I hope you enjoy this chapter. It's a bit longer since you had to wait longer for it and I'm getting into the nitty-gritty of the story. I hope you enjoy it.

Reminder where we left off:

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

Standing outside Felicity's door, I felt overly anxious, not something I was all that used to where me and Felicity were concerned, yet here I was with a pit in my stomach. Everything she went through last night - everything we went through together - I sensed something changed between us. I didn't even know if Felicity felt it, but it was there and it was definitely felt by me. I can't put it into words, but I connected with her on another level, a level beyond that of mere friendship. Seeing her unconscious and not knowing for that split second how hurt she was hit me harder than I ever knew that it could. How was I so unaware of my own feelings? Were they so hidden that I didn't stop to realize they were there or is this a new development? Had I been that self-absorbed? I didn't know what this meant, but I knew after last night I literally and selfishly could not live without her. I'd always known I needed her; now I was learning how much I wanted her too. I just had to hold it together until I could find a way to tell her.

(Felicity's bedroom, 8:00 a.m.)

I got up out of bed reluctantly, still huffing and puffing and waiting to murder whoever it was on the other side of that door. I threw on a robe and proceeded to my front door to find out who my unsuspecting victim would be.

"Good morning," Oliver said as he walked right past me into my apartment.

There he was, Real Life Oliver Queen, standing in my apartment, not knowing that he just interrupted my Fantasy Dream Oliver Queen and me having what could have been a hot, steamy, unreal—literally unreal- sexual encounter. I'm not liking Real Life Oliver all that much right now.

"Oliver, what are you doing here? Were you supposed to pick me up for work or something?"

"No, I wanted to come by to check up on you and see how you were feeling. How's the head?"

"My head?"

I had momentarily forgotten I had gotten assaulted last night.

"Oh, my head."

'Yes, your head. Any pain?"

I've got pain, all right, but it's got nothing to do with my head.

"Just a little headache. Nothing two Excedrin won't cure."

"I told you you were going to have a bit of a shiner."

"Yeah, I woke up rather unexpectedly" - I shot Oliver a look - "and welcomed that black eye first thing."

"It's not that bad, Felicity."

I looked over to the mirror on my wall in the living room and begged to differ.

"I mean, what color is that anyway?" I squinted as I tried to focus.

"Black and blue."

"Well, I know that, but it looks yellow and purple and bloody."

"I can take you to the hospital to get it checked out if you –"

"No, no, no, still hate hospitals, remember? And that's enough of taking care of me. We have work to do. I'm perfectly fine with working with this shiner."

"Wait a minute, I didn't expect you to work today, Felicity. I think you should take the day off."

"Oh, no, look what happened yesterday when I just tried to take an evening off. No thank you. I'm fine."

"Uh, speaking of last evening..."

"Yeah, that was crazy, huh?" I responded, not wanting to make a big deal of it.

"We ended things a bit..I mean, is everything okay between us?"

I paused for a second, surprised by his unexpected question.

"Everything is fine, Oliver. I don't remember too much of it, really."

"You don't?"

Oh, yeah, I am lying.

"Between the wine and the mugging, it's all a bit blurry."

Oliver exhaled as if he wanted to remind me of something.

"It's probably better that way anyway," I said not wanting to be reminded.

"If you say so, Felicity."

I say so, because I'd rather not remember that awkward kiss. Oh, God I just remembered it.

"Well, this big "shiner" on my face will be my reminder."

"Is your car still in the shop?"

"Oh, God, I forgot."

"Well, if you insist on working, I'll give you a ride to work."

"But I'll make you late. I haven't even taken a shower yet."

"I'll wait."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm the boss, remember. I won't get in trouble for being late. No one will notice."

"Well, they will notice if you're late with little ol' me in tow with a black eye."

Oliver grinned the most sexy grin my direction.

Yup, he's already got me flustered before 9 a.m. Only Oliver.

"Okay, I'll hurry, I promise."

"Take your time. And, Felicity...do you think we could talk?"

