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?

13. Hope in a Trying Season

Chapter 13

Hope in a Trying Season

"The test of leadership is not to put greatness into humanity,

but to elicit it, for the greatness is already there."

-James Buchanan

---

Katie and Oliver sat low, their backs against the wall trying not to make a sound. They glanced down to see the door that led to their salvation.

"This isn't going to work." Katie whispered and Oliver turned to her with a shake of his head. "It's pointless."

"There's still hope." Oliver replied taking Katie's hand in his. "The door is not that far, we just have move quickly and quietly and-"

"What are you two doing?" Katie and Oliver turned at the voice that they wished wasn't as loud as it was. They looked over to Arianna, who stared at the couple in confusion. "Why are you sitting on the floor?"

"Ari, could you keep your voice-" before Katie could even finish her sentence, as expected the cries of their infant suddenly filled the house. "Thank you for that." Katie stood to her feet and walked back into the nursery.

"You guys are so weird." Ari mutters as she shook her head and locked herself back in her room

Oliver let out an annoyed sigh before standing to his feet and walking into the nursery to see Katie now cradling Robyn in her arms attempting to rock her back to sleep. Katie looked over to Oliver who shook his head as he slid a hand over his tired eyes.

"You should go to bed. There's no reason we both should be sleep deprived."

"I think the fact that we're both of equal blame for the cause of our sleep deprivation is reason enough for me to tough this out with you." Oliver said walking over and smiling down to the baby whose eyes were already closed. "How does someone so little have such big lungs?" Katie quietly laughed as she dropped her head to Oliver's shoulder.

"It's only been three weeks. She's still trying to figure out what this weird place is she was pulled into." Katie replies with a yawn. "Alright, lets try this again." the woman carefully went back to the crib, and gently lowed the baby inside. They eased back, seeing the baby not stirring. The pair slowly backed out of the of the nursery, closing the door behind them. "Ok, how-" Katie's words were stolen as Oliver suddenly hoisted the woman into his arms. The woman had to clasp a hand over her mouth to stop the squeal from slipping through her lips as Oliver quietly rushed them to the bedroom. Katie quietly laughed as Oliver laid her on their bed. They both turned to the baby monitor on the table beside the bed and waited to see if they had once again stirred the baby awake. "That was a very big risk Mr. Queen." Katie turned to look to the man above her.

"But it worked, Mrs. Queen." Oliver replied lowering his lips to hers.

"We've already come to the conclusion that this is pointless." Katie muttered against the man's lips as she brought her arms up around his neck. "We're stuck at second base for another three weeks."

"I know-" Oliver pulled back and looked down to the woman with a tired smile. "Three more weeks."

"Seems like an eternity." Katie said.

"Tell me about it." he replied, dropping a kiss to her forehead, before slipping next to her and pulling her close to him. And to no surprise, it didn't take either long to fall asleep.

Katie doesn't know how she ended up in a chair by the window of her small room, but she didn't try to make a move. Actually she couldn't. It was strange, it was as if she were just a shell at this point...a prisoner in her own body.

Time had lost her, and she had lost it since arriving to this hospital. Ever since her first meeting with Dr. Jonathan Crane, she's been tormented with his treatments, which consisted of him and his mask.

She didn't hear the door open or close, but she felt the moment a hand touched her shoulder. She didn't turn. The smell of his aftershave gave him a way.

"And how are you this morning, Katherine?" Dr. Crane asked, but she didn't even acknowledge his presence. For some reason that made a smile come to his lips. He dropped his lips and placed a kiss to the top of her head, before the door quickly opened.

"We have a problem." Harleen said as she rushed into the room, closing the door behind her. "Bruce Wayne is here and he's looking for her. He says he went to the hospital and was told that she was brought here. What do we do?"

"Nothing." Crane replied with a smile. "No one knows she's here. No one saw you bring her in, and all surveillance video of her being brought in mysteriously corrupted. This part of the hospital is uninhabited so there's no proof that she's here." Jonathan turned back to Katie, sliding his fingers through her hair.

Katie could hear them. They seemed to know that as well, but for some reason at this point neither cared. She was no longer a threat to them, Katie figured. She sat there listening to how all hope of anyone finding her was minimal. And so a tear she didn't expect escaped, warming her cheek as it fell.

She would just look out the window, to the gray skies and dream of-

Katie dropped her eyes for only a second, but they caught something. A man walking around along the grounds. She never saw people out this window, so the moment she saw him her eyes were locked on him. Dr. Crane and Dr. Quinzel were both still talking, too distracted to see the man. Katie watched him move, watched how his eyes seemed to be trying to look everywhere. Suddenly he lifted his eyes to the building and stopped the moment he locked eyes with her. He stared at her for all of five seconds before running off, leaving Katie to once again feel that all hope was lost.

Katie's eyes snapped open to the now sun filled room. She stretched a bit, letting out a content sigh before suddenly sitting up from the bed. Since returning home with the baby, she has never waken up without the sound of crying to stir her. She turned and didn't see the baby monitor on the table beside her. She looked over and as expected, didn't see her husband either. A smile came to her lips as she stood out of bed, and walked from the room, the smell of food hitting her nose instantly. Katie continued down the hall, stopping in front of Ari's door, and raising a fist to knock.

There wasn't an answer right away, and Katie didn't hear anyone inside. She knocked once more, and suddenly the door swung open.

"What do you want?!" the girl snapped upon seeing Katie. Katie grit her teeth, because she expected the attitude when they arrived. And after a meeting with Ms. Sandburg, and the woman's advice to just give Ari time to get acclimated to this new life, Katie decided to try to really go with it. But there were moments like this, or when the girl wakes up their sleeping baby does Katie really feel her patience with the girl slipping away. "Look if you're just going to stand here and be weird, then I'm-" the girl began to close the door, but Katie reached out a hand to stop her.

"Ari, I get it, you don't want to be here. Which is confusing, since you were asked if you wanted to be here, and you said yes. I get it, you're a teenager, emotions are all over the place, but c'mon we can't keep doing this. There has to be a level of respect here, or some way for all of us to get along." the girl didn't say anything and Katie just sighed. "I just wanted to let you know that it smells like Oliver is cooking breakfast, and thought maybe you'd like to join us."

"No thanks." the girl replied before closing the door in Katie's face

"Well at least she said thanks." Katie muttered before she turned and continued down stairs. She glanced over to the bare Christmas tree in living room and just shook her head. She walked into the kitchen to find Oliver moving about. Robyn watched on from her infant seat placed on the kitchen table. "And here I was getting use to my new alarm clock." Oliver turned to Katie with a smile as she walked over to baby. She glanced back to the man who walked over, and brought his arms around her.

"We thought mommy could use more than a few hours of sleep." Oliver replied placing a kiss to her neck. "You know I was going to bring breakfast up to you. You just had a baby, you should be resting." Katie spun around in the man's arms, bringing her hands to his chest.

"I told you I'm fine. I'm great actually, despite the angry teenager upstairs, and that depressing naked Christmas tree in there." Oliver laughed with a nod.

"We will decorate the Christmas tree soon, and try to con Ari into helping us." he replied before leaning into kiss the woman, only for the doorbell to interrupt the moment. Oliver let out a sigh as he lifted his head. "If that is another gift from my sister..."

"Oh, she's just being a doting aunt."

"Yeah, but we're going to run out a room to even fit more stuffed animals or more clothes." Oliver shook his head as he goes to see who was at the door. When he pulled open the door, he definitely didn't expect to see his new political strategist gracing his doorstep.

"Alex, hey. What are you doing here?" Oliver asked and the man simply shrugged.

"I thought it only considerate to give my resignation in person." Alex said and Oliver's eyes widen in shock.

"Resignation, what-"

"I just feel that if you're not going to give your all to this campaign, then I can't do my job."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the fact that I've been calling you for weeks trying to push this campaign forward, and I only get your voicemail. So what's the point of my job if I don't have a candidate to strategize for?"

"Alex, I'm sorry. I know I've been out of reach lately, but things have kind of changed and I've been busy." Alex looked confused, and so Oliver took a step back and waved the man inside. "Come in."

"Look Oliver, I don't know what could keep you so busy, that you can't even-" Alex's words suddenly stopped the moment they walked into the kitchen, and he saw Katie holding a blanket wrapped baby in her arms. "That's a baby." he looked over to Oliver who walked to stand beside Katie, slipping an arm around her. "That's your baby. Wow, congratulations."

"I think this is one of those things we should've had a conversation about." Katie says as she turned to Oliver.

"I know, but I figure he should be the first person to know since he's going to have to help us tell the world about her, and us."

"He's right." Alex said and the couple turned to them. "I'm surprised you two were able to keep this out of the media for as long as you have, but the good thing is we can control this." he nodded, as ideas started coming to him. "Maybe at the holiday party."

"Wait, that's tomorrow night." Katie says turning to Oliver with a shake of her head. "That's really soon."

"Yeah, it is." Oliver replied turning back to Alex. "Look I know timing is everything, but we're just a little worried. Right now the world doesn't have her. They're not looking at her, scrutinizing her, and we like it that way."

"Oliver you're running for Mayor. You're telling these people not to be afraid, so you are going to have to take your own advice. Look we can do this, and I mean I feel like this will actually help with your approval rating." he noted the looks from the couple and just shook his head. "Not that this will be about that. I think the city has been looking forward to the birth of your baby, and wedding as much as you two have." Katie and Oliver shared a looked, before looking down to the baby in Katie's arms and sighed.

"Fine." Katie said with a nod, before looking over to Oliver who nodded as well. "The holiday party we'll tell the world about the newest Queens in Star City."

"Queens?" Alex said, wondering if he heard that wrong. Katie and Oliver turned back to him, seeing the confusion written all over his face. Soon he glanced between the couple, and then spotted the wedding ring on Katie's hand. "Wait, you two got married?"

"Yeah, we did." Oliver replied and watched as Alex dropped his head to his palm. "Is that alright?"

"Well, yeah." Alex replied looking back over to them. "I mean congratulations and all that, but I sort of had plans for this wedding."

"How did you have plans for our wedding?" Katie asked and Alex nervously laughed. "Alex?"

"Fine, I was hoping to talk the both of you into having the wedding televised. I already had a couple of outlets lined up." Alex saw the dark looks he was getting and continued to try to explain. "And I know you wanted to keep it private, but you two seriously have no idea how invested people have gotten into your relationship. I mean the city loves Katherine Robins, and they are starting to love Oliver Queen."

"Wait, starting to love-"

"It's just, I know you're going to hate me for saying this, but it's true, having this wedding open to the public, letting them see this intimate moment between the two of you, really would push Oliver further in the polls. They love transparency."

"So what are you saying?" Oliver asked.

"The baby is here and so we can't pretend like she isn't. So at the holiday party, we introduce her to everyone, but in regards to the marriage, I think maybe we should hold off."

"You want us to hide our marriage?" Katie asked and Alex sighed with a nod. Katie simply shook her head before looking back down to her daughter.

"That's absolutely not happening." Oliver replied and Katie glanced over to him. "Katie is my wife, and I'm not hiding that from anyone." It was Oliver's tone that let Alex know that this was not a topic they would be compromising on.

"I completely understand, and I apologize for even suggesting it. So I guess the holiday party, we will announce the arrival of your daughter, and your marriage." Alex said with a nod. "Alright, so about tomorrow morning, everything is still going as planned and-"

"Wait, tomorrow morning?" Oliver asked and Alex let out a sigh. "What's-" Oliver turned his head in thought, when it suddenly hit him. "The Star City Bay Restoration project." he looked over to Alex who gave a nod. "That's tomorrow?"

"It is, and trying to cancel at this point would be impossible and also a bad look for you." Alex replied and Oliver let out a sigh as he looked back over to Katie. For the past couple of weeks, it's just been him and his girls and for a while he forgot about being the Green Arrow, and he forgot he was running for Mayor. For a while he was just a father and a husband, and he loved every minute of it. He really didn't want to give that up just yet.

"I think it's about that time Mr. Queen." Katie says looking up to the man, before looking back over to Alex. "Reality just walked through the door and it's time we got back to it." she glanced back down to the baby and smiled. "I think someone needs a bath." she looked over to Alex. "It was nice seeing you again Alex." and with that the woman headed for the stairs and headed up to the nursery.

"I'm sorry, if I just-" Alex started and Oliver turned to him. "I guess I wasn't really prepared to walk in here and find a baby, and a Mrs. Queen."

"No, you're just doing your job." Oliver replied glancing over to the door, Katie had just past through. "I will be there tomorrow as planned."

"That's great, but uh-" Oliver turned back to Alex with a quirked brow. "This initiative was sort of introduced as a joint project between you and Katie. She's going to have to be there too." Oliver let out another sigh, and Alex just shook his head. "Maybe I should go, and you'll figure this all out and I'll see you tomorrow." he pointed behind him. "I will see myself out." Alex turned and headed out of the kitchen, stopping at the sight of a teenage girl. "Uh, hi, um I'm Alex. I work with Oliver's campaign. You must be Arianna, right?"

