Chapter 14

Here is the conclusion to our story. Thank you again for all of the wonderfully inspirational reviews. I also greatly appreciate all of you who took the time to favorite or follow the story. Please continue posting your reviews. I love to hear your feedback. I will plan to post one more chapter after this with an epilogue of where Oliver and Felicity are several years down the road.

Enjoy…

Felicity could smell the stale dust in the air as she came to. Wherever they were, no one had been there in some time she suspected. She could just make out a concrete floor underneath her feet from the bottom portion of her blindfold.

"Damn it!" Thea exclaimed nearby, sounding like she was slightly out of breath from struggling. If she was as tightly restrained as Felicity was then she could understand her frustration.

"Thea," Felicity whispered loudly, "are you okay?"

"There's no point in whispering; I came to a while ago and I haven't heard any sign of anyone other than us in here," Thea stated, her voice echoing in what sounded like a large open space. "And other than a mild headache, I'm guessing from whatever gas we got hit with in the car, I'm just peachy," she added with her typical Thea-esque dry wit.

The light in the building was extremely dim, making Felicity suspect they had probably been out for a while as it was probably past sunset. Her stomach did flip-flops thinking about Oliver and Diggle figuring out they had been taken. She knew they would come, which was a sure death sentence for all of them. If there was ever a time when she did NOT want Oliver to play the role of "hero", it was now.

Felicity turned her head in all directions, trying to make out any sign of where they were. She could hear the trains running nearby, but they ran through the entire city, so that didn't help her. Then she heard the bells. They were from St. Peter's Catholic Church, which was located smack dab in the middle of the Glades. Although her Jewish heritage didn't give her any reason to set foot in the place, she had always been fascinated by the architecture of the building and the unique quality of the bells that had been there since the earliest settlers had come to the region.

"I think we're in the old warehouse district in the Glades," Felicity said.

Slow, steady clapping followed her remark, causing both women to jump in the hard chairs they were tied to. The sound was coming from behind Felicity, so she turned her head to try to determine how close her captor was.

"Listen, if it's money you want, my family has plenty," Thea stated calmly, clearly mistaken about why they were there. Felicity didn't imagine they would be lucky enough to be victims of a simple kidnapping for money scheme. "Just hand me a smart phone and I'll take care of the wire transfer myself, no questions asked, then we can be on our way. I have plans for tonight that I'd like to keep," she finished smugly.

Felicity felt the unease creep up her back at the lack of response to Thea's statements.

"Hellooooo," Thea said, "I know someone is there."

They were met with silence.

A moment later the women had the blindfolds ripped from their heads, both letting out small yelps of surprise.

"Slade Wilson?" Thea questioned, utterly confused at the identity of the guilty party standing before her. "What's going on?" she asked with an uneasy chuckle, trying to make sense of the situation.

"Miss Queen, welcome to my impromptu gathering," Slade remarked cheerily.

"What the hell is going on?" Thea exclaimed, her anger starting to grow.

"He's waiting for Oliver," Felicity said firmly, glaring at Slade. She had at some point lost her glasses, but being far-sighted, she could clearly see the coldness in his eyes as he smiled at her in response.

"Ah, the ever-insightful Felicity Smoak," Slade remarked, giving his full attention to her. "Thanks to your excellent research skills you escalated my timeline a bit, but I carry no grudge against you for that. In fact, I think my associates are quite relieved to finally be able to exercise their new found skills," he stated, gesturing toward the dozen or so armed, muscular men in military fatigues approaching them in a circle.

"I thought you were my brother's friend!" Thea stated disgustedly, fear taking a hold of her at the sight of the approaching men.

Slade turned his attention back to Thea. "Oh, I was his friend, until he betrayed me and a woman he supposedly cared about."

He turned back to Felicity. "Does that sound familiar to you, Felicity? Oliver comes in like a knight in shining armor, whisking each woman off of their feet. First it was Helena, who had a bit of an edge to her, literally. Then let's not forget Detective McKenna Hall, who came very close to losing her life due to her tie to Oliver. And of course there is Laurel Lance, Oliver's long-time love; the woman who got him through all those years on the island," he finished, getting right into Felicity's face. "Do you want me to continue, because I think there was a little slip in Russia if I remember correctly," he said quietly.

