#####OQ######
Arriving at the hospital, Oliver found Phil still in critical care. Opening his least favorite unit's door, the strong smell of disinfectant returned him to those days he'd waited to see if Felicity would truly live. Entering the unit, he waved at Becky, a wonderfully cheerful nurse, who'd taken care of not just Felicity, but him too a short time ago. He liked Becky even if she was bossy, even if she'd pushed him to go home and sleep, pushed him to go and get something to eat, while he'd waited all those hours for Felicity to get better.
Heading straight for her, he turned on that smile, the one that normally got him his way, as she looked up from her computer and said, "Let me guess you're looking for Phil Rice too?"
"Yeah. How'd you know?" He grinned not having to work very hard on his smile, for he genuinely liked and respected the young woman that had taken such good care of them both.
Shaking her head, she said with a slight huff, "Phil's really popular today, and truly, Oliver Queen everyone around here knows that you're Phil Rice's soccer coach, and that he had a seizure during practice yesterday and landed in the hospital. And besides you just missed your Ms. Felicity."
His chest swelled at the words "his Ms. Felicity." And that would be his Felicity, always keeping her eye on the mission, and right now she considered his team their mission, and this time he actually smiled before saying, "Yeah, and there's that reliable small town gossip thing. Of course, everyone knows."
"But not everyone knows why he seizured." She typed on the computer before she added, "Or why Mae's keeping Phil knocked out right now." Her voice lowered as she added, "And just maybe it's none of their business. Bless his heart, the poor boy."
"Yeah, for Phil's sake I agree we should keep them in the dark." He turned up his smile's wattage.
Smiling back, she stood and slowly crossed her arms in front of her chest, before she said quietly, "I went to school with Phil's mom, Nancy. Okay, I'll grant that we weren't real friends, but still I grew up with her, and I understand Phil needs help not gossip. And Oliver, you might not know it but another thing about small town is we know how to take care of our own."
He gave a sharp nod. "Point taken. Well, would you tell him I stopped by when he wakes up? And that I'll be back to check on him."
"Sure, I'll tell him. Several of his friends have also dropped by to see him, but Mae still has him on no visitors."
"No visitors?"
"Mae's orders. No one but family. And sorry I know you're not family. "
"You're right I'm not. But, I'll try again tomorrow."
"You do that. But Oliver, it's real nice of you and Ms. Felicity to bother to take the time to come by and check on him."
He shrugged before he said, "Phil's a member of my team, so, of course, I'm going to check on him when he's sick, and I'm glad to hear his friends have stopped by too. I've talked to them about being a team and how teams support each other, and I'm glad some of them have acted on my advice."
"Not every coach would bother showing up or try to get those boys to act like a team." She uncrossed her arms and waved a finger at him before saying, "especially an unpaid soccer coach, who had to learn how to play soccer to coach the game."
"Is there anything people don't know around here?"
"Plenty. Though I hear you're getting better control of the ball now." She gave him a slight wink before saying, "But all joking aside, people are talking about what a great job you're doing with those troubled kids."
"Well that remains to be seen. We're still getting started. It takes time and hard work to become a real team."
She gave a wave of her hand before saying,"Oh, I'm sure they'll do fine once they start playing real games. And believe it or not, the talk is good about how your practices are going. And a lot of people are talking about coming to out to watch the games, planning on doing some tailgating and such."
"Really? Tailgating? Doesn't that have something to do with cooking?" He swallowed and breathed out, his mind trying to grasp the fact that people were planning to attend his team's games. He'd never considered that people would attend the games, hadn't even given it much thought. No, he'd been too busy just trying to teach them how to play.
She laughed before she said, "Yeah, you know? We bring the grills to the parking lot and cook food like chicken and such. My husband makes some mean hot wings, though I personally like easy dishes. Take and warm using the crock pot and plugging it into the inverter, things like chili and nachos, but a lot of people grill burgers and hot dogs." Putting her hand beside her mouth, she said quietly, "And we drink a few beers and maybe a wine cooler here and there. It's a block party kind of thing, a potluck almost. Lots of fun for the fans."
He cleared his throat, before he said, "Really? Fans? How many people are we talking about here?"
"Well I'm pretty sure most of the hospital staff's going to come out and support your team. Mae's got quite the following around here. Heck, she delivered a lot of us, so, of course, we're going to come out and support her husband's pet project. I, personally, think it'll be fun. Something new to do. I'm looking forward to your games."
