Felicity made no secret, at least to herself, that when she left Vegas to attend MIT; she was running away. She ran from the peers that ridiculed her for being smarter than them, she ran from a town that thrived off of the belief that there should be no consequences to what we do, but mostly she ran from a mother who couldn't, or rather wouldn't, understand her daughter. Felicity loved her mother, and she knew her mother loved her too. However, her mother lived a life that Felicity wanted no part of; which was made worse by her mother's belief that it was the life that she expected her daughter to fall into. Felicity loved her mother; but she refused to accept her mother's life as her own. So her mother, more or less, refused to accept Felicity at all. So she left, and she had never returned to Vegas for even one day since the day she left at seventeen.

She knew, deep down, that something must be wrong. Although she considered it her daughterly duty to at least try to call her mother twice a month; her mother never once called her, until last week. The phone call came in while she was running comms for the Arrow and Arsenal so she vowed to call her mother back as soon as she could and she did, but missed her in turn. It turned into a rather irritating game of phone tag that made Felicity start to wonder if her mother was intentionally not answering her call and calling when she knew she couldn't answer. Because most people were usually asleep, not helping hooded men take out criminals, when her mother would call.

Maybe, she should have tried harder to get ahold of her. Maybe, she should have just sucked it up, and booked a flight to Vegas to finally lay eyes on her mom for the first time in ten years and find out why her mother was finally calling her daughter. If she had done that, then maybe, just maybe; she wouldn't have saw the day Team Arrow met Momma Smoak.

It was a Sunday evening and they were gathered for dinner at her brownstone. It was a tradition that started shortly after they returned from imprisoning Slade in Purgatory. Oliver had said he wanted to make an effort for the team to spend time with each other under lighter circumstances, to counteract what they do. So, Felicity suggested Sunday dinner. She thought, families usually get together for Sunday dinner, and well, they were her family now. So, every Sunday Oliver, Dig, Lyla when she was home, Roy, Sin (who already knew about the Mirakuru and Sara, was now in on the whole secret), and sometimes Laurel would all cram into her little kitchen, dining, living area for food, fun, and relaxation.

The TV would be on to some game that might be getting watched, or not. There was mostly a lot of chatter and a lot of laughter; and Felicity couldn't but be grateful to see Oliver smiling more even though he still talked little. It wasn't uncommon that stories from days long past would get told, but no one ever questioned that Felicity's stories were never from her adolescent years. She was glad too, because her blood family was never a topic she relished in speaking about.

Dig was currently lounging on her couch with his hands draped across the back with Lyla dangling her swollen feet across Dig's lap. She was regaling Sin and Roy about their first attempt at domestic bliss. She could hear Lyla talking about their honeymoon and looked from her spot in the kitchen when she heard Sin burst into laughter. Felicity couldn't help but grin as she saw Sin looking at Roy, who looked like he might puke.

"Roy, how else do you think she got pregnant? Of course they have sex!" Sin bellowed.

"I know that!" he yelled back. "But it's like hearing about your uncle's sex life. Just because I know it exists doesn't mean I wanna hear about it!" he retorted.

She went back to putting the final touches on the last of their dinner while Oliver was pouring wine; none for himself, but he poured Sin a small glass even though she was underage.

"One glass", he said as he eyed Sin from the dining area with a slight twitch in his lip, and a glint in his eye daring her to argue.

Which of course she half-heartedly did, "Oh come on GQ; you know Felicity is going to let me have one after you all leave anyway" Sin grinned as Oliver turned toward Felicity with mock fury. The uptick in his lip, and the crinkle around his eyes gave him away and Felicity grinned widely back. Ever since Sara left and Sin learned the whole truth. Felicity invited her to stay in her spare room. There was a fair bit of opposition at first, but she agreed eventually. She could be persuasive when she wanted to be.

A light blush crept onto her cheeks as he winked at her humorously before pouring wine into her glass. He walked toward her in her open kitchen, set the now empty bottle down, "Now, who is the law breaker Ms. Smoak?" he asked jokingly in a whisper as he reached around her to grab a bowl of fruit salad.

