Author's Note: Fair warning - I am a little mean to Laurel here. If Laurel is your favorite character, you may not like this. I have a love/dislike relationship with Laurel that I figure is mostly the writers' issue, but since what we see on screen is what we've got, then that's what I have to work with - and I respect some things, like some things, and seriously dislike others when it comes to Laurel. Please take the warning as a heads up for this chapter.

Celebrating Chanukkah – The Fifth Candle

They'd been searching for hours and the sun began to set. Roy and Dig intended to come by the lair to pick up some more supplies and better weapons before searching into the evening. Felicity asked them to go by her house and pick up a few things for her. She insisted she would not leave the lair until they found Oliver and brought him home. All other thoughts – on work, on the case, on anything at all – had been pushed to the side.

Oliver's safety took precedence…until or unless something else came to light.

If something came up that would get people hurt or killed, then they would have to postpone the search for him. After all – wasn't that what he'd brought them together for – protecting people? He would hate it and resent them all if they let others get hurt because of their search for him.

"Please don't let it come to that," she muttered as her fingers continued their dance on the keyboard.

The sound of the door opening drew her attention. She turned away from her computers to look with hopeful expectation at the stairs. Her hopes were dashed when the descending figure turned out not to be the six-foot-one Oliver, but rather a figure over six inches shorter…and female.

"Laurel," Felicity greeted the newcomer. "Is something wrong?"

"I'll say something's wrong! Why didn't any of you call me?" Laurel demanded as she descended the steps.

Felicity blinked in surprise and then frowned at the question. "Call you about what?"

"Ten people attack and kill each other in a diner for no reason?" Laurel replied, her voice sharp and incredulous. "You don't think maybe I should hear about it?"

"Laurel, it's an investigation, an investigation just now in the beginning stages," Felicity pointed out after a breath, having to reorient her mind from the search for Oliver. "It's not exactly something we would contact you on. If anyone would contact you on this, wouldn't it be your father?"

"Right, the brunette scoffed. "I'm supposed to believe 'Team Arrow' is going to sit back and do nothing?"

"We are doing something," came the calm reply. "We're searching and researching and following leads." Felicity tilted her head. "I'm just not sure what that has to do with us contacting you in regards to the case."

Laurel stared at her for a few long, silent seconds. "I can help," she finally stated.

"Not to be rude, but with what?" A bemused frown furrowed Felicity's brow. "Roy and Dig have been canvasing neighborhoods and tapping various sources of information – all in areas where people are going to talk to someone like either of us. I've got the computer situation covered and Oliver…" The briefest of hesitations broke her stream of thought, but hopefully Laurel would write that off to Arrow doing something questionable. "He's checking around in his own way." She shrugged. "At this point I'm not sure where we could have used you."

"Ollie runs this team," Laurel pointed out. "Not you."

Felicity's eyebrows went up in an amused expression. "Yes?" she replied, her voice carrying an offhand note suggesting Laurel was stating the obvious. "And your point is?"

"Then it's up to him whether or not I can be of use and where."

"And I'm not arguing that," Felicity sighed. "He didn't choose to call you in."

Now the other woman stepped back, her expression moving from surprise to hurt to anger in rapid succession. "I can help!"

"You're not part of the team," Felicity responded, her face sympathetic but firm. "Oliver is not going to call you in and put you out there at his back or at the backs of his team until he's sure he can trust you there."

"Ollie trusts me!"

"Oliverdoesn't – not with the safety of his people in the field."

Felicity's straightforward reply seemed to light a fuse in the other woman and she could see fury kindling in Laurel's gaze. Oh, boy, she thought, this is not going to be fun. She respected Laurel, respected the woman's dedication to justice, but her tendency to ignore people's warnings, to run roughshod over people, and her expectation of people to fall in line with her way of thinking.

"Look, Felicity, this isn't just about you and your team. It's about the city."

