"There are so many ways to be brave in this world. Sometimes bravery involves laying down your life for something bigger than yourself, or for someone else. Sometimes it involves giving up everything you have ever known, or everyone you have ever loved, for the sake of something greater.

But sometimes it doesn't.

Sometimes it is nothing more than gritting your teeth through pain, and the work of every day, the slow walk toward a better life.

That is the sort of bravery I must have now."

~ Veronica Roth, Allegiant

. . .

This was never how she saw her life. She was certain that a lot people felt that way. In truth, Felicity Smoak had thought that she may very likely be dead by 2016. Here she was, partly alive but for a long time she'd felt like she was mostly dead. Three years had gone by so quickly, but Felicity was sure that it only felt that way because she'd been so sickly all this time.

As she stared at herself in the mirror, she thought about how differently her life might have been if she'd made different choices. There was still time, she could still make different ones. But could she handle the consequences that would come with them? She'd kept the people that she loved so dearly safe… The trade had been her own life, which she'd quickly and easily made. Felicity brushed through her blonde hair and tried to keep her tears back. If he saw them, he'd punish her...and she'd become so good at hiding her pain and suffering.

"There's my beautiful wife."

She closed her eyes and tilted her head downward as she continued to brush her locks. Felicity sucked in breath and opened her eyes. She needed to pretend. It was what kept her alive, what kept them all alive. His hand ran along the side of her head, through her hair, and to her shoulder before she looked up with a fake smile.

"I had thought that maybe you weren't coming until morning," she told him. Felicity got to her feet and reminded herself, like always, that this was worth it. This was worth everything that she's sacrificed her life for. She got to her feet and the back of his hand caressed her cheek for a moment before his lips were on hers. She kissed him back knowing what would come if she refused him.

His hands were suddenly under her shirt, moving upwards. His mouth moved to her jaw and she knew what he wanted. Felicity wished that he'd been away longer on his 'business'. "Where is she?" he questioned.

"With the babysitter… You had said that you wanted me to take one day a week," she said, suddenly worrying about what he would see. Olivia was fifteen months old and though she hated to be parted from her daughter, it was nice to have some time to herself. He still hated that name, but he'd allowed Felicity to name her that anyways. Felicity tensed a bit, waiting for his rage. Instead of his hand striking her face, he caressed it again and his lips traveled down to her throat.

"You deserve a day to pamper yourself," he insisted. His hands moved lower to her skirt and pushed it up. "And obviously I came home on the right day… Now, I can enjoy you…"

Felicity closed her eyes and let him do what he wanted. She tried to think of where she'd rather be. She thought of happier times. She thought about what her life might be like if things were different.

His hands all over her were too much to completely push out though. He was unbuttoning her blouse as he kissed her neck. It was discarded to the floor only moments before her bra dropped as well to join it. "You don't know how much I miss you when I'm away," he mumbled against her skin as he kissed along her shoulder as he pushed down her skirt and panties.

She wanted to scream out, but she knew she couldn't. Felicity had thought that her body would have grown accustomed to his punishment after all she'd taken when she'd first agreed to stay with him, but she swore she was even more sensitive. Thinking about it too much she sometimes felt the pain just as if he were inflicting it on her at that moment.

"You missed me, didn't you?" he asked as one of his hands trailed down her stomach.

Felicity held back the tears. She knew that she could get through this, like she always did. Most of the time she could just stand or lay there or whatever and just let him do what he wanted, but right now she knew that she needed to act so as to not anger him. Her hands reached up and one ran through his hair while the other caressed his cheek as her lips found his. She closed her eyes and kept the kiss going as his hand continued lower.

"I always miss you," she forced out. Felicity opened her eyes and could see the lust in his eyes. She reached down and took his hand just before it managed to reach where she knew it was headed. She pulled him towards her bed and just hoped that his stamina wasn't as high as it sometimes was. Felicity turned when the back of her legs hit the edge of the bed. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. She could tell that he didn't need much foreplay. He was ready now and he made that known when he pushed her back onto the bed and started to undress. So, she just lay there and waited…

. . .

