Just a little snapshot of a scene that's been in my head for a while. :)

"Felicity?"

She took a deep breath, squeezed her eyes closed and willed her voice not to shake.

"Yeah Oliver?"

"You okay?"

She hesitated for the briefest of moments, her eyes flicking to the intruder in front of her. She could attempt some sort of sly codeword, say 'Ollie' or something to try and alert him to her situation. But Slade's threat still lingered in her ears and she couldn't risk it. He'd said that it was her or Thea. She could choose. Of course there wasn't even a choice, Thea was just a kid, she wasn't a part of this mess, and nor should she be. His sister was the most important person in Oliver's life, and Felicity couldn't even bare to think about how broken he'd be if he lost her. No. No code words, no cries for help.

"I'm good. Sorry I just… I thought I saw a spider by my shoe but it was just a candy wrapper. No worries." She was surprised by how normal she sounded, she'd gotten better at this lying thing.

There was a slight hesitation on the other end, and Slade's single eye narrowed. But then Oliver's voice came through loud and clear and the other man relaxed, the corner of his mouth twitching up in a sign of approval.

"Okay Felicity, we're done for the night. See you soon."

That was the moment her steady resolve began to crumble. Because what could she say to that? She would be gone when he got back, perhaps forever, how could she return that sentiment? How could she make that promise? She cleared her throat and rubbed her hands angrily across her watery eyes.

"Yep." Was all she managed before she fumbled with shaking hands to disconnect the comm, a sob rising quickly in her throat. She held her breath and counted to ten, forcing her emotions back.

Slade walked towards her, his movements slow and deliberate.

"Good girl." His hand fell to her shoulder, and she shuddered because that was Oliver's thing. It was the way her thanked her, reassured her, promised her.

"It's time to go." Slade whispered, his fingers slipping down to her arm before wrapping around it tightly and urging her to her feet.

She stumbled up slightly unsteadily, her legs unsure beneath her.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

She supposed it didn't really matter, he was just going to kill her anyway. She had resigned herself to that outcome the second he had delivered his ultimatum.

"Don't you worry about that."

He drugged her, she wasn't sure what with, but it made her mind feel like a kaleidoscope. She couldn't focus, she couldn't make sense of her surroundings, she couldn't properly grasp her own thoughts. She wasn't sure where she was, or how she got there, or how much time had passed.

He wanted to know things. Things about Oliver, things about Starling, things about Queen Consolidated. He wanted to know about Diggle, Sara and Roy, He wanted to know about the undertaking, he wanted to know about the Merlyn's and plenty more.

And when she'd refuse to answer, when her burning loyalty to Oliver and their team would rear it's proud head, he'd hurt her until she sobbed out the words she'd held back. She knew he knew most of the answers to his questions already, he merely wanted to break her. Force her to betray her friends, see how far he could push her before she cracked.

And afterwards he'd sit with her, stroking his fingers across her shivering body, and tell her everything he would do to her when Oliver found them. Everything he'd make Oliver watch.

She hoped he'd never find them. She hoped he'd take too long and Slade would tire of his game and just kill her outright. She hoped he'd assume she was already dead and mourn her and move on. Because even in her hazy, drug addled state, she remained clear on one thing. She refused to become a tool used to break him.

She wasn't sure how or when it happened. She wasn't sure how much time had passed since he took her. Days, weeks, months. But it was Oliver's voice that broke through her clouded mind.

She blinked slowly and took in the scene in front of her. Slade held her in front of him, an arm around her waist, holding her up as her own muscles gave out. She could vaguely feel the cool steel of a blade at her throat, but all she could focus on was Oliver. His hood was pushed back, his mask was gone, but his eyes were hard and angry, his muscles coiled and ready, his bow strung, every inch the vigilante.

She remembered the night he'd saved her from the count. It had been over a year ago, but the parallel was hard to ignore.

Oliver's eyes looked the same.

She could barely focus on words as they were spoken around her, everything was hazy and colorful, the room moving oddly, shimmering and dancing before her eyes.

She listened to the gravelly sound of Oliver's voice, calmed by it's familiarity.

"Just let her go Slade. It's over." He sounded calm, controlled, but even in her state, Felicity could detect the edge, the tremor.

"Perhaps. But I'm taking her with me. She'll be dead before your arrows reach me, kid." She could feel Slade's words more than hear them, he was holding her painfully tight, her back pressed against his front, like a human shield.

"What's the point Slade? You know I'll kill you afterwards, you know I won't stop until you've suffered a hundred times the pain you inflicted on her, you know I'll kill you as slowly as humanly possible. So what's the point? Is my misery really worth that much to you?" Felicity's eyes rose to Oliver's, but his were fixed above her head, on her captor. He didn't glance down at her.

Slade's arm squeezed tighter around her ribs and she gasped, spots dancing in front of eyes. Her head lolled back against his shoulder, leaving her neck even more exposed to the knife held against it. Her eyes drifted closed and she fought with consciousness, focusing on Oliver's presence, trying to use his words as an anchor.

"Just let her go! Look at her. Look at her Slade. She's just a girl. She can't defend herself, she can't fight. She's just a sweet, innocent girl that I dragged into this." Oliver closed his eyes for the barest of seconds before speaking again, his voice softer than before. "She's the same age Shado was. The woman you fought to protect. Can you really do this? Can you really kill someone who deserves it as little as Shado did?"

She wondered if Slade faltered, wondered if perhaps the knife dropped momentarily or his eyes glanced away. She'd never know what happened for sure, but she felt the breeze as an arrow flew just above her head, then a second, then a third. And then the arm slipped from her waist, the knife clattered to the floor, and she fell, her body too tired to obey her brain.

Strong arms, safe arms, caught her before she hit the ground, and she was lifted, held against a different chest, warmer, broader, safe. Her head fell to the crook of his neck and he whispered something against her skin, she wasn't sure what.

He set her down on a chair, kneeling in front of her, cupping her face in his hands.

"Felicity! Felicity open your eyes. Look at me." She was surprised to find them closed, she wasn't sure when that had happened, but they felt like lead as she forced them open again. The blue orbs she was faced with made the effort worth it, and she attempted a smile at the sight. All the fear, all the pain of the last days faded away and all she was left with was peace. He was okay, she was okay.

Everything was going to be fine, because Oliver was there and he was looking at her like she was the sun and he'd spent years in the dark.

He leant his forehead against hers, his ragged breaths fanning across her face, his thumb running soothing circles against her cheek.

"You're okay. You're safe now." It sounded almost as though he was assuring himself just as much as her.

She tried to find the words she wanted to say, tried to force her brain to cooperate with the rest of her but everything felt heavy and slow.

"Shh, we'll talk later." He pulled back, smoothing his thumbs over her eyebrows and down, encouraging her eyes to close, before they brushed gently over the lids. "Go to sleep. You'll be safe when you wake up."

Something about the gesture made Felicity's throat burn and she felt a tear slip down her cheek. She managed to get one sentence out, slurred and strange sounding even to her own ears.

"You'll be there?"

He brushed a hand through her tangled hair and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"I promise."

And then the world was dropping away again as he lifted her back into his arms, cradling her close as though she was some valuable treasure he was afraid of breaking.

"Sleep Felicity. You're safe."

Her head settled against his shoulder, and she finally let herself rest.

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