To Sacrifice the Sun

Chapter Eleven

September 17, 2016
10:18
Lacandon Rainforest, Mexico

"Hold on tight."

It turned out that holding onto Oliver and not falling off the all-terrain motorcycle as it surged into the jungle took a whole lot more than a little of Felicity's concentration.

Cause holy frak…this ride…this ride was insane.

Felicity heard the comms crackle on, but beyond that it was just background noise, wahwahing Peanuts stile, because then the bike lurched and…frak, it was all she could do to stay upright as she tightened her arms and legs…and prayed. It was a struggle just to keep from falling off as the bike immediately flew over a tree root and around a bush or…some big pile of green.

The jungle was nothing but one big tangle of green. Leaves and vines and branches and roots. It was hard to figure out what came from what plant. Not that Felicity had time to figure that or anything out as they jerked and vibrated and swayed at a frightening speed. It was difficult to even see the ground. Oliver weaved to find as much of it as he could, but where he couldn't, he just drove over whatever was in his way.

And Felicity…she took a deep breath and leaned into Oliver, holding on for dear life. Waiting…hoping for the ride to even out and a little bit terrified that it wasn't going to. Crap! Could they really go on like this for a hundred miles? Could she? It would feel like a thousand.

Felicity strove to remember all the things she had learned about riding bikes with Oliver a million years ago. To relax and let her body flow with his. This wasn't her first rodeo, not by a long shot. He'd even taught her how to drive a motorcycle herself and she was actually competent at it. She would even go so far as to say it was a rush, though she always preferred riding with Oliver.

ARGUS machines were built for speed and maneuverability. They always felt like too much for her small frame, even the more compact ones that Sara and Lyla could handle as if they were born to them. Felicity just didn't have the strength, or the focus, to become one with a machine like they needed to on a high-speed chase.

Which was what this was. Only they were in the jungle instead of on a road. And, hopefully, HIVE wasn't actively chasing them. Yet.

But riding behind Oliver…that Felicity had always excelled at. She knew when to lean and when not to, how to melt into him, relaxing against the muscles of his back and letting them tell her how to move. Her arms around him, the engine roaring between her legs, it verged on transcendental. And sexy as frak.

But not today.

Unfortunately.

Felicity couldn't even blame her fraked up mental state. She almost wished it was sexual arousal she was battling. That she, at least, had some experience to draw from. It wasn't even that her discomfort at being this close to Oliver had her tense up. No, she was doing her best to follow his lead, but…she couldn't keep up. As soon as she leaned in one direction, they were going in another. It was too much.

It was nothing she had ever experienced before. Felicity had gone off-roading with Oliver in the past and hadn't really cared for it, but this…this was like riding a bucking Broncho. On a roller coaster. Without a safety harness.

She locked her hands together around Oliver's waist and prayed that she would be able to hold on for the entire trip. Felicity had never wished she hadn't skipped so many workouts more. God, what she wouldn't give for her old upper body strength.

"Relax into me," Oliver's voice murmured in her ear and it was strange the way it echoed in Felicity's helmet, overpowering the noise from the general comms. "It's going to be a long trip."

Like Felicity didn't know that. "If you haven't noticed, I'm trying."

But she put the extra effort into relaxing her thighs and, forcing herself to blow all the air out of her lungs, Felicity let her body fall onto Oliver's back. Metaphorically, of course, since she was already pressed about as close as she could get.

They jerked over several more rocks (or branches…who knew which?), Felicity's body vibrating along with the distant echo of gunfire over the comms. She had almost forgotten that she had turned it on. She may be good at multitasking, but this was impossible.

"What direction, Sunshine?"

And, oh yeah, Felicity was also supposed to be the navigator. Ha! Yeah, that was going to work.

But even as Felicity doubted herself. The nickname, which she was very sure Oliver used on purpose, had her attention focusing on him and not the rattling in her bones.

Felicity had a job to do. And even if it was difficult, almost impossible to do, it was no harder than what Oliver was doing. Actually, it was whole hell of a lot easier.

Felicity leaned her helmet between Oliver's shoulder blades and peeled open her eyelids (she didn't even remember closing them) and blew out another breath. She blinked her eyes to focus them on the information her glasses were feeding her. It kind of made her dizzy trying to decipher all the different input.

How did Iron Man do it?

Oh, yeah, he wasn't a real person.

But, somehow, Felicity was able to figure out the GPS and see the direction they were supposed to be going in. "Head for two o'clock."

Oliver weaved, finding a reasonable path with actual dirt to drive on and Felicity let out a sigh of relief, her already tired muscles releasing.

"This good?" Oliver asked.

"On course."

And…Halleluiah! She had accomplished something. It felt good not to just be a literal and figurative burden on Oliver's (admittedly strong) back.