"Yeah." the girl replied with a nod.

"Well I was just going, but maybe I'll see you tomorrow at the Bay." Alex said with a smile as he continued for the door. Ari's eyes followed him out with a quirked brow before heading into the kitchen where she found Oliver who turned to her.

"Hey, um good morning, there's breakfast if you're hungry." Oliver said with a smile before nudging his head. "I'll be right back, I have to go talk to Katie, but help yourself to whatever you want." the man gave a nod before heading for the stairs. Ari waited until he was gone, before pulling out her cell phone and looking down to the recently recorded video.

"You want us to hide our marriage?"

The girl simply smiled as watched the video. It wasn't something that could prove the woman was a monster, but it was pretty embarrassing.

Oliver found Katie in the nursery, Robyn in her arms as she sways back and forth in the rocking chair. He stops at the door, and smiles over to the pair, and he feels a burst of emotion swell inside of him at the sight of his wife and daughter.

"How did her little face make us forget the real world?" Katie asked glancing over to Oliver.

"I don't know." Oliver sighed. "So tomorrow-"

"You have to go." Katie said with a nod as she looked back down to the little girl whose eyes seemed to be staring back to her. "I get it. Our fantasy was going to have to end at some point. It always does." she looked over to the man and smiled. "You're running for Mayor."

"You run a billion dollar company." Oliver replied and Katie sighed before looking back down to their daughter. "And yet none of it seems more important than just looking at her."

"Ok." Katie says standing to her feet and walking over to placed the baby in her crib. "We can do this." Oliver walked over to stand on the other side and looked down to the baby, whose eyes turned to him when he appeared. "You can leave tomorrow and we will still be fine." she looked over to Oliver who had reached down and slipped a finger into the baby's tiny hand. She could see him getting sucked into the baby vortex. "Liver-" he glanced back up to her. "You can do this."

"After you left, Alex brought up he fact that this was a joint project with you and me, and that maybe-"

"Oh, I'm not leaving this baby." Katie said with a smile as she shook her head. "I'll send someone in my place."

The next morning Oliver stood at the shore of the Star City Bay, letting out a deep sigh. It had only been a little over a hour since he left home, but it felt like the longest hour. He turned just as Alex and Thea walked over.

"Hey. How we doing?" Oliver asked.

"It's actually a pretty great turnout." Thea replied looking out to the many people who showed up to help clean up beach.

"Who knew people would rather pick up garbage than celebrate the holidays, huh?" Alex muttered as he looked out to the people. He wasn't too sure about this project, but Oliver and Katie seemed pretty adamant about it being a good idea. Turns out they were right.

"Not bad for a hippie, crunchy campaign proposal, huh?" Oliver joked and Alex simply chuckled.

"Nobody likes an "I told you so." Except apparently Star City. Your approval rating is up 10 points."

"I have an approval rating." Oliver replied looking over to his sister who laughed.

"Yes. Yes, you do. Welcome to politics, Mr. Queen." Alex said before glancing around. "So a campaign project between the Oliver Queen campaign and Robins Incorporated and there's no Robins." he turned back to Oliver who shook his head.

"Well I have to admit she picked an awesome replacement." Thea replied and they all turned to the other side of the beach where they spotted Bruce Wayne joking and laughing with some of the locals as he helped pick up garbage. "There's no way this isn't going to be on every news outlet."

Arianna Locke had her mission. Bring down the woman who destroyed her family. But she couldn't let it stop other important things in her life. Like her ever present desire to get into a great college one day. It's why she tagged along with Oliver to this clean up project. She knew it would look great on a college application.

And so she had her earbuds in her ears as she stuffed discarded trash into her garbage bag. She was doing great until she took a step on a particularly slippery rock, and almost fell. But a hand grabbed her wrist stopping her collide with the rocks. She turned to see her savior was someone annoyingly familiar.

"Thanks, Mr. Diggle." she replied reaching down to pick up her bag.

"You know you can call me John." Digg said, before bending down to help her pick up the trash that had fell out of her bag. "I didn't expect to see you here today. I heard you'd been locked in your room since you arrived."

"Yeah, well I can't pass up an opportunity to add brownie points to my college apps."

"Oh I didn't know kids your age were even thinking about college." John replied and the girl simply shrugged.

"Yeah, well in the words of my father, it's never too early." the girl said before continuing her clean up.

John watched her for a moment before sensing someone beside him. He turned to see Bruce who glanced over to Ari before turning back to John.

"Ms. Smoak did mention you attempting to crack that nut. How's it going?" Bruce asked and John simply shook his head.

"She's still very angry. The thing is she has every right to be."

"We were all filled with anger at some point." Bruce said, before glancing over to see Felicity educating a group of kids on the benefits of reducing waste. "Then we found a light. She just needs to find hers."

Katie sat in the living room on the floor, digging through boxes of Christmas decorations. She glanced up to the television that was currently showing the current clean up project on the bay. She stopped and a smile came to her face when she looked up to see Oliver's face.

"How do you feel about inspiring so many people to come out here today?" the reporter asked, and Oliver shook his head.

"Oh, I didn't inspire anyone. This is the city that I know, it's the city I remember, and it's the city that we can be again." Oliver answered.

"Do you hear your daddy?" Katie asked looking over to Robyn who sat beside her in her baby seat. "He's already talking like the future Mayor of this city." she turned back to the television and sighed before looking back in box. "Now where is that ornament? I hope it didn't get lost in storage."

Katie had moved to another box and then another, in search of a single ornament, when she turned back to the television.

"Breaking news. We've just gotten reports of gun fire today at Star City's Bay where Mayoral Candidate Oliver Queen and many citizens were today assisting in a clean up project hosted by Mr. Queen. At the moment we don't have many details, but we will make sure to keep you informed."

"No." Katie says standing to her feet and grabbing her phone before dropping to the couch to dial Oliver's number. She sat with her eyes closed as she listened to the incessant ringing. "Answer the phone." the moment it went to voice mail, she growled in anger before dialing his number again. It once again went to voice mail and the phone slipped from her hand as the bad thoughts crept into her mind. The thoughts that Oliver wasn't answering his phone because he couldn't, because he was hurt and that just made her fearfully nervous.

Katie stood to her feet and began pacing back and forth. She didn't notice the flickering lights above her head. All she could think about was that Oliver or Ari could be hurt right now, and she didn't know what to do. She suddenly stopped when the front door opened and in walked Arianna.

"Ari." Katie rushed over to her, reaching out to touch her, but the girl jerked away. "I'm sorry, I just, I just saw the news and I thought-" Katie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Are you hurt?" Katie let her eyes scan over the girl.

"I'm fine. Oliver was there and he shielded me." Arianna replied with a shake of her head before looking back up to Katie. "I'm fine, just a little shaken up."

"And Oliver is alright?"

"Yeah, I guess he has to figure out how to handle this so he had a driver bring me here. He says he's going to call you, but to tell you that he's alright." Katie let out another sigh.

"That's great. That's really great. Did you need anything?"

"No, I'm just going to go to my room." the girl said before moving around Katie and heading up the stairs. Katie slid her hand over her face, partially relieved. She walked back into the living room, her eyes going to the television that was showing footage of the shooting. Katie dropped into her seat, as she watched scared children trying to dodge bullets.

"This was you, you son of a bitch." Katie muttered with a shake of her head. Without another thought she stood to her feet and walked to kneel in front of Robyn. "Hey Benny, how would you like to go on your first outing?"

Felicity Smoak sat behind her computer, currently being annoyed by her boyfriend. After the attack, the team came back to the lair to figure out a next move. Everyone was sure it was Darhk behind the shooting, and now they needed a way to finally put an end to his craziness. John had long went to talk to Andy in hopes of getting answers, while the others waited around. Felicity chose to see if there were any clues from the attack drone that could lead back to Darhk. She needed one hundred percent focus, which she was not getting because her boyfriend sat beside her trying to convince her to do the one thing she's already refused.

"Ok, I get it. Your friends are here, Palmer Tech is here, and so naturally you feel you should be here too." Bruce continued and Felicity rolled her eyes. "The thing is, there are Palmer Tech subsidiaries in Gotham that you can set up shop. And I'm sure everyone will be fine if you decided to leave."

"Men, women and children were just shot at by an evil bastard who we're all trying to figure out how to stop and you're here beating a dead horse." Felicity said looking over to the man. "Bruce, I'm not leaving Star City. Why don't you just move here? I mean your company is ran by Mr. Fox, the Robin is proving to be a capable hero. In all reality you're the one less needed in your city." Bruce didn't say anything, and Felicity suddenly felt guilty and let out a sigh. "I didn't mean it that way, I just-" she shook her head. "We got into this knowing that it would be long distance and we agreed that we could handle it."

"We did, but things have changed." Bruce replied and Felicity looked at him in confusion.

"What things?"

"Well, uh-" Bruce turned away because he really didn't want to answer that question yet. And soon a way out suddenly appeared. "Robins?" Felicity followed his eyes, surprised to see Katie as well coming in from the back entrance, a stroller in hand.

"And she has the baby." Felicity smiled before jumping to her feet and heading over.

Katie walked into the lair, her eyes scanning around in search of only one face that didn't seem to be there.

"Hey!" Felicity said and Katie quickly brought a finger to her lips, before pointing down to the sleeping baby. Felicity moved around to look down to Robyn who was all bundled up and snug under her blanket as she slept. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be taking it easy."

"Not sure how easy I can take anything after seeing what I just saw on the news." Katie replied as Bruce walked over and peeked inside of the stroller to the sleeping baby before looking over to Katie. "Was anyone hurt?"

"No, we're all fine. Just angry Damian Darhk is still an issue." Bruce said, turning when Laurel and Thea appeared. Thea smiled and came over, but Laurel seemed to keep her distance.

"Hey there-" Thea got collective shushes as she walked over, peeking inside the stroller to see her sleeping niece. "Aw, she's sleeping." she looked up to Katie. "Can I wake her up?"

"You can if you want me to kill you." Katie replied, ignoring Thea's pout. "I am going to go lay her down, and then you guys can fill me in on the next move."

For some reason, Katie thought she'd never use this room that seemed so out of place in their underground lair. She carefully laid Robyn in her bassinet before grabbing the baby monitor and attaching it to her pants before quietly slipping out of the room.

It was when she stepped out of the room, did she finally see his face. Oliver turned to see her, and rushed over, bringing his arms around her in a tight hug.

"You didn't answer your phone." Katie said. Oliver could sense how scared she was by how tight she hugged him. He placed a kiss to her cheek as she pulled back and looked up to his eyes.

"I know, I'm sorry. I wanted to make sure everyone was ok." Oliver replied his hand sliding to her waist. "You didn't have to come here, I told Ari-" Oliver sighed with a shake of his head. "I wish Ari wasn't there, I shouldn't have-"

"Hey, this is not your fault." Katie replied placing a hand on his cheek. "This is the work of a sick bastard who needs to be stopped." Oliver inched closer to the woman, when suddenly the sound of crying cut through the moment. He looked down to the baby monitor on Katie's pants. "I should-"

"Oh, let me!" Thea said rushing past them to go check on the baby. "Keep kissing, I got her." they shook their head before turning back to each other.

"Any idea why Darhk would attack citizens at the bay?" Katie asked.

"I don't know, but there's something there he doesn't want us to find. I'm just not sure what it is." Oliver replied before looking down to his watch. "I'm going to have to make a statement soon, and I don't even know what I'm going to say." Katie placed a hand on Oliver's chest.

"Say something fearless." she looked up to meet his eyes. "He thinks he scared you and now you're hiding. A lot of people probably think you're hiding. So at some point very soon, you're going to be in front of a camera and you're going to show all of them how fearless you are, and how fearless they can be." Oliver leaned in closer, his forehead resting on hers.

"You should be at home."

"My husband was shot at today, so I just had to see him." Katie replied and Oliver smiled at her words.

"Your husband. I don't think I will ever get tired of being called that." his lips finally met hers, in a kiss that stole them from the moment if only for a little while. "I'm taking you home."

"I can help." Katie muttered against his lips.

"I don't doubt that." Oliver replied pulling back and looking down to the woman. "But you just had a baby—"

"Three weeks ago."

"Right, and it takes about a month to two months to completely recover after giving birth, according to Dr. Baxter and Dr. Flemming." Katie rolled her eyes as he continued. "Even Dr. Frances says-" Katie turned and clasped a hand over Oliver's mouth.

"Fine, I'll go home. Just don't quote that evil man to me ever again." Katie replied before glancing across the lair to see Laurel who glanced over to her, before turning away. "So I guess Laurel still blames me for her relationship ending with Ethan."

"She just needs some time." Oliver replied placing a kiss on top her head. "C'mon, let's go home."

"Well you get to tear Benny from your sister's arms this time." Katie replied and Oliver just sighed dramatically.

Jacob knew his return to ARGUS wouldn't be smooth. He knew Waller wouldn't make it easy at all. This was her chance. Her chance to prove her superiority over him once and for all and he knew she wouldn't let such an opportunity slip away.