Felicity may have made the choice to stay with him in order to protect those she loved, but after a few months he'd allowed her more and more freedoms. He knew now that she wouldn't leave, even if she thought about it on a daily basis. Today she was out with Olivia, she'd insisted that he let her do some shopping. It was nice to get out and do normal things.

"Mama...apple…" Olivia repeated over and over again as Felicity pushed her around in the cart. Her little girl had bright blue eyes and blonde hair and tried to talk at everyone who passed by.

"We're going to buy apples," Felicity told her with a smile.

So, she took her time...a lot of time...and shopped. She really didn't get that much, but it had been a nice change of scenery. As she loaded up her items onto the conveyer belt, she froze when she noticed a magazine. She saw them all the time, but this was the first time that she could remember where they had something about Oliver Queen in it. Felicity looked over and noticed that there were still two people ahead of her and with everything up on the belt, she grabbed the magazine and started to leaf through it.

'Oliver Queen Engaged' the headline read. Felicity didn't want to believe it. It wasn't that she didn't want Oliver to be happy, she did. It was just that she didn't think that Oliver should be with Isabel Rochev. The last she remembered, Isabel was still not their best friend. She'd tried to take over Queen Consolidated and she generally always looked angry. This time was obviously no different. There were pictures of her and Oliver together, obviously at a black tie event, and there were pictures of Isabel wearing a rather endowed ring on her left ring finger.

Putting the magazine back, she immediately started to push away the tears. She knew it was stupid. It wasn't even that she didn't think that that was right, it was that she missed him...Diggle...she missed that life. The only good thing in her life right now was Olivia and she wouldn't wish her away for anything, but how Felicity wished that she could be home in that world… She wished for safety, even if it wasn't guaranteed.

She checked out and tried to stop herself from thinking about it. Felicity really didn't need to break down...most of all she didn't need to look like she'd done so by the time she returned to the house. As she was leaving the grocery store, she stopped suddenly when she spotted a pay phone. You didn't see those everywhere like you used to. Everyone had a cell phone. Felicity didn't have a cell phone.

Home.

Felicity pushed her cart over to the phone and grabbed her purse. She opened a ziploc bag she'd been carrying with cookies for Olivia. She handed her one in hopes that it would appease her for a little longer. Felicity knew that it was getting to lunchtime and her little girl was used to a schedule. She picked up the phone and deposited the correct amount of change before dialing the number. She listened as it rang a few times and then hung up quickly. Tears fell from her face and she covered her mouth as a sob escaped. She glanced around to make sure that she wasn't drawing anyone's attention. All that she wanted was to go home.

Three years.

When she'd first agreed, she'd thought that he'd kill her. She never thought that they'd live a lie of a life. Felicity forced herself to breathe. She'd noticed that Olivia had stopped eating her cookie and was pulling on her sleeve. "Mommy's okay," she whispered and hugged Olivia before kissing her forehead. "And Mommy loves you…"

"Mama…"

Felicity stared down at Olivia for a long moment. He'd never hurt Olivia, but that didn't keep Felicity from worrying about it. He wasn't the man that he would have picked for her husband or for the father of her child. Olivia deserved better. They both did.

"Let's go," she whispered sadly.

. . .

Since her almost phone call home, she'd been depressed. Luckily, he'd been away on business again. That was always her favorite time. It wasn't like she was left completely alone, he had her guarded, but it meant that she didn't have to perform in any way for him. She could be sad and not force a smile on her face and she didn't have to worry about his wants or 'needs'.

"Honey! I'm home!"

Felicity sighed and kissed Olivia's head. She'd been rocking her for about thirty minutes, just humming to her. One thing that she missed was having television. He'd forbidden it and so she spent much of the day entertaining Olivia, which she loved, but still...every now and then she wouldn't mind some time where something else could entertain the toddler for a bit. It was hard enough for her to use the bathroom or shower without Olivia whining at her from her crib.

"Hey...what's wrong?"

