"I thought you're supposed to be staying off of it."
"I'm not putting weight on it."
Oliver turned around to see Felicity attempting to get up from the chair that she'd been sitting in for most of the night. Lance seemed extremely concerned and had already said his goodnights to Sara, explaining that he really wanted to stay and make sure that Felicity was okay. Oliver thought that it was interesting that Lance had this odd relationship with Felicity. He wasn't sure if it was just Felicity's charm or if it was something more. After all, how could you resist her charm? It wasn't a normal kind of charm, but it pulled you in. Quentin Lance wasn't he only one…Walter Steele had been taken over by it, Oliver was pretty sure that that had happened even before he'd been smitten by her.
"Oliver, get over here and help her," Lance practically commanded.
Oliver didn't need to be told twice to help Felicity. Tonight was his night to stay with her and he just hoped that it wasn't awkward. He was actually pretty excited about it. It was their time to just be together, even if it was just talking about the weather and then Felicity sleeping. That was enough.
"I'm fine, I promise…" Felicity told them as she balanced on her good leg.
Careful to pick up Felicity, he tried to keep her booted leg as stable as possible. "Can you get the bedroom door?" Oliver asked and Lance was moving practically before he finished the sentence. He was gentle as he set her down in her bed. He knew that she needed to start to walking on it, but he couldn't help being protective of her and wanting her to have a couple or few days to heal.
Lance was moving around the room and obviously trying to help as much as he could. Oliver thought that if any of Team Arrow (besides Sara) that he was happy to have a relationship with Lance, he was glad it was Felicity. It meant that Lance would likely look out for her if she were to get into any trouble.
"Do you need anything? A glass of water? Ice cream? You didn't have any," Lance told her.
Felicity beamed at them. "A glass of water would be nice…and I was saving the ice cream until I had to take my pain meds… Coats the stomach."
"Which one do you want? Or do you want the ever so popular…some of each?"
"That sounds great. Thank you."
"Do you need he—" Oliver started to ask before he was cut off.
"I'm pretty sure I can figure it out," Lance told him quickly. "You see if pillows need to be fluffed and get the pain meds ready…"
Oliver just nodded. He waited until he left the room before turning to Felicity. She looked happy, which was good. He really hoped that it hadn't been too much for her, even though he was fairly sure that it had been her idea in some part.
"Did you have fun?" she asked.
"Yes," he replied with a smile. "Just wished I had been here earlier for the other games."
"We never watched the movies…"
"That's okay," Oliver assured. "I'm pretty sure that people were happy with how things turned out even without the movie." He looked over at the bedside clock before looking back to her. "I think the four hour Monopoly game was more than anyone expected…"
"Monopoly is a game that requires a full day," Lance said as he came in with a glass of water in one hand and a bowl of ice cream in the other. He set the water on the bedside table before offering her the bowl of ice cream with spoon. "Now, is there anything else I can get you?"
"You're so sweet, but I think I'm all set now," Felicity told him. "It's so late…I don't want to keep you any longer…"
"You're going to be fine?" he asked as he looked between Felicity and Oliver. Oliver just smiled a little more in response. "I could stay longer…"
"I'm going to be fine," Felicity insisted. "Oliver's going to sleep on the couch, just in case I need anything…"
Lance looked back at Oliver. "Why don't you walk me out?"
"Okay," Oliver just responded. He felt a lecture coming on. He'd known Quentin Lance long enough to see when he was protective of someone and when he was about to receive a speech. This was definitely one of those times. It just amused him even more because Felicity's wasn't a Lance… It was one thing if he was around Sara or Laurel, then he expected it, but with Felicity?
"You call me if you need anything," Lance told Felicity as he reached out to put a hand on her shoulder. "Anytime for anything. I mean it."
"Okay," Felicity responded. "Thank you, Mr. Lance."
"I think we're at the point where you can call me Quentin," Lance told her. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight."
Oliver pulled closed her bedroom door as they exited the room and he did as he was asked, he walked Lance to the door. "I'm glad that you could come over—"
"You still call me Mr. Lance or Officer Lance," he told Oliver quickly.
Smirking, Oliver waved a hand. "Of course." He wouldn't dream of pushing it to a first name basis. He was fairly sure he'd burned that bridge years ago. "I just wanted to let you know that I don't think it would have been nearly as much fun if you didn't come over."
