Previously on Never Let Me Go…
"And is everyone else okay?" She asked, refusing to be deterred again. "No, Felicity. Everyone's not okay." He told her, reaching over to take her uninjured hand once again. Before he could give her any details the door opened and Dr. Elliott walked through. "Sorry to interrupt, however Ms. Smoak needs a few tests done. You two can come back later." She wanted to protest but remembering exactly what sorts of tests she needed run she shut her mouth. "Please go get an update on everyone and when I'm done I want to know everything." She told them firmly and both nodded. Thea reached down to hug her as gently as possible while Dig squeezed her uninjured hand and placed a kiss on her cheek. "We'll be back." He told her before exiting the door. She turned to her doctor and sighed. "Okay, where do you want me?" She asked, shaking her head as she realized how bad that sounded. "Not like that." She muttered. Well, she must have been feeling better since her babbling was coming back.
Felicity would have never considered herself to be a brave person to be completely honest. Sure she was confident in her abilities when it came to being behind a computer and she didn't find herself afraid hacking into a protected area, however that was because she trusted her skills in keeping herself out of harms away on the internet. When it came to real life issues she found herself to be scared fairly often. This time being another time that most people she felt wouldn't be literally shaking on the hospital bed that she was laying on…and yet here she was, shaking. "Now Ms. Smoak trust me when I say that this will be easier if you relax." The nurse who in any other instance Felicity would appreciate as she had a naturally bubbly personality that Felicity liked, but today was not one of those days. Today was one of those days that she wished she was surrounded by gruff men barking out monosyllabic words as they worked out. It was easier that way.
"That's easy for you to say." She muttered, trying to relax as she put her feet into the stirrups. When she had been informed that she had to have an ultrasound she hadn't thought too much about it but once the doctor had questioned her on how far along she was that had changed. Due to the fact that she could only be a month pregnant at the most a transvaginal ultrasound was the best way to see the baby and as such that meant some minor (major in Felicity's mind) discomfort for the expectant mother.
The blonde bit her lip as she felt the process but her eyes were drawn to the screen as she saw the little blurb on the screen that the nurse pointed out. Her eyes watered as she realized that this was real, though whether the tears were out of fear, love, or something else she didn't know. Her entire body seemed to shut down and a part in the far recesses of her brain realized this as shock. She barely heard the nurse tell her that she printed out photos though there wasn't much to see and that she would leave the room in order to allow her to clean up. It was the first time that Felicity was able to get out of bed and as she did she relished the fact that she was once again standing on her own. She was sure the doctor wouldn't be happy to see that but she didn't care. He hadn't given her orders that she couldn't and even if he did he clearly didn't know her if he thought she was going to sit around just because she had gotten in trouble.
She used the restroom quickly before walking back out into the room, feeling relief as she found a pair of scrub pants seated against the bed. "I figured you'd be more comfortable with a pair of pants, at least until someone can get you some of your own clothing." The nurse replied to which Felicity finally smiled a megawatt smile. "Thank you." She told her and slid them on as gracefully as she can without flashing the nurse any of her exposed body. Not that it mattered as she had just done an ultrasound but at least she tried to be modest.
"I spoke with the doctor and he agreed that we can lose the bed and instead take you back to your room in a wheelchair. I know it's not much better but at least you are sitting up rather than lying down." She told her and Felicity nodded, though she still didn't know why she couldn't walk…but decided not to push her luck. Upon arriving back in her room she was surprised to see it occupied, though she didn't think about it much as she smiled at her friend. "I'm glad to see you are okay." She told him as he clearly hadn't heard her. Curtis turned around and smiled, though it was a pained smile. His arm was in a sling much like Digg's had been however his face was also badly bruised and she could see the white strips across his cheek which told her he had stiches as well. "I could say the same thing about you. You scared the hell out of me when I saw Digg carrying you after you blacked out." He told her, pulling her into a hug. She and Curtis weren't the touchy feely type but she understand the sentiment and as such she returned the hug with as much strength as she could, which admittedly wasn't a lot. "Digg told me that you were awake but then I walked in and they said you were having tests done. Is everything okay?"
She nodded, walking back to the wheelchair and sitting down, using it just as she had at another point in her life and wheeled over towards the small couch. "Sit down." She told him teasingly. "It hurts my neck to look up at you on a normal day…but considering I am not in heels, please make things easier for me." Curtis did as he was asked and waited for her to respond to his earlier question. "Yeah, I'm fine. They just wanted to check to make sure everything was okay with my head after I blacked out." She fibbed quickly, impressed with her ability to come up with a lie that quickly and without stuttering. She made a mental note to give Oliver grief about how much better at excuses she was than he but then nixed that idea almost immediately. She didn't want to have to explain why she was lying after all.
