Felicity arrived downstairs, breakfast had arrived been served and eaten and everyone had already left for the day. She looked around and frowned. She'd noticed a complete lack of household staff, which she thought was nice, but at the same time it was odd to her. Felicity looked around, standing at the bottom of the stairs. She almost felt like maybe it would be a good idea to just go back to her room and hide there until Oliver or someone else that was a friend came home.

"Good morning, Felicity."

She closed her eyes for a long moment before turning towards the voice. She hadn't expected him. "If the staff—"

"No one's here," Merlyn replied quickly. "Moira made sure of it. I'm sure the staff won't mind having half of the day off. Paid, of course."

"Why are you here?" she asked, gripping the banister. Felicity was panicking a bit. If no one else was there, she really didn't feel safe… She'd left her cell phone upstairs, which she decided she'd need to start carrying it with her at all times, just in case.

"To see you."

"Why?"

"On the island, we were spending time together every day… I've missed that," Merlyn said.

"You could have come at breakfast," Felicity told him.

"I figured that it would cause more upset," Merlyn explained. "Plus, I think that Moira prefers to have staff to make breakfast… I can't blame her for that. Oliver's just started at Queen Consolidated, Tommy's starting back at Merlyn Global, and I know that Thea is hard at work at Verdant…and catching up with Roy… I really didn't think upsetting all of them with an appearance at breakfast was going to help any of us."

"Oh, you're here, Malcolm."

Felicity looked over to where Moira was standing. Great, the house wasn't completely empty. Moira was really the one other person that she'd been hoping to avoid for the rest of the day. No luck, apparently.

"I let myself in," Merlyn responded.

"I was hoping that we could talk about making Felicity more presentable," Moira said as she got closer.

"I thought that you had made arrangements for her and Thea to go to the salon and do clothes shopping when they first arrived?" Merlyn questioned.

Felicity was fairly sure that they expected her to feel like she was invisible. They were doing a fairly good job now. She thought about just walking away because they were going to do whatever they wanted no matter what she said. She hated it. She didn't need Moira or Merlyn to try to make her into a person that she wasn't.

"She doesn't cooperate."

"Neither does Thea."

Moira didn't seem pleased. "You don't want Thea engaged and married in a certain amount of time… Thea looks beautiful in front of cameras and she's used to handling the press and the media… Felicity isn't."

"I've done everything that you've asked," Felicity said finally. She was upset and irritated. "What more can you ask?"

"I can ask you to learn your place in this family," Moira told her firmly as she moved closer to Felicity.

"You want me to be Oliver's girlfriend…fiancée…wife…" she rattled off. "I've been working on that… You won't let me go back to my job at Queen Consolidated and—"

"Learning where you belong within this family is more important than all of that," Moira insisted. "It's not just being Oliver's wife…it's being apart of this family…it's about listening to me and following what I tell you to do."

"You can't control me! You can't control every part of me…or Oliver or Thea…or anyone else!" Felicity snapped. "You both think you're making our lives so much better, but you're not! Don't you see that? We're all miserable! You're holding us prisoner in this house, just like we were on that boat…and on the island! This isn't life… We want to make our own choices and live on our own! We don't want to be watched!"

She didn't know what had gotten into her; all she knew was that once she started she felt like she couldn't stop. This was what had been bottled up inside of her, not only for the past few days, but for the past three months as well. She wanted to be able to be herself…to be Felicity Smoak. For her to actually have some control over her own destiny.

"He has a reason," Felicity said as she looked from Moira to Merlyn and then back to Moira again. Malcolm Merlyn had lost it and didn't seem to be very good at taking his pills as far as Felicity could guess. At least that was some kind of excuse. "You! You're just a horrible person who lies to everyone—" Felicity watched Moira's hand pull back and upwards and start to come forward, she braced herself for what was coming, but the voice behind them stopped everything.

"STOP!"

Behind them, Tommy Merlyn stood. He looked angry in his fine suit. He marched towards them, his hands balled up into fists at his sides. When he held out his hand towards her, Felicity hesitated for a moment. She reached out and took it though; Tommy pulled her to his side and put a protective arm around her.

"You're supposed to be at Merlyn Global," Merlyn stated matter of factly.

"I forgot my phone," Tommy said. "Kind of important." He paused for a moment as he turned to look at her. He stared at her for a long moment and Felicity knew the question he had.

"I'm okay," she barely whispered and was happy to have him there to intervene. She'd known that Moira wouldn't react well to her words, but she hadn't expected physical violence. Though, thinking back to it, Felicity knew that she shouldn't be so surprised.

"Imagine my surprise, finding you condoning Moira's behavior towards Felicity," Tommy said as he addressed Merlyn. There was deep disappointment and anger in his voice. "How can you expect ANY of us to have a good relationship with EITHER of you when you treat us like this? Felicity may be my half sister and Thea's, but that doesn't mean you have to treat her like she's inferior…" He paused for a moment as he stared at them both. "If anything, she's better than us." Tommy looked at Moira. "She made sure that Thea was safe on that boat…and on that island… I wasn't there all the time."