Felicity felt the warmth of his body just slightly pressed up against her hip, and the blush on her cheeks spread. She knew he had done it on purpose, because he only needed to take one step behind her to reach the bowl without touching her. But he had been touching her a lot lately, nothing overt, but there seemed to be an intimacy there that hadn't been there before. Her voice was playful when she responded, "I highly doubt a glass of wine is on par with hacking into the Prison systems or the FBI database. I'll risk giving a 19 year old a glass of wine".

"Hey, just remember that, that mobster guy who committed all those murders was brought down for tax evasion. So, you never know. It might be underage drinking that gets you" Roy called out, smiling. Apparently paying more attention to them than Lyla and Dig. She could see the back of Dig's head shaking. She bet he had that knowing smile on his face.

"That's Al Capone, Roy. Not that mobster that committed all those murders" Felicity responded.

Roy's grin widened, "Whatever, Blondie. I'm just saying. You really wanna risk giving shorty a glass of wine. All the hero stuff down the tubes because you gave one glass of wine to a minor. I mean, let's be real. We can barely operate the security system without you. Ummppfff" Roy finished with an elbow to the ribs from Sin which made her smile.

"Shut up, Abercrombie. The world isn't going to end because Blondie gave me a glass of wine".

She and Oliver finished setting the table with Dig's quiet laughter in the background. Everyone stood up as Felicity called out, "Alright minions. Its dinnertime" when the doorbell rang.

Silence rung out loudly as suddenly Oliver dragged her behind him. She heard a shuffle that she assumed was Dig doing the same to Lyla, and Roy attempting to do the same to Sin. Which was followed by a 'thump' noise, a low buzzing argument in which she thought she heard Sin say 'I can protect myself you idiot'. It stopped abruptly when Oliver called a cease fire in his arrow voice and then everyone froze.

Realistically, Felicity knew if someone really meant harm they weren't going to ring her doorbell but they had been doing Sunday dinner for months, and no one had ever stopped by her house. Why would anyone? Everyone she cared about was already inside or at assassin training camp, as she liked to call it.

Everyone turned to look at her, silently asking if she was expecting anyone. She shook her head, all relaxation and fun was gone. It was replaced with intense combat readiness. With what they did, they couldn't just assume it was someone with the wrong address; especially since somehow the news had gotten ahold of footage of the arrow carrying her unconscious body on the bridge months ago. In the eyes of social media, the Arrow had saved her life twice, so random people have taken to looking her up to ask her about the Arrow. At first it was reporters, but thankfully they bought her story of not knowing who the arrow was. Now, she just gets the creepers that don't believe the news.

She moved in front of Oliver and met his tense gaze with her own, and then she started toward the door. His hand shot out and grabbed her. He there, his eyes still on her. They stood like that for a moment; in a silent argument. He wanted her to stay where she was, while he answered her door. He wasn't comfortable with her and Sin staying here alone after the first creeper showed up. She was vaguely aware of her doorbell ringing again. Finally, he let go, and made a gesture for Felicity to continue walking. She smiled tightly at him, and began walking past everyone; very aware of Oliver less than a foot behind her as everyone's eyes followed her movements. Too aware. Roy's fists were clenching, and Dig was reaching for the 9mm he never took off.

Before she reached the door; the bell was rung three more times in rapid succession and a loud, bell like voice rang out. Felicity froze mid step, and it was a testament of Oliver's fast reflexes that he stopped before running into her.

"FELICITY MEGHAN SMOAK! I know you're home. You answer this door right now. I will not stand out here in this heat and sweat!" The bell rung twice more. Felicity was in shock. She couldn't move. Hands came up on her arms and she jerked at the realization that Oliver was still right behind her, had his hands on her (in a very platonic way), and was looking down on her in concern. She turned her head to look up at him in slight panic and then looked at the others watching her every move. Ready to run at the door to protect her. Crap, she thought. They couldn't protect her from this.

