I literally could not do any of this if it wasn't for you guys! Thank you to bellemmie for the kind words and support! You guys know how to write the nicest reviews! I am really mean to Oliver but I like the moments when he realizes that he needs Felicity just as much as she needs him. That he not only doesn't have to be alone like he thought, but he can't be alone anymore because he would be lost without her. I have no idea how many more chapters this is going to be but I hope you guys all stick around to find out! I can promise you Zytle is going to get it pretty good.

On a random note, I have to leave for work in like an hour and I forgot to dry my work clothes last night before bed (too busy writing of course) and so I had to throw them in the dryer this morning and I just wanted to put them on and be done with it so I could sit and write another chapter in before I had to leave. So I pulled my black jeans and black manager polo out of the dryer and rushed to put them on. Let me tell you, it gives a whole new meaning to the words hot pants...

DISLAIMER: I do not own Arrow or any of it's characters or anything that is or may be affiliated with it or them

Chapter 10

Family

Oliver slept in short bursts next to Felicity's bed, just enough to be alert and ready for anything. It wasn't anything he hadn't been used to before she started sleeping with him. He was better rested to start with though, with all the full nights of rest. Oliver couldn't stop touching Felicity, making sure she was still there and whole. That she really was going to be okay. He was pulled from his thoughts as Felicity's door opened and a crying Thea stepped through.

Oliver jumped up. "What's wrong? Is it mom?" He felt the tightening in his chest that was becoming familiar.

"No. Sorry. No Mom is fine. I'm just being a girl." Thea said it as if she was ashamed.

Oliver reached over and pulled the second chair in the room up next to his own and motioned to it. "Come here." He said it quietly but still in a commanding way.

Thea practically sprinted into it and Oliver wrapped an arm around her, pulling her in tight to his side.

"It's okay to be upset, Thea. To cry. God knows I have been. But the three of you are okay and that's what's important." Oliver said it softly.

"I know. I'm just all over the place. I'm still reacting from how scared I was. I'm frustrated that this guy keeps eluding us. And I'm pissed. I'm really pissed at Felicity." Thea raged.

"What? Why?" Oliver didn't know where that last part came from.

"When Jason told us to put our seat belts on, we immediately did as he asked, still not really knowing what was happening. Mom and I didn't know anyway, Felicity seemed like she had a good idea of what was happening. We were all scared and then out of nowhere, Felicity throws her seat belt back off and lunged at me. I freaked, I had no idea what the hell she was doing. She pulled my seat belt away from me and threw me down on the floor of the car and laid herself on top of me. I only had like two seconds to catch up to what happened before I heard all the crashing. I had shut my eyes, but opened them when I felt Felicity fly away from me. I landed on top of her when the car rolled. I didn't pass out. I turned and called out for mom but she didn't answer me. I looked down and all I could see was blood all over Felicity's face and she wouldn't wake up no matter how loud I yelled her name. I found one of our phones on the floor, I don't even know who's it was, and I called 911. I was too frantic to really focus on anything, but I crawled to Mom and helped ease her out of her seat belt and started trying to open the doors to get us all out of there in case something else happened." Thea paused to take a deep breath and collect herself again as Oliver rubbed her arm in reassurance that he was there. No one had told him any of this yet and he found himself going through a range of emotions as well.

"Mom woke up as I was checking on Jason and freaked out about Felicity. Then I yelled out because Jason was... He was dead. It was obvious. But I checked for a pulse anyway. So mom said we had to focus on the fact that the three of us were alive and how to get out of the car. Mom and I shoved at the door until we were able to get it open just enough that we could squeeze out. Mom lifted Felicity as gently as possible, cradling her head. And I picked up her legs, doing my best not to hurt her any more than she already was. By the time we had her half out of the car, we could hear the sirens but Mom said to keep going, keep focusing. So we got Felicity out and Mom told me to come help her. We grabbed under each of her arms and dragged her slowly across the grass, away from the car. I kept begging her to wake up so I could yell at her for being so reckless. The paramedics whisked us here pretty quickly and separated us. I kept yelling for someone to call you and they said it was already being handled. Walter is still mom's emergency contact and you know how close QC is to the hospital. So he got here pretty quickly and insisted that he be the one to call you. He said he didn't want anyone else doing it and saying something stupid and wanted to be sure he told you not to drive yourself because he knew how upset you would be. So yeah, I'm mad. Why would Felicity have done something so stupid? I know she's going to be fine, but she wouldn't be hurt nearly as bad if she hadn't done that." Thea was wiping away more tears as she spoke.