"You all would have taught her all the wrong ways to play," Lance told him quite seriously. "I couldn't have that. Sara, I think, might be the worse at 'bending' the rules of Monopoly."
"Well, I appreciated the refresher on the rules," Oliver told him. "And I think maybe we should do this more often…"
"Maybe we could even convince Laurel to come over."
"Maybe," Oliver said.
"Speaking of my daughters," Lance said. "I expect you to be respectable around Felicity. She's recovering and she needs to heal. She doesn't need you keeping her up late or trying any of your…charm on her."
Apparently Lance was adopting Felicity as a Lance. Oliver really didn't mind that. "Of course. I couldn't agree more."
Lance stared at him for a long moment. "Just know that I'm keeping an eye on you as much as I have one on her."
"Good to know," Oliver said as he opened the door for Lance. If he wasn't so amused by Lance's paternal protectiveness over Felicity, he knew that he would have been irritated with him. "Night."
"Night, Mr. Queen."
Oliver watched Lance go for a moment before closing and securing the door. He checked the windows in the apartment and then picked up a few things that hadn't been put away yet before making his way back to the bedroom. He knocked on the door twice and waited until he heard her call him in. He opened the door and peeked in. "Did you want any help?"
"I really want to shower, but Diggle said to wait another day and then he'll wrap up my leg," Felicity said.
She looked a little pathetic in that bed. "Diggle's probably right…"
"I know," she said, sounding a little hopeless.
"You should probably change, though," Oliver pointed out. Felicity had been trying to still wear her skirts and blouses, but he doubted they were very comfortable to sleep in.
"After I finish my ice cream," Felicity told him as she picked up the bowl from the bedside table. She paused for a moment. "I really love my flowers, by the way."
"I was hoping you would," he said as he sat down at the end of the bed and just watched her.
Felicity took a couple of bites before speaking to him again. "So, what did Lance say?"
"What?"
"He didn't really need to be walked out."
He smiled. "The whole…don't take advantage of my daughter speech…except he was going for subtle…"
Felicity just stared at him for a moment. "I guess that's sort of sweet…"
"It's good that you have someone who thinks of you that way. He'd probably just prefer you weren't mixed up with me."
"Good luck with that," she told him with a smile. "You're stuck with me… I get hit IN my car by a car…and you're still stuck with me…"
Oliver's face got very serious. "That's not funny."
Felicity tilted her head as she stared at him. "I have to keep from becoming too serious…"
"My mother tried to kill you…twice…"
"I'm still here," she reminded quietly.
Felicity's calm was making him so frustrated. He didn't understand how she could be so calm about it. His mother wasn't exactly your run of the mill type of mom. She was powerful, determined, dangerous, and definitely not to be underestimated. All he wanted to do was to keep her safe and keep his mother at a distance. He noticed that she seemed to be losing the smile and looking rather upset.
Oliver sighed and scooted closer. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I just…"
"You want to keep me safe," Felicity finished. "I get that…" She was quiet for a moment and she looked at him like she could see right into his soul. Oliver felt like Felicity could see right through his walls and lies and everything else most of the time. She was never a person he could hide from. "But Oliver…" She sighed and looked down before looking back up at him. "You're lucky to have the family you have…even with their flaws and skeletons…"
The look she gave him broke his heart a bit. He didn't know much at all about her family, but he knew that their little team was really the closest she came to a family right now. For him, they were family too. "Felicity, I can't just forget and forgive her…"
"Then don't," she told him. She reached out and took his hand. "We all know what she's capable of if she feels threatened… We'll be more cautious…"
"Felicity—"
"You can try to see if it works, Oliver," she insisted. "Tell her that you're willing to try to make it work and lay out everything for her…"
He just stared at her and then focused on her hand in his. He wished that he could go the route of the Arrow stepping in and threatening his mother, but he was honestly worried that that would put a bigger target on Felicity. He knew that her heart was in the right place, but he still didn't feel like it was smart. Would his mother appreciate having a relationship with him again…and Thea would no doubt appreciate not noticing that there was something odd between him and their mother.
"We always get sidetracked to heavy topics," Felicity said a few moments later. He was sure that she was trying to lighten the mood again and possibly cheer him up now.
"I guess we're just good at that," he said slowly as his thumb moved back and forth over the top of her hand.
