DAY FIFTEEN

Diggle and Sara had arrived at the services together. Moira Queen and Walter Steele were already there when they arrived early. It was being held on the Queen Mansion property in the gardens. There were photo colleges of both Thea and Felicity along with flowers adorning the area. Diggle wondered where they managed to get the photos of Felicity.

"We weren't expecting anyone so early," Walter announced.

"We wanted to make sure we were here early enough in case you needed anything," Sara said and then was hugging Mrs. Queen. "I'm so sorry about Thea…"

"I think everything is in place," Moira responded as she held Sara for a long time. It was clear that she'd already been doing her far share of crying and that she was trying to hold any new tears back. "Thank you for coming."

"Of course," Sara responded as she took a step back. "It looks beautiful," she commented.

The flowers were bright and nothing about the set up was dreary. Diggle thought it was better that way; it seemed more a celebration of life rather than doom and gloom. He was still hopeful that Thea and Felicity would be found, but he knew that this was what Mrs. Queen needed right now. "If I can ask? Where did you manage to get all of the photos of Felicity?"

"Oliver and I contacted her mother, it took some doing, but she forwarded about half of the photos," Walter explained. "Then Oliver and I went over to her apartment where we gathered the other half we're using. Her mother didn't request anything sent to her, so Oliver asked that we retain it. He and I boxed everything up over the last couple of days," he said. "Oliver said he was going to store it in the basement of Verdant."

Diggle nodded slowly. Felicity never talked about her family. Never. Diggle had always thought that they were either gone or they were not on good terms. He had always figured that when she was ready or needed to talk than she'd open up to either him or Oliver.

"Will her family be coming?" Sara asked the question that he'd been wondering.

"Unfortunately, no. It is my understanding that it is just her mother who is still living," Walter answered.

"But she's not coming?"

"No," Walter replied. "We even offered to pay her expenses, but she was not interested."

"That's odd," Diggle spoke up.

Moira shrugged in response. "Everyone mourns in their own way. Losing a child is something you can never prepare yourself for, even if you've been through it before."

"And I didn't feel the need to push it," Walter added. He put an arm around Moira and then looked about. "Is Oliver in the house?"

"I don't know," Diggle responded. "I assumed he was."

"You didn't bring him with you?" Moira asked.

"No," Diggle responded and could see worry on their faces. "Why don't I call him?" he offered before pulling his phone out and walking away.

He dialed Oliver's number and held it up to his ear. It just rang. Every time, he got voicemail. He finally decided that he'd leave a message. "Oliver, it's me. I'm with Walter and your mother. They're worried that you're not here yet. Call me back." After he ended the call, he immediately texted him.

Diggle knew Oliver. He knew he was in pain. He also knew that he was clinging incredibly hard to the hope that both Thea and Felicity would be found alive. It was more than that, though, it was the guilt he felt over their dual double abduction.

When people started to show up, Diggle stayed close to Sara, but kept an eye out for Oliver. It seemed like everyone was there except for Oliver. He had thought about pinging his cell phone and trying to convince him to come, but he knew that wouldn't do any good. Oliver had to deal with things in his own way even if no one else understood.

Certain people caught his eye as they arrived. Quentin, Dinah, and Laurel Lance all arrived together. He was surprised to see Dinah Lance there, but he figured it was a surprise to Sara as well by the look on her face. He knew that he had been pretty much the only other person that she'd been talking to lately.

"Excuse me," Sara said as she left him and made her way towards her family.

Diggle hoped that maybe this would help Sara a bit to cope. He knew that she shared in the belief that Thea and Felicity were likely out there, but she was also coping with her break-up with Oliver. It was hard to be so strong, but he knew that she'd been trying to keep her focus on helping him search for a lead. Any little clue that might take them to another breadcrumb.

They hadn't found any clues.

Roy had also shown up and so far was sticking rather close to Mrs. Queen. Diggle knew that it had been hard on Roy, Thea was gone and she was the person who steadied him. But like with Sara and Oliver, everyone had to process and deal with things on their own terms.

