Technical Assistance

Chapter 22: Hard Drive Replacement

Felicity frowns when her doorbell rings, sighing.  She's just made her way into the apartment for the night, and all she wants to do is enjoy a night in.  Frustrated, she opens the door to her spare bedroom to let Saphira out, and the little dog immediately bypasses her for the front door.  Rolling her eyes, Felicity follows, now knowing who her visitor is.

She opens the door, not at all surprised to see Oliver standing there.  She is, however, surprised to see the laptop under his arm.  She presumes it's the one she put together for him, but it's hard to tell; the casing is scratched and beaten, with several nice-sized dents and a casing that won't meet together the way it's supposed to.

She winces as she waves him in.  "Sorry to bother you at home," he says before she can speak, "but I have some emergency computer problems."  She's careful to look at his body language, to see if he's still upset from their last conversation, but he seems to be smiling.  He reaches down to pet Saphira with his free hand, as if the behavior is as easy as breathing.

"Do you want to tell me what happened to my baby?" she asks, and he frowns as he passes her the laptop, and it makes her want to cry.  She did not slave for that long on his laptop so that he could destroy it.  But then she thinks that maybe material possessions don't mean as much to Oliver as they mean to most people; after all, when you have the world at the tips of your fingers, you're not as worried about the state of your possessions.

He looks repentant about it, which is why she forgives him.  "I accidentally knocked over the table it was on," is his reply.  She plops down on her sofa, taking up two of the three couch cushions, and he sits at her feet.  "It won't turn on now, and I wondered if you could fix it up for me again?  If you could get it running temporarily, I could bring it back for the cosmetic repairs later."

She frowns at it.  "I'm an IT nerd, not a miracle worker, Oliver," she warns him, "but I can give it a shot."  She's not comfortable with the state of the machine, but she might be able to do something with it if fortune is with her.  But the odds aren't good, and it would be better if she had some food in her.  "But it will cost you this time because you destroyed a beautiful piece of technological genius."

He doesn't even flinch, only flashing that ridiculously charming smile in her direction.  "Name your price," he says easily.  He seems completely unperturbed by the idea of paying for it, and she wonders how many times someone has bargained with him like this.  Either way, he seems very willing to meet any demands.

"Dinner," she says flatly, and his eyes widen in surprise at about the same time that she realizes how that could be construed.  But, a part of her notes, it doesn't seem to cross him as an unpleasant surprise; she'd always expected him to be disgusted by the whole idea.  She flushes before waving her arms frantically as she explains, "No!  Not like that.  I don't mean like a date or anything—I'm not deluded enough to think that you'd want to go on a date with me."  The look on his face does make her wonder, though.  "I just meant that I'm hungry, and—surprise, surprise—I have no food in this place again.  And I can't exactly afford to pay for any parts you might need, so you're on your own for those, too."  She crosses her arms.  "Do you think you can live with that?"

"Sounds like a plan to me," Oliver says easily, and Felicity can't believe how quickly he replies. Clearly the man has a lot to learn about bargaining. He rises from the couch as he asks, "Are there any special requests?"

She frowns, thinking about it, trying to decide. Finally, she decides she's horribly curious to find out what he'll come up with on his own. With a mischievous smile, she replies, "Surprise me." He seems a little hesitant about that, so she adds, "Nothing with olives, anchovies, or mushrooms, or anything hotter than jalapeños—and it has to be kosher." She holds up her index finger. "And, if nothing else, no nuts of any kind. Not unless you want this night to end with an epi pen and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.  Because if your mouth is ever on mine, I want to be conscious for it."  Oliver smiles so wide he flashes teeth, and she tries to ignore the fact she's turning crimson.  He opens his mouth to respond, but she cuts him off. "No, don't even attempt to answer that.  Just leave before I embarrass myself again, please."  He turns to leave, and she calls behind him, "And bring back tasty excellence!"  It earns her a chuckle, so she's immediately glad she does it.