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“We should get them to the plane. There are others there.” Slade tells Oliver a few minutes after Samantha passes in his arms. “I’ll get her, you get your sister.”
Oliver takes a deep breath and presses a kiss to Samantha’s forehead before he passes her over to Slade. He takes Thea in his arms and follows his old friend’s lead to the broken plane.
‘Others’ apparently means Curtis, Rene, Dinah, Quentin and Nyssa and Oliver can’t help the lump in his throat when he realizes that Felicity is not there. She’s not. Which means she’s somewhere else, possibly alone.
“Hey whoa, I know that look. She was with John last I saw her.” Curtis tells him and Oliver takes a deep breath, placing Thea down safely.
“Keep an eye on Thea. Don’t go anywhere. I’m going to find them.” He tells his teammates who nod seriously, Rene slipping into a seat next to Thea, keeping a watchful eye over her. Quentin also flanks her and Oliver takes a deep breath, reminding himself that these are people he can trust.
Oliver gives his sister one last look before he rushes back into the forest, shouting as he goes.
“Felicity! John! Felicity! Felicity!” He calls as loudly as he can, trying to fight his way through the smoke.
“Oliver!” A familiar voice calls and Oliver rushes towards it, finding John bent over, coughing.
“John!” He calls to his friend and drops to his knees beside him.
“I…” He tries but ends up coughing so much that he’s practically hacking.
“Hey, don’t try, it’s okay. You’re okay.” He tells his old friend and John gestures behind him.
“F’licity.” John implores and Oliver nods, looking over to where he’s pointing, trying to spot golden hair.
“I’ll be right back, don’t go anywhere,” Oliver tells him and John nods, coughing again as Oliver releases the grip he has on his arm.
The smoke is thick and Oliver has to squint to attempt to spot any sign of his… his Felicity.
“Felicity! Felicity!” He cries out desperately and as his head spins, he catches a glimpse of gold, so out of place in this desolate landscape. “Felicity!”
Her chest rises up and down and Oliver lets out a breath of relief that she is still breathing. With her eyes closed, she looks so peaceful, as if she were merely sleeping, looking so similar to all the times he’s watched her sleep peacefully next to him.
“Baby, please wake up. Felicity, please… I can’t handle losing you… not you too, not again…” He tells her desperately and he takes a breath of anticipation as she moves a little, an adorable little groan leaving her mouth.
“’ver.” She groans and he cups her cheek as she forces herself up onto her elbows. The movement seems to set something off in her and she coughs loudly.
“Hey, it’s okay. You’ve inhaled a lot of smoke. Do you know where we are?” He explains and asks, smiling a little as she nuzzles into his hand.
“Not Aruba.” She pouts and he chuckles, the tears spilling down his cheeks. They’re in this hellish nightmare and here she is, making him smile just like it’s a normal Tuesday.
“No baby, not Aruba, unfortunately. What I would give to be in Aruba with you right now.” He smiles and she does too, turning her head slightly to kiss his wrist.
“Hmm, sounds nice.” She closes her eyes and he carefully lifts her towards him, cradling her head into his chest.
“We’ve got to get back to John.” He tells her and Felicity’s eyes widen. “He’s okay, just inhaled a lot of smoke, like you.”
She nods and tries to force her feet to the floor. As she moves, he notices the gash on the back of her head and the blood that soils her perfect hair. His poor angel.
“Baby, let me carry you. You’ve hit your head, you might have a concussion.” He tells her and knows she must be feeling bad by the way she simply relents to his help, nodding her head and wrapping her arms around his neck. His body groans a little at her weight but he continues on, he knows it’s simply the exhaustion but he can rest when he knows his friends, his family, are safe.
“This… doesn’t feel like… one step at a… time.” Felicity smiles a little, her coughing fits interrupting her speech and Oliver chuckles, pressing his lips to her forehead, not being able to resist kissing her.
“I think we can call this an extenuating circumstance.” He chuckles and she nods, cuddling close.
“I like that idea.” She whispers, nuzzling his neck and Oliver laughs, resisting the urge to kiss her properly as her hands tug at the hair at the nape of his neck.
He’s worried about her babbling though. He’s pretty sure that head injury of hers is bad and he needs to make sure that she doesn’t fall asleep.
“John!” Felicity calls when she spots him and Oliver is pleased to see that he’s stood up. Felicity reaches out her arms, trusting Oliver to keep hold of her always, and John accepts her hug, kissing the side of her head.
