Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This

Oliver gets knocked out during a mission and wakes up to an alternate life where he was never on the island. In the real world, Felicity struggles to put together the disturbing puzzle pieces of the events leading up to Oliver's strange disappearance. Takes place sometime in season 2.

A/N: The plot of this fic was inspired by the Perchance to Dream episode in the Batman: Animated Series, which is like my all-time FAVORITE Batman episode. This is definitely AU, more like an AU within an AU, so it's kind like Inception too I guess. Will be a multi-fic, but be forewarned… I'm bad at finishing my overambitious multi-fics. Unbeta'd so apologies for the inevitable mistakes. They are all mine.

Part I:

OLIVER

It was supposed to be just another mission. She wasn't even supposed to be in the field that night. Felicity rarely went beyond of the confines of Foundry during a mission unless absolutely necessary. It was supposed to be an easy job. He'd been on patrol when Felicity had gotten the alert that one of the local gangs had a shipment of some kind of new drug coming in. All he had to do was get in, break up the drug ring, tip off Detective Lance, and then get out before the cops showed. Nothing that the Arrow hadn't handle before. He could've done it in his sleep. Maybe that's why things ended up the way they did. He'd been too careless. Thought it was just another mission when it wasn't.

Getting into the warehouse was abnormally easy. That should have been the first thing to tip him off that something wasn't quite right. When the bomb went off, communications went dark. Everything after was a blur. One moment Diggle was beside him and the next the ex-soldier was gone. Oliver remembered his head feeling like it had been split in two, his ears buzzing like a horde of bees. Things were bad. They were completely unprepared. He remembered praying that Diggle wasn't in pieces, that they'd have a whole body to bury when they got him home. That his ribs, which were certainly broken, won't puncture a lung and drown him in his own blood. That's when he saw her across the room through the smoke.

He remembered crawling through the rubble because his legs wouldn't move. That his hands were outstretched towards her. That everything was numb and slow, as if he were underwater. Oliver scanned the surroundings for an exit route, but found that it would be pointless since he can't even seem to bring himself to stand, much less walk. There was something dripping into his vision. He reach a hand up to touch it and his hand came away bloody. He was bleeding. Too much he realized as the corners of his vision dimmed. He tried to speak, ask her what the hell she was doing here, to get out now, to run, but all the words died on his lips as another bomb went off. He felt the whisper of her name on his lips before he blacked out.

xxx

Oliver woke up shouting. Cold sweat had soaked through the sheets tangled around him. The room was abnormally bright. He blinked against it. Rubbing his eyes, his vision cleared. He was in a room he didn't' recognize.

He quickly ran a hand down chest, arms, legs, checking for wounds and accessing the damage. It was disconcerting that he did not find any despite the pounding headache he was suffering. Oliver had the unsettling feeling that something was not right. Memories of the night before poured in and his heart began racing with thoughts for Diggle and Felicity. Felicity who wasn't even supposed to be there.

A loud pounding at the door got him quickly up on his feet and reaching for the closest makeshift weapon he could find. He made do with a lamp that looked oddly similar to the one Thea had made for him in her sophomore year in ceramics. The one that they had accidentally knocked over during Christmas several years ago, before his fateful trip with his father and Sara on the Queen's Gambit, before Lian Yu.

The knocking resumed and he plastered himself against the wall. Oliver braced himself as the door knob started turning.

"Mr. Queen? Mr. Queen, did you forge-"

Oliver dropped the lamp and launched himself at Diggle. Relief washed over him as he wrapped his arms around his friend.

"Thank god! You're okay."

Diggle awkwardly patted Oliver back with one hand before the releasing him. "Is there a reason I'm not supposed to be?"

"Don't you remember? The warehouse and the bomb. Is Felicity alright, too?"

Diggle only stared back at him with a perplexed expression.

"Did you go out with Tommy again last night? Had a bit too much to drink? I thought you were over that party stuff already."