Now Felicity just had to stay alert. Field Agents with jobs to do didn't close their eyes and whimper. They stayed vigilant. They managed to hold on and read the GPS and communicate with the team.

Frak, field work sucked. Had she really enjoyed this, once upon a time? If they survived this, Felicity was never going into the field again. Hell, maybe she'd quit ARGUS all together.

And…that was eerily similar to what Felicity and Oliver had discussed before Tikal. That wonderful night where they dreamed of…

Okay, now it was definitely time to pay attention to the team. Her adrenaline was high and her nerves were frayed and the last thing anyone needed was for Felicity to start sobbing into her helmet. So refocusing it was.

Swallowing, Felicity turned up the volume on the general comms (making sure Oliver's was still louder, because…still the most important), then turned on the outgoing comm as well.

The first voice Felicity made out was Slade's. "You call this backup?" came his thick Australian accent, irritation and aggression dripping from every word.

"There are fifty friendlies in-coming from the south and east, Deathstroke," Lyla assured him, her voice firm and in control. "Seven and ten minutes out."

"At this rate, we're not going to last that long." The words were calm, but it was the fact that they came from Sara that was terrifying.

Sara never exaggerated. And her confidence in battle was as firm as it was deserved. If she thought they were in trouble…

The bottom fell out of Felicity's stomach as the cold chill of fear shot through her nerves, made even worse because there was nothing she could do but listen.

Please, god, she didn't want to listen to her friends die. She couldn't.

And what was going on back there? As difficult as it was being on this bike, Felicity couldn't help but feel like it was a cop out. That they should be standing next to their friends, like she was abandoning them. It would be so much easier to die next to them, then to—

"Where the fuck is team Zeta?" Slade growled.

Yes, well, that was the question of the hour. Slade, surely, thought they should be there…

Oh! Oh, frak! They were waiting for her signal that they were away. Felicity's brain (her only real asset) was not working. She was a liability. How could she have forgotten that the team was waiting for her?

"Here!" Felicity called out, like a second grader missing roll-call because she was day- dreaming. God, she was a spaz. She needed to jump start her stupid brain or someone was going to get killed. "Here. We're away! Team Zeta is away!"

Finally. They were away.

Felicity couldn't help but think that even in her job of running away she was failing them. It had taken too long, she had been too distracted, and now she should have told them they were away ages ago (well, minutes really, but minutes were ages in the middle of a battle).

All she could do now was hope to god that she wasn't too late, that the time she lost because she was out of shape, or out of practice, or out of her friggen mind wouldn't cost any of her friends their lives.

Felicity braced herself for derision. For Slade, at the very least, to demand to know what had taken them so damn long, but all she heard was Sara's, "Thank god! Spartan?"

"Team Beta, away! Go! Go! Go!" Digg immediately ordered. Or rather, roared.

"Yes, sir," Curtis chimed.

While Slade grunted, "About time."

"Copy. All right, Overwatch?" Sara asked, the concern in her voice making tears burn Felicity's eyes and throat.

Felicity swallowed. "Five by five," she said, using an old phrase she knew most of her friends would understand. She just hoped her and Oliver really were fine. Though, surely, they were doing better than the rest of the team. Clenching her jaw (because she had promised herself she wouldn't close her eyes again) Felicity squeezed Oliver tighter, almost as if that act would keep him safe.

Was she a horrible person for being relieved that Oliver, at least, wasn't in the middle of that gun fight?

"Green Arrow?" Digg asked in a clipped tone, jerking Felicity out of another potential anxiety spiral.

"Driving," Felicity explained, marveling at how her voice actually sounded calm, professional. How the frak was she managing that? "Off the main comms, because of the…difficulty level." It sounded like he was playing a video game. If only. Mario Kart take them away.

"Good," was all Digg said. But that was only because he didn't know that Felicity was day dreaming about Nintendo.

Before Digg could bark out another order, which would have been nice because it was familiar and gave Felicity some sort of direction, Cait interrupted, "Can I get a medevac now?" In just that brief sentence Felicity could hear Cait's desperation. Felicity could feel it.

And there was the fact that Caitlin hadn't addressed Felicity at all. Had showed no reaction to the news of her and Oliver's safety…it made Felicity terrified for Roy. And it made her ache for Caitlin.

Because Cait was losing it.

"Well…"

That was Cisco and he was hesitating. Felicity knew the sound of Cisco hesitating far too well. It always came before bad news. Could nothing go their way? Why did she feel like this was Clash of the Titans and there was a room full of gods up in the clouds laughing maniacally as they tried to outdo each other in throwing ridiculous obstacles in their way?

"We might have a little set back on that one."

"Cisco!" Caitlin hissed and Felicity flinched. Cisco didn't deserve her anger, but Caitlin seemed beyond reason at the moment. As evidenced by her using his real name over a comm…in the middle of a battle. Cait was usually beyond professional.

