14. Eye of the Storm

He drove for what felt like hours down the main highway for Starling City. Oliver Queen was a man of high standards, but right now he felt like he was stuck in the eye of a hurricane. Though he knew he deserved it, the weight on his chest was only being piled higher as he heard Felicity's words over and over in his mind.

"I know you don't always have time to thank us for what we do, which, you shouldn't have to, because we are a team. A FAMILY." she had said. And family does not leave a member of it to die!" He cringed at the strength of her words.

"I trusted you with my life." He severed her trust in him. It killed him inside to think what lengths he must have gone to make her say that.

"I'd rather you be stuck on that island. At least then you knew who you cared about."

His will was gone. He had no purpose as of this moment. It made Oliver sick to think that he was the reason Felicity Smoak would say such a horrid thing. He didn't think she was capable of it. 'I made her capable of that' he thought. His eyes were now glassy as he realized the true meaning of what Digg had said to him that night. And he was stupid enough to think that it was her own fault that she was nearly put on her death bed.

'Maybe it's better that she hates me' he thought. 'I'd rather her never speak to me again, instead of being dead.' He, again, cringed at those words.

If Felicity had died...he didn't know what he would do. Of all of the people in his life, since he had gotten back from the island, Felicity was the only girl who honestly knew him, for what he was, his flaws, and even his past. She never questioned him about his scars. Not to mention even when they first met, she looked past all of the BS lies he had told her, and had still helped him out. She saved him from death at least twice. 'And I couldn't even run into that building to help her' he muttered in disgust.

It really had taken him until now, to notice all of what Felicity had meant to him. It was so much, yet so simple. At least it was simple. Until he decided he was going to play 'hero' instead of being there for a member of his team. "A FAMILY", is what Felicity called it. That way of thinking had never occurred to him, and he appreciated Felicity that much more because she looked at it that way.

Just then, Oliver's phone rang, a picture of his mother showing up on his screen. He quickly rejected the call, and proceeded to shut his phone off and throw it in the back seat. The last thing he needed was to lose his temper with a woman that didn't deserve his time of day.

Oliver's speedometer read 90mph, and it wasn't until then that he realized he was on the outskirts of Central City. 'Damn,' said under his breath. He made a sharp U-turn at an exit and started to make his way back towards Starling City. He was nervous now, wondering what in the world he could do to make Felicity forgive him.

It didn't occur to him until now that Felicity's favorite ice-cream was Mint-Chip. Why that engaged in his mind he will never know. Then he realized..."I am such an IDIOT!" Louder than he should have. Felicity was home after a traumatic event, and he was supposed to give her the sedatives Digg gave him. And someone should be there to watch her. Screw the fact that she genuinely hated him at the moment. He needed to make sure she wasn't in pain.

After about an hour of driving back towards the Glades, Oliver rushed into a Convenience store to pick up some Mint-Chip and wine (because they both needed it). He glanced at his watch out of habit. 1:30AM. Oliver huffed at himself in annoyance. 'Oh well. Its an excuse to wake her up, I guess'.Then he sped for Felicity's.

1:47. In big red bolded numbers. She had been staring at it all night from her bed. Felicity knew better than try to sleep. Her nightmares were there even when she wasn't sleeping. She had tried to just lay down, and make her mind go blank. Get rid of all the thoughts of the Clock King, and especially Oliver. She was still in shock with what he had told her that night; and what she had gotten off her own mind.

She knew he deserved it, but she still felt guilty. She wasn't one to 'throw it in people's faces' when they had done something wrong, for God knows all of her flaws. But she was tired of keeping it all inside, everything that Oliver apparently was oblivious to.

Felicity noticed she was staring at her clock, one too similar to the one that had been inside her 'cell'. She quickly threw a book at it, knocking it off of her dresser. If she wasn't still having flashbacks of earlier events, she might have laughed at herself for being so paranoid.

She had made herself a cup of hot cocoa and tried to read, but after 3 chapters she had no idea what had happened. Also, her muscles were aching. Not to mention her sure-to-be-bruised wrists when she tried to break her restraints. So she just laid on top of her bed with the lights on, and staring at the ceiling, which was the only thing in her room that didn't remind her of her captivity.

A few minutes later, and although she protested it, the adrenaline was nearly out of her system, and her eyelids were dreary. And as fast as her head hit the pillow, she was asleep.

Felicity opened her eyes, which were a little blurry, and took in her surroundings. 'It couldn't be morning already, could it?' the sun shining though he bedroom window answered her quesiton. She couldn't believe she had actually had a decent night sleep. Out of habit, she looked to see what time it was, and remembering that she threw it off the dresser. Then she froze. The clock was placed on the center of her dresser, just as it had been. The only difference was, the clock was going backwards. 1:00:59, 1:00:58. A timer. She shuddered. A voice whipped through her ear. "Kill him." it whispered.

She looked around for where the voice came from, her heart beating rapidly. The voice spoke again. "Kill him!" it said, louder. It was slightly familiar to her, but she couldn't place it. She walked to her bedroom door and turned around to see that the light had been shut off. Tockman was standing at his knees in front of her.

"KILL HIM!" the voice was harsh and loud. 'Oliver' she thought. Felicity jumped at his voice so close to her ear. Then she noticed the gun in her hand. Oliver was suddenly beside her. He pointed to the man in front of them. "KILL HIM, Felicity." She was shaking now. 'No, no' she thought. 'This can't happen, not again.' "NO. She said, trying to sound brave. Oliver looked angry for a moment, and then he made a face that made her so afraid she wanted to hug him and never let go. A gun was pointed at his head. Oliver just stood there, a frightened look on his face. "Stop!" she yelled. "Don't hurt him!" Tockman just laughed, pushing the gun further towards Oliver. Too quickly to see, she heard a BANG!

Had been squeezed shut, and she slowly opened them to see Tockman on the floor, blood gushing out of his forehead. She was scared, she couldn't handle this. She looked to Oliver for comfort...

He was on the floor as well, in almost the exact position that Tockman was. A bullet went through his head, and Felicity looked at the metal object in her hand, and the thought that had escaped her mind made her scream at the top of her lungs.

She sat up straight in bed, her fingers clenching on the arm of the figure at her bedside. She saw his deep-blue eyes, and then all was dark.

It was nearly two AM when Oliver had finally gotten to Felicity's apartment. He grabbed the groceries he had thrown into the back seat, Felicity's sedatives, and took a deep breath as he walked up the steps to her place. He took notice of the one room in the apartment with the light on. 'Maybe she's awake after all' he thought. He was just about to ring the doorbell, when he faintly heard Felicity's voice.

"No, stop!" "Don't hurt him!" He instantly kicked into vigilante mode. His heart beat rapidly as he dropped the bags and kicked her door down, worried that somebody was hurting Felicity. He paused for a moment, looking around for anything that seemed to be out of place. Nothing. Then, he heard a blood-curdling scream that made himself cringe.

He ran to the bedroom, where it seemed to be coming from. The light was on, and the sight he took in was enough to age him a century. Felicity was screaming her lungs out, apparently in a nightmare. Sweat from her panic dabbed at her pillow. He immediately went over to her bedside and grabbed her arm gently, to shake her awake. She sat up straight, something he wasn't expecting, but she paused her screams. She looked straight into Oliver's eyes, her own wild and scared. Then she passed out back on the bed.

"Felicity!" Oliver's own eyes drew tears as he tried to call Felicity from her subconscious.

Wow, this chapter really took me for an emotional ride. It was crazy writing this, but I loved how it turned out. I am back to my lovely cliff hangers ;) Chapter 15 to be up soon !