Oliver felt his heart clench at the name. He almost didn't even get the words out. "Tommy?"

"Yes. Tommy," Diggle repeated, his expression growing more bewildered by Oliver's behavior. "You sure you're okay?"

"Tommy's… Tommy's alive?" The notion bowled Oliver over and he felt his heart hammering in his chest.

"If he had whatever the hell you drank last night, maybe not. Did you two really think it was a good idea to party the night before the board meeting? We're already late as it is."

Diggle pushed past him and stepped towards the closet, leaving Oliver reeling in the aftermath of what had just been dropped on him. Tommy was alive.

Diggle came back out of his closet holding a complete suit and tie outfit. "Get dressed. Now."

Oliver dressed quickly and then followed Diggle out of the unfamiliar apartment. He'd noticed a photograph of him and Laurel on the way out, but couldn't wrap his brain around it.

They drove to Queen Consolidated in silence. He tapped his feet anxiously the entire ride and noticed that Diggle would check his rearview mirror on him once or twice.

Once in the building, Diggle led him into the elevator and up to the executive floor. When the doors dinged open, Diggle said, "The meeting will be in the boardroom. Someone should already be in there setting up."

Oliver turned and looked to his right where the boardroom was located. Through the clear glass he recognized her silhouette from the back, but it wasn't until she turned around and adjusted her glasses, smiling that signature Felicity smile, that he felt the tenseness in his body lift.

"Mr. Queen!" she said, walking towards him with a tablet in her hands. "I just finished setting up the projector and screen. Your presentation should run smoothly without any problems. I also converted your file into..." she trailed off when Oliver wouldn't stop staring at her.

It was strange that she didn't call him Oliver, but he shook the feeling away. Stranger things had happened this morning. Besides, she was okay. Whole and smiling and okay. That was all that mattered and he couldn't help smiling.

"Mr. Queen, is something the matter? Why are you staring?" When he didn't reply she suddenly reached up to her face, "Is there something on my face?"

She swiped at her mouth and cheeks, blushing a bright pink.

Oliver laughed before slowly pulling her hands away from her face. "No, there's nothing on your face, Felicity." He beamed at her. "It's just… really good to see you," he said, placing his hand on her shoulder.

She crinkled her brows, but returned his smile. "Um, it's nice to see you, too." After a beat she said, "I didn't even know you knew my name."

Before Oliver could reply, some throat clearing interrupted them. Felicity quickly shook his hands off her wrists and stepped away from him, flushing slightly.

Oliver whirled around and saw, standing next to Diggle, a face he never thought he would ever see again.

"Dad?"

"Cutting it a close today aren't we, kiddo?" Robert Queen teased.

Taking two long strides Oliver reached his father and pulled him into a long tight hug.

The Queen patriarch raised his eyebrow towards Diggle from out of Oliver's sight.

"He's been in a hugging mood today," supplied Diggle.

The two Queens broke apart and Robert Queen gripped his son by the shoulders.

"Well! There's a lot of reasons to be hugging lately… but really, Oliver, this project you're pitching to the board today, I hope you're ready to wow them. Don't get me wrong, I'm proud that you've come up with the idea yourself. It's certainly something I hadn't expected from you. But the board, they won't be as easily charmed by your piercing blue eyes."

Oliver didn't miss the side glance his father gave Felicity. Saw that she had noticed, too. Saw it in the way her shoulders stiffened and her blush deepened. He felt his jaw clenching. He was responsible for putting her in this position.

"Um, Mr. Queen?" She said, clearing her throat. Both Queens turned toward her. "I mean, uh, Mr. Oliver Queen," she clarified, "Here are your notes. I've already preloaded them along with your slides."

Felicity flicked her finger with impossible speed on her tablet and then handed it over to him.

"It truly is a wonderful project, Mr. Queen. Would really improve the city for the better," she said, smiling shyly.

Before Oliver can take a look his father had taken the tablet from him.