"Killer Frost!" Digg snapped back, just as harshly, reminding her of the handles they used. Used because not doing so could lead to someone dying. This was field work 101 and Caitlin knew better.

But Cait, honest to god, growled back at Digg. She was really in a bad way. Worse than Felicity, this time. "Fine! Vibe?! What the hell is the hold up?! We're out of time here."

Okay, maybe way worse. Crap.

"Iss finth…"

Was that Roy? He sounded horrible. Oh god, poor Puppy. Maybe Caitlin wasn't just falling into a PTSD fog. Maybe things were just that bad.

"Just a scratth…"

Felicity bit her lip and reminded herself not to say anything about Roy out loud. Oliver couldn't hear the team, but he could hear her and the last thing he needed while he was weaving through the jungle was to know his protégé was on his death bed with no help on its way.

Oh god. Please, don't let Roy be on his death bed. Please, let help come.

"Killer Frost," Digg snapped again, reprimand still clear in his tone. "I told you no pain meds until— "

"I didn't. That's from the blood loss." Caitlin's voice started out angry, but by the end of the sentence Felicity could hear the tears in it and she fought the urge to cry herself. Poor sweet Puppy. They couldn't lose him too. Felicity could only imagine (even though she tried really hard not to) what it must be like watching him die in her arms and not being able to do anything to stop it.

Lyla jumped in with a calm, "I'm sending an agent with o neg blood to your location right now, Killer Frost. But we're going to have to do a ground evac for Arsenal as soon as we can get you a clear way out of there. Air is too risky."

Thank god, someone still knew how to be an ARGUS Agent.

"Why the fuck is it too risky?!" Cait was full on hysterical now.

But while Caitlin's tone wasn't exactly what they needed right now, it was an excellent question. And Felicity was almost afraid of the answer.

Someone blew out a breath, a huff of static in her ear. Felicity didn't realize it was Cisco until he spoke, "Well, there's this…there's this hurricane. We thought it was going to disperse over the Atlantic, but now it's kinda sorta headed right for us. You."

A hurricane. Of course, it was a fraking hurricane. This was what Felicity got for joking about one with Oliver. This was what she got for thinking things might be okay. For once.

What Digg said under his breath…it didn't bear repeating. And it was much scarier than Cait's burgeoning meltdown.

But the sob Felicity heard echo over the comms twisted her stomach into knots. They shouldn't have come. Her and Cait…they weren't ready.

"Of course," Caitlin whimpered, laughing an ugly laugh.

Felicity couldn't even begin to process all the ramifications of Cisco's news, all she could do was focus on Caitlin. Because she was miles away, the distance growing with every second and her best friend was falling apart. And it was Felicity's job to be there for Cait when she fell apart. Just like Cait was always there for her.

This was how the two of them had survived the aftermath of Tikal. Together.

And it was too late to regret coming. They needed to move forward. And Felicity sure as hell wasn't letting Cait self-destruct. Not if she could help it. She was done abandoning the people she loved. Felicity might not be physically next to her, but that didn't mean she couldn't help.

"Of course, it's hurricane season after all," Caitlin muttered, almost to herself. Felicity hadn't heard Cait melt down that often, certainly not as often as the other way around, but this was a bad one. "She was right. We never should have—"

Felicity knew Caitlin was talking about her, just like she knew she had to do something damn quick. "Hey, Killer Frost? You hear me, Frosty?" Felicity called out, using her oldest and silliest nick-name, feeling foolish as she did so, but hoping beyond hope it would have the same effect 'Sunshine' had for Felicity.

"I hear you, Overwatch," Cait returned, her voice wobbly and shaken. It hurt to hear her like this, but that she had used Felicity's handle was a good sign. And did she sound almost relieved?

Swallowing, Felicity did a quick, mental count back from three and dove in, praying she would find the right words as she went. "You kept me, Canary, and Spartan from bleeding out in much worse conditions than this and we're all here to talk about it. A little rain and wind isn't going to keep you from saving anybody."

Felicity argued it as fiercely as she had ever argued anything. It was easy. Because it was all true. Eight people walked into the Temple of the Jaguar seven years ago and it was only because of Oliver and Caitlin that seven were alive to tell about it.

"Hey! Killer Frost is the best Field Medic in ARGUS. You hear me? The best!" Felicity finished, hoping it was enough. She heard a swallow and held her breath.

Finally, Caitlin answered, "Yup."

It was a start. Not quite enough, but—

"The bess…besssthhh…hey, Frosthy, why are 't's so hard to say?" Roy slurred, making everyone chuckle and breaking the painful tension.

