A/N: I'm back! Did you miss me? This is my first foray into AU, and I have to say I'm loving it! I'm also super nervous about it, so feedback would very much be appreciated :)

I don't own Arrow or its characters.

xxx

When Sara calls him Oliver almost doesn't answer. It's midnight on Saturday and he's drunk, alone in his penthouse, thinking about his dad and Tommy and every other way his life went totally wrong.

So when his phone rings, the name Sara Lance flashing across the screen, he almost doesn't pick up, because he's drunk enough to be sad and sentimental.

But (unlike her sister) Sara only calls Oliver when she really needs something, so he sighs heavily and picks up the phone.

"What's up, Sara?"

"Ollie, hey, good, you're up."

"It's not that late."

"Look, I need to talk to you about something."

"Okay."

"In person."

Oliver frowns at the phone. "I thought you were in Vegas."

A slight pause. "I was."

"Sara, what's going on?"

"I'm an hour out of Starling City, I'll tell you when I get there."

"You're coming over now?"

"Yeah. And I'm bringing a friend, okay?"

"Sara, are you in trouble?"

"Not exactly," she says grimly.

"Sara-"

"I'll explain when I get there," she says shortly. "Oh, and Ollie?"

"Yeah?"

"Put a shirt on."

Sara hangs up and Oliver puts the phone down, mystified. He jumps into a cold shower to help sober him up and pulls on a pair of sweats and a worn Starling City Rockets tee shirt.

In the kitchen he throws leftover pizza in the toaster oven and eats mechanically, the carbs helping to soak up the whiskey in his stomach.

By the time Sara buzzes up from the lobby an hour later he's relatively sober and getting worried. Dramatics are more Laurel's thing, not Sara's, and it's been months since he saw Sara anyway. Why wouldn't she tell him she was coming into town ahead of time?

The door to the penthouse opens (with a key he doesn't remember giving Sara, but he's not exactly surprised either). Sara comes in first. She's zipped into her leather jacket and her hair is pulled back messily, like she didn't have time to brush it.

Another girl trails in behind Sara. She's petite, with wavy blond hair in a similar messy state, and she looks really pale for someone who he's assuming came from Vegas. She's dressed in worn leggings and a navy sweatshirt, a small duffle bag slung over her shoulder.

She stays behind Sara, her eyes darting all over the penthouse behind glasses that give off a sexy librarian vibe. She looks like a deer, like something that Sara trapped and dragged into the building.

Like someone in a cage.

Oliver swallows. She's just some friend of Sara's. He doesn't know why the look on her face is messing with his head so much.

"Ollie, this is Felicity. Felicity, Oliver." Sara introduced them.

Oliver steps forward with his hand outstretched but Felicity skitters backwards to hide behind Sara.

"Hey, it's okay," Sara says softly, grasping Felicity's wrist gently. "Ollie's a friend."

"Sara?" Oliver questions.

Sara ignores him completely, turning to Felicity. Sara strokes her cheek and adjusts her glasses, whispering something into her ear that Oliver can't hear. Felicity nods along but her eyes look totally blank, like she's not processing anything.

Sara smiles and gives her a pat on the head, like Felicity is a very good puppy, and watches Felicity wander into the living room and plop down on the big leather couch.

"What the hell, Sara?" Oliver says. "What about Nyssa?"

Sara wrinkles her forehead. "What about Nyssa?"

"Does she know you're cheating on her with a fucking teenager?"

"Oh my god Ollie, you're such a moron. Felicity's not...it's not like that, okay, I promise. She's just a friend. A good friend."

He glances towards the living room, where Felicity is sitting very still, staring off at the wall.

"Why haven't I met her, then?"

"Because she doesn't live here, stupid."

"Then what is she doing here?"

Sara bites her lip. "That's what I need to talk to you about."

"Okay."

"I need a favor."

"Why do I think this favor has to do with little miss comatose on my couch?"

"I need you to take her for a little while," Sara says, like Felicity's his long lost daughter Sara is dumping on him.

"What do you mean, take her?"

She sighs impatiently. "She needs a place to stay. That's the favor."

"Sara, you can't show up at one in the morning and drop some kid on my doorstep. I'm not running a daycare."

"She's twenty-two, if it's age of consent that you're worried about."

"Sara."

"Ollie, please. She's in trouble, okay? She needs a safe place to stay."

"Again, do I look like a babysitter to you?"

"Please, Ollie. I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important."

"Why can't she stay with Laurel?"

"She's too busy."

"Hey, I'm busy."

