"Ollie! You're not supposed to be out of bed yet!" Thea called to her brother, having found him trying to limp down the hallway just outside his hospital room. Which, he hadn't made it all that far considering the time it had taken her to go downstairs, find the cafeteria, ask them for a cup of the sludge they called coffee, then return up here. His injuries must really be slowing him down.

As her brother's only response to this was a grunt, Thea rolled her eyes and headed over to make sure he didn't actually end up falling flat on his face. Even if he did deserve it, for his stupidly disobeying doctors orders.

"You could've at least brought the crutches with you, then you wouldn't have to hang on to the wall so much."

"I thought that was what little sisters were for," Oliver grumbled, his voice hoarse from the smoke inhalation, but he sent his sister a small grin as she positioned herself at his side.

"Ha, ha. Very funny. Now, where are we going? You do know there's a perfectly good bathroom attached to your own room, right?" Thea questioned, seeing that as the only conceivable reason for him to be up and about. When Oliver didn't respond right away, she looked up to see a troubled expression on her brother's face.

"I...I need to make sure she's alright, ok?" Oliver mumbled, seeming a little unsure himself. Even so, he was continuing forward at the same pace as before, perhaps even a little faster now with his sister's assistance. Thea frowned.

"You know Diggle is guarding her door right now, right? And besides...I mean, he wouldn't come after her in daylight anyway, right?" Thea reasoned, but again, Oliver didn't respond. So she continued, "Why is he after her anyway? And why...I mean I get that you like her, and believe me I am happy about that, but we hardly know her right?"

He remembered when he and Felicity had sat down and discussed this a little more, that morning before she'd effectively kicked him out of her life for a few days. Maybe that was one reason why, she'd been afraid of opening up? Well, he could certainly understand that…

"They went to the same college. She'd been seeing him at the time, but when she changed majors, he wasn't happy about it. That's when the first fire happened. He'd somehow...locked her in her dorm. But the firemen were able to get to her in time." Oliver explained, but never paused in his forward movements. Thea's eyes went wide and she raised a brow.

"Seriously, he did all that just 'cause she changed directions at uni? Ouch."

"I never said he was sane." Oliver returned, his lips quirking upwards a bit. Thea grinned, glad to see her brother cracking a joke again.

"Obviously. Anyway, what floor is she on?" Thea asked, looking back up at him.

"Next one down." was his response. Thea stopped, then stared at her brother. Then she lightly thwacked his shoulder, because,

"Ollie, the elevators are the other way!"

"He's really gone over her, isn't he?" Thea stood in the hallway, facing the window where they could see Oliver sitting next to Felicity's bedside, hand on hers. Diggle stood outside the room next to Thea, staring in much as she was.

"I'd say that's a reasonable conclusion." Diggle murmured, a hint of amusement in his tone.

"I know it's weird circumstances, and don't get me wrong, I think she's great for him; but don't you think things are moving a tad fast? I mean, he's gonna ask her to move into the house.."

"He's asked Lyla and I to, as well. And you know it's not like that." Diggle reminded her, turning to look at the younger Queen sibling. Thea frowned a little, then conceded with a nod.

"I know, I guess maybe I'm a little afraid she won't move out again when this is all over?" Thea frowned again, crossing her arms as she added, "Or, maybe its that I'm worried that she will.." Thea glanced up at Diggle and squirmed a little under his knowing gaze.

"You're not used to having to share Oliver anymore, are you?" Diggle asked, a smile on his face. Thea's eyes widened as her gaze snapped back to her brother. Was that really all it was? She was feeling uncomfortable or uneasy about something, but she wasn't really sure what that something even was. Could it be possible, could Diggle be right that it went down to the fact that she wasn't Oliver's whole world anymore?

Well. That was a good thing, right? She didn't want to be selfish, and she knew her brother had a big heart. There was plenty of room, there in that heart, she reminded herself. Plus...she grinned.

"Maybe. But, Ollie doesn't want me around the possibility of danger, so I won't be the one who has to watch those two dance around each other all week. I'll be at a friend's house." Thea cheekily replied, her grin widening as Diggle let out a groan of long-suffering.

Ten seconds.

That's all it took, when one was being strangled, to lose consciousness. For permanent damage to be done.

Ten seconds.

Four seconds… Maybe three, or maybe five. No one was sure, but for Oliver, that was way too long. This is how long it had taken Oliver to sprint across the lawn to where they'd been, where that man had had her pinned down. Three to five seconds of his life he'll forever regret and never get back, because he should have been faster.

Nevermind the fact that he'd had a broken foot, from when his foot had gone through the floorboards, at the time - hadn't felt it in that moment, so it really hadn't counted, in his book.