Alright, he momentary found that he couldn't speak as his mind replayed the fact that people like Becky intended to come and watch the games, that they intended to cook and party in the parking lot, and that they intended to turn the soccer games into a party. He inhaled sharply as he wondered what they would do after they watched his team play terribly bad soccer.
Heck, he didn't even have a goalie yet. His team was not excelling at playing soccer and most of them could hardly pass or trap the ball yet. His stomach tightened as a head ache started between his eyes as he wondered what people would think after the new wore off his bad team.
And he was pretty sure that they were going to lose badly, at least in the beginning until they got some experience under their belts.
Becky chose this minute to laugh before asking him, "What, Oliver, didn't you think this town wouldn't come out and support your team? What are you thinking? If just the people that are related to your team players come, hundreds could show up at the first game.
"Hundreds?"
Reaching out, he gripped the desk for support.
"Sure most of those kid's families will come in force just to see these teens do something good for a change, something they can be proud of them for. And you do realize that two of your players' parents work here?"
He pressed his lips together, his mind scrambling to take in what she'd just told him, while trying to remember which parents worked where.
"Right, give me a second, let me think." Facts began to click in his head. "Oh, yeah, Marcus' dad, Jacob works security at nights, and Russell's mom works housekeeping here too. Her name's Carol, maybe?"
"I'm impressed you knew that much. But no, her name is Karen. Karen Collins. And Oliver, she's very proud Russell's playing soccer. She's becoming your teams personal cheerleader, has even started your team a Facebook page."
"Facebook? Can't say I do Facebook." He arched an eyebrow.
He didn't add there been no internet on the island or in any of those other places he'd been those five years, or explain that he'd missed the entire social media explosion. Nor did he admit this conversation was swiftly becoming one of those times when he became lost in topics he didn't understand, and he wasn't sure he wanted to.
Yes, even after being back for three years, he didn't want or care to understand social media. Felicity handled those things for him, and it was a darn shame she wasn't here right now for he had a feeling he needed rescuing right now.
"Well, you should learn. Here let me show you your Facebook page. Karen's done a really nice job on it."
She hit the space bar on the computer and a few clicks later, she flipped the screen around to show him a webpage that contained pictures of the team running on the field chasing the ball. His eyes tracked that each of the member of the team had a picture and a link that said bio and another that said video.
His hand tightened on the desk, as he realized someone had cropped a picture of him standing with his arms crossed, a hard look on his face.
And yes, he looked seriously intense.
Now that he thought of it, he'd noted people milling around during practice which meant people were already coming to watch him and the team's progress. Looking back, yes, he'd seen people playing on their phones, normal behavior anymore since most people's phones were glued to their hands. Now he knew some of them were also taking pictures.
Hmmm. He was truly slipping and letting things escape his notice. His chest felt heavy unexpectedly.
"I didn't know."
"Well the page hasn't been up that long but your page already has over a hundred likes."
"Likes? I would guess that's good thing?"
"Of course it's good. You want people to like your page. It's like having followers on Twitter. You tweet, don't you?"
She looked at him expectedly, sweetly, and he realized he didn't have a clue.
"Tweet? No, I don't. But, I'll just take your word for it. Look Becky, I want to warn you, I don't know how well the team will play. They could play badly, since they're just learning. Plus I'm just pushing them to play, to learn something new. This is not about winning. I hope people'll understand that we're probably going to lose as least to begin with."
"Awe, Oliver, don't worry about it. Win or lose, we'll have a good time. Some people will never make it out of the parking lot. That's the way it works. So, don't stress on it. Most people will understand this is your first season, and your team will get better. You'll see."
Easy for her to say, he thought, as he wondered if they would still be living here next season and after a losing a season would anyone would even want him to coach?
Suddenly, he hoped that they would still be living here, for he liked coaching, he liked doing what he was doing, liked that maybe he was changing a teen's life.
"And I almost forgot to say that it's wonderful to see Ms. Felicity looking well."
"Yes, it is." Now that statement he could get behind.
"My patients don't always get better, so it nice when one makes a full recovery." She turned and began to straighten the charts on the desk before she said, "I'd heard Ms. Felicity's working here, but I hadn't seen her before today."
