There was a drumming somewhere close. Maybe she had fallen asleep at her desk again in the lair. She tried to open her eyes and discovered the drumming was actually in her head and the bright light that had just peeked through was very unwelcome. Either this was the worst hangover she'd ever had, or something else had happened.

She turned her face into whatever lay beneath her and tried again, this time not wincing, when she took in what was in front of her. The dark green sheets were not ones she recognized, and a flare of panic went through her.

Earlier memories flooded back and without thought to how she felt she scrambled into a sitting position and took stock of her surroundings.

The last thing she really remembered was leaving Verdant. Oliver and Digg were finishing up and Oliver had told her over the comm link she should head home.

She always parked a block away so no one got suspicious of seeing her car outside the club every night, and either one of the guys or a bouncer from the club would walk her to her car. However, that night she had honestly forgotten. Her attention was solely on her phone and a troubling issue at her real work that had been bothering her for the past couple of days.

She didn't see the group of three men until she was almost upon them. She tried for flippant, and then rude, and then tried to remember any small bit of self defense that Digg had taught her but she came up blank. All she managed to do was thumb her cell on and call Oliver in hopes he could overhear. When her phone got batted to the ground with a rough slap and she heard the glass shatter her heart dropped.

Everything else was a bit of a blur. There were hands on her, and her purse was ripped away and then somehow she was on the ground and her vision tunneled down to white spots that flickered off and on in front of her.

When she felt herself being dragged towards an alley something clicked inside her and she fought back, legs kicking, arms punching. She would have bit one of them if she'd had the chance.

Then she had suddenly been dropped hard and she heard one of her attackers let out a grunt of pain. There was the sound of something cutting through the air twice more and then everything was still around her.

All she could see was dark asphalt and how the standing rain water reflected the one dim street light, she hurt too much to be disgusted by where she lay. Her vision faded and she heard a voice call her name and then there was another dark form in front of her.

She twitched in panic but couldn't move and when a gloved hand brushed hair out of her face she whimpered.

The sound of tires screeching made her try and sit up and then she realized it was Oliver by her side, still dressed as the Hood. The relief that shot through her made her go limp and if his hand hadn't shot out to catch her head she would have cracked it again on the ground.

She could hear Diggle then, asking if she was alright and all she could do was hum a response. She must have lost consciousness because she had no other memory prior to waking up in this strange bed.

With her heartbeat beginning to return to normal she finally let herself look around. The room was massive. Everything oversized and dark. Large window, California king bed, leather armchair that could probably have doubled as a couch. The one framed photo on the sidetable let her know she was in Oliver's room at the Queen mansion.

Her mouth went dry. She was in Oliver Queen's bed, in Oliver Queen's room, in the Queen family mansion.

Her boss was no where to be seen and for that she was eternally grateful. She didn't know why he had brought her here and not back to the lair which had been closer, or even taken her to her own place, or maybe a hospital, based on how her head still felt.

She reached up a tentative hand and sucked in a sharp breath as she brushed over a tender lump on the back of her head. Her hands were scraped up and the palms raw from where she'd fallen and when she shifted some she realized her entire left side must be one large bruise.

Felicity pushed the rich, down comforter off her legs and gasped when she saw they were bare. The skinned knees didn't even phase her. Both hands went to her stomach and she clutched at unfamiliar fabric, pulling it outwards and realizing it was a grey t-shirt. A very large grey t-shirt.

Cheeks flaming she cast frantic eyes around the room but nothing was out of place and there was no indication for where the clothes she had been wearing now were.

She sighed loudly and pushed lank hair out of her face, and winced when a finger tangled in something sticky and matted; she didn't even want to contemplate what that could be.

She scooted slowly to the edge of the bed and lowered her legs, taking a moment when things went a bit lopsided, and then pushed to her feet.

There were three doors in the room, all of them closed. The nearest ended up being a closet easily the size of her apartment and she pulled the door quickly shut behind her. She got lucky on her second try and found an unsurprisingly giant bathroom, which included the most obscenely indulgent shower she'd ever laid eyes on.

