A/N: I am only a recent fan of Arrow, so this is my first foray into this fandom. Please bear with me as I try to be as close to character as possible and drop a review to let me know how I went!
Disclaimer: I do not own Arrow or any associated characters. Just having a little play is all. AU of 2 x 07
Three Seconds
Oliver lowered the bow slowly, his intense gaze focused on Felicity as her painted lips trembled. He needed her to know that if he had to break the "no more killing" rule, it would be so she wouldn't get hurt - because he dragged her into this whole mess by getting himself shot by his mother.
He tossed the arrow aside, his brow furrowed as he risked a step forward; his chest heaving with panic and exertion. If The Count managed to get those needles into Felicity's exposed throat, he would never ever forgive himself.
'Your problem is with me...It's not with her.' Oliver managed calmly, although his pounding heart threatened to jump out of his chest at the sight before him.
'Consider this your penalty for making me go to Plan B in the first place,' The Count growled in reply, drawing his arm back.
Rage spilled into his blood like a burning fire and without thinking, Oliver nocked an arrow with a speed that surpassed human ability and released it with a scowl, following up with two more as the first was buried into his chest...and the needles into Felicity's throat.
He had been about three seconds too late and as the notorious drug dealer crashed through the window, plummeting to the street below, Oliver slid forward on his knees, catching Felicity before she fell to the floor.
Sweat trickled down the side of his face as he pulled the syringe from her neck, cradling her head in the crook of his elbow.
'Felicity?' He muttered softly, his voice cracking as her dark lashes fluttered against her cheeks. He was waiting for it, the reaction to having such a pure and refined version of Vertigo flooding her system. Diggle hadn't even been able to handle it, and he was a trained soldier who served two tours in Afghanistan.
'Y-you killed him...' her soft voice wasn't accusatory, but full of awe that he had ended a life to protect her. Her body shuddered, and Oliver gripped tighter, his brows drawn together in concern as she let out a shuddering breath. 'I think I'm gonna hack...'
Felicity scrambled from his grip suddenly, collapsing onto her hands and knees as she heaved violently, her shoulders shaking with the force of it. Oliver crouched down beside her and held her ponytail away from her face, his other hand resting gently on the small of her back.
The sudden sound of sirens caught his attention, and for a moment - he was torn about what to do. On one hand, she needed a hospital and decent pain medication to get her through the next 48 hours; but that would mean involving the police, risking his exposure. He felt selfish, considering the alternative, but in the end - he scooped her up and held her close to his chest - his heart hurting in fear of what this could do to her.
'O-Ollie? Oh God...Oliver...OLIVER!'
Her scream cut him right to the core and he knew he had to get her back to Verdant, fast. She was struggling to keep her eyes open and tears rolled down her pale cheeks as the agony hit. Oliver felt her body tense in his grip and without thinking about his decision further, he rushed to the service lift, punching the down button frantically like it would make the doors open any faster.
'Hold on Felicity, I've got you,' he murmured, pressing his lips to her brow in an attempt to smooth the lines of pain the furrowed there. As he stepped into the lift, Felicity curled her fingers into the leather of his suit and buried her face into his chest, muffling the scream that would have alerted the cops to their presence. Even in the poor state she was in now, she needed to protect Oliver's identity at all costs, but she couldn't hold back her pain completely, so she continued to sob into his shoulder, dampening the leather with her tears.
Oliver felt his own eyes burn with her pain as he attempted to soothe her with promises he wasn't sure he could keep. 'It's gonna be alright, I'm here. Please...stay with me, keep your eyes open,' he said softly as the doors opened to the parking level. He hadn't even thought of how they were going to get back to the club, but he supposed he was going to have to resort to grand theft auto to get them there. Choosing the most inconspicuous vehicle in the lot - a feat that was rather difficult, considering the wealth of a majority of employees at Queen Consolidated - Oliver set Felicity down to rest against the chassis.
Widening his stance so that one of his legs was braced by her side, he put some of his more useful skills to work and had the passenger door open inside of two minutes. A pained moan brought his attention back the IT girl, and he crouched in front of her, pressing his fingers against her neck.
Her pulse was slowing down and when caught her pain filled gaze, he swore colourfully; her pupils had already constricted drastically, becoming a tiny black dot in a sea of blue. Not wasting another moment, Oliver picked her up and tried to ignore the scream that was pulled from her lips as placed her as gently as he could in the passenger seat. Leaning across her quaking body, he unlocked the drivers door and placed another kiss on her head as he drew back.
'Hang in there, I'll get you safe.' He whispered softly as the tears he was holding back finally escaped. He just prayed to a God he knew couldn't exist that he could.
