City, and Slade wasn't constantly breathing down their necks, that he was going to be bored waiting for Monday to come around to deal with Queen Consolidated again.

"I could be training, working out," Oliver commented as they walked into a supermarket near the hospital Detective Lance was at.

"You're still hurt, you shouldn't exert yourself too much." Felicity walked over to the flowers section, grinning brightly. "Pick out your favourite."

"Flowers are not my thing."

She let out a laugh, surprising Oliver. "Oh gosh, sorry. Sorry for laughing. Considering your track record of girls you've dated, I thought you would have been an expert at flower-giving to impress girls."

Oliver glanced over at the red roses in a corner. Laurel had loved roses, he remembered. His eyes lingered on those flowers for a moment. "I am offended. I didn't date that many girls. You're making me out to be a player."

"Considering I've known you for only a couple of years after you came back from the island, and you have an extensive list of women you've slept with since I've met you, I wonder how many girls you dated before you went missing."

"You make me out to be like some kind of man-whore," Oliver stated, but he had a gleam of humour in his eye. Felicity glanced at him, rolling her own eyes.

"You dated the Lance sisters. Several times. Once at the same time, if you had forgotten," she added, walking through the flowers with an air of coolness.

"Okay, I get it," he said, putting up his hands. He followed her around the aisles and put his hands in his pockets.

"Admit that you have pretty much gone for every female except for your mother and sister," Felicity said to him. She stopped at a section of pale yellow plumeria flowers and picked up a pot.

"And you," he added, walking up beside Felicity to examine the flowers. To Oliver, Felicity had always been off-limits, and he couldn't think of her in that way. There was a line and he had set it down a long time ago. She was his partner and he did not need a fling with someone whom he needed trust from eternally.

Felicity nodded her head. "I talk too much, probably why," she said, mostly to herself. "These look happy. Yellow may not be my ultimate favourite colour, but it cheers people up easily. We gotta cheer Laurel and Detective Lance."

Oliver followed Felicity a few steps behind as she ran around the aisles. "Am I your personal shopping cart? There are quite a few of those at the door," he remarked dryly. He had the flowers and a bottle of wine in one hand plus a set of two wine glasses in the other. The group of four that night was going to have a small get-together at Felicity's. She didn't have as many kitchen items as she previously believed.

"I want to get just one more item before we visit the hospital," Felicity told him over her shoulder. "Be right back." She left him near the groceries section, which caused Oliver to sigh.

One of the reasons Oliver had agreed to join Felicity was to keep an eye on her. Felicity was acting tough, but there were times where she would appear to blank out or sway from dizziness. He immediately offered to drive when Felicity said she'd be out.

"Ollie?"

He blinked, coming back to reality, and realized that Laurel was standing in front of him, carrying a bag of groceries.

"Laurel," he almost exclaimed. "How have you been doing?"

"I'm doing fine, really," she assured him with a big smile. She was also dressed in casual attire and had her hair tied up in a bun. They had only seen each other once briefly since the attack. She seemed more well-rounded than Oliver had remembered. "How are you feeling?"

"A bit better," Oliver said, giving her a one-armed hug despite the stuff he was carrying.

Laurel raised her eyebrows at Oliver's choice of grocery shopping. "Um, big date tonight, I guess?"

Oliver's eyes widened slightly. From Laurel's perspective, he was getting flowers and wine for two. "No, just having a night off with a few friends," he told her quickly.

It didn't look like Laurel believed him. Before Oliver could say anything else, a merry Felicity had appeared at his side.

"Oh, Laurel, hi! We were just about to visit your father in the hospital. Got him some flowers," Felicity said cheerfully, pointing to the plumerias.

Laurel gave them a look up and down. "I actually just saw him. He's doing tests at the moment, but you can always drop those off."

They chatted idly about small matters for a few more minutes before Laurel excused herself to leave, since she had dinner that night with an associate. Felicity happily took the flowers from Oliver, a look of relief on her face.

"It didn't seem like Laurel wanted to talk with us for long," she commented as she paid.

Oliver was wincing inside. "I believe…" he said slowly, taking in a breath, "that she thinks we're in love."

"Oh?"

"She is still under the impression that Slade took the woman I love. He took you after he had taken Laurel. And this looks like a romantic date for two." He gestured towards the items on the conveyor belt. To be honest, he felt a little silly that he was in this predicament. "What else did you run off to get?"

Felicity had been surprised when she realized that Oliver was right, but she did not show it. "Oh I went to get you your brand of protein powder. I checked the boxes in my basement that we recovered from the lair. You ran out."

"You don't need to do that for me, Felicity."

"I know. However, I thought that it'd be a nice thing to do this one time around, for my friend. Truthfully, I didn't know what else to get for you. What do people normally buy you for your birthday, anyways?"

The pair walked outside into the sunny parking lot. Felicity was carrying the flowers with much enjoyment.

"My birthday?"

"Why else do you think we're drinking wine tonight?" Oliver opened his mouth to reply, but no words came out. He forgot his birthday was the next day. At this thought, his heart fell. "I know people always get me body lotions and accessories for my birthday. It's really annoying. Preferably a dinner or movie is a better birthday gift. It's really too bad both Laurel and Roy are preoccupied."

They dropped the flowers at the hospital, where Felicity looked in dismay as the nurse took them. This had amused Oliver, but he said nothing while he dragged Felicity away. The hospital was bustling with patients, nurses, doctors, and visitors. He grabbed her arm as they exited in order to not lose her. He had half a mind to get Felicity checked again by a nurse, but she seemed fine overall.

As Oliver got into the driver's seat, he turned towards Felicity.

"One time, Thea got me baby clothes and a stroller for my birthday. She seemed to think it was funny and appropriate. I believe her exact words were 'It's inevitably bound to happen.' It made my mother freak out but my dad hysterical. Does that top your list of bad birthday presents?"

Felicity burst out laughing. "This completely helps my argument from earlier about you being a player."

"I was a player."

"You are a player." Oliver opened his mouth to speak, but Felicity continued before he could. "I know you said that you couldn't be with people you truly cared about, because of what you do. But that doesn't mean you don't look at many skirts, Mr. Queen."

Normally, Oliver would have put on a stone-faced expression and gone back to his work at the lair when Felicity approached with this kind of humour. But Felicity was making fun of him, and he couldn't believe he was allowing that. "You can't pretend that you don't find some shirtless men attractive," he said out of the blue with a straight face. Oliver gave her a small grin. "You have eyes too, like me. Felicity Smoak, you are not allowed to judge."

"Well-uh- hey!" Felicity protested. "I mean, I agree you are very attractive, and so are Diggle and countless other men, but at least I don't-" At the looks Oliver was giving her, she couldn't finish her sentence. "I hate you."

"I know you do."

When they pulled the car up to Felicity's home, she giggled. They were still in good moods, despite the fact that Oliver had reverted to his old serious business self. "Oliver, you have been so out of character today. I liked that."

"I'm out of character?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. I feel like I'm getting to know the Oliver Queen that was buried underneath the island."

He didn't look at her. "Well, if you knew the old me, I doubt you'd be friends with that Oliver."