"Felicity", Oliver said quietly so no one but her could hear, conscious that the others were watching everything from less than twenty feet away. "Who is it?"

She bit her lip, dread filled her stomach. This was not how she wanted Oliver, or any of her friends, to meet her mother. If she had, had it her way; they never would have met her. She shut her eyes, hoping just maybe when she opened them it would be her imagination and her mother wasn't really here. No such luck. She wasn't even lucky enough to tell Oliver herself; her mother took that from her and she was pretty sure everyone on her block heard her mother announce her presence.

"Felicity! This is no way to treat your mother! You open this door or I'm calling the cops and telling them something is wrong! Is that what you want? Do you want the cops here? Is that what it will take for you to let me inside?"

Oliver's eyebrows shot up and he looked at the door, and down at Felicity. She bowed her head in defeat and Oliver frowned at her, confused. He had lost his mother just months ago, of course he wouldn't understand why she wouldn't want to see hers. She looked away from him. Looked back at the table, at all the shocked eyes staring silently back at her. She let out a large breath, broke away from Oliver's hands, and trudged to the door.

Before turning the knob, she looked once more at them all, and mouthed 'I am so sorry'.

Oliver didn't understand what was going on. Obviously, her mother was not invited; but it was her mother. She should be happy to see her, right? Hell, he wished he had the chance to see his mother again. To tell her every secret he withheld; to tell her everything. To say thank you, to tell her he was sorry. But he didn't have that; he just had memories. So what was going on with Felicity that she didn't seem to want to see her mother? He tried to recall everything Felicity had said about her mother as she turned away from him and to the door. Her mother was a cocktail waitress in Vegas…..and he was lost after that. He glanced back at Dig for any help and he shrugged, now more relaxed but equally confused.

He knew how she took her coffee and liked her burgers, how she played with her necklaces and how she blushed when he would briefly let his guard fall just a little and let her see how he really felt, how she rambled in this way that often left him distracted and thinking of her, and how she was always, ALWAYS there for him when he needed her. But other than a handful of facts from her life before him; he knew nothing. How could she know everything about his family and he knew nothing of hers? His frown deepened, he remembered her remark about how she never talks about her family. At the time, he thought it was because of her father leaving; but was it because of her mother as well?

He watched her hand grip the door knob so tightly her knuckles were white. It turned so slow Oliver almost wondered if it was turning at all. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Roy and Sin inching closer to be in sight of the door. No doubt, more out of curiosity to get a glance into a part of Felicity's life she never let anyone see. There was some comfort in knowing that at least she had confided in no one else about her life before him; but part of him had wished she had confided in him even when she had confided in no one else, as he had often done with her. Even though, he of all people, could not judge her for keeping secrets when she still didn't know all that had happened to him in those lost five years.

Suddenly, "Felicity! I am serious I will—"she ripped the door open, like someone might rip off a Band-Aid, just before her mother could finish.

At first all he could see was how tense Felicity was in her rare shorts and tank top. He couldn't help but think it brought more attention to her petite figure than any of her dresses. Then he took in the woman standing opposite her. She was a stunning woman with a build just like Felicity only slightly taller, older. Her hair was a lighter shade of blonde, and he could pick out some obvious plastic surgery that was done: boobs, face lift, and maybe a few others that screamed 'I'm trying to still look and act thirty even though I'm in my fifties'. She had it all wrapped up in a siren red package that was little too low cut (with no bra) and a skirt that was a little too high. The dress though, looked slightly familiar; he thought Thea had a similar one she wore earlier this spring. Whatever the style; he recognized a well-kept cougar when he saw one and Felicity's mother definitely was dressing better than any cocktail waitress he ever met. Something did not add up. He didn't like things that didn't add up. Behind him he heard Roy whisper loudly, "HOLY SHIT! That's Felicity's Mom!" It was followed a 'thump' "OW!" and a baritone voice calling out "You two, knock it off". The 'thump, no doubt, was probably Sin punching Roy again and the voice belonged to Dig. He turned his attention back to Felicity and her unwelcome guest.

