A/N: 2x09 drabble. Quick and dirty. Spoilers if you haven't seen the episode yet.

"He said that too." Oliver said suddenly in the finally quiet lair.

Felicity turned in her chair to see him placing the bow back in the case, the new mask hanging from his hand as he studied it. "Said what? And he who?"

"Said I was a hero." his voice was low and still slightly disbelieving,

But something about the way he said it brought her to her feet and to his side. "Well, you are." she said gently and slid the mask from his slack grip. His stillness and the vacant look in his eye made her think he may have been having another hallucination.

She stepped forward so she could see him better and saw he wasn't staring at nothing like she'd thought, he was looking intently at his bow. The breath caught in her throat when she realized exactly who he'd seen and why he was so affected.

A hand reached out to lay inside his elbow, squeezing once to get his attention. "He who?" she asked again, needing him to tell her on his own.

A tremor ran through him and she bit her lip in an effort to give him the time he needed. His head bowed for a second and then he looked up and locked his eyes on hers. "Tommy. I saw Tommy."

Tears pricked her eyes and she thought his looked wet as well. His name left her lips as a whisper as she moved half a step closer.

"I was down. Gold had me beat. I thought Roy was already dead…" he trailed off and looked away for a second as her heart clenched in her chest to hear how once again he'd come so close to death.

"And then Tommy was there. He told me to get up. Told me I was a hero and he didn't blame me for his death." his jaw clenched as his voice broke on the last word and she closed the final bit of distance between them in an attempt to give him as much comfort as she could.

She rested her free hand on his chest and could feel how he struggled for control. When she felt his fingers just touching her waist she let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding.

"I didn't know how much I needed to hear him say that. All this time…" the hand at her waist lifted and pinched the bridge of his nose hard as he shut his eyes tight. The tears he wouldn't allow himself to shed were slipping silently down her face. "All this time I've had the weight of his death hanging over me. But he didn't blame me."

Heart breaking for him she couldn't hold back any longer. Much like when he'd returned just a few short hours ago she lifted on her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck. This time though both his arms came around her and his head dropped to her neck as he let out a jagged exhale.

Her hands stroked over his head as she held him to her. She'd known how much Tommy's death still hung over him. Any relief or lightening of that guilt was most welcome.

"You are a hero, Oliver. You're this city's hero." she whispered into his ear and pulled back far enough to cup his face in her hands. She wiped away the trace of moisture she saw and gave him a sad smile. "You're my hero."

Her lips brushed his forehead before she pressed the mask back into his hands and stepped out of his arms, feeling his fingers follow along her arm until they were forced to fall away.

She walked back to her chair without looking back. Leaving Oliver with his ghosts.