A/N: This is a speculation fic about the upcoming episode 'Birds of Prey'. Spoilers ahead, although not many because we have hardly any info right now, and yet this still crawled into my head and demanded to be written.
Enjoy, and let me know what you think!
In hindsight it wasn't that surprising that Felicity would once again be at the pointy end of Helena's crossbow. But at that moment, on that night, one entire week after Oliver had captured Frank Bertanelli and left him for Starling City's finest she hadn't expected to feel the cool prick of steel at the nape of her neck as she sat in the lair.
The alarms hadn't been tripped, no doors showed they'd been opened, and yet Helena was behind her as stealthy and quiet as she'd ever been. Once her breath had frozen in her chest she could see the faint reflection of the woman in the monitor they both faced.
Oliver and Digg were both on the comms, on their way back from patrolling the east side of the Glades. But they were still a good ten minutes away and that was if they were going full out. If Helena's finger decided to slip Felicity would be dead in ten seconds. And Helena knew exactly where they were because the map tracking their movement was front and center on the main screen.
Cold terror flowed down her back as her fingers stilled and somehow she knew if she said one word that alerted Oliver to what was happening Helena wouldn't hesitate.
She could almost feel the smirk on the other woman's face. Fear rising in her she had to press her lips together so tight they cut into her teeth when Oliver's easy voice came over her earpiece.
"Alright, not much going on tonight. We're going to head back. Digg decided he wanted something sweet, any requests?"
Her heart was beating so quickly her wild pulse had to make the perfect target for Helena's bolt. She shut her eyes for a long second and slowly reached forward to mute the comms.
"He...he asked me a question. If I don't reply he'll know something's wrong." she managed to get out in a half strangled breath, trying not to wince as the bolt was pushed into the thin skin just below her hairline.
"Answer. But if you give him any hint that I'm here there's going to a very sloppy mess for him to clean up when he gets back."
With a shaking hand she unmuted the link and swallowed hard, wondering how she'd ever get her voice to sound normal.
"Felicity?" he already sounded concern and cool sweat broke across her skin as she nervously licked her lips and tried to keep calm.
"That sounds great. Tell him to get me a peanut butter shake." the point of the bolt slid across her neck, burning with a sting that let her know Helena had broken the skin.
She didn't know if Oliver would get her message. They'd never worked out any sort of 'safe word' warning system for a situation like this and it was an oversight she was highly regretting just then. But she knew he was aware of her allergy, it had come up at a few of the catered events QC had put on and now the event planners all knew what they could and couldn't use.
There was a long beat of silence where all she could focus on was the pounding of her heart and the trickle of blood she could feel running down her neck.
"Take it off the earpiece," Helena demanded, sliding the point back across the same spot again making the cut that much deeper. Felicity bit her lip to contain her cry of pain.
She disconnected the link a second before Oliver's voice filled the lair. "You got her order?" he asked Digg
"Loud and clear, boss." Digg replied and tears immediately pricked her eyes. "See you in a bit, girl."
They'd gotten her message. They knew something was wrong and she needed them. They didn't know what and they didn't know who but they knew she was in trouble. Only someone who knew them as well as she did could hear the subtle shift in their tone.
Hands still trembling uncontrollably she reached forward and cut the link, leaving just her and Helena alone. "I'm surprised it took you a week to come back." Felicity spit out, mentally cringing at her unintentional provocation of a woman who was clearly not stable.
When the tip of the bolt slid over her neck again, this time deeper and with more force she could no longer stay quiet. A stilted whimper of pain slipped out and Helena laughed. Her neck felt like it was on fire, a steady rivulet of blood now running down under her collar.
"I'd say I was surprised to see you still here, but Oliver clearly had a soft spot for you."
"We just work together." Felicity retorted,
"Right. You keep telling yourself that sweetheart. Whatever makes you sleep better at night. But we both know he didn't come after me until I came after you. Which means that when I heard that Daddy dearest had been captured and given back to the Feds and that it was Starling's own hooded hero that saved the day...well...I couldn't resist digging into my bag of tricks and pulling out an old favorite." Felicity tensed as she felt Helena move closer, the crossbow slowly pushing into her neck. "Hit him where it hurts." she whispered, giving one more sharp slice before moving back again.
Felicity's entire body was stiff, and everything in her wanted to cover her neck with her hand and try and get out of there but she knew if she so much as twitched Helena would kill her.
"You're wrong," Felicity managed to get out, throat becoming thick with tears of pain and fear. Helena's belief that using her to get to Oliver was ringing in her head and she couldn't deal with that just then. "I just work with him...work for him….that's all."
Helena barked a high, slightly manic laugh, "God, and you think I'm the crazy one? Do you hear yourself? You don't even sound convincing and it has nothing to do with me holding this bolt a few millimeters from your jugular."