→ → → ARROW← ← ←
The borrowed car squealed to a stop around the corner from the night club. He would have to take the back entrance to avoid making a scene and he hoped Felicity could keep quiet for that long. Turning to the sobbing woman beside him, he cupped her face reverently and brushed a calloused thumb across her cheekbone.
'Felicity...I know this is going to be difficult, but I need you to keep as quiet as you can until I get you to the basement. Can you do that for me?' He asked softly, patient when it took a couple of seconds for her to nod. 'Good girl. You're going to get through this, I know you will.'
Closing the door quietly, he rounded the car and pulled Felicity from the passenger side, noting the blood on her lip in regret. It looked like she had bitten through the skin in an attempt to stay quiet. Adjusting his precious cargo, he stuck to the shadows - slipping by the hoard of drunken club-goers unnoticed. His entry via the alley was quick and stealthy and sooner than he imaged, he was punching the code into the keypad and nudging the door open with his knee.
'Dig! Clear the med table,' he barked out as he descended the stairs, meeting Diggle's gaze as he stepped into the light.
The ex bodyguard gasped and made short work of the items on the steel slab before Oliver set her down as gently as possible.
'I was too slow, Dig,' he explained regrettably, in response to John's unspoken question. 'The Count got her before I could kill him.'
'So he's dead?' Diggle asked, pulling over the heart monitor as Oliver lifted Felicity slightly to unzip her pink dress. Now wasn't the time for modesty, but all the same, his concern grew when she didn't protest.
'He's dead.' He replied eventually, stripping her to her underwear and laying her back. That's when he realised, she hadn't uttered so much as a moan since entering the basement. His stormy eyes flicked to her face and his heart raced as he slapped her cheeks.
'Felicity? Wake up! C'mon, don't do this!' He begged, barely holding on to his composure. He wiped the blood from her lips and stepped back in shock, his gaze lifting to meet Diggle's.
'Damn it,' the dark man hissed, pressing his fingers to her wrist. 'Cyanosis. Her blood isn't getting enough oxygen because her breathing is too slow. Look, her fingernails have the same colouring. Shit! Come on, girl. We need you here!'
That was when Oliver's wall came tumbling down. He jammed his fist into his mouth to stifle the choked sob that rose from his throat, and stepped back as Diggle attached an oxygen mask to her face.
'Oliver, I need you to focus. I know you care about her...but she needs you right now. You can't afford to lose it, or you might lose her!'
That thought alone snapped him back in to reality, but as he wiped his eyes and squared his shoulders, Felicity's back arched off the table, her body as taut as his bow string before it began to convulse violently. Bloody foam spilled from her blue tinged lips and Oliver nearly lost himself to the rapid beeping of the heart monitor, which had been too slow only moments before.
'OLIVER! We're losing her!' Diggle cried, his control nearly snapping as she flat-lined; her body falling limp against the cold steel.
'NO!' Oliver bellowed, swinging himself up to straddle her hips and pushing the mask away from her face. Tears clouded his vision as he began the compression's. 30 and 2, he reminded himself as he waited for Diggle to charge the defibrillator. This wasn't going to happen - he would not lose anybody else. As continued CPR, he vaguely remembered Thea and his mother, waiting for his support at the hearing - but he couldn't bring himself to care right now. He would come up with a transparent lie, and they'd hate him for a couple of days, but ultimately, they'd get the fuck over it.
'Oliver, move!' Diggle ordered, placing the electrodes on her chest as Oliver stepped back. Felicity arched off the table as the charge was released, before slumping back with a thud. Diggle increased the charge and Oliver found that he couldn't breathe through the emotion.
'Felicity, please, please...' he begged thickly through his tears.
'I've got her! Oliver! I have a pulse!' He whooped and rushed over to the medicine cabinet, rifling through the drawers frantically until he found what he was looking for.
'What's that?' Oliver asked, finally taking a breath but not yet trusting his legs to hold him if he stood.
'Naloxone. It reverses the effects of narcotic overdose. I invested in some as soon as I heard that Vertigo was in high circulation, but I didn't want to use it...just in case.'
He explained, jabbing the needle into the crook of her elbow and placing the oxygen mask back over her mouth.
'What now?' Oliver asked, using the table as a crutch to help him stand. He laced Felicity's slender fingers through his own and brushed the hair from her face gently.
'Now, we wait. She is not going to feel well when she wakes up though. It'll be at least two day's before she's feeling better. Oliver, man...it's OK.'
He didn't answer. He just focused on her face, talking softly to her as he carded his fingers through her hair. Diggle just smiled and shook his head. The kid wouldn't be moving anytime soon, and he expected nothing less.
Originally, this was going to be a one-shot - but I've broken it into a two chapter story as a trial run. Let me know how I did! Next chapter will focus around Felicity's recovery and Ollie's guilt.
Thanks for reading!