A/N: Hi guys, posting this chapter without the usual preamble due to extreme fatigue. I need a day off… only 6 more days to go… I think I can, I think I can. .

So, this chapter… let me just have a quick read and remind myself what it's about… back again, that's right, now I remember. Hmm... don't think I'll give you a run up to this chapter, I'll just let you read.

On that note, here's the chapter… hope you enjoy…

PS. Hank said you owe him money. I didn't ask what for because I never like the answer to that question. Besides, if/when the police become involved, I'd prefer to be able to claim complete and utter ignorance in all Hank-related misdemeanours/felonies. We can't both go to jail. Fernando Del Vecchio doesn't do well on his own… he gets a little… weird.

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

Oliver's eyes flickered as he came awake. He lifted his head, grimacing a little at the crick which was now in his neck. He put a hand up to rub his neck, taking stock of his surroundings at the same time. Thunder was still crashing noisily outside and the small window in the bathroom would periodically light up with the flashes of intense lightening. Oliver looked down at himself, realizing he was still in the bathtub. Most of the ice had melted now and his body temperature felt normal once more. At some point he must have dozed off, exhausted from the huge physical toll all of this was taking on his body. Oliver hauled himself out of the water and stepped out of the tub. Water cascaded out of his sopping wet clothes. He pulled his shirt off over his head. "Felicity," he called out, discarding the sodden garment carelessly on the ground. Next where his pants and underwear. "Felicity!" he tried again, this time louder so she could hear him over the noisy storm outside. Oliver reached for a towel.

"She's not here."

Oliver's head jerked up to see his reflection in the grubby mirror hanging over the bathroom sink talking to him. He tensed. Oliver knew there wasn't something right about this but his reflections words was all he could really think about. "Where is she? Where's Felicity?" he asked anxiously.

Reflection Oliver gave him a disgusted look. "They took her, while you were sleeping. They took her from us and you did nothing to stop it. Felicity trusted in you to keep her safe but you let them hurt her, you let them steal her away from us forever."

"No!" said Oliver in horror, dropping the towel. He raced out of the bathroom into the main room in the cabin, the one with the only the bed in it. On the bed were his and Felicity's backpacks they'd taken with them and on the small wooden table was the food they'd brought with them but no Felicity. Oliver could still smell Felicity's scent in the room. He followed it out the door, knowing she hadn't been gone long. Oliver needed to find her, it was all he could register in that moment as he practically ran out of the door of the cabin.

#

"What's za matter?" Lyla taunted Diggle. "Are you all empty threats? Or don't you 'ave the stomach for this type of thing after all? The only way you will get into my laboratory is over my dead and bleeding body but perhaps you are not man enough to 'ave the courage of your convictions, no?"

Diggle's jaw hardened at Coates' defiance.

"Side bar," said Roy, sending Diggle a pointed look.

Diggle reluctantly followed Roy over to a corner of the room, out of earshot of the smirking Lyla. "What?" he asked impatiently.

"Not for nothing, but can you see how much this fruit loop keeps egging you on to torture her?" asked Roy. "She wants you to hurt her." He screwed his face up. "Which is wrong on so many levels I don't even know where to start."

"I need that antidote," said Diggle grimly.

"For Oliver," guessed Roy. "Right?"

Diggle gave a curt nod of his head.

"What's this gas done to him?"

"It's made him fixate on Felicity."

Roy made a confused face. "That's it? He's got a thing for a pretty girl? That's why we're risking our lives here?"

"It's more than a thing," said Diggle tightly. "It's causing a physiological and psychiatric response in Oliver which is only getting worse and it's putting him and Felicity in a lot of danger."

"So, he's become a bunny boiler about Felicity," said Roy slowly. His brow creased. "Where's Felicity now?"

"With Oliver."

Roy blinked. "Whose bright idea was that? Why would you send Felicity off with Oliver if he's dangerous?"