She stopped and narrowed her eyes at him, before she said, "And how have you been feeling lately? Are you keeping your blood pressure under control? You do realize how lucky you were last week, Oliver? I thought things were going to go south with you and you're a lucky man to have survived an attack like that unscathed."
Ouch!
The warnings were going off in his head, and he knew he needed to get out of here and now. The next thing he knew she would actually suggest taking his blood pressure.
He released the desk slowly, before he put his hand up and waved at her.
"Look, I've got to go. Felicity's waiting on me. Been nice talking to you, hope to see you again soon."
"Oliver, wait, you didn't answer me. Has Mae's gotten your numbers under control or not? You were in real danger the last time you were in here. Maybe, I should get a reading while you're here? I've got the time."
"NO! It's fine. Mae's keeping a close eye on things. I don't have time right now. Felicity's waiting on me to go and visit someone else. It's been nice seeing you, Becky, but I've truly got to go."
"Tyler and Mindy's new baby, I bet?"
"Yeah, how did you know?"
"I heard in the cafe that child, Mindy, had gone into labor. Bless her heart, guess her single mama's going to have to raise another one, since that girl's daddy is long gone, and Tyler needs to finish school. Quitting high school isn't what he should do right now baby or not. That boy's smart and needs to go to college but now who knows what will happen?"
"Of, course you'd know Mindy and Tyler's situation." He shook his head before adding, "Small towns are like that. I'm starting to understand that fact."
And he smiled and she gave him a small grin before she said, "Well if you've gotten it figured out then good for you. I've lived here my entire life, and I don't have the local gossip mill figured out most of the time. But I do know it's hard to hide a very pregnant fifteen year old in this digital day and age. And I feel for them."
"I understand that."
"And both Mindy and Tyler have single moms who raised them, though I'm sure they'll figure it out. They're hardly the first teenagers in this town to have a baby out of wedlock. As a matter of fact, my single mom had me at seventeen, and I've turned out pretty well."
Not knowing what to say, he said nothing, instead he just nodded, and gave a small wave, with the words, "I've truly have to go, Becky. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye."
Turning sharply on his heel, he almost ran Mae over and had to reach out and catch her, as she walked briskly through the swinging doors, totally slamming into him, as he came to a screeching stop, steadying her with his hands, then quickly releasing her and taking taking a step back.
"Thank you, Oliver."
She also took a step back, and gave her white coat a pull to straighten it, as she smiled up at him before she said, "Now I'd bet you're here checking on Phil, since I know you'd never willing come to see me."
"Now, Mae, that's just not true." But his stomach had just dropped like a stone into a well.
The look she gave him said plainly she knew he was lying, even before the word "Bull" broke the air.
"Okay, I'm busted Mae, does that make you feel better?"
"No, it doesn't. I'd like us to be friends. You remind me of my son, Oliver. And, I like you and Felicity. You know I only had one child, so I'll never get to be a grandmother. And someday I'd truly like to hold your and Felicity's child. And maybe when you two do have a baby, you'd consider making me a godmother and let Warren and I babysit once and a while?"
"We like you too," his chest tightened. "But we haven't talked about children yet."
"Well maybe you should. You're getting older you know?"
Pasting his fake smile on, he got ready to ride this conversation out, as he stuck his hand in his pocket hunting her hair tie, and he gave a small sigh as he touched it. Letting the silence reign for an instant, he then said, "Okay, you're right, I was here to see Phil but as you know he's asleep. How's he doing today? Any improvement?"
Finding himself wishing for an escape plan, needing an escape plan, he breathed out and hoped Mae wouldn't make this conversation worse by asking about his health or his sex life, even though he knew how much good hoping did.
Grabbing a chart off the nurses' desk, Mae snapped it open.
"Phil's still a sick young man. I've been prescribing his meds to run out about every four hours to see if he can wake up."
She frowned then said, "Last wake up happened at 3:35 p.m., but the nurse's notes say he's was still agitated and confused. And he also experienced nausea and vomited before the med's put him back down."
"So, Phil's still in DT's."
He stated it flatly, with a frown.
"Yeah, I'm thinking I'm just going to keep him sleep until tomorrow morning and see how it goes. No sense in torturing the poor boy, though at this rate, it's probably going to be at least another day or maybe two before I can truly let him wake up. He's been drinking way too much for detoxing to be easy."
