A/N: This turned from the 'hit on at the club', to 'attacked at the club' trope. Not really sure how that happened, other than I wanted something a little bit more than Oliver walking up to the drunk idiot and the usual 'The lady said she wasn't interested.' line. I know I've done 'Felicity in danger' before, but having it happen at the club, quite literally under Oliver's nose, seemed to add an element.
This got a bit heavier than expected.
Just a reminder that these are a collection of stand alone stories. This is in no way a continuation of the previous chapter.
Thanks to everyone who made suggestions for other tropes to work with. I've got quite the list now. Hope you enjoy, let me know what you think.
Felicity sighed heavily and rubbed the bridge of her nose under her glasses. It was after midnight on a Friday night and she'd spent the past six hours in the sub level of Verdant trying to find a way around a firewall.
Oliver had hooded up earlier in the day and obtained the information she needed, but it was still up to her to wade her way through the data. Now that she knew who she was going after it was proving to be difficult.
She wasn't unfamiliar with all nighters, however, in the four months since half the Glades had been destroyed she'd pulled more of them than she cared to count. She knew it would be in everyone's best interest if she admitted defeat for the night and started fresh in the morning.
Felicity grabbed her phone and tapped out a quick text to Oliver letting him know her plans. He was putting in his requisite 'club owner' time upstairs and the last thing she wanted to do was go up and tell him in person.
She hit send and reached down to slide her work heels back on when a chime went off from behind her. Felicity swiveled slowly in her chair and spotted Oliver's phone laying on the table.
Her entire body slumped in defeat. With a groan she forced herself to get out of the chair and headed sullenly for the stairs. By the time she reached the door the thump of the bass matched the quick forming headache behind her eyes.
She still wore the same clothes she worn to work all day. As soon as she slipped out from behind the bar she knew she'd stick out like a sore thumb. Oliver was most likely up in his office or in the VIP section. Hopefully she'd find him quickly and be able to get out of there soon.
Roy Harper worked as a bartender now, and Felicity spotted him coming back to his post with an empty drink tray.
"That router having problems again?" Roy asked with a lifted eyebrow and an air of sarcasm in his voice that let her know he was suspicious of all the time she spent at the club.
"Something like that." she answered evenly, "Have you seen Oliver lately?"
Roy put the tray behind the counter and motioned over his shoulder towards the door. "He's probably out talking to the bouncers. There was a problem with some guys but I think it's been taken care of."
Felicity eyed the writhing mass of bodies on the dance floor, and the entrance to the club on the other side. She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders like she was going into battle.
"Thanks, Roy." she said without looking at him before stepping out onto the floor.
The lights swirled around her, making it hard to see, which made navigating through a sea of drunk, overly excited twenty-somethings, difficult. Felicity was jostled and bumped into more than once, and a wet trail down her shoulder let her know she'd need to soak the alcohol out of her shirt when she got home.
The D.J Oliver had hired seemed extremely popular, and when the current song ended and a new one began the club goers seemed to approve, if the deafening sound level was any indication. Felicity ducked a wild elbow and squeezed between two couples who were probably doing something illegal when a hand clamped down on her wrist.
Before she could turn she assumed it was Oliver, or maybe even Roy. A bright red strobe light flashed over her as she was looking down, and she realized immediately the hand didn't belong to anyone she knew.
Her eyes rose in an instant to the man in front of her. He was tall, almost taller than Oliver, with a cocky grin and eyes that seemed cold, even though he was smiling.
"Hey there, Barbie, where you heading to in such a hurry?" the man said smoothly as he took two steps closer to her.
Felicity tried to pull her arm out of his grip, but he held on tight. She pulled again and gave him an exasperated look. "I'm working. So if you don't mind, I'd appreciate it if you'd let me go."
Something flicked in his expression, and she couldn't hide her gasp as he tugged her towards him violently. She'd gone from annoyed to scared in a split second.
No one around her noticed anything was wrong. The crowd had closed around them and she couldn't see the bar or the door.
