This is really angsty and does have a bit of swearing so please avoid if it isn't your thing. Thanks. Please leave comments- it really helps.

All mistakes are mine as I write quickly and don't proofread well! Also I don't own Arrow- unfortunately.

The Dark Of Night: Chapter 2

Felicity was not having a good day. If she were honest she wasn't having a good week. Or even a good month for that matter. Today started off with her oversleeping. She had been up until 4am helping Oliver and Dig track down information on a spate of strange deaths in the Glades. Men had been found dead with blood coming from their eyes and an unidentified substance in their bloodstream.

Felicity never overslept. In fact with the work she has been doing with Oliver and Digg, she didn't sleep much at all any more. This morning she had obviously knocked off her alarm instead of hitting the snooze. Half way through her shower the water ran cold and she had to wash the shampoo out of her hair in icy water. She spilled coffee on herself before even leaving the apartment and had to run back to change her dress. She felt the sting on her skin the burning liquid had left.

Oliver wouldn't ever mind if she was late but today it was important she be on time for an imperative board meeting. All the board members would be present including Isabel.

When Felicity arrived at QC, somebody had parked in her reserved parking space. Usually there was a fight to get the good spots but Oliver had made sure Felicity always had her own spot- somewhere safe and well lit near the security cameras and easy access to the lift. Today however, someone had parked their very expensive looking Jaguar in her spot, completely ignoring her name plate. She had to drive around for ages looking for a spot and in the end she was forced to park on the street. Of course she didn't have enough change for the meter and had to run into a shop to buy some gum to get change and then had to charm the parking warden when she returned into not giving her a ticket. The young parking warden wasn't immune to Felicity's sweet smile and he let her off the hook. She put the maximum number of coins into the meter and then ran to the Executive Floor of QC towards the conference room, laden down with files.

When she arrived at the conference room she felt completely flustered. She saw all the big shareholders sitting around the table and when she caught a glance of herself in the reflection of one of the windows, she knew she looked as flustered as she felt. Oliver tried to give her a reassuring half smile through the window when he saw her approach but it did little to reduce her stress levels.

Felicity hoped she could quietly slip into the room to the vacant seat next to Oliver but when she opened the door it creaked loudly and Isabel stopped speaking in the middle of her obviously important speech and stared pointedly at Felicity. All the other board members turned to look at her and Isabel purposely waited for her to struggle to her seat with all her files before finishing what she was saying. Oliver half stood to help her but Felicity waved him away, not wanting to embarrass her boss in front of all the board members.

"As I was saying before I was interrupted…" Isabel continued, a venomous tone to her voice and proceeded with her speech on stock prices.

"You ok?" Oliver whispered, leaning close to Felicity's ear. She tried not to be affected by the feeling of his warm breath on the sensitive part of her ear.

"Yeah. Fine. Sorry I'm late." Felicity tried to prop files on the desk but pieces of paper kept slipping from the files onto the floor. Felicity leant under the table to retrieve them as Isabel directed a question at Oliver. Felicity came up too quickly and slammed her head on the underside of the heavy table interrupting Oliver's response.

Oliver gave her a concerned look as Felicity sat rubbing the new bump on her head. She gave him a shake of her head to indicate that he should ignore her clumsiness today and continue on with his response to the board. He was talking about next quarter predictions or something when she suddenly realized Oliver was looking at her for the report. Horror played across her face as she realized she didn't have that file with her.

"Sorry Mr. Queen. I'll just run and get that," Felicity apologized.

"Don't worry Ms. Smoak. There's no rush with it." Oliver was trying to be kind but it made her feel all the more foolish.

As she quickly exited the room she heard one of the board members (who looked like an obese walrus and didn't smell much better) snigger to his companion. "She may be a hot piece of tail but she's a pretty useless assistant." His equally repulsive companion replied like he was a rock star, "I'd still tap it though." She saw Oliver's eyes dart threateningly in their direction, even though she was sure he couldn't have heard them from where he sat.

As she raced down the hallway towards their office, she felt a cold sweat pool on her low back. She couldn't decide if it was the sting of the burn on her leg or the growing bump on her head that was worse or whether it was the sheer embarrassment of the meeting but she would have loved nothing more than to crawl into bed and not get back up until tomorrow.

The rest of the meeting passing tediously late into the morning and while Oliver hung back to talk to some of the board members, Felicity made a quiet retreat to her desk. As she was about to boot up her computer, she remembered that she had to get Oliver to sign a report today from human resources or she would get an ear-full from the head of HR. She knew she had left it with Oliver to sign the night before so she went into his office, sitting down on one of the chairs (to ease the ache from these stupid new shoes) and rifled through a bunch of papers.

