A/N: Yo, hugs for everyone in this chapter. And also you guys. Not sure what happened but alerts and follows totally exploded with the last chapter. Thank you all! Means a lot. Hope you like this one too.

"She wants to talk to you." Thea held the phone out for Oliver, a look of regret splashed on her face. He knew their mother hadn't given her much of a choice.

"Hi, mom." He took the phone and began to walk down the hall, eager to find a private place to speak.

"Oliver, how are you? Are you okay?"

He got irrationally angry at that. "I'm fine. Felicity isn't."

"What happened?"

"We don't - we don't know. She has some sort of infection. They're treating her in ICU."

"I know you won't like this, but you really should consider doing a press conference."

He barked out a harsh laugh. She had been right: he didn't like that all.

"I am not giving a press conference on Felicity."

"Sweetheart, like it or not, you are going to have to address this. If not you, then me. I've been receiving calls all morning regarding this and there is only so much I can say."

"Then don't say anything! This has nothing to do with anyone except us. Her family."

Moira Queen sighed, unsure of how to get through to her son. "I will try to stave off questions as long as I can. In the meantime, I will call Janet and see if she can draft a few things. Nothing too personal," she rushed to assure him, "but something brief and tasteful, perhaps saying that she is a family friend that is being treated at Starling General. No details."

"Fine. Do whatever you have to do. But under no circumstances is her diagnosis to be leaked, do you understand me?"

"Yes, dear. Please keep me updated on her condition."

He hung up after that and if it wasn't for the fact that it was Thea's phone, he would've thrown that against the wall too.

He tossed the phone back to her as he reentered the waiting area, his mind racing.

"Everything okay?" Lance asked.

"Yeah. Just perfect. My mother seems to think that this is the good time for a press conference and I can't even figure out how Felicity's picture got out to the media. If that qualifies as 'okay,' then sure. We are there."

"Press conference?"

"There are questions," Oliver sighed. "Questions that she can't answer and questions that I don't want to answer. Janet is going to draft up some sort of statement, but who knows how long that will hold them off."

"Janet? Who is Janet?"

"Queen PR," Thea piped up. At Lance's disbelieving look, "what, does your family not have one of those?"

"Might not be a bad idea," Lance told him softly. Oliver could barely believe what he was hearing. He had assumed that out of everyone, Lance would be on his side, the side of protecting Felicity from all of this. "They're going to find out sooner or later, kid."

"Yeah, well, I'd rather it be later."

"We might not get that choice. Someone is going to recognize her and call it in, and it'll look worse if it seems like you're trying to hide it."

"I will not let her be dragged through the media circus of Starling City," Oliver growled.

"Well, you might not have a choice! She knew what she was getting into when she let you move in with her. She knew that this might happen."

"I never should've stayed with her…"

"And where would we be then? You think she could've called 911 herself last night? As much as I don't like it, you did the right thing by moving in with her. And I know she will say the same damn thing when she wakes up."

Oliver ran his hands over his face, feeling every hour of sleep that he didn't get. This was such a mess. How had it gotten to be such a mess? It seemed like a month ago that Felicity and he went to see Walter at QC. He was so proud of her for saying the words, for taking that first step. He couldn't believe that it was just yesterday.

Knowing that he didn't have the luxury of wallowing, not then, not now, he stood up.

"Tell Roy to bring me a sports coat," he told Thea, reaching for his own phone. Looked like he was going to have to do that press conference after all.

"...We appreciate your privacy during this very trying time. Thank you." Oliver gave a quick wave to the gathered reporters in front of Starling General before excusing himself and reentering the hospital.

"Not bad," Lance commented as Oliver slung off the coat that suddenly felt too tight, too constricting.

"Shouldn't have had to do that in the first place."

"Well, we all have to do things we don't want to do sometimes. Shit happens." Oliver cocked an eyebrow. "What? You made a choice and it's over. Now we move on."

He shook his head at the man's casual attitude towards all of this. Never in a million years would he have thought that Detective Lance would be the voice of reason in his life.

The press conference was probably the shortest Oliver had ever conducted, which said a lot given his previous penchant for making brief cameo appearances in his family's affairs. He had reluctantly given Felicity's first name to the press, making it clear that she was a family friend and a valued QC employee who was currently suffering from an infection. No mention or allusion to cancer was made and he hadn't bothered to hide his indignation at having to make a statement in the first place.