The harder she tried to get out of his hold the more force he exerted. When his free hand came up to wrap around her waist she'd had enough. Felicity remembered the training Digg had been drilling into her and she drew her arm back to throw her elbow into his midsection.
In an instant he'd anticipated her move. She had been pulled back to his chest with her arms crossed in front of her, her hand growing numb from the pressure he was putting on her wrist.
"Tsk tsk, sweetheart. You don't think I know all about you ladies and your 'how to attack a predator' moves." he hissed into her ear, as a cold fissure of panic began to lace its way through her. With her arms pinned she could barely move. Screaming would be futile; no one would hear her.
Suddenly she was being propelled forward, she tried digging her heels in and refusing to move, but he merely wrapped his arm around her waist and lifted her in front of him, and no one noticed a thing.
There weren't many dark corners in Verdant, Oliver had made sure of that when he had designed the space. However, as they made their way off of the dance floor Felicity knew where he intended to take them.
The hallway to the bathroom had a small alcove with the door to the janitorial closet, and it was past the entrances to the restrooms. No one would be going any further down that hallway.
Felicity swung her feet and tried to kick him in the shins, the ankles, even higher if she got lucky. She was dropped hard on her feet, one ankle buckling slightly before he grabbed her pony tail and twisted it viciously. Her neck was bent at a harsh angle where all she could see was the ceiling.
"Stop fighting, Barbie and all of this will go a lot smoother." he whispered darkly. She could feel his lips and tongue on her neck and fought the urge to vomit.
The blood rushing to her head was almost deafening. Felicity tried to keep her fears tramped down, knowing her only chance was to find an opening and make an escape.
A trio of drunk girls passed them in the hallway, but no one spared her a glance. She could see the door to the women's room as they went by and bile rose in her throat.
Suddenly she was released and shoved violently into the closet door, the handle pushing painfully into her ribs. Lighting was almost nonexistent down here and she could only just make out his dark form.
She lashed out as he approached, but he caught her fist before it could connect, squeezing the same wrist he'd held before until she was forced to cry out in pain.
The tiny bit of control she'd managed to hang on to slipped and she screamed for help as she tried to attack him again.
He laughed.
Tears ran unchecked down her face and the air around them seemed to still. All she could hear was her own ragged breathing and the sound of his shoes scraping across the floor as he stepped in closer.
The dance floor, Oliver, even Roy seemed miles away now. She was literally feet from safety and she'd never felt more frightened or more alone.
"You think I haven't done this before?" the casual way he spoke sent a chill through her, "This is easy."
Her entire body jumped as he tore her shirt in two. As soon as she felt his hand on her bare skin something snapped inside her. An overwhelming need for survival welled up and she fought back.
He may be able to over power her, but she wasn't going to give up.
Somehow she got a hand loose and managed to rake her nails down the side of his face. His roar of outrage preceded the back handed slap she received in return, but even as she was tasting blood in her mouth she didn't regret it.
She tried to knee him in the groin. He just laughed darkly as he shoved her legs apart, pushing her further into the wall. Never had she been as glad to have chosen pants to wear that morning as she was just then.
With her legs unusable she twisted her body trying to get away. An errant fist made contact with his nose. That earned her another slap which left her dazed as she fell to the floor.
Her head throbbed from the last hit, and try as she might, she couldn't get her feet under her. One of his hands grabbed her ponytail to lift her upwards and she had no option other than to go with it, the pain in her head almost blinding now. When his mouth was on hers she bit down hard on his lower lip and felt a bit of satisfaction as he howled in pain.
Felicity flinched from what she knew would be another blow, but it never came. His hold on her hair suddenly released and she fell into the corner of the door and the wall, sliding down until she came to rest on the floor.
There were sounds of a struggle, flesh meeting flesh, exhales of air, and grunts of pain.
"Did you touch her?" a growl came from the darkness that sounded suspiciously like the Hood. Except she couldn't make out the silhouette, but she could see Oliver now. Cool relief flowed over her.