A cold burst of air came down from the air conditioning unit above her head. She made a mental note to get the faulty unit fixed when all of a sudden her heart rate began to rise. A painful memory was threatening to break to the surface. It was because she remembered the cold air coming down on her neck the night the Count held her here less than a month ago. She was shivering in fear but the icy breeze did little to help the situation. Felicity's breathing accelerated and became shallower and her head began to feel a bit light. The air con blew her ponytail over the bare skin on her shoulders and she recalled vividly the sickening feel of the Count playing with her hair that night. She was so lost in the memory that she didn't hear Oliver and Digg enter the office.

"Felicity? Felicity! You ok?" Oliver was standing in front of her, a look of concern on his face. Felicity could feel a tightness in her stomach and the prickle of threatening tears. As Digg went to place a hand on her arm, she jumped up suddenly, papers falling to the floor.

"I'm fine," she lied. Felicity was bending down to collect the fallen files but she knew she wouldn't be able to hold back tears if her two boys were being so considerate with her. She jumped up suddenly, leaving the files fall again. "Sorry I just have to run to the bathroom. I'll tidy them in a few minutes. Just leave them," she shouted over her shoulder, somewhat more brashly than she intended.

Felicity locked the door behind her in the lady's room. She was glad of the plush executive toilets up on this floor. There was chair in front of the mirror. She often wondered did rich people all have seats in their bathrooms and for what real purpose other than not having to stand while doing their make-up. She sank into the velvet material and closed her eyes. Felicity tried to keep her breathing under control. She was so embarrassed that she nearly cried in front of Diggle and Oliver. She knew that they wouldn't be anything other than concerned about but she didn't want to come across as a weak women who needed to cry just because she was having a bad day.

Two days ago Barry had told her that he needed to leave Starling City and get back home. When his crime scene work was wrapped up, he took a few vacation days to spend with Felicity. They had only gone on a few dates but he made her feel special. He was kind and gentlemanly and looked at her like there was nobody else in the world. He made her feel beautiful and he loved how smart she was. He made her feel like she was somebody he could love. She let her mind stray one too many times thinking that she would love if Oliver looked at her like that but she realized that Oliver just wasn't that kind of person.

When Oliver had told her after their return from Russia that he couldn't be with someone he cared about, she briefly toyed with the idea that he was implying some feelings for her but she pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind. For one thing Oliver was not somebody who should be dating anyone right now and she didn't think that even if he could, he would want her. She knew he really cared about her. Killing the Count more than proved that. However she didn't think he ever felt romantically about her.

Barry had asked her to visit him when he went home but as hard as it was for her, she told him that she'd like to just remain friends. He looked heartbroken and she immediately thought maybe she should reconsider but her initial feelings were right. She couldn't really be dating anyone right now.

Felicity was having one of those days where her self-confidence was low. So low it was in her shoes. A few weeks ago at the Gala, she thought she saw something akin to jealousy in Oliver's eyes when he was watching her dance with Barry and it boosted her confidence. When he asked to cut in and started dancing with her, she felt something that she was desperately trying to suppress. It was those feelings again that made her feel like a teenager with a crush. The feel of his hard muscles pushed up against her body as they danced and the easy way he smiled at her as he looked into her eyes. Her illusion was shattered though when Laurel asked to cut in with Oliver. As Felicity walked away from Oliver across the dance floor, she realized how stupid she had been. Why would Oliver have feelings for her? He's probably still in love with gorgeous Laurel. It wasn't Laurel's fault and she hated herself for feeling bitter against Laurel. This woman wasn't her rival and had recently had a very hard time.

Felicity stood up from the chair and gave herself a mental pep talk in the mirror. 'You're just tired. Pull it together and get back to work. Everyone is allowed have their bad days.'

Oliver had a lunch meeting with his mother and advised Felicity to go out and get a bit of air to clear her head. He tenderly placed a hand on her shoulder and asked her for about the fiftieth time that day if she was ok before she collected her bag and left for lunch.

Oliver was right. It was a good idea to clear her head. It was freezing out and she pulled her scarf tightly around herself to keep warm. She loved these cold bright days. The festive decorations were up and people were happy shopping on their lunch breaks.

