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?

7. Sins of the Past

Chapter 7

Sins of the Past

"It's your own fear of failure that stops you from doing things"

Anupam Kher

Arabic Translations:

"'urid musaeadatak." = I want to help you.

"aldamu ln yunqidh ruhk." = Blood will not save your soul.

---

Sometimes it's the unknown that hold our greatest fears. Right now Oliver Queen had no idea where his girlfriend, mother of his unborn child was. The moment he was done with his speech, his eyes went to the crowd, looking only for her face and his heart raced because he couldn't find it. So as he left the podium, he pulled a smile to his face as cameras still were pointed at him. His heart rammed in his chest, as he shook hands, and gave a small smile to the flash of cameras. He glanced over to his sister who seemed to see the slight distress in his eyes, and decided to take a step forward and announce that the press conference was over and that Oliver and his campaign workers needed to get to work. Not too long after Thea made up another excuse to clear out the interns. Once they were gone, Oliver, along with John, Thea and Felicity headed downstairs where they waited for Felicity to give him a location on Katie's phone.

"How did she just disappear?" John asked with a shake of his head. "We were all there?"

"Yeah, but everyone's attention was on Ollie." Thea replied nervously hovering behind Felicity looking to the computer. "This is taking longer than normal, what's going on?" Felicity didn't say anything right away, which only made them all worry.

"Felicity?" Oliver spoke taking a step forward. He looked down to the screen that seemed to still be processing whatever Felicity had entered. "Where is she?"

"I-" Felicity pulled back her hands, and turned to Oliver, the nervousness now written all over her face. "I don't know. I can't get a lock on her phone." Oliver didn't say anything, because those words were not words he needed to hear in this moment. He didn't say a word before he turned, pulling off is suit jacket, and pulling at his tie.

"Oliver, wait, we need to just think this through." John suggested to Oliver who moved as if he didn't even hear the man. He stalked toward the display case, about to put on his hood when Thea took a step forward.

"Wait, Oliver, where's your phone?" she asked and Oliver stopped and turned to her. "Before we hop on the worst case scenario, let's just cross off the mostly likely. Maybe she called you, left a text. Where's your phone?"

"My-" Oliver headed back to the table, to grab his jacket. "I turned it off before the press conference." Oliver pulled the phone from the pocket and powered it back on. Letting out a heavy sigh at the sight of a message from Katie's phone. When he opened the message, he frowned before grabbing his jacket and stalking toward the elevator.

"Oliver, what's-" Thea rushed after the man, but stopped as the elevator doors closed. She growled as she turned back to the confused looks of John and Felicity.

Oliver stepped outside the office, and rushed toward his car only for something hard to suddenly strike the back of his head, bringing darkness to his world.

There was a soft hum of a lullaby moving through the air, and it brought a smile to Oliver's face. He walked through the familiar hall of their house, before finding the nursery. He pushed open the door, and the smile quickly fell because the room was completely empty.

"They're not here." Oliver looked up at the sound of the voice, and saw someone he most definitely did not expect to see. "He's getting closer and she doesn't even know it."

"Mrs-" Oliver took a step toward her. "Mrs. Robins?"

"I'm sorry, I don't have much time and you being knocked out allowed this meeting." she took a step toward the man. "I didn't think the pedals worked, but I was wrong. It's happening Oliver, and you need to keep it away."

"Keep what away?"

"The darkness that surrounds her."

There was a gentle hand that slid along his cheek that seemed to stir him awake. The moment his eyes flit open, he let out a deep sigh at the sight of someone he desperately needed to see.

"See-" Oliver turned his head to see Martin, who seemed to be hunched over in pain. "He's fine."

"Oliver, look at me." Katie ordered and Oliver brought his eyes back to her. "Follow my finger." she lifted her finger and moved it back and forth. Oliver shook his head before grabbing her hand and nudging it out of the way before bringing his hands to the side of her face.

"Where did you go? I was-"

"I know. I'm so sorry I left the way I did. I just didn't know how to just walk over to you and snatch your moment." Katie dropped her head head slightly. "I'm sorry, I couldn't—" she looked back up to meet Oliver's eyes.

"Twinkie, you don't-" he let out a heavy breath, because he didn't want to let his emotions just totally take over this moment. "You were gone. You were gone because you left and you didn't tell me. I need to know why."

"Because something is wrong." Katie replied before looking back over to Martin.

Oliver wasn't sure what to expect as Katie took his hand, and lead him through the house. His eyes scanned the halls, noticing the very expensive paintings on the wall. Soon they climbed up a flight of stairs, stepping down another long hall until they reached a door. On the other side, Oliver was struck with the sight that made him pause.

For as long as he can remember, Jacob Robins was the epitome of strength, and intelligence. He was a man who always seemed impenetrable. So the sight of that man, connected to so many machines, looking utterly weak was so strange. He felt Katie's hand grasp his tighter, and he looked over to her, only to see the expression on her face not showing an ounce of emotion he knew she was feeling as she looked at her father.

"What's wrong with him?" Oliver asked looking over to Martin who hung back by the door. Martin's eyes looked over to the sleeping form of Jacob with a shake of his head.

"Nothing." Katie answered and Oliver turned back to her. "Every test, every blood sample, every scan-" she stared at her father, racking her brain trying to figure out what this could be. "They're all normal. He's dying and every test ran says he's perfectly healthy."

"How is that even possible?" Oliver asked turning back to Jacob, whose chest slowly rose and fell as he slept.

"It's not." Katie replied before turning to Martin who looked from his boss to the man's daughter. "You're going to tell me what's happening?"

"I'm not going to tell you what's happening." Martin says and Katie takes a step toward him,only for Oliver to bring an arm around her to hold her back. "The truth is, there's only one person who can stop this, and asking for his help is worthless. I didn't bring you here to fix this because-" the man turned back to Jacob. "You can't fix this. You need to spend whatever time he has and-"

"Stop talking, Martin." Katie says before turning back to her father and walking over to his side. "Jacob-"

"What are you doing?" Martin asked, and Katie held up a hand for him to stop talking.

"Jacob, wake up." she slid her hand into his and leaned in slightly. "Jac-" she swallowed the lump in her throat before taking a deep breath. "Daddy, I need you to wake up." an audible breath escaped the man's nose, and his head turned toward Katie. His eyes cracked open, but barely.

"Grace." his rough voice muttered. Katie turned away from him, taking in another deep breath before looking back down to her father.

"What is happening to you?" Katie asked, but the man didn't answer as he softly smiles up to her. "Who is doing this to you?" She opened her mouth to continue when she noticed something on his neck. She reached down, pulling at the collar of his shirt to reveal what looked like black veins that seemed to stem down his chest. She reached forward to touch it, only for Jacob to quickly grab her hand.

"You shouldn't be here." the man said and Katie looked up to meet his eyes. The man let out a heavy breath before looking over to Martin. "You had no right."

"You're knocking at death's door, I had every right."

"I don't care." Katie replied looking down to her father. "What is happening to you?"

"It's not your concern." the man glanced back to Oliver who stood silently, unsure if he should speak in this moment. "Oliver-" Oliver turned to Jacob. "You take my daughter and you make sure she never comes back here. You make sure she's always happy, because she deserves it." Jacob looked back to Katie with a smile. "You make sure my granddaughter's laughter always fills whatever rooms she's in." he swallowed hard before turning back to Oliver. "Oliver, do the one thing I couldn't. Keep your family safe, and always let them know how much you love them."

"Jacob, you need to tell me what's happening." Katie once again said and Jacob couldn't help the slight chuckle that morphed into a cough instantly.

"Be happy my sunshine. That's all I ever wanted for you." Jacob slipped his hand from hers, and placed it on her belly, with a slight smile. "And you take care of her."

"So you die and I do nothing?" she asked and Jacob sighed as he turned away from her. "Fine." she turned back to Oliver. "Let's go home." she stalked toward the door.

"Twinkie-" the woman was already out the door, and Oliver began following after her.

"You probably would never ask." Jacob said and Oliver stopped and looked back over to the man. "But you have my blessing. If that's why you're hesitating to ask her."

"It's not, but, thanks I guess." Oliver replied before turning to Martin. "We're going to talk, soon." Martin simply gave a nod before watching the man storm out of the room.

"I should fire you." Jacob said before falling into a fit of coughing.

"And yet here I am." Martin walked over to stand at Jacob's side, looking down to see the black veins seemed to be getting worse. "I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do."

"Just do what you always do." Jacob replied and Martin let out a heavy sigh before walking over and taking a seat and flicking on the television which surprisingly was playing a report on the newest candidate, Oliver Queen, running for mayor.

"So did you see this all those years ago when you and Robert were cooking up a plan to save this city?" Martin asked looking back to Jacob who had once again nodded off to sleep.

When they arrived home, Katie walked inside the house without saying a word to Oliver who had no idea how to even begin this conversation. He followed her into the kitchen, just as she pulled out a pint of ice cream. She grabbed a spoon and just dug in. Her eyes looked up to Oliver who stood staring at her as she took the first bite.

"I know what you're going to say." she said with a shake of her head as she took another bite of her ice cream. "Before you say it, just don't." Oliver walked around the counter, moving in to stand right beside her. He placed a hand on her back, gently rubbing soothing circles. He could see the walls holding in her emotions, slowly falling as he felt her slightly shaking. "I'm fine." she looked up to the man. "Really, I'm fine. I mean he already died once and I got over it. I'll just get over it again." she turned away from his eyes. "He hurt me, and he lied to me, he ruined my life." Oliver brought his arms around her in a hug, placing a kiss on the top of her head, and she felt the tears swelling in her eyes.

Katie cried herself to sleep that night, Oliver's arms around her never loosening the entire time.

They'd stayed home for a couple of days after that night. Katie didn't talk much about her father, but Oliver knew it was still eating her up inside. This morning, Oliver was the first to wake up. Katie was still sleeping and he placed a kiss to her head, before sliding a hand along her stomach. A small smile came to his lips at the soft kicks he felt underneath his fingers.

The hum of his phone vibrating, caused him to turn and quickly grab his phone before it could wake up Katie. He saw Felicity's number and sighed. He'd already texted her to let them know that Katie was fine and back home, but he told them that they needed some time alone.

"Felicity?" he whispered as he slid out of bed and headed to the bathroom so he didn't wake Katie. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, everything's fine. Look I know you said you and Twinkie needed some solitude and I didn't want to argue-"

"Argue? Felicity what are you talking about?"

"So you know how bad I am at lying. Well I'm kind of awesome at keeping a secret and today I let you in on it. Come downstairs and open the door."

Oliver quirked a brow before stepping back to the bedroom. He cast a glance to Katie who was still fast asleep. He quietly slipped out of the room, and headed downstairs. When he opened the door, he wasn't sure why he was seeing Felicity along with his sister.

"Hey Ollie." Thea greeted nervously. "How's Twinkie?"

"Fine. What are you two doing here?" Thea and Felicity slipped past Oliver into the house, and the man let out a heavy sigh.

"We kind of did something." Felicity said and Oliver closed the door before turning to them with a quirked brow. "A good something actually. And I know you two needed some time, but I was kind of hoping that could wait until after today."

"Why exactly?"

"Because we're sort of throwing you two a surprise baby shower." Thea replied and Oliver turned to her. "Well officially it's called a push party, but it's today." Oliver shook his head and the two women could already see the protests in his features. "Before you say anything, think of this as a distraction. From whatever happened the night of your speech. Maybe you two could use a little distraction." Oliver wanted to argue, but he couldn't help but feel that Thea was right. After everything that happened that night, maybe a distraction was what they needed.