"Hello, Mother", Felicity stated. "What are you doing here"?

At first her mother's face appeared to be something of annoyance and she was about to say something less than ideal, he thought. Then she glanced over her daughters shoulder and saw him. The transformation was instant. She grabbed Felicity into a quick, bone crushing hug "Felicity, baby. Is that all you have to say to me after I flew nearly over half way across the country to come see you? Can't a mother just visit her daughter?" Oliver was disgusted by the fake hurt in her voice. He didn't know anything about this woman, but so far, other than the unaltered part of her appearance that reminded him of Felicity; he didn't like a thing about her.

Felicity's voice was cold when she replied, and she still hadn't moved from the door way to show any intention that she was going to invite her mother in. "Not when you haven't so much as called me in ten years, no. You don't get to just visit me".

TEN YEARS! Oliver was almost knocked backwards from the sheer force of his surprise. Somewhere in the back of his mind it occurred to him that Felicity might be more comfortable without an audience; not that he was leaving her, oh no, he was staying right here. However, with the efficiency of a well-oiled team and a few subtle hand gestures; his point was made and the others began to silently migrate toward the bench style dining room table that was too large for the space it was crammed in. Roy attempted to linger, but Dig grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him along.

Over Felicity's shoulder, she shamelessly looked him over and then in response to Felicity's statement she maneuvered her daughter just back enough to worm her way inside so gracefully that he doubted the casual observer would have noticed it was intentional. As she backed out of the hug and turned to Oliver she gleefully stated, "Oh, don't be needy Felicity. I told you it wasn't a good quality. Now, are you going to introduce me to your friend? Oops, I mean friends I guess. Are you having a dinner party?" She asked as she peeked around Oliver and saw the tail end of Dig and Roy heading into the dining room which wasn't in direct site to the entry way.

Oliver heard Felicity sigh dejectedly as she shut the door. He looked at her in concern as she looked at him; she shrugged but Oliver knew Felicity and Felicity was never like this with anyone. Hell, she even put a smile on her face for Isabel; before and after he'd slept with her. Not that he really wanted to ever remember sleeping with his father's mistress. He winced in disgust, internally.

With a gesture Felicity introduced her, "Mom, this is Oliver. At the table in the other room I have a few more friends. Oliver, this is my mother Donna". Felicity showed no sign of willingly letting her mother out of the entry way

Oliver's eyes never left Felicity's. There was a slight pleading look in them, so he put his public face on and smiled at Felicity's mother. He decided then, that he would find out what happened between Felicity and her mother. That, and the next time he heard Donna speak to Felicity in a condescending tone and say something like being needy again; he would forget about playing nice.

Before Felicity really knew what had happened; her mother had her arm linked with Oliver's and he was guiding her to the table to be better introduced with everyone. Felicity wanted her to leave. She didn't want her mother to sit with her friends and put on her Vegas seductress charms. Donna had a way to wrap people all up in her net and weave people just into the places that she wanted them; except Felicity. Felicity, didn't like the way her mother manipulated people. It was how she could just be a cocktail waitress in Vegas, but at the same time not. She was pretty sure her mother got off on manipulating people.

She delayed in the entry way as she heard Oliver introduce her mother better to her friends. She needed a plan. She knew her mother wasn't here to catch up; something must be going on. Either way, she was not staying under this roof for long. She started toward the kitchen and pursed her lips as she heard her mother cry out, "O! I had perfect timing. I am so Hungry. You know, they just don't feed you on those long flights anymore. Surely, there is enough for one more". It wasn't a question. Donna knew no one would be rude enough to say no; her mother just edged right into Felicity's seat like a queen as she winked at Oliver and gently gave his arm a squeeze. She watched Oliver tense ever so slightly and her ire for her mother rose.

