A/N: Duh duh la laaaaa~~~~

It was one week into October, one week since Felicity had been discharged from the hospital, and one week of her being bored out of her mind. She was rocking back and forth on her heels by the front door, waiting impatiently for Oliver to finish tying his shoes.

"Come on, Oliver!"

"Since when are you this excited about your blood draws?" He knew exactly what had her so restless and she was sure he was tying his shoes even slower now.

"I made this appointment early in the day so that we would hear my results by lunchtime and you are going to make us late!"

"I'm going to do no such thing."

They had plenty of time, that was true, but Felicity was eager to get her blood drawn so that she could hear that her counts were all up and she was free to leave the confines of her house. The first week off chemo usually had her feeling pretty bad still, lots of naps and the stray bout of nausea, but she had been doing so well the past few days and was more than ready to get out of the house and to the lair, not to mention lunches with Thea and coffee dates with Lance. Not that she was enjoying coffee lately; it was far too acidic for her sensitive mouth, so she was usually trying to swill down some chamomile tea while giving Lance the evil eye for enjoying the latte she so desperately wanted.

That was probably the hardest part of this last round of chemo. The mouth ulcers were pretty severe, and her diet had been limited for so long. They had finally healed to a place where she could enjoy foods that weren't just mushy, but she had to say goodbye to a lot of her favorites - one of which being caffeine. While coffee was acidic in its own right, Felicity had hoped that she could just take a caffeine supplement or something to keep her energy levels up. It wasn't ideal and was a bit of a Jesse Spano kind of move, but she needed something. Instead, she was told by Dr. Fox that caffeine alone stimulated acid production in the body, and she should avoid it at all costs. As if chemotherapy didn't make her tired enough, now she was defenseless against fatigue.

She didn't let that deter her though. She was going to get her counts done, she was going to come back and finish that last level of Lego Superheroes and she was going to wait by the phone until she heard that she was healthy enough to go to the lair. Maybe a nap would be shoved in there somewhere, but she was determined to spend the night with her babies down at the Foundry.

"Do you think I need a coat?"

"Oliver!"

He smirked at her, knowing very well how riled he was making her. She tried to not smile back but she ended up just hiding her face and pointing at the door. He was such a pain in her ass.

They were back at her apartment in record time, the clinic running on some semblance of a schedule that day, and Felicity was lambasting Oliver's taste - or lack thereof - in music.

"No, Oliver, you can't still use the island as your excuse for only knowing the words to Limp Bizkit's 'Nookie' and no other song. You've been back for so long. You need to stop listening to music that makes me want to cringe."

"I also know all the words to most Linkin Park songs."

"Did your iPod just get stuck there? There are bands that start with other letters of the alphabet, you know."

"Oh yeah? Okay, how about 'K.' Bands that start with it. Go." He fished in his pocket for the keys to the door, enjoying this simple teasing that they were sharing. It was mindless and dumb, sure, but she was smiling at him and that was all he needed.

"The Kinks. The Kooks. Kelly Clarkson. Kwabs. Kiss. Kings of Leon. Kula Shaker."

"That," he paused before pushing the door open, "is the name of something I saw on a late night infomercial, I'm sure of it."

She laughed and pushed his arm jokingly, to which he responded by casually draping it around her shoulders, swinging the door open.

He could tell immediately that something was off, choosing not to relinquish his hold on Felicity, but to tighten it.

"What's the matter?" She asked softly.

He wasn't sure. "I think someone is-"

Felicity gasped at the figure who came out of the hallway.

"Sara!"

Instantly she was out from underneath Oliver's arm and throwing herself at the girl who caught her easily, holding on just as tight.

"You're back! I missed you so much! I'm so glad you're home!"

"Me too," Oliver agreed as he reluctantly pulled Felicity out of her arms and pointed at the hand sanitizer that sat on a nearby table. "Have you been sick recently? I know we can't know where you've been but I need to know if you've come into contact with anything particularly infectious."

Sara gave him the side eye as she assured him no before diverting her attention to Felicity.

"You sick, Bug?"

Bug had been a nickname that she had come up with for Felicity when she realized that the girl knew more about what happened between all the members of Team Arrow than anyone realized. Between her actual surveillance equipment and her ability to listen in and eavesdrop, picking up on subtle body language cues and the like, Sara had dubbed her a human 'bug,' and it had stuck ever since.

Not wanting to lie and not wanting to delve right into that conversation, Felicity just stood there happily, smiling at her friend.

"It is so good to see you!"

