Sanctuary Secrets Sacrifice

by kayemen22

Katie and Oliver embark on a new journey together. One neither is sure they're ready for, but will face together. There was no time for mad men with neat magic tricks or secrets. How can two heroes find time to bring a life in this world while battling the criminals bold enough to come to their city? Love will be their greatest weapon...until that love is tested. Will they survive?

6. Good Cop, Bad Cop

Chapter 6

Good Cop, Bad Cop

"Action expresses priorities."

-Mahatma Gandhi

---

Leadership was not a position Katherine Robins sought. She was fine falling into line when she believed in the job. She particularly hated being the center of attention. For so long she was able to successfully avoid anyone's eyes, and now...now they all would be looking at her.

Katie looked out the massive window of her office, looking out to the city when a hand touched her back. She turned to see Oliver beside her and she smiled up to him.

"You're nervous." he said looking down to the woman and just seeing it. "You're usually good in front of crowds."

"No, I'm usually Dr. Robins in front of crowds, not CEO Katherine Robins." Katie sighed dropping her head to the man's shoulder. "Someone is going to ask me a question and I'm going to vomit." Oliver laughed placing a kiss to her head.

"You're going to do great."

"No, I can't do this. I'm not a leader." she said with a shake of her head. "I take orders well." Oliver let out a snort and she looked up to meet the man's eyes. "What?"

"You're serious?" he asked and the woman looked up to him waiting for him to continue. "Twinkie you're horrible at following orders. If it's not how you would do it, or if it's not something you think you should do, you don't do it. And it's the fact that your way usually works in the end that makes you a great leader." he pulled the woman closer to him. "You're going to be fine, just don't tell any jokes, because they're seriously not funny." Katie swat the man's chest when there's a knock at the door. They turn as Felicity walks in, smiling at the pair.

"You're here to tell me it's time."

"I am." Felicity replied and Katie groaned burying her head in Oliver chest. "Hey, you're gonna mess up your make up." Katie glared over to the woman before finally standing up straight and taking a deep breath.

"Ok, I can do this." she said pulling on a smile. "Ok be honest, how pregnant do I look right now?" she smoothed out the blazer she was wearing before looking between Felicity and Oliver who didn't reply right away.

"Like not at all." Felicity assured the woman. "Like if I didn't know you were pregnant, I wouldn't be able to tell at all." Katie smiled a bit more before giving a nod. "You ready?"

"Yes I am." Katie says standing tall and heading out of her office. Oliver and Felicity followed close behind her.

"That was nice of you." Oliver whispered over to the blonde who smiled over to him. "She actually looks ridiculously pregnant."

"I know." Felicity sighed. "So?" she looked over to the man. "It's crunch time, it's time for you to put a ring on it."

"Felicity, I know, I just, I need to find the right moment." Oliver says looking up to Katie who is speaking with her assistant.

"Well you're not the only one waiting for that moment." Felicity said before walking to catch up to Katie. Oliver seemed confused for a moment before glancing over to Katie and suddenly it hit him.

"Wait, Felicity-" they were all outside the elevator when he finally caught up and so he would have to hold his questions. Once the doors slid open, Oliver held out an arm to hold the doors open while the women filed inside before easing in himself. The doors were closing when Katie jerked forward.

"Shit, my phone!" she was about to rush off, but stopped.

"Oh, I have it!" Claire says holding the phone up. "You told me to hold on to it for you, remember?" Katie looked over to the woman with a nod.

"I do remember, I guess I'm just a little nervous."

"Maybe a smidgen more than a little." Felicity commented.

"I'd say a hair more than a little." Oliver added and Katie glared over to them. "Twinkie you're gonna be great." Suddenly the doors opened, and Katie didn't really expect to see so many reporters with so many cameras. She smiled brightly when they noticed her presence, and the flashing lights erupted. Oliver's arm slipped protectively around her back as they walked toward the podium. He smiled slightly, but kept his eyes open and searching the crowd for anyone who got too close. He helped Katie up the small flight of stairs onto the stage where she walked up to the podium. Oliver took a few steps back behind the woman, next to Felicity. "What did you mean before when you said I wasn't the only one waiting?"

"Not the time Oliver." Felicity muttered through a smile. "Now sit back and watch your woman work."

"Welcome to Robins' Incorporated." Katie announced with a bright smile as she looked over the eyes of the sea of reporters in front of her. The flashing of camera's didn't stop so she would drop her head ever so often before looking back up to them. "You're probably all wondering what this surprise press conference is all about? Or you're all just really nosy and don't much care why you're here." they laughed and Katie smiled a bit more, reminding herself to let Oliver know later that she was actually funny. "Well you're here because I need to do something. Something I probably should've done a long time ago, but better late than never." she took a deep breath. "My name is Dr. Katherine Robins and I am the CEO of Robins' Incorporated. For the longest time, I ran from the title, too afraid of the pressure it held, but I don't know. Something happened. I finally saw what was in front of me this entire time. I went to school, became a doctor because I wanted to help people. I never saw that happening in these big buildings, in these fancy business suits no matter how much my father pushed me toward it. But then I saw it. I get letters everyday from people who can now send their kids to college, or people buying their first home, or just now able to support their family because of jobs this company created." she glanced down for a moment looking down to the note cards she knew she wasn't going to follow. She looked back up to the reporters with a smile. "When my father created this company, he had one idea in mind. What would help make this city a little bit better. That's what sets Robins' Incorporated apart from the others." she glanced over to Felicity. "What sets Palmer Tech apart from the others." she turned back to reporters. "You're here today because, I'm here to promise that I am going to keep the purpose of this company alive and well for as long as I can. I'm here because it's time this company knows how dedicated I am to it's success, and I hope this city knows as well. So I'm standing here to let you know to expect innovation, expect creativity, expect compassion, and most importantly, expect hope."

An eruption of applause followed the speech and Katie smiled glancing back to Oliver and Felicity who clapped proudly. Oliver gave the woman a wink and she smiled before turning back to the crowd.

"Now I'm going to do what all my advisers told me not to do." Katie replied with a sly smile. "I'm going to take a couple of questions. All I ask is to show me mercy please." there were a few chuckles when hands started shooting up. Katie wasn't sure who to choose, so she just threw out a finger pointing to the first person she saw. "You there, with the awesome glasses." there were some laughs before the man stood to his feet.

"Dr. Robins-"

"Ugh, I feel like we're all best friends now, right? Call me Katie." the woman said and the man gave a nod smile and a nod before continuing.

"Alright Katie, I think I can speak for everyone here when I say we appreciate your openness with us and the city. It's a breath of fresh air to actually know what's happening to the companies that are the foundation to our city. So thank you for that. And now we're all here to acknowledge you taking your place at the helm of your company, and dedicating yourself to it and this city, but I think we all are curious about the elephant in the room."

"Which elephant is that?" Katie asked with a quirked brow and the reporter simply pointed to her.

"Well you-" that got the man a couple of looks and he figures he could've probably worded this question better. "I mean, uh-"

"What I think our newbie is trying to ask is, you're pregnant." a woman closer to the front of the crowd asked. "I know this press conference isn't about your personal life, but I think if transparency is what you're going for, then it has to extend to all parts of your life, right?"

"You know that is a very great worded question." Katie says. "Better than being called an elephant." they crowd laughed, but quickly silenced as they awaited her answer. "Here's the answer I'm going to give you. My name is on the side of this building, but the truth is that it's yours. It belongs to Star City and that means there has to be transparency. Me on the other hand, I think I do deserve to keep certain parts of my life to myself. So what I will say is, yes I'm pregnant. I thought this outfit hid it well, but apparently it didn't." she glared back to Felicity who held her hands up in surrender. Katie glanced over to Oliver, and motioned with a finger for him to come over to her. The man was confused for a moment, before headed over to her side. They both turned to the reporters. "As I'm sure most of you know, this is Oliver Queen. He was in the news a little while back, you may have missed it-"they once again laughed and Katie smiled up to the man. "But he is the father of our baby." she turned back to the crowd.

"And is it true that you're not married?" the question came from somewhere that neither Katie or Oliver could pin point.

"No, we're not married." Katie sighed. "But I think the dynamics of our relationship would cross that line between transparency of me and the transparency of this company. Now does anyone else have a question?" more hands shot up. "Not pertaining to my personal life with Oliver or our baby." most of the hands went down, but there were a few still up and Katie smiled before picking the next one.

Once the press conference was over, and they all were once again hidden inside the elevator away from the questions and flashing lights, Katie let out a groan before once again burying her face in Oliver's chest.

"Twinkie-" Oliver brought his arms around the woman. "You have no idea how proud I am of you. You did great."

"You did better than great." Felicity said and Katie turned to her slightly. "The speech was great and you handled those questions like a pro. You made them laugh, but you also got your message across."

"I told Oliver I was funny, but he didn't believe me." Katie replied looking up to the man who placed a kiss to her forehead. She looked over to Claire who was looking down to her tablet. "What now?" Claire looked over to her with a quirked brow.

"Oh, the conference was all that was scheduled for you today." the woman replied. "And your next meeting isn't until next week, so enjoy your time off." the doors opened and they all walked off. Claire was about to head to her desk, but stopped. "Oh, here is your phone. And there were no calls." Katie gave the woman a nod before watching her walk away.

"We still waiting on the newest member of the Queen family?" Felicity asked as they walked toward Katie's office.

"I expected a call for CPS or my lawyers days ago, but still nothing." Katie said with a shake of her head. "I figured this was a dream, to actually have a family member who wants to take care of the child."

"I'm sure they're just working some stuff out, we'll hear back soon." Oliver says bringing an arm around the woman. He looks back over to Felicity who is looking down to her phone. "Is everything all set?"

"You mean for our big reveal?" Felicity asked and Katie rolled her eyes. "Why yes it is. Now that you and John have reignited your bromance over a game of cards-"

"Only you could call a brutal fight with a metahuman who can pull deadly playing cards from his skin a game." Oliver said with a shake of his head. Katie slid a hand along the man chest softly, still unable to get over cut one of those cards gave the man.

"All I'm saying is the love is back in the air and with Thea and Laurel back in town, I believe we are really going to kick some ass." Felicity replied with a smile. "And to answer your question, yes everything is all set up. Everyone should be heading over in an hour or so to hear the most ridiculous news I've ever heard."

"Felicity Smoak, it's not ridiculous, it's just unexpected coming from the guy who has a thing for eye make up." Katie says and Oliver pulls her closer to him, causing her to laugh. "I'm joking-" she looks up to the man's eyes.

"And I'm leaving before this room gets more uncomfortable than it already is." the woman said about to leave. "You know you two should talk." they both look over to the woman. "Like really talk about the stuff you're not talking about." she looked over to Katie who gave the woman a glare. "I'll see you later." the woman soon left, leaving the couple alone.

"What was that about?" Oliver asked and Katie sighed before looking up to the man. It was about Felicity once again pushing her to tell Oliver about how close Damian Darhk was to them.

"Felicity just being Felicity I guess." Katie says pulling away from the man and walking over to the window.

"Wow, so that's what that feels like." Oliver says and Katie looks over to him. "That wasn't entirely the truth, was it?" Katie sighed turning away from the man. "You're holding on to something Twinkie-" he walked over, bringing his arms around her. "Something you don't want to tell me, which only makes me think it's something serious."

"Oliver, just-" she pulled from his grasp, unable to not feel guilty in this moment. She was angry for so long because he was doing the same thing she was doing right now. She took a couple of steps away from the man and finally turned to him. "Ok. Before I start I need you to know that I am fine." that sentence did not have it's intended reaction because Oliver's face shifted to fear in an instant.

"Is it the baby? Is something wrong with the baby?" Katie shook her head, unable to find a way to start this conversation without it ending badly.

