A/N: Hola friends and readers alike! How's your week been? Me? Busy busy busy! In DC to page for the DAR's CC (if you can understand that sentence I'll send you a cookie, lol) Since my amazing beta is here in DC with me, there probably won't be a chapter up next week. But she will try.
Again thanks to each and every reader, everybody who leaves a kudos, and super duper thanks to those who comment! I love hearing your thoughts, ideas, and guesses about the story. And sometimes even incorporate them into it! Also thanks to my amazing beta for being a awesome friend and a great beta!
Diggle had quickly accepted the idea of Sara having an expanded role on the team as both vigilante and medic. When Diggle announced that he needed to go to Russia to save his ex-wife, Lyla Michaels, the team decided that Sara should stay behind to keep the city safe.
After telling Tommy about the spur of the moment trip, he suggested that they take both he and Olivia along to help sell that it was a family/corporate trip and that way they could use the company jet without raising any suspicions as to why they were suddenly going to Russia. "Where is Russia again Mommy?" Olivia asked as Dig drove the five of them to the private airport. Felicity took out her tablet and showed her daughter where it was located on the map that she had pulled up. "Where did Gran take us when we flew a long, long time?"
Felicity smiled, "That was France."
"Is Russia near France?" She asked as she peered at the digital map.
"It's closer than it is to America," Tommy replied as Felicity pointed out where they currently were and where the two countries were located.
"Mrs. Kelly said I have to tell the other students about Russia and do a tell en show." Olivia sulked.
"A show-and-tell, sweetie." Oliver corrected. "That's when you bring something and tell the rest of the class about it. We'll find you something really cool to show your class." Oliver promised.
"Yay!" The little girl cheered. She hugged her dad tightly, "Thank you for bringing me Daddy! I can't wait to ride in the hair-pain again"
Oliver smiled down at his daughter; she always lightened his mood and made him smile, while her kid speak made him laugh. He looked down at her fondly, smiling as she bounced in her card seat her blonde pigtails flying as she kept looking and trying to see out of the car. Her warm sweater, dark blue skirt and tan leggings reminded him of a young Thea in her school uniform. Catching her attention Oliver leaned over and stage whispered "When I was your age, my dad, your Grandpa Robert, would sometimes bring me and Aunt Thea on trips like this. I liked flying on the hair-pain too." Traveling with his father and spending one on one time with him were some of the fondest memories he had of the man.
"Daddy!" She said giggling and shaking her head. Kids always knew when you were copying them.
While they were unloading the car at the airport another car pulled up and Isabel Rochev got out of it. Tommy leaned over to Oliver and said, "Don't look now, but the ice witch has landed, I wonder where she left her broom."
"Ms. Rochev," Oliver said as he turned to greet her. "What are you doing here?"
"I heard that you were going to Russia to visit the Queen Consolidated branch there, and as one of the major stockholders I wanted to make sure that our interests were well represented. It's a good thing that I pack fast." With that she stepped past the others and boarded the plane.
"Mommy, she's not very nice," Olivia said with a frown as she reached for Felicity's hand. Felicity sent Oliver a look as they boarded the plane behind Isabel.
"Your kid speaks the truth," Dig said to Oliver under his breath, as the rest of them finished offloading the car and got on the plane.
Oliver's Russian Bratva friend, Anatoly Knyazev, was quite taken with Olivia and he quickly declared her his favorite American and gave her Russian chocolates and a beautiful set of Russian nesting dolls, which meant that Oliver was downgraded to his second favorite American.
They deemed the trip a success. Dig was able to rescue Lyla with Anatoly's help, while Tommy and Isabel went off and toured the QC subsidiaries. Other than Deadshot helping Team Arrow, the biggest surprise for Oliver came when he caught Tommy slipping out of Isabel's room.
"Really Tommy? Isabel? The ice witch? What happened to you and Laurel?" Oliver asked when the two of them were back in Oliver's suite.