"No, I'm pretty sure she's right, you are the crazy one." a new voice rang out from the shadows and Felicity couldn't help the gasping sob of relief that left her. It was Sara. Digg and Oliver must have contacted her to see if she was closer.
"Ollie really needs to start picking better exes, and I can say that because I am one." slowly she emerged from the blackness, her blonde wig the first thing visible in the faint light.
Helena seemed like she was nonplussed but Felicity could feel the surprise and tension in her flow through the weapon she held.
"Ah, you. I've heard about you, admire your work." Helena drawled as Sara came to stand on the other side of Felicity's desk, the table and monitors between them.
"I've heard about you too. I thought it was suggested you keep your batshit insane ass out of this city."
"Well...I would have, but...it's just so much damn fun playing with Ollie." Helena said in fake, playful voice. "Do you know how upset he gets when this one gets into trouble? The faces alone are worth the risk."
"Except this time it's not just Ollie you're dealing with." Sara's jaw was set, bo staff at the ready as she waited for her moment to move.
Felicity shivered as the two women squared off. Helena laughed again when she felt the fine tremble of fear that shook Felicity, and when the bolt slid home once again causing her to finally jerk forward and away from the searing pain all hell seemed to break loose at once.
Sara struck out with her staff just as Felicity moved, having waited for the right opportunity. It was enough to throw Helena's aim off so the bolt fired just missed Felicity's throat and instead embedded itself in one of the computer monitors with a crack and a pop of sparks.
With a small shriek Felicity pushed her chair back as she dropped to the floor, using the desk as a sort of cover as she tried to clamber out of the way. There were thuds and muffled grunts and she turned her head just in time to see Sara flip over the desk and strike out at Helena who was circling around her now.
Helena didn't seem to be paying Felicity much attention, Sara doing a good job of keeping her focus, but the last thing she wanted was to go running for the stairs and be hit in the back with a bolt. A stabbing flash of pain crossed her neck and for the first time she clapped a hand over the spot, the slick hot wetness that she found making her temporarily light headed. From the amount of blood she could feel now running over her shoulder and across her collarbone she'd probably need stitches. Her stomach turned at the thought, but she'd gladly get them if it meant she'd be alive to do so.
Heart thrumming wildly and with her breath completely out of her control Felicity did her best to stay on the perimeter of the room. Helena and Sara were engaged in a brutal hand to hand fight, both the crossbow and the staff laying discarded on the floor.
The crossbow was only a few feet away and Digg's voice rang in her head 'Any weapon is a good weapon.'
Her blood stained hand fell to her side as she paused and watched the battle in front of her, when Sara had Helena turned away she took her chance and darted forward, but just as her fingers brushed the handle it was torn away from her.
Felicity was jerked hard to her feet, one arm twisted behind her at a sharp angle, making her cry out. The crossbow was immediately shoved harshly under her chin, her head straining up and back in an effort to keep away.
"Nice try. I'll give you some points for effort." Helena laughed as she pulled Felicity around to face Sara.
"Let her go, or I can promise you this won't end well." Sara warned,
"Nah, Ollie will be here soon, we'll just wait for the main ev-" she was cut off as the unmistakable sound of an arrow slicing through the air filled the space. Felicity felt and heard as it flew only inches from her head before Helena was forced backwards as the arrow found it's home in her chest, Felicity being dragged down with her.
They fell hard, all the breath leaving her lungs as she met the unforgiving concrete, the bolt in the chamber of the crossbow catching her under the jaw as they went down.
Then there were strong hands pulling her up and out of the way as she struggled to fill her lungs with air, letting Digg take most of her weight as he got her to relative safety.
Oliver strode forward, bow still at the ready with another arrow nocked, his eyes never leaving Helena as she grinned up at him from the floor.
"What'd I tell you, Blondie, it's worth it for the faces alone." she directed at Sara even though she too didn't look away from Oliver. Her breathing was labored, the arrow sticking out of the top of her right torso was buried deep and Felicity couldn't help but think back to the night Oliver had killed the Count.
"Why are you here?" Oliver demanded, not needing the voice manipulator to sound just as deep and scary as he normally did under the hood.
"It's been over a year since I've had any idea where my father was hiding. Should have known he'd come crawling back home, and that you'd be the one to get him once again." she tried to shrug but let out an irritated groan when she couldn't. "Thought I'd get my old friend here to do me another favor and get me into the prison before he's transferred."
"She's not your friend." the almost feral growl Oliver made Felicity's stomach flip and she couldn't help but clutch onto Digg's arm just a little bit tighter.
Helena did laugh at this. A real, true, belly laugh that had Sara looking at her in almost fascinated concern. "She's not your friend either, Ollie. Why do you think I picked her. Again."
"Can I shut her up already?" Sara requested, twirling her staff in her hands.
