Chapter 13
The Choice
"Guilt upon the conscience, like rust upon iron,
both defiles and consumes it,
gnawing and creeping into it,
as that does which at last eats out the very heart and
substance of the metal. "
-Robert South
It took Oliver a full minute to compute what was happening. The phone was pressed to his ear, his eyes were on the disheveled bed that he was in with his wife not too long ago. His phone rang, and he had to tear himself away from her, away from the fantasy they created in this room. In that time away, she was taken and it was like he could feel the anger pulsating underneath his skin.
"You still there, mate?" came Constantine's voice and Oliver sneered turning away from the bed, away from the memory of happiness that was taken away too quickly.
"Constantine, where is my wife?" Oliver asked, his voice trying to remain as calm as possible.
"She's safe, fine, ten fingers and toes. We just didn't see a reason to hold this off any longer. I'm sure we all will be glad to finally nip this thing in the bud, am I right?" Oliver grit his teeth and Constantine nervously cleared his throat, not able to see the man's face, but he could feel the heat of aggression through the phone. "So, yeah, I called because we're going to need your help to do this, and since we all want the same thing-"
"I want my wife standing in front of me. Not to be taken the moment I turn my back. I told you that I would help you and you pull this!" Oliver shook his head. "I want to see her."
"That's why I called you mate, history has told us we can't do this without you. Go to the closet." Constantine said, and Oliver turned to the closet in confusion.
"Why am I going to the closet?" Oliver asked walking over to the door to the closet warily.
"You'll see once you open it."
Oliver stared at the door for a moment, a bit unsure, before he finally reached over and pulled open the door his eyes going wide at what he saw. The door didn't reveal a closet at all, but a doorway to some place else. It looked like a large old mansion of some kind. Oliver's brow furrowed as he took a step inside. The door slammed closed behind him and Oliver looked back, now suddenly nervous.
"Oliver," Oliver turned at the voice to see Bruce standing there and Oliver felt that anger again and stalked toward the man. "Wait, wait-" Bruce backed away holding up his hands. "I know you're upset-"
"Upset doesn't even describe how I feel right now!" Oliver snapped angrily. "Where is she?!" Bruce let out a sigh before nudging his head for the man to follow him. Bruce turns, walking off and Oliver took a moment before going after him. They walked down the halls, and Oliver couldn't help but let his eyes trail over the oil paintings that covered the walls. "What is this place?"
"This is Zatanna's place." Bruce said over his shoulder. "I believe you've been here before. Just not above the basement." They came to a door that lead to a flight of stairs that Bruce climbed down, Oliver still close behind him. When they reached the bottom of the steps, Oliver stopped as he looked up to a team of heroes that he'd only seen assembled once before and that was when they planned to kill his wife.
Diana took a step forward, "Oliver, I understand you're upset." Oliver turned to the woman. "I too believe this could've been done differently," she glanced over to Zatanna who stood beside her before turning back to Oliver. "But we're here now, ready to just get this over with."
Oliver didn't say anything. He was suddenly nervous. He knew this moment would come, expected it, but he still couldn't brush away the fear that this wouldn't end the way he wanted it.
"Fine," Oliver said looking between the eyes of a team of heroes he would probably never completely trust again. "But after tonight, you all will never come near me or my family," he turned to Bruce who he hoped had changed. "That includes you." he turned and walked over to stand in front of Zatanna. "Where is she?"
Thea Queen just wanted one night where she didn't have to put out fires to save Oliver's political persona. The current fire was videos of Ari and Evelyn fighting now circulating online, and the comments associated with the videos that blame the mayor's parenting of the teen.
"No, he's not going to give a comment. This is his life, this is his family and he doesn't owe anyone insight into that. It's the fact that if this wasn't the mayor's kid, it wouldn't be getting this much attention." Thea let out sigh. "It's late, let's just see what we're dealing with tomorrow." she ended the call and let her head drop back on the couch as she closes her eyes.
"This is bad isn't it?" came a voice from behind her. Thea opened her eyes and looked back to see Ari who was changed in her pajamas. The teen walked over and took a seat in the chair beside Thea. "This could be bad for him, for both of them."
"Oliver doesn't care about how the city feels about what happened, he cares about you and what happened tonight." Ari shook her head, turning away. "What is it with you and Evelyn?"
"I don't even know." Ari said honestly turning back to Thea. " Look I get they all had these prior assumptions about me, that I was some spoiled rich kid, but I've proven that isn't me, and yet she always tries to get to me. The things she says about me, about my parents. I'm surprised I haven't kicked her ass before tonight."
"But Ari, I get people getting under your skin, but you can't let them get the best of you like that. Have you talked to Oliver about any of this?" Ari scoffed and turned away.
"I'm not a kid. I don't need to run to Oliver because some bitch said some nasty things to me." she shook her head. "I was handling it. But she just had to bring Jamie into it." she looked back over to Thea and let out a sigh. "I really liked him and she knew that. She wanted to hurt me, and then I wanted to hurt her."
"And what did any of it really accomplish? Now there's a video of you fighting. A video that doesn't tell the whole story, just two girls fighting over a boy." Thea let out a sigh and shrugged. "I get it, you like him, but he kissed her too. Fighting her doesn't change it or suddenly erase that it happened. "
"Maybe it was stupid."
"It was stupid." Thea chuckled lightly. "Here's some advice I hope you take. Never fight another girl over a boy. If he can't see how great you are, then just forget him." Thea looked down to her phone. "It's late, and you should get to bed. You have school tomorrow." Ari groaned at the thought of having to face everyone at school after that disaster of a party.
"Can't I just skip?"
"I don't think so. You're going to have to face the music sooner or later." Thea said as the girl stood to her feet. "Ollie and Katie will be here tomorrow morning as well so expect a lot of talking and practice apologizing." Ari let out a dramatic sigh before heading back upstairs.
Thea turned about to head into the kitchen to make tea, when she heard the sound of the front door opening. She quickly moved to the hall, surprised to see Felicity standing there out of breath.
"Felicity, what's going on?"
"Is Oliver here? I tried calling his phone and I didn't get an answer.
"No, he surprised Twinkie with a night at the Ritz. He said he was going to be offline for the rest of the night." Thea said walking over to the woman. "Please don't tell me we have to ruin this night they really need to themselves."
"I think we have to." Felicity said. "When Oliver brought Rene in, he was a bit disoriented. Tobias Church had been using him as a punching bag, so he called John."
"John is back?"
"Long story, he was arrested, sent to a military prison, and then your brother and Bruce broke him out and now he's a fugitive." Felicity rambled with a wave of her hand. "Not the point. After getting more lucid, Rene said something. He shared the Green Arrow's identity to Church."
