Chapter 16:
Oliver looks down at Felicity.
He didn't do things like this. He didn't talk to people who didn't talk back, he never saw the point in it. But this was Felicity and Oliver always had a tendency to do the opposite when it came to Felicity, it was like all reasoning went out the window when it came to her. Felicity made him a mad man. Whenever she was in danger he moved heaven and hell to save her. Whenever she was sad he would stop at nothing to cheer her up. When she was hurt he could do anything to take away her pain. Losing her hadn't changed that, he was still crazy when it came to Felicity and seeing her like this was making him worse.
Olive sighed heavily as he sat down next to her bed. He remembered the moment he found out she was gone.
FLASHBACK
Oliver looked round the foundry it was really quite. It had been that way ever since he made the mistake of sleeping with Felicity. It wasn't a mistake because he hadn't wanted it to happen because he did, if he was honest he always had. It was a mistake because he knew he couldn't do it again no matter how much he wanted to he couldn't risk her like that. At first he had tried to act like everything was normal but he couldn't look at her without seeing her breast hovering over his face as she rode him or remember how her legs felt wrapped wound him. Not to mention a single look that she had which made him hard just to think about it let alone see it when she was working on something. It was when she would look up at him her head tilted slightly to the side, her eyes bright and wide. Her teeth running along the bottom of her lip gently biting as she thought. Just thinking about it now made him uncomfortable in all the right ways.
"Oliver?" Diggle called.
Oliver shook his head riding all thoughts of his blonde friend and partner.
Oliver looked over at Diggle and Diggle looked back annoyed.
"Whatever you did to Felicity fix it." Diggle ordered.
Oliver cringed. He had made loved to her then pretended like it never happened, he wasn't sure there was a guidebook of how to fix that.
"I don't know how." Oliver told his friend seriously.
It wasn't like they hadn't been talking they had it was just Felicity seemed more closed off than normal and it wasn't just with him it was everyone.
"Talk to her." Diggle ordered.
Oliver sighed.
"I am not sure that words are going to be enough this time." Oliver replied.
Diggle gave him a questioning glance but when Oliver failed to continue he sighed.
"Well you have to do something Oliver before we lose her." Diggle commented.
That thought hadn't even crossed his mind but after Diggle mentioned it that was all Oliver could think about. The thought of losing Felicity was unbearable.
By ten o'clock that night there was still no sign of Felicity and Oliver could't get the thought of losing Felicity out of his head so he headed over to her place.
When he got there the door was ajar, Oliver immediately tensed. His body readying himself for action. He had been so afraid of dealing with things with Felicity had he left her open to being taken.
He opened the door carefully to keep his noise to an absolute minimum. He walked quickly and quietly inside the house. He expected to find it a mess but instead the living room was completely empty. Oliver frowned. There was nothing not a single thing. Panic filled Oliver as he moved around the rooms, finding each room just as empty as the last.
Oliver felt like his world was crumbling. Oliver loved Felicity but his fear of her getting hurt had pushed her away and now she was gone.
Oliver dialled Diggles numbers.
"Dig she's gone." Oliver said quickly.
"What?" Diggle demanded.
Oliver ran a hand threw his hair.
"She is gone Dig, there is nothing here." Oliver told him and his world fell apart.
END OF FLASHBACK
Oliver had never felt so devastated in his entire life and now he had her back.
He gently took Felicity hand in his, it had been years since he held her hand. It had been years since he had touched her. He missed her soft skin.
"I have missed you so much." Oliver told her honestly.
Oliver eyes moved to her face and he froze when her pretty blue eyes met his.
"Oliver." her voice breathed so quietly that he wondered if he imagined it or not.
But her eyes were open and she was looking at him.
"Felicity." He replied happily.
He gently pressed a kiss to her hand.
"I am never going to let you go again." Oliver told Felicity honestly and he meant every word.
She gave him a small smile and Oliver felt tears of happiness fall down his cheek.
Katya walked quickly into the last warehouse on the left at the docks, just like Joe Wilson had ordered. Her heart was beating at what felt like a hundred miles per hour and she was terrified, but she had to do this for Tommy. She really hope that Jay would find that note soon. She didn't trust Joe to keep his promise about letting Tommy go. When she entered the warehouse she saw Tommy tied to a chair, his head down and from where she was standing Katya couldn't even tell if he was breathing.
She gasped.
"Tommy." Katya called unsure, running over to help him.
She prayed he was alive.
