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There was a ringing in her ears as she gained consciousness again. It was a slow process, all of her senses overloaded and yet, she couldn’t seem to feel any of her limbs. She blinked her eyes, trying to focus on her surroundings as her mind tried to make sense of what had happened.
The earthquake. She remembered the moment she realized they had failed their mission and the ground started to shake, the walls rumbling and things falling around her. The instant the realization hit her; her brain seemed to suddenly pick up on the signals her nerve system was trying to tell it, making her groan in agony.
For a while, and she had no idea how long that was, she could only lie there, moaning and wishing for the pain to stop. She needed to focus on something. She needed something to distract her.
In her mind, Oliver was asking her where it hurt. She didn’t really know why that was the question her brain came up with, but it gave her something to focus on. She could feel her legs, which was a good sign, though she couldn’t move them, which was less good. The same went for her left arm, but she was able to move her right arm.
She still couldn’t see anything, it was too dark and dust was clouding her vision. It was no surprise; she quite literally had a building fall on top of her. With her free arm, she felt around for a clue as to what was pinning her down, and her hand collided with a hard rock. Pushing against it did nothing.
Not good. Her breathing was labored, whether that was from being crushed under a gigantic rock or from the panic attack she could feel coming on, she wasn’t sure. All she knew was that she wasn’t getting out of there without help.
Her chest was hurting and her palms felt sweaty even though the rational part of her brain knew that it was cold in the foundry, what with there being no walls anymore.
She hadn’t had an attack in years. Not since everything that happened in college.
Thinking about that definitely did not make her feel better.
She knew she had to do something. Her heavy breathing was making her feel lightheaded and she very much depended on her brain functions to stay sane.
Counting the seconds that passed had helped her in the past. It gave her mind something to do rather than being overwhelmed by what was happening.
1...2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9…10…11
She was counting too fast. Trying to calm herself, she took as deep a breath as her current situation allowed her, and let out a shuddering breath.
12…13…14…15…16…17…18…19…20
Her eyes closed as she tried to focus on her breathing.
Inhale…exhale…inhale…exhale.
Okay, that just made the pain worse. Definitely not the best idea, she thought as she groaned and tried to get the pain to settle down into a dull ache, if that was even possible.
27…28…29…30…31…32…33…
She knew her panic attack was far from over, but her head felt clearer. Her breathing was still labored and her sweaty hands shook as she reached up and touched the damn rock on top of her again.
There was no way she could move it on her own, but as far as she could tell, she wasn’t severely injured. She didn’t feel weak like she assumed she would if she was bleeding out. She had time. Oliver knew where she was, she could wait until he got there and he would save her. He always did.
The thought of him calmed her somewhat. His voice was in her head telling her to hang on and that he was coming for her.
54…55…56…57…58…59…60…
The seconds passed and soon her breathing wasn’t so labored anymore. But even she knew that wasn’t a good sign. She was fighting a losing battle to keep her eyes open and for a second she was wondering if she was wrong. What if she was bleeding out and Oliver wouldn’t make it in time? She really didn’t want to die alone down here.
She didn’t have time to dwell on it. Her mind slipped from consciousness again and she was too weak to fight it.
…
“Felicity!”
When she woke up again, there was a light shining in her face. She was blinded as she groaned in pain and tried to figure out what was going on.
“Felicity?”
Her tired mind registered a voice calling her name but it took far too long for her to realize whom the voice belonged to.
“Felicity, look at me,” the voice commanded. She blinked her eyes open, and with the flashlight no longer blinding her she looked right into a set of piercing blue eyes she’d recognize anywhere.
“Oliver,” she croaked out, “you came for me.”
“Of course I did. Are you okay?” His voice was oozing with concern and it made her heart skip a beat to know that it was directed towards her.
“Yeah, I’m fi-”, she cut herself off with another moan as she tried to sit up. For the first time she realized the rock was no longer pinning her down, but she was still in too much pain to move.
“Don’t move, I’ll get you out of here,” he stopped her and soon her body was lifted off the floor in an easy movement and her head was leaning against his chest. She was fighting the darkness threatening to pull her under, but gave in, just as flashing blue and red lights danced in her vision.
…
The first thing her eyes landed on when she opened them was him. He was sitting awkwardly in a chair that looked really uncomfortable and it didn’t take a genius to figure out that he’d been there awhile. He was looking down at his phone but before she could try to figure out what he was doing, he looked at her. She wondered if maybe the change in her breathing had alerted him.
For a split second she saw relief flash across his eyes but it was quickly replaced with guilt.
“Felicity.”
He breathed out her name and she didn’t think she’d ever get tired of hearing him say it. It did something to her, to hear him say her name like that.
“Hey,” she smiled, her words barely a whisper. Her throat felt dry and she could really use a glass of water.
And no sooner had she thought that, than a glass was in front of her, a straw between her lips. The sigh of relief that followed left her involuntarily, and she suddenly realized that she had said the words out loud instead of thinking them.
Oliver must have recognized the look of embarrassment on her face because he chuckled as he put the glass back on the table beside her hospital bed. “It’s okay, I kind of like it when you do that.”
If possible, her cheeks turned a darker shade of pink.
A moment of silence passed between them. Felicity was acutely aware of Oliver’s eyes on her and her gaze shifted to the blanket to keep herself from staring back.
Suddenly his hand was touching hers and she met his eyes.
“You scared me, don’t do that again.” There was no doubt in her mind that he was being serious, but to keep the mood light, she responded with a weak, “I’ll try but I can’t make any promises.”
The small smile that met her own was proof enough that everything would be okay. Things might be changed after everything that happened, but they would be alright.