"Wait, are you saying a murdering psychopath knows Oliver is the Green Arrow?" Thea asked and Felicity gave a nod, her eyes going to the stairs. "Ok, we need to get the kids somewhere safe, and out of this house." she turned back to Felicity. "Try Oliver again, or Twinkie, see if they answer. If not we may have to actually go to the Ritz, which I really don't want to do if they're doing what I know they're doing." Thea slid a hand through her hair before running upstairs.
It felt like deja vu, Oliver thought, as he stood in front of the bed in, a circle of candles surrounding it and his wife's unconscious form lying there.
"Hey," Oliver didn't even glance over to Bruce who stood beside him. "I get you hate me right now, probably hate everyone in this room, and that's fine, but even you have to see that this was a long time coming. Once this is over we will know."
"Except I already know, Bruce." Oliver finally turns to the man. "I look at her, and I just know that it's her, my wife and I have no doubts about it." Oliver glanced over to where Zatanna and Constantine stood speaking with Clark, Kara and Diana and he frowned before walking over to them. They stopped speaking the moment he walked over. "What's going on?" he looked around to the eyes on him.
"We were just discussing the possibilities of what could happen tonight." Clark said and Oliver turned to him. "Oliver, we all are hoping for the best outcome, but if there is a chance that the darkness that was inside of your wife is still there-"
"So you were just discussing the possibility of killing my wife?" Oliver asked and Kara shook her head.
"No, of course not. That's definitely not what we were discussing." Kara said. "Oliver, if it is there, we just want to know how to get it out if that is at all possible. That is our first priority, everything else happens when it comes."
"Whether you believe it or not Oliver, we truly all want the same thing." Diana said and he turned to her. "It's just you don't truly understand the dangers of that darkness once again being unleashed. Opening the portal to the others worlds is just the tip of the iceberg of horror that could befall this universe, maybe even others."
"Let's just get this over with." Oliver said turning to Zatanna who walked over to him. "Are you going to draw the symbols?"
Soon Oliver found himself lying in bed beside his wife who looked as if she were just sleeping. He turned to Zatanna and Constantine who sat on the edge of the bed in front of them.
"Alright Oliver, do your thing." Zatanna said before turning to Constantine giving him a nod before the pair started chanting.
Oliver turned to Katie, placing a hand on her cheek. "Hey Twinkie, it's me. I'm right here, you're safe, just let me in." he expected the moment to happen as quickly as it did before, but nothing happened. Oliver frowned as he slid over closer so his head was touching hers. "Twinkie, just let me-"
That time it happened instantly. Oliver found himself no longer in that bed beside his wife, but some place else. Some place void of anything really. It was just an empty white space as far as his eyes could see.
"What is this?" he whispers before turning and spotting Constantine and Zatanna who too looked around in confusion before tuning to him. "What's going on?"
"She's blocking us." Zatanna says looking around. "Katherine, we're only here to help you!" her voice echoed around them.
"Help me?" Zatanna turned to see Katie now standing directly in front of her. "You ruined my life Zatanna." without a word, Katie grabbed the woman by the throat. "Twice I've met you, and both time you've never even just talked to me." Zatanna tried to pull the woman's hand, though it wasn't working. "I never asked for your help, now get the hell out of my head!" Katie jerked the woman, tossing her so far that she disappeared.
"Twinkie, wait-" Oliver took a step to go to her, but his feet seemed frozen in place.
Katie shook her head at him before turning to Constantine who stared at her. "Fine, you don't want our help, then what do you want?"
"I want you to finally leave me alone." Katie says walking over to the man. "I want you to stop making things worse." she grabbed his jacket, jerking him forward. "I want you out of my head!" with another strong force, she sends Constantine flying so far he disappears as well.
With a huff, Katie turns to Oliver who stands there staring back at her.
"Fine, it's just you and me. Tell me, how do I help you?" Oliver said and Katie walked over to him silently. "Twinkie, please just-"
"Stop trying to save me, Oliver." Katie finally said. "You have your wife, and I have my hell. Lets just leave it at that." she turned to walk away, but he grabbed her arm pulling her back to him.
"I'm not leaving you in here."
"You don't have a choice." with that she placed a glowing hand to his chest.
Oliver let out a gasp as he opened his eyes and sat up from the bed. He looked up to see Zatanna and Constantine now on the floor, both looking beat up.
"Hey," Bruce walked over to Oliver. "Anything?" Oliver didn't say anything, he didn't know what say because he wasn't quite sure of what just happened. He was only sure of one thing. He turned back to see Zatanna and Constantine standing back to their feet.
"Now what?" Diana asked looking between the pair.
"We're going back," Oliver answered and they turned back to him. He looked over to Zatanna and Constantine. "Right now."
Ari glanced between Felicity and Thea as they rode the elevator down to the bunker. She'd only gotten a little bit of the story, but the major part was that Rene had revealed to Church Oliver's identity and that put them all in danger.
The moment the elevator opened, Ari looked up to see a face she hadn't seen in a while. John Diggle smiled as he walked over to them as they stepped from the elevator and he looked over to her with a shake of his head.
"Where has the time gone?" he said. Ari looked at him for a moment before grabbing Robyn's stroller.
"I'm going to lay her down." she said before turning and walking off.
"So I'm going to take a wild guess and say she isn't happy that I've been away." John says and the women just let out a sigh. "Any luck contacting Oliver?"
"No, we've tried his cell and Katie's and we're not getting an answer. I even called the hotel phone and nothing." Thea said with a shake of her head. "So either they're really trying to block out the world—"
"Or something is wrong." Felicity said moving over to her computer. "I'm going to check the cameras in the hotel."
John turned back to Thea who was staring down to her phone. It was obvious how exhausted the woman looked.
"How are you doing?" John asked and Thea looked up to him and let out a sigh.
"Like a ray of sunshine." Thea replied before looking back down to her phone. "This job is hard."
"Chief of Staff?"
"Super aunt." Thea answered glancing back up to the man just as Ari came walking back over to them.
"Any luck contacting Oliver and Katie?" Ari asked.
"Not yet, but we're not giving up yet." Thea said and Ari let out a huff before looking around to see what she could do. John looked at the young girl who had grown up so much in the months since he was gone. She turned back to him with a quirked brow.
"What?"
"The busted lip. I heard there was a fight at your party."
"Yeah, well it was a long time coming." Ari replied before nudging her head toward Felicity. "I'm going to see how I can help." she moved to walk over, but John took a step after Ari.
"Hey Ari-" she stopped and turned back to him. "Look I get it. You're upset that I was gone. I just-" he shook his head. "I was dealing with a lot and then things went sideways. I want you to know I'm here now." Ari looked at him for a moment, and even though she didn't want to, she found comfort in his words. She silently just gave him a nod before turning and heading over to Felicity.
Oliver was getting frustrated. He wanted to try again, to talk to Katie, but instead everyone wanted to stand around and talk.
"Oliver, I get you want to go back, but first we need to determine just how safe that is." Clark said before turning back to Zatanna and Constantine who both seemed totally drained after the first attempt. "Can you even do this again?"
