Oliver goes back to addressing Felicity as "Ms. Smoak" after that. He can see the way it disappoints her and he hates to do it, but the very fact he feels that way proves how necessary it is. He's fully recommitted to maintaining distance between them, ignoring Thea's unsubtle suggestions—and then Cooper Seldon breaks out of prison.
They're driving to a charity event when they hear the report over the radio:
"Early reports out of Iron Heights indicate that a facility-wide system malfunction caused the locking systems on all cell doors to fail and knocked out internal communications for several hours. Sources inside the prison say that personnel have nearly regained control of the high-security corrections facility and preliminary sweeps have revealed that Cooper Seldon is still unaccounted for. Seldon was convicted last year of kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon, and attempted murder after attacking Smoak Tech CEO—"
Oliver slams his hand on the power button of the radio before Felicity can hear anymore, but when he studies her in the rearview mirror, he can already see she's panicking. That's all he needs to see to decide what to do. He takes a sharp left turn at the closest intersection, ignoring honks from angry, oncoming drivers. He puts on speed to catch the next light and then accelerates even more as he enters the freeway.
"Where are you doing?" she asks, her voice edging on hysteria.
He opens his mouth to respond, but the sound of his phone ringing cuts him short. He registers Diggle's name on the screen and quickly accepts the call.
"We heard the news," he says instead of a greeting.
"You have a plan?" John asks.
"We're driving out of the city now. Her other properties are out of the question and anywhere public risks witnesses and a paper trail. I'm taking her to my family's lake house in the mountains and we can lay low there until Seldon is either apprehended or we find a way to make her apartment and office more secure. Any objections?"John deliberates for a second longer than Oliver expects and then says a firm, "No."
"I'll keep you updated with the situation here," John adds and then hangs up.
"But I don't have any clothes," Felicity says, voice small, frightened. Oliver glances at her in the rearview mirror again and while she doesn't seem as panicked before, she's too pale for his comfort.
"You can borrow some of mine," he replies, voice soft and kind.
"But you're gigantic," she says and the fact that she's too distracted to splutter a retraction worries him.
"We'll figure it out. Worst case scenario, I'll buy you something at one of the stores nearby."
"Why—?" she starts before he cuts her off.
"You're well known enough to be recognized. We can't risk that. I'll drop you off at the house and then go back into town for supplies."
"But I don't have any cash on me," she says, holding up her tiny clutch.
"You can pay me back," he says with a smile, "I'm sure you're good for it." Felicity manages a small smile and Oliver takes that as a good sign.
She sits back, breathing deep in an attempt to calm down, and then nearly jumps high enough to hit the roof. She scrabbles to open her purse, tears her phone out, rolls down the window and throws it out like it's on fire. She rolls the window back up and then slumps in the seat, breathing heavy.
Oliver is so stunned that for a moment, he doesn't know what to say. "I thought you loved your phone," he tries and he's rewarded when Felicity laughs.
"Coop—," she falters for a moment, "tracking a cell phone is easy and turning it off doesn't always help. He'll find a way."
"Should I throw mine out too?" he asks, reaching for his cell where it sits in the car's center console.
"What? No, he doesn't know you."
"He might," Oliver argues. "I've been seen with you at enough events to draw notice."
"Sure, but I don't think that's nec—" Felicity falls silent as he tosses the phone out the window without a second thought.
Oliver looks back into the mirror after and finds Felicity staring at him, stunned. He shrugs and winks at her and after a beat, she smiles too, her bottom lip trapped between her teeth as she tries not to laugh. It's a nice enough sight that Oliver barely cares when he realizes that he doesn't have his contacts backed up anywhere.
"So you have a lake house?" Felicity asks.
"Yeah, family vacation home," he explains. "We used to spend summers there when Thea and I were kids. We almost sold it to help pay for my mother's medical bills, but she insisted we keep it."
"Oh," Felicity says softly.
"I'm glad she did," Oliver continues, trying to force bright nonchalance into his voice. "I like to have somewhere to escape to, be in nature without the craziness of the city."