"I'm happy to be back. You were my first port of call since no one seemed to be at the club. Which brings me to this…" She leaned down and picked up a stray pair of Oliver's boxer briefs which must have fallen out of his bags that he kept by the couch. "Which one of you finally got the balls up to ask the other one out? I thought I was going to come back to the same sexual tension as always, but I'm glad you guys are getting it out of your system. I hope I'm not interrupting anything, actually."

Oh god. Felicity and Oliver were both rooted to the spot, unable to even bring themselve to look at each other.

"It's not, uh, it's not really like that, Sara…"

"I just found the man's underwear on your living room floor. You're going to have to try harder than that if you want me to believe you're not sleeping together." She took in their stricken faces and couldn't help but laugh. "I'm happy for you two, really! It's about time. Both of you always circling each other, it was getting kind of old."

"Oliver is sort of living here!" She had to say something to get Sara to stop talking about their nonexistent sex lives but why her mind decided that was the first thing to come out, she was unsure.

"You guys are living together?" She looked around, realizing that she did see evidence of Oliver's continued presence around the place. "Good for you, Bug. Gettin' what you want. And is this a new haircut?"

She reached out for a lock of Felicity's wig and she couldn't help but to step back out of habit. She was sure the second anyone touched her hair that they would know it wasn't real. She found her back against Oliver's chest and stopped, needing the touch of him to get her through that moment.

"What's going on? You two look like you've seen a ghost or something. I wasn't gone for that long!"

"Felicity." Oliver's voice rumbled deep in his chest and she felt the vibrations flow into her. "She needs to know."

"Know what?"

"Something happened when you were gone, Sara…" Felicity whispered, unsure of how to even broach this subject.

"I can see that," she smirked back.

"No, something else. Something important."

"Okay, well, we can talk about it over brunch, what do you say? It's still early and I'm starving. Plus, I've totally missed the eggs benedict over at Ralfio's."

Felicity almost lit up at that. Getting brunch together was somewhat of a tradition with Sara, and she was so damn happy the woman was back, she didn't even care that she had to tell her about everything that had happened. She just wanted to spend time with her friend. She looked back at Oliver who shook his head minutely. They hadn't gotten her counts back. She wasn't supposed to go out yet.

"I...I can't, Sara. We really need to talk."

"Okay...sure." She sunk into the armchair, leaving the couch open for the pair. "What's up?"

Oliver's hand found Felicity's on her thigh and she grabbed onto it tightly. She needed all the strength she could get for this.

"Do you remember before you left? And I was sick?"

"Yes. You went to the doctors after I left though, didn't you?" She looked to Oliver. "Didn't she?"

This part hurt the most for Felicity. Right before she told the news, when she could see that it was sinking in that there was something serious happening and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

"I did," she confirmed. "And um, well, it wasn't great." She swallowed thickly, her mouth suddenly drier than usual. For all the preparation she had been doing, for all the times she had rehearsed this in her head, her own throat was stymieing the words from coming out.

"What happened? What's wrong? Felicity, you're scaring me." Sara's voice got softer but her pleas seemed to get louder.

Felicity traded a look with Oliver, one that spoke volumes about how much she didn't want to be doing this right then and there, and his answering one of sympathy and strength. He gave her another small nod and she closed her eyes briefly, gathering her strength.

"I was diagnosed with cancer."

There it was. She had done it. She had told someone that was really close to her, really important to her, about her sickness. She felt a strange combination of pride and heartbreak at this. Oliver leaned over and pressed a hard kiss to the side of her head, conveying his pride better than any words he could ever offer.

"Okay," Sara managed to get out, her eyes unfocused. "Wow. Okay. So. What kind of cancer?"

"Uh…" Felicity looked to Oliver, unsure if she was hallucinating. Was Sara really processing that fast? "Lymphoma. Non-Hodgkin's. Aggressive, stage 4."

"I don't know much about that," she told her apologetically, biting her lip.

"That's okay! I mean, Oliver knows like, everything. He's a walking encyclopedia when it comes to this. I um...I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I mean, I didn't know where you were or what you were doing but I didn't want to worry you and I kind of wanted to tell you to your face…"

"It's fine, Bug. You wouldn't have been able to reach me, where I was. Not even you, Ollie," she told him as he opened his mouth to contest her. "I'm sorry I wasn't here for you though. Thank you for telling me now."

"You're not...mad?"

"Would it help if I was? I mean, if you really want me to be-"

"No, no, it's fine, I'm glad! I just kind of thought. I don't know. I'm happy you're here now."

"Me too."

Sensing that the two girls needed some time alone, Oliver clapped his hands together.

