Disclaimer: CW/DC own these characters. I'm only borrowing them for a while. I own the original ideas found in this.
Cross-posted to both FFN and AO3.
AN: Thanks for returning. Let's see what we find out about how and why Oliver is at Arkham.
Previously:
Felicity acknowledged her friend's apology and told her they'd talk again soon. She hung up, checked over the room once more to make sure all of Oliver's belongings were taken, and left. When she reached her car, Felicity GPS'd the location of Arkham Asylum and discovered it being a four-hour car ride to get there from her present location. She rubbed her forehead as she debated her options.
As she headed towards Arkham, Felicity's brain was rapidly trying to think of how and why such a thing as her husband's transfer to Arkham Hospital, of all places, had happened. The entire situation stank like the time she'd left her lunch in the Foundry and not in the refrigerator. And that stank very, very bad indeed. She swore she could smell it a mile away outside in her car the next day as she arrived for a night of Arrow work.
She supposed someone would call her paranoid for immediately thinking something was wrong, but she'd offer as evidence all the things which had happened to her and Oliver over the past six years. Anything was possible. Except they didn't know anyone from Arkham Hospital who would do something like this. And who, if any, of their enemies had the power and/or resources to be able to make something like this happen? And why would they want Oliver there in the first place?
Suddenly her phone rang. She activated her Bluetooth as she kept her eyes on the road.
"Hey, Felicity! What are you doing, girl?" Dig's familiar voice rang out over the telephone. Good-natured teasing was mixed with worry in his tone.
"Dig, what else would you have me do? Wait until you made the three-hour drive to Mercy Hospital to then drive to Gotham together? Besides, don't you think all of this is too suspicious to leave Oliver by himself any longer than we can help it?"
"You're lucky my wife sent a plane for me. I'll be there before you. I'll have things checked out before you get there."
"Oh, Dig," Felicity rolled her eyes. Despite his protective attitude, Felicity was still glad he was going to be there with her. She was feeling uneasy about not having backup with her on this trip. God knows what they'll find there. Or what Oliver thought about having no one there with him.
"Don't you try telling me you're not happy to have the assist, Felicity. I'm also bringing some info ARGUS found on Watson."
"You found something? Tell me, Dig!" In her excitement, the car temporarily headed for the shoulder of the road. She quickly brought the car back to center and hoped Dig didn't hear the telltale signs over the phone of her almost losing control of the car. He'd either tease her mercilessly or never stop worrying about it. Luckily, probably because it was a Tuesday, there was less traffic on the road than Felicity had expected.
"No, Felicity, I know you. Not while you're driving. It's probably nothing. And I'm reviewing the rest of it for any possible leads as well."
"Thanks Dig. I'll talk to you when I get there."
She disconnected the call and resumed her review of what Oliver's connection to Arkham could be. Nothing much came to mind. Oliver hadn't had much interaction with any business in Gotham when he was co-CEO of Queen Consolidated. None of Oliver's vigilante identities had any interaction with Batman or his enemies. Well, except Ra's, but he was dead, as well as his daughter Talia. Nyssa was both their friend and travelling the world clearing up Malcolm's last mess. She couldn't think of anyone else.
Gotham did boast a multi-millionaire of their own who was equal to Oliver, or at least when Oliver had money. Bruce Wayne was about five years older than Oliver. In the years since she's known him, Oliver had only mentioned Wayne a few times, and nothing about knowing him personally. For whatever reason Wayne Enterprises and Queen Consolidated had had no business dealings together. No possible connection was apparent, as far as Felicity could remember.
Grabbing her voice recorder, she made a note to contact Bruce Wayne while in Gotham to see if he had any ideas about possible enemies of Oliver connected to Arkham, or if he knew of any connections to any of the criminals currently residing at Arkham. She doubted much luck with the last item. What would Wayne know about the criminal element? But perhaps he'd have a possible source for her to contact. Of course, unless her suspicions were correct, and Bruce Wayne was Batman. She'd never shared her suspicions with anyone, for fear they'd laugh her out of town. However, she was eighty-five percent sure she was correct with her suspicions. But all of that was neither here nor there, Felicity chided herself.
With all the tension and stress of considering possible answers, she was developing a headache. Felicity decided to give her brain a rest and crank up the tunes. Look at the passing scenery instead. To relax. She turned on the radio and sat up straighter in the car seat. Stretching out her neck muscles, Felicity decided to have faith it'll all work out. Somehow. Like it always did.
~~OQ~~FS~~OQ~~FS~~OQ~~
Previously:
"We'll do that, but for now you're confined to your room for twenty-four hours. Standard procedure to ensure you understand the rules."