Felicity just stared at him, refusing to let Oliver's past haunt her. No matter what Slade said, she believed Oliver when he said Laurel was in his past, and Isabel Rochev meant nothing to him. The others were also in the past, where she planned to keep them.

"Why are you doing this?" Felicity asked gently, seeing the rage and pain in his face.

Ignoring her question, Slade turned back to Thea, ready to destroy the image she had of her brother.

"Do you know what your brother does with his nights away from home?"

Thea looked uneasily at Felicity, noting the anguish on the blonde's face. "What are you talking about?" she directed back to Slade.

"I thought not," he said quietly, refusing to reveal anymore. He looked at his watch and gave a nod to one of the soldiers standing behind the women. "Be ready for him," he said simply, turning and walking away.

Thea looked at Felicity. "What was he talking about, Felicity," she asked, her frustration growing.

Felicity let her head fall forward, tears burning her eyes. Oliver had tried so desperately to keep Thea in the dark for her own safety. She didn't want to have to tell his sister about his secret, but she figured she would rather give Thea the whole story than just hear he was the Vigilante.

So Felicity started when she found out; she described the events of the night Oliver had been waiting for her in the back seat of his car, and how she had brought him to Verdant and Diggle was waiting there for them.

As she described Oliver's journey through the names in the book, and everything leading up to the night the Glades fell, Thea could hear the love and admiration that Felicity had for her brother. She also realized that her brother had transformed himself into a savior of the city, and all those times he had tried to come off as being selfish and egotistical were actually acts to cover his true nature. Tears started to fall from Felicity's face as she described the anguish and torture that Oliver had been putting himself through lately with Slade's return, and how the events on the island were haunting him day and night as of late. Thea couldn't help but let her own tears fall at the thought of everything her brother had been through, not only on the island, but since his return. She was ashamed of her own negative thoughts and assumptions about him, hoping that she would have the chance to make amends with him when they got out of this bind.

"He's going to come for us, isn't he," Thea said, more as a statement than a question.

Felicity nodded her head. "I think he expects he will come as a trade for us, and Slade will let us go."

Thea wiped her tear streaked face with her shoulder, trying to pull herself together before their captors came back. "You don't think Slade will let us go?"

"I don't know," Felicity answered honestly. "But I think if Slade has his way, he will make Oliver suffer for whatever betrayal he thinks Oliver caused."

The girls looked at each other, dreading what was to come.

Outside, Oliver slowly made his way toward the main entrance of the warehouse, ready to hand himself over to Slade and work at getting the girls to safety. Barry was in his ear, giving him any information about the movement of the soldiers around the various vacant buildings surrounding the warehouse that was his destination. He was making good progress to get to the building; it made him think they were letting him in as he was getting absolutely no interference from any of Slade's army.

He let Barry know he was ready to head into the warehouse as he placed his bow and quiver of arrows behind a large empty metal container just north of the entrance.

"Good luck, Oliver," Barry said solemnly, knowing he would lose the video feed after Oliver entered the dilapidated building.

Oliver stood up, ready to stride forward, and then hesitated. "Barry?" he said, checking to make sure the other man was listening. At the young man's response, Oliver made one last comment. "If I don't get out of this alive, you need to tell Felicity…" He stopped, swallowing back the emotion that had broken through his façade. "Tell her that I loved her, and I'm sorry it took me so long to realize it."

Barry had to fight back his own emotions at Oliver's heartfelt words. "I will," he finally said after a short pause.

At that Oliver strode toward the warehouse entrance, pulling back his hood and putting his arms up in a gesture of his surrender. Two armed guards stepped up to block his path. One of them spoke softly into a radio on his shoulder, then after a low response, they parted, letting Oliver pass.

He made his way into the building, scanning the entire open area, spying the girls right away about 50 yards away from him. They were both restrained, but looked relatively unharmed. He let out a slow sigh of relief, continuing slowly into the middle of the large open space.

"Hello old friend," he heard from behind him. He stopped, turning to Slade.