Constantine and Zatanna shared a look before turning back to the woman lying in the bed.
"This was different than the last time." Zatanna said.
"Different how?" Diana asked and Zatanna walked over to stand in front of the bed.
"She had more control." Zatanna said, more curious than anything. "She allowed us in only enough to warn us to leave her alone. She broke through the spell that allowed us to be there, tore through it and tossed us out." a smile came to her face. "It was remarkable."
"It also seems like something beyond the scope of the doctor's abilities." Clark said and they all turned to him. "Are we sure it was Katherine who did all this, and not that darkness."
"No," It was Oliver who stepped forward. "No, that was my wife who is burying herself in guilt and sadness and I need to go back to help pull her out of it." he turned back to Constantine and Zatanna. "I'm going with you or without you, but I'm going back." without another word, Oliver walked back over to lie down beside his wife in the bed.
Zatanna and Constantine shared a look before they let out a sigh and walked over to sit on the edge of the bed once again. Bruce, Clark, Kara, and Diana walked back over as well to continue to keep watch.
Oliver propped up on his side, looked over to Katie's face before slipping her hand in his. "Hey Twinkie, I'm right here. I'm going to keep coming back until you're walking out of here with me. So you can keep pushing me, but you will never get rid of me. I promised you til death do us part, and I promised to be there through good times and bad and those are promises I will never break." he pressed a kiss to the side of her head. "I'm here when you're ready to let me in." Oliver dropped his head on the pillow beside her, closing his eyes and in an instant Oliver was once again pulled.
This time Oliver's eyes scanned the familiar neighborhood that he saw everyday. He looked over to see Zatanna and Constantine who both scanned the area as well before turning and looking up to the house behind Oliver. Oliver turned as well, frowning at the sight of his house.
"She said I had my wife and she had her hell." Oliver said with a shake of his head. "But this—this is our life, how could this-"he glanced over to Zatanna and Constantine. "This doesn't make sense."
"Maybe she let you in to help you make sense of it, mate." Constantine said. He looked over to Zatanna. "We don't know how long she's going to let us stick around here before kicking us out again. " He turned back to Oliver. "The rules are all the same as before. Nothing here is real, it's all part of her world as seen through her eyes. You just need to keep her talking long enough for us to determine if the darkness is somewhere around here hiding." Oliver nodded, turning back to the house.
"Oliver, remember, the longer we're here, the harder it is for us to get out. So when we come back, whatever you find out, we're going to have to leave." Zatanna said and Oliver looked at her for a moment before turning back to the house. "Oliver, she let you in to show you her hell, you need to find a way to get through to her." with that the man took a deep breath before walking over to the house. He reached forward to turn the doorknob only to find that it was locked. He frowned slightly, before looking over to the doorbell. He reached forward, pressing the doorbell, taking in a nervous breath as he waited for someone to open the door.
There were footsteps from the other side of the door, and he heard rustling before the door pulled open and the nervous breath came rushing out.
"Oh, Oliver, hi. I bet I know who you're here to see."
Oliver was stuck on mute for a second, before pulling on a smile. "Mrs. Robins, hi-" he stared at the woman, really taking in how long it's been since he's seen her.
She looked at him for a moment. "Are you alright, Oliver?" he quickly nodded.
"Uh, yeah, yes ma'am. Is Katie home?" the woman smiled with a nod before taking a step to the side to let the man inside.
"She is. She's on way her down." Grace closed the door and turned to Oliver "I just made cookies. How about you come in the kitchen and have one as you wait." the woman headed for the kitchen, and Oliver walked further inside, his eyes looking around the house that looked just as it did when he was a kid. "Oliver?" he turned back to the woman. "Cookies?" he looked at her for a moment before shaking his head. He couldn't get distracted, couldn't get pulled from the reason he was here.
"No thank you. I really need to talk to Katie." he pointed to the stairs about to turn and head up.
"Oliver," he turned back to the woman. "You really shouldn't-" he looked over to the woman in confusion. "You're here to see her, but first you have see me." he frowned for a moment before giving the woman a nod and following her into the kitchen.
Soon Oliver sat impatiently as he watched her moving about the kitchen, before going over to place the cookies on a plate.
"Mrs. Robins, I really-"
"You're not seeing the whole picture Oliver." she said, a smile on her face as she glances over to him. "You're only seeing this from your prospective. Making decisions based on what you want when you should be asking yourself, what does she want." the woman shook her head. "No one asks her that. They do things, move her where they think she should be." the woman dropped her eyes back to the cookies. "I never did that." she grabbed the plate and brought it over to the table, sitting it in front of Oliver. "It's why she needs me. Why she will not leave with you." Oliver looked at the woman who smiled as she pushed the plate closer to him. "Just take your cookie, and go home Oliver."
"No," Oliver stood to his feet about to head upstairs, but he stopped. He remembered this wasn't real, that this wasn't Grace Robins he was talking to. But he couldn't help but feel this was a voice in his wife's head and he couldn't just walk away. He turned back to the woman. "I'm sorry. If I ever made her feel as if she never had a voice, or a choice about the things that happened in our lives." he turned his head at the sound of laughter coming from upstairs. It sounded like multiple people. He turned back to Grace who looked up as well with a frown. "Who is that?" the woman looked back to Oliver and shook her head.
"I should get dinner ready." and without another word the woman turned and began once again moving around the kitchen. Oliver let out a sigh before turning and heading up the stairs. He followed the sound of laughter until he stepped on the second floor. He frowned as he looked at the pictures on the walls. They seemed to be of Grace and Jacob, Katie between them, but a crack in all of them, right above Katie's face. The sound of the laughter once again drew his attention and he turned down the hall, the door to the office slightly open. He hesitated outside of the door for a moment, unsure if he wanted to walk inside. He glanced around the hallway in hopes of spotting Katie, but he didn't see her. He turned back to the door, before pushing it open completely and his eyes widen.
"Oliver my boy, you're here!" Oliver looked at the room that now had a large boardroom table, and there sitting was Jacob Robins. Beside him was the demon, and across from him was Damien Darhk. They were all smiling, friendly even as if they were all buddies. Jacob pointed to the chair at the head of the table. "We have a seat for you here. I think we're still waiting for-" Jacob smiled and pointed behind Oliver. "There he is." With a furrowed brow, Oliver turned, a gasp escaping his lips.
"Dad?"
Constantine and Zatanna walked down the quiet Star City suburb. They were searching for any signs that the darkness could be here, but at this point nothing was jumping out at them.
"Alright this is too quiet." Zatanna said stopping and looking over to Constantine who stopped as well.
