A/N: Just so you know, there are some...implied sexual themes in this chapter. Nothing explicit though. Enjoy!

"Thank you for sharing, Grace," Ms. Kylie said. "Everyone?" The girls in the circle applauded quietly. "Would anyone else like to share?"

A few seconds of silence lingered in the group. "I had to pick out classes for high school this week," Mia said quietly. Everyone looked at her. "My grades aren't anything special. My foster dad wants us to have like…all A's and B's, but I only have one C so he lets it slide. Anyway, I'm going to pass my classes for the year, so I got to pick out my classes for freshman year of classes."

"What classes did you pick?"

"They had like…different types we had to pick. You know, English, math, history, science. I'm taking freshman English, something called earth sciences, pre-algebra, freshman history, Spanish, and gym."

"Are you excited about these classes?"

"Yeah. I mean… I sort of gave up on ever going back to school. I've never been a great student and I was really behind. But now… Now I'm a month away from graduating from the 8th grade. There's a ceremony with a certificate and everything." Mia put her hands between her legs like she was trying to keep them warm, but she just wanted to keep them from shaking.

"And how does it feel to be graduating from the 8th grade?"

"…Weird. Cool. I'm- I'm really proud of myself. You know, for making it this far. At first, I wasn't even sure I wanted to stay at my foster dad's, but now that I'm going to high school…I want to keep going. I want…a high school diploma."

"That's a very laudable goal, MIa. And I think I speak for everyone here when I say we all believe in you. Girls?" Everyone clapped quietly. "Does anyone else want to share today?" No one spoke up. "Well, we still have some time left and it's a nice day out today. Let's go out to the yard until our time is over."

All the girls stood, then stacked their chairs in the back of the room before following her outside. Mia stood against the building with her arms crossed. Some of the girls had gone over to the small jungle gym, but most of the others were standing around talking.

"Hi, Mia," Nicky said as she stood next to her. "How's it going?"

Mia shrugged. "It's going I guess…" she replied.

"Good, good. I heard you've been participating in Group for the last couple of weeks."

"Yeah… Figure if I ever want to get out of here, I better start doing something."

"Is that the only reason?"

Mia tense a little. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. Things have just been going so well for you, I can't help but wonder if graduating from the program is your only motivation."

"What else would it be?" Mia thought over the conversation, then scowled. "I'm not going to suddenly admit to being trafficked if that's what you're implying."

"I'm not implying anything, Mia. I just want to know what you're thinking."

"I'm thinking that you need to back off."

"Ok, Ok. I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to upset you."

"Why are you so focused on that anyway? Why do you have to keep bringing up what happened to me in the past?"

Nicky was quiet for a moment. "I know it feels like we're drudging up the past, but there's a reason, Mia. You can't heal until you've accepted what happened to you."

"I don't need to heal. I'm fine."

"Well, if ever decide you're not, you know where to find us."

Mia looked away. "Whatever…" She heard Nicky leave and sighed a little. 'I'm fine. Really. I'm fine. It'll be fine. Everything will be fine.'

— —

When Roy picked Mia up at therapy, she was waiting for him outside the resource center. "How was it?" he asked.

"Good," Mia answered. "I talked again at Group."

"That's good. Keep this up and they'll let you graduate the program in no time."

"Guess so…" It was quiet for a minute. "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"…Did you ever…have a problem talking about what happened to you?"

Roy didn't answer right away. "I did. Mostly because I'd had it figuratively, and literally, beaten into my head that I wasn't supposed to talk about what happened. But eventually, I felt safe enough to talk about it in and out of therapy."

"And it never bothered you…everyone talking about you like you're a victim?"

"…Not really. I mean, I didn't want to accept the finality of what had happened. I was convinced Oliver could change and it would be ok. Eventually, I had to admit what happened and how it affected me."

Mia was quiet for another minute. "But it never bothered you, being a victim?"

"I guess… I never really thought about it like that before." He was quiet for a moment. "Are you bothered by being seen as a victim?"

