Disclaimer: Arrow and all of its amazing characters etc. do not belong to me, I am simply the puppet master who moves them in another direction. ;)
A/N: This story takes place shortly after the season 2 finale.
A Love Like This
Chapter Six:
By the time Quentin returned home a few hours later Sara and Felicity were sound asleep in the living room, the television playing quietly in the background. Sara who had woken up upon hearing her father enter the house sat up on the sofa.
"Hey Dad, did you guys find the mugger?" she asked folding up the blanket she had used and placing it on the sofa behind her as she stood up to stretch.
"Yeah, our mutual friend left him tied up for us on the steps of the precinct about an hour ago, just had to finish some paperwork before I could come home. How was Felicity?" He asked walking over to where Felicity still lay sleeping, undisturbed by the sounds around her.
"She said she wasn't in too much pain but I had her take some more Tylenol before she went to sleep, figured she's gonna be sore in the morning."
"Thanks for coming and helping out sweetheart."
"No problem Dad, I like Felicity. I just can't believe someone would every want to hurt her. Did you find out if it was a deliberate attack?"
"When they questioned him he said it wasn't planned for her specifically but when the arrow found the mugger he didn't have any of Felicity's belongings with him so we don't know what he did with all her stuff and her information, so we are going to need to keep an eye out on Felicity especially if he gets out on bail."
"Of course. Well I'm gonna head out, have an early morning. Did you need me for anything else before I go?"
"No, we'll be fine, thank you again for your help sweetheart, have a good night." Said Quentin as he walked Sara to the door and locked it behind her.
"Night Dad."
Walking back to where Felicity lay on the sofa Quentin contemplated whether or not he should move her to a bed where she would be more comfortable or leave her undisturbed on the sofa. Deciding she'd be more comfortable resting on a bed he bent down and carefully lifted her into his arms. Felicity awoke at the sensation of being lifted and turned her head to see what was happening.
"Quentin?" she asked softly.
"Yes, it's me sweetheart. I'm taking you to my room, you'll sleep better on a bed instead of the sofa, okay?"
"Okay," said Felicity relaxing in his safe hold. "Did you catch the bad guy?" she asked softly once Quentin had tucked her safely under the covers.
"Sure did sweetheart, your friend found him for us, I'll tell you all about it in the morning okay?"
"Uh-huh, where are you going?" asked Felicity as she saw Quentin get up from where he had been sitting on the edge of the bed.
"I'm gonna go take a quick shower then I'll crash in the guest room, just call me if you need me okay."
"Will you stay with me? Just tonight, I don't want to be alone." Asked Felicity hesitantly.
"Are you sure."
"Please Quentin."
"Okay, sweetheart, I'm going to go shower first, do you need anything?"
"No, thank you though."
"Okay, go to sleep I'll be back"
"m'kay"
By the time Quentin returned from showering Felicity was curled up on her side fast asleep. Gently lifting the covers he slid into bed next to her, closing his eyes he felt himself relax into sleep knowing that Felicity was safe and mostly unharmed next to him.
The next sound he heard was his alarm blaring on the bedside table next to him. Throwing one arm out he hit the off button on the alarm. Feeling someone stirring next to him he looked down to see that they had somehow migrated in the night, Felicity lay nestled next to him and was using his now half asleep arm as her pillow. Bringing his free arm down and curling it around her waist he pulled her closer to him before he had a chance to double guess himself.
"What time is it?" asked Felicity, the alarm having woken her, but being too comfortable in her current position to even think of moving.
"It's 7:00AM."
"Ugh, it's too early to wake up," said Felicity closing her eyes ready to fall back asleep.
"How're you feeling? Any pain?" asked Quentin before she could fall back to sleep. "Do you want me to get you some medicine?"
"No, I'm fine right now, just a little sore, I'm sure I'll need some Tylenol when I get up, not right now though."
"You plan on staying in bed all day?" Asked Quentin with a smirk.
"Uh-huh, now let me sleep." Said Felicity scooting a little closer and laying her head on his shoulder.
"Just a little bit longer" said Quentin, mostly to himself as Felicity appeared to have already fallen back asleep. Closing his eyes he told himself he would get up in a few minutes but he hadn't felt so comfortable in his own bed for so long, if ever that he quickly followed Felicity into sleep.
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A few hours later the front door was opened and Sara entered the house, setting the bags of breakfast foods that she had brought on the kitchen counter she looked around the quiet house searching for her father and Felicity. Peering through her father's half open room she gasped quietly, in surprise at seeing Felicity and her father curled up together in bed. Backing away from the door she went back to the kitchen, placing the food she had brought into the fridge she quickly wrote a note, leaving it on the kitchen table she left as quietly as she'd entered, closing the door softly behind her.
Hopping onto her bike and heading down the road she thought about what she'd just seen. She'd known that Felicity and her father had been spending more and more time together but she'd only seen them as being friends nothing more, however seeing their interactions the previous night and her father's obvious worry over Felicity was causing her to open her mind and see what was in front of her. Despite what she'd seen a few minutes ago she didn't think that their relationship had progressed beyond friendship at this point, but if she thought about it Felicity and her father were perfect for each other it was about time that they were both happy and if being together was what made that happen, well she wasn't one to stand in the way, she just hopped Oliver and Laurel wouldn't make a big deal over this when they eventually found out. Heading back toward the 'Arrow Cave' for an early morning workout Sara had a smile on her face.