"Isn't that what we're doing?"

"I mean, I thought we could stop for coffee before work."

"Sure, I could use some. We'll be lucky to make it in to work before noon at this rate."

I turned to leave the room and Oliver called out, "Now, don't fall in the shower and bump that head of yours again. I don't think it or I can take it."

I smiled at Oliver and ran into the bathroom and took the fastest shower in the history of taking showers. I blew my hair dry most of the way and threw it into a ponytail. I didn't even bother to try to cover my small laceration or the ugly bruise with makeup. I thought this should go over well at the office gossip table. Let them talk. Who cares? In a weird way, I felt like I took one for the Arrow team and scars came with the territory.

I threw on a pair of dress slacks and a polka dot blouse and headed back out into the living room to Oliver. I was almost embarrassed to face him after that dream I had. How could I ever look at him without a grin on my face.

As I walked into the living room, I got a shock. Instead of seeing Oliver's face, I ran straight into a humongous, and I mean "humongous" assortment of roses. And apparently hidden behind them was Oliver.

"Oliver, what did you do?"

"I didn't do anything, Felicity. These were just delivered to your door."

"Really?" I said excitedly. "Wow, I wonder who they're from. Is there a card in there somewhere?"

I ran over to Oliver who was still holding onto the vase.

"Oh, there is a card," I said as I snatched it from the bouquet.

I pulled opened the envelope and read it out loud:

"Felicity,

I'm sorry that you had to cancel our date last night. I was really looking forward to it. If you find the time, I hope we can get together before I leave town. Call me.

Love Jax"

"That was so sweet of him. I feel so bad I had to cancel on him."

"What kind of name is 'Jax'? Oliver threw his two cents in.

"What's wrong with Jax? I think it's a really sexy name."

"Sounds like the name of a tough guy type. Is he in a motorcycle gang or something?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Oliver. He went to school to be an electrical engineer and he was offered an apprenticeship at a company in Chicago called Energy Sources or something like that. I forget exactly. Now, let me put these gorgeous roses over on the table and we can get out of here."

As we headed out, Oliver got an emergency call at the office about some business deal that needed his attention ASAP. We had to skip coffee. He seemed a bit bothered by it, but I didn't think anything of it, really. Oliver is known for his mood swings.

Work that afternoon was otherwise uneventful except for all the whispering stares from the secretarial pool about my very obvious bruise.

(At the lair, later that day.)

"So Diggle, what did you find out?" Oliver inquired.

"Well, I've been doing some digging on this sudden insurgence of kidnappings in the city and two names keep coming up and those are Josh Donovan and Joseph Hawthorne, probably both aliases. Both of these lowlifes were pretty much low-level criminals until a couple of years ago. They supposedly started off as small-time drug dealers and worked their way all the way up into drug trafficking and recently joined the ranks of human trafficking."

"Did you say human trafficking?"

"Yes. I got a call from an informant who was affiliated with their organization until recently and he's now in hiding in fear of his life. He told me what he could but he said he would never testify against them and wants to remain anonymous. These guys have been kidnapping women and shipping them overseas in exchange for high quantities of drugs. These guys are scum and the people they deal with are far worse. It's like they're ordering a damn pizza. They have certain tastes and qualifications for the women they want and they place an order and then these two, Donovan and Hawthorne, go out and handpick the women by the exact specifications they were given. And, in turn, they will receive their drugs from overseas in unspecified shipments, which as of now has been untraceable. We have to stop them, Oliver."

"We will, Dig, we will."

"Felicity, get me all you can on this Donovan and Hawthorne. This is top priority."

"Okay, I'll get right on it. What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to see if I can find out where these huge shipments are coming in. I'm going to talk to Detective Lance and see if he's heard anything over the wire. I'll be back later."

The day had passed quicker than I had expected with all the research I was doing and then it hit me I hadn't called Jax to thank him for the beautiful roses and to try to reschedule our date. But was now the time? There was so much going on at work. Maybe I should just tell Jax this wasn't a good time. I don't want to jeopardize the chance of finding these worthless degenerates over one date with a guy I hadn't seen in a few years.

