A/N: Here's the next chapter! Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Red Arrow sighed as he put his head in his hands. After a few seconds, he adjusted his hands enough to rub the back of his neck.

"Goods news?" Mia asked from where she was putting away her quiver.

"The police found another body," Red Arrow answered. Without needing to turn around, he could tell Connor and Mia were looking at him in shock.

"Like… Like the ones we found last month?" Connor asked quietly.

"Yup." A month of fruitless investigations that yielded nothing about the victims or why they'd been murdered. There was no apparent connection between the victims (a 21-year-old female bartender and 50-year-old male bank teller) and any information he'd dug up on them didn't give away any information about who might want them dead. There was nothing even remotely non-average about them. It was as if the arrows had just…been created out of thin air and randomly chose those two people. 'Which wouldn't make any sense,' Roy thought. 'Arrows don't just appear out of thin air to murder people.'

"Why would the killer wait like…three weeks before killing again?" Mia asked.

"It may not be the same person."

"What makes you say that?"

Roy sighed and spun around in his chair to face them. "First, other than the cause of death, I have no reason to believe these deaths are related. There was no connection between the first two victims, so this could be a coincidence."

"Hell of a coincidence."

"I agree, but there's no good reason to jump to conclusions and create a serial killer where one doesn't exist. Second, all of my diggings have yielded…uneven reports about murders via black arrows from different places all over the world. About a dozen reports from the last 20 years."

"So this is some…fad we never knew about?"

"I don't know. There's still a lot of unanswered questions. But it doesn't seem like a…present danger to the safety of the city, so I think we can let the police handle it for now." It was too late for him to try and prevent them from seeing the archer connection. 'Nothing to do now but try and mitigate any damage that comes our way.' He sighed and rubbed his eyes before glancing at the time. "Upstairs you two, it's past your bedtime."

"You'd think being in high school would earn us a later bedtime," Connor muttered to Mia as they headed for the stairs.

"Yeah, you'd think," Mia replied.

"Bed you two," Roy reminded them with a smile. He swung back around in his chair to look back at his monitors. As he usually did after patrol, he spent the next two hours writing reports. Despite not having handled it, he added the newest black arrow murder to the file he had the first two in. 'I can see what the police have gathered on it tomorrow. Maybe they'll be able to get somewhere.' He stretched and yawned, before climbing the stairs himself. 'It feels later than it actually is,' he thought. 'But it is after 1 am, so I guess after that, what's the point in keeping track of the time?' When Roy got the apartment, he stopped in the kitchen to grab some water, but as he was on the way to his bedroom, he caught sight of the calendar on the wall. 'Oh… It's Valentine's Day…'

Someone, probably Mia, had marked the 14th with a red pen heart. Roy put his hand on his chest, fully prepared for the sharp pain, but instead there was nothing but a dull ache. It echoed in his heart like a familiar, but sad song. The remainder of the date made him sad, it did, but it wasn't as bad as it had been last year. Which was more or less how he'd felt on Halloween as well. 'I still can't believe it's been over a year,' Roy thought as he slowly shuffled to his bedroom. 'It's weird because… Before, I never thought I could this without Kaldur. It was always so reassuring to know that he was there if I needed him. That I could always count on him. Yet here I am, without him, basically raising three kids while protecting Star City.' Which Jade was a huge part of. The thought of his…friend made Roy smile as he shut himself in his bedroom. 'She's been amazing. I never would've thought she'd stick by me the way she has but it's just one of the many surprises I guess.' Roy rubbed the back of his neck as he pondered something.

'I should…do something for her,' he thought. 'Just to…show her that I appreciate everything she's done for me and the kids. And she is the mother of my child, so…I guess there's that too.' What did you do for the mother of your child you weren't involved with but had been living with you for over a year? Roy was pretty sure they didn't make cards for that sort of thing. 'I'm sure I'll think of something.' In the morning. For now, he just wanted to sleep. So he collapsed into bed and passed out.

