N.B.: Firstly, THANK YOU so much for reading, reviewing, etc.: YOU ARE ALL SO AWESOME!

Secondly, the summary is slightly vague, but it is purposely supposed to be that way. The summary refers to Laurel and Felicity, but more so to Laurel, which is why I added her name only to it (made it even more confusing, I know-I promise, it will make more sense as I continue). Thirdly, I know this seems to be rare, but I absolutely love both Laurel and Felicity (I truly hope that they become friends on the show because I think their friendship would be epic). Also, I love Tommy and wish he was still on the show; could you imagine him and Felicity in the same scenes! How awesome would that have been? Fourthly, this story will seem to have a slow progression and the actual 'running away/escape' part will happen almost half-way into the story. Lastly, this chapter is a little long, but I did not want to split it into two.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Arrow, its characters, and everything that relates to it and to them belong to their rightful owners.

Chapter 2: Nothing Is As It Seems

The next few weeks felt like years because time, for some odd reason, seemed to be moving at a slower pace. As it happens with time, in the darkest hours, it seems as though each dark moment takes an eternity to pass. The Glades were still in shambles, and people were still in utter devastation over the immense loss and tragedy that they had all experienced.

Tommy was still in a coma and to add more bad news to Laurel, Oliver, and Thea's lives, Dr. Lamb had informed them that Tommy had requested the machines be turned off after 30 days if there was no change in his condition. As determined in his will, this was Tommy's wish, but Laurel and Oliver now felt even more helpless. They wanted more than anything for Tommy to wake up, both of them still holding on to the hope that Tommy would one day open his eyes and come back to them. However, it was now officially out of their control.

Felicity walked into the room with two coffees securely placed in a tray in one hand. She had visited every single day. She was there for Laurel and Oliver from the late afternoon hours until the late night hours. Some nights she would stay there, comforting Laurel as she cried for Tommy. The two women had barely spoken to each other during the visits, but Laurel also barely spoke to Oliver, Thea, Quentin, Moira, and Walter. She was closed off from the world, her grief consuming her entire body, being completely incapable of doing anything else but grieve for Tommy.

As each day passed, Felicity noticed the toll it had taken on Laurel. She was weaker, had lost quite an unhealthy amount of weight because she would barely eat, and her eyes had become so tainted from the painful tears that fell from them that if anyone were to look at her, they would think that she had not slept in over century.

Oliver too had suffered a great deal. It was less physically evident because he was trying to stay strong for Thea and Laurel, but he was slowly dying inside. He never cried in front of Laurel or Thea, however, Felicity knew that all of his grief and pain was slowly eating him up alive. She tried her best to be there for everyone. Yes, she did not know Laurel, but she meant a lot to Oliver and Oliver was her dear friend, so she was going to be there for Laurel no matter what.

Every time she walked into that hospital room, she would bring the chair that was on the opposite side of Tommy's bed to where Laurel's chair had been. It had become a routine: She would bring coffee, move a vacant chair to be close to Laurel, and comfort her while she grieved. She stopped speaking upon entering Tommy's room after the first week because she had finally realized that Oliver and Laurel were not in any mood to talk. She had also stopped getting Laurel to eat since she was clearly failing after time she had tried to get her to eat. She would only get a broken smile from Laurel and a light squeeze from Oliver whenever she grabbed his hand to comfort him.

Laurel had turned her head to face Felicity when she felt her pull up the chair to sit beside her. Felicity noticed something different this time when their eyes met. Her eyes were not stained with wet tears—the first time she had ever seen her eyes so dry—and she had actually turned to greet her.

"Felicity…" Laurel's voice was just above a whisper, as if she was too weak to speak in a louder tone. Felicity was still in utter shock to hear her voice. "Thank you." Laurel brought over her left hand to grasp Felicity's vacant one. Felicity could feel Laurel tightly squeeze her hand. She knew her tight grasp was out of gratefulness and caring.

Felicity did not speak; she simply tightened her grip of Laurel's hand and gave her a warm and loving smile. After a few minutes, Laurel let go of Felicity's hand and turned her attention back to Tommy, her other hand never letting go of his.

Felicity waited a few minutes before bringing the sliding table that was a few inches from where she was sitting, closer to Laurel and placed their coffees on it. Today was different. Laurel had actually spoken and she had finally heard her voice. The only thing that came out of Laurel were trembling cries, so, therefore, Felicity was truly thankful that Laurel had finally spoken actual words this time. It was not much, but it was enough for Felicity. The two women had developed a subtle but immense bond even though they had never really had an actual conversation with each other.