"Diggle, have you heard from Oliver? I thought he'd be back by now."

"Oh, yes, he called when you slipped out to grab you a bite to eat. Something came up with Laurel and he had to go handle it. He said for us to gather everything we can and he'd go over it with us tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"Yeah, he didn't think he'd make it back tonight. In all honesty, Felicity, I think there's not much more you can do tonight. Why don't you go on home." Diggle walked over to the other side of the room and picked up the phone.

Well, there you have it. I was worried about being selfish and going out on a date and Oliver's off with Laurel doing who knows what. Come on, Felicity, you have a life too. Go live it. It's not all about work.

I picked up my cell and dialed the number. It was now or never.

"Hey, Felicity."

"Hi, Jax."

"I'm so glad you called. Are you all right?" he said sounding concerned.

"Yes, why wouldn't I be?" I said curiously.

"Well, when that guy called to cancel our date at the last minute, I got worried, especially when he said you wouldn't be available for the foreseeable future."

"He did what?"

What the hell, Oliver? I can't believe you told him that.

"He over-exagerrated. It's just that me and a door had a run-in and the door won. I have a black eye to show for it."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"No, I'm fine. And I'm sorry I didn't call you back sooner to thank you for the beautiful roses."

"You're welcome."

"So when are you leaving town?" I inquired.

"I've had some unexpected business come up so I'll be leaving tomorrow."

"Oh, that's too bad," I said disappointed.

"Well, is there any chance I could see you tonight, Felicity?"

"I'd love to." I said yes partly because he was being so sweet and mostly because Oliver pissed me off for trying to interfere with my life when he was off living his.

"Excellent. Do you want me to pick you up from work or –"

"No. I got to run home and change first."

"Well, how about I pick you up at your apartment?"

"That's not necessary. I can just meet you wherever."

"Don't be silly. Let me pick you up like a proper date, okay?"

"Okay, if you insist."

"I do."

"Well, my address is – wait, you already know my address, don't you, because you had the flowers delivered. How did you –"

"I've got my sources. You know how thorough I can be."

"Yes, I do remember that about you."

"So how about I pick you up at 8:30?"

I looked at my watch and it said 7:20. I'm fast but not that fast. "Let's make it 8:45, okay?"

"Great. I'll see you then, Felicity. You don't know how much I am really looking forward to it."

"Me too."

I hung up the phone and was almost immediately regretting it. Was I really going to enjoy myself on this date when all I could think about was Oliver. Even when he butts into my personal life, I can't stop thinking about him.

"So did you get any new information on this Josh Donovan or Jack Hawthorne?" Diggle startled me as he walked up behind me.

"Yes and no. The information I managed to gather was very little but I was able to get access to the FBI's secured files database and it's searching through thousands of files right now. I thought it would have come up with something by now." I sat there tapping my pencil impatiently on the table.

"Are you late for something?" Diggle said as he raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I kind of just made a date for tonight, but I can cancel. I didn't realize how long this was going to take."

"Don't be silly. You go on ahead. I'll wait here for the data to come in. Take off, go have fun. You deserve it. You're always the last one to leave so let me do the honors tonight."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. You just tell—what's this guy's name?"

"Jax."

"You tell Jax he'd better treat you right or he'll have me to deal with."

"Thank you, Diggle, but Jax wouldn't hurt a fly, but thank you for looking out for me. You're the best."

"And don't you forget it," he said with a wink.

"Now have a good time for the both of us."

"I plan to. Goodnight."

Diggle shook his head, thinking out loud: One day Oliver is going to regret not scooping that girl up when he had the chance.

I left the office and made it home in 20 minutes and then began to panic about what I was going to wear. Considering I had dirt and blood on my dress from being knocked to the ground last night and couldn't wear it, I picked out another outfit without even trying, a pair of black slacks and a baby blue cardigan sweater. It sounded comfortable and that's what I wanted tonight, to feel comfortable. My heart wasn't fully into this date anyway, but I knew I had to move on and try to get out there and put a dent in this seemingly undentable attraction I had for Oliver.

