Thank you for all the love from the last chapter, this is moving forward nicely, which yay! How is everyone holding up in their homes? I am emergency services so I'm still working but sucks when I have no life. Sadly this is a little shorter than the other chapters, mainly because I didn't want to ruin it by adding just for the sake of word count.

However, I am loving listening to Stephen's videos in the mornings on my drive into work. I'm just gonna say that its clear he works his ass off when he is filming so spending the down time with his wife and daughter, drinking – he is enjoying himself while he can. He is funny drunk, makes me laugh, gotta say.

Anyway – please review? :D Anyone have any thoughts or ideas? Ive got a plan but I would love to hear what you guys think!

Chapter 12 – No Air

Tommy rushed into emergency room, his heart beating almost painfully against his chest. He had no idea what he was doing there, just that the caller has said that she was there and he was her emergency contact. It was after midnight and his mind was running all over the place, how bad was it? Was she awake? "Hi, my name is Tommy Merlyn, I got a call about Felicity Smoak..." an older lady looked up at him at his voice, smiling before tapping away on her keyboard.

But as he waited for the nurse, from the corner of his eye Tommy spotted Detective Lance coming out of a hospital room, closing the door behind him. Tommy watched him for a moment and he just knew that he had been in to see Felicity. "Detective?" Tommy's movements were slow, calculated, almost as though he knew that if Lance spoke, it would confirm his worst fears.

Lance looked up at the younger Merlyn, a little shocked to see him standing there in the middle of the night when he was supposedly with his daughter. There was a small amount of hatred in his eyes at the Tommy. To Lance, Tommy was just another spoiler rich boy who was going to break his daughters' heart. After everything she had been through with Oliver, and her sister because of Oliver, he didn't want more of that for her. But seeing him standing there, looking completely terrified, he knew that there was a part of Tommy was not the same idiot kid he'd known years ago. Maybe he had grown up over the last 2 years after losing his best friend.

Sighing, Lance inclined his head away from the door, not wanting Felicity to over hear what they talked about, not that it was a secret but she had been through enough and he didn't want her to have to relive it by listening to them talk. "Call came in an hour ago. Ms. Smoak was found by a neighbour, she was brought in by paramedics and has a black eye and jaw and a whole lot of bruising to the rest of her body, thankfully nothing is broken." He sighed again, judging Tommy's reaction.

But even with the slight good news Tommy's jaw tightened, his eyes darkening before they slipped over to the closed door of her hospital room, almost as though he was trying to see through the door. He kept his voice low and still, "Did she say who did it?" His hands were clenching at his sides. Tommy was seething, someone had hurt Felicity and he wasn't able to do anything about it. He had promised Oliver all those years ago before he went on his trip that he would look after her and he was failing.

Lance followed his line of sight, there was a realisation in the question being asked, Tommy knew more than he was letting on. "What do you know kid?" But Tommy didn't reply, just kept his eyes on the door. "She said she didn't know who it was. Said someone had broken in to her apartment. We are investigating." Placing his hand on Tommy's shoulder, Lance tried again, "What do you know?"

Slowly Tommy looked towards Lance, blinking a few times. Shaking his head, Tommy hoped that Felicity wasn't trying to protect her boyfriend, he sighed, "Laurel and I...we think her boyfriend is hurting her but she won't admit it to us." He swallowed thickly; he should have told someone earlier, he should have talked to Lance or pushed her more with Cooper. What if he could have prevented this? What if he had hurt her worse and it was his fault for not doing anything to stop it?

Lance dropped his hand from Tommy's shoulder. His mind had instantly gone to this possibility when he'd gotten the call of a young girl being assaulted late at night but Felicity had laughed off any questions about anything other than someone breaking in.

That did not mean that Lance was going to ignore the boyfriend all together but he had to be careful in his approach. He knew he would have a rough go at it if he went after the boyfriend without the willingness of Felicity, victims of abuse were known to support their abuser until they were ready to admit it themselves. "Don't worry kid. I'll follow it up." With one last nod, Lance made his way from the hospital.

Tommy hesitate for a minute, he honestly didn't know if he should go in or not but then again, he had been called for a reason which meant that he should go in. Knocking gently on the door, he waited for a moment before heading inside. There he found Felicity, already sitting on the edge of the bed, pulling on her shoes. "Hey Tommy…you didn't have to come. I told them not to bother you…" She tried to smile but only winced as she did. Her sore jaw causing her discomfort.