"So since Digg and Thea left immediately after I asked them how everyone was…can you tell me?" She asked, piercing him with her blue eyes. Curtis stiffened for a minute before purposely relaxing, though she was aware that he knew that she hadn't missed the move. "Digg, Thea, and I are okay for the most part." He started, to which she nodded, relieved and yet annoyed that he was starting with what she already knew. "Oliver is okay, he's actually in better shape than most of all of us." He joked to which she cracked a smile. "Figures." She responded. "William is also okay, Chase never touched him other than when he took him in the first place." Relief flooded her at hearing this, as much for William's sake as for Oliver's. She knew that Oliver would never forgive himself as it was now that his past collided with William's present, she couldn't imagine how much worse it would be had William been injured.
"Quentin will probably be in a wheelchair for a few weeks as his right leg and left arm are broken, as are two ribs, so he can't exactly use crutches. He's not pleased at all but no one is really listening. He's also hovering over Dinah who he actually pushed out of the way as one of the bombs went off right near her, that's actually how he broke his ribs. She is perfectly fine other than a bruise and some bruised ribs that she got from her fight with Black Siren." Felicity wanted to ask but figured it was best she didn't interject as she wanted to know what else was going on. She felt awful that everyone was beat up but honestly nothing she had heard so far was any worse than a normal night on the streets of Star City with the exception of the actual broken bones. Bruised ribs and even broken ribs tended to be the normal for most of them (though she was lucky to escape that for the most part) and even an occasional broken bone was even par for the course. So why was everyone acting so strangely?
"What about Rene and Samantha?" She asked, almost afraid to hear the answer. She knew there had to be something worse than what she had heard so far. "Rene is in a coma." He told her bluntly. "He tried to get to Thea and Samantha as Samantha was fighting Thea when the second bomb went off as she wanted to go and look for William. As it was Rene caught some shrapnel and as such he is a medically induced coma but even when they try to take him out of it they aren't sure if he'll wake up." Felicity felt tears well up in her eyes but she nodded, knowing she had to stay positive. "And Samantha?" She asked, fearing the answer. Curtis shook his head, not really knowing how to answer but knowing that he had to say it anyway. "After the second bomb went off and you blacked out, Thea and Rene tried to get Samantha to go towards the ship. Digg had you in his arms and was running towards it and Rene was knocked out. Thea lost her grip on Samantha and she ran back the way that we had come. Another bomb went off and she was hit. I grabbed Rene with Dinah's help who had already gotten Quentin on the ship and Thea went to drag Samantha away. By the time she got her to the ship she was gone. She bled out too quickly." He told her, and this time tears fell down her eyes. She couldn't help it. It wasn't that she and Samantha were friends or had even really talked more than a handful of times but as someone who had lost a parent at a young age (though not in the same way) she couldn't help but feel for William. Not only had he been kidnapped, he had been saved by the Green Arrow who he learned was his father (or at least she assumed he knew now), but to lose his mother too? It made sense why Oliver hadn't been by, not that she had questioned it in the first place as she knew that William came first.
And for the first time, she could understand why. It wasn't that she was ever angry about the fact but now that she had her own…child…at least one that was currently growing inside her, she could understand why he had done what he had done. Once again she felt like the world's largest hypocrite but she kept that part to herself, instead taking her glasses off and setting them on her lap as she took the tissue that Curtis was holding out to her to wipe her eyes. "How is William handling things?" She asked. She had never met the young boy but that didn't mean she didn't care about him, just as she had cared about Thea before she had gotten to know her. They were part of Oliver and as such she cared. "He's not really sure what's going on. He knows that Oliver is his dad and that his mom is gone…but I don't think he's processed it. Oliver is keeping them away from everyone right now as to not overwhelm him. So far only Digg and Thea have been allowed in the room…but they've kept us updated." She nodded, her blonde curls falling around her face as she did. She wished she had a pony tail holder so she could secure her hair as it was driving her crazy.
Before she could ask anything else (though she really didn't know what to ask), her doctor appeared once again. "Ms. Smoak, all your tests came back positive so if you'd like we can get these discharge papers started." He told her and she nodded her head. She needed to get out of this room and up to her friends. She didn't care that Oliver didn't want them in the room, she could at least help her friends. It was the least she could do. "What room is Quentin in?" She asked, knowing that at least he'd let her in. "Room 10. Oh, Thea asked me to give you these." He told her, handing her a bag in which she found clothing. "Thanks. I'll get dressed, sign my paperwork, and I'll meet you in a few minutes," She told him. He smiled and walked out, saying nothing.
"Okay Doc, let's get this over with." She told him, needing to be useful and to help her friends in whatever way possible.
AN: If anyone is curious as to when I am getting ready to update or if they have any questions please follow me on Twitter at Brittany_Ellis. I will randomly post excerpts of chapters I am working on, plus I always answer my tweets whereas here I am awful at answering messages.
Published on September 4th, 2017