God, I just hope Jax looks as good as I remember and is still as charming.

(Back at the lair, 8:45 p.m.)

"Oliver, what are you doing back here? I thought you were with Laurel."

"I was, but she is so far beyond my help now. There is no getting through to her. There's nothing I can do. She needs professional help. I had to call Detective Lance in and he is having her admitted into a substance abuse facility, but I'm sure once she's sober she will check herself back out. I hope that's not the case. I can't help her anymore on my own. She's not been the same since Tommy died and I take part of the blame in that and so I've tried in my own way to help her, but it's out of my hands now. I have my own demons over Tommy's death. She's got to want to get help. She needs to help herself."

"That's probably for the best," Diggle agreed.

"So where's Felicity? Did she run out on an errand or something?"

"Uh, not quite."

"Well, where is she? What did she come up with on those two pieces of dirt?"

"Felicity is out on a, uh, date, Oliver."

"She's what?"

"Well, I told her she should go. I didn't think you were coming back and she had been working so hard. I thought she deserved some personal time."

"Is it with that guy –"

"She said his name was Jax. She seemed really excited about it."

"Did she?"

"Well, it was about time somebody took that girl out and recognized how wonderful she is."

"Did she say where they were going?"

"I didn't interrogate her on where she was going on her date, Oliver. Why is this bothering you so much?"

"Diggle, our line of work isn't what you call safe and I'd feel better if I knew where Felicity was at all times."

"Wasn't this the college boyfriend, the one she was supposed to go out with last night?"

"Yeah, that's the one."

"Well, then she's known him longer than either of us so I'm sure she'll be fine."

"Nonetheless, I better go over there and –"

"Oliver, I'm sure she's gone by now or has got her hands full getting ready. Felicity is a big girl. She'll call us if she needs us. Are you sure this isn't more than just concern for her safety?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, are you sure you're not jealous?"

Oliver just shook his head and picked up his sledge hammer and began to pound out his frustrations.

"Oh, my, he's got it bad," Diggle said under his breath.

Oliver continued to pound away trying to release the frustration he suddenly was feeling about this date of Felicity's.

Why is this bothering me so much? Felicity deserves to be happy. I want her to be happy. She's the best person I know. Someone should get to experience her the way I have. But this guy knew Felicity three years ago; he doesn't know her now, not like I know her. He can't know how she's single-handedly changed my life and how I depend on her more than anyone. Who does this guy think he is to just come in here now and try to impress her now? She's my friend...she's my partner, she's my rock...she's...

Oliver dropped the sledge hammer and began to spout out demands to Diggle.

"Diggle, I need to know everything there is about this guy that Felicity is out with!" Oliver turned around and found himself yelling at no one.

"Dig, where are you?"

(8:50 p.m. Felicity's apartment)

I grew more nervous as the minutes passed by. He's only five minutes late but it seemed like an eternity. Was it too late to cancel?

Suddenly my cell phone began to ring in my purse. I looked at the screen and it was Jax calling.

"Hey, have you forgotten where I live already?" I joked.

"Hey Felicity, I'm outside. I've been circling the block looking for a place to park and it's like someone is throwing a party or something. There's no parking. Do you mind meeting me outside at my car?"

"Oh, sure. I'll be right out. What are you driving?"

"I'll be in a black four-door Jaguar, tinted windows, with license plate, Snow Man."

"Okay, I think I'll find you. I'll be right down."

As I hung up the phone, it dawned on me, "A Jaguar? He's come a long way since his Toyota Camry days. And what is Snow Man all about?"

The elevator ride down from my apartment seemed to take an eternity. I walked off of the elevator, through the lobby and out the door. It was getting cold out so I was happy with my choice of sweater. There on the curb I spotted a black Jaguar with the engine running with the illuminated plates of Snow Man. As I approached the car, I felt rain drops hit my shoulder. I hurried over to the car and jumped in quickly.

