Chapter 9
New Arrivals
"Some things are so unexpected that no one is prepared for them."
-Leo Rosten
Running was one of those stress relievers Oliver found usually worked. At the moment though, not so much. The last week had been pretty rough, with Darhk seeming to kick up his plan to destroy this city into high gear, to finding out that John's brother Andy was still alive and working for the man under the influence of some sort of drug. They were able to extract Andy, get him away from Darhk, and now he sat caged in the lair until they figure out how to get the drug out of his system. And even with all of that, it seemed the most stressful was the teenager that would finally be moving in with them in a week. This run was much needed.
When Oliver returned home, he grabbed a bottle of water and headed upstairs to see if Katie had waken up yet. He walked down the hall, but stopped when he noticed the door to the nursery slightly opened. He pushed open the door, and smiled at the sight of the woman slowly rocking back and forth in her rocking chair, her eyes closed and hand sliding across her stomach.
"I'm now convinced that this child is definitely yours." the woman spoke and Oliver chuckled.
"There was a question with that?" Oliver asked leaning against the door, still enamored by how beautiful the woman looked in this moment, the sun shining from the window so perfectly on her.
"She's a week late." Katie says opening her eyes and looking over to the man. "Doesn't that just scream Oliver Queen?" she shook her head and looked down to her bulging belly and sighed. "You did this to me and now I'm realizing that it's never going to end." Oliver laughed, walking over to the woman and kneeling down in front of her, placing a hand on her stomach.
"Alright little one, your mommy is getting impatient, and grumpy and I think the only thing that will make her feel better is to finally see your face." the baby gave a kick at the sound of his voice and Oliver looked back up to Katie. "Anything?"
"Nothing. At this point she's just squatting in there." Katie groans with a shake of her head before looking down to her stomach. "I'm serving you your eviction notice kid! Just get out already!"
"Calm down, I doubt yelling at her will help anyone." Oliver replied standing to his feet and placing a kiss to her head. "Maybe we should reconsider induction." Oliver says and Katie turns away with a shake of her head.
"We haven't gotten to that point yet. It's just a week, she can still make her grand entrance." Katie says looking up to the man. "I'm still holding out hope this can all be done naturally, but if she keeps being stubborn, then we'll kick her out." Katie held out her hands, and Oliver helped her to her feet. "How was your run?"
"Not as calming as it use to be." Oliver brought his arms around the woman. "Lot on my mind I guess."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Katie asked and Oliver shook his head.
"It's just Darhk, and trying to figure out a way to beat him with his powers." he said, but shook his head. "It's not your problem. His fascination with you seems to be over, so that's a plus."
"Yeah, but I think I'll feel a whole lot better when he's gone." she drops her head to his chest. "He makes me nervous about this little girl being born, nervous about planning a wedding." she pulls back to look up to the man's eyes. "I had this weird nightmare, that we just got married and were at the reception about to cut the cake, and he just popped out of it." Oliver knew he shouldn't laugh, but for some reason picturing that in his head just made him laugh. "It's not funny." she swat his arm before pulling out of his embrace and leaving the room.
"I'm sorry, Twinkie, I know it's not funny. Don't worry," Oliver followed the woman down the stairs, to the kitchen. "Darhk's not coming anywhere near this little girl or our wedding. How's the planning coming along anyway?" Katie turned to the man with a quirked brow. "What? I thought you, Thea and Felicity were diving into the whole wedding planning thing."
"We were, but I didn't realize how insane those two women are until I saw them arguing about flowers." the woman shook her head before reaching into the refrigerator and grabbing some orange juice. "I just-" she looked over to the man and sighed. "I really want to do this before she's born, but I don't think it can. I'm like tired all the time, minor annoyances drive me to thoughts of murder. I think I will cry if I start looking for a wedding dress my size." she let out another sigh. "I think maybe we should wait until my head can be completely in wedding planning mode." Oliver tried not to look as disappointed as he felt in that moment. Now that the ring was on her finger, all he wanted was to get to that altar and make her his wife. Right now he had to be understanding, and so he pulled on a smile and gave a nod.
"Ok. Then we'll wait." he replied before nudging his head. "I'm going to get a shower. We have a plan to catch Darhk tonight. Hopefully this could be the night." he gave a nod before turning and Katie dropped her head, because she knew postponing the wedding was not something he wanted to do and yet there was just way too much happening with her that she just needed to understand before she tied the man down to her for life.
After Oliver's shower, he changed and headed downstairs where he found Katie also changed, sitting in the living room reading something on her phone, as if she were leaving as well.
"Where are you going?" Oliver asked and Katie lifted her head to the man with a quirked brow.
"You said there was a plan to catch Darhk tonight?"
"Yeah, but I told you we would handle it. You should be taking it easy." Oliver replies walking around, and taking the seat beside her. "Staying away from the hero stuff."
"But you know I also remember you bringing me into the hero stuff to help me figure out who I am." Katie says turning to the man. "Maybe I still haven't figured that out yet." Oliver turned away with a shake of his head. "Or maybe I just don't want to be left here by myself." he turned back to the woman. "I'm not scared or anything, but I get bored without you here to distract me."
"Well there you go. You're never alone."the man says sliding a hand along her stomach. "You have someone here who you can talk to and they won't repeat a word."
"And you say I'm not funny." Katie says patting the man on the cheek. "I'm coming with you. I will take it easy and I'm sure Felicity will make sure of it." Oliver let out a groan, but agreed.
When they arrived to the hide out, they found Felicity behind her computer, while John and Thea on the other side of the lair sparring. Katie seemed drawn to the fight, and walked over to observe for awhile, while Oliver went over to Felicity to see if everything was going according to plan. John currently had Thea in a headlock, to which the woman suddenly hooked her foot around the man's ankle, causing him to trip backwards, and allowing her to pull from his grasp and knock him on his back.
"Want to go again?" Thea asked holding out a hand to the man who let the woman help him to his feet.
"I think I've been beat up by a girl enough today." John replied before turning to see Katie. "Well if it isn't the future Mrs. Queen. Still pregnant I see."
"You're not funny, Mr. Diggle." Katie says before glancing over to Thea, who walked over as well. "I have to go, before Thea gets over here."
"I heard that!" Thea said rushing over to the woman before she could get away. "I called you earlier. I talked to the director at the Botanical Gardens, and they're all booked for the next six months, which I feel we could get around if you let me name drop my future sister in law."
"Still not happening. The last thing I want is for the whole world to be in attendance to our wedding." Katie says with a shake of her head. "Look maybe six months is fine. I talked to Oliver and told him I don't think I can do this speedy wedding."
"Seriously, why not?"
"You mean besides feeling miserable all the time." Katie says turning and walking away from the woman, and Thea only followed. "There's nothing wrong with just waiting."
"You have to be kidding me, and Ollie is alright with this?" Thea asked looking over to Oliver who looked over in confusion. Thea looked over to her brother. "You're alright with postponing the wedding?"
"Speedy, right now we need to be focusing on tonight and-"
"I'm sorry, what's happening?" Felicity asked standing as well. "Why are we postponing the wedding?" she looked between Oliver and Katie.
"Look right now, with the baby coming at any moment, we just think we should focus on one thing at a time." Katie says looking over to Oliver. "Right?" the man didn't say anything, but he gave a nod before turning and walking back over to the computer.
"We should suit up." Oliver said before looking out to Thea and John who gave a nod before going to grab their suits. Oliver turned back to Katie who still stood looking over to him, and so he walked over to her.
"I'm sorry, I can't pretend that I'm not disappointed about having to wait for the wedding. I don't know, I just-" he brought his hands to the woman's waist. "I can't wait until you're my wife."