And then the unexpected…

Amongst the mourners, Isabel Rochev…

Diggle didn't know how she could even THINK about showing her face. Maybe she thought that Sara hadn't told them or maybe she just figured that they wouldn't make a scene. She'd be right about that. Diggle wouldn't even let her ruin the day of life celebration that Mrs. Queen needed so badly. He moved to intercept her and noticed out of the corner of his eye that Sara had noticed her as well. Sara was breaking away from her family and making her way towards Isabel as well.

"What do you THINK you're doing here?" Diggle asked lowly once he got to Isabel.

"I was invited," Isabel responded matter of factly. Her tone was even and calm and Diggle found that was pissing him off even more.

"We KNOW who you are now," he said in a dangerous yet low tone. He didn't want to ruin anything or start a scene. With Sara at his side, though, he wasn't sure if it could be avoided. If Roy noticed Isabel then he was certain that there would be a scene.

"Talia," Sara greeted.

"Sara," Isabel replied. "That's what they call you here, isn't it?"

No one said anything.

"I see you've told them," Isabel said.

"Why are you working with Slade?" Sara finally asked.

"Better question," Diggle spoke up quickly. "WHO took Thea and Felicity? Where are they?"

Isabel started to laugh lightly. She stopped a moment later and stared at them quite seriously. "Oh...you don't?"

"No. If we knew, then we'd have them," Diggle told her and was having a really hard time not punching her in the face. "There would be no need for all of this."

"Sara here knows him," Isabel said as she looked right at Sara.

"It could have been anyone," Sara argued.

"Can everyone take their seats please?" Walter's voice spoke loudly in order to start the services.

"I should go take my seat, so I can pay my respects," Isabel told them.

"Tell us," Diggle pushed.

"If you haven't figured it out, then you don't deserve to find them," Isabel said as she pushed past them.

Diggle caught Sara before she could do anything stupid. "Let her go…for now," he whispered.

"I don't know who it is," Sara told him. "At least I don't think I do. I told you, he reminded me of Merlyn…but that could mean nothing."

"Look, we can discuss this later," Diggle told her quietly. "But we can't make a scene…not today…not in front of all of these people… We can go after Isabel…or Talia…whoever she is…and even Slade… Not today, though." He was fairly sure that it would end the same, though. Either they'd all wake up beaten fairly badly or they'd actually end up killed. The last time he'd been lucky while the others had taken the real blows. "We should take our seats."

"Oliver never showed up."

"I noticed," Diggle said as he put an arm around her and led her towards their seats.

The service was starting and Diggle thought that maybe this would be good for all of them…even if they didn't all believe that Thea and Felicity were dead. He put an arm behind Sara and tried to relax. It was hard, but he had an eye on Isabel, just in case.

"I know it says in the booklet that Oliver would speak today, but I'm afraid that he didn't feel up to joining us today," Walter explained towards the end of the service. "So, I'll open it to anyone else who might want to speak."

Diggle hadn't planned on speaking, but he felt like it was his duty, especially without Oliver showing up. He stood and Walter nodded in acknowledgement as Diggle made his way up to the podium. When he got up there, he suddenly felt a lot more emotional than he had five minutes before. He held onto the podium and took in a deep breath. "My name is John Diggle and I knew both Thea and Felicity, though I knew Felicity a bit better. I know that Oliver would have said some beautiful things about both of them…this is hardest on those who knew them both because they lost two people they loved." He paused for a moment.

Without Oliver there, Diggle had felt like it was up to him to say the words that he knew that Oliver would have said if he'd been able to make it. Even if Diggle still believed that they were out there, this was for Moira Queen and other people who desperately needed this in order to move on…even if it was for another day, week, or month…whatever they needed to keep going until Thea and Felicity were actually found. Looking out at those who were attending the services, he was sure that most likely none of them knew Felicity. Only Team Arrow knew her…really knew her… It made him a sad to think about that, so he tried to push it down. Felicity, he told himself, would have plenty of time to show the world who she was.