Tommy moved towards her, taking her all in. "Felicity, I'm glad they called. I would have been very upset if I'd found out and someone didn't call me…what happened? What really happened?" He took the seat on the bed next to Felicity as she finished putting her shoes on, pulling her jumper over her head. He was trying to get Felicity to open up to him but he knew it was never going to happen.

"Oh Tommy, like I told Detective Lance, someone was trying to break in and I must have opened the door and scared them. I don't remember much else after that." She pushed herself off the bed, stopping momentarily when it seemed her body hurt. But she moved seconds after, reaching for the heavy coat that was sitting by the door.

Tommy was beyond frustrated but she was talking to him, unlike the last time he had seen her and he wouldn't push her, but he did want to see what he could get out of her, wondering if she would slip up at all, "Where is Cooper…I expected him to be here with you…" he was trying, hoping that she would slip up.

She didn't slip up though, sure she froze for a moment but a small smile came to her lips, "He is here…he's just gone out to get me a coffee, we didn't know how long we would be here." Mutely Tommy nodded, watching as Felicity pulled on the rest of her jacket, securing it tightly. "He should be back soon. I guess I'll introduce you two." Tommy just nodded again, his fists clenching tightly at the thought that he was going to meet Cooper, after he and Felicity had been together for almost 12 months, he would finally meet the man who was hurting her.

Just as she spoke the hospital door opened and a tall, dark haired man walked in. Instantly Tommy sized him up, he was about Tommy's height, a little skinnier but seemed well built. But he had a hard look in his eyes when he noticed Tommy watching him. It was almost like to coffee in his hands was forgotten that the man had come to Felicity's side, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulled her to him. Holding her close.

Clearing her throat, Felicity placed her hand against the man's gently, "Tommy this is Cooper…Cooper this is my best friend Tommy Merlyn…" Her words were out in short bursts, almost as though she was testing how the boys were going to react.

All each gave was a short nod to the other, each not sure of the other man in the room. "So, this is the corporate lap dog that takes up your time…" is was a snide comment that Tommy didn't miss but he could see the way that Felicity closed herself off when he spoke, Tommy wouldn't stoop to Cooper's level, not while Felicity was there.

"Hey I'm going to sign myself out." She placed her hand on Cooper's chest before slipping from his arms with one last pleading glance back at Tommy, Felicity closed the door behind her.

Tommy and Cooper stared each other down, both waiting until the door was closed. Once it was, Cooper spoke first, "So you are Tommy Merlyn…figured it was time we finally meet…" He reached out his hand to shake Tommy's, who looked between it and Cooper before slowly reaching out his own hand to Cooper. There was a slight moment of thought from Tommy – does he shake his hand or does he take a swing at Cooper instead.

But it did not go the way that Cooper though, Tommy wrenched on Cooper's hand, pulling Cooper towards him with a force that Cooper was not expecting. They were inches from each other, Tommy's eyes holding Cooper, not letting him look away.

Cooper tried to pull his hand from Tommy's resulting in Tommy only holding it tighter, his fingers squeezing tightly.

Tommy's voice was deep when he spoke, almost a growl, "Remember I will always be her best friend. You hurt her; I will make sure you hurt worse than her. Do you understand?" Tommy squeezed Cooper's hand tightly, making his point that he was not scared of Cooper. They stared each other down for what felt like the longest time, it wasn't until the hospital door open once more did their hands fall away from each other.

"They've said I can go…" Felicity looked between Tommy and Cooper who had still yet to look way from each other. It wasn't until Tommy had stared Cooper down enough for him to turn back to Felicity before they both moved silently from the room. Cooper taking Felicity's hand tightly as they left.

Tommy watched as they moved from the room – Felicity looking back at him as they went. Her eyes shone with pleading with him to just leave it alone.


Oliver's head snapped up suddenly, his body weighing heavily against whatever he was sitting on but it was then that he realised that he was sitting on a chair. Out of instinct he pulled against his binds, his body jerking to try and release itself, his head wiping around to try and see where he was but all that he could see was the single light bulb above his head.

"The convenient thing about dead men – is that no one tends to come looking for them" that voice, the same one he had heard on the island before he passed out found his ears again. It was a woman, American but he didn't know her.

Looking around Oliver tried to get a grasp as to where he was, there was no clues, the room was bare. "Who are you? Where is Yao Fe?" He wanted to know where his friend was, the man who had trained him to keep himself alive, the man who he owed his life to.