"I can imagine," she says with a weary sigh.
"How long has it been since you took a vacation?" Oliver asks, thinking of how often he glances in the mirror while driving Felicity home at night and sees her nodding off while typing one last email into her phone.
"Oh God, let me think," Felicity mutters, her forehead scrunching in thought. "Well, I usually go back to Vegas at least once a year to visit my mom, but that's not exactly relaxing. There was that trip to London last year, but that was work, so I spent most of it in offices and my hotel room. Then there was the Tokyo trip—same thing. I guess it was three years ago when I went to Florida for a friend's wedding."
"What?!" Oliver exclaims. "How have you not had a nervous breakdown by now? No wonder you drink so much coffee. You need it to keep upright." She leans forward to smack his arm but laughs while doing it.
"I do love my coffee," she admits. "It's just that I don't like to let my mind sit idle, you know? I get antsy when I don't have something to do."
"Well, you'll have to get used to that for as long as you're staying in my lake house," he says with mock severity. "I'm making it my personal mission to show you a good time."
"What did you have in mind?" she asks, and Oliver can tell by the way she blushes and looks away that she didn't mean to sound so...flirtatious. He watches her a moment as she stares down at her lap where her hands fiddle with her purse. He tries to think of a response, but the mood has shifted and he's afraid that if he says something–especially the wrong thing–he'll upset some delicate balance. So, instead, he tightens his grip on the steering wheel and they sit in silence for the rest of the drive.
They continue sitting in silence a moment even after he pulls up to the house and shuts off the car. Oliver gives Felicity a nervous smile in the mirror and she smiles back, just as tentative. He walks around to open her door and when he reaches down to help her out of the car, an odd thrill runs through him when she places her hand in his.
"Looks...nice," she says and tilts her head toward the house. Oliver mutters a thank you, but he suspects she's just trying to fill the silence considering it's so dark he can barely see the structure's outline against the night sky. It's pitch black inside the house when they first step through the door and he reaches out to flick on the light. They stand there a moment, shifting on their feet, and Oliver isn't sure why it's so awkward or why Felicity seems to be avoiding his eyes.
"Well, um, living room is that way," he says and points toward the darkened room to his left. "There's a patio outside the glass doors that looks onto the lake and leads to our dock." He points in the opposite direction and continues. "Kitchen is that way. There's also an office and a game room on this floor." He pauses and then shoves his hands in his pockets and tilts his head toward the staircase directly in front of them. "Bedrooms are upstairs."
Felicity nods, but she's still not looking at him. Instead, she's staring in the direction of the stairs, absently rubbing her hands over her arms.
"I'll turn on the heat," Oliver offers, noticing for the first time how cold it is. "It'll take awhile to get going though, so we should probably get you something a little warmer to wear."
"All right," she agrees finally turning to him. Oliver holds out his hand, letting her lead the way. He flicks on the light above the staircase and and then follows her up, the sound of her heels clicking on the wooden stairs and the light shushing of the fabric of her dress moving against her skin the only sound in the house.
"You and Thea are about the same height," he says to fill the silence. "She might have some clothes in her room that will fit you." Felicity lets him lead the way when they reach the top of the stairs and he flicks on lights as they go until they reach a door on the right side of the hall. He opens it, turns on the light, walks to the chest of drawers against the wall and opens the second drawer from the top. He picks up a pink frilly thing off the top of the pile and frowns when he holds it up and sees how small it is.
"How small do you think I am?" Felicity jokes and Oliver smiles.
"Sorry," he says and refolds the shirt. "Thea hasn't been here much since...since our parents passed." Felicity gives him a sympathetic smile and then reaches out to place her hand on his arm. Oliver feels the same electric thrill as before and he quickly pulls away under the guise of rifling through the rest of the drawers. However, after searching there and the closet, he still comes up empty-handed.
"I have some clothes in my room," he offers and leads her out into the hall. She follows him to the master bedroom where he turns on the light and then opens a drawer. "Pants or shorts?" he asks, looking up at her.