"Look I'm not sure about a party, but if you're able to convince Twinkie then-"

"Done." Felicity said with a bright smile before reaching into her purse and pulling out a card and handing it to Oliver. "So you are going to shower, get dressed and go ahead of us and plan whatever."

"Plan what?" Oliver asked looking down to the card and his eyes went slightly wide before looking back up to the woman. "This is where the party is going to be?"

"It is and we thought it fitting that something else special happens today." Felicity replied and Oliver looked back down to the card.

"So what do you say, Ollie?" Thea asked and the man looked over to his sister. "You ready to finally step on the road to forever?"

Katie heard voices that she knows for a fact didn't belong to Oliver. She cracked open her eyes and turned to see the doors to her closet wide open.

"Definitely not wearing that. She'll look like a giant flamingo."

"What about this?"

"I don't know. It's kind of low cut and her boobs are getting huge. I just get the feeling Oliver might end up killing someone if she wears that dress."

"Oh, I know." there was silence, as Katie listens to things being shuffled around. She finally decides to stand from the bed, and walk over to her closet to see Felicity and Thea standing there. Thea was holding a light blue dress that she'd bought, but had yet to wear. Both women turned to Katie with bright smiles. "Good, you're up. What do you think of this dress? It looked really cute when you tried it on in the store?"

"When did you two go shopping?" Felicity asked turning to Thea. "And why wasn't I invited?"

"Chill crazy lady, not about you right now." Thea said and Felicity turned back to Katie who still stood staring at them in confusion. "So, do you like this dress?"

"For what?" Katie asked before looking around the room. "Where's Oliver?"

"Running errands!"

"Mayor stuff!"

Both answers were spoken simultaneously, which made Katie that much more suspicious. She looked between the two women before shaking her head and walking back over to lie down.

"Hey, so I had an idea." Felicity said as she and Thea walked out to the bedroom. Thea took a seat on the bed beside Katie as Felicity walked over to meet the woman's eyes. "Why don't we go out for lunch?"

"That sounds like a good idea. I love lunch." Thea said and Felicity glanced over to the woman who simply shrugged. "What do you say Twinkie, you're up for lunch. There's this new place downtown that-"

"I'm not leaving this bed, so you two can just go." Katie replied pulling the covers over her head.

"Is everything alright?" Felicity asked. "Oliver didn't say much about that night, but we assumed since you're here and safe that everything was alright." Katie didn't say anything and Felicity and Thea once again shared a worried look. Felicity racked her brain with a way to get Katie out of bed, and soon one struck her. She wasn't proud, but she was desperate. "Fine, you caught us. We weren't going to take you to lunch."

"We weren't?" Thea asked and Felicity sent her a glare. "I mean, yeah, we weren't."

"We didn't want to say anything at first, but the truth is someone needs your help." Katie still didn't say anything. "Like medically." she looked over to Thea who just shook her head in confusion. "His name is Curtis Holt. He works at the company and he's been injured."

"That's what hospitals are for Felicity." Katie replied and Felicity once again tried thinking up a lie.

"He can't go to the hospital because-" she looked over to Thea who shrugged, not even able to help with this. "Because he was hurt during a mission. He was shot during the whole dirty cop thing and-" Katie pushed the covers from her head and looked over to Felicity. "He was caught in the cross hairs."

"Some guy who works at your company was at the exact facility where these cops had Lance hostage?" Katie asked and Felicity nodded as she cleared her throat.

"I didn't really get the details, but he's really hurt and I told him I had a friend whose a doctor."

"Ethan-"

"Oliver doesn't know he was there. And if I tell Ethan, then he tells Laurel and it's an endless cycle until your boyfriend goes all grrr. I just want to fix this before anymore damage is caused." she looked down to Katie with a slight smile. "What do you say?"

"About the first part of that lie, or the second part of that lie?" Katie asked.

"No, about lunch?" Thea asked and Katie looked over to the woman with a quirked brow. "C'mon, you know you're hungry." Katie dropped back to her pillow, only for Thea to lean in closer to her. "Pleeeeease." Katie rolled her eyes knowing she would do anything to get out of this room with these two women.

Soon Katie found herself sitting in the back of Felicity's car, pensively staring silently out the window. Her mind drifted back to her father, going over all of his symptoms and still unable to think of anything that could cause them. She was so deep in thought, that she didn't even notice when the car had stopped until her door opened. Katie stepped out of the car, looking from the two women who were brightly smiling before turning to a sight she didn't expect. Gorgeous flowers, of various bright colors, surrounded them, as they stood in front of a building. Katie spun around, a slight smile on her face because she knew where they were.

"What are we doing here?" she asked turning back to her friends. She turned back to the field of flowers and tall trees, a sight indescribably beautiful. "We were-" she looked back to Felicity and Thea. "We were going to have our wedding here."

"We know." Felicity replied, taking a step toward the woman. "We know you like this place, so we thought it could be the place for another important event." Felicity took Katie's hand and led her along a trail. Soon Katie heard music, and people talking.

"Smoaks, what's-" that's when they walked upon a beautifully decorated area of the gardens, that also seemed to be filled with people.

"Welcome to your push party!"

"My what?" Katie looked over to Felicity and Thea, before a hand slid around her waist. Her eyes turned to see Oliver. "You knew about this?"

"Absolutely not. I'm just as surprised as you." Oliver replied placing a kiss to the side of Katie's head as he smiled out to the guests. "But they came out to help us celebrate the baby." Katie looked back out to the crowd in confusion.

"Who are these people?"

"Thea was in charge of the guest list." Felicity muttered before spotting the caterer. "I'm going to make sure we're good on everything." and with that the blonde rushed off. Katie continued to look over the crowd when she realized something.

"Wait, that's...that's Evan Porter. We were in math club together in high school." she turned and spotted another familiar. "Ew, that's Ralph Higgins. He was on the football team with you." she looked over to Oliver. "He use to always mess with my locker." she continued to scan the crowd realizing there were more familiar faces from high school in the crowd. "Is our entire high school class here?" she turned to Thea who nervously smiled. "Because you figured that was a time I would want to revisit?"

"No, that's not it at all. I just thought—" Thea shrugged as she looked out to the people. "A lot of these assholes made your high school experience a living hell. I thought it fitting to rub their nose in the fact that you're winning in life. Oh, the DJ's here, I'll be right back." Thea hurried off as well, and Katie attempted to go after her, but Oliver held her back.

"Liver, your sister is-"

"I know." Oliver replied looking down to the woman. "Look maybe we could use this. One day where it's about something good." Oliver placed his hand on her belly. "All these people came out to celebrate our baby."

"No all these people probably came out to figure out why you're with me or if I'm really pregnant." she replied with a shake of her head.

"Then how about we show them." Oliver said before pulling the woman into a kiss. It was passionate, searing and they could feel the eyes on them, but soon they fell from the moment and it felt as if no one was even around. After just a few moments, when the need for air was a necessity, they finally pulled back.

"That only fuels the rumors, Mr. Queen." Katie replied breathlessly, turning to look back to the crowd who quickly averted their eyes as if they weren't watching.

"Yeah, but we get gifts." Oliver whispered and Katie turned back to him with a laugh.

For Katie this entire thing as just so weird. There were so many faces from her past, so many people she would've been happy never to see again. But there were a few old friends she was glad to catch up with.

"You seriously became an architect?" Katie asked, and the man in front of her laughed. "I'm sorry Luke, but all through high school all you ever talked about was how you were going to be this great inventor and become rich and all the people of Starling High would rue the day they would stuff you in lockers."

"Yeah, well inventing is hard. All the cool things are already created." Luke said with a laugh. "Plus I love my job. And in a way I am an inventor. I invent these structures and people pay me a lot of money for them."

"I'm happy for you." Katie said as she turned to see Oliver speaking with one of his old friends. Luke followed her eyes and smiled.

"You're seriously dating Oliver Queen and are about to have his baby?" Katie turned to the man with a smile. "I'm sorry Katie, but even you have to admit how bizarre that is. I mean it's great and congratulations and all that, but-" Luke looked over to Oliver and a few members of the former cool crew of Starling High. "We were in different worlds back then and now you two seemed to have ventured into the same one."

"Want to know a secret?" Katie asked and the man quirked a brow. "We found ourselves in each others world back then too. Just never told anyone."

"Now that I find hard to believe." a voice spoke from behind Katie and she turned to see someone who made her roll her eyes. Amber Baker. Former cheerleader, one of the many former high school girlfriends of Tommy Merlyn, and one of the banes of Katie's high school existence. "No offense, but I was there in high school and there was no way Oliver gave you a second glance. He actually-" the woman laughed, "he used to tell us how much he hated those little dinner parties his parents dragged him to with you and your parents. I thought it was pretty sad, your parents trying to make you two friends when that was never gonna happen."

"That's enough Amber." Luke said. "This isn't high school, and we're not kids anymore. So this-" he pointed to her. "It's just pathetic."

"You're right, we're adults." Amber replies turning back to Katie. "Some of us more luckier than others."

"And since you're looking at me, I'm assuming you're saying I'm the lucky one?" Katie chuckled with a shake of her head. "Because, me Twinkie somehow landed the most popular guy from school and got him to knock me up. Is that what you're saying?"

"I'm saying that Oliver Queen was the son of a woman who helped kill hundreds of people and lost all of his fortune. You're lucky because you're the only one in this city he could easily manipulate into believing he actually cares about you. You're lucky because you were born with the last name Robins. I mean if you didn't have the money or the company, what would you be?"

"A doctor." came the voice of Oliver, who some how slipped over in time to hear Amber's words. He walked over to stand beside Katie, bringing an arm around her and pulling her close. "A damn good doctor, with a good heart. So I think I'm the lucky one." he smiled down to Katie before turning back to Amber. "Wouldn't you agree, Amber?"

"Sure." the woman said with a slight shake of her head before looking back into the crowd. "I should find my husband." she turned back to the couple. "We should probably be getting home to our kids that we had after we got married. Congratulations." the woman turned, and stalked away.

"Vote Oliver Queen for mayor!" Katie called after the woman with a laugh before turning to Oliver. "That was actually kind of funny, maybe I did need this."

"You're still super weird." Luke said with a laugh. He turned to Oliver, holding out a hand. "Seriously, congratulations." Oliver took the man's hand and shook it. "I'm really happy for you two."

"Thanks Luke." Oliver replied.

"Now if you don't mind, I'm going to check out the food situation." Katie shook her head at the man before he walked away.

"You know I wouldn't mind checking out the food situation either." Katie said and Oliver chuckled placing a kiss to her lips before the couple headed over as well. "Who is that with your sister?" both looked to the man speaking with Thea, who neither recognized.

"No idea, lets go find out."

"And here he is!" Thea said as the couple walked over. "Oliver, Katie I would like you to meet Alex Davis, the new political strategist that Walter recommended." Oliver looked over to his sister for a moment before reaching forward to shake the man's hand.

"Alex nice to meet you-" Oliver said before glancing over to his sister. "At our baby shower."

"I'm sorry, I know this was probably not the best place, or time. I mentioned the party and thought it would be rude to not invite him." Thea said with a smile as she turned back to Alex. "Plus this gives him a chance to see who you are outside of the campaign. Get a feel for who you are on a personal level."

