PART ONE: FAMILY VALUES

CHAPTER ONE: CREDENTIALS

TEAM ARROW, STARLING CITY, USA

Everyone has a hero, an inspiring figure in their life, someone who did something great, or stood for something good. They are courage and bravery and stupidity personified. They are children's dreams- capes and super powers and fighting bad guys. They are world history, admired by people near and far. They are good versus evil and -

"A royal pain in my ass! Does he think I have nothing better to do than pretend to be his secretary? I went to school Dig, I worked hard, and it got me here!" Felicity shouted, furious once again at her millionaire boss. She stormed down the sidewalk, red heels clacking furiously as she wove her way through the Starling City crowds. The pedestrians gave her wide berth as her shrill shouts cut through the air.

Felicity whirled as she reached the door of Queen Consolidated, her blonde ponytail flashing through the air. Turning, she faced the only person she really trusted in the world of Oliver Queen- John Diggle. Diggle knew the grief of working alongside Oliver Queen, his near impossible demands and his irritating ways. Once tasked with the personal security of Mr. Queen, he knew all too well the kind of energy sapping charades their beloved millionaire was apart of. If Felicity preached something and Oliver didn't listen, Dig was the voice of reason that talked Oliver down.

"Felicity, he knows as well as you and I, that this team wouldn't run without you," he assured her, pushing the door open for her. They fell easily in step, an odd pair; one tiny blonde I.T. girl and a buff father, who was also an ex-army body guard. In a life before Oliver Queen, both would have graced circles completely separate from the other. Neither sphere would have ever touched because there was just too many things that set them apart. Then came Oliver Queen and suddenly way too many spheres were colliding into each other. She had to admit though, it did add a little excitement to her rather plain life.

"Right, well I'll believe that when he tells me himself!"

A dark haired woman frowned as she passed, her lips pinched and her expression overly sour. She stared at the duo, as she walked by, her tight, slicked back hair only making her look less impressed. Her grey suit and mauve lipstick was not something she recognised seeing in the building, but then again, she had never seen Oliver Queen until that one fateful date. That wasn't what weighed on her conscious now though,"Did you see that Dig? Did you see how miserable she looked?"

"That's probably because you're yelling," he pointed out calmly.

"No, that is the look of pure misery Dig! That's what I'm going to look like if I have to fetch another cappuccino for another meeting - eternal misery!"

Diggle watched her with an amused expression, practically seeing the thoughts flooding through her head. "So then why don't you quit? You did say you were only in this to find Walter, we found him." She faltered, her grey eyes giving her away before she said anything. They knew why all of them stayed, without the Arrow life was just too boring. The thought of people dying out there at the hands of someone they could have stopped... it was too much guilt.

"It's like you said, he needs me." He couldn't help but to let his smile break free, as she gave him an annoyed look. "He's like a lost puppy, I like puppies," She mumbled under her breath as she pushed the door open. Dig smiled, Felicity always managed to bring some light to their otherwise grim situations. Whether she liked it or not, she was part of team Arrow for the long haul.

Their way up to the office is a quick one, into the elevator and to the top floor, no one in or out. Most people headed in the opposite direction for their lunch breaks, desperate to get into the fresh air, and away from the confines of their desks. Then again, they weren't most people. Most people went home after a day of work and watched television, maybe ordered some takeout, not them. After all, crime doesn't rest, and neither does team Arrow, or so they liked to remind her.

Felicity clutched a brown bag in one hand and a hot coffee in the other. Oliver requested she go get it while he was mid-meeting with some other millionaire she cared nothing about. On a regular day she would have dropped her jaw and told him to fetch it himself. Unfortunately for her, part of her pay raise and her constant closeness to Oliver Queen meant the act had to be kept in the company of others, so she complied. She had headed down the road through rush-hour foot traffic and waited in line for half an hour to fetch his lunch from the deli. She had ran into Diggle on her way out and insisted he come with her. Her temper had flared to the surface and she needed to vent to someone who would understand. Someone who knew their secrets.

If anyone could talk some sense into Oliver it was Dig. After today Oliver would be in some real need of sense once she was done with him. Diggle had mentioned the team falling apart without her, but the truth was it would be the same if that dark-skinned man were to disappear too. She was about to open her mouth and tell him so, when the elevator's distinctive ping interrupted her. The doors slid open without a sound, opening to the crisp marble floors of the offices of Oliver Queen.

She moved to exit the elevator and wasn't two steps outside it when a large man walked straight into her. She stumbled back into Dig's steadying hands. Her temper rose once more as her skin screamed under the hot beverage that now covered her front. She looked down at the front of her now stained blue dress and let out a frustrated sigh. The man looked at her with disapproval and voiced it loudly to the man not six feet away- Oliver Queen.

"You sure about this assistant of yours? If you ask me, she's about as fit for the job as my dead grandmother. Clearly doesn't take care in her work." Felicity clenched her jaw and resisted the urge not to take the remainder of the beverage and dump it over the man's bulbous head. He gave her one more look and then stepped past her and into the elevator, the doors sliding shut behind him.

Felicity slammed the cup down on the corner of the desk, her desk, she realized regretfully. The steaming liquid sloshed over a variety of papers, her papers. She shook her hands out, sprinkling the three of them with droplets of coffee. They stood there in silence for a moment, Felicity steaming. "Felicity?," Oliver asked, tentatively reaching out for her arm.