She rolled her eyes automatically and regretted it instantly as a vicious throb reminded her of what had happened the night before. She could have spent a considerable amount of time going through Oliver Queen's bathroom, but she just grabbed the nearest towel and opened the floor to ceiling glass shower door.

The control panel for the multiple shower heads was fairly simple to figure out even with her rattled brain and soon enough four jets, at varying heights were pouring out steaming hot water.

She had the presence of mind to make her way back to the door and switch the lock before stripping Oliver's shirt off and stepping into the shower.

The only shampoo was his, and as soon as she poured it into her hand she knew she was going to regret the decision to shower in his bathroom. Surely his sister had a bathroom she could have used, or one of what was most likely the hundreds of guest rooms. But it was too late now and the heat of the water made the scent of the shampoo that much stronger and she actually felt her traitorous knees wobble a bit as she smelled him all around her.

As much as she would have enjoyed this any other day, the heat was starting to get to her and she shut it off with a shaky hand. Now her legs were weak for an entirely different reason and she scooped the towel up quickly before dropping onto the closed toilet lid to dry herself off.

Feeling like she wouldn't collapse any second she made her way to the counter with the double sinks and opened two drawers before she found an array of pain medication. Prescription bottles filled the drawer and she picked up several, seeing Oliver's name on them and noticing they were all still full. A bottle of ibuprofen was buried towards the back and she shook three tablets out into her hand and swallowed them down.

A glance in the mirror reminded her she was still standing naked in his bathroom and she hastily pulled his shirt back on, hating that she had no other choice. She had no shoes, no pants and had no idea where Oliver had disappeared to.

With a sigh she undid the lock and stepped back into the bedroom. It looked the same as she had left it. Her heartbeat increased again as she padded quietly to the only door she hadn't opened and pushed down on the handle. A large hallway was in front of her, with artwork lining the walls, and perfectly selected decor arranged on tables.

Felicity looked left and then right and she didn't hear or see a soul. She took a deep breath and decided to go to the right, and when she went around the first corner she was glad to see she has chosen correctly; the main staircase was now in front of her.

She'd seen this staircase in pictures from fundraisers and galas the Queen's had held at the mansion, but she had never thought she'd see it in person, or while she wasn't wearing any pants.

Hoping she'd find Oliver, or even Diggle, she quickly tip-toed down the stairs and was about to cross the marble foyer when a voice rang out in the large space.

"Who are you and what are you doing in my house?"

Felicity froze in place and pivoted towards the voice, even though she was fairly certain she knew who it was.

Moira Queen stood perfectly centered in an archway, in a beautiful business suit, not a hair out of place, and an icy stare directed on Felicity.

"Mrs. Queen!" Felicity blurted out, unnecessarily, "Um, I'm, um..." she stammered, having no idea why Oliver would have brought her here, why he was not around to explain himself, and no idea what she should say to make her presence in the Queen mansion make any sort of sense.

Just as she opened her mouth involuntarily, "Felicity, there you are!" boomed across the room, and she looked up to see Oliver striding towards them.

"Good morning, Mother." he said good naturally, pausing to buss her cheek before continuing on his path to Felicity, "I thought you were in Gotham until tomorrow."

"The meeting got cancelled so I flew back early this morning." she said, her tone still hard, "I was just saying hello."

"Good morning." Oliver said to Felicity, giving her one of those charming, fake smiles she saw him flash on the floor of the club or to the paparazzi, and before she knew what had happened he'd leaned down and kissed her. It was quick, and mostly on the corner of her mouth, but still...Oliver Queen had just kissed her.

Her thoughts spun out of control and something told her it would be best to fight her natural instincts and keep her mouth shut just then.

Moira crossed the space between them and gave Felicity an appraising look, taking note of her bare legs and feet.

"Here." Oliver said and pressed something into her hands. "Thought you could borrow something from Thea just for now."

She realized he'd given her a pair of running shorts and before she could process what the hell she was doing she skimmed into them.

