A/N I own nothing, all characters belong to DC and Warner Bros.

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"Vic?"

The redhead looked up to see a sleepy Helena standing in his living room doorframe wearing nothing but a shirt of his. His eyes traveled up and over her body as he sat there appreciating it. It took him a few moments to even recall that she had said his name. "Good morning. Did you sleep alright?"

"Pretty much. Your bed is really comfortable."

"I've always thought so." He searched her face for an answer to the real question, the one they were avoiding like a plague. "You feel any better?"

Helena ignored him and walked into the kitchen straight towards the coffee pot. The worry etched onto her tired face didn't go unnoticed as she poured herself a steaming mug of joe. "Not really, no."

Vic remained silent sensing she wasn't yet done.

"I just...I know it was my fault, but I didn't think it would ever bite me in the ass like that. All-All I wanted to do was to protect my family like Papa always tried to protect me."

"And how did that work out for him?"

The next moment Helena's hand was around his neck and his back was thrown against his wall as the Italian woman slammed into him with a snarl. "Don't you dare badmouth my padrino!"

"Not badmouthing, just making a statement." Q replied with utter calmness, despite the situation. "He tried to protect you by hiding you in a closet, and in a way he did by saving you from physical death. However, you still were a victim and it changed you."

"What the hell does that have to do with not telling my kids I'm Huntress?" Helena spat in demand.

"You protected them from the biggest pain for as long as you could, but in the end they suffered anyways." Vic clarified, "Your intentions were good, but the result was not."

"So what you're saying is no matter what I did...I still would have hurt my children?"

"In a sense."

"Oh my God." Helena whispered, releasing his neck and covering her mouth. "Did...Did I damn them just by having them?"

Q realized what he had implied and immediately began to backtrack. "Wait, no. What I mean is-"

"Oh my God, I did." She gasped, her mouth falling into an O of surprise as her eyes swarmed with guilt. "No wonder Roger's going to leave me."

Helen groaned and covered her face with her hands as the enormity of her actions sank within her. She could physically feel it compacting her curvaceous body, suffocating her with guilt and the promise of a bleak future.

She brushed a tear from her eye and looked up to see Vic watching her expressionlessly. "W-What? Aren't you going to tell me it'll all be better tomorrow?"

"Nothing would be accomplished if I lied to you, would it?" He asked, "You'll still be in a feud with your husband, distressed about your future as well as your children's, and nothing would change. Saying everything will be better is a lie, and I don't lie to you."

She smiled bitterly. "No, you don't. You're one of the most honest people I've ever met."

"Thank you."

"So how do I make everything okay? I-I don't know how to fix this."

"Neither do I. Try telling them your intentions. Apologize."

"I'm not very good with apologies."

"That makes two of us."

Helena sighed and leaned against her old friend for strength as well as comfort. He slid and arm around her holding her tightly, his arms creating a protective barrier around her as though to keep her safe.

"Helena...even if it doesn't work out, you know I'm here for you."

The face he loved so much smiled at him as she squeezed his hand. Vic loved her, he truly did. He would have taken her in even if she was bugged by the Illuminati. Well, he'd make her take off their devices and quarantine her of course, but he would still let her in.

Nothing had felt as right as it did when Helena grasped his hand in her own, smiled that smile of hers, and said, "I know, Vic. You always have a home with me too."

He had finally found a home and family within Helena, one to call his own.

Helena cursed the universe not quite as silently as she had hoped as Vic sighed and unbuckled his seat belt.

Against her better judgment, while her car was in the shop for repairs she called up Q and asked him for a ride. Initially she'd been trying to avoid him and get a grip on herself to stop what she had begun to feel towards him, but really needed a ride to Star City. She was supposed to meet up with Ollie and Dinah, but with her car broken down needed transportation.

Calling Roger wasn't an option. Come to think of it, Helena hadn't heard from him in a few weeks. Maybe she should have called him after all...

But she hadn't. Seeing no real alternative she dialed up Q's latest number (he changed his every week and got a new phone to avoid being tapped by the Illuminati) and ignoring the flutter in her stomach when she realized they would be spending a few hours alone in a car together called him up.

Vic had agreed without much persistence saying he hadn't seen Ollie in a while anyways. He didn't care too much for Dinah, but Oliver had been one of the few people he tolerated and considered a sort of friend.

Getting to Star City wasn't exactly the most complicated rive in the world, but getting to the Emerald Archer's home city required taking the highway through the middle of nowhere. The drive was boring, but with company was bearable.

It had been a decent ride up until two minutes ago when the fuel pump in the engine broke and they were forced to pull over. Currently Vic was attempting to call AAA after quite a lot of persuasion (not to mention the occasional threat) from Helena.

"We're stuck." He sighed upon re-entering the car. "Like a damned fly in a spider's web."

Helena groaned and tightened her jacket around her body. "Fabulous. Not only are we going to freeze to death but we're going to die before I get to see Ollie and Dinah."

