Disclaimer: Arrow does not belong me. All rights belong to DC Comics, The CW, and those persons associated in the creation of the show and comics.

A/N: And on to Chapter 3! Thank you for those who have stuck with me. I'm sorry for my sporadic writing, but the holidays kind of killed my muse for a bit. Things are looking good though, so hopefully my muse is here to stay! This fic is not beta-ed, so all mistakes are mine. I hope you all enjoy!

3.

"Can I have another one of those aspirinssssss, pleasssssssse?"

Oliver bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing as he heard Felicity ask Digg for more medicine.

"Mmmm…" Diggle mused, apparently trying not to laugh as well, "I don't think you can have another one quite yet, but you can take one home and have it in a few hours."

"Mmmmm-kay," Felicity easily acquiesced, her head lulling to the side.

In the blink of an eye, Oliver watched his partner go from high and babbling to nearly passed-out on the stool she was sat upon. Between the pain meds and late hour, she didn't stand a chance.

"Hey," he spoke softly while placing his hand on her good shoulder.

"Huh!?" Felicity startled slightly, coming back to a more awake state.

"Let's get you home, and to bed."

"Ssssssounds good to me!"

Felicity hopped awkwardly off of the stool and released her grip from the front of Oliver's shirt, causing it to fall open. It took her a moment to realize her simple white bra was now exposed to her two crime-fighting partners.

"Whoooops!" she exclaimed before grabbing each side of the shirt and crossed them over her body. A rosy hue colored Felicity cheeks, and she bit her lip trying not to laugh, but it didn't stop a snort from slipping passed. "I guess I should have buttoned up first."

Oliver grinned; he couldn't help it. Felicity plus oxycodone was quite entertaining. Neither, he nor Diggle said a word as they watched her attempt to slip the first button into its corresponding hole. After a minute with no success Oliver pushed her hands away and took over.

"Here, let me help."

With sure, steady hands, Oliver made quick work buttoning the shirt from top to bottom.

"You know," Felicity spoke as she watched Oliver do up the shirt, "every time I pictured this in my head, I always imagined the buttoning being more of an unbuttoning."

Oliver paused on the last button, not really sure how to respond to her comment. Sure, he had heard her make unintentional innuendos before, but this time she wasn't apologizing. Slipping the last button into its hole, he cleared his throat.

"I'm… sorry?" Oliver stated with a question because really what else could he say.

Felicity simply shrugged. "Next time."

Patting his chest twice, she pushed off of him and started to stumble her way over to Diggle. The man in question said not a word, but he couldn't stop his shoulders from shaking as he watched the hilarity of this whole situation play out in front of him. Oliver's face held a look of complete and utter shock, and if Felicity realized half of what she was saying, Diggle knew she would be redder than a tomato. He sent up a little 'thank you' every day for Felicity Smoak coming into their lives, because without her, their world would be a hell of a lot darker.

"Night, Digg!" Felicity cried out as she flung her arms out for a hug.

Wrapping his arms around her, he finally let a chuckle escape. "Goodnight, Felicity."

"Mmmm," she hummed burrowing a little deeper into his chest, "You give the best hugs, Digg."

He chuckled again, before placing a kiss on the top of her head. "I do my best."

Shaking off his shock, Oliver cleared his throat and spoke up. "Alright, Felicity, let's get you home."

"'Kay!"

"Wait, here, put this on first."

Pausing in her wobble towards the Foundry stairs, Felicity turned back to Oliver and found him holding out his brown leather jacket. The one he usually wore when he road his bike.

"It's chilly out, and since we tossed your jacket that blue dress shirt isn't going to cut it."

Her head dramatically nodded once. "Right."

When they first returned to the Foundry - after Felicity begged off going to the hospital - they immediately got to work on her shoulder, forcing her to remove her leather jacket and shirt. As Sara began cleaning the wound, Felicity told Diggle to just get rid of her ruined clothes, hoping with the reminder gone any embarrassment from her somewhat foolish actions would go with them.

Wrapped up in Oliver's shirt and jacket, Felicity started her trek up the Foundry stairs, giggling the whole way. Oliver was right behind her, his right hand hovering over her back as she tripped and bumbled up the staircase. Once outside, he immediately directed her to her Mini Cooper and placed her in the passenger seat before jumping in the driver's side. Adjusting the seat to fit his height, he heard Felicity giggle beside him.

"What?"

"You make my car look tiny," she said poking him in the upper arm. "You and your big, muscly self."

Oliver shook his head with a smile, and turned the key in the ignition. The engine rumbled to life, and Felicity wiggled in her seat, getting comfortable, and zipped his jacket up all the way to the collar, burying her noise inside. He watched her chest expand as she breathed in deeply, and then melt back into her seat as she exhaled. Observing her, his heart unexpectedly increased a few beats per minute. It wasn't quite clear why, but Oliver found Felicity's actions to be one of the most comforting things he witnessed in a long time.

Turning back to the task at hand, he slowly accelerated out of the alley and began the trek to Felicity's place. Other than the radio playing lowly in the background, their ride was silent, but not uncomfortably so, just unusual. Stopping at a red light, Oliver glanced over to the woman beside him and discovered the reason why. Buried in the fabric of his jacket, Felicity had fallen asleep. The sight made him smile. It was very rare for Oliver to show that expression nowadays, but Felicity always managed to find ways. She always brought out the best in him.

