Chapter 29

Felicity wanted to talk to Oliver. It was not a difficult task considering the fact that Oliver is practically living his life outside the QC and foundry, in her home, with her son. Oliver visited before going to the office in the morning and he came there just before 9 p.m. every day to tuck William to his bed.

Felicity knew he was giving her space after the last encounters between them. She knew that he asked about her every day. William and Raisa made sure that she knew it. They were not indifferent to the tension between them. William even tried to make her sit and watch 'finding Nemo' with Oliver and him. Yet it was in vain since Oliver got a call from the office and had to go to the QC. Felicity watched the film with Tommy and Roy instead.

Yet she was reluctant to have a conversation with him. She was afraid that it would go downward for William if she had another argument with Oliver.

Felicity was currently sitting on her couch and watching the newest episode of 'Doctor Who' and William was safely sleeping in his room. It was one of these days when Raisa took a holiday and went to see her niece in Central city.

It was way past midnight and Felicity was up and unsettled. The sleep was way away from her.

She was tired. Her day was very busy and she had to drop Barry at the train station also.

She thought about her date with Barry last night. It was nice and comfortable. Felicity always liked Barry's company. He was a fun loving gentle guy.

They were so alike. They both loved science and both shared the interest of books and movies. They had connected so well since from their first meet.

Barry's parents had died when he was a little boy and he had been adopted by West family since then. It was like Felicity's story too. The Wests had given Barry a family just as Merlins have given a one to Felicity.

Barry had fallen in love with Iris West and being the shy guy he was, he had been kind of slow to reveal his love to Iris. And when he finally decided to tell Iris that he loves her, Iris has fallen in love with someone else.

Not much unlike Felicity's story. At least Felicity told Oliver that she loved him and had a time to be with him. But Barry never had to go through the pain of being rejected by the person who he loves.

And now, Barry wants to move on. Just like her, he wants to try with someone else. So Felicity thought to give it a chance.

Yes, it was good that they tried dating. Operative word being 'tried'.

After that date, Felicity was heartbroken. Because she felt nothing. Nope. Nothing as in 'nada'.

No tingling of skin that she felt each and every time Oliver was near her.

No butterflies in the gut that she felt when Oliver looked at her through his ridiculously long lashes.

No increase of heart rate that she felt when Oliver leaned to her face to kiss her.

Nope. Nothing.

She was comfortable with him. But no thrilling reaction or action for that matter.

She sighed.

They were perfectly perfect for each other but both of them didn't want that perfection. They both wanted to be with the people they loved.

Barry and she agreed on that before he got on the train. There will be no more dates for them. They were perfect as just friends.

Her train of thoughts was broken by a beeping sound.

Her cellphone rang.

"Hello." She answered with the third ring wondering why Tommy is calling her at this hour.

"Hello Liz, Are you awake?" Tommy's voice rang on her ear.

"Yes. That would explain why I answered the phone on this ungodly hour, Tommy." Felicity replied.

"Oh, good. Then can you open the door, please? I'm at your doorstep." Tommy said.

"What?" Felicity asked while getting up from the couch. She opened the door to find a very disturbed looking Tommy standing outside. She let him come inside and closed the door after hm.

"What are you doing here, at this hour Tommy?" she asked after waiting for him to settle in her couch and took the seat near the couch.

"What, Lizz? You hurt me. I thought that your home was always open for me. Can't I come here to visit my nephew?" He asked her in a teasing voice. But Felicity sensed the hurt he tried to hide behind the humor. Tommy was going through something.

"Of course, my home is always open for you, Tommy. But I don't remember you coming here after midnight ever. And if you wanted to see your nephew, you should have come before he goes to sleep, not 03 hours past it." Felicity said.

Tommy didn't say anything. Felicity offered him a glass of red wine she was having and he took it eagerly and gulped it once. Yes. Some thing was definitely wrong.

"Okay. Humor time is over. Tommy, tell me why you are here?" Felicity asked after a few minutes when she realized that Tommy is not going to tell her anything unless she pulled it out of his mouth.

"I.. I and Laurel… We broke up." Tommy replied with a sigh.

Felicity couldn't say that she didn't see this coming. She knew that something was wrong between two of them. Everyone noticed that they were not behaving as a couple lately. But Felicity didn't think that they wouldn't be able to solve it between two of them. After all Tommy and Laurel went through a lot and they stood beside each other each and every time.

"What happened?" She asked.

"We realized that we expect impossible from each other." Tommy shrugged.

"Don't give me that look, Tommy. Cut the crap and tell me what happened." Felicity insisted.

Tommy slumped on the seat.

