Thanks for all the positive feedback. Y'all had me at "Please Continue." I really hope you enjoy this chapter.

"Felicity, please...Felicity," I heard a familiar voice dancing around in my head.

"Can you hear me?" the voice got closer and more clear.

I struggled to open my eyes, but the overwhelming feeling that my body could not move outweighed my ability to focus enough to regain consciousness.

This voice in my head kept urging me to move, to do anything.

"Wake up, Felicity. I need you to wake up."

The next thing I remembered was opening my eyes very slowy and seeing a dark figure hovering over me and shimmering lights in the distance and then feeling the overwhelming sensation that my head was going to explode. I forced myself to focus and I finally realized Oliver was leaning over me, my head in his lap, my head in his hands.

"Oliver?" I said in a lethargic voice.

"Thank God, you had me scared to death."

"What happened?" I said still sluggish.

"You were knocked out cold, Felicity. Don't try to move."

"Some jerk tried to steal my purse and then hit me in my face." Everything suddenly came rushing back to me.

"It's okay. I handled that jerk."

"What do you mean? Where is he?"

"He's over there." Oliver's eyes motioned over to his left. My attacker looked to be curled in a ball, lying motionless.

"The police are on their way. Now, lie still. Besides there being an awful gash over your right eye, I think you hit your head when you hit the concrete."

I moaned in agreement. "Why does this always happen to me?"

"I'm so sorry, Felicity," he said sounding as if he was blaming himself.

"What are you sorry for? You didn't hit me, did you?"

"Of course not."

"Well, then you've got nothing to be sorry about. It's not your fault. That was just your typical lowlife street thug who likes to attack women in dark alleys. It's not exactly unheard of."

"Still...I should have been there to stop it," he said as he laid his head down.

"Hey, hey" - I lifted my hand up to grab his - "I'm the one that didn't wait for you. Now, stop."

I suddenly felt a rush of pain in my head and grabbed the side of it.

"I'm going to call an ambulance."

"No, I don't need a hospital."

"Felicity -"

"It's just a bump," I argued.

"No, it's a gash," he corrected me.

"You can stitch me up, right?"

"I can, but I think you need -"

"Oliver, please, I hate hospitals so the last thing I want to do right now is go to one. How many times have I stiched you up?"

"Okay, you win, but I need to get you inside to stop that bleeding and look you over." As he looked at me lying there, his face grew angry.

"God, I should have killed that guy for laying his hands on you."

"But you didn't...right?"

"No, he'll live...unfortunately."

"Oliver, I know you, and you need to stop feeling guilty about this. You can't be everywhere all the time. What matters is you're here now, okay?"

He was very quiet all of a sudden. I knew he blamed himself and there was no getting through to him.

"Oliver, do you think we can get out of here now?"

"Do you think you can sit up?"

"I can try."

As Oliver helped lift me up into a sitting position, I felt everything spinning rapidly.

"Whoa," I uttered as I felt the overwhelming feeling of dizziness.

"I'm going to help you to your feet slowly, okay? Don't try to get up too fast."

I put my arm around Oliver's neck as he helped me to my feet. As I got into the upright position, I immediately leaned up against Oliver's car that was behind me. On reflex, I grabbed for my right eye. I could feel the warm liquid streaming down my face, which I tried to wipe away. The blood was all over my hands.

"Ow," I winced in pain.

"Let me see that, Felicity."

"It hurts," I whimpered. "How bad is it?"

"I need to stop the bleeding, but the cut isn't that deep. You're definitely going to have a shiner around that eye tomorrow, though," he said.

"Oh, God, I forgot all about my date. I can't go looking like this. I'm going to have to call –"

"Felicity, you can't go at all. You can't worry about that right now. He'll get over it. I need to take care of you."

"Oliver, I'm supposed to be meeting him any minute and I can't just leave him sitting there waiting –"

"I think he'll understand when you explain it to him...Tomorrow."

