A/N: Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th! I can't believe it's already July! Whoa.
I clearly am on vacation mode and have been for a while because I'm not sure why I was so convinced that I was going to be late posting last week when I was leaving on a WEDNESDAY not a THURSDAY. And then I woke up today so convinced it was Sunday. I have no idea what is happening ever. My apologies.
I hope everyone likes this new chapter!
Damn Oliver and his innate ability to somehow just know how Felicity was feeling, because sure enough, she got home later than expected after dinner and was way too exhausted to have an actual conversation with the man. She might have mumbled a few things to him but all she remembered was him kissing her forehead and leaving a bottle of water on her nightstand. She hoped she hadn't embarrassed herself too much. (Long gone were the days when she wished to not embarrass herself at all.)
So when she woke up the next morning, her last day before checking in to the hospital before chemo round four, she was determined to have this talk with Oliver.
"Are you playing without me?" She tried to keep the hurt out of her voice when she spotted Oliver on her couch, XBox controller in hand. He had bought the entire system, yes, but playing together was their thing. She'd occasionally play with Roy, but she'd always replay the levels with Oliver, not wanting him to miss out on any of the storyline.
"No!" He sat up instantly, before looking down at the controller in his hand. "I mean, yeah. I am playing, but not our game."
She stepped out of the hall and looked at the TV, surprised to see a somewhat gruesome depiction of violence on it. He looked to be killing aliens of some kind.
"What is this?"
"It's another game, I didn't think you'd like it. I usually just play it when you're sleeping."
For some reason, the idea of him playing video games on her couch, waiting for her to wake up, struck her as so incredibly intimate and domestic. It was stupid, she knew, since they shared just about everything else in their lives, including meals and cleaning and all sorts of other, much more homey activities, but it was just...sweet, she decided. It was sweet. And the way he looked like she had caught him with his hand in the cookie jar was even sweeter.
"I think you're right about that," she agreed, drawing a face at the way the character on the screen died. He instantly turned it off, looking up at her expectantly.
"Breakfast?"
She shrugged. She didn't really feel like eating, but knew she had to. It was just getting harder for her to figure out what anything tasted like. Her tastebuds were seriously out of whack due to chemotherapy.
"I've got a few options, you can see which one appeals to you," he told her, standing and guiding her to the table. "We can talk while I get them ready."
"Okay." She watched him for a few minutes moving around her kitchen with practiced grace. "I didn't really change my mind on what I thought we should do about Stephanie…"
"Do you think you can explain it to me this time at least?" He didn't look at her, instead focusing on chopping the fruit in front of him, but his voice was tight. She nodded at his back before realizing he couldn't see her.
"I don't think she meant it...badly. I think she just wanted the money to help offset some of the costs of Casey's treatments. I looked into her financials, which, by the way, I feel really weird about, even though it was kind of for a case, but let's not talk about that. Anyway, she is in some serious debt, Oliver. I can't even...I don't want to know how much money you must be dumping into Starling General for me. My insurance is good, but it can't be that good."
"We aren't talking about your insurance or my bank account, although I'd be interested to know if you have the same moral qualms when it comes to looking into all of my financials instead of just balancing my checkbook," he teased over his shoulder.
He walked to the table and placed three dishes in front of her: a bowl of cinnamon oatmeal, a plate of fresh-cut fruit, and a carrot cake cupcake. She cocked her eyebrow (okay, she tried very hard to at least) at the last option, but he just gave her a small shrug. "It's a vegetable."
She popped a piece of watermelon in her mouth. "Do I not get utensils?"
"Oh, that reminds me!" He quickly walked to the counter, returning with a fork, spoon, and a knife he brandished proudly. "Plastic cutlery."
"...You think I'm a danger to myself or others?"
"I read that it should help with the metallic taste in your mouth that keeps you from enjoying certain foods. I bought like, five boxes of them. We can get more."
She shook her head at him, taking the spoon gently, scooping up some oatmeal before bringing it to her mouth. "Wow," she murmured after swallowing. "It does make a difference. That's great, Oliver!"
He looked like he had just won first place in the science fair. Or, well, maybe not a science fair for him, she noted. First place in the vigilante contest was a more apt simile.
"She needed the money," she repeated around bites as she had a little bit of everything in front of her, wanting to try out the effects of the silverware on all different foods and tastes. "I don't want her to get in trouble. I don't want Casey to have to suffer because of her mom's bad decision. You know what that's like, remember?"
"I do. And fine. We won't do anything. But I don't want you talking to her anymore."
"You're going to tell me who I can and can't talk to now?" She worked hard to keep her voice steady, determined not to overreact until he clarified.
He sighed heavily, telling Felicity that yes, that was exactly what he had intended to do but had now realized it wasn't the best move.
"How about you just are careful with what you say around her? Is that a compromise we can make?"
"I suppose that is amenable."
More than amenable, if she was being honest. She didn't really have any desire to have more interactions with the woman who had sold her out to the nearest media outlet, despite how good her reasoning might have been. She just bristled at the idea of anyone telling her what to do, especially when so much of her life was out of her control at that moment. She could make her own decisions about who to talk to, and Stephanie Cassidy was not on her Christmas card list. Or Hanukkah card, as it was. Maybe Chrismukkah, since her and Oliver were presumably going to be spending that holiday together. That idea made her tingle and feel things that she didn't want to focus on, so she pushed it out of her mind.