"I'm sure Thea was fine—" Moira started to say dismissively.

"She would have been raped if Felicity wasn't there," Tommy said. He held onto her tighter. "The two of you keep pushing things on Felicity…the more you're going to lose all of your children… Think about that," Tommy told them before guiding Felicity up the stairs.

"Thank you," she said once they were up near the bedrooms.

"You had it handled, they just needed to know that it's not just you that feels that way," Tommy told her. He stopped and turned to her, holding onto her shoulder. "And you KNOW that you're not alone, right? You KNOW that Thea and I…and Oliver hate this as much as you do? I WISH I could be the one that is forced into marrying someone… If I could take that away from you…" His voice trailed off and he was no longer looking right at her. He looked so very upset though, distraught even.

Felicity reached up and touched his cheek. "It's okay," she whispered. "And I know I say that a lot…especially when it's not okay." Her voice brightened a bit and her volume lifted just a tad. "But Oliver and I are going to be just fine… He makes me happy… And I—" She paused for a moment. "I couldn't have asked for a better big brother…little sister…or family…"

"You're excluding the crazies downstairs right?" Tommy asked and smiled towards the end.

"I really am," Felicity confirmed. Tommy pulled her into a hug and she was glad that he'd been there. It hit her though; he needed to be at work. "Merlyn Global," she breathed a moment later. She pulled away. "You should go…"

"Why don't you come in with me?"

"Not on your first day… You have a lot to do. An image to put forward. The last thing that you need is for me to show up with you on the first day, tomorrow we'd be dealing with tabloids saying that I'm cheating on Oliver…"

"Why do you have to be right?"

Felicity beamed. "Practice."

Tommy leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I hate to say this…but it might be better to stay in your room until someone comes home…"

"I think you're right…" She sighed as she moved farther away from him, taking a step towards her door. She looked back at him. "Have you noticed that it's just a fancy looking prison?"

"We really need to remedy that…" Tommy told her as he headed towards the room he'd been staying in. "For all of us…"

That was one thing that Felicity was sure had linked them so closely in the last three months. She, Tommy, and Thea had become a package deal… If Merlyn hurt one of them, he hurt the other two… She just wished that Melryn and even Moira would catch on to that fact.

"Have a good day," Felicity told him as she stood at her door. "You're going to be great…"

"I don't know about that."

"If Oliver can do it," Felicity said slowly. "Then you can… You never know what you're capable of until it's the only choice…"

"He had you."

She nodded, a smile on her lips. "You have the rest of us… I'll have my phone right with me… You can call me or text me if you really need me… Even if it's just to remind you that we're going to all be okay."

"You're the best." Tommy was in and out of his room in a matter of seconds and then froze. "Don't tell Thea I said that—"

Felicity grinned. "It'll be our secret."

. . .

She didn't know how she'd let him talk her into leaving her room… Maybe she was stupid. Maybe she was insane. Or maybe she was just glutton for punishment. All she knew was that she was really done being inside. Merlyn had offered her an option to leave her bedroom and the upside was that she'd be armed. She felt horrible for having thoughts of shooting Moira Queen with an arrow…in the leg or something like that, of course…but the woman was horrible to her. Felicity knew that there was no way she could get an arrow past Merlyn though.

They'd set up targeting and she was excited about actually being able to practice. She was half surprised that Moira wasn't out there yelling about how improper it was for the future Mrs. Oliver Queen to be on the mansion grounds shooting arrows. Maybe she knew better than to do that though…or maybe Merlyn had told her that there'd be enough of her for one day. Whatever it was, it was a little less stressful and a little quieter. It hit her, in that moment she preferred Merlyn over Moira and that just seemed so wrong in her mind.

"If you practice everyday you'll be so much better," Merlyn told her. "But you're doing wonderfully…"

"I don't think Mrs. Queen would appreciate me practicing here," Felicity commented as she pulled the bowstring back. She aimed, breathed, and then released. It hit pretty close to the center target, especially given how long she'd been working on it.

"Don't worry about Moira…"

"Why? You're not going to tell me to listen to her?" Felicity asked, her anger leaking through as she lowered her bow and turned to him. "Isn't that why you're here? To make sure I'm being the good daughter…that I'm obeying your orders?"

"You make it sound so harsh… You live inside of the Queen Mansion," Merlyn said as he motioned to the mansion behind her.

"It's a prison!" Felicity snapped at him. "And instead of you being the warden, now I have Moira Queen. I honestly don't think that it's exactly an upgrade!"

Merlyn didn't seem to be getting upset; Felicity almost swore that he looked proud of her. "What do you want then?"

"I want to be free from all of this—"

"I'm not changing my mind about you marrying Oliver," Merlyn interrupted. "I made a deal with Ra's al Ghul—"

"What exactly IS that deal?" she asked a moment later. He was just adding fuel to the fire at this point. She'd almost forgotten about that. Almost.