"I didn't mean for it to happen," Tommy sighed as he poured himself a stiff drink. "As for Laurel, after the doll maker thing she's been pushing me away and said that we need to take a break, and it's not helping that she's trying to put your mom away in prison as well." He sighed and took a drink, "Hopefully after the trial we can get back on track."
"Just don't forget that she doesn't take betrayal well, and that she's been hurt enough." Oliver warned, not wanting to see either of his friends hurt.
The flight home was a quiet one. After they had landed and were loading the car, Diggle took the opportunity to thank Oliver for coming with him and having his back. "Now you know what it's like." Oliver smiled at the man who had become a brother to him. He glanced over to where Tommy was talking to Isabel before she got into her car and he turned to Dig, "That's not going to finish well."
"It rarely does." Dig agreed.
Once they were in the car and on the way back to the mansion Tommy asked, "So, are you ready for the trial next week? The media is calling it the 'trial of a century'."
"Yes and no." Oliver said massaging his temples, "I'm ready to get this over with, but worried about what the outcome will be and what it will mean to us as a family and to the company as well."
The day of the trial dawned bright and clear. Dig looked and felt horrible as he escorted Oliver, Felicity, Olivia, Roy and Thea into the courthouse to support Moira. He looked back at Oliver who was right behind him, "Are you doing okay?"
Oliver scoffed, "I think that I should be the one asking you that. You look like you're sick and should be in bed."
"Nope, I'm fine." Dig shook his head,
"You and I have very different definitions of the word fine." Felicity added from beside Oliver, Olivia tucked in between them. She had on a pair of pink headphones to block the noise from the reporters and protesters and was watching everything that was happening while her parents were trying to shield her from the crowd.
"It looks like you are running a bit of a fever." Oliver observed as he got a better look at Dig.
"Well, then, I shouldn't have wasted time getting vaccinated. The flu shot is supposed to help prevent you from getting sick." Dig said as he kept walking. "I'll be fine."
"Dig! You're sick! Just go home and rest!" Oliver insisted.
"I don't think that word means what you think it means." Felicity interjected with a smile.
"Listen guys, I can take care of things." Diggle maintained.
"No, we'll be fine. Go home and rest, and don't make me have a cop escort you." He leaned in so Dig could hear him over all the yelling reporters. "There are a few of them around here. We'll get a cab to take us home when the circus is done for the day."
Relenting and finally acknowledging that he did indeed feel lousy, Diggle agreed to go home and rest, but he insisted on staying at the top of the steps until the family went inside. Once they were inside the courthouse doors he got back into the car and drove off.
Once they were seated in the courthouse and waiting for the proceedings to start Felicity removed Olivia's headphones, "Mommy, are we really going to get to see Gran?"
Felicity smoothed a few wisps of hair that had escaped her braids, "Yes we are."
"I miss Gran." Olivia said sadly, leaning into Felicity's side.
"I know you do, baby." Felicity said, picking up her daughter and setting her on her lap. "But Gran will be here soon." She kissed the top of her daughter's head as they waited for Moira to be escorted in.
The door opened in the back and Moira was led into the courtroom in handcuffs, "Gran!" Olivia called standing on the bench and waving to her grandmother. Moira's somber expression morphed into a grin as she saw her granddaughter waving at her and she waved back. She walked over to the bailiff to have her handcuffs removed and requested and was granted permission to give the little girl a hug.
"I love you my little Queen." Moira whispered in her ear, squeezing her in a tight hug.
"I love you too Gran." Olivia said.
Jean Loring, Moira's lawyer, had wanted the whole family there to show support for Moira, at least for the duration of the opening arguments. Tommy wanted to attend as well to show his support, however Mrs. Loring had asked Tommy not to be present during the trial because having a Merlyn there might not present the right picture, since his father was considered the mastermind of the Undertaking. Moira hadn't been pleased by this request, but Tommy understood. Having Olivia attend had caused a bit of a debate between Oliver and Felicity because neither of them were sure that they wanted to expose her to the media circus and trial that was about to happen They finally decided to bring her to show support during the opening arguments and that when they had their first break Felicity and Olivia would be dropped off at home. Those plans changed when Tommy texted them to inform them that Diggle had gone to QC instead of going home and that he had collapsed. He was going to bring him to the Lair because Dig was refusing to go to the hospital, so they decided to check on him first.