"For those who knew Thea, they knew that Oliver adored her… I don't think I've seen siblings that were ever closer or loved each other as they did. Thea was a beautiful and intelligent young woman who had a special talent for making people smile. Her smile was almost contagious. Like all of us, she had her wild phases, but she grew up… That's how I like to remember her…the beautiful young woman who was strong enough and smart enough to do more with her life…to take her brother's nightclub and make it into more. To believe in people, even when sometimes they had a hard time believing in themselves, she and Felicity were a lot alike in that way."

He knew that there was more that Oliver would say. He'd know a story to tell. As he wished that he had something like that to share, he realized that this was the second service this year that many of these people had been to. Diggle was sure that most of these people had gone to Tommy Merlyn's funeral. He knew that Tommy Merlyn had grown up in the same circles as Thea and Oliver.

"I don't think many of you had to chance to meet Felicity," Diggle said and realized that his voice had broken a bit. He was certain that she was out there, but it was like it had just suddenly hit him. That they could both be gone. That this could be it. He took a moment to breathe and gather himself. "Felicity was more than someone in the IT department at Queen Consolidated and more than Oliver's executive assistant. She was smarter than most people I know. Felicity didn't have a filter and sometimes the wrong thing could come out of her mouth," he said with a smile as he thought back to those moments. "It was always something that made you smile or laugh though… And she was true. Felicity was like one of those people in mythology…the ones that had to pass tests that were true of heart. Felicity was one of those people."

Again, Diggle paused. He knew that he could say so much more about Felicity, but he knew that that was good for now. Walter had already done such a lovely job; he just wanted to be able to say something. He wanted to make sure that people thought more of them.

"Thank you for letting me speak," Diggle said finally. He stepped down and headed back to his seat. He had seen before that Roy was up with Moira and Walter and now as he walked back to his seat he noticed how upset he was. He wondered if Roy really did believe that they were dead.

He was happy to see that Isabel was still in the back. He really didn't think things would go over well if she was up front near Roy. The last thing they needed was for Isabel to approach Moira, Walter, or Roy. He'd make sure that he kept an eye on her. Diggle was sure that he and Sara could keep her from making her way up there later. It was just going to take some watching.

Sitting back down next to Sara, he let out a deep breath. She put her arm around him and squeezed a little bit. "We're going to find them," she whispered.

And he knew she was right, he just wished that it would be tomorrow. Diggle really didn't know how else to help Oliver. He was back on that island… Oliver seemed to have morphed into this dark person that none of them knew. He wasn't the same without Thea and Felicity. Diggle had felt like it was because Thea was the innocents that he tried to keep safe while Felicity was his heart… Without them, he was a man without a soul or a purpose…

And that made him dangerous.

To the rest of the world.

And himself.

. . .

DAY FIFTEEN

Diggle walked down into the Foundry and found Oliver there busy. "You missed the services…" he told him.

"I couldn't—"

"I know," he responded before Oliver could stumble any further. Diggle knew and he didn't need Oliver to torture himself anymore over trying to explain himself. He hated to think of Oliver or any person as broken, but that was exactly how he was without Felicity and Thea.

"Where are you going?" he asked as he recognized the box that Oliver was packing as he walked further into the Foundry. The box was something that Oliver had brought with him from Lian Yu. Diggle knew that Oliver still kept things in there, but now he was packing it. The bow that Felicity had specially ordered for Oliver was already packed.

"I don't know yet."

He knew that Oliver was honest.

"Isabel was at the services," Diggle told him.

"Don't you mean Talia?"

Diggle nodded as he walked around to get a better look at what he was packing. It was then that he realized that the suit wasn't in the case anymore. The Arrow was leaving Starling City, but for how long? On a mission to find Thea and Felicity? Or out for revenge?

"Right," Diggle said after a moment. "She said she was leaving town."

"Good," Oliver told him as he continued to busy himself with his packing.

"You didn't ask about the services," Diggle brought up as he leaned against the table the box was setting on. He was trying to gauge Oliver. He needed to know as much as he could because Oliver was going to go out into that world and he needed to know at least…have an inkling of where he might go.