"How about I go down to Ralfio's and pick up some brunch for us and bring it back here. Felicity should get the all clear to go out later today, but until then, she's homebound, unfortunately." The girls nodded their acquiescence. "Okay, eggs benedict for you, how about maybe a spinach quiche for you? We've got shakes here if you need something else after."

"Sounds good."

"I'll be back."

He left the two women sitting across from each other in the living room, both of them feeling suitably awkward. For Felicity, it was strange being with someone who she knew was going to have so many questions, when she herself had finally answered them. She didn't really want to relive the beginning of her diagnosis - Team Arrow's discovery was painful enough the first time, and she tried very hard to not think of each chemotherapy session after it had passed. Was Sara going to want to talk about all of this? She wouldn't blame her if she did, but she would have preferred Oliver's presence for it.

She watched as Sara's hand drifted to her mouth, and an unreadable expression crossed her face. This was it. This was when the questions came.

"I can't believe I insinuated that you were sleeping with Ollie. You're not, right? That didn't happen yet?"

"...No. It didn't."

"Oh my god. Are you mad?"

She could hardly believe her ears. Was she seriously asking her if she was mad about making a few comments about her and Oliver's sex life? Felicity made worse comments about the two of them together on a daily basis. It was embarrassing, sure, but definitely not something to get mad at.

"No, of course not! He spends a good portion of his time holding my hair as I puke, so nope. No sex." She paused, remembering. "Not...not that this is my hair, or anything."

"Oh, whoa. You've already...it's gone?"

"Well, not gone gone, but mostly…" She slipped the wig off and tugged on the wig cap, revealing her shorn head. "So, to answer your earlier question: yeah. New hair."

Sara smiled that secretive smile of her's. "Oliver shaved his head for you, didn't he?"

"I mean, not for me...he just…"

"Are you sure you're not sleeping together?"

Felicity laughed hard at that. A true belly laugh that shook her entire body. She hadn't ever anticipated Sara's reaction to be like this. So completely accepting. When she finally calmed down, Sara's own giggles petered out as well and she smoothly got up and relocated herself to the couch next to her, gripping Felicity's hand tightly.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here for you for all of this. I wish I had been."

"It's…" She didn't want to say that it was okay because she felt like that was minimizing Sara's effect in her life. But on the other hand, she didn't want to cause her to worry at all. She hadn't been 'fine,' but she had been supported, which was what was important. "You're here now, and that's all that matters. Actually...your dad has been here a lot, too. He's been really awesome helping me with this."

"Of course he was. He's a good one. Looks like you surrounded yourself with those."

And unlike with Laurel, Felicity saw no jealousy or animosity in Sara's eyes. She looked genuinely happy that she had these wonderful people on her life. It soothed a part of her that she hadn't realized needed it.

"So you're like...home now? Or how does this work?"

"I'm home, for the next week or so. I should find out today if I can go out and do stuff. I got a pretty bad infection a few weeks ago, so everyone is nervous about letting me out of the house. Especially Oliver. He's like, insanely protective, but I guess it was really scary so...listening to my doctors is the least that I can do."

"But you're okay now?"

"As okay as I can be, yeah."

"And you're doing okay with…"

"Having no life that isn't ruled by hospital visits and blood draws and blood counts? Life with a life-threatening illness? Yeah, I'm okay. I wish I still had my own hair and I could do without the mouth sores, but yeah. It's okay."

"I was going to ask if you're doing okay with Ollie."

"Oh!" She let out a silent prayer, asking for him to come in right then and rescue her, but she knew it hadn't been long enough. She was on her own for this. "Yeah, well. He's been great, like I said."

"You guys are different," she commented.

"I guess...I guess so. He was really mad in the beginning. I didn't tell him or Dig or Roy at first and they found out kind of abruptly. He was pissed. But then he took a leave of absence from QC and," she shrugged. "Here we are."

"He really lives with you?"

"Yeah. Isn't that weird? There's nothing going on between us though. He is, however, the best roommate. Cooks, cleans, holds your hair when you get sick, takes you to the hospital when your fever gets too high - he's a real Renaissance man."

"I can see." They chatted more about Oliver and the team and how they all had rallied around her. Felicity couldn't help but to boast about them to someone who would appreciate that and see it for what it was worth. After a while, Sara perked up a bit, cutting off her sentence about Dig and Lyla and how dumb cute they were together. "He's home."

Felicity wasn't sure if it was chemo affecting her hearing like they said it might or if Sara really was just that much more keen than she was.

"I said it before and I'll say it now - don't let him get away from you, Bug."