"I'm here, just like you wanted," Oliver said in a low, even tone. "You can let the girls go now."

Slade started laughing at his comment, making Oliver's stomach drop as he looked uneasily toward the women. "This is not a negotiation or a trade, Oliver. I've instructed you to come here to pay for your sins."

Oliver stepped between Slade and the direction of the girls. "I'm here, so let them go."

Before Oliver could react Slade took three long strides, grabbing up Oliver by the neck and holding him in the air. Oliver clutched at the man's hand, unable to get himself free as he felt his lungs start to burn at the lack of oxygen from his airway being cut off. He could hear the screams behind him of Felicity and his sister, begging Slade to stop.

Slade dropped Oliver, watching as he collapsed to his knees as he tried to suck air back into his body. "I am in charge!" Slade screamed at Oliver, throwing a punch that felt like a brick hitting him across the jaw. Oliver was flung to the side, blood pouring from an open cut on his lip. He was trying to regain his feet when he felt a kick to his stomach, sure he felt a rib or two crack on impact, his breath being knocked out of him.

Felicity and Thea watched helplessly as Slade continued to pummel Oliver, never giving him a chance to regain his feet. Their screams continued, broken by sobs at the sight of their loved one being injured so brutally.

Finally, Oliver couldn't get up anymore. The pain coursed through his body, not allowing him to move, blackness slowly, mercifully filling his vision as he lost consciousness.

At his lack of movement Felicity let out a prolonged scream, cursing Slade. She and Thea watched as Slade motioned for two of his soldiers to drag Oliver, each taking an arm, over to lie in front of them, tying his hands behind his back.

Thea had just started moaning in agony over seeing her brother in his current state. Felicity's emotion of fear had now turned into rage at the lunatic who stood before them. "You're insane," she bit out in between sobs, unable to take her eyes off of Oliver's motionless form.

Calmly Slade replied, "insanity would presume I am unaware of the consequences of my actions, whereas I know perfectly well what I am doing Ms. Smoak." He motioned to one of his soldiers, who stepped forward, along with another, releasing each of the girls from the chairs they had been tied to, then bringing them forward to kneel side by side facing Oliver with Slade to their backs.

Diggle and Roy watched the scene before them from 100 yards away, each with a set of high powered binoculars. They had left shortly after Oliver had departed Verdant, determined to shadow him and ensure he made it into the warehouse unobstructed. When Slade had started his assault on Oliver Roy had jumped up, ready to march in and take on Slade and his full set of soldiers by himself. Diggle finally convinced him that the girls would be killed before they could even get half way across the open expanse of the building if they charged in. Knowing that Thea and Felicity's return was the most important aspect of this whole operation, Roy had sat back down, consumed by rage at what was happening to Oliver.

Now that the girls were kneeling in front of Slade Roy could not hold back. Diggle, clearly alarmed at Thea and Felicity being placed in such a vulnerable position, agreed that it was time to get closer. They snaked their way around to the outside wall nearest where Slade and the group were positioned in the building. Barry gave them the location of where Oliver had stashed his bow and arrows, to which Roy made his way undetected, returning in record time with the items. Diggle, having been learning all of Oliver's tricks of the trade over the last year regarding archery, handed his pistol to Roy, and then pulled the quiver over his head so it rested along his back, taking out one of the serum-cure arrows and notching it into the bow. They made their way along the side to the nearest window, popping their heads up just enough to witness what was going on inside. The pane of glass had been shattered probably years ago, so they had an unobstructed view of the events as they unfolded.

Once Slade was satisfied with the position of the girls, he pulled out a metal container that held a syringe, plunging it into Oliver's chest. "Here's a little adrenaline to get you awake and back with us," he stated smoothly. "None of this will be worth it without your participation."

Oliver took huge gasps of air, moaning loudly at the pain that mere breathing brought on in his body. One of his eyes was already swollen entirely shut, but he could make out the girls kneeling just six feet away from him, facing his direction as he lay on the ground on his side. Slade stood behind them.

