You Came Into My Life like A Whirlwind

Felicity could feel herself sinking deep below the sea and suddenly her muscles did not work anymore. She could have flap her arms or legs to get out of the water and slowly all the oxygen escaped her lungs and she sank to the bottom taking her last breath. She awoke with a start to find herself in unfamiliar surroundings. The room was brightly decorated and pictures adorned the walls but one familiar picture struck her hard. It was the picture Slade had shown her with her father smiling down at her. As Felicity touched the picture, she looked at the rest of the pictures. It was her mother wrapped around the arms of what she assumed to be her father, both of them looking too young and blissful. Felicity heard the cries of a baby and walked to the adjacent room. The entire room was brightly decorated with pink wallpapers, toys of various sizes were littered all over the floor as a man with bright blue eyes and mouldy brown hair tried his hardest to soothe a crying baby with them. Felicity could not see the baby's face but she didn't have to guess, it was her in the arms of her father. A father who died a hero, she was his daughter and as she looked at her father, she could not help but feel proud of him. She wanted to approach the baby and whisper to her that she was going to become a hero too someday when the scenario changed. The baby was now being held in the arms of Slade Wilson as he unsheathed his sword and thrust it into the man who was kneeling in front of him bathing the baby in her father's blood. Felicity tried to scream as her father's eyes reflected no light but no voice escaped her throat. She found herself screaming and thrashing trying to reach to her father but it was of no avail. She was frozen as she watched the baby cry while sitting in a pool of blood.

Felicity woke up from the nightmare and saw the bright lights of the foundry. It was hurting her eyes and she realized that she was running a fever. She could feel the warmth and the sweat stick to her skin as she was lying on the med bay table. She felt a tug at her hand and saw that Oliver was right next to her looking tensed and worried as he pried over her. Felicity tried to get up and realized that she was in her inners with her external clothing discarded on the floor, a blanket draping her and an IV in her arm. When she got herself upright with help from Oliver, her head began to spin and she could have passed out if Oliver would not have squeezed her hand and draped a his arm around her back to hold her steady.

"Oliver, where is Thea? What about Slade? And why am I here?"

"Thea is fine. Merlyn got to her on time and Slade is being held by Amanda until we find a more permanent solution. You did it, Felicity. You brought him down."

"But I saw you shooting your entire quiver at him. How did he survive?"

"Most of the arrows could not pass through the external shell of his suit. He has sustained injuries but not severe ones."

"Oh Thank God. I thought that he was dead, glad he isn't. Though he does deserve to rot for an eternity for what he has done but I don't want his blood on your hands. You always have a choice and you are a hero, not a killer."

"I know. When Slade had you, all I could tell myself was that it was my fault that you were in danger but I remembered your eyes, your face so vividly telling me that I had to fight so I did. And when I saw you alive, that was when I realized that I could never do all of this without you. You make me want to be a better person, Felicity and nothing can change that."

Oliver had been speaking to her the entire time while looking down and when Felicity placed a hand on his cheek urging him to look at her, her heart skipped a beat. His eyes were a storm of emotions but the most predominant one was an emotion she did not want to accept. Oliver was only her friend and her partner. But the last eighteen hours had changed their dynamics which was evident to both of them. Felicity was having a hard time forming sentences which actually meant something so she only managed a simple oh.

"You need to lie down. You temperature is still too high."

"I am okay. All I want right now is to see Thea. And some clothes will be nice too. These aren't my nicest pair of underwear."

This surely got a smile out of Oliver which was a welcome sight for Felicity. He got up and got her his sweatpants and hoodie. He turned around as she quickly slipped into them but she guessed that was just for formality since he had seen her in her underwear anyways. The hoodie was too big for her and it kept falling off her shoulder but right then, Felicity needed his smell to surround her. She needed his touch, his embrace and him entirely. She really needed to get those thoughts out of her mind. When she was done, she slightly cleared her throat to let Oliver know she was done. When he turned around and his eyes squarely scanned her entire length and there was passion in his eyes. Whatever was happening between them, it was not her imagination. A part of Oliver felt the same way as her so Felicity gave the fullest smile she could muster with her flushed cheeks and embraced Oliver.

"I need you to know that none of this was your fault, Oliver. You saved my life, you saved this city and I could not be more proud of you. Thank you, Oliver, for coming for me."

Felicity felt Oliver pull her in closer as he buried his head in her shoulders and whispered the word always which sent shivers down her spine. Oliver must have noticed it because he brought her in even more closer and they stayed holding each other till Digg emerged with food for her to savour. It had been a long time since had eaten but after two bites, Felicity rushed to the bathroom and puked everything out. Oliver held her hair while she retched all the bile from her stomach. Her ribs hurt so did her jaw. In fact, since the adrenaline was slowly wearing off, she could feel the pain she had endured. When she winced in pain, Oliver's hand instantaneously landed on her ribs running soothing circles across the sore region.

"I should have killed him. Look at what he has done to you!"

Felicity could feel Oliver's body tense and his muscles flexed as he tried to control the anger coursing through him. Felicity placed her hand on his arm and squeezed lightly letting him know that she was right next to him, she was okay. Oliver was battling his own demons just then so Felicity let him be. When he snapped out of it, he simply lifted Felicity up into his arms again and placed her on the couch.

"You need to sleep."