Felicity froze with her hands on the waistband and then slowly pulled the shirt that obviously belonged to Oliver down over top until only an inch or so of the shorts peeked out from underneath.

She knew her face was redder than it had ever been. She had seriously just put on pants in the Queen foyer, in front of Oliver and Moira Queen. The floor could open up and swallow her at any moment and she'd be just fine with that.

Oliver cleared his throat and turned to his mother, "This is Felicity Smoak, she works in IT for Queen Consolidated and we ran into each other at the club last night. There was an unfortunate incident with a drunk customer and some spilled drinks, and I could hardly leave her to fend for herself."

The playboy image was in full effect and Moira gave her son a long suffering look. "Of course, dear, always the gentleman."

The door opened behind her and she turned to see Diggle walk in, looking like nothing was out of place.

Diggle's eyes met hers and asked without saying a word how she was. She gave him a nod and a half smile, the most she could do under the watchful eyes of Moira Queen. As far as she knew Felicity and Diggle had never met.

"Ah, Diggle. Could you be good enough to run Ms. Smoak back to her place. I'm sure she can give you directions." Oliver said smoothly, his not so subtle indication that he hadn't known her long enough or cared enough to find out where she lived a clear front for his mother, but it still stung. He was dismissing her.

"Of course Mr. Queen." Diggle replied and held a hand out towards the door in invitation for her to go ahead of him.

Felicity turned to Oliver and his mother. "It was a pleasure meeting you. I'm sorry if things were weird, what with me just wandering around your home, and scaring the daylights out of you. I mean, I know if I was at my place and some strange woman I didn't know just popped up around the corner I'd probably...well, not that two people can really be in my place at the same time without you knowing. It's small. And this place, I mean, it's massive, and I'm sure you could not see someone for days if you didn't want to, and..." she finally trailed off when she saw Oliver rub a hand across the back of his neck and try and hide a smile.

Moira, to her credit, hadn't so much as twitched an eyebrow at her ramble, and Felicity flushed red again and looked at the floor in embarrassment. How many times could one person be humiliated in one day?

"That's quite alright, any friend of Oliver's is always welcome here." she said evenly, but the way she said 'friend' sounded like an insult and Felicity's head shot up. Oliver had taken half a step forward and was now slightly between them.

She didn't know what possessed her. Maybe it was her head injury, or how tired she was, or maybe it was how Oliver had made her feel earlier, but she didn't think. She turned towards him and lifted on her toes before snaking a hand around his neck to pull him forward.

She knew she had surprised him when he didn't resist and she took advantage of his slightly open mouth by kissing him soundly.

The peck he had given her earlier didn't compare. That fireworks thing that always shows up in books and songs. It was really true. His hand clenched in the fabric at her waist and she wondered when he had put it there.

Digg's clearing his throat made her drop back into reality and she separated from Oliver's lips with an audible pop. She lowered herself back down to the floor and let her hand drag very deliberately down the front of his shirt. "See you later." she said softly, before giving him a look that only he could know meant he was in some serious trouble and turned for the door without looking back.

Digg wisely didn't say anything until he had shut the car door behind her and had pulled out of the Queen's driveway.

"Anything I need to know?" he asked, his eyes meeting hers in the rearview mirror

She was suddenly furious with Oliver. How dare he put her in that position with her employer. Now Moira Queen thought she was nothing more than one more notch in her son's bedpost at best, and at worst, someone who would sleep her way to the top.

Her eyes sparkled with angry tears and she swiped at them with the back of her hand. "Why would he bring me to his house? Why didn't you take me back to the lair, or my own apartment even?" she demanded

"We did take you to the lair. Looked you over, cleaned up the worst of the cuts and scrapes, but nothing seemed to be too serious." Diggle answered, his voice betraying nothing. "As to why Oliver took you there...you're going to have to ask him that."

She nodded once and slumped back into the soft leather, rubbing her eyes, they hurt without her glasses. She huffed silently to herself. Now she'd be stuck wearing the old pair she didn't like until she got them replaced.