"No, the baby is fine. Still perfect, still healthy." Katie replied before grasping her nervous fingers that just wouldn't stay still at her side. "A couple of weeks ago, during the whole Jessica, Madison thing something happened. You were working, trying to find the bastard who tried to kill her and I decided to head home. I took a cab, but he didn't-" Katie dropped her head, and Oliver closed the distance between them, something that was not going to make this easier.

"Twinkie, tell me."

"He didn't take me home." Katie replied looking back up to man. "He wasn't a real cab driver turns out. He was hired to bring me to some restaurant."

"Why?"

"Because-because that's where his boss wanted him to bring me. His boss being Damian Darhk." the moment the words came out of her mouth, she saw the man's eyes go dark, his jaw clenching. "Oliver-"

"What happened?" the question was tense, direct and Katie knew she could only continue with truth right now.

"Nothing. He talked. A lot. He likes to talk. He said he wanted to see me, to catch up with the daughter of an old friend." Katie says with a shake of her head. "I couldn't speak-" she turned back to Oliver. "That's never happened to me before. I don't get intimidated. I don't show fear, but in that moment I was scared. Like really scared for me, for our daughter and I just stood there frozen. Then Martin showed up, he had a gun that now that I think about it probably wouldn't have done much good, but Darhk let us go. It was strange, there was no purpose to the meeting." she looked up to Oliver waiting for him to say something, to react in the way she's imagined he would when she finally told him the truth. He simply stood there, silent, but the anger was radiating off of him and she knows he's probably not blowing a fuse right now as a courtesy to her and not wanting to upset her. "I should've told you sooner-"

"You should've." Oliver replied firmly which only ensured her suspicions that he was indeed partly angry with her now. "You should've told me the moment some driver diverted from your route home." the man stalked away from her, sliding a hand across his face. "Twinkie-" he shook his head as he turned back to her. "You don't get it. This—us, it means you don't get to be scared of anything and me not know about it. No one forces a meeting with you and I don't know about it. You're my-" for the first time ever Oliver recognized that the title girlfriend didn't really encompass her place in his life. "You're my Guardian and this does not happen to you." He looked over to the woman who didn't say a word as she turned her head away from him. "Twinkie-"

"You can't go after him." Katie stated turning back to the man. "You're upset, and I completely understand, but it doesn't change the fact that this guy is a different level of dangerous. A level none of us are on and until we are, you can't do what I know you want to do right now."

"Twinkie-" Katie closed the distance between them, placing her hands on his chest.

"I need you to promise me that until we know how to actually put this guy down, that actually keeps him down, you won't go searching for him." she looked into his eyes knowing it was a promise he didn't want to make. "I've never seen a danger like this before and I think that's what scares me the most." she dropped her head to the man's chest and he brought his arms around her. "I don't want you to go after this guy and you-"

"That's not going to happen." Oliver places a kiss on top of her head. "No one is taking me away from either of you. That I will promise."

"I'm sorry." the woman muttered against his chest before lifting her head to meet his eyes. "Are you mad at me?" he probably should be seeing as this was kind of a big deal. This entire time he assumed that Darhk's presence in this city was strictly to screw with this city, but now he knows Katie is in his sights for some reason, and that does not make him feel any better. The man looked down to the woman with a quirk brow, before he shook his head with a slight smile.

"You have no idea how much I love you." he dropped his forehead to hers. "I'm not mad at you. Just, tell me the things that scare you." he let out a sigh. "It was just one meeting so maybe-"

"Two." Katie said quickly, and the man lifted his head to look down to the woman.

"What?"

Hearing about the second meeting only made Oliver that much more upset. More with himself than anything, because this bastard was able to get within arm's length of Katie and he didn't even know about it. He wasn't going say anything to Katie, but he was going to make a point of turning up the notch on finding this guy.

After leaving RI, he chose to drop the subject. He could see that talking about Darhk really was upsetting her and so he would let it go. They were able to go home and change before arriving to the old office building where John, Thea and Laurel were already inside waiting.

"Where's Felicity?" Oliver asked to the others who shrugged.

"I'm here!" Felicity's voice called as her high heeled feet rushed inside. "Sorry I'm late, there was this thing and I sort of lost track of time." Katie eased over to the woman and slyly reached over to the back of the woman's dress to see her zipper partly down. Katie eased is closed before leaning over to the woman.

"That thing must be a weirdo who likes to dress like a bat, Ms. Walk of Shame." Katie muttered and Felicity sent a glare to the woman. Katie turned to the others who stood in confusion.

"Oh!" Thea said smiling over to Katie. "Where is it? Why aren't you wearing it?" Katie looked over to the woman in confusion.

"Wearing what?" Katie asked, and Oliver seemed to walk past his sister, giving her a look.

"Um-" Thea seemed to realize she'd put her foot in her mouth as she looked over to her brother. Katie glanced over to Oliver, before following after the man into the private office. "What did you want to tell us and why are you telling us here?"

"Remember this office?" Oliver asked.

"Yeah, it was Sebastian's campaign office." Laurel replied, still unsure what this was all about.

"And now it's mine." Oliver replied and they all just looked at him blankly, unsure what he was really saying. "Anyone who's qualified is afraid to run, for a good reason. But I can protect myself. So..." he took a deep breath and decided to finally just say it. "I'm running for mayor." They just looked at him, his sister actually laughed a bit assuming this was a joke. "Uh, don't everyone congratulate me at once."

"Oh, you're serious?!" John asked looking from Oliver to Katie who simply stood at Oliver's side silently.

"Yeah! The other week, Lance was saying that this city needs someone to stand up, who isn't hiding behind a mask. It needs a leader."

"But why does that person have to be you?" John asked voicing the question everyone was thinking right now. "I mean, don't get me wrong, but you're not a politician."

"Well, maybe that's the best reason for me to be elected." Oliver answered honestly and Katie turned away and sighed.

"What are you going to do for a staff, or campaign manager—money?" Laurel asked and Katie simply rose her hand meekly.

"Yeah, he knocked up a rich lady so I'm bankrolling this operation." Katie joked and they turned to her expecting a very different reaction.

"Wait, you're really ok with this?" Thea asked Katie and the woman watched as all of their eyes went to her. "I just thought-" she turned back to her brother. "How does this work? Being the mayor, being the Green Arrow, and being a father. I just feel like one of them will get the short stick and I will be damned if it's my niece."

"Look Twinkie and I have discussed this. This wasn't something that was just decided. We thought about the mechanics of it, the time restraints, but we also thought about the good this could actually be for this city and so we decided that we would be able to handle it."

"You're still keeping tight lipped about how you feel about all of this?" Laurel asked looking over to Katie. Katie shook her head and shrugged.

"The truth? The truth is that when Oliver first told me about this, I had all of the concerns, all of the questions and probably more than you all have right now. Then I was held hostage, and people were being threatened and I realized this city really needs some sort of guidance, it needs help and Oliver could be that."

"Guys, it's surprising." Felicity interjected. "But the truth is, who was going to run that would be able to handle the risk that goes along with it? These Ghosts will intimidate anyone who runs, threaten anyone that runs. I think Oliver could be their match."

"What platform are you going to run on?" John questioned.

"I'll figure it out." Oliver says

Thea, laughs as she folds her arms over her chest. "What qualifies you to be mayor?"

"I care about the city."

"But you can't say that you're going to run because being the Green Arrow isn't enough." Laurel asked.

"I'm working on that." Oliver says, and Katie looks over to see he is a bit disappointed at the lack of support from his friends and so she takes his hand.

"Ok, I think I should say something here." Katie says and they turn to her. "I've known Oliver a long time, long enough to know that he's not in some box that says he should only be this kind of person and do these kind of things. If he was, I doubt he'd be wearing a hood and saving this city at night. Oliver is very capable of tackling any challenge, and the truth is he does love this city and I've seen what he will do for love. So yes he'll figure out a platform, he'll figure out how to get staff and what color tie he should wear on camera. If he can't, then that's why I'm here. I'm his Guardian-" she looked over to the man who gave her a small smile. "And he's right." she turned back to their friends. "This city needs someone who can lead in the light. A person the people can actually see. We assumed that's something you all would be able to get behind."

"Oh, it's not that we're not supportive, it's just that-" John glanced over to Oliver. "We just want to make sure that you're not in over your head. I mean in your head you think you can do this. You can be Mayor, and you can be the Green Arrow and also be someone's dad. That's a lot of hats to wear at once."

"Ok, I think the next announcement will be a lighter topic." Felicity said stepping forward. "If everyone would follow me." the woman turned off, and the others followed while Katie and Oliver lagged behind.

"You really have that much faith in me?" Oliver asked over to the woman and she smiled as she looked back up to him.

"Didn't you ask me that already?" she asked back to him. "Sitting in your mother's garden, me attempting to get you to study." the woman stopped and stepped in front of him, as she looked up to his eyes. "I have more faith in you." Oliver smiled as he leaned into kiss the woman.

"Will you two stop making out and come on already!" It was Thea's impatient voice that cut the through the nice moment. The couple sighed before Oliver took the woman's hand and headed over to the secret elevator.

"You know Thea, at some point I just assumed you'd stop being a pain." Oliver said looking over to the young woman who simply stuck out her tongue which made the man laugh because it reminded him so much of when she was a little girl.

Soon the doors finally opened, and Felicity flicked a switch turning on the lights and Katie and Oliver watched as John, Thea and Laurel just looked around in amazement at the new lab.

"Oliver, how did you-" John was still too shocked to even form a question.

"There's a reason we had Katie buy Blood's campaign office." Oliver says walking over to the others. "Blood also needed his own lair."

"Don't worry , I burned a lot of incense." Felicity said with a slight shutter. Katie glanced over to the display cases that held all of their suits, and she slipped her hand from Oliver's as she walked over. There it was. The Guardian's suit, proudly on display and she can feel it. The feeling that seemed to overcome her the moment she slipped on that mask. She closed her eyes, suddenly feeling a bit light headed.

"I'm going to go to bathroom!" she said glancing over to Oliver who watched as the woman seemed to rush away. The moment Katie walked into the bathroom, she lowered herself to the toilet seat, taking a few deep breaths in hope that it would calm the sudden surge of anxiety that seemed to come out of nowhere. "You're fine." two words had become a mantra. She had to be fine, because the moment she showed signs of not being fine, that's when the ridiculous amounts of worry would start and she didn't want that. She wanted them focused on protecting this city, and finding these Ghosts and maybe finding some super gun to shoot Damian Darhk with. She'd only been sitting for a few moments before she decided to stand and splash some water on her face. When her eyes lifted to the mirror, she let out a sigh at the confused woman staring back at her. She thought she figured it out. Thought her purpose was to be a simple woman, with a daughter and loving boyfriend who liked to cook. Now she was realizing that her life would be more complicated.

There was a knock at the door and Katie should've known it was coming. She'd been out of sight for a while now and that could only mean one person would be on the other side of the door. She walked over and pulled it open, looking up to see Oliver.

"Are you alright?" Katie was getting annoyed with with question, but there was absolutely nothing she could do to stop it.

"I'm fine, I just got a bit light headed." Oliver brought his arms around her, the concern written all over his face. "I'm fine. It's been a busy day and I probably just need to stop moving for a while." she moved around the man to see that John and Thea were gone. "What happened?"

"Felicity just got a report of officers being found shot to death. John and Thea went to check out the area and I was going to talk to Lance, but I should get you home." Katie shook her head as she turned back to him.

"I'll be fine here. That house is big and quiet when it's just me." The woman replied looking over to Felicity and Laurel. "I will hang here and help in some way." she turned back to Oliver.