Diggle made an impatient noise. "Because if Felicity isn't with Oliver then basically his heart will explode. The XR-320 gas has created a psychological need in Oliver to be with Felicity and it also created a physiological one. Oliver literally can't survive right now if Felicity isn't with him."

"How did this happen?" asked Roy in consternation.

"That doesn't matter right now," said Diggle shortly. "What matters is getting into the lab and retrieving that antidote formula."

"Assuming Professor Cray Cray is telling the truth," noted Roy. "What if it's all a ruse?"

"Then that will be disappointing but until I know that for sure, I'm assuming the anti-toxin exists."

"Okay, then, how are you going to get salt 'n pepper talking?"

Diggle's jaw hardened. "I'm going to go down to the car and get a few things. A lot of people think they can resist torture. A lot of people are wrong."

"I'm not so much worried about her resisting it as enjoying it," said Roy dourly. "I've had enough of a scarred childhood. I don't really need to be adding to that crap."

"You don't have to stay," said Diggle calmly.

Roy's brow wrinkled. "So, we're really doing this then? Torturing a helpless woman? I mean, yeah, she's a bitch, but so was my senior Biology teacher and I wouldn't be too comfortable taking the thumb screws to Mrs. Finkelstein, even though she did fail me on that last paper which I totally know I passed."

"Like I said, you don't have to stay," said Diggle determinedly, "but I need her to get me inside so I can get to that antidote and that is going to happen, one way or the other."

Roy frowned, obviously still not certain.

"What iz za matter?" called out Lyla to them mockingly. "Iz za little monkey scared? Does he wish you to help him find his tiny testicles or perhaps zere are none to find, eh?"

Roy's expression hardened at the woman's continuing taunting of him. "God speed and don't forget the blow torch," he instructed Diggle flatly.

"Stay with her," said Diggle. "I'll be right back." This wasn't something Diggle was looking forward to doing but he was pretty confident he could find ways of inflicting pain on the insane woman that even she wouldn't enjoy. It was a disturbing skill set to have but Diggle had reconciled himself with the darkness in this world long ago. Sometimes you just had to do what you had to do.

#

"Now, I know I've got what you're looking for in here."

Felicity forced a polite smile to her lips even as she glanced anxiously over her shoulder. She was back in the reception cabin after discovering the lights in the cabin didn't work. There was no overhead lighting, only two bedside lamps and a lamp stand, none of which worked when she tried to turn them on. It was only five o'clock in the afternoon but that storm was closing in fast and everything was prematurely dark already. Felicity didn't really want to be in the dark during a storm while trying to take care of an increasingly erratic Oliver. At the reception counter she'd found Linda, Lesley's wife and she'd been hunting up some spare light globes for the lamps for her. Only it was taking forever as the older woman rifled through all of her drawers looking for the bulbs and Felicity was very conscious of being away from Oliver for too long. She'd left him asleep in the bathtub, knowing he wasn't going to drown because he was propped up and the bath was too small for him to slip down in but Felicity still really wanted to get back to him. She just didn't know how Oliver was going to react these days and now he seemed to be having conversations with people who weren't there and it'd be a lie if she said that didn't worry her more than a little bit.

"Found them," announced Linda.

"Oh, good," said Felicity in relief.

Linda straightened up with a handful of different bulbs in their boxes. "What wattage do you want, hon?" she asked. "I've got 60 and 100's."

"It doesn't really matter," said Felicity hastily, holding out her hand. "I'll just take whatever you've got."

"Felicity!"

She tensed at hearing Oliver call her name and sounding so desperate. Damn it, she really thought he wouldn't wake up before she got back. "I'm coming, Oliver!" she called back just as Oliver burst into the cabin.

"Felicity!"