As she passed an artisan Deli near QC, she spotted something in the window. Oliver wasn't much of a drinker, especially as he tried to maintain absolute control as the Arrow. However he always like tasting different whiskeys from small distilleries. He told her he loved to taste ones he'd never heard off. They were hit and miss but why miss out on the great ones for the sake of trying a few bad ones. This bottle was caller 'Archer's choice' and she couldn't help herself buying it for him. She would give it to him this evening and maybe if he was in the mood, they could have a taste of it together. God knows she could do with a drink to wind down this evening.

Oliver was in meetings all afternoon. She looked through the glass occasionally to see his CEO mask steadily in place. She sent him an IM to see if he wanted coffee but he politely refused with a winking smiley face emoticon. He knew if was hard for her to swallow her pride and make him coffee!

At 6pm, she still hadn't managed to speak to Oliver all afternoon. She hoped his mother appreciated that role he had taken on in her absence. When she was released from prison, she still couldn't rejoin the company. Even if she was acquitted in court, she was still guilty in the eyes of a lot of shareholders.

Oliver's last meeting ended and Felicity was about to make her way to his office with her present for him when she heard the ping of the elevator. Dread rose in her as she spied the face of Isabel exiting. 'As if this day hasn't been bad enough,' she thought. Felicity's mouth held a tight line as she stared at the approaching woman.

Isabel was her usual pleasant self. "You look tired my dear. Not sleeping?" The tone of her voice did not convey any concern for Felicity's wellbeing.

"I just didn't sleep much last night," Felicity mumbled.

Isabel encroached a bit too much on Felicity's personal space and whispered bitterly, "Well if you can't handle being Oliver's EA and his whore, you should really give up one of those jobs. Why don't I give you tonight off?" Isabel's perfectly made up eyes narrowed as she cocked her head to the side and stared at Felicity.

Felicity was just about to respond when she was saved by Oliver coming out of his office. It was probably a good job he did or she did not know what expletive she would have let rip at Isabel. Isabel turned on her fake smile for Oliver and followed him into the office. Felicity's face felt like it was on fire so much so that she didn't notice Oliver walk back out towards her. Isabel was making herself comfortable on Oliver's couch.

"Why don't you go home? You look exhausted," Oliver said sincerely concerned sounding. "I don't need you to hang around for this meeting."

Acid rose in Felicity's throat as she replied as steadily as she could. "Okay. See you tomorrow." She left a slightly confused Oliver standing there watching her quickly grab her things and run.

Felicity sat at home that evening staring at the bottle of whiskey. She looked at it for the longest time and then decided she needed a drink. After a few glasses of it (she wasn't sure how many as she was drinking it from the bottle), she was getting more and more bitter. Her mother always told her people can get nasty on whiskey but she never really noticed herself before.

"Stupid Isabel with her model figure and lusty eyes!" It wasn't the fact the Oliver slept with somebody that upset her. He was a single attractive man and he owed her no explanation of his love life. But why her? It wasn't just because she was trying to take over the company and her name was on the List. She had convinced herself that it was convenient to distract Isabel while Diggle was in the Gulag. It was because Isabel showed a complete lack of respect for her. That's why she was mad at Oliver.

She hated that Oliver allowed this woman who demeaned her at every opportunity and talked down to her all the time into his bed. She knew what Isabel was implying as she left Oliver's room that night telling her she could have the night off. She had directly called her a whore tonight. She wanted to tell this all to Oliver and even took her phone out to ring him but what good would that do? It would just make her look like a jealous, immature girl.

After way too much whiskey, she decided she needed company. She didn't even need someone to talk to. Just noise and the sound of other people's voices. She grabbed her coat and walked to the nearest bar. She hadn't been in it before because she always thought it looked a bit seedy but in her inebriated state, she didn't care.

The bar was maybe half full, alot of men in suits as she lived near the business district. She sat on the bar stool with great effort. Was it always this difficult to climb on these freaking stools or was she just that drunk, she thought? She didn't care either way.

After a few more glasses of whiskey (she thought their measures were a bit mean though), she heard her phone ring. She fumbled in her bag to find it only to see Oliver's name appear on the screen. She always answered Oliver's calls but she decided to take a night off. After it rang a few more times, she decided he wasn't going to stop until she answered.

"Yes Oliver," she answered. She tried her best to not slur her speech.

"Felicity I need you to do a bit of research for me. Can you come to the foundry tonight? I know you're tired but I'd…"

"I'm sorry Mr. Queen but I'm having a night off." She definitely failed at not slurring that time.

A pause followed on Oliver's side. "Are you drunk Felicity?"

"I've been drinking but I'm not drunk. Sober as a judge. Well not this judge I knew back home because he was a raging alcoholic but… well I don't know what that saying means really."

"Are you ok?" Oliver interrupted.