"Or-" Oliver says taking the woman's hand and pulling her somewhere. They ended up outside of a door, that Katie never noticed the few times she'd come here. Oliver pushed opened the door and inside was actually a pretty good size bedroom. It was beautifully decorated, with bright colors, Felicity seemed to think would take away from the lack of windows. Katie's eyes went over to the book shelf filled with books, and the computer in the corner and the small bassinet off to the side. She walked over to it, placing her hand on the side as she looks down to see it filled with a few stuffed animals. "You could take a nap."

"What is this?" Katie asked walking into the room. "What is this for?"

"This is for this woman I hate having to leave. So maybe when I have to come here, you could come too. And you can help with a mission, or you could come here, watch tv, take a nap." the woman turned back to him. "I am going to be spending a lot of time here, and I just thought-"he shrugged.

"I'd like to hang out in the basement for when you wanted to see me?" Katie asked and Oliver shook his head.

"No, I'm just trying to-" he let out another sigh. "John was right. I'm going to be wearing a lot of hats and I'm just trying to figure out a way to make sure this—" he pointed to her. "I want to make sure I don't mess this one up. The other two, I would be upset, but I would live. This, this I can't mess up because I wouldn't...couldn't live with myself if I did." Katie glanced around the room, and Oliver wanted her to say something. "Twinkie-"

"I don't know." she said turning back to the man. "We will have to talk about this later, but now you have to work." Oliver didn't move, so Katie walked over to him, sliding her hands along his arms as she looks up to his eyes. "This is a room, not a debate on what we should name our daughter. This conversation can wait. Go, talk to Lance, maybe not mention the whole Mayor thing. I'm not sure you'll have his vote."

"Well that will have to change. Can't run for mayor without the support of the SCPD." Oliver replied placing a kiss to the woman's lips. "We should start that, though, shouldn't we?" he pulled back and Katie looked up to him in confusion. "Talking about names?"

"We should, but I think before we talk about names, we should at least have crib." The man let out a sigh.

"I should go." he began backing away, hoping to avoid this conversation once again.

"Oliver Queen you have a week!" she called after the retreating man.

"Love you too, Twinkie!" he called back before leaving.

Katie looked around the room once again. There was something about this she didn't like. He was attempting to overcome the biggest challenge. And that was the time and distance that all of these jobs would place between them. She just wasn't sure a room would solve that. Looking down to the bed, the woman actually felt a nap would be nice right now. And so she walked over and laid down.

Laurel stood over Felicity's shoulder as they read over the details of the shooting. A sudden thought struck her as she stood there.

"What did Thea think Katie was wearing?" she asked and Felicity let out a snort.

"The thing that shall not be named." Felicity muttered as she typed away on her computer. She looked over to the woman who still looked confused. "Oh, you don't know?" Felicity glanced around the woman to make sure Katie wasn't around. "Oliver is gonna propose." Laurel, gave a slight look before looking back to the computer. "What?" Laurel turned back to Felicity and just shook her head.

"Nothing, I just thought he would've done that already."

"Well you know Oliver. He wants it to be special." Felicity replied. "Plus I think he's a little nervous. I mean he's proposed twice and we aren't even sure if the first time really counted." she looked back over to Laurel. "But it's the fact that she's handed the ring back to him both times that's making him nervous. He says he wants to get married before the baby's born."

"Seriously?" Laurel asked and Felicity nodded. "And he thinks waiting is the best plan? It's seriously end of quarter on this. Baby Twiver is coming any day now."

"Oliver has always been a bit of a procrastinator when it came to Katie." Felicity sighs, looking back down to the report.

The moment Captain Lance looked up and saw Oliver's face, he sighed in annoyance. Oliver hurried over to the man who was already headed to his office.

"You spend more time here now than when you were getting collared for hitting paparazzi." Lance said pointing to the man.

"You got a moment for me?" Oliver asked and Quentin shook his head slightly.

"Yeah." he turned continuing to his office, Oliver right behind him.

"So these visits, are they going to be a, uh, weekly thing?" as the pair walked into his office.

"Well, I was trying to help with, um..." Oliver pointed out to the squad room, unsure how to begin this conversation, and so he decides to wait. He glances to the baggy in Lance's hand. "What's that?"

"I wouldn't know." Lance said in frustration as he looks down to the bag. "City hall has cut my budget so tight, I can't get evidence turned around before I'm 80."

"I'm hoping that's something I might be able to help with eventually." Lance looks back up to the man, unsure what he means by that.

" Yeah?"

" I've decided to run for mayor." Oliver got another laugh in response to the news and he let out a sigh.

"Really?" the Captain asked, still laughing.

"And I know it's a long-shot, but it would mean a lot if you would endorse my candidacy." Oliver said a bit hopeful.

" Yeah, yeah, yeah, sure. After what happened to the last few mayors, I'm hoping you win in a landslide." the man said, but sighed, as he looked back over to the man. "Don't tell her I said that." Oliver simply gave a nod and Lance whose phone suddenly vibrated. He pulled it out to see a message from his daughter to meet. "Look until your mayoral race, I'm trying to catch a cop killer and I don't have time to wait for my understaffed crime lab." he slid the bag over to Oliver who covertly grabbed it and quickly slipped it into his pocket. The captain headed for the door, but stopped and looked back over to Oliver. "I've been meaning to ask, how's she doing after the whole hostage thing?" Oliver looked over to the man and gave a slight nod.

"She says she's fine, but I know it got to her." Oliver replied with a shake of his head. "She's going to help Heather, and she's even trying to take in her younger cousin." Lance looked back to the man with slightly wide eyes.

"Of course she is." the man said with a shake of his head.

"I will get something on this, and get it to you as soon as possible." Oliver replied walking out the door.

Katie's eyes snapped open from an oddly dreamless sleep. For a few moments, she forgot where she was, but then she soon remembered the room Oliver surprised her with. The woman sat up from the bed, just as her phone rang. She looked over the side of the beg, snagging her purse and quickly pulling her phone from inside.

"Hello?"

"Hi, yes, is this Dr. Robins?"

"It is." Katie replied unsure who she was speaking to.

"Great, my name is Vanessa Sandburg, I am Arianna's case worker. I'm sorry, I've been meaning to reach out to you sooner, but there's a lot going on here."

"I completely understand. How is Ari doing?"

"It's been rough. It was her and her mother for a while and now with the possibility of her mother spending time in jail, it's taking a toll on her, but she's tough. The reason I'm calling is because I would like to set up a meeting with you."

"Of course. When would you like to meet?" Katie asked and she heard the woman nervously laugh.

"That's the thing. I know it's completely short notice, but I was wondering if you were free today to meet with me and a couple of my colleagues to discuss what happens next for Arianna."

"Um, sure. The rest of my day is pretty much free, is an hour ok?"

"Perfect, I will see you then."

When Katie ended the call, she stood from the bed and navigated her way to the door. She lifted a hand to shield her eyes at the bright lights of their new HQ. After a moment, she glanced around to see no one was there.

"Hello?" she called, her voice seeming louder than it actually was. She took a few steps, her eyes still scanning around hoping to see someone. When she stopped and turned, she found herself back in front of the display case that held the Guardian's suit.

"Hard pill to swallow."

Katie closed her eyes, because she wasn't supposed to still hear the voice. The voice of a dead man. She was running a company, preparing for a baby, maybe even a teenager and she couldn't afford hallucinations.

"You were never a hero." the voice of Ra's Al Ghul spoke. "You are a monster and there was nothing ever wrong with that." Katie turned, hoping to just walk away. "I know you feel it, Nura! We all tried for so long to hide the truth from you, but it's impossible to hide. And there's only one person at the center. Damian Darhk." the woman stopped and turned, finally looking at the illusion that wouldn't just go away. "He is the key to everything you seek. Everything you are and everything you will be."

Katie heard the sound of the elevators opening behind her and she turned surprised to see Bruce walking off. She quickly turned back, to see her hallucination was gone, and she couldn't help but feel so was a little piece of her sanity.

"You're here alone?" Bruce asked walking over to the woman. The moment he got close, he could see the mixture of emotions playing on her face. "Hey-" he placed a hand on her arm, and she finally met his eyes. "You ok?"

"Fine." she replied looking down to her watch. "I have to go." she turned and headed for the elevator, and Bruce looked around to see there was really no one here, and so he hurried to slip onto the elevator with her.

"Where's Oliver?"

"He's meeting with Lance." Katie replied staring at the doors of the elevator, her mind drifting to the dozens of questions she just wants answered. Once the doors finally opened, Katie stalked off, but Bruce followed, grabbing her arm to stop her. "What—will you let me go!"

"Ok." Bruce said letting the woman go. "First, where are you going and why isn't someone with you?"

"I have a meeting downtown, and no one is with me because I am an adult." she replied about to walk away, but Bruce slipped in front of her to stop her. "Bruce, I-"

"Just last week someone put you on camera and told you to tell the world that you were a monster. Whether you like it or not, you're a target to many people and that means you should probably have someone backing you up."

"Fine!" Katie says before pointing to the door. " Are you coming or what?" Bruce looked at her with a quirked brow, but gave a nod before following her out the door. "We're taking your car."

"Taking my car where, exactly?"

The drive was silent. Bruce glanced over to Katie who seemed adamant about not interacting at all during this entire drive.

"You want to tell me about what's going on inside of your head?" Bruce asked, glancing over to the woman once more. She kept her eyes out the window as she let out a sigh.

"I think I'm going to have to speak with my father." she admitted, more to herself than man driving.

"Ok, what about?"

"Damian Darhk." she replied glancing over to the man. "There is more to him than some old friend to the demon and my mother." she shook her head as she looked back toward the window, and Bruce was glad she didn't see the wave of nervousness that washed over him in that moment.

"I thought the general consensus was you avoid all things Darhk. What happened to you focusing on your daughter and the company?"

"I tried that, I really did, but truth is, I can feel something is not right. And there's no amount of distraction that can shake that. I'm going crazy because it feels like I'm in the center of some big mystery and everyone's making it a point to not let me in." Once again, Bruce was glad the woman wasn't looking at him right now. She felt her phone vibrate and looked down to see that it was Oliver responding to the text she'd sent about going to the meeting. She let out a heavy sigh.

"What is it?"

"Oliver, making a big deal out of the fact that I left without telling him. Now he says he wants to be at this meeting." Katie spoke, already responding by telling him that he should be figuring out what killed those cops right now. Once she was done, she dropped her phone back to her lap.

"So?"

"I told him not to come. He's the Green Arrow, and he has a case. That's more important."

"You're the love of his life and you're carrying his child. I don't think there is anything more important on this earth to him, than you." Bruce looked over to the woman. "Felicity told me about the whole Oliver running for Mayor thing."

"Before you start, if mock him or say anything negative about it, I will punch you."

"Nothing negative, just wondering how you feel about all of this?" Bruce asked and Katie shook her head. "C'mon Robins, I know you. I know you had this idea in your head years ago about getting home, and then you actually got here and it wasn't what you thought is was going to be."

"That no longer matters because I am having a baby, with a man who loves this city." she glanced over to Bruce "And since I love him, I deal with everything that comes with it."

"What kind of life is that?"

"The kind of life I accept, the kind of life you don't have a say in." Katie replied glancing up to the building as Bruce pulled over. She was about to step out of the car, when her phone once again vibrated. She looked down to a text from Oliver. "Of course, he's still coming."

Bruce sat beside Katie in the waiting room of some sort of office. He flipped through a magazine, stopping at the sight of a paparazzi shot of Katie and Oliver, with some tagline about when they think the baby is due. He let out a snort at one of theories and Katie turned to him with a quirked brow. He turned the article to her so she could read it.

"One of them says they think you're not really pregnant, but that this is all just a media stunt to help the company." the man said still laughing. Katie rolled her eyes before snatching the magazine from his hand and tossing it aside.