"Uh-huh… I mean, I was a victim for years when my dad…and I just don't want it to follow me around for the rest of my life. I'm already HIV positive. I don't need to be a trafficking victim too."

Roy didn't respond right away. "I can see why that would upset you. But you know…admitting you were a victim doesn't make you a victim forever. I mean…I was a victim of abuse. But I'm not anymore."

"Yeah, that's why you need medication to sleep."

"The PTSD wouldn't have magically disappeared if I didn't admit what had happened to me. If anything it could've made it more difficult for me to move on. Part of healing is acknowledging what happened."

Mia crossed her arms. 'Why does he have to make so much sense?' There was another minute of silence. "It's not just the label. If I was trafficked, then I ran away from abuse so I could be exploited. Which would make me the biggest idiot on the planet."

"Mia-"

"It's true."

"No, it's not. Listen, I know how you feel. I felt the same way. Back when I first met Oliver, I was so eager to get to know him that I spent as much time with him as I could. I felt like what had happened was my fault because I believed he cared about me. And I'm not dumb, right?"

"No. You're like…the smartest person I've ever met."

"Thanks. My point is, I'm not stupid and neither are you. If you are stupid, you wouldn't be graduating from the 8th grade in a month. Right?"

"Guess so…"

"There you go then."

Mia looked out the window silently for the rest of the ride home.

— —

When they got home, Roy rounded up Connor and the three of them went to the Arrow Cave.

"Grab your bows," Roy instructed once they were there. "You guys need to practice shooting at the same time."

"This is so dumb," Mia muttered as she strapped her quiver on. "Just because we can shoot together in here, doesn't mean we'll be able to do it on the streets."

"You will if you practice." Roy grabbed his own bow and stood behind them as they lined up in front of the targets. "Ready?" Instead of replying, the two teens put their hands to their quivers. "Draw." They pulled arrows from their quivers and put them to the bowstrings. "Anchor." Their bows came up and the bowstrings came back. "Shoot." The two arrows hit the center of the targets. "Again. Draw."

They went through the drill, Connor, and Mia shooting in sync with each other, for a couple hours. The only time they stopped was for the two teens to re-fill their quivers.

"How long do we have to keep doing this?" Mia asked. When Roy finally let them take a break.

"Until you guys can shoot in perfect unison," Roy answered simply. "Until shooting with each other becomes as natural as breathing."

"But our arrows are pretty much in sync."

"Pretty much in sync isn't good enough for what I have planned. Besides, you're still shooting slightly slower than him."

Mia rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "It's not my fault Connor is shooting too fast."

A small smile played on Roy's lips. "How about we compromise? Connor, shoot a little slower; Mia shoot a little faster. Meet each other halfway."

"Ok," Connor nodded.

"Mia?"

Mia sighed a little. "Yeah… Ok."

"Alright. Back to work." He continued to run them through the drill for the rest of the early afternoon. Their shooting was impeccable as usual. Not on par with himself (or even on par with him when he was their age) but their aim was still incredible. 'They continue to get better too. They're getting there.' He checked the time, then stretched a little. "I think we're done for today."

"Finally," Mia sighed as she lowered her bow.

"How will you know when you shooting is together enough?" Connor asked when he put his quiver away.

"I'll know. Plus, once I have a prototype of the trick arrow we can test it. That'll show us whether you guys are really shooting together well enough."

"Won't that be fun," Mia muttered just loud enough for Connor to hear. It didn't get a laugh, but he did smile a little. "Hey, do we ever get to help with the trick arrows?"

"You want to help me build trick arrows? Why?"

"I don't know. It could be interesting."

"Well…not for another year at least. You guys are smart, but-"

"We're too dumb to understand the arrows? Didn't you build them when you were our age?"

"I designed them. I had help with the actual building from Batman."

"I keep forgetting he knows Batman," Connor whispered. It was cool and also kind of scary all at the same time.

"You guys have plenty of work to do without worrying about that. Come on, let's go home."

"Let's play Clue when we get home," Mia said to Connor as they climbed the stairs.

"I have homework to do-"

"Just one game! Please?"

Connor sighed. "Fine."