Lian Yu?

Somewhere else?

Searching?

"I'm sure it was beautiful," Oliver replied evenly.

"It was," Diggle told him. "I even said some things…"

Oliver stopped and turned to look at him. "Why? You know they're out there…"

"You weren't there to speak and I felt like I needed to step in."

"That was…kind…of you…"

"You sound surprised," Diggle said as he crossed his arms over his chest as he stared at Oliver. Oliver was just staring at him and Diggle was a little amused about it.

"More like confused."

"Why?"

"You know they're out there."

"But your mother needed this," Diggle explained. "She might have done a lot of things…but she doesn't deserve to be in as much pain as she's been in… I've seen it. She's suffered… I figured that she at least deserved this day to go as she had planned."

"Did Sara go?"

Diggle nodded. "All of the Lances were there, even Dinah. Came all of the way from Central City… She wanted to be here for your mother. They're all at lunch right now."

Oliver nodded. "Roy?"

"He sat up with your mother and Walter."

"How did he seem?"

Diggle shrugged. "He was upset… I don't know how he feels about what the news has been putting out there. I've seen you more than him, oddly…though, not by that much. Maybe he needed to have something to help him steady himself…"

"Did he seem like he was out of control?"

"I don't know," Diggle told him honestly. "He stuck with your mother and Walter the entire time. He didn't see Isabel…Talia…whatever we're calling her… So, there wasn't a scene, if that's what you're getting at… That doesn't mean he won't explode and start taking on anyone who he thinks might know something later…"

"I'll get to them first," Oliver responded.

"What does that mean?"

"I can't just STAY here."

"Sara and I have been down here everyday trying to find SOMETHING," Diggle told him. "We haven't found anything yet, but that doesn't mean anything… We're going to find something… We just have to keep trying."

"I can't just stay here, Diggle," Oliver told him with frustration deep in his voice. "I can't—"

"I know," he responded a little sadly. As much as Diggle wanted Oliver to stay in Starling City and work with them to find clues, he knew that he couldn't. It wasn't in him, not now. "But can you at least take your phone? Check in when you can?"

Oliver nodded slowly. "I'm going to find Ra's al Ghul."

"What?"

"Nanda Parbat."

"Oliver, you can't be—"

"I don't care if I have to join the League of Assassins to get close enough to find out where they are," Oliver told him. "I'll do anything to get them back."

"I know you will," Diggle said quietly. "But…think about that. You're going to go to where Isabel might be and just try to join their club in the hopes that they'll tell you?"

"I didn't say it was a smart plan."

"Or easy."

Oliver frowned as he looked at Diggle for a long moment. "What would you do?"

Diggle sighed and shook his head before taking a deep breath. "Anything and everything I could to make sure that I could bring them home…"

"You'll take care of things?"

"What about Queen Consolidated?" Diggle questioned. It still worried him that Oliver just didn't care about it. They obviously couldn't go after Isabel in public. Yes, they knew that she was working with Slade and that she was Ra's al Ghul's daughter, but the public didn't know that. They didn't know that they'd abducted Thea and Felicity to begin with. There was no way to go after her publicly. She was getting everything she wanted as far as Diggle could see.

"My mother can take care of it."

"She's not the CEO. You are."

"I can't be. I can't even think about the company," Oliver told him. "If Isabel wants it so bad for Stellmoor, then let her take it…"

"You don't mean that."

"Right now, I do," Oliver told him. "It doesn't matter… None of it matters… The Queen name… The money… The mansion… None of it matters without them here…"

Diggle had half expected him to break down right then and there, but he didn't. Maybe he'd finally gotten to the point where he just couldn't be emotional anymore. Whatever it was, he knew that it was better that he wasn't chasing bad guys around The Glades or Starling City. The last thing he needed was for the Arrow to go back to killing people…especially people who did petty things.