"Because your tongue needs blood to function," Caitlin drawled, sounding more like herself. "Now stop wasting your energy on speaking. Apparently, I'm the best Field Medic in ARGUS and if you die you'll ruin my rep."

Chuckling with relief, Felicity threw in, "Hey, I got a full pill bottle if you need it?" Maybe she shouldn't have said it, but Felicity always fell back on humor.

After Tikal, they had survived on their bottles of Xanax and their dark humor. She knew that Cait would understand that she was really offering the later. Xanax wasn't something either of them would even consider taking in a battle situation. Even if it wasn't at the bottom of Felicity's bag, hurtling across the jungle in the opposite direction.

Of course, Digg didn't know it was only a joke and he warned, "Overw—"

"Nah," Caitlin broke in, finally sounding like the agent she was, "I want to be able to have one of Deathstroke's celebratory drinks when this as all over."

"That-a-girl," Deathstroke added, because he always had a comment when it came to booze.

Felicity closed her eyes and allowed the relief washed over her. This was the team she knew. And if she was being honest, this was the self she knew. Or had known. Once upon a time. The self she needed to be right now.

"Everything okay?" Oliver's voice cut in over the others. Felicity had forgotten for a moment he was listening to just her piece of the conversation and rewound what she had said in her mind to make sure she hadn't said anything about Roy.

She didn't think she had specifically, though Oliver was certainly smart enough to have figured it out. And he didn't need that right now, another thing to worry about that he had absolutely no control over. Hell, Felicity could barely handle it and all she had to do was hold on and keep an eye on GPS…

Which…Felicity had completely forgotten about. Again. God, she sucked.

Her eyes flew to the GPS feed. They were, thankfully, still on track. But maybe she wasn't so good at multitasking after all. Wasn't she too young to be losing her smarts? Sometimes, Felicity felt like the oldest twenty-seven-year-old on the planet.

Instead of answering Oliver out loud, and confusing everyone, Felicity nodded her head against his back and rubbed soothing circles over Oliver's abdomen, hoping that would be a good enough answer to his question…

Wait. What was she doing? Rubbing Oliver's stomach was so not an appropriate agent-slash-partner thing to do!

So why was Felicity still doing it?

Hell.

Well, in all likelihood, Oliver could barely feel it because of the Kevlar. Probably. And he seemed to relax and stopped questioning her, which was good because trying to explain what was going on would just distract…everyone. And no one could afford to be distracted right now.

Especially Felicity.

And her belly rubbing.

Time to stop now.

But it did seem to help Oliver concentrate on the not-road. And distract him from thinking about how Roy was bleeding out while his doctor had a panic attack and his surgeon was stuck on the coast awaiting a hurricane. How was this even Felicity's life? It was like a bad adventure novel.

A moment later, Cait, sounding more like the professional doctor she was, said, "Blood's here. We'll have you patched up in no time, Arsenal. Who needs a fancy surgeon?"

So apparently someone up there was finally taking pity on them. Throwing them the tiniest of bones.

"Thaas right," Roy slurred, his spirits amazingly good, considering. He was really a good kid. He was so not allowed to die. "I likes my scars…jagged."

Caitlin laughed and it was music to Felicity's ears. It also brought tears to her eyes, because it made her think of Oliver's scars and how much these two must really mean to each other after everything they went through in Russia.

Digg blew out a breath. "Thank you, Overwatch." Then, before Felicity could respond, he called out, "Vibe, we need a hurricane report."

"Ummm…" Cisco's voice was still nervous. This was one hell on a first mission, even from base. But still, he needed to pull it together. They had no time for the newbie jitters. "Team Zeta—"

"Really needs that hurricane report," Felicity cut in, because, seriously, this was not the time to coddle her. And she knew it was her Cisco was trying to baby. Because no one coddled Oliver. Well, maybe she did. Sometimes. A tiny bit.

"Hurricane?" Oliver repeated, because this must have been the first time Felicity had said it out loud. His voice was loud enough and tense enough that she had a strong impulse to do a little of that coddling.

But they didn't have time to coddle anyone and, unlike Roy's status, this was intel Oliver needed, so Felicity answered, "Yup." She may have even popped the 'p' at the end.

"Of course," Oliver groaned, much like Cait had done, but with less sobbing. Thank god for that. "This day wouldn't be complete without a fucking hurricane."

All Felicity could do was chuckle. It was that or cry. But somehow, Oliver's wry humor made her feel better. Until she thought about how well the day had started.

"This really isn't a laughing matter, Overwatch," Cisco snapped. One would have thought he was the one getting shot at. Or driving through the jungle in a hurricane on a two-wheeled death mobile.

"Sorry, I'm on a private line with Green Arrow too," Felicity said, just so they didn't think she was losing her mind and laughing at nothing. "And we need to know what we're up against with the weather, Vibe." Because it wasn't like they could turn around now.