"Maybe we should poke the bear." Constantine said and Zatanna looked over to him and he just gave a mischievous smile before walking out into the middle of the street. "Hey, you can't hide forever!" he looked up to the sky. "I was there remember. That dark thing was inside of you and it made you do terrible things. You hurt your friends, you hurt your family!" it was still quiet and Constantine looked over to Zatanna who just shrugged. "You know I never figured you to be a coward, luv." he spun around. "We're here to help you, but we can't do that without your help. Just help us help you!"
"You know he's not going to leave!" Zatanna said and Constantine looked over to her. "Oliver, that man you made vows to. He took them very seriously, so you and I both know that he's not leaving here without you." nothing happened and the woman sighed before looking over to Constantine not realizing the woman standing behind him. Constantine noticed her eyes and turned, a smile coming to his face.
"Now that wasn't so hard, mate." he said and Katie simply looked at him with a blank stared. "So it's pretty quiet around here. I'm guessing that it's gone." Zatanna walked over to stand beside him, her eyes on the woman who hadn't said a word. "It is gone isn't it?"
Katie didn't say anything before turning her back to them, and in a blink and you'd miss it moment, they found themselves no longer in that picturesque suburb, but in some dank, dark medieval hall, that was illuminated by torches. Constantine and Zatanna took a step forward when the sudden sound of blood curdling screams echoed around them. Their eyes zeroed in on a door at the end of the hall baracaded with chains, and planks.
"No it is not gone." Katie finally spoke before looking over her shoulder. "But I have it contained. You need to get Oliver out of here, and you should never come back." Katie lifted her head, a frown on her face before she was suddenly gone.
Constantine and Zatanna stood there, taking in the woman's words before turning back to the door. Zatanna turned to Constantine who studied the door with a tilted head.
"What are you thinking?" she asked and he turned to her with slight smirk and she just knew what he was thinking. "Absolutely not." he turned back to the door with a finger tapping against his chin as a plan started formulating in that messed up brain of his.
Robert smiled fondly before bringing his arms around Oliver, who couldn't help that instinct to hug him back. It had been years since he's seen his father, but not a day goes by does he not think about him. Robert Queen was an ever present figure in Oliver's life, as a man and a father and he would be a liar if he said he didn't miss him.
"Son," Robert pulled back with a smile as he looked at Oliver. "Boy is it good to see you." Oliver couldn't help the wide smile that came to his face. In this moment he forgot. He forgot his goal. Forgot that he was here for Katie. He forgot that this moment wasn't real. All he saw was his dad. And everything he wanted from this moment just came flooding to him.
"Dad, I-" Oliver suddenly felt the rise of emotions in his throat. "It's good to see you too. There's so much I-" that emotion was threatening to take his words. "So much I want to tell you. I—I have daughter. You have a granddaughter and she's-" Oliver shook his head. "She's perfect. Me and Twinkie-" it was when he said her name did the moment click. Reality came back and ruined the moment. Oliver took a step back before looking over to the others, realizing the symbolism of the room and the men they held.
"We should take a seat." Robert said moving around Oliver to sit beside Damien. "I think we're all here. Except for-" Robert turned to Jacob. "What's his name again?"
"I don't know. He never shows up to these things anyway." Jacob said before turning to Oliver. "Come sit son, we should get started." Jacob grabbed the remote and pressed a button and a sudden projector screen appeared, Katie's face appearing on it. "Right, so we left off last meeting trying to decide where my girl should go next."
"Well I still have hope that she can revive my legacy, unlike my insolent daughter. "Ra's said with a shake of his head.
"That story's boring," Damien said gaining a glare from Ra's before turning to Jacob. "And I think I'm offended by you referring to her as your girl when she's clearly my-"
"Guys, can we not go there!" Robert interjected before turning to Oliver. "A little help here son. These things go off course all the time. Do you have any ideas?" Oliver felt like he was in a scene from the twilight zone right now as he stood in this room, but it was yet another moment he realized was another voice in his wife's head. Without a second thought Oliver walked around the table, grabbed the screen and tearing it from the ceiling. He turned back to the men.
"This is over. She's no longer your pawn, no longer torturing herself for the things you put her through." Oliver looked at the faces of the men who've done much damage to his own life and he realized these words coming from him wouldn't make much of a difference. "But I can say all of this until I'm blue in the face and it wouldn't make a difference." Oliver shook his head before walking around the table, heading for the door.
"Oliver?" Robert's voice, though not real, still tugged on something inside of Oliver he doesn't think could ever die. Oliver stopped walking and glanced back over to his father who gave him a smile. "I'm proud of you, son." Oliver thought he would fall apart right then and there as the words he'd desperately wanted to hear from his father just came out of his mouth.
"Thanks dad." Oliver said, forcing himself to turn around and leave that office. He let out a heavy breath as he stepped out into the hall. He turned, his eyes going toward their bedroom before walking. He was almost there when he stopped walking, and turned to the door of Ari's room, which was once Twinkie's room. He reached for the doorknob pushing open the door and it was yet another plucked from the past moment as he stepped inside of Twinkie's old room. He smiled as he looked around at the posters on her wall, the dolls and stuffed animals in weird places in her room. He turned, seeing the light in the closet on and when he walked over, he pulled opened the door and there she was. Katie was sitting on the floor, her knees to her chest.
"You didn't knock." she said, not lifting her eyes to him. He smiled as he looked down to her.
"Yeah, I'm sorry." there was breath of silence. "Did you want me to leave?"
"Yes," she said without hesitation. She lifted her eyes to him, and he could see the tears streaming down her cheeks. "I want you to leave and never come back." Oliver swallowed the lump in his throat before he moved in and dropped to the floor beside her. "Just let me go, Oliver." Oliver didn't say anything as he brought his arm around her and pulled her closer to him, and she just dropped her head on his chest. "You can't save me."
"I'm not here to save you, Twinkie," Oliver placed a kiss on top of her head, closing his eyes. "I don't think I could if I wanted to. You have to save yourself."
"What if I don't want to save myself? What if I'm fine with how things are." she lifted her eyes to meet his. "I can't leave, I can't-" she frowned, turning away.
"What's wrong?" Oliver asked and Katie quickly stood to her feet. Oliver did the same, and before he knew what was happening, they were no longer standing in that closet. Oliver's eyes looked around the old, hallway and the torches on the walls. He looked over to Katie who was staring at something up ahead. He followed her eyes to see a door that looked as if it had been burst open. "What is that?" he turned back to Katie, now noticing that her clothing was different. She was wearing a pale yellow version of what he thinks is league of assassin clothing. "What's happening?" In the next moment, a katana appears in her hand. "Twinkie?"
"Oliver you need to leave now." she says before gripping the katana with her other hand and carefully moving toward the door. Oliver stood there for a moment, before following after her.
Oliver stepped into the room behind Katie, his eyes going over to Zatanna and Constantine who stood in front of someone. They glanced back, their eyes looking from Katie to Oliver before they moved finally allowing him to see who was there. Oliver stared in confusion as he looked to the face of his wife who was wearing the familiar black league attire.