And so he was questioned. Questioned about old cases, about Ra's Al Ghul, his wife, his daughter, the planning of his faked death. Today was just like any other. He was escorted from his small, shoe box of a room to the interrogation room where he would be questioned by some of the best interrogators ARGUS employed.

The whole process was boring and pointless. He would've escaped a while ago if he really didn't need ARGUS' help to finally take down Darhk. As he waited, Jacob stared into the two way mirror knowing she was on the other side.

"Are you done, Waller?!" he called with a shake of his head. "Is the pissing contest done? You're in charge, I know that. Right now we both have a common enemy that we can't put down without each others help." there was no response for a few moments, but soon the door to the room opened and in walked Waller who took the seat across from the man.

"I actually don't need you to take down Darhk. I've acquired a secret weapon I think can make him bend."

"If that were true you would've already used it. There's a reason he doesn't know, and you won't find that in any of those journals. Gracie wouldn't write that down." Amanda sat back in her chair as she stared at the man. "Are you finally ready to work together?" the woman was silent for a moment before folding her arms over the table.

"No more secret missions, no more lies. I will know everything you know."

"After all these years, you're still striving to be better than me." Jacob replied with a shake of his head. "That's your weakness Mandy. Stop trying to be better than me and just be better." The woman rolled her eyes before standing to her feet.

"Never call me Mandy again." she turned and headed for the door.

"We need to find Lois Lane and Roy Harper. I don't believe Darhk killed them, but I do believe he has them locked away some where."

"And why would he do that?" Amanda asked turning back to the man.

"Because he'd be too curious. She's a reporter and he's some kid. He'd want to know what made them so special."

"And what makes them special?" she asked and Jacob stood to his feet and walked over to her.

"Nothing and everything." he replied before passing her out the door. "I'm going to assume no one has touched my office." Amanda clenched her jaw before turning to follow after the man.

Oliver had long brought Katie and Robyn back home before having to once again leave. Katie was right. He needed to make a statement soon, and so he once again changed into a suit and tie and headed back to the bay where reporters were waiting.

Meanwhile, Katie stood outside of Arianna's door hesitant to simply knock. She took a deep breath, before reaching forward, and giving a subtle knock. As always, there wasn't answer right away, that always confused Katie. And so this time, she would do something she probably shouldn't do. She grabbed the doorknob, and opened the door in time to see Ari quickly close the lid of of laptop and turn a glare to her.

"Are you kidding me?!" the teenager snapped. "You can't just walk in here. This is my room, and I say when you come in here, you-" the girl bit her tongue and Katie took a step forward, folding her arms over her chest.

"I came in here to check on you. You were shot at and I thought-"

"What? What did you think?" Ari asked. "That this would be a great bonding moment. That maybe you and I could connect on a deep level because I was almost killed by a bullet like my father was."

"That's not—"

"What did you think this was going to be?" Ari asked with a shake of her head. "Like seriously. You killed my dad, sent my mom to jail, and then you took me in. Am I supposed to be grateful? Am I supposed to be thankful my murderous cousin has a heart? What was this supposed to be?"

"This was supposed to be a chance." Katie replied with a slight shake of her head. "I thought I could give you a chance at some kind of normal, but Ari if you don't want that, if you don't want to be here, I think the question you should be asking is to yourself. Why are you here?" Katie turned about to leave, but she stopped herself and turned back to Ari. "You know I get it right? To be young and filled with so much anger and so much pain. You shouldn't have to had gone through the things you have, seen the things you've seen. It sucks and it's not fair and maybe the way you can make sense out of any of it is to blame me." Katie turned to the girl and took in a deep breath. "And if that helps you, if that allows to wake up in the morning, then fine, blame me, hate me, but I promise you Ari, I'm not giving up on you yet. I was you once, and I had people who wouldn't let me go, no matter how hard I pushed them. You're afraid that everyone you get close to will leave, but I'm here to promise you that I won't leave you until you can finally tell me you're ready for me to leave." with that Katie turned to leave, only stopping at the door, and glancing back to the girl. "And be careful the type of things you do on there." she pointed to the girl's laptop. "One way or another it can come back to you."

Arianna let out a huff, slamming the door closed with Katie finally left. She turned glancing over to her laptop and grit her teeth.

"Well if the world can't see what kind of monster you are, then they can at least see just how pathetic your existence really is." the girl muttered before walking over and flipping open her laptop.

Katie headed back to her room, dropping to the bed, before glancing over to the baby monitor. Robyn was still out which for the moment was a good thing. The woman reached over and grabbed her tablet to watch Oliver's statement.

"Thank you for coming, everyone. Thank you. As today's tragedy has reminded us, we are at war. For 6 months, we have been besieged by a nameless and a faceless organization that seems hell bent on destroying our city. You know them as the Ghosts. And while they may be anonymous, their leader is not. He has a face, he has a name, and I think that it is high time the people of Star City know the truth about who he is. His name is Damien Darhk. He controls the Ghosts on behalf of an organization known as HIVE. HIVE wants this city to die." Katie's eyes widened as Oliver lifted a picture of Darhk. "Now, I will be distributing this, the only known photograph of Mr. Darhk, to every news outlet and social media feed in the country. For months, this man has made us afraid to walk the streets. I suggest that we return the favor." Oliver's eyes turned to the camera in front of him. "We will also be setting up a hotline. Now, individually, Mr. Darhk may be able to defeat us, but united, he doesn't stand a chance." Katie flicked off the tablet, before dropping back and closing her eyes with a groan.

Later when Oliver walked through the door, he didn't expect Katie to be standing right there, as if waiting for him. He opened up his mouth to speak, but Katie lifted a hand to stop him, before walking off down the hall. Oliver let out a sigh, before following behind her. They ended up in the basement, the only place they could have a private conversation without Ari hearing them.

Katie finally turned back to the man and gestured for him to speak.

"I know what you're going to say, but you said to say something fearless, and that's what I did." Oliver stated firmly. "Darhk's only power was that no one knew who he was, and now everyone knows who he is. Everyone will be looking for his face, making it that much harder for whatever plans he may have." Katie didn't say anything and Oliver walked over, bringing his hands to her waist. "We took something from him. We chipped a piece of his power, and maybe this can knock him off his game."

"Maybe it will. But it has definitely gotten his attention, and you're at the center of it. He will retaliate against you personally. He's going to try to teach you a lesson about going against him, and then what?"

"There's already going to be extra security at the party tonight, and I can get some extra security here, for you and the girls if that will make you feel better."

"Make me feel better?" she scoffed, as she turned and headed for the stairs, but Oliver caught her arm to stop her from walking away from this conversation. "Oliver none of it will make me feel better. When I told you to say something fearless, I meant to go out there and give these people hope. You're angry at him, and it's completely understandable, but you just told this city to keep their eyes out for a man with powers we still don't understand."

"One of the reasons I'm running for mayor is because I wanted to be the man who could fight for this city in the light and that's what I'm doing. I can't fight for this city and be afraid of the opposition."

"Oliver you said his name on television. You put a target on your back." she dropped her head and let out a deep sigh. "I told you to say something fearless, but I didn't know you'd say something-"

"You would say." Oliver replied and Katie rolled her eyes. "Why did you tell me to be fearless, when you're not."

"Because those girls took all of my fearlessness away." Katie said dropping to sit on the steps of the basement. "Because I have never been more afraid of anything as much as I am of anything happening to them." she looked up to the man. "Of anything happening to you and I don't know how to control it."

"Twinkie, I get it-" Katie scoffed before standing to her feet.

"You don't and that's fine." she turned about to go upstairs but stopped and looked back over to Oliver. "My daughter doesn't attend parties that require extra security."

"So you're not coming to the party?"

"I'm saying that if my daughter can't attend, and we don't have a babysitter, then neither one of us will be at this party." Katie replied before heading up the stairs, Oliver right behind her. Neither expected to see Ari standing there the moment they opened the door.

"Why does this door have that weird lock?" Ari asked turning to the key pad, before turning back to the couple.

"Well our washer and dryer are very high tech, and if you're not careful you could blow up the house. So we don't chance it. You should be getting dressed." Katie said walking past the girl who glanced over to Oliver before following behind the woman.

"I thought it was obvious that I would no longer be attending more functions hosted by Mr. Bullet Magnet here." Ari said as she followed Katie to the kitchen.

"You're not going to the party Ari." Katie glanced back over to her. "It's a surprise, that you're actually going to like." Katie nudged her head for the stairs. "Nice jeans, nice shirt, go." Ari looked over to the woman suspiciously and so Katie stopped and turned to the girl. "You hate me, I get it, but a small part of you is a little bit curious, so go." Arianna stared just a bit longer before rushing off to get dressed. "Ten minutes!" once the girl was gone, Katie turned back to Oliver and sighed.

"Are you taking Robyn with you?" he asked and Katie shook her head.

"No, your sister should be here soon, I told her we shouldn't be gone long. I should be back before it gets too late and then she can head off to the party." Katie says about to leave.

"You want to tell me what you're not telling me?" Oliver asked and Katie sighed and turned back to the man.

"It's a basement conversation." Katie replied.

"Then lets go." he said walking over to her, and she just shook her head.

"You should be getting ready for your party, and we're going to be late if we don't leave now." Katie says just as the doorbell rang. "That's your sister. Let her in please." Oliver watched as the woman hurried off upstairs. With a shake of his head, he turned and headed for the door, to let in his sister.

He should've known she wouldn't be empty handed.

"Speedy, what is all of this?" Oliver asked taking some on the gift wrapped boxes from her hands as she came inside.

"I just thought now would be the perfect time to haul all of this stuff over here, and sit it around your-" Thea walked into the living room to see the barren tree, surrounded by boxes. "What is going on with your Christmas tree?"

"It's in a transition stage." Oliver replied sitting the gifts on the couch. "Don't you think Robyn has enough presents?"

"Well these aren't all for her. I have gifts for you and Twinkie, and Ari who was fun to shop for by the way." Thea said, sitting gift bags by the tree. "So is Ari still in the dark about her surprise?" Oliver gave a nod, but Thea could tell there was something else going on with her brother. "What's up? You have a look. Everything going alright with the newly weds?"

"We're fine. Twinkie just wasn't too happy about me calling out Darhk on national television."

"I guess it was kind of a bold move, but I figured she's all about bold moves." Thea replied taking a seat on the edge of the couch. "I guess being a mom may have changed our Twinkie."

"Enough for her not to come to the party tonight." Oliver said and Thea turned in surprised. "She says its too risky to have Robyn there knowing Darhk could choose any moment to retaliate." Oliver let out a sigh before sitting down as well. "Maybe I shouldn't go."

"Oliver you have to go. It's your party."

"Yeah, and this is my family and if my wife isn't comfortable or she doesn't feel safe, then it's my responsibility to fix that." he said and saw the sudden smile come to his sister's face. "What?"

"Your wife." she laughed. "You have a wife now, and a daughter. When did you become such a grown up." Oliver couldn't help but chuckle at the question. "Don't worry. I will get both Twinkie, and my niece to that party."

"Speedy, don't just-"

"Don't worry Ollie. I got this." Thea replied just as Katie and Ari came down the stairs, all ready to go. Ari seemed to rush past everyone out the door, as Katie stopped in front of the siblings.

"We shouldn't be gone long, and I promise to get you back to the party in time to flirt with Alex." Katie says before turning to Oliver who stood to his feet.

"I'm going to walk you to the car." he said and Katie nodded before turning at the sound of crying coming from the baby monitor.

"And its time for super aunt to tend to the cutest baby in the world." Thea said before rushing up the stairs.

Oliver brought an arm around Katie, as they walked outside to the car. They stood just a few feet away, before Oliver turned to the woman.

"You know I can come with you." he said and Katie looked up to the man with a smile. "Actually I should come with you. I'm your husband and you-"

"This is something me and Ari should do. Plus you have a party to get to. What you said today was completely stupid, but it did show people how much you care. You have to go to this party and show them you're a man who stands behind his words." Oliver bent down to meet her lips in a short, but sweet kiss. "I love you, Mr Queen."

"I am so in love with you, Mrs. Queen." Oliver replied against her lips, before watching her turn and head off to the car.

They'd been driving for a while before Ari finally turned to Katie and asked the one question she needed answered.

"You're giving me back, aren't you?" she asked and Katie turned to girl with a quirked brow "That's what this is, isn't it?"

"No, I'm not giving you back." Katie replied turning back to the road. "I mean you're a handful, but it hasn't gotten that far."

"Then are you taking me somewhere to kill me." Katie turned to the girl with a look of confusion. "I mean with your track record, you can't blame me for being a little suspicious."

"I'm going to really have to try hard to change your perception of me." Katie muttered.

Ari's eyes went wide the moment she saw the large building. She turned to Katie who looked over with a small smile.

"It's Christmas, and this is just one of my gifts to you."

Soon Ari found herself sitting in a small room, glancing over to a clock on the wall that seemed to tick louder than it should. She'd been holding her breath since they walked into the building, suddenly nervous for some reason. It wasn't until the door finally opened and she saw the face that she'd been dying to see did she finally release the breath she'd been holding.

