A/N- This is my first attempt at a continuing story, and I can't stress how much I'd appreciate any feedback! I'm used to writing one-shot entries, but this idea came to me with a longer endgame in mind. I'm so excited to see where this leads!

This story is set after the events of the Season 2 finale, so while Oliver told Felicity he loved her recently, we've been lead to believe it was just to fool Slade. For story telling purposes, I've kept Laurel in the dark about Oliver's extracurricular activities, and Oliver remains in control of Queen Consolidated.

Felicity sat in the chair next to the hospital bed, her hand resting on his while he slept. She preferred to think of it as sleeping. Oliver had been unconscious for nearly a day. His doctors were more firmly of the opinion that he needed to get rid of his motorcycle than ever, but Felicity couldn't come up with any other reason than a wreck for him to be in his current condition. She wasn't feeling especially creative, nor was she explaining how an entire street gang had been in a warehouse where Oliver was just going on a quick recon mission.

Roy and Diggle had been in and out of the room over the past few hours, but they were trying to hold down the fort out in the Glades. With the Arrow out of commission, they were keeping pretty busy. Felicity knew she should call Thea, but what exactly was she supposed to say to her? The doctors had told her that Oliver could wake up at any moment, and until he did Felicity wasn't calling anyone.

Her eyes gazed over his face. He seemed so tense all the time that it was almost reassuring to see the peacefulness in his expression. Most of the time she knew that he was choosing which Oliver to be in every moment, and the pressure to fulfill every version of himself for everyone had to be overwhelming. Felicity had two lives, but she was only herself in both of them. She couldn't imagine trying to be someone else entirely with people that she cared about.

Touching him with just her tip of her finger, Felicity traced over the bones in his hand. His skin was calloused and rough, and it didn't take much to notice the strength in that hand. She knew it guided arrows with deadly precision, and she couldn't believe that people bought into the fact that he was just another billionaire playboy.

She ran her hand up his arm, covered by his hospital gown. She glanced towards the door, reassuring herself that no one was about to come in. Leaning over the side of bed, she drew her fingers over his face, almost memorizing him to the touch. She felt a little guilty, knowing he would never have let her get this close to him if he'd been awake. There were so many times that Felicity had been dying to smooth the skin on his face; to try and force him to let some of his worries go.

"Oliver," she whispered, "You need to wake up now. I know that you needed the rest, and no one has earned a break more than you." Her voice broke as she spoke softly in his ear. "But it's been a while now, and there are people who need their hero. Starling City needs you." She closed her eyes and barely breathed her next words, "And I need you."

Her phone vibrated, and she nearly jumped six feet into the air. Her confession was no surprise, but saying it out loud made it seem life altering. Her phone going off somehow made her feel caught. She picked it up from where she'd placed it on the table near the bed. It was just a text from Diggle, who was checking in. She answered him, letting him know that there was no change in Oliver's condition.

At least another hour passed, time moved strangely when you never left a hospital room, and Felicity must have nodded off in her chair. She woke at movement from the hand she still held grasped in hers.

She looked up and saw Oliver's head turned toward her with his blue eyes staring right into hers, and things in her world seemed to shift back into place.

"Oh, Oliver, thank God you're all right!" She pressed the back of her hand to her lips, trying not to burst into tears.

Still lying flat on the bed, he gave her a half smile.

"And who are you?"