A/N: Hope you enjoy!

Chapter Eleven

Felicity never was very adventurous in bed. Her high school boyfriend didn't function beyond simple missionary - even that he didn't do particularly well – and then Nick had been resistant to anything remotely new or different. But as her and Mark passed their one month anniversary she wanted to spice things up. So, she searched the location of the nearest Lovers Lane – a search she immediately wiped from her browser history – and picked up a tub of edible Vanilla-Bourbon body butter.

Naturally, she turned out to be allergic to it.

Half-naked in Mark's bed she broke out in a rash all over her body and her tongue inflated to the size of a dill pickle. She panicked, knocking over what she later learned was an antique Tiffany lamp as she gasped for air.

As her vision blurred she thought to herself that this was what she got for experimenting and it really wasn't fair she was allergic to the body butter. That stuff tasted really good.

She was taken to the nearest hospital by ambulance, Mark riding in the front. As she gasped for air under the oxygen mask she could hear him asking over and over again if the hospital was close yet.

One steroid shot and a few units of fluid later she was still a bit puffy, but able to breath on her own. She thought the worse was over, and then Oliver and Tommy burst into her room.

"What are you guys doing here?" she asked in a hoarse voice, glancing over at Mark as Tommy rushed over to the side of her bed. Oliver hung back by the door, but she could read the tension in the set of his shoulders.

"Tommy called your phone," Mark explained quickly. "I sort of had to tell him."

Felicity groaned.

"What the hell happened to you?" Tommy demanded. "You have an IV in your arm and you look like Aunt Martha when she eats shrimp."

"I'm fine. I just had an allergic reaction to something I ate," Felicity told him. She glanced over at Oliver and said, "Really, I'm fine. You guys didn't have to rush here. In fact, you guys can leave. Like, right now even!"

Tommy glared at Mark. "You served her something with peanuts, didn't you?"

"I didn't serve her peanuts," Mark responded. " I'm a chef. We pretty much ask for food allergies right after hello."

"It wasn't peanuts," Felicity echoed. "It was…something else."

"What else?" Tommy said. "Do you have another weird food allergy?"

Felicity nodded emphatically. "Yep, that's it. Another weird food allergy."

Tommy, jumping off from what she said, immediately continued with, "But, what –"

Felicity interrupted him by yawning loudly. "Man, I am beat. I think I'm going to nap now. You guys can head home. I think they're discharging me tomorrow morning."

"They're keeping you overnight?" Oliver asked.

"For observation," Felicity said. She saw the worry pulling at the corners of his eyes. "It's standard procedure. Really. I'm fine."

The doctor walked in, chart wedged under his arm, and an easy smile pulling at his mouth.

"Hello Felicity. I see you have a few visitors."

"I'm her cousin," Tommy said by way of greeting. Oliver, following suit, murmured, "I'm…his roommate."

The doctor blinked, nodding a bit. "Okay then. Felicity, I'm glad to see your swelling has gone down."

"Me too, Dr. Ribbon," Felicity said.

"How's your tongue feeling?" he asked.

"Fine, I think," she said. He stepped forward and pulled a small flashlight from his pocket.

"Can you open your mouth for me?"

Felicity opened her mouth wide and he shined the flashlight in. "It still looks a little swollen," he said, clicking the flashlight off. "Definitely better, though."

"Will I be able to leave tomorrow morning?" she asked.

He nodded, slipping the flashlight back in his pocket. "I don't see why not."

"Should she stay away from any foods or anything when she leaves?" Mark asked, laying his hand casually on her shoulder. She glanced up at him and he squeezed her shoulder.

Dr. Ribbon shook his head. "Not really. I'd stay away from any other edible lotions, though." Felicity froze, feeling both Oliver and Tommy's gaze snap to her face. Dr. Ribbon continued, unaware of the shift in the room. "We don't know exactly what set off her reaction, but it may be a common ingredient among edible lotions. So, if I were you, I'd steer clear of them."

Mark nodded. "Okay, we will. Thank you, Doctor."

"You're welcome. I'll check in with you tomorrow morning, Felicity."

Felicity waited for Tommy's reaction. He at least had the good sense to wait until the doctor had left.

"Edible lotion?" he said, the timbre of his voice belying the laughter he attempted to cover.

"Shut up," Felicity said, glowering.

"I have to say, you two continue to surprise me," Tommy said. "Let me guess the flavor – strawberry cheesecake."

"I am not taking part in this conversation," Felicity held stubbornly.

"I'm going with vanilla," Oliver added. "Or maybe something with caramel."

"You guys are the worst," Felicity groaned. She looked to Mark for some agreement, but he looked positively amused. She rolled her eyes, pulling the blanket up under her arms.

The next morning Tommy and Oliver sat on their couch, playing a game of Mario Kart before heading to Verdant to do an inventory of their back liquor room. It would be a long day, and both were putting off beginning it.

"I should have been a Nascar driver," Tommy mused, sending Yoshi around a tight curve with ease. "Look how I hugged that curve."

"I'm pretty sure the skills for race car driving and Mario Kart driving are pretty different," Oliver said. He frowned when his car crashed into the wall.

"You're just jealous because you're an awful Mario Kart player."

"Excuse me? I've beaten you on many occasions." He swore under his breath as he ran his car off the elevated road, his car dropping down into an unidentified body of water.'

"Uh huh," Tommy said with a smirk. "You want to say that when you're not plummeting off the road?"

"I'm just off my game this morning."

"I get it," Tommy said, his voice heavy with meaning.

"What do you mean you get it?" Oliver asked, somewhat irritated.

"I mean, we had first row seats to Felicity and Mark's sex life last night. That couldn't have been easy for you."

Oliver's shoulders tensed. "Whatever. It's not like I had any illusion that they weren't…doing that."

