Felicity slept the morning away, waking up just before noon. She was pleased to find her house had been mostly put back together, minus the coffee table and some knickknacks. Dig got off the couch when she stepped out of her bedroom. "I just made a fresh pot of coffee. Do you want a cup?" He asked, already making his way over to the kitchen.

"Yes, please," she answered through a yawn. She rubbed out a small kink in her neck. "I slept too late."

"You must have needed it," he told her while handing her a cup of coffee which she graciously took as she sat down at the kitchen table.

"I guess. To be honest, I'm surprised I've gotten any sleep at all these last few nights."

Dig smirked. "I don't disagree but I will remind you that it was you who said this whole thing was nothing we couldn't handle."

"And I will stand by that. All I'm saying is I'm slightly impressed by my ability to sleep during all of this craziness." She took a big gulp of her coffee and set the cup down. "Speaking of craziness, I wanted to run by the lair and do a couple of things before the meeting tonight."

"Oliver was pretty clear about you keeping a low profile."

She suppressed a groan. "It will be low profile. We'll take the car, zip right over, I'll be ten minutes inside, we'll be back before anyone even knows we're gone."

Dig stared at her over his coffee mug. "And by anyone you mean Oliver?"

She fidgeted in her chair, taking another swig of her coffee. "Oliver does not dictate what I do or where I go." She stood up, pushing her chair in. "But yes, I do mean Oliver."

"Well, one, I don't think it's the best idea for you to leave the house and two, I don't want to get in the middle of whatever is going on with you and Oliver."

She scoffed. "I still think the lair is probably the safest place for me to be right now. As long as no one has followed me there in the last six months, it would be a perfect place for me to hide out, if that's how we're going to play this. And I think if the bad guys knew where the Arrow's secret hideout was, we'd definitely know that they knew." She pointedly ducked around the subject of her and Oliver. She wasn't sure she could keep the kiss to herself but she also wasn't sure if she wanted to discuss it with Dig.

The two people she was the closest with were Oliver and Dig and she could probably even include Roy on that list now. She cared about them all like family but sometimes you just needed a little bit of girl talk and that was something she was severely lacking in her life. It would be nice to talk her feelings out with someone who wasn't a man, especially about that kiss.

"Felicity?" Dig dragged her attention back. "Where'd you go just then?"

She flushed. "Nowhere. Now about going to the lair," she fell quiet, trying to plead her case with her eyes.

"Is there really something there that you can't do here?"

"It's easier to do there and there's a couple more things I want to check out." There really wasn't anything there she couldn't do at home but she needed to get out of this place, even if it was only a quick trip across town.

Dig sighed. "Fine but in and out, that's it. Roy will be here in a few hours and it won't go over well if we're not here."

Felicity perked up. "In and out, I swear. Thank you, Dig. Really." She finished the last dregs of her coffee and put the cup in the sink. "I'm going to take a quick shower first."

Oliver had tried to catch some sleep but other than an hour-long nightmare he didn't want to relive, he'd had no luck. With no leads and sleep evading him, he'd once again found himself in the lair alone, trying to work his frustration out through training. It was proving fruitless but it was passing the time. There was nothing he could do until nine tonight and he was never very good at being patient, sitting around waiting. He felt useless and that wasn't going to change until they had more information.

Heels clicking on the stairs distracted him and straightened up, frowning. "What are you doing here, Felicity?"

She walked past him, into sight, settling into her chair but leaving her jacket on. "I could ask you the same thing. Shouldn't you be getting some sleep instead of wearing yourself out down here?"

He looked over his shoulder at Dig, who was still standing by the stairs, hands clasped in front of him. Dig shrugged when Oliver gave him an exasperated look. "I tried, man."

"What did take? An entire hour after you woke up to talk yourself out of the house?"

She snorted. "More like twenty minutes."

Dig looked towards the ceiling and shook his head.