She looked up and pressed a smile forward. "I just..I...I missed you," she finally spit out. He seemed far too happy at her response. He moved over to them and leaned down and kissed her and then kissed Olivia's cheek.

"I missed my girls…" He smiled at them. "And...I'm going to be home for a while…" He leaned down and took Olivia from her arms. It always made her uneasy. He talked to her while he bounced her as he walked.

From what Felicity could tell, they made him happy. She didn't know if it was actually them or if it was the semblance of having a family...having what he'd lost. Felicity was certain that she could go deeper into that, but she hated to get caught thinking about everything else that he could be thinking in concerns of how they fit into his plan.

"I already called the babysitter," he said as he looked back at her. "I know I've neglected you for far too long… You've been such a good wife...and I missed our anniversary… So, tonight, I'm taking you out…"

"I wouldn't mind staying in," she said as she got to her feet. She really didn't feel like going out and pretending to celebrate something she didn't feel like celebrating.

"We're going out… I already made the reservations. You're going to wear that dress I like," he instructed. His tone left no room for arguing or discussing. "Why don't you go ahead and take a nice long bubble bath?"

"Olivia was going to go down for a nap-"

"I can handle it," he said quickly.

Felicity stared at him for a moment. She wasn't fussing, but it still worried her. "Okay…"

"And I'm going to have the babysitter stay overnight… I'm going to have her stay with Olivia in the guest room on the other side of the house… That way," he said with a smile. "You and I can have our night…"

"But Olivia is used to sleeping in my room," she said quietly.

"Well, she's growing… It's not going to hurt her to sleep in another room with the babysitter for one night, is it?"

She suddenly was worried of angering him far too much. She knew that she was already pushing it opening her mouth and saying anything other than 'yes' and 'thank you'. "I'll go take that bath," she said slowly.

. . .

Felicity really hated him.

He'd treated her to a beautiful dinner and she'd forced herself to smile through it and act like the loving wife. Felicity was dreading going home, but she knew that it was unavoidable. She was also dreading the fact that he seemed to make it sound like he was going to be 'home' for a long while. That made it so much harder for her to bear to even live when he was always there. It was harder for her to be the good wife… It was harder for her to keep up the charade.

"I think it's time that you and I talk about something," he said as he led her into her room. He had a room there, but when he wanted sex, it was always in her bed. So, Felicity washed her sheets all the time when he was 'home'. He made her feel dirty and made her hate to look at herself in the mirror in the morning.

"About what? Are we moving?" she asked. "I thought that you said we wouldn't move anymore...as long as we're safe…" This was the third place they'd lived in three years. The first place he'd had her at was a warehouse. That's where he'd tortured her. Then they lived in what Felicity swore was a drug house. Now they lived in this beautiful house with a backyard and it had been the closest that she'd felt to living a normal life.

He moved her over to her dresser and the made her face the mirror that was mounted above it on the wall. His hands snaked around his waist. His head rested on her shoulder and she just watched him in the mirror. "You and I… We're so blessed, I know. And I know, I know I haven't been here enough for you and Olivia…but, I was thinking," he said as he moved one of his hands up to rest right under her breasts while the others moved down the silky fabric of her dress and stopped below her belly button. "That it was time...for us to work on adding to our family…" He kissed her neck then.

Panic flooded her. Felicity stared at her wide eyed reflection and spoke before she thought. "No."

"Excuse me?"

She could see anger rising in him. He didn't like it when she said 'no', but she just didn't think she could do it. Felicity didn't want to bring another child into this world and have him for a father. She just couldn't. "I-I can't-I don't think I'm ready," she stuttered as tears flooded her face. He turned her around to face him. He cupped her cheeks. "Please…"

"Olivia is fifteen months old. Now is the best time to give her a little brother, don't you think so?"

"Please…" she begged. "Can't we just wait?"

"Felicity, don't you remember what you promised me?"

