Hello my beautiful readers! It sure has been a while, but don't worry- there is more Olicity to come. I have been a little busy between jobs, uni and writing for other publications that An Arrows Speed had to take the back seat for a while. It's all good though, I'm back for now with a new chapter. I hope you enjoy it!

It had been twenty-four hours since the team rescued Felicity from the grasp of Slade Wilson. Oliver sat nervously by her bedside, watching her slip in and out of consciousness. The cuts Barry had given her reopened from the angle Slade restrained her. Oliver and Diggle thought it best to sedate her so they could give her stitches and time to recharge.

They'd cut the dose down earlier that morning, so she would wake by night. Her sleeping pattern would be out of order, but Oliver knew she wouldn't sleep anyway. Even if she tried to, he knew that the memory of what Slade had done to her would haunt her dreams and scar her for life.

When Oliver, Diggle and Barry brought her back to the foundry, Barry left almost immediately. Oliver knew something was wrong when Barry mentioned that he had to leave. He mentioned something about his father at the prison and he left so quickly that Oliver didn't get to see if he was okay. Even though he wasn't as fond of Barry as he probably should have been, Oliver appreciated him and knew that he would forever be in Barry's debt for saving Felicity. They couldn't have saved her without him and Oliver was sure Barry would drop by later to check on her.

It was almost six o'clock when Felicity started to mumble in her sleep. Oliver leaned forward, not because he heard his name once or twice, but because he was worried that her dream might turn into a nightmare. Her fingers twitched at her sides and Oliver took her hand in his, kissing it softly. He could put into words how guilty he felt and how sorry he was, but as he stroked her bruised cheek, he whispered his best shot at an apology. He never wanted things to happen like this. He wanted to set a trap for Slade and have the fight on his terms, not the other way around. He had to find out exactly what Slade did to her, but he didn't know how to ask.

"Oliver?" Felicity mumbled as Oliver's eyes widened. She was waking up.

"Felicity,"

Her eyelids were flickering and her brows were furrowed. She was confused and probably still scared. She had no reason to be though, she was with Oliver now and no one was going to hurt her.

"It's me," He told her. "Open your eyes for me."

"Mmm," She mumbled, shifting a little as she slowly opened her eyes. "Ow," She winced and Oliver stood up quickly to help her.

"Don't move too fast, you don't want to burst your stitches."

She laid back and looked Oliver over.

"You haven't slept." She said, noticing his tired eyes and slightly over grown stubble.

"I couldn't," He admitted and sat on the edge of the bed, taking her hand. "How do you feel?" He asked, regretting it when he saw the tears in her eyes.

She couldn't control them; they just kept running down her face. She remembered what Slade had done, the photos, the touching- she remembered it all.

"Slade," She cried as Oliver leaned forward to cup her face, "did you see the pictures?"

Oliver simply nodded and Felicity cried harder. "I'm sorry I couldn't find you sooner."

"It's not your fault, I should have known something was up when Isobel took me to that hotel." She wiped her face. "Are the photo's gone?"

"Barry took care of it as soon as we received them."

"We?" Her eyes widened, "How many people saw the pictures?"

He was horrified for her; she must have thought only he saw the images.

The whole city saw them, it was on the news.

"It was sent to Entertainment Tonight." Oliver said, knowing that if he hadn't of told her the truth that it would just upset her further. Felicity could always tell when Oliver was lying. She'd had him pinned from the very beginning after all.

"Oh my god," she covered her mouth, feeling sick, "Tell me that Barry got rid of the pictures completely."

Oliver nodded.

She sighed but she was far from relieved. "Where is he? How did you find him?"

Oliver brushed her hair back, wishing she would calm down. He wondered when it was all going to hit her, to be honest; he didn't know what that would look like. He didn't know what he'd say to comfort her. He was in way over his head because he'd never cared for someone as much as he cared for Felicity. He didn't want to say or do the wrong thing.

"Barry had to go see his father." He answered, "He helped us find you, without him we would have been in trouble."

