Thank you to all those who have taken time to review. It really does help me decide if I should go on with a story when people leave comments. So I've decided this is a multi-chapter fic after all. Enjoy.

Dark Chapter 3

Oliver crouched behind some boxes on the roof of the Starling City General Hospital. It was a bitterly cold January. Oliver tried to ignore the painful chill biting at his fingers as he gripped his bow. Felicity had gathered intel that the gang behind the strange deaths in the Glades where men had been found with bleeding eyes were raiding hospitals for certain medical supplies. Dig was on the roof of an adjoining building where he found wires connecting to the hospital rooftop. They must have been making their escape through this less secure building.

After half an hour, Oliver heard the muffled sounds of voices and quickly spotted three masked men appearing on the roof. They carried small carrier bags of presumably stolen supplies. Oliver crept out from behind the boxes, careful to stay in the shadows and nocked an arrow.

"Drop the bags and raise your hands," Oliver said, his voice masked but the synthesizer.

"Shit, run!" The three men ran in different directions. Oliver quickly immobilized two by shooting them through the legs and knocking their weapons to the ground. The third man had hidden in the shadows and before Oliver could locate him, he fired two shots at him. Oliver's agility allowed him to avoid the bullets but he slipped on the icy ground and slip over towards the edge. Oliver was able to hold onto his bow but in order to avoid the third bullet, he had to leap over the edge of the building. Oliver's brain went into overdrive as he tried to quickly find a way to avoid falling the twenty floors to certain death. He was able to grab a window ledge briefly but the icy ledge was like glass and he only had time to propel himself to a fire escape three floors below.

Oliver immediately felt the dagger of pain dart up along his right leg. He tried not to cry out but he must have made some noise as he heard Felicity's worried voice in his ear. "Oliver. Please talk to me. Just make some sort of noise to tell me your ok."

The pain in Oliver's leg would have been enough to make most men pass out but then Oliver was not most men! "I'm ok Felicity. I just hurt my leg. Dig I need you over here quickly."

Dig was able to drag Oliver back to their lair with great difficulty. Oliver's leg was already purple and swollen and there was an obvious deformity. Oliver cringed as Dig helped him out of his gear, trying to avoid the worried look on Felicity's face as she bit down on her nails ferociously.

"I'm ok Felicity," Oliver tried to reassure. "I've had worse."

"That does little to ease my worry Oliver," she said, taking a step towards him to help him get the boot off his injured foot. Oliver bit back a scream as the pain tore through him.

"I think you need a hospital man. It looks broken," Diggle said examining the foot.

"No I'll just strap it up and it'll be fine."

"Oliver. This isn't the island. A broken ankle needs a cast and maybe surgery. You need to get this X-rayed." Diggle stood with his arms crossed over his chest and shaking his head slightly.

"Really? Shit. That's not good," Oliver replied, putting his head in his hands.

When Oliver went to the ER, he kept up his playboy billionaire act by telling the triage nurse he hurt his leg base-jumping off a building. It wasn't too far from the truth really. Fortunately he didn't need surgery but he would be in a cast for a few weeks and a boot for a few weeks more and he'd need crutches.

A few nights later, the trio were in the lair trying to convince Oliver again that there is no way The Arrow could fight crime on crutches. Oliver was beyond cranky on his crutches. He was a very difficult man to keep down and Diggle thought it would be a long six weeks trying to keep Oliver entertained. When he had come in tonight, he had found Oliver balancing on his good leg, punching one of his training dummies. Felicity told Diggle that she would have intervened but was scared he'd lose a leg in the process.

The local news station was playing on one of the screens on Felicity's computers. Oliver's attention was caught by a news report.

"Can you turn that up please Felicity?" Oliver watched the masked man on the screen calling himself Brother Blood.

"Hello Starling City. For too long this city has been run by corrupt individuals. I am now in control of the power grid and from midnight tonight I am cutting all electricity to the city until the City Council resigns and hands power over to me. I hope you all enjoy the dark because if I am not given control, I will keep the power off and you will all suffer."