"Please do," Oliver ground out, the staff coming out at a blinding speed to strike Helena at the base of the skull.
They all stayed frozen for a long beat after she went limp and slumped over. It was Felicity who broke the silence when she took in a high, shuddering inhale.
Then they were all moving. Oliver's bow was tossed to the side and the hood pushed back as he strode towards her. Digg sat her in the nearest chair and made sure she wasn't going to tip over before he stepped away to get supplies, and Sara kicked away the crossbow and stood guard over Helena, but did nothing about the arrow in her chest.
Oliver's gloved hand found her shoulder and then her cheek as she forced herself to look away from Helena and meet his eyes.
They were dark, and angry, and worried, and a hint of something she'd only seen a few times before and that she wasn't willing to dwell on right then. His thumb gently stroked her chin and her eyes fell shut as a tear escaped.
She winced as he turned her head to the side to see the cut at the back of her neck, and tried not to shiver as he pulled her ponytail out of the way, his fingers trailing over her skin. A low rumble came from his chest and she looked up to see him furious, jaw set, eyes flashing as he quickly stripped off one glove and pressed his palm over the wound.
Air hissed through her teeth as her hand came up to wrap around his wrist. "Sorry," he muttered, his other hand cupping her face, thumb coasting over her cheek in a soothing rhythm.
Digg was back with gauze pads and Oliver quickly moved his hand and put them in place, stepping slightly to the side so Digg could tape down the temporary bandage. Oliver's leather covered leg was pressed into hers and she couldn't help but lean into his warmth.
"Come on, I need to get a better look, it might need stitches." Digg said,
She knew he was trying to keep his tone easy for her, but the undercurrent of anger was obvious. Before she could move to slide off the chair Oliver was there, slipping his hands under her legs and around her back, lifting her in one smooth motion.
Now her heart was pounding again, but for an entirely different reason.
He sat her lightly on the medbay table, hands landing on her hips to steady her before he was stepping around behind her.
There were the sounds of drawers being opened and supplies sat on the metal tray, a shiver ran down her spine, making the pain in her neck flare. Oliver dropped a hand to her shoulder and squeezed once.
She shifted on the table as she waited, her now bloody blouse sticking uncomfortably to her skin. She ran a finger under the scooped edge and made the mistake of looking down to see trails of brownish-red smeared over her chest, staining her skin and the bra underneath. Bile rose in her throat so fast she almost couldn't swallow it down and she swayed as she stared at her bloodied hand.
"Hey, you're okay," Oliver said quickly, wrapping an arm around her waist from behind as circled the table without losing contact. His worried eyes met hers and she breathed slowly through her nose, trying to regain some sort of control, her hand clamped firmly on his forearm as he waited patiently.
When she didn't feel so dizzy she gave him a nod and straightened up a fraction of an inch, letting her hand drop to her lap. He held her gaze with a hard look but didn't question her. "You need stitches, want me to do them?" he offered and she answered with a barely audible 'yes'.
Reluctantly he stepped back around the table, his second glove coming off with a sharp tug as he dropped it beside her before he was once again brushing her ponytail to lay over her right shoulder.
The breath caught in her chest when she felt him begin to undo the tiny buttons at the back of her blouse. Each brush of his fingers against her skin made her tingle as small trails of warmth began to spread across her back. She knew logically he needed the fabric out of the way so he could work but the intimacy of the act was enough to make her heart flip.
Sara approached, mask and wig now gone and gave her a sympathetic smile. She held up a shirt that Felicity recognized as having come from her own gym bag for the days when Digg insisted she learn more hand to hand from him, not that it had come in handy earlier at all. "Thought you might need this when he's done."
Felicity felt her lips turn up slightly at the gesture, the reciprocity of the act not lost on her from when Oliver had stitched Sara up and Felicity had helped her.
Digg cleaned the small cut on her chin while Oliver injected the numbing solution around the area he'd have to stitch. Felicity couldn't keep the small whimper at bay as the burning sensation seemed to engulf her entire neck. Oliver's hand stayed on her shoulder until he felt her relax.
There were no other sounds while he worked, other than when he lightly touched around the site and asked if she could feel anything. At the shake of her head she heard him turn to the tray and pick up the threaded needle, but her eyes fell shut before she could catch a glimpse of it.
She felt pressure and a bit of tugging but no pain, which is why she didn't understand why she was crying. "I'm sorry. I don't know how she got in here." she blurted out into the quiet space and they all froze around her for a second.
"The alarms didn't go off and you know I've upgraded the cameras and sensors around all the entrances...I guess I missed something."
"Don't blame yourself. She's been here before. It's not your fault." Digg said evenly but she ignored him.
"Yeah, well once again I got held hostage to get to...because I'm the weak link, and that is my fault." she said bitterly, dropping her eyes to the floor and hoping no one caught her slip where she almost said that Helena had come to her to get to Oliver. He stilled behind her, and she heard him inhale before he spoke, but Sara beat him to it.
