As it turned out, Damien Darhk was supplying Cooper with an extremely addictive serum that enhance his hearing and vision. He obtained most of his information through Waller's closed doors and from various employee's computers while they worked. Unfortunately for him, he no longer had access to the serum and withdrawal symptoms hit him hard during interrogation. After the shortest interrogation Oliver ever conducted, the mole had to be transferred to the ARGUS penal medical facility.

Felicity and Diggle were both watching from behind one way glass, arms akimbo. "So, Cooper, huh?" Diggle said, a mixture of amusement and confusion laced his voice.

"Not. A. Word." Felicity warned. "I was fresh out of college. He was passably cute, smart and nice. I thought we split because he was just too busy to care about me anymore. I guess he was too busy... too busy getting high and betraying his country. Asshole."

They both watched as ARGUS medics picked up Cooper, who was under the table in the fetal position, and placed him on a gurney. "Good riddance to bad rubbish." Felicity muttered as they wheeled his curled form out of the interrogation room.

"So, what about Oliver?"

"What about him?"

Diggle gave her a look, a look that simultaneously said go to him and you hurt him and bad things will happen to you.

She swallowed heavily, "We're... figuring it out as we go. Honestly, all this intensity is new to me. I need a while to get the hang of it. I am sure he's an old hat at this sort of thing, but you just saw the last guy I was in a relationship with. Hm." she mused looking at her new yellow stilettos, "Is it weird my ex-guy and my almost-current-guy were on opposite sides of a very personal case? I mean, don't people usually have a type? Looking at them side by side, Oliver and Coop are polar opposites, how could I have been attracted to them both?" She scrunched her nose, "There is Cooper; all weak and pale and selfish. Then there's Oliver. Big, strong, Adonis-like, kind, perf-" a throat clearing snapped her out of her ramble. She looked at Diggle who was staring pointedly over her shoulder. She spun around to find Oliver leaning against the door frame, giving her a full blown smile. What a devastating sight it was.

"You were saying?" He said expectantly.

"What use is super hearing if my babbling renders it useless?!" She should have heard him exit the room on the other side of the glass, and she definitely should have heard their door open, but she was too caught up in her head space, which is impossible to navigate at the best of times.

Diggle glanced between them and made a swift exit.

"So, exactly how much of that babble did you hear?" She scrunched her nose again.

"Not much." He stepped closer and wrapped an arm around her waist, "And I am as new to this as you are. I haven't been in a relationship since before the island, and nothing I did before the island would ever be considered serious."

"So." she gulped, hope brimming her eyes. "This is serious?"

He took her lips in answer. The kiss was gentle, almost reverent. None of the pent up stress or passion escaped through his lips or hers, though Lord knows there was enough of that to set fire to the room, but this was less about sex than it was about proving to her that what he was feeling was so much more than a battlefield romance.

"Is that a yes?"

He smiled at her and ushered her out of the room. They made their way to the IT Department. Felicity was looking at the room she considered her home away from home. It was filled with beige cubicles and rows of florescent lights and it smelled like industrial cleaner, floral air freshener and someone's reheated dinner. The three interior walls had doors leading to offices for managerial personnel, a janitor's closet, a supply closet that doubled as a copy room, and the IT break room. The fourth wall was floor to ceiling windows that faced the ARGUS courtyard. Felicity nodded hello to several employees who had noticed her entrance as she led Oliver to her office, not wanting to stop and explain her absence for the past week and a half.

Oliver trailed behind her, barely resisting the urge to keep his hand on her lower back. She was around her colleagues and he wasn't sure what level of affection she would want on display. He ignored the various looks -ranging from curiosity, to fear, to blatant interest- he was receiving from her coworkers and kept at Felicity's heels.

A day or two after Darhk was taken into custody, she had gone on a bit of a shopping spree, using both an ARGUS expense account and a good sized portion of her savings to buy a whole new wardrobe. Oliver was now more than convinced he would have noticed her had he ever managed to make a trip to the IT department. Today she had chosen to wear a dark blue pencil skirt, a floral crop top, and yellow 3-inch heels. 'Sensible' she had called them, to him they looked almost death defying, but they brought focus to her amazing legs.

She opened her office door and closed it again when he was inside. "How is it that it seems so different when nothing has changed?" She walked around her desk, sat down, and booted up her computer.

"You've changed... or at least your view on the world has." Oliver pulled a chair around to her side of the desk, sat and watched as she booted up a program. "What are we looking for?"

"After a whole lot of bargaining and begging on my part, Waller has given me access to all the information we have on Darhk and my entire file. There has to be an address or some sort of clue to lead me to those kids." She was typing furiously, running a program looking for key words and pattern recognition. She opened the earliest files she could find on 'Damien Smoak' and started to skim through the information. Soon she was so sucked into her mission, Oliver knew he had become all but invisible.

