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2. Very different circumstances

The ice cold water felt like needles piercing into his skin as it closed over him. He sank toward the ground for a moment, before Felicity moving in his arms caused him to stir into action. The water was dark, but the flashing lights told him which way was up. It also gave him the opportunity to see where the cliff they had just jumped down from was. That was the way to go, he decided and pulled Felicity with him. Thankfully, she seemed to be a good swimmer. With only a few strokes they reached the rocky barrier and broke the water surface, both gasping for air. Oliver instantly glanced up and relief rushed through him. It was as he had hoped; the cliff was protruding above them, shielding them from view. Their pursuers couldn't see them, and he didn't have to worry about them hearing Felicity and him. The storm that was roaring now – a torrential downpour with rain pouring down, lightning cracking in the sky and thunder rumbling – drowned out all other noises.

He looked at Felicity who was treading water next to him. "Are you okay?"

"I nearly lost my glasses. And I guess my tablet is useless now." He would just take that as a 'yes'. Her eyes were full of confusion as they met his. "What the hell is going on here?"

If only he knew. He wished he had an answer to this, but he just didn't. The annoyance he felt must be visible on his face, because she just nodded in understanding to everything he wasn't vocally saying. Her voice was strangely calm when she said, "We need to get out of the water."

She was absolutely right. They both let their eyes wander over the lake they had landed in after falling about thirty meters. Rocky walls were towering above them in nearly a full circle. The waterfall he had faintly heard earlier when he had listened for people nearing them was crashing down directly opposite from them. There was only one way to go and it was close to their right.

"Is going there too obvious?" Felicity asked, and Oliver couldn't help but be impressed with her rational thinking when about five minutes ago she had given it her all to fight down a panic-attack. He shouldn't be so surprised at this, he should know how good she was under extreme pressure, but he was really glad that she was keeping it together so well under these circumstances.

"It is," he answered now, "but we have no choice." They needed to get out of the water or they would freeze. "Stay close to the sides," he instructed and started to swim toward the only bank in reach. Two minutes later they stepped out of the water and onto the muddy ground, climbing over a huge fallen tree that lay directly next to the water and separated them from dry land. Oliver dared to turn around and look up, but he saw nobody on the cliff. That could be a good thing or a bad thing. Maybe, the men were already on their way here. An especially bright bolt lit up the sky in this moment; it was followed by especially loud thunder instantaneously. He hated this. It had been years since he had felt this helpless and this vulnerable.

He pushed that thought away, buried it deep down. He couldn't dwell on this now, because nothing good would come from it. The best thing was to keep moving. "This way," he decided, not knowing if the choice was right. Not wanting to just march ahead like he had done previously, he reached for Felicity's hand. It felt way too cold in his own. He looked at her and saw her drenched clothes clinging to her body. Her short-sleeved blouse and her short skirt stuck to her and did nothing to hide her skin from the icy wind that brought cold rain with it. He wished he could offer her something to keep her warm, to shield her from the worst nature was throwing at them, but the t-shirt he wore was equally drenched as her clothes. There was only one thing they should do now, "We need to find shelter."

"I remember," Felicity said as they started walking toward another group of trees. "That's the first thing on our list. We should really get to crossing that off."

Yes, they should. His own steps were heavier now as the cold seemed to be seeping further into his bones more and more with each one he took. He knew they were leaving a trail behind. The forest floor was muddy, their foot prints were easy to follow. Especially Felicity's. The high heels of her pumps poked deep into the water-logged ground, she sank in deep with each step and she had to pull her feet up with a slight squishing sound every time. Walking like this was strength consuming, he knew. And it was seriously slowing them down. The part of Oliver that was calculating the situation, weighing the things that worked to their advantage (there were few) and to their disadvantage (a huge, huge number) listed Felicity's footwear very far up on the disadvantages list.

One disadvantage of it was stressed a few steps later, when Felicity nearly fell when her shoe got stuck in the mud. He reached for her arm, steadied her and kept her from hitting the ground. An unhappy groan left Felicity's lips and she hesitated, but then she reached for her pumps, slipping them off. That was a bad idea; walking barefoot in a forest, was a very, very bad idea! "You cannot walk without shoes," Oliver objected.

"I cannot walk with these shoes," Felicity countered, before she quickly added, "I mean, I can walk in these shoes. Generally. Just not here, in this damn forest!"

Oliver looked at her for a moment, before he brought his right foot up. He was wearing his very comfortable and very warm Arrow-shoes, but he had spent many months running around an island with bare feet. "You can have-", he started.

"No," she cut him off, knowing what he was about to offer her. She let just kept walking. "I don't want your shoes; they are too big for me anyway."

"Felicity," he started again, his voice full of warning.

But she wouldn't have it. "Come on! We need to find shelter." She was still walking, moving quicker now that her shoes were in her hand and no longer on her feet. He watched her walk away from him for a moment, before he followed her. For the one and a half hours they marched ahead. To mask their steps they even walked through a tiny stream. The water was ice cold, Oliver could feel it even through his soaked boots as he carried Felicity on his back. He had needed to use his aggressive voice to get her to agree to being carried. But he hadn't bulged on that: He wouldn't have her walk through icy water without shoes on. She was already far too cold anyway. As his hands held on to her bare legs as he carried her on his back he had noticed how frozen she was. But as soon as they left the stream, she squirmed until he set her down again. He needed his strength, she argued, and that he shouldn't waste it on her.

He had no idea what she was saying here. No effort to keep her safe would ever be a waste.