"Just one call, okay, and then I'll let you do whatever you want to me." I suddenly felt dazed again and grabbed onto Oliver for balance.

"Okay, okay, don't get all worked up. Don't move. I'll do it. I'll call and cancel for you."

"Thank you."

"My cell is in my purse. Do you see it anywhere?"

Oliver turned around looking for my purse. He spotted it on the ground a few feet from where we were and went and picked it up.

"My cell is in there, Oliver. Just hit redial. He was the last person I talked to. And be nice."

"Felicity, we're really wasting time -"

"Just one call, Oliver."

Oliver sighed loudly and turned to walk away from me. He began mumbling something under his breath as he got out of earshot. I could only make out a couple of words: "Stubborn – she's bleeding - unbelievable."

He made the call and then he walked back over to me and handed me my phone, not saying a word.

"What did you tell him?"

"I told him something came up and you'd have to reschedule."

"And he bought that, no questions asked?" I said surprised.

"Why wouldn't he?" he asked using an accusatory tone.

"Well, he's just one to ask a million questions until he gets the right answers."

"Well, I gave him no choice."

"What does that mean? What else did you say?"

"I can be very convincing, Felicity. You know that."

"Oh, don't tell me you used 'that tone.'

"What tone?" he cracked a crooked smile as he spoke in his deep-dark Arrow voice.

God, does he have to be so damn cute all the time?

"Well, I'm sure if he's not terrified that my apparent bodyguard will kick his ass, he'll call me for another date."

"Can I take care of you now?" he said in a soft, soothing tone.

"You may." I leaned up off the car to try to move and I began to fall forward.

"Whoa, whoa, you need to sit down for a bit. I'm gonna take you inside, clean up this cut, and look you over before I take you home and leave you alone to fend for yourself, okay?"

What does looking me over entail, I wonder?

"I'll be okay as soon as you bandage me up, but I'm not so sure about the walking part."

Before I knew it, I was swept up into his arms and being carried out of there. Not exactly what I had in mind when I envisioned him carrying me for the first time, but, nonetheless, I was in his arms and I had no complaints.

He carried me inside and sat me down on the desk and started tending to me in the most sweet and caring way possible.

"This cut over your eye looks worse than it is. I just need to clean it up and stop the bleeding. I want you to stay very still for me, okay?"

Oh, I wasn't gonna move; I wasn't going anywhere; I think I was about to rather enjoy myself.

With a cold, wet rag he wiped the blood off of my face and applied as much pressure as he could without making me uncomfortable. After he managed to stop the bleeding, he put a band-aid over it. He then proceeded to do a thorough eye exam, I guess to test for a concussion. He moved across my entire body, touching, pressing, checking for any possible injuries or bruises, and I didn't ask any questions. I just let him do what he had to. He was so gentle with me and, once again, I saw another side to the many sides I already loved of Oliver Queen.

"So are you done?"

"Almost."

"I feel a lot better now. I really just want to go home, sleep it off," I said as I bent my head down toward my chest.

Oliver reached over and touched my chin and slightly lifted it as he leaned down to me so we were eye to eye.

"I'm going to take you home when I know you are all right and not a minute sooner, okay?"

"Whatever you say," I said conceding to his rather sweet demands.

"Good."

"What did you do to that guy anyway? He wasn't moving."

"He's on his way to the hospital. He'll get the help he doesn't deserve there."

"Oliver, you didn't have to beat him up for me. Jail would have been fine."

"Well, as much as I wanted to break his arms and legs, it just so happens that when I yanked him off of you, he dropped his gun and it went off. It shot him clear through his knee and he fell down on his own. I may or "may not" have punched him once or twice while he was on the ground. I can't remember that part."

"Well, thanks for always saving me. It's becoming a habit for you."

"I won't let anything ever happen to you, I promise you that. I'm just sorry I couldn't stop this jackass before he was able to hurt you. He could have...killed you."