"I'm glad you're not making him suffer, Mae. Trust me, being unconscious when you're in pain is much easier than being awake."
"That sounds like the voice of experience talking."
She gave him a long look and then continued, as she said,"And what good would it do for me to make him suffer when he's suffered enough?"
The smile fell off her face before she said, "I knew Nancy's boy was on your team, but I didn't know it was him when I took the call yesterday. Not that it would have mattered but still."
"You knew his mother?"
"Yes, Oliver, I knew his mother."
Her face seemed sad and drawn.
Yes, Mae looked pained before she said quietly, "I diagnosed Nancy's breast cancer, and I watched her and Eli slowly lose the good fight. The last thing I would ever do is to put that boy through another seizure or make detoxing harder on him. He's been through enough just watching his mother die slowly and his father lose his wife. Though, I admit I would have never believed that a fifteen-year-old boy could drink that much. His mother would be appalled, truly heart broken."
He grimaced before he said, "I'm sure she would be, but I think the real question here is why a fifteen-year-old would drink that much, Mae? What kind of pain does Phil have to be in to get up every morning and drink whiskey he stole from his father? Who let me mention, had not even happened to notice Phil's drinking."
"Hmm, a least we know where he's been getting the booze."
"Like that helps. Phil's been drinking long enough that his friend's expect him to come to school buzzed, to come to school drunk. Yes, he's a drunk and everyone around him knows it, everyone except his father. That says something about their relationship doesn't it?"
She gave him a weird look before she narrowed her eyes and said, "What it says is Eli needs to keep a closer eye on Phil."
"Yes, he does."
"Look, Oliver, Eli's been doing the best he can. He's been through a lot, and he and Phil's have some real anger issues."
Looking around, he noted that they were alone at the nurses' desk for Becky had disappeared, no doubt with a patient. "And you're making excuses for Eli, for both of them. And maybe Phil's got a reason to be angry."
"Well, of course, he does. He lost his mother."
"And maybe his father too."
"Oliver, Eli's still alive."
"Barely, Mae. Look, Phil's living in a war zone. His entire house's is beaten up, beaten to pieces. I don't think there's a wall or door that hasn't seen someone's fist or foot in his entire house. The mirror in the bathroom is pretty much gone, though there a big piece of it left hanging jaggedly on the wall."
"You do have a flair for the dramatic, don't you Oliver?"
"Maybe, but I'd bet that there isn't a plate or dish left in the house from the pile of broken dishes in the sink and don't get me started about the trash and the clothes on the floor. Mae, Phil's house is a disaster area, and no one living in his house seems to be lifting a finger to clean it up. Honestly, I'd say Phil's not the only one with anger issues or with lousy coping skills."
Mae frowned, before she said, "I won't ask how you know that, Oliver. Because breaking and entering is against the law. But, there's no doubt about it, Eli's really angry. And I don't blame him. He lost his better half, slowly, painfully, and I'd heard he's been drinking a lot since Nancy died. And, yes, the second time Phil got in trouble, Warren threatened Eli with contempt of court for back talking him in court."
"Yeah, the man's differently outspoken."
"To say the least and maybe, Warren should have put him in jail, but Eli had just buried Nancy, and we all knew it. And Phil getting in trouble with the juvenile court system sure didn't help. Eli was beside himself."
"I've met the man and I just bet he was. He seems to care about what other people think."
"Unlike you, Oliver?"
He ignored that comment as he said, "However, the man has a negative attitude about helping Phil with his drinking. Seems to think he can't do anything about it. I told him he could at least lock his liquor up, make it harder for Phil to steal it from him. Eli needs to be Phil's father and put his foot down, needs to make sure Phil gets some real help."
"Eli's a good man, who's doing the best he can. He works the shrimp boat which means he works hard and is gone a lot. And Nancy died leaving him two teenagers to raise on top of making a living. Don't judge him, Oliver. What would you do if Felicity died and left you two teenagers you didn't know what to do with?"
Oliver frowned knowing he'd be lost without Felicity. He sighed then said, "Checkmate, Mae, but I'd like to think if Phil was my son, I'd make sure he got help. Eli seems intent on ignoring the fact that Phil has spent the last two years dealing with his mom's death by drinking whiskey, by drinking excessive amounts to stay high, so he doesn't have to face his grief or his life. And it was his mom, Phil was talking to after he had his seizure. He wanted his mom. I'd say Phil's the one that's heart broken here."