When Felicity and Oliver got there they found Tommy taking care of a very sick Diggle. Hearing them enter, Tommy looked up and asked. "Where's Olivia?"
"We left her upstairs watching her tablet in Thea's office. We can keep an eye on her with the cameras." Oliver answered, he turned to Diggle who was sitting on the med table trembling as sweat poured off of him. "You need medical attention. I'm going to text Sara."
"I may have some answers for us," Felicity said as she slid behind her computers. "I had Tommy drop off a blood sample with one of the QC's scientists who owes me a favor or six. It came back positive for Vertigo."
"I've never used Vertigo before in my life." Dig said with an effort as his body kept trembling uncontrollably.
"But somehow you were exposed." Tommy said.
"The Count's in play again?" Oliver asked. "How did he get out?"
"He escaped during the quake." Felicity explained after working her magic on the computer. "It looks like the SCPD tried to bury the news of his escape just like the rest of the prisoners who escaped because they didn't want people to panic.
Oliver growled in frustration as he checked his watch, "I've got to get back to the courthouse, but someone needs to stay here with Dig and keep an eye on him."
"Tell you what, I'll take Livy home. That way Felicity can work her magic here and keep an eye on Dig and you can head back to the trial." Tommy offered.
"Thank you!" Oliver said as he went over to the weapons rack and picked up one of his arrows. He handed the arrow, which had a vial and a needle on the end, over to Felicity. "This has the antidote, just watch him in case he has a bad reaction to it." Glancing at his watch again he hurried out the door.
After court had ended for the day Oliver returned to the Lair to check on Dig and to see if Felicity had found anything about where he might have been exposed to it. Dig was still suffering from the effects of the withdrawal, but felt a tiny bit better after Sara had given him an infusion.
The group got their answers about how Diggle got vertigo in his system when the Count hijacked the TV and used the prosecutor of Moira's case to tell the public that they were all in withdraws from the vertigo, and if they wanted to feel better all they had to do was buy some from a local dealer. Felicity had found a few leads and Oliver was glad that she was able to give him an address where he could work off some of the frustrations of the day. He was able to save the prosecutor, but the Count got away.
With the prosecutor out for the rest of the trial Laurel was the lead prosecutor on the case. After Moira's shocking confession about her affair with Malcolm, closing arguments began. Roy, Felicity, Olivia, and the still recovering Diggle stayed away from the courthouse letting the Queen siblings process the secrets together. Once the case was rested, Jean Loring warned the siblings to prepare for the worst. Then Oliver's world was tilted sideways when the Count called saying he had Felicity at QC and had figured out that Oliver Queen was in fact the Arrow. Full of rage and fear Oliver ran out of the courthouse leaving a confused and angry Thea by herself waiting in the courthouse lobby.
At Queen Consolidated, Oliver found the Count holding Felicity in his office. After the Count pulled the gun on him and confessed that he was working for someone, Oliver knew that he couldn't take the chance that the Count wouldn't hurt Felicity so when he had the opportunity to take the kill shot, he did. Felicity was flung to the floor while the force of the arrows drove the Count out the window and onto a car below.
Oliver ran over to where Felicity was laying, still bound to the chair, to help her up. He could see that she was on the verge of having a panic attack, so once he had her free from the chair and away from the window and the rest of the broken glass, he enveloped her in a hug, murmuring in her ear and trying to help her to calm down. "Hey, shhh, shhh. It's alright. Everything is going to be OK. You're safe." He leaned in and gave her a soft kiss.
She took a deep shuttering breath, "You're shot!" She proclaimed lightly touching the wound on his arm where it was just starting to throb.
Not wanting the attention to be on him, he pulled her back into his arms as he said, "Hey, it's just a scratch, it's nothing I can't handle." They clung to each other for a few more moments before the sound of sirens could be heard through the open window.
