Chapter 2

Felicity's thoughts wandered back to the last few months as she watched Oliver through the clear glass panel that separated her desk from his office. He had failed to notice her despite the fact that she had been observing him for several minutes. It was not uncommon for her to steal quick glances at her boss but the look on his face had kept her eyes glued on him. The veiled mask he wore was all too familiar to her now. Diggle had scoffed at her when she had told him that she had become fairly adept at reading Oliver's many faces.

"How can you read a blank face?" He had teased her.

Felicity would simply shrug. For her his face was not blank at all. Each line, each imperfection, each scowl meant something. You just had to look deep enough.

And what Felicity saw now disturbed her. He was sadder than usual but it was also more than the ever present guilt he bore on his shoulders. He was afraid. While she knew that he was far from immune to fear it was the first time that she had seen it so close to the surface.

She didn't understand. His friends and family were safe. Slade and Blood had been defeated. What more was there?

Felicity's trembling hand went to adjust her glasses as memories of what had happened resurfaced. The terror she had felt when Slade had taken her was insurmountable. He had mocked her, toyed with her. Every injury, physical or otherwise, seemed to only increase his satisfaction. She remembered screaming as his sword had torn through cloth and flesh alike. She still had nightmares about his wicked smile as he slowly trailed the blade until there was utterly too much of her flesh was exposed. She had struggled fruitlessly against her bindings in am effort to bring her arms up to cover herself. He had promised to defile her, ravage her, corrupt her and when he was finished with her he would kill her.

She screamed and yelled at Slade. What could she have possibly have done to deserve such cruelty at his hands. She would never forget his answer. It haunted her even when she was awake.

"Because the kid loves you." He had said. Slade held no remorse for what he was doing or who he was hurting. He truly believed that his anger was righteous. This only made him more dangerous. He would follow his convictions until the bitter end.

Yet even through that his words had cut into her heart. Oliver Queen loved her? Was such a thing even possible? They were friends, yes. He cared for her, yes. But love? Surely Slade had been mistaken. Oliver Queen's love had always been reserved for Laurel.

If Slade had been made for her nightmares then the Starling City Vigilante had been made for her brightest dreams. She had flinched when the concussive blast ripped the door from its hinges. Even though her glasses were smudged she knew exactly who the silhouette was that jumped through the gaping hole where the door was. He moved with such speed that she could barely follow him. He ducked, dodged, and fought his way through the men in the room until only Slade was left before him.

Oliver asked, no, begged his friend to let her go. That any quarrel was between the two of them alone. Slade, of course, had refused. He had vowed Oliver would experience the same loss he did and then, only then would he kill Oliver.

Tears streamed down her eyes as she watched Oliver steel himself to battle the man who had taught him almost everything he knew. What chance did a man, even one such as the Hood, have against a monster infused with mirakuru. She yelled at him to just run and forget about her. She screamed that she wasn't worth his life. Oliver ignored her please. The look in eyes said everything. He would die before he abandoned her. Slade had chosen his hostage well.

The impact from their initial collision was bone jarring. Felicity thought she could see the dust rise up from the ground as a result from the impact. She strained to keep her eyes on what was happening but the dirt on her glasses made it difficult. Even had her sight been unobstructed she doubted she would have been able to keep up with their movements. Strength and speed both combatants displayed seemed impossible. She knew then exactly what Oliver had done for her. Despite the life threatening danger of the serum he had taken the mirakuru. He didn't know the man Slade Oliver was. This was how she knew him. A man who do anything and sacrifice everything for the smallest of chances to save his friends.

Then she saw her fears come to pass. Slade had years of experience on Oliver. He had maneuvered his way around Oliver's attacks until he found the leverage he needed. Oliver was literally lifted off his feet as punch after punch landed in his midsection. The force of each punch pushed him a little more off the ground. The Hood was a physically imposing figure but Slade Wilson picked him up like he was nothing. Grunting with effort Slade threw into the concrete wall. Such was the force of the throw that the wall crumbled instantly, burying Oliver in the rubble.

Felicity felt like a knife had pierced her heart. She couldn't swallow, couldn't breathe. She was sure that it was the end of the Oliver. Not even a moment later a shadow fell across Felicity. She looked up to see Slade staring down at her. In his hand he gripped his sword. It was still dripping with Oliver's blood. She could see the thrill reflected in his eyes. Thrill that he would finally be able to fulfill the promise he had made to himself.

It was inevitable now. Felicity knew as she stared at the dripping blood from the blade that her time was up. The light seemed to dance wickedly of it making it look even more sinister. She could not seem to get any of her muscles to move, her eyes stayed glued to the sword. In the deepest reaches of her scientific mind reason still ruled. She knew was in shock. She should have done something, anything to try and get away from Slade. It wasn't that she wasn't terrified. She was scared out of her mind. The rest of her simply could not process that Oliver was gone. Whatever was about to happen to her she could not help but feel that it was trivial compared to Oliver's fate.

