15. Sanity

Late Update...again, I'm sorry. We are preparing for a new puppy and its chaos here. But I am still here! I haven't forgot about this lovely (tragic) story. Enjoy!

He shook Felicity, attempting to draw her out of her subconscious with no prevail. Oliver was still shaking after seeing the way her eyes met his as she had woken from her nightmare. The wild, frightened eyes he knew all too well himself was enough to make him want to hurt himself for what he brought Felicity into.

He didn't want her to go through the same thing he did. The nightmares alone were enough to drive him mad. Not to mention waking up every morning on an island, realizing that the nightmare hadn't ended in the first place. He would make sure Felicity awoke from hers.

"Felicity!" he called again. He checked her pulse, still rapid, yet slowly decreasing. Though he was grateful he was at her place when it happened, the guilt coursed through him like a bullet wound to the heart. Or an arrow.

Sweat beaded her forehead, and Oliver got up reluctantly to the kitchen for a cold rag and some water. He could tell she was exhausted, probably not able to sleep through the night at all. It was so unlike her, seeing her in bed, not rambling on about things, and without doing anything, really. He only now understood how much time she had devoted to his job. Practically his life.

It was so hard for him to put into words what he had felt for Felicity at that moment. He had known her for almost 2 years now, yet he barely knew a thing about her life. And now she was weaved into his life, being Oliver Queen's EA and overnight vigilante partner. The arrow was being shoved deeper into his heart.

Emotion is such a hard thing to understand, with Oliver. He confused killers with friends, friendliness for love, partners with employees. So much was going on in his life at the moment and he couldn't believe Diggle and Felicity had stayed with him through every moment of it. He didn't deserve any of it.

After getting the glass of water, he walked back to Felicity's bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed, setting the water down on the bedside table. He took the rag and gently patted it on her forehead, which was extremely warm. He slowly did the same thing with her cheeks, and then her neck. After a few minutes, he was about to go soak the rag again when Felicity stirred.

The cold compress felt good on her head. She felt like her head was boiling. At first she tried to move, her aching muscles resisting. "Shhh." Oliver said, quietly. "Just relax." She slowly registered his voice, and then added that to the cold compress, connecting dots as fast as her brain could fathom it.

It took her a few tries, but she finally opened her eyes, wincing from the light. She already had a headache, and it felt as if she'd slept for hours. She suddenly remembered the figure sitting next to her, worry painted all over his facial features.

"Wh-What are you...umm..doing here?" She meant to sound more dominant, but her brain was running around in circles and she couldn't focus.

"Just relax. You're fine. Stay still." 'That was odd.' she thought. Why is he telling her to relax? There must be something wrong. "Oliverrr.." she tried. "Oliver, what is the matter..? Why do you keep telling me that?" Her brain was slowing down finally, and she adjusted her head to look at him. "I was coming up your front steps when I heard a noise. You were having a nightmare." His eyes wandered to the other side of the room, looking apprehensive. This was unlike him. "Umm, why were you coming here?" She worked on locating her arms and attempted to sit up. She ignored the banging in her head and rested against the headboard. She was still confused as to why Oliver was in her bedroom, his massive frame making her apartment look like a playhouse.

"We'll talk about it later. Are you alright? You had me worried; you were passed out for for almost ten minutes."

'Weird,' she thought. Looking to her window it looked as like it was the middle of the night. Why was he worried she had slept for ten minutes? Without her glasses on, she, out of habit, looked to her clock for the time. "Funny" she said. "My clock is gone."

Oliver, though happy she was finally awake, was a little surprised about her reaction to him being in her apartment. He knew she might still be out of it from the nightmare, but after her anger towards him earlier that night, he half-expected her to start yelling at him again. A thought...a terrifying thought occurred to him.

"Felicity, do you remember what your dream was about?" "Umm no, I don't." she answered. "And you still didn't answer my question. Why are you here?"

"You don't remember our conversation?" he asked, worry plaguing him again.

"Oliver, tell me what's going on. Did you get a location on Tockman or something? Because if you did you didn't have to wake me up in the middle of the night to let me know..."

Oliver froze.

Haha I love this cliffhanger! It even surprised me! Well, I hope it was alright. Chapter 16 will be up Wednesday! P.S -Going insane over Arrow Hiatus...again.