"Um, pants," she replies. Oliver digs out a pair of sweats and one of his army t-shirts and hands them to her. "Thanks," she says and hugs them to her chest.
"Bathroom is over there," he says, pointing. "Go ahead and try them on."
Felicity nods and then heads off. Oliver watches her go and she gives him a small smile before she shuts the door to the bathroom. He stares after her a second and then decides he needs to distract himself when images of Felicity slipping out of her dress just behind that door pop unbidden into his mind. He heads to the fireplace set in the wall opposite the bed and sets to work. He's just gotten the logs to ignite when he hears the door open behind him.
"I can't do anything about the shirt," Felicity says, "but I managed to roll the pants enough that I'll avoid any tragic tripping accidents." Oliver turns to respond when the sight of her in his clothes–engulfed in them really–sets his his heart pounding and makes heat pool low in his belly.
"You should sleep in here," he blurts, surprising both himself and her. "This is the only room with a fireplace," he adds quickly. "Like I said, the heater will take awhile to kick in."
"But where will you sleep?" she asks.
"I'll sleep in my old room," he urges, standing and walking toward her. "It's across from Thea's."
"Oliver, you really don't need to do that."
"It's fine," he says placing his hands on her shoulders. Felicity seems surprised by the contact and he pulls away. He turns from her, retreating toward the door and then turns to address her again at a safer distance.
"I'm gonna head to town," he says. "I shouldn't be gone too long. I'll turn on the heat and lock the doors before I leave."
"OK," Felicity says, wrapping her arms around herself. "What if something happens while you're gone?"
"It won't," Oliver says firmly, trying to reassure her, but it doesn't seem to make her any less anxious. "There's a phone in the office next door," he offers. "If you feel at all unsafe, you call the police."
"What's the address here?" she asks, sounding skeptical.
"Just tell them you're in the Queen house. They know where it is." Felicity cocks an eyebrow at him and Oliver can't help but laugh. "Thea and I terrorized this town for years," he admits. Felicity laughs too and then says a soft, "alright."
"You want anything in particular from the store?" he asks. "Bacon and eggs for breakfast? Cereal?"
"Jewish," she replies pointing at herself, "so no bacon unless it's turkey. Otherwise I trust you. But nothing with nuts. I'm—"
"Allergic," Oliver finishes, "I know."
"Right," she says, smiling.
"Great," he replies before adding, "oh, and what size clothes do you wear? There's a store in town that might have something."
Felicity looks shocked by the question and Oliver finds the way she tries to avoid telling him in the ensuing minutes kind of adorable. However, after much prodding on his part and a lot of blushing on hers, he finally gets an answer. He tells her where to find any toiletries she might need, grabs her a water from the bar fridge downstairs just in case and then sets off for town.
Oliver goes for the clothes first and the selection is even worse than he imagined. Felicity's tastes run fashionable, feminine, but the cheaply-made t-shirts and functional athletic gear that make up the store's stock are anything but. Even worse, it's clear that they haven't gotten anything new in since the last tourist season ended and Oliver has to dig to find anything remotely close to her size. He thinks that Felicity will have to keep wearing his clothes if they have to stay for any significant amount of time and then rushes off toward the cash register before he can analyze why that thought gives him so much satisfaction.
The owner gives him a confused look as she rings him up and Oliver lies and says they're for Thea. The woman nods and they chat idly about how his sister's doing.
From there, Oliver heads to the grocery store and he's thankful that its stock isn't as desolate. He buys enough food for a few days and then heads home.
All told, he was gone just under two hours, but Oliver is surprised to realize how anxious he was to leave Felicity alone when the tension leaves his shoulders as he parks the car. He pauses when he first walks into the house–listening–and assumes Felicity is asleep when he doesn't hear anything except the gentle hum of the central heating. He goes to the kitchen and he's just putting the last of the groceries away when he hears Felicity scream from upstairs.
Oliver sets off running immediately and he's got his gun out of its holster by the time he reaches the stairs. He sprints down the hallway, praying he's not already too late and then kicks the door open, gun raised.
