I know I shouldn't reference DC characters (Batman, Superman, etc.) because they're real people in Arrow universe (whether they make an appearance or not), but I can't help myself, so please deal with it

On that note, I'd like to add that Henry Cavill "guest stars" in this chapter. Don't worry; it should make sense eventually.

Diggle watched as Felicity slept soundly, her head on her desk. It was the third time she had passed out in the Arrow Cave, and Diggle was worried she was working too hard; Queen Consolidated plus a dangerous, odd-houred gig with the Hood seemed like a lot. And of course it was probably difficult for her to deal with her feelings for Oliver, too.

"Felicity," he said quietly, nudging her shoulder. "Wake up."

She stirred, her eyelids fluttering as she drifted into consciousness. Groggy, she lifted her head off her desk and wiped the drool from her mouth.

"What's going on?" she mumbled.

"I think Oliver will be back soon. Not sure how he'd feel if he saw you sleeping on the job."

"Oh," Her look was contrite. "Sorry, Dig, I—"

"Don't worry about it." he said kindly. "I just don't want you to get in trouble with Oliver."

She rubbed her eyes. "So what time is it?"

"Seven."

"Okay, good. I thought I'd slept long—Oh, no!" She looked at him, panicked. "I need to go home and get ready!"

"For what?" he asked.

Felicity bit her lip and glanced at the floor. "I have a date."

"Really?" Diggle smiled. "Good for you!"
She wrung her hands nervously. "It's a blind date. My mom set it up."

"I'm sure you'll have fun."

"But what if I don't? What if he doesn't like me? What if he's a jerk?" she said pleadingly.

"Then I'll kick his ass for you."

She gave him a grateful smile, then it faded. "You won't tell Oliver, will you? Not that he'd care, but, you know…"

"I won't say a word."

Felicity nodded. "Okay. Well, bye, Diggle." she said as she gathered her things.

Just then Oliver came down the stairs. "We're done for the night," he announced, reaching the last step. "I have plans. You two can go home."

Felicity smiled, glancing at Diggle then looked at Oliver. "Great! Good. You have fun with your plans." she responded cheerily.

"Hm," Oliver replied, barely paying attention to her as he removed his gear.

Diggle waved goodbye to her as she hurried up the stairs.

It had been forever since Felicity had been on a date. Well, actually… Huh. She'd never been on a date. Not a real one, anyway. Oh, crap—she had no idea what to do! She was going in completely blind! She didn't even know this guy at all! She didn't know how to act on a date either! She was doomed! Dooooooomed—!

Felicity slapped herself, snapping herself out of a near-panic attack. She could do this. It was just dinner at a restaurant with a guy. No big deal. And he was mother approved, which meant it was less likely that he was a total psycho. So, yay! Everything was going to be fine.

The place they were meeting was pretty expensive, and she wasn't sure how she felt about that. She was a little unhappy that she had to surrender her car to a valet, because she was hoping she could take a minute to sit and rest her head against the steering wheel. Another damn headache. She'd been getting them for the past few weeks, no doubt due to the stress with Oliver.

The place was dimly lit, and it helped to ease the pressure. She stood awkwardly in front of the maître d' while he ran his finger down the list of names, looking for her date's name. While she waited she wondered about her outfit. She looked good; not auction/Dodger-trap good, but good.

"Ah, yes," said the maître d'. "Sorry, at first I thought you said 'Ned.' He's right here, though. Would you like me to find him for you?"

"Felicity Smoak?"

She turned around and saw a tall, dark-haired man walking towards her. He smiled at her nervously.

"Hi, I got a table with a view of the door so I'd see you—Your mom showed me a picture of you. That's how I knew it was you. I didn't google you. That'd be weird, wouldn't it? Although if you googled me I wouldn't be weirded out, I just didn't want you thinking I was cyber-stalking you or something. Not that I'd think you were cyber-stalking me if you googled me…" Blushing, he cleared his throat. Then he held out his hand for her to shake. "Hi, I'm Ed Raymond and I promise I'm not a psycho."

Smiling, she shook his hand. She was pleasantly surprised at how good-looking he was. Actually, he was gorgeous, but seemed very unaware of the fact. And he was awkward and slightly dorky. With all that plus glasses, he had a very Clark-Kent kinda vibe, and she dug it. At last, a guy who was totally her speed.

"I'm glad you're not a psycho." She really, really meant it.

He smiled at her bashfully and it was the cutest thing ever.

They walked over to their table and he even pulled out her chair for her.

