A/N: I have no real excuse for taking this long, just that I am sorry and hope you all will still enjoy reading this. We see another familiar face here, probably for the 1st and last time, but we'll see. Thank you all for reading & commenting! It means very much to me. Still no beta, mistakes are all my own.

Oliver wanted to help her, he'd said. He wanted to be there for her. His words kept tumbling around in her mind as she gazed at him, but she was having trouble making sense of them. His gaze seemed to be trying to tell her something, but that along with his spoken words, well, she just wasn't comprehending this.

"Why?" She finally whispered, her heart still beating wildly from her nightmare as more questions tumbled through her mind; such as, Why her, Why would he want to inconvenience himself for her, Why does he care?

Oliver licked his lips and looked like he was about to answer, when suddenly a man in a white lab coat appeared next to him and started to speak.

"Excuse me, sir, but I'm going to have to ask you to step out for a few minutes while we tend to this young lady's care." The doctor spoke, and Oliver felt like growling and snapping at him again. Why did it always seem like they were getting interrupted at every turn? Knowing that he couldn't interfere, even though he didn't want to go, Oliver sighed and stood up. Placing a hand on her arm, he leaned forward a little and said,

"I'll be back in a couple minutes, then we can talk."

Then he walked out into the hallway and took a deep breath. If he was going to do this, try and actually be of genuine assistance to this woman, then he needed to get his self-control back under, well, control. Diggle stood, his back against the wall, several feet down the somewhat busy hallway. A middle-aged woman with short brown hair came close to Oliver, something about her nagging at his mind - he thought he'd seen her before, but couldn't place where. She stopped in front of him, seeming surprised to see him.

"Oh, Agent Queen! ...oh, or, er, it is actually Officer, isn't it? Sorry, I've been reading too many spy novels...anyway, how nice to see you again! Not the best of circumstances, however..." the woman trailed off, clasping her hands in front of her and giving Oliver an honest smile. He tilted his head and gave her a look that must have got his confusion or puzzlement across, because the next thing he knows she is continuing with,

"Ah! So sorry, Charla Watson, at your service, sir. Workmate and friend to our dear Miss Smoak, I've come to check on her in fact. My husband James and I have a nice guest bedroom, two in fact, and with the children all moved out I figured I would invite her to - I mean, that is unless she..." Charla trailed off and waved a hand toward Oliver, not so subtly hinting at something. Something which had crossed his mind but which he was pretty certain the blonde would have turned down anyway.

"Miss Watson, from the Dentistry. Of course, I remember. I...haven't gotten to speak with her yet, but I'll pass on your invitation." Oliver paused, glancing over at Diggle briefly and then around the hallway before taking a step closer and, his voice slightly hushed, said, "Tell me, Miss Watson, have you or Miss Smoak ever noticed if there have been any unusual occurrences around the office lately? Any strange people hanging around, unknown packages, anything out of the ordinary?" Oliver questioned, looking at the woman earnestly.

Charla paused, looking down as she thought, then slowly shook her head.

"No, I don't believe so. You think she may have been targeted?" Another pause, then her eyes lit as she gasped and looked up. "You don't think it has to do with when her dorm caught fire do you?! Oh my..."

Oliver leaned away from her as he replied, "I can't answer that, anything at this point is only speculation. I only wondered if there had been anything out of the ordinary." Oliver back tracked with a decisive nod, then stood there a moment, looked around again, and waited for an orderly to pass by before he dug out his wallet.

"There is one more thing you can do for me, Miss Watson...go out and purchase the things Miss Smoak will need while staying with you. You know her, so you'll know what she needs." With that, Oliver handed over a credit card. Charla eyed it as if it would bite her, before hesitantly reaching out for it. "Anything she needs. I would like to pay for it, help her out some." He concluded, after she had finally taken it.

"You already are, and...all right, but, you know she won't like this, don't you?" Charla had to ask, slipping the card into a pocket in her purse. Then she looked at him again and added, "Anything?"

"I'll handle it - and yes, whatever she needs. I want to be sure she'll have it." Oliver nodded and was about to dismiss her, assuring again he would pass on the invitation, when he stopped because - "Hold on, would it - may I have your address?"

If he couldn't do anything else, then he fully intended to be the one she escaped from the hospital with.

The Doctor was still not letting Oliver into the room, and he was not happy about it. He wouldn't even move far from the door, despite Diggle's attempts to get him to sit down or at least stop pacing in front of the door. Oliver had just turned to make his nineth round when a different small blond woman suddenly appeared in his path.

"I heard some frowny-faced officer was over here, scaring the orderlies, and knew right away it'd be you. Thought I'd come over and say hi." The woman crossed her arms and grinned up at him, her expression quite cheeky. He was not in the mood for her sass; if she could get the doctor to let him in though...

Wait, now. She a friend, and though he used to use people in his past in quite worse ways than this, he needed to do better. He knew that he always needed to do better, but now, for what felt like the first time, he genuinely wanted to try. And the woman before him had gone toe-to-toe with him a time or two before, right when he'd needed it, so she deserved the best he could give. She'd been a good friend to him these past couple of years.