"Don't get all worked up. We made sure no one followed us and I'll be out of here in a couple of minutes." The computer keys clicked under her deft fingers, a comforting and familiar sound.

"That's not the point, Felicity."

"There you go, getting all worked up."

He walked over, leaning against her desk. "I'm not worked up. I'm concerned."

She stopped typing, folding her arms across her chest and leaning back in the chair, facing him. "And I'm concerned about our lack of information."

"We all are but all we can do today is wait."

She pouted. "I'm not good at waiting."

He sighed. "Me neither."

Dig cleared his throat. "Now that we've established that you're both impatient, can we grab what you need and go?"

"A few more minutes and I'll be ready."

A little while later, the three of them walked through Felicity's partially fixed door. "Only seven more hours to go," Felicity grumbled as she set her laptop up at the kitchen table.

Oliver rubbed his face, his eyes gritty from lack of sleep. "Dig, tonight during the meet, I need you and Roy outside keeping watch. I'll be inside, as the Arrow."

"Wait a second, I don't know if that's the best idea," Felicity protested.

"It's what's happening." He moved closer to her. "I don't want you to do this alone. If I can't be there for you as Oliver Queen, then I'll be there for you as the Arrow." She shifted around, not saying anything. "Let me do this for you," he whispered.

She bit her lip and tucked a stray piece of blonde hair behind her ear. She nodded her head, unsure at first, then one firm nod. "Ok."

They shared an intimate smile before Felicity turned around and sat down at the kitchen table. "In the meantime, you need to get some sleep," she told him.

"Felicity—"

"No arguments, Oliver. I gave in and now I'm here, just like you wanted. So go lay down in my room, close the very nice black out curtains that I splurged on, and sleep. You're dead on your feet, you need some rest."

He looked at Dig for some help and realized he clearly wasn't going to get any. "I agree with her. I'm here and Roy will be here in a little while. There isn't going to be a better time to get some sleep."

"You're right. I'm going to try to get some sleep, wake me up if anything happens."

"No, we're going to let you sleep if some more idiots try to kidnap me," Felicity mocked.

He smirked and shook his head. "Smart ass."

"But I'm your favorite," she added in a sing-song tone.

A real smile came over his lips. "That you are." He turned around to make his way into the bedroom, catching a knowing look from Dig. Shutting the door behind him, he took a deep breath and took in Felicity's bedroom, not paying much attention to it the night before.

The walls were cream-colored and bare and there was a king-size bed against the wall, a deep purple comforter covering it. He was surprised by the lack of pictures in the room and he realized how lonely her life must be sometimes. She didn't have any friends besides himself, Dig, and Roy as far as he knew and any family she knew was across the country. He had no clue how she spent her time outside of Queen Consolidated and working with them but he wanted to find out. He wanted to know every little detail about her, every quirk she had, every fear and every hope. He wanted to know her inside and out and he really hoped he got the chance.

He closed the curtains, plunging the room into darkness. He laid down in the bed, pulling a pillow close to his face and inhaling her scent. He was asleep in minutes.

It was five minutes to nine and Felicity was freaking out. She'd spent the last twenty minutes pacing, fidgeting, rambling, anything that kept her moving. She thought for moment that she might vomit, her stomach rolling anxiously.

"Can you sit still?" Oliver hissed from the corner by the door.

"No, I can't," she snapped. "Sorry. I'm trying not to freak but it's not exactly working." She stopped pacing but started to rub her temples. "I've been dreaming of this since I was a little girl and never once did I imagine it happening like this."

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

The sound wasn't particularly loud but each rap at the door sounded like a gun shot to her.

"Are you ready for this?"

Her mouth was dry and her heart was racing. "I don't think I'll ever be ready." Before she could change her mind, she walked over to the door and swung it open. Her hands shook as she came face to face with the man who'd abandoned her twenty years ago.

Isaac Smoak looked almost the same as he had the last time she'd seen him. His sandy brown hair was streaked with gray, crow's-feet crinkled out from his blue eyes, his face lined from the years, and his tall frame had a few more pounds than she remembered. Other than that, this was the Isaac Smoak she remembered.