He was walking to Felicity's room, content to just stare at her some more, as creepy as he knew she would find that had she been awake, when he was stopped by a doctor he hadn't seen before.

"Mr. Queen, I'm Dr. Ling, the Head of Oncology here at Starling General."

"Dr. Ling, yes, we spoke on the phone, I remember. Is Felicity okay? What's happening?"

It was early evening, around 4 p.m., and while he had been badgering the doctors for updates every half hour or so throughout the day, he hadn't gotten much more than "she's stable" out of them.

"Well, the good news is that her white blood cell count is up. Through the roof, really."

"What does that mean?" Lance interrupted.

"It means her body is fighting this thing like hell. It also means that if someone wants to sit with her, they can. We're no longer worried about her contracting a new infection on top of this, not with her counts up and the antibiotics pumping through her. In a couple of hours we are going to start weaning her off the sedatives, see how she responds to that, as well as work on getting her extubated and breathing on her own."

"That's good," Oliver sighed, feeling the first tendrils of hope creep through his chest. "That's good, right?"

"It is very good, Mr. Queen, but she's not out of the woods yet."

"What do you mean?"

"Her fever is still very high, and I'm concerned with the temperature as well as the duration. We are going to give her a few more hours to see if her body can't regulate this on its own."

"And then what?" Lance asked when it seemed as if Oliver's voice had stopped working.

"And then we take it from there. We explore other options to bring it down. For now, though, if someone wants to sit with her, that's fine. We ask no more than one person at a time."

"Go," Oliver nudged Lance towards her door. "I've got to - just go. Go!"

He was going to protest, insist that kid go see her first, but decided against it after seeing the look in Oliver's eyes.

Hours later and Oliver, being the last to visit with her and the only one to stay for so long, had been unceremoniously kicked out of Felicity's room. The doctors were about to begin the process of removing her breathing tube and focus on getting her breathing on her own and couldn't have the extra body in the room getting in the way.

"She looks so much better without the tube," Dig commented as he sidled up next to Oliver who was watching through the window.

"Yeah."

"She's gonna get through this, Oliver."

"Yeah."

"Are you hungry? There's still food leftover."

"Ye- No, I'm-I'm fine." He finally looked at Dig, sharing a weak smile. He knew his friend was trying to hold it together as best he could as well. "Any news?"

"I figured out that whoever sold those pictures to KBTV got one hell of a pay day."

"What do you mean?" His words instantly commanded Oliver's attention.

"I saw that KBTV took out $50,000 this morning, right before the pictures started circulating. There's nothing rivaling that in any of the previous month's books. That's a lump sum payout."

"Who did they transfer it to?"

"That's the thing - I can't tell. It looks like it was a cash withdrawal. I can't - there's no way for me to trace that kind of money."

"What do you mean, there's no way?" He refused to believe that this was the end of the trail. "We've done more with less!"

"Felicity has done more with less. She has algorithms and sifting methods that would go through all the data we need, but I can't make any sense of it. Right now, it's just too much. Without a way to track the money manually and without having any idea of where to start looking, it wouldn't be worth it for me to start digging around in there."

"Tell me that there is someone that I can ask very nicely who can tell me who sold them the pictures."

"Roy already went."

"What?"

"He went to the senior editor who accepted the photos. No good. Everything was done electronically, the money left in the corner of an alley in the Glades with no working street cams within blocks of it. He just got back a little bit ago. We tried, man."

"Then let me try again," Oliver commanded, making to brush by Dig. He was stopped by a huge hand on his shoulder. He could remove it, yes, but not without burning some bridges in his and Dig's relationship. He decided to wait and hear the man out.

"I said it's no good. Roy got everything. He got the e-mails and he got the security footage from the bank and the news station. He put the fear of God in the man for Christ's sake, Oliver. He's not doing much better than you. He needs you here. We need you here. She needs you here."

He looked at the clock in the hall. It was late. Almost 1 a.m., almost a full day after finding Felicity in bed with a fever and fighting her about the hospital. Almost 24 hours since he last heard her voice.