— —

The first thing Roy heard when he woke up was crying. He lifted his head blearily, allowing his brain a few moments of confusion before he realized it was coming from the baby monitor. Groaning, he got out of bed. He left his room at the same moment Jade did. They made eye contact for a moment before she simply said, "Your turn," before going back into her own room.

'Fair enough,' Roy thought as he headed into Lian's nursery. Sure enough, she was screeching and kicking the air as he approached the crib. "Shhh. Shhhh. It's ok, baby girl. It's ok, Daddy's here.' He picked her up and made a face. "I see why you're so upset. I'd be cranky too if I had a diaper that full." Lian kept up her crying all through getting her diaper changed, despite Roy's constant efforts to calm her down. She did stop screeching when she had a fresh diaper, but still cried and whimpered as Roy took her in his arms and started bouncing her. "I know, I know. Life's very hard when you're 3 months old. It's so difficult, I know." Eventually, he got Lian calmed down. "Are we done being dramatic now? Hm?" He kissed the top of her head and glanced at the clock on the wall. "Why don't we go get some breakfast, hm?" He kept bouncing Lian to keep her quiet as the two of them went into the kitchen.

Skillfully using only one arm, he warmed up a bottle of formula for Lian, thinking about what he can do for Jade. "What'd you think, baby girl?" he asked Lian as he fed her the bottle. "Hm? Mommy is an assassin, what'd you think she'd like for Valentine's Day?" Lian just stared at him, hands trying to hold the bottle herself. "Thanks, you're being a big help." He continued pacing around the kitchen, thinking about what he could do.

'Something...active,' he thought. 'Jade likes to be active.' What was active in Star that didn't involve killing people, but would appeal to someone with Jade's...skillset? An idea popped into his head and Roy grinned. 'That's not a bad idea. It's actually pretty good.' She'd no doubt think it was stupid but...she usually thought everything was so, what was this? Satisfied with his idea, Roy put Lian in her high-chair with some blocks to occupy herself with, then started breakfast for Connor and Mia.

By the time they were up, Roy had a plan. "I need a favor," he said as soon as the two teens sat down. "You guys don't have plans tonight, right?"

"Other than patrol?" Mia asked. "No."

"Unless we're not going on patrol," Connor guessed.

"I want to do something nice for Jade tonight. Can you guys watch Lian?"

"Of course!" Mia answered brightly. "We love watching her!"

"Great."

"What're you and Jade doing tonight?" Connor asked as he put jelly on his toast.

"It's a surprise, so don't mention it to her. You guys keep an eye on Lian while I shower." He gave the baby a kiss on the head before he left the kitchen to get ready for work.

— —

When he returned, Jade was at the table with Lian in her lap, letting the baby play with her hair. "No crazy Valentine's Day plans today?" she asked him, a hint of teasing in her voice.

"I figured we were all worn out from last year," Roy replied evasively. He could tell by the familiar glint in her eyes though that she was joining with him. 'She really does have beautiful eyes.' Had he ever noticed her eyes before? Aside from the standard observation that, yes, she has two of them, he didn't think so. 'That's...too bad. Because her eyes are really pretty.' All the baby books said it would be a few months before Lian's eyes settled on a color, but at that moment Roy hoped she'd have her mother's eyes. The feeling in his stomach made him turn away though and focus on breakfast.

The rest of the morning was entirely uneventful, with Connor and Mia leaving for school, and Roy leaving for work not soon after. Despite now living above his office, there were some leads he needed to follow up on, so he left the building entirely. It was unseasonably warm that day, even for February in Star, but Roy didn't mind. If anything, he enjoyed it more. 'Good weather is a good omen,' he thought as he walked. 'Good thing we're in California.'

— —

With the anticipation of what he had planned that night, Roy got through work rather quickly. And he was in a good mood when he walked into the apartment, which Jade didn't hesitate to notice.

"Don't go all…weepy on me," Jade said, handing Lian off to Roy. "but I'm assuming it's a good sign you're not manic this Valentine's Day."