Oliver glared at the screen long after the report ended.

"Oh my God Oliver. What are we going to do?" Diggle asked.

"I don't know. Do we have anything on this guy?"

"Nothing Oliver. I've heard whispers about that name on police reports but nothing solid. I don't know where he's working or what his game is but I'll do my best to look. But to be honest, I don't know where to start."

"Well you can start tomorrow."

"What? Oliver we need to get working on this." Felicity interjected.

"The generator is broken here. It is difficult to get a generator to a secret lair repaired without arousing suspicion. It's half eleven now so we have thirty minutes to get you to collect some stuff and come with me." Oliver was already gathering a few supplies and packing them into a bag.

"Wait. What? Where am I going?" Felicity stood, a confused look on her face.

"You're coming home with me Felicity."

Felicity's eye's widened at his statement. "Em… I am?"

"Yeah it's the safest thing to do. When the electricity goes out alarm systems won't work and every creep in the city will be up to no good. The police will be very busy and the city won't be as safe. I am not having you in your apartment on your own during a blackout. Besides you will be freezing in your apartment. The mansion has a small generator and plenty of security." Oliver held up Felicity's jacket, letting her know he was serious and needed to get moving.

"Good idea Oliver. Lyla is out of town so I'll just swing by and check on Carly and AJ and then I'll do a little bit of patrolling." Dig was checking his weapons and getting ready to head out.

"I'm so sorry man. I feel so useless right now with only one leg but I think I would be a hindrance and not a help out there."

"Don't apologize Oliver. I'd say that Harper kid might be out and about tonight too anyway so we'll do our best. Just look after this one," Diggle said, motioning to Felicity.

When Oliver was very uncomfortably positioned in the passenger seat of Felicity's car he rang Thea to make sure she was at home. His Mother was out of town for a few nights so at least she was safe. Felicity rang Officer Lance to check on Laurel and they headed towards her apartment. Oliver was glad that he had bought Felicity a new car after he bled all over her old one because he was fairly sure his leg, cast and crutches wouldn't fit in her old mini.

Felicity grabbed some clothes and things and they were just back in the car again when it turned midnight. All the lights simultaneously went out.

"This is eerie," Felicity said, starting up her car. "There will be chaos if a city-wide blackout lasts for any amount of time."

"I know. I think this guy's aim is to create chaos though." Oliver kept looking out the window of the car on the drive to the mansion, watching out for any trouble. As they approached the mansion, it suddenly hit Felicity that she was going to stay the night at Oliver's. She felt small flutters of nerves at the thought.

When they arrived at the mansion, there were a few low lights on in the hallway. "During the great storm of 2005 we learned to be conservative with our generator. This is a large estate with a lot of security surveillance and gates so with that and the heating combined, we only keep a few low lights on during blackouts. We don't know how long this will last." Oliver led Felicity into the mansion, trying to be chivalrous and hold her bag even though he was balancing on his crutches.

As Felicity got her bearings, she heard Thea's voice. "Thank God you're home Ollie. I was worried you'd be out there in that blackout." Thea hugged her brother affectionately, staring at Felicity out of the corner of her eye. "And you brought a visitor."

"You remember Felicity? Her apartment wasn't safe and we were working late in QC tonight so I thought it would be good to bring her back here." Oliver's hand landed on the small of Felicity's back, this small action giving her shivers even through her jacket.

"Yeah of course," Thea said, eyeing Felicity a bit suspiciously. "Always the gentleman Oliver." Thea's tone intimated something less gentlemanly though.

"So what are you up to Thea?" Oliver asked.

"I was just heading to bed. Will I help you make up that spare room for Felicity? I think Raisa always has it ready for visitors but you might come and check it with me?" Thea said, head cocked at her brother.

Oliver made Felicity comfortable on a big couch in front of the fire in the living room before going upstairs with his sister. Half way up Thea leaned in close and whispered. "So Ollie, do I need to waste my time making the room up or is there other… sleeping arrangements?"

