Chapter 2

"This is getting us no where," Oliver complained, slamming his bow down on the table. "Every lead we seem to get is a dead end. He couldn't have just vanished."

Oliver was frustrated. It had been six weeks since the attack and Darhk was in the wind. The ghosts seemed to have disappeared and things were extraordinarily quiet. Normally he would be happy for the respite, but not this time. He had to find Darhk and make him pay for what he did to Felicity.

"Maybe he got what he wanted," Thea offered, with a little more venom in her voice than normal. "I mean, he wanted to get you out of the way from being mayor…"

"Thea, you know why I've put things on hold," he explained, picking up his bow and putting it back into its place.

"I know what you've said," she agreed, "but that doesn't mean I agree with it. He did to you what he did to Jessica. He scared you and now he can just sit back and do what he wants to Star City."

"He's not doing anything!" Oliver countered. "Whether I'm mayor or not doesn't seem to matter at the moment because he's not even around!"

"You don't honestly think he's going to just go away," she spat back. "He's biding his time."

"I know," Oliver replied, letting out a sigh. "And right now my time is better spent as the Green Arrow trying to find him instead of being a candidate for mayor."

"You should be doing both!" She was really getting tired of his attitude. "What happened to fighting him in the light?"

"Felicity got shot, that's what happened!"

"All right," John offered, trying to get the siblings to calm down. "That's enough. Let's just keep our heads before someone says something they'll regret later."

Oliver sighed as he looked down at his watch. "I have to go," he explained as he began to take off his jacket.

"Is today the day?" John asked, a sound of excitement in his voice.

Oliver just nodded as he began to walk away. "Felicity is coming home."

Oliver swung open the door to the loft to a squeal coming from inside. He couldn't help but smile as Donna bounded over to them. Pushing Felicity's wheelchair over the threshold, she was almost knocked over by her own mother as she engulfed her in a hug.

"Welcome home, baby!"

"Thanks, mom," Felicity replied, not nearly as excited as Donna was. When her mother didn't let go, Felicity had to try to pry her off. "Ok, Mom. Need some air."

"Oh… Sorry." Donna stepped back as Oliver pushed the chair farther into the apartment. A sigh came from Felicity as she looked around her home. She had spent four weeks in the hospital and then two more in a rehabilitation center. It was so nice to be back home again, but also sad. Reality hit her pretty hard when she looked at the stairs. Their bedroom was upstairs.

"We've got everything arranged for you," Donna explained. "I know how you like your independence so we setup the bedroom down here with everything you might need. The bathroom…"

Felicity tuned out her mother after a short while, just taking in everything around her. During her six-week recovery she had hoped that she would eventually be able to get feeling back in her legs, but it quickly became apparent that her paralysis was not going to be temporary. She loved living at the loft, but she wasn't so sure how practical that was going to be any more.

Oliver had made his way into the kitchen, saying something about making her something to eat. Her mom was still going on about something or other, but Felicity had long tuned her out. Reaching down to the handrails on her wheels, she pushed herself forward towards the balcony doors. When she reached for the handle, she felt her mother reach in front of her, trying to get there first.

"Let me, sweetie."

"I've got it, Mom," she said sharply, causing Donna to pull her hand back. Felicity paused for a moment before reaching again for the door handle and pulling it open. The door did get stuck on her chair at first, but she managed to move it around so it would swing open. Letting out a sigh, she pushed herself forward until she was on the balcony.

In the kitchen, Oliver had noticed her struggling, but he also knew things like this were what she needed to do. She needed to feel like she could take care of herself, no matter how much he or her mother wanted to help. He would only help her if she asked for it, but he knew she wouldn't ask.

Seeing the helpless look on Donna's face, he walked over and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. He knew she just wanted to help. It was a mother's instinct to help her children. It was going to be harder for her to let Felicity do things on her own than it would be for him.

As he walked out onto the balcony, he could see Felicity struggle to see over the wall and out into the city. Walking over to her, he put his hands on her shoulders and began to rub gently. He could feel her tension slipping away as she let her head fall back.

"How are you doing?"

"I didn't think it would hit me like this," she revealed.

"What's going on?" he asked as he moved around to squat in front of her.