"Yes," Roy said, almost amused as Lian gnawed on part of his tie. "I'm not… I don't know, it's weird. It's been over a year and I feel…different but in a good way. It's not so hard to breathe when I think about Kaldur." He didn't add that he tried not to think about Kaldur, especially after learning about him trying to kill the Team.

"I'm glad." Jade stood and walked closer to full the tie from Lian's mouth and stroke her head. "You deserved better."

"Do I?"

"Of course. After what he did… You deserve the best, Roy. I mean that."

"Thanks." Roy tried to ignore the tightness in his stomach, or how Jade was so close he could smell her shampoo. "Uh…speaking of which, do you have plans tonight?"

It took every ounce of self-control Jade had not to outwardly react to the segway. "Nothing in particular. Why?"

"I was thinking if you want to, that we could go out tonight."

"I've told you before, I'm not interested in some family outing-"

"Not that. I mean…just you and me."

Jade didn't say anything for a few seconds. "Just us?"

"Yeah. Connor and Mia will watch Lian."

"What do you have planned?"

Roy gave her a small, almost mischievous smile. "It's a surprise." He laughed when Jade rolled her eyes. "So, you in?"

"…I am."

"Great!"

"As long as this isn't some ploy to trick me into stupid hero work."

"It is a perfectly normal activity."

'Probably not much better,' Jade thought as she walked away. 'What the hell do I know about doing normal stuff?' Besides the fact that she'd been living a semi-normal life for over a year now. 'It wasn't like I planned on that. It just…kind of happened.' Regardless of what the 'perfectly normal activity' was that Roy had planned, it was still a night of just the two of them. Almost like a date. Jade rolled her eyes as she shut herself in her room. 'Yeah, there's no way this is a date. He might be over Kaldur'ahm, but that doesn't mean he's ready to start dating again.' Besides, he'd never shown any interest in her like that before. 'Roy is my…friend and co-parent. That's it.' Even if Jade wished that maybe they could have something more.

— —

After dinner, Roy grinned as he got his shoes and sweater on. "Ready to go?" he asked Jade as she handed Lian to Mia.

"Guess so," Jade sighed.

"Have fun," Connor said as he joined Mia on the floor. "Don't worry about anything, we've got Lian."

"Yeah, we're professionals," Mia added.

"Good to know…" Jade muttered.

"Shall we?" Roy asked her, grabbing his keys.

"Let's get this over with."

'At least she's excited.'

Jade's interest was piqued when they went to Roy's car. 'So we're going somewhere that's far enough away to drive? Hm…' She eyed him from the passenger seat. "Any chance you'll give me a clue about where we're going?"

"It's fun," Roy said as he drove. "It's…active and perfectly suited to your skills."

Jade rolled her eyes. "Never mind. I prefer having no clues to those cryptic ones." Even so, she mused over the three clues, trying to figure out where they were going. She even kept a close eye on their surroundings as they drove through the city, trying to deduce where they were going. Unfortunately, she was no closer to figuring it out when they finally pulled into the parking lot of what looked like a really big warehouse. Jade frowned as she got out f the car then followed Roy toward ht building. "You planning on killing me?"

"No! Jade- We're here to have fun-" Roy stopped when he saw the smirk and realized she'd been joking. His heart fluttered. "You haven't figured it out yet?"

"Surprisingly, no. Would you prefer I start moping about how my detective skills aren't as good as yours?"

Roy rolled his eyes a little bit, but the large grin on his face took some of the weight from the gesture. "We're here to lay laser tag."

"…Laser tag?"

"Yeah, you ever heard of it?"

"Of course I have!" Jade, in fact, had not. She was pretty sure that could be filed under 'Not Necessary Knowledge for Being an Assassin' but she didn't want to admit that to Roy. "I've just…never done it before."

"Me neither, but my brother told me all about it when he had a field trip to a laser tag place once. It's always sounded like a lot of fun and I didn't think sitting in a restaurant was your thing."

"I won't deny you're right about that, but you don't think this is a little…juvenile?"

"Laser tag is a fun activity for all ages." He gave her a mischievous look.

"Why? Are you afraid you can't beat m?"