"Dr. Robins!" they turned to see the short, plump woman walking over to them. Bruce helped Katie to stand, but she pushed him away, as she walked over to the woman. "I'm sorry for the wait, I'm Ms. Sandburg, it's nice to meet you."

"You too." Katie replies shaking the woman's hand. Vanessa turned to Bruce, who held out a hand as well.

"Mr. Wayne, I wasn't expecting to see you here today." the woman said in confusion as she turned back to Katie.

"Oh, he was just giving me ride." Katie replies with a nervous smile. "He actually wasn't even staying-" she turned to Bruce. "You have that meeting, right?"

"It got cancelled." Bruce replied with a smile turning back to Vanessa. "Plus I thought my good friend Robins here could use all the support she could get."

"You know I thought you were with Mr. Queen?"

"Right, he's-" there was a ring of the elevator and Katie lifted her eyes to see Oliver rushing off the elevator. "Right here actually." Oliver came over bringing an arm around Katie. "Ms. Sandburg, this is Oliver Queen, my boyfriend."

"Nice to meet you." Oliver says shaking the woman's hand. "Sorry I'm late, but there was traffic."

"No problem at all. I'm actually glad the two of you are here. You both could have a part in Arianna's life and I think you both should be here. We're going to be going to the conference room down the hall, if you would follow me."

"Of course." Katie says glancing back to Bruce who gave her a thumbs up. As they followed behind Vanessa, Katie lifted her head to Oliver and whispered. "You seriously didn't have to come."

"Twinkie, there was no way I was going to let you do this alone. The others can handle things without me for a while anyway." They walked into a fairly large conference room, instantly looking over to see two people sitting on one side of the long table. The greetings were short, to the point before they all sat, Katie and Oliver on one side of the long table, the reviewers on the other.

"First I think I would like to commend you for what you're doing. You have no idea how many cases I've had, where there were viable family members who could take the child and yet refused. What you're choosing to do is very admirable." Katie simply smiled at the compliment and waited for the woman to continue. "But when choosing a home for a child, I make sure I'm diligent in making sure it's the right choice for them and the family they go to."

"I understand." Katie replied. "And I also understand how unconventional this situation is seeing how I'm the reason she's no longer with her parents." Oliver slipped a hand to Katie's lap, taking her hand in his. "I'm not here out of guilt even though I do feel guilty. The truth is, no one knows the value of family as much as I do. Ari is my family and I want to give her a chance at overcoming the issues of her parents."

"That's something I think everyone here would agree on." Vanessa said with a nod, before dropping her head slightly and letting out a sigh. "But we wouldn't be doing our jobs if we didn't at least see this in it's entirety."

"What does that mean?" Oliver asks.

The man sitting to Vanessa's left pulls out a folder and slides it over to the couple. Katie grabs it and flips it open and they both look down to read something they didn't expect. There were newspaper clippings. Articles of the numerous times Katie or Oliver has been at the center of some news worthy crime in this city.

"Both of your parents are dead." the man spoke and both Katie and Oliver look over to him. "Each death both mysterious and confusing. You've been kidnapped, your home broken into numerous times, there have been dozens of attempts on your life, one we all got to witness just last week."

"Look I get how this looks, but I promise you, Arianna would be safe with us." Oliver stated firmly.

"Right now we have to take a lot of things into consideration. This-" Vanessa pointed to the folder. "Paired with leaving Arianna in the custody of an unwed couple with a baby on the way." Katie dropped her head before standing to her feet.

"You're right." she said with a slight shake of her head.

"Twinkie-"

"No, everything they said is right. People try to hurt us often it seems, I'm pregnant before being married, we still don't have a crib-" she looked over to the case workers who stared in shock at the woman's outburst. "What you're saying is right. But what Ari would get with us is love, because we have so much of that. And right now I get the feeling that's something she needs. Now if you would excuse us. It's been fun you telling us how horrible we would be as parents, but we're going to go." she turned to Oliver who stood to his feet, casting one final glance to the reviewers before following after Katie.

The moment they stepped onto the empty elevator and the doors closed, Oliver turned to Katie who stood with her arms folded over her chest.

"Twinkie, they were wrong."

"No they weren't." she replied with a shake of her head before turning to Oliver. "Oliver this is us. We're either chasing something or being chased. We're either shooting bullets or they're coming toward us. How do we raise a child in that kind of life?" she turned away from the man who brought an arm around her, but she pushed him away. She didn't want to be comforted right now. Once the doors open, she stalked away, forcing the man to follow after her. "I'm going to go home and you're going to go back to work." she took out her cell phone about to call a cab, but Oliver grabbed the phone from her. "Oliver, please just let me-"

"You're coming back with me. You're going to help us find out what happened to those cops."

"Oliver-"

"You keep calling me Oliver." the man interrupted and Katie turned away and sighed. "What is it?"

"I'm not a hero." she says turning back to the man. "I don't save the day. I take little's girl's parents away." she reached for her phone, but he pulled it out of reach. "You're being an ass."

"No I am going to be the person to show you who you really are." Oliver says taking the woman's hand and pulling her with him to the car.

When they returned to the new hide out, it was evident to everyone the tension as Katie stood silently while Oliver gave Felicity the SIM card from Lance.

"Ok so the Sim card isn't from any kind of cell phone." Felicity said getting back to the job at hand. She turned back to her computer, inserting the sim card. "Looks like some kind of walkie talkie with GPS."

"GPS as we can track it?" John asked as they walked over to Felicity. Oliver glanced over to Katie who didn't move from her spot and so he walked over to her, bringing and arm around her pulling her closer. She turned a glare to him that he simply smiled back in return.

"As in, I can figure out all the places it's been and triangulate from there to determine..." the woman trailed off as her fingers typed furiously, soon a map appeared and they had a location. "Where it came from."

"Alright, suit up." Oliver says before turning to Katie. "I'll be back and you can-"

"Do what exactly?" Katie asked with a shrug of her shoulders. "I can sit in one of the rolling chairs and spin in circles until you get back." The woman simply shook her head before turning to walk away, but Oliver caught her hand. "No-" she poked a finger to his chest. "You suit up. I don't anymore, I-" she glanced over to the case, the Guardian's suit right there. "I can't anymore." she turned back to Oliver with a nod before placing a hand on his cheek for just a moment before turning and walking off. Oliver watched as she walked across the lair, disappearing into the room he made for her.

"Hey-" Thea placed a hand on her brother's arm and she turned to him. "Is everything alright?" she glanced back to where Katie had walked off before turning back to Oliver. "What's going on?"

"I'm not sure yet, but I will." Oliver replied before looking down to his sister. "C'mon we have work to do."

Once Oliver, Thea and John were suited and on their way to the warehouse, it was Felicity who decided to see what was going on with her friend. So in the few moments before the team actually arrived, she stood to her feet and walked over to knock on the door.

"Twinkie, it's me. Everyone is gone." the blonde stood there for a few moments, waiting for some sort of response. She lifted her fist to knock once again, but the door suddenly pulled open. "Hey there grouchy pants." Katie gave the woman an unamused look before walking around. "You want to tell me what's going on?"

"I had a meeting with CPS about Arianna. It was me and Oliver sitting across from these people who know absolutely nothing about us, telling us why we would be terrible guardian's for this girl." She turned back around to Felicity and shook her head. "And I listened to them. I really listened, and I couldn't-" she dropped her head with a sigh. She looked back up to the woman with unshed tears. "I was waiting for the lies. I didn't hear any."

"Hey, you are going to be a great mother." Felicity walked over to Katie placing her hands on her shoulder. "Katie, you're scared and I absolutely understand, but I need you to listen to me right now. This little girl inside of you, she's gonna have the best mom ever. Do you want to know why?"

"Smoaks-"

"No, I heard you. Now I get to explain to you why it's bullshit." Felicity said with a smile. "Do you know why you're gonna be a great mom? Because you find a way out of any situation, because you've been ridiculously rich your entire life and yet have no problem doing your own laundry, or having an actual job-"

"Smoaks, I just-"

"You're gonna be a great mom Katie. You're gonna tell ridiculous jokes that make her roll her eyes, you're gonna try to make her pancakes and she'll eat them to please you, but she'll secretly hate them. She's gonna have bad days at school, and you're gonna tell her about your bad days and how you survived them. You're gonna be a great mom because you're gonna show her the love that created her. So I don't know who these people were you spoke to today but I already know they're full of shit and I promise you, you're going to prove them all wrong."

"We're here." it was Oliver's voice speaking from the computer that suddenly washed through the room. Katie and Felicity glanced over to the computer. "Felicity?"

"You should-" Felicity turned back to Katie who nudged her head toward the computer. "You're needed."

"You're needed too." Felicity said taking Katie's hand and pulling her with her. She grabbed a chair from the other side of the computer terminals and rolled it over beside hers. Katie gave the woman a slight smirk before the pair finally sat.

"Felicity-"

"I'm here." the woman replied turning on the mic. "So is the Guardian." she glanced over to Katie who sighed before sliding a bit closer to the computer. "What have you found?"

"Nothing so far, fifth floor is clear." Oliver replied.

"Yeah, this place is completely empty." Thea added.

"I think I found something," John replied. "Third floor."

That's when the scenario no one expected suddenly appeared. That's when they realized the people they were looking for, the people who murdered those cops were other cops. It's this unbelievable scenario that seemed to spur Katie in to one of her usual pacing jags. It's how Oliver, and the others found her when they arrived.

"You're pacing." Oliver said, and the woman didn't even stop.

"You know I didn't realize that some of her best ideas happen while she's pacing!" Felicity commented as she stood from her computer. Oliver moved to stand in front of the woman who suddenly stopped, finally meeting his eyes.

"You're here." she looked over to John and Thea. "You're all here, good."

"I'm not sure how good anything can be right now." John said with a shake of his head as he took a seat. "We just found out the police force is corrupt."

"It's not the entire force, but..." Oliver trailed off, unsure how to justify any of this. "Yeah, we don't know who is compromised."

"Except for Captain Lance." Thea chimed in.

"Yeah, well, Captain Lance is MIA right now." John stated with a slight shake of his head, still not able to believe this. "I think it's safe to assume that whatever help we're going to get, it's right here in this room."

"Right!" Katie said and they all turned to her. "We have bad cops, bad cops do more than just kill other cops. There has to be something else they're doing. They need motivation to be corrupt, and that's money."

"How are they getting their money?" Oliver asked folding his arms over his chest, staring at the woman who gave a nod before turning to Felicity.

"Well Smoaks has done some research and found that there has been spikes in gangs stealing drug shipments from other gangs."

"But these aren't gangs." John says standing to his feet. "It's these bad cops."

"Who steal the drugs to sell them back to the gangbangers they stole them from." Felicity added.

"So these corrupt cops are taking down big drug scores?" Oliver asked, Katie and Felicity simply nodded in response. "Then lets give them one."

"How?" Thea asked the question on everyone's mind in that moment.

"That depends on how close you are to your former drug dealer." Oliver told her, and the young women smirked.

"That depends on which one." the woman said, with a slight chuckle.

"I like how proud you are." Katie says gaining a stink eye from Thea. She turned back to Oliver. "So we're setting up drug deals now?"

"It's not-"

"I know what it is." Katie interrupted. "And I get it, I understand how it helps us get to the ultimate goal of catching bad guys."

"Well that's good, because we're going to need money." Oliver said sheepishly and Katie chuckled.

"You mean more money?" she asked and the man gave a nod. "I'm really starting to feel like your rich sugar mama." she slipped her phone from her pocket.

"Well you're more than his sugar mama." Felicity commented and Katie turned to her. "You're his sugar mama, baby mama. And that's totally different."

"Oh how I live for awkward conversations with my accountant who can't verbally judge me, but I know he does." Katie replied bringing the phone to her ear. "How much do we need to buy our dru—Hi, Graham!" she shook her head as she turned away from them. "It's Katherine and...yeah, I do know what time it is." she sent a glare to Oliver, who gave an apologetic look. "I need to make another withdrawal." she let out a sigh. "It can't wait until morning actually."