His face lit up and he grinned at her. "Hello, Felicity," he greeted, his familiar deep voice feeling like a punch to the stomach. "I don't want to rush you but I don't think this is the best place to be having this discussion. May I come in?"

She wanted to slam the door in his face but she didn't, stepping aside so he could come in. She could feel Oliver's presence at her back and it steadied her. "Take a seat at the kitchen table. We can talk there." She wanted to high-five herself when her voice came out steady.

She stiffened when she caught sight of Owen trailing in behind him. Her father had a similar reaction to seeing the Arrow standing behind her. Her father sneered. "What's he doing here?"

She stood up a little straighter, feeling defiant. "I could say the same about your back-up."

"Owen stays."

"Then so does he."

Her father's face turned red. "The mere fact that he is in your life puts you in danger!"

"He's saved my life, more than once. Can either of you say that?" She paused. "And last time I checked, you have no right to dictate who I allow in my house, let alone my life."

"I'm your father, Felicity. I'd like to think that we could have a conversation without him looming over us."

She couldn't believe the nerve of him. "You may be responsible for 50% of my DNA and you may have raised me for the first six years of my life but you lost any right to call yourself my father the day you walked out that door and never looked back." She inwardly cringed, they were not off to a good start. "I wanted this meeting because I want answers. You want to keep me safe? Then you can help by telling me what you know. It's the least you could do."

He chuckled. "I'm glad to see Fiona raised a fighter."

She wasn't on the best terms with her mom but it irked her to hear her name come out of his mouth. "Let's get on with it. Your guy stays, my guy stays, and you answer my questions. Does that work for you?"

He glared at the Arrow once more before responding. "That sounds perfectly reasonable."

Felicity waited until he was sitting before she did the same. She took great pains to avoid direct contact with either her father or Owen, which was difficult due to the fact that her kitchen wasn't that big. Owen stood at her father's back and Oliver stood opposite of him, both on high alert. It appeared her father didn't trust her either.

There was an awkward pause, both unsure of where to start. "You changed your name," she blurted, unable to take the silence. She didn't pose it as a question because she knew the answer.

He folded his hands together on the table in front of him and leaned forward. "Yes."

"To what?"

It was his turn to look uncomfortable. He cleared his throat before answering. "To Isaac Smoak."

Her head tilted and she stared at him hard. "What?" The question came out clipped.

He looked away, absent-mindedly fixing his jacket. "If we do this question by question, we'll never get to the point. This is a one time offer for the full, honest story, Felicity. Is that what you want?"

Taken aback, she nodded. "Of course that's what I want. I just don't know if it's really going to be the truth."

"Why don't you listen to what I have to tell you then decide for yourself?" His eyes softened and one hand reached out to touch hers before thinking better of it, pulling it back and folding his hands back together. "You have no reason to trust me, Felicity, but believe me when I tell you that I'm only concerned for safety. This is happening because of me and I'm trying to fix it."

"I knew this all came back to you."

Regret flashed through his eyes. "And for that, I'm truly sorry. Are you willing to listen?"

"I'll listen."

He visibly relaxed, making her frown. She didn't want him making himself at home in her home, she wanted him uncomfortable and tense. "I grew up in Central City with Sophia and Martin Cassavette, along with my sister, your aunt, Meghan," he started. "My given name is James Isaac Manning."

"Wait, so you actually changed your name to Isaac Smoak? That's not your real name?" She cringed as her voice climbed higher. "So my last name isn't even real? Jesus, you've got to be kidding me."

"Your name is real, Felicity. Isaac Smoak wasn't just an identity I took on, that's who I was. You're Felicity Smoak, that's the name you were born with, the name we gave you. It's real."

She scoffed. "Easy for you to say."