"…Excuse me?"

"It's ok, I won't judge you. I just didn't think that someone with your…skillset would be so scared of losing." A hard elbowed landed on his side and he chuckled.

"I'll show you scared. Let's do this."

So, 15 minutes later, Roy had paid for them to get in and they were strapping on the gear while listening to the crash course on how to use the gun. The first round it would be just the two of them in a smaller room to allow them time to get used to shooting (it was also a Valentine's Day special, but neither Roy or Jade had commented on it.) After that, they'd play in the biggest room, teamed up against other couples.

"Good luck," Roy said before they separated.

"Why?" Jade asked innocently. "You're the one who'll need it." They each went to their own door to enter, then walked into the room. It was dark, not pitch black, but significantly darker than it had been outside the room. There was a green ambiance to everything as well, giving it a vague night-vision feel, but this allowed Jade to see the room was dotted with various walls and shapes she could hide behind. She checked her gun to mask sure it was set to go, then smiled. 'Ok, hero. Let's play.' She fell into a familiar gait almost immediately, using the shadows to make her movements expertly. After first there were no signs of Roy, prompting her to move cautiously, pausing in the shadows every few seconds to survey the area.

Only when she made a calculated dash from behind a wall to a cube-structure did she see a flash of red light twenty feet away. 'Found him.' She moved careful to get on her knees, then raised her upper body enough to shoot at the area she'd seen the red light in. Despite it not hitting anything, she ducked back behind the cube, waited a few seconds, then fired again. 'He has to still be close.' Jade looked around, then sprinted the short difference to another wall. The corner felt weirdly exposed because she still didn't know where Roy was, but it gave her the best vantage point. Her eyes darted from spot to spot, searching for Roy. There was a movement across the room and she fired at it on instinct. The tell-tale beep made her smile in victory. 'I hit him!' Knowing Roy's gun would be disabled for 30 seconds, she moved from her spot to find another hiding spot.

"Good shot!" Roy called from the new wall he was crouched behind.

"Want to come out and rub my face in it?"

"Not on your life, hero!" Jade called back. Replying would give away her position (which was no doubt part of Roy's plan) but she wasn't worried. Because exposing herself without moving would draw Roy out. She listened intently, searching for Roy's footsteps, but everything in the room, except for the walls, were covered in carpet. So, it prompted Jade to stick her head out from her hiding spot. There were no signs of Roy, no movements of shadows giving away his position. Jade moved slightly farther out of her hiding spot. 'Where did you go-' Her gear suddenly beeped and the piece on her chest started vibrating. "Damn it!"

Somewhere in the room, Roy laughed. "Now we're even!"

"Not for long!" Jade used the shadows and structures to make it to the other side of the room. 'I can't let him win. He'll never let me live it down.' When her gun was finally reactivated, she scanned the room intently. What she wouldn't have given for a rock or ball to throw out as a decoy and draw Roy's fire. Trying to make do, she carefully moved the end of the gun from her hiding spot. This wall had a small hole that she could look through to see directly on the other side. When she looked through it, Jade made an interesting observation…there was something directly below her line vision moving in the shadow. 'Found you.' Smiling and trying to move as silently as possible, she crept right to the edge of the wall. She raised her gun so nothing was beyond the edge. 'Three, two, one!' In one smooth move, Jade side-stepped around the wall, moving her gun as she did. Her sudden appearance seemed to take Roy by surprise and that, combined with her speed, allowed had not shot him.

"It's not over yet!"

"Oh, I know!" When she'd secured a new hiding spot, this time keeling behind a three-foot-high structure, she changed tactics. "You know, I expected better from a marksman like you." There was no response, but she pressed on. "We're a little more than…" she glanced at the analog timer on the wall. "halfway through the game and you're already down by one."

"It's just one!" Roy relented from somewhere, but Jade's keen ears picked up on the sound.

"One point down is still losing. I just assumed you'd be better than this. Haven't you seen most of your life doing stuff like this?"

"I could say the same about you."

