Chapter 2

"Dad, could please try to act cool around Felicity?" William begged. Of all the people in the lobby, William had been the one trying to make peace. He was the child. It should have been the other way around.

But his dad offered to take everyone on a town tour tomorrow morning and that seemed to alleviate the tension. Once everyone was settled in their rooms, William asked Oliver desperately if he could come along on the tour.

"Only if you don't ask her first thing to give you archery lessons?"

William agreed, although he secretly knew he'd worm his way into Felicity's heart and she wouldn't be able to say no.

Felicity put on her favorite outfit pulling out all the good luck she could find. She needed to make a better impression on Oliver and she was confident she could do that on this tour.

The film's director had told her how difficult it was to convince the mayor to allow them to film the movie and last night she discovered Oliver was also the mayor.

Plus she really liked William. He was sweet and enthusiastic. Felicity suspected another way to butter Oliver up was to dote on William. She could do that, too. Heck, she'd do that even if Oliver didn't hate her.

Felicity got her chance to do that just as she walked down the stairs. William was sitting a couple of steps from the bottom.

"Were you waiting for me?" She asked and she bent down to sit on the same step as him.

"Only for a few minutes," he admitted. "My dad made me wait. He said I wasn't to annoy you."

She lightly pushed his shoulder. Felicity liked him. She was sure he wouldn't annoy her.

"I'm really excited you're staying with us, Felicity. I've seen every one of your movies. You make a great Hawkeye."

Felicity beamed at the compliment.

"Thanks, Bud. I was nervous taking the role at first because obviously I'm a girl. But they sent me to training to learn how to shoot a bow and arrow and I fell in love with it. Playing a superhero is honestly awesome. Nothing else like it."

Oliver walked into the foyer just then and Felicity smiled. He really was handsome, almost devastatingly. No, definitely devastatingly. What did they put in the water in Star City to grow 'em like this?

"You ready to go?" He asked Felicity.

"Yea, we just have to wait for John if that's alright?"

Oliver took everyone to the downtown area first. It was full of little shops with their windows decorated specifically for the season. Then he'd take them to the ice rink. They put it in especially for the movie and Oliver was really proud of what they were able to do with the area. They had a large tree that they planned to light up on Christmas eve.

"These windows are amazing. All the little details. Look at the conductor on that little train set, Digg," Felicity pointed out something from each store front they passed. Was she laying the charm on thick? Absolutely. Would she stop? Absolutely not. Movies never went smoothly and they'd likely need to ask the mayor for a favor and Felicity needed to build all the goodwill she could muster.

"Felicity," William chimed in, "this is my favorite shop. It has the best candy in the world. Dad, can we go in?"

Felicity was ready to say yes! She could indulge her sweet tooth, but the look on Oliver's face told her she shouldn't give in to the pre-teen's impulse.

"We don't have enough time, Buddy. Ms. Smoak has to get back for some film stuff." Oliver ushered the group across the street. They needed to go just a few more blocks to get to the ice rink.

Felicity touched Oliver's arm, just below his elbow.

"It's just Felicity, by the way. No need for Ms. Smoak. It makes me feel like my mom," Felicity rolled her eyes. Her mom was her mom. One-of-a-kind but she did love her. She should probably shoot Donna a text. "And other than the blonde hair we don't really have much in common..."

Felicity trailed off realizing that she was telling a complete stranger about her mom. Get it together, Felicity.

"Aaaand you don't care about my mom."

That actually got a smirk from Oliver. So there was some warmth underneath that frosty exterior. Felicity could work with that. In the short time they've known each other, Oliver seems to bring Felicity's babbles out. And he's kept quiet during those times when her mouth won't stop making noises.

"I don't know why I told you that about my mom. It must be something about -" don't say you. Whatever you do, Felicity don't say you. He was starring at her again and this time it was because she had abruptly stopped talking. "It must be something about this...er...town that brings back my babbling. In high school, I couldn't keep from putting my foot in my mouth."

"She does that every once in awhile on set, too. But every time she does it, it's just adorable."

Oliver and Felicity turned toward the voice and Felicity's body slumped. Barry Allen. Great, he had just described her like one would a dog and it all happened in front of Oliver.

Turning back to look at Oliver, Felicity tried to convey an apologetic look and then she introduced the pair.

"Barry, this is Oliver Queen. He's the mayor of Star City."

The two guys shook hands which had Barry pulling his hand back quickly trying to shake the ache out. Seemed the mayor had a tight grip.

"Strong grip you've got their, man."