"You just couldn't learn from your mistakes could you?" yellow said looking over to Constantine and Zatanna. "I had it under control, but as always, you just had to mess everything up." she turned back to her dark doppelganger holding out her Katanna. "You need to take Oliver and leave. This part usually gets very messy." and without another word she bolts toward the double, the clanking of their swords as the fight insues.
"What the hell is going on?" Oliver asked walking over to Constantine and Zatanna. "So the darkness is here and you let it out again?"
"No," Zatanna said watching the battle happening in front of them. "The darkness created from Darhk's spell is gone."
"Then who is that?" Oliver asked turning back to the fight as well.
Felicity Smoak knew something was up. She let out a sigh as she looked at the monitor. Ari heard the sound and looked over to the frown on the woman's face.
"What's up?" she turned to the screen which looked to be a video feed. "Is that from the hotel?"
"Yep." Soon two familiar faces appear from the elevator. "And that is Constantine and Zatanna." Felicity shook her head before taking out her cell phone. "I think I know why Oliver and Katie aren't answering their phones."
"What do you mean?" Ari asked still confused. She remembered the British guy, but not the woman, but she had no idea who they really were. "What's going on?" Felicity looked over to the teen with another side. "Felicity don't say what I know you're going to -"
"I'm sorry, it's a conversation that you're going to have to have with your guardians." Felicity stood to her feet and with a huff Ari did the same. Both stopped at the sound of the elevator opening, and inside were Evelyn and Rory who stepped out. Evelyn and Ari stared at each other for a moment.
"What are they doing here?" Ari asked taking a step forward, but Felicity quickly caught her arm. She turned back to Evelyn. "You have some nerve coming here."
"Well there are bigger problems than focusing on broken hearted psychos." Evelyn said before turning to Felicity. "Have you made contact with Oliver, yet?" Felicity was about to answer, but she was cut off.
"I'm sorry, at what point did you really think you coming back here would be that easy." Ari said tugging her arm from Felicity's grasp. "You need to leave."
"Ari you need to calm down." Rory said interjecting, hoping to shift the focus. "Evie is right. If Church does know Oliver's identity, then that is what we need to be focusing on. Everything else can wait." Ari let out a huff before turning to Felicity expecting some sort of back up. Felicity took a step toward the girl.
"Right now Ari, we need to make sure Katie and Oliver are alright. That means you have to put aside any emotions that aren't going to do that." Felicity glanced over to Rory and Evelyn. "I need to make a call." with that Felicity walked off. Ari turned back to Evelyn who wore a slight smirk and she couldn't take it. Ari shook her head before stalking off to head up to the roof.
"Thanks for that." Evelyn said over to Rory who turned to her. "That girl really is a psycho."
"What does that make the girl who showed up to her birthday party to make out with the boy she liked?" Rory asked and Evelyn just shook her head. "What the hell was that, Evie?" the girl didn't say anything and Rory just let out a sigh. "I don't know what your problem is with her, but if you keep it up, you're not going to be on this team." she turned to him with a quirked brow. "She's Oliver's kid. If it really came to a choice between keeping her around and keeping you around, who do you think he would choose?" she turned away from him. "I'm just saying, be careful."
Bruce was getting annoyed with how long this was taking. He, Clark, Kara and Diana rotated shifts between who would watch Oliver, Katie, Zatanna and Constantine, while the others waited upstairs. At the moment it was Clark's turn to watch while Diana, Kara and Bruce moved about the house. Bruce found himself looking out a window that didn't actually show what one would expect to see outside. It was just a bunch of bright, swirling lights.
"We're moving really, really quickly," Bruce glanced over to Diana who appeared behind him. "So fast that, everything that passes by looks like an orb of light that appears and then disappears in the blink of an eye. It's quite remarkable really." Bruce turned back to the window. "Did I do something to upset you, Bruce?"
"And why would you think that I'm upset with you?" Bruce asked walking from the window to look up to a painting on the wall.
"You've barely said two words to me since we've been here. So either you're upset with me or—" she walked over to stand beside him to look up to the painting. "Did something happen with Felicity?" Bruce frowned slightly and looked over to the woman. "I'm just wondering-"
"Don't," Bruce stalked away from the woman, stopping and turning back to her. "You're right, I am upset. I'm upset that I'm in this ridiculous mansion right now and not in the middle of some over the top, over extravagant apology to the love of my life." he let out a sigh, when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. "Can't believe I get reception in here." he looked down to the phone, surprised to see Felicity's name and he quickly answered. "Hi, hey, you're probably wondering where I am."
"Well I think I know. " Felicity replied. "Are you in Zatanna's moving house with Oliver and Katie, and that plan you all have of verifying if the darkness is truly gone is in effect."
"That's exactly what's happening. How did you figure it out?"
"I called Oliver and Katie and neither answered their phones so I hacked into the hotel's surveillance and spotted our favorite magical duo and put two and two together." Felicity let out a sigh. "How is it going?"
"I'm not sure, they're still out." Bruce said, and silence held the line for a moment. "Look, I know-"
"Not the time for this conversation." Felicity interrupted. "We have a problem. Tobias Church knows Oliver is the Green Arrow."
"He's going to go after Oliver."
"Or Katie, or the kids. Right now we have the kids at the bunker. Once they're finished there, let Oliver know what's going on. We need to figure out how to deal with this."
"Right, I will." Bruce said, the line going silent once again. "Felicity, I'm sorry."
"I don't accept apologies over the phone Mr. Wayne. You know that." and with that she ended the call.
Bruce let out a sigh as he slipped the phone back into his pocket.
"Is everything alright?" Diana asked and Bruce looked over to her.
"No. No it is not."
It was getting difficult to focus on what was happening during that sword fight. Oliver kept his eyes on the two faces of his wife, both equally matched in a fight that seemed unwinnable. It was during the fight did he realize that the space around them was changing too.
"Wait," Oliver said, his eyes looking around what looked like one of the many combat rooms of Ra's fortress. In an instant, they're gone, now on top of a roof. Oliver looked from the fight to Constantine and Zatanna. "These are the places she's running from." the pair turned to the man who turned to the battle that was still happening. In the next moment they're standing in the bunker and then everything stops. The fight stops as both women stare at each other out of breath. The one in yellow glances around before her eyes drop to the body of Damien Darhk lying on the floor, a bloody hole in his chest, his heart just a few feet away.
"No!" she screams before clenching the katana and swinging it at the double, who disappears before the strike. Yellow spins around looking for her, before turning and closing her eyes. "It didn't happen." she mutters, dropping the sword and placing her hands over her ears. "It didn't happen." she repeats the words over and over again. Oliver walks over to her, placing his hands on her arms, but she pushes him away. "No! You shouldn't be here. I was fine. I had it under control." she turned to Constantine and Zatanna. "Why would you let it out?! That monster needs to be locked away forever."
