By popular demand and because graellora on Tumblr has been following and commenting for a long time, I've written a sequel to that other Bodyguard drabble. I have no plans to do a multi-chap of this, but I got some ideas writing this one so we'll see. Enjoy and leave a review after if it's not too much trouble. ;)
He's always so serious.
Felicity understands why. It's part of the whole imposing bodyguard thing. And much as she bristled at the idea of having a bodyguard in the first place, even she feels more comfortable with Oliver around now. His quiet, watchful intensity makes her feel secure and calm when it feels like her mind is forever racing.
Which is why, when he's driving her home one night after a long day and a touch of panic seeps into his tone as he talks on the phone, she knows something must be very wrong.
"Is she OK?" he asks, voice shaky. He waits and listens, his foot suddenly heavier on the gas pedal. "I'll be there as soon as I can," he says and hangs up.
"Everything alright?" she asks, catching his eye in the rearview mirror.
"My sister was in a car accident," he replies, voice strained.
"Oh my God," Felicity says, hand flying to cover her mouth. "Is she alright?"
"She's conscious, but they think she might have a broken arm. They're going to do an x-ray and run some tests to make sure nothing else is wrong."
"Is she at Starling General?" she asks and he nods. "You should get off at the next exit or else you'll have to backtrack to get there."
"I'm taking you home first," he replies, turning briefly to give her a confused look.
"Oliver," she says, frowning at him. "Your injured sister trumps me getting home. I can catch a cab from the hospital."
"That's not safe," he counters.
"Well, then I'll call Mr. Diggle and ask him to send someone else to take me home." He opens his mouth to argue but she cuts him off. "This isn't up for discussion, Oliver. We're going to Starling General." She sees his hands tighten on the wheel and his jaw clench and she's not sure for a moment if he'll listen, but then, he sighs, flicks on the blinker and steers the car off the freeway.
Oliver is more agitated than she's ever seen him by the time they arrive at the hospital and she almost has to run to keep up with him as he strides toward the reception desk.
"What room is Thea Queen in?" he demands and the nurse looks momentarily taken aback.
"Are you—" she starts, but is interrupted by another voice.
"Ollie!" a girl yells and they turn to find a small brunette being wheeled into one of the nearby rooms on a stretcher.
"Thea," he sighs in relief.
"I'm fine," she assures when they reach the room. Oliver places a hand gently on the side of her face–careful to avoid the bandage on her forehead and she smiles at him a moment before turning to tilt her head at Felicity. "Who's that?" she asks, pointing and then cringing because she accidentally used the arm that's currently wrapped in a splint.
"Oh, um, hi, Felicity Smoak," she stutters, embarrassed at intruding. "Sorry, I'll just—"
"The infamous Ms. Smoak," Thea says with a satisfied smile. "I've heard a lot about you."
"Wish I could say the same," Felicity blurts out, heat flooding her cheeks immediately after. Oh to have been born with a brain-to-mouth filter. She opens her mouth again to speak but is stopped when Thea chuckles and shakes her head, the same way Oliver always does.
"Typical Ollie," she says affectionately and looks up at him with a smile. He narrows his eyes and frowns at her and seems just about to object when a doctor comes into the room.
"Ms. Queen," he says formally, "are these—"
"He's my brother and that's his...boss, I guess?" she says and looks to Oliver for confirmation but goes on before he can speak. "Don't worry about them. You can say whatever you need to. So how's my arm?" The doctor frowns a moment, looking between the two non-patients before answering.
"You have a fracture to your right ulna," he says, "so you'll have to wear a cast for a few weeks. It's a clean break though and other than that, everything seems fine. I'd still like to keep you overnight for observation until we get a look at your MRI, but I expect we can discharge you in the morning. The best thing for you now is rest," the doctor says firmly, giving Oliver a pointed look and then leaving the room.
"Ugh," Thea grumbles, slouching on the bed. "I was really hoping I'd at least get to go home."
"Do you want me to stay with you?" Oliver asks and the tenderness in his voice surprises Felicity. She didn't know he was capable.
"No," Thea replies, "I'm exhausted anyway. But you better pick me up first thing in the morning. I don't want to be here any longer than I have to." Oliver nods and stands to gently kiss her on the forehead.