The woman moved toward Oliver, her body was tall, she held herself well. "Mr Gulong is none of your concern. My name is Amanda Waller and I am the director of a Government organisation – Advanced Research Group United Support-"

"ARGUS." Oliver coughed, not believing that it was even a real organisation.

Amanda just nodded, she was surprised that Oliver knew about it but chose not to ask, she was going to keep her poker face for a little longer but it was clear that Waller's face had slipped enough to show a small amount of emotion. Oliver had grown to read small changes in emotions quickly over the last 18 months on the island.

"Anatoly told me all about ARGUS. Talked about it like it was a fairy tale." Waller just nodded, keeping her face steady. At least the Russians believed ARGUS to be a fairy tale.

"Well Mr. Queen, then we can skip the formalities." She nodded to the man behind Oliver, he felt the man move for he was touched but Oliver wasn't expecting the slicing of a blade against his shoulder, the sharp, piercing pain he felt as it continued over and over, his left shoulder blade tightening in pain, the muscles jerking under the movements.

Oliver's screams echoed through the room, Waller nodding to the guard once more, giving Oliver a reprieve from the pain. He just could not catch a break, his honestly didn't know how his body continued on with that sort of pain it had been put through.

"You are stronger than you think. I see that in you…"

Felicity's voice echoed in his ears, something she had told him years ago, a day when they had laid on his bed and they talked about what scared them the most. Felicity saw a strength in him so maybe there was something in him, something they could keep him alive.

Holding himself tightly, Oliver just bit down on his own lip, trying to keep from crying out, not wanting to give Waller the satisfaction of the pain she was causing. Over and over again the knife cut into his skin, tracking over the cuts that were already there. One, two, three, four…he'd lost count, all he knew was that the man was moving around his body, the knife cutting into the skin over the side of his shoulder. One, two, three slices into this skin.

His body was shaking against the pain, his eyes closing tightly to try and keep himself from screaming. The presence in front of him called him from his control, his eyes flashing open to link directly with the man and his knife. It was almost like the man was enjoying the pain he was inflicting, although Oliver was sure he was enjoying it. Slowly, the knife was raised to Oliver's sternum, the slow movement of the knife down his shirt.

It felt like the knife was hitting the bone, enough to cause Oliver to drop his head back, letting out a groan against the pain that was being caused. Waller watched the exchange between the two, surprised that Oliver was holding up so well again. Deciding there needed to be a different tactic, Waller nodded again to the man, who lifted Oliver from the chair before dragging him to a table.

Oliver didn't realise it until he was laying on his hand, his hands held tightly to his sides as he was strapped down. What could Waller possible do to him that was any worse than the torture he already suffered?

He barely struggled against the strap holding him to the table. He knew that after everything that had happened over the last almost 18 months, he should just give up and stop fighting, let whatever final situation take him to whatever fate awaited him. He felt like he was back on the island, that whole time being stuck in that cell or being tied up with his arms above his head so on the plus side, he was strapped to a table this time.

On the negative side, there was a towel thrown over his head and bucket after bucket of water were being poured over his face. He couldn't breathe, couldn't think, could only hold on until the small break he got between each bucket of water. With each breath in, his mouth would fill with water from the towel, coating the inside of his mouth but barely allowing in any air, the one thing his body craved for.

A sudden blinding light found his eyes as the towel was pulled from his face, a cold rush of air causing goose bumps on his skin before he was being pulled from the table. Oliver sucked in as much air as he could, his lungs screaming for more than he could get in in one go.

"10 minutes, in impressed. I know Special Forces who can't last longer than 3. Eventually though, everybody breaks." Waller's deep voice was soft and low, Oliver barely noticed when he was dropped into the chair, coughing as he tried to suck in more air. She reached out to touch his long hair, dripping with water but Oliver swung at her hand, brushing it off easy. He would not let her touch him.

She huffed, not used to someone being so forceful towards her. Oliver Queen was stubborn and a pain in the ass. But she needed him. "What you did on that island, you are a very quick study Mr. Queen. It didn't take you long for Yao Fe and Mr. Knyazev to teach you to fight and your skills were…impressive…to say the least. There is a darkness in you Mr. Queen and I intend to use that."

Oliver narrowed his eyes at Waller, she didn't know the first thing about him, so how the hell could she see a darkness. But then it clicked for him, "You were watching me?" How the hell had she been watching him when he was on an island in the middle of nowhere. Why didn't she ever help him to get home?