Before I knew what was happening, I was in his arms. He had suddenly threw me there and wrapped his arms tight around me. I returned the favor and held onto him too. It was a real hug, one that meant something, one that made you feel something. I felt it in the way he held me without saying a word. He was genuinely relieved I was okay and I could feel how scared he was at the thought of losing me. I just didn't know if it was just friendship or something more.

"Oliver, I'm okay, I promise. I'm not going anywhere."

He continued to hold me tightly for a few more seconds, not saying anything until he slowly released his hold on me and leaned back. He looked at me differently. I don't know how I could tell, but I just could. At that moment, he wanted to say something but somehow I knew he wouldn't.

"Oliver, do you want to take me home now?"

"Not yet," he said looking intently at me.

What the hell did he mean by "not yet"?

"I don't want to let you go just yet."

"Well, we can't sit here all night, you know."

Just shut up, Felicity. Sure we can.

"I want to be sure you're all right first."

"Well, you checked me out from head to toe. Short of taking me to the hospital, which is not an option, I think you've done a very thorough exam. You don't have to worry anymore."

"I can't help it. I worry about people that I…I care about."

"You're so sweet for looking out for me, Oliver, but I'm okay now."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm as sure as I can be."

I leaned in to give him a kiss on his cheek to thank him for being there for me, but something went so wrong, or so right, depending on the way you look at it. As I leaned into Oliver to kiss his cheek, either he didn't see me coming, my aim was way off, or he purposely turned his head, because instead of finding my lips on his cheek, they were smack dab on his mouth. I was so surprised and mortified for the apparent mistake I had made, I quickly pulled back, blaming myself and apologizing.

"I'm so sorry. That was not what I was trying to do. I was going for your cheek and I -"

"Please don't apologize. I think you're still a bit woozy from being hit in the head and overshot your target."

So that's the way he's going to play it? So it was my inadvertent action that caused that kiss and nothing else? Okay, that's fine. I can live with that. But the worst part of it all is I didn't even have a second to enjoy it before I quickly put a stop to it. Damn, if I knew he was going to let me off the hook so easily for my apparent bad aim, I'd at least have stayed there to enjoy it a bit longer.

"I've really made a mess of everything this evening, haven't I?"

"Don't' be silly, Felicity. None of what happened tonight is your fault."

"Well, I stormed out of here into the parking lot and I didn't wait for you; hence, I got mugged. I ruined my new dress that I overpaid for. Then I make some accidental pass at you when all you were trying to do was take care of me. I feel like an idiot. I'm sure that's the last thing you expected, your Girl Wednesday to make some lame pass at you that wasn't even intentional. I'm so embarrassed. Can you just take me home and maybe not utter a word of this to me or anyone…like ever?"

"Look, I can't let you take all the blame for –"

"Oliver, please, can we just forget tonight? Yes, let me take the blame. I just want to go home and forget about it, okay?"

"Okay, whatever you want," he said as he shrugged his shoulders.

We didn't talk the whole ride to my house, at least I didn't. I was too mortified to say anything and he picked up on my humiliation. And after all was said and done, it was 10 pm; my date had never happened and I inadvertently kissed Oliver and it meant nothing, apparently. What a day. I ran into my apartment with not so much as a good-bye to Oliver, headed to my bed, hit the pillow, and tried to doze off.

It was midnight and even though my body was begging for sleep, the thoughts running through my bruised head wouldn't allow me to sleep. All I could think about and persistently reflect upon was what had happened earlier and how I couldn't get it out of my mind. How was I going to act tomorrow? How was he going to act tomorrow? I was so confused and whole a lot embarrassed. How could I have let that happen? I seriously wasn't going to get any sleep, with all that was going on in my head, not to mention that nasty cut over my eye. I just knew I'd be awake all night.