Her eyes closed and Felicity didn't care that she was crying and sobbing and out of control. She hated him. She wanted to go home. She didn't want this. Felicity didn't want to be the reason that the people she cared about died...but this… She dropped to her knees, her hands on the side of his hips. She stared up at him, she was certain that her make-up was smeared everywhere. "Please… Please… I just-I can't… Not right now…"

He smacked her across the face and hauled her up to her feet before throwing her in the direction of her bed. "Is this how you treat me after everything I've done for you? After the beautiful night I took you out on?"

Felicity just sobbed on the bed. She knew that it was just angering him more, but all of her life for the last three years had been a lie and she didn't want it to be harder.

"You know I've been sick," she sobbed. And she had been. Before she had Olivia, there were complications. She'd been so fatigued and on bedrest. Once she had Olivia, she'd had a hard time recovering. Felicity blamed him keeping her 'home' instead of taking her to a hospital. Every now and then a doctor would come in to see her, always a different one, but they never said what was wrong with her.

"And right now you're well! It's the perfect time to have a son for me!" he bellowed.

"Please…"

. . .

He wasn't a man who was told what to do. He was a man who took what he wanted. And he had...far too many times. Felicity had lay in bed after he'd finally left it and had just stared up at the ceiling crying. She'd waited until she was sure that he'd been asleep for some time before showering and taking more than enough time to clean herself. The water was too hot, but it felt better than laying in bed feeling dirty.

She was getting a bottle of water out of the fridge when she stopped in the kitchen. Up against the wall on the counter was a knife block. Felicity just stared at it for a long moment. She crossed the room and pulled one of the knives from the block. She left the water bottle on the counter.

Slowly, she moved through the house until she came to his door. So carefully that it was almost too painfully slow, she opened it. Felicity stood in the doorway and could see him lying in bed and seemed fast asleep. She knew that with him in the house, there would be no guards inside. There were only guards inside when he was away. The only guards would be outside. So, she knew that she didn't have to worry about people interrupting what she was about to do.

She'd never killed anyone before.

Felicity pulled in a deep breath and then padded to his bedside. She raised the knife in one hand and aimed for his heart. Her hand shook and she tried to stay as quiet as possible as she tried to keep her calm and nerve. If he was dead, then she could go home. If he was dead, he couldn't hurt those she loved. If he was dead, he couldn't hurt her. If he was dead…

Before she could react, his eyes snapped open and he grabbed her hand. They struggled and she cried out. Within seconds, he had her pinned against the wall with the knife at her throat. She could feel it against her skin and could feel that it was pressed just enough to make her bleed.

"I thought that I'd made it clear…"

"I-I-I… Please…" she pleaded.

"I should kill you," he roared into her face.

Tears spilled and she knew that he should, but she didn't want to leave Olivia in that world with him and her not there to protect and care for her. "You should…" she whispered. "But you won't…"

"You're right...at least not yet…" he said quietly. He dragged along by her hair as he grabbed something from a drawer and then took her in the direction of her room. "I'm going to have to teach you a lesson, Felicity… This is going to hurt me more than it will you…"

Lies.

Once again, he threw her on her bed, but this time it was face down. Since she'd just showered, she was in panties and a t-shirt. That was it. Felicity froze and waited. She knew that she couldn't risk angering him anymore. The whip came down and she bit her lip. Felicity knew that she couldn't scream… The flesh of her thighs below her panties stung. This wasn't the first time he'd done this.

"Tomorrow, you're going to act like my wife…" he said all too calmly before leaving her.

Felicity grabbed a pillow and screamed into it and just lost it. It was all too much. Her skin screamed and she knew that it was going to be hard to wear pants, which he wouldn't think was a problem since he preferred she wear skirts anyways. It wasn't just wearing pants that was going to be hard, but she knew how badly it would hurt for her to walk as well. She swore it was one of the reasons why that was one of the areas that he'd started to use when the whip came out. It had been so long...but really, it felt like it was the first time. Felicity didn't think she'd ever get used to it.

. . .

She hadn't slept.