Felicity smiled and took his hand, "Thank you for coming for me, for risking everything."

Oliver felt tears pricking the backs of his eyes, but he had to hold it together for her. "I know you'd would do the same for me, after I teach you how to shoot an arrow of course."

"My babbling has rubbed off on you." She laughed as her face flushed pink.

"Probably because I missed hearing your voice." He told her, "It felt like you were gone for an eternity, not a couple of days."

"Trust me," she frowned, "it felt like that too."

"While you were gone, I kept thinking about all the things I wanted to tell you." Oliver looked at their intertwined hands. "I kept thinking that if I saw you again I'd tell you how important you are to me."

Felicity gasped, "Oh, Oliver," more tears ran down her cheeks.

"I've never cared for a woman this much before." He looked up at her, "I feel like everything was black and white before I met you, and then you came in with your purple glasses and shoes with animals on them." He chucked, "You're everything I needed and I didn't truly know it until Slade took you from me." He felt her grip tighten on his hand and he couldn't help the tears now. "You're my girl, you'll always be my girl, and I know it's so soon and I know you've been through so much," he let out a breath, "but if I don't get this out now I'll regret it for the rest of my life," he looked at her like his life was hanging in her control, "I love you, Felicity Smoak."

Felicity felt something inside of her contract and then release a bucket full of warmth. From her head to her toes she felt nothing but love and desire for the man by her side. She wished she could pull herself up from her bed and wrap herself around him but she didn't have the physical strength so she settled for pulling on his hand to bring him to her.

"I love you too," She said as he leaned toward her. She treaded her fingers through his hair as he cupped her face gently, careful not to hurt her.

His lips touched hers, soft and delicate, lips he wanted to explore. He felt them part and he took his chance to slide his tongue inside. She tasted sweet and warm and so Felicity. He heard her sigh in content as their tongues danced together, he wanted her in his arms and less fragile because he felt himself wanting her in more ways than one. He pulled back slowly, not wanting to hurt her, "Oliver," she breathed, "will you stay here tonight?"

He nodded automatically, "Of course, Felicity, I'm not leaving your side."

She smiled but wasn't completely satisfied with his answer, she knew he'd stay but she also knew he'd sleep in the chair by her bed. She wanted him next to her, she didn't care about her cuts and bruises, she wanted to feel the heat of his body against her.

"Will you sleep in this bed, next to me?" She asked and immediately saw the concern in his eyes.

"Feli-''

"I'll be fine." She explained, "I know I've got stitches but I need you, Oliver."

"Felicity, if I sleep in your bed I could hurt you." As much as he wanted to be close to her, he wasn't okay with that.

"I doubt I'll be sleeping anyway so if you try and roll on me I'll yell out, how about that?" Felicity knew her argument was weak, but she didn't know how else she could explain that she needed him next to her, not just sitting by her in a chair. She couldn't rest her head on his chest and feel his heart beat if he was sitting in a chair she couldn't reach. "Please, Oliver?" She pleaded.

He wanted to hold her, to feel her long blonde hair spread in silky waves across his pillow, tickling his face as he slept. "Felicity," he moaned, he knew it was a bad idea as he rested his forehead on the bed and sighed, "Fine." He took her hand and looked at her, noticing how pale her skin had gotten. "Do you want something to eat?"

She smiled weekly, "I thought you'd never ask."

With that, Oliver to his feet and started for the door, "I ordered noodles before, I'll heat them up for you." He left the room, heated the noodles and took them into Felicity, as he helped her sit up. It didn't take her long to eat; Oliver didn't know the last time she'd eaten or if Slade had fed her at all. Oliver's focus on Felicity broke when her apartment phone rang, "Should I get that?" He asked, it was probably Felicity's mother, worried about her.

She nodded and put the empty bowl aside while Oliver went into the lounge room to retrieve the phone.

"It's Detective Lance," Oliver said, covering the end of the phone, "he wants get a statement from you."