"This," she explained, gesturing out to the city. "I used to love to come out here and just look out and now… Now I can barely see anything."

"We can change the wall to something transparent," he suggested.

"And what about our bedroom?" she asked, directing her attention back to Oliver. "It's upstairs."

"We've setup the room downstairs," he reminded her.

"But our room is upstairs," she explained. "The guest room is downstairs."

"Well, now our room is downstairs," he told her, reaching out to take her hands. "Or if you want, we can find a new place that doesn't have stairs."

"Oliver, you're missing the point."

"Then why don't you explain it to me."

His voice was so soft and reassuring. She felt like nothing she could say would upset him. "I don't want to find a new place," she told him. "I love our apartment. And I love our room. I hate that we had to change anything just because of me. I hate being such a burden."

"Hey," he stopped her, gripping her hands tightly. "You're not a burden. I love you. I don't care about the apartment. If you want to be upstairs, we'll… well, we'll put in an elevator or something. I'll carry you upstairs every night if you want me to. Hell, we can redesign the whole loft if you want to stay here. I just want you to be happy and I'll do anything to make that happen."

Felicity couldn't help but smile as she reached up to touch his face. "Just being with you makes me happy."

Oliver smiled as he leaned up and placed a soft kiss on her lips. "Then you're going to be very happy because I'm not going anywhere."

Felicity smiled even brighter as she reached up and pulled him down into another kiss. She loved him so much that the thought of not being with him scared her more than not being able to walk. Just hearing his reassurance made her feel that much more at ease.

"I guess I should go see what my mother did to that bedroom," she told him as she turned to head back inside. "I don't know if you've noticed, but her style and mine don't exactly jive."

Oliver just laughed as he followed her back inside. It was so nice to have her back.

Six weeks and nothing. John was getting as frustrated as Oliver at this point. There had been no ghost sightings, no Darhk sightings. Everyone on the team knew this wasn't over and they were all walking on eggshells, trying to anticipate the next move. It wasn't good for morale or anyone's sanity. At least everyone had been able to visit with Felicity. Seeing her always seemed to brighten their day.

He knew he would catch nothing but grief for this, but he was tired of dead ends. Leaning against his car, he checked his watch again. He didn't like just waiting.

"Have somewhere to be, Mr. Diggle?"

John jumped slightly as he turned to see Amanda Waller walking up behind him. "Only here," he told her.

"I must say your message was quite a surprise," she revealed. "I didn't think Oliver Queen wanted anything to do with A.R.G.U.S. after the incident with Slade Wilson."

"Oliver doesn't know I'm here," he explained. "This is between you and me."

"Alright," she said slowly, crossing her arms in front of her. "What can I do for you?"

John took a deep breath before getting started. "I'm sure you know of Damien Darhk."

"Of course," she acknowledged.

"And you know he's been terrorizing Star City for the past few months."

"Yes."

"Well, a couple of months ago, he shot a good friend of mine," John told her. "She almost died."

"I am aware of the situation with Ms. Smoak," she told him.

"Then you're aware that Oliver and I are very determined to try to find him and make him pay for what he's done."

"I fail to see how this is any of my concern."

"We can take him out," John explained. "We can destroy HIVE. We can… help you get rid of this terror organization."

"And what makes you think we need you for that?" she asked smugly.

"Well, if you're trying, you aren't doing a very good job!" he spat, getting annoyed with her cavalier attitude.

"Let me ask you a different question," she countered. "I have heard that you have found your brother."

John looked at her confused. "Yeah. What of it?"

"Have you asked him about Darhk?"

"Of course we have," John replied, getting more and more frustrated as the conversation went on. "They programmed him to be loyal to Darhk. He won't tell us anything."

Amanda smiled slightly as she took a couple of steps towards him. "When you see him next, say these exact words: 'It always rains when I take my dog for a walk.'."

"What?"

Amanda smile bigger before turning and walking back the way she came. "It was nice to see you again, Mr. Diggle."

John had hoped that meeting with Amanda would shed some light on what was going on with Darhk. Now he was more confused than ever.

"So, I was thinking of going back to Palmer Tech tomorrow."

Oliver almost choked on his dinner as he looked to his fiancé. "What?"