At the same time he replied, there was a slight movement in a shadow on her right, so Jade moved. She wove between the structures staggered in the middle of the floor, using them as occasional cover when it seemed like Roy was firing. The added pressure of her presence lured him out of his hiding spot, forcing him to move. It wasn't quick enough for Jade though, who landed another shot. "Beat that, hero!" She found a corner to catch her breath for the 30 seconds Roy wouldn't be able to come after her. 'Ok, new plan. Highly doubt that one will work twice.' Roy was smart. Each plan would probably only work once with him. 'I know him. He'll adjust his own movements to account for them.' Before the 30 seconds were up, Jade moved to another spot. The vantage point wasn't great, but since she was ahead, she was more on the defensive at the moment.

Maybe his recent losses were throwing him off, but it was several minutes before Roy even got close. As soon as he was within a couple of feet of her hiding spot though, Jade moved. She slipped from wall to wall, using the shadows to move whenever she was reasonably certain Roy wasn't looking in her direction. Finally, though, it put him in an exposed position, prompting Jade to shoot him again. This time she didn't say anything (but did hear a loud gran from Roy) as she moved to the other side of the room. 'How much time do we have left?' Their one-hour time slot only had 10 minutes left. 'Hm… I'll stay on the defensive for the rest of the round. I wan tot win, but I don't need to do so by a huge margin.' So, she pressed her back into a corner and waited. For the rest of the time, whoever Roy got too close, Jade moved to a different hiding spot. Roy seemed to get more frustrated as the numbers on the timer got smaller, shooting more randomly.

However, Roy didn't land a single shot on Jade by the time their timer ran out and a buzzer sounded. He sighed in defeat, then looked around. Jade stepped out of her hiding spot only two feet from where he was standing. "Well played," Roy complimented as they led the room, squinting at the sudden brightness.

"I know," Jade replied simply, a playful smirk on her lips.

They were led to an area with benches where they were supposed to wait before the next game. There were a few couples in there as well, but they were more interested in each other than in Roy and Jade. As soon as they were sitting, Roy leaned close to whisper, "What's the plan?"

"Just keep an eye on the competition. Look for anyone who seems like they don't have a lot of experience."

"You got it."

Jade let her ways flick around the room, trying not to make it obvious that she was looking at the other couples. There was one younger pair (17 or 18 most likely) with a girl who seemed more concerned with watching her nails than her guy. 'She'll be an easy target in there,' Jade thought. 'And if he loves her, then he might stay put to protect her, making them both sitting ducks.' Nondescriptly, she nudged Roy, then made a slight gesture at the young couple that could be easily mistaken as he just playing with her hair. Roy gave her a smile, then took her hand and moved it toward the couple he'd spotted, both of whom were on their phones. Jade winked, then pulled her hand away, hoping her face wasn't as flushed as she felt from the contact.

Thankfully, one of the workers came in to let them into the room. Roy and Jade were the first ones in, hoping to get a good hiding space. The new room was more than twice as big as the old one, so they quickly found a structure they could hide behind. "Ok, game plan?" Roy asked quietly as everyone was filed in.

"Work our way around the room?" Jade suggested. "Take them out pair by pair?"

"Sounds good. Back-to-back?"

"Of course." They high-fived then adjusted their crouched stances. 3o seconds later, the buzzer sounded and the timer started counting down. Roy and Jade shared a smile before moving. As soon as they were standing, they were back-to-back, covering each other as they moved. They moved in tandem, mindful of what was going on around them, and careful to never leave the other exposed.

Something moved in a show ten feet away, so Roy shot at it. He missed, but the person moved again, allowing him to shoot them. "Got one."

"So did I. Go left." They moved left down the room, eyes scanning for targets. They were the only ones out in the open like this, so it drew the attention of just about every other couple.

"Think we can draw them out?"

"Know it." Jade fired off shot after shot, landing her laser on the chest plate of each player she spotted. They made it through the room, then hid behind a wall to catch their breath. "Think we're in the lead?"

"Hopefully." Roy took a deep breath, then smiled. "Want to go back out?"