"Except it's not a monster." Zatanna walked over to the woman. "And you can't beat it and you can't lock it away and pretend as if she's not there. You can't hide from her any longer."
Beeping sounded from their watches. Zatanna looked down to her watch before letting out a sigh and glancing over to Constantine. He gave a nod before turning to Oliver.
"Oliver, mate, we have to go." Constantine said and Oliver shook his head before turning back to Katie.
"I'm not going anywhere." Oliver placed his hands on Katie's arms. "It's time to face it. It's time to see what happened and know that was not your fault."
"Yes it was." she pulled from his grasp and walked away from him, her eyes once again looking down to the deceased form of Darhk's body. "I ripped a man's heart from his chest." she looked down to her hands, now covered in blood. "I let Ruve Adams die in that explosion, and then I took her daughter." she looked over to Oliver, tears pooling in her eyes. "I kidnapped Thea with the sole purpose to kill her. I was going to use her blood to-" she turned away, snapping her eyes shut because it was happening. "Stop it!" she tuned and there standing was her double. "Just make it stop!"
"Oliver," Zatanna grabbed his arm. "We really need to go. This spell is very sensitive to time, and if we don't leave now, we're not going to be able to leave at all. Right now there's nothing more for you to do for her. She has to figure out what happens next on her own." Oliver didn't say anything, his eyes looking back over to the two faces of his wife as they stare at each other.
"Just give me one second." Oliver walked over to the two women, their faces turning to him and he had to admit it was very strange. "Twinkie, I-" Zatanna and Constantine grabbed his arms and in an instant his eyes were snapping open, back up to the ceiling of Zatanna's basement.
Oliver turned his head to look over to Katie who wasn't awake. "Twinkie?" she didn't budge. He sat up and placed his hand on her cheek. "Twinkie, wake up."
"Oliver," Zatanna came to the side of the bed, but Oliver didn't even look over to her.
"Why isn't she waking up?" Oliver asks. He drops his head to hers. "Twinkie, please just wake up." Zatanna looked over to Constantine, just as Bruce, Diana, Kara and Clark came running back in.
"What's going on?" Bruce ask stepping forward. "Why isn't she awake?" he looked between Constantine and Zatanna who both looked as if they didn't know the answer to that question. "Are you kidding me?! You two come up with this big plan and didn't think of what would happen if she didn't wake up?!"
"Bruce, calm down." Diana said.
"Don't tell me to calm down!" Bruce went to the other side of the bed. "Oliver we need to get her to a hospital." Oliver looked over to the man in confusion. "I don't know what the hell is happening, but I have no more faith in the people in this room right now."
"Well you should have enough faith in us to believe us when we say that a hospital can't help her right now." Zatanna said and the man glared over to her. "This moment, she has to make a choice."
"What do you mean?" Clark asked and Zatanna let out a sigh before turning to him. "I have to agree with Bruce. You never mentioned the possibility of her not coming out of this. That would've greatly swayed our opinions of you doing this." Clark turned to the woman on the bed, focusing in on his xray vision, seeing the beat of her heart and at least finding relief in that. "If you can't wake her up, then we need to get her to a hospital." Clark moved forward as well.
"Will you lot just shut it for one minute!" Constantine yelled pushing his way past Bruce and Clark and taking a seat on the edge of the bed beside Katie. He closed his eyes, and tilted his head and they all watched him, unsure of what he was actually doing.
"I was wondering when you were going to summon me." Constantine opened his eyes and looked over to the woman in the room that only he could see.
"Yeah, well I was all out of options on this one." he said and everyone in the room was looking at him in confusion trying to figure out who he was talking to. "She's not waking up. Any ideas?"
"Maybe." she replied and then she was gone.
"Who is he talking to?" Clark asks over to Zatanna who lets out a sigh.
"Probably someone no longer in the realm of the living." Zatanna replied and Clark frowned before turning to the man. "Hopefully they can help."
Constantine stood to his feet and they all watched as he turned to face him. "We have to wait."
"For what exactly?" Bruce asked.
"Well I've sent someone in to see what's keeping our girl from opening her eyes. Now we have to see if it works."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Bruce asked. "Sent who?"
Constantine turned to the man. "Her mum."
Grace Robins found herself standing in the bunker of a teams of heroes she usually watches from afar. She sees her daughter sitting on the floor, her eyes glued to the dead body of Damien Darhk. She takes a step before stopping and glancing around and spotting her daughter, only this one wearing black league clothing.
"What's happening?" she asked the version of her daughter not seemingly stuck staring at a dead man.
"Oh, you're about to see." she said and in a blink of an eyes she was gone. Grace stood there in confusion before turning back to her daughter who wore all yellow. She walked over and took a seat beside her.
"You didn't do this." Grace said..
"And yet his blood and the blood of so many others are on my hands." she couldn't tear her eyes away. "This man was evil. He hurt me, he hurt Ari. Kidnapped my daughter. Tormented my husband and yet he didn't deserve to die like this."
"So what now? You stare here, and torture yourself for something beyond your control?" Grace asked and Katie didn't say anything. "What about your family?"
"They will have the version of me that doesn't carry this pain."
"Except that version doesn't exist anymore." Grace said and Katie looked over to her in confusion. "She's been here the whole time, finally able to see the truth. Right now they only person who can be with your family is you. You can't stay here." Katie turned back to Damien's body.
"Is he my father?" Katie asked and Grace closed her eyes and let out a sigh.
"It would make sense, wouldn't it?" Grace said opening her eyes and turning to the man. "If I told my brother that I was having a child by the man who had become a monster. If I convinced my brother that the only way to keep me and my child safe was to go into hiding with a brave soldier who would protect us." she turned back to Katie. "And then I would do everything to make it seem as if it were true. Even mentions in journals. It would make sense, and people would believe it."
"That doesn't answer my question."
"I know, but I wasn't trying to." Grace replied. "The truth is that, one day you are going to know everything there is to know about me, and about you and about who we are." Katie looked over to the woman who smiled and placed a hand on her cheek. "You have no idea the-" suddenly the other version of her daughter appeared behind the one sitting beside her.
"Thanks for the distraction mom." the double said before dropping behind yellow and wrapping her arms around her from behind. "No more running. No more hiding."
"No! No!"
Katie's eyes snapped open to a room she's not sure how she got to.
"Twinkie?" she turned to Oliver who was right beside her, watching her. "How are you feeling?" Katie frowned as she quickly sat up, now noticing the people in the room all watching her. "Twinkie, it's alright, everything is-" he placed a hand on her arm and she pushed him away before standing to her feet and backing away from everyone in the room. Oliver looked over to Constantine and Zatanna. "What's going on?" Oliver stood to his feet and walked around the bed to his wife who had back herself into a corner to distance herself from everyone. "Everyone needs to leave." no one moved and Oliver growled before turning to the others. "Right now, everyone needs to give her some space, so out, now!" They all watched Katie for a moment before they began filtering back upstairs. Constantine walked over to stand beside Oliver. "Constantine-"
"I'm going, I just-" he took a step toward Katie. "How you doing there love?" she turned to him with a glare before she turned to the wall, and without any warning just let out a scream. Oliver was about to go to her, but Constantine stopped him. "She needs to let it out. Just give her minute to let it all out." Constantine turned to Zatanna who waited at the door before walking over to her.