"The DT's are like that. People see things that aren't there."
"I know that but my point is you can dry Phil out but if something doesn't change just as soon as he can, he'll go back to drinking. I think it's all he knows now. And the only reason he stopped to begin with is I threatened him with rehab if he came to practice drinking one more time."
Carefully, Mae shut Phil's file and laid it back on the counter, tapping her fingers against the file as she said, quietly, "I see your point. I'll talk to Eli about some type of program, about getting him some real help."
"I've already tried that. Let's just say Eli didn't seem receptive to the idea of Phil entering rehab."
"Maybe it would be better coming from me. I'm sorry but you are the outsider here."
"That's true but I personally don't think Eli believes Phil even needs help. He thinks Phil's doing this for attention."
"Well if need be, then I'll talk to Warren and get something court ordered."
His phone buzzed in his back pocket, and he pulled it out and saw Felicity had texted him.
"Where r u? Ur taking 4ever! Come c the BABY!"
"Mae, I've got to go. Another of my team's girlfriend has had her baby, and Felicity's wondering what's keeping me."
"It's nice to see you taking such an interest in your team. It will please Warren."
"I'm hardly taking an interest to please Warren." He gave a dismissive wave of his hand.
"I'm well aware of that. And I've a feeling you've never spent much time in your life, worrying about pleasing a judge or maybe anyone." She smirked at him.
Silence seemed the best answer to that statement.
"Hold up, Oliver, I've got a few free minutes which means I've got time to check your blood pressure." She said the words like her taking his blood pressure was a fun event he'd been missing out on.
He suppressed a groan as he said, with a sharp shake of his head, "NO! I don't have time right now."
"Don't tell me NO young man. You have nothing but time with it comes to your health. And it will only take a few minutes. We can use the break room. Follow me."
Flashing her his most charming smile, the one that could get him out of things he didn't want to do, he tried to back pedal with the words, "No, thanks, I'll pass since I'm not the patient today, Mae."
"And let's keep it that way." She lay the Phil's chart back on the desk before she said, "Oliver, let me be truthful with you, you're a really rotten patient."
"Never said I wasn't." He said, even as he unexpectedly yawned.
"And you're tired, Oliver, and don't listen to any of my orders. Just like why do I have a feeling you're still pushing yourself? What exactly are you doing in all those hours that you're not sleeping? Running? Kicking the soccer ball on the beach? Pushing yourself?"
Mae always managed to transport him back to age six. Instantly, her look reminded him of the time Raisa had caught him putting a lizard in his, soon to be gone, nanny's purse.
"No, Mae it's okay. I've got to go, Felicity's waiting for me."
"That's a weak excuse and we both know it. Felicity would want me to check your numbers, so text her and tell her you're going to be late. Or do you want me to call her?"
He grimaced.
"Thought not. Now, follow me, Oliver."
And her tone, and the way she walked away, clearly told him she expected him to follow.
The memory of heading to the principal's office, assaulted him as he followed her down the hall. Only he'd never minded the principal, but he had minded Raisa's disappointed look when he got home from school. Now Mae and Raisa could hang out together for he had a feeling Mae was about be disappointed in him. Exhaling deeply, he followed her into a small break room.
"Sit down, Oliver. You know the drill."
Finding himself almost praying his numbers were good, totally against his will, he held out his left arm, placed his feet flat on the floor and tried to slow his heart rate. Yet, instead his heart rate increased, as he tried desperately to control his breathing, while hoping for better numbers.
"Have you heard that Tyler's Mindy had the baby boy?"
"I think you mentioned that. Quit stalling, Oliver. And babies happen when you have unprotected sex. At least, that won't happen to you since you and Felicity are currently abstaining."
Frowning, looking down, he refused to answer her or meet her eyes.
"Truly, Oliver?" She smacked him on the left arm with the back of her hand. "Didn't I warn you? You could die on top of her."
"Stop talking, Mae." He shut his eyes as heat filled his face, his cheeks warming. Forcing himself, he opened his eyes to see her unhappy face.
"Oliver? You're not abstaining are you? Do you bother to listen to anything I say?" She shook her pointer finger at him with the words, "I swear you're a rotten patient, Oliver Queen. So, you broke that rule did you? Why am I not surprised?" Her voice rising, she huffed hard then added, "Why would I even think that you would listen to my orders? You have a death wish, don't you? What am I'm going to do with you, Oliver?"