"It's the truth. It's the one time in my life I was a decent person, the only time I was happy. Maybe it's not the name I was born with but if I could go back in time and be Isaac Smoak for the rest of my life, I would."

"Enough." She held her hand up. "I don't see what this has to do with anything."

"It's all part of the story. Are you going to let me finish?"

Too irritated to speak, she nodded.

"Like I was saying I grew up in Central City with the Cassavette kids. Martin and I were the same age. His sister, Sophia, was a year younger and Meghan was two. Our families were close." A faint smile came over his face. "Martin and I were two peas in a pod, always in trouble together. His sister and I dated throughout high school, a tumultuous on and off teenage romance." He shook his head, eyes glazing over as he zoned out for a second, remembering his younger years. "Martin and I attended the same college after graduation but things fell apart the next summer."

"What happened?"

"Martin became involved with Meghan and he ended up getting her pregnant. When I found out, I confronted him. He threw the first punch and we fought, I ended up breaking his nose, shattering his cheekbone, and giving him a few broken ribs."

She shuddered. How could this man be her father? The one she used to imagine brushing her hair and singing her lullabies?

"When his father, Martin Sr., who was running the family business his father had created, learned of the fight and Meghan's pregnancy, he offered me a deal."

"What kind of deal?"

He sighed. "If you stop interrupting, I'll tell you. He told me that the family would financially support Meghan and the child if I left the city."

"Why did it matter if you left the city? It wasn't his daughter who was pregnant."

"Martin Sr. had been looking for a reason to get rid of me since the moment I started dating Sophia. We were a toxic match, even in high school, and every time we fought or broke up or someone cheated, she ran to Daddy. Martin Jr. wanted me dead but his father didn't think Sophia would forgive him if he killed me so he offered an out."

"What would have happened if you said no?" He gave her another look and she shrugged her shoulders. She couldn't help herself.

"The family would have launched a personal attack on my family, including Meghan and the child. I loved my sister and I would have done anything to keep her safe. So I took the little money I had, got a new identity and moved to Las Vegas."

"Was Isaac Smoak made up or—"

"He was a real person. Same age, similar physical characteristics, no family or friends, his first name was even my middle name, and he died of a drug overdose a month before I moved to Vegas. It was the perfect identity to start over."

"That would explain why there were records for Isaac Smoak, at least until you left Vegas. I didn't find a death certificate, though."

He nodded. "The original record was destroyed by my contact. And I never did anything to destroy the identity when I left, I wanted to be able to come back if I chose to."

"So you left Central City for Las Vegas, then what happened?"

He smiled. "I met Fiona a month later. We fell madly in love and were married, with you on the way, not more than six months later."

"So you spent six years playing husband and father until what? You got bored?" Her tone was bitter.

Anger flared in his eyes. "It wasn't like that, Felicity."

"Then what was it like? Why did you bail?"

"Sophia called me one day out of the blue. Told me Martin Sr. had passed away and that her brother was extending an olive branch to me. If I came home, all would be forgiven and forgotten, by both sides."

"That's all it took? Your high school girlfriend called you up one day and you went running back?"

"It was for the best. Your mother and I were barely speaking at the time, sleeping in separate beds. And I was homesick. It was my only chance."

"You left because you were homesick? Wow," she trailed off, disgusted. "It's good to know where your priorities lie."

"I'm sorry, Felicity. If I could get those years back, I would."

"Too late for that now." She felt like a sullen child.

"You're right but I'm trying to make up for it."

"I don't think you can." She could tell that stung him but she wasn't too concerned, her mind fogged with anger. "So you left and—"

"I came home. I helped Martin run the business and I married Sophia a couple of years later. Unfortunately, in my absence, Meghan had picked up a habit. She died of an overdose a year after I got home."

Disappointment rippled through her, she'd lost an aunt she didn't know she had. "What happened to the kid?"

He glanced over his shoulder at Owen, who looked uncomfortable with the story. "I took him in. I've been taking care of Owen since he was eight."