Cisco blew out a breath. "Okay. So, um…" Felicity imagined Lyla kicking him to get him talking. Though maybe that was just her projecting. "Hurricane Sebastian is currently a Cat 3 hurricane."

Ohh…kay…

Maybe Felicity didn't want to know. That was a…really, really strong hurricane. Wasn't Hurricane Katrina a cat 3? Sandy was only a cat 1 and look what that did. They were so fraked.

"But by the time it hits you," Cisco was quick to add, "about twenty-four hours from now, hopefully it will have downgraded to at least a 2, maybe even a 1." He swallowed, audibly. "If you're lucky."

Yeah, 'cause their luck had held out this far. Also, a category 1 or 2 hurricane…still pretty damn bad. Trying to keep the frustration (and the fear) out of her voice, for Oliver's sake if nothing else, Felicity asked, "What can we expect for the next twenty-four hours?"

"Intermittent thunderstorms. High winds." Cisco's voice squeaked at the end. "The usual…"

The usual. Fan-fraking-tastic. Felicity could do with a little less usual. Then she bit back an "Eep," as the bike jerked over a particularly nasty bump.

"So, we all have twenty-four hours to get to shelter," John said, his voice calm and soothing in its matter-of-factness. "Vibe—"

This time, Cisco responded immediately. "I'm sending everyone the coordinates of caves and safe land formations close to the destination—"

"Well, hello there, Team ARGUS. Fancy meeting you here."

Felicity froze. She imagined everyone did. Because in a day of horrible things happening…this was very likely the horrible-est. Because that was NOT a member of their team's voice over the comms.

"I don't think we've met. I'm Damian Darhk."

And…Felicity forgot to breathe.

Fuck a hurricane. A hurricane they could handle. This was…this was…she thought she just might throw up.

"Felicity?" Oliver questioned, worry in his voice. But not panic. Because he didn't just hear Damian Fucking Darhk announce his presence over their comm line. Their secure ARGUS comm line. Because if he did, he would panic. Like they all were panicking!

Fumbling with her watch, Felicity found the controls and switched off her out-going comm to only go to Oliver. There was nothing she could say, in that moment, that she wanted Darhk to hear. But before she could even begin explaining the situation to Oliver…

Oh god, what was she going to tell Oliver? He didn't need this! But it was too important not to, right?

The words stuck in her throat as Digg snapped, "Vibe!"

"He didn't hack in," Cisco defended quickly. He sounded panicked. And this time Felicity would allow it as justified. "It's coming from Mr. Ter—"

"The tall funny looking fellow?" asked the voice that was already burned into Felicity's brain as Darhk's. "Yes, this is his communicator. He was kind enough to let me borrow it for a bit. Don't worry, he and his two feisty friends are still alive. For now."

Felicity's heart sank. She bit her lip to keep from crying out. She couldn't do that to Oliver. She needed to tell him, but in a calm rational manner, not in a hysterical babbling mess. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut, incredibly grateful for Oliver to hold on to.

Sara. Slade. Curtis…

Curtis who was on his very first mission and thought it was great fun. All of them in HIVE's hands. Just when Felicity didn't think things could get worse…new levels of horrible just kept coming. It was a nightmare. Unfortunately, she'd been through this enough times to know she wasn't going to wake up.

"What do you want, Darhk?" Digg barked, but still, he didn't sound rattled. Did nothing shake the man?

"Why, it's so nice of you to ask." Crap, this Darhk guy was a real asshat. "It has come to my attention that your little team here has the location to Kin Cuudad. Now, all you have to do—"

There was crackle on the line. Then everything went dead and all Felicity could hear was static. Her chest seized so violently that she really thought she might be having a heart attack.

Felicity had barely managed to force air into her lungs when Lyla's voice came over her comm, "Felicity, can you hear me?"

Felicity? Not Overwatch? What the hell? But thank god for a friendly voice. "Yeah, I can hear you," she whispered, not able to get her voice to make a stronger sound.

"Overwatch, copy?!" Lyla asked louder.

Then Felicity remembered that she had her outgoing comm off and the emergency line couldn't change that, assuming this was the emergency line. She had no fraking idea what was going on any more. Felicity turned it back on as fast as her cramped and uncoordinated hands could manage, croaking, "Overwatch here. Copy, Harbinger."

Lyla's sigh of relief was clear, but brief, as she launched ahead, "Listen quickly. I've turned off the main line. This is just you and me. Cisco is currently erasing everyone's access to the Door's location, except for you and Oliver."

Oh. Okay. This was bad. Real bad. This meant Felicity and Oliver were really on their own now. Possibly permanently, because if the rest of the team didn't have access to the location, how were they going to find them later? If they survived, that was…crap.