Frowning at him, she shook her head and he cringed before he said, "Okay me to have sex, for Mae, you're right I'm not going to listen, honestly no matter what my numbers are, I'm absolutely done not having sex."
"What you are is absolutely . . ." she seemed to struggle with herself, before she shook her head and said, "WICKED aren't you? And here I thought you were going to live to have babies yourself and make me a godmother."
She lifted an eyebrow at him and he bit his lip before releasing it to say, "If it helps any, Felicity was all for it. The sex not the babies part." His stomach flipped over, and he looked at his shoes again for an instant before looking up and facing her stern look.
With a tiny shake of her head, she said, "Frankly, I'm surprised you two lasted without sex this long. Assure me you're at least still taking your meds?"
"Faithfully, I'm living with Felicity the pill police. Cross my heart."
"Well everyone has their burden to bear. Now be quiet, I want a good reading and need to get over being mad at you." She began to pump the cuff up, and the darn cuff hurt his arm as she swiftly pumped the meter up to 200.
"That only has to go to 180, you know?"
"Oh, I know that." Her tone sharp as she gave the cuff a few more pumps and the blood rushed painfully through his veins.
"And didn't I tell you to HUSH? Just nod your head, Oliver. Are you tired? Remember I want THE TRUTH. Lying to me right now is a terrible idea. Believe me!"
Raisa would have been proud of Mae's tone, and he gave a sharp nod, obeying.
"Headache?"
He gave a one shoulder shrug.
"Which means what? Yes or no, Oliver? Shrugging is hardly an answer."
Swallowing hard, he nodded slowly. Heaven help him, he could tell from her frown that Mae would be raising his dose, again.
"Dreams any better?"
This time he shook his head with a bitter frown and a hard face.
"And why am I not surprised that your numbers are still too high? So, I'm going to up your dose again."
"No, don't, Mae. Please, I'm exhausted now. I don't want a higher dose."
"Well, I think we've discussed the fact that you're not a doctor, which makes this is my call not yours. And the dose you're taking is clearly not working, since your blood pressure's still too high. Come on, Oliver, do you want a real heart attack? Or a stroke? Want to take another walk and met the new stroke victims? I've got a fifty something man that has lost his right side in just yesterday. And guess what, he isn't left handed?"
"Funny, Mae. NO, I don't want another tour, but I don't want a higher dose either."
"Sorry, this is the way this works. I start with a low dose and then keep upping the dose until it works, or I have to change medications, or until your blood pressure gets into manageable numbers and out of the stroke range."
"Well this medication is NOT working since you keep upping the dose. All it's doing is making me tired. And I hate being tired. I think it's time to try something else."
His words held a growl to them.
She gave him a hard look.
"It's a trial and error kind of thing, Oliver. And this is my drug of choice. I want it to work for it for you because it has proven results to reduce the nightmares in PTSD patients. And you need relief from the nightmares. You've just got to give it a few more days, maybe another week to give it time to work."
"I've given it time, like two weeks of my time. I should be getting some kind of results by now."
"I know you're frustrated. Trust me I am too over your body not responding as quickly as I'd like it to the dosage, but you need to give me a couple more days. Please, Oliver even if you don't seem to think you need to take care of yourself, would you think about Felicity and what your dying would do to her? And think about me for I like you and would miss you."
No, he refused to think like that. "Right Mae you'd really miss me. I find that hard to believe. And, I'm not that easy to kill but what I am is dragging. I'm exhausted and if you up my dose again, I don't know if I can handle it. I can barely get around now."
"Wow, I think that's the most honest you've ever been with me. Then sleep more, Oliver. Go to bed and sleep."
"Easy for you to say." He couldn't control his harsh tone.
She reached and padded his hand lightly before she withdrew with the words, "I promise in a couple days you'll get used to the higher dose and your energy levels will come back up. Your body will adjust, and you won't be this tired. I'm trying to make the dreams go away, Oliver, and control your blood pressure. It's going to get better. Trust me?"
Reaching into her jacket pocket, she pulled out a prescription pad and began to write left handed.
He realized he'd never noticed she was left handed and the thought he truly was slipping, losing his edge for the second time today, crossed his mind.