Ed insisted on hearing all about her as they ate their dinner, and she told him about her job at Queen Consolidated, her love of Doctor Who (He felt the same!) a little bit about her parents, and about her pet tortoise. Then he spoke about himself; he was thirty years old (just three and a half years older than her) and was a reporter for the Starling Herald.He was originally from New York and moved to Starling City after his wife died five years ago. He had an eight-year-old son named Ronnie, who was absolutely adorable in the picture Ed showed her.

In short, everything was going wonderfully.

"Hey, Ed!"

Felicity looked over her shoulder and saw Detective McKenna Hall waving at Ed. But more troubling than that was the sight of who was with her. Oliver glanced at Felicity as McKenna made her way to the table.

Ed greeted McKenna warmly as Felicity panicked inwardly. Why were they here?! Why was he here?!

"This is my date, Felicity Smoak."

The women shook hands and smiled. The detective introduced herself kindly.

"And this is my boyfriend, Oliver."

The billionaire/vigilante said hello, and also had the stones to admit he already knew Felicity.

"She's the one who fixes my computer. Felicity is the most competent member of the Queen Consolidated IT department." A compliment, too? That jerk.

Felicity smiled at the two of them, hoping they would leave soon.

"You were the cop on the Dodger case, right? I remember seeing you on TV." Felicity said to the detective.

McKenna nodded. "It's because I closed that case that I met Ed. I'm on the vigilante case and he's the journalist who writes about him."

Oliver and Felicity shared a brief, almost imperceptible furtive glance.

"Well, it was good seeing you again, Ed. And it was nice to meet you, Felicity." McKenna said. The two couples said their goodbyes and when Oliver and McKenna disappeared around a corner, Felicity could finally breathe again.

"Wow, you didn't mention you were friends with Oliver Queen."

"He's more like my boss." she answered, shrugging.

A few minutes later, her phone buzzed. "Sorry," she peeked down; it was a text from Oliver.

Really? The reporter investigating the vigilante?

Filthy hypocrite. She ignored it and got on with her date. Ed was funny, adorkably charming, thoughtful, sweet… and her understood her. Even when she started rambling or said something awkward, he went with it. He just smiled and… Wow, he was just so wonderful. Her mom was getting a huge Mother's Day gift this year.

For dessert they shared an amazing chocolate something-or-other. Unfortunately she had to stop after a few bites, because she began feeling nauseous. Dammit. She must've eaten a heavier dinner than she realized.

By ten o'clock they were still talking, and Ed looked like he was working up the courage to say something.

"Would you like to go dancing?" he finally blurted out.

She laughed nervously. "I'm not very good at it."

"That's okay; neither am I. It's fun, though." He looked at her hopefully.

Holy crap. He wanted to take her dancing. How cute was that?

Felicity was going to meet him there. As she waited for her car, she texted Oliver back.

I'm sorry, who's dating the cop on the vigilante case?

That oughta show him. That big dumb dummy-head.

It wasn't a club, thankfully. It was just a nice little place with a dance floor and good music.

"Save the Last Dance for Me" was playing when they entered the main room. They danced to it clumsily, trying to sort of tango then ending up with a simple version of the waltz. Then came "The Way You Look Tonight," "La Vie En Rose," "In the Mood," … They danced for an hour straight in their own adorably inept way.

Just when she thought she was done, an upbeat song came on that she couldn't refuse.

The first few chords of "Let Her Dance" by Bobby Fuller Four started playing and she gasped in excitement.

"I love this song!" exclaimed Ed.

"Me, too!" replied Felicity.

Well there she goes with a brand new love affair

Dancin' with him like she don't even care

Well, let her dance with him

Let her dance all night long

(Let her dance, let her dance, let her dance dance dance)

They did the twist through the entire song, and when it was over they finally admitted defeat.

He walked her out to her car, and she kissed him on the cheek and told him she had a great time.

Felicity sat in the driver's seat, watching him drive off as she thought about how lucky she was. Then she checked her phone. It was Oliver again.

McKenna says he has a son.

Yes, and he's adorable.

I don't see this ending well.

I can say the same to you, cop dater.

She refused to let him ruin her mood. So what if Ed was a reporter? She wasn't going to tell him anything. Oliver had nothing to worry about with Ed. McKenna, on the other hand… Man, Oliver was such an idiot.

Felicity drove home, her head full of happy thoughts.

I hope none of you think Henry Cavill looks too manly to play Ed Raymond, because I really wanted her to have a major hottie.

Also, I strongly suggest you look up Felicity Smoak's canonical place in the DC universe if you have not done so already. For those of you who have... are you scared yet? WELL, ARE YOU?!

There may be one or two more chapters before "The Huntress Returns," and then definitely one after it. And then certainly a few more until the season is over.