Tommy looked up his eyes wide and afraid. There was a cut on the top of his head that was bleeding badly and looked really painful. Katya approached him and removed the gag from his mouth.
"Are you ok?" She asked.
Tommy was shaking with fear as he bravely nodded his head.
Katya moved to undo his binds.
"It's going to be ok." Katya promised and she hope she could keep that promise.
"Katya." Tommy breathed sounding petrified.
"Behind you." he said just as Katya felt something sharp hit pinch into the back of her neck.
Katya turned round to find Joe smirking at her. Her feet were unsteady as she moved to stand in front of Tommy, whatever Joe had given her was fast acting.
"You promised you would let him go." Katya yelled.
Joe smirked.
"And I will as soon as I know no one followed you." Joe promised and before Katya could argue everything went black.
Diggle smiled as he looks down at the text. He hasn't smiled this much in years.
Felicity is awake. Can't wait to see everyone told her you would bring them all as soon as.
"What?" Roy asks.
Diggle hands Roy the phone and Roy cheers, making Diggle laugh. It finally feels like they are getting somewhere.
"Does Katya no?" Roy questioned.
Diggle shakes his head.
"I don't think so." He replies.
Diggle turned on the comms.
"Hey Jay, Felicity is awake." Diggle tells him.
He can hear the smile in Jay voice as he asks, "Really?"
"Yep, Oliver just text bring Katya down and we can go see for ourselves." Diggle orders.
"I thought Katya was down there with you." Jay replies instantly his voice panicked.
"What do you mean?" Diggle asks catching Roy's eye who is already looking through the clubs cameras for her.
"A fight broke out so I went to help Thea out and when it all calmed down she was gone." Jay replied.
Diggle can hear Jay asking someone if they have seen Katya. Diggle looks over at Roy. Roy is frowning.
"She not here." Roy informs him with a curse.
Diggle tells Jay. A few minutes later Jay is pounding down the steps to the foundry Thea not far behind him.
"Felicity is awake?" She asks a small smile on her face despite the situation.
"That's what Oliver said." Diggle replied.
Thea smile again quickly before looking over at Roy.
"No sign of her?" Thea asks.
Roy shakes his head.
"No but I am going back over the nights footage." Roy said.
They are silent for a moment.
"Maybe someone should call Oliver." Roy comments and Diggle knows his right. He swallows hard before dialling the number.
"Hey Oliver." Diggle starts.
Oliver looked over at Felicity as his phone slipped from his fingers. She was sitting up and smiling at him for the first time in a long time, how was he meant to tell her. How was he meant to tell her that the thing she had fault so hard to stop from happening had happened?
"What is it?" she asked instantly worried.
It amazed Oliver that even after all these years she could still read him like an open book.
"She's gone." Oliver said.
Felicity eyes widened.
"What?" she demanded.
Oliver swallowed hard, he had one job to do and that was to keep his daughter safe and somehow he had failed at that.
"Katya is gone." Oliver repeated.
Felicity moved to the edge of the bed.
The doctor had told Felicity she would have to take things easy but he knew there was no chance of that now.
"Felicity." Oliver started but stopped when she glared at him.
"Don't you dare tell me to rest." She ordered.
She stood up quickly only to lose her footing and if he hadn't of been standing so close he wouldn't have caught her and she would be lying on the ground right now.
His arms held her tight round the waist, her back to his chest.
"The doctor said you had to take it easy." Oliver reminded her.
Felicity shook her head, her hair tickling his nose.
"I don't care what the doctor said you get me to the foundry now or I will take a cab your choice." Felicity threatened.
Oliver nodded reluctantly. If she was adamant about leaving then he would take her but he would doing it his way.
Oliver picked her up easily and he was surprised when she didn't protest.
"Let's go get our daughter back." Oliver said and Felicity nodded in his arms.
Jay fist were red-roar as he pounded into the training dummy over and over again without protection. He had got distracted and now Katya was missing. Throughout their life she had always got in to trouble but it had never really mattered before because he had always been there to pick up the pieces and keep her safe. Now he had no idea where she was and this time that fact was likely to get her killed.
Jay scoffed to himself as he punched the dummy again. She had been so mad at him when she found out he joined the army. It had taken almost three weeks just to get her to give him more than one word answer and another two before she finally crumbled in his arms and told him what she was so mad at.
FLASHBACK
Jay tired not to flinch at Katya's unforgiven gaze.
"I don't get it." Jay said to Felicity as the both watched Katya study on the floor in the corner only stopping ever few minutes to glare at Jay.