"Mommy!" Ari called rushing over to bring her arms around her mother in a hug. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too baby." Heather sighed, placing a kiss to her daughter's head. She took a step back to look over the girl. "You're growing up so fast. Come sit." the pair walked over to the single table where they sat across from each other. "Ms. Sanburg told me you left school without permission." Ari shook her head with a roll of her eyes. "You know you can't do things like that. Not if you want to continue to stay in that school."

"That school will never kick me out now. I'm the ward of one of the wealthiest people in the world and they're hoping for a donation." Ari scoffed. "If only they knew how horrible she really is."

"Wait, has she done something to you?" Heather asked and Ari sighed.

"I mean no. She has this act of an actual nice human being down pact. But I know the truth. I mean look what she did to dad, and I mean, look where you are right now. It's all her fault, and now I have the perfect opportunity to finally show the world." Heather turned away and let out a sigh before reaching over to take her daughter's hands. "Mom, what?"

"I'm sorry, baby. I was so angry and so sad, and I didn't think about you and how this would affect you. You shouldn't have to be going through this."

"Mom, it's fine. It's not your fault, it's-"

"Sweetheart, I was angry. Your father, I will always love him, but he got greedy. His greed lead-"

"To a bullet in his head?" Ari asked pulling her hands back. "He didn't have to die. He could still be here, and we could be spending Christmas together like we always did, but she stole it away."

"For a long time, I thought that was true. It was easy to blame her, because she was alive and he was dead. I've been talking to someone in here, and I'm now seeing past the anger. " Heather dropped her head, and quickly wiped away tears before looking back up to her daughter. "Katherine didn't ask your father to work with criminals, she didn't ask him to come to her home, and she didn't ask him to put a gun to that man's head." Ari stood to her feet and walked over to the corner of the small room. "At some point we have to see what part your father played in his death. You have to see what part I played to get myself in this place." Ari turned back to her mother, her eyes filling with tears. "I listened to your dumbass uncle, and now I'm here."

"So you're saying I shouldn't hate her?"

"I'm saying you should give her a chance, because despite what you believe, she does care about you. And I have to believe that with the amount of money she's spending on lawyers to get me out of here, that she cares about me too." Heather stood to her feet and walked over to her daughter. "Look I don't want to get your hopes up, but my lawyers seem to think that I may be able to get out of here sooner than we thought." Ari's eyes seemed to light up at the news. "So while I'm in here working to get back to you, I need to know you're out there with someone I know will take care of you." Ari looked up to her mother, before dropping her head to her mother's chest. "Baby, what's wrong?" Ari let out a sigh, before meeting her mother's eyes.

"I did something bad."

Katie waited in the empty waiting room. Visiting hours were actually over at this time, and the only reason she was able to get in was from a very generous donation. She lifted her head the moment the doors opened and out came Arianna.

"Nice visit?" Katie asked as she girl walked over to her.

"Uh, yeah." Ari replied, turning and heading for the door, but she suddenly stopped and turned back to Katie. "Thank you." Katie shook her head, but Ari only continued. "I still don't like you, but I don't think I hate you as much as I did."

"Well that's a step in the right direction." Katie replied with a smile. "Soon, you and me are going to be best friends."

"I wouldn't hold my breath." Ari muttered before turning and heading out to the car.

When they returned home. Katie walked inside, finding it very quiet. She and Ari shared a look before Katie went upstairs, assuming Thea was probably in the nursery. Katie carefully opened the nursery door, only to find the room empty. She did see a note lying in the crib, and she picked up noticing it was Thea's handwriting.

"There's nothing to fear, but fear itself...and not celebrating the holidays with your family. I have your baby, if you want her, you'll put on the dress I picked out for you, and you'll come get her."

"I am going to kill you Speedy." Katie muttered before walking out to see Ari holding up a garment bag.

"This was on my bed." she said looking over to Katie. "We're going to the bullet magnet's party, aren't we?"

"Don't worry, if you and my baby are at this party, there better not be any bullets." Katie sighed before turning and heading off to see what Thea has picked for her to wear.

It was no secret that Katie hated parties, and she had no doubt that she would probably hate this one as well. This would be different though, and she knew it. This would kind of be the first party she would be attending as the wife of the possible future mayor of the city. She was a bit nervous.

"I hate parties." Ari muttered looking over to the office at the sight of people filtering in and out. She looked over to Katie who looked over as well and sighed. "I don't know how to talk to people at parties."

"Neither do I." Katie replied before flipping down her mirror to once again check her make up. "I shouldn't have gone with the red."

"You look fine." Ari said flipping down her own mirror. "I on the other hand hate my hair tonight." the girl ran her fingers through her red curls and sighed. Katie looked over to the girl and just shook her head.

"Your hair is awesome." Katie replied flipping up the mirror when suddenly one of the security guards came to her door and opened it for her.

"Ms. Robins?" Katie gave the man a nod, before letting him help her from her seat. "I will escort you in."

"Thank you." Katie replied as Ari stepped out as well. She walked over to the girl's side, giving her a nod before they finally walked inside.

All eyes seemed to go to them the moment they walked inside, sudden whispers moving around them.

"Why is everyone looking at us?" Ari whispered over to Katie.

"They're looking at me." Katie replied, now totally self conscious about how she looked right now. "The last time anyone saw me, I was pregnant, and now they know I'm not." she plastered on a smile before looking over to Ari.

"I think I'm going to see what kind of food they have here." the girl muttered before rushing away from the eyes on them. Katie simply shook her head before turning to see a familiar face.

"I see Thea's evil plan worked." Felicity said with a bright smile as she looped her arm with Katie. "You look hot by the way. I can't even tell you were pregnant."

"You're sweet, Smoaks." Katie says letting out a deep sigh, as the eyes on her never seemed to let up. She suddenly spotted Thea across the room. "Oh, there is the dead woman walking." she looked over to Felicity.

"Oh, when you get a chance, I sort of need to talk to you about something." Felicity said and Katie quirked a brow. "It's totally just a girl conversation I desperately need to have, but it can wait."

"You sure?" Katie asked and blonde simply nodded. Katie turned about to head over to Thea, when she suddenly bumped into someone. "Oh, I'm-" she looked up meeting the eyes of someone she hadn't see in a while. "Captain."

"Hey, doc." the man cleared his throat, glancing around before turning back to her. "You're uh...not as big as last time I saw you." Katie looked at him with a quirked brow and he shook his head. "I just mean, you're-"

"I had a baby." Katie replied and he simply nodded.

"Yeah, right." he said and silence seemed to fill the air between them. "Look about-"

"Not the time or place to have this conversation." Katie replied with a slight shake of her head. "I need to talk to Thea, so if you'll excuse me." Katie moved around the man, and headed for Thea who spotted her instantly.

"And here she is!" Thea said, and Katie stopped suddenly, looking from the girl to the men at Thea's side. "She's finally come out of hiding. Katie, this is the fire chief Richard Daniels, and one of the city's notable aldermans Harold Saxton."

"Well it was less hiding, and more trying to figure out how babies work." Katie replied and the two men laughed as she shook their hands. "And Mr. Daniels and Mr. Saxton are old friends. Both have been wonderful partners with the New Beginnings Initiative."

"The program is doing wonders for this city." Richard replied with a smile.

"Which is why Oliver is going to work with more businesses in the city to partner with RI to get more job options out there for our citizens." Thea said with a smile as she turned to Katie.

"That was a bold move by Mr. Queen today." Harold added and Katie turned to him with a quirked brow. "I've been hearing about these ghosts and they're bad news. I have to believe their boss is even worse, and exposing him the way he did was-"

"Risky?" Katie said and the man nodded. "You're right, it was. I mean I was pretty nervous when I saw the speech myself. But this guy, this Damian Darhk, his anonymity gave him power. Being able to hurt people without people knowing it was him, made him feel unstoppable. Oliver's speech today showed him that he can't hide in the darkness any longer. At some point he's going to stumble into the light and when he does, he'll find justice."

"Nicely said." Richard said and Katie gave a nod.

"If you would excuse me, I needed to borrow Thea for just a moment." Katie says taking Thea's hand and pulling her away. "So do you have a certain preference for how you want to die, or should I just choose."

"You know what you just said back there was great." Thea said looking over to the woman. "You're great with words. We need more of you on the cameras with Ollie."

"You're not distracting me from the fact that you kidnapped my daughter." Katie says and Thea shook her head. "Where is she?"

"She's in Oliver's office. I was able to sneak her in, so no one knows she's here. I thought you and Ollie could do the big reveal later. I think Ollie went to go check on her though." Katie turned about to head off to Oliver's office. "Oh, you look great in that dress by the way. I definitely have good taste."

"It's kind of tight." Katie replied looking down to the dress and pulling at the material. Thea waved her off.

"You're Mrs. Queen. You show up to parties in fire red dresses that hug all your curves and that make every man wish they had you and every woman wish they were you." Thea said and Katie couldn't help but laugh as she walked off to Oliver's office.

Oliver gently lowered Robyn into the bassinet that sat in the corner of his office. The sound of the distant music seemed to help the girl drift right asleep.

"It's weird. Back at home, the slightest noise just unlocks this girl's ridiculously loud lungs, but now Christmas carols lull her to sleep." Oliver whispered before turning back to Laurel. "So still no luck with the hotline."

"Not yet." Laurel replied walking over to look down to the baby. "I just needed to get out for a little bit. The ringing was driving me crazy."

"I know I've been out of touch for a bit, but I wanted to ask, how are you doing?" Oliver asked and Laurel looked over with a quirked brow. "Since Ethan-" the woman seemed to tsk at the name before walking over to sit on the edge of his desk. "Have you talk to him since Central City?"

"No, have you?" she asked as the man walked over to sit beside her.

"I wanted to, but Twinkie talked me out of it." Oliver replied with a shake of his head. "Still can't quite believe it."

"You and me both." the woman sighed. "You know I thought he was it. This guy who saw all of me, and still wanted to wake up in the morning to see my face."

"Laurel I'm sure you'll find someone else."

"Someone who isn't tangled up in some way to Katherine Robins." she muttered before looking over to Oliver with a shake of her head. "I'm sorry. I just I really thought about the relationships in my life and how Katie seems to have some sort part in it. I mean we were together for years, but you were secretly in love with her." Oliver seemed to turned away with a sigh. "Tommy became her friend, and almost died after one dinner with her, now Ethan-" the woman shook her head.

"Laurel-" the woman turned to meet his eyes. "I have no doubt that one day you're going to find a guy who will realize how wonderful you are, and who will love you the way you deserve to be loved." the moment was nice, and for Laurel it was sweet and she doesn't know why she does it. Maybe she just felt lonely, or sad, but without even really thinking about what she was doing, she leaned in to kiss the man just as the door opened, and in walked Katie who suddenly stopped realizing the moment she just interrupted.

"Twinkie, this isn't-"

"I should go." Laurel said quickly, before rushing out of the office.

"Twinkie, I-"

"Oliver stop talking." Katie replied before turning and rushing to catch up to Laurel. The women ended up outside, and Laurel simply wanted to get to her car, but she knew it wouldn't be that easy. She heard Katie's feet behind her, and so she stopped and turned to her.

"Nothing happened. And anything that looked like it happened was all me. Oliver didn't-"

"I know." Katie replied with a deep sigh. "That back there-" Katie nudged her head. "Walking in on you and Oliver use to be one of my fears. I mean the two of you haven't been together for years, but you're Laurel. I know the Laurel and Oliver story, I've witnessed it first hand and that-" Katie dropped her head and closed her eyes. "You're upset about Ethan, and you're sad and you're angry with me because you believe part of the reason you're hurting right now is because of me and fine if you want to believe that then believe it." Katie once again met Laurel's eyes before walking over to close the distance. "If you want to hurt me, then you should hit me and I mean just hit me hard. Because if you pull anything like that again, try to use my husband to hurt me, I promise you-"

"Twinkie!" Oliver called discovering the two women outside.

"I'm sorry." Laurel said before hurrying into her car, and driving off.

Katie stood there for a moment before turning to Oliver who walked over to her.

"Twinkie, I promise that wasn't-" Katie placed a hand on his cheek and smiled. "Nothing happened."

"Liver, I know." she replied placing a kiss to his lips. "Plus you're not insane. You know I carry at least one weapon on me at all times." Oliver laughed, bringing an arm around the woman as they walked back to the party. They had only taken a few steps inside, before Thea came hurrying over.

"Is everything alright?" she asked.

"Everything's fine." Katie replied glancing around the party, and spotting Ari talking with John.

"Great, there are some people I want you to meet."Thea said, and Katie gave a nod before turning to Oliver.

"Well I guess you should go mingle." Katie replied.

"I meant both of you." Thea said and Katie looked back over to the woman. "There's no telling when I will get you in front of these people again, and you and Ollie make an awesome team. I'm thinking a few handshakes, and a vote for Oliver Queen and then the piece de resistance, we bring out my insanely adorable niece."