"You don't need to keep asking me that. I'm absolutely fine."

"Where are you? I'll come get you."

"I told you I can't work tonight. I'm not at your beck and call all the time Oliver. I have a life too." Felicity was louder that she meant to be and noticed a few heads turn in the bar.

"I don't need you for work. That can wait. I just want to give you a lift home."

"I walked here and I can manage to walk home. I'm a big girl."

"This city isn't safe to walk around at night. I'm coming to get you."

"I'm hanging up Oliver. Goodnight." Felicity ended the phone-call. She sometimes wished for an old fashioned phone she could slam down in a temper.

Fortunately for Oliver, Felicity was inebriated enough to forget to turn off her GPS tracker. He jumped into the car and headed to the location on his screen.

As Felicity moped over her drink a bit longer, a man came to sit next to her. "Fight with the boyfriend?"

Felicity looked over at the man. Even though her vision was blurry, she noticed he wasn't a completely unattractive man. He motioned the bar man to get her another drink. Felicity's head was very hazy and she didn't think she should drink any more. She thought she felt the man's hand running up and down her leg but her arms felt heavy and her mouth dry. She didn't really know what the man was saying but felt he was a little too close for comfort. She thought she heard him say he'd walk her home then she heard a familiar and rather angry voice behind him.

"I suggest you take that hand off her or I'll break it off."

"Hey man. I'm not doing anything she didn't want me too. Why don't you find yourself another girl?"

"I don't want another woman. I want this one. She's so drunk right now I don't think she's really fit to consent to letting your paws on her."

The man must have heard the murderous tone in Oliver's voice as he retreated to the back of the bar.

"You scared off my new friend." This was all Felicity was able to manage to say as Oliver placed a glass of water in front of her. She hadn't even heard him order it.

"I highly doubt that man would ever be a friend of yours." Oliver handed her three small tablets.

"I don't do drugs thanks," Felicity sniggered, clearly delighted with her joke.

"They'll help the headache and settle your stomach. Remember I was a real playboy before being stranded on that island. I know how to sober up fast and get rid of a hangover." Oliver did not sound judgmental at the state his friend was in. "And when you finish that glass of water, go splash water on your face in the bathroom and drink this coffee and I'll walk you home."

"Don't be nice to me Queen. I don't need your pity." That statement would have had alot more punch if she didn't almost fall getting off the barstool.

"I don't pity you at all Felicity. If you're not back in two minutes I'm coming to get you. And if I see any of these men head in your direction, I'll break someone's jaw."

Despite how awful Felicity was feeling, a small smile came to her face. As she cleaned herself up in the bathroom, she kicked herself for having that last drink or two. 'It's a fine line between a happy buzz and feeling like shit,' she mused.

As Felicity neared the bar again, she heard Oliver finishing up a call with Diggle. He slid a cup of coffee along the bar towards her. He had a cup in front of him too. "It's got lots of sugar and milk in it too so it won't be too harsh on your stomach. Now drink this down and then we'll go."

Felicity sat in silence sipping her milky coffee. Whatever he had given her had made her head clear up very slightly. A tightness began to work its way up her chest. She felt like a bold child being caught drunk by their parents. Not that her parents ever caught her drunk. She was always the good girl. Why couldn't she just rebel the once?

When she finished her coffee, she saw Oliver hand the barman a wad of money and felt his hand firmly pulling her out of the bar. She staggered slightly on the step outside but the freezing cold air brought her to her senses. Oliver helped her into her coat. "It must be below freezing at least tonight," Oliver said.

"Why are you talking to me like you didn't just drag me from a dive where some letch was trying to take me home?"

"Well I'm glad you are sobering up enough to realize he was lecherous. And we've all been dragged from bars at some point in our lives!"

As the walked towards her apartment, she realized it was taking her a lot longer to walk home than it did to get to the bar earlier. Oliver patiently walked by her side, occasionally holding his hand up slightly to right Felicity when she swayed. Other than that he didn't say a thing. Felicity realized there must have been a small drift of snow earlier as there was a crunching underfoot as she walked. The streets were almost empty at this time on a weeknight and as they approached her building, Felicity began to feel the humiliation of Oliver seeing her like this. She wanted nothing more than to bury her head under her bedcovers and cry. She knew tomorrow she'd be back to her normal happy self but tonight she was allowed feel sorry for herself.

"You can just leave me here. I can see my building," Felicity tried.

"That's not happening Felicity," Oliver said, cupping his hand under her elbow. "It's icy and you're drunk and I'm going to get you at least up the steps of your building."