They were in the hallway, her attacker pinned with an arm across his throat to the opposite wall. Oliver's fist raised up and came down with a punishing hit that made the man's knees sag, but he wasn't about to give up yet.
He laid a blow to Oliver's ribs which did nothing but enrage Oliver more. The retaliation was fast and brutal. Felicity flinched each time Oliver made contact.
They were on the ground now, her attacker almost prone beneath Oliver. The lights on the dance floor had changed their angle and every few seconds a beam of red and green would cut across the hall. Felicity could see blood and a look on Oliver's face she'd never seen before.
Then they were crowded out. Roy arrived along with two of the bouncers. It took both of them to pry Oliver off the man. Roy glanced up and saw her, still collapsed in the corner.
Through eyes that were becoming increasingly blurred she saw Roy get right in his boss's face. She'd never know what he said, but Oliver's eyes cut over her just as the light shone in from the dance floor. His face was mostly in shadow, but she couldn't miss the way his jaw got even tighter or how he lunged for the unconscious man. Once again, the bouncers were the only thing that could hold him back.
Roy was in front of Oliver one more time before he slipped down the hallway.
Felicity's breath was coming in short, hard bursts now and she couldn't do a thing to keep her body from shaking.
Her eyes fell on the man who'd hurt her. He didn't seem so big now that he was stretched out on the floor. She could see the deep scratches her nails had dug into his face, as well as everything Oliver had done to him. She wanted to look away, but she couldn't.
There was a touch on her arm that sent her scrambling backwards before she could actually understand what she was doing.
Oliver crouched in front of her, a deep furrow between his brows and an intensity in his gaze that had never been there before. His hands were held up in front of him, his mouth moving but the rush in her head was so loud she couldn't make out what he was saying.
She waited a beat and then threw herself at him. If he was surprised by her actions he didn't show it other than a moment of hesitation before his arms wrapped around her.
Felicity placed her face in his neck and shut her eyes tight; his heartbeat beneath her ear and the fistful of shirt she held on to all that was keeping her grounded right then.
She could feel one of his hands splayed across her back, anchoring her to him, the other cupped the back of her head, his fingers pulling lose hair away from her face.
He was talking to her, she could feel the rumble of his chest as he spoke, but she wasn't hearing a thing. All she knew was she was safe.
As she lay curled against him she allowed her mind to go blank. Thinking about what had just happened; about what had almost happened, was too much. At some point Oliver gently set her back long enough to drape his suit jacket over her shoulders. She looked down as his hands overlapped the lapels and caught sight of her torn blouse and a glimpse of her bra. Her stomach rolled and she placed herself right back where she had been.
All she could see was the blurred image of day old stubble along Oliver's jaw, and the edge of his shirt collar.
She could hear voices now, not just Oliver. Slowly she realized the music in the club had been turned off, and the space around them was brighter.
"Why don't you take her to your office, boss. I'll wait for the cops." she heard Roy say carefully, as if he didn't want to scare her with his voice.
Oliver's head dipped over hers, "I'm going to take you upstairs. You're safe."
Felicity managed a half a nod in response.
"Shut your eyes." Oliver said as he rose to his feet and lifted her easily along with him. She felt his weight shift and knew he was stepping over the body of her attacker. Felicity did as he said and turned her face ever further into his neck until she couldn't see a thing.
She wasn't aware of the journey from hallway to Oliver's office. When he tried to place her down on the leather couch she made a noise she didn't know she was capable of making and clung to him tighter. He didn't try again, just sat down with her in his lap.
They sat in silence for a long moment. She actually felt him swallow before he finally spoke.
"Felicity," he started off slow and quiet, "Are you hurt?"
When she didn't answer he ever so gradually pushed her forward until he could see her face. She let out an involuntary whimper that she'd be ashamed of later.
His hand raised and carefully coasted over her cheekbone. She tried not to flinch but she couldn't hide it and she was aware enough to see how his eyes darkened when she did.
"I tried...I tried to fight him off, to do what you taught me, but he was so strong..." she choked on a sob and Oliver's hand wove through her hair and pulled her into his chest again. The adrenaline was starting to wear off, but she didn't know if the shaking was from that or something else.
