A/N: So, this was not a prompt, BUT, I think you all will enjoy it. Last chapter was light and fluffy, this one not so much. I'll see you after!

Dreams

He didn't dream often. Not anymore. When he first returned from the island he couldn't stop the dreams. The nightmares were a constant companion, even when he wasn't sleeping. He didn't need to close his eyes. He saw the people he'd lost in everything. A smell would remind him of the island and all of a sudden he'd be back there with Shado, her eyes blank and listless. Or he'd see Slade, his sanity slowly stripped away until he became only a barren husk of the man he was before. And then his father. Oliver saw him every time he looked in the mirror.

They got better with time. He drew strength from the people around him, and at some point he stopped being pulled back into the past at any given moment. He stayed grounded in the present, rooted in what was happening around him, and he felt almost normal. Sure, he was a vigilante with typically at least one bruise somewhere on his body, but he had a life and a routine. He had his family and friends, and for Oliver that was enough.

And then Tommy died. The dreams came back, except now they were about Tommy dying, and how it was only a matter of time before others followed. He'd dream about Thea being kidnapped, her screams falling on deaf ears. He'd dream about his mother, Laurel, Digg. Each one was worse than the next, but not once did he dream about Felicity. Even then losing her was too much even for his subconscious to imagine.

He trudged on, putting a brave face on for the world, and eventually the dreams subsided. Call it progress, or simply a shift in focus, but he slowly began to feel like he had regained a hold on his psyche. He was himself again, or at least the self he knew last. Oliver knew he could never return to the Oliver that had boarded The Gambit all those years ago, or even to the Oliver before Tommy died. He was somewhere in between, not quite settled but somewhere close.

And then Felicity Smoak asked him to attend the wedding of one of her close friends, and he became the man he never thought possible. After everything that had happened to him, he didn't think it was possible to have the sort of peace he'd found with Felicity. She accepted him completely and with that acceptance came a security he hadn't felt since long before the island. It was the security of family.

Oliver had gone nearly a year without dreams when they returned. He woke with a start, his chest so tight that he felt as if his heart was being forced up his throat. He sat up, tears stinging his eyes as he looked down at his sleeping wife and quietly told himself over and over that it was only a dream.

It was only a dream.

It was only a dream.

It was only a dream.

He couldn't fall back asleep that night, too afraid to close his eyes lest he be forced to see her lifeless body again, blood pooling under her head. He was unnaturally quiet the next day, and when she asked him what was wrong he assured her that it was nothing. He hadn't slept well. Hood business was on his mind. Yada yada yada. He couldn't tell her what he'd seen, mostly because he didn't want to relive it himself.

He told himself it was a fluke. He'd been under an unusual amount of pressure that week. Him and Felicity had fought the day before. But then he had another. And another. He'd wake up in a panic, and be unable to fall asleep with the terrible images rolling around in his mind. He couldn't chase them away now, and they stayed with him even during the day, plaguing him like a ghost.

Felicity noticed the change in his demeanor, but she didn't push him. She knew how he worked through things, and he would tell her what was going on when he was ready. So, she kept her silence, watching him carefully as he pulled himself through his days. And then one night she heard him. He'd woken noisily beside her and then gotten quickly out of bed, walking toward the bathroom.

"Are you okay?" she asked, sitting up.

He glanced back with bloodshot eyes. "Yeah, I'm just…I need to use the bathroom."

"Oh, okay."

He gave her a sort of perfunctory nod and walked into the bathroom, shutting the door tight behind him. She settled back into bed and pulled the covers up to chin, turning on her side. He joined her a few minutes later, and she listened to his uneven breathing until she fell back asleep.

The next day she called Digg.

"Did you ever have dreams when you came back from your tours?" she asked him over coffee. They'd met at a place nearby, Felicity not wanting to have the conversation over the phone.

"Yeah, some," Digg said, taking a sip of his coffee. "They went away after a while, though."

"So, you don't have them now?"

Digg put down his cup. "Sometimes. If I'm really stressed or something I might have one. Why?"

"I think Oliver is having them," she said softly. "Nightmares. About before. He hasn't been sleeping well, and then last night I heard him wake up. He said it was nothing, but I can tell something's wrong. He's not himself."

"Did you try talking to him?"

She shook her head. "You know how he gets about this stuff. He doesn't open up."

"To you he does," Digg returned. "If anyone can talk to him about this stuff, Felicity, it's you."

She shook her head. "Not this. I can tell he's shutting me out."