"And I can't wait until you're my husband. But I want to be in the moment when that happens. Right now, my ankles are swollen and I can barely walk without having to stop and catch my breath, and I feel huge. I don't feel like a blushing bride right now."
"That's so weird, because you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen." Oliver replied placing a kiss to the woman's lips before going to change. Once they were gone, Katie found herself standing in front of the Guardian's suit.
"I always wonder why you're always staring at this suit." Felicity says appearing beside the woman. Katie shakes her head before turning to the woman.
"I thought this suit, that mask could make up for the sins of my past." Katie says, glancing back over to it. "But it was still me underneath it. Everything I've done, everything that was done to me, doesn't just go away and there's nothing I can do to change that."
"Where is this coming from?" Felicity asked and Katie sighed before walking back over to the computers. "Is this about the wedding?"
"I just thought I knew what I was supposed to be doing with my life." Katie says taking a seat behind the computer. Felicity walked over and took the seat beside her. "I thought I figured everything out and everyday I'm learning that I really have no clue who the hell I am."
"You're Dr. Katherine Robins MD, CEO of Robins Incorporated, future Mrs. Oliver Queen, and future mommy to baby Twiver." Felicity replies with a smile.
"I'm also the daughter of a man whose lied to me my entire life, and a woman I feel has lead a more interesting life that I can even imagine." Katie glanced over to the monitors, noting the team had arrived to the ARGUS warehouse. She also noticed the heat signatures inside, which verified her fears that Damian Darhk and his team were already inside.
"Oliver, I have half a dozen heat signatures coming from inside." Felicity informed. "There is a skylight on the east side of the building that you can use to get inside."
"I see it." Oliver's modulated voice spoke.
Felicity and Katie waited until the team had entered the building. The camera from Oliver's suit gave them a good look at Darhk and his henchman in front of the truck that held the chemical bomb. They were able to slip on top of the truck without being noticed.
"They could've at least tried to hide this chemical bomb." it was Darhk's voice, and the moment Katie heard it, she got a slight chill. "Serves them right, it getting stolen and used against them." Suddenly Oliver shot an arrow behind Darhk and his men, and they all turned to it, before looking above the truck. "You brought arrows to a gun fight."
"What guns?" Oliver asked, and with the press of a button, he activated the magnetic current on the arrow, pulling the guns from the henchmen's hands.
"Such a genius, Smoaks." Katie says giving the woman a high five. She continued to watch, trying not to feel anxious at the sight of all the fighting. Oliver suddenly appeared right in front of Darhk, and Katie's eyes seemed drawn to him. He lifted a hand to Oliver's chest, and Katie heard Oliver gasp for air.
"What's happening?" she asked looking over to Felicity who shook her head.
"Ooh! You know, I got to be honest." Darhk taunted, and Katie suddenly began to feel a tingling under her fingers. There was another pained gasp from Oliver, and she had to stand to her feet and turn away.
"I really thought we'd be doing this dance a lot longer. Night-night."
"Hey, are you alright?" Felicity asked standing to her feet and walking over to Katie, when she could actually hear the woman's heavy breathing. There was a weird sound that came from the monitor, and Felicity turned at the sound of a familiar voice. "Barry?" she smiled as she walked over to the computer. "Oliver's fine, Barry saved him." the blonde looked over to Katie who she noticed had already began rushing over to the bathroom. "Not good." Felicity went rushing after her.
Katie hurried into the bathroom, rushing over to grip the sink as her entire body began buzzing. She tightened her eyes closed, trying to breathe through it in hopes that it would pass.
"What's happening." she muttered, opening her eyes, only to see a white light emitting from her hands. "What-" there was a throaty chuckle, and Katie lifted her eyes back to the mirror to see the face of her uncle, who even death couldn't put an end to. "What's happening to me?"
"You're becoming who you truly are." he only continued to laugh, and Katie shook her head before looking back down to her hands, just as there was a knock at the door. She quickly lifted her head with wide eyes to the door.
"Katie, are you alright?" it was Felicity. Katie looked back down to her hands, and the light was still there.
"Go away!" she muttered quietly, knowing this is just something she wouldn't be able to explain. She began flicking her hands in hopes the the lights would go away.
"Twinkie-" suddenly the light is just gone, and Katie lets out a relieved sigh, before going over and opening the door. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, I just-" Katie shook her head as she glanced down to her hands before looking back up to the woman. "Don't like seeing my boyfriend nearly dying."
"Well no one does." Felicity replied placing a hand to Katie's cheek. "You're looking kind of pale. Maybe you should lie down."
"Maybe I should." Katie replied with a nod, before turning and heading off to her room. The moment she was inside, she went straight to the bed, and laid down in hopes of calming her ramming heart. She took in a deep breath, before turning and looking up to the ceiling. "OK, stopping time, talking to the dead, and a weird light from my hands. How is this possible?" Katie closed her eyes, and suddenly she remembered something Darhk had said to her.
"You know that's a trick I learned from your mother."
"Mom." Katie mutters, before snagging her phone from her pocket and sitting up. Dialing a familiar number, Katie stood to her feet bringing the phone to her ear.
"You're calling me? Why are you calling me?"
"Hey Richie, how's life as Gotham's bird sidekick?" Katie asked and she heard the man laugh. "I'm calling, because I need to know where my mother's diaries are?" she thought she heard something break from the other end of the line. "What was that?"
"N—nothing. Why do you want those diaries? I thought you could care less about what was in them?"
"Yeah, well I'm starting to think there are answers in them that I have been searching for." Katie replied with a shake of her head. "I just know you became obsessed them for a while. Where did you put them?"
"Um, I have them. Here. They're somewhere in the mansion."
"Well could you find them and send them to me?"
"Sure, I will start looking for them and send them as soon as I find them." the man replied, clearing his throat. "Uh, I have to go. I will talk to you later I guess."
"Yeah." she said and the man quickly ended the call. "That was weird."
The woman lifted her head at the sound of voices outside the room, and figured the others had returned. She began walking toward the door, stopping and looking back down to her hand before finally leaving. When she walked out, she nearly bumped into Oliver who seemed to heading to the room.
"Hey, you alright?" he asked bringing his arms around her. "Felicity said-"
"I'm fine." Katie says quickly, placing her hand hand the side of the man's face. "Are you alright? What did he do to you?" Oliver shook his head.
"I don't know, but I'm fine now." he replied and Katie continued to look at him, unsure if that was the truth before turning and spotting a familiar face across the room. "Barry!" the man turned to her and smiled, before walking over to hug the woman. "You don't call, don't visit, I mean you're like super fast. I should see you like everyday."
"Well Central City is keeping me busy." the man laughed, as he pulled from the hug before looking her over. "And I can see you've been busy yourself." he looked over to Oliver who shook his head. "How are you feeling?"
"Oh, I'm totally and completely happy. There's nothing more miraculous than bearing a child."
"So you're miserable?"
"Beyond miserable." Katie says before turning and spotting another familiar face, over by the computers, with a woman she didn't recognize. "Is that Mr. Ramon?"
"It is."
"This is completely wrong!" Cisco yells looking down to the row of computers. "Did you guys even look at the specs I sent over? This is a tragedy." the man shook his head as he looked over to Felicity. "I'm mourning for the death of engineering. Copper wiring to handle the processing speed from the Palmer Satellite, or else your system is gonna overload."
"Yeah, but that hasn't happened. I mean, it hasn't happened since last week." Felicity rambled nervously. "I mean, it didn't... It happened yesterday." Katie seemed to laugh at the man, before turning to Barry who she caught staring at her.
"What?"
"Oh-"he shook his head and turned away. "Nothing. Just-" he cleared his throat, before turning back to the woman. There was something in the way he looked at her, and Katie dropped her eyes to her stomach and just rolled her eyes.