Oliver hated when people tried to handle him and that was exactly what her mother was trying to do. You need to stroke a man's ego, her mother would say, if you want to get a man to do what you want. Stroke his ego; make him believe you think he is strong, sexy, and everything you need in a man. Only, her mother didn't know that Oliver was probably the last man in the world that would fall for that crap. She let out a sigh…..she hoped anyway.

As she approached, Oliver backed away from her mother and pulled out the only chair, his chair, and gestured for her to take a seat. His gaze met hers once more and it slightly eased her worry that he might be angry at her for being rude to her own mother; somehow she just knew in that one look that he understood. He also seemed to think she might argue about taking his seat because the second look he sent her told her that he wasn't going to sit next to her mother, or at all, if she was going to stand. She smiled slightly at him as her heart ached just a little at how well he knew her, and once again she saw the little uptick of the corner of his mouth that told her he found her amusing.

Giving in, she sat; but was barely sitting when she heard her mother's voice ring out. "Felicity, haven't I taught you anything? You always let the man sit at the head of the table". Everyone turned to look at her mother in a mix of shock and confusion of her censorship given that she that she arrived unannounced from thousands of miles away and basically invited herself in and to dinner.

She didn't get a chance to answer before Oliver cut in, with the tone he usually reserved for investors, or more recently, potential investors to help him get his company back. "Actually Mrs. Smoak. My mother raised me to always give up my seat to a beautiful woman. I will just grab an extra setting while you all start eating all this food Felicity made before it gets cold". He glanced down at Felicity and she was sure he saw the blush that crept up in her cheeks at the realization that he called her beautiful.

"Oh, it's not Smoak. It's Troy now". Felicity didn't bother commenting on the new last name. Her mother had been married at least three times in the past ten years that she knew of.

Then he turned to Lyla in silent communication and walked into the kitchen. Lyla shuffled her pregnant self just enough down on the bench seating to allow room for Oliver as he returned. Felicity smiled gratefully at him as he sat and placed a new glass of wine in front of her since her mother had taken hers, and took his glass of water.

After a few silent, awkward minutes of dinner her mother started with questions, "So how do you know my daughter Oliver? You're not her boyfriend. I think my daughter, at least would have told me if she was secretly dating one of the most eligible bachelors in the world"

Roy snorted and rolled his eyes, "Might as well be married." he remarked sarcastically and Oliver leveled him with a glare that made Sin laugh as Donna suddenly turned and eyed him momentarily like he was one of her high roller clients. Then her attention was back on Oliver. He was, after all, the big whale at the table. He may have lost his share in the company but due to his mother's life insurance policy and the recent sale of several properties; he was still comfortably sitting in millionaire status.

"How did you meet my daughter, Oliver?"

"She worked in QC's IT department. I brought her my laptop to fix" he responded readily and true enough. But she couldn't help but smirk a little at the memory of that day. Oliver glanced at her for a moment, and she saw he was probably thinking the same thing she was.

Then her mother asked another question, "Worked? She no longer works for QC? Was she fired for sleeping with you?" Felicity's fork dropped from her hand and the sound of it hitting her plate reverberated loudly in the silence. Everyone looked at her mother wide eyed, with forks suspended midair. She reached for her wine glass, sat back, and took a long sip. Screw it, she dealt with enough of these kind of questions while working for him. Let him deal with her mother, she decided.

Oliver opened his mouth, and then shut it. He didn't like people questioning him, and she would bet he thought her mother was being highly inappropriate, and she was. She could tell his patience for her mother was already running thin, and he had only met her less than ten minutes ago. "No, she wasn't fired. When I took over QC, I promoted her to my E.A".

Felicity sat back and watched as her mother fired off another question, "Is that because you were sleeping with her?"

Everyone watched on in horror as she heard what her own mother was insinuating, and Oliver responded with irritation thick in his voice. "No, she is my best friend, and I trust her to have my back".

