A/N: Alright, this chapter was prompted by oliviaxoxo1230. It turned out pretty emotional (which was kind of the point) so I hope you all like it!
Present Day:
It was all his fault. He wanted to lie to himself, to say that there was nothing he could have done. However, the guilt wouldn't leave because, deep down, he knew the truth. It was all his fault.
Felicity's lifeless body lay in front of him, her face ashen. There were small cuts all over her exposed skin as well as the characteristic bluey-grey colour of bruising. Again, his fault.
He already missed her warm, easy smile and the sparkle in her beautiful eyes. Now those eyes lay closed, the lashes dark against her pale skin.
He sighed and rested his face in his hands, blocking out the sight of her looking like this. This wasn't how he wanted to remember her, if worst came to worst.
Unwillingly, he cast his mind back to the events that had caused this tragedy.
Three Days Earlier:
"I don't know what you don't understand, Oliver." Felicity put her hands on her hips and glared at him, her eyes sparking. "I'm not scared of being in danger. I trust you."
Oliver sighed in frustration. It felt like they had this conversation on every single mission involving Felicity going into the field. He tried to convince her that it was too dangerous; she blatantly refused to listen to reason. But he still had to try.
"I'm not calling you a coward, Felicity," he said softly, stepping forward to put his hands on her shoulders. In heels, she was the perfect height for him. Briefly, the temptation to kiss her crossed his mind, but it didn't seem appropriate considering that they were arguing. "I just want you to be safe."
She looked him directly in the eyes. "I'll be fine. I always am."
He stopped arguing at that point, knowing that it was futile.
Present Day:
A nurse bustled in and into the hospital room, checking that all of Felicity's equipment was still active and disrupting Oliver's concentration.
"Am I still allowed to be here?" he asked, hoping that he wouldn't have to leave her side.
The nurse nodded. "Visiting hours are until 6," she said kindly. It was only 5 right now, so he had some time.
"How is she?" his voice was bleak, but he tried to still keep a little bit of hope alive.
The nurse hesitated. Not a good sign. "The longer that she stays in a coma, the less likely it is that she'll wake up. It hasn't been too long, yet, so there's a chance."
Oliver nodded, now unable to speak through the lump in his throat. The nurse just smiled gently at him and left, shutting the door behind her.
Once he was alone, Oliver scooted his chair closer to Felicity's bed and took her limp hand in his, careful not to disturb any of the tubes going into her body.
"Felicity," he murmured softly. "I am so, so sorry. I did this to you."
She didn't move. He didn't expect her to, but a part of him was hoping that the sound of his voice would have some magical effect to bring her back to consciousness. He had heard that people in comas could hear, still.
Smoothing some hair back from her forehead, Oliver took a couple deep breaths to calm himself down. Once he could speak again, he continued. "I'm begging you." He gazed intently at her. "Please wake up. You have to wake up, because I can't lose you." There had been too much loss already - the list of people who had died because of him kept growing. Shado, Tommy, his parents. Felicity couldn't join that list. This time, as the tears started, he didn't try to stop them. She deserved his sorrow.
"If you wake up, I promise that I'll never ask you to get me coffee again," he chuckled slightly through his tears. "And I'll even buy you a brand new coffee maker to not get me coffee from."
For a second, he thought that her fingers tightened slightly on his, but then the sensation faded and he shrugged it off as wishful thinking.
"And Felicity," his voice broke as the tears rolled down his cheeks, "I don't know if I'll ever have the chance to tell you, but I love you."
Two Days Earlier:
"You move and she dies," the masked figure screamed. He was holding Felicity's arm in a death grip - Oliver could see the look of pain on her face. There were at the very edge of the bridge, only a flimsy guardrail preventing them from falling into the raging river. The sight made him see red. "No one catches the Goblin. No one!"
Oliver rolled his eyes at the man's choice of name. Villains just weren't very creative anymore. However, he refocused quickly. "Just let her go," he growled.
The lunatic didn't even seem to hear him. "I cause chaos wherever I go. And no one can stop me."
"Cut the monologue short." Oliver ordered, his distorter making his voice sound much more menacing. Felicity's eyes were wide with terror now. "The girl isn't a part of this; you don't need to hurt her."
"She's working with you."
"I don't know her." The denial felt wrong on his lips. He didn't like even pretending not to care about Felicity.
The Goblin smiled, a smile that didn't hold any warmth. "Then you won't care if I do this." In one fast motion, he lifted Felicity up and pushed her off the bridge.
"Felicity," he screamed, the sound tearing out of his throat.
He heard her start to scream, but the sound was quickly cut off after he heard a dull thud.
"Oh, how delightful," the Goblin remarked mildly. "She seems to have hit her head on her way down. Oh well."
Oliver ignored him and bolted to the edge, dropping his bow and quiver. They would only weigh him down anyway. As he dove over the edge, he heard the sound of retreating footsteps. The Goblin was getting away, and there was nothing he could do.
The icy water hit his skin as he entered the water cleanly, the cold robbing him of his breath. The current was strong, and finding Felicity was going to be difficult. However, failure wasn't an option. He started to swim, desperately searching for a glimpse of blonde hair or fuchsia lips.
A long time later, as he called 911 from the bank of the river, Oliver was more grateful than he had ever been in his life that he had somehow found her. He didn't know how it was possible to be that lucky, but he just prayed that it would continue. She had to be okay.
One Day Later:
"Another bouquet of flowers for a beautiful blonde and very alive IT expert." Oliver's voice floated into Felicity's hospital room behind a large bouquet of bright pink lilies.
She laughed weakly at the sight. "I'm not sure where you're gonna put them." Every surface in her small room was crowded with flowers, most from Oliver. She knew that he felt guilty for what had happened to her and that the flowers were one way of making it up to her.
"I'll find a place." The lilies ended up on the chair by her bed as that was the only place left.
"Thanks for coming," Felicity smiled at him.
"I'm just glad that you woke up. I thought I had lost you," he admitted with a tender smile that warmed her heart. He walked over to her and took her hand. It felt so small and delicate against his larger, well-muscled one.
"It takes more than that to get rid of me," she joked. "I'm tougher than you think."
"Sure you are." His voice was amused.
"By the way," Felicity changed the subject casually, not meeting his eyes, "When I was unconscious, was there anything you said to me? Anything important."
Oliver looked taken aback and a look of panic crossed his face. "No. Nothing. Nothing at all."
Felicity shrugged, feeling slightly disappointed. "Okay." It must have been a dream, then. A really nice dream, though, where Oliver had told her that he loved her.
Then she looked up. "Oh, did you catch the Goblin?"
Anger replaced panic, turning Oliver's eyes hard. "Not yet. But I will find him."
Felicity squeezed his hand. "I know. I trust you." She didn't miss the shadow that crossed his eyes at her words. It worried her - she didn't want him carrying the guilt with him.
Oliver let go of her hand and started towards the door.
"Where are you going?" Felicity frowned. "You just got here."
Oliver turned back to her with a forced smile. "The Goblin won't find himself."
Okay, so I'm thinking of doing another chapter with the aftereffects of this one (incorporating a prompt into it as well). Thoughts?
Also, should I bring the Goblin back in future chapters?
Please review and let me know what you all think!