Front and center, Oliver stood, preaching, "My identity is a closely-guarded secret known only to a few. If it were to get out, it will endanger my family, my friends, and it would embolden my enemies to retaliate at me through them."

"Take notes," whispered Parker to Barry. 

As usual, Felicity scooted in front of Oliver, speaking to change his warning into nicer words: "What Oliver is trying to say is that he had a lovely time working with you, and getting to know each one of you, and he can't wait to do it again!"

Oliver's bored eyes traveled from Felicity's happy expression to Parker's look of skepticism. Internally, he agreed. He felt it was best to be honest and quick. With time, he learned it also came off as brutal. 

For Felicity's sake, he agreed, flatly saying, "Right."

"Time to go to Jitters?" suggested Parker. 

"If I can have a moment with Oliver," asked Dr. Wells softly. 

Fingers outstretched, Parker shuffled hurriedly to the Cortex door. Her fingers brushed against the keys to the van, however, Barry beat her to it, wiggling the keys in front of her face. 

"Fight me," challenged Parker. 

"I might have to take you up on that," teased Barry. 

While he was distracted, Felicity snatched the keys from Barry's hand. "Race you to the car!" she shouted, clutching her purse to her chest and sprinting away. 

"You're on!" laughed Barry, chasing after her. 

Oliver, his face scrunched, stepped beside Parker. They shared a look of disgrace. Then, they began the journey from the Cortex down to the garage. Stepping into the elevator brought on a silence, one tempting the other to speak first. 

"All you," offered Oliver flatly. 

"It's depressing to see you go. I had a lot of fun with you these past few days, Oliver," said Parker quietly, scared to admit her feelings. She rubbed her arms nervously, awaiting his reaction. 

"I wouldn't worry too much about it. I have a feeling we'll see each other soon," said Oliver.

Parker winced.  "That's usually what people say when they're gonna die. Please don't die."

Annoyed, Oliver's eyes met her own. Speaking wasn't necessary. His eyes held every inch of emotion, which, basically, told her to shut up. 

"Got it," agreed Parker. "So, you can text me. If you want. I wouldn't mind hearing from you."

"I'll send you a text before I die."

"Good to know I'm your main priority."

××××

Barry

In Jitters, Barry grabbed a seat at a table near the entrance. He barely noticed Oliver sit across from him. His attention was on Parker, specifically, her injured shoulder. Though she assured him she was all right, Barry's heart wrenching pain about his actions to her. It didn't matter he wasn't in his own head when he did it. Regardless, he hurt her. 

He sighed, admitting, "Oliver, I'm sorry for what I said in the field and in the street. I wish I could say it was all because of what Bivolo did to me, but I guess I had more feelings bottled up than I thought."

"You can always talk to me," promised Oliver. 

"I know. Thanks. And you were right, I still have a lot to learn."

Oliver nodded. "There's one more thing. You're not going to like it."

"Does it involve you shooting me in the back?" wondered Barry, raising his eyebrows sarcastically. 

"No," chuckled Oliver. His smile thinned quickly. "No, the heart."

Barry's eyes automatically moved to Parker. Said girl was brightly sporting a grin about something Felicity said. He smiled himself. 

"That's not going to work. You have to let her go..."

Barry's immediate answer was to refuse. Parker Sylas was one of the very few highlights of the Particle Accelerator Explosion. She was something special, something he refused to allow slip through his fingers. He had been fighting for her admiration since the night she challenged him to change her mind. 

Although he was almost clueless to how the life of a crime-fighter worked, he was sure of one thing: he wouldn't give up Parker because of it. He had fought for her (even if it hadn't started with a fight for her love) since the moment he woke up from the coma. Their friendship was something he wanted to keep, whether it remained that way, or became something more.

A death scare, or a warning from Oliver was not going to hold him back. If anything, it made him acutely aware of how little time they had to spend with each other. Spending it fighting against their feelings was no longer acceptable. 

The bell hanging on the entrance jingled. Instinctively, Parker turned her head to examine who entered. In doing so, her eyes crossed by Barry. His gaze was sad, woeful. She sent him a massive smile, forcing her eyes close by how far she stretched her cheeks. 