When she finally rose from her bed, she stared at her reflection in the mirror for far too long. Her make up had run and smeared all over. She was a mess even though she'd showered. She'd been more concerned about feeling clean and had forgotten to clean her face, which was probably why her face looked like it had melted. Felicity knew that she had to act like nothing had happened last night. That was harder than it sounded.

So, she started to go through the steps. Felicity washed her face, brushed her teeth, put on her make up, and then brushed through her hair before moving to her closet and dresser. Today she had to be on her best behavior...as much as it would kill her. So, she selected a dress that she didn't wear often. It was a light, red dress that was suitable with a sweater for just going out to the store, but was also short and cut in ways that she knew that would drive him crazy on its own. She really didn't want to encourage him, but she knew that she had to do better today… She needed him to think it was some kind of 'episode' or 'break', which he tended to blame on hormones, which she was fine with if it meant that he would overlook things like last night.

Felicity was pulling out a pair of slip-ons to try to keep it casual in case she decided to go out of the house. It was one thing that he'd refused her. Felicity had gotten somewhat used to living without her contacts or glasses, it was a blurred reality, but she knew how to do everyday things which included driving. She didn't drive much, but when she did, it wasn't far and it was always slowly and in the middle of the day. She did miss being able to see the world clearly, her eyes would sometimes try to strain in order to compensate but it just wasn't the same. Her glasses had been broken when he'd taken her and he'd refused to get her a replacement pair or lenses. She didn't understand why, but just chalked it up to another way that he could control her.

"You know I hate to punish you."

She froze at his voice. Felicity sucked in breath as she closed her eyes and then let it out slowly. She opened her eyes, put on a smile, and then turned to him. "I know," she said quietly. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean-"

"I know you were scared...and you were only acting out," he said. He sounded understanding, but she couldn't be sure that he really was. For all she knew, he was still angry with her. After all, not only had she told him 'no' about having another child, which really hadn't helped anything, but he'd also woken up to her over his bed with a knife. He closed the distance between them and touched her cheek. "This might be a sign that you're falling ill again…" he said and she could see that he seemed to look worried.

"I feel fine," she insisted.

"Just the same, I'd prefer that you stay inside," he told her.

"I was going to go out later… To the bookstore…" she said slowly and a bit sadly. She really had been feeling like a prisoner even more lately. She'd purposely chalked up all kinds of excuses in order to get out of the house. This had been one of them and she'd been really excited about it. Felicity had four books and she'd reread them all far too many times.

"Well, we'll have to see about that… Maybe I can drive you," he said. "But I don't want you leaving the house without clearing it without me first, do you understand?"

Felicity just nodded and looked down.

"This is for your safety, Honey," he said and kissed her cheek.

She hated him.

She wished that she'd had enough courage to have stabbed him while he slept in his bed last night.

But she'd never taken a life.

Felicity just nodded. "Okay… I just… I wanted a few new books and I thought it might be a good idea to get some for Olivia… I only have one book for her and even though she loves to hear it, I think having something new would be good for her."

"Of course, of course…"

"I am sorry…"

"I know you are," he said. "Why don't we go eat breakfast? Olivia is already up and running around."

Her daughter was really her only anchor. She nodded again. "Okay," she said quietly.

"I'll even make it," he added far too cheerily before kissing her cheek again, taking her hand, and leading her out of her room.

. . .

He drove them to the bookstore and she went straight in and back to the children's section with Olivia. He'd already told her that he'd be at the store next to it in order to find a gift for her. Felicity was not excited. Whatever he gave her, it wouldn't be what she really wanted. Every step she took, made her ache. She looked over books with Olivia and choose three before making her way towards the front of the store and she section that she wanted to look through. As she looked through the section, she had Olivia on her hip holding her soon to be new books and the diaper bag slung over the other shoulder. She really didn't know how a twenty-five pound child could feel like two hundred. Felicity was about to give up on finding a few new selections for her book collection, but something caught her eye. Right behind her was the cafe section of the bookstore. There were tables and chairs and she'd noticed a cell phone that was in plain sight at the edge.