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Quentin and Felicity finally woke up around 9:00AM, both feeling rested, they ignored the fact they had shared the same bed. Felicity went into the restroom to freshen up and change into the clothes Sara had brought over the night before while Quentin headed into the kitchen in search of some breakfast. Spotting a note on the kitchen table he picked it up.
Hey Dad and Felicity,
Stopped by this morning but you were still sleeping.
Left breakfast for you guys in the fridge.
Talk to you later.
Sara
Wondering when exactly his daughter had stopped by and what she had seen Quentin pulled the bag of food out of the fridge and placed it in the microwave to heat up while he started the coffee maker and set the table. Seeing Felicity come out, dressed for the day he greeted her with a smile and cup of coffee. He pushed the worry of what Sara had seen to the back of his mind, the note didn't indicate anything one way or another. He would talk to Sara later he decided, for now he would enjoy his morning with Felicity.
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After a delicious breakfast Felicity wanted to head back home. Despite wanting Felicity to stay where he could keep an eye out for her Quentin finally agreed to drive her back to her place. Wanting to stay by her side as long as possible he suggested that he go with her to run all the errands she had put off 'till the weekend.
"Are you sure you don't have anything you need to do today instead?" Asked Felicity not wanting to take up his day if he already had plans.
"Other than picking up some groceries, which we can do while we're running your errands, I didn't really have anything planned for today."
"Fine, but I do need to stop at my place first I need to pick up some paperwork so I can stop by the bank to see if I can get a new bankcard."
"Alright then let's go." Said Quentin picking up his keys from where they had been sitting in a dish on the counter top and ushering Felicity toward the front door.
Arriving at Felicity's townhouse Quentin parked at the curb. Motioning for Felicity to stay seated he walked around the front of the car and held open the door for her.
"Do you have a key?" he asked, remembering that her purse and keys had been stolen.
"Yeah, Sara had one of my extra keys." Said Felicity not mentioning that all of Team Arrow had copies of her house keys for emergencies. Handing the keys over with an eye roll when Quentin held his hand out for them Felicity followed him up to the front door.
Quentin inserted the key into the door and realized that the door was already unlocked. Pulling out the gun he always carried with him and his cellphone he handed Felicity his phone and instructed her to stay where she was on the front stoop and be prepared to call for backup. Pulling his gun up he slowly pushed the door open and entered the house. His eyes widened as he saw the overturned furniture and items all strewn about. Walking quietly and cautiously he quickly cleared the rooms, whoever had done this was long gone but they had left quite a mess behind. Heading back to the front door he took his phone back and made a call to the station. "Someone will be here shortly. I'm guessing if I suggested taking you back to my place and letting me handle this you'd say no?" asked Quentin.
"Got it in one, besides I want to check to see if anything's missing. Do you think this was related to the mugging last night?"
"Could be, everything was fine when Sara stopped by last night and we didn't catch the guy 'till a few hours later so he definitely had time to come here."
Just then a police cruiser pulled up and parked behind Quentin's vehicle.
"Hey, Lance just don't know how to take a day off do you man?" Joked one of the officers as he came up the walkway and met them at the door. "And you must me Ms. Smoak?" he asked turning to Felicity.
"Felicity this is Mike and his partner Joan." Said Quentin making the introductions.
"Nice to meet you," said Felicity politely shaking hands.
"So what do we have here?" asked Mike, pulling out a pair of gloves and heading toward the front door. Quentin followed behind filling him in while Joan stayed outside with Felicity to take down an official statement.
It was several more hours before they were finished at Felicity's house, it appeared to be a robbery as several items were missing. After taking an inventory and providing the officers with a list of the missing items Quentin had insisted on Felicity packing a bag and coming to stay with him for a few more days until they figured out what was going on and if this was related to the mugging or not. Felicity reluctantly agreed, although not too happy with having to leave her home because someone had broken in.
Standing in her bedroom, packed duffel bag on the bed next to a garment bag containing a few dresses she had optimistically packed for job interviews, she looked around at the mess. Quentin came in to stand next to her and she turned to look at him. "Seriously though did they have to leave such a mess behind," she said gesturing toward the overturned drawers and fallen items around the room, and softly muttering something about robbers and manners under her breath. Quentin chuckled softly and reached down to grasp her hand. "We'll come back and I'll help you clean up the place tomorrow, I'd recommend also changing the locks, but for now I think we've reached our quota of craziness for the day, hell for the weekend." He said letting go of her hand to pick up the duffel and garment bags. "Are you ready sweetheart?" he asked.
"Yup, and the day started out so good too."
"Did it now?"
"Yup, I really enjoyed breakfast."
"Breakfast?"
"Okay, I may be convinced to say it was spending the morning with you." Said Felicity bashfully not ready to admit that the best part of her day had been waking up next to him.
"Uh-huh, nice to know that I win against breakfast." Said Quentin as they walked out the front door, Felicity stopping to lock it behind them.
"Depends, what kind of breakfast are we talking about here." Said Felicity with a mischievous smile.
"Cheeky." Said Quentin as they got into the truck and headed off to finally finish the errands that they had originally set out to do.