"You don't get what?" Felicity asked both speaking low so Katya wouldn't hear them.
Jay pointed to Katya it had been almost five weeks since he told them he was joining the army and Katya was still barely talking to him.
Felicity laughed.
"You could always ask you know." Felicity pointed out.
Jay shrugged his shoulders.
"Trust me I tried, she just won't talk to me." Jay argued.
Felicity shook her head.
"Don't give her a chance to walk away." Felicity advised.
Jay nodded thoughtfully. It just might work.
A few hours later Felicity had gone to bed, leaving Jay and Katya alone.
Katya was watching something on TV when he reached over for the remote and turned the TV off.
"What did you do that for?" She demanded.
"I wanted to talk." Jay replied.
Katya glared at him.
"I have nothing to say." she argued.
She stood up and made to leave the room but Jay beat her to the door.
"Move." she ordered when he stood in her way.
Jay shook his head.
"Not till we talk about this." He argued.
Katya crosses her arms over her chest.
"Like you talk to me before signing up." She points out and Jay cringes at the hurt he can hear in her voice.
"It was my decision to make not yours." He argues. It's a weak argument because they both know if it was the other way round he would be feeling the same as she is.
"Like me not talking to you is my decision." Katya yells. She tries to shove pass him but Jay doesn't budge.
"It's not the same thing and you know it." Jay points out.
Katya looks down avoid his eyes and Jay knows her well enough to know she is trying to hide her tears from him.
"I have always wanted to join the army and you know that." Jay reminds her.
"You never minded before, so why are you so mad about it now?" Jay asks.
Katya doesn't reply, so Jay gently tilts her chin up so she is looking at him.
There are tears in her pretty blue eyes and Jay can't help but gather her into his arms.
Katya fights him at first, pushing at his chest to let her go but Jay doesn't move.
"Talk to me please." Jay begs.
"I miss my best friend so please talk to me." he adds.
A sob escapes Katya throats as she sags against him.
Jay's arms tighten round her.
"What's going on with you?" He asks softly.
"You could die." she points out, her voice full of fear.
Jay can't help but smile to himself, all this time it was her fear for his life that made her mad at him. To anyone else it wouldn't make sense but to him it made perfect sense.
END OF FLASHBACK
"Jay." A familiar voice called dragging Jay out of his thoughts.
Jay turns round to find Felicity sitting at her desk she looks weak and afraid. Jay is vaguely aware of the others there but all he focuses on his Felicity it's been so long since he has seen the women he thinks of as a second mum.
"Come here." she orders softly.
Jay walks over to her and when she pats a seat next to her Jay sits down instantly. She takes his hands in hers.
"Wow that must hurt." she says.
Jay looks down at his knuckles, they are cut, bruised and bleeding but Jay can't feel anything.
"Talk to me Jay." Felicity begs.
Jay meets her eyes.
"We were arguing." Jay starts.
"What about?" Oliver questions.
"Some guy had grabbed her arse and it made me mad. I told her I didn't want her working here." Jay replied. He looks back at Felicity, she is still cleaning up his knuckles but he knows she is listening.
"She baited me." Jay remembers suddenly.
He can't help but laugh without humour, Katya never baited him both know she was afraid of the consequences if she did but before her phone rang she had been braver then her had ever seen her. He had never wanted to kiss her more than in that moment.
"Then what happened?" Oliver questions bringing Jay back to his story.
"The she got a call and went up to the office." Jay told them.
"Who called her?" Diggle questioned.
Jay looked up and found Felicity was already looking through Katya's phone records.
"Tommy called her." Felicity said with a frown.
"Why would Tommy call her?" Roy wondered aloud.
"There is one way to find out." Thea said and when Jay looks over at her Thea is already calling her son.
"Then what happened?" Oliver asks trying to get Jay to continue the story.
"She came down a few minutes later and threw herself into my arms." Jay told them, remembering the feel of her in his arms.
Felicity is back to the computer going over the images.
"Anything?" Oliver asks Thea when she gets of the phone.
Thea frowns as she shakes her head.
"He is not answering." Thea replies.
"Jay she put something into your pocket." Felicity said grabbing his attention.
Jay hands go into his pockets and he finds a single bit of paper.
Jay looks down at the paper and curses.
Forgive me he has Tommy.
"What?" Oliver demands.
Jay shows Oliver the note.
"He has Tommy, which means she went to Joe Wilson willingly." Jay tells the others.