Chapter 3

As Felicity walked out of the elevator and onto Queen Consolidated's top floor, she came across the Queen family and company. There in a circle stood Oliver, Thea, Moira, and Walter, having some form of disagreement. While Digg was standing by the door working, Sara, Tommy, Laurel, and Roy stood off to the side in either boredom or amusement. The sound of the elevator alerted the bickering family to the new presence. The number of people crammed in front of her desk and Oliver's doorway surprised her. "Hi. Sorry. I didn't mean to crash your private party." Felicity cautiously made her way to her desk. "Good morning, by the way. How is everyone?"

"Good morning, Ms. Smoak. We are all well. Thank you." Walter Steele, the former CFO of Queen Consolidated and the current husband of Moira Queen and Oliver's stepfather, answered. "Morning." And "Good morning" filled the air and fluttered throughout the room.

"So, what's going on?" she asked as she walked around behind her desk.

"There is some company business that needs to be taken care of on the east coast. And Walter and I are trying to get the children to accompany us on this trip. It would be a great opportunity for Oliver to meet some of the investors and to see our east coast branch office. And it will provide Thea with the opportunity to experience life outside of Starling."Moira stated. Oliver inhaled, trying to remain calm.

"But like I already told my mother, there is too much work to be done here at this office and in Starling."

"And I already have plans. I don't want to spend the little time I have off from work in an office building following around some stuffy suit. or in the middle of nowhere that no one has heard about." Thea exclaimed; arms crossed—the very image of a young adult who does not like being told what to do by her parents.

"We're just here for the show." said Roy, gesturing to other bystanders. resulting in a chuckle from Digg and a glare from Oliver. Felicity could almost feel the Lance sisters' eyes roll in amusement despite not being able to see their faces.

"Oh, I see." she said lamely. "What about compromise?" She looked around the room, hoping she wasn't the only one who had thought of this.

"That is also another argument we seem to be having. We can't seem to agree on any options. We went from agreeing to go on the trip to not going on the trip, and it's basically been a back and forth."

"Oh well, where are you going exactly?" she questioned, not realizing the uncertainty that would fall upon her. Walter turned to look at her.

"Well, after our business is concluded in Richmond, we will be heading to a small town a couple of hours away called Mystic Falls." Felicity froze for a moment before looking at everyone's faces with only a single thought that ran along the lines of "Oh, frack. Nah."

In the end, everyone ended up going to Virginia to meet the investors. So, the nine of them piled onto the Queen family plane to fly across the country. Tommy had offered to take his family's plane and meet them there, but he was outvoted. They would suffer together. Well, this should be a blast. Felicity would have preferred to drive, taking the more scenic route. Considering she was a tad afraid of flying, yes, I know how ironic it is for a vampire to be afraid of flying or of anything, for that matter. But the fear stems from when she was human and had a fear of heights that only grew worse when she turned. And to be fair, she never really tested the theory considering she came to America via boat and had no need to fly.

"Felicity? Are you okay?" Oliver leans over and asks Felicity as he notices her clutching the armrest as the plane prepares to take off.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just probably should have mentioned that I'm afraid of flying. and heights in general." The group freezes, and a moment of silence passes over them as they absorb the new tidbit of information.

"Well, I guess it's a little late for that girl." Tommy replied as he sat next to Laurel.

"Why didn't you say anything before?" questioned Thea.

"To be fair, it didn't occur to me until now. I've been on a plane before." she said. Felicity looked on sheepishly as Sara's surprised "Really?" echoed across the cabin.

"You'll be fine, Felicity. Just take a deep breath. It's only five hours, we'll be there before you know it." After reassurances were made, everyone began to get comfortable for the journey to Virginia.

As promised, time flies by when one is busy with work or mingling with friends. She only had to get up once to get a blood bag in order to calm her nerves. It helped and allowed her to finish her work for QC and do some coding. The flight gave her time to write a new algorithm for their double crimefighting life; it would help separate the natural and supernatural crime groups and keep the supernatural world hidden. There are a lot of vampires living in Starling City. Most live on the upper side of the city, but some linger in the glades for easy prey. Those are the ones the community needs to worry about, and we have warned the drifters to be careful. The warning wasn't taken well by the young ones, but if they're not careful, they will be taken care of. But that wasn't her problem. As vampires, they live in a kill-or-be-killed world. One day she too will fall, either to a hunter or a much older and stronger vampire. Jolted from her thoughts, the car taking them to the east coast office hit a pothole. "I apologize, Mr. Queen. I try to be more careful." The driver apologized nervously. She could hear his heart beating rapidly. He was starting to sweat. She was slightly amused at how nervous the poor man was. He was probably terrified of Oliver; if he knew what a hot mess Oliver could be at times, he wouldn't be so nervous.

"It's alright. I understand." Oliver reassured him. Felicity turned away from the men to look out the window. It was an average city. She had only been to Richmond once. She had been passing, though. It had changed quite a bit, taking on a more modern look. They eventually pulled up to a large building similar to the QC building in Starling.