"Because it's who she is. She loves you, Thea and she would do anything to protect you. And mom. There is never going to be anything you could say to her to make her feel any differently about the situation. She would do the same things all over again. Felicity always puts the people she cares about above herself. Obviously she saw something that made her believe you were going to be hurt. So she did what she could to prevent it." Oliver was proud and thankful that she had done what she did to save Thea but he couldn't help but feel slightly agitated, and yet not surprised, that she had pushed her own well being to the side in order to do it.

"He's right. On all counts." Thea and Oliver's gazes were immediately on Felicity's face as she spoke.

Oliver leaned forward, kissing her forehead gently as Thea rose from her chair.

"I'm going to go let the doctors know she's awake."

"Thank you, Thea." Oliver said before turning back to Felicity. "And exactly just how much of that were you awake for?"

"All of it. I guess I owe Thea and your mom." Felicity smiled.

"No. It's what family does. We protect each other, the same way that you protected Thea." Oliver's tone brooked no argument.

"Well, I hate to be the one to break this to you, but we are a pretty dysfunctional family." Felicity dead panned.

"It has not escaped my attention." Oliver said with a relieved smirk. He was so glad that she seemed to be more alert this time, in less pain.

The doctors came in and shooed Oliver out. The only reason they were succesful was because Felicity assured him it was fine and that he could come right back in. He still wasn't going to leave, but then she had told him it would be the perfect opportunity to get some coffee and something to eat and also check on his mother. Sometimes he hated that she was so smart. So Oliver headed down the hallway to his mother's room. She could have been moved to a different floor now that she was only being kept for observation, but she had insisted on staying right where she was so she could be closer to Felicity. And even though the Queens had lost a good chunk of their wealth, they were still the Queens and most of the time, they got what they wanted. Oliver strolled in to see his mother sliding on her heels.

"Mom? What are you doing?" Oliver questioned her.

"Hello, dear. I'm being discharged so someone who actually needs this bed can have it. How's Felicity? I was just on my way to come see the two of you." Moira moved right past the discharge subject.

"Are you sure you should be checking yourself out? Where's Walter?" Oliver may be a Queen, but he was just as intimidated by his mother as most people. He just didn't usually admit it. That and your mom is always your mom. And no matter what age you are or what you do in your life, you will always be slightly intimidated by your mother and do your best not to upset or disappoint her.

"Oliver, I am more than capable of taking care of myself. Besides, I didn't just check myself out, I am being released by the doctor." Moira scoffed at her son as she patted his cheek.

"Sorry. I'm just-"
"Don't apologize. Let's just go see Felicity." Moira said with a soft smile. Oliver just nodded and they walked down the hall and back to Felicity together.

Thea was already in the room, and Oliver and Moira stopped short at the sight in front of them. The head of Felicity's bed was propped up, the first time she had sat up since the accident. Thea was snuggled into the bed with her and the two of them were watching something on Thea's tablet, their heads touching as they smiled. Oliver couldn't help the smile that came to his face at the way Felicity took such good care of Thea. No, that's not right. They take such good care of each other. I don't know how she does it, but she has such an effect on everyone she interacts with. I'm in so deep. And I'm okay with it. Oliver brought himself out of his thoughts so he could step further into the room, making his presence known. Thea looked up at him first.

"Hi, Ollie." Thea smiled.

"Speedy. What are you two doing?" Oliver asked as he fit himself in to sit on the small amount of space not being taken up by the two of them on the bed.

"Just watching some pretty hilarious videos." Felicity answered as her eyes met his. Oliver couldn't resist leaning in and kissing her gently. When he pulled away he couldn't help but flick his gaze over her face repeatedly, just taking her all in.

"Jeez, Ollie, there are other people in the room you know." Thea said with a smirk.
"Thea, let's give them some time alone." Moira spoke for the first time and Felicity startled. She had been paying so much attention to Thea and her tablet, she hadn't even realized Moira had come in with Oliver.