Felicity turned around. "It's okay—oh!" Her eyes widened as a completely naked Oliver stood in the door way. Felicity immediately averted her gaze. "Oliver!" she squeaked in horror. Still trying not to look, Felicity hurried over and grabbed the first thing she could find to cover him up, very conscious of the fact that she wasn't the only one getting an eyeful. Felicity grabbed one of the faded cushions off the couch and held it up in front Oliver's crotch. "What are you doing?" she hissed at him in distress. "Where are your pants?"

Oliver didn't even seem to be registering the fact he was sans clothing. "Felicity," he said urgently, grabbing her arms, "are you alright?"

"Not really," she said, sending an embarrassed smile over towards Linda who was not even making an attempt to look away. "I'm so sorry about this. He's a little disorientated from the motion sickness pills." It wasn't a great cover story but it was the one Felicity was going to stick with.

"Don't mind me, hon," said Linda, openly admiring what she could still see of Oliver.

"Are you sure you're alright?" asked Oliver, all of his attention still on her, hands running over her to make certain.

"I'm very sure," said Felicity, blushing. "Just like I'm very sure we should go now."

Linda held up the boxes of light bulbs. "Better take the 100's, honey. You don't want to miss out on any bit of that prime real estate."

Felicity made a harassed face, her blush deepening. "Um, okay, thank you." Still trying to hold up the cushion to protect Oliver's dignity, Felicity took the bulbs, even though he didn't seem to care one way or the other, his attention on her and nothing else. She tucked them under her arm and took Oliver's arm, turning him towards the door. "Come on, let's get you out of here."

"Don't rush on my account," said Linda cheekily, now openly ogling Oliver's exposed backside as Felicity tried to maneuver him out of the door.

Felicity grimaced and grabbed another cushion, holding it up against Oliver's backside, trying to cover both his front and back at the same time. "I-ah-I'll return the cushions later," she said breathlessly.

Linda laugh. "Don't worry about it, hon. I'd say you've got more important things to be getting on with. I know I wouldn't be leavin' that alone for any reason."

Felicity gave her a weak smile, shepherding Oliver out of the cabin. Once they were out of earshot she gave a groan. "Oliver, what are you doing? You can't walk around naked. You're going to get yourself arrested." She glanced back over her shoulder to where Linda was now at the window, watching them leave, an appreciative look on her face. "Or molested," she said, only half joking.

"I woke up and you were gone," said Oliver tightly. "I thought you'd been taken, that they'd hurt you."

"No one has hurt me," said Felicity firmly as she tried to hurry them back to the cabin, "but Oliver, you have to promise me, no matter what happens, you have to remember this one thing."

"What?" asked Oliver, watching her intently as she guided them back into the cabin, still trying to cover him up with two sofa cushions.

"Pants," said Felicity determinedly. "Whatever you're doing, you need to have pants on."

Oliver scowled, clearly not understanding why she was being so persistent on the matter. "I don't care about pants," he growled. "I only care about you."

"Well, I do care about pants," said Felicity, hastily closing the door behind them. "Because without pants you'll get yourself arrested and if you're arrested they'll split us up."

Oliver grabbed her arms tightly. "I won't let that happen," he said fiercely.

"That's right, you won't, because from now on, you'll always be wearing pants, okay?" Her expression became pained. "Please, Oliver, put some clothes on. For both of our sakes."

Oliver made an annoyed sound at her persistence. "Fine," he said impatiently, "but I don't know why it's such a big deal." Oliver stalked over to the bed where his backpack was. "The only thing that matters is that you were in danger."

"It is a big deal," said Felicity firmly, forgetting herself for a moment and looking over towards him and catching quite the eyeful as Oliver pulled on a pair of sweatpants. She immediately swung back around again, blushing violently. "A really big deal as it turns out," said Felicity unevenly, pushing her glasses up her nose and biting her bottom lip. She hadn't seen that many naked men in her lifetime, so she didn't have a huge amount to go on but Oliver was most definitely the most impressive naked man she'd seen so far. Of course he would be. He'd been blessed with every other desirable physical attribute, why would his man bits be any different?