"So, what do you want to do today?"
Felicity shrugged. "I thought I'd see Trey by now since he was supposed to get out of the hospital a few days after me, but I guess he's probably busy with his other friends. His teenage friends. Oh no, am I creepy? Am I totally that creepy lady who the kids are nice to but only hang out with out of pity?"
He laughed at her insane insecurities. "You're not creepy. But I'm sure you're right and he's just catching up with kids his own age. Maybe you'll see him before you check out of the hospital, if you think he's just a few days off on your schedules."
"Yeah, maybe. We'll see. I really don't want to be creepy. What are you up to today?"
"I'm free. Had a video conference meeting with our Danish subsidiaries this morning at six, but now my day is open."
She grimaced at the idea of being awake that early (although that had, once upon a time, been considered a late start for her) and instead chose to focus on the fact that she had a full day with Oliver available to her, and she could choose whatever she wanted to do.
"How about mini-golf?"
Oliver gulped. Of all the god forsaken activities she had to choose, why miniature golf had to be one of her favorite things to do, he didn't know.
"I'm kidding, Oliver. But you should totally see your face right now."
He couldn't help the sigh of relief that escaped him. "You're cruel."
"You love it."
They froze. Felicity opened her mouth four times in an attempt to say something - anything, hell, a ramble about animal cruelty would have been preferable at that moment, but nothing came out. Oliver's mouth stayed firmly shut, with the only outward visible sign that he had even heard her being the slight widening of his eyes. What was he supposed to do? Refute her? That wasn't really an option, even if the words hadn't been true.
"I'm going to go shower. And change. And think about what we can do today. And you should do that too. Not shower! Because I will be in there and I'll be all naked and you shouldn't...I mean-"
"Felicity!" Oliver barked at her.
"Bye."
The rest of the day passed way too quickly for Felicity's liking, but that was probably in part due to how great it was. 'Time flies when you're having fun and dreading chemotherapy,' wasn't that the phrase? Oliver had made a decision on their plans whilst she showered (and attempted to wash away the memory of her actually mentioning being naked to Oliver Queen) and when she came out, ready for the day, he instantly whisked her away. He had made reservations at a winery just outside of town and they were going to spend their day drinking wine and not thinking about cancer. The universe seemed to be smiling down on them too, with the weather unseasonably warm and sunny. It was one of the best days she had ever had, BC or after.
But, alas, all good things must come to an end and sooner than she knew it, she was sitting in the back of Dig's car with Oliver, resting her head on his shoulder as they drove to the hospital.
Oliver led her instead to admissions as Dig parked, watching patiently as she had three bracelets secured around her wrist - one for admissions, another for chemotherapy, and the last for her lumbar puncture and bone marrow biopsy procedure that day.
Before they could head upstairs, Oliver found himself cornered by an administrator, insisting they had new forms for him to sign.
"You go ahead," Felicity waved him along. "I'm going to go check in at pediatrics, anyway."
"Felic-"
"I'll take Marcus," she promised, gesturing to the young security guard that was dutifully waiting to escort them to her room upstairs. "And I won't be long. Just want to see who's there is all."
"Okay." He turned to Marcus, his eyes instantly hardening. "Watch her. And Felicity - remember what we compromised on."
"Yes sir, captain sir!" She saluted him which earned her an eye roll before he walked purposefully away, eager to sign everything as quick as possible.
"You know, you don't really have to - "
"Nice try." Marcus closed the door to the elevators, pressing the button for the pediatric oncology floor.
The doors opened with a ding! and Felicity strolled out of the elevator, smiling at the nurses she recognized, greeting them all with a jaunty hello. These nurses were the best of the best, in her humble opinion. Being a nurse was an amazing profession that she respected immensely and knew that she couldn't do - especially not on that ward. Seeing the sick kids was hard enough without being the one to administer the medicine.
She took a look at the chalkboard they kept up at the front desk, a wrinkle appearing in her forehead as she took in the names.
"Everything alright, Felicity?"
"Yeah, it's just...hm." She saw Trey's name on the board, and more than that, she saw that he was in an HDU room - High Dependency Unit. This was reserved for patients that needed more care than general wards, but not as extreme as the ICU. She had never heard of good things coming from that.
She made her way down the hall, ticking off the room numbers as she got closer to where she knew Trey was. If not for her recent hospital celebrity status or the three bracelets around her wrist, she knew that she would have been stopped, but instead she just got a few curious looks (which was nothing compared to the stares that Marcus was getting.)
"Wait here," she told him outside of Trey's room. "Or, you know, you could always just go upstairs…"
"Are you trying to get me fired?" He joked, but still did as she said, resuming his typical sentry stance outside the doors.
She knocked lightly before letting herself in, unsurprised to see Ava, Trey's mom sitting on the bed with Trey. She had to control herself to not let out the response that she wanted to - the kid didn't look great. His skin was somehow pale and ashy beneath his natural, dark tone, and he had an oxygen mask covering his mouth and nose.