"It seems to me you're treating me like a psych patient. Certainly you have different guidelines for those here for therapy versus psychiatric problems?"
"You would think so. However we were rushed to provide such services to help with the overload of therapy patients in the prison system. The procedures are being reviewed as we speak. But for now they must be followed. No exceptions."
Oliver could only think, "What the hell?"
Oliver decided to be a little petulant. "What am I to do while I'm confined to my room?"
Oliver could see the doctor biting back a petty reply. Taking a booklet out of his folder, he handed it to Oliver. "Here's a handbook for new patients. You should use the time of your confinement to become familiar with the contents and thus this hospital. Please don't be afraid to ask any questions you might have. But everything should be explained in there for you."
The man left without further comment. Oliver's lips twisted as he watched the doctor leave. He picked up the booklet and decided he might as well begin to read the contents. For now. Then he'll figure out what all of this means.
After an hour, Oliver was too bored to stay still. He put on his call light for assistance to get up to go to the bathroom. With his leg in a cast he was still requiring at the least stand-by assistance. A younger man appearing to be in his early twenties, his nametag saying 'Dean', arrived to help him to the bathroom. Even though the nursing assistant offered to use the wheelchair, Oliver wanted to use his crutches and get some exercise. Dean looked skeptical but handed him the crutches. Oliver walked slower than he wanted to, but he knew he needed to be careful.
Once he was done, Oliver decided he wanted to sit up for a while in the only chair in the room. Dean parked the wheelchair next to the chair, put both brakes on, and assessed Oliver's knowledge of safely getting in and out of the chair. Dean strongly suggested Oliver continue to call for assistance before he changed locations but hinted patients like Oliver hardly called for assistance. Oliver gave a little smirk, knowing that if the man's caseload of patients were all stubborn like him, Dean had his hands full.
After Dean left after handing him the remote, Oliver decided to turn on the TV and perhaps get a sense of the local news. Not much was on so he left the TV on a sitcom and allowed his mind to wander. With the shock of everything which had already happened this morning, his mind needed the time to process everything. Oliver tried to settle comfortably in the chair to watch the fictional lovelorn couple try to avoid each other in an impossibly unrealistic situation. If only real life was that simple.
~~OQ~~FS~~OQ~~FS~~OQ~~
Felicity arrived at the Arkham Hospital by 9am. The building was one of the most imposing structures she'd ever seen. It looked like one of those asylums from centuries past where people claimed they were locked up unfairly. A shiver went down her spine as she entered the building.
A desk was 24 feet in front of her with a harmless looking blonde woman about 30 years old sitting behind it. When she asked for the director's office, Felicity was given directions to go down the hallway to the right, go past seven doors and turn right at the eighth. His office would be down the hallway.
The hallways weren't deserted but there weren't a lot of people walking around. However, they were brightly lit, which gave Felicity a sense of comfort. She reached where Dr. Deegan's office was to be, and there it was. She went in, and the woman at the desk asked what she could help Felicity with. When she asked to speak to Dr. Deegan, Felicity was asked to take a seat after she had told the receptionist the reason for the visit.
After ten minutes of waiting, Felicity was getting impatient when a tall, thin man with brunette hair standing up on top and a neatly trimmed beard and moustache approached her and held out his hand. Felicity shook it as he introduced himself.
"Mrs. Queen? My name is Dr. John Deegan. I am the administrator of Arkham Hospital. I understand your husband was recently admitted to our facility?"
"Yes, this morning. Without my knowledge or consent. I demand I see him immediately."
"Why don't we discuss this in my office? It is right over here to your left."
Felicity looked over to where Dr. Deegan pointed. She gathered her purse and walked purposefully over to the office, entering it without checking to see if the man was following her. She stood waiting until he closed the door, went behind the desk, and gestured to the chair in front of the desk.
"Please sit down, Mrs. Queen, and I'll answer your questions."
Felicity breathed a small sigh and walked over to the chair. She sat down and straightened out her skirt as Dr. Deegan took his seat.
"Mrs. Queen, I'm sorry you weren't informed about this, but there aren't any visitors allowed for the first twenty-four hours following admission."
Felicity thought to herself, 'You gotta be kidding. I haven't seen him in over twelve hours. And now I have to wait until tomorrow?'
She cleared her throat. "Dr. Deegan, it may be the rule for psychiatric patients, but my husband is here for rehabilitation. It's not meant for him."
"I beg to differ, Mrs. Queen. You see, we hadn't had time to revise the rules before admitting rehab patients. We must follow them, though, otherwise we'll be in violation of our federal charter."
