Chapter 21 – Plans

AN: Biggest thanks as every go to the wonderful Rennie75 for being such an amazing beta!

Disclaimer: Still don't own Arrow, The CW do, sigh!

Diggle knew that Roy would be remembering when he first learnt not to come between the pair. Team Arrow might not have an official list of rules or lessons, but they definitely had them regardless and not getting between Felicity and Oliver was the biggest one of the lot.

Mixed POV

Felicity woke first in the morning again to find Sara still on watch and the rest of the Team was still asleep. She was surprised that Oliver was asleep to be honest, but glad he was finally getting some of the rest that he so clearly needed but rarely allowed himself. It seemed that while they were both asleep they had moved closer to each other and before she sat up Felicity had noticed that their fingers just touching at the tips, drawing comfort from each other while they slept. Maybe that's why he's still asleep?Felicity wondered.

"Felicity." Sara spoke her name very quietly, hoping to not wake anyone else as she wanted to have a word with her without anyone else listening in. Sara could see from Oliver's breathing and pulse rate that he was genuinely still asleep.

Felicity looked up at her name and saw Sara indicating the space next to her near the entrance to cave. The morning air was cold still as it was very early and she could see Sara was cold even, if she would never admit to it. She got up and, taking her blanket with her, went and sat next to Sara wrapping the blanket around them both. She knew that Sara would never have asked for a share in the blanket, would probably never have even admitted to being cold either. However, there was enough blanket for them both to share when they were sitting together. Felicity wanted to make sure that Sara was looked after; even if Sara wouldn't choose to look after herself any more than Oliver did.

"Thank you." Sara said gratefully, being careful to keep her voice low still and Felicity understood that whatever it was that she wanted to say to her, Sara wanted to do it without waking the others. They sat in silence for a minute or two before Felicity spoke, understanding that Sara was no better at bringing up difficult things than Oliver.

"So what are we going to do about their reactions to his nightmares?" She asked Sara, having already worked out that that was what Sara had wanted to talk to her about.

"I have an idea … but Oliver isn't going to like it." Sara hesitated briefly before continuing, knowing that whether or not her idea went ahead would be up to Felicity. "We need to show them what happens if they get too close. They need to see otherwise one of them, probably Laurel, is going to get seriously hurt and Oliver will tear himself apart with guilt." Sara was realistic enough to know that if any of the group was going to ignore the warnings and get too close then it would be her sister.

It hadn't escaped Sara's attention how yet again Roy had been close by and poised for action, ready to stop her if she tried to get any nearer. While she was pleased to see Roy behaving as a part of the Team and working with them again, it truly annoyed her how dense her sister was being to all of the signs that Oliver – and the whole the Team - were giving off. Even Moira had ordered Laurel to keep back!

Felicity nodded slowly, she had already worked out where this was going and what Sara had in mind and, whilst she wasn't keen on it, she could already comprehend that Sara was right. "So that it happens within our control you mean?"

"Yes. I need to get close, to shake him like Moira did that first night back. I need to let him throw me - let them see what he does."

"No." Felicity shook her head as she spoke.

"Felicity..." Sara started, only to be interrupted by her.

"It is a good idea and you're right we do need to do it. But it can't be you Sara, it needs to be me." Felicity finished knowing straight away how Sara was going to react to that.

"NO! You'll be hurt, you can't protect yourself enough yet. Your self-defence skills have come a long way - but there's no way you can go up against Oliver or stop him." Sara insisted, amazed at the way that Felicity yet again was willing to put herself in harm's way to help Oliver, even if that meant being harmed by him herself. Her devotion to him went so far beyond just being friends and Team Members and Sara couldn't help but wonder abstractly when the pair of them were [was] going to realize just what they felt for each other.

"But that's exactly my point. My skills aren't that different to the others, especially to Laurel's. They need to see what can really happen – and you and Diggle need to be ready and free to stop him from going too far and doing something he'll truly regret." Felicity explained her reasoning, knowing that it had to be this way. Sara being thrown or hurt wasn't going to prove anything, plus her reactions were just as automatic as Oliver's so it wouldn't truly show what could happen anyway. Felicity didn't say it, but she was also worried about what would happen if it went wrong and Sara got injured too. She knew that they needed Sara's skills to protect (and train) the rest of them– especially with Oliver and Diggle injured already.

"More than hurting you, you mean?!" Sara said pointedly.