"Hi…" Thea had now entered the room with a pizza box in one hand and vase of yellow roses in the other. Whenever Thea visited, Felicity felt more at ease. Moira, Walter, Thea, Quentin, Roy, and Diggle were the only ones who spoke whenever they came to visit Tommy. Felicity was the only one who would refrain from speaking because she knew that Oliver and Laurel needed her presence more than her words.

"Hi." There was a smile on Laurel's face as she looked up once Thea had spoken. Thea herself turned to Felicity and gave her a questioning look. She was not sure what to do next. Felicity's comforting smile finally gave her the courage to continue speaking. "I brought pizza. It's a mushroom and olive pizza from Mario's, your favorite." Thea was not blind. She knew the toll the grief was taking on Laurel's health. She and Quentin would always come with food, hoping to get Laurel to eat more than a bite of whatever it was that they had brought. She did visit daily, but unlike Felicity, she never stayed for more than a couple of hours. It was hard for her to accept the fact that Tommy, who was like another brother to her, might leave them forever.

"That sounds delicious." Felicity added, bringing a soft hand to rub Laurel's back. "And it smells oh so heavenly too." Felicity gave Laurel a sweet smile once their eyes met as if she were waiting for Felicity to give her permission to say something.

A simple, 'Thank you', is all they got out of Laurel. They were also thankful that she had actually smiled a few times too. They were genuine smiles that showed just how truly relieved and thankful she was to have them by her side as she grieved and ached for Tommy.

About a half an hour later, Oliver had joined them too. He stopped in the doorframe when he caught the sight of the three women in front of him. Laurel was actually listening intently to Thea as she told them the funny story of her disastrous first date with Roy. He watched as Felicity smiled brightly and lightly chuckled. However, he noticed something different about Laurel. She was actually smiling genuinely and was actually completing a slice of pizza. Oliver, for the first time since seeing Tommy on that hospital bed, smiled. The sight that greeted him upon entering the room brought a feeling of comfort and warmth that put him at ease for just a moment. He was standing there for a few minutes before Laurel looked up to stare deeply into his green eyes. Their eyes met and they both gave each other a smile that made both of their hearts melt. This was the first time in weeks that they were looking at each other with nothing but positivity. Today was definitely different indeed.

"I'm so taking a picture of this. Look at them!" Thea said, as she and Felicity walked into Tommy's room. They had both decided to leave Laurel and Oliver with Tommy last night. Since, truth be told, Felicity too had not been sleeping well. Laurel had made sure that Thea take Felicity with her when she left. She had put Thea in charge of making sure Felicity had gotten a decent night's sleep and Thea gladly promised Laurel that she would look after Felicity. So, despite Felicity's hesitance, Thea somehow got Felicity to stay with her at the Queen Mansion, and for the first time in weeks, Felicity had actually slept for more than three hours.

Upon entering Tommy's room, they were presented with a lovely image of a sleeping Oliver and Laurel. Oliver was asleep on the uncomfortable hospital chair with Laurel on his lap, more than half of her body resting on his, her head so comfortably resting in the crook of Oliver's neck with Oliver's strong arms holding her upper body tightly and his head sweetly resting on hers.

"What are you doing?" Felicity whispered softly, making sure that she did not wake them. She stood by Thea as she pulled out her phone to take the picture.

"Well, so called 'I.T. genius,' this is a phone and I will be taking a picture with it. You see, cell phones nowadays magically do so much more because they are oh so smart." Thea whispered back. The evil look Felicity gave her actually made her chuckle lightly.

"Yes, I am pretty well aware of the advanced technology that comes from cell phones! I meant what are you doing, as in, we really should let them sleep, because, from what I have noticed these past few weeks, neither one of them is a light sleeper!"

"We're standing less than a foot away from each other… I'm pretty sure I can still hear you whisper; you don't have to whisper so close to my ear. Besides, thirty years from now, you'll be wondering what gift to get them for their wedding anniversary, but I, on the other hand, will have crafted some sort of photo art piece of some type to give to them, which will make my gift their favorite."

Felicity's eyes squinted. "Wow, and I thought I was the best at planning ahead. You know, my phone takes pictures too." Thea watched her take out her phone from her purse and rolled her eyes at the sarcastic look she was getting from Felicity.

"You so suck!" Thea exclaimed, shaking her head at Felicity who was also taking a picture of them.

"They look so adorable together..." Felicity smiled lovingly, still holding her phone up.

"Yeah, if only they weren't so damn stubborn…" Thea responded, however, there was a different tone in her voice. It sounded much sadder, as if she had just realized where they were and why they were there.

Bringing her phone back down, Felicity placed it back in her purse before turning around to face Thea.