"Is she-"
"Back?" Constantine asked before looking back over to the woman who was still screaming. Still releasing the emotions of everything that has happened. "I think she is." he turned when he spotted Grace standing beside him, and she looked concerned. "What's wrong?" Grace turned to him and shook her head.
"Getting back to her life, back to normal won't be easy." Grace said looking back over when the screaming finally stopped.
Oliver placed a hand on her back. "Twinkie, I'm right here. Whatever you need, I'm here for you." Katie turned to face him, her back falling to rest on the wall.
"What I need is to be as far away from you as possible." she moved around him, walking toward the door but only to be blocked by Constantine. "You should move out of my way."
"Where are you going to go?" he asked.
"No idea, but the longer I stand here, the more tempted I am to kill you and your friend Zatanna." Katie says glaring over to the woman.
"Katherine, what we did was to help you." Zatanna said. "That has always been our intention."
"That's right. Helping the helpless! Saving those in need." Katie took a very dangerous step toward the woman. "That night on the beach in Blue Hill, I was supposed go back to that beach house, and hold my daughter. Because of your help, I missed months of her life, I missed everything. That's what your help did." she took another step toward the woman and this time, Constantine walked over to intervene, only for Katie to grab his arm and knee him in the gut before pushing him back and turning her attention to Zatanna, who was chanting something Katie assumes is supposed to be doing something to her and the frown on the woman's face revealed that it wasn't. "You know I don't think I've actually introduced myself to you because seconds after you appear you say your little spell and render me unconscious, something I don't believe works right now from that expression on your face." Another step and Zatanna's back was on the wall. "I'm Katherine Queen, Daughter of Minnah Al Ghul, and this is the last time you and I will ever share the same breath. You and Constantine will stay away from me and my family. You've done what you've came to do. Proven the darkness is gone." Katie leaned her face toward the woman. "You brought me back and you will find out what that means if I ever see your face when I leave this room."
Katie pulled away from the woman before walking over to the stairs and climbing up.
"What's going on?" Oliver asked walking over as Constantine hobbled over to where he stood in front of Zatanna. "Why is she so-"
"Angry?" Constantine asked and Oliver looked over to him with a nod. "I'm starting to think she lost that fight within herself. One side wanted to hide, the other wanted to face the truth. You should go, do that husband thing you do." Oliver stood there for a moment before rushing upstairs after her. Constantine looked over to Zatanna. "I told you, those bad first impressions were gonna catch up to you." the woman didn't say anything. Constantine quirked a brow before walking over to the woman whose back was still pressed against the wall.
"I just wanted to help her." Zatanna said her eyes turning to meet Constantine. "I had to help her. She's the only other magi I've come across since my father, and now-" she shook her head. "She doesn't want anything to do with me."
"Give her time. She's a stubborn one. She'll come around." the woman just turned away. "There's something else. What?"
"Before, when it seemed like she was going to attack me, I did another sleeping spell." she turned to Constantine. "It didn't work on her." the man looked back over to the woman in confusion.
Katie didn't stop as she moved down the halls of the house. She spotted the door, prepared to walk through it and never look back.
"Robins, wait!" Bruce called running over to stand in front of her. "Look I get you're upset and you have every right to be, but right now there's more going on."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Katie asks turning back to him. She glanced over to see Oliver who came down the hall and she just shook her head. "I said I want you to stay away from me." she was about to turn back to the door.
"Tobias Church knows Oliver is the Green Arrow." Bruce said quickly and both Katie and Oliver turned to him. "Felicity called when you two were out." he looked over to Oliver. "John got Rene talking, and he said that after the beatings he revealed who you were." Oliver turned to Katie who looked at him for a moment before turning back to Bruce.
"Where are Robyn and Ari?" she asked.
"They're at the bunker." Bruce replied. "But this is bad, because he's no longer just going to go after the Green Arrow." he turned back to Oliver. "He has the face under the mask and all the weaknesses that go along with that." they turned back to Katie who looked at them both before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.
Katie doesn't think she released that breath. Even when they finally stepped through that door, back into the hotel room. She thinks she was still holding it as they rode the elevator down to the bunker.
"Twinkie?" Katie rolled her eyes. He'd been silent for most of the trip, something she assumed would continue. He reached over and took her hand, but she pulled it back and moved to stand further away. "You're angry, I'm assuming at a lot of things right now."
"You couldn't just let it go." she muttered with a shake of her head. "You couldn't just leave well enough alone." she glanced over to him.
"No I couldn't," he admitted taking a step toward her. "Because everything wasn't well. You were not alright. And the truth is, you're not standing here, in front of me with all of your memories because of anything I did." she turned away from him. "You're here because a part of you knew you couldn't run any more. So be angry, push me away, but I'm just going to keep coming back."
"You're so annoying." she said and he couldn't help but to smile.
"And you're ridiculously stubborn." he replied. "But I don't think I've loved a woman as much as I love you, Mrs. Queen." she didn't say anything, but he didn't think she would. Sometimes he thinks she actually is consciously stubborn to make things harder on him. The doors to the elevator opened and she didn't even wait before she stalked off. Everyone stopped as they turned to her and Oliver who walked over to stand beside her.
It was John Diggle who took a step toward the woman. She looked over to him for a moment before taking a step forward to bring her arms around him in a hug. They silently pull back and Katie looks at the man for a moment before walking around him over to Felicity.
"Have you had any luck tracking where Church went after taking off from Rene, Smoaks?" Felicity looked at her for a moment before shaking her head.
"No he went off the grid when-" something suddenly clicked and Felicity turned back to Katie. "You just called me Smoaks. You haven't called me that since-" Felicity looked at the woman for a moment her eyes going wide as she looks over to Oliver. "Does she-" she turned back to Katie. "Do you-" Katie simply nodded and the blonde smiled before tossing her arms around Katie in a hug. "oh my gosh, I can't believe it. Like I knew it was going to happen, but I didn't expect-"
"Smoaks!" Katie says and Felicity simply nodded.
"Right, sorry."
Katie turned to Oliver. "What are we doing? Going underground?"
"I can't disappear." Oliver says with a shake of his head. "I'm still dealing with the fallout from not being around when the ACU was attacked, and there is a rezoning vote that needs my attention."
"I'm sorry, a rezoning vote?" Katie says walking over to stand in front of him. "So the vote comes before Church telling every criminal in this city who you are?"