At first Oliver didn't understand Slade's intentions, but then he caught sight of the pistol in Slade's hand and felt his stomach drop. He had been in this same position once before, on the island, and he had watched as one of his closest friends had been murdered in cold blood. Slade's intentions became crystal clear to Oliver, and Slade knew it too at the sound of Oliver's blood curdling scream.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

As the sound of his cry died in the air, Slade stepped forward, perfectly positioned half way between the two girls. "Yes," he replied firmly in response to Oliver.

Thea, still crying, cringed at the sight of her brother. "Oliver," she sobbed, not knowing what was happening and knowing they were very close to losing their lives to this madman.

"Who will you save, Oliver?" Slade questioned, holding out the gun and aiming it first at the back of Thea's head, then behind Felicity. "I am giving you the chance to choose one of them before I put a bullet through your head," he said harshly.

As his words sunk in, Thea started sobbing hysterically. Oliver watched as his sister looked at him pleadingly, regret and anguish creeping into his bones at putting her in the middle of this. Then he looked at Felicity. She was no longer crying, although he could see the wet tears that still lined her cheeks. She was looking down, deep in thought, a slight frown on her face, working through something.

At first he was relieved she wasn't cringing in fear like his sister. But then she brought her face up and turned to look right at him, a small, reassuring smile spreading on her face. In that look he saw all of the love and trust she had always placed in him conveyed clearly, which he knew was her intention. She was giving him a look that would have to be in place of the words that she had always struggled with, her brain sometimes betraying her thoughts by letting her mouth run for him to hear her true feelings that had previously only been in her head. But now there were no words for him, only Felicity letting him see into her soul and heart; it was that heart that had taught him how to trust and love again, and believe that he was worthy of love and deserving of the purity and goodness that was Felicity Smoak.

As if stuck in a horrible nightmare, he watched as Felicity rose to her feet, turning to face Slade. Oliver tried to rise as well, but was pushed back down by one of the soldiers who had planted himself behind Oliver.

Slade, frowning at Felicity's actions, automatically turned the gun toward her, holding it up at arm's length and pointing it at her forehead. She stopped in her tracks, staring into Slade's eyes. She leaned forward, placing her forehead against the pistol so no space remained.

"Felicity, please, no," Oliver begged, pulling himself up to his knees, ignoring the agonizing pain in his side from what he suspected were broken ribs, and from the difficulty he was having breathing, probably a punctured lung.

Thea watched in horror as Felicity stood up to Slade as he gripped and re-gripped the handle of the pistol, reluctant to take the shot as this was not how it was supposed to happen. "Should I do it, Oliver?" he asked, clearly unnerved at Felicity's action. "Do you choose to save your sister instead of your girlfriend?"

"Please, Slade, I never wanted Shado to die," Oliver cried.

"Well she did!" Slade screamed, causing Felicity to flinch slightly at the movement of the pistol barrel against her skin.

"Is this what Shado would want you to do?" Felicity asked calmly, her eyes closed, not wanting to see the moment when the look in Slade's face revealed he was going to pull the trigger.

"He let her die, just like this," Slade yelled, gesturing to their current positions. "He was given a choice and he chose Sara instead of Shado," he screamed.

"No," Oliver cried, "you know I never meant for her to die. Ivo was obsessed with finding the serum, and was willing to kill all of us to get it."

Slade was now breathing through his mouth, clearly affected by the mention of the man named Ivo. "Ivo may have put the gun to her head, Oliver, but you pulled the trigger."

"I was trying to save them both, Slade, like we had tried to save you. We were all just trying to get off that hell hole alive," Oliver cried, tears now running down his face at the memories of that fateful night. "He had a gun to Sara's head, and I did the only thing I could think of; put myself in front of her. I was trying to sacrifice myself, and would gladly have died in Shado's place, Slade, I swear."

"You're lying!" Slade screamed, turning the gun toward Oliver, his whole body shaking with rage.

"No," Felicity cried, throwing herself down in front of Oliver. He tried to pull her away but he was too weak to fight her. She buried her head into his neck, squeezing her eyes shut at the anticipation of the shot being fired.

"Please, Felicity," Oliver implored, whispering into her ear, "step away and let him kill me."