“Hey, you.” He smiles at her, tugging on her hair affectionately. Both of their voices are gravely with the smoke and Oliver knows they need to get back to the plane so that they can try to get help. “You doing okay?”
“Her head. I think she might have a concussion. She’s a little um… loopy.” Oliver explains, lowering his voice as if that means the woman in his arms won’t hear him. John hums, his hand cupping Felicity’s head and he growls as his hand comes away covered in blood.
“Come on baby doll, we gotta get you to safety.” He tells her and Felicity smiles, leaning into Oliver.
“My boys.” She hums and Oliver chuckles, readjusting her in his arms.
“Stay awake for me hon, tell me more about Aruba.” He asks and she smiles as they begin their journey.
“Hmm, it’s hot and the sun’s really bright and I can wear that new bikini I bought months ago but haven’t had the chance to wear yet. Is it strange I bought a bikini with you in mind even though we’re not together together? Anyway, it’s green, like your green. That’s funny, you have a color now. Like it’s yours.” She rambles and Oliver smiles, just so happy to hear her voice. There are so many other things playing on his mind, his promise to Samantha, Thea, but here his angel is, making his world seem light, even just for a minute or so.
“Alright, I think that’s enough talk about Aruba,” John smirks and Felicity chuckles, although that sends her into another coughing fit.
“It’s okay, it’s okay. I’ve got you.” Oliver tells her as she battle through it, the gagging finally stopping and she wipes away some spit.
“Ugh, gross.” She comments and both John and Oliver chuckle as the plane finally comes into sight.
“John! Felicity!” Dinah’s voice calls and her shout draws the others’ attention to them. Suddenly they’re crowded and Oliver can feel the panic rise in Felicity as she clings a little tighter to him.
“Alright, alright, everyone take a step back.” He commands and his team obeys, although Curtis looks very reluctant to step away from his best friend.
“Oliver?” A small voice asks and he turns to see William stood behind him, eyes wide and scared.
“Hey buddy, did someone come get you?” He asks, looking back to the team and Curtis lifts his arm.
“Slade mentioned he was by the shore and I figured it would be easier if you didn’t have to go back to get him. Took some convincing though, he did not trust me at first.” Curtis explains and Oliver smiles, proud that William didn’t just wander off with the first man who came to talk to him.
But if he’s here, that probably meant that he has seen Samantha and yeah, that’s certainly a desperate look in his eyes.
“Here Oliver, I got her,” John tells him and Oliver frowns, knowing that John was struggling to stand five minutes ago. “I’m just going to get her to a seat.”
Nodding his head, he kisses Felicity’s forehead once more and she hums. “I’ll be with you in a sec.” He promises and she shakes her head, shifting to kiss his cheek.
“Longer Oliver. I’m not going anywhere.” She promises and he smiles softly at her.
“Come here baby doll.” John smiles and takes her weight in his arms. She giggles a little at his continued use of his nickname for her and settles into his arms easily. Oliver watches them go and then turns back to William, crouching down in front of him.
“My mom…” William trails off and Oliver nods his head, the tears in his eyes matching the ones in his son’s.
“I know, I’m really sorry William. There was nothing I could do.” He tells him honestly and William nods, looking down at his shoes.
“That man… he said you’re my father.” William states more than asks and Oliver hums, his hands on William’s shoulders.
“He was correct on that account. I am your father.” Oliver tells him and William nods, biting his lip.
“Does that… does that mean I’m coming to live with you?” He asks and Oliver freezes, having not really thought about anything past the next ten minutes for around three days now.
“We’ll talk about that when we get back to safety but I promise you, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. Okay?” He asks and William nods, fiddling with his hoodie.
“Okay.” William nods and Oliver smiles a little, not being able to resist glancing over his shoulder to look at his sister and his love. Curtis and John are keeping Felicity engaged in conversation to keep her awake and Rene and Quentin are still stood vigil over Thea. Oliver takes comfort in the fact that he’s finally found people upon whom he can rely.
“Alright, bud. I need to go and see if we can get help. Can you go and sit with Dinah for me?” He asks and gestures over to where the SCPD officer is sat by the plane, talking lowly with Nyssa. William nods and Dinah nods her assurance that she’ll keep him safe when she notices the boy headed for her.
Oliver himself heads straight for Curtis, knowing that he’s the one with the greatest chance of getting out a signal.
“I’m on it boss,” Curtis tells him as he sees Oliver approaching and it’s then that the vigilante realizes that his teammate is holding Felicity’s tablet in his hands, tapping away.