"You're safe." Oliver repeated as he stroked her head.
"You didn't have your phone, I tried to send you a text that I was going to leave for the night, but..." as the words tumbled out, Oliver's face shut down. His eyes fell closed and when he opened them he held her a bit tighter.
"I'm sorry," he said roughly
A memory flashed over her, rough hands on her skin, lips on hers, and she shuddered. "He was...he was going to..." she couldn't finish the thought though. Oliver's grip was almost painful now.
She could have sworn she felt Oliver's lips on her hair just before he spoke. "You're safe." She felt his breath ghost over her forehead and she pressed herself in even tighter as sobs shook her.
They could have sat there for five minutes or five hours, time meant nothing to her. A soft knock at the door broke the silence. Felicity looked up just as the door pushed open a few inches and Roy stuck his head inside.
"Sorry to bother you, but Detective Lance is here and he needs to..." Roy trailed off, as he took in Felicity's broken appearance.
"Send him in." Oliver said harshly.
Felicity sat up quickly and scrubbed palms over her wet face, before she slid purposely off of Oliver's lap until they were sitting side by side. Even though there was only a few inches of space in between them now she felt cold and alone. She huddled back into the couch, allowing the plush leather to surround her as a substitute for Oliver.
Detective Lance approached her carefully. She clutched the two sides of Oliver's suit jacket closer and wished she could spare a hand to push the strands of hair out of her face that had become loose during the struggle.
He made to reach out and touch her shoulder, but caught himself at the last second and pulled up a chair instead. She caught the way his eyes cut over her, not missing a thing, and she thought maybe she saw the same dark edge in his expression that she had seen in Oliver's.
"I'm sorry this happened to you, Ms. Smoak." he began, "Do you need to be seen by a medic?" After the Glades, her and Lance had come to a sort of understanding. You don't deactivate a seismic device with someone and not form a bond.
"I'll be fine." she whispered, hating how weak her voice sounded, but not being able to do anything about it.
Lance looked to Oliver for confirmation, which she found strange, but when Lance began asking questions about her attacker she forgot all about it.
She took a shaky breath and told him everything. At some point she let go of her death grip on the jacket and found Oliver's hand with hers and hung on to it. He turned his palm so their fingers could intertwine allowing her to tell Lance what had happened.
There was nothing left to her when she was done, tears had been silently falling down her face and she hadn't noticed. More than anything she wanted to leave, and sleep, and pretend for a little while that maybe all of this hadn't happened.
Lance looked at her sympathetically and tapped his closed notebook with a pen. His eyes held hers, before he looked down almost guiltily. "Thank you for your statement. We've been looking for this guy for a long time."
The air went still before Oliver tensed beside her. He was suddenly on his feet, face full of thunder as he glared down at Lance.
"You knew about him?" Oliver growled, his voice deadly and sounding exactly like the Hood.
Lance sat back heavily but didn't rise. "There's been a serial predator trolling the club scene the past couple of months. Girls are usually too drunk or high to know what's going on. He takes them into a dark corner of the club, roughs them up...assaults them, and leaves before anyone can identify him."
The tension rolling off Oliver was palpable. He began to pace around the suddenly too small office, the cords of his neck muscles straining as he fought for control.
"You knew this piece of shit was out there and you didn't think to warn the club owners about him. Give us a chance to beef up security!" Oliver roared
Lance finally stood. "To be honest, most club owners wouldn't give two shits about something like that happening in their club. Most probably expect it goes with the territory." there was an edge to Lance's voice that hadn't been there before.
Oliver stalked forward until they were almost toe to toe, "I'm not most owners!" he shouted, "He came into my club, and hurt my..." he cut himself off abruptly before practically hissing the final part. "She got hurt because you didn't do you job!"
Felicity felt numb as the knowledge that this had happened to other women settled within her and that she had actually gotten off lucky. The bile rose in her throat and she knew this time she wasn't going to be able to stop it.