"So do all your buildings look the same?" Felicity question. Naturally, Oliver just smiled before walking off. "I kind of hate it when he does that." As she leaned over and whispered to Sara. She, too, just smiled before walking away. Felicity was starting to not like this game. They walked into the building and were greeted by the secretary at the front desk. Four days. They will only be in Richmond for four days. The itinerary consisted mostly of meetings and lunches. Any work that needed a more thorough examination would be brought back with them to Starling. Oh yeah, this will be a blast.

Finally, after four days of endless meetings and lunches and people vying for the Queen's attention and approval, anyone who didn't need to attend the meetings or lunches was free to explore the city. So the gang, excluding Moira, Walter, Oliver, Digg, and Felicity, had hit the town to see what kind of trouble they could get into. The girls had gone shopping while Roy and Tommy, who surprisingly got along great, went to The Diamond. Over the course of the four days, the group took advantage of the freedom and glory Richmond had to offer, from trail walks to lavish nightclubs. Felicity didn't really mind as she was given her own room, which came with many lovely complimentaries. The time alone also allowed her to relax and feed comfortably without intrusion. even taking advantage of the city life to enjoy a fresh meal. But as the business with Queen Consolidated came to an end, so did the adventures in Richmond. As of right now, they were driving to Mystic Falls. Oh, she had been dreading this. Felicity had, frankly, no desire whatsoever to return to Mystic Falls, but she couldn't get out of the trip. She tried. So here she was, five minutes out of this godforsaken town that stole so much from her. "Okay, so I have arranged for us to stay in one of the few places available in this tiny town. I have also made a reservation for lunch at the local restaurant and bar, the Mystic Grill. I also made a reservation for dinner at a fancier restaurant a little out of town that I think you all will enjoy. But as per your wondrous executive assistant, please let me know if you would like any changes. Along with any requests you would like for me to make." She said a portion of it sarcastically. Walter amusedly thanked her. She gave Digg directions to the inn as she passed the welcome sign. Not before long, they pull up to the Mystic Inn, an old brick building with a wraparound porch. It was a two-block walk from the town's square. It wasn't long before they were in their rooms, unpacking.

"Oh my God, I'm starving. When can we go eat?" Sara asked as she threw herself onto Felicity's bed. The girls shared a room connected to another room. Sara and Felicity had one room, and Thea and Laurel had the other, which was connected via the bathroom. The sisters had refused to share a room, which was fine because she liked Sara. The inn owner didn't have many individual rooms and renting a room with multiple beds for one person was impractical. The boys were in a similar situation, with Tommy and Oliver in one room and Digg and Roy in the other. Somehow Moira and Walter managed to get their own room. She couldn't compel her, considering she was never alone.

"Don't worry, we'll be heading out in a bit." As if the prayer for food had been answered, Tommy appeared in the doorway, telling the girls it was time to go. The group walked to the Mystic Grill for lunch. Thea managed to convince everyone that it was a great idea considering it was beautiful outside. How did she do it? Felicity will never know. The restaurant was only slightly busy, with only a few customers sitting outside.

"Hey Thea, do you want to sit outside too since it's so lovely outside?" Tommy stated sarcastically. Okay, so maybe the group had misjudged the distance from the inn to the grill. The group had begun to start sweating, Digg had to shed his suit jacket to keep from overcooking, Laurel had almost sprained her ankle from falling while trying to cross the street, and Roy ran into a pole. Let's just say it wasn't a good idea.

"Children, please don't start. Let's just go inside and enjoy a meal together." Moira scolded the group before any true bickering began. Moira Queen embodied the image of a high-class socialite; she adored her children and was surprisingly nice, debunking her cold matriarch image; that is, if she didn't consider you a threat, she could be a monster. What surprised the blonde vampire the most was how she included the Lance sister among her children, Tommy wasn't a surprise to her as he was Oliver's best friend and Thea's half-brother, even if that tidbit of information wasn't publicly known. Walter agreed with his wife. "That sounds lovely. Let's make our way inside." The group made their way inside. The topic of food came up, with Laurel commenting, "I hope they have good food" while apparently Roy would kill for a burger. If Felicity had known he was that murderous for food, she would have found him a cow sooner. So wrapped up in her thoughts and the ongoing conversation. She failed to notice the incoming body until she ran straight into it.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't-" She came face-to-face with a breathtaking man. He had a five-o'clock shadow stubble and messy hair, but it was his crystal blue eyes that caught my attention. She knew those eyes. But it couldn't be him. He was dead. She stood over his grave and wept. It can't be. But could it be. No, she couldn't dare to hope. But her body ignored her brain. As her mind warred with itself, his name fell from her lips.

"Damiano?" Her voice was barely audible. She couldn't breathe. Surely this was a figment of her imagination, it couldn't be real. But then she heard it.

"Felicitia."

He was real.

Disclaimer:I do not own anything. This story is intended for entertainment purposes only. I am not making any profit from this story. All rights and ownership reserved belong to its rightful owners respectively.

AN: I hope you guys like it.