"Well I'm glad you're joining the team, but I just don't see why I need a political strategist."

"Well... I guess the question then is, do you want to take office with ten percent of the vote or 90?" Alex replied and Oliver frowned slightly.

"And what has you concerned?"

"Oh, politics talk is always so interesting, but I just spotted something covered in chocolate, so I'm just going to-" she nudged her head toward the food table before turning to Oliver. "Find me when you're finished with this."

"Twinkie, I can-"

"Oliver, it's fine. Hear what he has to say." she turned back to Alex with a smile. "Welcome to the team Mr. Davis."

"Please call me Alex." he replied with a smile as he shook the woman's hand. "And I look forward to not only working with Oliver, but you as well. You're gonna be a big part of this campaign."

"Well thanks for reminding me how big I am Alex, as if I didn't already know."

"Oh, I didn't mean-" he looked between Katie and Oliver nervously. "I just meant."

"She's kidding." Thea said placing a hand on the man's arm. "Her jokes are usually a hit or miss."

"I think I'm funny and that's all that matters. Now if you would excuse me-" the woman turned and headed for scope out the food.

"You know I wasn't lying." Alex replied and Oliver and Thea turned to the man. "Ms. Robins is going to play a huge role in your campaign. Especially now with the great PR surrounding her and her company. This city loves her, actually the city wants her to run for Mayor. She would actually be the ideal candidate."

"Bring it back to reality Alex." Thea muttered and the man gave a nod before turning back to Oliver.

"Right, you asked what my biggest concerns were. There's a couple. One of the biggest is the kind of closet skeletons that could cripple you on your first day in office. Your personal Chappaquiddick."

"Wait, like that game from Harry Potter?" Thea asked slightly confused with the connection.

"Uh-" Alex chuckles slightly. "Chappaquiddick was a scandal involving a can't-lose candidate whose campaign fell apart when he was caught having an affair after his vehicle went underwater and the girl he was with drowned." he turns to Oliver. " Does that sound at all familiar?"

"Ah, referencing the "Queen's Gambit" and Sara Lance."

" Yeah, got it. You're about to do your first on-air sit down, right?" Oliver gives a nod. "Bethany Snow? Ten'll get you twenty, she brings up Sara and her sister."

"Alex, all due respect, I don't think that people care about my friendship with Laurel Lance and an eight-year-old scandal when the city is disintegrating and there are masked armed men helping it." Oliver declared firmly. "Not to mention, there's a woman in Pennytown that's just running around killing people."

"You're right. I'm sorry. For a moment, I forgot how the electorate always cares about the issues and has zero appetite for scandal." Alex countered. "Look I saw your posters. Heard your speech. You want this city united? You can't do it as the rich kid playboy from the tabloids. And like it or not, Laurel Lance is a constant reminder of that. So from this day forward, when anyone brings up Miss Lance, you distance yourself from her." Oliver turned away from the man and let out a deep sigh. Alex glanced back to Thea who looked slightly nervous about the request. "Look I'm sorry to have brought this up here, but I think it's something to keep in mind."

"Well besides this whole Laurel thing, what else concerns you?" Thea asked, hoping to find a situation they could easily tackle. Alex looked over to the woman, before spotting Katie who was speaking with someone and laughing. Thea followed his eyes and quirked a brow. "It's about Twinkie-" the man turned to her with a quirked brow at the nickname. "Katie?" Oliver turned back to the pair before over to Katie as well.

"There will be a question about your commitment to this city." Oliver turned back to the man actually shook his his head. "Once again there will be no question if it will happen, it's going happen."

"Why would they question that?" Thea asked.

"Because I'm dating a woman and we're having a baby, and we're not married."

"Look we live in a diverse city, where families come in all forms. So there will be a portion of this city who has no problem with the unmarried Mayor and his pregnant girlfriend, but there will be a greater percentage that questions how you can commit to this city when you can't even make a commitment to the woman you say you love." Oliver looked at the man for a moment before turning, this time meeting Katie's eyes. She gave him a smile that he couldn't help but to return. "But this is all things we can talk about a formal meeting. You should-" Oliver didn't even wait for the man to continue before walking over to Katie. "Maybe I should go?" he turned back to Thea.

"No, stay. There's free food and drinks and apparently there will be a game." the woman gave the man a pat on the shoulder before leaving his side as well.

Oliver brought his arms around the woman, who looked up to his eyes and seeing that something may have upset him.

"Everything alright?"

"Yeah." Oliver replied placing a kiss to the woman's lips. "Everything is perfect."

"Alright everyone, can I have your attention?!" they both turned to see Felicity standing on the stage they didn't think would be used at this party. "I want to thank you all for coming, but no good baby shower, I mean push party is complete without a couple of games. Can I ask the parents-to-be to come to the stage?"

"I say we make a break for it." Katie whispered to Oliver. "Sneak out and no will ever-"

"Oh there you two are." Felicity said spotting the couple in the crowd. "Why don't you two come on up here."

"So much for escaping." Oliver said taking Katie's hand and leading her to the stage.

"Why do I feel like you're enjoying this?" Katie asked and Oliver laughed. Once on stage, Felicity had them sit in two chairs that were labeled with their names. They sat across from each other, both seeming nervous about what this game could be.

"Alright, this first game is for the couple and all of you out there. It's a bit of trivia-" she heard some collective groans from the audience and she frowned slightly. "It's cool trivia though, about Oliver and Katie. Don't worry this will be fun. There are little note pads and pencils around, so grab one. Now the object of the game is, Oliver and Katie should be the first persons with the answers, but if one of you has the answer before them, shout it out and then one of you will get a prize. Everyone get how it works?"

"Where are the strippers!" someone called from the crowd.

"This isn't a bachelor party." Felicity sighed before grabbing her own note cards to ready the first question. She turned to he couple with a smile. "Alright, Oliver, in her entire life, Katie has only owned one pet. According to her, it was her first best friend."

"So that's why Thea was asking me all those questions?" Katie asked with a shake of her head.

"Wait, what's the question?" Oliver asked.

"Right, so what kind of animal was it, and what was it's name?" Felicity asked and all eyes looked to Oliver who turned to Katie hoping for a clue. Katie folded her arms over her chest, and Oliver had absolutely no clue.

"Was it gerbil?" Oliver asked and Katie just shook her head.

"Got it!" someone yelled from the crowd.

"This game may be more interesting than I thought." Katie says looking over to Oliver who laughed before turning to Felicity.

"Why do I feel like this game is set up for me to fail?"

The game was actually kind of a hit. Mostly because of how comical the couple was when one of them missed a question they thought the other should know. The crowd would watch their little arguments between questions.

Once the game was over, Oliver and Katie snuck away walking hand in hand along the trail looking out to the flowers that blew in the wind.

"You're smiling." Oliver said looking over to the woman who'd been wearing the smile for the better part of the day. "So were Felicity and Thea right in dragging you to this party?"

"Those words will never leave my lips." Katie replied letting out a sigh as she looked back out to the scene. "When I was a little girl, my parents dragged me to some charity function here. I so didn't want to come, but then we got here and I couldn't believe how beautiful this place was. It's why I-" she stopped, because the topic of marriage and their almost wedding seemed to never come up and she's not sure if she should bring it up now.

"Why, what?"

"Oh-" Katie says pulling from Oliver grasp and pointed further along the trail toward the tall hedge maze. "We have to go in there." she was already rushing toward the maze, and Oliver had to speed up to catch up to her.

"Twinkie, I don't think-" she was already walking inside, and he had to hurry to catch up to her. The moment he walked inside the maze his eyes searched for the woman only to find she was no where in sight. "Twinkie?!"

"Liver, I'm here. I turned somewhere." he heard her voice call. He began walking in hopes of finding his way back to her.

"How does someone who gets so easily lost, like mazes?" Oliver asked, as he continued moving, listening for movement around him.

"I don't know. I think it's the puzzle of it all." Katie replied as she slowly moved stopping at an intersection in the maze. She looked left and then right and both directions looked exactly the same. "It's a big guessing game. Much like our lives." she shook her head before just going right.

"I like to know where I'm going though." Oliver replied stopping at an intersection as well. He quirked a brow trying to decide which way he should turn. "Keep talking."

"What happened with your new political strategist?" Katie asked stopping when it felt like she was moving in circles. "You didn't look too happy after you left him."

"No, I'm just realizing that I'm going to have to be worried about those lines between my life as the possible Mayor and my personal life." he replied and he heard her snort.

"Starting to realize. Liver, you're opening that door wider to our lives. Everyone is going to have an opinion about everything."

"Yeah, I'm getting that." Oliver replied turning in the direction he thinks her voice had came from.

'What did he suggest?"

"He's afraid the whole Sara, Laurel, Queen's Gambit thing is going to come up, so he thinks I should distance myself from Laurel." Oliver waited for Katie to say something, but there was nothing. "I mean it makes sense I guess. My friendship with Laurel is... complicated." this wasn't exactly a conversation he wanted to have with Katie, especially with the history they've had with Laurel Lance. "Maybe it would be for the best."

"Seriously?" Katie asked and Oliver stopped walking. Her voice seemed closer that time, and he was at another intersection. "Liver, I get the whole love triangle between you, Laurel and Sara is a subject I will forever choose not to discuss, but that's in the past and right now Laurel is your friend, she's my friend. Complicated is not enough to end a friendship because if it was, you and me wouldn't be here right now." she let out a huff as she began looking between the two ends of the area she was in, because she had no idea which way to turn.

"You know I should hire you as my political strategist." he said and he heard her laugh. "What? Your opinion means the most to me than anyone else, you usually point me in the right direction, and-"

"That would never work because I believe too many of our meetings would end with us naked in your office. We would never get any work done." she smiled at the sound of a groan from from the man. "Why haven't you found me yet, Liver?" Katie once again turned and began walking, before she suddenly bumps into the man, who lets out a sigh of relief before bringing his arms around her.

"You should tell me more about these naked meetings." Oliver said, his lips already leaning into meet hers.

"Wait-" Katie pulled back, turning her head slightly. "Do you hear that?" Oliver turned his head, hearing something. He took Katie's hand, pulling her with him as he continued through the maze, until they finally reached the center, where a flowing pond sat beautifully surrounded by flowers and two stone benches. "We made it." Oliver turned back to the woman who turned back to him with a smile and he couldn't help but feel that this was the moment.

"What were you going to say before?" Oliver asked and Katie quirked a brow. "You said you saw how beautiful this place was and it's why you did something."

"It doesn't matter." Katie replied dropping her head to his chest as she looked down to the pond.

"It's why you chose this place for our wedding." Oliver finally said, deciding face the truth. "June 18th." Katie lifted her head and looked up to the man. "I never forgot." he took her hand, and placed a soft kiss to her knuckles before taking a step back, about to drop to his knee, when naturally the moment was ruined.

"Help!" a voice called and both Oliver and Katie turned at the sound of the familiar voice. "Is somebody out there?"

"Ralph?" Katie and Oliver both say.

"Oh thank goodness. I made a wrong turn somewhere, and now I'm super lost and I can't find my pants."

"I guess it's not a party until you have to find Ralph and his pants." Oliver says turning back to Katie, letting out a sigh at yet another ruined moment. He definitely didn't want Ralph Higgins associated with their engagement at all.

"If he calls me Twink Twink, I'm going to punch him." Katie says heading back into the maze. Oliver rushed off after her, not wanting to get separated again.