Felicity had been back home for 4 weeks and she had slowly begun to go stir crazy. She loved Oliver and her mother with all her heart, but they could be… overwhelming. She could tell Oliver was trying to give her some space, but her mother was treating her like a child. It had taken all of her convincing to just get her to leave the loft so that she and Oliver could have one dinner together alone. Now all she had to do was convince her to go back to Las Vegas. Maybe going back to work would show her that she didn't need to be babied.

"I thought you were able to do most of your job from here," he mentioned.

"Most, but not all," she told him, pulling away from the table and putting her plate on her lap. She wheeled into the kitchen and put the plate on the counter before continuing. "I have to make an appearance at some point . I don't want the board thinking they can replace me that easily."

"They didn't replace you when we were in Ivy Town," he reminded her, picking up his own plate and following her into the kitchen. "That was longer than you've been out this time."

"I know, but Ivy Town was different," she explained. "There I didn't have to deal with recovery from an injury and all the crap that goes with it. I was just… working remotely."

"Felicity, I think they'd understand if you weren't there," he replied. "They all know what you've been through."

"I understand that, but I still feel like I need to be there to show them that this –" she indicated to her legs "- isn't going to change anything. My office was already wheelchair accessible and Curtis made sure that anything I needed that wasn't was modified. I need to let them see that just because my legs don't work doesn't mean my mind isn't still sharp and I can't handle meeting with investors or new employees or anyone. Oliver, I need to do this."

"But you just got home," he explained, sounding just a tad bit whiny.

"I've been home for a month!"

"Well… what about your physical therapy?" he countered. "You still need to do that…"

"I've already talked to the therapist," she interrupted, "and she agreed to come to the office for my sessions. There are some perks to being CEO, you know."

Felicity could see that he still wasn't convinced, but she knew she had to do this. "Oliver, I can't just sit around the apartment all day. I need to do… something!"

"We can go out more then," he offered. "I'm sure there are plenty of things for us to do…"

"Oliver…" She stopped him with a reach of her hand, taking his and giving it a squeeze. "I need to do this. And… quite frankly… you and my mother are beginning to drive me nuts."

Oliver scrunched up his face in confusion as she let out sigh. "You're always here! I need to do something by myself and so do you."

"I'm not always here," he countered, putting the dishes in the dishwasher. "I run to the store and… stuff."

"Uh huh. When was the last time you went out as Green Arrow, huh?"

"The others have it covered," he explained, walking out of the kitchen to fetch the rest of the dishes from the table. "Darhk has gone to ground so there isn't much we can do."

"And why do you think Darhk has disappeared?" she asked him.

"Felicity, I don't know," he explained, starting to get exasperated. "Don't you think I want to find him?"

"Of course you want to find him," she agreed, "but you're giving him what he wants. He has no reason to be out and about now because he got what he wanted."

"You're starting to sound like Thea."

"Well, Thea apparently is the smart one in your family," she said with a smile.

Oliver looked at her for a moment before considering what to say. "Felicity, you know why I put my campaign on hold."

"Yes, I know," she acknowledged, "and I love you for staying with me during my recovery, but I'm ready to get my life back. I need to do this… and so do you."

Oliver let out a sigh as he leaned against the counter. "You want me to start up my campaign again."

"It did seem to get his attention last time," she explained.

Oliver looked at her with compassion. "Not the kind of attention that I wanted though." The last time he got Darhk's attention, it ended with Felicity in the hospital.

"Oliver, you're letting him win," she told him as she wheeled over and he crouched down in front of her. "Get back into the race. Bring him out. Then we can stop him."

"Not 'we'," he corrected. "I don't want you anywhere near this."

"Oliver…"

"No, Felicity," he said strongly, reaching out to take her hands. "I will not put you in danger again. If I do this, you're going to stay as far away from this as you can. I will not put you in danger again."

"Fine," she agreed, "as long as I get to go back to Palmer Tech."

Oliver knew the security at Palmer Tech was state-of-the-art and he would even make sure that there was extra security around her. It was probably the best place for her to be and it would give her something to keep her mind off of what was going on with the team.

"Fine. I'll call Alex and get a press conference setup. I guess I'm back to running for mayor."