"Oh, I know I'm a whale, but you don't have to stare." the woman replied before turning and walking over to Oliver, who brought an arm around her.
"I didn't mean-"
"Hi, I'm Felicity" the blonde says changing topics and turning to the woman beside Cisco.
"Hi, I'm Kendra Saunders." the woman spoke holding out a hand to Felicity who shook it. "I'm Cisco's-" the woman trailed off as if unsure how to describe their relationship.
"She's, uh, my, uh, new, beautiful friend who kisses me occasionally." Cisco adds a bit awkwardly, and everyone simply stared at the man in amusement.
"Um, right, well I'm Thea." Thea greeted. "That's John Diggle and my brother and his soon to be wife-"
"Oliver Queen and Dr. Katherine Robins, I know." the woman said with a smile as she looked between the couple. "I didn't know you two were engaged though."
"It's not public yet, and we're trying to keep it that way." Katie says, glancing over to Thea. "No matter how much anyone wants to make it front page news."
"All I'm saying is, think about the good publicity for campaign and the company-"
"It's not happening Speedy." Oliver sighed for what felt like the one hundredth time.
"Wow, first I meet the Flash, and now the Green Arrow and-" Kendra said before turning to Katie. "Freakin Katherine Robins." she shook her head before turning back to Cisco. "Do you have any more surprises for me." The man gave a dry chuckle.
"Please no more surprises." he pleaded.
"Barry said that you need our help." Oliver says looking over to the woman let out a sigh, but nodded. "Somebody very dangerous is after you."
"Yeah, and I have no idea why."
"What does this guy even look like?" Thea asked hoping to figure out a starting point for finding this guy.
"Hold on." Barry says walking over to a nearby notepad and pencil. They watched as the man used his speediness to quickly sketch a picture of the man they were looking for.
"Yeah, see that's still not something I would even think of." John says, still not over how fast the man really is. Felicity walked over, taking the picture from his hand.
"Hey, kind of rocking that Dothraki look... hot." she headed back over to her computer. "Let's see if facial recognition can find a match." Most of the team followed after her, to see the results, while Oliver turned to Katie.
"It's late-"
"Yeah, and I don't have a curfew." Katie replied looking over to the man. "I'm just as curious about finding this guy as everyone else is. I'm staying" the truth was, she didn't want to be alone. She didn't want to think about the craziness happening to her, because if she thought about it, she'd probably go insane.
"Fine, then you sit." Oliver says taking the woman's hand and pulling her toward the others, grabbing a chair and moving it closer to her. He helped her to sit before placing a kiss on top of her head and heading over to where everyone stood crowded around Felicity's computer.
During the wait, Katie turned, her mind drifting back to the sight of the light from her hands and how impossible it seemed, and yet a part of her was just curious about it's purpose...if there was a purpose.
She placed her hand on the desk in front of her, and looked down to her hand and she doesn't know why, but she attempted to do it again. Just so she knows that it actually happened, and that she isn't completely crazy.
"That's him." Kendra says looking at the picture Felicity was able to pull up. She nodded, because it was a face she doesn't think she can even forget.
" Yeah, strange." Felicity replies with a quirked brow. "This picture's from 1975."
"Which would make him about 80 years old right now." Barry guessed with a shake of his head because that didn't uncomplicate this situation anymore. Katie turned glancing over to the picture on Felicity's screen, accidentally bumping into Cisco.
"Sorry." she said looking over to the man, who looked over to her with weird look. "What? That barely hurt you." Cisco opened his mouth to speak, but turned at the sound of Oliver's voice.
"Okay, what else can you tell us?" Oliver asked and all eyes turned to Kendra, shook her head, because she didn't know much.
"He said we've known each other for ages, but I've never met the man before."
"There has to be some kind of connection." Oliver insisted, and it made Kendra nervous.
"Not one I can think of. I just moved to Central City six months ago." she replied with a slight shake of her head, still trying to rack her brain.
"Why'd you move there?" Oliver asked continuing his line of questioning.
"I just felt drawn to the city, I guess." Kendra answered honestly, but she could tell from the look on his face it wasn't a good enough answer.
"Kendra, there is a reason this guy's after you." Oliver pressed, with a slight agitation. "Think."
"Look, man, we just came out here to hide out for a bit until we figure things out, so you can just take it down..." Cisco said, clearly not liking Oliver's tone as he spoke to Kendra.
"You came here because you need our help. This is what my help looks like." Oliver bit back, and this time Katie stood to her feet, because it was getting clearer where Oliver's agitation was going to lead.
"Oliver, I just saved you guys from whatever the hell Flock of Seagulls was about to do. The least you can do is... "
"Barry, none of us have superpowers. You brought Kendra into our world without knowing who she is or what this dude that is after her is looking for. You made all of us unsafe." Oliver replied glancing over to Katie and shook his head before turning back to Barry. "So maybe you ask the questions."
"Or maybe no one asks the questions." Katie said placing a hand on Oliver's arm, in hopes of calming the man down. "I for one know what it's like to have people trying to kill you and have no idea why." she glanced over to Kendra who turned away slightly, and it was clear that she felt bad for not knowing more. Katie turned back to Oliver and gave the man a smile. "But we figured it out, just like we will do now. We just need to dig a little deeper, talk this out-" she looked over to Felicity hoping the woman had some ideas. Felicity stared for a moment before one hit her.
"Drinks!" Felicity said and everyone turned to her. "We can talk this out over drinks, and act like the friends we are." she said looking between Oliver and Barry. "We're all friends here, right?" Oliver simply nodded, but it was clear he was still a bit angry.
"Then it's a party." Katie replied, looking over to Oliver, placing a hand on his chest and the man turned to her. "And the best part is, there's no way Drunk Twinkie can make an appearance tonight."
The nights frustrations seemed to float away as a group of friends hung out and had a couple of drinks. Everyone was in conversation, when Felicity stepped out of her kitchen with a plate of chocolate chip cookies. Barry was the first to walk over, but Felicity pulled the plate away.
"Sorry, Barry, but these aren't for you. These are for my friend who has to hang around a bunch of boozed up people." Felicity said glancing over to Katie who stood alone by the window that lead to the balcony. "I didn't really think the whole pregnant lady coming over for drinks plan through." Barry turned looking over to Katie. Felicity's phone rang, and she lifted it up, her eyes lighting up at the sight of Bruce's name. "It's Bruce, I have to-" she looked back up to Barry who gave a nod.
"You mind if I-" Barry nudged his head toward Katie, and Felicity nodded before handing him the plate and watching as he walked over to Katie. He expected her to notice him the moment he walked over, but her eyes stayed out the window. He watched her for a moment, how deep in thought she looked and he let out a quiet sigh because every time he saw her it only reminded him of the secret he was carrying that concerned her. He cleared his throat and she turned to him with a smile. "So Felicity felt bad that everyone here is able to drink and you can't, so she was going to bring you these cookies. She got a call from Bruce and kind of got-"
"All girly?" Katie asked and Barry laughed. "That happens a lot when you're in love." she replied taking the plate from the man's hand and grabbing a cookie. "You want one." Barry nodded before taking one as well before watching the woman place them on the table between Thea, Cisco and Kendra. She walked over to the window, and Barry continued to watch her. This time she felt his eyes on her. "You keep staring at me." she turned to him with a quirked brow. "Was there something you wanted to say." there was something he wanted to say, but after a long conversation with Jacob Robins, and Bruce, he knew he couldn't.
"Nothing." he said with a shake of his head before taking a bite from his cookie, and looking out the window as well. He glanced over to her once more. "You know you look happy."
