Chapter 2.

Donna sat by Felicity's bedside holding her daughter's cold hand and counting how many times her daughter's chest rose and fell.

She sighed as she got up and stretched before looking at her watch and noticed it was going on five o'clock in the morning, Oliver left four hours ago and she hasn't heard from him since, getting worried she grabbed her cellphone from the table and dialed his number, hanging up on the third ring when Quentin came in with coffee.

"Hi." Was all he said.

"Hey." Donna said rubbing her bloodshot eyes. "Any news?"

"No I called everyone at the precinct no one has seen or heard from Damien since the Christmas Party from hell."

Donna chuckled "It was a… It was a holiday party." She said with a little chuckle.

"Right, anyway I brought some coffee and bagels for you so you can at least have something in your stomach."

"Thank you." Donna said looking at her daughter once more.

"How is she?"

"The Doctors say she's still unconscious and that she has some bullet fragments still lodged in her torso but other than that they won't know how bad the damage until she wakes up, when she wakes up, if she wakes up." Donna said with her voice cracking as she got the last four words out.

"She will wake up, you have to have hope."

"I gave up on hope a long time ago." Donna said grabbing the coffee before sitting down beside Felicity Quentin sighed as he sat on the other side of the bed facing Donna.

"Would you like me to call someone from your family to come be with you?" Quentin asked generally concerned about Donna.

"My Parents are dead, I have no brothers or sisters, the only family I have left is laying right here in front of me hooked up to every machine known to man."

"What about Felicity's father, I could give him a call."

Donna gave out a harsh and weak chuckle "Yeah you would have to find him first and believe me you won't be able to."

Donna noticed Quentin's facial expression and went on "Felicity's father left when Felicity was five and I haven't seen him since the day he drove off leaving us alone on the doorstep."

"He just left you and his daughter?"

"Yeah to be honest I saw it coming he was more at the office than he was at home, but Felicity never gave up on him, you know she sat on that doorstep for six hours after he left because she thought he was coming back, I can still hear the sobs she made when I told her that he was never coming back, it breaks your heart when your child is in pain, I can barely survive seeing her like this."

"So he hasn't been in contact since? Not even with his own daughter?"

"Nope I haven't seen him since that day he is probably dead for all I know and Good Riddance, for the past two and a half decades it has been me and her against the world."

Donna once again grabbed Felicity's hand "And it always will be."

Quentin got up "Well I'm going to see if we have any leads but I'll be back."

Quentin got up and walked to the door before stopping to turn "I honestly believe she will wake up, I think she loves you too much to leave you, you just keep watch over her and when she is ready she'll come back because if there is one thing I know about your daughter it's that she doesn't give up on the people she loves."

Quentin opened the door and was met with the doctor.

"Hi." The doctor said looking at Donna before coming in "I need to speak with you."

Oliver stood on the rooftop of the building across the street from one of Damien's known hideouts which now look completely deserted and abandoned.

The cold air hit him and he shivered, usually the cold didn't he had grown accustomed to it on the island but since the shooting all he felt was coldness and that coldness was slowly being taking over by rage.

Diggle, Laurel and Thea looked over to him and Diggle nodded at Thea before she spoke "Oliver there is no one here we should check out the other locations maybe we will get something there."

"No something or someone has to be here."

Just as Thea was about to say something she saw a black SUV pull up, the anger that raged in his chest nearly exploded from him when he saw Damien come out of backseat and fix his suit jacket before walking into the building with his ghosts following quickly behind.

"We're going in." Oliver said almost hopping off the roof before Thea grabbed his arm "Oliver we are outnumbered and out armed this would be suicide."

"I need to get him Thea, he needs to answer to what he did."

"So what you are going to go in there and get killed for what, what will it prove?"

"Are you seriously telling me that I shouldn't go after the man that put Felicity in the hospital?"

"No I'm saying that if you let this anger and rage take over then Damien does win, I promise you we will get him and he will pay but we need more time to make a plan."

Oliver yanked his arm away and paced the roof.

He stared at the SUV that Damien left unattended.

"I have an Idea."

Donna looked at the Doctor bewildered "But you said that you wouldn't know if she was paralyzed until she woke up."

"Miss Smoak…"

"Donna."

"Donna, all I am saying to you is that there was damage to the spinal cord and we don't know how much damage was caused until we see for ourselves."

"So you want to cut open my daughter again, after you said that you wouldn't know until she woke up for a theory."

"Donna I promise to you nothing will happen to your daughter."

"Hello can you not see my daughter unconscious, something did happen to her." Donna took a deep breath and bowed her head "I'm sorry I know you are just doing your job, I'm just scared I will never be able to hear my daughter's voice again or see her beautiful blue eyes again and now you are telling me that she might have damage to her spinal cord it's just a lot to take in."

"I know and I'm sorry but I promise you this is a simple, standard procedure that I have done a hundred times and I promise you I will take great care of your daughter."

Donna looked at Felicity "Do it."

Oliver was walking towards the SUV with Thea when Thea's phone rang.

Oliver looked at her before dragging her behind a rock.

"You brought your phone?"

"Yes and I gave my number to Donna so that if anything happened to Felicity we would know."

"Give me it."

Oliver looked up and around from the rock making sure the coast was clear before answering.

"Hello?"

"Oliver is that you?"

"Yeah."

"Why are you whispering?"

"It's…I'm taking care of something is something wrong? Is Felicity okay?"

"She's alright, she hasn't woken up yet she's being prepped for surgery right now."

"Surgery for what?"

"The doctor wants to check out her spinal cord damage see if there is anything he can do."

"I'm coming right now."

