Chapter 3

My personal feeling is that I want Olicity to go the distance, and assuming that Arrow will be around for at least a few more seasons (even more if the producers play their cards right), I think there is a way to draw it out to keep interest while maintaining the integrity of the characters. The show is, after all, about the Green Arrow and Oliver Queen's struggle to make himself whole again after the horrendous experiences he had on the island those five years he was gone, while doing all he can to save Starling City. However, in fan fiction land, we get to sometimes fast forward that timeline and focus on the relationships. This next chapter is where Oliver makes a decision about his feelings for Felicity, and the consequences of that decision. This is all off-script now, so hopefully it keeps your interest. Enjoy…

It had been two weeks since the incident with the Count at Queen Consolidated, and in looking around the top floor you never would have guessed the chaos that had ensued that night. It still sent a chill down Oliver's spine as he thought of the Count threatening Felicity.

Not surprisingly, the petite blonde had bounced back better than anyone had expected. She had thrown herself into her work, seemingly unaffected by the events of that night. Oliver occasionally caught her looking at him sadly, sure she was still full of guilt over feeling like she forced him to kill the Count. However, no matter how many times Oliver went through the scenario in his head, he could not find a different outcome that would have ended in her safety. It was something he hoped he never had to repeat. They never did talk about the Count after that night, and Oliver hoped any lingering regrets she had would soon pass regarding his actions in saving her.

In fact, they had barely spoken to each other at all since that night, other than him asking her if she was doing okay, or actual work related discussions. Felicity had initially dug into finding where the Count had gotten the financial backing to put the mobile flu shot clinic into motion, but had run into one dead end after another. After a week of research, they had decided to put it aside, thinking perhaps the Count had been making the whole story up. The entire team was convinced he had been insane to begin with, so it wasn't out of the realm of possibility.

Things had been relatively quiet in Starling City over the last two weeks, which gave time for Oliver to ponder his other dilemma; what to do about his feelings for Felicity. He had continued his nightly visits to her apartment, ensuring she was home safe and sound every night. The urge to tap on her window and gain entrance had become stronger, and he feared that eventually his self-control would falter.

He sat back in his chair in his office, realizing that his train of thought was not on the documents on his monitor in front of him, so why bother pretending he was reading them. His eyes then settled on Felicity, who was engrossed in whatever she was working on. She sported a classic women's two-piece skirt suit with a deep v-neck blouse. His eyes lingered on her exposed neck and chest, which brought him back to the night of the Count kidnapping her, his hands having menacingly settled on her shoulders and neck that night. He quickly pushed the thought aside, the terror of that moment still too fresh in his memory. He realized Felicity was now looking at him with a frown, and then gave her a smile, turning back to his monitor. Out of the corner of his eye he saw her get up from her desk and enter his office.

"Oliver, is everything okay?" she asked, genuine concern on her face. Leave it to her, he thought, to be concerned about him, the guy who could take out someone within 100 yards with a single arrow.

"Yeah," he lied, "I'm fine. Just trying to make sense of this nonsense in London," he finished, gesturing toward his computer monitor.

Felicity came to his side, leaning down next to him to get a better look at the screen. Oliver felt a jolt of electricity at the feel of her hair brushing softly along the back of his hand, wanting to reach up and run his fingers through the blonde silken locks. He couldn't help but stare at the point of contact. Felicity, looking at the document, turned to Oliver, and noticing where his gaze fell, quickly pulled her hair back behind her ear, incorrectly assuming the contact had been bothering him.

"These are hackers," she stated simply, pulling herself up to lean against his desk. "From everything the head of IT is reporting in London, there's been a constant barrage of network infiltration going on. Do you know what kind of firewall technology they're using there?" she asked, kicking into her IT girl mode.

Oliver gave a soft chuckle, being reminded yet again that there was an enormous brain behind the beautiful visage in front of him. "I have no idea, but I could probably find out."

Turning his keyboard toward her, Felicity quickly pulled up his Internet Explorer, logging into some Queen Consolidated site that he had never laid eyes on before. "Good thing I kept all of my IT access when you transferred me into the EA position," she mumbled under her breath, quickly typing various commands and characters that made no sense to Oliver. It all looked like gibberish to him, but within 60 seconds Felicity had the answer she was looking for, and was typing an email to the VP of Operations in London who had sent the original information on the issue, giving instructions on what needed to be done and who within IT in the states they could contact for assistance. She turned to Oliver. "Okay if I hit send? Technically it's your email account, but I threw in a couple of typos to make it more authentic as if it were coming directly from you," she added with a self-satisfying smile on her face.

Oliver gave her an exasperated frown, partially amazed at her ability to problem solve a situation but at the same time slightly offended at her dig on his typing skills. Granted he knew his business writing skills weren't perfect, but he did feel like he had gotten better since taking over the CEO position from his mother.

"Sure," he finally answered, watching as Felicity hit the "Enter" button on his keyboard, the email closing and the screen reverting back to his inbox.

It was just at that moment that a new email popped into his inbox from Isabel with the subject of "Drinks later?" Oliver saw Felicity's body language change immediately, although she didn't say a word; she just stepped away from him, giving him a final tight smile and walking back to her desk.