"Happy." Katie replied with a smile, "There is that word again." she looked over to the man and sighed. She stared for a moment, and sudden a question came to her. "How did you do it?" Barry seemed confused at first, and Katie knew she'd have to elaborate. "How did you handle suddenly becoming the fastest man alive? I mean that had to be-" she shook her head and he man smiled slightly.
"Completely insane?" she laughed with a nod. "Well it was. It was terrifying and I felt like I wasn't me anymore-" Barry shook his head. Katie simply stared because she knew the feeling. "I was kind of scared."
"How did you get over it?"
"I guess you never really get over it." Barry says turning to the woman. "I accepted that this was who I was now. I learned what I could do and-" the man nodded. "I trusted other people with this secret. I think that helped me most of all because I don't think I could've handled all of this, grown the way I had if I didn't have people to lean on and who I can trust." Katie gave a nod, before turning back to look out the window, and Barry couldn't help but feel like there was more to the question and he thinks he knows what it is. "I know I already asked this question, but there's something I don't know-" she looked over to the man. "How are you doing? Like really doing?" Katie dropped her eyes slightly as if thinking about how to answer that question, but soon the moment was gone just as an arm snaked around her from behind and she looked over to see Oliver.
"Are you done in Felicity's kitchen, Iron Chef Liver?" he laughed placing a kiss to her head.
"You know she doesn't even know where her own pots are." Oliver chuckled with a shake of his head.
"So are you two ready for like a whole baby?" Barry asked and they turned to him. "It's just-" he shook his head. "Becoming a parent has to be completely scary, and nerve wrecking-"
"And beautiful, and miraculous." Oliver replied looking down to Katie. "And I think we're ready? What do you think?"
"I think it took a six months to finally choose a crib." Katie said with a shake of her head, before turning to Barry. "He shoots arrows at people, and I pretend to know how to run a company. We're completely unprepared to deal with parent hood, but we're going to make it work."
"You know I have no doubt you will." Barry replied.
"Well if you will excuse me, I have to use the restroom." Katie says turning to Oliver and holding out her half eaten cookie. "Hold my cookie, and don't eat it."
"I'm not making any promises Twinkie." Oliver replied taking the cookie and Katie playfully pointed a warning finger to the man before turning and heading over to the bathroom.
She was just a few feet from the door, when Cisco hurried over to her.
"Oh, did you need to go because there's another bathroom upstairs-" she pointed toward the steps, turning back to Cisco who stared at her much like Barry had before, as if he had something to say. "Why is everyone staring at me?" Cisco slid a hand across his head, and Katie looked even more confusion. "You're nervous? Why are you nervous?"
"I—I'm not, I just-" he wasn't even sure why he was over here. "I—"
"Well when you figure it out, I'm going to be in the bathroom." Katie replied giving the man a pat on the shoulder, before hurrying inside the bathroom.
The moment her back was turned, Oliver slipped the rest of the cookie in his mouth.
"She's gonna murder you." Barry laughed. "So is marriage coming before the baby carriage?"
"I don't think so." Oliver says, still disappointed at the fact. "This last couple of weeks are really tiring her out. She says she's not up to planning a wedding and I get it. I just can't wait to marry her. I feel like it's been a long time coming."
"I think a lot of people feel that same way." Barry replies with a nod.
"It's just being with Twinkie, it's like I have this peace, I never thought I would find." Oliver replied with a small smile.
"Didn't you tell me that guys like us don't get the girl?" Barry asked and Oliver gave the man a nod .
"I did say that and I really believed it." Oliver shook his head because he almost lost her because of that thinking. "But I was wrong." Oliver glanced over to the bathroom, realizing how long Katie had been in there. Barry followed his eyes and gave a slight chuckle.
"I'm guessing you think you should go check on her?" Barry asked and Oliver turned to the man. "You know this is a different look on you as well."
"I'm going to take that as a compliment." Oliver replied before walking over and giving a knock on the bathroom door. He wanted to be extra cautious, especially since her going into labor was now expected at any minute. "Hey, Twinkie, are you alright in there?"
Katie had lost herself in the image staring back to her from the mirror. Every day was proving how much she didn't know about herself. She didn't know she was crying until she tasted the saltiness of a tear on her lips. There was another knock at the door, and Katie turned.
"Twinkie?"
"I'm fine, just give me a minute." she replied grabbing some tissue and drying her eyes. She looked back to the mirror and pulled on a smile in hopes of hiding how scared she was right now. With a deep breath, she turned and pulled open the door, and as expected there was Oliver waiting for her.
"You sure you're alright?" Oliver asked, looking over the woman. He could see something was wrong, even through the smile on her face. "It's late, maybe I should take you home."
"There's no telling when I will ever go to a party again. You're not taking this moment from me Liver." the woman says walking around him. "I think I'm going to find some food." before Oliver could say a word, the woman was already headed for the kitchen.
There was half of a chicken in Felicity's fridge that Katie decided to give her full attention in hopes of forgetting how messed up her life seemed to become. She sat by herself in Felicity's kitchen, picking away pieces of the fowl.
"You know I was going to eat that later." Katie looked up to see Felicity, who took the seat across from her. "So what's going on with you?"
"Nothing." Katie looks back down to the chicken, picking away another piece and placing it in her mouth. "I'll buy you some more chicken."
"This isn't about the chicken. It's about whatever is bothering you." Felicity said, but Katie didn't say a word. "And I think whatever that is, it's why you want to hold off on the wedding." Katie shook her head about to stand, and leave the woman and this conversation. "You know more than anyone, that keeping stuff locked inside does not help you. It festers and it eats away at you."
"Smoaks, this is a party-"
"And you're in the kitchen alone, eating cold chicken. You have to let someone in." Katie turned back to the woman, just as Oliver walked in. Felicity looked over to him and sighed.
"I think I'm going to find those cookies." Katie said standing to her feet and leaving the kitchen.
Oliver turned to Felicity, and the woman just shook her head. He thought she'd be able to figure out what was going on with Katie, but obviously he was wrong.
It didn't take long for Thea appear at Katie's side, pull out her phone and show her pictures of different flowers. The last thing Katie wanted to do right now was think about the wedding, but she could see how important it was to Thea, and so she looked at every picture.
"I would like to propose a toast!" both women looked over to Oliver who grabbed a drink and a cookie before walking over to Katie. He handed her the cookie and the woman simply shook her head as they turned to everyone. "I wish it wasn't just the dark times bringing us together..." suddenly Barry sped across the room, grabbing Oliver's drink and turning to the others.
"But it is friends like you that make those dark times worth having." Barry said with a smile that made Oliver shake his head.
"What a guy." Oliver chuckles, taking his drink back from Barry. "Steals my drinks, steals my words-" he gave a shake of his head before holding up his drink. "As I was saying, it's good to see everyone."
"Cheers!" they all said, before taking a sip from their drinks, while Katie happily took a bite from her cookie.
Oliver slid an arm around Katie and the woman looked up, meeting his eyes with a smile.
"You know if I weren't already pregnant, that look would probably do it." she said as Oliver leaned into kiss her.
Cisco grabbed Barry's arm and pulled him away from the others. Barry assumed he knew what this was about, and tried to reassure his friend.
"Don't worry, we're going to keep her safe. I promise." Barry placed a hand on his shoulder and Cisco gave a nod.
"Yeah I know." Cisco looked over to Katie and Oliver before turning back to Barry. "There's just a couple of things."
"About what?"
"Well there's Kendra, and the fact that I may have forgot to mention something about her." Cisco said and Barry stared in confusion. "And then there is Katie who I think may be more than a mild mannered CEO doctor."
Felicity and Thea appeared in front of Oliver and Katie didn't seem to notice the pair at first.