Felicity realized that whiskey really did do funny things with your mood as she felt antagonistic towards Oliver right now. "Yeah I am drunk. I'm not going to apologise for that."

"I wasn't asking you to apologise. You're allowed…"

"You don't need to tell me what I am and am not allowed to do." Felicity realized her voice was louder than intended. "I can do whatever I want. I can go back there and sleep with that man in the bar if I like." She didn't know why she saying these things. Whiskey had control of her tongue.

"Is that what you want?"

"Maybe it is," she lied. "You get to sleep with whomever you like. Why wouldn't I?" She saw the slightly shocked look on Oliver face but he took a deep breath and swallowed down a response. "Is it because you think that nobody would want to sleep with me?" Oh no- her brain really was not in control. "Boring IT nerd that comes second to gorgeous brunettes all the time."

"That's not true Felicity."

"What do you care anyway who I sleep with?" Felicity staggered slightly on the icy path but swatted away Oliver's hand when he went to help her.

"Of course I care. You're my friend." Oliver's voice was even with no hint of irritation at how irrational Felicity was being.

"Your friend? Really?" Felicity's tone was mocking.

"Of course you're my friend."

"Well I'm your overqualified assistant who has to listen to whispers every time I pass a group of QC workers. People who used to be friendly to me in the IT department avoid eye contact with me now because I know they send around venomous joke emails about me sleeping with the CEO. But I don't let it bother me usually. I know I got to where I am by being good at my job and not good at blow jobs as is suggested by the inscriptions on the bathroom wall on the twelve floor. I know I'm useful in my position in QC and I let those snickering idiots have their fun."

"I'm sorry Felicity about that. But you're also my friend," Oliver tried to reassure her.

"Well I know I'm the Arrow's," she whispered this bit, "personal researcher but usually that guy just barks orders down the phone at me…" Felicity knew deep down that he didn't always do that and that he usually apologized when he was too sharp with her.

"I'm sorry if I do that too. You know I appreciate everything you do." Oliver took a step closer to her.

"And then there's that bitch!" Felicity practically spat the last word. Oliver knew instantly who she was talking about. "It's none of my business who you sleep with no more than it's your business who I sleep with but her? Honestly. She tries to disrespect me at every opportunity. She treats me like shit. So are you saying it's ok to sleep with a woman who treats you friend like that?"

A long silence fell between them. Oliver looked down at the snow on his shoes and looked back at Felicity. There were tears in her eyes. He knew she would be so embarrassed to cry in front of him and he hated that it was him that was making her feel like this.

Oliver was about to speak but Felicity started, much quieter than before. "I give everything to you. My days. My nights. My weekends. I used to sleep like a baby but now my nights are filled with terror at all the things I've seen and done. But I never blame you. I chose this. I wanted to help and you're doing everything you can to make this city a better place but…" her voice faltered as a tear rolled down her cheek. "I'd just like for once that you recognize that I would give everything up for you not because you asked me too but because I thought you needed me to."

Oliver approached Felicity slowly, his hands coming up to grip her shoulders. Tears now freely flowed down her face. "I do need you. Every day I thank my lucky stars that I have you. And not just for my work. But for my sanity. You ground me and make me smile and since I've known you, you've chipped away the barrier of pain that I had erected. I can never thank you enough for what you do for me. And for what you have given up to help me."

Felicity looked up slowly at him. Oliver noticed she looked more sober than before but a small sob escaped her throat. Oliver didn't hesitate to pull her towards him. He hugged her tight against his chest and felt the gentle sobs escape her. "I'm sorry Oliver," Felicity murmured into him.

"Don't you dare apologise. If I wasn't so pig headed I would have noticed you needed a friend to talk to earlier today. In the dark of night things always seem worse. Apart from a killer headache, you'll be back to yourself tomorrow."

"Thank you Oliver."

Oliver pulled back slightly so that he could look her in the eye. She looked so fragile in his arms, her cheeks moist and puffy, biting her lower lip. "There is no need to thank me. That's what's friends are for. C'mon."

Oliver kept his arm around her shoulder and lead her up the steps to her apartment. When they were inside her apartment, Felicity's eyes already were drooping. She was still quite drunk and felt her feet could no longer hold her up. She flopped on the couch and her eyes began to fall closed. She could feel Oliver repositioning her slightly and draping a blanket over her. "I'll put the alarm on and lock the door after myself. See you tomorrow Felicity." Felicity couldn't be sure but she could swear she felt him place a soft kiss into her hair before leaving. As she drifted off, she knew things would be alright.