Chapter 12

The father of Felicity Smoak

"You really don't want to enter…" Sara said, when Diggle tried to open the door to Felicity's room. The woman was sitting outside the room in a plastic chair, drinking coffee from the cafeteria downstairs.

"And why wouldn't I want to enter?" Dig replied, eyeing the door with trepidation.

"Because you would want to punch Oliver…" Sara said and it was obvious she was trying to keep a smile from her face.

Diggle was not sure what it might mean and curiosity winning in the end made him open slowly and silently the door… to find his boss and friend sleeping beside Felicity, an arm draped over her shoulders, away from the injured places.

"See? I told you so…" Sara laughed from her chair and Diggle stepped back and closed the door.

"How long have you been here?" Diggle asked, sitting beside her.

"Two hours. They were already like that… And since Oliver arrived much earlier I bet they were like that for a longer time…" she said, still smiling and that was what really bothered Diggle. Because he knew what happened, just like Felicity did, and even if he was sure Sara and Oliver were not having an affair he thought the woman would be more uncomfortable than she was, but then again, she was a good actress.

"And you are not bothered at all?" Diggle asked. And not because he thought Sara would be good for Oliver, because he didn't, but because he didn't like the dark mood that fell over the team recently (even if they were not that light and shiny before).

"No… You are like Felicity… She thought I was with Oliver as in a relationship…" Sara replied, eyeing the man beside her. He looked like a seasoned soldier, but there was something more profound about him, if she tried to guess, she would say he was a full supporter of Oliver and Felicity, not because they were his friends, but because he could read them like an open book and knew they needed each other to be complete.

"Well, I don't think you are in a relationship…" Diggle said, resting his head against the wall and sighing.

"We are just friends… what happened between us was a mistake that we can't keep making. It wouldn't make us happy, only miserable. We are like two windowless rooms… there is no light that we can give each other… And if I know something is that that woman over there is Oliver's light, she can illuminate all his dark recess… and what I have to do is find my own light to chase the demons away… and maybe I can borrow some of that light from her as well…" Sara said with a smile.

"You are a better woman than I thought, Sara Lance…" Diggle said bowing his head.

"And I know you love them and want the best for them…" Sara replied and Diggle chuckled.

"Yes, well, sometimes they are just too stubborn to realize what that is…" he said, remembering Oliver and Felicity's fight after Barry Allen.

Sara shrugged her shoulders and closed her eyes, mimicking his stance.

For some moments they sat there, sharing a comfortable silence.

"Hey, how is Barbie? I had to help Thea and couldn't come earlier…" a voice suddenly said from beside them and looking up they saw Roy already opening the bedroom door.

Diggle tried to warn him, but it was already too late.

"What the hell?!" he yelled and from inside came the sound of Oliver's growl and Felicity's gasp.

"Yup, not the best way for the kid to find out…" Diggle said, while sitting with Oliver and Felicity in the room after Roy's quickly retreat.

After eyeing Oliver and Felicity for some awkward moments and wish her well he quikly left the room.

"I think he did that on purpose…" Oliver grumbled and Felicity shook her head.

"At least he knows nothing happened…" Felicity said before she could stop herself and Dig chuckled at his friends' uncomfortable silence.

"And you? Are you comfortable about that?" Felicity asked, observing Diggle's knowing smile.

"Of course… As long as I don't catch you making out on the back of the car…" he replied with a smile. Felicity wondered if he said car and not lair because of Sara and Oliver and shook her head to get rid of those dangerous thoughts.

Suddenly, a ringing sound echoed through the room, coming from Diggle's phone. Looking down he saw Lyla's name and with a smile rose from the chair to answer it outside.

"So, do you want me to call a nurse to give you the medication?" Oliver asked, eyeing his watch to see it was almost time.

"Don't worry, I don't need it right now…" Felicity said, when a knock came from outside the room.

And then the door opened and a man with an eye patch walked in.

Felicity smiled at the newcomer, while, beside her, Oliver froze. He stopped breathing altogether, like someone just removed all the air from the room. For some moments he wondered if he fell asleep and was now in the middle of a very vivid nightmare.

The newcomer walked towards the bed, but before he could reach it, Oliver jumped to his feet to hide Felicity from view.

"Oliver, what are you doing? That's Mr. Williamson… he isn't a threat…" Felicity said, rising her trunk to see beside Oliver.