That evening, Oliver and Katie walked into their house tired and ready to turn in, but there was one more surprise. Katie was about to head up the stairs, when Oliver brought his arms around her stopping her.

"What are you doing?"

"I have a surprise for you." Oliver said placing a kiss to the woman's neck. "You have to close your eyes."

"But I hate surprises." Katie whined as she dropped her head back to Oliver's chest.

"You're going to love this one." the man replied, and Katie sighed dramatically before closing her eyes. Oliver took her hand and lead her up the stairs. They walked down the hall until they stopped outside the familiar door of the nursery. Oliver reached forward and pushed open the door and switched on the light. "Alright, open them." Katie opened her eyes, a smile forming instantly at the sight.

"Oliver Queen, did you finally conquer your fear of baby cribs?" she walked inside, sliding a hand across the beautiful oak crib. She looked inside at the blankets and the stuffed animals before smiling over to Oliver. "This is beautiful. This-" she looked around the nursery that was now completely painted and decorated. "This is her room." Katie once again met Oliver's eyes. "Now I'm like super nervous." Oliver smiled walking over and wrapping his arms around her. "I mean look how long it took us to just finish this one room." she looked up to his eyes. "We can do this, right?"

"We can absolutely do this. We have gone up against some pretty big odds, and I have to believe this will be like the rest." his lips leaned in for a chaste kiss before dropping his forehead to hers. This was going to be the moment. There was no one who could interrupt this, and so he was going to try again. He took a deep breath before pulling back and taking her hand in his. "You know I couldn't imagine doing this with anyone else. I don't think I've ever been as happy as when I'm with you and when I'm not with you, I count the seconds until I am. Which is why there was never a question about who I wanted forever with and-" Oliver's phone rang in that precise moment, and he let out a groan. The universe really hated him for some reason. "I'm not going to answer it."

"It could be important."

"This is important." Oliver replied with a smile. "When I imagine forever, I will always think-" the phone continued to ring, and Oliver could slowly feel this perfect moment fleeting. He quickly pulled his phone from his pocket and answered it. "Yes!" he looked to Katie's eyes and sighed. "Thea, now isn't a good—when?" he dropped his head and Katie simply placed a hand on his cheek. He lifted his eyes to meet hers.

"It's fine, go." she whispered with a smile and Oliver almost wished she wasn't so understanding. He wanted her to give him an ultimatum, one he would gladly agree to because he didn't want to leave her and yet a murdering woman on the streets of Star City also needed his attention.

"Fine, I will meet you at the hide out." he ended the call and let out a huff. "I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing? I get it." she placed a kiss to the man's lips and sighed. "Now go, be the hero I know you are. I'm going to go take that bath." she pulled out of his grasp and Oliver turned watching her leave. This small voice in his head was just screaming at him to just ask her. To stop letting these distractions stop him from doing the one thing he really wants to do. And yet he didn't stop her, he just lets her leave and he wants to just kick himself.

Thea could tell her brother was not happy the moment he stormed inside, and headed straight for his hood.

"Sorry to have called so late." Thea said meekly, but Oliver didn't say a word. "You'd been looking into this woman in Pennytown and I thought-"

"Thea, it's fine." Oliver replied looking back to his sister. "It's what I do. I find murderers instead of finishing a marriage proposal to my girlfriend." he shook his head before turning back to grab his suit.

"Please don't tell me I interrupted the proposal?" the woman said taking a step forward. "Ollie, why didn't you just ignore the call?" he looked back to his sister. "Fine, murder is kind of a big deal, but if you finally worked up the courage to ask Twinkie to marry you, I would've understood."

"I was this close at the party, but Ralph Higgins popped up without pants and just ruined it." Oliver said. "Then there was Alex. I didn't want him or what people thought dictate that moment for us. We were in the nursery and the moment felt right, but-" Oliver shook his head before grabbing his gear. "I'll be ready in five."

Katie sat at her vanity after her bath, brushing her hair, her mind drifting to the moments back in the nursery when she thought for sure Oliver was going to ask her to marry him and once again he's interrupted and just gives up. She simply shakes her head before hearing the sound of her vibrating phone. She turns and spots it on the bedside table before walking over and looking down to a number she doesn't expect to see. She quickly brings it to her ear.

"Ms. Sandburg?"

"Yes, Dr. Robins, I'm so sorry for calling so late. It's just I have some great news. We have decided that placing Arianna in your custody would be in her best interest." Katie turned taking a seat on the edge of the bed, unsure if she'd just heard the woman correctly.

"I'm sorry, did you just say you're making me Arianna's guardian?"

"If you're still interested."

"I am, it's just after our meeting with you and your team telling me how unsafe my life is, and then me blowing up the way I did, I just thought this wouldn't happen."

"To be honest neither did I. But it was those last words you said before you left. You said that you had love to offer this child and I believed you. I've spent time with Arianna, and I know her living situation wasn't ideal, especially after her father passed away. There was always something missing for her there, and that's the argument I defended to our council here. But they want to give you a shot, at first it will be temporary, but if things go well I see no reason this can't be a permanent thing."

"Ok, wow, this...this is kind of unbelievable. What now?"

"There are some papers that you will need to fill out, we can go over her file and get you caught up with her school and her medical information."

"Have you told her about this?"

"I have and she said she liked this idea better than a foster home. I think she's going to give this a shot."

"That's great, when do we meet?"

"I still have some things to get run by the court. How does Monday sound?"

"Perfect, I will be there."

"Great, I will have my assistant call you with a time. Once again doctor, I really do admire what you're doing and I hope this works. For Arianna's sake."

"Me too. Thank you."

Katie ended the call, and just sat there still in a state of shock at the news. After a few moments, she figured she should fill Oliver in, and so she dialed his number.

Oliver, Thea, and Laurel stalked inside the hideout. Oliver pulled off his mask and dropped his bow and quiver to the table before turning to Laurel.

"Your sister's alive, she's out there, and she's hurting people." Oliver waited for Laurel to explain, but she simply stared at him, her arms folded over her chest. "How is she alive?" still not a word and then it hit him. "The Lazarus Pit?" he glanced over to his sister and sighed. "You two spent your spa weekend at Nanda Parbat?"

"It was the only place we could get a reservation." Thea jokes, hoping to cut the tension in the room.

"The blood lust is worse with Sara, isn't it?" Oliver asked turning back to Laurel, waiting for her to explain herself. "Because you brought her back from death."

"Yeah, and that's not the only problem. Sara's not herself. She's changed." Laurel finally spoke.

"Why didn't you come to me with this?" Oliver sighed, sliding a hand over his face and the question seemed to annoy the woman.

"Come to you for what?" Laurel asked. "Your expertise with magical resurrection? Or that judgmental look on your face?"

"For help finding her, Laurel, before she gets hurt, or she hurts anyone else." Oliver replied with a shake of his head. "And if I have a judgmental look on my face right now, it's because you played with forces that you do not understand, and now people are dying because of it." with that the man stalked away from the woman. He'd only taken a few steps before his phone rang. He slipped it from inside his hood to see Katie's number and he quickly answered. "Hey, are you alright?"

"You know, a hey Twinkie is a better greeting." Katie said and the man let out a sigh. "What's wrong? That's your upset sigh. Do I have to beat someone up, because I will." that made the man laugh.

"I don't think it's going to get that far. Tonight just didn't go as I expected."

"You find the Pennytown Mistress?"

"The who?"

"Just testing it out, but did you catch her?"

"No she got away. I will tell you everything when I get home. What's up?"

"I got a call from Ms. Sandburg. Apparently they've had a change of heart and they want to give me custody of Ari." There was a few beats of silence before Oliver finally spoke.

"That's...that's great." the lack of enthusiasm in his tone was painfully obvious. He knows she heard too.

"Why doesn't that sound like it's great? Are you having second thoughts about this?"

"No, I just, tonight was rough. I'm just tired." was his reply.

"Well, when are you coming home?"

"I honestly don't know." Oliver sighed as he walked into the bathroom and let his back fall against the door. "Twinkie, I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing, Liver. It's fine, I should be getting to bed anyway. I guess I will see you in the morning."

"I love you." Oliver said, needing her say it back, needing not to feel so guilty right now.

"I love you too." she replied. "I'm going to go. I will see you later I guess." with that she ended the call and Oliver just stood there, not feeling any less guilty.

Once Oliver had changed, he walked out to now find Felicity standing there, looking down to her phone, his sister and Laurel no where in sight.

"Hey." he greeted and the woman seemed to jump in surprise. "Sorry, I thought you knew I was here."

"I did, I just-" the woman shook her head. "It's been a very complicated couple of days."

"Tell me about it. Did you see Laurel or my sister?"

"Laurel was gone before I got here, but Thea filled me in. And I got a call from Lance, he's on his way here."

"Right." Oliver sighed before he walked over to return his hood to the case. "Do you have any information on those two women Sara almost killed?"

"Uh, no, but I can." Felicity replied going over to her computer. She glanced over to the man as she sat down. "Have you told Katie about Sara?"

"Not yet." Oliver muttered with a shake of his head.

"It's just as it turns out, she's still our resident Nanda Parbat guru, she may be able to shed some light on what's happening with Sara." Felicity looked over to Oliver who now stood in front of the Guardian's suit.

"I chickened out." Oliver said suddenly. "We were in the nursery, I showed her the crib and the moment was perfect. Then my phone rang."

"Oh Oliver." Felicity groaned. "Number one rule with a proposal, turn off the cell phone. Take the battery out and just throw it across the room."

"I know." he replied in frustration as he walked over to her. "But I answered, and then afterwards there was still time, still a chance to just finally ask, and I choked."

"Ok, so I guess the logical thing to ask is why." Felicity said turning to face the man. "What are you afraid of?"

"I don't know." Oliver muttered with a shake of his head. "I really don't know."

Katie sat in the backseat of a car, glancing between the strange blonde women who apparently knew her, and the driver who still hadn't uttered a word. The woman, Dr. Quinzel Katie remembers, looks back to Katie with a smile.

"We're almost there. It's going to feel so good to get home." she said and Katie looked back out the window, still not finding any familiarity with this entire situation. Soon they arrived at a gate, and her eyes looked at the dark, ominous building. "We're here." once the car stopped, the last thing Katie wanted to do was get out of the car, but soon her door opened and Dr. Quinzel stood staring down to her. "Don't worry, I won't leave you." It was oddly reassuring as she held out a hand, and for some reason Katie believe her sincerity. Katie took the woman's hand and stepped out of the car, her eyes going up to the illuminated Arkham Asylum sign that loomed overhead.

"What is this place?" Katie asked turning to the doctor.

"It's the place people come to get better." the woman brought an arm around Katie and lead her up the brick steps. "C'mon, lets get you to your room." Katie once again looked up to the sign, and couldn't shake the feeling that something just wasn't right.

Katie's eyes snapped open from the strange dream wondering why such memories were choosing now to come back to her. She glanced over to Oliver's side of the bed to find it still empty, and she let out a sigh before turning and looking at the clock. It was still late, but she hoped he'd be home already. She sat up from the bed about to go to the bathroom, when her phone rang. She looked down to the number, her eyes going wide before she quickly answered it.

"It's four o'clock in the morning Ethan, and you're calling me. What's wrong?"

"It's Thea, she was just brought in."

Katie didn't hear a word after that, because soon she was up and dressed and in her car, on her way to GMH. The moment Katie walked through the doors of the hospital, her eyes darted across the building looking for Ethan. The moment she sees him, she rushes over.