"And announce our marriage." Oliver added and Thea smiled with a shake of her head. "Thea-"

"Look I know you two are loud and proud to be husband and wife, but I think Alex is right about this huge wedding between two of Star City's elite. It's great publicity-" Oliver opened his mouth but the woman continued. "And yes I know it makes me seem like an awful person wanting to use your wedding as a tool to win this election, but I'm sure-" the woman's words were cut off by sudden gun fire that rang through the room. Oliver quickly grabbed Katie, trying to shield her as they dropped to the floor. It wasn't until they looked over to the door to see Damian Darhk stroll in with a few armed men did they know what was happening. Katie lifted her eyes, spotting Ari still at John's side, before glancing back to Oliver's office, glad the door was still closed. Darhk grabbed a glass and took a sip as he walked over to Oliver.

"Mmm. Mmm. Malbec. Nice. How did you know that was my favorite red?" he said, cockily with a annoying smirk. "So full bodied, so full of life. Unlike your security outside. Oh, and in my defense, they fired first. I guess my invitation was lost in the mail." he seemed to laugh at his own jokes. "I'm only kidding. It's not my kind of scene anyway." he glanced over to Thea, and hummed before turning back to Oliver and Katie. "I'm only here to have a word with the man of the hour."

"What do you want?" Oliver asked, taking a step forward, and stepping in front of Katie.

"Well, something I can't have, apparently. Your loyalty, your allegiance. I told you there would be a price to pay if you refused."

"Your feelings are hurt?" a voice suddenly spoke, and Oliver sighed, because that familiar voice came from behind him. He should've known an appearance by Darhk could ignite that fearlessness inside of her. She stepped from behind Oliver and Darhk looked over to her with a smirk. "Is that why you're here. Because one man in this city didn't fall to his knees to kiss your ring?"

"Twinkie-" Oliver tried to pull the woman back, but she was angry, and he knew trying to reel her in would be next to impossible.

"It would seem the whole family has a big mouth." Darhk replied.

"This has nothing to do with these people. Just let them go." Oliver asked, and Darhk simply chuckled.

"Oh, I wish I could do that. I really do." Darhk took a step toward Oliver. "But sometimes the best way to teach someone a lesson isn't to punish them, it's to punish the ones he cares about the most." the man lifted his hand to Oliver's chest sending him flying through the window of his office. Katie turned about to go to Oliver, and her daughter, when two men grabbed her arms. "Take them."

It had been a very long time since certain instincts seem to hit Katie. But this moment, when her husband or daughter could be hurt, and men were keeping her from them, only one course of action seemed to make sense. She clenched her fists, and lifted her head, only to see the many scared eyes on her. A fight in this moment would show the world who she really was. She turned meeting Ari's eyes, tears now falling down her cheeks as she watches the men pull her, John, Thea and Felicity away.

Oliver heard crying and his eyes snapped open. Everything seemed so fuzzy as he looked up to the ceiling, still hearing that tiny cry, and something inside of him jerked himself up. He placed a hand to his head that was throbbing at the moment before turning and seeing the bassinet. Oliver quickly stood to his feet, stopping for a moment when he suddenly felt dizzy. Once the dizziness passed, he quickly rushed over to the crying baby, lifting her into his arms and gently rocking her. He looked her over, making sure no glass had got her, but her bassinet seemed to have been far enough to avoid any of the glass.

"It's ok, you're alright. Daddy's here." the man sighed, placing a kiss to her head before going back out to the others to see if anyone else was hurt. He looked over to see Felicity's mother in tears talking to Bruce who must've just shown up.

"Oliver!" Ari rushed over to the man, throwing her arms around him in a hug. She was shaking, and he brought an arm around her, hoping to calm her. "He—the man took her."

"What?" he looked down to her, before Lance came over. "What happened?"

"It was all over before it started. He got Felicity, John and Thea, they didn't stand a chance." Lance said letting out a sigh. "And the doc-" he turned back to the man. "She looked like she wanted to give a fight, but she she knew it wouldn't work." Oliver turned away before looking down to his daughter, and the girl holding onto him tight and he just shook his head. He looked up and spotted Curtis and his husband.

"Curtis-" the man came over. "I need you to do me a favor. I need you take them home for me." Curtis looked slightly nervous as he looked over to the baby.

"I'm not really sure we should-"

"Curtis, please." Oliver said and the man simply nodded. "Ari, look at me." the girl lifted her head to the man. "I am going bring her back, I promise. But I need to know you and Benny are safe. This is Curtis and-" he looked over to Curtis' husband, suddenly blanking on his name.

"Paul." Paul added with a smile.

"Curtis and Paul are going to take you home. I'm sorry, I know you don't really know them, but Curtis works for Felicity and Paul is his-" Oliver wasn't sure how detailed about the relationship he should get and so he just shook his head. "I trust them, and they're going to keep an eye on you until we get home." he looked back up to Curtis and Paul who still stared warily at the infant in Oliver's arms. "And they don't have a lot of experience with babies, so I'm going to give her to you." Ari took the baby from Oliver's arms, before the man reached into his pocket and handed Curtis his keys. "Take my car, it has the car seat. Her bag is in my office, just get them home and lock the doors, ok?" Curtis gave a nod before he, Paul and Arianna were off. Oliver turned to Lance. "We need to find out everything we can about where he could've taken them. My wife doesn't seem to believe in being out numbered, and she won't wait to be saved."

"I'm on it." Lance said, before turning, but stopped and turned back to Oliver. "Wait, wife?" Oliver looked at him and the Captain simply nodded before turning and rushing off.

"Oliver, the police are gonna want to ask you about what happened." Alex said walking over to the man. Oliver shook his head, because talking to the police was the last thing he wanted to do.

"Take care of these people. Get them home if they need it. Get them medical attention if they need it. And pay for it out of the campaign fund. "

"Of course. What about the police?"

"Stall the police." Oliver said glancing over to Bruce, who gave the man a nod before watching the man rush out.

Bruce brought his arms around Donna once more as the woman continued to cry.

"Donna, do you trust me?" Bruce asked and the woman pulled back and gave him a nod. "Then trust me when I say I will bring Felicity back." the woman gave him another nod. "I have to go, but I will call you when I have something, ok?" Bruce turned, loosening his tie as he headed out of the room, and down the hall toward the elevator Oliver still had opened waiting for him. "Show up late to a party, and my girlfriend is kidnapped."

"My wife." Oliver said, loosening his tie and unbuttoning his shirt. "My sister, my friends. Someone is going to talk." the moment the doors opened, both men were off, and going to suit up.

Once they were suited and ready to go, both turned at the sound of the elevator to see Laurel rush off.

"I heard what happened. Are you alright?" Laurel asked walking over to Oliver, only for him to take a step back.

"Look call me if you find out anything." Bruce says, not stopping as he heads out toward the tunnels.

"What can I do?" Laurel asked and Oliver just shook his head before grabbing his bow and slinging his quiver over his shoulder.

"Just keep your ear to the hot line. Maybe something will come in." the man moved around her for the tunnels.

"So is this how it's going to be?" she asked turning and she saw as the man stopped and turned back to her. "I'm sorry, what happened at the party-"

"Laurel, now is not the time!" he snapped before turning and stalking toward the tunnels as well.

Jacob stood in his office watching yet another report of the kidnapping of his daughter and her friends by Damian Darhk. The door to his office swung open, but he didn't turn. He didn't need to.

"Sir, we lost them." Martin said, practically out of breath. Jacob didn't say anything as he grabbed the remote control and flicked off the television. "What should we do?"

"Nothing." Jacob said turning to the man. "At this point there's nothing we can do. He won't hurt her."

"Sure, but there are three other people there I don't think he would mind hurting." Martin countered with a shake of his head. "We can locate any known HIVE members, maybe shake a location out of them." Martin turned to leave.

"Hmm." Jacob muttered and Martin stopped and turned back to the man. "You came in here for direction, and left with your own."

"Sir, I didn't mean to-"

"Martin, you're capable of making these decisions. You know what to do before I tell you to do it. You know what to do even when I don't tell you to do it." Jacob walked around his desk over to the man. "You know what to do when I tell you to do the wrong thing. You know what to do, and I trust you to do it. If you can back it up, then do it. Don't come here for direction when you already know where to go." Martin gave a nod before turning and leaving the office. Jacob let out a heavy sigh before turning and heading over to his desk and picking up his phone and dialing a familiar number. The moment he heard the click of the receiver, he knew he was no longer on the line alone. "He's becoming obsessed with her and he's getting close. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I could use your help."

No one was talking, which neither Oliver or Bruce could believe seeing as they were definitely not holding back any punches. Oliver returned to the lair first at a total loss of what to do. He sat at the meeting table, trying to rack his brain for a next move. He glanced down to his hand, and looked down to his wedding ring, and just clenched his fist with a shake of his head.

Oliver glanced up at the sight of Laurel and Quentin who rushed over to him.

"You got something?" Laurel asked, and Oliver just shook his head.

"Just a lot of suicidal ghosts." Oliver replied.

"Where's Bruce?" she asked and Oliver sighed. "He went offline?"

"I think so." Oliver said, lifting his eyes and seeing someone he definitely didn't expect or want to see right now.

"You know this place is easier to get into than your last lair." Malcolm Meryln said as he walked inside. The moment Lance saw his face, he quickly drew his gun, but the new Ra's Al Ghul, suddenly grabbed his wrist, twisting his arm behind his back and pressing his face to the table.

"Dad!"

"Malcolm!"

"We're pressed for time." Malcolm said looking down to Quentin. "Suffice it to say, I'm a little less dead than most people think." he finally released the Captain's arm, and handed him back his gun.

"What are you doing here?" Oliver asked definitely not in the mood to deal with Malcolm right now.

"My daughter's in danger." Malcolm said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a cell phone. "Shouldn't your first question be what took you so long?" he tossed the phone across the table and Oliver caught it.

"What is this?"

"HIVE used polyphasic-encrypted satellite phones to communicate. That is one of them."

"And where did you get it?" Quentin asked still suspicious of the man he believed to be dead this entire time.

"I'm Ra's al Ghul." Malcolm replied, which was the only reason he needed.

"Maybe we can use the phone to track Darhk." Laurel suggested, and Oliver just shook his head.

"If Felicity or Bruce were here, maybe. But as it is, our only play is trading me for them."

"Ok, listen, I'm not gonna pretend to understand what is going on here. But the idea of you turning yourself over to Darhk, that's the worst idea I've heard in a while."

"Maybe, but it's our only play. I brought all this on, I have to end it." Oliver glanced down to the phone before walking off to make that call.

Darhk strolled down the row of cells until he stopped in front of one. The one that held the biggest mystery he had ever come across. She was sitting in her cell, no more than a couple of feet wide, on a hard cot, her eyes closed.

"How do you want to die?" she asked suddenly opening her eyes and looking over to the man. "You know we've had so many conversations and I can't believe I never asked such an important question."

"You know I would probably be more inclined to taking these threats more seriously if you, child of the demon, didn't just let yourself be dragged into this cell or let that small arsenal of cutlery you had impressively hidden just get taken by my men." suddenly she started laughing, and Darhk simply looked on in curiosity.

"Do you want to hear something funny?" she asked standing to her feet and walking over to the gate that separated them. "There was a moment I was afraid of you. My husband said your name on television, and I actually was afraid of what you would do to hurt him." Katie reached up, and grabbed the gate. "You brought bullets to a nice holiday party, where my children were, you hurt my husband, and you kidnapped me and my friends. So Damian let me ask you again, how do you want to die?" he looked at her for a moment, unable to shake the sudden familiarity that the moment brought to him. He shook it off, with a laugh.

"You're like her!" Darhk said with a shake of his head as he took a step toward the cage. "Maybe that's it, maybe that's why you intrigue me so much. You're like Minnah, with a little bit of spunk. Too bad that if your husband doesn't fall in line, you and your friends are going to die." with that he turned and walked away.

"Hey, you didn't answer my question!" she called after him and he simply laughed.

Oliver stood on the edge of the lake. He'd made the phone call, and spoken to Darhk himself. Now he waited. His thumb mindlessly fiddled with his wedding ring, as he tried his best not to worry about Katie and the others. Soon he heard footsteps, and turned to see the man walking toward him.

"I was surprised to get your call. And on one of our secure phones no less." Darhk stepped in front of Oliver with cocky smirk. "You are more than you seem, Oliver."

"Oh, you really better hope that isn't true." Oliver says taking a step to close the small distance between the man.

"What's the word for a man who threatens the man who's holding his nearest and dearest captive?" Darhk asked with a laugh. "The man who holds your wife's life in his hand." Darhk noticed Oliver's clenched jaw and smiled. "I don't know, idiot?"

"You didn't kill my friends. You took them to make a point. You've made it." Oliver declared and Darhk just shook his head as he chuckled.

"No." he nudged his head toward his car. "Not yet I haven't."

Katie sat on the cot of her cell, her eyes staring out to Darhk's ghosts who routinely walked past her cell, rifle in hand. Once they'd past her, she glanced down to her hand and focused as best she could.

