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?

10. The Lies We Tell

Chapter 10

The Lies We Tell

"At the heart of any terror is the fear of losing what we find meaningful."

-Mark Z. Danielewski

---

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. He took in a deep breath, before waving his key card along the lock, and pushing the door open. The room was big. Not by choice really. The moment they arrived, the hotel manager insisted they stayed in the best room they had. They didn't want to make a big deal about it, so they agreed. The big room only meant he'd have to really look for the woman when he walked inside.

Oliver heard her voice before he actually saw her. She was on the phone talking to someone who didn't seem to be making her happy.

"And I completely understand you protecting the confidential information of your students, but I am the guardian of this child and I have no idea where to even begin looking for her." she said, the agitation dripping from her voice. "And I assumed you being the headmaster-" whoever she was speaking to cut her off, and she scoffed. "No, I don't think I'm above any rules because of who I am, I'm just worried and I assumed you would be too." Katie ended the call, and threw the phone to the bed with a growl before turning and seeing Oliver. "I have been on the phone all morning with people from this stupid boarding school and they're all too far up their own ass to tell me anything."

"Hey, calm down." Oliver replied walking over to the woman and bringing his arms around her. "We don't even know if anything is even wrong."

"Yeah, and we don't know if anything is right either." she replied dropping her head to his chest. "I don't know what it is, but I can't shake the feeling she's in too bad a place to just be lost somewhere." she pulled back with a sigh, before looking up to the man, who looked back to her. "What's wrong?"

"What do you mean?" he asked nervously. Because he knew this moment could happen. She narrowed her eyes at the man before placing a hand on his cheek.

"Where are my donuts?" she asked and the man visibly deflated. "You told me you were meeting Barry at CC Jitters, I asked you to bring me one or a few of their donuts and you agreed. I've actually been looking forward to it." Oliver looked guilty and she just shook her head. "You forgot, didn't you?"

"Twinkie, I'm sorry, I-" she pulled out of his grasp and stalked away, leaving Oliver unsure if he's relieved right now or not. He turned, and followed after her to find her in the closet sifting through her clothes. "I can go back and get you all the donuts you want." she simply ignored the man and he let out a sigh. "Twinkie, I really am sorry, I guess I got a little distracted."

"By this bad guy of the week?" she asked and she was partly right.

"Yeah, the others should be arriving soon. Now that he has this staff or whatever and is much more powerful than before, we're going to have to figure out how to take it away from him."

"So what you're saying is you were too busy trying to figure out how to save the world, to remember my donuts?" she asked looking over her shoulder to the man. He gave a small smile, and nodded. "You know that should be a great excuse, but in the end, I'm still without a single donut." she turned back to her closet and let out a loud dramatic sigh. "You have to go don't you?"

"Not before I figure out where you're going so I can talk you out of it." she rolled her eyes at the man before heading toward the bathroom. "Twinkie-"

"I was going to go to the CCPD, talk to Detective West, see if he could help me find Ari." she replied.

"How could he help you? You have no idea where she is, or even who this friend is she's staying with, if she's even in Central City." Oliver stated and Katie turned to him in annoyance. "Honey, I know you're worried about her, but we have to figure out some more details before we actually do that. Which we will, once we beat Savage, and everyone is safe. We will focus on finding Ari." he placed his hands on her shoulder. "But for now, maybe you could just stay here and relax and not go into labor until we can stop this guy."

"And coming with you to the safe house-"

"Is dangerous. This guy has this connection to Kendra and Carter, and if he decides to make another appearance, I don't want you there."

"So how does this work then?" Katie asked in confusion. "You go there, do the whole team heroes thing, and then come back or do you stay in the event of another attack." Oliver didn't know how to answer that question, because he hadn't thought that far ahead. "This is the tough part, right? Because you're trying to find this balance between being the Green Arrow, and stopping the bad guy, and being the future husband to the hot mess that is I."

"Twinkie, you're not-" he brought his arms around her and pulled her close. "I'm really trying to be everything for everyone, so yeah it's tough."

"Well of course it is, because it's also impossible." Katie replied before leaning forward and placing a kiss to his lips. "You can't be everything to everyone, so just be who you are to anyone you can." with that she turned and headed for the bathroom, but stopped before turning back to the man. "Honey?"

"You know it just slipped out." Oliver said with a laugh. "What do you think?"

"I don't hate it." she replied with a shake of her head before disappearing into the bathroom to take her bath. Oliver stood there for a moment, letting out another sigh. The guilt of not telling her right now was eating away at him, but another part of him was scared that this bomb could shatter everything they've built. At the moment Oliver's justification was that he really didn't know anything, and he wouldn't know anything until he spoke to Samantha. His phone buzzed and he looked down to see the message from Felicity that they will be arriving soon. He slipped the phone back into his pocket before walking into the bathroom to find Katie, soaking in the bathtub.

"Hey, Felicity just sent a text. I'm going to meet them at the airfield." Oliver said walking over, and crouch beside her. "Just so I'm aware of how your day is going to go..."

"I'm going to stay here, make a couple of more phone calls, probably stalk Ari's facebook page." the woman sighed, dropping her head back on the towel behind her. "I really think she's here somewhere. I just have to dig a little deeper."

"I'm going to help you with this, you know?" Katie turned her head to him. "I just-"

"I know, honey." she said and the man smiled. "You were right, we don't know if anything is wrong, where as we do know that there is a crazy guy with a magic stick roaming around somewhere."

"I love you." he said, bringing his lips to hers.

"Just don't love me enough to bring me a donut, I guess." she muttered against his lips and he laughed.

"You know what I'm going to bring you all the donuts in this city." the man replied, and with one more kiss he stood to his feet to leave.

"What would Dr. Francis say?!" she called after him, smiling at the sound of his distant laughter.

Once Katie was finished with her bath, she parked herself in her bed, laptop in her lap attempting to figure out where Arianna was. The hotel phone suddenly rang, and Katie turned in confusion before answering.

"Hello?"

"Hi, yes Dr. Robins, so sorry to disturb you, but we have someone at the front desk, claiming that he is your doctor, and that you called him because you were in labor. We don't usually do this sort of thing, and he actually doesn't know I'm calling you right now, but in the event that he was telling the truth-"

"What's his name?"

"A doctor Ethan Mills." the desk clerk replied. Katie heard yelling from the other end. "Sir, I need you to calm down."

"No you calm down, my Kit needs me and I will be damned if you try to stop me!"

Katie dropped her face to her palm and shook her head.

"You can send him up and no I'm not in labor." Katie replied before hanging up the phone. She shook her head, and just continued her search. When she heard the knock at the door, she rolled her eyes before standing to her feet, and slowly making her way to the door. The moment she opened the door, Ethan tossed his arms around her in a hug.

"Thanks for saving me Kit!" the man exclaimed before pulling away. "Now what the hell are you doing in Central City?"

"What are you doing in Central City?" Katie asked, stepping aside to let the man inside.

"Oliver rounded the team, and that included my girlfriend and... this room is huge." Ethan let his eyes scan the tall ceiling and the very fancy furniture. "Like this room is bigger than my apartment doubled." He turned back to Katie, who shook her head before walking away from him and of course he followed. "Like I was saying Laurel's here, and I heard you were here and I came to lecture about once again getting on an airplane at 39 weeks." Katie grabbed her laptop and climbed back into bed, and Ethan decided to kick off his shoes and slide beside her.

"Keep your lecture Ethan, I'm busy right now." Katie replied, and Ethan looked over to the screen in confusion.

"Why are you stalking teenagers on Facebook? That's probably illegal or something." Ethan replied shaking his head at some of the pictures. "And that is not how you do a keg stand. He probably cracked his skull after taking that picture." Katie growled in frustration before slamming closed her laptop. "Or maybe he didn't. Maybe he lived happily ever after."

"Or maybe he died." Katie huffed before standing to her feet and walking out to the balcony. Ethan let out a sigh, before sliding out of bed and following after her. "Stop!" Ethan's feet stopped before he could even get close to the doors of the balcony. "The last thing any of us need right now is for me and some mysterious guy showing up on the front page of some magazine, with the headline, "Future Mayor's baby mama, or hussy?" or something ridiculous like that."

"First off, no one says hussy and second, what's going on with you?"

"Arianna, showed up at the house, and then disappeared."

"She was kidnapped?" Ethan asked and Katie shook her head as she looked out to the bustling city.

"No, she says she's spending her vacation with a friend. Only problem is, I don't know this friend, or where this friend lives and that just worries me."

"Have you tried the cops. I mean she is a minor, and legally you are her guardian, so she isn't supposed to just disappear with a friend." Ethan replied and Katie turned to him.

"I don't want it to get that far if I'm just overreacting, which Oliver seems to think I am."

"Nah, those motherly instincts are just kicking in." Ethan said with a smile. "And mama bear protects her cubs, so lets find her."

"Well that's the problem. I don't know where she is, or who she's with. It's like trying to pull a rabbit out of a hat with no rabbit or a hat."

"You know, I know someone who has such skill." Ethan said, with a sly smile and Katie rolled her eyes before walking over to him.

"You mean Felicity."

"I do mean Felicity." he replied proudly.

"She's busy trying to stop villain of the week at the superhero club house, and I wasn't invited." the woman walked back over to the bed to lie down.

"Since when do you care about invitations?" Ethan asked and Katie glanced over to him for a moment.

"You want to go spy on Laurel, don't you?"

"More like surprise her, since she doesn't know I'm here." Ethan replied and Katie shook her head at the man. "Look we just pop over, let Felicity do her magic, I kiss my girlfriend, and then we go find your duckling and by the end of the day we can come back here, order tons of spicy foods since you're not leaving Central City until this baby is born."

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, did you miss the part where I'm not letting you get back on an airplane?" Ethan asked before grabbing his shoes and slipping them back on. "Well FYI..."

"You know you're not the boss of me either." Katie replied tossing a pillow at the man.

"So are you really not curious about what they're doing over there?" Katie turned away for a moment, but sighed, because she knew he was right. "C'mon, lets get you some comfortable shoes Momzilla."

"I don't like that nickname Ethan." the woman complained, before once again standing from the bed.

Neither Katie, nor Ethan realized how out of the city this safe house was until they were driving, and not seeing a single building.

"This is Texas Chainsaw territory here." Ethan muttered, glancing over to see someone driving a tractor. "Definitely some sister cousins and their brother dad out here somewhere." Katie chuckled, before swatting the man's arm. Soon they were on a long stretch of road, with not single person, or animal in sight.

"Where the hell is this place?" Katie said, when Ethan finally made a turn on a single road. That road lead to a large farmhouse, that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. When Ethan stopped the car, neither moved, still unsure if they were in the right place. Without a word, Katie stepped out of the car, and Ethan quickly followed her.

"Hey, you do know our friends our trigger happy people, right?" Ethan asked looking around for someone. "I'm actually surprised we're not under attack right now."

"They just got here, so I'm assuming they're still setting up some kind of surveillance around the area." Katie spotted Kendra across the farm, along with a man she'd never met before. "Go, ring the doorbell or something, I'm going to go say hi." with that the woman headed over to Kendra, while Ethan let out a sigh and turned back to the house.

When the doctor walked onto the porch, he noticed the door was open behind the screen. He heard voices from inside though, and so because he wanted to really surprise Laurel he pulled open the screen and walked inside, not expecting the gun on him the moment he walked inside. He lifted his hands and didn't move a muscle.

"Ethan?" the doctor turned to see John who had already pulled back his gun and placed it back in his waistband. "What are you doing here?"

"Well I was in the neighborhood and needed some sugar and-"

"Ethan?" this time it was Laurel confused voice that pulled his attention. Ethan turned to see Laurel and Thea who also looked shocked to see him. "How did you-" she shook her head before walking over to the man. "When did you get here?"

"To little house on the prairie, just now. I actually got into the city an hour ago. I went to check on Kit." Ethan replied before pointing toward the door. "She's actually outside talking to some girl and a guy out there."

"Oliver said he didn't want her here." John sighs before heading out the door.

"Is this supposed to be some kind of romantic gesture?" Laurel asked and Ethan shook his head. "Because I thought I made it clear that this trip wasn't a vacation. We're trying to find a really bad, dangerous guy."

"I know, and I get it. Like I said, I came to check on Kit." Ethan replied before walking around the woman to snoop around the house.

"You know I don't think I would be able to tear myself away from a hot doctor." Thea commented, and Laurel turned to her with a quirked brow.

"Did you just call my boyfriend hot?" Laurel asked and Thea shrugged.

"I mean, I'm not blind. I can also see that he's here because he cares about you. So when you go off to fight really bad, dangerous guys, he wants to be there with you."