"Laurel, do you honestly think a single member of this team doesn't already know that? This city, its safety is our reason for existence. If there is one thing we don't need a lecture on is the importance of keeping the city safe. We know what we're doing." Something flickered in the other woman's eyes and Felicity's lips thinned as she tacked on a rider to her previous comment. "Whether others believe that or not. We're not some…" Doubt grew in Laurel's eyes and Felicity's voice trailed off. She folded her arms over her chest as her expression shifted into an exasperated patience. "Tell me something?"

"What?" the brunette's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Tell me just what you think you can do."

Laurel blinked, but her mouth firmed. "There has to be something."

"Tell me what that is," Felicity insisted. "If you want to help, then tell me where you can be of help? In the neighborhoods? In the drug dens? Make a suggestion." As Laurel remained silent, Felicity lifted an eyebrow. "Please."

"Well, what would…what would Sara have done?"

"You're not Sara."

The simple statement fell between them and left silence echoing in the lair. Dig and Roy entered seconds later, their footsteps faltering as they walked into that deep well of stillness. Laurel stared at Felicity for another minute before her eyes iced over and she walked out, brushing past the men without any acknowledgment.

Dig watched her leave before turning to Felicity. "What was that?"

"She was unhappy that no one called her," Felicity replied.

"Oliver said not to, right?" Roy asked. When Felicity nodded, he just shook his head with a shrug. "Then what's the problem?"

"None…on our side," she told him. His frown deepened and she sighed. "Laurel wants to be involved, but only on her own terms, and I know we all did the same thing when we started, but we were willing to be part of the team, including taking orders even when we disagreed and argued about the exact nature of the orders. Laurel…" She shook her head.

"Laurel Lance intends to cut her own orders," Dig put in. "She doesn't want to be part of the team, but she wants to be an ally…an equal ally."

"Exactly," she nodded. "And…she's not – equal that is. Oliver…" Her voice caught, but she gave herself a good shake. "Oliver doesn't trust her as such, and quite frankly, neither do I." Then Felicity brushed her hands together. "Enough for now – that's a problem for another day. Roy, did you get it?"

"Yeah," he replied, pulling off his backpack. "I got it." He opened the bag and pulled out Felicity's menorah and candles. He set them out on the table and then put the Advent calendar off to one side. Stepping back, he raised his eyebrows in Felicity's direction. "What are we doing?"

"I am pronouncing the blessings for the evening and then going back to work on the computer," she replied, reaching for the lighter. Her hand trembled as she touched it. This had become Oliver's part of the ceremony in the few days they had been celebrating. "You guys don't have to stay."

Dig came up to her left shoulder. "We'll stay."

"And then we'll go back out and kick up over some more rocks," Roy finished as he moved into place on her other side.

"Okay…" She gave them both a smile before focusing on the candle in her hand.

"Barukh atah Adonai, Eloheinu, melekh ha'olam

asher kidishanu b'mitz'votav v'tzivanu

l'had'lik neir shel Chanukkah.

Amein."

Oliver's face filled her mind as the flame danced before her eyes. Please let us find him soon. Her vision wavered as a sheen of tears filled her eyes, but she hastened to blink them back.

"Barukh atah Adonai, Eloheinu, melekh ha'olam

she'asah nisim la'avoteinu bayamim haheim baziman hazeh.

Amein."

She lit the candles one by one and bowed her head for a moment. The men remained quiet, giving her this short time to do whatever she needed to in order to make the next move. Her head came up, determination filling her face once more as she turned to them. "Right," she announced, "time to get back to work." She strode towards her computers, hearing them fall in line behind her. "Let's review where we've already checked."

Thirty minutes later the men left the lair once more to continue the search for their missing leader. Felicity engaged all of the locks, making sure only a member of the team could get in, before preparing to lose herself in cyberspace as she searched in her own particular way. Her eyes turned back towards the candles for a brief moment. "Light," she murmured to herself before concentrating on the computers.

"Please light his way home."