"We are not going to die of hypothermia, Helena. If anything it will be from dehydration."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that makes me feel better."

"That was the intention."

"I was being sarcastic, dummy."

"So was I." A thoughtful pause, "Are you really cold?"

"No shit, Mr. Detective."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Vic shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Well...how cold are you?"

"Scale of one to Frosty?"

"If you're really that cold, well," He tugged at his tie awkwardly, refusing to meet her gaze. "...We could always...share our warmth."

"...Share?" Helena repeated cautiously, "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, body heat is easily transferred to another body so-"

"I meant how do you plan on the two of us transferring heat?"

"Physically, obviously."

Helena slowly covered her eyes with her palm. "Vic...you're a good guy and all but just two weeks ago I said I didn't want to-"

"Not with sex!" He said quickly feeling the awkwardness in the car shoot through the roof. "I-I meant that if we were to lay down next to each other in, say, the back our body heat would be shared between the two of us."

"...What are you saying? Because if it involves me naked I-"

"For Christ's sake stop thinking I'm trying to sleep with you!" He snapped, "I'm trying to help us both out here, alright? If we lay next to each other then we'll share our heat. No nudity, no groping, nothing sexual at all. Just...laying there."

Slowly, Helena nodded her head. She understood what he meant and knew that Vic wouldn't try anything if she had said no. Trying to keep that thought in her head she slid out of the front seat and hopped into the back.

Vic remained silent as he followed her. Why did that woman have to be so sex-minded? It wasn't like he was innocent when it came to imagining the two of them in bed, but damn it he didn't think every time she made a suggestion it was innuendo for getting him between the sheets.

Weren't men supposed to be the ones with the dirty minds?

He did his best to ignore her discomfort and frown as she slipped into the back next to him. When she told him to make sure he was on his best behavior Q fought back the urge to yell that he always behaved around her. Really, the woman was acting as though he was a rapist.

The backseat was small, but large enough for the two to lie down on and be moderately comfortable. Neither of them said a word as they got settled. The tension residing between them was palpable, but went ignored.

Talking about things didn't always make them better.

When Vic accidentally brushed his hand against Helena's leg and she cringed, he couldn't help but snap at her. "What the hell is with you, Helen?"

"Nothing! What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Me? What did I do?"

She rolled her eyes and tried to make it seem like it was incredibly obvious. Really Q hadn't done anything, but the situation made her uneasy. It was bad enough to struggle with her feelings about the man, but lying incredibly close to him didn't help one bit.

Anger was beginning to seep into Vic. He knew he wasn't a good man, but that didn't mean he deserved to get treated like trash. Helena didn't love him, fine. But to throw away years of friendship was something he didn't think he could handle.

Helen couldn't help but lean closer into her friend's body. She tried to ignore how right it felt. This wasn't just some random guy; this was Q. Even though she had reluctantly begun admitting to herself she might have liked him, she wouldn't act on it.

Like wasn't the right term. As hard as it was to digest, Helena had a...crush on her long time friend.

It was sickening.

But she couldn't help it. Vic was polite, nice, respectful, attractive, and already knew the darker parts of her life. They had history together and as a couple would be pretty damned good.

Which was exactly why they couldn't get together.

"Why are you acting like this?" Q muttered, "I-I can't figure it out."

Helena mulled it over. "It's...complicated."

"I'm smart. I'll understand if you tell me."

"Vic...I don't know if you noticed but things are kind of weird between us." Helena began, "I don't know how or when it started, but it's there. I just wish it wasn't. Us as a couple would be..."

"Phenomenal."

"See, that's what I mean!" She groaned, "Why do you have to say stuff like that?"

"Helen...why is it such a problem? I know I'm hardly someone anyone would want, but-"

"Can we not talk about this? Please?"

Vic swallowed the lump in his throat, figuratively and literally. "No, I don't think we can." At Helena's surprised face he added, "It won't just go away you know. It's...better to."

At her silence he started to ramble. "I just don't see what's so bad about us becoming more. Is it me? I-I could change-"

"No you couldn't." Helena smiled softly, "You and I both know you'll never change."

"Is-Is that why you won't date me?"

"Why are you pushing this, Q?"

Because I love you and want you to finally be mine. "We seem...compatible."

"I know, but what if we broke up?" Helen asked, "We would hate each other."

"I could never hate you."

Helena sighed and rested her head on his chest. She looked up to see Vic staring at her curiously, silently watching her. He had such a nice profile, and his eyes were so damn blue. She...she wanted to kiss him.

"Do you ever think about us being together?" Vic asked suddenly, "Not just as a couple, but...intimately."

"You mean, like, sex?"

"Yes."

"...A few times." She admitted quietly, burying her face in the crook of his jacket.

Q let out a slow, deep breath. His minds raced with possible scenarios Helena may have thought of. Were they like his own? Were they hot? What did she picture them doing?