Her mother looked gleeful as she watched Oliver get frustrated with her, and she kept going as everyone watched on in their verbal ping pong game, forks still suspended. And suddenly, she knew what her mother was doing. She had seen her mother do it before, to her first boyfriend. She took a long drink from her glass again, and waited. Watching her mother interrogate Oliver, and he didn't even realize that was what her mother was doing to him.

"You didn't deny sleeping with my daughter, Mr. Queen".

His lips pursed and his eyes narrowed on her mother. Admittedly, she kind of liked seeing her mother get a rise out of Oliver and wondered just where her mother was going. Because, she undoubtedly was heading somewhere; so just for a moment she found their interaction interesting. "I have never slept with Felicity. You don't think very highly of your daughter. Do you, Mrs. Troy?"

Her Mother sat back grinning, "On the contrary, I think my daughter very capable of doing anything. In fact, too capable. I think she is too smart, and too moral to get her job on her knees. But, how else was I supposed to figure out if you were just her friend, her boss, or if you were in love with her. You are in love with my daughter, are you not Mr. Queen?" Moments over.

Felicity was stunned, she never even felt the wine glass slip from her hand. Everyone sat statue still and wide eyed around the table until the sound of her wine glass shattering brought everyone back to life; everyone but Oliver. Roy burst into awkward laughter and then yelled to Dig, "See! We aren't the only ones that see it!" as Felicity rose from table to get something to clean the mess. Anger swelled up in her at her mother.

She glanced back as she walked into the kitchen just in time for Dig to hit Roy upside the head and say "It's time for you to go home Roy" and she couldn't be sure but Lyla's shaking shoulders made her think that her new friend found this to be quite funny.

"No, I want to see this. No one has ever gotten to Oliver like this. I want to see this", Roy yelled back.

Felicity could here Sin from the kitchen as she grabbed the broom and dustpan, "Get up Abercrombie, dinner is over and I want some ice cream. You're taking me".

"What? No, I'm not and you live here. Felicity always has ice cream".

"Damn it, Roy!" Felicity didn't see what she did, only heard the scratching of the bench as Roy stood and followed Sin down the hall. She could hear him muttering something about wanting to watch someone else's drama for a change as he walked out the door.

As she came back in she looked at her mother grinning at Oliver like Alice's Cheshire cat and acting like she didn't just make a table full people, her friends, completely uncomfortable. Not to mention that Oliver still hadn't moved. From the back of him though; the way he sat rigid straight and stock still. She would bet her personal tablet that he was leveling her mother with 'Angry Arrow face'.

Her mother made a sound that came out almost like a purr as she asked, "No response Mr. Queen?"

She heard a slight intake of breath from Oliver that indicated that he was going to say something but she cut him off. "No! Don't say anything! Don't give her what she wants. She is always good at getting what she wants". She threw her mother a look that would have sent her men running and it was backed with her loud voice. She was done. She didn't care what her mother wanted; she just wanted her gone. In less than fifteen minutes since she opened the door, her mother managed to destroy her Sunday dinner, set Oliver on edge, and turned her relationship with him into a joke for Roy to laugh at.

She saw Lyla and Dig stand as Dig said in a quiet voice, "We should probably go".

"Yes," she stated furiously, "And could you please take my mother with you. Drop her off at any one of the hotels along the way. I don't care which as long as she is gone".

Dig looked at her unsure and was about to say something but was cut off by her mother, "Surely, you don't intend for me to stay in hotel. Not when I flew all the way out here to see you, Felicity?" her voice was sweet and her tone was censure.

"Stop it! Just stop. I don't buy for one minute that you came out here to see me. You came out here because you need something from me, and right now I don't care. You are not staying with me. I don't even want to see you right now. Just leave".

Her Mother, for the first time since arriving looked somber as she put the wine glass down and stood, "Fine. I'll leave. I don't need a ride though, I rented a car". She walked to the door, but turned to face her before leaving. "I will call you tomorrow after you've calmed down".

