No one in Starling knew that Felicity isn't just Oliver's girl Friday. She isn't just a tech girl. Not many people in Starling city knew, she's so much more than that. She is a survivor.

Felicity is a soldier, the reason she freaked out after a bomb went off near her, or in some cases she heard it threw the comms. It's because she was in a unit that was bombed, in Afghanistan. She mutes her side of the comms sometimes, so that they don't hear her freaking out, bringing herself back to reality. In fact she created an algorithm that automatically shuts her side of the comms down if an explosion goes off. Sometimes it triggers her and sometimes it doesn't, but to be safe she set it up. Because sometimes she flashes back to lying there in the desert, surrounded by destruction, her brothers in arms lying still beside her. As the enemy fires on them, as fellow soldier firing to protect them. Her forcing herself up to grab her brothers and drag them out of the line of fire, one after the other. Before, while bleeding out of her own wounds, using whatever gun she reached first to keep the enemy away, as fellow soldiers did there best to make to their aid. Sometimes she snaps back to reality in seconds, sometimes its minutes, but it always feels like hours. Slowly she no longer had moments where she flashed back and would automatically keep going with the teams missions.

The day that Sara and the boys compared scars she could have revealed it all. The scar on her back, just above her butt, a piece of shrapnel had been embedded. Or the scar along her ribs were the bullet just barely missed her lungs. And the other scars from the bomb that day, or bullet wounds from other missions. But she chose the one scar, a wisdom tooth scar, that wouldn't make them look at her any differently. No one on the team knew that once a week when she took a little bit longer lunch break, she was going to VA meetings. No one knew when she pushed Sara out of the way of Tockman's gun, she'd twisted her body just right, and the bullet only grazed her arm.

When Sara went to her house for some bonding, the guys were having some guy time, she either never noticed or just didn't comment on the purple heart sitting on her bookshelf. Nor the Medal of Honor next to it. Both received on the same day, but for different reasons. Felicity sat them next to a picture of the guys she was teamed with, her family. She wasn't in the picture, because she had wanted a picture of just them. In her room was a picture of her entire team, including their Corporal officer, all of them were smiling with wide grins.

No one knew, until everyone knew.

Sara was visiting Oliver at the office a rare occasion, but one that brought a smile to Felicity's face. Sara always brought a hot cup of whatever sugary espresso drink she thought Felicity would like that day. She would bring John a fresh cup of coffee and along with Felicity would laugh at Oliver looking disappointed he didn't get anything. "That's what you get for demoting Felicity, we both agree her job was a demotion and she is way overly qualified." Sara would respond before Felicity and she fist bumped.

But on that day, just after their fists touched the elevator opened. All of them turned and there stepped out three men dressed in Army service uniforms. The man at the front, Felicity recognized immediately. He was her commanding officer.

"Gentleman how me we help you?" Oliver asked immediately going into somewhat of a business mode. But the men ignored him.

"Specialist Felicity Meghan Smoak effective immediately you have been requested, and by requested I mean ordered, to return to active duty immediately. And have been issued an immediate promotion, Sergeant Smoak we are to escort you directly to base where you will be briefed." The Corporal stated looking only at Felicity. "Gentleman please help Sergeant Smoak grab her items, we need to leave immediately."

"Yes Corporal." Felicity said standing straight, reverting back to her training from several years ago. Turning to the two men awaiting orders from her, "I should only need my tablet and my purse gentleman, and I can carry them myself."

"Sergeant!" John whispered to Oliver with eyes wide. Sara just looked with sad eyes as she realized the medal at Felicity's house, weren't from a family member, but from herself.

"Sara, will you look after my apartment while I'm gone?" Felicity asked, handing Sara a key after receiving a nod.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," Felicity said to her teammates before slinging her bag on her shoulder and following the soldiers to the elevator.