Sara rolls her eyes. "You own a nightclub, Ollie. Your life consists of sleeping 'til noon and partying all night."

"What am I supposed to do with her?"

"Just keep her alive, okay?"

He thinks at first she's joking but then he sees the way Sara looks at Felicity and realizes she's being totally serious.

"How much trouble is she in?" he asks quietly.

Sara blinks and shakes her head. "I just need you to keep her safe, okay?"

"Sara, what happened?"

She shakes her head. "It's probably better that she tells you."

He raises an eyebrow. "Does she speak?"

"She's had a long night."

"I don't know, Sara..."

"Ollie," Sara says sharply. "I swear, I will never ask you for anything again, ever. Please. I need you. She needs you. I know this doesn't make sense right now, but I need you to trust me."

"Alright," he sighs. "She can stay in the guest room."

Sara smiles and throws her arms around him. "Thank you," she says, kissing his cheek. "You have no idea."

"You owe me."

"Yeah yeah," she waves a hand dismissively. "I should say goodbye then."

"You're leaving?"

Sara nods tightly. "I have to go back to Vegas."

"Why? I thought you just came from there."

"Nyssa's still there."

"She didn't come with you?"

"Look Ollie, there's a lot going on right now. Nyssa and I have something we have to do, and don't ask me to tell you, because I won't."

"It's for Felicity, right?" he guesses.

"Yes," she says tightly.

"Hey, have you slept at all?" he asks, resting his hand on her shoulder. "You can crash on the couch for a few hours."

"No rest for the wicked, Ollie."

Sara goes into the living room and Oliver trails behind her. He trusts Sara, so if she says Felicity is in trouble she's probably right.

Felicity looks up at Sara when they come in, with this totally lost, bereft look on her face that breaks his heart.

It reminds him of when he'd first gotten back from the island and would catch a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He would stop and stare, wondering at the stranger in the mirror, broken and haunted-looking.

Sara gives Felicity a tender smile and kneels down in front of her.

"I have to go now, okay sweetie?"

Felicity's eyes widen like she's about to cry and she pulls her bottom lip in between her teeth.

"It's okay," Sara reassures her. "Olivers's going to take good care of you." She turns over her shoulder to glare at him. "Isn't that right, Ollie?"

"Yeah," he mutters.

Sara and Felicity hug (or rather, Sara hugs her while Felicity sits ramrod straight, like she's just tolerating the affection). Oliver shakes his head. This girl has some issues.

"I love you," Sara whispers, and kisses Felicity's forehead. "Don't worry, okay? You're safe here."

Felicity nods mechanically and Sara steps back, her eyes glittering with tears.

"Sara," Oliver says quietly.

"Don't," she sniffs. "I'm fine."

She wraps her arms around his neck and he hugs her back, wondering how much trouble a girl who weighs a hundred pounds soaking wet could get into.

"One more thing," Sara says. "You can't leave her alone. Like, at all. Ever. Okay?"

"What about when I have to pee?"

"I'm being serious. Where you go, she goes. Your her bodyguard now. Got it?"

"Sara, what aren't you telling me?"

She gives him a sad smile. "Just keep her safe, please."

He leans down and kisses her cheek. "Of course."

"Thank you, Ollie. I'll check in with you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay," he says, and then she's gone.

Oliver returns to the living room, hoping Felicity's not about to have a breakdown on his couch. She's sitting exactly where they left her.

Her hands are shaking in her lap.

"Hey," he says, and when she doesn't respond he taps her shoulder lightly.

Felicity jumps about a foot off the couch, her head whipping around to stare at him, looking terrified.

"Hey, hey." Oliver holds his hands up in the air. "It's just me. I'm going to show you the guest room, okay?"

She gives him a tiny shrug and picks up her duffle, and follows him down the hall to the guest room.

"So this is your room for now," he tells her, flicking on the light. "I'm just down the hall."

Felicity sets her duffle down at the foot of the bed and perches on the cream colored duvet Laurel picked out when he first moved in.

"Do you need anything before I go to bed?" he asks her.

She shakes her head, refusing to make eye contact with him.

"Okay," he says lightly. "Like I said, I'm down the hall if you need anything, okay?"

She doesn't say anything.

"Okay then," he says awkwardly. "Goodnight."

Felicity dips her head and he sighs, shutting the door behind him. What the hell did Sara get him into?

xxx

A/N: My apologies if Felicity seems slightly OOC right now. In her defense she's had a horrible no good very bad day. Please remember to leave a review, I love knowing what you think!