The blade swung up and paused. She tried to steady herself for what was to come. Would it hurt very much? She wondered. Dying. Would her life flash before her eyes? She hoped that if that did happen then she would at very least see Oliver. Though she had known him only during small portion of her life he had become such an integral part of it that it felt that he had always belonged in it.

She could hear the air whistle as the clade come down. She tried to shut her eyes but couldn't. Then she saw him. Oliver. He was diving towards her at full speed, arms stretched out and reaching for her. She couldn't help but smile as she finally blacked out. Perhaps it was true what they said. Someone you loved did come for you when your time came.

She woke up a few days later in the hospital with a pounding headache. The light streaming in from the window had woken her. She was disoriented, confused, and littered with bandages. She immediately started struggling against the sling that braced her arm. Her panicked mind was still where she last remembered. Bound and about to be slaughtered by Slade. Her sudden trashing alerted her nurses and they rushed in trying to calm her. Even when they had convinced her that she was no longer in danger she would not stop trashing about. She needed to help Oliver, she had screamed at them. He is still buried the rubble. Her heart rate had risen to dangerously high levels so the nurses finally sedated her to calm her down.

The next time she woke was because she felt pressure against the backside of her hand. The rough and calloused fingers brought her awake almost instantly. Even though she had only held his a hand a few times she knew exactly who those fingers belonged to.

"Oliver?" Her eyes had snapped open. She tried to sit up but days of laying still made that nearly impossible.

"Shhhh. It's okay." He whispered to her. "Everything's okay now."

She couldn't believe it. She was looking at him. He was there sitting by her bed. She wasn't imagining this, his touch was real. "I thought you were dead."

"So did I." He smiled softly. Then the tears started flowing freely and it seemed like it would never stop. He stayed with her then, an ever constant presence in her recovery room. He dispensed with any pretexts or pretenses then. He didn't care what people said about him hanging around day and night in the hospital room of his executive assistant. Once the nurses had told him that she had screaming for him, convinced that he was in danger Oliver had promised himself that he would be there when she woke up again. Everything else took a back seat. Nothing else mattered. Not Queen Consolidated, not the city, not anything. The few times he was not present in her she found herself counting the minutes until she did see him again. All the while Slade's words echoed in her mind.

"Because the kid loves you." Of all the things that had happened that was what was always stuck on the fore front of her mind.

During her recovery they seemed to grow closer than ever before. He did everything in his power to make her feel comfortable. He brought her movies and books to keep her occupied. He had even snuck in some of her favorite Chinese food when the doctors and nurses were not looking. She wondered why the hospital didn't kick him out once visiting hours were over. He just shrugged when she asked him about it.

"Being a billionaire has its perks." He had told her. She asked what he meant but he wouldn't say another word about that topic. Her suspicions were confirmed one day when she overheard one of the nurses pass on her chart to the next shift. Felicity cringed when she heard the nurse say that Oliver had made a very generous donation to the hospital and all the staff had been instructed to adhere to whatever Oliver Queen wished as long as he did not bother any of the patients. Perks indeed.

Others helped as well. A parade of visitors seemed to come and go from her room. Diggle was almost always there as well. Roy, Thea, and even Detective Lance had come to see how she was doing. Even Barry had phoned her to see how she was doing. He apologized for not being able to see her personally but he explained that he was analyzing some blood for a friend. If it wasn't such a life threatening situation he would have been there. She told him that she understood and wished him luck with what he was doing. In truth she was not that disappointed that he didn't visit her. The only presence that really mattered to her was that of the man who was already in her room.

She was ecstatic when the doctors finally discharged. Not only was she tired of her hospital room but she was eager to spend the night in her own apartment and in her own bed. She was also tired of having Oliver see her without any make-up on though it was clear to everyone who had seen the look on Oliver's face when he stared at Felicity that he did not care in the least if she had make-up on or not.

When she refused to sit on the wheelchair for the short trip to the car Oliver had wrapped his arm about her waist in an effort to offer her more balance. She was sure that had she been still connected to the monitors it would have registered a sudden spike in her heart rate. She made a mental note to herself to always refuse the wheelchair whenever Oliver was around. Both Oliver and Diggle had helped her into the car and she was pleasantly surprised that even in the car Oliver's arm remained glued to her waist. After a few minutes he found herself leaning her head against his broad shoulders. She swore that she saw Diggle smile through the mirror.