She made a desperate lunge for the designer titanium trashcan next to the desk. There hadn't been much in her stomach, but what was there was now being expelled violently. She heard Oliver and Lance both swear behind her and there was a flurry of movement.
She was aware of nothing else until Oliver's arm banded about her waist to support her weight and she was instantly grateful, the remaining strength she had completely leaving her.
"Here, sweetheart." Lance said gently as he pushed napkins in her hand. She couldn't help the thought that he'd said those same words in exactly the same way to Laurel when she was a little girl.
Felicity weakly wiped her mouth and took the bottled water the detective had in her line of sight, only barely managing to lift it to take a drink due to her shaking hands.
Lance rescued the bottle from her slack grip and rose to his feet. "She'll need to come into the station and sign an official statement, but that can wait a couple of days."
"She'll come in when she comes in." Oliver countered, his voice hard.
Felicity made a feeble attempt to interject her own opinion on the matter, but realized she didn't care enough and let it go. When she tried to push herself to her feet her ankle gave out on her, she couldn't help the soft cry of pain she let out.
Without a word Oliver swung her into his arms and headed back towards the couch.
"No." she said suddenly and he stopped immediately, "I...want to leave, I don't want to be here anymore."
"Then we leave." Oliver's tone was one of forced lightness
"Take care of her, Queen." Lance said suddenly. Tears pricked her eyes from his concern.
Oliver didn't answer, but she knew something went unsaid between the two men.
She wanted to tell Oliver to put her down, to let her walk out of there on her own, but she knew she couldn't. She had lost something, and she didn't know if she'd get it back, but for now she'd let Oliver absolve his guilt by doing this for her.
Lance opened the door for them and Digg was standing on the other side, his face stony.
Oliver and Digg exchanged a look she couldn't decipher.
"She ok?" was all Digg asked, what wasn't been said was much louder.
"She will be." Oliver answered,
Digg nodded once and gave her a supportive half smile, "The car is waiting out back."
She winced slightly as they made their way across the now empty dance floor, all the lights were on and the brightness hurt her eyes.
A few cops were left over, taking statements from some of the staff, but Felicity knew no one had seen anything.
Roy stood near the bar looking nervous. Oliver barely slowed as they approached him.
"Sorry if you're mad I called Mr. Diggle, but I thought he should be here. I understand if you think I overstepped..." Roy swallowed hard, but held his ground.
"You did the right thing, kid, just run it by me the next time." Oliver said and then immediately winced at his turn of phrase. Felicity shuddered at the thought of a 'next time'.
"You're okay," he whispered in her ear again. She wondered how many times he'd have to do that before she started to believe him.
They rode in silence, it wasn't until they paused and she heard Digg roll down the window to talk to someone that she realized they were at the security gate to the Queen mansion.
"Oliver..." she began
"You're not staying by yourself." he said in a tone that brook no argument.
Thea was waiting on the front steps in her pajamas.
As soon as Oliver stepped out of the car with Felicity in his arms she was upon them.
"Is she alright? Roy texted, he was worried, and upset. I think he thought he should have stopped it or..." she trailed off as she caught sight of her brother's stormy expression. Thea took a deep breath and started again. "Is there anything I can do?"
"Something to change in to would be great." Oliver said and Felicity could almost feel Thea's eyes on her as she took in Oliver's jacket, and the trailing ends of her torn blouse.
"Oh god," Thea whispered in horror.
Felicity couldn't help the swell of shame that rose up inside her and turned as far into Oliver's chest as she could.
"I'm sorry, I'm so...sorry." Thea said quickly, "I'm just going to go get...I'm going to go. I'll be right back."
Oliver was silent as he climbed the steps to the second floor. Felicity had always wanted to see the inside of the Queen mansion, she just never thought this was how it would come to be.
Her head was throbbing now, and she was beyond exhausted. Her eyes slid shut several times, but she felt the hesitation as Oliver went to lower her down.
She blinked rapidly and lifted her head to look around. The room was massive, with dark detailed wood working and heavy drapes.
