A/N: Sorry it's taken me awhile to update! Been busy taking finals and such. Hope you enjoy! As always, I don't own any of the characters. Please review and tell me your thoughts!

It was dark, and after a few minutes my jacket was already soaked. The rain was coming down hard, making it hard to see where I was going. I had checked the club, but he wasn't there. I decided to try their apartment. But I guess I made a wrong turn somewhere, and I ended up in an unfamiliar part of town.

The street lights were flickering, and I thought I heard what sounded like a gun shot in the distance. Moving the hair from my eyes, I tried to find a building or street sign to orient myself. Behind me, I heard someone's boots sloshing through the puddles of murky water.

"You lost, honey?" Turning, I saw a transient looking man in his late forties.

"Oh, no. Just waiting for my boyfriend." My body told me to lie. I wasn't sure, but I thought I saw the outline of a knife in this guy's pocket.

"Well, he's not here now, is he?" The man smiled a half-toothed grin, and I took a step back. When his hand reached into his pocket, I turned to run, but he was fast. The knife was at my throat before I knew what happened.

I reached for his arm, digging my nails in, trying to move the knife from my throat.

"Don't me like that, baby. I'm just tryna have a good time."

"Go to hell." I managed to get his arm off me, but he slammed my head into the brick wall beside us. Through the rain and my now spinning mind, I could barely even see where he was. I felt the knife at my throat again, and felt his dirty hand slide down my pants. No. This was not going to happen.

The animal part of me kicked in, and I used every ounce of strength I had, fueled by anger and fear. I grabbed his groping hand, and twisted like my dad taught me. The man yelped in agony, and a smile touched my lips. I ripped the knife from his hand and planted it firmly into his thigh, inches from his groin.

"Next time you think about doing this to someone, remember this moment. I'll make sure you never use the lower half of your body again."

He crumpled to the ground, shouting obscenities at me, but I was already racing down the street. I stumbled here and there. My right eye was clouded by a stream of blood, but I kept going. I knew I wouldn't make it far. I was already struggling to control my heart beat.

Just when I stopped to catch my breath, I felt myself start to hyperventilate. Grabbing a street sign for support, a small part of my brain took the time to read the sign. I was on his street. Mustering up the last of my strength, I ran the few blocks to his apartment, and rang the doorbell, praying someone was home.

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Diiing! Dooong!

Oliver groaned as he rolled over in his bed. 3:47 a.m. Who in the world was here? Thea was staying at Roy's, so he doubted it was her. He debated taking his bow downstairs, but decided if someone wanted to kill him they wouldn't have used the doorbell. Downstairs, Oliver peered through the peep hole. When he saw a bleeding, soaking wet Bennett, his fingers frantically opened the locks.

"Bennett! What happened?"

"Can I come in?" Oliver grabbed her arm and helped her to the couch.

"Here, sit down. You're bleeding. Let me look at your head." Bennett winced as he wiped some of the blood off to check her wound. It was bad. "You're going to need a couple of stiches. I'll get my kit and a blanket. I'll be right back, okay?" He waited until she nodded her head, and then he ran upstairs, grabbing what he needed and returning to her side.

He pulled out a dose of lidocaine to ease the pain before he stitched her up.

"No, don't. Please. Just do it. I don't need any pain meds."

"Are you sure? It's going to hurt a little bit."

"I can take it." He asked her one more time, and then placed the first stitch. She winced a few times, but other than that she held up pretty well. After the final stich was tied, he asked her again.

"Bennett, what happened tonight?" Her eyes seemed glazed as she stared at the floor.

"I went to Verdant, but you weren't there. So I was going to come here, but the rain…I guess I got lost…I ended up somewhere I didn't know." She paused, he wasn't sure but she seemed like she might cry. "There was a man. He…he tried to…I don't know but I stabbed him, Oliver. I just stabbed him. What if he's dead?" She looked him in the eye now, tears visibly falling down her face. He felt anger boiling inside of him. He didn't know who this man was, but he selfishly wished he were dead. Bleeding out alone somewhere in the street for what he had tried to do to Bennett.

Oliver grabbed Bennett's hands, one in each of his.

"Whatever happened wasn't your fault, Bennett. You did what you had to do. All that matters is that you're okay. You're safe now. I won't let anyone hurt you."

"I've killed people before, Oliver. To survive. Just like I probably killed this man. Why is my life worth more than all of theirs?" He didn't have an answer for her, since he didn't have an answer for himself. He had been asking himself this same question for years now. Were their lives really worth less than his? Did he deserve to live, if it meant they had to die?

Instead of trying to come up with a fake answer, he sat down next to her and pulled her close to him, holding her while she cried.

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Ray was again tinkering with his suit. He just couldn't get it right for some reason. How could he design a cure for brain clot, but not this? Even with Felicity's help, it wasn't enough. He needed an expert. He thought of the friends Felicity had told him about. Barry Allen and STAR labs. Maybe they could help him.