"Yes!" Robert interjected. "It'll definitely increase the number of jobs in the city and improve our PR. Now, Ms…"

"Smoak," Felicity supplied.

"I think we're done here. You can return to your department now."

Felicity nodded succinctly and started to turn away. Before she did, Oliver caught her wrist and managed a thank you. To which she responded with a polite nod of her head before ducking out with Diggle following close behind. The sight of their retreating figures uneased him. Little did he know his day was going to end up much stranger.

Just before he followed his father, he caught sight of Water Steele on the TV screen outside in the hallway, introduced as the Mayor of the Starling City.

FELICITY

23:59:57, 23:59:58, 23:59:59…24:00:00… It was now twenty four hours since Oliver went dark. Twenty hours since the bomb went off. Twenty four hours, the amount of time they had to wait before the police would allow them to declare him a missing person.

Felicity was so preoccupied with her screen that she didn't notice Diggle getting up. He was nursing a broken arm and a few bruised ribs, but was otherwise alright. It was miraculous. Or calculated. Felicity believed in the latter.

"You need to rest."

"I don't." She took a sip of her coffee to demonstrate.

"Oliver wouldn't want this."

"Oliver isn't here and that's entirely the problem," she quipped.

"He's gone missing for longer periods than this, Felicity."

"Yeah, but not like this."

They'd been set up from the start. The alert. The warehouse. The bomb. It was all part of some greater elaborate scheme. She just hadn't figured it out yet.

They wanted Oliver, she'd gather that much. The bomb had been little more than smoke and mirrors. Some kind of knockout gas and flash bombs for effect, enough to distract them while they spirited Oliver away. And now he truly was a ghost.

No matter how hard she ran her system, how many cyber crevices she searched, she couldn't trace where the bogus alert originated from. And that terrified her because Felicity was humble about many things, but she knew with confidence that she was an exceptional hacker. And if she wasn't then… then what the hell was she doing here? She has failed Oliver.

Her screen lit up with the words: no results found.

"Dammit!" She slammed her hand hard against the keyboard.

Diggle was quickly by her side.

"Hey, hey… take it easy, alright?"

She wanted to scream, she wanted to cry. The frustrating tears were already burning behind her eyes.

"It's my fault!" She sobbed, finally letting the hot rivulets rain down her cheeks.

Diggle pulled her to him with his good arm, making quiet shushing sounds.

"I was the one that found that alert. I was the one that told Oliver about it. Oh god, Diggle, I almost got you killed and now Oliver's gone."

"You couldn't have known, Felicity."

"But I should've!"

"No," Diggle said firmly, holding her by the shoulder with his left hand. "This isn't anyone's fault. We were set up. Blindsided. No one could've seen it coming. So there's no point in beating yourself up. That's not going to help get Oliver back."

Felicity nodded and released a long breath. Diggle tried to give her a small smile, but they were both still feeling weak.

"You need to hit the showers. Get some rest. At least for a few hours. Go home, Felicity. There's nothing more we can do for now."

Felicity doesn't remember how, but she got into her car and drove herself home. Despite her stubbornness, Diggle had been right. Once she finished her shower she collapsed into bed and slept like the dead.

OLIVER

Verdant was a sight for sore eyes. It was 3pm so the club was closed, but Oliver had a key. The club looked mostly the same and that provided Oliver with a bit of relief. He allowed his muscle memory to take him down the stairs to the basement. He stopped at the wall where the hidden door to the Foundry should be. Cabinets lined it. He pushed them aside, careful not to knock down any of the bottles and found himself staring at a bricked up wall.

His heart was pounding. He ran his hand along the bricks, alternating between pushing against them and digging into their crevices. They would not budge. After what seemed like hours of trying every single corner of basement for an opening, he slumped to the floor. The Foundry simply did not exist. And if the Foundry didn't exist, then the Arrow most likely didn't exist. But then if there was no Green Arrow, then who the hell was he?

Sounds of footsteps coming down the stairs got him standing.