Kendra spotted Katie first. Her eyes went wide, not expecting to see the woman here. She heard Oliver mention that she was in the city, but her being near the farm could be too dangerous.

"What are you doing here?" Kendra asked going over to the woman. "You can't be here. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if something bad happened to you because you were here."

"Don't worry, I won't be here long. I just needed to talk to Felicity and-" she glanced over to the man behind Kendra, suddenly struck with how familiar he seemed. "Do I know you?" Kendra glanced back to the man who walked over as well.

"Uh, Katie this is Carter Hall, he's my-" Kendra shook her head unable to find a way to describe the man. "It's a long story." Kendra looked over to Carter who seemed to stare at Katie in the same way. "Do you two know each other?"

"In another life, maybe." Carter says before holding out a hand to Katie who reached out to shake it, only to stop at sound of her name.

"Katie!" the doctor turned to see John, who looked way too serious for this interaction to be anything but pleasant. "What are you doing here? Oliver said-"

"You know I keep hearing what Oliver said, but here I am, perfectly fine, and perfectly healthy." Katie said turning to the man, who folded his arms and Katie shook her head because she knew that was his serious stance. "Fine, I just need to talk to Felicity and I will get as far away from this place as possible."

"Wait, you can't." Carter's protest seemed to confused everyone. They all turned to him in, waiting for an explanation. "I just assumed with trying to defeat Savage, we would need all the help that we could get."

"Not from her." John replied firmly before turning to Katie. "Let's go see Felicity." Katie rolled her eyes at the man before following him inside the house.

Once they were gone, Kendra turned to Carter who shook his head slightly before turning to her as well.

"What was that about?" she asked.

"You didn't feel that?" Carter asked and Kendra looked at the man as if he were crazy. "Well she won't be any safer back in the city, than here if Vandal felt what I felt."

Katie followed John inside the house, and noticed how homey it seemed. This would actually be a nice place to raise a family if she actually liked taking care of animals. They walked to a dining room where Felicity, Cisco and Caitlin all sat behind their respective laptops, totally engrossed in whatever they were doing. None of them even looked up when she and John walked inside.

"I see the brains behind the operation are hard at work." Katie whispered over to John. The sound of her voice caused them all to finally tear their attention away.

"Twinkie?" Felicity said standing to her feet and hurrying over. "Hi." she brought her arms around the woman in a hug. "What are you doing here?"

"I needed your help with something, but now that I'm here and I see-" she looked over to the others. "You're busy, and what I need isn't important." she turned back to Felicity and just shook her head.

"Are you sure, because I'm sure Caitlin and Cisco would be fine if I stepped away for a moment." Felicity said looking back to the pair.

"Sure, we pretty much got the gist of what we're doing. We just have to pan out the numbers and start the design process." Caitlin says with a wave of her hand. "Take all the time you need."

"Great." Felicity said turning back to Katie. "So what's up?"

"How good are you at stalking someone?" Katie asked and Felicity quirked a brow.

"Why, what have you heard, because it's probably not true." the blonde replied a bit defensive.

"Well I'm kind of a boss at social media stalking." Cisco says raising his hand and they all turn to the man who isn't ashamed of the fact. "Plus I'm kind of interested who you're looking for."

"Do we really have time for stalking?" John asked and they all turned to him. The man simply rose his hands. "Fine, whatever, but you're back in a car in fifteen minutes." with that the man turned, and left the room.

"Fifteen minutes." Caitlin said. "We can work with that."

Oliver held a strand of hair in his hand, and that single strand of hair scared him to death. He'd just had a very awkward conversation with Samantha Clayton. A woman he thought he'd never see again. But then he saw her in the coffee shop this morning with her son, and one of his darkest secrets just crept up at the worse possible moment. The moment he saw the boy, he saw a possibility that the child could be his. It's why he came here today. To find out the truth once and for all, and when he asked her, she denied it.

If he were a smart man, he'd take her at her word and forget all about this and just live a nice happy life with his future wife and their baby. But Oliver had that voice in his head. That voice that sounded like his Twinkie, who always said the things he knew he needed to hear even though never wanted to. So when Samantha dropped William's hat, he quickly picked it up, brushing the dirt off and slyly pulling for any loose hairs in the process. Once she was back in her car and driving away, he looked down to the strand once more, and once again imagined the possibilities it held for his life. His phone rang, and he quickly pulled it from his jacket pocket, glancing to the number and letting out a sigh before answering.

"Now's not a good time, Malcolm."

"I've arranged a meeting with Vandal Savage. You, me, and the speedster." Oliver seemed confused by all this.

"What? Wait, why-"

"Because negotiation is the only way out of this situation, Oliver. Savage is going to decimate Central City to get what he wants. If your child were here, you would understand."

"Wait, she-" Oliver turned, already heading back toward the car. "Katie is in Central City."

"You're joking." Malcolm sighed with a shake of his head. "Is there any chance you can get her far away from this city?"

"Why exactly?"

"Because Vandal and her uncle weren't the best of friends, and I get the feeling once he finds out she is a child of the demon-"

"She's not-"

"Oliver, save your breath. I didn't call to argue what is and what is not. Her here is dangerous for a lot of reasons. Get her on a plane home. Now, suit up, I've already spoke with fleet feet, he's on his way." and without another word, Malcolm simply ended the call. Oliver groaned in annoyance, before rushing to his car.

True to his word, John appeared at the door of the dining room, and Katie glanced over to him from her spot beside Cisco and Caitlin behind Felicity who sat at her computer.

"Before you even say it, I have what I need." Katie say walking over and grabbing the papers from the small printer. "I will be on my way and-" she stopped and looked over to John. "I'm just now realizing my over protective fiance isn't the one hounding me right now. Where is he?"

"He and Barry went to the city, they wanted to see if the CCPD picked up anything on Savage." John replied and Katie nodded. "You and Ethan should be heading out before it gets too late."

"You know John, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you really didn't want me here." Katie stated walking over to the man and poking him in the chest with her finger. "You're ticking me off old man." she brushed past him out the door, and John chuckled as he followed behind her. Katie walked toward the door, glancing outside to see the setting sun. She looked around not spotting Ethan at all. "Do you know where he is?"

"Oh Dr. McLovin, and the Canary have retired for the evening." Thea said, and Katie grimaced before turning back to John. "He wasn't supposed to be going back to the city with you, was he?"

"It was a plan, but I figured once he was within arms length of Laurel, that would probably just go out the window." Katie replies with a shake of her head. "It's fine, I can drive myself." John and Thea shared a look before turning to Katie with a shake of their head.

"That's a long drive, and I don't feel comfortable with you on some country road alone, and pregnant." Thea said. "Look I'll drive you—"

"Then you'll be alone on a country road coming back, and I wouldn't feel comfortable." John added with a nod. "I'll drive her back."

"But then team protect Kendra will be one man short in the event of an attack by Randy Savage-"

"Uh, Vandal Savage." Thea corrected.

"Both names are ridiculous. But what I'm saying is I don't need round the clock supervision, and I can drive myself back to my hotel."

"And we know that driving is just one of the many capabilities that you possess," came Felicity's voice, who'd slipped in in time to hear the conversation. "But you're about an hour away from the city, away from a hospital, and probably cell service. You're not getting in that car alone." Felicity walked over to Katie and folded her arms and Katie stood tall and did the same. "You're staying here."

"Felicity-" John took a step forward, intending to protest.

"I know what you're going to say John, but right now the only logical option is for Katie stay here. If Savage attacks, then we will protect her." Katie smiled at the blonde, who emphasized the "we" in the sentence, even though she's not a fighter.

"Oliver is going to throw a fit." Thea groaned before looking over to Katie. "You hungry? There's like take out Barry brought before rushing off."

"Offering a pregnant lady food, I may never leave." Katie replied following after the woman. Felicity looked over to John, who she could tell wasn't too pleased with the decision.

"You know better than I do that, if you left and there was an attack, Thea and Laurel wouldn't be able to fight alone. So we're damned if we do and we're damned if we don't."

"Yeah, we're just damned." John replied, heading over to the window. "I'm going to do a sweep outside." Felicity gave the man a nod before heading back to Cisco and Caitlin.

It was late that night when Katie was able to sneak onto the porch with her bowl of popcorn. She was sure at least one person inside the house was watching her, but she didn't care as long as she had her moment of solitude. She pulled the folded paper from her pocket. Felicity was able to hack Arianna's school's database and locate the only student who lives in Central City and took the final exam early. Katie finally had a starting point and hopefully in the morning she can finally put this worry to rest.

There was a whistling sound in the distance, and Katie looked up as Barry, in the full on Flash suit, sped up to the porch and pulled off his mask.

"Hey." he said with a wave before climbing the steps and taking the seat beside her. "So Oliver's on his way here. He got John's text about you being here, and pair that with the not so nice meeting with our bad guy, and I'm going to say he's going to be a bit grumpy when he gets here."

"You know I figured as much." Katie replied plucking another kernel of popcorn into her mouth, before looking up to the stars. "You know I'm not an outdoorsy person, but this is nice."

"Yeah," Barry glanced up as well, before clearing his throat. "You know, you never answered my question from before." Katie turned to the man with a furrowed brow. "How are you doing?" Katie let out a sigh, before turning away and looking back up to the stars. "You know if there's something going on with you, I'm a good listener." Katie looked back over to the man who gave a small smile and she dropped her eyes from his. "Hey,-"

"Something is-" she glanced back to the house to make sure there weren't any listening ears. She turned back to Barry. "Something is happening. To me-" she shook her head head. "I'm freaking out, and I don't know what to do and I've wanted to tell someone who-" she looked back over to Barry. "Who would get it." she shrugged. " I want to tell Oliver, I want to just tell him everything, but I'm scared." she looked back over to Barry who still sat silently. "I don't want him to think I'm a freak or something."

"You know I don't think there is anything you can tell Oliver that he would ever think that." Barry replied. "He's crazy about you." Katie gave a nod before looking back up to the stars. "You want to tell me what this something happening to you is?"

"Not sure how I could put it into words." Katie replied dropping her head. "Maybe I could show you." she put down her bowl of popcorn and brought her hand in front of her, palm facing up. "I'm not even sure this will work, but here goes nothing." Barry and Katie looked down to her hand for a few moments. At first nothing happened, but then there was a slight glow that began illuminating from her fingers. Barry's eyes went wide at how the light seemed to get brighter. "This one, I have no idea what it does."

"This one?" Barry asked turning back to her. "There's more?" Katie gave a nod before reaching over and grabbing the bowl of popcorn. He watched as she suddenly tossed the bowl in the air.

"Stop." she whispered, holding out her hand and the bowl and the spillt popcorn froze mid air. She turned to Barry who seemed to also be frozen. She looked over to to him for a moment, before placing a hand on his shoulder and suddenly he was unfrozen. He looked over to Katie, before turning to the bowl, his eyes going wide as he stands to his feet and looks over the bowl that just hangs in the air. He moves a hand above and underneath it, verifying that there aren't any wires or strings.

"You can freeze things?" Barry asked turning to Katie nodded.

"More than just things." Katie replied. "Look at your watch." Barry glanced down to his watch, to see the hands not moving at all.

"You can freeze time?" Barry asked looking back to he woman before looking around to see other things not as well.

"Sometimes. I mean sometimes it's a whole room, some times it's just an object. It doesn't seem to last long. I did it back at Felicity's place when Hansel Savage-"

"Vandal Savage." Barry corrected.

"His name is weird, just not the point of my story. We were at Felicity's place and I saw him throw the knives and I stopped them, but he was able to break through somehow. Maybe he really is strong."

"Or maybe you're not strong enough." Barry replied walking back over to take a seat beside the woman. "You have to tell Oliver." Katie sighed, with a shake of her head. "I know you're scared and this is overwhelming, but you need to tell Oliver, and we need to teach you how to control this."

"Control it for what? When am I ever going to need to use any of these-" she shook her head. "I don't even know why this is happening to me. I was fine one day and the next day, I'm stopping things and talking to dead people-"

"Wait, talking to dead people?" Barry asked, and Katie shook her head. "Look I know running from this seems like the best option, but you can't run from this. It's who you are."

"How do you know this is who I am?" Katie asked with a shake of her head before turning and looking up to the bowl. She waved a hand and it fell to the ground with a thud. "This could all be some sort of manipulation. Maybe someone is doing this to me."

"You don't believe that, do you?"

"Well you don't know enough about this, not to consider it a possibility." Katie replied with a shake of her head. "Neither one of us does, and until I know I'm not just going to suddenly self destruct, I'm not saying anything."

"You know you can't do that." Barry said and Katie turned to him. "You know you won't actually do that. You're scared, and I'm telling you that Oliver will stand by you."

"Why are you pressing me to tell Oliver so badly?"