"What?" he gasped, without turning around. He didn't want to show any opening. "You know him?" and the man smiled cruelly.

"He is that friend of my father I told you about… The one that told me he died…" Felicity explained slowly, feeling goosebumps rising over her arms. She didn't know what was happening, but if Oliver's expression was of any indication he knew that man and he was not who he made her think he was. her words felt like sawdust over her tongue.

"This man's name is not Williamson…" Oliver hissed through his teeth.

"Then who is he?" Felicity asked loudly.

"Hey lovebirds, the nurse asked me to bring these med... Slade!" Sara gasped when entering the room with a box of pills in her hands.

"Slade? Wasn't that the man..." Felicity asked and the man smiled at her, his eyes shining with cruelty.

Felicity gaped at the man for a second. And then schooled her features to hide the rage. She couldn't see any of the pain he had while talking previously about her father, they were now cold and calculating. She just lost the only link she had with part of her past, but damn be her if she let him saw that or the pain it caused her.

The ghosts of Oliver's past once again caught up with him. Now that she was finally coming to terms with her own. She just lost her father for the third time.

"You never knew my father. The photos were fake. But how did you knew how he looked like?" Felicity asked, while grabbing Oliver's arm. She had to know, it would be worth the pain of a few ripped stitches, if the pain on her side with her sudden movements were of any indication.

"Oh no, my dear. Those photos were not fake and I really knew your father. Actually, all of us did." he said, opening his arms like he wanted to join Oliver and Sara.

"What?" Sara asked, shocked at his words. "What do you mean? Who are you talking about?"

Oliver was trembling with barely suppressed rage and when Diggle appeared beside Sara, with his phone still inside his hand, it took him only a millisecond to understand the threat. He joined Felicity in her tries to keep Oliver subdued, while Sara acted like a guard in front of the door.

"Did you know that Ivo was his mother's maiden name?" Slade asked and Oliver froze, just like he did when Slade appeared.

No, it couldn't be!

He turned his face slightly to eye Felicity, trying to find a sign that dismissed his theory and from the corner of his eyes he could see Sara doing the same.

Her face wasn't all that similar, but what struck him were the eyes. From the first time he saw them they looked familiar, but he never lost too much time thinking about that. Until now, when it was too late.

"You are lying!" he spat, feeling Felicity's fingers digging into his arm. But he couldn't look at her now, after his realization.

"The woman recognized her father." Slade said, producing a picture from his pocket. A copy of the one he gave her with her father and her as a child. He taunted them with it.

"Explain." Felicity whispered from behind him and Oliver felt his heart break.

"Your father was a mad man! He wanted the mirakuru and he killed Shado because your boyfriend chose her" he nodded at Sara "instead of the woman who saved him from certain death, that taught him how to defend himself." Slade said, smiling at the horror showing in Felicity's face.

"So my father was..."

"Anthony Ivo or Smoak as he was previously known." Slade completed, feeling the small fingers of revenge finally reaching him, like a lost lover.

"Excuse me, but the visiting hours are ending." someone said from behind Sara and a nurse peeked curiously at the group's tense stance.

"I will be in my way, then." Slade said. "Nice to see you, kid." he finished, nodding at Oliver with a mock salute. He walked by Sara with a cruel smile and bowed his head at her. She felt her fists tremble and had to stop herself from punching him. The only thing keeping any of them from starting a fight was the knowledge they were in the middle of a hospital and that Slade was a much more powerful enemy than they could take in there without casualties.

The nurse looked between the rest of the group, confused at the men's stance in front of the injured woman and the other one looking like a statue. Diggle was still keeping Oliver in place, but right now it was no longer necessary. All the fight left him, his eyes glued to the picture with a small girl with brown locks.

Sara was still looking at Felicity like she couldn't believe. And Felicity was trying to come with terms with all that was flying through her mind. Her father was the one that saved Sara. He was the one that searched for the mirakuru in that island. And she was sure he didn't die of cancer.

"Who killed him?" she asked. And Oliver and Sara cringed.

"Felicity, maybe it's not the best time." Dig said, releasing Oliver that felt like his knees could buckle any minute.

"No, she has to know." Oliver rasped. "No more secrets."

The cat is out of the bag... Please review! And let's wish for a good episode tonight, with Felicity having a great spotlight.