"I didn't know rain was in the forecast. I didn't bring an umbrella," I said while fastening my seatbelt. I felt the car pull off as I looked over to greet Jax.

"Hello, Ms. Smoak, you look much better in person."

I looked over at the unfamiliar man driving next to me and I suddenly felt a deep dark chill wash over me.

"Who the hell are you? Where's Jax?"

"He's not here. Sorry to disappoint you."

"What is this?"

"It's a kidnapping."

"What? Why? What did you do with Jax and why do you sound so much like him?"

"You can call me JD. Glad to make your acquaintance."

"Well, I'm not. Please stop the car."

"Not possible."

"I want to get out."

"Again, not possible."

"You called me on his phone. So where is he?"

"No, I called you on my phone. I was the one who called you and pretended to be Jax."

"So it's been you this whole time? I never talked to Jax? You are the one I was supposed to meet last night?"

"Yes. And I must say it rather fucked with my plans when you canceled. I thought I was going to have to come and kidnap you from your apartment tonight. I was very pleased the flowers worked and you decided to keep our date."

"I was keeping my date with who I thought was Jax. Why do you sound so much like him? Come to think of it, you resemble him. Who the hell are you?"

"You'll know everything soon enough, but for now you'd do good to keep your mouth shut until spoken to."

"Please, you're scaring me."

"Don't be frightened - at least, not prematurely, Ms. Smoak."

"How do you know me?" I demanded to know even though I was terrified.

"If you'd stop talking, I'll explain what's going to happen."

"Stop the car," I yelled out. "I don't know who you are, but you got me here under false pretenses and I want you to take me home right now."

"Shut the fuck up!" his voice raged at me and caught me completely off guard.

"See, Ms. Smoak, now you went and made me angry."

I scrunched down in my seat and moved over toward the passenger door as far away from him as I could.

"Why are you doing this to me?" my voice cracked under the anxiety.

"I've got plans for you, Ms. Smoak, and none of those involve taking you back home."

I tried to reach for my cell in my purse without getting noticed, but I suddenly felt a solid object press into my side.

"It would be best, Ms. Smoak, if you'd sit back and shut the fuck up and let JD finish what he was saying."

Out of nowhere another man appeared in the backseat behind me. I never even thought to look behind me. I couldn't see his face. I could only feel him breathing down my neck as he pressed the hard object, I assumed to be a gun, into my side.

"Oh, my God, what do you want?" I screamed out in fear.

"That's better, Ms. Smoak," the driver who called himself JD said in an ominous tone.

"Now if you cooperate fully, we won't hurt you. Now give me your cell phone."

"I don't have it with me," I said unconvincingly.

"Give me your cell phone or I'll pull over and strip search you until I find it. And don't think I wouldn't enjoy doing that, Ms. Smoak."

The tears began to run down my face as I handed him my cell phone and he chucked it out the window. And all I could think of was Oliver and Diggle and how they had no idea where I was and what was happening to me.

(Back at the lair, 8:55 p.m.)

"Diggle, what are you doing?"

"I'm working."

"Did you hear what I said about this Jax guy?"

"Oliver, I don't know if you're worried about this Jax guy in general or you're worried that Felicity's going to actually have a good time on her date with him, but it's going to have to wait. I've just got the information Felicity was waiting on."

"What does it say? The more we know about who we're dealing with the better off we are at finding them and stopping them."

"Here we go. According to the FBI database, Joseph Hawthorne, aka The Thorn, is wanted in 3 states for trafficking in cocaine and other illicit drugs. He's known as a follower and has a very low IQ. His partner, the mastermind, is Josh Donovan, also known as JD. He grew up as Josh Donovan Teller, but he eventually dropped his surname after his father committed suicide when JD was 17. He moved out of his mother's home at 18, mostly staying on the streets. He started off burglarizing homes and dealing in stolen property, but he's all grown up and so have his crimes. He's been recently placed on America's Most Wanted list for kidnapping, extortion and drug trafficking. The human trafficking is the newest crime these two scum have picked up as a way to get their drugs. They trade humans for their drugs instead. They're wanted on suspicion of kidnapping 18 girls ranging in ages from 16 to 28 and selling them overseas to some pretty shady characters who are running some underground slavery ring in that foreign country. They have to be stopped, Oliver."