"Felicity—" Oliver touched her arm, suddenly very close and Felicity had been lost in her own thoughts and wasn't expecting it. She gave a strangled scream and started violently. Oliver tightened his hold on her arm. "It's okay," he said quickly, "it's only me."

Felicity sent him a nervous look, blowing out a relieved breath to see Oliver was now fully clothed in navy sweatpants and a white t-shirt. "Sorry, I'm a little on edge."

"Because of me," said Oliver unhappily. "I'm making you nervous."

It was more her wayward libido that had Felicity worried. Every time she caught Oliver looking at her like she was the only woman in the world for him Felicity had to keep trying to remind herself that none of this was real. Which was easier said than done when you had the one man you'd spent the last two years daydreaming about suddenly seeing you in a whole new light. Even before all this had happened, when Oliver would give a person his full attention, it was like the rest of the world faded away and it was only the two of you who existed. He had that intensity to him that drew people in, made them feel special for being noticed by Oliver Queen. It was like that now but nonstop and Felicity was finding it increasingly hard to keep her feet on the ground when those sharp blue eyes were refusing to look away from her own.

"We should probably eat something," said Felicity unsteadily.

He was looking at her unblinkingly. "I'm not hungry."

"Yes, you are," she said resolutely. "Besides, I am hungry and I'm not eating alone."

Oliver reached up a hand and tucked a wayward strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "Don't leave me again," he said, voice low. "I can't protect you if you're not with me."

"I know it feels like I'm in danger but I'm really not." She put her hands on his chest. "Please try and relax about that. We're safe, just the two of us, nothing is going to happen."

Oliver's hand came up to her back, moving restlessly against her. "You have to trust me about this, Felicity," he said urgently. "I can't let anything happen to you. I'll kill anyone who tries to take you away from me."

Felicity cupped his face. "You're not going to kill anyone, okay?" she said intently. "Not for me, not ever. I don't want you to think like that." It scared her when Oliver talked like this, particularly when he no longer seemed able to distinguish real threats from imaginary ones.

Oliver wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. "I need you," said Oliver hoarsely.

"And I need you to listen to me," she said softly. "Please, Oliver, nothing is going to happen to me and I'm not going to leave you. I wouldn't even know how to. I can't imagine my life without you in it." Felicity bit her bottom lip, knowing she'd said more than she'd intended to but it was all true. Oliver was addicted to her now but she'd been addicted to him for much longer.

Oliver leant his forehead against hers, closing his eyes. "Felicity," he said unsteadily, "I love you."

His words caught Felicity off-guard and they were like a knife through her heart. It was everything she hadn't even let herself dream Oliver would say to her but it wasn't real. Even so, Felicity couldn't stop herself. "I love you too," she whispered back, tears pricking her eyes. If only this moment was real, if only Oliver really did love her, it would be so perfect.

Oliver lifted his head, eyes flaring at her confession. "Felicity," he said in awe, "do you mean it?"

It would have been so much better for both of them if she didn't but in that moment Felicity couldn't lie. "Yes," she said quietly, "I love you, Oliver."

A slow smile spread across Oliver's face and it took Felicity's breath away. He moved to kiss her but Felicity knew if she let that happen she was in too much of a weak and emotional state to be able to stop when she knew she had to. Felicity turned her head at the last moment so Oliver's lips found her cheek, rather than her mouth. He didn't seem to mind as he brushed his lips back and forth against her cheek, trailing down to her neck.

"Okay," said Felicity weakly, trying desperately not to get caught up in another intense moment between them. She pushed on his chest with lackluster intent. "We should eat now. What do you want?"

"You," said Oliver without hesitation, lips brushing up against the tender skin just below her ear. "I want you."

Felicity screwed up her face and tried to stay strong. "I meant to eat," she clarified shakily.

Oliver caught her gaze, a wicked gleam in his eyes. "It's still you," he said throatily, starting to kiss his way down her neck, chest and stomach.