"Do what you need to, but don't forget about Thea and Felicity—"

"I can't—"

"I mean, I don't want you to forget them. The way that they would expect you to act," Diggle told him. "Felicity wouldn't want you to kill people because—"

"I know."

"Just…keep them in mind…wherever you find yourself." Diggle moved towards where Felicity usually sat down there in the Foundry. He didn't know if Oliver had taken something of Felicity's from her apartment, but Diggle wanted to make sure that he'd be able to keep her in his thoughts. He grabbed a photo that had been taken of him, Felicity, and Oliver. They had gone out to dinner one night and they were taking pictures of people at their tables. Felicity had wanted it since they didn't get pictures together since he and Felicity were supposed to be employees of Oliver. "Here," he said.

Oliver took the picture and stared down at it. Diggle hoped that how happy Felicity looked in the picture would keep him from going to too dark of a place. "I'm worried of how I'll find them…"

"They're strong."

"I know," Oliver responded. "But will they still be that strong when we get to them?" He looked up at Diggle. He knew that if anyone touched Felicity or Thea, that they'd be dead. Oliver would see to it. In all honesty, Diggle would too. "And they're going to come home."

Diggle grabbed Oliver for a hug. "Go out there and find them then."

"I will."

. . .

DAY SEVENTEEN

"You know you don't really have to catch me up on six years of movies," Sara told him.

"What else do we have to do?" Diggle questioned as he moved from the kitchen to the couch, snacks in one hand and two beers in the other. "We need the break from those computer screens…"

Oliver had left and Diggle hadn't told Sara anything. It wasn't that he was trying to keep it a secret; he just didn't think it was the best idea to know that he might be going after the League of Assassins in his own way. The last thing that they needed to was for Sara to try to intervene. Sara had actually died and then had been brought back (though it hadn't been the first time she'd died) in order for Nyssa to finally release Sara. Diggle really didn't need them to risk Sara's life on top of Oliver's… Diggle just hoped that Oliver would check in like he promised…and wouldn't do anything too stupid or too dangerous.

Sara laughed as she looked over at him, helping him by taking one of the beers. "I doubt that TV watching is going to help our eyeballs recover," Sara told him. "Though…it might help the brain cells…"

"And our backs…" Diggle said as he settled on the couch next to her.

"You know, you can ask me anything," Sara said unexpectedly.

Diggle looked over at her and was a bit confused. He'd already started the movie and he'd been ready to skip to the menu screen, but left it to play through previews when that came out of her mouth. "You mean about Isabel?" he asked.

Sara nodded. "Or anything else. I know that you guys just sort of took me in with just Oliver's word that we had a past…and—"

"Felicity and I are sort of used to secrets slowly being given to us by Oliver," Diggle told her. "What happened on that island obviously is still haunting him…and eventually, I hope he trusts at least us with what it was…"

"It haunts us both," she responded quietly and looked down at the beer between her hands.

"Why didn't you tell us about Isabel? You took Oliver out to lunch that day and I know you were in the room with her…" Diggle said. He was certain that she'd have some reasoning even if it were something that he or anyone else would accept. He figured he might as well hear it now.

Sara was quiet for a moment and he wondered if she actually thought he'd ask her. "I was surprised when I saw her…and then how she acted…I just…I didn't think that she was actually going to do something. I never would have put her and Slade together. I thought that she was just working the business end of things… Ra's al Ghul is more than just the head of the League of Assassins, he has fingers into things all over the world… I just thought that this was one of them. I've never known Talia to use an alias, but…I guess it makes sense…"

"So, you just didn't think it was relevant?"

"If I told you all, then Oliver would have confronted her."

"You're right."

"And if she really was here just on actual business…"

"It still would have been better—"

"I know. I guess, it's also hard for me to leave behind that world even though I am glad that I was released from it. It was all secrets and darkness and killing… It was hard and after being on Lian Yu and going through all of that, I didn't think there would be anything harder…but I was wrong. Nanda Parbat was harder. Nyssa was the only good there… I mean, learning what I know was good, but it was more necessary than anything else."