"I can't," Felicity said through tears. "He's punishing you for something that you were both victims of, and I won't let him do it without a fight. I know you," she said, looking him in the eyes. "I've seen you sacrifice so much for those around you, and I know you did everything you could to try to save both Shado and Sara."

"So help me, God, I will put a bullet through both of you at once if you don't move," Slade warned, stepping closer to Felicity and Oliver.

Felicity stood and turned around, again placing herself at the end of Slade's pistol, this time with it pointing directly at her heart. "Then pull the trigger, because I will do whatever I have to so Oliver does NOT have to pick between me and his sister living, even if you do end up killing him tonight. He's been through too much already; both of you have."

Although rage was what filled Slade's face, Felicity caught the raw pain there as well at her remark.

Trying to take advantage of that pain, Felicity continued. "You both lost so much on that island, not just Shado, but part of your humanity, didn't you."

"He needs to pay for what he did," Slade said shakily.

"Slade, I've seen your military record, and what you are doing right now is not the actions of someone who time and time again put himself in harm's way to save those who were weak or being victimized," Felicity continued, trying to remember the details from the research she had spent countless hours perusing after Slade's arrival to Starling City.

"He needs to suffer like I've suffered," Slade responded, shaking his head at Felicity's references.

"Slade, haven't the two of you suffered enough?" Felicity asked.

"She didn't need to die," he said in a strangled voice.

"No, she didn't," Felicity agreed, "but is this how she would want you to honor her memory? By recreating the terror she would have felt before she died?"

"That's not…" Slade mumbled, clearly struck by Felicity's words. "Shado…" At the sound of her name he dropped the pistol from Felicity's chest, his own chest heaving, loud sobs starting to escape him. "Shado…" he tried again, unable to get the words out. Clutching his head, he screamed in agony, whirling around wildly, the emotional pain overcoming him.

Just then a gun shot rang out, with Felicity, Thea and Oliver all hitting the deck thinking Slade had shot at one of them. Then arrow after arrow came flying towards them, hitting first one then another of Slade's soldiers. They screamed in agony, clutching at the point of contact of the arrows. The rest of the soldiers whirled around, trying to determine the point of attack to retaliate. Two more shots rang out, with two more soldiers falling, clutching at their legs where they had been hit. While the remaining soldiers turned and started firing in the direction of the shots two more arrows made contact with soldiers from the opposite direction. Anyone at that point that had been hit was completely incapacitated. The last two guards took off for the exit, no longer interested in trying to fight back.

Roy and Diggle stepped into the building from two different points, their weapons up, ready to fire again if needed. Thea started crying with relief at the sight of Roy. He gently took her in his arms after freeing her from her restraints. Diggle made fast work of Felicity's bindings and was now working on Oliver to determine how serious his injuries were.

Felicity turned toward Slade, who was lying on his back, the gun safely out of reach from him, gasping as blood pooled up from the right side of his chest. She ran over and took off her sweater, pressing down on the wound, yelling for Oliver and Diggle.

"What are you doing," Slade gasped out, writhing in pain.

"I'm trying to save you," she stated crisply, looking up at Diggle as he settled on the other side of Slade.

Diggle gently lifted up the cloth covering the wound, giving Felicity and Oliver, who had just come up behind her, a slight shake of his head. He had seen enough battle wounds to know which ones were fatal and which were not. Because of the major organs hit, there was nothing they could do for Slade.

Although he knew it was futile, Diggle took over from Felicity to try to slow the bleeding. Oliver reached for Slade's hand, taking it into his own to try to bring comfort to the broken man. Slade looked at him with shock, clearly not expecting it.

"Oliver," he started to say, then going into a coughing fit as blood started to trickle from his mouth.

"Don't try to talk, Slade," Oliver said, looking at Felicity and Diggle, searching for any hope. There was none to be had from the looks on their faces.

Felicity then reached over and started brushing Slade's hair back off of his forehead in a soothing manner. "You're going to be with her soon," Felicity said reassuringly.

"Shado?" Slade questioned, relief showing on his face. Felicity nodded gently, a soft smile on her face.

He was a soldier, and had seen enough death to know his time was short. He turned back to Oliver. "I'm sorry, I…" he started, again struggling for breath.

