AN: Thank you so much for all your continued support, it means so much to me and I can't believe how many have followed/faved/reviewed this fic! Thank you! There is going to be at least one more chapter to this story after this one.

Disclaimer: I still own nothing, everything belongs to CW!

That had really hit home hard to him Tommy remembered, especially as he couldn't dispute it and he knew that she was right. How could he not have known that Oliver had been shot - had nearly died? He hadn't even known that he was hurt. He still felt really guilty about that now. It was also true that he hadn't stopped to consider all the lives that Oliver was saving, just the ones that he was taking. Yet even the news had picked up on the drop in crime since the Vigilante had been around. Maybe he had been too hard on Oliver, too quick to judge without finding out more. That's why he'd decided he needed to talk to Diggle. Maybe if he could find out more about this 'List' that Felicity had mentioned he would be able to understand.

Tommy's POV

Now Tommy knew that he needed to speak to Diggle he just had to find a time to do it without Oliver around – apparently that was harder than he'd thought it would be though! Talking to Felicity alone had been easy, she was at the Arrowcave whilst Oliver and Diggle were out on patrol. But Diggle didn't seem to leave Oliver alone all that much, even though it was now abundantly clear that Oliver was the very last person to need a bodyguard!

Still, after a few days of trying, Tommy had managed to have a couple of words in private with Diggle to say that he needed to talk to him properly. They had agreed to meet at the Arrowcave later that evening whilst Oliver was having a meal with his family. The only problem was that now he finally had Diggle alone, he had no idea of how or where to start ...

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After waiting for Tommy to say something beyond "Hi" for a good few minutes Diggle finally took pity on him and decided to give the boy a break by starting the conversation for him. After all, Tommy had had a lot of news to take in and adjust to in a fairly short period of time - and unlike Felicity and himself Tommy had known pre-island Oliver, known him so well they were like brothers, a relationship Diggle understood all too well.

"So, I hear you had a bit of a chat with Felicity – how'd that go?" Diggle started by asking.

"Not as well as I'd have liked. I had no idea she could be so scary!"

Diggle just chuckled before answering. "Yeah, man that girl can be one scary woman when she chooses. Have you figured out the most important rules around here? First, never touch Felicity's computers without her express permission – and even then it can be risky; and second, never ever come between her and Oliver or say anything to disparage him around her!"

"Yeah, think I've figured that out – could have used that warning beforehand though." Tommy said with a rueful smile.

"So which one did you break?" Diggle asked.

"Saying stuff about Oliver."

"And you're still here to tell the tale? She must have gone easy on you!" Diggle said with surprise. "What did you say?"

"I asked her how she dealt with all of this, with Oliver killing people."

"Ah! So what did she say" Diggle responded curiously.

"She didn't actually give me a straight answer, but managed to make me feel pretty guilty. I never stopped to wonder about his more recent injuries and scars, or thought about the dangers he puts himself in. Felicity told me about Moira shooting Oliver, she said he died and you had to restart his heart?" Tommy queried wanting verification of whether it had really come that close.

"Yeah, we did." Diggle confirmed. "If Felicity hadn't been there Oliver would have died. I have basic medical training from the army and can handle most injuries now. But the wires had come loose in the defibrillator and I wouldn't even have thought to check that, let alone known how to fix it. Felicity saved Oliver's life twice that day."

Tommy just thought about that for a minute. He had spent five years thinking his best friend was dead and then had been lucky enough to get him back – and now he'd found out just how close he'd come to losing Oliver again without even knowing. He couldn't help but wonder just how many other close calls Oliver had had, and wasn't sure he wanted the answer to that question.

"So, I'm guessing you still want to know how we do it, why we do it." Diggle said matter of factly after Tommy had been silent again for a few minutes. "Felicity asked me the same question the day she found out. She wanted to know how it was that I wasn't bothered by the killing, even if I hadn't dropped any bodies myself. I'll give you the same answer I gave her. When I was in Afghanistan my unit was tasked with protecting a local warlord. He was a real piece of scum, even sold kids. We came under attack and when it was over I knew which one I'd killed. Man he was just a kid, barely 18, and I asked myself am I still a good man? Doing this with Oliver, protecting the city and taking down bad guys, makes me feel good again. We're doing something to help, to make a difference to the city and those in it who can't defend themselves."

"So where do you get the names from? Felicity mentioned a list?" Tommy asked.

"Oliver got the List from his father, but that's something you're going to have to ask Oliver about yourself." Diggle answered.

Oliver came into the Arrowcave then, effectively putting an end to that conversation.

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Tommy had understood that Diggle wasn't trying to avoid the question, but was simply being loyal to Oliver. It was abundantly clear just how loyal both Diggle and Felicity were to him and Tommy was grateful that Oliver had found such supportive friends. Despite that however, he was still struggling with why Oliver had trusted them with his identity and yet not him - his oldest friend! They had always been like brothers, yet Oliver had even admitted he hadn't intended to tell Tommy at all. If he was honest with himself, that was hurting and confusing Tommy far more than any of the other questions going around in his head.

Yet again Tommy felt that he'd ended up with more questions than answers. Questions were all he seemed to have lately he realised.

AN2: Thanks for sticking with me this far, hope you're still enjoying it. As always please follow and fav - and review, reviews are golden to me! Thank you!