"You know that I understand survival…and I also understand how you and Oliver seem to operate," Diggle told her. "That island took out a lot on you both…and whatever came after… You two just aren't used to living in the world that we actually live in…"

"I was going to say that we're both just screwed up…damaged…"

Diggle shook his head. "Maybe screwed up," he said with a smile. "But not damaged…not in any other sense than all those scars you both have…"

"There's something that's been bothering me, since the services…"

He tilted his head as he stared at her. "You're talking about what Isabel said?"

"That I know who it was…" Sara said. "But I don't. I mean, I'm not keeping it from you… If I knew, I would have told you or gone after them myself. Thea and Felicity don't deserve any of this… They're—"

"I know. You don't have to defend yourself to me on that," Diggle told her. "I know that you wouldn't do anything to intentionally bring harm to Thea or Felicity."

"I love them both. They're like sisters to me, in different ways…"

He nodded. "I know how you feel."

"All I go back to was that my first thought on that rooftop was that it was Merlyn, but Oliver killed him."

"Merlyn's not the only one who's supposed to be dead."

"Slade," Sara spoke up.

"Oliver and you," Diggle reminded. "Some people just aren't so easily killed…" He paused for a moment. "You know… Oliver asked his mother, thinking that maybe she'd know if Malcolm Merlyn were actually still alive. He seems to think that she's telling the truth saying that she knows nothing. But that doesn't mean that he isn't dead."

It was something to think about and then they could investigate it further later that night when they went to the Foundry. Diggle thought that he had the day pretty well planned on with being a couch potato while getting Sara caught up on movies, going for a run, sparring, and then researching. Food would be in there all throughout as well. They just needed some downtime. He knew that if they just stuck to pure research that they wouldn't be able to think clearly or make sense of anything. So, Diggle started the movie and tried to relax. They ate snacks and drank their beer.

They managed to get through two movies before changing and getting ready to head out for a run. Diggle had figured that it would be easiest to do it near his place and then head to the Foundry to do the rest. He was just tying his shoes when he heard his phone going off in the living room. "Sara! Could you hand me my phone, please?" he called as he finished up with his shoes.

"I got it," she called back and ran into the room, which he thought was odd, but she held out the phone to him. "It's Oliver."

He answered it immediately and had it at his ear. "Hey Man," he said and then stopped before he could say anything else.

"Diggle. I just got a phone call. I need you guys to trace it for me. Find out who's phone it is…where they are…if you can, where the call came from," Oliver rattled off quickly.

Diggle could tell that something had shaken him. "Sure thing, we're heading to the Foundry right now," he said as he motioned to Sara that they had to go. He knew that she wouldn't care. This was more important. He got up, grabbing his jacket and keys as he headed out of the apartment. "But Oliver, who called you?"

It was quiet for a long while, but Diggle knew that he was still there because he could hear crackling on the other end and Oliver's breathing. "Felicity," Oliver practically whispered. "I could hear Thea too."

"Felicity and Thea? You're sure?" He didn't miss the look that Sara gave him. They got into his car and he let Sara drive. Diggle didn't think that he could really think straight with what Oliver was saying right now. So, they really were alive… It wasn't just them clinging to hope. "What did she say?"

"At first, I didn't know it was Felicity…she was crying…and then she said my name and was trying to say something else," Oliver told him. His voice broke here and there and Diggle wasn't sure if it was for fear or for relief that he'd heard their voices and it was evidence that they were really alive. That everything that they'd been doing wasn't for nothing. "She must have been found because there was screaming and I could hear Thea telling them to get off of Felicity…"

"We're going to find them."

"I'm halfway around the world—"

"Hang tight until we find out where they are," Diggle told him. For all they knew, Thea and Felicity could be closer to him than they were to Starling City. "We're already halfway there… I'll call you back once we know something, okay?"

"I'll be waiting."

When he hung up, he looked over to Sara. "Felicity and Thea managed to get a call out to Oliver, but they were found out."

"That can't be good," Sara voiced.

"They've kept them alive this long."

. . .

TBC…