And so a plan was in motion. Thea would play the party girl once again, and John would take on a role he hasn't had for a while. He would be the bodyguard, and Thea's backup if things went south. Graham, was a miracle worker because Katie was able to receive the money in a little over a hour. He didn't ask questions and she figures working for her father for as long as he has, he just knows not to. The moment Katie got the briefcase, she handed it over to John and soon he and Thea were off.

Katie and Felicity stood over Felicity's computer reading more about these drug score when Oliver placed a hand on Katie's back. She turned to him with a quirked brow.

"I'm taking you home."

"I thought we were waiting for Thea and John to come back?" Katie asked turning to the man.

"Yeah, well it's going to actually take time for all of this to happen, and you need dinner and maybe some sleep." Oliver says and Katie rolls her eyes. "Dr. Frances says-"

"Oh, you haven't quoted that evil bastard in a long time, that mean's you're really serious." Katie says.

"Who is Dr. Frances?" Felicity asked looking between the couple.

"The bane of my existence and the reason Oliver refuses to stop at Big Belly Burger when we pass by it every single time we go home."

"I told you-"

"I know what you told me Oliver, but I just want my burger and with the day I've had, you're going to get me my burger. I have to pee and then you can take me home." with that the woman walked away, disappearing into the bathroom.

"She told me about the meeting." Felicity said and Oliver turned back to her. "Do you have the names of these people who totally broke her, because I can ruin their lives in a couple of key strokes."

"I have no doubt you can, but today was more than just that meeting." Oliver clenched his jaw at the sudden thought. "It's Darhk. He's gotten in her head."

"She told you?" Oliver simply gave a nod. "About both times." he let out another heavy sigh, giving another nod. "So what do you think it means?"

"I don't know, but I plan on making sure that man never comes near her again."

"How do you plan on doing that?" Felicity asked and man shook his head because it was a question he'd asked himself and only had one answer.

"Do the one thing I really don't want to do." Oliver sighed.

"You know Darhk wasn't the only thing I wanted you guys to talk about when I left." the man looked over to her in confusion. "That box weighing your pocket down. Oliver it's like seriously time."

"I know, I just-"

"You're waiting for there to be this blatant sign that tells you it's the right time, but that's not how it's going to happen. If you want the perfect moment, you're going to have to create it. And soon, you know because I don't know if you know how pregnancy works but after a couple of months a baby magically appears, and I know you wanted to be man and wife before that actually happened."

"It's not as easy as that." Oliver replied shaking his head. He wanted to propose so many times, and every time something stopped him.

"It is when she's waiting for you to just ask her." Felicity replied and Oliver turned to her with wide eyes just as the sound of footsteps neared.

"You know I don't actually think I want Big Belly Burger. Do you think Marlos' is open?" Katie walked over to see Oliver looking over to Felicity as if she'd grown a second head or something . "Liver?"

"Yeah." he turned back to the woman suddenly.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, fine. You want pizza?" he asked and Katie slowly nodded. "Then we get you pizza." he took the woman's hand and Felicity watched the pair head over to the elevator. Once they stepped inside, Oliver glanced over to he woman once more still surprised at her words. The door slid closed, as Oliver realized he was the one who had the ball in his court.

He just wasn't sure why he was hesitating to take the shot.

That night, Katie stood in the bathroom, staring at herself in the mirror as she smoothed lotion over her shoulder.

"You're questioning." came the sudden voice from beside her. This time she didn't jump or even seem startled. She simply turned and there sitting was him. The figment who even in death seems to have a hold on her life. "That's good."

"It won't work." she said simply turning back to her reflection. "Whatever you're doing, whatever you're trying to do, it won't work." she glanced over to him with a slight smile. "You're dead. Oliver killed you." she turned and headed for the door, only for him to appear in front of the door.

"That's right. Oliver killed me...not you." he tilted his head as he stared at the woman. "Why wasn't it you. It should've been you because if it were you, there would be no question if I were dead or not."

"You are-"

"How do you know? Were you there?" he suddenly chuckled. "That's right, your mother was too busy shielding you from your destiny. You're too busy trying to be normal, that you are stopping yourself from seeing how extraordinary you truly are."

Katie let out a sigh, before reaching for the door and opening it, only taking a few steps before stopping as she always did. She glanced around the room with a slight frown.

"Are you going to do that every time you step out of the bathroom?" Oliver asked staring over to her. "This room is completely redecorated."

"I know but, it's still weird being in this room." Katie said with a shake of her head. With moving into the house once again, they decided that they would sleep in the master bedroom, and Katie still couldn't get over sleeping in her parents old room. "I don't see why we just can't-"

"We're not having this conversation again Twinkie. This is the master bedroom, we are the masters of this house, so we sleep here now. Now come to bed." the woman sighed, before walking over and taking a seat on the bed, letting out a slight groan as she did. "You ok?"

"I'm fine, just can't wait until I no longer have to carry a watermelon around my abdomen." the woman lied back on the bed, looking down to her stomach that no longer fit underneath the shirt she was wearing. "Can't wait until my clothes fit again." Oliver chuckled before sliding a hand along her stomach.

"Well I don't think you're gonna have to wait much longer." he looked up meeting her eyes. "She's going to be here soon."

"I know." Katie replied placing her hands on his before turning to him. "You nervous yet?" Oliver sighed as he looked back to her stomach.

"You know I think I am. Everyday I spend in this city, I think about the world she's being born into and that makes me nervous." Oliver shook his head. "We just found out that the people who are supposed to protect and serve, aren't as noble as they need to be."

"You know I thought that's why you were running for mayor." Oliver looked to the woman with a smile. He held her gaze for a moment, and Felicity's words came back to him and he realized she was right. Every moment with this woman was perfect and so he decided to stop hesitating. "What are you staring at Mr. Queen?"

"I'm staring at you doctor." Oliver says slipping her hand in his as he scoots a bit closer to her. "For a very long time I've being trying to say something, and-" and in the worse possible moment, Oliver's phone rang. He let out a groan glancing over to Katie before reaching over to grab his phone from the bedside table. "It's Felicity. Thea and John have the drugs." the man looked up, realizing the words that just came out of his mouth. "You were right, that is weird to say." he looked over to the woman.

"I guess that means you have to go." It was the last thing Oliver wanted to do in this moment, and yet he knew he had to. "You're not going to lecture me about keeping the doors locked, and not opening the doors."

"Well less lecture, and more just remind." Oliver replied bringing his lips to hers. "Reminders are helpful sometimes."

"Reminders are annoying all the time." she replied against his lips as she brought her arms around his neck. "You have to go and this will not help either of us."

"I know." the man sighed, dropping his head to her shoulder for a moment before standing from the bed. "Don't wait up for me. Sleep. Call me if you need anything."

"Liver-"

"Call me if you need absolutely anything." he placed a final kiss to her lips. "Felicity will be keeping an eye on the surveillance outside the house."

"Home sweet intensely surveyed home." the woman sighed as she pulled the blankets up and laid her head on her pillow. Oliver flicked off the light, before closing the door behind him.

"Ma'am?!"

Katie's eyes snap open suddenly, but they instantly shut at the sight of the bright lights above her. She turned her head, when a hand touched her neck causing her to jerk away.

"Hey, you're ok." Katie turned with squinted eyes toward a woman, wearing pink scrubs. "Can you tell me your name?" Katie turned slightly, for some reason not instantly struck with an answer to that question. "How about the name of a family member, someone we can call for you?" Katie still didn't say anything and the nurse suddenly brought a flashlight to Katie's eyes. "Do you remember what happened?"

"No." Katie's rough voice replied turning away from the flashlight. "My head hurts."

"Yeah, that's what happens when you're hit by a car." Katie turned back to the woman with wide eyes. "What's the last thing you remember?" Katie turned away, trying to recount something, but it was strange. There seemed to be nothing before this moment that she could remember.

"I don't-" she turned back to the nurse. "I don't remember." there was a knock at the door, and both women turned to see a police officer standing there. He nudged his head to the nurse.

"I will be right back." the woman said before walking out of the door. Katie turned, sliding a hand across her sore head. She glanced out to the hall, watching what looked like a very serious conversation between the officer and the nurse. Suddenly both turned to her, and that seemed to make her nervous. Soon the nurse walked back into the room, with a small smile. "I have good news."

"You know who I am?"

"I do and I also know where you belong." the woman said and Katie quirked a brow in confusion. There was a knock at the door, and both turned to see a blonde haired woman, in a white lab coat rush inside.

"There you are." the woman said breathlessly, coming to Katie's side and looking her over. "You gave us a scare. You can't run off like that. These nice field trips only work if everyone follows the rules." Katie looked up to the woman in confusion. The woman seemed to know her, but the longer Katie stared, the more unfamiliar she seemed. The woman turned to the nurse before handing her some papers. "I am going to need her release papers so we can get her home."

"Wait, home?" Katie asked and the blonde turned a soft smile to her. "Who are you?"

"I'm Dr. Quinzel, Katherine. You must've hit your head pretty bad in that car accident. Don't worry, we're going to get you back home-"

"Where is home?" Katie asked and the doctor stared for a moment before glancing over to the nurse who looked slightly sad. Dr. Quinzel pulled a smile back to her face, before glancing back down to Katie.

"Arkham Asylum." the woman said simply.

Bruce stares down to his phone as he silently rides the elevator down to the team's new lair. He glances up at the sudden flicker of lights. Soon the doors slide open and he walks off, a smile coming to his lips at the blonde typing away at her computer.

"So that's the glitch you were telling me about." Bruce said and the woman spun her chair to face him. "Hello Ms. Smoak." the woman still didn't say a word as she crossed her arms over her chest. "That's your angry face, what did I do this time?"

"What are you doing here Bruce?" Felicity asked, spinning back around to her computer. "I thought I made myself pretty clear where we stand right now."

"Well I thought all of that changed after this morning." the man walked over to her, sliding a hand along her back only for her to push him away.

"I was weak for one moment-"

"Kind of longer than a moment." Bruce replied taking the seat beside her. "We've been through this. Why can't you understand that I can't tell you this. It's really dangerous and I don't want to bring you into the middle of this."

"We have been through this, and I still don't understand, and quite frankly don't feel like arguing, now if you wouldn't mind going away, I'm working." the woman brought up a satellite image. "I have movement." Bruce glanced over to the screen. "Everyone, eyes open."

"What are you guys working on?" Bruce askied, but the woman refused to answer his question and simply silently typed. The man let out a deep sigh before standing to his feet and heading back to the elevator, but he stopped. "It has to be something right? Something big. I mean here I am taking on the risk of losing the one person in this world I love more than anything. So it just has to be something." with that the man turned, leaving, not seeing the tears that pooled in the woman's eyes at the sound of the elevator lifting away.

The mission didn't go as planned. These cops were good, and they were able to get away with the drugs. It did verify their suspicions that this really was some SCPD cops behind this, and that made Captain Lance even angrier. He too joined this mission, needing to see it with his own eyes and what he saw just made his blood boil. When they all returned back to the lair, Felicity turned surprised to see the Captain stalking inside with the others.

"Oh, no, um, not to complain, but you do know that you just brought a police captain into our secret lair?" Felicity glanced over to Oliver who didn't seem as worried as she thought he should be.

"Don't worry; I got enough to put you away for 25 years." Lance replied and the woman turned to him. "Kidding."

"Captain Lance isn't the police we should be worried about." Oliver says glancing over to the man who scans the lair with a slight amazement.

"Wow. No wonder there's corruption on the force. Everyone else has got better resources." the man said with a shake of his head, when suddenly there is a sound of a baby crying. "That's definitely not a sound I expected to hear." They all glance around for the source, but it's Felicity who spins around to her computer.