Felicity screams again as he enters the room, but instead of finding her with an attacker, he finds her alone in the bed, cowering against the headboard and looking terrified as she stares at him. He points the gun at the ceiling and raises his hands in front of him, showing her he's not a threat.
"Are you OK?" he asks softly, approaching her slowly.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," she insists, but then she drops her head to her hands and starts to sob, her whole body shaking. Oliver holsters his gun and closes the distance, kneeling next to the bed and gently resting one hand on her shoulder and another on her leg over the blankets.
"Hey, hey," he says softly. "You're OK. You're safe," he assures.
"I know," Felicity sputters. "I'm sorry."
"You don't have to apologize," Oliver replies, sliding his hand lower so he can rub her back. "You want to tell me what happened?"
"No, it's..." she drops her hands, taking deep, deliberate breaths as she tries to calm down, "it's stupid."
"Nothing that makes you this upset could be stupid, Felicity," Oliver offers, smiling encouragingly. She glances at him quickly, looking embarrassed but appreciative.
"I had a nightmare," she chokes out, sounding angry with herself.
"Then no wonder you're upset," he says. She turns to him in confusion and he explains, "I have nightmares too."
"About what?" she asks and then clenches her hands into fists. "I'm sorry," she says, turning away and shaking her head angrily, "You don't have to tell me." Oliver deliberates a moment and then speaks.
"Usually the Army," he says and she turns toward him, a soft look on her tear-streaked face. "Sometimes it's about my parents, for awhile it was mostly Thea. Now..." He pauses, remembering the morning two days ago when he woke up in a cold sweat after dreaming about Felicity being killed, the shame and loss he'd felt when he'd been too late to save her. "Now it varies," he says, looking away from her to where his hand rests on top of the blanket. He sees Felicity's hand move toward his out of the corner of his eye and when she wraps it around the back of his, he looks up at her again.
"Does it get better?" she asks.
"Eventually," he replies, encouraging and soft. "You just have to give yourself time," he adds, squeezing her leg through the blanket.
"Ugh, I know. I just thought I was past this. I haven't had a nightmare since he was convicted. I hate that he has this control over me. I don't want to be afraid anymore."
"You don't have to be," Oliver assures. "I won't let anything happen to you."
Felicity smiles at him a moment and then, before Oliver realizes what she's doing, before he can pull away, she wraps him into a hug.
"Thank you," she whispers and Oliver slides the hand he already has on her back down and around her waist. She holds onto him a moment and then pulls back and when Oliver leans back and looks into her eyes, he feels an amplified version of the same thrill he felt when he helped her out of the car earlier.
He moves to stand, ignoring the look of hurt and confusion on Felicity's face as her arms fall back to her sides.
"You should try to get some sleep," he says.
He turns to go, but stops when he feels Felicity's hand wrap around his wrist. He turns and looks at her.
"Will you...will you stay with me?" she asks. "Just until I fall asleep," she adds when she sees the look on his face.
Oliver knows he shouldn't. He knows he should go back to his room or pace outside her door the rest of the night, ready to run in at the slightest sound of distress. He knows the most he should do is sit in one of the chairs across the room and leave the moment she falls asleep.
Instead, he breaks every code of his profession and slides into bed next to her. He wraps his arm around her shoulder and pulls her close and Felicity responds in kind, resting her head on his chest and bringing her body flush against his. Oliver hesitates a moment and then brings his free hand up to stroke her hair, because what's the point in resisting? It's already too late.
He doesn't know when it happened, but somewhere along the way, his relationship with Felicity became more than professional. He looks down at her pressed against him and knows that he can't go back to treating her like just a client.
She only asked him to stay until she fell asleep, but Oliver stays the whole night. He decides to indulge because after this, he has to end it. Caring for Felicity compromises his professional judgement and Oliver refuses to take risks with her life—even if he wants to be the one to protect her.
He requests a transfer the moment they get back to Starling City.
Thanks for reading and please leave some feedback—whether good or bad. Everything helps me become a better writer.