"Oh," squeaked Felicity, her heart racing so fast it was actually painful as Oliver crouched down in front of her, pushing her skirt up. "Oh… oh," she breathed faintly. Felicity put a hand on his head, intending to stop him from going any lower but then Oliver was nuzzling her lower stomach, hands creeping up under her skirt, pushing the material further up her thighs. This couldn't be happening, she couldn't let this happen. Even so Felicity found her hand tightening in Oliver's short hair rather than pushing him away as he moved even lower still. It was only when she felt him hook his fingers into the top of her panties that the reality of the situation really hit home to Felicity. She pushed against his shoulders, taking an abrupt step back. "No!" said Felicity sharply, more for her own benefit than Oliver's.

Oliver looked up at her with a dazed and confused expression, still crouched down in front of her. "What is it?" he asked raggedly. "What's wrong?"

Felicity hastily pushed her skirt down, trying to regain control of her senses. "You-you said that you love me."

Oliver quickly stood up and took a step towards her. "I do love you," he said earnestly. "And you love me." Oliver took her hold of her arms, looking down at her intently. "So now there is no reason why we can't be together, properly together. Don't you want that too?"

Felicity swallowed hard, knowing that it wasn't as simple as that but she also knew that trying to use that particular line of reason with Oliver right now would only upset him and it was dangerous to his health to become upset. She had to be careful about this, had to make sure Oliver had no reason not to trust and listen to her. Felicity knew she had to do this to protect them both. "Oliver," she said softly, "of course I want you." Oliver looked relieved and moved to kiss her again but Felicity stalled him once more, her hands going to his chest. "But-but I want our first time to be special, don't you?" Even as she said those words Felicity couldn't help but blush a little. It was so crazy she was having this conversation with Oliver but playing along with his delusions was the only chance Felicity had of controlling this situation.

"Of course," he said earnestly. "And it will be, I promise."

"It's just that this place," said Felicity hesitantly, "it's not exactly the Hilton, you know?" She wrinkled her nose. "It's not even a Travelodge."

Oliver looked around at the room distractedly. "I guess not," he said uncertainly.

Felicity took a deep breath and touched his cheek. "I don't want our first time to be in a place like this. I know that sounds girly of me but I can't help it. Are-are you okay with that?"

Oliver looked torn but then he smiled. "I want what you want, Felicity. Whatever makes you happy, that's all I care about."

She'd just turned down sex with Oliver Queen. Felicity doubted she'd ever be happy again. She didn't let on though, fixing a bright smile to her lips. "I want to eat some dinner and I want you to join me. Can we do that?"

"Yes, of course, but first you have to do something for me."

Felicity gave him a cautious look. "What?"

"Kiss me," said Oliver, gaze intent on her face. "And tell me you love me again."

"I love you, Oliver," she said quietly, hoping he didn't hear the quiet sadness tinging her declaration. Playing it safe, Felicity went to comply with the rest of Oliver's request by kissing him on the cheek but Oliver used the same trick on her as she had on him, only in reverse. He turned his head at the last moment and captured her lips with his own. Oliver's tongue gently ran along her inner lip, making Felicity's resolve waver momentarily. Dear God but this man knew how to kiss. It was like nothing else could possibly be more important than continuing this sweet discovery of each other. Felicity could feel herself falling, unable to stop what was happening between them. She really was a bad person, there was no getting around it. In the end it was the insistent ringing of her cell phone which saved them both.

Oliver reluctantly ended the kiss. "You're vibrating," he said unevenly.

Felicity was just staring at him wide-eyed. "I know," she said faintly and then realized he was talking about the phone in her skirt pocket. Felicity was very glad Oliver didn't know where she was really experiencing vibrations right then. She fumbled for the phone, grateful for the distraction. "Hello?"

"Felicity, it's me," said Diggle. "How are things?"

Oliver had stayed close, his hand rubbing her back, nuzzling at her neck. "Oh, you know," she said weakly, "going as well as can be expected. Tell me you have the antidote."