"If ever a time for freaky powers, now would be that time." she muttered. Since having Robyn she'd had no signs of the abilities at all. She never thought she'd ever find a moment wishing she actually had them. Katie stood to her feet, and placed her palm on the gate of her cell. She turned her head at the sound of footsteps, only this time there was more than just one. Katie took a step back, but stopped when Oliver appeared in front of her beside Damien.

"Liver-" Katie took a step forward, her eyes looked between Oliver and Darhk. "What did you do?"

"Aw. Well, I'll give you guys some privacy to say your farewells." Darhk said, before the doors slid open. Oliver ignored the man the moment his eyes found her. Once the gate opened, Oliver rushed inside, pulling Katie into a tight embrace.

"If you're doing what I think you're doing, I'm so going to kick your ass." Katie said pulling back, slightly as Oliver's arms around her never loosen. He placed a hand on her cheek and let out a deep sigh.

"I haven't seen John, Felicity or Thea. Are they alright?" Oliver asked and Katie shook her head.

"We got separated when we were brought in. I feel like he would've taunted a little bit more if he'd hurt them." she replied as the moved to sit down. "Are the kids alright?"

"They're fine, they're safe at home with Curtis and his husband." Oliver said and Katie looked at him with a quirked brow. "It's the best I could do in such short notice. Lance has officers watching the house." Katie gave a nod, a bit relieved but not completely.

"Oliver what are you doing here?" she asked placing a hand on his chest. "Because if you're here to trade yourself for us, I have to tell, I'm not going to let you do it."

"I had to turn myself in. It was the only way to know where you were being held." Oliver replied and Katie shook her head before dropping it to his chest. "I can't not know where you are." Katie lifted her head to meet his eyes. "We've only been married three weeks. I need more time with you."

"So we're going to assume that whatever deal you made with Darhk, he's going to keep and we're going to assume that whenever the cavalry comes and there's no guy in a green hood, Darhk's not going to get suspicious."

"I have it handled." was Oliver's response and Katie wanted to just hit him, and she would've if she wasn't happy to see him. "It has to be this way. You're here because of me. You were right, you said-"

"Oliver I will rarely say this, and I will deny saying this if questioned, but I wasn't right. I was scared." she took Oliver's hands in hers. "I was scared because he's gone." Oliver looked at the woman in confusion. "I lost consciousness after giving birth to Robyn, but I remember being out. I was in Nanda Parbat, and the demon was there and I don't know how, but I killed him and I felt him gone." she shook her head. "I felt like a part of me was gone. That part of me that-" she looked up to the man's eyes. "That part of me that likes to piss off the bad guys. This isn't your fault Oliver. What you did was fearless and it was something a leader would do."

"And it got you here."

"No Darhk got me here. He also got me angry." Katie replied and the pair turned as the gate to her cell opened and appeared a team of Darhk's armed men. Oliver took Katie's hand as they stood to their feet.

"Twinkie, I'll handle this." Oliver muttered over to her, only for her to turn to him with a smile. "Twinkie."

Soon the couple was being lead somewhere. Oliver kept his grasp around Katie's hand as they walked. They went through a door, and neither expected to see John, Felicity and Thea in some sort glass cube, not looking happy at all.

"What the hell?" Katie said before turning to Darhk who smiled at their reactions.

"Ahh, thank you for coming."

"What the hell is going on?!" Katie snapped turning to the man, and Oliver took a step toward Darhk.

"The deal is that I bring myself here and you let my friends go!" Oliver snarled when suddenly Darhk's men threw their arms round Oliver, and pulled him back. Oliver felt Katie's hand slip from his.

"Hey!"

"Oliver!" Katie yelled, when suddenly she was grabbed and pulled toward the prison with the others. She glanced over to Darhk who seemed to be watching her closely.

"C'mon, I know the demon taught you better than that." Darhk called and Katie grit her teeth as she's dragged. In this moment she felt every bit of anger inside of her. For the first time in a very long time, she felt the darkness she thought just trickled away because of time. But now...right now, it consumed her so suddenly, that she blacked out.

When she came back to the moment she was on her hands and knees, her head suddenly aching. A hand grabbed her arm and Katie looked up to see John who helped her to her feet. She let her eyes wander around to see that she was in the chamber with them. She turned and walked over to the glass, and saw Oliver still being restrained. Katie dropped her head, and felt a sudden chill before the sound of a familiar chuckled met her ears. When she lifted her head, she blinked a few times, unsure if what she was seeing was even real. Because there was just no way the demon could be standing there across the room watching her, watching her like he would all those years ago. Analyzing her, scrutinizing every move, and she could see the disappointment over his face.

"When do you surrender?"

Katie dropped her head at the demon's voice, and shut her eyes at the sudden prickling of her skin. She heard a slight tap, and lifted her head to see Oliver now free and hitting a fist against the glass. His mouth was moving, saying something...something she wished she could hear.

"When is surrendering an option?"

"How do we get out of here?" Felicity asked, but Katie kept her eyes on Oliver. He was the only thing in this moment keeping her from dissolving into pieces. There was a sudden gust of wind and Katie turned to see a vent suddenly blowing. Everyone started coughing, gagging as the new air burned their lungs. Katie turned back to Oliver, grabbing her throat as she goes into a fit of coughing. His lips are still moving, and yet she can't hear a word. Katie closed her eyes, dropping her head, her lungs now burning as well.

"At what point do you give up?"

That time the voice was so close, so clear. She opened her eyes and there he was, the demon, standing right next to her. Her eyes trailed back to her friends who could barely breathe, and something inside of her just flicked on. She whipped her head back to Oliver who was still attempting to break the glass, but it was pointless.

"Move back." she said, her voice barely audible as she looked to the man. She slapped the glass and pointed, hoping Oliver would understand. "Move-" she dropped her head, still coughing, barely able to take a full breath.

"Hey, Twinkie, look at me!" Oliver called from the other side of the glass. He watched helplessly as the air literally left her lungs in front of him. She once again lifted her eyes and said something, something he couldn't hear. She dropped her head, before suddenly slapping a palm against the glass, and Oliver's eyes went wide at the light that seemed to illuminate from her palm that began to crack the glass. Oliver took a step back as Katie rose her other hand, placing it against the glass, feeling it shatter beneath her palms. She lifted her eyes, and Oliver stared in shock to see them no longer the familiar brown orbs he could stare into for hours. They were a cloudy gray color that looked completely unnatural.

Suddenly Katie dropped her hands, and looked to the glass before uttering a single word.

"Shatter." and without hesitation every inch of glass that surrounded them completely shattered, bringing in the fresh air. Katie closed her eyes, and stumbled back, suddenly feeling dizzy. When she opened her eyes, she saw her friends rushing out, before Oliver appeared holding out a hand to her.

"Twinkie, come on!" he yelled and without hesitation, Katie rushed to his arms. The moment she was in arms length, Oliver brought an arm around her waist and practically lifted her from her feet and away from that box. He placed his hands on the sides of her face, looking into her eyes that were now normal. "What just happened?"

"I don't-" Katie placed her hands on his chest as she glanced over to that box, not remembering anything that happened while she was in there. "I don't know." she turned back to Oliver who stared in concern, and confusion, but he just shook his head.

"Is that my father?" Thea suddenly asked and both Oliver and Katie turned to see someone dressed as the Green Arrow engaged in a fight with Darhk's men. There was a sudden smoke bomb that exploded and began filling the whole room with a thick cloud of smoke.

"Batman." Felicity said, happy to see the man, who didn't hesitate to jump in on the fighting

Katie took a step closer to see the face of the man, but Oliver brought an arm around her waist, and pulled her away, along with Thea and Felicity before they could get lost in the smoke,

Soon, they're rushing down a hall in search of a way out. Oliver held onto Katie's hand as the others followed behind him. It was Laurel who asked the question that would stop their exit.

"Where's Malcolm?" they all stopped and looked down the hall to see if maybe the man was lagging behind.

"He went after Darhk." Katie said and Oliver turned back to her, glancing down to their hands before meeting her eyes. "Go. Just remember to do that thing I like."

"You too." he replied, and it took all the will power he had to slip his hand from hers.

"We have to keep moving." John says moving to lead the group of women. They continued walking, turning a corner still trying to find a way out. There was a guard, that John quickly knocked out before realizing they'd found Darhk's row of cells.

"We shouldn't leave these guys here?" Felicity said, glancing around to the men trapped .

"If they're anything like Darhk's guy in the gas chamber, we probably should." John says taking a step forward. They all lifted their heads at the sudden sound of an alarm, and flashing lights above them. They heard the sound of the cells opening, and turned to see as the seamlessly imprisoned men were now free.

"Ok, they're definitely like Darhk's guy in the gas chamber." Thea said, noticing the menacing looks they were getting from the men. Without warning, Laurel opens her mouth and lets out her ear blistering Canary call that causes everyone to clamp their hands over their ears.

"That's all you got?" one of the prisoners asked in amusement. "There's five of you and a lot more of us."

"Well that's just you underestimating us, and overestimating yourselves." Katie says taking a step forward, only for John to pull her back.

"Well now there's six!" a voice spoke suddenly and they all turned to see Lance aiming his gun. Katie took another step forward, but John moved to block her.

"What are you-"

"Three weeks is definitely not enough time to recover from giving birth. You need to keep going and get out of here." John says, ignoring the glare the woman had fixed on him. "We got this handled." Katie knew he was stubborn like Oliver, and right now in the middle of an all out brawl was no time to have this argument and so she just shook her head, before turning and trying to find a way out.

Katie turned down another hall, spotting a door. She was glad that it lead to the outside. It was this moment, when Katie was outside, and free of any eminent danger, did the last couple of hours seemed to catch up to her. Her body seemed to ache, almost suddenly and with a single step she seemed to just fall to the ground. She rolled over, her back now resting on the freezing concrete as she looks up to the starless night sky.

"You're not dead." she muttered, turning her head, to see him. The demon lying on the ground right beside her. It was strange because she thought she felt him gone, thought she had finally escaped him, but she was wrong.

"No my dear Nura and because of it, neither are you."

She turned back to the dark sky above her, and watch as it seemed to engulf her in it's darkness.

It had to be luck that the door Oliver and Malcolm run out of just happened to be a few feet away from where Katie laid. The moment Oliver saw her, he quickly ran over scooping her into his arms.

"We have to move, this place is going to blow any moment!" Malcolm called, before the men continued running and as expected the building just exploded. The men stopped and Malcolm glanced over to the burning building before turning to see Oliver looking down to Katie. "Is she alright?"

"I think she just fainted." Oliver said rolling his neck. He was still sore after his fight with Darhk that he couldn't give his all because he couldn't reveal to the man that he truly was more than he seemed.

"Oliver, I along with countless others in that room saw how that glass broke." Malcolm said and Oliver turned to the man with a quirked brow. "I always knew there was something special about her, I just didn't-"

"We're not having this conversation Malcolm." Oliver replied and Malcolm simply nodded before looking back out to the burning building. "I need to get her to a hospital."

"And I should be headed back. There is business I should probably be tending to." Malcolm said, glancing down to Katie once more before turning and leaving.

Katie heard yelling outside her room, but it didn't seem to stir her. She was still trapped in this shell that Dr. Crane had forced her into. She kept her eyes to the window, when the door behind her suddenly opened and in rushed Dr. Quinnzel who appeared at Katie's side.

"Katie we have to go." Harleen spoke, but Katie didn't move. The doctor simply grabbed her arm, bringing it over her shoulder before pulling her to her feet. Harleen groaned with every step she took as they walked down the empty hall toward the elevator. "I didn't want to do this." she glanced over to Katie's blank stare. "I didn't want to do this to you, but it happened and there's no changing it. I signed up for a lot of things, but I didn't sign up for killing you."

"Harleen!" a voice called and the woman glanced over to see Johnathan down the hall. "Stop, don't do this!" the man ran toward them, and the woman carried Katie onto the elevator, pressing the button for the ground floor, praying the door closed before he could make it to them.

"I'm sorry, Johnny." she muttered as the door closed right in his face. Harleen turned, placing Katie's back against the wall, forcing the woman to look at her. "He's been giving you low doses of Benzodiazepine to keep your memories from coming back, and I also believe it's what's keeping you in this state." the doctor pulled a syringe from her pocket. "This is Flumazenil which should bring you back." the woman pulled the cap from the syringe, before sticking in the crook of Katie's neck, releasing every drop of the drug. The door to the elevator opened, and Harleen turned to see the awaiting driver. She gave him a nod, before he stepped forward, and scooped Katie into his arms and carried her to the car. He dropped her in the backseat, and closed the door and Katie simply dropped her head against the cool glass, her eyes looking out to Dr. Harleen Quinnzel who simply gave a small wave as the car drove away.

Katie was cold. It was the first thought that passed through her head as consciousness came back to her. She opened her eyes instantly meeting the unwelcome sight of the familiar pale ceiling of Glades Memorial Hospital.