Oliver sat her gently on the bed and knelt in front of her as he allowed his arms to slide from around her although he let them rest on either side of her hips.
A brief frisson of panic laced through her when she lost contact, and she shivered from imaginary cold without his warmth surrounding her.
"You're safe here."
She thought maybe this was how he was going to start every sentence to her now. The pinched lines around his eyes seemed deeper than ever. "I need to clean up your face." he said,
She drew back slightly at the reminder of her injuries. But before she could respond there were two soft taps on the door.
"Ollie?" Thea said quietly as she pushed into the room. She held a pajama set in her hands.
"Thanks, Thea." He went to take the clothes from her and then paused.
"Felicity, do you want Thea to help you change? I can go get what I need to..."
He didn't get any further because the thought of him leaving her alone, even with his sister was something she couldn't bare to consider.
"No!" was ripped from her throat so forcefully she clapped a hand over her mouth in surprise.
"Ok!" Oliver said quickly as he crowded even closer to her, the pajamas forgotten on the floor. "I won't leave."
"I'll get what you need." Thea said before she slipped silently out the door.
"I'm sorry. I just...I don't know why I feel like this. I feel like I'm not even in my own body, or like it's about the fly apart around me...I don't want Thea to think I don't like her. I do. I mean I don't know her well, but she seems like a nice kid, and..." There was a small hint of a smile on Oliver's face that stopped her ramble.
She took a long deep breath and waited for him to explain.
"You sound a little bit more like you." he said, and she gave a broken smile in return.
He gathered up the donated pajamas and laid them in her lap. "Do you want help? I can..." she could see the control he fought for.
"I can do it." she said with false confidence. But when he turned to leave she reached out a hand in fear. Her fist closed over his sleeve in desperation. "Just...just turn around ok. Don't leave." His mouth was a tight, thin line as he found her hand with his and gave it a squeeze before very deliberately turning so his back was to hers.
He was only a few steps away, she could reach out and touch him if she wanted to, but some irrational terror made her hands shaky and her breath increase as she struggled to undo her pants.
Just as they fell to the floor she was struck with a memory of her legs being forced apart. She gagged, and sat heavily on the bed, her breath coming in great heaving gasps.
"Oliver..." she tried to say, but she's not sure it was at all intelligible. He spun in a flash.
Without a word he slipped her feet into the pajama pants and pulled them over her knees. She let him help her up and managed to tug them up the rest of the way. As the suit jacket was slid off her shoulders her breathing evened out and she stared at a spot across the room. Her ruined shirt was next and she didn't blink as she stood in front of him in only a bra.
The pajama top was light blue and soft. She thought maybe he paused before he began to close the buttons, but she couldn't be sure. He stepped away for only a second and then her arms were being moved again. A familiar scent floated up and resonated with her. When she looked down she saw Oliver zipping up the front of a grey hoodie. The same grey hoodie he'd worn out of the basement this morning after taking a shower. The fabric completely engulfed her, but it was warm and it smelled like Oliver and that's all that mattered.
Felicity sat back down on the bed just as Thea reentered. She laid an assortment of first aid supplies and a glass of water on the bedside table before she gathered up the discarded clothes and gave Oliver a sad smile and left again.
Exhaustion struck hard and fast. Felicity was almost swaying on the spot as Oliver cleaned a small cut on her cheekbone and laid a cold pack along her temple. She knew there would be more bruises tomorrow. He shook two pills out of a prescription bottle and tipped them into her hand. She threw them back dutifully with the glass of water Thea had brought.
When that was finished he knelt before her. Her vision swam as she lifted a hand and brushed it along the side of his face. His eyes fell shut at her touch. "Thank you." she said softly
His eyes flew open and locked on to hers. The look was unreadable. "You can't...you can't say that." he said throatily
"Thank you," she repeated. His head fell forward until it touched her knee and rested there for a long moment. Hands clenched the bed covers tightly and then he was rising above her.
"Lay down and rest." he said stiffly, trying not to sound as harsh as he did.