Felicity had to stifle a laugh and covered it with a cough. That had Oliver whipping his head to look at her with an odd expression. It was as if they had a secret. Their first secret. Barry didn't like that. He tried to sling his arm around Felicity's shoulder but she maneuvered quite gracefully to the other side of Oliver, effectively putting the man between herself and Barry.

They caught up to the rest of the group. They turned onto Main Street and caught their first glimpse of the rink. There were smaller Christmas trees situated all around the rink but the main focus was the large tree near the entrance. It was beautiful.

"Wow, Oliver, you guys did a great job setting this place up. It'll make for a great scene."

That compliment earned Felicity her first smile from Oliver. But the success was short lived. Barry caught the looks Felicity and Oliver shared and he didn't like it. This new guy was encroaching on his territory.

"Felicity," he interjected, "remember when we took that skiing vacation up in Colorado. It was such a cozy environment just perfect for the two of us."

Felicity did a double take. That wasn't at all how she remembered that trip.

"We were shooting a movie, Barry. And we took a break from the daily grind. It wasn't anything more than that."

"No, I think you're misremembering, Felicity. That night we snuggled under a blanket near the fire of the private clubhouse."

Felicity looked around at the group to find varying expressions ranging from confusion - William, exasperation - Diggle, and disgust - Oliver. She had to stop Barry Allen from talking. Felicity grabbed his hand and squeezed as tight as she could hoping to inflict just a little bit of pain and dragged him away from the group.

Once safely out of earshot, Barry's fast-talking mouth started up again.

"Felicity, if you wanted to get me alone all you had to do was asked." Barry leaned back against the brick wall doing what Felicity thought was an impression of Cool Hand Luke. It wasn't working.

"Listen, I'm trying to impress this man by showing him how serious we're taking his town's sacrifice for us to be able to shoot this movie here. And you're making it pretty impossible for him to forget that we bring nothing but headaches. Now, you're going to go back to the group and make an excuse about why you have to leave. Then you're going to let me continue to build trust between myself and this mayor or so help, Barry Allen, I'll get your shirtless scene cut from this movie!"

She'd also use her loud voice if he protested about anything she had just told him to do. Maybe she had inherited something of her mother.

Barry opened his mouth, but Felicity cut him off.

"Don't even think about it. Go."

Felicity rejoined the group again with Barry trailing behind her. She smiled sweetly trying not to give away how pissed she was. But Barry wasn't going to let her off that easily.

"Oliver, man, listen I'm playing a small town mayor in this film. Maybe you and I could get together and you could give me a few pointers on how to come off authentically?"

"Um, yea I guess if I can find the time, sure," Oliver said trying not to commit to anything.

Felicity crossed her arms over her chest and cocked a hip. Barry was going to get lost even if she had to brain him with her heels.

"Barry, didn't you just tell me about a call you needed to make? In your room away from us?" Then Felicity elbowed him in the side for good measure.

Barry looked aghast at Felicity and tried to rub away the pain. Ultimately, he made apologies for leaving a tour he wasn't invited to and mumbled unintelligible words under his breath.

William tapped his dad and pointed to a food cart just across the street. "Dad, can we get some hot chocolate?"

"Do they have coffee?" Felicity interjected, knowing full well she need another infusion of java to make it through another moment of this day.

"If I say yes, you're not going to spill it on me again are you?" Oliver asked.

Was he actually joking with her? She could see the mirth playing in his eyes. He was. It was sweet.

"I promise to try my best, but I insist that it be my treat." Felicity almost bounced on her toes at having been rewarded at being able to chip a little bit of frostiness away from Oliver.

"You do owe me," Oliver provided his own reward this time in the form a full smile. Still no teeth, but Felicity promised herself that would be her next goal.

Oliver stepped off the curb and let William lead Felicity over to the cart.

The little lady manning the cart huffed in frustration again and Felicity shot her a hard look. Back off, she thought. It was taking William a few minutes to pick which flavor of hot chocolate he wanted. Felicity thought the cashier should blame herself for having too many options.

"Take your time, William," Felicity said, her eyes never leaving the grumpy lady, "you want to make the best choice." Then she looked down and beamed at William.

"I think I'll take a mint hot chocolate," William smiled, finally confident in his choice.

"Mmmm, that's one of my favorites," Felicity ruffled his hair. "Oliver?"

Oliver only looked up once Felicity said his name a second time. He had been lost watching his son interact with Felicity. She was sweet to him and it thawed Oliver's heart a little to see a woman other than his sister have a bonding moment with William.