"You know the whole world gets you two are in love." Thea says and the couple turns to them. "We have a proposal."
"Why does that frighten me?" Oliver asked.
"Well it shouldn't. Me and Thea have been talking, and we think we can plan the entire wedding-" Felicity said, before she turned to Katie. "And you wouldn't have to lift a finger. No stress, no mess." the blonde smiled between the couple. "I along with the rest of the world believes this wedding should not be put off for longer than it needs. I'm thinking we find this vampire guy, or whatever he is, and get a few things in order. I mean in a couple of days we can get you two to be man and wife."
"So what do you say?" Thea asked. Oliver looked at them for a moment, actually liking the idea. He would like any idea that ended with them married quickly. He turned to Katie wanting to hear her answer.
"Look!" Kendra yelled, and almost suddenly the windows of Felicity's balcony shatter as a man flies in. It isn't until he's standing right there, that they realize the man they are looking for had found them.
"I will always find you, Chay-Ara!" he declared, his eyes on Kendra.
Oliver moved his body in front of Katie, pushing her back, and placing as much distance between them and the dangerous metahuman. Soon the entire team was on the other side of the room, until Barry suddenly sped away, and when he returned he was holding Oliver's bow and arrows he'd had in the car. Oliver quickly took them, before turning to John who gave a nod, and moved in front of Katie before Oliver rushed off.
"Don't move!" Oliver ordered.
"Then how will I kill you all" the man said.
It wasn't until Katie took a slight step to the side, that she saw as the man suddenly tossed blades in their direction. Her eyes went wide, and she doesn't even know why she does it, but she lifts a palm toward the blades.
"Stop!" she yells, and everything in the room freezes in place. Katie looks over to the man, before turning to her friends. That's when she sees Barry mid step, she figures in his attempt to catch the blades. She walks over to blade in front of Felicity and wraps her hand around the handle and pulling it with no trouble before dropping it to the ground. She was about to grab the next one, when she heard movement and she turned back to the man, seeing him make slow movements. "Shit." she muttered quickly grabbing the next blade, and then the next.
"What-" she turned to see the man no longer frozen. His eyes look over to the others before turning to Katie. "How-"
"Go." Katie mutters and suddenly the room is moving again, as Barry quickly rushes to grab the blades. He could've sworn there were more as he stops a few, but one eludes him and stabs him through the shoulder. Barry stumbles back a bit, but is able to catch his footing before another blade is thrown, this one he's able to catch.
"Yeah, I can do that too!" Barry, yells. The man take a step forward, but is suddenly stopped by one of his own blades piercing his side. His eyes go to Katie, and suddenly so does everyone else.
"You crashed the wrong party." she said and he reached for another blade, but Oliver had stepped forward, sending an arrow through his shoulder. He took another step, but didn't expect his sister to appear with her own bow and arrow, and release arrow after arrow at the man, causing him to stumble back and fall off the balcony.
"Thea, no!" Oliver yelled and his sister turned to him without an ounce of regret on her face. "What did you do?"
"I ended it." Thea practically growled, and Oliver could see the darkness in her eyes. He shook his head before he and Barry rushed over to the balcony to look over, only to find the man was no where in sight.
"This is why I ask questions!" Oliver snapped, looking over to Barry who was still looking for the man.
"Wait...where did he go?" Barry asked, turning back to Oliver who shook his head before rushing back inside. He quickly dropped the bow, and hurried over to Katie, placing his hands on her shoulder.
"Are you alright?" Oliver asked, he could feel her shaking under his touch. "Are you hurt?" Katie looked up to Oliver, speechless, not sure the events prior just happened. "Ok, we're going to the hospital-"
"Liver, no, I'm-" Katie shook her head before simply bringing her arms around the man, who did the same. "I'm fine."
"Is she ok?" Barry asked, and Oliver pulled from Katie's arms and turned a dark look to the man, before taking a step forward, but Katie grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
"Hey, I'm ok, I just didn't see this turning into a knife party." Katie replied letting out a deep breath.
"I'm taking you home." Oliver said and Katie shook her head.
"Liver, really I-"
"We don't know nearly enough about this guy to feel safe. Right now he wants Kendra, and that means as long as we're protecting her, then we're in danger too. The danger will not get to you again." Katie looked at the man for a moment before looking down to one of the blades on the floor. He was right. Of course he was right. This guy was dangerous, and she was slow and not able to move as quickly as the others, so the likelihood of her getting hurt was greater than the others. It made sense for her to rush home, but she didn't want to be alone. Not right now, not when she was moments away from completely freaking out. She turned, prepared to come up with any excuse, but Oliver was already grabbing her jacket and keys and was leading her toward the door.
During the drive home, Katie nervously bit her nails as she stared out the window. She couldn't stop seeing it, how she did something impossible.
"How did he find her?" Oliver suddenly spoke and Katie turned to the man who seemed to be thinking out loud. "I don't get it."
"Maybe there's a bigger connection between him and her, maybe even one she's not aware of." Katie replied, before shifting in her seat, letting out a slight groan.
"You ok?"
"Yeah, she's going nuts in here." Katie replies sliding a hand across her stomach. "I guess she wasn't a fan of the party crasher either."
"Well she won't be in the same room with that guy if I can help it." Oliver replies as he finally pulls into the driveway.
When they walked inside the house, Oliver followed behind Katie, closing the door behind him, but not venturing too far inside. He wanted to, wanted nothing more than to stay home with his future wife and forget the world around him. But there was a woman whose life was in danger, and he could help. Katie turned to see the man standing by the door, and knew what was going through his head.
"I'm angry." she said suddenly and Oliver looked confused, walking over to her, but she held up her hands to stop him. "Wait, let me finish." he stopped, but gave a nod. "I'm angry that this happens. That at a party, with my friends, and some crazy guy slams through the window, and then my fiance has to rush off to stop him, while I hang back-"
"Twinkie-"
"I get it. This is our lives, these things will happen and it was fine, when it was just-" she shook her head.
"Just us?" Katie turned back to him and nodded. "Twinkie, I promise I will make sure she's safe."
"You can't promise that, I can't promise that. It's our lives." she shook her head, letting out a heavy sigh. "And the last thing I want right now is for you to leave." Oliver sighed, bringing his arms around the woman. "If I told you to stay, would you?" Oliver dropped his forehead to hers.
"Absolutely." he replied, before placing a kiss to her forehead. Katie sighed, before wrapping her arms around the man, and dropping her head to his chest.
"I want to tell you to stay." she sighed against his chest. "But I'm not going to. I'm going to tell you to be safe, to stop the bad guy, be safe, and kiss me." she lifted her head, and looked up to the man's eyes. Oliver stared down to the woman for a few moments, a small smile on his lips before leaning forward to capture the woman's lips. In those few moments, the craziness of this day just disappeared, and there was nothing left but the two and half people in this room right now. Naturally they needed to breathe, and so they pulled back, their arms still wrapped around each other.
"I love you." Oliver said smiling down to the woman, placing a final kiss to her lips.
"Well if you love me so much, you should marry me."
"That's a good idea." Oliver laughed, placing another kiss along her cheek. "Will you marry me?"
"I'll think about it." she joked, pulling away from the man. "You should go."
"Did you need help up the stairs?" Oliver asked and Katie scoffed, but turned to the stairs and sighed with a nod.
"My greatest enemy are those stairs and I will beat them one day." Katie replied, as Oliver walked around her, and scooped the woman into his arm.
"Until then, you get to be my damsel." Oliver said and Katie simply shook her head as she let the man carry her upstairs.
Oliver gently lowered the woman to the bed, and took the seat beside her.
