A/N: Just a brief little look at the morning after 2x14. Not to be considered a spec fic for 2x15.

"You liquidate eight hundred thousand shares of Queen Consolidated stock in an emergency move last night and didn't think I had a right to know?!" the angry, shrill voice of Isabel Rochev was the last thing he wanted to deal with that morning, especially after learning that Slade Wilson was not only still alive, but in Starling.

Oliver pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a long sigh before he sat back in his chair to see her stalking the floor straight for him.

"I told you on the phone, Isabel it was a mistake at the bank that has been corrected. The stock has been repurchased, there is nothing on the open market, and there is nothing to worry about."

She came to a halt only a foot from his desk and tossed a tablet in front of him, "I could honestly care less if you would have lost your controlling shares in the company. In fact, I would have welcomed it. But do you have any idea what this has cost us? Look at how far QC stock has plummeted in just the few hours the markets have been open."

He'd already seen the nosedive the stocks had been taking since Felicity had forced it onto his desktop only half an hour before, complete with a frowny face emoticon and a pop up window that said it wasn't his fault.

"The investors were already nervous, Oliver. How do you think this is going to make them feel?"

"The investors are always nervous, Isabel, that's why they're investors. The stocks will rebound, there will not be any permanent damage. Our earnings for this quarter were higher than projections and the next quarter is looking to do the same. That is what the investors will focus on. Now, if that's all I have work to do."

Her eyes narrowed as she snatched the tablet back, "I'm requesting an audit, and having a press release issued. And don't think for a second I buy any of this." she didn't wait for a reply before she spun on her heels and left his office just as angry as she had come in.

When the click clack of her shoes became muffled on the other side of the door he sank back into his chair and let his eyes fall shut. A wave of tiredness washed over him. He hadn't slept the night before. Too drummed up on adrenaline from the take down of Tockman and Felicity's injury only to go back to the mansion to discover Slade Wilson alive had left him reeling. He wasn't even sure how he'd made it in that morning.

It hadn't gone unnoticed that the meetings he'd remembered being on his schedule had all been canceled, and other than Isabel's unfortunate visit his morning had been quiet.

He knew who he had to thank for his relative peace. Even though he'd told her to take the day off she was there when he'd arrived, paler than usual and moving slow, but she'd given him a tight lipped smile and pretended like they hadn't parted only a few hours earlier.

He spent most of his morning studying her through the glass. She sat stiffly, her right hand laying limp in her lap for the most part while she tried to do most of her typing left handed. He could see by the set of her shoulders she was frustrated at how her injury prevented her from doing even simple things.

Her injury.

He was on his feet and stalking to the far window as he scrubbed a rough hand over the back of his neck. It wasn't just an injury. She'd been shot. Shot. Felicity. It was almost too surreal to believe, except he'd been there. He'd never forget the sight burned into his memory of racing into the room to see Tockman unconscious on the floor, Sara crouched over him, but her eyes locked on the prone form of Felicity ten feet away.

He knew some sort of noise had come from his throat, something raw and unstoppable because for a second she didn't move and he thought the worse.

She was telling him she was okay as he was skidding to his knees at her side, bow dropping to the floor with a clatter. She'd admonished him for that. Wavery voice ranting at him to be more careful with his equipment because she'd spent a long time designing that bow. He didn't bother to tell her she'd designed it to withstand more than an eighteen inch fall. He didn't bother because his eyes were cutting over her wan face and the way her hand was clamped hard on her upper arm, even though the blood was running down her back.

Then Sara had been on her other side, putting pressure on the spot to try and stop the bleeding, because he'd been momentarily struck helpless at the sight of Felicity with a gunshot wound. She'd cried out and he'd immediately taken her hand, letting her grip his fingers as tight as she needed to, and none of them moved while Sara told him how Felicity had saved her and stopped Tockman at the same time.

The fear and anger threatened to overwhelm him and he locked both down. By the time he'd carried her to the car Digg had driven and got her down to the lair he had a tight lock over him emotions.

And he'd left the lock on because he couldn't chance letting it open. Slade's reappearance made everything too risky. He'd felt like he was two seconds from losing control all day. The threat the man posed was greater than anything they'd faced before and if he let his mind wander for even a moment all he could see were the slain bodies of every single person he cared about.

Slade was hell bent on vengeance and he'd had years to prepare. He was willing to salt the land in the wake of his destruction, not caring who or what was decimated in the process, the only end game to destroy Oliver's life.

He didn't hear her come in, just felt her soft touch on his arm and when he looked down quickly to see her bright blue nails it was almost a shock. The vividness of the color against his dark suit made him stare. One small spot of life on a day where he felt like he was drowning.

When he lifted his eyes to her he only saw her always unwavering gaze. However, this time he could see the dark bruising below her eyes she'd tried to hide with make up, and the way her face had been pinched in pain most of the day. He knew she hadn't slept more than a couple of hours and those had been drug induced.

For just a second he let the mask fall, let her see everything he couldn't say the night before. She looked back at him open and supportive, letting him know she understood. Her fingers dug in slightly as she took a half a step closer and he let his hand fall to his side, just brushing the fabric of her pleated skirt.

She let out a sigh when he blinked and looked back out the window, the angle of the sun making the city look hazy and washed out. He expected her to go back to her desk, but instead he felt her light touch graze the line of his sleeve and trail over the back of his hand before she slipped her fingers into his palm.

Her grip was strong and tight and he squeezed back to let her know he was grateful for her presence. He wanted to bundle her towards him, wrapping his arms around her so close he'd be able to feel each breath she took, because when he shut his eyes too long he still remembered the second where he'd thought she wouldn't take another. But he couldn't do that.

So instead he held her hand, and listened as she explained how she'd covered their tracks with the stock sales, and how Isabel would get nowhere with her audit, and how she had already overnighted all new equipment to rebuild her system at the lair. This time vowing it would be impenetrable.

When she assured him they'd take care of Slade too he couldn't help the way his breath hitched, or how she noticed and paused too long before she continued. He'd stopped her then, turning towards her with the revelation that he didn't need to protect her. She did a fine job doing that herself, and did an even better job protecting him.

He took a deep breath and let his thumb run over the back of her hand once before he spoke,

"I need to tell you about Slade Wilson."