"How is she?"
"I think she's better…"
"I don't know if that really says a lot and if you really sound like you believe it."
"It was her first night in three months that she wanted to go out and do something after work," Diggle explained. "Normally, she'd work at QC all day…and then we'd end up here… Do any of us really know what life outside of work is?"
"Well, work in the Foundry is a little different."
"Yeah, we have Captain Distant over there," Diggle said as he crossed arms over his chest and motioned his head in the direction of Oliver. He watched Sara look over towards him. "You know, I don't know what you two had on the island…and if you expected feelings to surface, but Sara…he's not ready."
"I know," Sara whispered. "I guess I was just hoping…and maybe it would take his mind off of things."
"The only way to get him back to normal is to get Felicity back."
"I thought that Oliver didn't—"
"I don't know why he keeps saying that," Diggle said. "But I've known him long enough to know that's not true. He misses Felicity…"
Diggle didn't know how long he could keep his mouth shut, but he also didn't know how long Oliver could keep this up. He was distancing himself from everyone. It wasn't good. Not for Oliver. Not for them. Not for the city. Not for QC. Everyone was going to suffer.
"I guess it's just hard for me to understand what's going through his head," Sara said. "He's not letting me in."
"He's not letting anyone in," Diggle countered. "That's the problem."
And it was a big problem.
Diggle didn't know what he was going to do, but he felt like he needed to do it fast. His patience and sanity were running short as far as Oliver was concerned. Team Arrow wasn't a team anymore. Oliver's distance and lack of communication was affecting everyone, but Oliver just didn't seem to see it.
"Isabel Rochev is going to be in town," Diggle told her. "If I can get him back on track with Queen Consolidated then the company's going to be taken over by Stellmoor International."
"And things here?"
"Let's face it… The closest to teamwork is when you and I agree on something."
Most of the time, he and Sara agreed on things, but not always. Most times that Roy was there, it seemed like absolute chaos. It seemed that being in the Foundry only made Roy angrier. Diggle was certain that it was because Oliver wasn't training him. He and Sara had been, but Roy had been wanting to learn to use a bow, like Oliver. Bow and arrow weren't his or Sara's realm of expertise. All Roy wanted to do was to contribute, but they'd all agreed that he needed some kind of weapon instead of just using his fists and rage.
"Yeah, I'm not really looking forward to Roy showing up in a while," Sara commented.
"We have to get through to him."
"Maybe he just needs an intervention or something."
"Oh yeah," Diggle said sarcastically. "I'm sure he'd appreciate that. Do you want to be the one to tell him?"
Sara grinned. "Okay, you're right…"
"Take Roy out with you tonight," Diggle said. "I'll talk to him then."
"Now it just sounds like I'm getting punished for something," she teased. "But I'd much rather babysit the angry kid in the red hood than Captain Distant."
"Good thing that we've agreed on that codename for him."
Sara just nodded and then looked in Oliver's direction, same as Diggle. He knew that he really was going to have his work cut out for him tonight in order to get sense knocked into him before Sara and Roy returned to the Foundry.
"You know he's sleeping even less than normal."
"I know," Diggle said with a sigh. "I had thought about attempting to sedate him before we talked, but I'm afraid he'd kick my ass even in the state he's in." He looked over at Sara and teased. "Want to double team?"
Sara shrugged. "I was going to say that we could probably get Roy to do it."
"Roy's still a little too…clumsy…"
"True…"
"He needs that sleep though," Diggle told her.
"Well, we'll wait until Roy gets here… You and I both need a syringe full of the sedative, so either one of us can get it into him," Sara said. "That way if he somehow ends up overpowering us, Roy can just come up and hug him or something and hold him still so we can stab him."
"I like your plan."
"I was hoping you would."
. . .
They hadn't needed Roy, but Diggle felt bad the moment that Oliver's body made a thud against the floor. Diggle let out a long sigh. They got him up onto a cot, which Oliver had been sleeping on. Diggle was fairly sure that at least half of the nights, Oliver spent sleeping at the Foundry. He knew that that was one of the things that needed to change.
"Okay, let's get to work," Diggle said.
"You know, he's going to be out until morning…"
"I know, though I'm thinking of giving him a second dose when it's time," Diggle told her. "Make sure he's really caught up on the sleep he needs."