"Don't worry, that's just my Twinkie alarm." the woman says and Oliver rushes over to her side. "Someone is at the house." Oliver didn't even wait for details before heading back to the elevator. "Oliver wait, it's just Ethan." the man stops and turns back to her.

"Really?" Laurel says walking over to see her boyfriend in perfect view of the security camera. The woman shakes her head before turning and pulling out her cell phone.

"What is Ethan doing there so late?" Oliver asking glancing over to Laurel who had her phone pressed to her ear. "Wait, did she call him?" he turned back to Felicity. "I should get home, she could-" suddenly his phone rang and he quickly pulled it from his pocket. "Twinkie, I'm on my way, just-"

"Liver, calm down." Katie spoke with a slight yawn. "I'm fine. Ethan's here and I know some kind of weird alarm is going off and I just wanted to let you know that I'm fine."

"It's kind of late, why is he there?"

"He's Ethan, sometimes he shows up late." Katie replied which wasn't an answer Oliver really liked. "He probably just had a rough day at work and since both of our significant others fight crime at night, he just needed someone to talk to. Look I will see you whenever you're finished saving the world."

"Soon, Twinkie. I'll be home soon."

"Sure." the woman replied. "I'm going to go, he's in the kitchen and probably eating all of our food. I will see you later."

When Katie walked into the kitchen, she was surprised to find Ethan nervously sitting at the kitchen table his leg bouncing.

"You didn't kill somebody, did you?" Katie asked and the man looked over to her about to respond, when his phone began vibrating. He pulled it from his pocket and groaned at the sight of Laurel's name. "Who is it?"

"Laurel."

"Why aren't you answering it?"

"Because I already know what she's going to say." the man said, simply hanging up the call. "The one thing she keeps saying over and over again in an attempt to reassure me that she knows what she's doing." Katie walks over and takes the seat across from the man. "She's in over her head, and she's not listening to reason."

"Are you here to tell me what's going on?" Katie asked and Ethan let out another deep sigh.

"I want to, but I think if I do, I may lose her and if I don't then some messed up stuff might happen." Ethan looked over to the woman who simply stared at him. "Look Kit-"

"Is someone going to die?"

"No, I don't think so." the man shook his head. "I just-" he looked down to his hands, when his phone once again began vibrating.

"Look, Ethan-" Katie was interrupted by the doorbell once again ringing. She glanced over her shoulder and let out a deep sigh. "I'm not this popular that people would show up this late to my house." she carefully stands to her feet.

"Wait-" Ethan says following behind her. "I should probably get the door, you being a criminal magnet and all."

"Ethan, I'm two seconds away from giving birth, and I could still take you." the woman reached the door and pulled it open, surprised to find Captain Lance. "Am I under arrest?"

"Not tonight." Lance said glancing over to Ethan who muttered something before turning and stalking back to the kitchen. "I'm actually here for him."

"How did you know he was here?"

"I went out with Oliver and the rest of the team and witnessed cops dishonoring the badge. I was at your little hideout when you called." she glanced over her shoulder to see Ethan had disappeared back into the kitchen. "I need to talk to him." Katie simply gave a nod before stepping aside to let him in. The man stepped toward the kitchen, but stopped when he turned to see Katie following behind him. "Uh, alone."

"Oh, you need to talk to Ethan alone, in my house. That makes sense." the woman said with a roll of her eyes. "I should call Oliver anyway, because he freaks out when people show up here when he's not around."

"We shouldn't be here long." Lance replied before turning and heading inside the kitchen. He found Ethan standing on the other side of the kitchen island. "Are you crazy?"

"You know I asked myself that while I was examining my girlfriend's dead sister." Ethan replied with a shake of his head. "C'mon, I know you love your daughters but you have to admit this—resurrections via ancient waters is a bit out of element for a police captain, a doctor and a lawyer." he pointed toward the door. "Kit lived there, she knows what this thing is, and what it can do. She may be able to help us figure out why Sara is back and why she doesn't seem all there."

"Look I get you're confused, and nervous, and trust me, so am I. I want nothing more than to believe that by some miracle I have my baby back, but like you I know something isn't right."

"Then let's just tell her. I know she can help us."

"As a doctor, how do you think she'd take it? As her friend whose seen the shit thrown at her lately, how do you think she'd take this? I want answers as much as you do, but I think keeping the doc calm and stress free is what's best for her right now." Ethan turned away because he knew the man was right. "Look I know someone, someone who may have some insight into this pit or whatever. I'm meeting him as soon as I leave here."

"Who is it?" Ethan asked turning back to him.

"Look, he's just an informant whose been a lot of places. That's all I can say, but I will get answers and I'll keep you in the loop." Ethan simply nodded "Alright, it's late, I told Katie we wouldn't be here long." Ethan let out a sigh before walking around and heading out of the kitchen just as the front door opened, and in walked Oliver who looked up in confusion to the two men. Katie walked from the living room, looking between the three men before looking to Ethan.

"Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, just been a rough day." Ethan said with a small smile. "Sorry for waking you up." he glanced over to Oliver who stared at the pair in annoyance. "We're going to go." Oliver took a step to the side, holding open the door as the two men walked out. Once they were gone, he turned to Katie who was staring over to him.

"You know people won't come over if you have that uninviting look on your face." Katie said and a tired smile came to the man's lips.

"That's kind of the point, Twinkie." He walked over to her, bringing his arms around her and placing a kiss to her lips.

"You catch our bad guys?"

"Not yet." he replied bringing an arm around her and guiding her toward the stairs. "But I will, and you're going to help."

"You're persistent, aren't you?"

The next day, Katie laid in bed reading emails on her tablet that Claire sent over while Oliver was showering and getting ready for the day.

"I thought you said Felicity was going to Palmer Tech this morning?" Katie called out and Oliver walked out, heading to one of the drawers and pulling out a t-shirt.

"She is, but she said she found some things last night and I want to look them over." the man replied pulling on his t-shirt.

"So your day is gonna be pretty much jammed packed, huh?" Oliver turned to her with a quirked brow and Katie lifted her eyes from her tablet, with a shake of her head. "I was just-"

"Was there something you needed me for today?" Oliver asked walking over and taking a seat in front of her. Katie looked at him for a moment, really thinking about how to answer that question. She could answer with the truth, tell the man he forgot a pretty important thing today, or she could lie and not make him feel bad. She decides to go with her second choice, because in all honesty she wants to make this new life work, so on some things she'll bend and let him be the hero or the mayor if it happens. She shakes her head and looks back down to her tablet.

"No, just curious. I actually can't head out this morning with you. I have a date." she looks up to the hard stare of her boyfriend who doesn't move until she tells him that was a joke. "It's just breakfast, nothing serious." he still doesn't move, attempting to keep calm because he knows she's joking.

"Punchline, please." Oliver says and Katie laughs.

"I'm having brunch with your sister. She's really taking this middle name seriously, and wants to run some of them by me. Plus I want to talk to her, see how she's doing. We'll meet you later at the new hideout once we're done."

"Thea never mentioned brunch with you." Oliver said and Katie simply nodded.

"Maybe she did and you just forgot. With so many balls in the air Mr. Queen, no one is expecting you to remember every little thing." Katie says before sitting up from the bed. "I actually need to call her, but I think I left my phone downstairs, could you check for me?"

"Sure." Oliver replied jumping to his feet to check downstairs. Once he was gone, Katie stood to her feet and walked over to her purse, pulling out her cell phone and quickly dialing Thea's number.

"Hey, Speedy it's me. I kind of need a favor."

That's how Thea Queen found herself sitting on the steps outside of some building, sipping on her coffee. Soon a black car pulled up, and Thea stood to her feet because she recognized the driver.

"When did you get a new car?" Thea asked walking over and looking inside the car Katie was driving.

"Long story, thanks for coming." Katie says stepping out of the car, letting Thea get a good look at the woman who was wearing an oversize t shirt and yoga pants.

"You want to tell me what we're doing. I assumed you being you, it would entail food." Thea said following the woman who plucked a bag from the backseat.

"You'll see." Katie says as the climb up the stairs. The women ride the elevator in silence for a few minutes before Thea turns to continue her line of questioning. She'd only opened her mouth before the doors part and her eyes widen at the sight of multiple pregnant women. The two women step off the elevator, and follow the women, and their partners down the hall. Thea stops outside the door and reads the sign outside before turning to Katie.

"Lamaze class?"

Soon Katie and Thea are inside sitting on their mat. Katie propped up with a pillow behind her as Thea sits behind her as well. Thea's eyes scan the room, watching all the other couples pretty much in the same position as they wait for their teacher.

"Ok, so I guess now I can ask why isn't Oliver here?" Thea asked turning back to Katie who let out a deep sigh. "Please don't tell me he ditched you, because if he did, I will find him and beat his ass right now."

"He didn't ditch me." Katie says turning back to the woman. "Not really. I told him about this class last week, but he forgot. He's dealing with this mayor stuff, and stopping crooked cops, I get it."

"Yeah, well I don't. He doesn't get to forget this stuff. Not when it concerns you and the baby. You should've bust his balls. This is where he needs to be."

"This is just a class. Look I want to make this work too. Part of that means bending on some things when I know he's doing something more important. Like trying to save the world."

"Star City isn't the world and he has me, Laurel and John that can take the slack when he needs to be doing more important things like coming to Lamaze class and learning about what he should expect when it's time for the baby to come."

"It doesn't matter now. You're here, I'm here and I have to pee again." Thea, stood, and helped Katie to her feet. "Thea, really it's alright. I'm ok with this." she gave the woman a final nod before going in search of the bathroom. Thea watched until she was gone before turning and sitting back down.

"Yeah, but I'm not." Thea muttered, pulling her cell from her pocket and dialing her brother's number.

Oliver sat behind one of the computers, reviewing the footage from the attack from the previous night, hoping to find a clue to the true identities of the cops behind this.

"Of all the sights I thought I would never see-" Oliver lifted his head and turned to see John. "Where's Felicity?"

"She said she had to stop by Palmer Tech, but she should be on here soon." Oliver replied turning back to the video.

"You get anything from that video?" John walked over, glancing over the man's shoulder to see as well.

"Not yet, but Felicity said she had something when she called. I guess we just have to wait." Suddenly Oliver's phone rang and he slipped it from his pocket to see his sister's number. He quickly answered, hoping nothing was wrong with Katie. "Hey, Speedy, everything alright?"

"No, it's not. I'm starting to see all of these moments that places you in the light of an asshole."

"What are you talking about?"

"Ollie, when I say the word Lamaze, what comes to mind for you?"

"Lamaze, what-" and then it clicked. He remembers Katie signing them up for a class. She said it would be a bit of a reality check for them, knowing exactly what's going to happen. He also remembers the date of the class was today. "Shit, I am an asshole."

"No, it's just sometimes you step in the shadow of one. I think you will truly be an asshole if you don't drop whatever you're doing and get to this class now."

"I'm on my way." Oliver ended the call, before rushing over to grab his jacket.

"Everything alright?" John asked and Oliver stopped for a moment and just shook his head.

"Nothing, just me realizing everyday that I'm going to screw this up. Everything. Being a husband, a dad, I'm going to screw it up. I can't even remember to be there when it counts."

"Oliver-"

"I have to go." Oliver said, already rushing for the elevator.

Most of the moms and dads, converse around the snack table, mostly complaining about how late the instructor was. Thea plucks a few cookies from the table, and a bottle of water before heading back over to Katie whose sitting with her eyes closed.

"Are we sure this lady is showing up today?" Thea asks lowering herself in front of Katie and handing the woman the bottle of water.

"No idea, we'll give her a few more moments."