He stood quietly, not wanting to distract her from her work, and went to the break room. After he started a fresh pot of coffee for her, he stared at the vending machine. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out what Felicity would want to eat. It was all standard fare for a vending machine, but what did she like? Did she want cookies? Or was she more of a potato chip type girl? Donuts. Donuts go great with coffee, right? He was a trained operative. He could shoot a dime through a knothole at 500 yards with an arrow. He could spot the threat in a room full of dangerous people and take them out without another soul noticing. But for the life of him, he couldn't make a simple snack decision for Felicity.

"She likes the Grandmother's Cookies or the powdered donuts. Be careful though, she's allergic to nuts." Lyla Michaels-Diggle said from the doorway. "I came down here to make sure she was alright when I saw you trying to decide whether you wanted to purchase something or dismantle the entire machine."

Oliver entered in the appropriate amount of coins and chuckled, "Honestly? It was a bit of both. Would you happen to know how she takes her coffee?"

"Four tablespoons of sugar and a splash of milk."

"Lifesaver." He walked up and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "How's little Sara?"

"Missing her Uncle Oliver and growing like a weed. How is she doing?" She nodded toward Felicity's closed door?

"She's amazing." A telling smile was playing on his lips and Lyla gave him a knowing look. "What I mean is that she is handling it better than anyone else could. That woman has an iron back bone."

Oliver made her coffee, grabbed both the donuts and the cookies, and walked with Lyla back to Felicity's office. They entered to find Felicity chewing on a pen and swiveling between a printer that was spitting out sheets and the computer that had more windows open than Oliver would know what to do with.

At the scent of coffee, Felicity looked up. "Are you even real?" She stood and took the coffee from him. Her eyes rolled back and a moan escaped when she took a sip, "Perfect. And Lyla! What are you doing here? Oh! I have something for you." She went back to her desk and opened a drawer, removing a box and a bag. She handed them both to Lyla, "A small token of my gratitude for letting me use your husband this past week and a half. He is really amazing, and so are you. Thank you, so much."

"M&Ms and Belgian chocolates? What did he do to earn me such an amazing gift?"

"He fed me and brought coffee." She looked down at the coffee in her hands and looked at Oliver who was still holding donuts and cookies and just started to laugh and shake her head. He really is perfect for me.

"Well, thank you for the chocolate. I came down to see how you were doing and to make sure you had access to all the files you need."

"As far as I can tell I do. There are a few storage facilities and a couple factory addresses that I found, but the search is still on going." She finished off her coffee and placed the paper cup on her desk. "I am printing off those addresses, but there isn't much more I can do right now. At least not from here."

She put her forehead on Oliver's shoulder and plucked a cookie out of the bag, humming a thank you to him as she chewed.

"What else do you need to do here?" He asked, looking around the room that was pristine when they arrived, but was now significantly less so. "Aside from straightening up."

"I know where everything is. It's clean enough. I just need to assemble a file to take home and review, and then I need to go home." She rolled her head and looked up at him, "Thank you for staying with me. Here, I mean. Staying here with me."

"Any time." He dropped a kiss to her forehead.

"I can give you a ride home." Lyla suggested. "It's not too far out of the way, and I'd like to have some proper girl talk. It's been far too long."

Felicity returned her smile and nodded. "In that case, take me home Agent Michaels-Diggle." After locking her office and taking note of the empty cubicles, she realized they had been there much longer than she had anticipated. "What time is it?" She asked as the three of them walked out of the IT department.

Oliver linked hands with her, "It's about 8. All but a skeleton crew went home."

"Why did you let me work that long?" She smacked his chest with her free hand.

"Uh..." He wasn't sure of the right response, "I brought you coffee? And cookies. And donuts. Does that help?"

"Of course it helps, dammit." She smiled and shoulder bumped him as they made their way to the parking garage.

They reached the exit of the building. Lyla paused and looked at Felicity. "You've got two minutes. Any more than that and I'll assume someone else is taking you home."

Felicity gave her a mocking salute, "Yes, ma'am. I'll be right there. Less than two minutes." She heard Lyla chuckling before the doors shut. "She's totally not kidding, is she?"

"She's not." He said seriously. "I've got a few loose ends I have to tie up here, but I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Deal." She went up on her toes to kiss him on the cheek, but he turned into it and captured her lips. Their lips meshed and parted. Soon, their tongues were taking tentative sweeps and tastes, then they weren't so doubtful. Before the kiss intensified much further, she had to rip herself away from him, her two minute mark was approaching fast. "Tomorrow, I'll be here by 7."

"Seven it is." He watched her until she stepped into the car that Lyla had pulled up to the door, lifting his hand as they drove away.

"Cutting it close, Smoak." Lyla joked.

"I know, I know." She tried to fight off her blush, "But, I mean... Look at him."

"Oh, I see it. Trust me, I am the same way with John. That man can distract me in the worst way." She chuckled lightly.