"Are you sure you don't want to tell me to stay?" Oliver asked and Katie lightly laughed placing a hand on his cheek. "I really don't want to leave my nine month pregnant fiance home alone."
"Don't worry, I won't have her without you." Katie attempted to make him feel better.
"You can't promise that." Oliver replied before placing a hand on her stomach. "But I can promise that the moment I get the call you're in labor, I will drop everything and make my way to you." he brought his lips to hers before placing a kiss to her stomach. "Just stay in there until I get back, ok?" he gave Katie one final kiss before standing to his feet and leaving.
Katie closed her eyes, dropping her head back against the headboard, and let out a sigh.
"Well, well, well." came the taunting voice of her uncle. She opened her eyes and turned her head to see him lying beside her on the bed. "Are you ready to face this now?"
"Face what? That somehow, I have these abilities-" she shook her head. "I was no where near that explosion in Central City, so that's not how it happened."
"Who said it did?" he asked and Katie looked over to him. "Who says this hasn't been inside of you this entire time?"
"Why are you here? Where is my mother? I would rather her here, than you."
"Ah, my Minnah would love to be here right now, but she can't."Ra's replied as he looked over to her. "You see, she can not come to light in darkness, and as the darkness slowly grows within you-"
"What are you talking about?" Suddenly the doorbell rang, and Katie turned away at the sound. "Who could that be?"
"I wouldn't answer." Ra's said and she turned back to him. "You don't need more distractions." the doorbell rang once again, and this time Katie pulled herself to her feet and began heading down the halls.
She hoped whoever was at the door was important, because she would hate to have to climb down so many stairs for no reason. The doorbell rang once more the moment she was standing in front of the door, and she quirked a brow.
"Yes!" she called.
"Hey, it's me, Arianna!" a voice called from the other side, and Katie furrowed her brow in confusion before reaching forward and pulling open the door. Her eyes go wide at the sight of the young girl, whose curly red hair is pulled into a pony tail on top of her head. "What took you so long?" she scoffed before stalking inside the house, past Katie. Katie turned, still surprised to see the girl. Ms. Sandburg had shown her pictures, but it was quite different to see this girl up close, still wearing her navy and white uniform, and sneakers. "You live here?" the question seemed like more of an insult than anything.
"Ok." Katie says closing the door and turning to the young girl. "You're here, like right here, why?" Ari continued walking through the house, making little disgusted noises as she did. "I thought you weren't coming until after exams around Christmas break."
"We were given the chance to take exams early. I did and passed." she replied turning back to Katie. "You seriously live here. It's all weird and small." Katie looked at the girl in confusion, because this house was anything but small, but she figures compared to her parent's mansion, maybe it is.
"Ari, focus, ok. Where is Ms. Sandburg? Why didn't anyone tell me you were coming today in the middle of the night."
"Well Ms. Stick up her butt doesn't know I'm here, and it really doesn't matter because I'm not staying." Ari replied before digging in her bag. "I'm spending the rest of break in Central City with a friend of mines, but I figured I should stop by here to give you these." Ari handed Katie a thick packet of papers. Katie took them and looked them over. "They're everything you need to sign for my tuition." Katie looked over to the girl. "All those papers need to be completed and a check needs to be mailed before the deadline, or I don't get attend next semester." Katie looked back down to the papers still lost. "Hey!" the girl clapped her hands and Katie jumped a bit looking back up to her. "I need you to listen and listen good, you're going to fill out those papers, you're going to write a check for my tuition for the next three years and then you and me will never have to lay eyes on each other. We need to do this now because my friend is waiting for me, so grab a pen and get to writing." the girl shook her head before turning and spotting the door to the kitchen, walking off leaving Katie in a mild state of shock.
No one really said much once they returned back to the hideout and waited for Oliver to arrive. They were all still a bit shaken, and confused by the attack. Felicity sat behind her computer, trying to see if any of the surrounding surveillance cameras could've seen where the man had disappeared to. She glanced over to John who was standing off to himself, and she could tell there was something on his mind.
"Hey." she called and he turned to her. "You alright?" John gave a nod, glancing over to the others who were on the other side of the lair, before he walked over to her. "What's up?"
"I don't know. Back at your place, when the weird, old guy attacked, Barry gave Oliver his bow and then Oliver looked at me, wanting me to keep Katie safe, so I moved in front of her."
"And she didn't get hurt, there's nothing for you to feel bad about." Felicity replied, giving the man a pat on the shoulder.
"That's not it. It's just I remember standing in front of her, and then the next minute she's on the other side of the room." John said looking over to Felicity who just stared in confusion.
"I don't understand what you're trying to say."
"Neither do I." John said with a shake of his head.
Cisco watched as Kendra walked over to the bathroom, before glancing over to Barry who stood looking up to one of the suits. It wasn't until he walked over did he see which suit he was looking at. Barry glanced over to his friend for a moment before shaking his head.
"Do you want to talk about this now?"
"Not particularly." Barry replied. "I just feel we have bigger issues at the moment. Like someone trying to kill your girlfriend." he turned back to Cisco who shook his head. "Cisco, I know what you saw, but I need you to trust me when I say drop it." Barry turned and walked off, and Cisco stared after him, before following and grabbing his arm. Barry turned, glancing around to make sure no one had noticed the man. "Cisco, what-"
"You already knew, didn't you?" he asked and Barry just shook his head. "You did know, and you didn't say anything."
"Say anything to who?" Barry asked. "That's not my secret to tell, and it's not yours, so you're going to say nothing to no one." Barry was about to walk away, but for the life of him he just had to know. "What did you see exactly?" Cisco took a slight step forward.
"There was this light coming from her hand, and she was standing beside this guy with blonde hair. She wasn't pregnant though, and she seemed different."
"Different how?"
"Like bad, different." Cisco replied still getting chills from what he saw. "Like something happened to her." he shook his head turning back to Barry. "We should say something, right? I just get the feeling if we don't something bad will happen."
"Today's problem is protecting Kendra from whoever this guy is. I'll figure out what to do with this Katie thing." Barry lifted his eyes as the elevator doors opened and out walked Oliver. Cisco followed his eyes and shuttered a bit.
"He doesn't look happy, does he?"
"Well I don't think leaving his pregnant fiance is something he wants to be doing right now." Barry said before walking over to the man who headed over to Felicity. "Hey Ollie, I have to apologize again, putting Katie and the baby in any kind of danger was not my intention when we brought Kendra here." Oliver simply gave the man a nod before turning to Felicity.
"I spoke with Lance, he's going to keep us in the loop if there's any sighting of whoever this guy is." Felicity said looking over to everyone, before hearing a slight beeping from her computer. She turned back with a growl, typing away.
"What's going on?" Oliver asked and Felicity turned to the man nervously. "What?"
"Well it's kind of unrelated to the case at hand, but it's something you will want to know." Felicity replied, and Oliver stared, waiting for her to continue. "There was an electrician working in your neighborhood this morning, and I believe he had absolutely no idea what he was doing." Felicity turned back to her computer and just shook her head. "There have been power outages in the neighborhood for most of the day."
"What does that mean?"
"It means all security at the house is down." she turned back to the cold glare of Oliver, and instantly regretted spilling the beans on this, but she knew she had to. "At least until someone can fix it."
"Which is when?"
"According to the SC Electric, someone should be out in the morning." Felicity replied with a slight smile.
Oliver folded his arms over his chest and took a slight step back. The only comfort he got in leaving Katie was knowing there were eyes on her when he wasn't around, and now he was told that he wouldn't have that tonight.
"I've tried everything to get the system back up, but the issue must be on-site with the wiring."
"And are we sure this was done by electric company?" Oliver asked turning to the woman who nodded.