"He's going to be pissed when he wakes up," Roy spoke up.
Diggle turned towards him. "I know, but he needs it."
"I'm not sure how to feel about being part of this team all of the sudden."
Sara smirked. "Just be happy that it would probably take all three of us to even think of sedating you for any reason…"
"He's going to be okay, right?" Roy asked and looked between them.
Diggle shrugged. "I think it depends. He's not the only one who needs Felicity back," he said. "I think that Oliver was right before… We sort of have to decide where Team Arrow goes from here…"
Felicity.
He smiled a little at the memory of how she'd admitted to calling them Team Arrow. She was right, though, that's really who they were. They were Team Arrow and they needed to work together as a team. That really had fallen away the moment that Oliver had sent Felicity away.
"What about QC?" Sara questioned.
"I'll call Mrs. Queen in an hour and let her know that Oliver's at my place, that he drank too much and that it probably wouldn't be good for him to be into work in the morning," Diggle said. "I thought about saying he had the flu, but that might get her into thinking of calling a doctor… We just need to let him sleep it off and hope that he makes sense when he finally wakes up."
"You know Thea's been asking questions…" Roy brought up.
"You figure that I can figure out a way to cover for you, too?" Diggle asked, amusement in his voice.
Roy shrugged at him. "I figured that whatever you could think up would be better than what I could come up with."
Diggle walked past and patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll talk to her… I'll tell her that you've been helping me to try to get Oliver back on the right back… I'll get her to know that you're helping and not doing something stupid."
"You're the best," Roy said with some enthusiasm.
"Just remember that," Diggle told him with a laugh. "And try to listen to Sara… I know you're excited to get out there tonight, but she knows a lot…"
"You'll learn too," Sara told Roy confidently. "I know you're not too thrilled with the waiting part, but you're doing better already…"
"I guess…it doesn't really seem like much," Roy said slowly.
"It'll be great in the long run," Sara told him. "I guarantee it. It's just going to take some time…"
. . .
He'd been there far too many hours. Diggle needed to go home, mainly to shower. He'd caught some sleep here and there when he knew that Oliver wouldn't wake up before he did, but he was still on high alert. It wasn't the same as sleeping soundly through the night in his own place, or at least as close to soundly as he ever got. Over sixteen hours and Oliver was still out, though Diggle had shot him up with a second dose of the sedative.
"He's still out?"
"At least he'll be well rested."
"What are you going to tell him when he wakes up and realizes that he lost a whole day because we drugged him?"
"Well, I was thinking about the truth," Diggle said honestly. "I mean, it's better we do it than he end up in the hospital in a white padded room strapped to a bed or in a car accident."
"I really just… I don't know what he'll do…"
"There'll probably be a lot of shouting," Diggle said.
Sara nodded. "I sort of want to be here for it…but then I don't…" She paused. "Maybe you could record it for me?"
Diggle smirked. "He might notice that…"
"You know, I noticed the cameras in here… They're subtle, but I saw that they're here. Did Felicity install them?" Sara asked.
He nodded. "At Christmas, Oliver almost died…and he was hallucinating or seeing ghosts… We came back and the place was destroyed… She installed them after that. She'd kept worrying that they'd come back and something similar would have happened, but with Oliver hurt or unconscious and we needed to know what had happened even if Oliver couldn't tell us."
"Smart."
"She is…"
"I miss her."
Diggle looked over her; he was a little surprise to hear her say that. He knew that Sara didn't dislike her or anything, but she'd not voiced missing Felicity before now. "I didn't think you'd miss her so much."
"Because I can use the computers a little better than you?" Sara teased. Though, she was right. Sara was faster than he was, but Felicity was still better at it. It was Felicity's world and it made it so much more difficult without her there. "But in all seriousness, I do miss her. She's adorable…and she's probably the most normal of all of us…"
He cracked a smile. "That's true."
Sara opened her mouth to speak again, but froze when Oliver's groan filled the room. "Text me and let me know what happened," she said quickly as she turned and headed for the stairs.
"Coward," Diggle called. He sucked in breath and hoped that this worked out better than they were all hoping for. He really needed it to. He had no idea what would happen if this continued on longer than it already had.
. . .
"How are you feeling?"