"Yes! Roy do you want to play with us?"

"Sorry, Mia, I have cases to go over," Roy said. "You guys can ask Jade though."

"Jade's merciless when she plays games," Connor muttered. "She's like…out for blood but its just a board game."

"Well…ask her to go easier."

"I can't do that. She'll make fun of me."

"I don't know what to tell you then, Connor."

Connor looked at Mia, who simply said, "Clue is better with three people. Looks like you're out of luck."

— —

When they got home, Mia grabbed Clue and set it up on the living room floor. Jade and Connor played with her while Roy read over case files. First for his business, trying to figure out what information needed collecting and who needed to be interviewed to close cases in the upcoming week; and as Red Arrow. New routes of drug and gun trafficking had been found among the shipping lanes in Star Harbor, so that was going to require his attention.

'Definitely have to get a handle on this before it gets out of hand,' Roy thought. 'The last thing I need is more drugs and weapons finding their way on to the streets. I wonder if Detective Rodgseron would slip me some files on searches they've already conducted on ships. I could use that information to start narrowing down which companies exactly are smuggling everything in. That way I don't have to waste time searching them and narrowing it down by myself.'

Jade glanced over at Roy after she moved her piece into the library. "You sure you don't want to play, hero?" she asked casually, crossing off the rope from her sheet.

"No, I'm good," Roy replied distractedly. "I've got a lot of work to do and I have to get it all done before it's time for dinner." And after dinner, it was patrol all night. On days like today, it felt like there weren't enough hours. But Roy worked away, trying to get through everything that needed to be done. It also had the added bonus of keeping his mind occupied. Days when he didn't have time for his brain to wander down paths that might make him anxious or upset. So he worked through all his cases, keeping half an ear on the game. The three made it through two games of Clue, both of which Jade won.

"I hate playing with her," Connor muttered as he plopped down on the couch beside Roy.

"Because she doesn't let you win?" Roy asked, slightly amused.

"She doesn't need to let me win."

"Then why didn't you win?"

"…That's not the point." Connor looked over Roy's shoulder to read his file. "The new trafficking shipments?"

"Yeah. We're going to take a trip by the police station tonight, see if Rodgerson is willing to share some information."

"And if he isn't?"

"He will. I'll find a way to convince him." Roy glanced at the clock, then sighed and stretched a little. "I'm going to start dinner."

"Can I help?"

"If you want to."

Mia paused in her task of cleaning up the game to see Jade watching Roy and Connor leave. "Why do you always look at him?" she asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jade answered as she stood.

"Yeah, sure. Like you don't always look at Roy when you two are in the same room." She smiled a little mischievously. "You like him, don't you?"

"You should keep your nose in your own business."

"There's nothing to be ashamed of. Roy's smart, nice, handsome, brave-"

"You don't know what you're talking about, kid."

"Why not? It doesn't take a genius to figure it out."

"Don't you have homework to do or something?"

"Fine." Mia shrugged and picked up her game. "For what it's worth, I think he likes you too. At the very least he's attracted to you."

'Freaking kids,' Jade thought with a scoff. She rolled her eyes and sat on the couch. 'She's just a child. A stupid kid. She doesn't know anything.' The kids were young, they didn't understand the…difficulty of being on the opposite side of someone you…admired or was attracted to. 'I need to get out of here. Go back to my own life. Roy seems to have a good handle on everything. I'm sure I've more than paid back my debt.' And yet, when she thought about leaving him, something stopped her. Something she couldn't name. She wanted to be with Roy all the time. Watch him read and shoot. Admire the sharp lines that made up every pronounced and well-defined muscle of his being. While she judged Kaldur'ahm for how he'd psychologically hurt Roy, she couldn't understand why anyone would give up having someone as attractive as Roy by their side. 'Well… It isn't like…being physical is the same as a relationship. And I definitely don't have any feelings for Roy beyond this weird friendship.' So what was there to be worried about? 'Nothing. I have nothing to be worried about.'