"From what I can tell, yes." Felicity said looking back to her monitor. "Oliver, I'm sure Twinkie will be alright for one night without big brother watching her every move." she looked back up to the man, and she just knew he held a different opinion. "Or I could call Bruce. He should be back now, and the only thing he's taking care of is fixing our window." she grabbed her phone. "Maybe he can swing by to make sure everything is still quiet." she looked back up to Oliver who looked like he wanted to just run right back out the door. "Don't worry." Oliver sighed, before looking over to the others.
"Has there been any new information on this guy?" Oliver asked, looking over to Cisco, and Kendra.
"I know where we can get some info." Barry says, his eyes looking over to Cisco who let out a sigh, before turning to Kendra.
"Kendra, I have powers." Cisco says, and the whole room goes quiet.
Katie wasn't sure why the sight of a teenage girl, rummaging around her refrigerator was so odd, but it was. It was unexpected.
"I called Ms. Sandburg." Katie said, and she heard the girl groan. "She said she talked the school, and although yes you did finish your exams early, they said you couldn't actually leave without parental permission. So instead you snuck away with your friend."
"What's the big deal?" Ari replied closing the refrigerator, and simply grabbing a banana from the basket on the counter. "You should really get a move on those papers. I really don't want to have to be here longer than I need to." Katie looked over to her confused.
"You know I thought Ms. Sandburg said you were alright with me becoming your guardian." Katie said and the girl rolled her eyes and that's when it hit her. "Or more like you were alright with the money I could provide for your tuition." she looked down to the papers in her hand and just shook her head.
"Don't look so offended." the girl replied and Katie looked over to her with a quirked brow. "In what world would I ever be alright with living with the woman who killed my father and sent my mother to prison? Look this solves everyone's problem. I get to go to school with my friends, and you get to focus on your little spawn in there, and everyone's happy."
"Look, what happened with your dad-"
"Please don't. I'm not here for closure. I know who my father was, know what he did. It was all over the news, so me along with all of my friends saw it." Ari shook her head, before looking around the kitchen. "This is the house where it happened." she looked back over to Katie. "Where's the spot?" Katie looked over to her in confusion. "Where he died. Where's the spot?" Katie dropped her head, swallowing the lump in her throat. "Sign the papers. If you want to soothe your guilty conscious, then sign papers, give me the check, and just stay the hell out of my life." Arianna's phone buzzed, and she pulled it from her pocket and cursed under her breath. "Look I have to go. I will text you an address where you can send the forms and the check." the girl was already headed for the door.
"Wait, Ms. Sandburg said that you should stay here until morning when she would come sort everything out." Katie said, following after the girl.
"There's nothing to sort out." the girl stopped at the door, and turned back to Katie, looking her over once more with a shake of her head before turning and opening the door. The girl didn't expect to practically bump into someone.
"Whoa, sorry." the man said before looking over to Katie. "You have a guest this late, Robins?"
"Bruce, this is Arianna, my cousin." Katie says walking over to the girl. "Arianna, this is-"
"Bruce Wayne, I know." the girl muttered looking down to her phone once again before rushing out to the awaiting car. Katie stepped outside to see Arianna, slide into the passenger side of the car, and kiss the teenage driver. Katie tilted her head slightly, because the guy in the driver's seat looked way too old to be in high school She wanted to say something, but before she knew it, the car was speeding off. She seriously didn't know what she was supposed to do in this moment, and so she turned around and walked back into the house with low growl.
"Ok, I'll bite. What the hell was that?" Bruce asked following behind the woman in to the kitchen. "I thought Felicity said baby cousin wouldn't be arriving until for another week."
"That's what I thought too." Katie turned back to the man looking down to the papers. "She got out early and decided to drop these off."
"What are those?"
"My only purpose to her." Katie said with a shake of her head. "She only wants money to pay for school." she looks over to Bruce. "I mean she hates me, that's pretty obvious, but I didn't know how cold she would be." Katie dropped her head and sighed. "But I should've. After everything I did-"
"Hey Robins, trust me when I say that what happened to her parents-"
"I killed her father."
"Yeah, after he robbed your company, and then came to your home and tried to kill you and your friend."
"Her mom is in jail because of me."
"Yeah, because her and her idiot of a brother thought taking a restaurant full of people hostage, and threatening to kill them to get the world to see you as a murderer, somehow was justice for Jeremy's death. Jeremy and Heather made their own choices and those choices lead them to where they are today." Katie shook her head, looking down to the papers.
"What are you even doing here, Bruce?"
"Oh, I was taking care of that window after that rager of party when Felicity called and mentioned the power outages in your neighborhood." Bruce said and Katie looked over to him confused. "Which you didn't know about."
"No." Katie says looking around the, and seeing everything working properly. "Is she sure because everything seems to be working fine."
"Everything except your surveillance." Bruce replied and Katie turned to him. "You know I have a better idea, I'm sure Oliver and Felicity are going to be tied up with this knife guy for a while, why don't we got to some fancy hotel, with lots of cameras and security."
"That's just what me and Oliver need right now. The paparazzi catching a shot of me and Bruce Wayne walking into a hotel together." she shook her head. "Maybe the surveillance is just an electrical problem, and either way I'm sure it will be fixed in the morning." Katie eyes looked back down to the papers. "How old do you think that guy was?" she looked back to Bruce who seemed confused by question. "The guy from the car, with Ari? He seemed old, right?"
"I wasn't really paying attention." Bruce said honestly, still watching the woman who looked conflicted about something. "Hey, I know this whole Ari thing threw you for a loop, but-"
"She's my responsibility." Katie said suddenly placing the papers back on the counter and leaving the kitchen, and Bruce quickly followed her to see her slip on a pair shoes and grab her jacket.
"Hey, wait, where are you going?" Katie stopped and turned to him.
"Uh-" she closed her eyes trying to remember where Ari said her friend was. "Central City." Katie replied with a nod, looking back over to Bruce. "Arianna says she's staying with a friend until next semester, so I'm going to go there."
"Ok, why?" Bruce asked and Katie shrugged with a shake of her head.
"Because I don't know this friend, that guy from the car makes me nervous, and she's my responsibility, so I should feel comfortable when I can't see her and right now I don't feel comfortable, so I'm going to-"
"Where in Central City is this friend?" Bruce asked and Katie shook her head.
"I don't-" she growled. "You're being really negative right now."
"And you're acting like a crazy person."
"Well this isn't an act!" she snapped before turning back to the door about to leave.
"And what about your fiance?!" Bruce called after her, causing her to pause once again. "Maybe we should tell him about this little trip to Central City." Katie turned a glare to Bruce who held up his hands. "I need you to stop thinking like-"
"A mother?" Katie asked, but Bruce didn't say anything. "I don't think I can do that right now." she slid a hand through her hair. "That girl is sad, and she's angry, and I know what that's like. You know what that's like and you don't leave a kid like that alone without knowing she's not alone."
"Alright, how about in the morning we find her, and then you and Oliver can decide what to do next. Does that sound like a plan?"
"It's a plan, not one I like, but I guess it will have to do." she replied before pulling off her jacket and heading into the living room and dropping to the couch.
"You didn't want to head up to bed?" Bruce asked and Katie shook her head before grabbing the remote.
"Way too much on my mind to sleep." she replied flicking on the television. "And too many steps."
"Well do you want to talk about it?" he asked taking a seat in the chair beside her. "Richie told me you called him." Katie looked over to him and just shrugged.
"Yeah, he has my mother's diaries, and I wanted them back. Has he found them yet?"
"Uh, no, because he doesn't have them." Bruce replied. Katie turned her attention to him fully, waiting for him to explain. "They were taken?"
"By who exactly?"
"Amanda Waller." Bruce replied honestly, and that was yet another name Katie thought she would never have to hear.