"No, the doctors says she's fine. I don't think we will have to stay here long." Katie turned at the sound of Oliver's voice. She looked over to see him standing, looking out the window. "Tell Curtis and Paul thanks for watching them. Are you sure you can handle watching them for a little while?" he chuckled. "I know you're the super aunt Thea, but Robyn maybe tiny, but she's a force to be reckoned with sometimes." he slid a hand over his eyes. "Alright, just call if you realized you've bitten more than you can chew." he ended the call, and turned to Katie now seeing her eyes opened and looking at him. "Hey." he walked over taking a seat on the edge of the bed, and taking her hand. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel fine." she rasped, her mouth dry. She began to sit up from the bed, glancing around the room. "Darhk-" she turned back to Oliver. "What happened?"

"There was an explosion. We all made it out, but Darhk and his goons were last seen inside." Oliver replied with a shake of his head. "His body wasn't found."

"So it's more than likely that he's alive and pissed." she sighed glancing over to the door. "I want to go home, I want to hold my baby."

"Twinkie, I think we should talk about what happened back there." Oliver said, and Katie turned to him with a quirked brow. "Do you seriously not remember anything that happened while you were in the gas chamber?" Katie turned away, trying to remember, and the only thing she remembered was a flash of the face of the demon.

"I saw him." Katie replies turning back to Oliver. "I remember seeing the demon. I thought I finally got rid of him, but he was there." she noticed the look on Oliver's face knowing something else happened. "What don't I remember?"

"There was a light that came from your hands and it-" Oliver shook his head, not able to shake the image from his brain. "You broke the glass." Katie closed her eyes and brought her hands to cover her face. "Hey, look we will figure this out."

"And what if we don't?" she asked looking back over to the man. "What if I can't control this?" she shook her head and turned away from him. "Three weeks." she glanced back to the man. "I'm sure you're ready to make a run for it." Oliver once again took her hand in his.

"You're Katherine Queen." Oliver declared with a smile, that Katie couldn't help but returned. "You're my wife, mother of our beautiful daughter, and the love of my life. There's nothing in this world that will ever make me want to make a run for it." there was a knock at the door, and the couple turned to see someone they didn't expect. Oliver stood to his feet, but Katie quickly grabbed his hand to stop him.

"Hey Kit, Oliver." Ethan greeted, only taking a few steps into the room. "Uh, your admitting doctor, Dr. Hanson was called away for a family emergency and so I-"

"This is not happening." Oliver said and Ethan sighed. "We want another doctor. Anyone but you."

"I'm sorry." Ethan replied politely and calmly as he looked over to Katie. "It has been a busy evening and all of our doctors are busy treating other patients. At the moment I'm free, but if you would like to wait, I can-"

"Talk." Katie said and the doctor simply nodded.

"Well for someone who gave birth less than a month ago, you're very active it seems." Ethan says glancing down to Katie's electronic chart on his tablet. "Blood pressure was high, heart rate was high, and I'm assuming you're probably are feeling unbelievably sore right now."

"You said was, have my vitals stabilized?"

"Yes, but-"

"Then I want my release papers please." she replied before turning away from the man. Ethan looked from her, before turning to the scowl on Oliver's face.

"You know how unbelievably hypocritical the two of you are being right now?" Ethan asked, and Katie felt Oliver try to move, but she held on firmly to his hand. "I-"

"Ethan you lied. You made us believe you were someone you weren't." Katie replied with a shake of her head. "You made us believe that there was someone on our team that was better." she once again turned away. "I want the release papers."

"Right away." Ethan muttered before turning and leaving the room. The doctor walked over to the nurse's station, sitting down the tablet and letting out a sigh. "Can I get release papers printed out for thirteen please." the nurse gave a nod before walking over to the computer.

"I'm assuming that wasn't a nice visit." a voice spoke, and Ethan turned to see someone he wasn't supposed to see.

"Martin, what are you-" Ethan glanced around before turning back to the man. "You can't be here. I'm out. You said I was out. So just let me live my miserable life alone."

"I just came to get an update on Katherine."

"She's fine. I want to keep her overnight to observe, but she wants to be released, which I expected." Ethan replied reaching over to take the papers from the nurse. "You shouldn't be here." he glanced back to Martin who gave the man a nod before turning to leave. Martin stood outside the elevator waiting for the doors to open when his cell phone suddenly rang and he brought it to his ear.

"Any sign of Darhk?" the man asked, and his eyes widen at the news he received of who was actually discovered.

Oliver and Katie had never been more happy to see their house than the moment they finally stepped in front of it. When the pair walked into the house, neither expected to instantly be struck with the smell of hot chocolate wafting through the air and the sound of Christmas carols softly playing from somewhere. The couple walked further in the house, stopping at their living room where they found Felicity, John, Thea and Laurel moving about hanging decorations on the tree and around the room.

"You're back!" both turned to see Arianna coming from the kitchen with a bowl of popcorn. She quickly sat it down before throwing her arms around Katie in a hug the woman definitely didn't expect. Katie glanced over to Oliver who smiled, before she looked back down to the girl and returned the hug. The hug only lasted for about a minute before Ari pulled away and cleared her throat. "I'm glad you're not dead." she turned grabbing the bowl and heads into the living room with the others.

Oliver and Katie walked in as well, and it was John who came over first.

"Thea told us about your sad tree and so we decided to come help out. And after a night like this we thought a nice decorated Christmas tree would be nice to come home to." he said before looking over to Katie. "How are you doing?"

"I'm good. How about you?" she asked before glancing over to Thea and Felicity. "Did you guys go to a hospital? That gas-"

"We got out before it could do it's intended job." John replied glancing from Katie to Oliver. "About that-"

"Later." Oliver said and John simply gave a nod.

"Wait, you want to put the popcorn on the tree?" Ari asked looking over to Felicity who simply laughed. "But why?"

"I don't know, but me and my mom did it all the time." Felicity replied. "We're going to need some yarn and a needle." Arianna looked at the woman like she was crazy. "Trust me, it will work." the girl just shook her head before running off. Felicity walked over to Oliver and Katie, giving a smile. "So, you good?"

"Well she says she is." John says and Katie shakes her head.

"I think I'm going to go upstairs and wash this night away and change in time to see Ari's mind blown by the stringing of popcorn on a tree."

"I'm going to walk you up." Oliver says, and Katie just shakes her head.

"Liver, I'm-"

"I'll do it." Felicity says suddenly and they both turned to her. She walks over and brings an around around Katie. "Me and Twinkie need to catch up anyway." Oliver and John stood there and watched as the women walked up the stairs.

"Still no sign of Darhk?" Oliver asked turning to John who just shook his head.

"No, but it looks like the explosion put an end to whatever he was doing out there." John says and Oliver simply nods before glancing over to Laurel who along with Thea were still hanging ornaments. She glanced over to him for a moment before turning and heading into the kitchen.

"I'll be right back." Oliver says before heading into the kitchen as well to find Laurel sitting on the counter plucking cookies from the cookie jar.

"You know I thought for sure she was going to kick me out." Laurel says glancing over to the man. "I mean what I did was-" she dropped her head and shrugged. "It was stupid and wrong." she glanced back up to the man who stood, arms folded over his chest just watching her. "I don't have those kinds of feelings for you."

"I know." Oliver replied with a nod. "So does Twinkie. It's why she didn't kick you out. It's probably why she's going to pretend as if it didn't happen." the man walked over to her. "We've been married for three weeks, we have an infant who is absolutely beautiful, but who poops and cries at a rate that seems almost alarming. Then there's the teenager who hates us, and has now deemed me bullet magnet which is probably the most accurate nickname I've ever gotten. I'm just trying my hardest not to screw this up. The last thing I can do is screw this up. Laurel you have been one of my dearest friends for a long time, and we've been through a lot together, but I think if you ever put me in a position like that again, a position that could possibly increase the chances of me losing any of this, then that would mark the end our friendship." Oliver reached inside the jar, grabbing a cookie and taking a bite. "Oh and Twinkie still may kick you out tonight." he pointed to the jar. "Those are her favorite cookies and they are off limits to anyone who likes living." the look on Laurel's face made him laugh and so she slipped her phone from her pocket and quickly took a picture of Oliver holding the cookie in his hand, the smile instantly dropping from his face.

"You were saying?" Laurel asked and Oliver reached for her phone, only for Laurel to hop off the counter and run out of the kitchen. Oliver was about to follow but stopped, turning back and placing the lid back on the jar and setting it back in it's place on top of the refrigerator.

Katie sat beside Felicity, eyes wide at the news the woman had just told her. Felicity sat, her face in her hands as Katie rubbed her back.

"I thought this would be happy news." Katie said and Felicity lifted her head to look over to the woman. "You and Bruce are crazy about each other, and I guess the only problem I see is if you're not ready for that step." Felicity shook her head before standing to her feet and walking over to the window. "Apparently he is because he has a ring and bad hiding skills if your mom found it."

"He's being a romantic." Felicity said with shake of her head. "Which is strange because that man usually thinks too much about everything." she glanced over to Katie. "We live in two different cities and neither one of us seems to want to leave. He's still hiding things from me, which I told myself I was alright with because if he's says it's for my own safety, then I believe him."

"So what you're saying is you're madly in love with him and you would like to marry him?" Katie asked and Felicity looked at her for a moment, a smile suddenly coming to her face. "I mean I think that's what I'm hearing." Felicity's phone suddenly beeped and the woman flipped it over, the smile dropping from her face.

"I don't like that look." Katie says and Felicity glances over to the woman. "Just tell me."

Apparently there was video. A secret video that showed a moment that couldn't have possibly been recorded unless by someone inside the house. After viewing the video, Katie stood to her feet, letting out a sigh.

"I know I promised you proof that she's a monster, but she hides that very well. But she can't hide the fact that her marriage is simply a tool to help Oliver Queen become mayor. She's pathetic."

Felicity stopped the video and looked over to Katie unsure what to say to make this situation better.

"Can you take the video down?" Katie simply asked turning to Felicity who stood to her feet and nodded.

"Sure, it's just at this point it's been viewed and shared and-" she noticed the impatient look on Katie's face and nodded once again. "I'm on it." Katie gave a nod before the pair headed downstairs, stopping in the living room where they saw Ari laughing happily as she tossed popcorn at Oliver who sprinkled tinsel in her hair. He turned spotting Katie, and could tell from the look on her face that something was wrong.

"What's wrong?" Oliver asked suddenly and everyone in the room turned to Katie who looked over to Ari. The smile on Ari's face fell because she just knew the answer to Oliver's question.

Soon the holiday spirit was pushed out of the air. After Felicity took down the video, she along with the others left Oliver and Katie to discuss what they should do about the situation. The couple sat in the living room after sending Ari to her room where she was supposed to be right now, but instead she was eavesdropping.

Arianna's back was pressed against the wall, trying to keep completely still and quiet. If she wanted the couple in the next room to be completely oblivious to her presence, it was absolutely necessary.

"We need to talk about this." she heard Oliver say. "What she did, it was-"

"I know!" Katie interrupted rudely, but she sighed and looked back to the man. "I'm sorry, I'm just tired and trying to think about what needs to happen."

"I thought it was obvious what needs to happen." Oliver replied and there was a brief moment of silence. "Her here is dangerous. For us, for our daughter. It's very clear that she needs to go."

"Well that's not happening." she countered and Ari peeked around the wall a bit surprised by the woman's defense. She expected a moment like this if they ever found out about her vlog. She expected she would've done more damage than a stupid video about revealing their marriage. "Liver, I get you're upset-"

"And you're not?" Oliver asked with a shake of his head. "She brought eyes into our home. Do you have any idea what that could lead to? The kind of danger that could lead to?"

"Probably not more dangerous than saying a madman's name on television. You were just putting tinsel in her hair and laughing, you don't want her to leave, you're just angry." Katie replied and Oliver turned away with a shake of his head.

"I'm not even sure how you can defend this?" he muttered and Katie stood to her feet and walked over to him. "Thousands of people think that I married you because of an election. Think our relationship is just me trying to get a better approval rating."

"I really don't care what they think. I know why you're my husband, and why I'm your wife." she brought her hands to his chest, as his hands slid around her waist. "I also know that Ari isn't going anywhere. She's our family, and I know you do care about her and you're just angry right now. We are going to have to be the adults and deal with this." Oliver let out a sigh before glancing up.

"You can come out now." he said, as they turned to see Ari come out from hiding. He and Katie shared a look unsure where to begin. He nudged his head to Katie who shrugged before clearing her throat and turning back to Ari.

"Um, come sit." Katie says and Ari moved to sit in the chair while Oliver and Katie take a seat on the couch across from her. "Before we start is there anything you want to say."

"I'm-" Ari glanced between the couple and just shrugged. "I'm sorry I guess."

"You guess?" Oliver asked and Katie turned placing a hand on his knee hoping to signal him not to blow up.

"No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have posted those videos. I guess I was angry and thought if I showed the world that you were an awful person then there was justice in the world." she replied and Katie nodded silently. "The thing is you haven't been awful. You've been annoyingly nice actually and that didn't help my cause."

"Your cause being to humiliate me? Us?"

"No, it was to show who you really are. I just can't believe you, the annoyingly nice wife, and mother could kill someone and there not be some kind of backstory behind it. I mean c'mon, you shouldn't be so damn well adjusted after doing something like that. You shouldn't be nice or have this perfect life. There just had to be something and I wanted to find it."