Biting the inside of her cheek, Felicity answered, "Okay." She probably should have said more, but she was lucky she was able to get that out without a pathetic whimper.

"Good. The photograph of the Door—"

"With us," Felicity quickly reassured, suddenly incredibly grateful for over-packing her day bag and her decision to take the photo with her for reference. "Everything is with us." Because she really couldn't think of anything important that wasn't. All her notes were on her tablet and she had already disconnected that from the satellite.

Caitlin might have notes from yesterday, but they hadn't found anything then that was worth protecting. And the stuff they found this morning…they had the artifacts they had taken with them, the photos in her tablet and…Oliver had blown up the rest.

"Thank god," Lyla's relief was palpable. "We're cutting you two off from the satellite uplink to the ARGUS system. You won't be able to communicate with the team, but Darhk won't be able to find you either. Vibe will reconnect you when we are certain we are no longer compromised."

If they didn't have access to the rest of the team…to base…it was too much to even process…

"Understood," Felicity managed to say, willing herself not to cry.

This was all very, very bad. Roy was hurt. Half the team had been captured and the mission was in her and Oliver's hands. If there was ever a time she needed to be Overwatch, this was it. Hell, Felicity needed to be Sunshine. The Ass-kicking version. For Oliver.

"Good luck, Felicity."

And that was it. The line crackled and went dead. No more instructions. No 'Do you have any questions?' Nothing.

The silence felt it like a knife in Felicity's chest.

"Care to fill me in."

Oliver's words filled the void and Felicity was able to breathe again.

Okay. It was going to be okay. She wasn't alone. She had Oliver. And no matter what happened five years ago, or in the long years since, there was no one in the world Felicity would rather be in this situation with. Her and Oliver, they were a good team. They could do this. She just needed to focus and stop letting her emotions overwhelm her.

"Darhk—"

"Fuck!"

Felicity had just begun when a black blur swept across her line of vision, making her jump. Oliver swerved, cursing, and they hit…something…

The bike careened wildly and Felicity knew then that Oliver had lost control. But there was nothing she could do. She held on as tight as she could. After that...

It all felt like it was happening in slow motion.

Oliver threw out his arm to break their fall as the bike toppled over. Felicity's arm shot out as well. But it was too late.

Or she wasn't strong enough or…

Her head hit the ground. The helmet seemed to bounce. The shock reverberating…

Then everything went black.

September 17, 2016
10:45
Lacandon Rainforest, Mexico

The first thing that drifted into Felicity's consciousness was Oliver's rough voice pleading, "Felicity, baby, stay with me. You hear me, Sunshine? Don't you leave me now!"

Of course, Felicity assumed it was a dream. Oliver calling her 'baby,' his tone soft and intimate…how could it be anything but a dream? And that knowledge certainly didn't make her want to wake up. Though, there was a desperation in his tone. So maybe that was a sign it was about to turn into a nightmare.

Dreams like these usually did. Felicity couldn't have nice things.

But then other things floated into her consciousness. Her pounding head, for one. Which wasn't her usual dream fare, or nightmare fare for that matter. Then the cold wet spongy ground underneath her, complete with poky things jabbing her in uncomfortable places.

Then Felicity's head was being shifted, manipulated, and, suddenly the pain spiked and she let out a low moan.

But then there was Oliver's beautiful voice. "Sorry. Sorry. It's okay. I'm here. Felicity…just…you can't leave me now. You're stronger than this. Open your eyes, baby. Stay with me."

Ha! Little did he know she wasn't strong at all. But Felicity couldn't refuse Oliver. Not after everything…not that she had ever wanted to refuse him, but now she pushed herself to give him what he wanted. Anything he wanted.

It was harder than she would have thought. Felicity's head jerked again with one final tug of her helmet. It may have been gentle but it was enough to make her see stars…but maybe that was just light on the other side of her eyelids.

Hands wove through her hair, cupping her scull…Oliver's hands. Felicity would know Oliver's hands anywhere. Strong and calloused and insanely gentle for a man so big. It had been so long. And it felt so good she wanted to purr.

"Fe-li-ci-ty…" Oliver whimpered.

He was upset. It was not okay for Oliver to be that upset. Felicity had to fix it.

Forcing her eyes open, Felicity blinked as daylight pierced her skull. It wasn't even that bright out but…it came back to her in a rush.

The battle. The hurricane. The bike accident. Frak.

Felicity was cursed. That was the only explanation.

Oliver must have pulled Felicity off the bike and taken off her helmet, which meant he was fine and that was the most important thing. Also, the only thing that hurt was her head, so no broken bones…well, her left hand and arm stung, so it was probably pretty scratched up, but she knew what a broken bone felt like and that wasn't it.