"Ethan, where is she?"

"Hey, calm down, she's fine." Ethan says placing a hand on Katie's shoulder. "I would've told you that if you didn't hang up the phone immediately after I told you she was here."

"Well next time start with that instead of the bad news!" Katie snapped, letting out a huff. She could feel her heart racing. "What happened?"

"She was attacked at Laurel's place." Ethan replied and Katie frowned in confusion.

"By who?" Ethan seemed hesitant to answer that question. "Ethan-"

"Twinkie?" Katie turned to see Oliver hurrying in her direction. "When did you get here?"

"Just now, Ethan called." Katie replied as they turned back to Ethan.

"How is she doing?" Oliver asked.

"She's fine. Some bumps and bruises, but she's going to live. I gave her something for the pain, so when you go in there she might be a little out of it." Ethan recounted before pointing to the door to his right. "She's in here. I'm going to keep her for a little while for observation, just to make sure there aren't any latent effects." the doctor gave a nod before turning to leave, but Katie caught his arm.

"You still haven't told me who did this." Katie replied and Ethan glanced over to Oliver, still unsure if he should be the one to tell her. Katie glanced over to Oliver as well. "What aren't you telling me?"

Soon Katie stood staring down to the sleeping form of Thea Queen. Her eyes lingered on the bruises on her neck, from an attempted strangulation. Her mind replaying the story that Oliver just told her moments before about Thea and Laurel going to Nanda Parbat with Sara's corpse and using the Lazarus Pit to bring her back.

She felt Oliver's hand along her back and she glanced over to him wordlessly. Since his story she hadn't responded, hadn't reacted and that was because she had no idea how one should react to this.

"Twinkie, say something." Oliver said and Katie shook her head before turning back to Thea who suddenly moaned as she began to wake up. Oliver rushed to his sister's side, and Katie took a slight step back to give them some space. "Hey, hey, how are you feeling?"

"Uh-" Thea was still a bit out of it, so she took a deep breath. "Sara, she-" Thea turned to her brother before looking over to Katie.

"I know, you're ok." Oliver assured her taking her hand. "You're safe."

"She tried to kill me." Thea said looking back to her brother.

"She's not in her right mind." Oliver sighed.

"You have no idea." Thea said with a shake of her head. "This is the Pit. She's going through the same thing I am."

"I-" Oliver looked down to his sister confused. "Thea, I thought that you were better." Thea turned away from her brother with a sigh.

"When I went to Nanda Parbat, I... killed two guys. Malcolm-" Katie shook her head before walking over to stand by the window. "Malcolm served them up on a platter for me, and... helped keep my blood lust at bay."

Suddenly the door swings open and they all turn to see Laurel who stares with wide eyes at Thea. She'd gotten the call from Ethan and rushed right over.

"Oh my God." Laurel exclaimed. "Thank God you're alright." she glanced over to Oliver and then to Katie who turned away to look out the window.

"Laurel-" Oliver said, the tension clear in his voice as he stalks toward the woman. "Come with me." the pair walked outside, closing the door behind them leaving Thea and Katie alone. Thea looked over to Katie, still waiting for the woman to say something.

"Are you mad at me?" Thea finally asked, but Katie still didn't say anything. "I'm sorry, I-"

"Thea, stop." Katie finally spoke, walking over and taking a seat in the chair beside the woman's bed. "Why are you apologizing?"

"Because—because we went to Nanda Parbat, and didn't say anything and it was stupid and dangerous, but-" Thea turned away unable to finish the sentence.

"But you wanted your life back. You wanted to be you again." Katie said and Thea turned to her and simply nodded. "I get it. I understand why you did what you did." Katie gave the woman a slight smile before standing to her feet and walking over to stand by the window once again.

"But you're mad at me." Thea said as she stared at the woman.

"No I'm mad at the situation. At the fact that Ra's Al Ghul is dead, and yet Nanda Parbat is still tangled in our lives." Katie replied with a shake of her head. "I'm mad that your father is an asshole, and I'm sorry if that offends you."

"It doesn't." Katie turned back to the woman and shook her head. "I just-I could feel it. The darkness, it was taking over and I couldn't control it."

"Like I said, I understand why you did what you did." Katie replied with a nod before nudging her head to the door. "I'm going to check on your brother and Laurel." Katie walked over pulling open the door and spotting the pair further down the hall.

"I'm sorry about what happened to Thea. I really am. I love your family-" Laurel said, tears in her eyes. "I always have. I just wish that sometimes you would give a damn about mine." she stormed away from the man, stopping at the sight of Katie. "If you're here to say what I know you're going to say-"

"I'm not." Katie said with a shake of her head. "I'm really not." she took a step to the side, and Laurel looked slightly confused, but continued to leave. Once she was gone, Katie turned to Oliver who was upset as well. "So this was that rough night you were telling me about?"

"I just-" the man shook his head. "How am I the bad guy here? What she did, it was reckless. And she tried to compare it to what I did for Thea, when it was two different situations."

"Was it?" Katie asked and the man looked to her in confusion. "Both of you trying to save your sisters."

"My sister was still alive, Sara was dead."

"And yet what you did was just as reckless, and it was just as dangerous, but you were lucky."

"So you're actually taking her side on this?"

"Sides?" Katie scoffed with a shake of her head. " Sides, seriously? There are sides right now? Can we really afford to have sides right now when Thea is still in danger?" Katie took a deep breath and took a step toward the man. "I'm not taking sides, Liver. I'm saying the one thing you need to hear, in this very moment. That's what I do." with that she turned and walked away from him.

"Twinkie-"

"Bathroom." she called back to him.

Oliver watched her until she turned down the hall, and he dropped his head before walking back into his sister's room. He walked over, taking the seat beside her and gave her a slight smile.

"Is Twinkie still here?" Thea asked.

"Yeah, she went to the bathroom. She should be back soon." Oliver said dropping his head slightly before taking his sister's hand. "So you're really doing ok."

"I'm fine Ollie, really. How about you?" He looked at his sister with confusion at the question. "I just feel like this situation could have come at a better time. I feel like I messed up the whole proposal atmosphere you're trying to keep in the air." Oliver shook his head.

"We're fine. A lot of things are happening and I guess I'm trying to figure out how to just take it all in."

"You mean the baby?" Thea asked with a slight frown. "I mean I would've thought after all this time, you would've accepted that a baby is really coming."

"That's not it. The baby is big, and I'm nervous about it, but I'm more anxious than anything." he replied with a smile. "I can't wait to meet her."

"Then what is it?"

"Katie got a call tonight. It's been decided that she's going to get custody of her little cousin Arianna." Oliver let out a heavy sigh.

"I thought that was impossible after that meeting?"

"So did I." Oliver said sliding a hand across his face. "I was actually kind of relieved." he looked back to his sister. "And when she told me, I was an ass, and didn't say the right thing in that moment."

"I don't think she expects you to say the right thing." Thea replied taking her brother's hand. "I think she only expects honesty, and if you're having second thoughts about taking in this kid, then you should tell her." Oliver gave a nod.

Katie held her hands underneath the running water, just watching as it trickled through her fingers. Her mind seemed to be stuck on this situation where it seems they find themselves in the middle of some kind of crisis all the time.

"Your silence will only dig you deeper." came the rasped voice of her ever present tormentor. Katie lifted her eyes to the mirror to see the face of her uncle staring back to her. "Do you remember the first time you stumbled upon the Lazarus Pit? How inquisitive you were? You warned your beloved of the effects, but he didn't listen. You would've warned that Lance girl as well, but you know she wouldn't have listened either. You've surrounded yourself with people who need to see for themselves instead of trusting the one person who actually knows the truth. You know Ta-er al-sahfer will not stop until she quenches her own blood lust with the death of the one who stole her life." he seemed to chuckle at the thought. "You can't run from the darkness when you've planted yourself right in the middle of it."

His voice seemed to stir something inside of her, an anger she thought she'd gotten over. She realized she hadn't when she slammed her fist into the glass of the mirror shattering it instantly. Her chest heaved as she pulled back her bloodied fist, his laughter only seeming to intensify.

"Oh my God." Katie turned to see Laurel who stood at the door, her eyes wide as she looked between the shattered mirror and Katie's bloody hand. She snapped out of her shock and rushed over to grab some paper towels before hurrying over to Katie and wrapping her hand. "Are you alright?" Katie didn't say a word as she pulled away from the woman and stalked toward the door. "You don't think I feel bad enough?" Katie stopped at the woman's words. "I know what Sara did to those women, and I know it's because of what I did. So if me guilty is what you want, if me angry at myself is what you want, than you don't have to wait any longer." Katie finally turned to the woman who had tears threatening to fall. "But you don't know how it feels. To have this person who is so much apart of you, just ripped away. I had the chance to have her back and I took it." Laurel waited for Katie to say something because when this moment happened, when everyone knew the truth she was positive the woman in front of her would have something to say. "Say something!"

"Say what, Laurel?"

"I don't know, something. You're supposed to judge me, tell me how stupid I was. You're supposed to berate me and make me feel even more guilty for Thea's attack. You're not supposed to stare at me in silence as if you don't have an opinion on all of this, when I know you do."

"Laurel the time for me to say anything should've been before all of this shit. But now...right now that all of the damage has been done, me saying anything would be pointless. So I'm going to go get my hand bandaged, and you just get your shit together and figure out how to find your sister." with that Katie turned and left the bathroom. It was Ethan who spotted her, rushing over the moment he saw the blood.

Oliver sat watching his sister once again drift off to sleep. He glanced over to the clock that hung on the wall and frowned. It had been a while since Katie went to the bathroom and he was starting to get worried. He stood to his feet just as the door opened. He turned only to see Laurel walk inside. She glanced over to Thea who was still sleeping, before nudging her head for Oliver to come to the hall.

"Laurel, what's-"

"It's Katie, she's down in the ER." Oliver's eyes went wide and without a word he turned, but Laurel grabbed his arm. "Wait, she's fine. The baby's fine, she just punched a mirror." Oliver turned back to her in confusion. "Ethan's taking care of her now." Oliver let out a heavy sigh as he slid a hand across his face. "I walked in right after she did it and it was strange. She acted like it was nothing. She didn't seem like herself-" Oliver turned a look back to her, and she dropped her head figuring she was last person who should say anything. "I will stay with Thea if you want to-" before she could finish, Oliver had taken off down the hall.

The moment Oliver stepped off the elevator, he rushed down the hall until he spotted Ethan who was speaking with a nurse. Ethan looked over to the man with a quirked brow before going over to him.

"Where is she?"

"Who-" Ethan sighed with a shake of his head. "Laurel told you."

"It doesn't matter who told me, where is she?" Oliver demanded once again.

"Look she told me not to call you. Her hand is fine, just scratched a bit. I got her in a room and told her to cool off a bit."

"Ethan, just tell me where she is?" Oliver was getting annoyed with having to ask the same question and not getting the answer he wanted.

"I just think she could use a little time to herself and-" Oliver took a very menacing step toward the doctor. "You know that doesn't scare me as much as you think it does." the man let out a sigh. "Fine, but you keep that room calm and mellow." he pointed down the hall. "She's in eighteen." Oliver turned and hurried down the door toward the room. "You're welcome!"

Oliver gently pushed open the door, only to find the woman standing near the window. She turned to him, and that's when he saw the bandage wrapped around her hand.