"Hey, you're not. You used your best weapon which is your brain. You found a way to let Oliver know there was trouble and you kept your cool and stayed alive." a shadow passed across her face, "Trust me, sometimes that's all you can do and there's no shame in it."
Felicity had to look away because the heaviness in Sara's voice was almost too much to hear. Oliver continued on silently behind her, and when he finally snipped the last thread and taped a new bandage in place she thought she could actually feel the tension in the room drop slightly.
"All done," he said unnecessarily and her fingers came up to trace around the tape and gauze, unconsciously following the line of the cut where it was hidden underneath.
"How many?"
"Eight," he said sharply, and she felt as he turned away from her, "Go ahead and get changed."
Hands only shaking a bit she undid the buttons at her wrist and pulled her arms out of the sleeves as Sara stepped forward to help ease the fabric over her head without it getting caught on the bandage.
She'd almost forgotten about the blood that had ran down her back and front and knew it would be a challenge to get it all off later.
"Ollie, hand me those wipes." Sara directed, her arm extended across the table, but Felicity didn't dare turn to see if Oliver was looking at her sitting there with nothing but her bra on.
Sara placed a few of the damp disposable cloths in her hand and Felicity cleaned up her shoulder and chest as best she could before scrubbing hard over her palm. Tears clouded her vision until finally Sara took the dirty wipes from her and laid the clean shirt in her lap.
"Thank you," she mouthed as she carefully pulled the shirt over her head, quickly reaching back to undo her ruined bra before she slid her arms through the sleeves. Sara gathered up the unsalvageable clothes and wipes and made her way to the covered can they used for medical waste,
"I'm guessing you don't want these anymore?" she asked although the lid was off and she was half a second from dropping them in.
"N...no…no...you can get rid of them." Felicity answered haltingly as she wrapped her arms around her middle and shook. Her blouse may have been thin but it had long sleeves and she could feel gooseflesh break across her skin.
"Want to give me a hand with our unexpected visitor?" Digg asked, looking towards Sara who nodded immediately.
Felicity watched mutely as they carried Helena between them, heading for one of the back exits and it wasn't until the door slammed shut behind them making her jump that she realized something soft and warm had been draped over her shoulders.
She looked down in surprise to see one of the grey hoodies Oliver used when training, and she wasted no time in tugging the sides close in around her. He appeared in front of her, so close she could feel his body heat and his scent invaded her senses. Her eyes slammed shut as her head reeled and she hoped she could hold onto the tattered threads of her emotions just then before she did something she might regret.
"You didn't do anything wrong," his voice was low and gravelly and she could hear the guilt in his tone.
"I clearly did if she got in. And lets not forget that once again the bad guy thought that the shortest distance to you was through me." she threw back, eyes flying open to meet his, not willing to let him shoulder this burden on his own.
His head fell back with a sigh before he planted his hands on either side of her and leaned in. Felicity gasped and pulled back some, his face only inches from hers. "This is not your fault. If anyone is to blame it's me for continuing to make decisions that put you in danger. I should have known that if Bertanelli surfaced Helena wouldn't be far behind."
"It doesn't matter, Oliver! I thought I was safe here! I thought as long as I stayed behind my screens and didn't put myself out there that maybe I could keep it from happening again. I thought I could keep you from having to make that choice again because it's not fair to you. And I know you didn't kill her, and I'm glad, but that doesn't mean that it won't happen again." any control she'd had vanished, and she was trying to speak through a clogged throat and tears that were threatening to fall at any second.
Oliver clenched his fists and then ran his hands up her arms to her shoulders, grasping them tight as he leaned in even closer, "Listen to me, you're not a liability to me. You're an asset. You've saved my life more times than I can count and I know you'll do it again. Any choice I make, any life I take, that is on me and no one else, and if it's a choice between your life and someone else I choose you every time."
Their eyes locked and she felt like the world had stopped with them. Oliver's hand slowly made it's way to her cheek where he cupped her face gently and an entire conversation passed between them.
She thought about fighting him, telling him that the mission was more important, that he could do this without her if he had to, that she'd be a willing sacrifice if it saved the city...saved him, but right then, staring through the now dark blue of his eyes and seeing an intensity she'd never witnessed before she came to a realization. He couldn't do it without her. She couldn't give up because it would be the same as signing his death warrant and that was certainly not something she could do.
Understanding passed between them. Their connection, their bond, the string that held them together, whatever it was grew that much stronger and she knew in that instant if she were to break he'd break right along with her.
Saving herself meant saving Oliver, and that was something she was good at.
Slowly at first, and then with a confidence she didn't know she had she raised her hand and laid it alongside his jaw, mirroring his position. "Okay," she whispered, "I choose you too."