Upon reaching her townhouse, Oliver parked the car along the curb, and quickly rounded the car lifting Felicity out and carrying her up to the front door. He did his best to let her rest; however, a problem arose when they reached the door and Oliver couldn't unlock it to let them in. As much as it pained him to do it, he gently woke the sleeping woman in his arms, letting her get her bearings before starting to speak.

"Hey, I'm sorry to wake you, but we're at your apartment and I need you to get your keys to open the door."

Head lulling about and taking in her surroundings, Felicity slowly came to realize Oliver held her in his arms. "Well that explains why I was floating."

Oliver bit back a smile. "Were you on a cloud?"

"No," Felicity replied, slightly affronted. "The magic carpet was saving me from the evil kangaroos. They were about to shoot me with their laser eyes."

The seriousness with which Felicity told him about her dream nearly caused Oliver to lose his battle with keeping his smile at bay. Simply staring at her for a moment, he shook his head at her and cleared his throat before speaking again. "Well, I'm happy to hear the magic carpet got you away in time, but I think what we need to do right now is to open the door and get inside."

"Right!" she exclaimed before ungracefully cambering out of his hold.

After three attempts and only succeeding in stabbing the door, Oliver relieved Felicity of her house keys and unlocked the door for them. Felicity stumbled through the entrance, forcing Oliver to spring forward and grab the back of his jacket to make sure she didn't fall. Apparently still under the medication's haze, Felicity just giggled without a care in the world and pulled Oliver further into her apartment.

Once his fingers slid from the back of the jacket, Felicity unceremoniously plopped down onto her couch and promptly fell over her side, still giggling at her own silliness.

"Comfy?" Oliver asked in amusement.

Felicity hummed. "I love my couch. Not as much as my bed, but I'm not moving."

"Would you like me to take you to your room?"

His question was innocent enough, but when asked of someone known for her sober verbal gaffs – and currently high on pain medication – he was just asking for it.

Felicity gasped dramatically and placed a hand on her chest as if she was scandalized by his question. "Mr. Queen! Prop-zishning a lady when she's in such a state? You cad!"

Oliver rolled his eyes. Medicated Felicity thought herself quite the stand-up comedian.

"That's not what I meant."

Felicity giggled, "Isn't that my line?"

By this time, Felicity adjusted her position so she was lying mostly on her back with her feet hanging off of the end of the couch. She continued to stare up at him as they both became silent. As the silence grew, the mirth in Felicity's eyes slowly faded and exhaustion combined with another emotion took its place. Her left arm slipped from where it rested on her stomach and fell towards Oliver like she wanted to reach for him, but was afraid to put in the effort to actually touch him. The arm hung in mid-air and Oliver started at it for a moment before drawing his gaze back to Felicity's.

"Please, don't be mad at me," Felicity whispered.

Oliver winced as the words left her lips. Breathing in deep through his nose, he took a seat on the edge of the coffee table opposite her and gently took her out-stretched hand in his. He hated that Felicity would even think that, but he needed to explain.

"I'm not mad at you, Felicity," he reassured softly. "At the time, maybe, but that was born mostly out of fear and hating the situation."

Gathering his words, Oliver paused, his thumb running rhythmically across her knuckles. He spared a glance at Felicity's face, and observed her rapt – though maybe slightly unfocused – attention. There was so much he wanted to say to her, but he was never one who had an easy time expressing his feelings. And now wasn't the time to do so either, not when he was still figuring things out himself. After a breath he continued.

"What you did was incredibly brave, but very stupid… Just don't make a habit of it, ok?"

His light and teasing tone broke the tension between them and he watched Felicity smile as her eyes drooped. The medication was working it's magic and she had no more fight in her to stay awake.

"Mmmm-kay," she mumbled then finally drifted off to sleep.

Continuing to stroke her hand, Oliver sat for a moment longer and watched her rest. As he watched her even breathing and the stress leech from her face, Oliver made a vow that he wouldn't allow anything to happen that would make Felicity question her place of value again. He and Sara might be together, but this wasn't the island. This wasn't Oliver and Sara against the world. Felicity and Digg were his partners. Present since the beginning, they continued to prove with every mission that they always would be there.

Felicity Smoak was – in one word – remarkable. The fact she was able to doubt her value to the team blew Oliver's mind, but he swore she would never have cause to feel that way again. Moving her into a more comfortable position on the couch that wouldn't aggravate her wound, Oliver grabbed the throw off the back of her couch and laid it across her legs. With one final check that she was ok, he slipped out of her apartment and headed by to the Foundry to check in with Sara.

.o.0.o.

The following morning Oliver strode into his office at QC and breezed passed Felicity's desk, knowing she was taking a the morning to recover. Upon reaching his desk, he did a double take when he noticed what lay on top of it. Folded neatly in a pile was his brown leather jacket and light blue dress shirt, and sitting next to them was a fresh, steaming cup of coffee. Oliver couldn't help but smiled as he plucked the lime green post-it note off the side of the cup, a large '#2' written on it in red pen. Felicity Smoak truly was remarkable.

A/N: Thank you for reading! Please leave a review if you enjoyed the story, I'd love to hear what you think. Until next time!

-RedPens&GreenArrows