Felicity reminded herself she needed to be diplomatic to get anywhere with this idiot. "I've never heard of such nonsense!" Despite her efforts, her voice rose with the statement. She shook her head and continued in a normal, if not tightly controlled, tone of voice. "First my husband is transferred without my knowledge or permission. We didn't agree to any of this. Then he leaves before I even get to the hospital. Now you tell me I can't see with my own eyes that he's okay?"
Dr. Deegan shrugged apologetically. "Again, I apologize, Mrs. Queen. Those are our rules."
Felicity reminded herself Dig will be available to help her, so she must not goof up anything with an angry outburst. "All I can say is he better be all right, or otherwise you will wish you never began working here."
'To hell with being diplomatic.' Felicity stormed out of the office and out of the hospital, with barreling into only a few people along the way. She slammed her car door shut so hard the car shook and sat there willing the angry tears to stay away. She didn't have time for them. However, she was quickly losing that battle as well.
She jumped when someone banged on her driver's window. Looking out she breathed easier when she saw it was Dig. Walking around to the passenger side, Dig got in. "Why didn't you wait for me, Felicity? I told you to text me when you got to Gotham."
Felicity turned a little red. "I needed to get over here as soon as possible. I wanted, no I needed, to see Oliver. But they didn't let me, Dig!"
"Something's not adding up here either, just as with Watson." Dig fixed Felicity with a half-serious glare as he asked, "Will you follow me to my hotel or do we need to ride together so you follow my directions this time?"
"Don't be stupid, Dig. You can trust me to follow you," Felicity said softly, allowing a smidge of rebellion to enter her words.
"Okay then. Let's go."
Felicity watched as Dig walked in front of her car and over one. He had been parked diagonally to her when she had returned to her car and she hadn't noticed. Her lips curled in self-disgust, but she shook her head to clear it. Her preoccupation was excusable, the rules of the hospital were totally unreasonable. Like Dig said, something was not right. She took in a large, cleansing breath and slowly let it out as she watched Dig back out and slowly head to the exit. She pulled out to follow right behind him and told herself she was going to empty her mind on the ride over to the hotel in order to destress. Otherwise she felt she was going to burst into a million little pieces like a popped balloon.
They arrived at the Gotham Hilton and parked in the parking garage connected to the hotel. Dig came to help her with her luggage then helped her register into her room. He told her he had made reservations for them while on the plane to Gotham.
Felicity collapsed as soon as she entered her room. With her shoulders slumped, she dropped her luggage right inside the door on the side and slowly walked to the light blue sofa. She sank into the comfortable cushions and breathed a large sigh. Looking up at Dig, tears in her eyes, she said in a small voice, "They didn't let me see him, Dig."
Sitting next to her, taking her hand in his, Dig said, "What was their reason?"
"Some bullshit excuse about no visitors for the first twenty-four hours. I had peeked at the information on-line about Arkham, and I read that. But it was for the psychiatric patients. It even said that, right there on the webpage. But the administrator said they hadn't had time to change it for the rehab patients and it would violate their charter if they allowed it to happen without it being changed."
"I agree, that's total bullshit," said a familiar voice.
Felicity looked up and smiled when she saw Lyla standing in the doorway. She rushed over to Lyla, who welcomed her into her arms for a comforting hug. Felicity burst into tears then, and Lyla gently rubbed her back until the sobs slowed.
"We'll get this straightened out, Felicity. Don't you worry. Dig and I reviewed the information you had found while flying here."
"I'm so glad you're here. Dig didn't say you were coming with."
Lyla pulled out of Felicity's arms to glare at her husband. "Why didn't you tell her, Johnny?"
A small giggle escaped out of Felicity as a look passed over Dig's face which was a mixture of fear, confusion and indignation. "I did tell you, Felicity! What are you talking about?"
"You only told me Lyla had arranged a plane for you. Nothing about her accompanying."
Dig shrugged his large shoulders. "My bad." Looking at his wife, he added, "I really didn't try to keep it a secret, honey."
The women exchanged a look which men the world over knows as the "these men!" expression. Dig didn't say anything while he waited for either woman to say the inevitable.
Luckily, they decided they had more important matters to discuss. "We should get going, guys." Felicity looked at her two friends. "I don't want to leave Oliver in that place a moment longer than we have to."
"Speaking of which, I know the exact right person to help us get Oliver out of Arkham," Diggle said with a smile on his face.
AN: I have a great place to end with a cliffhanger up ahead, but I had to add a lot more since Felicity was refused to see Oliver. Oh well. Not bad a cliffie here. Hopefully it wouldn't be too much of a wait for the next one.
I have to laugh. Here I thought my story was going radically off the tracks and far from canon. Then Level Two happened. Hmm. What a wild ride this season is.
Hope you let me know what you think of this chapter and the story in general. And return to read the next chapter as well. Always appreciated!