She looked past her father, towards Owen. "Funny how you didn't mention that you were my cousin the other night."

Owen shrugged nonchalantly. "He wanted to tell you everything himself."

"So you do everything he tells you to?"

"I know where my loyalties lie, same as you."

She raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything else.

"Anyways," Her father said pointedly, getting the conversation back on track. "When I heard that you'd moved to the east coast to attend MIT, I sent Owen to keep an eye on you."

"You did what?" She hissed.

Isaac or James or whatever his real name waved her off. "Don't get all worked up," he said, echoing what she kept telling Oliver. "It was for the best. I didn't want to barge into your life but I wanted to be aware of what was happening."

"That doesn't make it ok. You keep telling me that all these choices you made were for the best but I think you're forgetting the part that it was the best choice for you, not me."

He had the nerve to look offended. "I did what I thought was best."

"I swear you say that one more time and I will lose it," she warned.

"I had Owen keep an eye on you until you moved to Starling City. I had him check on you on occasion but for the most part I left you alone."

"Until," she pushed.

"Until the earthquake. I was worried but I needed Owen with me. Things between Sophia and Martin were tense at the time and I needed someone who I knew was on my side in case things took a turn for the worse. So I sent someone else that I trusted. He came to me about eight months ago, informing me that he believed you were working closely with the Arrow."

He paused, resettling himself in the chair. "Unfortunately, Sophia knew something was going on, that I was hiding something from her, so she had her attack dog, Frank Shepard, torture him until he confessed what he was helping me with. They killed him after." She could tell he'd taken the loss hard and blamed himself. She pushed those thoughts from her head, determined not to feel sympathy towards her father.

"So your wife doesn't know about me?"

"She does now but she wasn't aware until about four months ago. Sophia is a possessive person and she can't have kids, I knew that if she knew I'd married and fathered a child with another woman, she'd go ballistic. Things between us haven't been good for a while now so this was the straw that broke the camel's back."

Understanding dawned on her. "Sophia's the one who wants me captured."

He nodded. "I'm sorry, Felicity. This is all my fault. After she'd learned of you and Fiona, she convinced her brother they needed to expand their business and Starling City was the perfect place."

"And Martin agreed?"

"Martin's been drowning in a bottle for the last decade. He thinks he's still in control and the few people left who are loyal to him think the same but it's not the truth anymore. Sophia allows him to think he's in control but she's a master manipulator. Nothing happens concerning the family until it goes through Sophia. She's the head of the family in everything but name. She sent Marcetti here to get things started and she sent Shepard along with an ulterior motive to find you."

"I walked right into him at the police station."

Her father nodded. "That's when I got word that she knew and I sent Owen as soon as I could. She convinced Martin they needed to get rid of the Arrow and that you were the perfect bargaining chip."

"What does she really want with me?"

"I think she plans to use you as leverage against me. For what, I don't know but I know she wants something."

"So you're telling me mobsters are hunting me down because your wife is pissed at you? I haven't met her but I can tell your meant for each other. You both do things for the dumbest reasons."

He gritted his teeth. "I'm trying to fix this."

"Well, you're doing a bang up job," she snapped. There was one more thing left unexplained and she wanted the answer so she could kick this man out of her house. "What does William Tockman have to do with all of this?"

His eyes briefly clouded over with confusion. "That's the man who escaped Iron Heights with Shepard?" She nodded and he continued. "From what I heard, he was cell mates with Frank Shepard. He bought his freedom with Marcetti's death and information about you. Sounds like you're quite the hacker and they wanted to level the playing field. I get the impression he has his own agenda."

"Why kill Marcetti?"

He shrugged. "He failed. He was the reason they were captured. He would have been killed even if he could have gotten out of jail."

She'd been the one to find Marcetti, she was the one responsible for his death. The thought made her stomach rolled and she pushed those dark thoughts aside.

"Will you leave the city now?"

She laughed bitterly. "No. That was never going to happen and it's definitely not happening now."