"No!" she said pointing at the man. "You're not supposed to be down here." she said with a shake her head before stalking toward the man, and grabbing his arm.

"Twinkie, what are you-" the woman pulled him toward the elevator, where she repeatedly pressed the button until the doors opened. Once they were inside, Oliver turned to her, but she kept her eyes on the doors. "What is going on?"

"Your sister is in danger, you don't leave her side until Sara is found." Katie said, and as soon as the doors were open, she stalked off, only for Oliver to rush in front of her to finally stop her. "Liver, we don't-"

"You punched a mirror." Oliver said and Katie just looked at him with a shrug.

"I did, and now can we-" she moved to continue to Thea's room, but Oliver brought an arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him.

"Talk to me."

"There's nothing to say."

"Well obviously there is if you're punching mirrors." Oliver replied placing a hand on the side of the woman's cheek and nudging her eyes to meet his. "It's late, or like really early. Either way you should be resting and not dealing with this."

"I'm not leaving." Katie replied defiantly. "I'm fine, I punched a mirror. Sometimes I do that. But right now we should stick close to your sister because Sara will be back." Oliver opened his mouth to reply only to look up to see Laurel. Katie turned as well and rolled her eyes. "Seriously?" she pulled from Oliver's grasp and stalked to Thea's room.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt." Laurel said glancing back to Katie before turning back to Oliver. "Is she alright?" Oliver's eyes stayed on the woman until she stepped inside of Thea's room. "You know I expected her to yell at me." Oliver looked back down to Laurel. "I expected her to yell and I was going to hate it because I knew it would all be true." the woman took in a deep breath. "What does it mean when she doesn't tell you how bad you screwed up?"

Katie walked into Thea's room to find the woman sleeping and she let out a tired sigh as she walked over to the woman. She placed a kiss to Thea's forehead before hearing the creak of the door. She turned expecting to see Oliver, but instead she saw a ghost.

"Sara?" Katie said, her eyes not believing the sight of the woman who looked exactly the same, and yet her eyes were of a stranger. Sara silently looked to Thea, who awaken and gasped.

"Twinkie, leave." Thea urged, but Katie didn't say anything as she kept her eyes on Sara. "Twinkie, you can't be hurt protecting me. I would never forgive myself, just leave and let her-" Thea turned back to Sara. "I'm sorry. I know I did this to you. I want you to know that it's ok. I want you to-"

"Thea stop talking." Katie says taking a step toward Sara, who growled and spoke something under her breath that Katie recognized as Arabic. "'urid musaeadatak." Sara growled eyeing Katie in a way, that made Thea sit up from the bed as if prepared to stand. "aldamu ln yunqidh ruhk." Sara only growled louder, before rushing over to Katie as if about to attack.

"Twinkie!" Thea yelled, only to watch in surprise as Sara simply came to a stop in front of the woman. Her eyes seemed to search Katie's as if looking for something.

"I'm sorry I didn't protect you." Katie whispered, just as the door burst open. Oliver and Laurel rushed inside, only to stop at the sight of Sara who turned to them. Her eyes went from her sister to Oliver, before she turned and ran toward the window, shattering it before jumping out.

It was that moment did they realize that the hospital probably wasn't the safest place for Thea, and so she signed the papers to be released and they all returned to the hideout to figure out their next move. Katie found herself standing in front of the Guardian's suit while the rest of the team came to the conclusion she'd come to the moment Sara once again disappeared.

"You knew Sara would find Thea." it was Oliver behind her who asked the question. "You were positive she would and that's why you were angry that I left her."

"Now you want to ask me something." Katie said turning, to find that Oliver wasn't alone. Thea, John, Laurel and Felicity all stood waiting for answers they knew she had.

"What can you tell us about the Lazarus Pit?" Ironically it was Laurel who asked the question and Katie would've laughed if the situation wasn't so sad. "Fine, I should've asked that question a long time ago, but I'm asking now."

"You spoke to her and she heard you." Thea said and Katie looked over to her. "You connected to something inside of her. How?"

"I would love to go into Lazarus Pit 101, but the truth is someone in this city will see the girl whose supposed to be dead, and that's not going to be pretty for anyone." Katie says before turning to Oliver who stared and she just shook her head. "I thought I heard the plan was to use Thea as bait?"

"Right now it's the only-"

"It's stupid and it's dangerous." Katie interrupted Thea's defense. "But it's the only way to draw her out now that your connection has gotten stronger." they all looked at her her in confusion. "You're the one who took her life. She killed those women in search of you, and once the two of you were finally in the same room, it only intensified the connection. This is how we capture her." They all stood there, still staring and Katie let out a sigh. "This is usually the part where someone says suit up and you all start moving." she took a step away from the display case. "I guess I'll do it this time then. Suit up!"

They knew she was right, and so soon they all rushed into action.

Once they were all suited up, Katie stood behind Felicity who sat at her computer. A hand touched her back and she turned to Oliver.

"You should be going." she said before turning back to see if Felicity had any luck locating Sara from the facial recon search she was running. Oliver's arm snaked around her and pulled her toward him. "What are you-" Oliver grabbed another chair and slid it over, and moving her to sit. "I'm fine-" the man stared, until she let out a huff and finally sat down. "Are you happy now?"

"You know I will be really happy when you tell me what's going on in your head." Oliver replied before placing a kiss on the top of her head. "Felicity you are in charge of her now." Oliver looked over to the blonde who turned and gave a nod. Katie glanced from the man to the woman.

"What does that mean?" Katie asked as Oliver headed out with the others. "Liver?" she turned back to Felicity with a quirked brow. "Smoaks-"

"It means you sit." Felicity replied with a sweet smile.

"Well what if I don't want to sit?" Katie asked and Felicity spun her chair around, crossing her arms as she looked at the woman with a look that even gave Katie a slight chill. "I taught you that look." Katie replied with a roll of her eyes. She closed her eyes and let out a long, deep breath.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I just, I think I should lie down for a second." This time when Katie stood, Felicity didn't try to stop her. The woman stepped inside the bedroom that seemed so out of place in this new hideout. At the moment she didn't care, as she crawled onto the bed, in hopes that the headache that had been consuming her would finally go away.

Days in the fortress were starting to blur together. Katie wasn't sure how long she'd been trapped here, but she knew she just had to find a way to get home. She spent her days slipping from the eyes of Ra's assassins and searching for any way for her to escape.

She'd found the room by accident. It was in a part of the fortress that wasn't occupied by many, and so she figured it could be the one place that could lead to her freedom. When she stepped inside, her eyes looked around to the candles that lined the walls and illuminated the room. Soon she heard the sound of water, and her eyes were drawn to what looked like some kind of pool. As she neared it, she felt a sudden twist of her gut. It should be reason enough for her to turn and leave, but it wasn't. There was something about it that both scared, and drew her in. Once she stood looking down to the waters that seem to be moving on it own, she tilted her head at the slight glow that seemed to come from it.

"I should've known you'd find your way here at some point." The voice of man who calls himself the demon spoke, startling her. She whipped around to see him standing there alone as he begins inching toward her.

"What is this?" Katie asked and the man chuckled and she shook her head before turning back to the water, and her eyes caught a glimpse of something that couldn't be. She could've sworn she saw the reflection of her mother. She was so distracted that she couldn't even stop Ra's when he grabbed her arm and pulled her closer to the water. "What are you doing?!" he didn't answer before he pushed her hand into the water. His eyes looked to her instantly as if waiting for something. She pulled back her hand, and stepped away from the man. "Why did you do that?" she looked at her hand as the water trickled down her fingers before she looked back over to the man who still seemed to be waiting for something to happen.

"Sit." he ordered and she looked back to him as if he were crazy. "My dear Nura, you know the consequences of me having to ask more the once." she did know and that is why she lowered herself to the floor, still keeping a wary eye on the man. He walked over and lowered himself to sit in front of her, and the close proximity only made her more nervous. "That is called the Lazarus Pit." she looked at him with narrowed eyes, still not sure what this was about.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because one day it will be important to you." he replied before continuing his story of the impossibility that sat just a few feet away.

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?"

"I called him. I think he can help restore Sara's soul. Wait, how do you know him? I thought he was kidding when he said he knew you, but I guess he wasn't."

"He's-" Katie pointed toward the door, still unable to believe that the man was really here. She shook her head before walking around Oliver, out of the room until she saw him again. He turned to her and he looked exactly the same since she last saw him. Constantine looked over the woman with a smile before walking over and bringing his arms around her in a hug. "Why are you touching me?"

"That's what old mates do." he pulled back, and looked down to her stomach and just shook his head. "You know when she said I was playing a part in a bigger story, I didn't believe her, but now I guess I was wrong." he looked back up to Katie's eyes.

"Wait, so you know the weird English guy?" Felicity asked as they all watched the exchange between the pair. "How?"

"Well I saved her life." Constantine answered looking over to Felicity.

"Right before you handed me back over to ARGUS." Katie replied and the man turned back to her and shook his head. "I thought you were a friend with a weird name, but instead you were just an asshole with a weird name." Katie turned finally spotting Sara lying unconscious on the table, Laurel staring down to her. She walked over, looking down to the woman, who looked as if she were sleeping. "You know how to help her?" she looked over to Constantine who gave her a nod. "Well then move your ass."

"Always a sweet talker." Constantine reached inside of his pocket and pulled out a small scrolled and turned handing it to Felicity. "Apologies. I didn't have time to translate that from its original Aramaic." Felicity just shook her head before going off to find the items. "You know, if I knew you were surrounded by so many pretty girls, Oliver, I would have stopped by sooner." Oliver just shook his head at the man before turning to Katie who took Sara's hand and continued to look down to her. He glanced over to Constantine who seemed to be watching her as well as if looking for something. He walked over to the man, grabbing his arm and pulling him off to the side away from the others.

"You want to tell me how you know my girlfriend?"

"You know about that, I'm all for living life the way you want, but you don't knock up a woman like that and still call her your girlfriend." Oliver glared at the man, taking a step toward him. "Look I knew her mum. We went way back." the man glanced over to Katie. "I owed her favor and it ended up being something else."

"What do you mean?"

"She wanted me to see it." Constantine replied cryptically before walking back over to where Sara's body was where Katie was now alone. He looked over to Katie, whose hand slipped around the woman's wrist to measure her pulse. She noticed him staring and frowned slightly. "Feels like an eternity since we last saw each other. So beside the little biscuit in the oven, anything else new?"

"Like what?" Katie asked walking around to the other side of Sara's body to check for any wounds or broken bones.

"Anything. New job? Bought a dog? Seeing dead people?" Katie whipped her eyes to him. "I knew it."

"You knew what?"

"I'm going to need you later." he replied with a smile before giving her a pat on the shoulder. "So don't go too far." with that the man ran off leaving Katie utterly confused.

Surprisingly it didn't take Felicity long to translate and gather the items Constantine needed to restore Sara's soul. Everyone watched as he drew a symbol in the center of the lair, and placed four candles outside of it. Oliver carried Sara over, placing her in the center of the symbol.

The sound of the elevator caused them all to turn where they saw Quentin whose eyes went wide at the sight of his daughter in the center of some strange symbol drawn on the floor.

"I'm not even going to ask." the man said his eyes still on his baby girl.

"You got my message." Laurel said walking over to her father and giving him a hug. "I'm happy you came."

"I hate to be the one to say this, but what if this goes wrong?" Diggle asks looking over to Constantine who looks over the symbol and Sara's placement to make sure everything is right.

