Title: I Know Places We Can Go, Babe

Category: Arrow

Genre: Romance

Ship: Felicity/Oliver

Chapter Rating: pg-13

Overall Rating: mature

Chapter Word Count: 2,124

Summary: (au/no arrow) There is a certain quiet to the Starling Mental Institute. A monotony that envelops Oliver and leaves him to relive his past, away from anyone he could possibly hurt. Until a catatonic boy and a blonde girl with glasses disrupt his peace, something he's not sure is good or bad.

-short novel-

She thought she might like him. Obviously not in that way. Oliver Queen had barely said more than two dozen words to her - their "hellos" at the beginning of each day definitely did not count - and sometimes she wasn't sure if Oliver actually enjoyed her presence or merely tolerated her because she would undoubtedly continue to visit Roy. Felicity wasn't even sure why she'd decided to speak to him, and even less about why she'd decided to unload her entire life story on him. But he seemed to listen to her, and apart from talking to Roy about her day, it was nice to have someone else to talk to. These definitely were not the kinds of conversations she could have with her coworkers.

Sometimes Oliver closed his eyes and leaned his head back and she watched as a gentle breeze ran through his hair, not quite as long as it was in the photos the media liked to use when speaking of him, but still long enough that she could watch the short strands sway in the wind. Felicity understood that there were many different types of mental illness, and even though Oliver looked like he was a perfectly well adjusted human being capable of living out his life outside of the mental institute, there were some things that always lingered below the surface, too deep to be seen physically, but still there all the same.

"Ahh Ms. Smoak, I've been meaning to talk to you," at the sound of her name being called Felicity turned around, her eyes falling on the doctor approaching her. At six foot three and with muscles so thick his clothes strained against them Dr. John Diggle towered over her. She angled her head back, feeling more than little dwarfed by him.

"Dr. Diggle," she said in way of greeting, taking his outstretched hand between hers and giving it a small squeeze.

"May I talk to you in my office?" He let go of her hand and walked quickly down the hall, Felicity trailing after him. She'd only been in his office once before, and just like the time before she was taken aback by the cheerfulness the small room exuded. She realized - of course - that some of the patients here might have some forms of depression, and while she herself liked the sky blue color the office, it seemed a bit unnecessary to her. A forced brightness that shouted "I'm here to help you get better!" where a gentler color might be better suited. She sat down across the large desk from Dr. Diggle, feeling herself sinking into the plush chair that was too big for her, but would be just right for someone of Oliver's size.

"What can I do for you?"

John Diggle smiled at her, a small upturning at the corners of his mouth, and leaned back in his chair, lacing his fingers together and brining them to rest against his chin. "I see you're straight to the point."

"We're in a psychiatric hospital, I think it's better for me to be direct."

"You'd be surprised Ms. Smoak, at how direct some of my patients can be. They're not all complicated labyrinths of psychological damage. For some of them, your step brother for example, the problem and underlying cause is immediately known, it's finding the correct method to helping them that can be difficult."

"And the others?" Felicity prompted, his choice of words alerting her to the fact that John Diggle hadn't asked to speak with her to discuss Roy. His eyes sparkled, as if impressed that she wasn't fooled by him.

"For others, while I have diagnosed them, what has triggered their disease is hard to pinpoint. Finding the cause can be as difficult as navigating through a maze that's constantly changing and seemingly impossible to get out of." Silence hung between them as Felicity looked directly in his eyes, a deep brown that seemed both open and yet reserved. For a second she felt like she was looking at a book, the cover and opening page exposed to her, but yet unable to read the page that comes next. "It has come to my attention that you are having lengthy conversations with one of my patients."

"And you want me to tell you anything he might say to me." It wasn't a question, at least not really. Somehow she felt like she should have known that he would ask something like this of her. It was his job to help Oliver get better after all, and what better way than to have someone he thought might be Oliver's confidant tell you all his secrets. Felicity stiffened, goosebumps rising along the skin of her arms, and squared her shoulders. "Conversation is a strong word Dr. Diggle, it implies that there are two participants. If you must know I'm the one that does all the talking, and quite frankly half the time I'm not so sure he's actually listening to me. It wouldn't be the first time, I talk a lot mind you, even my friends tune out on me. But I also have to tell you, that if Oliver did say something to me, I wouldn't tell you."

"Miss Smoak you do realize that anything he tells you could be helpful to his recuperation."

"I fail to see how making him think he can trust me only to turn around and betray his trust could be helpful."

"He wouldn't have to know."

"That's not the point." She glowered at him, standing up. It was stupid and unfair that even when he was sitting down she felt like she was looking up at him. It put the doctor in a position of power that she didn't like him in. John Diggle remained perfectly calm, his complicated eyes continuing their silent appraisal of her. Felicity didn't like it, she felt like walking away and hiding herself from his steady gaze.

"And you're sure there's nothing I can say to change your mind?"

Felicity shook her head once, her lips pursed to keep the words she could feel wanting to spill from her mouth. John sighed, and nodded. With one hand he motioned towards the door, signaling that she was free to leave. But just as she was about to reach the door John called out to her.

"I'm glad that you said what you did to me Ms. Smoak," another smile lit up his features, this one wider and brighter than the one before. "I happen to agree with you. I had hope that it would be somebody in his family that might be able to get through to him, but apart from his younger sister they haven't come around much."