"Three days…" Felicity knew what she was implying immediately.

"Thea…" She brought her arms around the younger women's body, engulfing her in a strong hug.

"In three days, if he doesn't…" Her tears prevented her from continuing. Thea always put a mask on that made her seem like she was a laidback and easygoing teenager with absolutely no care in the world. However, it was a mask that was hiding a teenager's broken heart. She was anything but happy and strong. She was suffering, just like her brother and Laurel.

"Hey, it's going to be okay. We have to stay positive and hope for a miracle. Miracles do happen, Thea, we just have to remain hopeful and positive, it's really all we can do." Felicity comfortingly rubbed Thea's upper back with the hope of trying to get her to calm down.

In three days, Tommy's machines would be turned off and as Felicity knew very well, he would slowly but surely leave his family forever. Sometimes, she hated being so smart because it made it that much harder to believe in hope instead of science. She knew what the statistics were. She knew that the odds of Tommy surviving and coming back to life were slim to none.

A strong crack of thunder is what interrupted the moment. Thea and Felicity ended their hug and were now facing Laurel and Oliver who had immediately separated and stood up on their feet upon seeing them. Laurel looked embarrassed as a light shade of pink started forming on her cheeks.

"Thea, Felicity..." Laurel greeted, her voice shaky from embarrassment. Once she noticed Thea's sad face, she immediately walked over to where she was standing. She was now standing in front of the younger woman, her arms grabbing Thea's. "Thea, sweetie, are you okay?"

Thea simply responded by falling into Laurel arms. Laurel comfortingly held her as she continued to let the tears that she had desperately been holding for weeks fall.

Oliver became concerned for his sister, so he joined his sister and Laurel. The two women felt his presence beside them. Thea immediately let go of Laurel and fell into her brother's arms. Oliver held his baby sister tightly.

Felicity brought a comforting hand to Laurel's back. Once Laurel felt Felicity's touch, she turned slightly to face the beautiful blonde and embraced her with a hug.

"Mr. Queen, Ms. Lance?" A nurse had interrupted their moment. Laurel let go of Felicity, however, Felicity kept her hand on Laurel's back so that it would somehow give Laurel strength. Oliver and Thea were still holding onto each other.

"Sorry to interrupt, but Dr. Lamb would like to speak to the two of you." The nurse informed them as she stood in the doorframe with a clipboard in her hands.

"I'll be right back, I promise." Oliver let go of his sister slightly so that he could place a kiss atop her forehead before letting her go to leave the room with the nurse and Laurel.

"Can I come too?" Thea asked, her voice filled with heartbreaking cracks.

"You don't have to come, we'll be right back. Stay here with Felicity." Oliver assured her.

"No, I would like to come too, if that's okay." Thea looked at the nurse who gave her a smile and then a nod.

"Are you sure?" Laurel asked as she placed an arm around Thea.

"Yes…" Thea responded. Laurel gave a hesitant Oliver a reassuring look until he finally took his sister by the hand and guided her to where the nurse was standing.

Before walking closer to the exit, Laurel looked at Felicity, a sad smile forming on her already grief stricken face. "Felicity, we'll be right back."

"I'll be here." Felicity responded, giving Laurel a caring smile.

When Oliver, Laurel, and Thea left with the nurse, Felicity took in her surroundings. She could hear the crack of thunder get louder as the rain had now become stronger and more powerful. She continued to slowly observe the room for a few more minutes until finally walking over to the chair that had been occupied by Oliver and Laurel just moments ago. Placing her purse on the windowsill behind her, she sat in the ever so uncomfortable chair. She took off her trench coat, letting it fall sloppily behind her.

In just three days, their entire world would become even worse than it already was. She studied Tommy. Even with all of the machines attached to his body, he looked so peaceful. She could not help but place her hands in the space between Tommy's left hand and the bed. His skin felt surprisingly warm and soft. Her heart broke just thinking of what his friends had gone through the past few weeks. She closed her eyes as she remembered the many times Laurel had cried in her arms in this very room. She also remembered how Oliver had finally let his emotions take the best of him when they had returned to Verdant after Quentin had offered to stay with Laurel four nights ago. She held him as he cried for his friend and repeatedly wished that he could switch places with Tommy.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt a push on her hand followed by a slightly strong grip. Felicity immediately opened her eyes and her vision turned to her hand. Tommy was now holding her hand. Carefully, but fearfully, she slowly looked up, stopping at Tommy's head. Tommy's neck was moving, and she watched as he softly moved his head forward and back. For a moment, she thought she was dreaming. She immediately realized that this was not a dream when his eyes slowly struggled to open. Her blue eyes met his brown ones. Her eyes and mouth were now wide open, looking like a deer caught in headlights.