"Do you want me to talk to him?"

"No," she said immediately. "I-I don't want him to know about this – about our meeting. If he is having nightmares, I don't think he'd like me telling other people about it. Even you."

"Then why are you if you know he'd be upset?"

Felicity wrapped her hands around her coffee mug. "Because I don't know what else to do."

That night she tried to talk to him, but he dismissed her concerns, telling her that it was nothing to worry about, and that he was fine, completely fine. She was getting worked up over nothing. She didn't believe him, but she also didn't know how to get the truth out of him. He'd always been stubbornly self-sufficient and marriage hadn't changed that.

They went to bed and she turned her body away from him, pulling the covers tight around her body. He laid a hand on her shoulder and murmured, "I really am fine. You don't have to worry."

"I always worry," she murmured.

His hand lingered on her shoulder but then it was gone and she felt him shifting beside her. She heard him reach up and turn off his lamp, and then the room went dark. The silence between them was uncomfortable, and she found it difficult to fall asleep. It wasn't until she heard his steady breathing that she nodded off.

She didn't know when she woke up, but it was still dark outside. Oliver was fidgeting beside her, and she turned toward him, her breath catching when she saw the agony passing over his features. He was mumbling something and she leaned in to catch what he was saying.

"Felicity…"

"Oliver," she said, leaning forward and shaking him gently. "Oliver, wake up."

"Felicity, no. Felicity. Don't leave me. Don't…"

"I'm right here," she said urgently, trying to wake him. "Oliver, I'm right here. Wake up. Oliver-"

He woke suddenly, sitting up with such force that he knocked her to the side. She scrambled toward him again, framing his face with her hands as she murmured, "It was just a dream. I'm here. I'm here, Oliver."

His eyes met hers and she bit the inside of her cheek as she saw the tear tracks down his cheeks. He didn't have a hold of himself yet, and his breathing was ragged and heavy. His eyes darted over her face as if he didn't fully believe she was there.

"It was just a dream," she murmured softly, stroking his face. "It was only a dream."

Her words seemed to register then and he reached forward and pulled her to him, resting his forehead against hers. She slid her hands down to the curve of his neck and murmured, "You're alright now, Oliver. You're alright."

"You were dead," he murmured. "I saw you. Your body-"

"It was only a dream," she told him firmly. "That's all it was. A dream."

He nodded, hands sliding up and down her arms. It was as if he needed the physical contact for reassurance.

"I don't know why I'm having them now," he said, confirming the fear she'd had for days now. "Since we got together, since the wedding, I haven't had any."

"You've been under a lot of stress lately with the company and everything."

"I'm always under a lot of stress."

She scooted closer to him and slug an arm around his waist, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Well, I don't know why they're back. But, I can tell you that you don't have to go through them alone this time. I'm here. I want to help you. I need to help you."

"This is helping," he said, kissing the top of her head. "Just having you here. It helps more than you know."

"Can I do anything else?"

He shook his head. "No. There's not much I can even do. Besides get through it."

She turned her nose into his neck and gently rubbed it with the tip of her nose. "Well, then we'll get through it together."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the dreams. I thought I could get through them myself."

"I'm sure you could have," she told him, turning her face up toward him. "But you don't have to. That's a perk of marriage."

He smiled slightly. "Did I miss that in the brochure or something?"

She returned his smile, relieved to see that he was relaxing. "I want to be there for you. No matter what it is. Don't shut me out."

"I won't," he said, face turning serious again. "I'm sorry that I did."

She lifted her head up just a bit and kissed him. His mouth was warm and familiar against hers, and it occurred to her that they hadn't done this in days. His hand cupped her cheek and he opened his mouth, letting her in.

Felicity pulled away first and tenderly murmured, "Let's go to sleep."

She could read his hesitance and told him, "No matter what you dream, I'll be here in your arms when you wake up. I promise."

He nodded, swallowing hard. "Okay. Let's go to sleep."

They settled back into bed, his arms tight around Felicity and her head tucked right beneath his chin. He could feel her soft breath on his skin. As the darkness seemed to close in on him, he focused on the feel of her in his arms and the steady, measured sound of her breathing. He may dream again that night – in fact, he probably would – but he took some solace in the knowledge that she would be there when he woke up. They'd get through this together.

And they did.

A/N: So...happy ending! Anyhoo, I liked the idea of Oliver having nightmares and Felicity helping him. I hope you did, too! Give me your thoughts! Also, keep sending in those prompts!