— —

The rest of the day and most of the night was pleasant for Roy. After dinner, he, Connor, and Mia went on patrol. They stopped by the police station, Speedy and Green Arrow waiting for him across the street as Red Arrow climbed the outside of the building. He found Detective Rodgerosn's office easily and tapped his knuckle against the glass. The archer smiled a little when the detective jumped.

"You're like a boogeyman, you know that?" Rodgerson asked after he opened the window. He stepped back, allowing Red Arrow to enter his office. "What'd you want, archer?"

"I was wondering if you'd conducted any searches of ships you suspect may be smuggling weapons or drugs for the new trafficking ring," Red Arrow answered.

"We've searched three of them, but there's no evidence they're connected to the trafficking."

"Would you be interested in sharing the names of those ships?"

"With you, no?"

Red Arrow resisted the urge to sigh. "Why not? We've helped each other out before."

"That doesn't mean I'm interested in sharing every time you ask."

"It doesn't have to be every time. I'd argue I do more favors for you than I ask in return."

"Good. That's exactly how this relationship would work."

Red Arrow hesitated for a moment. "If I can narrow down the ships that are participating in the trafficking, it would make it a lot easier for you. How many hours of manpower will it take for you to search those ships one by one? You'd save a lot of time and money by sharing what you have and allowing me and my team to conduct searches."

Rodgerson sighed as he sat on the edge of his desk. "If I give you this information, you would give me your word you won't let it get out anywhere. Share it with your little sidekicks if you want, but no one else. Understood?"

"You have my word. Have I ever let you down before?"

"Don't get comfortable. I'm still keeping a close eye on you, archer."

"Of course." Red Arrow waited patiently as Detective Rodgerson looked in a file, then wrote down three things on a piece of paper.

When he was done, he handed the paper to the vigilante. "Get to work."

"Always do."

The list proved to be as valuable as Roy had hoped. He was able to further break down and categorize every ship that had been delivering goods through that specific dock in the harbor. Although there wasn't a lot of searching done that night, he had a plan of attack for another week. Unfortunately, the scale of the search meant he had to continue working on it and planning out searching and surveillance, even when he got home from patrol. Roy sat in the kitchen, looking over his papers and plans long after Connor and Mia went to bed.

"You should be asleep," Jade said, leaning against the doorway.

"Maybe…" Roy replied evasively. "But I need to get this done."

"It could wait until morning."

Roy shook his head. "Detective Rodgerson is counting on me."

"Too many people count on you." Jade walked closer and put her hands experimentally on Roy's shoulders. There was a moment where they tensed but quickly relaxed. She smiled and slid her hands down his arms. "You need to relax a little."

"I like being busy. Keeps my mind off things."

"There are…other ways to keep your minds off things."

Roy stopped for a moment as Jade leaned against his back, her hands coming to rest on his. "Jade-"

"Come on, hero. Just have some fun."

"I have fun… I- I like to play games with Connor and Mia-"

"I mean some adult fun." She leaned in slowly and started kissing his neck.

"Jade- Jade-" Roy's breath caught in his throat and butterflies zipped through his stomach. Excitement pulled his muscles taut and a warm tingle colored his skin all over his body. It was messing with his brain. That, and memories started to surface. Memories about his first solo mission and the…new feelings she'd awakened in him.

"You're attracted to me, right?"

"Of course…" Roy leaned into the kiss, unable to resist the reflex to turn toward her lips so she could catch him on the mouth. "You're gorgeous… Strong… Willed…"

Jade smirked as she messaged the back of Roy's neck. "We… We seem to find ourselves in agreement. We're both incredibly attractive and in need of a little stress relief." She grabbed Roy's chin gently to tilt his head up toward her. "You always want to take care of everyone. Give yourself a break once in a while. Worry about yourself."

For a moment, Roy thought about saying no. He had work to do, people were counting on him. One the other hand… Part of Roy missed this. All of this. And he did want some stress relief. So, he forgot about the work he had to do (it would all be there in the morning) and stood. As he stood, he started kissing Jade back, heart fluttering at the excitement it gave him. He pulled her closer, running his hand down her back as he did. "Don't wake up the kids…" he whispered, slightly out of breath when he finally pulled away.