"Because this-" he looked down to the bowl and shook his head. "We may actually be able to use this to stop Savage." he turned back to Katie. "If you're able to freeze him for long enough we can grab the staff and-"

"And at what point in this scenario do you convince Oliver of putting me in a room with a dangerous immortal being?" Katie asked and Barry turned away because that is a conversation he doesn't think he would win. "I'm sorry Barry, but I can't be the rabbit in a hat on this. You're going to have to figure out how to stop this guy some other way."

"Well you're still going to have to figure out a way to come clean with Oliver." Katie lifted her eyes back to the stars. "I hear it's not healthy to go into a marriage with secrets under the bed." Katie let out a sigh. "That's why you don't want to get married right away." they heard the distant sound of an engine and turned to see Oliver's pull up on his bike, and the man jump off and rushed over. He stopped at the base of the porch and looked up to Katie, letting out a sigh. He pushed the hood from his head, and pulled off his mask.

"I'm taking you back to the hotel." Oliver declared.

"Oliver, it's kind of late." Barry commented and Oliver turned a glare to the man who simply rose his hands before standing to his feet. "I'm just going to-" Barry pointed to the door, before glancing over to Katie once.

"Good idea." Oliver said, watching as the man went into the house. He turned back to Katie before looking down to the bowl on the ground.

"I thought I saw a bug." Katie said and the man brought his eyes back to her.

"You know I actually believed you when you said you would stay put."Oliver said and Katie could see the tension in the way he stood. He definitely was not happy, but he was trying to hold it down. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought maybe Felicity could help with my search for Ari and-"

"Ari." Oliver sighed with a shake of his head. "Twinkie, Ari is fine. She's with her friends, and we have no reason to believe she's in any kind of danger."

"Oliver, it's not about danger, it's about me just knowing where she is, and who she's with." Katie replied attempting to hold in her own frustrations. "Look, you won't have to worry about this at all, Felicity gave me an address, and tomorrow I-"

"Tomorrow you're getting back on a plane home." Oliver said and Katie had to fight herself to say the things she wanted to say. So she remained silent and hoped he could explain. "I spoke with Malcolm-"

"Malcolm of course, because he's a beacon for good decision making."

"Twinkie, he said that Vandal Savage and your uncle were enemies, and he could come after you if he realizes your relation to him."

"And how would he find that out?"

"No idea, but it's not a risk I'm willing to take when it comes to you and our baby's safety." Oliver replied. Katie rolled her eyes, because she felt he used that excuse to make he do the things he wanted her to do. "Look I promise once we've stopped Savage, I will check out this address and make sure Arianna is alright." Katie didn't say anything as she simply lifted her eyes back to stars. "Twinkie,-"

"Tomorrow morning, I will check in with Ari, and then I will bunk down at the hotel-"

"Twinkie-"

"Ethan isn't letting me back on a plane, and he's right. She's coming soon, I can feel it, so I'm staying until this kid is born." Katie replied before standing to her feet and looking down to the man, waiting for another counterargument. "So are you going to change, so we can go, or what?"

It was the middle of the night when Oliver awaken to an empty side of the bed. He sat up a bit to see the glow of the television from the other room. He groggily stood to his feet and walked out to find Katie sitting up on the couch asleep. Oliver let out a sigh, hoping he didn't upset her so much that she would choose to sleep on the couch instead of in the bed with him. He walked around the couch, and knelt in front of her, gently sliding a hand along her cheek. She stirred instantly, her eyes opening to see him.

"Hi." she said, letting out a tired sigh as she sat up. "What time is it?"

"Really early. What are you doing out here?" he asked and Katie rubbed her tired eyes.

"It's just heartburn. I think the takeout I ate earlier was probably not the best choice." she said reaching over to grab the remote, before flicking it off. " It's not as bad when I'm sitting up." Katie ran a hand across her eyes before turning back to the man who was still watching her. "You can go back to bed. I'm fine, really."

"Yeah, but I don't think I would be if I went back to bed, and you weren't there." Oliver said before standing up. "Scoot over." the man slid beside the woman, bringing an arm around her. Katie was still a bit upset with the man, but she was too tired to fight the comfort of his arms right now. And so she laid her head on his chest and snuggled closer in his arms.

"You can't sleep like this." she muttered against his chest, her eyes fluttering closed. "You can't shoot an arrow with sore muscles."

"I've shot arrows in worse conditions." Oliver replied, resting his head in hair. "Go to sleep. I'm not going anywhere."

The next morning, Oliver stood on the balcony attempting to massage his aching neck as he held his phone to his ear.

"Just give me a call when it's done Barry." he said before ending the call. There was a knock at the door, and Oliver came back inside, glancing over to the bathroom door where Katie had been in for a while. The knocking continued, and so he hurried to the door, pulling it open and sighed at the man who stood in front of him.

"Before you start, I want you to know I fully intended to bring Kit back-" Ethan's excuse was cut short by the door slamming shut in his face. Oliver simply shook his head before heading back to the bedroom, where he found Katie. She looked up to him, and pointed to her back before turning around.

"Could you-" she started, but Oliver was already hurrying over and zipping up her dress.

"You're wearing a dress." Oliver stated a bit surprised. Katie gave a snort before turning to the man, who leaned in closer to her face. "And you're wearing make up."

"All things I've done before this moment, so stop acting like a weirdo." she said lightly shoving the man back. She walked over to the mirror, smoothing out the blue and white polka dot sundress and letting out a sigh. "I just need to look like an adult."

"Because you usually don't look like an adult?" Oliver asked and Katie rolled her eyes before turning back to the man.

"I'm about to meet parents who've raised a child from a baby to a teenager. I don't want to seem-" she shook her head before turning back to the mirror. "Like I have no idea what I've gotten myself into."

"But you don't know what-" she turned a glare toward the man and he stopped talking.

"Who was at the door?" she asked turning back to the mirror, tugging and smoothing out the dress.

"Oh, that was Ethan."

"You didn't hit him, did you?" she stopped and turned back to Oliver who shook his head.

"I was tempted, but I settled for leaving him in the hall. Why is he here?"

"Because he's my chauffeur for the day. He's taking to see Ari, and then back here to try every trick in the book to get this baby out of me." Katie replied walking over to grab her purse from the bed. She looked over to Oliver who stood silently, with a look she knew meant he wanted to say something. "What?"

"I want to say something, and I don't want you to get upset." Oliver said and Katie scoffed before tossing her purse back to the bed and folding her arms over her chest.

"It's kind of late in the game for that request, but I'll bite. What would like to say?"

"I need you to reconsider getting out of Central City, Maybe even taking Arianna with you." Katie sighed with a shake of her head, before grabbing her purse and heading for the door. "See this is one of those moments where I feel like you don't actually hear what I'm saying."

"Liver, I hear you." Katie says spinning back around to the man. "You want me out of this city, but I told you, I'm too far along to get back on a plane. In all reality, I probably shouldn't have gotten on the plane to come here, but we can't change it, and I'm here now. She's coming, I know she's coming, and I assumed when that happened, you wouldn't want to be a couple of cities away."

"I don't, its just this Vandal Savage-"

"No, because the only reason you would want me leave is if you believed you couldn't beat this guy and I know you haven't gotten that point. You still have hope, so this-" she shook her head. "You wanting me to leave is something else. What is it?"

And there it was. She asked the one question he was afraid would be asked from the woman. The question he wasn't ready to answer.

"I just worry about your safety. About the safety of our daughter." that was the truth. It wasn't the whole truth, but at the moment even he didn't have the whole truth and if he were going to change their lives dramatically, then he was going to bring her everything. "I do have hope that we can beat this guy, but in the event that we can't-" Katie suddenly placed a hand over Oliver's mouth, stopping his words.

"Well that's your first problem. You can't fight to win, thinking there's a chance you could lose." she moved her hand from his mouth, and placed it on his chest. "I'm not going anywhere, so losing is not an option." she turned once again, but Oliver caught her arm and pulled her back to him, bringing his arms around her.

"You're so frustrating." Oliver declared and Katie couldn't help but smile.

"Well it's sort of my job." she replied, lifting her head at the knocking at the door. "I should—" Oliver leaned in to kiss her, but Katie pulled back. "This isn't fixed."

"I didn't know anything was broken." he said and Katie gave a nod.

"Well that I believe." she pulled out of his grasp, before pointing a finger at the man. "There's something going on with you-" Oliver opened his mouth to speak, but Katie continued. "And you're going to say that this Handle Savage-"

"Vandal Savage, and if I seem preoccupied, it's because someone threatening to destroy the city is too close to my future wife and unborn daughter. I'm sorry-"

"That's not it. Not completely." Katie said and she watched as Oliver dropped his head and sighed. "And there it is." he looked back over to her. "What's going on?"

"I uh-" the man cleared his throat, suddenly nervous. He took a deep breath, before meeting the woman's eyes. "There's something I have to figure out, and once I do, I will tell you." Katie stared a him for a moment, and he wanted her to say something.

"Ok." she replied with a nod, and for some reason that surprised him. He assumed the vague response would give him a lot more questions.

There was more knocking and Katie turned to get the door, but stopped and turned back to the man. She wanted to ask more questions, she wanted to know what was going on his head, but then that would make her hypocrite. Because here she was, holding onto something she couldn't fully explain from the man she was going to spend the rest of her life with. The man she was too scared to tell the truth because she was afraid that once he knew who she truly was, he would finally wise up and run for the hills. The knocking continued and she shook her head before turning and grabbing the door.

"You know that wasn't funny." Ethan says stalking inside, searching for Oliver. "I apologized and-"

"Ethan, shut up." Oliver said stalking past him to Katie. "Is there anything I can say to you, that will get you to stay here and wait to check on Arianna?"

"I would give it up Oliver." Ethan said and Oliver turned a glare toward the man.

"Ethan, this is one of those moments where you butt out of a conversation between me and my fiance." Oliver said, turning back to Katie.

"Well I think it's one of those moments where I help you get a clue." Ethan replied and Oliver turned to the man fully.

"Hey, none of that." Katie says walking to stand between the men. "Let's just cool off and not look so aggressive right now." She looked between the two men, who simply took a step back. "Good, now I have to go to the bathroom, and I need you both to promise you won't kill each other." she looked both men in the eye with a stern look. "I'm serious." the woman turned and hurried to the bathroom. Oliver kept an eye on the woman, until she disappeared into the bathroom, and the moment she did, he turned back to Ethan.

"We should talk." Oliver says taking a step closer to the man in a way he knows should be intimidating. But he knows the man in front of him would never show it. It's actually one of the few qualities he likes about him. "You're-"

"Shouldn't you be leaving?" Ethan asked walking around the man and grabbing an apple from the table before turning back to Oliver. "Saving the world and all that jazz."

"You're particularly annoying today." Oliver said walking over to the man. "You want to tell me why?"

"Because you don't have it yet, and at this point, you should." Ethan says taking a bite from the apple before turning to look out the window.

"Have what? What are you talking about?"

"You can't see why she can't just sit here and wonder if Ari is alright." Ethan said turning to the man. "She's a mother—-"

"I know that, I also know there is a lunatic out there and-"

"And that won't stop her from being a mother and caring about the children in her care. That includes Arianna-"

"I know that too, I just-"

"Arianna is also going to be in your care, since you're like marrying her guardian."

"Well she was my guardian first!" Oliver snapped and Ethan looked at the man with a furrow brow. "I didn't mean-"

"Are you jealous of Arianna?"

"Of course not, I just would like Katie to not roam the streets of Central City right now, but since I can't stop her, I am just going to tell you that if anything happens to her-"

"Insert threat to my life." Ethan replies taking another bite to his apple. "I got it. We find the kid, make sure she's safe and angsty and then project kickstart labor begins."

"Could you not try to induce labor, not until-"

"You save the world. I'm sorry Oliver, but Kit's my patient. And a late baby could have just as many health problems as an early baby. So you worry about the world, I'll worry about my patient and her baby."

"Our baby-"

"Really? You know I wouldn't have even guessed that." Ethan replied, and Oliver took a dangerous step closer.

"Alright!" Katie appeared back in the room and Oliver stopped walking. "Ethan, lets go." Ethan gave a smile to Oliver, taking another bite from his apple before heading for the door. Katie walked over to Oliver who let out a heavy sigh. "I go, and then I come back. I'm not deviating from that plan."

"I don't like this." Oliver says placing a hand on Katie's waist. "Like I really don't like this."

"I know, but we're gonna do this. You're going to find the evil villain guy, and I'm going find my new headache of a cousin." she gave a nod, turning, the grasp Oliver had on her waist never loosened. "You're not letting me go."

"I'm not letting you go." Oliver repeated and Katie sighed.