"I'm working on it," said Diggle grimly. "Just hang in there."

Oliver's other hand was on her stomach now, fingers fan out and making parts of Felicity's body tingle that she didn't even realize could do that before now. "I'm hanging," she said unevenly, "but not by much."

"How's Oliver?"

Felicity looked up at Oliver as he smiled down at her, his handsome face soft and full of adoration. She'd never taken crack before but Felicity was pretty sure having Oliver look at her like this produced a similar kind of high. "Perfect," she rasped without thinking, hand tightening on the phone.

"Felicity?"

"I mean he's perfectly okay," Felicity corrected herself hastily. "You know, within the scope of what can pass as okay for him right now."

Oliver grabbed Felicity's hand and put her phone to his ear. "Felicity and I are in love," he said happily.

Felicity grabbed her hand back and grimaced, talking to Diggle again. "Yeah, so that's just happened."

"Felicity," said Diggle in concern, "are you alright? Do you have the situation in hand? Do we need to get you out of there?"

"We're fine, Digg," said Felicity, injecting as much certainty as she could into that statement. She gave a reassuring smile at Oliver. "Oliver and I are very happy and calm right now. It's all good."

"It's fantastic," Oliver corrected her with a big grin.

"Yeppers, fantastic," agreed Felicity unevenly. Oliver was all over the place. One moment he was paranoid and suspicious, the next over-protective and violent and right now he was acting like a man who was in love and deliriously happy. This persona was the one Felicity wanted to try and encourage because it was the one which was least likely to hurt himself or someone else. Even if she was going to need years of therapy to get over this once this was all over. "But you know, we'd sure love to see you as soon as we can," said Felicity, nodding at Oliver encouragingly, "you know, so you can see how happy we are."

"I'm working on it, Felicity," Diggle said determinedly. "I just need a little more time. You can do this but promise me if Oliver gets too out of control you'll get yourself out there. Oliver wouldn't want you to put yourself in danger for him, not the real Oliver."

"It'll be fine," said Felicity with more confidence than she felt, "but don't you be a stranger, okay? We'll see you soon."

"You will," he promised her. "I'll call as soon as I've got the antidote."

"I'll be waiting." Felicity hung up the phone and tried once again to get things back on track. "Okay, let's eat. I'm starving… ah,… for food… I'm starving for food." She wasn't getting caught in that particular honey trap again.

Oliver stole a quick kiss. "I'll make us sandwiches." He seemed to be riding some kind of endorphin high, full of energy again.

"What do you want on your sandwich?"

"Twinkies." Felicity saw the way Oliver looked at her. "Just kidding." She wasn't kidding. If ever there was a situation that called for ODing on sugar, this was it but Oliver was looking at her oddly so Felicity tried to appear like a grown up right then. "Whatever you're having is fine." Oliver nodded and set about making them something to eat. Felicity ran a shaking hand through her hair, trying to regain her composure. Things had gotten a little out of hand… a lot out of hand… and she couldn't let that happen again. All she had to do was keep Oliver in this happy mood while not letting them cross any more lines which they couldn't come back from. That was totally doable, right? Felicity could only pray the answer to that particular question was yes.

A/N: So, remember a couple of weeks ago when I said I was writing a gratuitous nude scene involving Ollie? Well, that was it. Poor Felicity, it's like she's on the 7th level of Hell… but it's got one heck of a view. ;)

I hope this story isn't going too slowly for people. A story is about the journey just as much, if not more, then the actual destination. At least, that is how I feel about stories. For me, it's the build up to the final pay off and giving little pay offs as you go along. Hopefully the scenarios I've got going are engaging enough to keep you entertained before we get where we're ultimately going.

Thank you as always for reading and hanging in there with me with this story. I appreciate the company. I'm a bit like Fernando Del Vecchio, I get a little weird when I'm left alone for too long…