Jade smiled as she grabbed Roy's shirt and pulled him toward his bedroom. "Whatever you say, hero."

— —

The quiet and intermittent tapping of Roy's pen kept interrupting his thoughts. Every time he tried to think about his work, the tapping of his pen pulled his mind away from it. Never mind that he was the person tapping the pen. It was still distracting him. That was the point though. Because if he didn't distract himself, he might start thinking about the previous night. About everything that had happened with Jade. Roy sighed as he paused in his tapping long enough to rub the back of his neck. The twisting feeling in his stomach, which had been there since he'd woken up that morning, persisted.

Roy sighed and put his head in his hands on his desk. 'God, I'm such a mess,' he thought miserably. 'I'm feeling guilty for having sex. Why? Because I've been broken up with Kaldur for five…almost six months. What's wrong with me?' It didn't help that he'd genuinely enjoyed what happened with Jade that night. He'd meant what he said about her being attractive— he'd thought so since he was a teenager after all— but then he thought about Kaldur. He thought about how awful it made him feel like he'd cheated. Which was absurd. But Roy still wasn't able to shake that feeling. 'I really need to talk to Jade. We need to talk about everything.' Discussing feelings wasn't one of Jade's strengths or even something she normally did, but Roy knew it had to happen. He glanced at the time.

'It's a little early…but I think I can call it a day considering the circumstances.' Roy nodded to himself as he stood and began collecting his things. It wasn't like he was getting any work done here anyway. So he packed up his cases in his bag and made sure to lock his office door on his way out. The weather had taken a sure turn for the warmer, allowing him to walk without a jacket. Roy was too worked up to enjoy the weather though. 'What do I say to her?' he thought as he walked home. 'I'm not even 100% sure how I feel. I mean, I enjoyed what happened. Kind of glad it happened too… But I feel…like I've done something wrong. I haven't though…right?' Maybe it would make sense when he talked to Jade; just get everything out of his head and out in the open.

When Roy got home, Jade was in the living room, which was nice, because when he'd left she'd still been in his bed. He hesitated in the wide doorway, uncertain as to what to say. Somehow, Jade seemed to sense he was there. She turned around and gave him a smile. "You just going to stand there?" she asked.

"Uh… No…" Roy replied slowly. He walked in, slowly taking his bag off, then set it by his feet as he sat on the couch; on the opposite end from Jade. "So… I…uh… I wanted to talk to you…"

"What about?"

"Last night."

Jade's smile became a small smirk. "It was amazing."

"No- Well, yes, it was. But…" Roy sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Jade… I- I can't do this."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean… I'm not ready- for anything like this. As much fun as I had last night and even though I really liked it…I feel guilty."

"Why? Because of Kaldur'ahm? He broke up with you five months ago. You have no reason to feel guilty."

"I know, I know. I didn't say it made sense." In his opinion, his feelings rarely did. "I still don't think I can do this though. I'm not… I don't think I'm really over Kal yet and- and you deserve better than that. I'm sorry." He watched her face, completely uncertain as to what she would say.

Jade simply shrugged though. "Ok."

"Ok?"

"Yeah, ok. You're still hung up on Kaldur'ahm. I can understand that."

"So you're not disappointed?"

"I am but…" But it was Roy. He deserved understanding. A depth of emotions Jade wasn't sure she could provide. "I'm fine."

"Ok. Thanks, for…understanding. We're still friends…right?"

"I'll decide when we stop being friends hero. And trust me, you'll know."

"Good. I think…" Roy gave her a smile and Jade tried to ignore the way it made her heart pound. "You're the best."

"A few people might disagree with you on that."

"Well, they don't know you the way I do."

'Too well,' Jade thought as Roy left, presumably to put his work bag on the living room shelf like he always did. 'You know me too well, hero. I don't let people get this close. I'm too smart for that. So why can't I manage it with you? Why do you make it so impossible to lock you out?' Even if Roy didn't want a relationship with her— even one that was purely physical— just being his friend was enough for part of her. And Jade wasn't sure if she was ok with that.