"Via keyhole hexagon satellite. How else would I know you possess the capabilities I require? We had been keeping an eye on that island for a while so imagine my surprise when Oliver Queen washes up on the shore." She moved to bring another chair close to him, sitting down she faced him front to front. "We watched you for almost 18 months Mr. Queen. That body you dropped with your bare hands? Now that was impressive. It takes years for someone to gain that particular skill."

Oliver dropped his eyes from Waller, he hated thinking of what he had done but what if she was right, he had found it so easy to learn the skills and then use them. He did have darkness in him, but that did not mean that he would help Waller at all. Lifting his eyes to her, Oliver narrowed them, "So what? You think because you pulled me off Hell-"

"Purgatory, Mr Queen. Lian Yu means Purgatory." She corrected him.

Oliver fought the urge to roll his eyes, of course he knew that already, still it didn't mean he would want to refer to it as the same. "You think because you pulled me off Purgatory that I will just do what you want? You should have left me there to die. I'm never going to help you." He crossed his arms over his chest and dropped his eyes from her. Oliver Queen was nothing if not defiant when he didn't want to do something.

Waller was quiet for a minute, her face steady before it broke out into a small, almost evil smile. "Did you know Thea has developed something of a substance abuse problem since you've been gone? I guess the strain of losing two family members must have been too much for her to bare."Oliver's head snapped up, his eyes shining with confusion and fear.

"Oh, you didn't know. Your father died of a heart attack a year after you went missing. Your sister has not been coping very well. Drinking, partying, a drug addiction…One day someone may just find her in the back of a car…dead with a needle in her arm. Poor Speedy?"

Tears formed in Oliver's eyes, he could not comprehend the idea that his father was dead, that his baby sister has lost both her father and her brother in less than a year. Looking up from his lap, Oliver let a tear slip down his cheek, his mouth dropped open, "Thea…she…you stay away from my sister." He growled out deeply, his voice low in his chest. As his whole slacked against the chair, Waller nodded to someone behind him, brief movement and then the binds that were holding Oliver to the chair were cut.

But he still did not move to get up, his whole body heavy with emotions. He and his father may not have had the best of relationships but he loved his father, he knew Thea loved their father. Oliver brought his palms to his face, rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands harshly, trying to quell the tears that wanted to fall.

"Now listen Oliver…we now all about your sister and mother…and we know that you are going to do what we ask mainly on that reason alone but in case you need any more motivation…" Waller placed a small discolours picture on Oliver's knee, his eyes finding it instantly, blinking rapidly to try and steady himself. "She's a pretty girl Mr. Queen. I suggest you get on board with the plan or Ms. Smoak may have the FBI knocking at her door."

Oliver did growl this time, he lunged at Waller but the guard behind placed both his hands on Oliver's shoulder, holding him in place. "You go anywhere near Felicity and I swear to God-" he struggled against the guard's hands.

But Waller just smirked again, "It looks like we have an understanding then Mr. Queen. She really has your heart, doesn't she?" Oliver narrowed his eyes, he wanted to rip Waller's head off for even saying Felicity's name.

Waller stood, moving towards the table off to the side, Oliver had only just now noticed it. He was lifted from his chair and pushed towards the table as well. "First we have to get you some new clothes." She looked him up and down although he would not say no to some new clothes. He had been in the same clothes he had stolen off the body of the guard for the last almost 8 months. "And then you do what you were brought here to do. That's why we brought you your tools."

Waller turned her back towards the side door, leaving Oliver standing in front a table that held Yao Fe's bow. Staring down at it, Oliver couldn't even bring himself to speak, he just stared at the weapon in front of him. He was raging inside, after being rescued by Waller who wanted him to what, kill people? And then she had the audacity to bring up Thea and Felicity, she knew how to play him well. His hand grasped tightly at the photo she had left for him, a photo of his best friends he honestly never thought he would see again.

"We recovered these when we recovered you. You're welcome." He could not believe Waller had brought the bow and arrow to wherever it was that they were. Slowly his hand reached out, his fingertips touching the bow gently, memories rushing back to him, Yao Fe, the island, Anatoly, the blood on his own hands. Turning his head back to the closed door that Waller had just left from, Oliver signed, this was going to get bad – quickly.

Any love? I promise it won't be long until Oliver is home…