"I thought I heard something down here. It's a good thing it was you and not some burglars or I would have had to bust out my karate chops."

Tommy was at the foot of the steps, smiling at him. It was his second time seeing a ghost that day and he still wasn't used to it.

"What? Last night wasn't enough for you?" Tommy teased, clapping him on the shoulder. "Man, I was nursing the most killer headache this morning."

"Tommy," Oliver whispered. He'd dreamed of this moment so many times. If only Tommy was alive again, he had wished. There were so many things he wanted to tell Tommy, but at the moment he could not think of one.

Tommy's face tensed when he noticed Oliver's expression. "What? What happened? Did Laurel give you hell?"

Oliver shook his head and tried to smile. "Nothing. Yeah, I got an earful," he lied.

"Don't worry, Laurel will get over it. If not I'll go and tell her it was my fault."

Oliver tried to smile again.

"What were you doing in the basement anyway?"

Oliver shook his head and glanced around, fumbling for an excuse. "I, um, I was," he searched around and grabbed a bottle of red, "just looking to steal a bottle of Laurel's favorite. Thought it'd help me get out of the dog house."

Tommy frowned at him, turned around and grabbed a rosé. "If you're looking for Laurel's favorite then you might want to try this instead."

Tommy handed over the bottle and Oliver blinked down on it.

"Don't you remember? That's the bottle you guys had when you took her on that trip to France last year. Before you moved in together. It's her favorite now."

"Oh! Right…" Oliver said. "Of course…"

"You sure you're alright?" Tommy asked again.

"Yeah, yeah. Just beat I guess. I think I'll go home."

Tommy nodded and stepped aside, not saying anything further.

As Oliver exited Verdant, he realized with terrifyingly and exhilaratingly clarity, that he was from this day forward simply Oliver Queen. And he wasn't quite sure he knew how to be.

FELICITY

Felicity woke up a start, her phone going off. Giving the clock on her bed stand a cursory glance, it read 10:37AM. She was late for work. The first time ever, though it matter little since Oliver was gone. It was probably HR on the phone wondering why neither their CEO nor his executive assistant managed show up to work today. The rumor mill had already been working double time and it was the last thing she wanted to deal with.

Nonetheless, she and Diggle had already put together a cover story that Oliver was out of town on urgent personal business until they could locate him. Felicity had never enjoyed lying and so she steeled herself, mentally reciting the words she would say before she picked up. She was startled to hear Thea Queen's voice on the line instead of Beth's from Human Resources.

"Felicity? Felicity! Oh god, thank goodness you picked up. Is Ollie with you? Please tell me he is, oh god!"

Felicity shook her head, barely catching anything the youngest Queen said.

"Thea, slow down. What's going on?"

"Didn't you see the news? Somebody bombed Queen Consolidated."

xxx

Both Felicity and Diggle rushed to Queen Consolidated, at least what was left of the building. Detective Lance was already at the scene. The police had the entire block quarantined and a bomb squad had been activated. The entire place was a madhouse. There was over two dozen people missing, possibly dead, a hundred more injured. Being late that morning had probably saved Felicity's life.

They found Thea with eyes red rimmed in the middle of all the chaos, Roy beside her. The young Queen girl looked utterly defeated and nearly collapsed into Felicity arms when she came over to hug her.

"They say both Ollie and my mother are still unaccounted for," Thea whispered into Felicity's hair before being wracked with a new wave of sobs.

Felicity felt her heart splintering in two and she struggled swallow the rock lodged in her throat. Her eyes were stinging again, but she wouldn't let herself cry. She'd done enough of that last night and right now Thea needed them to be strong. Diggle saved her once again when he touched his hand to her shoulder.

"We have to get out of this madhouse, girls. Thea, it's not safe for you out here. Someone was clearly targeting the Queens and as of right now…" Diggle couldn't bring himself to say it.

"I'm the last Queen standing," Thea finished for him, her voice laced with bitterness.

Twenty four hours… all it took for their entire lives to be torn apart.