"So… this was a test?"

"Of sorts."

"So you don't really think that the key to his recovery is locked somewhere inside his head?"

"I do," he confessed, standing up and walking over the large window. "But there are many ways for someone to get better. The moment a doctor in this profession becomes dead set on a single way is the moment their patient is least likely to make a recovery of any sort." Felicity licked her lips, not quite sure if she was glad to hear what he was saying to her now, or to be annoyed with him for testing her the way he had. "Before you go Ms. Smoak I must warn you. Oliver may or may not tell you the diagnosis I have given him, and while he does suffer from severe post traumatic stress disorder and parasomnia, I'm afraid that there might be something else there. Something that I can't quite put my finger on. Just… please be careful."

"I promise Dr. Diggle."

Oliver and Roy were waiting for her in their usual spot. She knew better than to expect a reaction from Roy - in the beginning it had been easier for her to believe that he would do so, the ever silent boy in front of her startlingly different from the snarky-almost-delinquent step brother she'd grown up with. So instead her gaze fell immediately to Oliver, who always acknowledged her approach with a slight turn of his head in her direction. Felicity walked over to Roy, placed his usual brown paper bag filled with fruit and nuts and a small bottle of water next to him, a small part of her imagining what it would be like if he were to reach inside and start pulling the food out, making faces and berating her for neglecting to bring Cheetos and Red Vines and other junk foods he had used to call "the good stuff".

"Hey baby brother," she leaned forward to press a quick kiss to his forehead, ruffling his too-long hair as she did so. She told herself the small squeeze her heart did when she looked over at Oliver was because of the conversation she'd had with Dr. Diggle. In the five or so minutes it'd taken her to walk from his office and down to the grounds she'd settled on being more than slightly annoyed at his approach to her. While she could understand that the doctor felt the need to protect his patients, the method he'd chosen felt somewhat unnecessary. Still, Felicity walked over to Oliver's tree and took her usual seat next to him, close enough to touch if she really wanted. Not that she would, but that wasn't the point.

Damn Dr. Diggle and his meddling.

"Hey there," without pausing she handed over his apple.

Oliver took the apple she offered, his face a mix of amusement and slight surprise. When he didn't say anything back she looked over, eyebrows raised. Though far be it for him to spill his entire life's story at her, he didn't just not greet her. His silent appraisal of her, the amused gleam in his eye, was entirely different.

"What?"

He chuckled, the sound low and breathy, and shook his head. "What's got you riled up?"

Felicity's eyebrows pinched together. "Is it that obvious?"

"Well the huffing and muttering to yourself on your way over here made it kind of obvious. You know they say it's a sign of the mentally unstable if you talk to yourself."

Wonder of wonders… the man had made a joke. It was so strongly out of character for him that Felicity had to tell herself to stop staring.

"I'm working on it," she finally said. Oliver smiled at her, not a large grin, but something small and intimate that looked more genuine than any of the cocky grins she'd seen in those photos of him when he'd first come back. It was the kind of smile that made butterflies erupt in Felicity's stomach. Heat erupted across her cheeks, and she looked away.

"Are you gonna tell me?" He asked, his voice cutting through the silence. Felicity turned to look at him again, wondering why he was suddenly being so vocal.

"Someone said something that really bothered me and it involved a friend of mine" There. Not technically a lie - although calling Oliver her friend, even vaguely - was a bit of a stretch. They were acquaintances at best, if even that. Still, that wouldn't stop Felicity from protecting Oliver.

Silence stretched between them again, Oliver's eyes focused on hers. They enveloped her, trapped her and refused to let go. Not for the first time she reminded herself of why Oliver was here. His mental illness affected him in a different way than most of the other patients here. He wasn't delusional and explosively violent like poor Ben, nor was he silent and catatonic like Roy. Perhaps Dr. Diggle's reveal of Oliver's diagnosis had been an accident, or maybe it hadn't been. His PTSD and parasomnia might prevent him from leading a normal life for now, but there was an intelligence in his eyes that suggested Oliver was able to read her more than some might give him credit for.

She shivered and finally tore her gaze from his, wrapping her suddenly not thin enough sweater tighter around herself. Felicity got the feeling Dr. Diggle was one of the few people who - even if he didn't really know Oliver Queen - had the suspicion that he was much more astute than he made himself out to be. It would be ironic indeed, if the most perceptive person around was Oliver Queen, someone no one would suspect due to his past behavior and five year long disappearance.

Felicity picked at a callous on her palm, still very aware that Oliver was still looking at her. Even she wanted to, she'd never be able to do what Dr. Diggle had asked of her. Oliver would see through her in an instant.

AN: Originally this chapter was planned to be longer, but life got in the way and the headspace I was in for writing the longer version of this just wasn't something I could make come out of me anymore. I'm sorry it took so long to update this and the chapter's not even that long to begin with. Currently out looking for the inspiration to write more of this. As always a wonderful thank you to Col, Tina, and Latbfan for being so gosh darn amazing. Your friendship is incredible. A thank you to everyone who takes the time to read this and sticks with my crazy updating habits. You are all special and wonderful to me.

As always, this humble fanfic author asks you to review, they really do feed the muse.

-Owls