"Less…angry…"
"It's the tea," Diggle teased.
"Then I should have drank this months ago…"
Diggle wondered if Oliver really did feel like that or if he was just saying that in hopes of not getting attacked and drugged by the people he called friends and teammates. They'd done it for his own well being and for the well being of so many others. "Now that we've gotten past WHY I sedated you, can we go into what we really need to talk about?"
"Like what?" Oliver asked.
"Why you sent Felicity away."
"I told you why."
"You bullshitted me," Diggle flat out told him. Did Oliver really think he was that stupid? Diggle knew when there was something going on. "Did you really think that I agreed to help you send her away and break her heart like that if I didn't think that there was either something else going on with you or you had some kind of head injury?"
"I'm sure you're still hoping it's a head injury," Oliver mumbled.
"Damn right if the answer you gave me is all that you're going to give me."
"Digg—"
"Oliver, you've always been able to talk to me. I'm always the one that people talk to…" he said. "You've told me things about the island that you haven't spoken to Felicity about… I've kept your secrets… Why don't you think you can confide in me now? Don't you think I'll understand? Or do you think that I'll find too many holes in it?"
He didn't know if pushing the matter would help or not, but at this point he didn't care. He wanted Felicity back. She needed to come back. They needed it as a team. Oliver needed to see that and he needed to open his mouth and let him in on the big secret to why he had to have Felicity sent away. Diggle really didn't want to have to come up with a more complex plan in order to get the reason out of him. He was fairly sure that Oliver wouldn't appreciate him pushing in any other way.
"It's not that," Oliver said.
"Then what is it?"
Oliver looked right at him. "Do you ever think that what we're doing isn't worth it?"
"No."
"I mean worth it for us? You hardly get to see Lyla… We're always having to lie to people… I seem to put everyone in danger as Arrow or Oliver Queen…"
"You know what I think about? Carly and my nephew. I tell myself that no matter how dangerous it is for me personally, that we'll have made things better for them. Now that could be taking Veritgo off the streets or getting rid of one more bad guy."
"I just don't know if I can keep doing this."
"So, you're going to resign as the Arrow and just stick to running Queen Consolidated? Are you going to throw in the towel and just go back to dating Laurel…or Sara?"
"What?"
"That's what you're saying… You want to be like everyone. Normal. Well, I hate to break it to you, but if you're going to do that, Oliver…then you're not the man that I followed in the first place. You're going to be the spoiled college dropout that left on the Queen's Gambit who dated both Lance sisters."
"I didn't exactly date Sara—"
"You're digging the hole deeper."
"I'm just saying…"
"Are you trying to tell me that after all those years on the island? After being the Hood…the Arrow…that you've decided that that's what you want?" Diggle pushed.
"No," Oliver whispered.
Diggle watched as Oliver ran his hands over his face. "Do you want me to go back to being your bodyguard and driver? Do you expect Felicity to just be happy and somehow get her to fall in love with Barry? I can tell you that I don't see that happening… She's still pretty miserable, so if you were planning on her being happy and marrying him and having kids, your plan backfired. Do you want Sara to just hang around and figure out a day job? Do something normal? Make peace with Laurel and bake cookies? Do you want Roy to go out into that world and just try to keep him calm? Think about how safe that'll be for Thea… I don't see your sister giving up on him so easily."
He sucked in a breath when he finally finished his lecture. He just wanted to put it all out there. Did Oliver really understand how much he impacted people? It wasn't just the Glade or Starling City… They were all affected in some way. Didn't he see that? It was common sense as far as he was concerned.
"I made a deal…" Oliver said in barely a whisper.
"With who?" Diggle pushed.
"Slade…"
"When Felicity left you alone in that warehouse?"
Oliver nodded as his hand fell from his face. "I didn't want to… I wanted to die, but all I could think was that if Slade killed me…he might not stop there…"
"What was your deal? For you to send Felicity away?"
"When I was laying there…Felicity covered me with her body… She told Slade to kill her instead… She said that she loved me," Oliver said quietly.
Diggle watched him; it was like he was in some sort of trance. He wondered if he remembered it so vividly that it was like he was reliving it right then and there. "What did Slade say?"