It was only when she got to her apartment that she realized that she was not going to be seeing as much of Oliver as she did while she was in the hospital. He promised that he was only a phone call away at all times and that he would stop by the next day after he checked in at Queen Consolidated. She felt his reluctance to let her go when he hugged her goodbye. She knew he wanted to ask her if she wanted him to spend the night. She wanted to ask him herself but neither of them said anything. She regretted it as soon as he closed the door. Sleep was hard to come to that night. She laid awake in her bed, idly twirling her phone in her hand. She had almost called him so many times but each time she thought of a reason not to. He needed to rest, she told herself. He had done enough for her and she didn't want him to think that she was incapable of looking after herself.

The next day she waited nervously for Oliver to arrive. Despite the soreness in her muscles she cleaned her apartment to make it as presentable as possible. She even put on some make-up and a pretty blouse and skirt. She wanted to pick one of the shorter skirts but some of the gashes on her thighs had not fully disappeared yet.

She had lost track of how many hours she had waited but Oliver Queen never did show up. Eventually she decided to give him a call but for some strange reason the call when straight to voicemail. She immediately started to worry. Images of the Hood lying in a ditch somewhere popped into her head. She called Diggle but strangely enough he answered after a few rings. He was as concerned as she was when she had told him that her calls were going straight to voicemail. Diggle told her that Oliver insisted he take the day off and that he would be at the office all day. He promised that the Hood had no activities planned for the evening.

Felicity called Queen Consolidated next. She felt a tinge of jealousy when the woman who answered the phone identified herself as the executive assistant. She tried to push the image of another woman sitting in her chair just on the other side of the glass wall that separated her from Oliver's desk. Felicity didn't understand why she was jealous in the first place. The woman on the other end of the line was probably just a temp but even so felicity vowed to herself that she would return as quickly as possible to the position that she had never wanted.

The temporary executive assistant was reluctant to give any information about Oliver to random callers but when Felicity identified who she was the other woman quickly relented. The sharpness of Felicity's tone probably helped as well. She told Felicity that Oliver Queen had taken an emergency business meeting in Central City and had instructed her that he was not to be disturbed under any circumstances.

With no way to contact Oliver Felicity was forced to wait for him to contact her. She had also made Diggle promise that he would call her as soon as he had heard from Oliver. It was many hours later that Felicity heard from him. She had actually fallen asleep on the sofa and the alert on her phone had woken her. It was a message from Oliver.

Sorry had an unavoidable meeting.

It was simple and to the point. It felt like a business message than a message from the friend that had been with her through her entire stay at the hospital.

Things went downhill from there. He never returned to her apartment and she did call him their conversations were always quick and almost formal. He always found some excuse to end the conversation quickly. When she asked about the woman who answered the phone Oliver assured her that her position would be there waiting for her. He also promised that the starling City vigilante would not be going out any time soon.

So now here she was again, staring at him again through the glass. It was her first day back but she had worked harder than ever to get catch up on everything that she had missed. She had been getting ready to stand to hand him some papers to sign when she noticed the look on his face. He had barely said anything to her all day long. She did not, for the life of her, understand why he was not happy to see her. Did he regret how close they had become during her recovery? Perhaps she had read more into it than there really was.

Finally she couldn't stomach it any longer. She got up, straightened her skirt and walked into his office.

"Oliver, are you okay?" She had to repeat herself before he actually looked up at her.

"Fine." He smiled at her. "Just thinking." Felicity almost didn't smile back. The smile he flashed her was different from the many ones he had given her in the past. It did not reach her eyes. It was almost as if he was forcing that smile.

"I can see that." She whispered as she slid some papers onto the desk in front of him. She then walked behind and playfully tapped her fingers across his shoulders. She had always admired how nice he looked in suites. Even the shirt, tie, and jacket couldn't completely hide the well-defined body beneath. She grabbed another stack of files that he had finished with earlier and moved to leave the office when she felt Oliver's hand grab her own. The familiar jolt of electricity that she felt when he touched her raced up her and through her arm.

"I have something to tell you. I'm-"

Felicity did not need to let him finish. The time for talk and stolen glances were done. She had decided if she wanted Oliver then she would have to be the first to act. She wrapped her arms around him and crushed her lips onto his. It seemed like she had been waiting an entire lifetime for that one kiss. She tried to put all her feelings into that kiss. To show him what she never had the courage to say. Felicity felt butterflies in her stomach when he finally returned that kiss. It alleviated any fears she had that he did not feel the same way.

"So what were you going to say?" She asked when they finally separated.

Oliver was at a loss. He had planned then to tell her what was happening to him but how could he now after all that happened break her heart?

A/N Please review. I thought seeing things from Felicity's perspective needed to be written down too. Good I hope?