"It doesn't matter—"

"It does! Oliver and I will be the faces of Queen Consolidated AND he's the Arrow… Isabel Rochev, who I'm sure you know is Talia al Ghul…she's already told Oliver and I that she and Slade aren't finished… They're going to come after us," Felicity threw at him. "So, it DOES involve me and it involves Oliver… It affects all of us. The League of Assassins and Slade Wilson don't just go after ONE person, they go after their whole family…everyone that they love and care about… So, really…we're talking about Tommy and Thea and all of my friends…"

"They wouldn't dare—"

"Really? You think that just because you made some deal with Ra's al Ghul and the fact that I'm your daughter is going to keep us safe?" Felicity challenged.

"What do you want, Felicity? Tell me…"

"I don't want to feel like I'm in prison… I want to be out of this house… I don't want you and Moira watching my every move! I don't want to be dictated what I should be wearing! I don't want…" Tears fell from her cheeks and she was really trying to hold her sobs inside. She hated how much she'd been crying over the last three months, it only made her feel weak and broken…

"I could take you all away," Merlyn told her.

"No!" she said quickly. "I would rather die—"

"Felicity!"

"I mean it," she told him as she stared at him. All she could do was think about the water and the box… She couldn't go through that again, no matter how strong she was. "We all want the same thing," Felicity told him. "If you love us, then just listen to us… You want us to have some sort of relationship with you…I can guarantee that I'm going to be more likely to ask you for help in the future if you try to give me space… If you let me leave Queen Mansion… If you let me live my life a little more… You want Oliver and I to still get married? Fine. But the rest? We all deserve to be free from this place… From Queen Mansion AND Merlyn Mansion—"

"Felicity—"

"Do you LOVE us?" she asked.

"Of course."

"Then DO THIS," she told him. She opened her mouth to say something else when an arrow flew past both of them and hit in the center of the target. The perfect shot. They both turned and Felicity felt tears run free as she saw Oliver in the distance, his own bow in hand. He wasn't dressed in leather and green, which surprised her so much more given the bow… "Oliver," she whispered.

It was unexpected to say the least.

He moved towards them and even though he was in his dress shirt with his tie, he still looked just as heroic to her as he did when he was in the leather and green hood. She didn't move from where she was standing with Merlyn, though. Felicity wanted to run to him and hug him, but she suddenly was hit by the thoughts of what time it was…because Oliver was supposed to be CEO of Queen Consolidated… He had so much work to do in re-taking and keeping the company…

"You're home early, Oliver," Merlyn commented. "Beautiful shot, by the way."

Felicity watched Oliver; he was really clutching his bow in the one hand. He was angry and upset and she wondered why he was there. Then it hit her, Tommy had probably called or texted him and told him what had happened earlier. She wondered what was going through Oliver's mind and she wondered if she needed to say something.

"I got a call… I was concerned," Oliver said through gritted teeth.

"Tommy called you?" Merlyn asked. "Took you a while to get here…"

"I was working and my assistant doesn't understand what calls are urgent yet… I have been in meetings all day," Oliver explained. "I left work early when I finally was able to talk to him…" He looked directly at Merlyn. "Are you absolutely crazy? Do you just not care about Felicity or Thea or Tommy?"

"Everyone is so upset today," Merlyn commented calmly. "And questioning my love for my children…" He seemed oddly together and that scared Felicity to a certain point. "Your mother was the one who was about to strike her."

"And I'll be talking with my mother," Oliver responded evenly.

Merlyn looked from her to Oliver a couple of times before he finally spoke up again. "I thought that having you all between Queen Mansion and Merlyn Mansion meant that I was keeping you safe… I know that there's more evil out there than just the local bad guys… All I wanted was to keep my children safe… To secure their futures… Yours as well, Oliver…"

"You're not doing a very good job."

"Which was precisely what my daughter was just telling me," Merlyn told him as he turned to Felicity. He moved towards her and ran his fingers up one of her arms. "All I want is for her to be happy…"

Felicity had heard that before from him, but her happiness was debatable in their eyes. She wasn't happy though… Not really… "So, do the right thing…"

"I plan on it," Merlyn told her simply.

"You do?" Felicity and Oliver asked in unison.

"I'm going to talk to Moira…" Merlyn said. He sighed. "I just want to protect you…all of you…"

"She can protect herself," Oliver responded.

Merlyn just stared at her. "I can see that now." He looked to Oliver. "But I expect you to be there for her too…"

"I've BEEN here for her…" Oliver told him.

Felicity moved away from Merlyn and to Oliver's side. She took his free hand with hers, holding onto her bow still. "You don't have to worry about me," she said looking from their hands and then over to Merlyn. "You don't have to worry about any of us…"

"Thea has Roy—"

"Roy is dangerous," Merlyn argued.

"Maybe," Oliver conceded. "But he loves Thea… He's learning… That's something."

"And Tommy?"

"He has us," Felicity spoke up. "He has a family… We look out for each other. We're not going to let anything happen to him."

. . .

TBC…