"Laurel can't get over our past, Liz. She says she got over that and we make plans for a future together and next thing I know is that she is again going after Oliver. She is obsessed about him. I don't know what to do. I thought we were in a good place, but ever since Oliver returned Laurel has made it her mission to hurt him and remind him of his betrayal of her trust every time she gets a chance. Do you want to know who leaked the media about Oliver's dinner with Helena? Dang! It's Laurel. I found out this yesterday. I confronted her and she doesn't regret what she did. She says that he deserves it. I asked her to let it go. But she doesn't listen to me. I can't do this anymore."

Tommy was going on and on. Felicity felt bed for him. Laurel was a complicated character. She knew that there was a lot behind her cool façade.

"May be you should give her some space, Tommy. Oliver's return was a shock to everyone. Laurel was also affected by it. And William's presence made the things worse. She is daily reminded that not only her sister is dead but her ex-boyfriend who constantly cheated on her was kind of responsible for that. That's a big luggage to carry around." Felicity tried to reason.

"But that doesn't give her a right to control me, Liz. I'm not her lap dog. She has to understand that there is a limit for everything. She can't tell me what to do. 'Tommy, don't do that.' 'Tommy, don't go there.' 'Tommy, don't spend time with them.' She can't expect me to ask permission from her to do everything. And she can't hurt my brother and my family like that. There is a limit."

"Yes. But I thought you knew that she was a bit control loving person, Tommy. And I'm sure that you two can solve that problem by opening up with each other. You have to give some things up when you are in a relationship. So why can't you discuss this with her and come to a compromise? I'm sure that this is not a reason to be away from someone you love. I mean, you two are engaged. How can you break up with her without even trying to fix it once?" Felicity touched Tommy's hand which was on the couch arm and gave it a supporting squeeze.

Tommy sighed.

"It is not simple as it looks, Liz. We won't make it again. There is no hope."

"Why do I get the feeling that you are not telling me everything, Tommy? What did happen that you think that it is not even possible to be back with her?"

Felicity felt that there was more to it. Tommy looked uncomfortable for the first time at her home.

"She thinks that I'm having an affair with you behind her back." Tommy's words stopped the inside babble Felicity had in her mind.

"What?" she was appalled.

"She thinks that I'm having an affair with you behind her back." He repeated, slowly this time.

Felicity blinked, trying to process his words.

"And you came to my home right after she accused you of having an affair with me?" She asked in an incredulous tone.

"Yep." He returned.

"Tommy!" Felicity exclaimed.

"What, Liz? I told you, she can't control me. I won't let her decide who I am spending my time with."

"But…"

"If you don't want me sitting here in your home, I will leave, Liz." Tommy got up from the couch.

"No, stay. I'm not trying to kick you out of my home, Tommy. I'm just concern about you. I don't want to come between you and Laurel. You two love each other. You can't just break up like that." Felicity took Tommy's hand and led him back to the couch.

"I don't want to break up either, Liz. But we both need time. We both need space. So I'm giving her that. She has to get her shit together. And I don't want to talk about it anymore. Can I spend my night here in your couch?" Tommy asked.

Felicity knew that she has to stop her interrogation now. Tommy wasn't going to tell anything anymore. He has shut down. It was like the default state of two brothers. When they decided on to shut up, there was no chance of getting them to talk again.

She sighed and got up from her seat.

"Wait, I'll get you a blanket."

After helping Tommy to settle down in her living room Felicity went to bed, to retire for the day.

It was 6.00 a.m. and Felicity's was awoken by her alarm. She got up from the bed and stepped towards her kitchen in a sleepy stupor. It was strange that Will is asleep yet. Normally he was the one who wakes her up at the morning. But with his medication for the broken arm these days he was sleeping a bit longer and Felicity was gifted a few minutes of more sleep.

She was making her morning coffee when the doorbell rang.

With the coffee cup in her hand she went to the door and opened it to see a very charming Oliver Queen at her door.

"Good morning, Felicity." He greeted her with a warm smile.

"Good morning Oliver. You are early today." Felicity greeted back and opened the door to let him inside.

Oliver stepped in and gave her a paper bag which smelled like fresh muffins.

"I thought of bringing you breakfast. I know that Raisa is out of town." He replied to her inquiring gaze.

"Thank you. But I would have made something." Felicity said.

"Let's just say that I don't want my son to be food poisoned, Felicity." Oliver teased her.

"I'm not that bad of a cook, Oliver." Felicity scoffed.

Oliver chuckled.

"Tell that to someone who hasn't eaten something you've made. You can't cook to save your life Felicity."

She didn't oppose him this time. He was right. She was a bad cook. William always chose yoghurt for breakfast if she cooked the meal. Yes, she was that bad.