"She's such a good girl, Barry. I know that. In this life, constant danger surrounds the people you're with," continued Oliver. "I know that both you and I, Felicity, Iris, her family, don't want to see her taken from this world. Guys like us just don't get the girl."

Oliver's tone traveled from strong to weak within a few sentences. He learned the lesson he preached by living it. He meant only well by trying to pass on the knowledge onto Barry. 

Promising her safety couldn't happen, considering his own was never written in stone, but Parker made it clear that she knew the risk when she joined the team. If she understood that, came to peace with it, there was no reason to be holding back, for either of them. 

So, in response, Barry nodded.

"Hey-o," chimed Parker, passing Barry's order to him. 

Felicity passed Oliver's drink to him. "Ready?" she wondered. 

"I'm driving!" announced Parker. To the uneasy stares, she scoffed, "I can be a safe driver. I just don't like safe driving."

A brown haired woman entering into Jitters came to a sudden stop in front of Oliver. She stared, panicked, at him. She breathed a shaky hello to him. 

"Oh, Lord," sighed Parker. "Come with me if you want to relieve the awkward."

Barry Allen followed her to the van. 

Parker's shoulders raised, her neck scrunched down a couple inches. She appeared uncomfortable, partly due to the chilly weather, but mainly because of the stare she was receiving from Barry. His apologetic gaze on the back of her head unsettled her. 

"Barry, will you stop staring?" asked Parker when they came to the car.  I'm fine, Bar. I'm not mad. I'm going to heal. I'm going to be okay."

He cracked a smile, which was more than enough for the moment.

Oliver and Felicity hustled to the car. They hopped into the van as quickly as possible to escape the chilly air. Barry and Parker followed their lead. Parker took the long route to the train station, preserving their time together. 

"Why did you even drive?" inquired Oliver. 

"I like driving," said Parker happily. 

"But you're a cripple for a while."

"Keywords: 'for a while.' Besides, I have to learn how to do things one handed for that while," insisted Parker.

"Unless you have someone to stay with you and help out," suggested Felicity. 

Parker shook her head. "No way. Unless it's you."

It was obvious it wasn't supposed to spot the look that Oliver and Felicity shared. She decided to ignore it. 

"So, what happened to Diggle?" asked Barry.

"He left early, he was missing baby Sara," explained Oliver. 

"How do you guys like Sara?" asked Barry. 

"She's adorable," chimed Felicity. 

Oliver nodded. "I concur."

"Who do you think is next to have a baby?" wondered Barry. "I feel like another couple in Starling City might--"

"Careful," warned Oliver. "I'll shoot you."

"He won't, he's just joking," laughed Parker. 

The car fell eerily silent. 

"Right?" wondered Parker. 

"He kind of shot me," mentioned Barry casually. 

"Oliver!" scolded Parker.

"It was a training exercise," he defended.

Parker turned the van into an open parking spot. For her, Barry pulled the gear stick into park and reached across her to pull the keys from the van. 

"What would you do without me?" teased Barry. 

"Take a longer time," she joked. 

In the warmth of the train station, Felicity stood on her tip-toes and threw her arms around Barry's neck. 

Oliver nudged Parker's arm. 

"What?" asked Parker. 

"He's lucky to have you."

Parker blushed. "Thank you, Oliver."

"You're welcome," he said. 

"Don't be a stranger, okay?" she asked. 

"No promises."

Felicity called, "Switch!" then wrapped up Parker in her loving arms. 

"I can't thank you enough for being here," whispered Parker. 

"Oh, please," sighed Felicity. 

"You saved me, Fel. You came when I needed someone, even though I didn't ask. There are no better words I can say besides thank you," she continued.

Felicity broke away from Parker to wipe at her eyes. "Please, Park, it was my pleasure. And it was my pleasure to be there while you received your first tattoo," she joked.

"You know what, it's actually growing on me," sighed Parker. 

A warning call for the train to Starling City came over the speaker.

"I guess this is it," said Oliver. 

"We'll meet again soon," promised Felicity. 

Oliver and Parker found each other's eyes, amusement sparkling over their faces. She winked, he rolled his eyes, then he turned, set off to find their train back home.