He gave Felicity another simple smile.

"I'll take a black coffee."

"I'm paying and you have all these options and the thing you're going to choose is a black coffee?" Felicity feigned outrage. "Come on, live a little."

For some reason that Oliver couldn't quite figure out, he liked that Felicity had challenged him. Even if he was just about coffee.

"Fine, I'll take a gingerbread latte."

"Ooh, another good choice. Digg, anything?"

John Diggle watched the scene before him with intrigue. The tension was there. It wasn't quite steak knife level. It was probably just simmering at a butter knife level. And Oliver was the type of guy Diggle could get on board with, instead of that slimy Barry Allen. So the bodyguard hatched a plan.

"Actually, if it's okay with you, Felicity, I thought I'd head back to the hotel? I'd like to do another sweep of the property just to be safe," Diggle said.

"No problem, Digg. I'll be fine here. I think William is capable of keeping me quite safe."

Felicity turned back to the window, finally able to order. "Sorry, I'll take a queue from this guy here and order a mocha mint latte."

With all of their warm drinks in hand, Felicity suggested they get a better look at the decorations around the ice rink. Oliver told her how long it took them to lay the ice, telling her that William had found it fun to be part of the chain of people holding the hose. Once it was ready, Oliver had a hard time pulling William away from the ice. It was only under the threat of taking away his video games that Oliver got him to finish his homework.

Today was no different.

"Dad, I see my friends over on the other side of the rink. Can I skate a few laps? Please. Please. Please," he begged.

"I don't think Felicity has time for us to take a break, Buddy. We need to get back."

Reluctantly, Felicity pulled her lips away from her coffee and took out her phone to check the time. "Oh no, we've got time for a little break. I'm not meeting with our director until later this afternoon. Please, I'd love to watch. I don't get many opportunities to just relax."

And like the world's biggest force of evil, both Felicity and William turned their puppy dog eyes on to Oliver who wasn't able to resist them.

"Alright, but just 30 minutes. No more," and Oliver cut down their blackmailing looks with a tough glare of his own.

Oliver and Felicity found a bench near the entrance to the rink and took a seat.

"Happy you got something other than a black coffee?" Felicity didn't look at him and instead just took another sip of her latte. But she did smile. Oliver made her feel a little giddy.

"It's not often that I get to relax and just enjoy a few moments to myself."

Felicity expected to hear some sadness in his voice, but it wasn't there. She assumed he had become numb. Felicity didn't really know much about this man. She hadn't been introduced to a wife, but William obviously had to have a mother.

"I'm sorry the rink takes up so much of the town and that you all have to uproot your traditional Christmas for us. It really does mean a great deal to me. This isn't the kind of movie I typically do but there's something about all these decorations, and the role, that make me excited about putting this film together."

"Well, even if you've thrown a kink in our plans, the ice rink has really been fun," Oliver said. "Like I said, William barely leaves it."

They watched William skate laps around the ice with his friends. He was laughing at somebody's joke and Felicity saw the ghost of a smile on Oliver's face.

"Oliver, can I ask a personal question?" She hadn't said it very loud. Felicity wasn't even sure she even said the words out loud.

She had. Oliver closed his eyes. It was a question strangers inevitably asked.

"What happened to William's mother?"

Oliver rubbed his fingers together.

"You don't have to answer. It isn't any of my business," Felicity said. Stupid, stupid, Felicity thought, things had been going so well.

"She died a few years ago. Cancer. It took her pretty quickly. We barely got her diagnosis before she was gone."

Felicity felt her heart crack at his answer. She hadn't known her father and had known it had been a struggle for her single mother. She imagined Oliver dealt with some of the same issues.

"I worry that he's starting to forget her," Oliver said. That surprised Felicity because the emotion behind those words was raw and authentic. Felicity had the urge to hold him, but she had just met him yesterday. This was absurd.

She settled for a hand on his shoulder.

He struggled while climbing the tree. With his camera slug around his shoulder, he took extra care not to damage the $20,000 piece of equipment.

If he could just get a little bit higher then he'd have a great angle into the room. Then he could catch the money shot his boss hounded him for and then he could get the hell out of Star City.

He saw a woman walk into room, so he got his camera ready.

Thea walked in to freshen the linens and to tidy up. She was fluffing pillows when she saw something outside the window. She squinted and then her eyes opened big. Then she squinted again, but this time in fury.

Thea stalked outside and furiously put her hands on her hips. She shouted, "What the hell do you think you're doing up there!?"