"Ok." Katie reached forward, and turned off the television, before looking back to Bruce. "Explain, right now."
"Not much of an explanation. She was looking to get dirt on Jacob, so she took the journals."
"How did she even know about them?"
"That I don't know. Look there wasn't much in those journals anyway, I'm sure whatever you were looking for, it wasn't in there." Katie looked over to the man, and sighed before turning away. "What were you looking for?"
"I don't even know anymore."
It was ridiculously late when Oliver walked through the door. The good thing was they'd gotten more answers about this guy after Kendra. With a bit of help from Malcolm Merlyn of all people, they even got his name. Vandal Savage. He paid another visit tonight, but they weren't able to stop him. But they left last night with more knowledge about Kendra, and the connection she has with Savage. And a new player, named Carter Hall who along with Kendra had special abilities. One of them being, having wings and being able fly. Though Kendra hasn't gotten that far yet. What they do know is that Vandal is after a staff and if he gets his hands on it, then bad things would happen and they were pretty sure they'd find this staff in Central City. That meant Oliver leaving Star City, and his fiance who could go in to labor at any moment.
When he walked inside, he saw the glow of the television, and walked inside to see Katie asleep lying on the couch. He looked down to her in confusion, before hearing footsteps from behind him, and when he turned he met the barrel of Bruce's gun.
"You know you should announce yourself when you come in here." Bruce whispers holstering his gun.
"Yeah, I'll get right on that." Oliver says looking over to Katie. "Why is she lying on the couch?" he turned to Bruce who shrugged.
"She was watching television and just fell asleep."
"Well she shouldn't sleep on the couch. It's not comfortable and she's gonna wake up achy." the man said before walking around the couch, and gently sliding his arms underneath her and hiking her up into his arms. Katie's head turned, nuzzling Oliver's neck.
"You're back." she muttered, still not completely awake. But she was awake enough to know whose arms she was in right now. "Did we catch the bad guy?"
"Not yet, but we think we know where he's going." Oliver replied as he carefully climbed the steps. He looked away and sighed. "I may have to leave for a little bit." those words were enough to stir the woman awake, as she lifted her head and looked over to him.
"Leave? As in the city?"
"We think Savage is headed to Central City and-"
"Wait, who is Savage? Is that our very old guy's name?"
"Yeah, Vandal Savage. We've gotten a lot of information about him, and I'll tell you about it later, it's just me and Barry have to find this guy and stop him before he causes more trouble. Look I've talked with John and he says you can stay with Lyla and baby Sara while we're gone." Oliver laid the woman in the bed, and he could see this was not something she wanted to hear. "Twinkie, if there were any other way-"
"But there are." she said turning back to him. "Lots of ways, It's just since you're you, you're most likely to succeed. Which is good for catching the bad guys, just not so good for-" she looked around the room with a shake of her head. "This whole life we have here, with the baby on the way."
"Twinkie-" Oliver placed his hands in hers and she turned back to him. "Do you want to tell me to stay?" she let out a sigh, and shook her head.
"I will have the same answer to that question, every time it's asked." Katie said looking back up to the man. "I want every minute with you. Even more now since this kid is literally on a ticking clock at this point." she placed a hand on his cheek. "I wish I was selfish, but I have a conscious and you have a bad guy to stop."
Oliver looked down placing a hand over her stomach and letting out a sigh.
"This is crazy." he said looking back to the woman. "This is—this is more important and if I leave and miss meeting her, I will never forgive myself." Katie turned away slightly, and Oliver could tell she was thinking. "What?"
"Wait, you said Central City, right?" Oliver gave a nod, and a wide smile broke out on Katie's face that confused the hell out of the man. "I think I know a way to solve your distant issue and my Ari issue."
"Wait, what Ari issue?" Oliver asked
Author's note:
Hello all, so sorry for the wait, my thick skin was tested with a very unhelpful review. I'm all for criticism, but lets keep it constructive, give me tips, I welcome help, but your rudeness is just mean. Sorry for lagging with posting this chapter.
Review Replies
ImsebastianstanButter : Aw, thanks so much!
BlueBloodsSVUOrder : You're a bit of a psychic right, because you're going to get a glimpse of that answer from the next chapter. Ok...i get what the idea of the Arianna story line could seem boring, but she will help a story line. Trust me, she's going to be quite surprising, if you haven't guessed from her introduction.
Adela : Exactly. Oliver has really stepped up his protector mode, especially with the baby on the way.
lylooo99 : That is a nice name, but I won't reveal the real name until we finally get our introduction to our baby Twiver, which is going to be happening kind of soon.
kuppcake: I love Supergirl too, and I figured since Batman and Superman were all in my story's universe, it only made sense she would too. Gonna love seeing her more in the story. Aw, yes, seeing Jacob's face...it's a trigger. I don't want to give too much away, but Jacob is going to become the one thing he was trying to protect his daughter from. Our Brucity is still holding strong so far, but there are still secrets that will threaten to tear them apart as well.
LiLuLo12: Thanks so much, and I have to tell you, that moment she finds out the truth is going to change everything for the woman whose been trying to figure out who she really is.
Guest: Ugh, I so wish you were bold enough to have used your real screen name...or at least create one if you plan on being mean. If you believe what you're saying, and you can stand behind it, then don't hide behind the "Guest". That being said, I actually appreciate your review, I feel there could've been a better delivery, but people aren't perfect. What I will say is, me being a very novice writer will probably fall victim to my OC's falling into some of the characteristics of a *sigh* Mary Sue. I try to be vigilant, to identify those moments, but I can't catch every one because once again, people aren't perfect. I'm not writing a Pulitzer here. It's this crazy story in my head I like to write to escape my unadventurous life and maybe help you escape yours for a little bit. Sorry if that didn't happen for you, but I won't take your advice and quit writing. I'll learn, try to do better, and hope this story that I enjoy is enjoyed by others. You could be one of those people, but if it's not your cup of tea, then fine...I release from your obligation to read this...wait, that's not how this works, right?
rockyroyal,dr: Bruce and Felicity are simply adorbs, but their rough patches aren't over sadly. I mean there's still that secret floating in the air, ready to pop at any second. I'm so sorry, the false labor was me having a bit of fun, but don't worry the next time, it will be real. I really wanted Thea's light bulb moment to happen, for her to see it front row what Oliver's and Katie's life is like with being all happy and smiley, to a crisis and then Oliver has to go. She loves her brother and Katie and she sees how tough this life will be for them, and I'm glad she was able to give her brother some advice about it. This was the third proposal I wrote for these two, and I wanted it to actually seem different than the others, because in reality it was. They'd grown and been through so much and now they know what they're getting into. They know what they have to do to keep their promises to each other. And we finally met our angsty Arianna, who blew in like a tornado, and then scurried off to an entirely different city. The search for her is going to lead to some very interesting places.
As always, I have to say I very much appreciate everyone deciding to jump on this crazy train with me and seeing where it goes. It's good to know I'm not alone with my crazy. Makes me smile. Special shout out to those wonderful people who left some reviews for me...even the not so nice one. Reviews take time and for you all to stop doing what you're doing in your lives to leave me a few words, I just have to feel this story has to hold a piece of you as well. So thank you.
To show my gratitude...
Sneak Peek
Oliver didn't expect his entire world to be shaken at just the simple sight of a little boy and his mother. But it was who that mother was, and who that little boy could be that seemed to cause his heart ram faster in his chest.
At the moment he stood outside of a hotel room door, terrified to go inside. Afraid of the woman who usually could tell when something wasn't right, or when he was hiding something. Hell he was afraid she wouldn't see anything, and he'd have to decide if he'd want it to stay that way.