But Oliver was proud of how she was soldiering on. She didn't complain, but kept moving ahead, even though Oliver knew that the whole situation was taking its toll on her. Another hour later Felicity was shivering badly, her teeth were actually shattering. Her steps were really heavy, and her failing to really lift her feet caused her to stumble over a root. This time Oliver couldn't catch her in time; she fell to the ground. He instantly kneeled down next to her, worry clouding his face. But she didn't meet his eyes, instead she looked ahead and asked, "What's that there?"

That there was the perfect hideout.

Behind a bush she had found a small gap in a rock face that was hard to make out. Behind it lay a small cave that would protect them from the wind and rain which – even though the thunder and lightning had stopped – were still not dying down. Once inside Felicity carelessly let the shoes she had carried this entire time drop. It was as if all the strength she had mustered left her; she sank onto the ground, her back against the rock wall. Oliver didn't join her; instead, he took a moment to create a not too obvious trail leading away from their hiding place. Only when he was satisfied with his attempt at deflection did he reenter the cave. Felicity hadn't moved. Her eyes were heavy lidded as she sat there, not acknowledging him in any way. He sank down next to her and found that she was still shivering and about to fall asleep. He wished he could light a fire to create some warmth, but there was nothing but wet wood around. He needed to warm her up in order to fight the clear signs of hypothermia she was showing. He pushed himself up to his feet again and pulled her with him.

A diffuse twilight was surrounding them. The small crack that was the entrance didn't let much light in – and with the dark clouds blocking the sun there wasn't much light left to let in to begin with. Felicity was only a little more than a silhouette to him, which was why his hands fumbled as he searched for the collar of her blouse and felt down for the first button. He found it and opened it quickly.

The sudden movement brought Felicity back to her senses. She sounded honestly perplexed as she asked, "What are you doing?"

He was working on button number four and was absolutely sure that could only be a rhetorical question. Still, he chose to answer it. "You need to get out of these wet clothes. Your body's losing heat," he explained as he opened the last button. "We need to warm you up."

"Seriously? That seems like a very cliché thing to do."

"Felicity, your wet clothes lower your core temperature faster. It may be a cliché, but it's true."

Felicity didn't move. She just stood there, her arms hanging by her sides. "I just imagined you undressing me under different circumstances." He didn't dare to react to that, because – God help him – so had he. Many times. And not once had a threat of hypothermia been involved. Her teeth had always done very different things than chattering. She obviously misinterpreted his silence, because she hurried to add, "very platonic circumstances."

He knew Felicity well enough to know that awkwardness spurred her into moving in the next moment. She brought her hands up and moved to take her blouse off. He reached for his own t-shirt and pulled it over his head. They worked quietly and methodically. Oliver was really thankful for the twilight turning into darkness around him, because, really, this wasn't any of the versions he had dreamt up about getting as good as naked with her.

The darkness was like a shield protecting them from each other's eyes. Never before had Oliver felt awkward in the presence of a nearly naked woman. Never before had Oliver felt awkward being nearly naked in the presence of a woman. Right now he did; but he refused to let this get to him. Now was not the time to allow nervousness to make him shy away from what needed to be done. He stepped toward Felicity once they had undressed. Normally, he would just send her a questioning glance, but it was too dark for silent communication. "Felicity?" he asked, and in the next moment she proved that they could read each other even without direct eye contact. She didn't answer vocally, but simply took a step toward him. He brought his arms up and pulled her to his body.

Her skin felt so unbelievably soft – and so very cold. He closed his arms around her, his hands moved over her back. It wasn't sexual exploration, it was an attempt to get her warm, to share his body heat with her. He really wished they had a blanket, but they had nothing but their wet clothes at their feet. Just as this thought crossed his mind he felt a warm wetness against his chest and realized that she was crying. In an effort to comfort her, he held on to her tighter. His hand was still rubbing her back and he rested his cheek against her head. He knew how she felt perfectly: exhausted and helpless and afraid and frustrated. He felt the same. This was like a flashback bringing him back seven years, back to his first weeks on Lian Yu when he had had nothing, when he had known nothing, when he had been nothing but overstrained.

But he hadn't cried back then; he wouldn't cry now.

Still, his heart broke for her. He couldn't shake the feeling that it was his fault that they were here. "Hey," he whispered as his hand continued the comforting circles on her back. "We're safe for now."

"I'm so sorry." Her voice was coated, heavy with her tears. "I know I'm only a hindrance and I'm slowing you down. I-"

"Felicity," he stopped her right there. "You're doing great. Don't worry."

"I feel so useless," she admitted now. "I'm an IT-expert stranded somewhere without electricity. Talk about worst-case scenario."

"That's your personal worst-case scenario?"

She hesitated a moment before she said, "I have to admit the men with guns chasing us are making it even worse." Another moment of silence followed, before she added, "but your method to stay warm is rather nice." He smiled against the darkness. She was trying to lighten the mood, he knew. The fact that she had the strength to do this after all she, they, had been through today and while she was still shivering in his arms, was another proof of her inner strength; an inner strength she obviously wasn't aware of herself.

"Nothing like the start of hypothermia to make a move on a girl," he answered, because he, too, felt the need to take the heaviness out of the situation.

They stood there silently in the darkness, feeling the other one close. It wasn't unusual for Oliver and Felicity to share a silent understanding, to be comfortable without saying anything. But the sudden intimacy that surrounded them was a new experience to Oliver – one he thoroughly enjoyed.

He let himself do that – enjoyed it thoroughly for a moment – before the weight of the situation hit him again full force. He sobered up instantly. "I'll get you back home," he promised her as much as he promised himself. "We'll get through this. Starting tomorrow we'll figure out what's going on here."