He checked his watch, and realized it was almost two in the morning. Late night in the office didn't even begin to cover it. He gathered up his things, and left the office. He had started out driving back to his place, but somehow found himself outside Felicity's apartment. He wasn't going to knock on the door, until he noticed her bedroom light was still on. He could see the flickering light from the TV.

Ray didn't give his brain time to figure out what he was doing and stop him. He walked right up to her door and rang the bell. Thankfully, it only took her a minute to come to the door. She was in her PJs.

"I love you." Ray said it. He couldn't believe he said it out loud, but he did. He didn't want to wait any longer. Couldn't wait any longer. He had to say it now. Tonight. Who knows what could happen tomorrow.

"What?" Felicity looked stunned. She even pinched herself on the arm to try and wake herself up.

"I, Ray Palmer, love you, Felicity Smoak." Ray held his breath and waited for her response. There was no way she could deny it now. When she just stared at him, he started to freak out. What if she didn't love him back? What if he seemed like a total lunatic, out in the rain at two a.m. proclaiming his love to her?

Right when he really started to panic, Felicity grabbed him and pulled him into her tiny apartment. Her lips enveloped his.

"I love you, too."

Ray's heart threated to beat right out of his chest.

"Stay the night with me." Felicity purred into his ear.

And he did.

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In the morning, Oliver took me back to Ray's place. I felt bad that I had woken him up so late last night in such a pitiful state.

"I really am sorry, Oliver. About last night. It was so stupid of me."

"No, no you're not stupid. You can come to me, anytime. About anything. I'm just glad you're okay. I'm going to have Felicity check the hospitals, see if anyone came in with a knife wound. I'll make sure he never does this to anyone again."

"Just…be careful. And please don't tell Felicity, or Ray, about last night. He already worries about me. He'll never let me out of his sight again if he knows."

"What are you going to tell him then?"

"As close to the truth as I can. Maybe that I had a flashback and hurt my head, then called you after to come stitch it up? Will you be my alibi?" I grinned, but the muscle movement pulled on my wound. "Ow."

"You sure you don't want some pain medicine?"

"No, thank you. I uh, I don't take any painkillers anymore. In Iran they addicted us to a street form of heroin. I'm still trying to recover. It helps to avoid any drugs and alcohol, though."

"I have something that might help you, if you ever want it. Something I found on the island." Oliver had told me some things about the island. About Sara. And some of the ways they tortured his body and mind. He even told me about a woman named Shado that he had loved. I didn't usually ask questions. Just waited for him to tell me what he wanted to, and he did the same for me. It had been so nice lately having Oliver around. He made me feel human. He was the only person I knew who didn't look at me with pity, but understanding.

We pulled up to the place and Ray was just walking up to the door…with Felicity.

"Well, there goes half my lie."

"Bennett? Oliver? What's going-oh my god! Bennett! What happened to your head?"

"Oh, I'm okay, really. I just got a little lost and bumped my head. I called Oliver and he gave me a ride back to his place. He was even kind enough to stitch me up." I smiled up at him silently begging him to corroborate my story.

"It was nothing, really. I'm just glad I was at home and heard my cell ringing so late."

I looked back at Ray and was pleased that he seemed to believe the lie. Felicity, on the other hand, seemed oddly on edge.

"And then you stayed the night as his place?"

"I didn't want to put her in the car while her stitches were still setting. Thea was at Roy's so I had an extra room. It just made sense."

"Well, I'm glad you're okay now. Go upstairs and back a bag though. We're going on a road trip!" Ray seemed excited. It made me wary.

"Road trip? To where, exactly?"

"Central City!"

"You're going to see Barry? Is everything okay?" I wasn't sure who Barry was or how Oliver knew him, but I had heard someone talking about Central City before. I think Felicity had friends there.

"Yeah, everything's fine. We just need a favor and I haven't seen Barry and Kaitlyn in a while so it seemed like a good idea."

"Well, be careful. And tell everyone I said hello." Oliver squeezed my hand and then walked back to his car and drove off, seeming tense.

"Okay! Go pack."

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Seeing Bennett come back with Oliver had put Felicity on edge, and she hated herself for it. She loved Ray. And he loved her. So why did she still hate the idea of Oliver being with someone else? She was being selfish. She couldn't be with Oliver, so she didn't want anyone else to be with him either.

On the way to Central City, she had a terrible idea, that just might work. She thought of how great Barry was, and how she would have loved to date him if they had had the right chemisty. But he deserved to be happy, too. And so did Bennett, she supposed. So why not hook the two of them up?

It was cruel, and she knew it. She knew she was only doing it so that Bennett wouldn't be with Oliver. But she just wasn't ready to let him go, yet.

She looked over at Bennett, and decided that yes, she would be a good match for Barry. She was pretty, smart, and kind. A little mysterious and beat up, albeit, but in a charming way.

Settling further into her seat, she was both excited and anxious about arriving in Central City.