I got up and walked to the kitchen. I opened the freezer and grabbed the pint of mint chocolate chip I had on reserve in my freezer and pulled it out. Before I knew it, I was scraping the bottom of it. I threw away the empty carton and headed out of the kitchen. As I was making my way back to my bedroom, I heard a faint knock on the front door. I looked over at the clock and it said 12:20. Who the hell could that be? I walked over to the door on my tippy toes and stood to the side of it with caution, and with a sceptical voice I asked, "Who is it?"

"It's me, Felicity. It's Oliver. I need to talk to you."

My heart dropped as I unlocked the chain from the door.

I exhaled loudly. So many thoughts were running through my head and my curiosity got the best of me.

Wait, what am I wearing? Oh, okay, a t-shirt and pajama bottoms. I guess that's doable.

I opened the door to Oliver standing in my doorway with a look on his face I wasn't quite sure how to read.

"Hi."

"Oliver? What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry to come by so late. I just didn't feel right about how we left things. I needed to tell you something and it couldn't wait."

"Do you want to come in or –"

"No, I can do this here in your doorway. I just felt I owed you the truth about something that I should have told you back at the lair."

"The truth about what?" Now he had my interest really piqued.

"Did you lie to me about something?"

"More like kept quiet about something."

"Go on," I urged him.

"Earlier, when you kissed me, I shouldn't have let you take all the blame."

"Look, I thought we weren't going to talk about that. It was a stupid mistake on my part. I leaned in to kiss you and I –"

"And I turned my head on purpose, Felicity."

There was an angsty silence between us as he stood in my doorway looking at me. But after a response like that, I began to feel that the two feet between us was two feet too far.

"Oliver…"

"I meant to kiss you, Felicity. I'm sorry."

What the hell is he sorry about?

"You what?" I said in a faint whisper.

"I think you heard me," he whispered back just as softly.

"So you're saying that it wasn't my mistake?"

"No, it wasn't a mistake at all, at least not yours. I know it was stupid. We're friends and you're seeing other people -"

"It was one date, Oliver."

"It's just that when I saw you there, so vulnerable and sweet after taking care of you, I don't know, I just saw what you were about to do and I purposely turned my head because I - well, I wanted to see how it felt to kiss you, Felicity. If truth be told, it's not the first time I've thought about it."

"It isn't?"

"No. In fact, I wanted to kiss you earlier at the lair before you left."

"Then why didn't you?"

Oliver grew silent and gave me a look like I said something that piqued his interest.

"Did you want me to kiss you?" He sounded surprised by my response.

"I asked you first," I said, avoiding his question.

He just sat there looking at me and it was playing with my head.

"Oliver, why are you really here?"

"Because I didn't want there to be any awkwardness between us for something I did, so I had to come over here and tell you I'm sorry. I had no right to let you take the blame. I shouldn't have done it in the first place. It was wrong."

"Why is it wrong? What's so wrong with me?"

"This is not coming out the way I wanted it to."

"It's coming out the way you're saying it, Oliver."

He looked at me long and hard and I knew whatever was in that mind of his he was struggling against it.

"There is nothing wrong with you. That's the problem."

"What are you saying?"

"It's getting harder and harder to be near you and hide how I feel about you but I know I can't do anything about it."

"Why the hell not?"

"Felicity, I shouldn't even be here –"

"You know, you can't keep doing this. You acted jealous when Barry showed an interest in me and then you acted strangely all night knowing I had a date. You just told me you wanted to kiss me earlier, but now you don't want to own up to it. You say things to make me feel you're interested and, God, Oliver, the way you look at me sometimes is so emotionally exhausting in a sweep-me-off-my-feet kind of way that I have to talk myself down from the excitement I feel just being so close to you. But then it's back to business as usual. The signals are so mixed up. What do you want from me? If being with someone like me is in conflict with some moral code you seem to think you should live by or it's some way to protect me, then what is left to say? Do you know how hard this is for me?"

"Are you saying you want to be with me, Felicity?"

"Never mind, Oliver. It doesn't matter."

