Notes: Spoilers through 3x13. Speculation on the remainder of the season.
The show has made me paranoid and unable to accept anything good. Oliver's relief at Thea accepting him as the Arrow made me happy and then I became instantly nervous. It's too early in the season for something good to happen to Oliver. Every scene between Oliver and Thea filled me with dread. I think Thea might be playing Oliver. I hope I'm wrong.
The Arrow characters and universe do not belong to me.
The black and white security feeds from Verdant were streaming across Felicity's monitors. Roy stood behind the bar and took notes as Thea spoke from her perch on one of the barstools. Oliver sat next to her, his hand over his mouth in an attempt to cover his smile. From the look on Roy's face, Felicity knew that Thea was probably telling him something for the tenth time. Roy was going to be running the club in Thea's absence and she seemed anxious to be leaving anyone in charge. Despite leaving for a training exercise on Lian Yu, Oliver seemed relaxed and happy. He was looking at Thea like she was a miracle. Maybe that was what was bothering Felicity. She's had a niggling doubt ever since Oliver told Thea the truth. Thea's reaction to Oliver's revelation about his secret identity was maybe too miraculous.
"Everything okay?" Dig asked as he sat on the edge of her desk and glanced over his shoulder at her monitors.
Felicity turned her attention to Dig and gave him a smile. "I'm fine."
"You don't look fine. You look like you're trying to solve a puzzle."
Felicity debated whether she should tell Diggle her fears about Thea. She knew that while the team understood her reaction to Oliver's decision to team up with Malcolm, they also thought she was being a little unfair to him. If she started voicing concerns about Thea, they might start thinking she was paranoid and not basing her concerns for Oliver in reality. "Something isn't adding up and I'm just trying to decide if I've lost my objectivity or if there is something to worry about."
Diggle raised his eyebrows. "Sometimes it helps to hear your ideas aloud. What's got you worried?"
"It was too easy, right?" When Dig cocked his head she continued, "Thea's reaction. It was too easy."
"She reacted better than any of us could hope. I'm glad for Oliver's sake. He deserved something to go his way."
"Exactly. Oliver has been afraid to tell Thea about being the Arrow for years because he expected her to be so angry with him that she'd cut him out of her life."
"I told him he'd lose her forever if he told her. I'm glad I was wrong." Dig turned to look at Felicity's monitor again. "It's been a heavy burden for him to carry."
"I know how much this lie has weighed on him." Felicity couldn't help the smile that came to her lips as she watched Oliver laugh at something Thea said that made Roy wince.
Dig's voice heavy with concern said, "Felicity. Why don't you tell me exactly what has you worried."
"Merlyn brainwashed Thea into killing Sara. What's to stop him from brainwashing Thea into embracing Oliver as the Arrow and then rejecting him?" She asked barely above a whisper.
"To what end?" Felicity felt guilty as she saw the worry behind Dig's eyes.
"Oliver told us that the reason they're going to Lian Yu is because Ra's exploits the fears of his enemies. He manipulates them by twisting what they fear most. Merlyn is Ra's student. What if Merlyn is doing the same thing to Oliver?"
Diggle stood and turned to place his hands on her desk and he leaned closer to her monitors. "Oliver fears losing Thea."
"Yes."
"But, she didn't react badly."
Felicity's eyes filled with tears. "No, she said everything he hoped she'd say. She thanked him for saving people. She made him feel like a hero. She rejected Merlyn. It was his fantasy come to life. What happens a month or two months from now and she calls him a lying murderer who managed to save countless strangers but couldn't save their mother or her brother?"
Diggle hung his head. "It will devastate him."
"What if she is telling him everything he wants to hear now in order to hurt him later? I think Merlyn is dangerous at the best of times, but what is he capable of when he fears for his life? He had Thea kill Sara so Oliver would have to fight Ra's. He's even more desperate now." Oliver and Thea stood up from their stools. Oliver shook Roy's hand and then gestured for Thea to hand him her bag. Felicity watched them walk out of the camera's range. "Dig, Oliver nearly killed Merlyn and upset his plans to completely destroy the Glades. Do we honestly think the man who blew up the Gambit in an attempt to kill his best friend without regard for everyone else on board, who threatened Moira, kidnapped Walter, murdered five hundred people as a way to avenge his wife's murder would really have any intention of helping Oliver? Merlyn is a monster and we shouldn't trust him, even if Oliver is."
"We need proof." Dig folded his arms across his chest.
"When they're back, I'll have to find a way to get a sample of her blood." She looked around the Foundry and took in all the sharp pointy objects covering almost every surface. "I'm sure we can arrange a minor accident while giving her a tour."
"While they're away, I think we need to take a look around the loft. Can you get through her security?" Felicity gave him a look that clearly showed him what she thought of his question. He chortled and raised his hands in mock surrender. "Fine. Thea's security won't keep us from taking a look around her place."
"Maybe we'll luck out and find traces of Votura in her apartment to prove that Merlyn's still drugging her." Felicity took a shuddering breath as she realized what she said. "I didn't mean that," she turned to face Dig, "I want to be wrong about this. I want Oliver to have this. I know I'm angry with him, but I want him to be happy. I don't want him to lose Thea."
Dig squeezed her shoulder. "I know. I want you to be wrong too." He nodded to the monitor. Roy was heading towards the basement door. "Until we know more, let's keep this between us."
Felicity nodded and Dig moved away from her desk. She hadn't voiced her biggest concern. What if Thea wasn't being drugged, but was working with Merlyn to set her brother up? If she was right, Oliver could be walking into a trap set by the only family he had left. He might be able to survive a sword through the chest and a fall from a cliff, but being betrayed by Thea could be his undoing. God, she hoped she was wrong.
Notes: Thank you for reading. Your feedback is always welcomed.