"You know I kind of assumed you being a doctor and all would know the ins and outs of how the whole baby coming into the world thing plays out."

"I do. I've seen a couple births, and I know what happens, I know what's supposed to happen, what could go wrong. When you're a doctor, you don't have the same fears as that mother. But now-" Katie placed a hand on her belly. "I just want to make sure everything is done right. This lady is the best and I thought Oliver and I could use the crash course. I didn't want him to freak out when my water breaks." the woman just shrugs. "But it's fine. We'll just hope you'll be around since you're gonna be the expert."

"Sorry, sorry, everyone!" they both turned to the petite blonde that rushed into the room practically out of breath. "It's been one of those kind of mornings. One son doesn't want to get out of bed, the other wants to run around the house naked, my husband becomes both death and blind to all of it and traffic didn't help at all." the woman took a deep breath before pulling a smile to her face. "But enough of that. My name is Margaret Staple, and I will be your lamaze instructor. First, I think we should introduce ourselves."

"I think I'm going to go get another cookie." Thea whispered over to Katie who gave her look, before simply nodded before turning back to the others as the introductions began. She didn't spare a glance when the woman returned back to her seat. Soon it was their turn, so Katie pulled on a smile.

"Hi, my name is Katie and this-" she turned to Thea, only to realize it wasn't Thea sitting next to her. "This-" words suddenly left her, still too shocked to see the man right there.

"I'm Oliver." the man continued, turning back to the group. "Katie's boyfriend. This is our first child together."

"Well welcome, Katie and Oliver." the instructor replied before everyone turned to the next couple.

Oliver turned back to Katie, who was still staring at him. He brought an arm around her and leaned in a bit closer.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, I should not have forgotten this." he whispered before looking up to meet her eyes. "Why didn't you remind me?" Katie doesn't get a chance to respond, before Margaret is once again speaking.

The class was two hours. Oliver assumed he knew everything he could know about how the birth would be, but he was sadly mistaken. He now knew things, seen things he doesn't think he will ever forget. When the class is over, and everyone is gathering their things to leave, Katie looks over to the bewildered look on Oliver's face and can't help but lightly laugh. He turns at the sound.

"Not as miraculous as you imagined, huh?" the woman asked with a shake of her head as she looked over to the display that showed the pelvis and the little fake baby inside.

"Actually it is."Oliver replied turning and placing a hand on her stomach. "Kind of the most miraculous thing I think I will ever witness." he glanced around the room, finding the mostly everyone had cleared out. "I'm sorry I forgot about this." he shook his head before turning back to the woman.

"You said that already, and it's fine." Katie replied attempting to stand to her feet. Oliver quickly stood, bringing an arm around her to help her. "So how is it going with finding our bad cops?" she turned to him with a smile. "I was thinking maybe we should look into-"

"Why didn't you remind me about the class?"

"Because it's not a big deal. Now bad cops selling drugs, killing other cops, that's a big deal. I was thinking we should-"

"I don't buy it." Oliver once again interrupted and Katie sighed before turning and grabbing her bag. "Twinkie-"

"This is going to be hard." she replied turning back to him. "I wholeheartedly believe we can do this, but it's going to be really hard. One class, I can get over one class. There are more-" suddenly Oliver's phone rang and Katie just shook her head. "Never mind, go. I think I'm going to just head home and crash."

"I think we should have this conversation. A real conversation about all of this." Oliver's phone once again rang and he quickly answered. "I will be unavailable for a while, I'll call later." he ended the call without waiting for a response and Katie turned back to him with a shake of her head. "Let's go to the park." Katie looked at the man like he was crazy.

It wasn't until they were actually at the park, did Katie realize the man was serious. The pair were walking hand in hand along the trail when Oliver asked the question he thinks needed to be asked.

"What aren't you telling me?" Katie didn't look over to him. That was a loaded question. One with too many answers and that was one reason she hated that he asked.

"There has to be some kind of link between these cops and their crimes." Katie finally answers turning back to him. "We need to look deeper into their personal lives for something out of the ordinary."

"That's not what I meant and you know it."

"Yeah I know what you meant. I just don't like the answer to that question, so let's just focus on stopping crime and mayoral campaigns."

"Well I don't want to talk about that stuff. I want to talk about the answer you don't like." Oliver stopped walking, but still holding on to her hand. "Since we've come back, something has changed. I can see it. Just tell me what it is." Katie turned away from his eyes and Oliver let out a sigh. "It was coming back, wasn't it?" she turned back to the man. "You said-"

"I know what I said and I stand behind what I said. We needed to come back. This city was in crisis, my company was falling apart. Coming back was the logical decision."

"You just didn't want to."

"What I wanted didn't matter. It still doesn't. The greater good comes before what I want. So I get use to it. I accept this life. I accept that you will forget things, or you won't be around all the time. You know I even accept that I will probably never make a perfect pancake."

"Acceptance and happiness are two different things and I don't want you to feel-"

"Oliver you make me happy. Whatever life I live, I will always be happy because I have you and I have her. Everything else is just stuff." the woman inched closer, her hand sliding up Oliver's chest. "Liver you are about to take on a life where it's all going to be about decisions. Making the right choice and I know how hard that can be. I also know that when a choice like trying to save the city or going to Lamaze class comes up, your decision is obvious. I don't want us to be a choice you have to pick over something else-"

"Twinkie-"

"And I know how unrealistic that sounds. Life will never be that simple and so whenever I can, I will try to make it easier for you."

"And I love you all the more for it, but I think I would like to make those decision. So don't make it easy on me. I will deal with the outcome."

"Not sure I can do that, but I will try. I kind of love you."

"I kind of love you too." Oliver replied. "Like really, really love you." he dropped his head to hers. "And I've been trying to say something for so long, and I guess now that we're finally alone, I can finally ask-" Oliver's phone chose that exact moment to ring. He lifted his head, letting out a groan as he pulled the phone from his pocket to see Felicity's number. "It's Felicity."

"Has to be pretty important." Katie says and he looks up meeting her eyes. "Whatever you gotta tell me, just tell me later." she pressed a kiss to the man's lips. "C'mon, you can drop me back off to my car and then you-"

"We can head to meet up with the team." the man said taking the woman's hand. "There's still something you need to see." they began walking toward the car, when Oliver decided to ask another question that had been bugging. "When exactly did you get a new car?"

"It was kind of a gift." Katie replied looking over to the man. "Something else for us to talk about later."

When they returned to the hideout, Oliver listened as Felicity told him about the lead on one Liza Warner. Apparently she was one of the original recruits to the anti-vigilante task force over 3 years ago.

"Handpicked by then Detective Lance." Felicity recounted as Oliver looked over the file.

"Do we think she's a suspect?" Oliver asked looking over to the blonde.

"I think that Sergeant Warner has deposited over a quarter of a million dollars into offshore bank accounts in the last three months." that seemed to be enough for Oliver.

"Where can we find her?"

"I am working on that." Felicity said walking over to her computer. Oliver followed her, looking down to the screen that seemed to be doing something he probably couldn't explain. "I used the network access that Captain Lance gave us and I turned on every uniform and squad car camera on the force in the last 12 hours. I'm running facial recognition looking for Warner." she looked over to Oliver who seemed to be looking down to the monitor with narrowed eyes. "Do you see something?"

"No, someone. Pause." Oliver said pointing to one of the videos. " Zoom in. Mm-hmm." the moment she did, Oliver couldn't believe what he was looking at. "The man that Lance is talking to... That's Damian Darhk."

"I'm sorry?" Felicity asked turning back to the screen. The conversation looked quite friendly, not something anyone would expect with someone as evil as Damien Darhk. "Why?"

"I don't know, but I think me and the captain should have a conversation." Oliver handed the file back to Felicity before turning, only to stop at the sight of Katie standing in front of the display case that held the Guardian's suit. "He was at the house last night."

"You don't think he was there because of Darhk, do you?" Felicity whispered over to the man. "He wouldn't. He-"

"All topics I'll make sure to bring up in that conversation." Oliver replied with a nod before walking over to stand beside the woman. He looked over to her face, seeing how deep in thought she really was as she looked at the suit. Soon, she came back to the moment and glanced over to see Oliver.

"Oh, hey, what did you find out?" she looked over to Felicity who was back behind her computer. "Did she have a lead?"

"She did. She found a name. Liza Warner. She's gonna try to find a location, I'm going to go see Lance. He recruited her and I figure he may have some insight."

"Right." Katie said before turning to the suit.

"What do you see when you look at that?" Oliver asked. He'd noticed her eyes going to the suit every time they came here, and he always wondered what went through her head when she saw it. Katie glanced over to him for a moment before turning back to the suit.

"I think that's what I'm trying to figure out." Katie answered honestly and Oliver simply placed a kiss to her cheek.

Dr. Ethan Mills decided to throw himself into his work, in hopes of forgetting the craziness that he seemed to fall into recently. For a while he thought he could distract himself, but he should've known that would be impossible. He'd just finished up with a patient when he walked down the hall, only to see the woman he'd been avoiding waiting for him in his office.

"You haven't been answering my calls." Laurel said and Ethan just shrugged as he pulled off his lab coat.

"I thought we pretty much said everything we needed to say the last time we spoke. Remember that part about me not having any say when it comes to you and your family."

"Look, Ethan. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to blow up at you, I just-" Laurel walked over to him. "I got my sister back. You have no idea the emptiness of her being gone caused, and I saw an opportunity to get her back and I took it."

"Laurel you have no idea what you've done. I'm still trying to wrap my head around this place that has this water that can make the dead live again."

"I couldn't believe it either, but it's real and Sara is back."

"That's just it, baby." Ethan says placing his hands on her shoulders. "That woman chained up in your basement isn't your sister. She—" Laurel pulled herself from his grasp. "You don't want to hear this, but you need to. We need to figure out what's happening. That means we talk to Oliver or Kit—"

"Why so they can judge me? Tell me how crazy this is? How I shouldn't have done this? Sara just needs more time to remember, to realize who she is, and once she does, I will tell them." she placed her hands on the man's chest. "I just need you to trust me. Everything will work out." she placed a kiss to the man's lips. "I will let you get back to work." Ethan watched as she headed out the door, wanting so badly to trust her, but for the life of him he couldn't. Not when he could imagine how bad this could really get.

Captain Lance practically jumped out of his skin the moment he walked into his apartment and found Oliver just sitting there in the dark.

"You know I have a heart condition, right?"

"For years, you've looked at me with such contempt. Utter disdain. So I'm wondering..." Oliver lifts his eyes to the man who is still trying to figure out what's going on. "Do I have that same look on my face now?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

" I'm talking about you... and Damian Darhk." the moment the words came out of his mouth, Oliver could see the guilt wash over his face. He dropped to the seat in front of Oliver, attempting an explanation for his actions. That look on Oliver's face never changed, and the Captain didn't really expect it to.

"He held himself out as just another guy who wanted to help this city. And we needed the help." Quentin justified with a shake of his head. "You weren't here. By the time I figured out who he was, what he was..." the man let out a deep sigh, because he was ashamed. "That's when he threatened Laurel."

"Laurel can take care of herself. You see what she does out there."

" That's what I thought about Sara, too-"

"Stop, stop it!" Oliver snapped jumping to his feet, tired of the excuses. "Stop hiding behind your daughters! They would be ashamed of what you're doing right now."

" You don't know what I'm going through." Quentin sighed. "Your kid isn't here yet, so you don't know the extent you'll go to protect them."

"You're right, my daughter isn't here yet, but I will always find a way to protect her. And I'm positive, I would never compromise my morality to do it." Oliver felt so disappointed in the man in this moment. "You were the main reason behind me running for mayor! A part of me has always wanted you to see what kind of man I really am. I didn't expect to wind up finding out what kind of man you really are." Oliver couldn't even look at the man anymore. So he stalked off toward the door.