Taking a deep breath Felicity gathered herself together and pulled away from his embrace. "I'm okay, you need to get back to Thea."
Oliver nodded and he was out the door arriving back at the courthouse he found that they were still waiting for the jury to come back. "Where were you?" Thea asked somewhere between frustrated and angry.
He dismissed her anger, "You'll see on the news tomorrow." Her hand touched his gunshot wound, but she didn't notice his flinch because at that moment Mrs. Loring was back letting them know that the verdict was in. Neither sibling held much hope that Moira would get off or receive a light sentence. they were both were truly shocked when the jury foreman announced that she had been acquitted of all charges. After the verdict was read, the courtroom erupted into chaos, while Oliver and Thea gave their mother a hug
Moira was taken to be processed and released while Oliver went to check on both Felicity and Diggle. He was also going to get Felicity as he didn't want her to be alone after what had happened earlier, and he also wanted her there for the celebration of Moira's release at the mansion. Dig was feeling much better and was almost back to normal after being drugged, so he finally got the all clear to head home.
As they left QC, Oliver linked his fingers with Felicity and the two slowly made their way over to his waiting car. "Hey, thank you." Felicity said quietly as they reached Oliver's car.
"For what?" Oliver frowned confused.
"I got myself into trouble again, and you had to… to… kill him." She faltered on the last part knowing how serious he was about trying a new way and no longer killing. "You killed again and I'm sorry that I was the one that put you in a position where you had to make that choice."
"Felicity." Oliver said, gently turning her to face him and still holding her hand. "There was no choice to make. He had you and he was going to hurt you. There is no question or choice when it comes to protecting my family as I will protect them with everything I have." He leaned in and gently kissed her, then opened the door and helped her in. As he got into the driver's seat he reached for Felicity's hand and held it as they drove to the Mansion in comfortable silence.
When they arrived, Olivia was already in bed, but the rest of the family including Roy met in the drawing room for celebratory drinks. Once the drinks had been consumed Moira excused herself saying how much she had missed her bed and bathroom while Roy and Thea disappeared upstairs.
"You okay Smoak?" Tommy asked as he had seen what had happened on the news and Oliver had texted him the details.
She nodded, "I will be. Can you do me a favor?" He nodded, and she asked "I need to get a few things from my house, and I'm too spooked to be alone right now. Would you mind keeping an eye on Livy for me? I'll be back in time to get her up and ready for school."
"Yeah, no problem. I'd want to get away from the Thea and Roy show too." He joked, but quickly stopped once he saw Oliver's reaction.
Once Felicity and Oliver reached his car he asked, "So what's up?"
"I'll tell you when we get to my house." She said getting back in
The drive was a quick one and soon they were entering the house. Felicity stopped him in the living room. She placed her hand on his face and drew him down for a deep kiss. "I need to take a shower and then would you have sex with me? After the Count being all handsy I need to feel clean, and I want his touch replaced with hands that I want on my body." She frowned, "Did that sound weird? That sounded weird."
Oliver leaned down and gave her a long and thorough kiss. "No, not weird at all." He was excited to have the chance to be with her again. The last time they had had sex he wasn't completely sober, but this time he knew that he would remember everything. With a shy smile Felicity led him to her room. She stopped Oliver beside the bed, "Be honest with me, how badly are you hurt?"
A smile broke out over Oliver face as he leaned in to kiss her, "As I told you earlier, I'm fine. It was just a scratch. I even took some ibuprofen for it." He said, removing his shirt and showing her the wound. Once she was done inspecting the wound. She tossed him a flirty smile, "You can join me in the shower if you want." With that she sashayed her way into the bathroom.
Later as they laid beside either just enjoying being close to each other Oliver smiled at the naked woman in his arms. He gently kissed her, she sighed and snuggled tighter into his embrace. "This time may have had less orgasms, but I think it was even better."
"Who says we're done for the night?" Oliver said, grinning at her as he flipped her over causing her to giggle and they spent the rest of the night in each other's arms. As dawn bathed the bedroom in the early morning light, Oliver looked at the sleeping woman in his arms a smile on his face.