"Oh. And...?"

"And what?"

"Well...how is it?"

"Good." She admitted, "Real good. With Roger it was always fast and blurred, which is still really nice, but with you I imagine it being long and detailed."

"Detailed?"

"You're big into details and finding things. I think you'd be very attentive and giving."

"You...put a lot of thought into it." Vic mumbled, his confidence growing after she made her confession.

"Like you haven't." Helena shot back defensively, her face flushing. "...Have you thought about it?"

"Very much." He admitted, "I think you would be imaginative and creative in bed. God, and your body naked would just be..."

She wasn't expecting him to bend down and give her a quick kiss as he trailed off, but Helena didn't protest. It didn't last more than a second but in that moment she felt things she had never felt before.

Q looked at her expectantly after he drew back. It had been a simple peck, but it felt like so much more. Helen closed her eyes and rested her head back onto his chest and let out a soft sigh.

It should have bothered her more than it was that Vic had just kissed her, but it didn't. The damned cold must have been doing something to her head.

"What's keeping us apart?"

"I already told you."

"I could never hate you, Helena. Ever. I wish you would stop worrying that."

"You say that now, but if something were to happen between us-"

"It won't."

He just wasn't getting it. Before she could tell him more about it Vic bent down and rested his forehead against hers, into her eyes. Helena could smell his cologne and feel his warmth against her.

She let out a soft sigh and simply stared back. The position should have been awkward and uneasy, but it wasn't. It felt natural, like something that should have been happening the whole time.

Vic moved so that her body was firmly pressed against his, their foreheads still touching. He slid a hand possessively onto her outer thigh and smiled. She was so damned pretty.

"You really are beautiful you know." He murmured, "Gorgeous."

"So you've told me." Helena replied quietly, feeling Q's hands slip onto her back and begin to rub up and down. "Vic..."

"Yes?"

"I don't want to do this."

"Why?" Q muttered, kissing her temple. "You have nothing to lose."

Helena pressed her lips against his own before quickly retreating back to her space bubble. She wanted so bad to just stop fighting and let herself do what she wanted, but that would mean weakness. Helena Bertinelli was never allowed even for a moment to be weak.

Even if a moment of weakness could make her stronger for life.

Q let out a shaky breath and brushed a strand of hair from her forehead. He loved this woman more than anything and was so scared he was going to mess up. He had wanted Helena for years now with no success, but here she was in his arms. His Helen could really truly be his.

Though it scared him, Vic knew what it was like to be alone completely. No matter what happened he refused to let this perfect moment with this perfect woman become his biggest 'What If' in life. He loved her plain in simple, and through so many years his feelings hadn't been diminished. If anyone deserved this it was him.

He kissed her again, this time a little longer. A shiver of pleasure shocked his nerves as she kissed him back. "Come on, Helen. We-We could make it work."

Helena gave him another clumsy kiss. "N-No, Vic -Q-, I don't-"

His breathing increased as he pressed his mouth against her own. Hard. He held her to him as she trembled whispering for her to relax and let go.

Helena glanced up timidly and simply stared. She caught sight of Vic's flushed face and unsure expression and felt her stomach tighten. She cared for this man more than she had ever realized. At that moment Helen wanted nothing more than to throw away her worries, pull him close, and feel him inside of her.

She craned her neck up and Vic bit his lip as he inhaled her perfume. She...She was going to do it. Helena was going to give him what he'd craved for so very long.

"I'm not interrupting something here, am I?"

They instantly jolted their gazes up to see an overweight man in overalls looking through the mirror awkwardly. "I'm Mike from AAA. You know, for your car."

Helena's face reddened as she tore herself away from Vic, furiously buttoning up her coat as she stomped out of the car. Vic stood up and quickly moved to follow her.

As the mechanic moved towards the hood, Helena stumbled away from the car and onto the road away from the car and (more importantly Q) as possible.

"Helen? Helen!" He cried, breaking into a jog to catch up to her. Q caught hold of her shoulder, "Wait, damn it!"

"D-Don't you dare, Q!" Helen gasped, "Let me go."

"What? No. I-I don't understand, we were just going to-"

"Moment of weakness." Helen replied dismissively, trying not to let her emotions show. "It won't happen again."

Vic glared at her. "Weakness?"

"Yes."

"...I don't get you." He gritted out, "At all. You're stubborn, a pain in the ass, moody, and indecisive. It's a huge turn-on."

Before she could reply, he gave her another kiss. "Hurry up and make up your mind. Aside from the ingredients in the coffee you drink affecting your ability to make decisions I know you're scared. Don't be."

Helen scowled at him, but it didn't hide the want in her eyes. She wanted him and it was thrilling, even if she refused to acknowledge it. Though why she wouldn't confess was lost on him.

Sometimes Question thought Helena was even crazier than him.

A/N Only two chapters left. We're nearing the end, people.

A/N Review please!