Tommy snorted. "You can't even say the word."

"I'm not off because of that. I didn't sleep well."

"Sure."

Tommy's tone was obvious and Oliver shot him a look. "My room was too warm. We need to put the heat lower at night."

"Right, the heat. That's what kept you up."

"Felicity can do whatever she wants," Oliver said. "I told you, I'm over it."

And he was. At least that's what he told himself. After Thanksgiving he told himself – and Tommy – that he was finished with whatever had inadvertently started between him and Felicity. She had Mark and for all intents and purposes he seemed like a good guy. She liked him, and that in itself was a point in Mark's favor. He treated her well, and as far as Oliver could see he made her happy. That's what he really wanted. For her to be happy. He wasn't about to ruin that.

"You're an idiot if you believe that," he said. "You should have seen your face when I told you she was in the hospital."

"I care about her," Oliver said with a shrug. "Of course I was worried. So were you."

"Alright, you're over it," Tommy said dismissively, seeing that pushing the subject was futile. "But when you realize that you're actually not, just remember that I'm here for you."

"Fuck," Oliver said, his car careening off the side of the road again.

Tommy chuckled. "Man, you really are bad at this today."

His phone rang on the table and he leaned forward, picking up the phone and swiping into the call.

"Hello?"

"Hi, it's Mark."

"Mark," Tommy said in surprise. Beside him, Oliver's attention snapped to him. "What's up? Is Felicity okay?"

"She's fine," he said quickly. Tommy gave Oliver a thumbs up. "Actually set to be discharged in about an hour. That's what I'm calling about. I was supposed to pick her up but one of my chefs called in sick today and I really can't afford to leave the kitchen. Do you think you could take her home?"

"Uh, yeah, of course. That's no problem. You said she'd be ready in an hour?"

"About that, yeah."

Tommy, mind whirring, nodded and said, "I'll send Oliver."

"Okay, perfect. Thank you so much. I – " he broke off, and Tommy heard him yell something about salmon. "- I'm sorry. The kitchen is crazy this morning. One of our fish shipments is wrong, and – " there was a loud crash, " – I really have to go."

"We'll get Felicity. No problem. Bye Mark."

"Bye."

He hung up and Oliver asked, "Where are you sending me?"

Tommy grinned. "You, my friend, are white knighting Felicity from that hospital."

Felicity sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for Mark to come and take her home. She'd already signed all the discharge papers and promised her nurse that she would stay away from all edible lotions. She'd shaken her head solemnly and swore, "I will never even look at another tub again."

She was scrolling through her phone, smiling at some baby pictures on Facebook, when someone walked in. She glanced up, fully expecting to see Mark, but then Oliver was standing in front of her.

"Oliver, hi," she stammered.

He smiled softly. "Hello Felicity."

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to take you home. Mike's stuck in the kitchen."

"Please tell me it's his kitchen and not yours." Oliver gave her a strange look and she elaborated. "I wouldn't put it past Tommy to make him cook you guys waffles or something."

"That's a great idea," Oliver joked. "But, no, he's at the restaurant."

She nodded. "Okay, well, then let's go."

"Do you have all your stuff?"

She nodded. "And I signed all the forms. I am very eager to, well, not be here."

Oliver smiled. "I don't blame you."

"I mean, they were nice," she said, leading him out of the room. "And hospital pudding is in a league of its own. But, you get poked and prodded at all hours of the day. And I kept hearing people call me Edible Lotion Girl."

Oliver snorted. "Really?"

She nodded. "I mean, I get it. I probably would do the same thing. But it's still embarrassing."

"If it makes you feel better, I've landed myself in the hospital before, too."

She looked at him with wide eyes. "You mean with…"

"Not edible lotion," he filled in. "But, under…similar circumstances."

"Okay, now you have to tell me," she said, looking up at him as they walked side by side down the hallway. "Wait, is this a gross story? Maybe I don't want to hear it."

He laughed. "Let's just say I pulled something and ended up out of commission for a good few weeks."

"Ouch."

"So, you're not alone. It happens."

"Well, thank you. I feel marginally less bad now."

"I'm happy to help."

They walked out of the hospital and went into Oliver's car. They held casual conversation as Oliver drove, talking about nothing and everything at the same time. She'd forgotten what it was like to just talk with Oliver, how easy it was. Since Thanksgiving they didn't spend much time alone. Tommy was always there – usually by one of their designs – and when they were together the conversation was careful and controlled. In the wake of her hospitalization they'd fallen back into their old pattern somehow, and she hadn't realized how much she missed it. Missed him.

He pulled into a parking spot in front of her apartment and walked her upstairs. Not wanting their time together to end just yet she quickly offered him some breakfast.

"It's almost noon," he reminded her.

"Well, then how about some lunch? I have some lunch meat in my refrigerator. Actually, it might be expired. But we can order something. Al's Pancake World has good Thai on Thursdays."

She was so eager, looking up at him with wide eyes and rambling on about Al's Pancake World. She'd stepped forward in her zeal and they were standing barely a foot from each other. If he just stepped a littler forward, leaned down toward her…no. This was why he had to leave.

"Tommy's expecting me at Verdant."

His words had a sobering effect on her and she nodded, stepping back as she said, "Right. Um, okay then. Tell him I say hi."

"I will."

He turned to leave and she called out for him.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for picking me up. It was very nice of you."

He shrugged and said, "What else are friends for?"

She nodded blankly. Friends. They were friends. It was her choice. His choice. Their choice.

Why did it feel like settling?

"Bye Oliver."

"Good bye, Felicity."

A/N: So, reviews are down for this story again. I still have a lot to write but I need to know people are reading. If you enjoyed this chapter and would like to see more please leave feedback.