And now here he was, sitting next to the woman he feared he was really starting to fall for, holding her hand though she likely was unaware. She was still unconscious, with possible permanent damage done to her throat. They wouldn't know for sure until she woke up. Which she should, very soon. The doctors said so.

"Ollie," Sara's voice startles him, and he looks up to see her standing next to him with a pillow in her hands. Speaking of doctors…

"If you're going to stay in this room, the least you could do is prop your foot up." At the scowl on his face, she quickly continued on, overruling any potential objections while she placed the pillow at the end of Felicity's bed. "I've talked the orderlies into leaving you alone, but you've gotta do this for me." And here she pointed to the pillow.

Oliver sighed, but relinquished his grip on Felicity's hand so he could lift up his leg and position it properly atop the pillow. Wincing, he leaned back in his chair and took a moment to breathe, shifting so he was as comfortable sitting here in these awful chairs as could be. Then he gave Sara a nod, not even looking down as his hand reached out to reclaim Felicity's. His left foot now properly elevated, Sara gave a satisfactory nod and, after assuring him Felicity would be ok, she turned and exited the room.

Oliver stayed where he was, he gaze now carefully memorizing all the contours of her beautiful face as she lay sleeping. His thumb started to idly rub up and down on the back of her hand - he wasn't even conscious of the action, until her hand twitched. Immediately sitting up straight in his chair, biting back a hiss as he had jarred his injured foot in the process, Oliver leaned forward to watch for eye movement.

There was nothing discernable. Stifling a sigh, Oliver settled back in his seat, prepared to sit here and wait for however long it took for her to wake. About an hour or so later, he heard a low moan. Which wasn't really the best of things, because she still had a tube sticking down her throat. The swelling had been a concern, so they'd put the tube down to prevent her airways from blocking completely.

Or, something like that. Oliver was not really paying attention at that point, too struck on the fact that, if she woke with that thing still in, chances are she'd completely freak. Which made sense, because seriously, who wanted a tube shoved all the way down your throat?

In the next moment, he felt her hand tightly grip his again, so...he scooted forward, only allowing a small wince as his foot dropped to the floor, giving him a better angle as he leaned forward. He switched so that his right hand held her own, his left arm curling around the top of her head, brushing her cheek with his thumb, speaking softly in hopes of calming her down. She didn't seem to be fully with it yet, but she was already starting to thrash around a bit.

After a moment, when his presence must have finally registered - and he was gripping her hand pretty tightly, too - she finally started to quiet. Oliver was about to lean back, satisfied that she was slumbering again, when cloudy blue eyes suddenly opened, staring straight at him. He held his breath, unable to do anything except keep her gaze, when seconds later they were gone, her eyes closed as she drifted off.

It would be several hours before she showed signs of waking again, just in time for them to pull the tube out. Oliver was allowed to stay next to her, holding her hand and doing his best to keep her calm. When it was over, she squeezed his hand in what he assumed was thanks, before drifting off again. They told him they would release her after a few more tests were done, as long as she had someone to stay with her to monitor her condition. He answered, that would not be a problem.

Felicity woke again less than an hour later, groggy but seeming to be fairly with it.

"Hey," Oliver said gently, smiling down at the blonde beauty. "You were very brave these last few days, hun. But, now I've got a request for you." he said, keeping his voice low to help with that urge to cough. Smoke inhalation was a real pain, you know?

Felicity blinked up at him, seeming to stiffen, but her eyes hesitantly urged him to go on. He briefly wondered if she were expecting to hear something bad; she looked to be bracing herself. He smiled down at her, rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand. If that was the case, then she was - hopefully - in for a surprise.

"Let me take care of you." he said, slowly but with all the conviction within, hoping she would not fight him on this. He held her eyes as he spoke, trying to convey by that medium alone how much he really wanted to do this. How much it would put him at ease, if she would allow this.

She blew out a breath of air, scrunching up her nose in an adorable wince as her eyes wandered from his to the ceiling for a moment. He held his breath as she seemed to be considering it, and in his mind he was lining up all the arguments he'd thought of as she had lay there sleeping. Yet, in the next moment, her eyes were on his once more as she smiled and squeezed his hand.

"That's a yes, then?" he had to ask to confirm, eyes alight with his inner happiness. She smiled again, eyes blinking slowly as she squeezed his hand one last time.

A/N: ...I feel like I should end this here. Haha. Seriously, though, the action for the most part is over. Might just have one more chapter left, unless I do an epilogue. The next chapter should have loads of fluffiness, which I really love with these two, so. There ya go.

I'm not going to say when I miht update this again, because I've no honest idea, but I'll continue working on it and it'll hopefully within the next couple weeks. A very big thank you to everyone that has stuck with me through this story, with my unpredictable updating times too!