Lair, some time later …

Oliver slowly walked down the steps taking in the atmosphere. He'd missed this place he realized he'd come to see it as a refuge from the world of pretence he'd been thrown into upon his return … He took a moment to soak up the ambiance. Eyes closed, he could hear the water cascading further down. Then there was the somewhat acrid smell of rusting metal, the sweetish musty aroma of dust and decaying wooden pallets that still lingered despite the upgrades that had been made. Slowly the confines of the lair vanished and Oliver found himself in a different location. Involuntarily his muscles tensed. His eyes flew open trying to assess the danger. He exhaled deeply grasping the handrail more firmly to steady himself on his feet. The humming of the computers brought his attention downstairs. A familiar noise caught his attention. He silently continued downwards accompanied by the clatter of the keys on a keyboard. Felicity is here! A half-smile appeared on his lips as he took in her slender silhouette from where he was standing at the bottom of the stairwell.

She was so absorbed by her research; she hadn't heard him coming down. It gave him time to study her without being overtly staring. Her complexion seemed pale illuminated by the cold light of the screens and there was something else he couldn't pinpoint precisely. Felicity was focused on the numbers scrolling down the computer screen; her forehead was scrunched as usual when she was in deep concentration. Yet there was something else amiss, he could tell by the way her shoulders were uncharacteristically slumped.

Usually she was full of energy and something else he couldn't name, but it gave him hope. Not so today. There was an air of defeat surrounding her. He felt the need to comfort her. Just as he was about to say something to signal his presence the metal door clanked loudly behind him and Diggle jogged down past him. His heavy steps made the metal creak under the added weight.

"Dig did you know…" she swung her swivelling chair toward the stairs, while gesturing with her arms to punctuate her speech, a smile gracing her lips. "Oh…" was all she managed to utter when her eyes fell on Oliver standing a few feet away. Her arms froze mid air before slowly sinking to her lap. Both observed their counterpart silently for a moment.

Unable to bear the silence any longer Felicity launched herself into a tentative explanation.

"I was just doing some research … Researching some … you know …" Her right hand kept flailing around to punctuate her speech, illustrating perfectly the nervousness she felt. Oliver slightly tilted his head, eyebrows knit together in puzzlement. This wasn't the usual Felicity… What was going on?

Felicity sensed a question coming her way. She had to prevent it … somehow. Now was so not the moment to face Oliver …

"I need to … take care of something … like right now… " Felicity grabbed her purse, pushed past Oliver and Diggle. "Excuse me… See you tomorrow Dig…" She hurriedly exited the foundry leaving two speechless men in her wake. Oliver turned towards his bodyguard and both stared at each other trying to read the other man's expression. Diggle was the first to recover.

"What was that? What did you do?"

Oliver shrugged raising both hands palms up trying to articulate his thoughts.

"Dig, I simply walked down the stairs…" his tone was slightly exasperated.

Diggle snorted … "Yeah, if you say so …"

Debating on what to do Oliver stood frozen to the spot, mind churning. He couldn't understand what had just happened. He was used to her rambles, but not this type of reaction.

"What are you waiting for? Go, talk to her!" Diggle sounded slightly exasperated.

Oliver turned and hurried back up.

Outside the air was cold and wet; a mix of exhaust fumes and trash relents. His gaze swept the darkness to both sides. Where had she disappeared so rapidly? He took a few tentative steps to the left, but stopped mid stride. A smirk appeared on his lips. Oliver turned on his heels and followed the alley in the other direction. He found her at the next intersection. At first all he could see was the way her arms hugged herself tightly forming some kind of elementary defensive barrier. She was quiet. Taking a closer look he noticed her shoulders shaking slightly.

She's crying? Why? He stepped up to her; his hand raised in a familiar gesture to her shoulder but he stilled, unsure about how welcome it would be. Felicity clearly was upset with him. His fingers tentatively brushed her elbow instead. He didn't know what to say…

She tensed as she felt the feather light touch, froze mid movement. Then she turned and launched herself into his arms, sobbing anew. Oliver stood rooted to the spot, surprised by her act his muscles locked instinctively as a result of five years of Hell. He felt unsure about what to do. Then he relaxed and encircled her with his arms offering what small comfort he could. Felicity mumbled something he couldn't quite hear, except it sounded suspiciously like you promised. "Ssshsssh, it's okay. I'm here … everything is okay now." Even as he said the words she pushed him back, her hand flat on his chest.

"No! Nothing's okay! You … you almost died … You'd promised…" He could see the moisture gathering on her lashes moments before she turned and hurried to her car.