"Speaking of your husband, is Darhk settled into his new room yet?"

"John called just before I went down to see you. Mr. Damien Darhk was settling nicely into his new island home. He lives next door to an insane psychiatrist and a one-eyed ex ASIS agent. So he is in good company."

"Good, I never want to think about that man ever again. Not like that is ever going to happen. I am taking what vacation time I have left to go back to Nevada next week and see if I can find those kids."

"And what about Oliver?"

"You and Diggle must live on the same wavelength or something, he just asked me that same question earlier today. Do you two rehearse before you leave the house? Or does it just come with married life?"

"You're dodging the question."

Felicity sighed deeply, "He probably has to work. And I don't want to be anymore of a burden to him. God knows I've likely turned his world inside out. Any more and he may just flee to the hills and never look back." She tried to work the stress headache out by massaging her temples.

"You are the dumbest smart person I know." Lyla said shaking her head.

"What does that mean?!"

"Just promise me you'll talk this over with Oliver before leaving. You may be surprised."

"Alright." They pulled up to Felicity's new apartment building, "Up here on the right." When they made it back from the mill, Felicity had refused to go back to her old apartment. It was no longer a personal haven, and she couldn't imagine ever being able to sleep there again. So she had crashed at Caitlin and Cisco's, they definitely had the room for it and they had offered. The next day, Oliver showed her what is now her new apartment. It had been recently vacated and was in an upscale apartment building that was surprisingly full of ARGUS agents and employees, so the security was beyond amazing. She jumped at the opportunity and snatched it up. Once she had keys in hand, she went shopping for her new wardrobe and a mattress.

Waller had ordered her property to be brought in and inspected, everything that had been ruined, tagged, or bugged by HIVE was to be incinerated. Felicity was beyond thankful. Luckily, they were able to save her dishes and some of her more treasured photos. Other than that, though? Well, it was a good thing her new place came furnished.

"Thank you for the ride and the girl talk. I'll see ya later?"

"Count on it. Don't forget to talk with Oliver."

Felicity waved in acknowledgment and disappeared into her building.

It was 5 in the morning and she had gotten all of three hours of sleep. She was so tired she started her coffeemaker without putting in the grounds, she only noticed after her pot was almost finished percolating. She poured the hot water back into the reservoir, and added her grounds. She shook her head, trying to clear the cobwebs and memories.

The nightmares still plagued her, causing her to swallow screams as she jolted out of her sleep. Logically, she knew she should talk to someone, that what she was experiencing was standard for PTSD sufferers, but who could she talk to? And it was just one week, there were people who had lived through so much more for longer periods of time, like Oliver, and they seemed just fine. A bit jaded, but functional at least. I need to just snap out of it and stop being such a wimp.

She stared at her cup of coffee until it turned cold. A knock at her door startled her out of her daze. Glancing at the clock on her coffeemaker, she realized she should already be ready for work, she was going to be late. "Just a second!" She finger combed her hair in hopes that it didn't look like the rat's nest she knew it was. Without looking through her peephole, she swung the door open. "Oliver!"

He looked at her hair, an unruly tangled mess in the back and a more tamed mess in the front, then to her eyes, bloodshot and puffy with exhaustion. His eyes stopped their purusal on her pajamas. She was wearing his college shirt and the pajama pants he had bought for her. While the hair and sleepless eyes were a minor cause for concern, the sight of his shirt draping off her small frame had him smiling at her. "It's 6:30, I thought we'd carpool to work. I see you're not quite ready, I'll wait." He came in without invitation and set the coffees he had in hand on the table along with the brown paper bag that held baguettes from his favorite coffee shop around the corner. He saw the coffee cup that sat untouched and cold on the table and got worried. He may not know everything about this woman, but he knew that if her coffee was untouched and cold, something was wrong. "We're taking the day off." He pulled out his phone and made the call to Diggle and Waller.

"B-but... I need my vacation days, Oliver. I am going to Nevada next week, once my leave is approved."

"It wasn't approved, that's part of what I had to take care of last night."

"You made them deny my leave? Dammit Oliver! What the hell makes you think you have the right to just-" Oliver kissed her and backed away quickly, knowing he was in very real danger of being slapped.

"I made the Nevada trip a mission. All expenses paid and covered and you get your own team... me." He offered the coffee he brought her with a smile.

"Wait- what?" She accepted the cup, still confused.

"I convinced the powers that be that any extra information we could collect on Darhk, including his earliest attempts at 'genetic engineering', would be beneficial to the agency as a whole. We take the jet to Las Vegas on Monday morning. Today, we take a mental health day."

Tears were brimming her eyes, "You know, Agent Queen, you better watch yourself before I become permanently attached." She wrapped her arms around his neck and breathed deep, letting her tears of relief and gratitude fall silently onto his shirt.

He wrapped his arms around her tightly in return, relishing the feel of her pressed against him. "That's the whole point." He whispered into her ear.