"Would you stop being stubborn? He's not going to be able to keep you safe," he spat towards Oliver. "I can't help you if you stay here."

She stood up violently, her chair clattering to the floor beneath her. "I don't want your help. You caused this, you and your psychotic wife and your homesickness and your selfishness." Her hands were trembling with rage. "You are a coward," she over-enunciated every word. "When given the choice you have proven every single time that you will run away or hide or both."

"I didn't today. I didn't have to come here."

She placed a hand over her heart. "I'm sorry that I'm not grateful that for once in my life you decided to show up." She leaned forward, her fingertips pressing into the wood of table hard enough to turn them white. "You said Sophia learned about me four months ago and that she told her brother she wanted to expand into Starling City, I'm assuming around that time, yet you're just now showing up to warn me. Even if you didn't know that she knew, you still had to have an idea something was happening when she suddenly became so interested in Starling City. You waited until the last possible second, until you knew there was no absolutely no other choice, that's when you decided to show up and play hero. Take my advice and stick to playing the villain, I'm sure you're better at it."

He stood up abruptly, fixing his jacket. "Are you done?"

"I'm done with you," she shot back.

He made a noise and wagged his finger. "I wouldn't be so sure about that. She will find you, Felicity, and I'm the only one who can keep you safe."

"A friend once told me that there were people in this city who care about me and he's right. My family will keep me safe, not you." She stood up straighter, leveling her gaze at him. "I appreciate you being honest with me but I'd like you to leave now."

He held his hands up in surrender. "I'll leave but this isn't finished. You'll be seeing me again, my little bumblebee."

She cringed. "Don't call me that."

"It still fits. When you were little, you were always buzzing from place to place." A nostalgic look came over his face and he smiled at her warmly. "Always buzzing with questions, just like you are now."

"Stop." She needed him to leave, she couldn't deal with him being here for another second.

"I missed you, Felicity."

Oliver stepped in front of her, blocking her mostly from view and drawing James and Owen's eyes to him. "She told you to leave, I suggest you listen," he said, his voice distorted.

Owen's hand flexed around a gun under his jacket but her father shook his head. "If anything happens to her, I will kill you personally," her father growled.

"Same goes to you," Oliver retorted.

Her father tossed his head towards the door, telling Owen it was time to leave. They walked over to the door but he paused before leaving. "Until next time, Felicity."

She didn't breathe again until he was out of sight. The sound of his car leaving was a relief but it made reality slam into her. It felt like her world was crashing down around her and her brain couldn't comprehend what was happening. She couldn't believe this man was her father, she couldn't be related to him. That man was cold, selfish, heartless, and she wouldn't be surprised if he was a murderer. He seemed pretty comfortable with the idea of it and she prayed she never became like that. Though, she was responsible for Marcetti's death, whether directly or indirectly. She had caused it.

"Marcetti's death is not your fault, Felicity," Oliver's voice was soft behind her.

She whipped towards him, tears brimming in her eyes. "He was sent here because of me, Tockman killed him to buy his freedom, which he lost in the first place thanks to me."

He took his hood and mask off, stepped towards her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Stop. This is what we do, we catch bad guys. This is not on you. This is on Marcetti and William Tockman and every other person like that out there. You are the farthest thing from that, don't forget about that."

Her body sagged. "What if that's not true? What if I'm like him?"

Oliver smiled, his thumb brushing away a tear from her cheek. "Trust me, you're not."

"He's right, Felicity," Dig told her. She'd forgotten that he, along with Roy, had heard the entire conversation through their comms.

"There's no way you're like that guy. You're the best of us, Felicity," Roy joined in.

She gave them a watery smile. "You guys sure know how to make a girl feel better. Be careful that you don't inflate my ego too much or you're going to create a monster," she joked. "So what now?"

Now we plan," Oliver said. Those were the first good words she'd heard in what felt like hours. Planning was something they excelled at.