"Thea! Can a man and woman not be friendly and work together without getting this kind of hassle all the time?"

"I was just asking. You know she is hot. Those legs are to die for. If Roy and I ever break up, I'd nearly change sides…"

"Don't finish that sentence Thea." Oliver tried his best not to imagine his sister chatting up Felicity.

"I'm just saying. She's a little hottie. And smart. You could do alot worse."

"We work together. It's complicated."

"Ok Ollie. I'll drop it," Thea said with a devious smile.

When Oliver returned from preparing the guest room, he found Felicity curled up in the corner of the large couch. It was cold despite the little bit of heat the generator was pumping out so Oliver threw a few more logs on the open fire.

"You ok Felicity?"

"Good thanks," Felicity said looking up from a book she was perusing. "I hope you don't mind me flicking through this book. It was on the coffee table."

"Of course not. Make yourself at home." Oliver didn't know why this statement made him feel some unidentified emotion. Maybe it was because it was so domestic, the two of them curling up in front of a fire, reading a book after a long day at work. "Would you like a little warm up? I make a mean hot port."

"Ooh. That sounds nice." Felicity hopped up from her position on the couch.

"Now I have to warn you I do make them a bit strong so don't blame me if they blow the head off you."

"I can handle it," Felicity responded with a smile.

The pair returned to the living room with their piping hot drinks. Boy these are strong, Felicity thought. They sat at either end of a two-seater couch. Oliver dragged a blanket from the back of the couch and draped it over Felicity's legs when he saw her rubbing her upper arms with her hands.

"Thanks Oliver." Felicity directed a warm smile at Oliver. "And thanks for looking after me tonight. I know it is eating you up that you can't be out there tonight."

"You don't need to thank me for anything. You look out for me all the time. It's about time I tried to pay you back by looking out for you tonight. I wouldn't sleep a wink if I thought you were alone in your apartment tonight."

Felicity and Oliver chatted in the light of the flickering fire. They were surprisingly easy and comfortable around each other. Oliver liked to see her let her hair down- literally and figuratively. Tonight he admired the way her curls tumbled over her shoulders, framing her face in the low light of the room. Oliver was well aware that Felicity was beautiful but she seemed to be glowing tonight.

When Oliver saw Felicity yawning, he realized they had been talking for ages and that it was nearly 3am. "We better get you to bed," Oliver started before realizing that his statement came out wrong. "I mean I'll show you to your bed."

If it was possible, Felicity swears she saw Oliver blush at his gaffe but she couldn't be sure in this low light. Oliver led Felicity up the stairs to a very large room. "Wow. This is the size of my apartment." Felicity looked around in awe at the opulence of the room. A huge four poster bed stood in the middle. Oliver had left her gear bag next to the bed and had a large covered candle next to the bed lighting. "The bathroom and wardrobe are here," Oliver said pointing to the far end of the room. "I left a lighter next to the candle and I put some bottled water on the locker. Thea is three doors down that way," Oliver gestured to one side, "and my bedroom is next door," he pointed to the other direction.

"You're next door?" Felicity tried to dampen down the not-so-patonic feeling of sleeping so close to Oliver. 'Calm yourself down Felicity. There's like fifty feet between your two beds', she told herself.

"Yeah I'm right next door if you need anything. Just shout if you need me." Oliver stood in the doorway looking at Felicity sitting on the edge of the bed. The image brought up feelings he had told himself he shouldn't be feeling for her. He paused for a few moments in the door, balancing on his crutch, his eyes locking with Felicity's. "Goodnight Felicity."

"Night Oliver," she returned with a gentle smile.

At 4am, Oliver was still staring at the ceiling above his bed. He thought that the late night and the two hot ports would help him sleep a little but the guilt of not being out there with Diggle tonight was weighing heavy on his mind. The silence of the night was abruptly broken by the sound of a familiar scream. Oliver's heart race as he leapt out of bed, grabbing a crutch as he went. That sound was unmistakably coming from Felicity's room.