Purple Heart, Red Cross, and Green Arrows

Chapter 4: Another Chance

April 15, 1942

Somewhere between Orani and Orion, Bataan

An hour or so past midnight, Barry and Felicity bid farewell to the Yara family, expressing profound gratitude for the kindness and protection they have been shown in the past week. They are not sure whether or not they will see each other again, but Mr. Yara assures them that if they ever need his help, all they need to do is send word to him through a trusted courier like Dante. Mr. Yara specifically instructs them to use his pseudonym PilosopoTasyo instead of his surname, for any future communications with them.

Barry and Felicity depart from the back of the house towards the creek, which is less than a mile away, Dante leading the way. Only the moonlight guides them, as artificial sources of light would only draw unwanted attention along the way. When they reach the creek, they follow it downstream. Dante tells them that it will lead them straight to the hut where his family is hiding and caring for the injured American.

After a couple of miles, Felicity's sprained ankle begins to throb in pain slightly. She takes a deep breath to calm herself. She tells herself to keep going, reminding herself that this small sacrifice on her part is nothing compared to the sacrifice that John Diggle is making for their country and its allies. Moreover, she cheers herself on with the thought that she is only eight miles away from finding out what has happened to Oliver since she last saw him. Yet almost another mile later, she asks Barry and Dante if they could stop for a while to rest. Her ankle is practically begging for a break. The two men oblige, and she takes a seat on a large rock by the creek that had a somewhat flat surface.

Felicity lightly massages her sore feet and ankle, and then she drinks some water and takes a few bites of the bread that Nelia Yara had packed for them. She watches the creek and listens to the soothing sounds of the flowing water and the way it crashes against some of the rocks that are standing in its path. Her mind wanders off to a not-so-distant place and time in the past when the world she knew was a safer place to be.

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Dearden Ranch, Northern California

Spring, 1937

"I wish we didn't have to go back tomorrow," Felicity said to Oliver.

She sat contentedly on the grass in Oliver's embrace. She was comfortably situated between his bent legs, her legs outstretched in front of her. She had her back leaning against his chest, and her head resting between his shoulder and his chin. He had one arm wrapped across her upper chest while his other forearm rested on his knee, as he sat and leaned his back against the tree that provided them shade from the sun, which they hadn't noticed had risen from the horizon hours ago and had been already directly above the scenic landscape in front of them. They hadn't even noticed skipping breakfast altogether.

Oliver and Felicity had been in the ranch for a few days, and that day, they had gone riding and sight-seeing since sunrise. The night before, he had asked if she would like to come with him on horseback and tour the entire Dearden property that stretched for acres beyond the ranch, promising that she won't regret getting up early when she sees the views of the hillside and the meadow at the foot of the nearby mountain. He was right, she thought. The awesome vistas were breath-taking, and the natural landscape her eyes adored brought peace and calmness to her soul.

After a couple of hours of riding, Oliver had brought her to his favorite spot on the stream where his grandfather had built a quaint and sturdy wooden bridge in honor of his grandmother on their wedding day and had called it "Lover's Bridge." It was where his own father, Robert Queen, had proposed to his mother Moira a little over twenty years ago. Oliver hadn't planned on proposing to Felicity yet that day – even if he intended to do so in the near future, Lord willing – because he had been only on the halfway marker at saving for the cost of buying her the perfect ring, which was a bit of a challenge on a humble marine's pay without any help from his parents. Still he brought her there because he wanted this to be their special spot as well.