"You have to let me go." Katie replied looking up to the man's eyes. "You have to-" her words were suddenly cut off by Oliver's lips on hers. The woman's eyes fluttered closed as his lips landed on hers and pulled them from the moment. After a few moments, when air was necessary, they pulled back, and Oliver looked down to the woman whose eyes were still closed. "You kiss stealer." she opened her eyes to see the smile on the man's face. "You feel better now?"

"I do." he replied placing another kiss to her head. "You go, and then you come back, no deviating."

"No deviating." Katie said, finally able to pull from his grasp. "And you be safe, and if you get a call, make sure you answer, because there's a good chance someone's calling you to tell you, your daughter coming."

"Just try really hard not to get into any trouble today." Oliver said walking toward her.

"Ok, I'll try." she replied before turning and walking out the door. Oliver stood at the door, watching the pair walk toward the elevator, seriously weighing the pros and cons of carrying her back into the room and handcuffing her to the bed, just so he knows she's safe. Before he knows it, the choice is gone when they step onto the elevator.

It was during the drive, did Katie decide to swat the Ethan's arm, causing him to jump in surprise.

"Hey, don't hit me while I'm driving, especially when we're on the road with maniac drivers." Ethan said, glancing over to her for a moment before turning back to the road. "What was that for?"

"Trying to pick a fight with Liver." she replied glaring over to the man. "I know you care-"

"I do care, so when he starts acting like some insensitive jerk, I seriously want to punch him." Ethan replied with a shake of his head. "I mean who wouldn't be worried about a missing kid?"

"Well he's worried about this guy trying to destroy the city because he can't have one woman." Katie sighed turning to look out the window. "Plus he's not Ari's father—"

"And you're not her mother, Kit, and yet here we are." Ethan replied and the woman turned to him. "You met the kid for a half an hour and you're already worried about her, already wanting to know she's safe."

"Yeah, and whose to say I would've felt that way if I didn't meet her. Oliver just can't develop this connection with Ari when he's never met her."

"Well I've never met her. All I know is that there's this girl, in this big city, and her guardian doesn't know where she is." Ethan replied turning back to the woman. "I don't have the parental gene right now, but at least I care."

"He's cares, he just-" Katie shook her head. "He has to find a balance in his life. I think he's still trying to figure that out."

"Where work comes before family." Ethan replied and Katie simply hit his arm again.

Soon they were driving down the neighborhood of some pretty big mansions, attempting to spot the address Felicity had given them.

"I think you made a wrong turn, I don't see it." Katie said, her eyes scanning the houses.

"Well if I made a wrong turn, it's because of your horrible navigation skills." Ethan replied looking on the other side of the block. "Wait, I think that's it." he began slowing down the car, both turning to the house with wide eyes.

"You mean that house with all the teenagers roaming around in swim suits?" Katie asked, with a slight shake of her head at the sight. "She wouldn't be in there, she's a smart kid."

"Well smart kids get roped into pool parties." Ethan said before turning to Katie. "So how do you want to proceed, doc?" Katie still stared at the house before turning to Ethan. "We're going inside, aren't we?"

"We are." she replied before stepping out of the car, and Ethan did the same. There was a gate that they're sure is usually closed along the driveway, but at the moment it was wide open. The pair walked inside the yard, passing teens who acted as if the sight of some pregnant lady and some guy was no big deal at all. Katie stopped in front of one of them before, talking the can from her hand..

"Hey, lady, what are you doing?!"

"This is beer. How old are you?" Katie asked.

"I'm nineteen and my parents let me drink all the time, now give it-" the girl reached for the beer. Katie simply glanced around at the sight of lots of people who looked older than fifteen with some kind of alcohol in their hand. "Lady-" Katie turned back to the girl and just shook her head before dropping the can to the ground.

"I'm going to give you some advice. Beer is disgusting." with that, Katie simply turned and headed inside the house where the door was just wide open and filled with even more people. "Ari can't be here." she passed more people, all much older holding beer, or smoking as loud music blared from somewhere.

"I hope to hell she isn't either. But on a positive note, these kids are the reason I will still have a job." Ethan said, with a shake of his head.

"I'm sure this is a blast from the past for you, huh?"

"In college, sure, I went to the occasional party, but you met my mother. She was a ninja and she was everywhere when I was in high school." Ethan let his eyes scan over the crowd as they found themselves in the back of the house where people were diving into the pool. "So we've been walking for a while and haven't seen her."

"Wait, isn't that-" Katie pulled a piece of paper from her purse, unfolding it open to show the picture they'd printed from Facebook. "That's Sophie I think." they both looked over to the blonde teenager, lounging by the pool. "She's the friend Ari left school with. C'mon, lets go chat." Katie walked over to the girl who was talking to some guy, but stopped and looked up in confusion to Katie.

"Who are you? This party has an age limit, and I specifically said no pregnant chicks." the girl's British voice spoke and Ethan actually snickered from beside Katie who, nudged his arm.

"Hi, Sophie, I will be glad to leave all of this, I'm just looking for someone. Her name is Arianna Locke, she's-"

"Wait, I know you." Sophie says her eyes suddenly going wide as she stood to her feet. "You're Katherine Robins, you-" the teenager seemed to break out with a big smile. "There's this program that lets high schoolers intern for a semester. I've been trying to get in for months, but the wait list is crazy. This is-" the girl squealed before taking a step toward Katie. "Ok, I have my entire resume in my room, if you could just-" the girl was about to rush off, but Katie grabbed her arm.

"Before you do that, I need to find Arianna." Katie glanced around the party. "Do you know where she is or could point me in the direction."

"She's uh—" the girl looked around the party with a slight shake of her head. "She's here somewhere." she turned back to Katie with a smile. "I will be right back!" and with that the blonde went rushing off. Katie growled in annoyance, before turning to Ethan.

"Look you heard her, she's here somewhere. We just have to-" he looked over the many faces all dancing, or swimming in the pool. "Find her."

"There's way too many people at this party to-" Katie spotted a familiar face over by the pool, before she stalked over.

"Wait, where are you-" Ethan turned, rushing after the woman who made his very nervous walking along the slippery side of the pool. "Kit, would you slow down, you could-"

"Hey!" she called and a bunch of teenagers sitting on the side of the pool, turned to her. "You, guy with the-" she tilted her head slightly. "Is that a tattoo of tiger-" she shook her head before stopping in front of the young man. "I remember you. You picked up Arianna from my house before sucking off her face. Where is she?"

"Gone I guess." the boy said before taking a sip from his cup. "She was being a spazz, and just-"

"A what, what the hell-" Katie let out a sigh, before taking a deep breath. "How old are you?"

"Eighteen, why?"

"Oh, so legally you're an adult." Katie said, before turning to Ethan. "Did you hear that Ethan, this legally adult eighteen year old was making out with my fifteen year old cousin."

"You know I did hear that-" Ethan says moving around the woman, to stand behind the man, before grabbing his arm and pulling him to his feet.

"Hey!" the young man tried to pull from Ethan's grasp, but Ethan gripped him tightly. "Where is Arianna, or I start messing up that pretty, ruggedly handsome face you have."

"Look, I don't know where she is. Sophie told her about the party, but she wasn't into it, so she left."

"Where would she go?" Katie asked and the young man shrugged. "Ok, now you can hit him, I'll meet you at the car." with that Katie turned, almost bumping into Sophie once again.

"Oh, hey, here is my resume, now it's mostly academic groups but-"

"Sophie, I really can't stay, I need to find Ari,-"

"Why? She's lame and she left hours ago." Sophie says with a shake of her head, before holding up her resume once again. "Now if you look here-"

"Wait, you knew she was gone, why did you tell me-" Katie stopped, letting out a heavy sigh. "I thought you were her friend."

"She's the daughter of a thief and an insane woman, she was only here because-"

"Because you found out she was related to me, isn't it?" Katie dropped her head and let out a deep sigh. There was a sudden scream, and they both turned to see Ethan standing above a bloody nosed teenager.

"Are you kidding me, you can't-"

"You're a minor, this is your house and you're serving alcohol to probably a few other minors here." Katie says turning to the young girl. "That's not the kind of people I employ. And you should probably start cleaning up." Katie walked around the girl.

"Why?!"

"Because the police will probably be here soon, kid." Ethan says, shaking his now sore hand as he followed behind Katie.

Katie and Ethan found themselves sitting inside the buzzing squad room of the Central City Police department. Ethan held an ice pack over his knuckles as he looked over to Katie who sat with her face in her palms.

"Kit, we're going to find her." Ethan tries comforting her and Katie lifts her head. "I mean she's somewhere-"

"She's a kid, in this big city," Katie says with a shake of her head. "If something happens to her-"

"Hey, nothing is going to happen to her. We just gotta have hope." the man replied looking down to his hand. "You should worry more about my beautiful hand now being bruised because of that jackass and his rock face."

"Did you break it?" she asked looking over to the man's hand.

"No, just hurts like a bitch, but I don't regret it." he chuckled before looking over to the detective who walked over.

"Alright." Detective West said walking over and taking a seat in front of the pair. "I got Arianna's photo out, and my guys are searching for her. We're going to do everything we can to locate her."

"Thanks so much for this. I know missing kids isn't at the top of your priorities right now, but I really appreciate you helping."

"Well it's nice to handle a case that doesn't have to deal with people with weird abilities." Joe replied. "Just try to keep your phone lines open. I'll give you a call when we find something." Katie gave the man a nod before standing to her feet. Ethan, brought an arm around Katie, who only by chance spotted a familiar face walk across the room. Ethan followed her eyes, and furrowed his brow in confusion.

"Did you tell Oliver you were here?"

"I didn't." Katie says before turning to Ethan. "I think he's headed to Barry's office. I'm going to go fill him in and then we can leave."

"Alright, well I'll be here." Ethan says, watching the woman as she headed off.

Katie hadn't actually been to Barry's lab, but she was able to navigate from the signs along the hall. When she finally found Barry's office, she found Barry alone reading something on a sheet of paper. He heard the footsteps, and turned, his eyes going wide before turning and ridiculously quick, sliding the paper he'd just read into his pocket.

"Oh, hey," Barry says, spinning back to Katie with smile. "Funny running into you here. Everything's alright, right?"

"I sort of lost a teenager. What did you just super-speed into you pocket?" Katie asked walking over to the man who just shook his head.

"Oh-um, it was nothing." Barry replied, still looking nervous. "Just something Oliver wanted me to track down. About Damian Darhk."

"Oh really, well let me see it." Katie asked and Barry shook his head.

"Why?"

"Because you don't want me to see it, Barry. You need to learn how to control your emotions because you become an open book."she held out her hand.

"Uh, well Oliver specifically asked me not to-" Katie glare seemed to harden, and Barry got a sudden chill. "You know you have that whole mom look down." Barry slipped the paper from his pocket before handing it to Katie. The woman flipped it open, and her eyes read over the paper. "I don't know what the big deal is. It's just a DNA test." Katie looked over to Barry, and just gave a nod before turning and stalking out for the door. "Katie-"

"Barry, the next time someone tells you to lie to me, just don't." she said, not even sparing the man a glance.

The moment Ethan saw the woman stalking toward him, he knew something was wrong. He usually couldn't read her emotions, but in this moment she looked a bit sad.

"Hey." he said, walking over to her. "What's wrong? Did you talk to Oliver?"

"No, um-" she cleared her throat and shook her head as she slipped a piece of paper into her purse. "He was gone before I got there." she nudged her head toward the elevator. "I want to drive around a bit to look for her before we go back to the hotel." Ethan gave a nod before following after the woman.

Oliver's head was all over the place, but he knew the next logical step was to once again try to talk to Samantha. He'd shown up, told her he knew the truth, that William was his son, and then she told him why she never told him and he couldn't believe it.

"My mother was a complicated person, but she would never do that." Oliver replied, when the woman said it was his mother who tried to pay her off to pretend as if she's miscarried.

"Wait here." Samantha said and Oliver took a step further into the house as the woman walked off. His eyes trailed across the pictures of William and Samantha, and even though he'd gotten the results and was standing right here, he just still couldn't believe it. He turned when Samantha came back, and held out a check. He took it, and his eyes went wide. It was his mother's handwriting and her signature on the front.

"I never cashed it." Samantha said, and Oliver once again met her eyes. "I didn't need her money to know I didn't want her anywhere near my child."

"Or me anywhere near him."

"So what, he can be just like his dad? Punching out paparazzi and getting young girls knocked up?" Samantha said with a shake of her head. Oliver placed the check down and let out a sigh.

"Samantha, I'm not that person anymore."