"Yes." Felicity replied gently but firmly. She knew that Sara and Diggle would be there ready to stop things from going too far. She trusted them to make sure that enough happened to prove a point to the rest but no more than was necessary.

Sara sighed as she followed Felicity's logic and thinking, understanding what she was getting at. As much as she didn't like it and it was notwhat she'd had in mind, she knew that Felicity was right. She was loathe to put her in any situation where she could come to harm, but Sara understood that Felicity was the only Team Member it could be. Diggle wouldn't be much more of a true demonstration than she would be, and Roy was too dangerous, too out of control still to risk. Regardless, it did not mean she was happy about it – and neither would Oliver be!

Sara briefly entertained the idea of not telling Oliver, of just letting it happen with only the rest of the Team aware of the plan – but she knew that Oliver would never forgive her for that and it would only serve to make his guilt worse. He found it hard enough to trust as it was, if they deceived him like that it could do some real damage. Whereas, if he knew about it and agreed (regardless of how reluctantly) then it wouldn't be quite so hard on him she hoped.

"Okay, but we need to speak to Diggle and Roy and get them on board before we speak to Oliver." Sara finally agreed.

Felicity's POV

They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes; Sara keeping watch, while Felicity simply watched the way the light in the clearing changed as day truly arrived banishing away the dark of night and with it the nightmares for another day she hoped.

"What's the plan for today?" Felicity asked as she began to notice faint stirrings amongst the others and knew they would soon be awake too.

"Training. Oliver is going to be giving Thea and Roy some archery lessons so I'll pair you with Moira and take Laurel myself. Walter and my Dad can pair up again. Diggle needs to rest but he can make observations and help out that way. Oliver really should rest too – but we both know that's never going to happen!" Sara said as Felicity nodded her agreement. At least if he's teaching archery he's not actually sparring!

Felicity didn't fail to notice the slight overtones of annoyance as Sara spoke her sister's name and she suspected that Sara's intention of pairing up against her sister wasn't purely about training. Felicity found that she didn't have a problem with that either, Laurel needed to be taken down a few pegs and realize just how deadly life could be here. It was time people stopped protecting her and she found out what the real world was like outside of the courtroom and without Oliver there to rescue her every five minutes.

She knew that Oliver would be too absorbed in training his own sister – and Roy – to worry about what was going on between the Lance sisters. Felicity also knew that Oliver was desperately trying not to get involved in things between them anymore, even if in many ways it was rather too late for that she acknowledged.

"Why is Oliver going to train Thea in archery, or continue with Roy's lessons, when we only have one bow?" Felicity asked curiously. She knew that it was a good idea to have more than one of them able to use the bow in case Oliver was injured – like now her brain supplied – but Sara was already more than competent with it too. Plus Roy's target practice hadn't exactly gone well to date. At least here there are no computer monitors for him to kill!She thought ruefully, still slightly upset with him for damaging her babies.

"You'll see soon enough." Sara said cryptically with a sly grin that had Felicity intrigued as well as somewhat concerned at the same time.

"She'll see what soon enough?" Oliver asked having come up behind the pair as Sara spoke.

"Why you're going to train Thea and Roy in archery when you only have one bow." She answered, still grinning as Oliver didn't say anything in return but just grinned as well - making Felicity more suspicious even as she was happy to see him genuinely smiling after everything that had happened in the past two days.

Has it really only been two days? If this is what just two days feels like then what must have it been like for him to have been here for five years?She wondered sadly, her heart breaking all over again for everything her friend and partner had been through. No wonder he was so broken when he first returned.Felicity thought back remembering how even Oliver's speech patterns had been stilted, a bit like how Sara's still were in many ways. She hoped with her whole heart that this time, having them all there with him, would stop him from breaking so badly - stop both of them from breaking so badlyFelicity thought with a look to Sara.

"Ermm, are you sure that's a good idea Oliver? It didn't exactly go too well the last time you tried to teach me." Roy said pointedly as he and Diggle had now joined them too and had heard Sara's comment.

"At least there are no computer screens here for you to take out." Diggle answered smirking before backing up a step and holding up his hands in surrender as Felicity glared at him.

Much as she didn't appreciate the reference to her poor monitors, Felicity was happy to see the Team interacting and bantering with each other like this. It was good to see that none of them were letting events change the way they behaved. In spite of everything that had happened and that Slade had done, everything they'd found out that could have broken them apart or at the least weakened them, Team Arrow was still going strong. Go Team Arrow!

AN2: Hope you like it? Please be kind enough to let me know your thoughts and fav/follow/review, thank you!