Before she could respond, the door was opening and Oliver was bustling in, Dig and Roy on his heels, all carrying bags.

"Sorry that took so long," he apologized. "These guys heard you were back, Sara, and I didn't want them to eat us out of house and home, so I had to stop for donuts."

Sara quickly turned to Felicity. "House and home, would you look at that?"

"Shut up," she mumbled, elbowing her out of the way. She had some quiche to eat.

For the first time in a long time, the entirety of Team Arrow was gathered together and Felicity wasn't the main topic. She had to admit - it was more than a little nice.

Sara was the one being asked all the questions for once, and she happily took the spotlight, answering everyone as best she could. She asked a few questions about everyone else, and Felicity felt the shame of the disease burn into her a little at that. With every question Sara asked the group, she felt a little more like a burden - everyone's life had revolved around her for the past few months. Roy spoke a little about his research on Chernobyl (Sara had been there and assured him it probably wasn't as cool as he was imagining it to be, but he could go if he wanted to risk the radiation exposure [he didn't.]) but for the most part, everyone else could only relate stories about the hospital and her treatments.

Vigilante business was covered in a few short minutes; a lack of progress on the Triad's latest shady dealings only compounded by Felicity's unexpected hospital stay made for a boring news cycle. When the topic of her disease was inevitably broached, she was pleased to note that Oliver took the brunt of the questions, only defaulting to her when it was something he didn't know or didn't have the experience to answer.

Her phone rang about an hour into their meal and before Felicity could even think about moving, Oliver was up, moving towards the living room where it was still plugged in.

"That'll be the hospital. I'll get it," he told her, squeezing her shoulder lightly as he passed by.

"I thought you said there was nothing going on between you two?" Sara asked quietly.

Both Roy and Dig broke out into laughter at that.

"She said that? In what universe is that true?" Roy cackled.

"He's got a point, Felicity." Dig's laughter was more restrained, but it still would occasionally shake his chest.

"Who's side are you on, anyway?" She hissed.

"Always on Team Felicity," Dig told her sincerely.

"Yeah, we're thinking about getting t-shirts made. You want one, Sara? Maybe we could get some hats, too. Don't worry, the shirts will be black."

"Of course I'm in," she agreed. "Anything for my girl."

She wanted to be put out, but Felicity couldn't help the smile on her face or the shaking of her head. She felt so lucky to be surrounded by so many great people. Her smile only grew when she spotted Oliver getting off the phone, also looking distinctly happy.

"And?"

"All counts are good. You are now free to move about Starling City," he told her as he stood above her, smiling down at her upturned face.

"Yes! Party!" At everyone's stunned looks, she continued. "And by 'party,' I mean Verdant and by 'Verdant,' I mean the lair and by 'the lair,' I mean I get to see my babies and actually use a computer that has processing capabilities above the hospital bandwidth."

"Because what else could you have possibly meant when you said 'party?'" Roy deadpanned as he shoved another donut into his mouth.

"I, for one, think it sounds great, Bug. I better go catch up with my dad before tonight though."

"But you're coming, right?" She didn't want to let the blonde out of her sight now that she knew she was back in town. She felt like she needed to explain so much more of her life, so much more that she missed out on.

"Yeah, of course. Gotta teach Dig some of my new moves I learned. Keep him on his toes."

"I'm always on my toes."

"Graceful like a ballerina," Roy joked around a mouthful of donut, dodging Dig's hand as it came out to smack him.

"You going to lie down for while?" Oliver asked Felicity quietly as everyone started clearing up the dishes.

"Just for a little bit," she admitted. She wasn't sure how he always knew when she was tired, especially when she tried so hard to keep any physical cues from showing. She never even yawned in front of him, but that didn't affect his ability to spot a fatigued Felicity one bit. She supposed it was easy enough to guess that day though, after such an event-filled morning. Between the hospital visit, the surprise of seeing Sara, and the unplanned group brunch, she felt a little drained. Knowing that she wanted to end up at the lair later on made it an easy decision to lie down for a spell.

"Go on. I'll clean up and bring you a water in a few minutes. It's almost time for your medicine, too," he reminded her, referencing her steroids, vitamins, and various other pills that she took on a strict regimen.

She smiled her gratitude, hugging Sara and the others tightly before disappearing down the hall. It was amazing the difference she felt in their group dynamics with Sara there. She finally felt like her entire family was home and she'd be damned if there was a better feeling than that.

A/N2: Sara has a more important role coming up, of course, I for one am just so happy she is home. Yaaaaaay!

Up next: Felicity solves a mystery.