Then a shiver went through her as she realized wearing old glasses could be the least of her concerns if Oliver hadn't gotten there when he did, and a tiny bit of her anger towards him dissipated.

She felt the beginning of a panic attack and took long deep breaths in an effort to keep it at bay. The last thing she needed was to lose her cool now.

"Felicity. You okay?" Diggle asked, the concern more than evident in his voice.

"Yeah, Digg." she replied without looking at him, and she was never more grateful then when the car slowed and she felt him put the car in park.

"Want me to walk you up?" he said as he opened her door and handed her her purse from the night before, the keys already fished out.

"No, I got it." she said and gave him a tight smile to let him know he wasn't the one she was upset with. "I've got a date with my bathtub. I'll see you tonight."

Digg wisely didn't say anything and soon enough she had the solid feel of her door behind her.

Her hands shook as she laid her bag and keys on the kitchen counter and she could barely pour herself a glass of water without it sloshing everywhere.

She needed a purpose and something to focus on she decided and headed for her bathroom. A good long soak would help her poor bruised body, and hopefully help her process what had just happened.

She didn't skimp on the bubbles and soon enough she had sunk to her neck in jasmine scented bliss.

The last eighteen hours played over and over in her head and she ran the gamut of emotion from stark fear, to desire, if she was being perfectly honest.

Kissing Oliver hadn't been the best move, and she had no idea how this was going to affect them in the future, she hoped he'd just forget about it and move on. Maybe that was for the best.

She must not have heard the first or second knock, because she was jolted from her quiet retreat by the sound of her front door crashing in and a thundering voice yelling "FELICITY!"

She scrambled to find a weapon and all she could come up with was a wooden handled back scrubber. It wasn't until the voice came a second time that she realized it was Oliver.

She let out a strangled 'eep' as he pushed roughly into her bathroom, her eyes flitting from the handgun he held, to the slightly manic look he had.

"Get out!" she shouted and threw the back scrubber at him without thought. And then her mouth dropped open as she watched it bounce harmlessly off him, and she realized she'd just assaulted her boss.

The manic look he had started to fade and it was replaced with something she didn't want to even address right then. "Get out." she repeated, and he didn't say a word as he left the room and shut the door behind him.

She sank back into the tub, never more grateful for her prescient thought to be liberal with the bubbles earlier and then let out an irritated breath as she pulled the plug and clambered out.

Once again, the only thing she had to wear was the t-shirt she'd worn home. This being her own apartment she'd had the crazy notion she'd be able to walk from her bathroom to her bedroom in private.

She tugged the shirt over her head and threw her hair into a haphazard bun before flinging open the door and stalking into the living room.

What was left of her front door was in pieces, and had a very large, very Oliver sized hole in it.

"What the hell, Oliver!" she exclaimed, pissed about the door, and the position he'd put her in earlier, and her own stupidity at not paying attention last night.

He had the decency to look slightly sheepish. "I'll have Digg fix it." and she just crossed her arms and cocked an eyebrow at him. "Alright, I'll fix it." he conceded and she nodded.

"Care to explain why I had to do the walk of shame out of the Queen mansion just a little bit ago? I'm sure this is going to look great on my next employee review." she spat, and was glad to see him look taken aback.

"I'm sorry." he said evenly "My mother was supposed to be gone until tomorrow, I didn't know the meeting got cancelled."

"Why did you even take me there in the first place?" she countered "Digg told me you took me back to the lair. Why wouldn't you just leave me there?"

Oliver began to pace in the small area in front of her couch and she was acutely aware of how large a man he was. He dominated the space, and even though this was her home she felt almost like she was imposing on him.

"I couldn't...I couldn't let you lay on that table. The one that I've laid on when I've been shot and injured and..." his voice trailed off and he turned so she couldn't see his face. "I just needed you to be safe."

She swallowed heavily. That was the last thing she had expected him to say. "You could have brought me back here." she said softly, needing to know why he didn't.

He nodded, "I was't really thinking straight." he said and she gasped at this admission.