"I'm trying to trust you but I doubt that I'll adjust to a new dose that quickly." He shook his head before he said, "And I still don't believe that pill's going to get rid of my dreams."
"Well at least I don't have to worry about the placebo effect with you, since you have NO expectations that your condition could improve."
Shutting his eyes for an instant, he fought the anger that tightened his gut as he said, "And this new dose had better not come with the words no sex because I'm done with that." He crossed his arms in front of his chest and frowned.
With a shake of her head, she said, "Don't pout, Oliver. It hardly becomes you. And now the real truth comes out. You don't care about being tired, Oliver, it's the abstaining part that's giving you a problem."
"Darn right it is." Though he didn't finish the sentence with the words because I need to touch her, for that would have made him sound needy, even if it was probably the truth, he wasn't admitting it out loud.
Mae drew his attention back with the words. "Oliver, I give up. Fine, I'll order that you have to have sex with the higher dose, then maybe you'll sleep hard enough not to dream and you'll SLEEP for more than three or four hours. And get better."
"So, now sex is okay, Mae?" He stopped and frowned at her before saying. "That's not like you. You're caving way too easily. What's the catch?"
She grinned and then said, "I am not. And the catch? There isn't one. I've just figured out you're going to do what you want anyway and you don't listen to me anyway."
"That's not true."
"Don't act insulted. You know it is. Look me straight in the eye and tell me you'll truly refrain if I do tell you no sex?"
His smile threatened before he cleared his throat.
"Well?"
"Okay, you're probably right, since I didn't die this morning."
Okay, he couldn't hold back his smile at the memory of them together this morning. She fulfilled him totally and he was going to have sex every chance he could. He'd spent years refraining.
"So that makes it worth the risk?"
"Seemed like it at the time."
"Do you want me to write you a prescription for sex too, because I will?"
"Oh, you're funny today, Mae, a real riot."
"Oliver, I used to be young. And, believe me, Warren and I had lots of sex, probably more than most." She winked at him and he couldn't stop the slight smile that lit his face. Ripping the prescription off the pad, she began to write again.
"Stop talking, Mae, that's way more information than I need to know."
"Oliver, anyone that looks at you two can see that you want each other. And," she narrowed her eyes at him before saying "I've got a feeling that you've still pushing yourself to extremes. What are you doing with all those hours you don't sleep? I heard say you before that you don't watch TV. And you don't look like the reading type."
"Never picked up the TV habit. You watch TV?"
"Yes, I have a couple shows I watch when I have time, but you just avoided my question about what you're doing with yourself for the second time. When you do that I know you're not listening to me and you're pushing yourself. I know you're lying to me AGAIN."
She ripped the paper off the prescription pad with a flourish before adding, "Fine, since you haven't had another attack, Oliver, sex is probably not going to kill you. Now, I'm upping your dose to 15 mg in the morning and 15 mg at night and you'll let me know how the dreams are when I see you on Monday."
Handing him both pieces of paper, she added, "And have you given any thought to going and seeing Riley? Maybe he could teach you some coping skills for your PSTD other than exercising."
Exhaling sharply, he ground out the words, "I'm coping."
"You can keep lying to yourself if you want, but I think you know you could do better. You need to give Riley a chance. He's like a son to me, but Riley's hard to know, just like someone else, Oliver, if you get my meaning. You two becoming friends is a win, win since, I hear Felicity and Anna have hit it off famously."
"Yeah, they have." But he couldn't say the same about Riley and him, and he didn't see it happening. Not intending to discuss the topic with Mae, he stood and glanced down at the top piece of paper and read, "Go home and practice making babies with Felicity! Sleep! Dr's orders. Mae."
A flush crept over his face, and he schooled his expression to shut down the smile, refusing to give the older woman the satisfaction of knowing she'd amused and probably embarrassed him.
"Well?"
"Well what?"
"Riley? Oliver! Have you thought about going and seeing him? I swear sometimes talking to a rock would be easier."
"I've thought about Riley a lot." He tensed as he said the words still finding himself quietly wondering if the man could help him manage, could help him cope with the things that bothered him.
"And? But it doesn't sound like you're going to go see him. Oh, what am I going to do with you, Oliver?" She patted him lightly on the shoulder.