She did as he asked because she knew he was on the brink. She knew he wanted to do nothing more than to go destroy something, or someone right then, but he was doing his best to keep it under wraps for her.
The pillows were perfect, and the sheets the softest she'd ever felt, but when he pulled the duvet over her and took a step back that same fear returned.
"Please don't leave." she said shakily.
"I'm not going anywhere. I'll be right back." he assured her, and then disappeared from her sight. She laid in stiff silence with her eyes shut tight until he returned. A door shut close by and she heard a hard crash. She jolted at the sound and then lay still again, eyes open in fright until she heard him come back into the room.
If she had to guess, she's say there would need to be some dry wall repair in his bathroom soon.
He showed no noticeable signs of anger when she saw him again. He grabbed the back of a chair and began to drag it towards the side of the bed.
"Please," she said again, and when their eyes met she knew he was aware of what she was asking. She was crossing lines; obliterating them really. She didn't care.
The air grew heavy around them. She knew this was too far. Too much. Too soon. Oliver had barely touched her before this night and now she wasn't sure if she could function without him next to her.
It was a testament to how far he'd come that he didn't say another word. Instead he crossed around the foot of the bed. She felt the mattress dip as he got in and didn't hesitate to bring himself up directly behind her.
Felicity let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding as his arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her in closer.
"Thank you." she said again, because it needed to be said. He laid his forehead on her shoulder for a moment.
She felt around until she could grasp his hand, her thumb ran lightly over the ragged, torn flesh of his knuckles. She didn't know if he'd done it just now, or earlier when he'd saved her.
He didn't pull away when she laced her fingers with his and tucked them up to rest between her breasts. With a long sigh she settled back against him.
"Sleep," he whispered in her ear, and she shuddered.
She only woke once from a nightmare. She was fighting off her attacker again. Pain in her wrist flared and when she woke up gasping she saw Oliver poised above her, his hands holding her arms so she couldn't strike him.
"Oh god!" she gasped, arms falling limp as he let go and rolled to his back, pulling her with him.
"You're safe." he said, over and over again, until she fell back asleep listening to his promise.
In the morning the bed was empty. She sat up with a start, her head aching and the side of her face feeling twice its normal size.
Oliver wasn't in the room, but Digg was. He stood sentry by the window his back to the bed although he turned when he heard her.
"Hey," he said gently, like you would speak to a wild animal that was about to attack you, "How do you feel?"
She pushed lank hair out of her face and sat back against the pillows with a sigh. "Like I went two rounds with you and came out the loser." she said and then immediately regretted it. "Sorry, bad analogy."
Digg waved her off and took a few more steps closer. Her hands twisted in the sheets as her eyes darted about the room. She had hoped this need to have Oliver near her would have abated overnight but it didn't seem to have.
"Where...uh...where is he?" she tried to sound nonchalant, but knew she failed miserably.
Digg's eyes darkened for a second, "He had some business to take care of."
Silence stretched between them, "The guy who attacked me has an arrow in him now, doesn't he?" she finally asked.
"That is the most likely scenario." Digg confirmed
"Good." she said simply, and she meant it.
She yawned widely and felt her eyes begin to drift shut again. "Sorry," she said to Digg, "You really don't have to babysit me."
"Go back to sleep, Felicity." he said with a low chuckle.
Muffled voices woke her the next time and she was able to crack one eye in order to see Oliver and Digg talking quietly by the door. After Digg had left she saw Oliver step into the bathroom and emerge a few minutes later in a t-shirt and sweatpants.
There was no hesitation this time. He got in right next to her and slid an arm beneath her. "You're a terrible fake sleeper." he admonished. She felt her cheeks flush, but it didn't stop her from rolling towards him and laying her head against his chest.
"Oliver..." she began but he lay a finger across her lips and she couldn't help the sudden intake of air at the contact.
"Later." he vowed. She nodded her consent and let her eyes fall shut again, wondering if he could possibly be thinking about the same thing she was. As his fingers stroked over her hair she hoped he was.