"Do we have pictures of these deviants and their known associates or family members?" Oliver said angrily.

"Yes, their photos are printing now and I already printed their family histories."

"So it looks as though Joseph Hawthorne, age 25, is an only child, his parents abandoned him when he was 7. He grew up in foster homes until finally he landed in juvie when he was 14. When he got out of juvie at the age of 16, he finished school and seemed to get his life in order for a few years until he met up with this JD character.

Joshua Donovan, JD, is 27. He has a sister who lives in Oregon with their mother and a younger brother who lives in Chicago."

"Chicago?" Oliver interrupted.

"Yeah, his brother is a guy by the name of Jackson Teller. He's 25 and has no criminal history. They grew up together but became estranged when JD became involved in drugs and other illegal activities after their father's suicide. Jackson went off to college and, by all accounts, is not involved in his brother's illegal activities and they haven't spoken in years. Jackson goes by the nickname of -"

Diggle grew chillingly quiet.

"What is it? What does it say, Diggle?"

"Oliver, he goes by the name of Jax."

Oliver's face grew pale as he clinched his fists and then punched the wall beside him with his full body weight.

"It could be a coincidence, Oliver."

"There are no coincidences in our line of work. Tell me, where does it say he works, Diggle."

"At a company called Energy Forces in Chicago."

Oliver threw his hands down hard onto the desk and laid his head down.

"Felicity is out with JD's brother, Diggle."

"How do you know for sure, Oliver? The name Jax could just be a coincidence."

"She didn't tell me Jax's last name but she told me he worked in Chicago at a company called Energy Sources. She must have got the name wrong. I know it's the same guy and Felicity is out with him right now. That can't be a coincidence."

"You're right."

"Please tell me Felicity told you where she was going."

"I'm sorry, she didn't."

Oliver grew angrier and then an obvious concern washed over his face.

"Look, Oliver, by all accounts, Jax isn't involved with his brother's illegal activities. He's got no arrest record."

"It may very well be a coincidence that Felicity's college boyfriend Jax and JD are brothers, but for JD and this Hawthorne character to be arriving in town at the same time Jax unexpectedly, as Felicity said it, showed up wanting to take her out, now that can't be a coincidence. We have to find her now."

"I'm sorry, Oliver, I should have asked her where she was going."

"You had no way of knowing. I'm not blaming you." Oliver put his hand on Diggle's shoulder as he dialed Felicity's number with the other hand.

"Please pick up. Please pick up."

The phone went to voice mail.

"Felicity, this is Oliver, I have an issue at the office. Will you call me back as soon as possible?"

"Diggle, call every restaurant in a 50 mile radius and see if they have reservations under the name Jackson or Jax Teller. I'm going to head over to Felicity's apartment and see if for some reason she decided not to go on this date."

"Oliver, I'm –"

"Don't worry about it. I should have been here with her, not Laurel, especially after she got mugged last night. I can be so involved in other things, sometimes I forget she needs me and, even when I get frustrated at times, she puts up with me no questions asked. Felicity has no one but us and I failed her. If anything happens to her, I won't be able to live with myself. We have to find her, Dig."

"We'll find her, Oliver. We'll find her."

To be continued...

(Author's note: Don't forget to leave me a review, even if you want to be anonymous, because I want to hear if y'all are liking the story or just a "please continue" works too. What I find interesting and angsty may not be what y'all do, so it feels good to know y'all are right there with me in this story of Olicity, plus it makes me want to write faster to get the chapters out for you guys. Thank you so much for reading me.