Felicity waited for the sound of the door to click behind her mother, and when it did it was like a weight of tension lifted and left her feeling embarrassed, hurt, and vulnerable. She could feel the tears burning in her eyes.

He heard Dig tell Felicity they were leaving but he just sat there, stunned and angry. No one in his entire life had ever read him so quickly, so accurately. Sure people on the periphery of their lives had suspected something might have happened, or was happening between the two of them, but mostly it revolved around the fact that he promoted Felicity and well maybe he got caught looking at her legs as she walked away in some of her dresses a few times too. And even though he knew Roy and Dig suspected that it wasn't only Felicity's feelings that ran deeper than friendship; they had never openly called him on it for confirmation. But to have this woman, Felicity's mother at that, walked in here and under ten minutes just lay it all out like that. He didn't know how to respond, and he was pretty sure he was less stunned when Felicity and Dig tranq'd him with his own darts.

Dig was gone now, he vaguely remembered that Roy and Sin left too. He was alone with Felicity. What did he say to her? How did he figure his way out of this? Over the past month, he had been considering just letting go of his worries and seeing if he could be with her; because it wasn't a lie. He was in love with her and he knew it had been building for eighteen months but he hadn't realized fully that he had already fallen in love with her until he pulled her into that vacant Queen mansion and said it while setting that god awful trap for Slade. But it had dawned on him then, in that moment, how true those words were and it scared the hell out of him. He had wanted to kiss her right then and haul her out of there; Slade and Laurel be damned. He couldn't though; because Felicity would have never forgiven him if he sacrificed the city for her and if he had kissed her in that moment he knew there was no way he could have left her there.

He felt Felicity crouch next to his feet and heard her sniffle. Shit, he thought, how the hell did he fix this? He stood up and went to the kitchen to get a rag. Part of him was angry too, because her mother took this away from him. He knew Felicity had feelings for him, he wasn't blind; but this wasn't how he wanted her to learn about his feelings for her. Damn it! Just damn it!

He came back, and knelt by her side and silently helped clean up the glass. They worked to clean everything up until the table was clean and all the food was in the fridge. A pile of dishes was left in the sink and Oliver had been acutely aware of her soundless tears the entire time, but he just didn't know what to say. He started and stopped a dozen times.

As Felicity started running the water, he tried again "Felicity". Her name came out of his mouth quietly, and even he thought it sounded like a plea.

She turned on him, tears running down her cheeks and shaking "Don't. Please don't patronize me by giving me one of your speeches right now. You know how I feel about you. You've always known how I feel; and I'm not stupid either. You may not love me, but you have feelings for me too. So don't patronize me by denying it and don't only admit it because my mother called you on it. She knew exactly what she was getting at when she started asking you questions, and you fell right into it. I don't know why she cares, or why she is here but she wants something and my mother has a knack for reading people and manipulating them. So, I intend to find out what she wants and get her out of our lives before she ruins anything else. Then we can go back to acting like before".

Oliver felt lost and stunned again. When he had tried to say something earlier, he wasn't sure what he was even going to say. It wouldn't matter now that he had already been thinking about telling her the truth, if he told her she would believe it was only because of her mother. God, he hated that woman, ten minutes with her and he felt like he and Felicity were tail spinning out of control. Who would do that to her own daughter?

He didn't know what to do, or say. "Felicity?" he felt like he was begging for an answer, or a cue from her about what to do. She was his guiding light; the voice in his head when he wasn't sure.

She didn't give him one this time, "Just leave Oliver, please." She responded, pleadingly as she wiped more tears from her eyes.

Oliver searched her face for something, he wasn't sure. He felt like anything he did right now would be the wrong decision. So he did what he did on the island when she tried to get him to acknowledge his feelings then. He copped out, instead of facing what was in front of him. He nodded, turned on his heels and left. Feeling absolutely positive that leaving was the wrong answer, but unsure what the right one was.

Thanks to HIPKARRMA for being my beta and catching all my errors before the world had to read them!