Could she do it?

Felicity knew that if she did this, she wasn't just putting her life at risk...she was putting others at risk as well. If they had enough of a head's up though, Felicity thought that maybe they could be protected. She hoped so because she wanted so desperately to go home and to have Olivia somewhere safe. "Time for you to join Team Arrow," she whispered to Olivia before kissing the side of her head. She took the books from Olivia, who immediately started to whine, and set them on the bookshelf.

She made her way around to where the opening to the cafe was. Felicity tried to hush Olivia and bounce her at the same time. As she passed the table that she had spied the phone on, she 'accidentally' dropped her diaper bag along with the items that were on the top. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" she said as she set Olivia down for a moment. Olivia turned her whining into screaming. Felicity started to gather the discarded items, including those that had fallen onto the edge of the table.

"No, you're fine…" the woman said and tried to help pick up some of the items.

"Thank you so much," Felicity said as she grabbed the bag and slung it over her shoulder before grabbing Olivia.

"You're welcome."

With that, Felicity set her eyes on the cafe door. An exit. She knew that this could cost her a lot or if could be the door to her freedom. Sucking in breath as she glided towards it, Felicity kissed Olivia before going through it. She looked in both directions before taking off quickly in the opposite direction of where she knew he would be. She'd only been there once or twice before, but she was fairly sure that there was a family restaurant in the direction she was heading.

As much as she hated to steal from people, Felicity was fairly sure that if she got home, then she could reimburse the people who she would take things from. She made her way through a small sea of vehicles and stopped when she found a minivan with a car seat in the back. Felicity dropped the diaper bag along side the car, looked around to see if anyone would be witness and then looked for something to help her break the window. She just hoped that an alarm didn't go off. She hadn't seen a flashing light in the driver's area, but that didn't mean anything. There could still be an alarm.

A rock.

Perfect.

Felicity made sure that she held Olivia away as she used all the force she could to bring the rock up against the window. It took three blows, but eventually it was enough to break it. She used the rock to break more of the glass in order to get down to the lock. Once the car was unlocked, she dropped the rock and opened the back sliding door. Felicity made quick work of stowing the bag between the two front seats and getting Olivia into the car seat. The car seat was forward facing instead of rear facing, but it would work. Felicity had no intentions of getting into an accident, though her driving at night was a lot more dangerous than driving during the day.

In the driver's seat, she leaned over and tried desperately to start the van. She had read about the mechanics of it and Diggle had shown her once, but it wasn't the same as having the practice. Felicity heard people getting closer and tears ran down her face, her hands shook, and she just prayed for it to work as she manipulated the wires. Finally, the car's engine roared to life. She pulled out of the space, being overly careful as she backed out.

So far she felt like she was doing okay.

He'd know soon that something was wrong though, so she knew that she needed to move fast. Felicity took the van out of the shopping center. She just headed in the direction that she knew was away from the house that she'd been kept in for all this time. She waited a good ten minutes before reaching into the diaper bag at a stop light. Felicity unwrapped the phone from Olivia's spare shirt and started to dial the number that she'd dialed outside of the grocery store. She held it up to her ear and just hoped that after three years that it hadn't changed.

"Hello?"

Felicity barely could hold it together. That voice. It was like she was already safe. Sobs escaped her lips and she tried to force her tears to stay put as she tried to focus on getting as far away as possible.

"Hello? How is this?"

"J-J-John?" she finally got out.

"Felicity?"

"I need your help."

"Where are you?"

"I don't know…"

"We've been looking for you-"

"He's going to come after me… I don't have long before we finds a way to get me back… John, I can't do this anymore… Please, help me."

"What do you see?"

And Felicity tried to strain her vision in order to see things a little more clearly. So far, it was all just basic things. Grocery stores and chain stores. Nothing that was a landmark. "Stores…"

"Can they track the phone you're using?"

"I stole it," Felicity admitted. "And the van I'm driving…"

"Good."

"I really don't feel that great about it."