"Oh, don't worry. If things go wrong, then we'll all be too dead to care. Well, then. Now we just need a-" the man glanced around just as Felicity brought him the ingredients he requested.

"I think I got everything in here that you wanted, although I am not entirely sure what you need a dead peacock feather for." Felicity handed them to him, and watched as he took the feather to scratch his back.

"Ah, that's been bugging me for hours." he said before handing the feather back to Felicity who grimaced before placing it on the table. "Alright, where is my lovely assistant?" the man searched the room before turning to Oliver. "Where's your girl, I'm going to need her help?"

"You said you could do this." Oliver said walking over to the man. "Katie does not get involved with whatever this is. I'm not risking her or the baby. Especially when we could all be dead if this goes wrong."

"You know, I get your concern but I think you should know that she can handle it." Constantine said giving the man a pat on the shoulder before once again looking around. "Is she hiding? Come out you big scaredy cat!"

"I wasn't hiding." Katie said as she walked from the bathroom. "I just have to pee every five minutes." she said walking up to the man and looking down to Sara in the circle, and she couldn't explain the weird energy that seemed hit her in that moment. "What do you need me to do?"

"Hey, I don't feel comfortable with you doing this." Oliver said looking over to the man, and then down to Sara. "This is all a bit out of our element, but if it helps bring Sara back we'll give it a shot, but I draw the line with having the mother of my unborn child in the middle of this."

"Wait, you draw the line?" Katie asked turning to the man. "Since when do you-"

"Fine." Constantine said and they both turned to him. "I will do this on my own. I have enough juice to only send myself and two of you to the other realm."

"I think you should wait in the other room." Oliver said turning back to Katie who he knew was about to argue. "I know you want to help Sara, but right now forces beyond my comprehension are about to be used and if this goes bad, I want you and her as far away from it as possible. Please, just do this for me." Katie looked up to him before looking over to Constantine who gave a her a wink which she didn't understand at first. "Twinkie-"

"Ok." she replied turning back to Oliver. "You're right. We don't know what this stuff is all about, and being in the middle could be dangerous, so I will be in the other room. Just come get me when it's over." Oliver gave her a nod before pressing a kiss to her lips. He watched until she was gone before turning to Constantine who was also watching, but the man quickly turned back to the others.

Katie walked into the room, closing the door behind her before walking over and taking a seat on the bed. She placed her hands on her knees and took in a deep breath as she closed her eyes. The headache from before seemed to have turned into buzzing in her ear. She kept taking deep breaths, in and out, hoping it would just pass. There was something different about the air all of a sudden, and when Katie opened her eyes, there was a door, that was not there before,across from her. She stood to her feet in confusion, looking around to see that everything else was in it's place, except for this door. She slowly walked over. For some reason, the rational part of her brain just wasn't working. Because even though she knows there's no possible way for a door to just appear, she can't help but be curious to find what is on the other side. When she pulled open the door, she seemed to be pulled into a pool light and the next thing she knows, she's no longer in her room.

Her eyes look up and scan around the hall that she could never forget. It's as if she's found herself back in Nanda Parbat. She hears a scream,and she turns following the sound. The sight of Constantine in a sword fight with what seemed like one of the league's assassins stopped her.

"No-" she took a step forward. "Stop!" the moment the words came out of her mouth, everything in the room froze. Everything except for the man in the trench coat, who was currently out of breath.

"And this is why you were supposed to be my helpful assistant from the beginning." the man said looking over to her before looking around the room and stopping on the frozen forms of Laurel and Oliver who were reaching into the pool to save Sara. He turned back to Katie whose eyes looked over the room in confusion, and disbelief.

"This isn't real." she said backing away.

"Oh, it's real love." the man said and she turned to him with a quirked brow. "It's finally time for you to accept that." he looked over his shoulder. "But later, the longer we're here the harder it is to get out of here. So if you don't mind-" he nodded toward her and Katie wasn't sure what she was supposed to do, but if one word could do this, then there had to be another to undo it.

"Ok." she took a deep breath. "Go." the assassin unfroze, and Constantine didn't hesitate to drive his sword through his chest. They turned back to Oliver and Laurel who seemed to be struggling to pull Sara from the Lazarus Pit. Without thinking, Katie rushed over, leaning over the side, and sticking her hand into the waters, instantly calming them and allowing Oliver and Laurel to pull her free. The moment Sara is out of the water, Oliver, Laurel, Sara and Constantine just disappear, and Katie finds herself alone, and confused. The bodies that lined the ground disappear as well and Katie stands to her feet, her hand cradling her belly, suddenly scared.

"Don't worry." Katie turned at the sound of a voice she hadn't heard in what felt like ages. She looked over to the door as another face from her past seemed to appear. Only this one she didn't mind seeing. A smile came to her face as she hurried over to the man, and threw her arms around him in a hug. "It's good to see you too Twinkie."

"Tommy." Katie says pulling back to see his face, still not able to believe she was looking at him right now. "How...why...this is certifiable Twinkie, right? Like I've just lost all of my marbles." the man laughed and the sound made her smile. "You know I really miss you and your annoying face."

"Well your face is more annoying than mine. Plus I'm always around, to witness all these awesome moments, like-" he took a step back, and looked down to Katie's pregnant belly. "Ollie and Twinkie having a baby." he smiled.

"How are you here?" Katie asked and the man met her eyes and just shrugged.

"Honestly, I don't know. There was a door and when I walked through it I saw you looking kind of scared, which makes sense in a place like this." he looked around the room and then over to the Lazarus Pit.

"Wait, am I dead right now, because that would explain so much." that made him erupt with laughter, but he shook his head.

"No, you're not dead, but I do think you should probably get out of here." The walls around then began to crack, and they heard the sound of something crashing. Katie turned back to the man and gave him another hug. "Things are going to start to change, and you can't hide from it anymore. It's who you are."

"Tommy?" she pulled back from the man needing to ask more questions, but she felt herself being pulled away. "Tommy, I don't understand, what's happening?"

"You're going to finally see it." the man replied with a smile, as a light seemed to appear around the woman.

"See what?"

"Your purpose."

And in the blink of an eye Katie found herself standing back in the room, her entire body still buzzing. She slid a hand across her belly at the feeling of her baby in a fit of kicking. Suddenly the door burst open, and Katie turned with a gasp to see Oliver standing there, quite out of breath. He looked around the room for a moment before turning back to her.

"What's wrong?" she asked taking a step toward him. "Did it not work?"

"No, it did." Oliver replied still staring at the woman as if looking for something. "It's just-" he shook his head. "When Constantine took us to find her, I could've sworn-" Katie stared at him in confusion and the man simply shook his head, figuring that seeing her was just apart of the illusion. Katie placed her hands on the sides of his face, looking into his eyes.

"Are you alright? How do you feel? Light headed, nauseo-" her words were suddenly stolen by his lips crashing into hers. As usual, the world around them seemed to just disappear around them. Oliver pulled her as close as possible, and when her belly touched him, he felt the movement against his skin. He pulled back, slightly his hand reaching down to her belly, and smiling widely.

"I'm perfect." he looked up to her eyes about to kiss her once again, when there is a sudden knock that interrupts the moment.

"Sorry to bother-" comes the annoying British voice of John Constantine and the couple turns to him. "But the whole putting humpty dumpty back together again can be hit or miss, so I kind of figured-" he looked over to Katie who nodded in understanding.

"I should go check on her." Katie replied before hurrying out of the room. Oliver let out a sighed before turning to Constantine with an obvious look of annoyance.

"Sorry mate, but you don't ask a woman to marry you after resurrecting an old flame. Totally the wrong moment." the man said with a half smile. "You'll thank me later."

The moment Katie walked out and saw Sara, in a tight embrace with her father, she froze because she didn't think a moment like this was possible. A moment where death can be overcame without a price. When the pair pulled apart, Sara turned spotting Katie, a smile coming to her face as she slowly walks over.

"You look like you've seen a ghost." Sara said and Katie laughed as she walked moved toward the woman as well. "You're bigger since I last saw you." The moment Katie was standing right in front of the woman, she still just couldn't believe it.

"I'm sorry." it was the only words she had for the woman after everything that has happened. "I promised you that I would protect you and-"

"It's not your fault and I don't blame you at all. I chose my loyalties, and those choices lead to my death." Sara replied before looking down to Katie's stomach. "Your choices lead you to a baby." she looked over to Katie's bare hand. "And no ring." she looked up to Katie's eyes. "I know I just got back, but do I need to beat him up."

"No, he's getting there I think." Katie replied before nudging her head toward the exam table. "C'mon let me make sure all the kings horses and all the kings men really put you back together correctly."

It was unbelievable, but Sara was fine. Better than fine. Once Katie gave the woman the clear, Laurel and her father took the woman back to Laurel's place. Katie was washing her hands when she felt someone staring at her. She knew exactly who it was.

"All of it was real." she said, turning to the man from her past who wore an annoying smile. "Like all of it. How is that possible?"

"You know in my line of work, I never can question what's possible." Constantine replied walking over to her. "Look I can't tell you everything, because I don't know everything about you. And even if I did, I probably wouldn't be able to say anything."

"Why not?"

"Because there's something inside of you that needs to be ignited and you have to be the one to do it." he replied and Katie looked over his shoulder to see Oliver walk over. Constantine glanced over his shoulder and smiled back to the man.

"You know you never told me how you found me that day. In that cabin in the middle of no where."

"I thought I did." Constantine said turning back to the woman. "Old friend told me."

"Yeah, and you said that old friend was my mother. I assumed you were lying."

"Why would you assume that? Sometimes the dead have as much a purpose as the living. There are those of us that can help them with that." he gave he woman a nod before turning to Oliver. "And I think I should be going."

"I'll walk you out." Oliver replied and Constantine gave the man a nod before following after him.

Katie stood there for a moment, holding onto the man's words before walking back over to join the others. She spotted Thea, and walked over.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Katie asked and Thea turned with a slight smile.

"Fine. The pain meds Ethan gave are top of the line. I'm going to have to buy him something." the woman replied before looking around for Oliver. "I thought my brother would be pulling you out of here by now. You seriously should be resting right now." she turned back to Katie before reaching out a hand to Katie's belly. "I'm sure my niece would appreciate it." she looked up meeting Katie's eyes. "We're alright, right? I'm just waiting for you or my brother to yell at me for-"

"Going to Nanda Parbat without telling anyone?" Katie asked and Thea gave a nod. "Like I told you before, I understand why you went."

"You still didn't answer my question." Thea replied and Katie let out a heavy sigh. "You punched a mirror. Why?"

"You quenched your blood lust going to Nanda Parbat. Laurel got her sister back." Katie shook her head as she turned back to the woman. "But people had to die for the two of you to get your happily ever afters. I'm not judging what either of you did, because I don't have the right to do that. I told you before, I'm just upset about the situation."

"The situation me and Laurel-"

"However corny this may sound, there really isn't an I in team. We all had some kind part in this decision, so I will say I'm upset at the situation we created." she placed a hand on Thea's shoulder and smiled. "But we will do better. We will make smart decisions and you and Laurel will not feel the need to hide secrets from us, from your family. Ok?"

"Ok." Thea replied with a smile, before suddenly wrapping her arms around Katie in a hug. "You're gonna be a great mom."

Soon, the night and days activities catch up to them, and the team begins to clear out, everyone heading home. Thea actually heads home with Katie and Oliver, letting the recently reunited Lance family have their time alone.