"Well, let's stop…at least for right now," Felicity suggested. "Why don't you go into the other room and get those movies while I attempt to change into what'll pass as pajamas…"
"Are you going to be okay on your own?"
"I promise to try not to injure myself further or fall over or anything," Felicity told him. "But we both know that I need to start doing stuff for myself. It'll take me longer to get out of this thing," Felicity said as she pulled her hand from his and motioned to the contraption that held her leg in place. "I need to be able to go back to work…"
"I told you that you don't need to rush—"
"I'm going to go stir crazy…and no offense, I'll be happy once everyone's not over here…"
"Sick of us?" he asked as he looked up at her.
"Well, not everyone…"
"Thea and Roy?"
Felicity tilted her head to the side. "Possibly…but I didn't say that…"
Oliver smirked. "Maybe if they were separate."
"Perhaps… Roy just eats… Thea seems to just get bored and then irritated."
"I'm surprised that she's not shopping while she's here…"
"I posted my wifi password out there and everything," Felicity told him as she motioned to the other room.
Oliver had noticed that. It was posted on a bright colored post-it note on the fridge where no one could miss it. "Well, I'm glad that I get to spend some time with you…unless you're sick of me?"
"Go get the movie," she told him with a smile.
"I see I don't get an answer," he teased. Oliver got to his feet and started towards the door. He looked back over his shoulder. "Avoiding answering the question."
Felicity held up the now empty glass that had once held water. "I'll give it to you once you refill my glass, take the dishes out, and bring the movie back in… Hopefully by then I'll be dressed… Just make sure to take a really long time."
He headed back to her bedside and gathered the dishes and glass. "I'll make sure I knock before I enter."
He busied himself for several minutes until he heard the sound of what he swore was glass shattering. "Felicity!" he called and didn't bother knocking before entering.
Once he was inside, he paused as he took in the scene. Felicity was on the ground and she looked absolutely distressed. Tears were in her eyes and all he could think to say was, "It's okay." She'd somehow fallen over and the vase with the sunflowers had been knocked over. The vase was broken and there was water on the floor, but Oliver was more concerned about Felicity having been cut or hurt.
"It's okay," he repeated as he scooped her up. She was wearing a tank top and panties. He noticed little shorts off to the side, but he figured that they weren't absolutely necessary if she was going to be in bed anyways. Oliver set her on the edge of the bed before kneeling down to look her over. "Are you hurt? Cut anywhere?"
"I'm okay," Felicity told him. "I didn't mean—"
"The glass can be cleaned up," he told her calmly, holding her hand. "The water can be soaked up with a towel…and the flowers can be replaced…" He reached up and touched her cheek with his free hand. "You can't be…"
. . .
At some point, he'd fallen asleep.
Oliver had a hard time sleeping for long periods of time since he'd come back from the island. Part of it was because on the island, he'd become accustom to not sleeping for long periods of times while another part was that he'd have nightmares and he'd try not to sleep quite that long. He'd actually woken up because Felicity had let out a short cry. He'd realized that he couldn't remember if she'd gotten her pain pills before they'd fallen asleep during their third movie.
He'd slept more than four hours he realized.
Staring down at her, he watched her sleep for a moment. It was already well into the morning and nearly the afternoon. They'd really stayed up late watching movies. Oliver got up from the bed stealthily and moved to the window to make sure that the room was as dark as it could be. He wanted to make sure that she got enough sleep. If she started to sound like she was in pain, he'd wake her up enough to give her the medication in hopes that she could fall back asleep.
Oliver moved back to the other side of the bed and climbed back in. He couldn't help it; he'd been so comfortable there. He lay on his side and just watched her. She was beautiful and she seemed so content. He'd thought before about if he could see himself with Sara or Felicity in five years… Now he knew, he could see himself with Felicity…
Things were different between him and Felicity, that was for sure. The closest they'd come to being intimate were friendly comforting touches or a hug. They hadn't kissed or taken it to the bedroom. Yes, they'd slept together…but it had been purely that. They'd slept in the bed side by side. That was enough for him right now. There was something so much more natural and intimate between them in their relationship, he realized.
He knew that they'd all been right.
Diggle.
Sara.
They'd all known.
Well, now he did too.
But he was going to take it slow. He was going to be the man that Felicity saw. He wasn't going to be the Oliver Queen he was before he met her. He was going to be the man that she was worthy of.
It was going to take time.
They had the time.
He loved her.
. . .
TBC…