They entered the living room and that's when Felicity remembered the person who was currently sleeping on her couch. Tommy was fast asleep. Apparently this was way before the usual wake up time of the Merlin heir.

Oliver saw the sleeping figure and raised his right brow at her in question.

"He came at midnight. He and Laurel have broken up." Felicity knew that she doesn't have to explain anything to Oliver. Yet, she didn't want him too to think that there was something going on between her and Tommy. It was bad that Laurel alone thought that.

Oliver gave her a tight smile.

"Do you know why?" he asked.

Felicity thought about it. Should she tell him what Tommy told her last night? It was not her place to tell that to Oliver. She decided.

"I think you should ask him about it, Oliver." She said.

Oliver nodded in understanding.

"Yeah. I think I should. Especially because it concerns you and me both." His words made Felicity curious.

"Why do you think that it has anything to do with you or me?" she asked.

Oliver went towards her kitchen. She followed him.

"Because I know it is." He said going to her kitchen and pouring himself a cup of coffee.

She waited until he settled on a stool near the island.

"How?" she asked.

Oliver looked at her with his deep blue eyes straightly.

"I met Laurel yesterday. She mentioned that she thinks that there is something going on between you and Tommy." Oliver didn't show any feelings on his face.

Felicity sighed. What is with Laurel? Did she put her ridiculous accusations on newspapers too?

"I'm not in an affair with Tommy." Felicity whispered.

"I know." Oliver returned.

She stared at him. Oliver was serious.

"How?" she wanted to know.

"I know you." He replied.

"Just like that?" She asked.

"Yeah. Just like that." He returned.

They stared at each other. Both deep in the sensation of the realization. The moment stopped between them.

Felicity tried to read the emotions in his eyes. Trust, determination, clarity,… and is that love?

Oliver was the one who broke the connection first.

"I wanted to talk to you Felicity. I want to explain some things."

Felicity felt peacefulness settle in her heart. They were back to being friends. It was like before all the things happened between them. They used to talk to each other with trust in their hearts.

"Go ahead." She gave him the permission.

"I…" Oliver stuttered.

Felicity waited patiently.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you that day at my home. I should have listen to you and let you explain. But I acted as an ass and hurt you… again. I'm sorry Felicity." He said in a voice full of regret.

Felicity started but Oliver interrupted her.

"Let me finish first, please."

She nodded letting him continue.

"I want you to know that I didn't want you involved in Arrow business and other things related to that account, is not because that I don't trust you. I do, Felicity. I trust you. There is no one else that I trust as I trust you. But it was because I don't want you to get hurt because of me or my crusade. I can't risk your life. You are too precious to me. I've lost people close to me. I don't want to lose you too. And I don't want William to lose his mother again. I know the pain of losing your mom, the pain of not having her with you. I don't want my son to go through it. I don't want him to feel that unloved. To know that your parents chose their happiness over you. To know that you are not at top of their priority list. It hurts, Felicity. It hurts like hell. I don't want Will to be in that position ever. He needs you. I can't take you away from him. I won't forgive myself ever if you were hurt because of me again."

Oliver's words left her speechless.

Yes, she was angry at him for not letting her to help him. She was angry that he thought that she can't protect herself. For thinking that she wouldn't be able to handle it.

She has done that before. For god's sake she was way senior in this business than him. She was helping the police to catch criminals since she was sixteen.

But now she understood. She understood his fears. She realized that they were based on his own fears. On his own loneliness and feelings for her.

"I… I just wanted to help you Oliver." She managed to utter.

'And I need your help. God knows that I can't do this alone. Even with Diggle's help and Tommy's understanding, I need you Felicity. But as I said before, I can't put you in danger. I want to be 100% sure that you will be safe and protected if I ever let you to be a part of this. I want to be sure that you won't ever do things behind me, like going in to abandoned buildings alone." Oliver stated.

"I won't do that again." Felicity said. There was a little shimmer of hope flamed in her heart. He was going to let her help him.

"And you must promise that you will never put yourself at risk to help me, even if I was dying." Oliver said.

Felicity staggered.

"No, I won't promise that Oliver. I can't promise you that. William needs his father too, you know. He will have us both forever if I had any say in that." She said.

"Felicity…"

"No, Oliver. I will try my best to be safe and not in danger, but I can't promise you that I will not put myself there if you were in a mortal danger. It's my life. My choice."

Oliver stared at her with hard eyes, trying to intimidate her into his decision and she held the gaze.

Finally he caved in.

They drank their coffee silently until William barreled to the kitchen along with a very sleepy looking Tommy.

"Good morning mommy. Daddy you are early today." William jumped into Oliver's hands.