"Let's go get 'em. Cover me."

Roy kept an eye on the room, shooting whenever something moved as they darted to a structure. It was like a cube, allowing them to hide behind it. "Taking turns?"

"Go for it." One at a time, they sat up and used the cube to fire while the other stayed low and covered their back. Every few minutes the switched positions. They kept this up for close to 15 minutes before Roy tapped Jade and nodded his head toward a wall. She gave him a short nod of agreement before they moved. Jade watched Roy's back as they scampered to the wall so they could stop for another few seconds.

"How many do you think we got?"

"I counted at least 6."

"I counted 8." Roy took a moment to poke his head out from their hiding spot. "Seems like there's a bunch of people in the far corner. We should be able to get quite a few hits."

"Let me see." Jade switched with him so she could poke her own head out. "I see them. Looks like there's a good corner just a few feet from that."

"On three?"

"Why wait?" Jade darted from their hiding spot, leaving Roy to follow. She used the various structures to suck and weave her way across the room. They made it across in no time and basically ambushed the other people they found there. They fired off shot after shot, trying to hit as many people as they could. At some point the melee, Jade spotted Roy, who was just standing there against the wall. A quick look at his now red chest pale told Jade he'd been hit and she rolled her eyes. She grabbed his hand, then dragged him away to their agreed hiding spot. Roy stumbled and almost landed on her, pinning Jade against the wall. "Smooth, hero."

"Uh…sorry…" After he stepped back, Roy checked his gun to see that it had re-activated. "What now?"

"Contest? You go left, I'll go right, let's see who can get more."

"Let's do it."

Jade slipped away from him and got a head start. She moved like a ghost, stepping through shadows and shooting only when no one was looking. Before long, she'd made her way across the right side of the room and hid in a small alcove to wait. Two minutes later, Roy joined her. "What took you so long?"

"Sorry. There was someone in my way and I had to go around. It was very difficult."

"Uh-huh…" Jade rolled her eyes, but there was only amusement behind the gesture. "Again?"

"Switch sides?"

"Obviously." They ran off down the opposite sides of the room again, both appearing and disappearing as they used the shadows to move. They were neck-and-neck for the most part, keeping pace with each other until they reached the other side. As soon as they each slapped the wall though, the buzzer went off. Everyone began trickling out of the room, Jade and Roy bringing up the rear. The scores for each team were on a screen just outside the room and neither Roy or Jade was surprised to see they'd won. The latter tried to hide her smile as they returned their gear but Roy still caught it.

"So," he said when they were walking back to the car. "How was it?"

"It was…interesting," Jade replied evasively, hands shoved into her sweater pockets. "Nothing…too special."

"Uh-huh, uh-huh. But did you have fun?"

"Roy-"

"Come on, Jade, humor me! Did you have fun?"

"…Yes, fine. I had fun. Happy now?"

"Very."

Jade glanced at his brilliant smile, then had to glance away when it made her stomach flop. "Why did you do this?"

"What'd you mean?"

"Why did you bring me here tonight instead of going out? It's not like this was a…date."

"I know its not a date, but… I was just thinking about how much you've done to help me and I wanted to take you out. Show my appreciation. You deserve it."

"Oh… Well, thanks." Jade was quiet until they were in the car and driving home. "I meant what I said earlier today, you know. You deserve a lot better than Kaldur'ahm. You deserve more than what he gave you in the end."

"Thanks."

"I was so angry at how he treated you. It was touch-and-go for a while, but I knew you'd pull through."

"Did you?"

Jade nodded. "The things I'd…heard about what you'd been through," especially from Oliver Queen himself, "I knew you'd pull through. There was never a doubt in my mind."

"Even when I needed your help to stop spiraling?"

"Even then."

Roy smiled and reached out to gently squeeze her hand. "Thanks, Jade. I really appreciate that."

"Of course." His hand retracted and Jade moved hers into her lap. She looked out the window, trying to ignore the warm feeling in her chest. 'You deserve someone who believes in you, Roy. You've more than earned it.'