When Oliver opens the door, he steps aside to let in Katie and his sister.

"Is anyone else really hungry?" Thea asks, already headed toward the kitchen. Oliver chuckles with a shake of his head before turning to Katie who heads to the living room, and just drops to the couch to lay down.

"I think our bed is more comfortable than that couch right now." the man said walking over to her.

"And I agree one hundred percent, but right now I have a problem. And that problem are those stairs over there, and I just can't solve them right now. So the couch is going to be my friend." the woman turned, closing her eyes. "Can you close the shades, please?" Oliver shook his head before bending over and sliding his hands underneath the woman. "What are you-" she opened her eyes and turned, just as the man hiked her into his arms. "Oliver Queen, put me down, you can't carry me!" Oliver simply laughed as he walked toward the stairs, just as his sister walked from the kitchen, eating something from some tupperware, to see what was going on.

"We're going to bed." Oliver informed the woman.

"Ok." Thea said watching as her brother carried the woman upstairs.

When they reached the top of the stairs, Katie expected the man to place her back on her feet, but he actually continued toward their bedroom.

"You're unbelievable." she said turning to the man. "I'm a whale, and I know you can tell."

"What do you mean?" Oliver asked smiling to the woman. "You're light as a feather." he kicked open their door, and carried Katie all the way to the bed, gently lying her down. "I mean why do you think I work out all the time?"

"I assumed to stay in enough shape to catch up to these bad guys in this city." Katie replied with a shrug.

"Nah." the man said pulling off his jacket. "It's so when the stairs are a problem for my girlfriend, I can help solve it. Because that's what I do. I'm like her hero."

"Are you, now?" the woman asked as the man slid on the bed beside her. She placed a hand on his cheek before bringing her lips to his.

"You punched a mirror." Oliver spoke, stopping the kiss. Katie let out a sigh, before shrugging. "Tell me why." she pulled back and folded her arms over her chest. "Twinkie-"

"I'm seeing him." Katie said turning back to Oliver. "My uncle. I keep seeing him and I-" she shook her head. "I don't know why. I mean he's dead. That chapter in our life is over, but for some reason there is something still holding on and I keep seeing him and he talks to me and-" she looks over to Oliver who stares back to her with a look she hates. He's worried, probably thinks she's insane and she really can't take the look and so she slides off the bed and stalks toward the bathroom.

"Twinkie, wait-" Oliver quickly catches her arm before she can retreat, but she pulls out of his grasp.

"I know what you're thinking." she says turning back to the man. "And you're probably right, but I'm handling it." she turns to go to the bathroom, needing to be alone.

"Do you think now is a good time to bring someone else into this?" Oliver asks and Katie turns to him with a quirked brow. He sees the hand she brings to her stomach, and he shakes his head. "Wait, no, that's not what I meant. I can't wait for our daughter to be here. But a baby coming here will be different than a teenager."

"You're talking about Arianna?" Katie asked. Oliver didn't respond right away, slightly worried about how this conversation would go. "You don't think we should take her in?"

"I just think with our lives, with this...seeing Ra's, it just risks exposure."

"Did you not hear the part where both of her parents are out of the picture, and I'm the only family she has?" Katie asked and Oliver dropped his head and that's how she knew that he still held the same opinion. "Ok." Oliver lifted his head to the woman with slightly wide eyes. "I hear you. Hear everything you're saying, and I agree there will be a level of risk having this girl come here and us having to hide who we are and what we do. And me having to hide how crazy I really am."

"Twinkie, that's not what I meant, I just-"

"The answer is no Oliver. You wanted to come back to Star City, and I supported the decision, you wanted to become Mayor, and I bank rolled it. Each one of those things hold just as much if not more risk of exposing who we are. Arianna is my family, and I will not turn my back on her. So this time you are going to support something I want to do, and if it blows up in our face, you can blame me. But until that happens, this is what we're doing." she simply gave a nod before turning and heading into the bathroom.

Katie went over to the sink, turning on the faucet and staring down to the water that ran down her fingers.

"Bravo." came his voice, and Katie lifted her head to see the man staring back at her from the mirror. "I'm glad your backbone is finding it's way back to your life. Now you have to-"

"You're here." Katie interrupted the man's rant. She tilted her head as she looked at him, saw how exactly the same he was, and yet she could just feel how different he was. "You're really here, just like my mother, and Tommy and Jeremy. They're not figments of my imagination. They're real, and for some reason I can see them. How?" he only smiled back to her, not answering her question. "Tell m—"

And in the blink of an eye, he was just gone. Katie shook her head turning back to the running water. A thought hit her, and so she let her hand cup a small pool of water before lifting it. She took a deep breath before slightly turning her hand and watching the water fall. "Stop." Katie backed away from the sink, her eyes locked on the stream of water just frozen in mid air.

There weren't many people who actually knocked on the door of the hidden safe house where the currently dying Jacob Robins now slept. Not a soul knocked that Martin didn't expect to come. It's' why the man now held his gun firmly in his hand as he crept toward the door.

"Just open the door, mate!" came a voice from the other side, that made Martin roll his eyes. He let out an annoyed sigh before reaching forward and pulling open the door. "Ah, look at you Marty. I like the new face by the way. It really suits you."

"What are you doing here John?"

"Well I know since mama Waller kicked you out of the clubhouse, you're a bit behind on the intel happening in the city-

"I know Oliver called you to help with that Sara Lance problem, but what I don't know is why you're standing here, right now."

"Well that's simple." John replied with a smile. "A friend asked me for one more favor before I left." John glanced up into the house. "So are you going to invite me in, or what?"

"Probably, or what?" Martin said and John chuckled. "What friend?"

"The kind of friend I can see and you can't." Constantine replied. "The kind of friend Jacob will be seeing soon if I don't help him." he looked back over to Martin. "She doesn't seem to think it's his time."

"She...as in..."

"You want to ask questions you already know the answers to, or are you going to let me in?" Martin looked at the man for a moment, before taking a step to the side to let the man in. "I always knew you were smarter than you looked. Now where is the bastard?"

---

Author's notes:

John Constantine everybody! He was so fun to write, and I liked him being the one to let Katie know that the things happening to her, and the things she doing, isn't in her head. She now knows its real. How do you think she will handle this?

Review Replies:

Adela: Yes, the whole Katie/Constantine meeting happened in a flashback from my second story Long, Live Love. Their story begins in chapter 18 and goes to chapter 22 if you want to revisit it. Katie's father is sick, and to have so many symptoms and tests that show he's fine can only mean what's happening isn't natural. Good thing Mr. Constantine is in town to make one more visit.

Taffdog19943: So what did you think? I was hesitant about this supernatural twist to Katie's character because she's pretty kick ass without all the bells and whistles, but there is reason to my madness.

kuppcake: I know, it's purposeful though. Because he lets a ringing phone stop him. He really does want to ask her to marry him, and he actually plans it out in his head, but these interruptions are making him overthink. He actually admitted in this chapter that he allows the interruptions to ruin the moment, but he doesn't know why. He'll figure it out though in a scene you're sure to love. Chapter 5 response: Yes a teenager, and Arianna is going to bring a different kind of crazy to our favorite Twiver couple.

ImsebastianstanButter: He actually is and Damian Darhk is behind it. Remember back in chapter 4 he kind of hinted that he was the one behind it. We kind of learned that in this chapter as well, seeing as the man had a list of symptons, but nothing in any tests could find anything wrong. That also hinted at something supernatural happening with the man, which hopefully Constantine can help with.

rockyroyal,dr: Ah, you're back! Well let me reply to all your reviews. Chapt 1: Oliver really wanted to show Katie how invested he was with this baby, and I think ready the books, and actually quote health facts to her is both funny, and sweet. This is his first kid, and he really wants to be as prepared as possible. I would love to write a fluff story of the lives of Twinkie and Liver in Central City, but I really think that life truly was a fantasy. They tried to escape their reality and life has taught them that is impossible. They saw that when Laurel and Thea showed up. I don't think Laurel and Thea really understood why them showing up to Katie and Oliver's house was a big deal. They needed Oliver's help and expected he would give it to them, like he always does. But seeing the house, and seeing the nursery, I think gives them a glimpse of what they were truly asking him to give up. I loved the carnival scene as well and Oliver's competitiveness. Chapt2: Katie truly is Oliver's friend, and I think she's always been that person in his life who tell him the things he needs to hear to keep him going. I totally agree. She absolutely didn't want to come back, but she saw what was happening to the city, and knew they couldn't keep running. Chapt3: Katie always has the need to be doing something. It's why she wanted to work. She needed something to distract her, something normal. Stepping in to be the CEO of RI was her new distraction. Ah, a hormonal Twinkie crying because she missed Oliver was a little sad, but I think it was the first sign that their lives were going to be changing. Chapt4: Yes, stepped up to the mic like a boss, and told her city that there was still hope. Chapt5 :I really felt like the whole Jeremy story line missed some key pieces. He died, and I wanted someone other than Katie to be affected. He has a wife and a daughter, and now that his wife is going to jail, Katie is going to step in to take care of their daughter. It's going to be tough to raise a kid who blames you for why she has no parents. Chapt6: I wanted to show Katie really taking ownership in the failures of her company, but I also wanted to show her take a stand, and show the world where her place would be. I assumed anyone working with CPS would dig into perspective parents before releasing a kid into their car, and I figure Katie's dangerous past would pop up. But their seemed to be a change of heart in this chapter. With Thea, I think she's now actually able to witness the Oliver and Katie story, and watching them prepare for their baby, and she's starting to see that maybe she was wrong in assuming Oliver's priority should be protecting this city. That scene with Katie and her father really opened up her feeling about the man. I mean she thought she hated him, thought she'd be fine to never see him again, and then she finds out he's dying and all those emotions she felt when she returned home just came back. In reality it did. She was back at her father's side, looking down to him in a hospital bed, just like the first chapter of this series...wheew! That was a lot. Glad you're enjoying the story.

LiLuLo12: You finally made it! I've been enjoying your reviews, and reading your thoughts from the previous stories. Jacob not being her bio dad was definitely something I was trying to subtly hint at through the story. I love Katie too, but yeah she can be hypocritical. To defend her, I would say keeping the meeting with Darhk from Oliver was done mostly out of fear. She saw this guy do think no normal guy can do, and she was afraid Oliver would go after him. But she has a moral compass, who we all know as Felicity Smoak, so I think she usually comes clean in the end.

Can't end a chapter without releasing some love back to all of you reading this. I appreciate all the support given, all the reviews, and adding this story to your alerts. It warms my heart to know this story, I seriously didn't think would be very popular would actually gain connect with so many people.

So I say thank you.

And now for you sneak peek

"I once told you that when I was on the island, I would have dreams about you. Dreams where your laughter would keep me warm, where the touch of your skin motivated me to keep going. Where your smile kept the idea of getting home in the front of my mind. You've been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, and I want-" Katie's hands suddenly reached up, grabbing Oliver's arms as she hunched forward, letting out a groan. "Twinkie?!" she looked up to his eyes, her breathing now feeling harder than it should be. "Is this it?"

"I think so." she replied still grasping for breaths, as a sharp pain once again hit her. "We should probably-" before she could finish her sentence, Oliver had hiked her into his arms. It was that moment that the waiter finally did arrive with their desserts. The moment he saw the couple his eyes went wide.

"I need you to hold that door!" The waiter was already rushing to the side, as he watched the man carry the woman away.