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't—" Oliver stopped at the door and looked back to the man. "Right now I only have one question for you. Whatever Darhk has told you do, or say, or go, has it ever concerned Katie?" Quentin looked confused, but shook his head.

"No, her name only came up after the hostage situation."

"How? Was he the one behind it?"

"No, no." Quentin stated. " Actually he seemed pretty concerned about her. He wanted inclusion in the search for her, wanting to know when she was found and who was behind it. I remember finding it strange, but I didn't think anymore of it." Quentin looked up to Oliver who turned away in thought, and now he had questions. "Why else would her name come up?" Oliver turned a glare to the man.

"From this moment forward, you will stay away from her." Oliver didn't wait for a response, because there was none needed.

Katie and Felicity had been waiting a while for someone to show up. Katie had been walking about the hideout, just trying to keep her mind distracted.

"How do you think it happens?" Felicity asked suddenly and Katie looked over to her. "One moment, you want to be the hero. Wear the badge, save the city, and then the next you lose it." she looked over to Katie who stopped walking. "How does that happened?"

"Easier than you imagine." Katie replies glancing over to the Guardian's suit once again. "Being a hero means you have hope that you can succeed in actually saving people. And all the good deeds feed that hope. But then something like the Undertaking happens, and a little piece of hope gets chipped away, then some guy in a mask unleashes dozens of drugged up soldiers to run rampant in the city, and another piece of hope is chipped away, and then-" she turns to Felicity who just stares with a slight frown as she listens. "Some guy brings this virus, and unleashes it, and a little more hope is chipped away. You see Felicity that switch from good to bad, is all dependent on how much hope you have and what in this world can steal it away."

"Do you still have hope that the world still worth saving?" Katie let out a sigh, but gave a nod.

"As long as there are people in this world that I care about, it will always be worth saving." the woman replied with a smile. "Now, what are the chances you think Oliver will bring food when he comes back."

Felicity's phone rang, and she quickly answered. Katie could tell from the frown on her face that whatever she was hearing was not good.

Captain Lance had been kidnapped. By the cops they were all hoping to catch. Laurel had witnessed the entire thing, before she was attacked herself, and tazered. She awakened soon after they were gone. The team now gathered around Felicity who was attempting to find out where Lance was taken, which seemed to be difficult with the random power surges that kept happening.

"You know as much money as we have shelled out for this place, there should be no electrical problems." Katie snaps angrily. The moment she heard about Lance, she was instantly worried. Being kidnapped, and probably beaten was definitely not something that would be good for his heart.

"I think I got something before the latest glitch." Felicity informed as she looked over her shoulder to the team. "Captain Lance's ID was just to access the SCPD contraband disposal facility 3 minutes ago." without another word, everyone is spurred into action. Soon they're suited, and out of there once again leaving Felicity and Katie to wait.

Soon Katie began pacing, as they waited for the team to finally arrive at the facility. Felicity sat behind her computer still trying to get a better read on the facility before she looked over to the woman.

"You're not supposed to be doing that." Felicity stated and Katie looked over to her with a shake of her head. "Look, they are going to find Lance, and he's going to be alright. Just come sit down, please." Katie let out a sigh, before walking over to take the seat beside her friend.

"So how are things going with you and Bruce? I haven't seen him around as much." Katie noticed how tensed the woman seemed to get. "He still hasn't told you his secret?"

"No, he's being a jerk." Felicity replied as she stopped typing and turned to Katie. "And I just don't know what to do at this point."

"Is this big enough to warrant a break up?" Katie asked and Felicity turned away. She was angry, like really angry that Bruce couldn't seem to trust her enough, but she hasn't gotten to the point where she wants the relationship to end. She loved him.

"I don't want it to." Felicity replied looking back to Katie.

"Ok, how about this. Bruce has this secret, he can't tell you. Then he needs to tell you why. No vague, it's dangerous answers. He needs to actually prove to you that him keeping this secret is actually necessary. See if he can do that." Felicity gave a nod, before turning at the sound of confirmation of the team arriving.

Felicity was right. Lance was saved, most of the cops including Liza Warner were arrested. It was a successful mission.

It was late when the team arrived back to the hideout. Laurel quickly changed so she could go back to her father, while Thea and John had headed home. Oliver had changed, and walked out to find Felicity who was gathering her things to head out as well. He scanned the area, searching out one person.

"She's upstairs waiting for you." Felicity said and Oliver gave a nod before the pair headed onto the elevator. "Have you told her about Lance and Darhk?"

"Not yet." Oliver replies not looking forward to that conversation. "Not sure how to even begin that conversation, but I will. If we can get through one conversation without interruption. I've been this close to finally asking her to marry me, but my phone seems to miraculously ring every time."

"Why don't you turn your phone off?" Felicity asked looking over to the man. "Or ignoring the call. I know, putting your phone on silent. I use to do that when my mom would call me non stop when me and Bruce went on vacation."

"I just want the moment to be right, without interruptions."

"Or you're still hesitant to finally ask again." Felicity replied giving the man a nudge. "Oliver you have to see this time, it's different than before. Both of you are different people." Soon the doors opened and Oliver and Felicity stepped out to find Katie standing near the window. She glanced back when she heard them and gave Oliver a smile.

"Shall we go home now Mr. Queen?" she asked and Oliver smiled as he walked over to her, bringing his arms around her. Felicity stared at the couple for a moment, smiling at how happy they seemed and only assured her that she wanted that happiness too. So she would give Bruce the benefit of the doubt. She pulled out her phone, and dialed his number as she headed out the door.

Oliver and Katie stood in the empty offices, staring at one another before Oliver turned and let out a sigh.

"What if I didn't run for Mayor?" he turned back to her, awaiting a reaction.

"This isn't about Lamaze class is it, because I told you-"

"This isn't about that. It's just this city, the people. They're just not who I thought they were and, I don't think I can-"

"Did you just say you don't think you can?" Katie asked and Oliver shrugged. "How do you fail this city, Liver?" she placed a hand on his cheek with a smile. "You're letting the fear of failure keep you from trying. This fear of the unknown and I'm telling you that you shouldn't be afraid. Because this thing beating in your chest-" she slid a hand to hover above his head. "This city could use it. Now stop being a little bit-" his lips crashed into hers before she could finished the sentence. When they pulled apart, they stood still wrapped in each other, trying to even out their breaths. "You interrupted the most important part."

"I think I got the gist." Oliver replied with a smile before pulling the woman out the door.

Oliver Queen should be nervous. The amount of people and cameras filing into the office should be making his heart race and his palms sweaty, but oddly it didn't. Early that morning, he'd paid another visit to Captain Lance, and he decided that his alliance with Darhk could be the one thing they needed to taken him down. It was a step, a big step to finally finding a way to end Damien Darhk. He arrived back to the office not expecting to find numerous unfamiliar faces. Apparently his sister had taken it upon herself to hire interns to help with the campaign. She'd even written him a speech to announce his candidacy. He stood there and read her words, and looked out the people who were there to help him and he couldn't help but think back to Katie's words. That's when he decided to stop being afraid of what might happen, and finally take the leap. With this campaign and with finally proposing to Katie.

At the moment he stood in the bathroom reading over the note cards his sister had handed him, trying to save them to memory. There was a knock at the door, but before he could say a word it was opening and in walked Katie who'd some how gotten a baked pretzel in the few minutes since he last saw her.

"I think they're ready for you, Mr. Mayor." she said walking over to the man who gave the woman as smile. "Here hold my pretzel." Oliver slipped his note cards in his breast pocket before taking the pretzel from the woman. She dusted off her hands, before reaching forward to straighten his tie. He looked down to her, seeing how focused she was and the words were right there, and though he didn't want to ask the question in a bathroom, he just couldn't wait any longer. "Perfect." she looked up to the man with a smile. "You ready?"

"Almost." he said turning and sitting the pretzel down before turning and taking her hand in his. "This is not how or where I wanted to be when I said this, but I can't wait any-" the door burst open and in rushed Thea, who immediately regretted it the moment she saw her brother and Katie.

"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry." she said before turning to her brother. "The bathroom, really?"

"Speedy, was there something you needed?" Oliver asked in annoyance.

"It's time." She said pointing behind her. "The press is all set up and everyone's just waiting for you." Oliver let out a sigh before turning back to Katie who placed a hand on his cheek.

"Can whatever you want to say, wait?" He wanted to say no, but he didn't want to rush this. He knew this would be something they would remember for a long time, so he would just wait.

"Yeah, it can." he brought an arm around her and they walked toward the door.

"Wait, my pretzel." she attempted to go back for it, but Oliver never loosened his grasp as he kept walking.

"We're going to have a conversation about food cart pretzels later, Twinkie. Dr. Frances has a whole chapter about junk food."

"You know I'm going to find that bastard, and I might shoot him." she pulled a smile as the flashing lights from cameras erupted around them.

Katie stood, a bright smile on her face as she listened to Oliver as he gave his speech. She hoped everyone could see it. The love he had for this city, the hope, it was in his words and his movements. Her phone began to vibrate, and she pulled it from her purse to see a familiar number. She opened a text and frowned as she looked over her shoulder. Her eyes went back to Oliver who was still so immersed in his speech, that she's sure he won't notice her slip away for a few moments. She turns and sifts through the crowd to step outside. Her eyes scan the area, before a car pulls up in front of her and the window rolls down to reveal Martin.

"Now's not really a good time. What do you want?"

"I need you to come with me."

"That's not happening." the woman shook her head about to walk back into the office.

"Your father's dying." Martin said, and Katie turned back to him instantly. "He doesn't know I'm here, doesn't know I'm asking you this because he's too stubborn to realize that in times like these you need family. And right now he needs you." Katie didn't know what to say. She glanced back into the office, able to see Oliver still speaking. She had a choice to make. She knew if she went back in there, told him everything, he'd drop everything else to come with her. With a deep sigh, she turned back to Martin and gave him a nod. The man quickly stepped out of the car before pulling open the back door and letting her step inside.

As they pulled off, Katie took out her cell phone and sent a text to Oliver, she knew he wouldn't read right away. She knew he would be upset, knew there'd probably be yelling, but at the moment she only heard one thing.

Her daddy was dying.

For some reason, everything else just didn't matter.

---

Author's note:

I guess Katie's feelings toward her father, aren't only filled with hate.

Review Replies

ellidraco1014: Here's your update! Hope you enjoyed it.

ImsebastianstanButter: I know, she's taking a lot of hits since she's been back and all those hits are going fuel something that no will like.

josephguy217:Thanks so much!

Adela: I really liked the guys working together the women they loved. And I really wanted to bring back that Jeremy story line because after he's killed we don't hear much about it, but here we find out he had a wife and a daughter whose lives were shaken when his crimes are revealed, and when he was killed. Katie really is going to try to redeem herself, and she hopes taking in Jeremy's daughter can be the beginning. But it won't be as easy as she hopes.

Thanks to everyone who finds their way back to this story. I'm glad each chapter keeps you coming back and I greatly appreciate it. And now for your sneak peek...

Katie's eyes blinked open, glad to have awakened from yet another memory she'd prefer to forget. She sat up from the bed at the sound of voices from outside the room. She figured the others had returned and hopefully they had Sara. She stood to her feet, just as there was a knock at the door. She eyed the door in confusion trying to figure out which one of her friends would actually knock instead of just walk inside. Katie walked over and pulled opened the door, her eyes going wide at the face on the other side before she slammed it shut.

"C'mon, Luv, open up for an old friend." came the British voice that Katie assumed she would never hear again. She heard more voices, before the door opened, only it was Oliver who came inside.

"I'm sorry, that's-"

"John Constantine." Katie said and Oliver seemed surprised that she knew the man's name. "Why is John Constantine here?"