His eyes wandered down the hall to the open waiting room. There were two other couples that were waiting there now as well, but the room was dominated by Felicity's family. Lyla was cleaning up paper plates that once held greasy slices of pizza, bending down to shake a few soda cans to see if they were empty. Thea was stretched out on the couch, her head in Roy's lap as he idly played with her fingers, sharing occasional words with her. Lance was reclined in a chair uncomfortably, eyes closed, seemingly asleep. Jackets and shoes littered the small room, Dig's laptop still open on the table in the center of their little group. He had been right. This was where he needed to be.

A ding from the elevator at the end of the hall got his attention. Seeing the frame of a wheelchair and not spotting a reporter or any type of photographer, Oliver turned away and began to make his way back towards the waiting room.

"Nah man, I just uh- I just got lost! Yeah, and see, I was on my way back, but you know, this elevator is a little bit wonky…"

The words seemed strange to Oliver, a man who prided himself on being able to tell a lie and he froze in his path, turning abruptly and making his way towards the elevator. If some reporter had the nerve to try and get to Felicity by pretending to be a patient, he would make sure they never worked in Starling City ever again. They'd be lucky if they could even operate a camera again after he got through with them.

His steps faltered a little as he got closer. The security on duty was a man that went by Ace, and he was doing an impressive job dressing down the kid in front of him, asking all the right questions to throw him off balance.

"Wait, Ace," Oliver stopped the impromptu interrogation with a hand on his arm. "I think...you're Trey, right?"

The young, bald black boy was clad in a pair of loose pajama pants and a hospital-issued johnny, a thin blanket resting over his lap. He looked terrified of the position he was currently in, his eyes darting around the hall, looking for a quick escape. Oliver almost smiled.

"Who are you?" Now that he did smile at.

"I'm Oliver Queen. But you knew that."

"You knew who I was," he countered defiantly. "You uh, you got this whole floor on lock?"

"I do."

"I just uh, I saw on the news earlier. And I wanted to see if she was okay."

"She hasn't woken up yet." Logic told him that he might need to run down this possible lead, but he didn't think Trey was the one who sold the pictures of Felicity. He certainly didn't look like a criminal mastermind; he looked scared and a little confused.

"Damn," the kid muttered softly before studying Oliver. "You the roommate?"

"Roommate?"

"Yeah, Homegirl talked about some roommate she had that was always taking care of her. That you?"

"Homegirl?" He didn't care if he was an echo at that point, he was just intrigued by the kid in front of him.

"Yeah well, Felicity is kind of a mouthful," he said self-consciously, flushing under his dark skin. Oliver didn't know what to say to that - her name was one of his favorite things. To say, to hear, to think about, it was all the same to him. He had never considered it a 'mouthful' before. "So, you him?"

"I guess I am," he admitted. He had also never really considered himself a 'roommate' before, but for explaining to a third party that she didn't want to get involved, it made sense. "Are you supposed to be wandering the halls at this hour?"

"I just slipped out for a second! No one noticed. Wanted to give her this." He tossed Oliver an old flip phone which he caught easily. "Just wanted to show her that I did it."

"You...brought her a piece of outdated technology?"

"Nah man, she taught me how to fix it. That thing was in three pieces before I got to it. Not to mention, I retooled it. Put in a tiny receiver in the back to make it a microphone. Made it into a bug, you know, like James Bond uses. Just call me Q, baby."

"I will not be doing that." Oliver slipped the phone into his pocket, making a mental note to not leave it lying around. Ever. A quick glance behind him showed Dr. Ling waiting outside Felicity's room and he knew he had to get to her. "I've got to go. Get back to bed."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going." Trey wheeled himself expertly back into the elevator, glaring at Ace as he made sure to hit the button for his floor for him.

"I'll make sure she gets this," Oliver called to him, receiving a nod in thanks and a small smile before turning his attention to the doctor.

"Mr. Queen," Dr. Ling greeted. "We are still concerned with her fever at this point. If it stays this high, she's at a heightened risk for seizures or even hydrocephalus. Swelling of the brain," she explained at his look. "It could lead to permanent brain damage."

He swallowed hard.

"What now?"

"Now, we try everything we can to bring her fever down."

"We're going to need you to sign a few forms before we begin, but we'll start with the most tried and true methods first. Ice blankets and ice packs are some of the most effective ways to break fevers."