"I know, I know. You're-you're running for mayor, your mother was killed." she sighed. "Your friend Tommy, you're a different person now. But can you really tell me that your life is any less crazy?" it was the question that Oliver didn't want to answer, because he knew the answer didn't help his case. "Can you honestly say that William isn't better off with your world kept away from his?" Oliver dropped his head because he knew she was right.

"No, you're right, I'm being selfish. But I want an opportunity to get to know my son, and I think that a young boy deserves the opportunity to get to know his father." he said firmly, honestly believing that. Samantha turned away, letting out another sigh as she slides her fingers through her hair before turning back to the man.

"He's happy. He's-he's well-adjusted. I don't want to run the risk of him getting sucked into your orbit. That can't happen. Which means... That he can't know that you're his father. And nobody else can." Oliver shook his head, but Samantha wasn't backing down. "I don't care if that sounds harsh. I'm his mother, and I will do whatever- whatever I feel I have to do to protect him."

"Samantha, there is someone in my life-" Oliver dropped his head, suddenly thinking about Katie, and how telling her was the first thing he planned to do the moment he left this house. "I'm getting married, and-" he looked back up to the woman. "Please, don't make me keep this from her."

"Oliver, you will if you want a relationship with my son. These are my conditions." the woman replied firmly and Oliver closed his eyes, hating that she was asking him to do this. Hating that she was telling him that he couldn't tell the woman he loved that he has son. "You've already asked the world of me, I'm just asking for the same in return." Oliver looked back to the woman, and knew this decision, this tough decision could go one of two ways. And he didn't want the way that didn't have his son in his life. So he made the choice that could destroy his entire world if Katie found out. "Oliver?"

Oliver looked the woman in the eyes and gave her a nod.

"Ok. I won't say anything."

Ethan's eyes looked out the window as he drove, hoping to just spot the girl. He glanced over to Katie whose eyes were out the window, but didn't seem as if she were staring at anything in particular.

"Hey, are you alright?" he asked and Katie turned to him and gave him a nod.

"Yeah." she turned back to the window and shook her head. "This city is too big, she could be anywhere. Just take me back to the hotel and I can try to work up the courage to call Ari's social worker and tell her how I've screwed up in only twenty four hours."

"This isn't your fault Kit." Ethan says, but the woman doesn't reply. Ethan lets out a sigh, before making a turn to head back to the motel.

"Wait." Katie says and Ethan glances over to her. "Take me to the hideout."

"You know I thought everyone trying to beat me up yesterday for bringing you there would be reason enough for us to stay clear of that place." Ethan said, as they stopped at a red light. "What's going on?"

"I need to talk to Oliver."

"And it's not something you can do over the phone?" Ethan asked and Katie looked over to him and just shook her head, and that's when he saw it again. That flash of sadness behind her eyes. "What's going on?"

"I just need to talk to Oliver."

"Ok." Ethan simply replied, and when the light changed, he turned left instead of right.

The sun was setting when Ethan pulled up. He turned off the car, about to step out, but turned to Katie who didn't move.

"Are you going in?" he asked and she shook her head.

"He's not here yet." she replied, keeping her eyes out the window. "I need to wait for him out here. You can go inside."

"Alright, you're freaking me out. What the hell happened?" Ethan asked turning to the woman who let out a sigh before turning to her friend.

"Ethan, I need you to go in the house, and I will get you when I'm ready to go." Katie replied with a small smile. "I just need to talk-"

"Talk to Oliver, I know you keep saying that." He sighed before turning away. "But this is one of those times where it's none of my business."

"Exactly." Katie replied and Ethan gave a nod, looking over to her once more before stepping out of the car and heading inside the house. It wasn't until she was alone, did Katie finally step out of the car.

She began walking, sliding a hand through her hair. She shook her head before reaching into her purse and pulling out the paper once more just to read it again. Katie eyes read every word, every number, over and over again hoping that she was wrong, that this was some sort of misunderstanding. She growled under her breath, stuffing it back into her purse as she begins to pace back and forth.

"Hey." it was Felicity who came out onto the porch, hurrying over to Katie. "You're pacing, you're not supposed to be pacing. You're actually supposed to be resting and-" Felicity saw the look on Katie's face and was instantly concerned. "Ethan told us about Arianna, how she's missing. Is that why you're upset?" Katie didn't say a word as she continued to pace. "Katie-" Felicity moved to block the woman who simply shook her head. "What's happening?"

"Go back in the house Felicity. I need to talk to Oliver." Katie replied turning away from the woman, and continuing her pace.

"I'm not-" Felicity quickly moved to block the woman once again. "I'm not going to go back into the house until you tell me what's wrong."

"Fine, it's Ari. I screwed up and I lost her, and now I just want to be alone while I wait for Oliver." Katie says glancing over to the woman. "Right now everything twisted inside of me, has to go to him, so could you please just-" she heard the engine of Oliver's bike and stopped pacing. "Go in the house Felicity." she looked over to the woman and gave her a reassuring nod. "Please." Felicity seemed unsure, but gave a nod before turning and heading back into the house.

Katie stood completely still, as she waited for Oliver to appear. The moment he did, he instantly stopped the moment his eyes saw her. The sun was gone, and the yard was was illuminated by a couple of lights, but she could see his face. The nervousness and guilt that instantly took over his features and how in the blink of an eye, he put on a mask, attempting to hide it before walking over to her.

"Twinkie, what-" he shook his head slightly. "What are you doing here? I was going to come by the hotel later. You can't-" he placed his hands on her shoulders. "You can't be here. It's still too dangerous-" he looked up to the house. "Did Ethan bring you?" the man started walking toward the house. "I will have him take you-" he looked behind him to see Katie hadn't moved from her spot. "Twinkie?" he walked back over to her, her eyes not meeting his as they look to his chest. "Twinkie, what's wrong?"

"I'm waiting." she says looking up to meet his eyes. "And I shouldn't. I shouldn't be angry, or want to hit you right now because of this act you're doing-"

"Act? What are you talking about?" Oliver asked and Katie shook her head, turning away from the man. "Tell me what's going on?"

"I had to go to the police station today." Katie said turning back to the man. "I found Ari's friend, who is a terrible person, and she told me Ari wasn't there, that she'd left."

"Where did she go?"

"I don't know. That's why I went to the police station. Talked to Detective West, and now the police are looking for her."

"Oh, Twinkie, I'm so sorry, I-" he tried placing his hands on her waist, but she inched out of his grasp.

"Twinkie, what-"

"I saw you. You were headed to Barry's office." Katie says looking up to the man's eyes and he hesitated for a moment before speaking

"Right, I uh, was having him check something out for me. I thought Dhark had people in Central City, and I wanted him to-"

"No." Katie says with a shake of her head before turning away from him.

"Twinkie-" he took another step forward, but she turned to him with a pointed finger.

"Five minutes!" she said taking another step back. "We've been talking for five minutes, and you just told lie number one."

"Twinkie, I don't know what you're talking about-" Katie reached into her bag and pulled out the crumpled paper and held it up so he could see it, and the color drained from his face the moment he did. "Twinkie-"

"Barry didn't know what he was giving me. He didn't think it was a big deal, it 's just a paternity test." Katie says. "He doesn't know I know your blood, that I know your DNA sequence like the back of my hand."

"Twinkie-"

"Stop talking, because I swear to you, lie number two will get you a kick to your balls." she said angrily before looking down to the paper.

"It's more complicated than you know." Oliver finally said and Katie looked over to him with a roll of her eyes. "It's-"

"It's the truth Oliver. The truth isn't complicated. It can be a bitch, but it's not complicated. You just made the conscious decision to keep it from me." her eyes looked back down to the test and she groaned angrily because here she was completely livid, angry at Oliver for keeping something so big from her and she was doing the same thing. "This isn't right-" she shook her head before looking back up to the man. "You have a child." she closed her eyes with a shake of her head. He once again tried to touch her, but she pushed him away. "I'm not even upset about that. I'm angry that you kept the fact that you have a child from me." she turned away sliding her hands over her face. "I'm not supposed to be angry. How can I be angry when-" she looked back over to the man and just shook her head. "This isn't right. Something is wrong here. With us, because we're too scared to share all truths with each other."

"Twinkie-" Oliver closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. "Do you know my world just exploded?" he looked back over to her. "I think I'm entitled to at least one minute to just process how my life just changed forever by myself."

"Well you didn't keep it yourself, you went to the CCPD and talk to-" Katie turned away. "You talked to Barry." she shook her head before turning back to the man. "Ok, you need one minute, and I could use several, so I'm going to go-" she turned and headed toward the car.

"Twinkie, wait!" Oliver hurried over to her, standing in front of the driver's door before she could open it. "Just wait, just stay here and-"

"We shouldn't have come back." she said, her voice suddenly trembled. "We were happy, and everything was perfect and now-"

"Twinkie-"

"Everything is not perfect. And it's not just you whose to blame. It's not just your fault." Katie closed her eyes before reaching down and slipping the engagement ring from her finger.

"No, Katie, no, just-" he placed his hand around hers, before dropping his forehead to hers. "This isn't it. This can't-"

"We thought everything would just work out because we had her. We thought she erased how screwed up we really are, but she can't. She's a baby and a baby can't hide the fact that we have problems. That we find it's easier to lie to each other, than to tell the truth."

"I can't lose you." Oliver pleaded and Katie felt the need to cry, but she also felt the need to stay strong. "You can't leave me."

"Oliver you need to stop a bad guy who wants to hurt a lot of people. Me and your daughter, and your secret child are included in that." she pulled back and looked up to the man's eyes. "Just focus on that right now, and-"

"Kit?" The couple didn't say a word when they heard Ethan's voice. "I think we should go."

"We should." Katie says moving around Oliver, to get back into the passenger's seat. Oliver followed after her, but Ethan quickened his step and pushed him back. Oliver took a step forward, to tear the man apart.

"She's upset, and that can't happen." Ethan said angrily, before pushing the man once again, and Oliver suddenly felt even more guilty. "I don't know what the hell you did, but you need to stay away from her until she calms down." Ethan didn't wait for a response, before walking around the man and slipping in the driver's seat.

Oliver was unable to do anything as he stood there, and watched the car get farther and farther away.

Ethan wished he was the type of friend who just didn't get involved, but with the woman beside him, he just knew that wouldn't happen.

"Alright, I need you to take some deep breaths for me." Ethan says looking over to Katie, before grabbing her wrist, and mentally cursing at how fast her pulse was. "Yeah, you need to calm down, and just breathe."

"It's over." she said pulling her wrist back. "It's just over, and it's for the best." she looked back over to Ethan and nodded. "It's for the best."

"That's fine, just keep breathing. Nice deep breaths, get your heart rate down for me." Ethan turned back to the road, his eyes going wide. "What the hell is that?" Katie followed his eyes, letting out a gasp.

"Ethan, stop the car."

"Kit, what-"

"Just stop the car Ethan!" Katie yells angrily, and Ethan suddenly puts his foot on the breaks, stopping instantly. Ethan and Katie keep their eyes outside the car, not daring to move.

"Is this villain of the week?" Ethan asked, looking over to Katie who simply nods. "So running away-"

"Pointless." Katie says, her eyes on Savage who doesn't move from his spot in front of the car. "I'm going to get out."

"The hell you are!" Ethan snaps with a shake of his head. "We don't know what this guy wants, and you will not be the one to find out." Ethan turns back to the man and takes a deep breath. "I'll go. I'll distract him and when you get the chance, turn this car around and-"

"It won't work," Katie says and Ethan looks back over to her, just as she opens the door and steps out of the car.

"Kit!" Ethan snaps, stepping out of the car as well, and both turn back to the man who stands tall, staff in his hand.

"I can't believe I found it." Vandal said, with a throaty chuckle. He starts walking toward Katie and Ethan takes a step forward, and the moment he does Vandal stops and begins to point his staff toward the doctor.

"Wait!" Katie says and he turns to her. "What do you want?" the man once again laughs and Katie only stares back in confusion.

"I want the carrier of Heka." he says walking over and placing himself in front of her.

"Hey!" Ethan says taking another step forward, and with a swift sweep of his arm, Vandal sends the doctor practically flying down the dirt road, his body hitting the ground with a thud.

"Ethan!" Katie calls, about to go to him, but a hand suddenly wraps around her throat. Her eyes turn back to Vandal who growls as she tries to pry his hands off of her neck.

"Give it to me." Katie doesn't speak, as the air slowly leaves her lungs. "Give it to me!" she looks up meeting his eyes.

"I don't have anything!" she growls breathlessly. He tilts his head before rolling his eyes and releasing her, and she coughs trying to back away from him.

"You do not know what you possess foolish woman." he says with a shake of his head. "But you will." he grabs her arm and pulls her with him.