"I need to see Thea and make sure she is okay. I will sleep after."

"Felicity, you will only worry Thea if you show up looking like this. So sleep."

Felicity knew she needed sleep but she was afraid of her nightmare. She had a feeling they weren't going to let go of her any soon.

"Oliver, will you stay with me?"

She wasn't a needy or a clingy one but right then she didn't trust herself. Her body felt unsure and her thought were muddled, the only thing that had her grounded was Oliver so she wasn't surprised when he stripped himself off of his shoes and laid down beside her on the couch. She could feel Digg's glare on her and when she found his eyes, she let him know that she knew what she was doing. Digg quietly said his goodbye and left.

Felicity was between him and the backside of the couch and she was hyper aware of Oliver.

But her whole ordeal had a toll on her so she found herself slipping into sleep within a few minutes. When she got up several hours later, the first thing that she noticed was Oliver's arms wrapping her like a cocoon. His one hand was around her waist and the other on her back. Oliver had shed his shirt sometime when she was sleeping, Felicity could see all his scars, even the ones she didn't notice when he trained. She ran her hand over them, feeling the scar tissue and the pain they carried. Oliver's breath hitched so she stopped but after a few seconds he relaxed and brought her in even closer as if holding her was the only way he could make himself believe that he existed. Felicity snuggled in closer too even though her ribs protested but she held onto him and went back to sleeping.

When she got up again, she could not find Oliver around her so she started to panic. Her breath came in short gasps and she was sure she was going to pass out but then Oliver appeared in front of her calling her name out with worry etched over his face.

"Felicity, look at me. I am right here, I won't go anywhere."

Felicity grabbed his hands which were holding him steady and brought her breathing under control.

"I went over to your place to get you some clothes. There is somewhere we need to go."

Felicity did not have the strength to do think anything just then so she just grabbed the bag of clothes and went to the bathroom. After taking a long shower, she simply changed her clothes without looking at herself in the mirror. She knew that her bruises were more evident now and seeing them would just make her sick again. After she was done, she came out and smiled when she saw Oliver walk in circles outside the bathroom. He forced food down her throat; she could only eat a few bites grudgingly. After she was done, he took her towards the airport.

"You said we were going somewhere. You aren't planning to send me away from Starling, are you?"

"No, there is someone you need to meet before he is put away for a long time. And there is something I have to tell him."

Felicity knew who Oliver was talking about but she didn't protest. Slade played a big part in Oliver's life, whether it was as his mentor or as his enemy, Slade had helped Oliver become what he was today, to bring out the hero she always knew but he didn't see. They stopped in front of a plane of A.R.G.U.S prepping for take-off. When Felicity got out of the car, her knees gave in. Slade was standing to the side in restrains made of metal and was being directed into the cargo bay. She could not do this, that man made her sick. But before she could completely collapse, Oliver caught hold of her.

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to, Felicity."

But she had to do it. For her sake, she had to stop being afraid. Otherwise her nightmares will never stop so she planted her feet firmly on the ground and started walking towards the cargo bay with Oliver by her side. Slade was locked in a bullet proof glass enclosure and when he saw them approaching, he gave them a smirk, his eyes never leaving that of Oliver.

"Well, well, kid. Look what the cat dragged in. And you brought her too, that's sweet. Did you miss me, Felicity?"

"Don't you dare say her name, you monster."

"You have changed kid. The one whom I taught was a killer but now you are too soft hearted."

"I choose a different path, Slade; one which does not lead to complete destruction. I would never deny the fact that you taught me to fight, you taught me how to be a killer and now because of you I am a hero. You made me into a hero and I am proud of what I have become."

Felicity had always dreamt of the day Oliver called himself a hero and right then, she was so proud. She took his hand in his and gently squeezed them letting him know how proud she was of him.

"I might have made you into a hero but I can see now what inspired you to be one. I thought that you always went for stronger women like the girl you held on to at the island but after meeting her, I now know what strong means. You are exactly like Shado, ever beautiful, expecting the good out of everyone, never seeing the bad. But it's a shame that you are making the same mistake as her, Oliver will abandon you in the end; like he abandoned Shado."

"Oliver didn't abandon Shado. He reacted and I am sure there isn't a day that goes by where Oliver doesn't regret that Shado is not here with us. So know this, Slade, each and every time you try to hurt Oliver, you will have to go through me."

"That sass is still not gone. You have found yourself a good one, kid. Consider yourself lucky and keep her close because the next time I find you, I will take her away. And that's when you will know true despair, kid. I promise you and I damn well keep my promises. And as for you Felicity Smoak, be safe because only I will have you and no one else."

Oliver's grip around Felicity's hand tightened when he heard Slade's threats. Felicity winced but Oliver held on till they were out of the cargo bay and away from Slade's glare. When they reached the car, Oliver told Digg to take them to the hospital to see Thea and when Felicity tried to take her hand away from Oliver's grip, he didn't let her. He held on and kept his gaze outside the window, the whole ride.

I am a bit late with this one but on a serious note, I was so happy that my story and the finale of Arrow brought Felicity to the forefront making us know how important she really is. She is a character which is so strongly written and acted that there is no denying the fact she has more than established herself as Arrow's leading lady, Olicity or no Olicity. Thanks for the great reviews everyone and even though it might look like the story is heading to it's end, let's just hope that it's a happy one.