"Keep after me?" His words were earnest and he meant them. "Mae you've been good to us. You saved Felicity's life and if I'd admit it, you saved me too. I want you to know I appreciate you."
"It's my job. And whatever your trying to do isn't going to make me forget that I want you to go and see Riley."
She put her hand up to stop his words but he went on.
"No, I mean what I said. It wasn't your job to come to the ER and help me the other day. And I'm grateful you did since I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't shown up. And I've done some research on how high my blood pressure was and yes, I was lucky, very lucky indeed that you showed up. And Mae, I also want you to know I like coaching and you were right when you told Felicity that I need purpose because I do. And I just want to thank you and Warren for the opportunity. "
He'd meant his words for he'd been lucky he hadn't hurt someone in the ER. Real life was hard, and he'd found that coaching fulfilled him and put a sparkle in Felicity's eyes. Now that was a win, win situation in his mind. Almost smiling, he folded the papers before he stuffed them in his left back pocket.
Her cheeks reddened slightly as she pointed toward the door. "Oh, go on you, and I'll see you in the office on Monday. Call my receptionist for a time and bring your log. Now go and meet that new baby, and Oliver for once, try to follow my orders and get some sleep, for frankly, you look like hell."
Giving him shake of her head, she added the words, "Dr's orders."
This time his true grin escaped as Mae turned to walk away, throwing the words, "Maternity's on the fifth floor, I'll see you on Monday. And Oliver, please think about seeing Riley."
That was the last thing he wanted to do. Sighing, with a small shake of his head, he walked toward the elevator and punched the up button. The doors instantly whooshed open, and he inhaled sharply and crinkled his nose and frowned.
"Oliver," said Anna, "good to see you," as she reached out and held the elevator door for him, and Riley took a step backward, making room for him.
Only Felicity's pending wrath kept him from saying, "Never mind, I'll take the stairs or wait on the next elevator."
Instead, clamping his mouth shut, he schooled his expression as he forced himself to step onto the small space with the Clark's.
"Floor?" Anna asked softly.
"Fifth," and he noted the light on the fifth floor button was already lit.
"Guess were we're going the same place. The maternity ward. Oliver, what do you think about Tyler becoming a father today?"
Great, just great, now that was a loaded question if he'd ever heard one, he rubbed the back of his neck, hoping the elevator would hurry, and he could come up with a good answer.
"How's practice going?" Riley broke the silence, surprising him and saving him from answering Anna's question as Riley looked a little pale.
"It's going pretty well."
"So no more flats? Or attacks with metal?" The man was smirking now, and Oliver could almost swear Riley had just rescued him from answering Anna's question and was pleased with himself.
"Riley!" Anna said sharply cutting off his words. "Behave yourself. Oliver probably doesn't want to talk about that. Please excuse Riley, he's being bad today because I drug him here. And when he doesn't want to do something he acts out, like a child."
"Don't apologize for me, Anna, and you know you like it when I'm bad and act out."
Riley lifted an eyebrow at her, and smiled as she smirked back at him, with the words, "Not always and right now is one of those moments. You didn't have any appointments, I checked and there was no reason you couldn't come with me today and meet the new baby."
Yet, Oliver noted that Riley looked pained before he placed his hand on the small of her back.
"Just because I don't have patients doesn't mean I don't have paperwork to do. I told you that."
Yet, Anna didn't move away from his touch, but rather she leaned back into his hand. Somehow, that small gesture he'd just witnessed between them tightened his chest.
"Paperwork can wait. Tyler's one of my kids, and I want to go meet his and Mindy's new baby. And you're going to be there for support even if you don't like it."
Thankfully, the elevator dinged, and the doors whooshed open, and he rushed forward, finding that he couldn't step out fast enough, glad to no longer be trapped in a small space with Riley and Anna Clark and talk about babies that made his heart race.
He couldn't walk away from both of them quick enough. With swift steps, he stepped off the elevator and noted that several of his team were sitting in the full waiting room.
Swallowing deeply, he thought, okay, he could do this. Just a little more time and he could escape and get away from all this baby talk and go back to real life, a life that for right now didn't include babies. Thirty minutes, he assured himself, in and out in thirty minutes.
Yes, he could do this.
Yes, he WOULD DO THIS, and he stepped toward the waiting room and his team members and his life.
#####OQ#####
Thanks for the read! Hope to hear from some of you for the silence is deafening.