"That he'd kill everyone I loved or cared about… Everyone… My family, Felicity, you, Roy…the Lances…" Oliver said. He looked right at Diggle. "He said he'd let everyone live, but that I'd have to pay for it in another way…without giving my life…"
"What did you give up?"
"My heart…the one person who's been honest and loved me through everything since I've met her… She's never given up on me, Diggle… She would have given up her life for me right there…"
"You would give up your life for her," he pointed out.
"I couldn't die or live with the thought of Felicity being killed because of me," Oliver told him. "Slade knew that it would be harder for me… So, I sent her away… I distanced myself from her immediately because I didn't think I could do it later…"
"You could have told us—"
"No," Oliver interrupted and sighed. "She would have argued and she would have never have left…"
"You can't keep this up," Diggle told him. "You're distancing yourself from everyone."
"It's the only way that I can think to keep everyone safe…and to punish myself for what I've done… All the pain I've caused…"
"I'm glad that you've got this whole martyr thing down, but can we be serious?" Diggle asked. "Let's go after Slade…"
"Slade could take on the whole team."
"We have Roy now…"
"Roy isn't trained," Oliver argued. "He has no discipline. He's too much of a liability."
"Well, I can tell you that Sara and I working with him isn't helping as much as it would for him to train with you," Diggle told him. "You're the one who has more experience and you're his mentor."
"I just… I don't think it's the best idea," Oliver told him.
"I promised Felicity that I was going to knock some sense into you and get her home," Diggle told him honestly. He stared at Oliver. "I'm going to keep my promise and it's not going to take another three months…"
"I didn't learn how to use the bow overnight," Oliver pointed out.
Diggle shrugged. "I think that he's already been working… You've got him to focus a bit more… Now, we just have to take advantage of the three of us to be here to train him… You need to get your head in the game."
"Digg, I just think that Felicity—"
"If you're going to say that Felicity's better off in Central City, I'm going to punch you."
Oliver stared at him for a long time. "She's really not happy?"
"Did you not hear me before?"
"I made sure—"
"Felicity doesn't care about all of that, Oliver," Diggle said quickly. "She's not materialistic… Does she like having some extra money? I'm sure. Look at the clothes she started to wear when she became your assistant… Does she like her apartment? Sure. Does she like her new car? Yes. But is money and things more important to her than someone she cares about? No. You know that, Oliver."
He was quiet.
Diggle just watched him. He wondered if Oliver was understanding this. He was hoping that he was feeling a little stupid. "You said that she told Slade that she loves you… Do you really think that she's going to decide to be with Barry so easily?"
"No," Oliver said slowly. "I just—"
"I know you were trying to set her up with this perfect new life," Diggle said. After all, he'd done all the setting up. Felicity had gone to Central City with a new job, new apartment, new car, an allowance, and a friend. "Felicity just isn't happy with it… She was happy here… It's not just you that she misses… She misses her whole life here…" Diggle was quiet for a moment. "I miss her… You miss her… Sara misses her… I'm fairly sure that even Roy misses her…"
"Whenever I would close my eyes…all I could see was her above me, crying and trying to keep me safe," Oliver confessed. "And then her face when I told you to make sure she went home instead of to the hospital…"
"I really hope that she hits you when she gets back," Diggle told him.
"She can't come back…not now…"
"You need to get yourself together," Diggle said. "We need to make a plan. Figure out where Slade is and what his plan is. We need to train Roy… We need to come up with an effective attack plan…" He paused. "But we have to get things situated with Queen Consolidated too," Diggle explained. "Because Felicity is going to be pissed if she comes back and finds out that she has to help you save QC from Isabel Rochev and Stellmoor International again. Walter can only do so much…"
"I know," Oliver said and rubbed his face again.
Diggle wondered if he felt overwhelmed. It was tough, though. He didn't feel bad about it. Oliver had to get his head back in the game. He needed to figure it all out and they needed to work on it. "You still have a team…"
"Do I?"
"As long as you're not going to go back to being Captain Distant."
"Captain Distant?"
"It's your nickname," Diggle said.
"I think I prefer Arrow…"
"Well, you really haven't been being Arrow… So, work on it and we'll go back to calling you that instead."
Oliver smirked.
"So," Diggle said after a moment of silence between them. "Are we going to do this?"
"Where do we start?"
. . .
TBC…