"We'll take care of everything once you're home and safe," Diggle told her. "Can you talk me through tracing the location of the phone?" he asked.

Felicity saw something suddenly. She paused and waited. She was in between concentrating on the road and the lit sign she saw coming. "Wait… No, this can't be right…"

"Felicity?"

"It says Central City… How could I have been that close?"

"Right now, let's concentrate on how to get you home as soon as possible."

"Are you on the freeway?"

"No," Felicity told him quickly. "I shouldn't even be driving right now. I don't have my glasses or my contacts...and it's harder to fake it at night… I just had to get away."

"Okay," Diggle said. "Okay…" He paused. "I think I have your location on my tablet. As much as I would love to say to take a cab, we can't trust anyone that we don't know…"

"I don't think I can drive all the way to Starling City like this," Felicity confessed. She just didn't feel safe. Plus, there was no way that this was the fastest way there. There was a possibility that he could use the traffic cameras to track her and it would just be easier with her on surface streets versus the freeway.

"I think I know someone that could help," Diggle said. "You hold on. I'm going to get on the other line."

Felicity waited and just drove as she waited for Diggle to speak to her again. She couldn't believe that all this time she'd been so close. She'd always thought that he'd hidden her away across the country. She knew that there had to have been signs of her location at places like the grocery store and the bookstore, but she'd stopped thinking about that early on, which was before she'd been given so many freedoms. She'd been terrified of how he could hurt her...so she'd just purposely been ignorant. It was easier that way, plus the lack of glasses made that easy.

"Felicity?"

"I'm here…"

"There's going to be a club coming up on your right. It's called Crimson. The sign is bright red and the lettering is black. It should be coming up in a minute. You shouldn't be able to miss it."

"I think I see it," she said, suddenly feeling so much calmer.

"I've got people waiting for you. They're going to bring you home."

"Who?"

"Turn, Felicity…"

Apparently, Diggle was working as Garmin too and wanted to ensure that she didn't miss her turn. Felicity turned into the parking lot and stopped and looked around. It didn't help that it was so dark.

"They see you, Felicity. Put the van in park and open your door."

"How will I know-"

"You're safe," his voice was immediately familiar and when he helped her out of the car and got closer she smiled. Felicity turned to the side and noticed that there were two there to save her. Roy and Thea. She was just glad that they were in the right place at the perfect time.

Thea put an arm around her. "Let's get you into our car."

"No," Felicity said quickly.

"Go with them," Diggle said.

Felicity ended the phone call and Roy took the phone from you. "Olivia...she has to come with me…" she said and reached back into the car to grab the diaper bag.

"You have a baby?" Roy asked. "You're all about surprising us tonight."

She made her way around to the other side of the van and pulled Olivia out of the car seat. She was so thankful that Thea and Roy didn't ask any questions. Instead, they pulled the car seat out and got her and Olivia into their car. Roy pulled the van, with the cell phone inside, around to the back of the club before heading back to them.

"You're not bleeding, right? Or dying?" Roy questioned when he got back into the car.

Felicity just stared in his direction. "No…"

"Good, Diggle said to bring you directly to him."

"What about Oliver?" Felicity asked. She suddenly realized that nothing had been said about Oliver. Diggle hadn't seemed to be with him and nothing had been said. Diggle had said that 'we've been looking for you' and she'd assumed that he meant Oliver too.

"He's sort of been...not his self...for the last several months," Thea said. "He'll be there, but Digg wanted you there first… It's a long story…"

"Thank you," Felicity told them.

"Really," Roy said as he started the car. He looked back for a moment. "We should be the ones thanking you."

Felicity didn't know what he meant, but she was sure that she'd find out. Right now she was just happy to be heading home. She felt a weight lift from her knowing that she wasn't endangering Olivia with her possibly reckless driving so late...and that they'd be getting to Starling a lot faster than they would have if she'd been driving.

Breathe, she thought.

She suddenly felt like she was going to start crying. Emotions were flooding her and she was just trying to keep it together.

Home.

They were so close.

. . .

TBC…