"Moira. Are you all right?" Felicity looked her over as she spoke.

"I'm more worried about you. I'm fine." Moira insisted as she stepped closer to the bed and grabbed one of Felicity's hands in her own. Thea slid off the bed and walked towards the door.
"Maybe we should be the ones to give mom and Felicity a few moments." Thea suggested with a look towards her brother. He hesitated for a moment, not wanting to leave Felicity again. Thea's eyes widened and she furrowed her eyebrows, glaring at him. Oliver sighed and with a kiss to Felicity's forehead and a promise to be right back, and followed his sister out the door.

Once Oliver and Thea stepped out of the room, Moira pulled Felicity into a tight hug and just held on for a few minutes. Felicity didn't respond right away, surprised by the move at first, but then she wound her arms around Moira. They stayed that way for a few minutes, both trying to rein in the tears threatening to fall. They both worked hard to keep them in, they didn't want to cry anymore about what happened. They both knew they needed to just be happy and grateful that the three of them were all right. Moira pulled away and cupped Felicity's face.

"Thank you. You just keep blowing me away. You saved my daughter. And I think you're responsible for saving my son as well." Moira spoke softly.

"I think Oliver and Thea are the ones who saved me. I never had a lot of friends growing up in a casino. And I never had many in college. The ones I did, well they weren't exactly the best ones for me to have chosen. Things didn't change when I got the job in the IT Department. The only people who acted remotely close were only doing so because they felt threatened by me. They wanted to get a one up on me, so I couldn't trust any of them. Then Oliver brought me a busted up laptop. Now he's one of the most important people in my life. Then there's Thea. She seemed so lost and angry when I met her, not wanting to let anyone know what she was feeling. When I saw how badly what she was doing affected Oliver, I felt so compelled to do something. Part of me felt like I completely understood where she was coming from, that I had felt the same things she was feeling. If I could only relate to her, she wouldn't feel so alone, like she had to drink her feelings away. Then we just became friends so quickly, it ended up being Thea who took me under her wing. She taught me to loosen up and just be myself, no matter who that person was. I never had any siblings, and Thea became a younger sister. Better than I ever could have imagined. So yes, they are the ones that saved me from a sad and boring life." Felicity smiled at Moira, wanting her to understand how important her two children were. Moira gave a light laugh before her face became somber and she stepped away.

"Aren't you forgetting a pretty important part of the story?" Moira asked seriously.

"What are you talking about?" Felicity was genuinely confused, unsure where Moira was going with this.

"The fact that you are more than just my son's partner in his day job, but that you are also his partner in what I'm sure he would call his night job." Moira seemed confident in what she was saying as Felicity's jaw dropped in shock and terror. What would Moira do with the information?
"Moira, I don't-"
"Don't apologize. Or make an excuse or try and make up a lie, Thea's already told me what a terrible liar you are. I'm not angry, Felicity."
"You- You're not? How did you figure it out?" Felicity was too shocked to have come up with a cover story anyway.

"How could I not figure it out. Not only is he my son and a mother always knows things like that, but Oliver really is terrible with the cover stories. The way he would disappear with some strange excuse every time I turned around was suspicious enough. At first I just thought he was suffering from PTSD after being on that horrible island for five years. Then came the mysterious bruises he always tried to hide or some other various injury. Then I saw the closeness he had with you and John Diggle. There was something more than work relationships with the two of you and the looks the three of you are constantly sharing told a different story than whatever you were showing to the public. So yes, Felicity I know that my son is what they call the Arrow."

Okay, so obviously I did not get a chance to finish writing this chapter before I left for work. My bad. And then I came home late and grabbed some dinner and sat down and had a magnificent drink (Frozen Blue Hawaiian by Seagramm's. You should all try one. All of you who are over the age of 21 of course. Or whateve the legal drinking age may be for wherever it is you live.) Aaaaannnnyyway, it is done now and hopefully by the time you read this (If you even read these) I will be halfway, if not completely, done with the next chapter. I uploading them as fast as I can write them, and writing them as fast as I can think! Happy Reading!

Sarah~