Consciousness seemed to hit Ethan ferociously, and he jilted up. Pain was the first sensation he felt, all of it seeming to settle on his head. He lift his hand, gently sliding his fingers across the back of his head and instantly feeling the blood. He turned his head, closing his eyes trying to come back to the moment, and breathing through his disorientation, and suddenly he remembers.

"Kit!" he says jumping to his feet, instantly knowing it was a bad idea the moment he began stumbling. Ethan spun around, hoping to catch sight of the woman, but she was nowhere in sight. "No." he turned and hurried over to the car, slipping inside, hoping he was lucid enough to make the trip back to the safe house.

At the moment, the safe house was silent, as a room of heroes wore sour expressions after being told by Oliver, that the next attack on Savage would only include he, Barry, Kendra and Carter.

"This is bullshit!" Thea snapped angrily once again. John stood by the window, silently looking out, not even flinching at the woman's outburst. "We came here together, we're a team."

"Thea-" Laurel started but Thea simply shook her head.

"He said he can't risk losing one of us tonight, but is he even thinking about himself right now. What losing him could do to us, or his future wife, or I don't know, his daughter." they turned at the sound of footsteps, to see Oliver now changed into his hood, his quiver on his shoulder. The room fell silent and he looked to his friends who didn't look happy.

"Guys, I wish you understood why this is the right decision."

"No it's a decision." John said looking over to Oliver. "A choice you made. We won't know whether it was right until you come home, or we start planning your funeral." Barry, sped inside now dressed as well.

"Uh, Kendra and Carter are out back, ready to go." he informed and Oliver nodded about to turn, when the sudden headlights of a car shined into the house. John turned, squinting his eyes when he saw someone stumble out of the car.

"What the hell?" he muttered before turning back to the others. "It's Ethan." Oliver turned in confusion, but then to worry because the last he'd seen Ethan, he was with Katie and if they were back, then something had to be wrong. Oliver hurried for the door, running down the steps, his eyes on a bloodied Ethan who seemed like he could barely walk. The archer turned back to the car, but he didn't see her.

"Ethan!" Laurel called, rushing down the stairs, and bringing her arms around him. "What happened?"

"Where's Katie?" Oliver asked moving around to stand in front of the man. "Ethan, look at me-" Ethan lifted his head, knowing at any moment he was going to pass out again. "Tell me where she is."

"He took her." Ethan closed his eyes and groaned.

"Who-" Oliver grabbed Ethan's shirt and shook the man a bit. "Who took her?!"

"Oliver, back off!" Laurel snapped pushing the man away. "Can't you see he's hurt?"

"I can see he's hurt Laurel, but I can't see my-" he turned back to Ethan, fear now starting to creep underneath his skin. "Ethan, who took her."

"I don't know." Ethan muttered with a shake of his head, his head getting more fuzzy with every passing second. "Guy with a big stick." Oliver blood went cold.

"Savage has her." Barry said, stating the fact everyone had figured out at this point. His eyes turned to Oliver, who stood unmoving for a few moment, not saying a word. "Ollie-" it seemed something in the archer just switched, and he was moving. He turned, and ran to his bike.

"Barry go." Felicity said, practically shaking at the news. Barry gave a nod, before rushing off to Kendra and Carter, and following behind Oliver.

"We need to get him in the house!" Caitlin called and John gave a nod before hurrying over to help Laurel carry Ethan inside the house.

This moment was not supposed be happening. Katherine Robins was nine months pregnant, and she was not supposed to be held hostage by some ancient meta-human. And yet here she sat, in some old warehouse, sitting on a very uncomfortable chair as the man continued to yell at her.

"I will kill you and your child if you do not give me your powers!" he snapped angrily, his voice rough, and practically shaking the walls, but Katie kept her eyes on him. Not flinching, even though her heart raced in her chest with fear.

"I have the feeling that you need me alive to get what I have, or I would be dead already." Katie replied and to her surprise, his anger seemed to morph into amusement as he let out a throaty cackle.

"Right you are, but believe me that in all my centuries on this planet, I have learned quite a few ways to inflict pain." he walked over to her, towering over her. "This you may be able to handle, but I doubt a small child would be able to."

Katie dropped her head to her palm, and the man tilted his head, hoping he was actually getting to her.

"Give it to me."

"You know I can't really focus." Katie says lifting her eyes to the man. "And I should be focused right now, but you keep threatening my child's life, and it's only making me more angry."

There was a suddenly whooshing sound, and both turned to see Barry, no longer a Criminal Forensic Scientist, but the Flash.

"Get the hell away from her!" Barry snapped angrily, and soon Oliver, Kendra and Carter all ran in as well. Vandal chuckled as he looked over to Kendra and Carter who dawned their Hawkman and Hawkgirl suits, their wrists cuffed.

"You brought them. And dressed for the occasion, I see." the Vandal turned to Oliver, whose eyes were on the woman sitting behind him. Vandal followed his eyes and once again chuckled, taking a few steps back, so he stood behind a still seated Katie. "She is yours, I assume."

"Let her go, this has nothing to do with her." Oliver said looking from Katie to Vandal, his heart still racing.

"And yet here she is." Vandal slid his fingers through her hair, and Katie jerked away from his touch. "Them-" he looked over to Kendra and Carter. "I find in every reincarnation, but I was never been able to find the keeper of Heka's power." he placed a hand on Katie's shoulder, and she tried to pull away, but he forcefully pulled her back in place, not missing the growl that escaped Oliver's lips. "I felt it. Like the distant smell of bread baking, but you can never find where it's coming from."

"Look, whoever you think she is, you're wrong, just-" he looked down to Katie, whose chest was visibly heaving. "Let her go. They're here."

"Don't you dare trade their lives for mine!" Katie snapped, only for Savage to once again shove her back in the chair, with a chuckle before walking over to Kendra and Carter.

"It has been a lifetime. Still wearing those ridiculous outfits, I see." Savage chuckled as he looked them over. " he looked over to Barry, then to Oliver. "You don't need to be here for this. The culling has a tendency to be... Unsightly." he turned to the glare on Carter's face and chuckled once again. "Your new friends betrayed you."

"Just do what you're going to do." Carter seethed, and it only amused the man. Oliver glanced over to Katie, who met his eyes. He gave her a subtle nod, and she returned it, bracing the side of the chair and pushing herself to her feet. Oliver's eyes turned back to Savage, who pulled a blade from his waist and inched closer to Kendra.

"Chay-Ara... Parting is such sweet sorrow." Savage lifted the blade about to stab Kendra, but Oliver quickly grabbed his wrist.

"Katie get out of here, now!" he yelled and Katie stood there for a few moments as the fight erupted. She should be running, probably not very fast, but as fast as her feet could take her, because Katherine Robins was nine months pregnant, and standing in the middle of such a battle just shouldn't happen, and yet her feet didn't move. That voice in her head that tells her to run away from the danger, wasn't there. It was replaced with something else, something darker. Something even fear was afraid of. Her eyes dropped to her hands, both illuminating.

"Carter!" she lifted her eyes, catching the exact moment Savage tosses his blades, piercing Carter's gut, and he fallsto the floor dead. It stirs something inside of Katie, and yet she doesn't move. She stands there and watches as Kendra angrily bolts toward Savage, who meets her with a knife to the stomach as well. This time Katie sees the woman's life force flowing from her body to the man holding the blade inside of her. An arrow flies toward him that misses, and Katie turned to Oliver who stares in disbelief. Oliver doesn't miss, especially not when he is as close as he is now.

At some point the staff was knocked from Vandal's hand, and Barry races over to grab and points it toward the monster who'd just killed their friends. The moment it's in his hands, a beam of light shoots from the staff into Savage, who is pushed back.

"The gantlets aren't working!" Barry yells and that's when Katie notices the gloves he's wearing. Suddenly Oliver tosses down his bow and runs over to hold the staff as well, hoping to keep it steady enough to finally end this guy. Katie looked down to her hands once again, the light seeming to get brighter, and she doesn't even know she's moving until she finds herself standing behind Oliver and Barry.

"You have to let go, Barry!" Oliver yelled, turning to Barry, and only then noticing Katie's standing there. "Katie, what-" before he can even form a question her hand grabs the staff, and he stares in confusion as the beam of light from the staff seems to get brighter, and more powerful.

"You have to go." Katie suddenly speaks, her voice different, deeper. She turns to Barry, and his eyes go wide still too engulfed in this moment of craziness to comprehend anything happening right now, and then suddenly everything just stops moving. He turns to the light from the staff, just frozen in place as if still covers Savage. He turns back to Oliver, whose eyes look down to Katie's hands still around the staff, before turning to Katie.

"What-"

"This won't work." Katie says turning back to the staff before turning to Barry. "I'm not strong enough to hold this, and when it finally breaks, we're going to die." she turned, and looked over to Oliver, tears suddenly pooling in her eyes as the realization hits her. "Everything will die." she looked down to her stomach, and felt a sudden kick from her baby, and a smile crept to her lips before turning back to Barry who still stared in bewilderment. "I'm not your rabbit in a hat. You are." they heard a sudden cracking sound, before a slight groan from Savage. "It's gonna break." she looked back to Barry. "And you're going to have to fix it." And in a blink of an eye everything is once again moving, and staff in their hands, drops to the floor, knocking them all off their feet "Barry go!"

Barry's eyes looked quickly from Vandal who ran to grab the staff, before turning to Oliver, who brought his arms around Katie in one final attempt to get her out of here, but Barry could see it would be pointless. And so he jumped to his feet, and Barry ran faster than he's ever ran in his life. He had to fight the urge of turning back at the explosion behind him, and the two people drowned in it's destruction.

Katie had just dug her hand in her bowl of popcorn, when she heard a whistling sound that seemed to get louder. Suddenly, Barry was standing in front of her, a wide smile on his face as he stared at her.

"You look happy. Did you stop the bad guy, and now I no longer have to worry about some crazy guy wiping out the city before this kid gets out of me?" Barry let out a heavy sigh, before skipping up the steps and pulling the woman into a hug. "You're freaking me out with the random affection Barry. What's going on?"

"Right-" Barry said pulling back from the woman and taking a deep breath, "Sorry, I just-" he shook his head and just smiled at the sight of the woman. "We need to have a conversation. A conversation that still needs to happen."

"What are you talking about?" Katie asked and Barry dropped his head, letting out a deep breath before looking back to the woman.

"Before at Felicity's, I asked you if everything was alright, and you never gave me an answer." the man said and Katie turned away. "You know if there's something going on with you, I'm a good listener." Katie looked back over to the man who gave a small smile and she dropped her eyes from his. "Hey,-"

"Something is-" she glanced back to the house to make sure there weren't any listening ears. She turned back to Barry. "Something is happening. To me..."

Something felt weird. Katie couldn't put her finger on it, but ever since Barry appeared in front of her, and she just totally spills her guts about everything happening with her, and these abilities that she doesn't understand. Then Oliver shows up and Barry actually suggests that she stay here for the night. Katie stares in confusion as she looks between the two men, because she had no doubt that when Oliver arrived he would be hauling her back to the city, and far away from Kendra and Carter. She expected a longer, even more aggressive argument with Barry, but a look was exchanged, and Oliver simply sighed before turning back to Katie.

"That's it?" she asked, already seeing the agreement. "Barry gives a look, and you just agree with with him. You argue longer with me when I eat pizza."

"When you try to eat a whole pizza, and that's-" Oliver shook his head before turning back to Barry. "Barry's right. Trying to split my attention between being here, and protecting Kendra with being in the city, and protecting you isn't-"

"Isn't smart tactically." Barry chimed in and both Katie and Oliver look over to him. "Sorry, I should-" he pointed to the house about to turn, but stopped and looked back over to Katie. "And don't worry about your cousin, I will handle it."

"Handle it?" Katie shook her head as she looked between the two men. "What-" she turned back to Oliver with narrowed eyes. "What's going on? Why do I feel like I'm in some type of weird alternate reality where you're not acting like you and he-" she turns to Barry. "He's acting weirder than usual."

"Hey, just trust me." Oliver says bringing an arm around the woman, and leads her to the porch. He points a final glance to Barry, that the speedster knows means he better know what he's doing.

Katie awakened the next morning to sound of Oliver's whispered voice, as he spoke to the only other person in the room and a smile pulled at her lips.

"I'm sorry, I'm putting you in the middle of all of this." she felt his hand slide across the bare skin of her stomach, and the baby seemed to kick in response. "I promise that once you're out here, I will do a better job of keeping you and your mommy out of danger." his lips touched her belly button in a soft kiss, and she bit back the moan, that threatened to slip from her throat. "You and your mommy mean the world to me." Katie smiled, as she lifted a hand, and slid it through his hair revealing to the man that she was awake. He slid back up, dropping his head to the pillow beside her, so their faces were only inches apart.