Her eyes finally managed to come into focus and the only thing in her field of vision was Oliver's face, which normally would have been fine. Awesome even. It was a very nice face. Her favorite thing to look at actually. But this time it was…way too devastated for her taste. And a little too close for comfort…or, at least, for her sanity.

His hair was wet from the light rain, which was kinda sexy, but made Felicity wonder…okay, worry…just how long she had been out. How long had Oliver been kneeling over her not knowing if she would wake up or not?

Poor Oliver. He'd been through too much. Felicity needed to reassure him. She needed to…

"I told you we needed the helmets."

Or she could say that.

Oliver let out a long breath and his shoulders sagged, his mouth forming a smile that was just wide enough to show a hint of dimples. He pressed a long kiss to her forehead and Felicity resisted the urge to hum. She wanted to just lie there and go to sleep.

So not a good idea.

"You okay?" Oliver asked roughly, after he finally pulled back.

Felicity nodded before she could a) pause and see if it was the truth and b) remember nodding was probably the worst idea ever as pain ricocheted through her skull. That's what she got for listening to her emotions (and her need to wipe the worry…the fear off of Oliver's face) first and her brain second. Of course, her brain was rather rattled at the moment.

Finally, Felicity murmured, "Yeah, just a slight headache."

It wasn't that bad really. Felicity probably had a small concussion, but she wasn't nauseous and that was a good sign. There wasn't an agent at ARGUS who wasn't well acquainted with what a concussion felt like.

Felicity struggled to sit up and immediately Oliver's hands were on her shoulders, helping to ease her upright. Which was nice, but now probably wasn't the time to focus on that. Once she was sitting, she pushed back her now wet hair and took in her surroundings. Looked like…

The middle of the goddamn jungle. Great.

"What happened?" Felicity asked with a sigh.

Standing, Oliver's brief smile of relief giving way to a furrowed brow and a broody frown. His hands found his hips as he surveyed the landscape. Then, without stopping to answer Felicity's question, he detached a pistol from the handlebars of the bike.

Well, wasn't that just the best answer ever? "Oliver?"

Somehow, Oliver's frown deepened and his mood made Felicity more on edge than anything else. His eyes never left the jungle as he murmured, "Something jumped out at us."

Okay, maybe his words made her the most on edge. Frak.

Felicity sat fully upright, probably faster than she should have considering her pounding head. "HIVE?" she asked, debating grabbing the other firearm for herself.

Slowly, Oliver shook his head. "Not unless they have operatives covered in black fur." He shot Felicity a look. "They have black panthers in this area of the world?"

Ummm…double frak.

Felicity swallowed. "Jaguars. They have black jaguars." Because jaguars were a staple of Mayan lore and the locals said the rare black ones…well, they considered them especially deadly.

Oliver nodded, his eyes searching the trees and the dense vegetation. There were plenty of places for a cat like that to hide. It could be staring at them and planning its next meal…them…as they spoke.

"Well, that's my best guess as to what it was."

Well…

"Fuck." There just wasn't anything else to say. This wasn't a 'frak.' This was well beyond a 'frak.'

"Yup," Oliver agreed.

Also, had Felicity been thinking there wasn't much else the universe could throw at them? That the situation couldn't possibly get worse? Had some higher power taken that as a challenge? She hadn't even said anything out loud, for frak's sake! Were thoughts enough to jinx them now? So not fair.

Swallowing, Felicity tried to wrack her brain for everything…anything she knew about jaguars that might help as her eyes joined Oliver's search of the trees. Unfortunately, she really didn't think the mythical companion of the Sun God compared to the real, twenty-first century version.

"Where do you think it went?" Felicity asked, though it felt like a stupid question. Oliver wouldn't be searching for it if he knew where it went. But…maybe it was gone. Like frightened away or something. Back playing with its cubs. Anything. They had enough to deal with, a man-eating cat was way over the line.

But again, Oliver just did that slow head shake thing, as if a regular head shake would distract him too much from his vigil. "No idea. It all happened pretty fast. You weren't out long, but…"

Did Oliver's voice just crack? No, surely not. But he did take a deep breath before he whispered, "But it hasn't tried to eat us yet, so that's something." He met Felicity's eyes and shrugged. "Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it wasn't a jaguar. Is there anything else around here with black fur?"

The size of a jaguar? "Uhhh…there are a couple different types of monkeys. Bats, maybe?" Felicity was reaching. As much as she wished Oliver was wrong…

And the look Oliver gave her didn't reassure her it could be one of those options either, even though he said, "Maybe. Can you check your watch? Mine got smashed in the crash and it won't turn on."

Oh. Well. Wasn't that just lovely?

Jerking her wrist up…what had Felicity said about there not being much else the universe could throw at them? She supposed she should be glad her glasses were intact, though the controls she had pulled up earlier were gone and her watch…giant crack down the middle.