"It does matter. It matters to me."

Oliver stood there unsure of his words. He walked up closer to me as we stood face to face in the doorway. I don't know quite what we were waiting for, but waiting is what we did, staring at each other…and waiting.

I finally broke the silence.

"It's late and you obviously aren't ready for this conversation or you're not man enough to just admit what exactly it is you're feeling, but either way, it's tiring and I've had a long day. Let's just forget about this for tonight, okay?"

I went to close the door but his foot was wedged in the doorway. I looked up at him as he was coming over the threshold into my apartment. He was approaching me slowly and I could tell he meant business.

"Wait...wait...I don't want to leave things like this between us," he said as he moved even closer.

"I don't know what to say to you, Oliver."

"Tell me you feel something for me."

"Why?"

"Because I need to hear it."

"Look, you came to me. I don't think I'm the one that should be answering questions about the way I feel about you right now, especially when I thought it was obvious."

Damn it, why did I say that?

Oliver took another step forward and grabbed my face in his hands.

"I didn't know, Felicity," he said in a hushed tone.

"Maybe you should just leave," I mumbled under my breath.

"Maybe I don't want to."

"I don't know what you want me to say?" I said feeling frustrated. "Yes, I have feelings for you. Does that make you feel better?" I put my hands over my face and closed my eyes in defeat. I didn't know if at that moment I just ruined everything because I was still completely unsure about what he was feeling or if he'd ever admit it. As I held my head in my hands, I felt his hands grab mine and remove them from my face.

"Open your eyes. Look at me, please," he whispered.

"I'm looking at you, Oliver."

He moved me back a few steps into my apartment and he closed the door behind him and turned his complete focus back to me.

"That's all I needed to know," he whispered so seductively as he leaned in and kissed me. I was so caught off guard by the immediate pleasure I felt from the sensual kiss he was laying on me that I was swept away in a mixture of passion and absolute fulfillment. The urgency, yet tenderness, in which he kissed me backed me all the way up against the wall of my living room. I couldn't think because I was too busy feeling EVERYTHING. He stopped only for a moment to look at me with wanton eyes and then he slipped his tongue back into my mouth, his tongue engaging mine over and over. I was so turned on, I didn't know what do with myself so I just let him do it to me. My breathing became heavy as he grasped the side of my neck. I wrapped my hands around his waist as he slid his hands up my back and through my hair as he kissed me deeper and deeper.

"Felicity…"

I heard my name and my body reacted. I was even weaker in the knees than I already was. Thank God for that wall behind me or I would have lost all balance from what he was making my body feel. I felt his hands on my bare skin as he lifted my t-shirt up to slide his hands in. I felt my skin tingle as he ran his hands up my back. Was this really happening?

"I want you," he whispered breathlessly.

Before I could respond or do anything else, there was a knock on my front door.

Oh, no, not now. Who could that be? I decided to ignore it and carry on with the matter at hand.

(KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.)

"Go away," I yelled out.

All of a sudden, my location changed and everything got quiet. I realized I had awoken in my room, in my bed, all alone. I sat up, looked in the mirror. I could see my black eye all the way from my bed. Yesterday had happened, but the dream, the dream was gone.

(KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.)

"No, no, no! You've got to be kidding. I want to go back to sleep. I have to go back into that dream. I need for it to continue from where it left off. Oh, God, I know damn well that will never happen. I will never get that dream back or what Oliver was doing to me in that dream.

I didn't cuss a lot in general unless the circumstances called for it but this warranted a good:

"Motherfucker!"

Okay, hear me out. Don't be too mad at me. But think about it, we can't have Olicity going at it like that this early in the story, can we? I just thought I'd give you something to tide you over until the real thing happens. I'll make it up to you. It's a good thing that Felicity is dreaming about Oliver. Now the question is, will Oliver ever admit his feelings? Well, this is a fanfic, isn't it? Stay tuned...