"Good morning to you too, champ." Oliver replied him giving a kiss to his hairline.

Felicity kissed William's hand and Gave Tommy a cup of coffee poured.

"I thought you two were in not talking state still." Tommy said giving a questioning glance to Felicity.

"We cleared the things between us." Felicity stated.

"Not everything, I guess." Tommy gave a similar glance to Oliver.

Felicity saw Oliver stiffening at Tommy's words. What was he talking about?

"Felicity will help me with the 'pointy thing' we do at night and she promised to stay safe and out of trouble as she could." Oliver apparently ignored whatever thing Tommy tried to bring to light.

"How much do I wish that you mean something else by the words 'pointy thing we do at night', Ollie." Tommy smirked and Felicity felt her face flushing from embarrassment.

"Your mind is always in the gutter, Tommy. And I refuse to take back my words." Oliver said in a playful voice.

Felicity missed this playfulness in Oliver. These days he was too serious.

Apparently William was not happy with the way things going. He always wanted to be in the center of his parents' attention.

"Daddy, I wanted you to see the new helicopter model uncle Barry brought for me. It's beautiful." He said tugging Oliver's hand towards the door.

"I think that's my cue to leave. I have to go home and prepare for the day. I have to face our director board today, as dad is not in the country." Tommy got up from his seat and Felicity went near him.

"Tommy…" Felicity started and Oliver left with William in his hands giving two of them a chance to talk in private.

"I'm sorry for getting you involved in my messes, Liz." Tommy said.

"It's not your fault that Laurel is like that, Tommy. I think you both need time to think things through." Felicity dismissed his apology.

"I have to talk with Ollie too. I can't be sure that Laurel won't go to him as well with her ridiculous stories." Tommy said.

"Umm… Actually Tommy, Laurel has talked to Oliver. He told me that just before." Felicity didn't know any other way to tell this to Tommy.

Tommy looked at the ceiling at shut his eyes trying to control his emotions.

"I'm so sorry, Liz. I don't know what to do. May be I should talk to Ollie right now. I'll explain this to him. I don't want to mess things between you two. You are finally in a good place and I won't let Laurel to destroy it." Tommy said as he stepped towards the door.

"You don't have to, Tommy. I talked with Oliver and even I didn't have to explain him anything. He didn't believe Laurel." Felicity said.

"What?" Tommy was confused.

"Yes, he said he knows me." She replied.

"He said that?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah."

Tommy smiled at her reply.

"Yeah. It makes sense. He knows you. Just like the way you know him. It's simple as that." He said.

Felicity didn't say anything but gave him a replying smile.

"And, as a parting gift, I would like to suggest you to ask him about Helena. I think it's time that you two clear all the misunderstandings between you." Tommy said.

"Tommy, I don't think…" Felicity's appeal was dismissed by Tommy.

"Trust me on this, Liz. Just ask him."

He left with that last remark.

After a while Oliver came to the living room where Felicity was sitting while working on her tablet.

"I'll come at night before Will goes to sleep, Felicity." He said as he took his coat from the seat.

"I… I wanted to ask you about something Oliver." Felicity didn't know how to start the conversation.

Oliver came near her. She felt the butterflies who were nowhere to find when she was near Barry, creating havoc in her gut.

"What is it, Felicity?" Oliver asked in a barely audible voice. Apparently he was also affected by their nearness.

"I wanted to know… about Helena. I know it is not my business to ask you about that. But, I know about her. I mean anyone who worked in crime field knows about her. She is from Italian mafia. And she has double crossed the mafia by working with FBI too. Is it wise for you to be seen with her in public? I mean she is a little dangerous herself." Felicity knew she was rambling.

Oliver studied her for a moment.

"Is this way of your asking me if I'm having a relationship with Helena?" He asked her.

"I… I… Yes." Felicity couldn't deny the fact that it was the thing that was making her suffer worst.

Oliver didn't say anything once, but he took step a forward into her personal space.

He leaned towards her and Felicity's breath hitched at throat.

"I did not sleep with her Felicity. I just helped her into her room in her drunken mode. I'm not in any kind of affair with her. It was just a business date I attended as a VP of QC." He said. His breath tickled her ear. Felicity let the breath she was holding go.

"Why?" She turned her head upward and looked at his face. Her ocean blue eyes boring into his depths.

"Why not sleep with her?" He wanted to clarify.

Felicity nodded her head as in 'yes'.

He touched her cheek with his fingers. She felt a shiver running through her spine.

"Because when you are in love with someone, the last thing you want to do is cheating on her. Even if you are not in a relationship with her it feels like cheating." He said with a soft smile.