Goddamn it! These were supposed to be practically indestructible! At least, it seemed to turn on…

"I can't get the comms to work either," Oliver added.

The control screen was taking forever to load…distracted, Felicity tried not to tap the phone a tenth time and murmured, "That's because Lyla cut the comms…goddamn it! We need this to get the GPS to work!" And if Cisco destroyed all other digital traces of the Door's location and Felicity couldn't get the location to come up…what then? Then they were completely lost in the middle of the jungle? And did anyone still have access to the Door's location? Would that be lost for good too?

"What do you mean Lyla cut off the comms!?"

Felicity's eyes jerked up. Oh. Yeah. He didn't know…a lot. She winced.

Oliver was glaring at her, tension pouring from him in waves. Felicity swallowed and looked back at the watch, her fingers still working to try to pull up the GPS. Because they really needed the GPS, goddamn it! And, also, it was hard to look at him right then.

Better to just yank off the band-aid. Felicity swallowed and forced herself to say, "Darhk got ahold of Curtis' comm, and well, Curtis…and also Sara and Slade. But since they had access to our comms…base cut us off so HIVE can't track us. Or find the Door."

And…it all sounded even worse when she said it out loud. Also, every time Felicity pulled up the map on her watch it glitched and reverted to the control screen.

Frak. Frak. Frak.

Oliver's head fell back. "Fantastic. What else could go wrong?"

Yup, and that was the question Felicity had been afraid to ask out loud, though it had been repeating in her mind often enough. She bit her lip to keep from reprimanding Oliver for jinxing them (she really didn't think he would take that well at the moment).

Felicity wrinkled her nose and met Oliver's gaze. "You mean besides the category 3 hurricane headed straight for the gulf…and, well, us?" It came out a little squeaky, but not telling him didn't make it any less true. "I need my tool kit so I can reboot this. It's in my bag."

Because maybe that was one thing Felicity could control. A broken watch she could fix. A jaguar…a hurricane…an evil conglomerate led by a mad man…

"Yes, besides that," Oliver drawled, lifting the bike and unhooking the seat.

Well, one thing at a time. The jaguar was probably the most pressing thing at the moment. And fixing the watch. Though the winds were picking up and surely that was relevant. "Is the bike okay?" she asked, because that was even more relevant. Without the bike…Felicity didn't know how long they could survive stranded in the jungle without transportation.

Oliver pulled out Felicity's day bag and handed it to her. "I haven't had a chance to look it over yet. You were my first priority. Then, you know, not getting eaten by a giant cat."

He said the entire thing matter-of-factly, with very little inflection, so maybe it was strange how warm and tingly Oliver's words made her. Just the idea of him caring for her after the crash made her blush. And that she was his first priority. It just sounded like he was saying so much more than he needed to care for his wounded partner. But maybe Felicity was reading into it more than she should.

Though, poor Oliver. Felicity could only imagine what it had been like to get through a crash like that and realize that she was unconscious in the middle of the jungle and he couldn't radio for help. If it had been the other way around and she had found him like that…

Felicity shook herself. They didn't have time for her thoughts to wonder down that road. Or any other. She dug into her bag to find her mini-tool kit and pulled out her smallest screw driver. When she glanced up, Oliver was kneeling next to the bike, looking it over for damage. She was about to turn back to her watch. She needed to find a way to shield it from the rain if she was going to do surgery on it…

But something caught Felicity's eye in the branches beyond them.

Something moving in a direction opposite to that of the wind.

Her heart skipped a beat and raced ahead, her mouth going dry as Felicity went very, very still. It moved again and she almost jumped, but managed to stay quiet, slowly reaching for Oliver's forearm.

His eyes flew to hers and Felicity whispered, "Oliver, over there…."

Careful not to make any sudden movements, she pointed up into the branches where two piercing blue eyes, surrounded by jet black fur, peaked out of the foliage.

Their jaguar.

Notes:

(More photographs and art for this chapter here)

Some of you (especially those who are here mainly for the romance) may be feeling like I'm throwing everything and the kitchen sink at poor Oliver and Felicity. And, maybe I am, but I promise that everything they are facing right now is there for a reason and will come back later.

I'm sure that a lot of you are impatient to get to what I'm calling the "Romantic Climax" (as opposed to the overall climax that will come later). Trust me when I say that no one is more impatient to get there than me. It's been playing in my head forever. This slow build/character development/plot stuff is hard. Part of me would love to skip to the good stuff, but I'm holding strong. And, hopefully, it will be all the better for the buildup.

My deepest gratitude for all the care and attention given by these lovely ladies, Ireland1733, imusuallyobsessed, and Fairytalehearts. I can't tell you the amount of handholding I need for this story and how important they are to the process.

And thank you to everyone who comments and kudos. I can't believe how awesome my readers are!

Happy Reading,

Emmy