"Felicity? Why are you doing this?"

"Oliver, please stop squirming. You're just making this harder." She paused to push windblown strands of her golden hair away from her eyes before continuing a ways up the beach. The sand was dark, wet, and hard packed. Her bare feet left perfect imprints in her wake. The hem of her white cotton dress tickled the back of her legs just above her knees when the wind blew in from the ocean. And a few fading rays of sunlight warmed her shoulders.

Felicity tried to take another step forward but was jolted back nearly losing her footing. At the same time there was slicing burn across the soft skin of her palm. She gripped the rope tighter in her hand and turned to glare at the rock impeding her progress. "Oliver!"

He glared back, unwilling to take another step.

Felicity followed the rope with her hands, gathering it as she went, until she came to the large textbook knots that bound his wrists together. "Fine," she growled stepping behind him. Then, she cruelly thrust her knee deep into the back of his still healing leg. Oliver groaned loudly as his knees hit the unwelcoming sand. His elbows kept him from getting a face full of the stuff. The hood of his vigilante leather fell over his eyes in the ordeal and remained there as he pulled himself up.

Now, Felicity took advantage of his position to twist and knot the rest of the rope around his ankles with great precision. When she finished, she yanked the green hood back. Oliver was staring once again at the familiar tree line of Lian Yu.

"Felicity, what are we doing here?" Oliver was calm, his voice as level as ever.

She found she couldn't look at him, not when he refused to even be angry with her. She inhaled slowly, closing her eyes and not opening them again until she had expelled the breath from her lungs.

"I need you to stay here," she finally replied. She immediately turned back toward the water. Dragging this out was the last thing she wanted. She made it a couple unsure strides but she could hear him methodically turning himself in her direction. She knew it was unkind but the rope was a necessity that wouldn't hold him long. She couldn't believe she'd gotten him this far.

"Felicity. Please?"

There it was. The word he rarely used. It shouldn't sway her but she bit her tongue trying to ebb her emotions. And she turned around. She really shouldn't have left him on his knees like that. It only helped the pleading pouring from his face. His stupid handsome face.

Felicity licked her lips, lingering a bite on the bottom one, and walked back. She knelt in front of him, too few inches separating them, so that he could look down at her like always. A tear escaped her eye feeling cool against her increasingly hot face. And she brought her delicate hands up to the rough contrast of his cheeks.

He closed his eyes leaning lightly into her palms. "Don't do this."

"I can't let this happen again. I have to protect myself." She felt more desperate with each word.

He opened his eyes to search her face. "I can protect you," but he hadn't figured it out yet.

He was adorably slow that way sometimes. And for a second Felicity thought there might be another way. Maybe if they stayed here together. It wouldn't be so bad.

"Felicity, I lov-"

"No!" Both her hands moved to cover his mouth. No. She would just end up alone. On an island. But Oliver was looking at her like she'd slapped him across the face. She had to make him understand. She moved her hands away from his mouth and pulled the mask away from his eyes. "I can't let you say that Oliver. People who – you have to stay here where you can never say it and you can never leave me." In a last ditch effort to keep him silent, she shoved the mask in his mouth. She stood up almost ready to go. "It's okay. I can be the villain here. You need to be the hero."

She'd given him all she could. Anything more was too great a risk. Running toward the incoming waves toward her row boat felt like running for her life. She thought about letting the ocean just swallow her up but found she was pushing the boat away from the beach and climbing inside. When she turned around Oliver had already freed himself and was running after her but he was getting smaller and smaller. She could still hear him though, screaming her name with everything he had. And she felt like she might be sick.

The last thing she heard as she faded into the fiery horizon was his begging question, "Don't you love me?!"

Do I love Oliver? Do I love Oliver? Is that a whale? Is it going to swallow the boat? Oh my god, I think it's going to swallow the boat! When did I become Pinocchio? Oh. I get it. This is a dr-

Felicity's eyes flew open but she was paralyzed still riding the fear of her dream. She took in jagged breathes at first. When she finally felt like she could move she realized she was shaking. And she didn't know how long she'd been crying, the tears having fallen so silently. She balled her hands into fists and held her breath for as long as she could trying to slow her heart. However, just as Felicity turned onto her side resolved to forget through sleep, her phone starting buzzing wildly on the bedside table.

She didn't recognize the number. The area code looked like Coast City. Always answer. That was her rule right? Even if Oliver refused to follow it. She swallowed hard hoping she would find her voice in all the phlegm. "Hello?"

Felicity heard a gulp on the other end. "Uh, yeah, is this Felicity?"

Young. Female. Not Thea. "It is."

"Sorry. I didn't know who to – Sara's gone. Thea won't answer. And Roy, is Roy dead?"

"Sin?" Felicity had never actually met the girl but it had to be her.

"Yes. Sara gave me your number. In case. I'm sorry, I don't have anyone else," she admitted. And Felicity could hear her struggle with that even over the phone. She knew what that was like.

"No, it's okay. Are you okay? Oh! Roy's not dead. He's fine. He's snoring. Because he lives on my couch now. Are you okay?"

"Abercrombie's not dead, huh?"

"Sin?" Felicity instantly felt responsible for this girl. There was plenty cause for concern when her closest friends were an assassin and an ex-Mirakuru junky. Sara had given Sin her number. That was reason enough for Felicity to care.

"I'm okay. I just – I mean, would you come get me? I want to come home."

There was something so lonely and tiny in Sin's voice that Felicity didn't hesitate. "Of course. Tell me exactly where you are. I'll wake up Roy. We'll come right now, if you want?"

"Really?" Even after Sara and Roy, Sin still wasn't used to people simply coming through because you asked.

"Really." Felicity sat all the way up and threw off her blanket. "I'm getting dressed. Text me the details. I'll let you know when we're in the car." She found that she was eager to distract herself but more so to help. This is what we do, she thought.

"Felicity? Thank you."

"It's nothing. I'm glad you called." Felicity hung up, threw on yoga pants and a sweatshirt, and pulled her hair back before she walked out into the living room. "Roy?"

That was all it took. He bolted upright, red hoodie never even taken off, hair spiking in every direction, not bothering to open his eyes yet. "Yeah? I'm up. Where're we goin'?"