"Good morning, Mr. Queen." Katie's voice was still rough from sleep, as she placed a hand on the man's cheek. "What time is it?"

"It doesn't matter, doctor." Oliver replied before leaning in to capture her lips. "You are to stay in this bed, and watch whatever is on that television."

"But Ari-"

"Barry is taking care of the Ari situation." Oliver said shooting down the argument before it's even made. "Right now your only care in the world is keeping this little girl inside of your belly until I catch a mad man."

"I believe Ethan has different plans."

"I will take care of Ethan. You're going to rest and I'm going to make you breakfast-"

"I'm supposed to just hide away in here?" she asked pulling back. "I get it. Me being here is dangerous, but I kind of figure since I spent the night here, you'd gotten over that fear and wouldn't mind me wandering around this place."

"I do kind of mind. No wandering, Twinkie. Just stay here." he placed a kiss on top of her head before sliding out of bed. "I'm going to change and see where everyone is with Savage, then I'm going to make you breakfast."

"Just don't forget this time." Katie says sitting up in the bed. "You can't promise me food and then just not bring it. That's mean and-"

"I will bring you your food, and God help me, I'm going to find a damn donut, just to make you happy." Oliver said and Katie couldn't help but laugh as the man headed into the bathroom. Once he was out of sight, Katie stood to her feet with a groan as she always did when she stood lately. She stood for a few moments, before walking over to the window. She looked out to see Kendra and Carter, in what looked like a serious argument. The sound of her ringing phone tore her away. She walked over about to pick it up, but the moment she saw the number she just froze. She heard the sound of the bathroom door open behind her, but she didn't turn.

"Are you going to answer it?" Oliver asked walking over to the woman.

"No, it's Ms. Sandburg." Katie sighed. "I don't even know what I would say to her." the ringing finally stopped and Katie let out a sigh before turning to the man. "I lost a whole person in twenty four hours. Who just loses a person?"

"Twinkie, I'm sure Arianna is fine. She's probably with friends enjoying her break from school. I will talk to Barry, see what he's found out." he brought an arm around her waist, and pulled her back toward the bed. "Until then, you and this bed are going to be best buddies." Katie let out a dramatic sigh as she slid back into bed, and let Oliver pull the blankets back over her. He placed another kiss to her head, before turning and heading for the door. Katie doesn't know why the moment hits her. The moment she feels she can't keep this secret from him any longer and so before she can talk herself out of it, she calls out his name.

"Liver-" he stops and turns back to her with a smile. "I uh, I have something to say." she clears her throat and her nerves finally kick in and she regrets this moment. "I have been-" there was a sudden knock at the door, and Katie stops unsure if she's relieved or annoyed at the interruption. Oliver lets out a frustrated sigh before turning to open the door, only for Barry to attempt to walk in. Oliver shot up a hand to stop him before he could.

"Can we help you?" Oliver asked, and Barry could hear the annoyance in the man's voice and so he simply stepped back, before glancing over to Katie with a wave.

"Hey Katie, how are you feeling?"

"Like a hostage." Katie replied with a smile. "But Oliver promised me food, so I will accept my new life. What's up Barry?"

"I uh, actually needed to talk to Oliver." Barry said turning to the man who still just looked annoyed. "Cisco has started construction on the gantlet and Felicity and Caitlin-"

"Barry is there a reason you couldn't wait until I came downstairs to fill me in on what's going on?" Oliver asked only to hear Katie scoff, before a pillow hits the back of his head. He turns back to the woman who shakes her head.

"Try that again Mr. Queen, this time less rude." Katie replied and Oliver sighed before turning back to Barry with a tight smile.

"I mean thanks Barry, was that all?"

"Actually no, uh-" Barry glanced over to Katie before turning back to Oliver who soon realized Barry needed to tell him something he didn't want Katie to hear.

"Twinkie, I'm going to head down stairs, but I will be back with your food." he glanced back to Katie who gave a nod, before lying back in the bed. Oliver followed Barry out into the hall, closing the door behind him. "What's going on Barry?"

"So I followed up with that friend of Ari's and she's not there."

"What do you mean, she's not there. Where is she?"

"No idea. I talked to Joe and he has a missing person report out, so at least the CCPD is out looking for her." Barry replied, glancing back to the bedroom door. "I just wasn't sure I should tell her since, before when she found out, she kind of freaked and pair that with finding out about your kid and-" Barry stopped talking, noting the glare Oliver had settled on him. "Right now she doesn't need to worry."

"Right. Just let me know if Joe finds something. I've been telling her that Ari is fine, now I find out she's in Central City alone." Oliver shook his head before looking back to the bedroom door and sighed before heading downstairs.

Katie lied back in the bed, her eyes to the ceiling, smiling at the feeling of the slight kicks coming from her belly.

"Your time is running out kid." she lowered her eyes to her belly. "I'm getting you out of me, one way or another." she let out a sigh, her eyes going back to the ceiling. She wish she wasn't tired, but for some reason she just couldn't keep her eyes open. Soon sleep took over and she found herself in a place she would rather not be.

Katie was going crazy in the small room, with the tiny window with bars that only let in a slight stream of sunlight. Her eyes were closed as she paced the small confines of her room, trying her damnedest to remember something...anything. Suddenly the door opened, and in walked the only person she trusted.

"Hello Katherine." Dr. Quinzel greeted, walking in and watching the woman who didn't stop her pace. "How are you doing today?"

"I don't belong here." Katie said suddenly stopping and turning to the doctor. "I've been in this room for days, I see no other doctor but you. You come in and you chat, you give me pills and then you leave. Nothing about this place feels familiar, so I would have to guess that I don't belong here."

"Katherine, I understand-"

"That's just it, you don't understand!" Katie snapped angrily. "You don't understand that I don't know who my parents are, but I can tell from your fingernails that you suffer from onychophagia-" Katie looked down to the woman's hand. "You bite your fingernails, and a normal person wouldn't notice that, but I did—"

"You're observant, that's a good thing. But Katherine, it's not uncommon to be impatient with getting your memories back, it's why I-" there was a knock at the door and the doctor smiled as she turned. "I asked for some help from a co-worker of mine." the doctor pulled open the door, and in walked a man, carrying a medical bad. Dr. Quinzel closed the door behind him, before watching as he walked over to Katie. "Katherine, this is Dr. Jonathan Crane, he will be assisting with your care."

"Hello Katherine-" the man held out a hand to Katie. Katie glanced from his eyes, back to his hand, for some reason not liking the tone of his soft, soothing voice for some reason. "I have heard so much about you."

"Have you?" Katie says folding her arms over her chest and the man dropped his hand to his side. "What are my parents names? Where am I from? Was I born in Gotham? Do I have a husband, kids maybe?! Dr. Crane, what exactly have you heard about me?!" the man chuckled as he looked over to Dr. Quinzel who glanced over to Katie for a moment.

"Jacob Robins." Dr. Crane said turning back to Katie. "Jacob Robins, he's your father. He is the CEO of a company called Robins Incorporated. One of the top companies in the world actually. But as it turns out, your father isn't just a CEO. We're not completely sure who he really is, or who he works for, but we will."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Your father stole something from my boss. A flash drive, and I need to know where it is." the man placed the bag on the table beside him. "I wanted to ease into this, but you're a talker and I've had a bad day with an annoying bat person." Katie watched as the man opened the bag and pulled out a syringe and then a weird looking scarecrow mask.

"Dr. Quinzel, who is this guy and what-" he lifts his arm and something sprays in her face. Katie slaps her hands to her face, turning away, and hunching over as her insides felt as if they were burning.

Soon she heard a familiar chuckle, that only belonged to one person. Katie turned around, not expecting to see the demon standing right there. But his face seem to flicker between his own and a scarecrow. She stumbled back, but he caught her arms and slammed her to the bed.

"Dr. Crane!" Dr. Quinzel urged taking a step forward, but he turned to her, and the sight of him wearing the mask was still unsettling, and she simply shut her mouth and watched.

Katie looked up to the man, his face flickering, and she felt everything slipping away. For the first time, she felt like she really did need to be in a psychiatric hospital.

"The flash." the thing pinning her to the bed growled, his voice deep, inhuman. "Where is it?" Katie closed her eyes, and she squirmed underneath him trying to pull herself free. "The flash, where is it?!" she opened her eyes that were now a slight shade of red. "I expected you to scream."

"And I expected you to restrain my legs." and with a swift jerk of her leg, Katie kneed the man in the groin, causing him to grimace in pain. She used the distraction to roll from the bed, hitting the floor with a thud.

"Grab her!" Crane yelled and Dr. Quinzel attempted to grab Katie arm, but she slipped from the woman reach and crawled to the door. Katie clumsily stood to her feet, her head still spinning. She saw the doorknob and she attempted to open the door, but it was locked. A hand grabbed her shoulder and forced her around before shoving her back against the door, forcing her eyes back on the scarecrow. She saw the mask when he pulled it out of the bag, and it didn't look like it did now. Now it looked like a real face, the moved and contorted. The longer she looked at it, the more uneasy she felt. In this moment she felt her sanity slipping away. Her body began shaking uncontrollably, and Dr. Crane finally released the grasp he had on the woman, who dropped to the floor, curling into a ball.

"You said she would talk." Katie heard Dr. Quinzel's voice, but for some reason it sounded so far away.

"Yeah, well she is unexpected." Dr. Crane replied walking over and crouching in front of Katie, moving stray hairs from her face. "We will simply try again."

The sound of deep laughter, caused Katie to wake up. Her eyes snapped open, instantly feeling someone lying beside her. She turned, only to be struck with the sight of Ethan Mills reading a magazine. He turned to her with a smile.

"Hey there sleepy head, you've been asleep all morning. How are you feeling?" he stood from the bed and walked around to her side of the bed. He took a seat on the edge of the bed as Katie sat up.

"Where's Oliver?" she asked glancing over to the window, and seeing the sun still out.

"He's somewhere downstairs. Seriously how are you feeling?"

"Ethan I'm fine, I guess I just needed a little more sleep this morning. Has there been any word on Ari?" Katie asked and Ethan turned away slightly. "Mills." he hated when she called him by only his last name because it meant he better say something or she would hit him.

"Barry knows what's going on. You can ask him."

"Fine, move." Katie said shoving the man off the bed, before standing to her feet.

"What are you doing?" Ethan asked as he watched the woman grab her bathrobe and slip it on before turning to him. "I thought I made it clear that your excitement is only going to be limited to this bedroom and not in the good way either."

"Oliver was supposed to bring me breakfast." Katie said with a shake of her head. "I think he forgot." she glanced back over to Ethan. "He forgot to feed me, and you're trying to stop me from making him feel guilty about it?"

Oliver walked from the barn, to see Cisco as he was talking to Kendra. He hope the man could get through to the woman, and finally help her get a handle on her abilities. Oliver turned at the sound of raised voices and turned hoping to find the source. When he finally found the source, he spotted Barry and Carter in what looked like a heated argument.

"Hey!" Oliver snapped, rushing over to the man. "What the hell is going on here?"

"It's nothing." Barry replies looking over to Oliver. "We should head back to the house." he turned to go back to the house, but Oliver moved to block him. "Ollie, it's nothing."

"Yeah, nothing." Carter snipped before turning and stalking away from the men.

"Barry-"

"I needed to know if there was a reason he took her." Barry said turning to Oliver. Oliver remembers Barry story about a time that hasn't happened yet that included his death along with Katie's because of Savage. It's why they were doing things differently now in hopes for a better outcome. "I just asked Carter if he knew why Savage would take Katie, other than trying to mess with us."

"Well what other reason could there be?" Oliver asked and Barry sighed, because he was afraid it had something to do with the woman's abilities, but he wasn't completely sure.

"I don't know, I'm just trying to figure it out."

"It doesn't matter now, because he's not coming anywhere near her." Oliver replied before turning and heading for the house as well.

When he walked inside, he didn't expect to see Katie sitting at the kitchen table while Ethan stood at the stove burning something.

"What the hell are you doing?" Oliver asked walking over to Ethan and shaking his head before grabbing the pan of what he assumed were supposed to be eggs, and dropping them into the garbage disposal.

"Well Ethan thought he would make me food, since this guy who put this kid in me, just totally forgot." Katie replied just as Felicity and Caitlin came into the kitchen, each taking a seat at the table as well.

"I'm sorry, but you're not eating whatever that was." Oliver replied before looking over to Ethan. "You had one job." he turned back to Katie. "I will make you breakfast and then-"

"We needed to go over plan for tonight." Felicity said and Oliver looked over to her.