"Thank you," he called after her, truly appreciating her help with the London issue, and silently cursing Isabel for ruining the carefree moment he had been experiencing with Felicity. Felicity gave him a little wave in acknowledgement without looking back, the rigidness evident in her posture at her computer. Oliver sighed out loud, again berating himself for the Isabel slip, and debating in his head what to do about Felicity.

He had been finding himself reading something or getting off of a conference call and immediately turning toward Felicity's desk to see if she was there to share it with, happy when she was there, and always disappointed if she wasn't. He had started asking her to help him with the most mundane tasks, like figuring out how to copy a one-sided document to a two-sided one, rejoicing in her nearness and things like the smell of her hair in those moments. He was starting to feel like he was the little kid who had the crush on the popular girl in school, and it was unnerving. He was Oliver Queen, world renowned playboy and billionaire, heir to the Queen Consolidated Empire. How had he been brought down to his knees by this small blonde ball of energy?

The worst part was that while he was going along with Felicity's plan of putting the whole Isabel incident behind them, he saw how the other woman's presence affected Felicity, and it ate him up inside. As much as he knew his feelings were growing for Felicity, he knew she deserved more than what he could offer her, especially since his role as the vigilante had already caused her harm. As long as he had to play the dual role of Oliver Queen CEO/playboy as well as the Hood persona, he knew there wasn't enough left over to be a decent partner to someone, no matter how much he cared about them.

Looking over at Felicity, then back at the email that Isabel had sent him, he knew it was time to take the high road. He got up, making his way to Felicity's desk.

"Felicity, I have a favor to ask you," he started, knowing if he stopped to think about what he was doing he would change his mind.

"Sure, anything," she responded, the sincerity evident in her voice.

"How long do you think it would take to resolve the firewall issue in London if they have the right IT resources available," he asked, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible despite the growing unease in his stomach at what he was about to ask her to do.

"Well, given the right people and assuming they'll be able to get the right hardware in place, I'd say 30 to 60 days, including a full round of system and unit testing of course," she answered, again in that IT girl mode that he found so oddly attractive.

He couldn't believe he was doing this, but he knew it was for the best.

"I think you should go to London to oversee the entire implementation. I can have the corporate jet ready to go in the morning," he blurted loudly. He held his breath, waiting for her reaction.

She started to frown. "Can you be away from corporate headquarters that long?" she asked, not fully understanding what he was saying.

"No, I won't be going with, actually, it would just be you," he stated. She just stared at him, the wheels turning in her head. He wished at that moment that he could read her mind, because her face was completely blank as she just stared at him. Not sure what more to say he finally added, "If you need more time to get ready I can put it off for a couple of days, but I'd really feel better about the whole situation knowing you were there handling it," he finished, wondering if she could read into the lie he had just told her.

Felicity gripped the arms of her chair, casting her eyes down for a moment to try to collect herself. He was sending her away. Clearly she had made things too uncomfortable for him with the whole Isabel thing and now he was getting rid of her so he wouldn't have to feel bad about what happened every time he looked at her. That or perhaps he had been more affected by having to kill the Count than he was letting on, and seeing her was a constant reminder of breaking his promise to Tommy.

The list of possible missteps she had made was endless. She let out her breath slowly, trying to remain composed. She had thought things were finally starting to go back to normal after a few intense moments between them, first with the Count incident, and then with some other odd moments while in the office or at their workspace under Verdant. She had thought a few times that Oliver had wanted to open up to her about something, but then the moment had passed and she convinced herself it had all been her imagination. Obviously it had been completely in her head. He had apparently been waiting for the right opportunity to come up with an excuse to put some separation between them, and the IT issue in London fit the bill.

She put on her best fake smile, not wanting to show any sign at how affected she was by his request. "Tomorrow is fine. I should be able to manage transitioning my Executive Assistant responsibilities to someone else in the office from London. I mean, it's not like I'm really an EA, right!?" she finished, trying to sound light-hearted.

Oliver felt his heart sink, realizing in that moment that he had been hoping for her to put up some kind of fuss about needing to be there to help him and Digg with their nightly activities, or still wanting to research the mobile clinic. "Okay then," he stated quietly. "I'll contact the pilot and let him know the plan."

Felicity, keeping her upbeat persona, added, "I'll arrange with Diggle to give me a ride in the morning so I don't have to expense leaving my car in long-term parking at the airport for two months." She picked up her phone and started texting their mutual friend, dismissing Oliver by turning her back to him in the process.

He nodded, heading back to his desk, feeling his heart race at the thought of his best friend being gone for two months, but telling himself over and over that it was for the best, and some distance between them would help him get over whatever emotional tie he had to her. He was no good for her, and he would be able to focus on what was important if she was far away from him, and harm's way.

He kept telling himself these things throughout the rest of the day, keeping a watchful eye on Felicity the whole time. She never looked at him once. At five o'clock he watched as she grabbed her stuff, leaving the office suite without even a sideway glance at him. He told himself again it was for the best.

So why did he feel like there was a hole in his heart the size of his fist?!