"No you stay and do whatever it is you are about to do and if you see Damien tell him that if he thinks your bad wait until he meets Mama Smoak."

Oliver couldn't help but chuckle a little "You got it call me as soon as you hear something."

"Will do and you three stay safe."

Oliver hung up the phone and punched the rock making his knuckles bruise and bleed.

"Oliver what's wrong?"

"Felicity is in surgery again."

"Do you want to go I can Radio Digg and we can get out of here?"

"No this ends... Tonight."

"Okay."

Oliver and Thea ran over to the building and placed exploding arrows in different locations

"Alright let's go."

Damien stood in front of his ghosts.

"Alright men so far Oliver Queen has been quiet and my contact in the hospital says that Miss Smoak in unconscious, Great Job but now we have to keep it so Oliver Queen does not run for Mayor so we must end Oliver Queen Tonight, and "

The Explosion outside nearly rocked Damien off his feet and caused all the Ghosts to run out.

The Cries from the Black Canary made the Ghosts cover their ears making easy work for Thea, Oliver and Diggle to shoot them with their weapons.

Out of the corner of his eye Oliver saw Damien running and chased after him.

He hopped rooftop to rooftop before jumping down into an alley cutting of Damien's escape.

"We Meet Again, I guess you are here to take me to Oliver Queen." Damien said with a cocky smile.

"Not Exactly."

"Are you here to kill me?"

Oliver stared at Damien who looked actually excited to hear the answer.

The sound of gunfire erupted causing both Damien and Oliver to run for cover, Oliver cursed as he saw a ghost grabbed Damien into the SUV and Drive off.

He breathed heavily as Diggle walked up to him.

"Do we have him?"

Diggle pulled out one of Felicity's tablets and saw a red dot moving down the street.

"We got him."

The snow started falling outside the Hospital window.

Donna rubbed her eyes and took a sip out of her fourth cup of coffee or was it her fifth she wasn't sure.

Felicity still wasn't back yet and she heard nothing since she was taken in.

"Hey." A voice behind her said making her jump.

"Sorry didn't mean to scare you." Lance said.

"It's alright I'm just a little jumpy."

"How's Felicity?"

"Back in surgery they are trying to see how much damage was done to her spine."

"How are you?"

"I'm fine, what are you doing back so soon?"

"I didn't want to leave you alone for too long."

Donna scoffed "Why? We're not in a relationship you don't have to worry about me."

"Donna."

"Sorry I don't mean to be snippy I just I hate this I absolutely hate it, a mother is supposed to protect her children and I couldn't protect my baby and now she is having surgery after surgery to save her life and I'm here all alone and it sucks."

Lance walked over to her and pulled her into a hug letting her sob into his shoulder.

"You're not alone you have me." He said holding her tight.

The lair seemed empty to Oliver without hearing Felicity's nonstop babbling or her fingers hitting computer keys.

He watched the computer screen as the red dot came to another stop and wrote down the address.

"This is his fifth stop of the night, should we go see where it is."

Diggle sighed as "Oliver we need to talk, I think you should sit this next part out."

"What?"

"This hit too close to home for you and your emotions are going to take over and I don't want you to do something reckless."

"Are you forgetting that this man nearly killed me and Felicity and is the reason Felicity is fighting for her life right now?"

"Yes I know that and believe me I am the second person in line after you to destroy Damien and make him pay I just…I almost lost one friend this week I don't want to lose another."

"I'll be careful I promise."

"Look Oliver I don't know what your plan is but whatever it is I have your back."

Oliver nodded as Thea came in.

"Oliver, Donna called Felicity is out of surgery but she didn't tell me what was wrong."

Oliver looked at Diggle "Go me and Thea will take a look at this location."

Oliver nodded and walked out.

When he got to the hospital he saw Donna sobbing on a chair in the hospital hallway, his heart felt like it just got stabbed over and over and his breathing quickened as he walked up and sat down next to her.

"Donna?"

Donna looked at him "Oh Oliver."

"What happened?"

"The Doctor just came and told me the damage to her spinal cord is permanent, She'll never walk again."

Oliver scooped Donna up into a hug and held on tight.

Oliver opened the door to Felicity's room and took a deep breath before walking in.

Felicity is paralyzed.

That's the thought that kept running through his head as he sat on Felicity's bed and grabbed her hand.

He glanced over his shoulders at her legs that were barely visible under the blankets and the thought that he would never see her walking again tore his heart wide open.

He would never see her stand to greet him after a mission, he would never hear the click of her heels against the wooden floors at home, and He wouldn't see her walk down the aisle or play with their children if children were even in the cards now.

But he wouldn't leave her, they beat so many obstacles together and this was no different.

"Hey baby, so I know when you wake up you will be confused and angry by what's happened but I want you to know that this will not change our future okay, It will not change how much I love you and it will not change my mind about marrying you, we will face this together and we will beat this together and I promise you I will get Damien and then we can focus on our wedding which I'm sure your mother will have about ninety seven percent of the say in as she does everything else, but just know that I am here for you and I will always be here for you and nothing or no one will ever change that because like I said earlier you are the one who lights my way without you I can't beat the darkness but with you I can destroy it once and for all so you get all the rest you need right now because when you do wake up we have a hell of a lot of work to do."

Oliver leaned forward and kissed her forehead holding his lips to her skin for a few extra minutes before leaning back and looking at her "I love you Felicity Smoak."

Oliver got up and walked towards the door grabbing on to the wall for support when his knees buckled and he sobbed against the wall making a dent in it when his fist collided with it.

He recovered and started walking again when he heard a voice from behind him.

"Oli-ver"

Oliver turned around "Felicity?"

Her eyes opened.