"Sure. Okay, yeah."

He signed the forms on autopilot, barely reading the words in front of him, even though he knew Felicity would hate that. He just couldn't bring himself to at that point; they were nothing but warnings and releases regarding what could possibly go wrong with what they were doing. He read a few words like 'hypothermia' and 'tachycardia' and he just skipped straight to the bottom, signing his name as quickly as possible. Just as fast, a team of doctors had moved into her room, busying themselves with setting things up around her. As much as he wanted to watch, to make sure she was okay, they quickly drew the curtains. He knew it was for her own privacy, and that she would hate being on display as she was, but not being able to see her was a torture in its own right. He blew out a long breath of air before making his way to the waiting room.

"Hide this, but don't get rid of it." Oliver passed Dig the basic flip phone from Trey.

"What is it?"

He rolled his eyes. "Poor man's listening device. Felicity is teaching the kids here how to make amateur spy equipment apparently."

"Maybe we should get him to come work for us," Dig joked as he wrapped the device in a sweater and shoved it to the bottom of the bag at his feet.

He knew there was nothing he could do except wait, so Oliver slumped into the chair next to Dig.

"Have you gotten any sleep all day?" He didn't need to respond to Dig's question; they both knew the answer. "Try and get some rest. I'll make sure they wake you if anything happens."

He wanted to argue, to say that he was fine, like he always did, but the truth was that he was exhausted. His body protested the open area, not being able to truly settle down with the beeps and footsteps and general hum of the hospital, but he logically knew that it was probably the safest place in Starling to sleep between the security, Dig, Roy, and even Detective Lance.

He felt his eyelids grow heavy and he sent a quick plea to the heavens to wake up and for this all have been a bad dream.

The next morning he found himself once again hovering over Felicity's prone body in her room. She wasn't as viciously hot as she had been the day before and the doctors assured him that between the ice packs and the antibiotics kicking in, her fever was out of the danger zone. Once she woke up and was monitored for a bit, they could move her upstairs, to her private room.

He craved the sight of the huge window overlooking Starling and what it represented. He needed that.

A soft click behind him told him that he was not alone in the room. He was surprised to see Thea behind him, nervously shifting her weight between her feet. He knew she hated hospitals and that this had to have been hard on her. It was hard on everyone.

"Hi," she greeted softly.

"Hey Speedy," he sighed.

"I heard...do you think she's gonna wake up soon?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "I do. You know...things have died down now. You can probably get out of here without a problem. You don't have to stay."

"Oh. But I...I-I-I can, right? Like, I don't need to leave?"

"Of course you can stay, Thea. You can stay as long as you want." He watched his sister hover around the foot of the bed. He knew she had something to say, he just had to wait her out.

"Do you remember when I was little, and dad used to read us stories before my bedtime?"

He smiled a little at the memory. He was a bit older than Thea and didn't always stick around for storytime when she was little, but he sometimes would, craving a bit more of his father's attention.

"You used to absolutely freak out anytime it got too scary," he remembered.

"I hated it when I thought it wouldn't have a happily ever after." She paused, lost in memory. "Do you remember what dad used to say to me though? Anytime I cried too much or got really scared, he'd say, 'in the end, everything will be okay. And...'"

"...'and if it's not okay, then it's not the end,'" Oliver finished. "I remember."

"She's going to wake up and everything is going to be okay. Because this isn't the end. It can't be. I'm not saying...I don't want to say goodbye."

"You won't have to. When did you get to be so smart?"

"I know, right?" She shared a special smile with her older brother. "Roy and I are going to go get some food, but we'll be back. Lyla had to go into the office or something, so it's just Dig and Detective Lance hanging out out there. Do you need anything?"

He couldn't bring himself to take his eyes off of Felicity. "I'm good. Thanks, though."

She skipped over and pressed a light kiss to his cheek.

"Love you, Ollie."

"Love you too."

A/N2: Coming up next: don't you all want to know what Oliver said to Felicity when he sat with her in the room? And Detective Lance? And anyone else that might have come in with her? The next chapter of For Darker Days is a bit of a departure from the norm - there is clips from everyone's time with her, giving you a little insight into everyone's feelings. It is also the first chapter that I cried while writing, so uh, get ready for that.