The brown bag slammed against his chest, leaving a large coffee mark on his crisp white shirt. "Your lunch Mr. Queen." She responded, holding his gaze as he reached to take the bag from her fingers.

"Was that necessary?" The words fell out of his mouth, before a thought was taken of them. He slowly looked up, knowing he was going to be faced with the smoldering, angry eyes of Felicity Smoak. Much to his surprise, he looked up to find her frantically scurrying around her desk. He watched as she aggressively tore tissues out of the box and blotted her keyboard. He was glad his comment went seemingly unnoticed.

He exchanged a look with Diggle, as they watched Felicity shriek in frustration. He thought about assisting her, but something told him he had done enough damage for the day. Though he was never 100% sure what the damage was, he knew where the line was and not to push it. That and his stomach let out a loud gurgle that he could no longer refuse. He reached into the slightly soggy bag and pulled out the wrapped sandwich inside. His shoulders relaxed as the scent hit him and he devoured the food hungrily.

Felicity stopped as she heard the distinct sound of lunch in her vicinity. She looked at Oliver and couldn't help but feel slightly less angry, as he scarfed down the sandwich like a small child. "You know what?," he managed around bites, "Why don't you take the rest of the day off? Go home and we'll see you at base later." Felicity felt a sense of relief wash over her at the thought of a hot shower and clean clothes and a bonus afternoon away from the office. She would take it any day, she didn't need to be told twice.

"Excellent idea." She forced a smile and reached around her desk for some of her own items, stashing them in her purse. Her own laptop, her roll out keyboard amongst other things necessary for her own forum frolickings. She tossed the wet papers in the garbage and looked up to the duo again. "I'll see you guys later then, don't do anything too stupid without me." Oliver smiled mischievously and Felicity paused to observe the trouble seeking duo that was Oliver and Diggle.

"Now when did we ever do a thing like that?," Oliver asked innocently and Felicity rolled her eyes.

She shook her head and stepped vigilantly around the puddle of coffee. "You should probably get someone to clean this up." She murmured, reaching awkwardly from a tiny dry spot for the elevator button. She cautiously stepped back into a small section of clean, dry floor and waited for the elevator to rise back to the top floor. In a couple of seconds the familiar ping echoed in the hall and she stepped through the doors and jabbed the ground floor button.

"Oh, and thanks for the sandwich!," Oliver yelled after her but she was already gone.

Felicity let out a sigh of relief as she leaned back against the mirrored wall of the elevator. With her purse clutched in her arms and the promise of kitten videos and hot chocolate in the foreseeable future she felt significantly less stressed. As the elevator doors slid open on the level of the parking garage she dug for her keys, stepping out into the dimly lit area.

She produced her keys triumphantly and made her way towards her car. The lights brightened as she walked under them and as usual, they gave her the sensation of being followed. She cast a glance over her shoulder and jumped, letting out a shriek as she saw Oliver jogging towards her. She held her purse tight to her chest and tried to calm her racing heart. "Don't do that! You know this garage is creepy, I could have pepper sprayed you or something!"

"Sorry," he responded with an amused smile, "sometimes I forget people are scared by this stuff."

"I wasn't scared, I was startled that's all." Oliver smiled knowingly and she felt her heart give a tiny flutter as she looked into his blue eyes.

"Sure, whatever you say."

Felicity continued towards her car, her laptop starting to weigh her arms down. "Is there a reason you chased me all the way down here?"

"Well actually, yes. I was wondering if-" But his sentence was cut short by her screaming vocals. Felicity raced towards her car, dropping her purse on the ground and standing back to examine the damage. If she didn't know any better she would have said the gashes down the side were claw marks. She rubbed furiously at them, hoping that by some trick of light they were fake but her fingers were met by chipped blue paint. She peered through the broken driver's side window and felt her stomach knot. The interior had been torn up and searched, the contents of her glove box splayed across the front and back seats.

When the gashes didn't come off, she ran to the other side. Desperately she searched for something that would tell her it all was a joke. Oliver followed immediately, not wanting her to fall victim of whoever did this should they still be nearby. He could see the tears starting in her eyes as her head came to rest on the side of her car and he felt his chest squeeze. "Ok, ok, Felicity look at me," his confident voice coaxed, his warm, calloused hands taking her shoulders and twisting her away from the monstrous damage.

"Ok, ok," she hyperventilated, her breaths coming far too fast and her hands too shaky to do anything more than clutch her own arms. She stared up at Oliver terrified and confused, looking to him for answers when normally it was the other way around. Who would come after her? She had stayed largely under the radar after her hacking nearly ended her future before it began. She had got a job working I.T. in a sea of techs, not all that different from herself. She was a nobody to the world, just another graduate that wasn't making a living in her field.

Oliver pulled her in to his chest and tucked her head under his chin. "Oliver," she asked quietly, "what if someone knows." The question hung in the air and Felicity looked up as he tensed. She had seen this look before and knew what his answer was going to be. He took her by the shoulders and met her gaze, holding it with his familiar intensity.

"No, it's not possible. We're going to find who did this Felicity, we're going to find them and bring them to justice. No one's going to get to you, not on my watch."