"Water…" He struggled to stay, his voice sounding as if he had swallowed a bunch of rocks.

"What…Water, right, because you're obviously thirsty, I mean that's usually what happens when people are in…Water…Right…I'm on it!" Letting go of his hand, she quickly grabbed the jug of water that was on his bedside table and the paper cup that was next to it and filled it with water. She got up to help him with it by placing her hand behind his neck as she tried to lift his head up slightly so that he could easily drink from the cup.

"Thank you…" She placed the cup back on his bedside table and adjusted his pillows so that his head could rest comfortably on them.

"You're welcome…" Felicity was still in somewhat of a state of shock.

"Tommy…" Laurel's slight scream startled Felicity. Laurel looked at Felicity as if she was looking for reassurance that this moment was actually real.

Felicity gave her a reassuring look. She then watched as Laurel immediately ran to Tommy's bedside, bent forward, and hugged him probably more tightly than was allowed.

"Ow…" It was all they could hear Tommy say as Laurel hugged him.

"Sorry…" Laurel laughed just as a fresh set of tears escaped her eyes. She lifted herself off him and grabbed a hold of his hands. She brought them to her lips and placed a soft kiss on each one.

"Welcome back, buddy." Oliver greeted, as he made his way over to where Felicity was standing. Oliver too was in complete shock. He gave his best friend a light pat on the knee before sitting on the opposite side of Tommy's bed.

"For a minute there, I thought I was in heaven." They all looked at Tommy as he struggled to speak. His voice was hoarse. "I mean, I open my eyes, and there's this really hot blonde girl beside me, holding my hand." Laurel and Oliver watched as he smiled; remembering just how much they had missed his adorable smile. Laurel immediately looked up at Felicity as he mentioned her. Laurel also saw a light shade of rosy red form on Felicity's cheeks as she blushed.

"Well, aren't you lucky to get such a beautiful sight to wake up to after all these weeks." Laurel added as she gave Felicity a friendly wink. Felicity could feel her cheeks go from a rosy red to a flaming burgundy.

"I'll go get the doctor..." Felicity shyly said as she started for the door.

"Wait, who are you, hot blonde girl?" Tommy asked as he continued to struggle with his breathing as he spoke.

"Uh…I'm…Um…Oliver's I.T., Queen Consol…"

"Her name is Felicity." Laurel and Oliver both spoke in unison, trying to help her.

"Felicity, wow, hot blonde girl has a pretty name too. So, we're in not heaven? Are you sure?" Felicity could feel her body temperature rise as her nerves quickly took over. She knew that by know, she looked like a bright red tomato.

"Yep, that's my name, Felicity Smoak. Felicity. Yep. Okay, I'll be right back." They watched as she nervously left the room. Oliver and Laurel could not help but laugh at the adorableness that could uniquely only come from Felicity Smoak.

"Wait until Thea sees you!" Laurel exclaimed, as her tears continued to fall.

"Okay, no tears, Missy. This is a happy zone, okay." Tommy kindly instructed.

"Sorry, these are happy tears, I promise." Laurel assured him as she continued to hold his hands.

"How do you feel?" Oliver asked, placing his hand back on Tommy's knee.

"Like I just ran a 100 mile marathon while having gigantic rocks being thrown at me." Tommy gave them another warm smile.

"Ouch...That's pretty painful." Oliver responded.

"Do you think the hot blonde girl will give me sponge baths? Please tell me she's my nurse?"

"Tommy…" Laurel sighed as she laughed at his bluntness. "Well, I guess his vocabulary has decreased back to, 'hot', and 'mega hot'."

"Ooh, let's say she's mega hot blonde girl then." Tommy added, looking back and forth at his two friends. "Where is Speedy, anyway?"

"Just talking to Roy; he had called her just a few minutes ago. She'll be here shortly." Laurel informed him.

"Roy. Well, someone has a new boyfriend then. I guess we'll have to give him our usual death threats, right Oliver?"

"No, you two are not driving Roy away! He's a good guy who really likes Thea." Laurel interjected. "This is not like the last time!"

"Mark Cohen? He did not deserve Thea. That boy was an ass and you know it." Oliver reminded her.

"They were eleven and you two scared the poor child to death."

"We did no such thing!" Oliver asserted.

"Really? So, I suppose you two showing him your grandfather's gun collection and telling him that if he ever so much as lay a finger on Thea, that you would use one of those guns to hurt him. That poor boy was traumatized and probably has been going to therapy ever since. I'm surprised you two weren't arrested." Laurel reminded them.

