Hello everyone! There should only be one more chapter after this and I'm finished with this story. It has been a challenge writing this. I lost interest a few times but didn't want to abandon the story. Thanks for sticking with me.

He received the news two days after Felicity was released from the hospital. Oliver was bringing her a glass of water for her to swallow her pain pills with when a call came through on her phone. She answered when she saw who was calling; Lance.

"Captain," she said in greeting.

Oliver set the water in on the end table and sat next to her on the bed. Lance was saying something to her on the other end that made her smile.

"Thank you," she said. "I did receive the flowers you sent. So what do you have for me?"

The smile that was on her face slowly disappeared as she listened to what Lance had to tell her. Oliver went on alert, knowing whatever he was telling her was something for the Arrow.

"Thank you Lance," she said. "I'll let him know." She ended the call and set her phone down. She turned and faced him. "They found a pair of children's shoes. He said they're searching further in the area the shoes were found."

Oliver felt sick. No matter what Felicity told him, he was partly responsible for that kids death. He'd never get over that. The best he could do was make sure Matheus didn't get away with his murder. In order to do that, he needed to find proof he killed the boy.

Felicity's hand on his cheek took him from his dark thoughts. He looked up at her and was captured by her clear blue eyes. "You're my hero. I hope you know that."

He rubbed his cheek against her hand, his heart aching at her words. "I'm no hero Felicity."

Her hand dropped from his face as her eyes blazed with fire. "Yes you are. This entire city looks to you as a beacon of hope. Do you not see that?"

"Felicity…"

"No," she exclaimed. "I want you to believe this. You are a good man." She searched his blue eyes, seeing disbelief and doubt. "You want to protect everyone, and try to nightly. You love more than anyone I know. You are a hero Oliver."

Oliver leaned down and pressed his forehead against hers. There was a slight tremble in her touch as she tried to contain her emotions. His heart ached at her words. Part of him knew people in Starling City looked up at him as a hero. Another part, full of doubt and self loathing, felt unworthy of their praise. Especially hers.

Deciding it was time to get back on topic, he asked, "Have you found anything new?"

She gave him a look that let him know their discussion wasn't over before grabbing her laptop. "I think I know who gave me away." She powered on her laptop and signed in. "I backtracked some of my own snooping and noticed something."

He watched her hands fly across the keyboard and waited somewhat impatiently for her to continue. He wants to bash in the face of the guy he and Diggle came across when they rescued Felicity. The guy was enjoying what he had been watching too much. Oliver was disappointed he hadn't thought to knock him out, but at the time all his focus was on finding her.

Looking up from the computer screen, Felicity explained, "There was a guy in college who always thought I was trying to embarrass him on purpose. He and I are both really good with computers. If anyone could track me, it would be him."

Anticipation tightened Oliver's muscles. "Do you have an address for him?"

She smiled up at him. "Do you even have to ask?." She handed him a piece of paper and focused on her laptop again.

Oliver looked down and saw an address that was in the Glades. Taking his phone out of his pocket, he quickly dialed Diggle.

"Digg," he said, "Meet me at Verdant. Felicity found the address for the guy who sold her out to Matheus ."

He finished the call and turned back to her. She was laying back on his bed, propped up by plush pillows, with a laptop desk resting above her legs. Various parts of her were covered with gauze from the stab wounds she received. The sight of her, recovered from wounds she never should have received, brought a darkness to his eyes that promised retribution for the one who betrayed her.

Though reluctant to leave her side, he knew he needed to catch this guy tonight. "Laurel is downstairs, so you're not alone."

Looking up, Felicity flashed him a smile. "I'll be here. In your bed. Waiting." She blushed, hearing her words. "Not waiting in a sexual way. Waiting to make sure you come back. Alive."

Oliver felt a lightness enter his chest at her little ramble. He needed this. Needed her. With that in mind, he leaned down, brushed a kiss across her forehead and headed out.

Oliver and Diggle arrived at a brown brick townhouse in the Glades. Inside was Dale McIntyre; a genius MIT graduate who worked for Matheus. He was also the one responsible for Matheus finding Felicity.

"We want him alive," Diggle warned him, sensing Oliver's anger.

Oliver clenched his jaw and nodded his head. He wouldn't kill Dale, but he would leave him with a few bruises. Bruises were nothing compared to what Felicity went through, but he knew they needed him.

"I've disabled his alarm system," Felicity told them through the ear pieces they were wearing. "He probably knows but at least the police won't."

Oliver singled for Diggle to follow as he slide open one of the front windows. Considering the business he was in, he was surprised the window was unlocked. The lights were out in the living room and it was silent. Diggle took out his gun and started searching the room. Oliver made his way to the kitchen, his booted feet moving silently against the wood floors. The creek of a floorboard in the kitchen gave away Dale's position. Diggle came up behind him as Oliver called out to the hidden man, "Come out now and you may leave out of here alive."

"Don't shoot," said a trembling Dale from the corner near the back windows. "I'm unarmed."

He stepped into the light of the moon, hands raised. Oliver walked up to him and slugged him in the face, effectively knocking him out.

"You okay?" Diggle asked, coming up beside him. He holstered his gun and leaned down to check Dale's pulse.

Oliver walked away before he felt tempted to shoot an arrow through that man's heart. "I want to kill him," he told Diggle. "He watched as she was tortured!"

Diggle came over to him and rested his hand on his shoulder. "As much as I want to put a bullet in him, we can't."

"Um guys," Felicity said from over the comms, "the police are on their way. He must have a secondary alarm."

Diggle went over, bent down and threw Dale over his shoulder. They needed to get away before the police arrived and find out what he knew. Based on his actions so far, Diggle knew he wouldn't be hard to break. Especially with a pissed off vigilante in his face.

Dale McIntyre awoke in a bare, dark room. He jerked, startled and found that he was tied to a chair. He tried moving his hands, checking to see if the ropes tied around his wrists would loosen. They didn't.

"Glad to see you're awake," said a deep voice from the shadows.

Dale shook, "What do you want with me?"

Oliver came out of the shadows, still in his Arrow gear. "You have answers I need and you are going to tell me."

Sweat rolled down the side of his face, his breaths were shallow and his heart raced at the Arrows menacing words. He knew of him; everyone did! He was a vicious killer who was after every bad guy in Starling City. He was dead no matter what he did. Matheus would kill him or the Arrow would kill him.

"You work for Matheus," the Arrow began. "His IT expert?"

Dale just nodded his head. This had to do with Felicity! That bitch probably sold him out. She was still messing up his life.

"What did you tell him about Felicity?" Oliver demanded.

Dale looked up at him, the rage he felt whenever he thought of her evident in his eyes. "I told them she's a nosy little bitch!"

Oliver snapped, grabbed him by the throat and slammed him to the ground. His head slammed against the concrete floor causing a cry of pain to escape his lips.

"It's because of her you're not dead," Oliver yelled in his face. "Despite everything, she doesn't want me to kill you."

He pushed away from him, afraid if he spent one more moment close to him, he'd kill him. "What do you know about the night Matheus says I attacked him?"

Dale tried to think past the pain piercing through his skull. The night Matheus came across the Arrow, he came back to their hideout and demanded he erase some video evidence down in the Glades. It was nothing new to him; just a part of his job. So he erased the evidence of Matheus killing that boy and getting rid of the body.

Oliver saw the answer in his eyes. He knew. He knew what Matheus did but still helped him. "What do you know?"

I gotta say, I've been enjoying this season of Arrow. Yeah, there's a lot of angst, but it's so good.