"I have security, I will be fine." Oliver said and Katie let out a huff, turning as Ari appeared from the back, her eyes going wide when she see Oliver and Katie.
"You're here." she says walking over to Katie and noticing something seemed different. "What happened? Why weren't you answering your phone, I was worried." Katie walked over to the girl, placing a hand on her cheek and smiling. "What?"
"Nothing, I'm just happy to see you." Katie says before turning back to Oliver who walked over to stand beside her.
"So you know what's going on, what's the plan?" Ari asked looking from Katie to Oliver.
"Tomorrow I'm going back to City Hall."
"So I guess that means I'm going to school." Ari sighed and both Oliver and Katie turned back to her. "I am going back to school, aren't I?"
"No, it's too dangerous." Katie said with a shake of her head.
"Ari can't miss school because of this." Oliver said and they both turned to him. He let out a sigh before turning to Katie. "Ari missing school would only throw up another red flag with her case worker." he turned back to Ari. "I'm assigning extra security to be at the school with you and if you feel anything is off, you don't try to handle it yourself."
"But-"
"Ari, if you're feel something is off, you let a teacher know or you call me or Katie, but you do not handle it yourself." Ari rolled her eyes, but gave a nod. "Look it's only a couple of hours before you have to be at school, you should try to get some sleep." she just let out a huff before turning and walking off. Oliver shook his head before turning to Katie who watched as Ari stalked off toward the back room. "She's going to be alright."
"Well obviously you know since you went ahead and made the decision for the both of us." Katie said about to walk away, but Oliver caught her arm. She jerked out of his grasp, turning to him.
"Wait, I'm sorry, I just-"
"You're used to being the only person who makes the decision when it comes to their well-being, but that no longer happens." she said with a pointed finger. She glanced over to see that there were more eyes on them and she let out a huff before turning and stalking off. Oliver stood there for a moment, but took a step to go after her, only for a hand on his shoulder to stop him.
"Yeah, that's not a good idea." John said and Oliver let out a sigh as he turned to him. "I'm taking it this all didn't play out the way you hoped."
Oliver shook his head. "I thought everything would be better if she just remembered. Everything could go back to the way it was. I guess that's not possible after everything that happened."
"Would that be a bad thing?" John asked. "How I see it, it's the tough times that make you guys stronger. It all comes back to those vows you took where you promised to work through the good and bad times. So maybe you don't get back what you had, but there's a chance you can have something better." Oliver looked at the man for a moment before letting out sigh.
"I'm glad you're back. I really-" Oliver didn't know how much he missed his friend until this moment. He needed that advice, that great advice that he always gave. Oliver turned away and took another deep breath. "I should-" he nudged his head and John gave a nod before watching the man hurry off.
Oliver carefully pushed open the door that lead to the back room. He stepped inside to find Ari already asleep on the bed before looking over to the corner where he saw Katie rocking back and forth in the rocking chair holding a sleeping Robyn in her arms. She glanced over to him for a moment before looking back down to her daughter. He walked over and took seat on the floor in front of them.
"You know I actually had to give myself a pep talk before I came in here to see her." Katie whispered as she looked down to the sleeping girl. "I had to repeat the words, you're not going to hurt her, it's gone, you're not going to hurt her, over and over again until I found the courage to walk through that door." she looked up to him with a slight nod. "I get my opinion isn't something you're probably trusting at the moment."
"Twinkie, that's not-"
"Oliver," she interrupted him before he could say anything else. "I need you to just listen right now, ok?" he shut his mouth and gave her a nod. "I feel broken and I feel used and I feel angry and I feel sad and I feel everything and I feel nothing and I don't know how long I will feel this way." she looked over to a sleeping Ari before looking down to Robyn. "The only thing I know for certain is that absolutely nothing can happen to them." she looked up to Oliver who sat across from her. "Nothing can happen to you. So with them and with you, I will always go the cautious route that shields you from the danger all together. And you will be the optimistic one who believes we can take on anything that comes our way head on. Our decisions will be made together, us meeting somewhere in the middle."
Oliver gave her nod. "Absolutely." he watched as she stood to her feet and placed Robyn back in her crib. Oliver stood to his feet and walked over to where she stood lingering above the girl for a moment before turning and heading for the door. He turned, going after her. "Twinkie, wait, just-" she stopped and let out a sigh before turning back to him. "Tell me what you need. Whatever it is, I will make it happen." Katie looked at him for a moment, before reaching over and placing a hand on his chest. He reached up, to cover her hand with his.
"I don't know." was her honest response. "You can't save me, no matter how much either one of us wish you could." she pulled her hand away before turning and leaving him standing there without the faintest clue as what he should do.
It was close to sunrise as Katie stood on the roof of the bunker. Her eyes looked out to the city not really paying attention. It was happening at this very moment. Like a movie playing in her head of every terrible thing that occurred at her hands and she couldn't help the feather of thought to just take that extra step toward the edge and end all of the thoughts right then and there.
She didn't hear the door open behind her, or even someone calling her name. Her eyes were just looking down to the edge of the roof trying to ignore that voice in her head telling her that it'll only hurt for a second before she'll find peace. She doesn't even consciously knows she took that step forward until someone grabs her shoulders and forcibly pulls her back. In that moment she snaps back to the here and now and her eyes turned to the wide eyes of her sister in law.
"Were you just about to-"
"No," Katie said quickly with a shake of her head. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I don't know." she opened her eyes and that's when Thea saw the glistening of tears in her eyes. "I don't-" she turned away closing her eyes and sliding her hands through her hair. "It just won't stop." Thea stepped forward and placed her hands on Katie's shoulders.
"What won't stop?"
Katie opened her eyes, and looked up to the sky and it was if the moment had flickered to the past, and she found herself staring up to the sky as a bright white light cracked through. Hands on her shoulder shook her back to the preset, and she turned back to the worried eyes of Thea.
"What won't stop?"
Katie didn't answer her. She didn't know how to answer her. And so she just took a deep breath, dried her eyes with her hands before walking around Thea and heading back into the bunker.
Author's Note:
Happy Holidays!
Review Replies
BlueBloodsSVUOrder: Thank you! I love writing those Twiver moments!
Adela: Yes! She will definitely not be happy! She's finally going to have to face everything that's happened. Thanks for the review!
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Thanks everyone for all the support and special thanks to those who left reviews! They are very much appreciated!
Sneak Peek
"Don't worry, I-" the car suddenly made noise and then the car began slowing down. "What the hell?"
"What's happening?" Katie asked and the man didn't say anything as the car seemed to sputter to a stop. "Steve, what the hell is happening?"
"I'm not sure, but I will find out." he glanced over to her. "Just sit tight." and with that the man stepped out of the car and popped open the hood. Katie sat there glancing around the car, suddenly realizing that there was not a soul around. She turned to look out the back and it was completely empty.
"This isn't right," she muttered before looking back down to her daughter and letting out a sigh.