"He slapped Thea! That's was exactly what he deserved." Tommy argued, now slightly coughing as he spoke. Oliver quickly grabbed the cup of water that was back on his beside table and helped Tommy drink from it.

"He deserved worse; we went easy on him." Oliver added. The two men watched as Laurel's tear stained face gave them an evil look that they both knew all too well. "I know that look…" Oliver teased her.

"Evil Face has graced us with its presence." Tommy said as he and Oliver laughed.

"Leave it to Tommy and Oliver to make Laurel so mad, that's she's about to explode and lay a can of whoop ass on you two trouble makers." Thea interrupted their light moment as she leaned against the doorframe.

"Spee…Thea." Tommy said, calling her by her first name instead. He remembered how much she hated her nickname.

"Call me 'Speedy'." Thea corrected him. She knew just how much he loved calling her that. She would give in just this one time. Laurel made room for Thea to sit on the bed with them as well.

"Welcome back, Tommy Tom-Tom." Thea joked as she hugged him lovingly before sitting beside Laurel on the hospital bed.

"Tommy Tom-Tom?" Oliver, Laurel, and Tommy all questioned at once.

"What? I get a nickname, why can't I give him a nickname? Okay, I couldn't think of a better one, geeze!" They were now laughing at her humour.

"Tomster?" Oliver remarked.

"Dude, no, that one is L-A-M-E: Lame. What kind of nickname is that?" Thea said, as she placed her hand on Tommy's vacant knee.

"Better than 'Tommy Tom-Tom'." Laurel responded, giving Thea a devilish smirk at which Thea just rolled her eyes.

"Hey, it's mega hot blonde girl!" Tommy was the only one that noticed Felicity when she returned. They all turned after Tommy pointed it out. "I mean, Mega Hot Felicity."

"Come join us." Laurel finally let go of Tommy's hands and stood up to guide her to the bed.

"Yes, the more the merrier." Tommy said as he gestured with his hand for her to come and sit on the bed too.

"I'm really okay on the chair. Besides, the doctor will be here shortly." Felicity nervously said.

"No, we want you, pretty lady, on the bed with us." Tommy requested. "Did that sound inappropriate?" Thea and Laurel shook their heads at the humorous wit that uniquely belonged to Tommy.

"Felicity, ignore his bluntness, he only gets like this way around really beautiful girls." Thea informed her. Felicity was still recovering from all of the blushing. "Oh my goodness, you're embarrassing her. Poor thing…"

"This is Felicity. She's our tech genius and the newest addition to our friendly yet crazy family." Oliver informed Tommy as he got up to allow Laurel to sit in front of him on the bed while Felicity sat behind Thea on the other side.

"Pleasure to formally meet you, Tommy." Felicity responded. She held out her hand for him and he took it.

"Pleasure's all mine, Beautiful." Tommy responded giving her a sweet smile.

"You look a mess, Tommy Tom-Tom." Thea bluntly stated as Tommy pretended to be offended by her comment.

As Thea continued to joke around with Tommy and Felicity, Laurel turned around to look intently at Oliver. They were both thinking the same thing. Oliver stood up, gesturing for Laurel to do the same. Thea, Felicity, and Tommy barely noticed the two leave the room.

Oliver and Laurel stood outside of Tommy's room. It was a long and bright hallway, with only a few nurses walking back and forth. It was half past ten at night; this particular hospital floor usually got quiet at that time of day and less populated.

Laurel stood with her back to the wall as Oliver came closer to where she was standing. They were both staring deeply into each other's eyes. Laurel's next move surprised him. She immediately put her arms around him. It took him a good minute before he reciprocated and held her as tightly as possible.

"Ollie…" Her face was sad again. She created a small space in between their bodies so that she could look into his eyes. "He's awake. I'm not dreaming, right? He won't leave us or…"

Oliver brought his hand up to her face so that he could hold it lovingly as he spoke. "You're not dreaming. He's awake. I'm just not sure how much he remembers. He is miraculously alive, and right now, that's all that matters."

"Yeah, that's all that matters…" He was still holding her face in his hands when he placed a light kiss atop her forehead. "It's just…Dr. Lamb said…"

"Hey, listen, we'll wait until we see him again. Tommy was still in a coma when Dr. Lamb spoke to us. Let's just take this one step at a time, okay?" She gave him a long, worried look before finally agreeing. Honestly, they were truly not sure how to respond to the miracle that had occurred just a few moments prior. The only thing they could do was be utterly grateful that their hopes and prayers had finally brought Tommy back. Their Tommy was back, and they hoped with every ounce of their being that things could finally start to get better.