"Knock knock." She kept her voice low as she pushed the door open, slipping inside. "I hope I'm not interrupting."
"Oh, Felicity! It's so good to see you!" Ava looked up, her face showing no signs of deception - she was genuinely happy for the younger woman's presence. "Are you checking in?"
"Yup." She held up her wrist, the bracelets as her proof.
Sensing her wariness, Trey pulled off the oxygen mask, grinning at her. "Don't tell me you came here to tell me you built a computer without me. Man, a kid gets one cough, and suddenly everyone forgets about him!"
"Nope, you're not getting out of it that easily. You promised flair, I'm going to need to see some flair." She made her way across the room, feeling better now that Trey was clearly still the same kid she had first met.
"I'm going to go run and grab some coffee actually, would you mind sitting with him for a few minutes?" Ava asked, and Felicity could see just how truly tired the woman was. Dark circles accentuated her glassy eyes and the skin around her mouth was pinched too tight.
"Yeah, of course. Sure."
"I don't need a babysitter, but you know - parents just don't understand," Trey kidded once they were alone.
"What's with the special room? You annoying your other roommate?"
"Oh please, Cedric is lucky to have a roommate as cool as me. Nah, you know how it is. You get a little wheezy and everyone starts to freak out.
She could certainly relate to that, since anytime she had so much as a frog in her throat, everyone seemed to lean in and watch her for any other underlying symptoms, but still - it seemed like there was something more to Trey's case. She had never had to have an oxygen mask when she felt a 'little wheezy.'
"You sure that's all it is?" She watched as his eyes darted away and he seemed to shut in on himself. He didn't want to talk about it and she wasn't going to force him. "I just mean, I was serious about before. You're not getting out of building a computer with me."
Sensing that she wasn't fishing for information anymore, he loosened up considerably again.
"Yeah, Homegirl, I'm sure. Ain't nothing stopping me from that."
"'Ain't nothing' is a double negative, and it's an incorrect one at that," she pointed out. "I know you know how to speak correctly, so why you refuse to do so for me is just incomprehensible."
"Riling you up is some of the best entertainment in this place. Speaking of, where's your G-man? Don't tell me you're wandering around here solo?"
"He's outside the door, I'll have you know. And speaking of entertainment - oh, wait one second, my G-man has my bag." She ran to the door, grabbing the bag from Marcus before digging through it. "I thought I might see you in here, granted, in a week or so, but I brought something for you...ah ha!"
She pulled out a large, outdated laptop.
"Technology from the 80s. Sweet."
"It's from five years ago, smartass, and the motherboard is dead. This," she pulled out a box very carefully from the duffle, "is a new motherboard."
"Oh shit," Trey murmured, looking through the clear plastic window on the top of the box. "This doesn't look like one that I've seen before - and I've taken a lot of things apart. I mean, more than just the stuff you gave me."
"It's custom."
"You made it?"
"No, I didn't make it! Do I look like I had the time and years it would take to put together a motherboard like this successfully? Don't answer that. No, it's from Intel, but it's built to some pretty insightful specifics, if you ask me. QC has some contracts with Intel and this may or may not have been a misappropriation of resources, but it's just a prototype that we were thinking of using for new company laptops."
"Ah, I see what this is. You're just using me to do your dirty work, aren't you? You don't wanna waste your time taking apart laptops, I see how it is." Contrary to his sarcastic words, his face was lit up at the prospect of having a project, and such a great one at that.
"It's true. Your fingers are smaller."
Ava walked in a minute later, witnessing the pair holding their hands together and arguing about whose fingers were taller than the other's.
"Your palm isn't even lined up with mine, Trey! You aren't even trying!"
"Can hear you two down the hall," Ava chided with a smile on her face. "Gonna get us kicked out of the ward!"
"I'm sorry," Felicity laughed.
"Yeah, sorry that she's got tiny little elf hands," Trey shot back. Felicity pointed at him threatening, but he just squinted. "Is that your pinky? I can't tell."
"Give the woman a break, Trey. Felicity, I think your...bodyguard wanted a word with you as well."
"Oh, Christ, Oliver's probably freaking out." Trey started making smooching sounds, but Felicity silenced them by reaching over and putting his oxygen mask back on his face. "Are you 12 or 17?" He stuck his tongue out, visible through the clear mask. "I rest my case."
She stood slowly, reluctant both to leave Trey and to start her own hospital stay.
"I should get going. You better make progress with that laptop Trey, I don't care what size your hands are!"
She bid them both goodbye, instantly handing over the duffel to Marcus as she left the room.
"I know, I know, I'm sorry. Is he mad?"
"I've only gotten four texts. If it were five, I'd be worried." A second later, his phone chimed. "Maybe we should hurry."
A/N2: Don't worry too much about Trey. Kid's resilient.
If you are craving some Olicity (which I hope you are because WHY WOULDN'T YOU?) the next chapter is going to be on For Darker Days, and it is a look into their nice little day trip before chemo. And it is fluffy as all hell, because sometimes you need that.