"I got your phone call, and it scared the hell out of me. I didn't think I was going to get there in time. And then I saw them..." she saw his hands clench into fists, and for the first time she wondered if he'd killed them, and she realized she didn't want to know.

"My home is secure. I didn't think. I just took you there." his tone had a note of finality to it, as if he dared her to question his reasoning.

She nodded, even though he couldn't see her, but she didn't trust her voice right then. All the fight had gone out of her at his confession.

The silence stretched between them, and she swallowed heavily, "I'm sorry." she said, hating how weak she sounded.

He turned on her then. "What could you possibly be sorry for?"

Now it was her turn to look away, "I didn't get an escort to my car, I got distracted, and I let those guys get the drop on me."

His hands landed solidly on her upper arms and forced her to look at him. The power that flowed through him was tangible and she couldn't look away. "This wasn't your fault. This is what we're trying to do. Trying to make the Glades a place where a woman can walk to her car without an armed guard. If it's anyone fault, it's mine for not working faster."

He was so close now, he had never been this close before, not on purpose, or when he wasn't unconscious, and she was having a damn hard time focusing on anything other than his mouth.

He seemed to recognize their situation just then as well and let go of her, but he didn't step back.

Something changed in his eyes, and her breath caught in her throat, "Why'd you kiss me, Felicity." he whispered

"Why'd you kiss me?" she replied immediately, amazed she had the ability to form words right then.

He scoffed at her, "Those kisses weren't the same, and you know it."

"I just...I thought it would help keep the cover you created for your mother, that's all." she said unconvincingly as the tension between them continued to rise and she had to physically keep herself from closing the distance.

"Right," he said, drawing the word out.

She was saved by the proverbial bell, as what sounded like the ring tone she used for her mother began to play from his pocket. She cocked a quizzical brow his direction and he dug it out and handed her the phone.

"Got a new one activated and sent over." he said nonchalantly, as if it was no big deal that he had ordered an exact copy of her phone and knew enough of her information to port all her settings correctly. "You should probably answer it, it's your mom."

She stared at the phone in her hand and deliberately let it go to voice mail. "I'll call her back later. I'm not sure...I'm not sure I can talk to her right now without her knowing something was wrong."

He took the phone back from her and laid it on the table, and then took her hands in his, turning them over to inspect the palms. "You ok?" he asked, as a thumb ghosted over a particularly sensitive spot and she couldn't hold back the hiss.

"Yeah," she said automatically and was surprised by the tears that pricked her eyes and the sob that welled in her throat. "You guys got there in time, I'm fine." but before she could stop them, two tears made their way down her face and one of his hands left hers to wipe them away.

Her eyes flew shut at the contact, and this one extra emotion was too much. Her head dropped and she couldn't keep the breakdown at bay any longer.

She felt herself being pulled in and she didn't resist. Her hands fisted in his jacket as he held her. One large hand cradled her head and the other was wrapped solidly around her back. He didn't talk or make any sound at all, he just held her as she fell apart.

When she finally felt more in control, and her shoulders had stopped shaking, she let out one long ragged breath, and his hand stroked her hair once, then twice and then he was pushing her back slightly.

"Better?" he asked, no judgement at all in his tone

She only nodded and tried to surreptitiously wipe her face on her sleeve, even though she knew it was futile.

The Oliver she had started working with a few months ago wouldn't have done this. He couldn't have dealt with her while she cried all over him. He was changing, and she thought that maybe she had played a part in that.

She knew there was something between them. She didn't know what it was, but she knew they were both aware, and for right now they were going to leave it alone. And she was pretty sure they were both okay with that. For now.

"How about you get changed and we'll run by the diner for some lunch, then maybe Digg and I can go get you a new door. And maybe a new security system." he suggested

She opened her mouth to protest the security system, but she remembered his voice when he'd told her he needed her to be safe and she just gave him a smile and a nod instead.

"That sounds great." she replied, and the grin he gave her in response was reward enough for the tiny bit of control she was giving up.