"And I needed to explain how the gauntlet works so no one blows themselves up." Caitlin added. Oliver looked between the three women, who simply stared back to him. "He's taking too long to make a decision, what does that mean?" Caitlin asked looking over to Katie.

"It means he's trying to decide which is more important at the moment." Katie replied before standing to her feet. "Chill out Liver, we're just messing with you. You're going to talk to Caitlin first, and then Felicity, and then you're going to give a roaring speech to the team, before you all go out and put your life on the line to beat some guy with a magic stick and a ridiculous name. I will be upstairs." she turned to leave, but Oliver's voice stopped her.

"No, I was actually trying to decide if I should make you pancakes or french toast." Oliver said and Katie turned back to him. "I'm sorry I forgot to bring you your breakfast." Katie gave the man a smile before walking over and placing a kiss to his cheek.

"I think I would like french toast."

After Katie ate her breakfast, she did return to her room and back to her bed, where she stared at her phone, hoping for news about Arianna. The day slipped by quickly until the sun was gone, and there was still no word.

"Hey, Kit, she's fine." Ethan said, still at Katie's side, where he'd been for the entire day. The bedroom door opened and in walked Oliver, who was no longer Oliver, but the Green Arrow.

"You know I've had fantasies that begin like this. The Green Arrow walks into my bedroom and has his way with me."

"Oooh, Kay. I think that's way more information than I needed to know, so I'm going to leave the room now." Ethan says before standing and leaving the couple.

"Let me guess, it's time for you to leave." Katie asked as Oliver walked over and took a seat beside her.

"Ethan made me a list." Oliver said and Katie tilted her head in confusion. "This whole list of remedies to get you to go into labor. We are going to start that list tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Katie said with a wide smile. "You're planning for tomorrow, which means you've already decided that you're gonna beat this guy tonight." the man leaned in to capture the woman's lips.

"I think I'm also gonna want to know more about these fantasies you're having." Oliver muttered against her lips causing her to laugh.

"Well then make sure you come back, and I'll give you all the details." she replied placing a hand on his cheek. "Lots and lots of details." the man groaned before stealing another kiss.

"I love you future wife."

"I love you too future husband. So do that thing I like where you go out and kick ass and then come back alive." the man gave a smile before placing a hand on her stomach. Letting out one final sigh, he stands to his feet.

"Felicity will be keeping an eye on surveillance, Ethan will be here, and so will Caitlin. Everyone knows the quickest routes to the hospital. I'm pretty sure everyone is armed and-"

"You worried about me?" Katie asked and Oliver sighed. "And I'm worried about you."

"We're going to be fine."

"We are." Katie agreed. Oliver stood there for a moment, trying to find the will power to turn around and leave the woman lying in that bed, because at the moment it seemed like the hardest thing in the world. "Go-" she nudged her head. "Do that thing I like." the man gave a final smile before finally turning to leave.

Katie stared at the door, trying and failing to rid herself of her nervousness. She slid a hand across her stomach.

"Alright!" Ethan's voice called as he entered the bedroom. "I say we check out whatever crappy movie is on this television."

One battle, seven heroes, ended with a pile of dust on the floor. It was done. Vandal Savage was finally gone, and that meant life could go back to the way things were.

The next morning Katie stood folding her clothes into her suit case. It was the day. Today, Katie was going to have a baby. The thing is, no one knew it but her. Contractions started earlier in the morning. They weren't strong, and there wasn't as much pain as she expected, but they were there and they were far apart. She knew it would take time before the baby actually came, which is why she hadn't told anyone yet. At the moment she was packing, hoping focusing on something that wasn't her missing cousin, or the child about to be torn from her body.

"I thought you guys were staying until the baby was born." Felicity said walking into the room and taking a seat on the bed. "It's why I just got myself a room in this ridiculously awesome hotel."

"Don't you have to get back to work?" Katie asked looking over to the woman.

"Well I kind of took off a couple of days. You get to do that when you're the boss." Felicity replied with a satisfied smile. "And I'm the boss."

"That's right, you're the—" a contraction hit her right in that moment, and the woman turned with a slight groan.

"Hey-" Felicity jumped from the bed, and hurried over to the woman, placing her hands on Katie's arms. "Are you alright?" Katie lifted her eyes to Felicity and simply nodded before turning back to the suit case.

"I'm fine, that was just a-" she grabbed another shirt and folded it into the suitcase. She couldn't even think of a lie in the moment, so she muttered something as she cleared her throat. Felicity walked over to the woman, snagging the t shirt from her hand and Katie closed her eyes with a sigh.

"You forget I speak crazy." Felicity says pulling out her cell phone and dialing Ethan's number. "Hey, stop making out with your girlfriend, we have a baby coming."

Oliver and Barry walked into CC Jitters, their eyes instantly scanning over the faces of the patrons.

"Are you sure she's here?" Oliver asked looking over to Barry, who shrugged.

"Iris called me this morning and told me she saw the picture Joe had of Ari that he was going to use for the missing child posters, and that she'd recognized her. She said she'd come in everyday the last couple of days." Barry took out his phone, and opened the picture he had of Arianna. Oliver glanced down to the phone before once again letting his eyes move over the many people, until he spotted her.

"There." Oliver said pointing to a young girl sitting alone in the far corner of the cafe. Barry lifted his eyes to the girl. Neither moved right away though.

"Should we go over there?" Barry asked, but Oliver shook his head.

"No, I think I should do this alone." Oliver replied and Barry stood there as the man walked over.

It wasn't until Oliver was closer, that he noticed the dollar bill and a couple of coins on the table that the girl seemed to be counting. He heard her curse under her breath, before lifting her eyes to him.

"Uh, hi, I'm-"

"You're Oliver Queen." Ari, said, before digging in her purse in search of more money.

"Right, I'm-"

"You're my co-guardian." Ari once again interrupted, before letting out a heavy sigh and looking back to the man. "Do you have money? I have like none to pay for this coffee."

"Uh, sure." Oliver replied.

"Awesome." with that the girl stood to her feet, bringing her bag over her shoulder about to leave, but Oliver took a step to stop her. "What are you doing?"

"Where are you going?" Oliver asked and the girl scoffed before trying to move around him.

"Look, I don't know you all that well to give you that kind of information, now if you wouldn't mind-"

"You disappeared. You left and we had no idea where you were, so Katie, who you may know is nine month's pregnant, got on an airplane and came to Central City to make sure you were alright."

"Why?" the girl asked in confusion.

"Because she cares about you. Because you're important enough to her to come to another city, and run around just to find you." Oliver said, and girl simply folded her arms over her chest and shrugged as if none of it was even a big deal.

"Ok." was her reply, and Oliver dropped his head for a moment, and let out a deep breath. He was getting highly annoyed, and was trying very hard not to yell. After the couple of days he'd just had, the last thing he wanted to be dealing with right now was a rude teenage. But he would keep his cool. She was just a kid after all. "I didn't ask her, or you to come look for me. I'm not a kid, I can take care of myself."

"Well in the eyes of the law, you're a child, and as your guardian it's our responsibility to know where you are at all times, so right now, you're going to come with me."

"The hell I am." Ari snapped, taking a step away from the man. "You're not my father, and that monster who killed my father and put my mother in prison is definitely not my mother. So I am not going anywhere with you." with that the girl walked around Oliver, for the door. The waitress walked over to her, but Arianna simply pointed to Oliver.

"He's paying." she replied, before leaving. The waitress walked over to Oliver, who pulled out a couple a bills and handed it to the woman. Barry walked over to him with a nervous smile.

"Good talk?" Barry asked and Oliver turned a glare to him, before hurrying out the door. Both men looked down both ends of the side walk, before seeing girl walking in the distance. Oliver turned and went after her, Barry at his side. "You didn't do that thing where you ordered her to do something, did you?" Oliver glanced over to the man. "Teenagers don't really like being told to do anything."

"Don't worry, when I catch up to her, I won't ask her anything. I'm going to put her in that car, and she's going back to Star City." Oliver replied, as they sifted through the crowded sidewalk. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, and he pulled it out to see Felicity's number. He'd only greeted the woman, before she squealed in his ear. "Felicity, what-" he pulled the phone back from his ear, before bringing it back. "I can't understand anything you're-" Oliver stopped walking, she repeated three words clearly. "Katie's in labor?" he looked over to Barry who smiled widely. "Alright, I will meet you at the hospital." Oliver ended the call about to leave, but stopped and turned to Barry.

"Don't worry, I'll try to talk to the ansty teenager. Go—" Barry lightly shoved Oliver. "Go meet your daughter."

"Thanks Barry." Oliver turned, and full on ran back to his bike.

---

Author's Note:

No excuse for my tardiness with posting this chapter. But it's here, so there's that.

Review Replies

dhnysports88 : I totally get it. I mean there's so much happening right now that another Twiver dramafest is just not needed. But I just couldn't see a scene happening between the two about this paternity test going without a little bit of drama. But Barry's feet took them back in time and the break up never happened. But we all know that the truth will come out again, and I will promise we'll see a different reaction.

Taffdog19943: I hoped you liked it, and it all leads up to us finally meeting baby Twiver in the next chapter.

dwest225: Thanks so much! I enjoy writing this story to the best of my ability, and I will try harder not to let the naysayers rain on my parade.

rockyroyal,dr: You're totally right. These powers are really scaring her, and she has no idea who to determine how anyone will react when she tells them the truth. But in this chapter she finally told someone she thought could relate. Our favorite speedster who said all the right things! He told her that she couldn't hold onto this secret anymore and that if she wanted to marry Oliver in good conscious then she would have to tell him the truth. The question is will she take his advice...an even better question would be is whether he gave Oliver the same advice about his little secret? There's this thing happening with the Twiver relationship, one they have to truly overcome before they can really be a strong unbreakable couple. Both have very big secrets they don't want...feel can't reveal to the other. And the reason is a fear they both share that will become the true test of if they can even survive marriage or raising a child together. And Arianna is her father's daughter if you remember him and his bluntness. She's a really angry kid, which will put another challenge before our Twiver.

kuppcake: I like Katie's powers too, and her just stumbling through actually using them. She has no idea what she's doing and yet she would try to help her friends. Ari will be a challenge, but she's family and whether Katie's like it or not, that means something to her. The Samantha story line and the entire ultimatum annoyed me when I first watched it. But then I saw it from her side of things, of how her last interaction with the Queen family was a check for her silence and to just disappear. The only thing she knows about Oliver is what she sees on the television, and that's all over the place. Samantha is a mother who wants to prevent her son from being hurt, so she did what she thought was best. So I kept it in the Twiver story and my heart broke writing the sinking of our Twiver-Ship. I know it won't be a popular scene, because it mirror one of the scenes we hated from the series, but I felt it was needed. But it was one reaction, the expected reaction to news that will be revealed twice. The next time the truth is revealed, expect a different...more unexpected reaction.

ImsebastianstanButter: She didn't react well at all, and it wasn't even the news of the child that caused the melt down. It was the fact that they were keeping these secrets from one another and neither felt the could share them. "This isn't right" she finally admitted, recognizing a hole in their relationship that they thought just went away because they were having a baby.

Adela: Thank you so much!

Thank you all so much for you support on this crazy journey through a world swimming inside my head. My appreciation to everyone who had added this story to your alerts, I'm glad you're interested in where this story is going. A special fist pump to those who left me kind, inspiring comments. They mean a lot. And as always to show my gratitude, here is a sneak peek of the next chapter.

Laurel headed in the direction she saw Ethan go. It didn't take long for her to find the man hidden away down an empty hall. He had his phone pressed to his ear, so he didn't even hear as she walked over.

"No, he came back. I'm not sure what happened in that room, but he came back." Ethan muttered with a sigh. "At the moment she's calm, but I doubt she will be once she finds out this place might not be as safe as we hoped."

"Wait, what?" Laurel spoke startling the man who turned with wide eyes. "Who is on the phone?"

"I have to call you back." Ethan said suddenly before ending the call and slipping the phone into his pocket. "Hey Laur, has eavesdropping become a thing for you?"

"Ethan, tell me who was on the phone?" Laurel asked once again, her voice leaving no room for anything but the truth, but the man in front of her was trained for situations just like this.

"It was Charlotte. I was just filling her in. Anything else you need to know?"

"Yeah, just one." Laurel replied walking over to stand in front of the man. She doesn't know how he could forget that easily who she was. How she spent years in courtrooms, pinpointing the moment a lie is tossed in front of her and how every time it angered her."Why did you just lie to me?"

"Laur, I-" Laurel closed the very narrow distance between her and the man, just so he could see the seriousness in her eyes when she spoke her next words. The move made him nervous, but he didn't...wouldn't show it.

"You're going to tell me who was on the phone." And just like that, Ethan knew this day wasn't going to end the way he wanted.