"It was nice to meet you," Felicity says when they start to leave.
"You too," Thea replies and then turns to give Oliver a look Felicity doesn't understand that has him looking stern.
Once they're back in the car, Oliver calls Mr. Diggle to ask for the morning off and Felicity feels a little disappointed at the prospect of not seeing him tomorrow—which is weird and selfish and not something she can explain. He heaves a sigh of relief when he finds someone to take his place, but he still seems antsy and more brooding than usual.
"Your sister seems sweet," she says, hoping conversation will get him out of his own head.
"Don't let her fool you," he says and smirks at her in the mirror. "She's a hellion." Felicity chuckles, surprised when she realizes this is the first time he's made her laugh.
"Does your whole family call you 'Ollie?'" she asks, curious. "I can see why you don't use it for work. Not very imposing for a bodyguard."
"Childhood nickname," he replies with a half-smile. "Thea had a hard time saying the whole thing when she was little so my parents started using it too."
"Do they know Thea's alright, by the way?" she asks, alarmed at the idea that his parents might not know their daughter was in a car accident. "Did the hospital call them too?"
"Oh, um, that's not a," he mutters, grasping for words, "our parents are...they passed away."
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Oliver. I didn't realize—"
"It's OK," he interrupts and smiles at her in the mirror.
"How did they...," she starts before stopping herself. "I'm sorry. You don't have to answer that," she adds in a hurry and then sinks into her seat a bit, prepared to quietly punish herself for the rest of the ride when he surprises her by answering her unfinished question.
"It was a few years ago," he says softly, sounding a little distant. "They were in a car accident," he says and she understands why he was so upset when he got the call about Thea. "Drunk driver hit them and they flipped into oncoming traffic. My father died instantly, but my mother...somehow...only broke a leg and got a concussion." He lapses into silence a moment and runs his hand over his face before going on. "That was how they found the cancer though," he says, voice cold. "The tumor was large, aggressive, they gave her six months at most."
"Oh my God," Felicity mutters, "that must have been awful for you both," she adds, unable to think of anything better.
"I was overseas at the time, but they discharged me so I could come home and take care of her and Thea. Our mother was a fighter, but watching her deteriorate so fast," he pauses, frowning at the memory, "Thea had a tough time staying focused. She was in high school at the time. Her grades slipped and then, after...well, she stopped showing up to class completelyl. John, Mr. Diggle, and I had been in the army together and he had given me this job so I couldn't watch her all day. There were drugs and she would disappear for days at a time. It got so bad that every time I got a phone call, I thought it would be the police telling me she had been hurt or arrested or... And then one time it was the hospital. Somebody had left her in front of the emergency room after she almost OD'd."
"That must have been so scary," she says raising a hand to place on his shoulder and then thinking better of it.
"Yeah," he agrees. "but thank God, that was what convinced her to get help. It took a long time, but she's in a much better place now. She got her GED, started college."
"That's amazing," Felicity says encouragingly. "You should be really proud."
"I am," he says with a small smile. "Hell, she took control of her life in a way I never could have at that age. My parents had to cut me off and push me into the military to get me under control."
Felicity opens her mouth to speak when Oliver slows the car to a stop and she suddenly realizes they've reached her house. He opens his door and walks around to open hers, offering his hand to help her out.
"Thanks," she says, pausing a moment she feels like she should say something else doesn't know what. "Thanks for bringing me home," she says awkwardly. "If you want to take the whole day off tomorrow to take care of Thea, don't worry about me. I'm sure Mr. Diggle can find a replacement. Or I can just drive myself around. I've almost forgotten what it's like."
Oliver huffs a laugh and then says a soft, "OK." She nods decisively and turns to go but stops when Oliver reaches out and grabs her arm.
"Felicity," he says, gently pulling her so she turns to look at him again. "Thank you."
"Of course," she says breathily, a little overwhelmed by the sincerity. She's never seen him with his guard down before and, from nowhere, she suddenly has the urge to ask him if he wants to come inside.
But the moment is broken before she can ask when he suddenly steps back, letting his hand fall to his side and straightens up, the bodyguard persona back in place.
"Goodnight, Ms. Smoak," he says, not using her first name for the first time in weeks.
"Goodnight, Oliver," she says and turns to go.