"I know," Oliver said. Slade squeezed Oliver's hand, then Oliver felt his grip loosen slowly as he saw the life drain out of his eyes, his head falling to the side limply.

Oliver reached over and shut Slade's eyes, the pain of losing his friend again crushing his chest. He felt Felicity slip her arms around him and turned into her, taking her warmth and comfort that he had tried to hold back from for so long.

She felt his body start to shake as the sobs escaped his throat, hugging him as tightly as she could without causing him more pain from his many injuries. She sat with him, rocking him gently as Roy and Thea came up to them, Thea now calm but still clearly shaken from the events of that evening.

At the remorse on Roy's face at the sight of Slade's lifeless body, Diggle stood up and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You had no choice," Diggle stated, looking him straight in the eyes. Roy nodded solemnly.

Barry came in then, checking the pulses of the now unconscious guards that had been hit with the cure. Their pulses were all strong, but he informed the group that they needed to leave before the authorities showed up. He pointed them to the sedan he had brought that would take Diggle back to his car, which was parked a half mile away, and then they would all meet at Verdant.

Felicity and Diggle helped Oliver out of the building, Oliver now totally silent after the release of emotion upon his friend's death. After a short drive Diggle, Roy and Thea got out to take Diggle's car back, and Barry closed the sedan's partition to give Oliver and Felicity privacy the rest of the drive.

Oliver was leaning back, his eyes closed, trying not to move as much as possible to avoid the shooting pain around his entire middle from the broken ribs. Diggle had confirmed for him his lung wasn't punctured, so at least they wouldn't have to take him to the hospital. Everything else could be treated by Diggle back at Verdant.

Felicity sat watching him, his one hand closest to her encased in her grasp. She had a glimpse tonight into just some of the horrifying events he had endured on the island, and she was amazed that he hadn't ended up as mad as Slade after all of it. Not many people would be able to survive that sort of thing, let alone turn it into a way to help others, like he had in taking on the role of the Vigilante.

Oliver opened his eyes, gazing at Felicity. She met his gaze, wanting him to see that she was right there with him, no matter what.

"I'm so sorry," he said, his voice quivering.

She reached out, taking him into her arms, then kissing him gently, trying not to touch where his lip was split.

"You didn't do what happened back there; you came to save us," Felicity said, caressing his cheek.

"But it was you who ended up saving all of us," he said, letting his forehead rest against hers, trying to let the tightness in his chest at the image of her putting herself in front of Slade's gun ease knowing she was safe.

"It was all of us," Felicity stated, thinking to what Diggle and Roy were able to do when the opportunity came. She didn't want Slade to die, but she thought he was finally at peace after what he had been through, so it was probably a blessing.

"Can you ever forgive me?" Oliver asked.

"For what?"

"For pushing you away when I needed you most; for not letting you know how I really feel," he answered.

Felicity felt her heart race. "How do you feel?"

"I love you, Felicity, and I was so terrified I wasn't going to get the chance to tell you after you had been taken. I've been stupid and selfish, thinking I know what's best for everyone, and letting my obsession with what happened in the past on the island get in the way of what I have right now, right in front of me," he declared, caressing her face. "And I wouldn't blame you one bit for turning around and walking away from me for how horribly I've treated you, first running away after the Undertaking, then sending you off to London, and for not letting you help me when Slade showed up. I let my own fear paralyze me and keep me away from the best thing that has ever happened to me," he finished.

Tears rolled down her cheeks at his admission. "I love you, Oliver, and I'm not going anywhere," she stated, taking him into her arms. They remained that way the rest of the ride, finally unburdened of their unspoken feelings.

For the first time in years, Oliver felt hope and the prospect of a future beyond his role of the Vigilante. His years on the island had taken so much from him, to the point where he felt that for all of the things he had done to survive, he was not worthy of love or a future with someone who could care for him. Felicity's words that afternoon so long ago rang in his ears again.

Well I think…I think you deserve better than her.

For the first time he believed her words, and he was going to let himself believe that he deserved Felicity and the love she gave so generously to him. He vowed he would spend the rest of his life proving to her that he was worthy of her goodness and kindness.

For the first time in years, Oliver knew he was finally home.