"Sara, hi. I didn't know you had a shift today." He greeted her, trying hard to lessen the tension in his frame. She seemed to notice anyway, narrowing her eyes at him.

"I traded with Sandra so she could go to her aunt's anniversary party. Sorry I didn't send a note." Sara responded, a bit sarcastically, before glancing over at Digg.

"Hey Digg, how's it going?" Oliver visibly tensed again, because Sara knew of this pair who to get the answers out of...

"Oh, same 'ol, same 'ol." Oliver breathed a sigh of relief, maybe he wouldn't- but then John clearedhis throat and continued. "Except, this one here's upgraded from regular fool to love-sick fool." Oliver didn't have to turn to see the manure-eating grin on his so-called friend's face. Sara's eyes lit up and her lips parted on an eager 'oh,' and he so could've kicked John for that.

"Oh, really? Do tell." Oliver thwacked himself in the face and turned, returning to his pacing while making certain it was away from them, those juveniles discussing his nonexistent love life. He was certain Diggle was going over every detail, starting from the encounter with Thea no doubt, because if his friends and family were anything, they were gossips.

Suddenly, Sara was standing in front of him again, a hand on his arm and a look of empathy in her eyes.

"I'll talk to Dr. Sanchez and let you have more visiting time. Though from what I've heard, Ollie, she'll be just fine." Sara assured him in a soft tone, and not for the first time, Oliver was very thankful to have her as a friend in his life.

"Thank you, Sara." It was all he could muster, but he did give a real smile. Sara nodded, searched his face a moment and then nodded again, smiling herself as she turned and disappeared into The Room.

Not even five minutes later, she came back out with the fuming Dr. Sanchez and waved Oliver on in. He did not need to be told twice, so he slipped right on inside. Felicity was still laid out on the bed, though from the startled blink she gave him, he supposed she wasn't expecting his return. She would've gotten that wrong, then.

"I, uhm..." her last question to him had been why, why he wanted to help her so bad...He'd been saved from having to answer before, but now, because he still wasn't entirely sure how to respond to that, he deflected. "Charla was out there, she...she wanted to invite you to stay with her for a while." A pause, as he looked anywhere but at her. "Which is...good, very kind of her - I mean, I'd thought too, because Thea and I have a guest bed too at our house, but, well you'd naturally, I mean she's a friend and coworker and you know her well unlike-" a warm hand on his arm stopped the flow of words, and he'd never been so thankful for human contact. He never spouted off uncontrollably like that, where the heck had that come from?!

She was smiling. Almost beaming, as much as she could, straight at him. The sparkle in her eyes told him that if she could, she'd be laughing right now. A warm feeling settled in his chest at that thought, seeing her smile, hearing her laugh and knowing that he'd been the cause...

Oh brother. He really did sound like a love-sick fool, didn't he?

"Charla," she softly whispered, and he nodded because of course she'd prefer her friend, watching her grimace at the pain but squeezed his arm anyway, then trail her fingers - consciously or not, but it left his skin afire - all the way down to his fingertips then tapped on them. He opened his hand and watched in fascination as she wound together the tips of their fingers, from the lower knuckle down. A slow smile spread across his face, because this display of affection meant that she was interested in him...did it not? He was pretty certain it did, and had a bit of a time in controlling himself to keep his hand still and not crush her hand within his, as was his desire.

He found himself wanting so much more than fingertips, but if that was all she felt comfortable giving, he would be more than content.

"Would you... Do you need a ride to her house? I could take you, after you're released...please, let me do something to help." He asked, looking into her eyes, adding a gentle squeeze to her fingers. She waited a moment, staring at his face and seeming to be seriously weighing her thoughts.

After a moment or two of hesitation, she gave him a nod.

He smiled.

Hours later, after they finally released her, Oliver was helping her into his civilian vechile, a four-door sedan. He had a bike, but very much doubted she woukd appreciate that right now. Thea usually preferred the sedan when he had to take her to school or pick her up, too.

Diggle had gotten picked up by his wife a while ago, so now it was just the two of them. Once Oliver was sure she was safely and comfortably seated, including buckled in, he started heading for the address Charla had given him. It wasn't all that long of a drive, sadly, and before he knew it they were parked in the driveway of a modest ranch-style home. He could see Charla and a man that must be her husband waiting there on the porch, but Oliver had one last thing before he'd let Felicity out of his sight again. As he opened her door, he handed her a piece of paper he'd prepared earlier and said,

"This is my personal number...call or text me if you need anything, ok? Anything at all."

Felicity stared at the piece of paper in her hand, blinking rapidly for a moment, before smiling up at him. She grabbed onto his hand, using it to balance herself as she stood, and while still having her feet in the car she leaned close to him and used the height advantage such a stance gave her and kissed him on the cheek. A quick peck, and then she was slowly heading for the porch.

Now, he really couldn't be blamed for the smile he wore the rest of the evening.