Memories flooded his mind. The promise he'd made moments before she'd told him about his mother's betrayal… The way she'd looked, her hesitant and tentative "Promise me?" And he'd dared to tell her she wasn't going to lose him only moments after she'd voiced her apprehension. How could he pass so lightly over the very likely possibility to die on his quest? So much for never making promised one couldn't keep for sure… What had he done? Even if unintentionally … A sigh left his lips as he closed his eyes feeling somewhat ashamed. He'd hurt Felicity more than he'd thought. No, he'd failed her.

Two days later, foundry

"Oliver?" Diggle rapidly swept the foundry, but the man he was looking for was nowhere to be seen. This was infuriating and made him curse the younger man.

Two days ago Oliver had come back after chasing Felicity with an expression that all too painfully reminded Diggle the beginnings of their partnership. The closed off masklike face was a tell-tale. The confrontation with their girl mustn't have gone too well. The man had simply put on his training attire and waited for him on the mats, escrima sticks in hand. The training session that had followed had been harrowing. Oliver had faltered more than once, having his bodyguard worried for his physical wellbeing. The stubborn man had pushed himself well beyond his limits, not stopping until Diggle had refused to continue. Then wordlessly he'd left to shower and disappeared for a whole day. The bodyguard hadn't been able to trace him. Their IT girl hadn't been in either.

Today he'd hoped to catch at least one of them at the foundry. It was time to clear the air and to move forward. He would do whatever it would take to make Oliver talk, or Felicity, whoever set first foot in the lair.

He rapidly jogged down to the basement whistling and feeling content at the decision he'd made. His gaze suddenly froze on the display case usually holding Oliver's bow. Empty! "He wouldn't…" Diggle shook his head. In two steps he'd crossed the space to the case and his hand traced the now empty stand. An expletive left his lips.

"Dig?" The disembodied voice interrupted his musings. It came from the computers. Diggle rapidly marched to Felicity's desk to grab a comm unit. "Oliver?" How could he have known who was at the foundry?

It took a moment for the device to crackle to life. "Yes, Dig?"

"Where the hell are you? Are you out of your mind? You're in no shape to be around and running after criminals."

"Relax! Just taking a rapid patrol to get back into the swing of things…" The voice trailed off.

"You barely escaped the Grim Reaper! You shouldn't be out there! Heck, you shouldn't even be up and around yet!" Dig couldn't hold back the anger that flowed in his veins.

"I'll get back soon, Mom!" Came the dry reply, making Diggle shake his head in disapproval despite the fact that Oliver couldn't see his face.

Half an hour later the bodyguard was pacing the foundry debating whether to go after Oliver or simply wait for his return when the archer slowly walked down to the basement.

"You fool!" Diggle couldn't contain his anger. "What did you think? Wait! You didn't! Going out there all by yourself without back-up!"

Oliver pushed back his hood and both men stared each other down. Oliver's jaw was set muscles working. "I'm fine. I know my limits!" He growled through gritted teeth.

Diggle shook his head in disapproval. "Well clearly you don't know those of your team…" He knew this was a low jab, but judging by the expression on the younger man's face it was a bullseye.

"Oliver, you're not on Lian Yu any more. Take the time to heal properly! You don't have to be constantly on alert! But more importantly, you have people who care and worry about you…"

There was no response as Oliver pushed his bow back onto its display case a little more forcefully than needed. He turned to go change out of his gear when suddenly his world tilted. He rapidly grabbed the edge of a nearby workbench for support. Eyes closed, he willed his body back under control.

"Oliver!" Diggle saw the stagger and the unsteadiness of his friend and was ready to jump to his help. A placating though trembling gesture stopped him.

"Give me a minute. I will be fine…"

Minutes later he pushed away from the table steady on his feet again and made his way to the adjacent bathroom. When he came back out Diggle was sitting on Felicity's chair, an expectant look on his face. Oliver stepped in front of him, suspecting what was to come and steeling himself for the unavoidable.

"Oliver, promise me, you won't go out there without back-up next time. If you don't do it for me, at least do it for Felicity. Do you even suspect what you almost dying did to her? She came by the hospital every single day. Fell asleep from exhaustion by your bedside, hurried to work and came back. That girl cares more for you than she should …" he trailed off, he could see he'd hit home. Oliver had closed his eyes, his jaw was ticking, as he opened them Diggle could for a brief moment see the vulnerability behind the iron mask. Oh man! He thought even as he grabbed Oliver's extended hand and they shook hands.

"Dig…" the words failed to come, but the bodyguard understood. "Let's work something out so everybody can sleep at night…" A slight smirk graced the younger man's lips.

Diggle couldn't help but chuckle hearing those words. "Whatever works for you, man. Whatever works for you … "