"Ari, I'm not well-adjusted. I think about your dad everyday. And I know that probably sounds like an over-exaggeration, but it's not. Literally everyday, at the most random moments, I remember him. I remember when we were kids and how much of a suck up he was to my dad. I remember-" Katie chuckled. "I remember how we were running around the house and broke one my mom's vases, and how we both vowed to never tell anyone about it." she looked over to the girl. "I remember when you were born actually. Your dad called me to gloat." that made Ari laugh. Katie dropped her head and let out a heavy sigh. "And then I think about that moment I pulled the trigger and I-" she felt her throat swell with emotions she hoped would allow her to continue speaking. Oliver brought a hand around her back and she let out a shaky breath. She looked up to the girl. "I wanted to be charged. When Oliver wasn't around I called the SCPD, and the detective in charge of the case, and asked him why wasn't I being charged. I killed my cousin, my-" those emotions began raging inside of her and she dropped her head as she felt tears now pooling in her eyes. "He was my family. He was a bastard and a know it all-" she chuckled as she looked back over to the girl who was crying as well. "You know he was one of those smart people who knew they were smart and wanted everyone to know it." Ari nodded with a slight smile. "I'm not well-adjusted. It takes a lot for me to get up in the morning and look in the mirror and not hate myself for the things I've done."

"I'm sorry." Ari said once again, now drying her eyes with her sleeves.

"Ok." Katie replied and the girl looked back over to her in confusion. Katie dried her eyes before taking a deep breath. "Me too." Ari gave a nod before standing to her feet, assuming this would be the best time to return to her room.

"Ari, that video was dangerous and it was stupid, and you're not stupid and I need you to realize that, so you're grounded for a week. No phone, no laptop, and no television unless told otherwise by me or Katie." Oliver added, and both Katie and Ari looked over to him before the teenager stalked out of the room.

"That wasn't so bad." Katie says dropping back on the couch. Oliver did the same, as they turned to each other. "We make a great team."

"Yeah, now we just have to figure out how deal with this." Oliver sighed sliding a hand over his eyes.

"Way ahead of you." Katie replied and Oliver opened his eyes and looked over to her. "Thea talked to Alex and there's a plan that happens tomorrow night." Oliver's brow furrowed in confusion. "You will have to wear one of those suits you hate, and I will have to put on another dress I will probably hate. But there is a bright side."

"What?" Oliver asked and Katie turned with a smile.

"We finally get to dress Benny up in one of her Christmas dresses."

Oliver doesn't know how they did it in such a short amount of time, but the next night as he stood on the upper level of RI's atrium looking down to the pool of reporters and just curious citizens, all standing in front of a massive Christmas tree decorated beautifully he still couldn't believe it.

"So what do you think?" Thea asked coming to her brother's side. He turned to her and let out a heavy breath. "It's a lot, I know, but after everything's that's happened, I think everyone just needs to know that you're not backing down."

"Hey, you ready?" Alex asked appearing at Oliver's side. Oliver didn't answer as he turned, letting his eyes scan in search of his wife. "We should get down there."

"I just have to-" Soon Katie appeared pushing Robyn's baby carriage, talking with Ari who walked along side her. "There she is." Oliver walked over meeting them. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah, Benny now has a clean diaper, and Ari's attitude is slightly better than when we left the house. And I think that's in part to the cute boy who caught her eye." Ari rolled her eyes, and Oliver glanced around once again.

"What boy?" he asked, suddenly needing to know who this boy was.

"Are you ready for your speech?" Katie asked glancing back to see Alex and Thea. "I mean from Alex's face, I would say you were late. You should go."

"We should go." Oliver smiled as he moved around to bring his arms around both Katie and Ari and pushed them with him toward the elevator.

"Wait, what?" Katie asked as she looked up to the man who looked up and waved a hand toward Claire who came over.

"I've been dying to steal this wittle cutie all evening." Claire says looking down to the baby, before reaching over to take the handles of the carriage. "Don't worry we'll be up here watching daddy's speech."

Katie turned back in confusion as they along with Thea and Alex filed into the elevator. "Liver, what are you doing?" Suddenly the doors slid open and the moment they did, the flare of flashing lights erupted.

"Something I should've done a long time ago." Oliver replied as they walked down the parted aisle that lead to the stage in front of the Christmas tree. Once on stage, Katie and Ari smiled as they moved to stand further away from the microphone. Oliver stopped and turned to Katie, walking over and leaning into her. "You have to tell the story first." Katie pulled back and looked at the man with a quirked brow, and he simply smiled and she just shook her head before walking over to the microphone. The camera flashes continued, and she had to drop her head for a moment before glancing back up.

"Hi, Happy Holidays. I uh, didn't plan on being in front of any cameras, but I guess Liv- I mean Oliver-" she glanced back to the man. "Had different plans." she turned back to the crowd. "He said I had to tell the story. The story he's talking about is the tale behind Robins Incorporated Christmas tree." she glanced back to the tree and smiled. "You see this tree is a physical symbol of the goodness of this city." She pointed toward the tree. "Do you see all of those ornaments-" she turned back to the crowd with a shake of her head. "Each year we offer personalized ornaments that are placed on this tree and displayed the entire month of December. And I know what you're thinking. Why would anyone pay for an ornament on a tree? It's because they're not just ornaments. They're not just pieces of glass or plastic hanging on a tree. Each ornament on this tree gave someone a hot meal today. It got a little boy a toy truck under a Christmas tree. These ornaments pay for medical treatments that wouldn't be affordable normally. You see I always smile when I look at this tree, because no matter what crisis is happening, no matter what criminal is roaming the streets, this tree shows me that the goodness of this city, the light that is within this city, is far greater than the darkness." she looked out to the many faces and let out a deep breath. "Each year we choose someone, someone who we feel has really made a difference in this city within the year, to light our Christmas tree. This year that person is none other than mayoral candidate, Oliver Queen-" the crowd began clapping, and Katie walked to step away, but Oliver took her hand and pulled her with him.

"Thank you. Thank you, everyone. This week, an event just like this was interrupted by terrorists. But all of us are here tonight to send those people a very simple message. We're not gonna let the darkness win." He turned to Katie who smiled as he turned back to the crowd. "I wanted Katie to tell that story, because I remember the first time I heard it. I was a kid, and me and my parents along with the whole city it seems came here to watch the first tree lighting here at Robins Incorperated." a smile came to his lips suddenly. "And I remember hearing Jacob Robins tell that story and it made me proud. Proud of this city, and proud of the people in it, and it's why I'm here." the man turned, looking up to the gigantic Christmas tree. "This tree represents the truth of our city. Together we inspire hope." he looked back up to the crowd with a firm nod. "United we create hope, and because of that I am grateful to each and everyone of you." Oliver turned looking over to Katie who turned to him with a smile. "I am grateful to one person in particular." he looked back out to the many eyes on them. "I know a lot of you are here because of a video that has been circulating and even though I promised myself I would try to keep my personal life and this mayoral campaign separate, I thought it only right to clear a few things up. I would like to take this moment to introduce to you my wife." there were sudden murmurs and camera flashes. "Katherine Queen and I recently got married in a small ceremony following the birth of our daughter." they turned to the monitor beside the stage that suddenly held a picture of baby Robyn in a beautiful red, white and green dress, with a red flower head band around her little head. "We debated bringing her down here today, but inevitably decided that it was too soon to be put in front of your bright cameras. Her name is Robyn Maisie Queen, and she has been the best thing that has happened to us this entire year. What you saw in that video didn't show a complete story. Yes, one of the ideas tossed around for my campaign was not revealing that we were married yet, and that maybe we should have some big televised wedding for the world to see in hopes that it pushes me forward in the polls. What you didn't see was me adamantly shoot that idea down, because this-" he turned to Katie and looked at her not even able to imagine tempting fate. "This has nothing to do with my candidacy and everything to do with the fact that I am madly in love with this woman and thought the only solution to that was to do everything in my power to never let her go." he looked back out to the crowd who took pictures or were recording him for whatever affiliation they were representing. He turned glancing back to Ari who stood in the back, glancing out to the crowd, before turning to meet his eyes in confusion as he gestured for her to come closer, but she simply shook her head. "And the teenager refusing to come forward is also a new addition to our family as well. Her name is Arianna Locke-" Oliver turned back to the crowd and smiled. Only causing more camera flashes as the crowd made the connection between Ari and her parents. "This is my family and today I am honored to light Robins Incorporated's Christmas Tree of Hope this year." soon one of the assistants walked on stage with the light switch, handing it to Oliver. They all turned to the tree, before Oliver flicked on the switch illuminating the tree, and the sight was completely breathtaking.

"Nice speech, Mr. Queen." Katie whispered over to him and Oliver turned to the woman with a smile as he brought his arm around her, pulling her to his side leaning in to rest his forehead against hers. "I'm proud of you."

"Thank you, Mrs. Queen." he replied placing a kiss to her lips as they turned back to the tree.

It was inevitable when Katie stepped foot back into her company, she would have to meet with someone she wasn't overly fond of. She stepped outside of her office that currently has a new name pasted on the door. She rolled her eyes before lifting her fist to knock.

"Come in!" a voice called from the other side of the door, and Katie walked inside where she found the man currently in charge standing in front of the grand window, phone pressed to his ear. "Of course I knew about this. I agree, this does open new doors for the company, doors I plan on being the one to open." the man turned and smiled. "She's actually here now, let me call you back." he ended the call, and walked around to lean back against the desk to look at her. "Mrs. Queen."

"Mr. Carroll." Katie replied walking further inside, and glancing around the newly decorated office. "I see you're making yourself at home."

"Yeah, well atmosphere is everything." the man replied, and Katie turned to see that annoying smile on his face. "So you got married and didn't think that was news you should share with me."

"I didn't know I was supposed to run my life decisions by you Michael." Katie sighed as she walked over to stand near the window to look out to the city that always seems lit up like Christmas lights at night.

"Well when you're the CEO, press releases need to be made, proper announcements in reputable papers need to be made, photo shoots with you and the husband, and the baby. If this was properly handled, we could've spun this to actually make money instead of the millions we just lost."

"Thanks for the congratulations Michael." Katie says with a smile as she turns back to the man. "It really means a lot to me." the man just shook his head before walking over to stand beside her at the window. "So how's my company? I mean the building isn't on fire, so you're already exceeding my expectations as an interim CEO."

"In all the years I've known you, your sense of humor has not gotten better at all. It's really sad actually, because you lean on it so much." the man said, and Katie chuckled. "Everything is doing good, people have stopped giving me the death glare whenever I pass them in the hallway, your assistant hasn't tried to poison me which I appreciate, and despite how totally out of the blue your announcement was, I think it will be good publicity."

"Which is the most important thing." Katie replied sarcastically glancing over to the man. "Well I just wanted to stop in, check in to make sure you're not getting too comfortable. I'm sure the UK office is missing you dearly." she gave the man a nudge before heading for the door.

"Feeling threatened, doctor?" Michael asked, and Katie laughed as she stopped to turn to the man who smiled. "You should've brought the hubby, I would love to meet him."

"That's never happening." she replied turning to leave.

"Never say never!" he called after her.

Katie rode the elevator alone, glancing up to the numbers, when she was struck with a sudden chill. She turned her head to see the demon, standing there leaning against the wall. She turned to face him, folding her arms over her chest and he smiled back to her.

"Why did you trick me?"

"Not trick. Just another test. One you failed." the demon sighed with a shake of his head.

"Why can't I remember what happened in that chamber?" she asked, still nervous about missing a very eventful moment.

"Because until you learn to control, it will control you." he replied meeting the woman's eyes with a look of seriousness "You think I'm here to haunt you, but the truth is, I'm the only one who can help you."

"Help me what?" Katie asked and the demon pushed himself from the wall and walked over to her.

"Prevent the total decimation of your soul."

Katie heard the ring of the elevator and turned to the doors, before turning back to see the demon was gone. The woman shook her head before turning and walking out to find Oliver standing alone in the atrium, looking up to the tree. She appeared beside him, and he looked over to her with a smile before taking her hand in his and looking back up to the tree.

"Thea volunteered to take the kids home." Oliver said and Katie looked over to him with a quirked brow. "And by volunteered I mean she graciously accepted my request to give me a little bit of time alone with my wife." he turned to the woman fully, bringing his arms around her. "It's been an interesting couple of days, and I wanted to stop and ask how are you doing?" Katie sighed turning away and looking up to the tree. "Twinkie?"

"I don't know." she replied turning back to the man. She couldn't help but notice that look in his eyes as he looked at her. The demon was right, something had controlled her, and whatever it was, Oliver got to see first hand and it scared him. "I'm a wife and a mother, and I get to hide in those things. But then there's the weird lights and the moving things with my mind that I'm going to have to start looking into at some point." she shook her head at the thought. "Right now we are celebrating our first Christmas as Mr. and Mrs. Queen, with our daughter and surly cousin and that's what I want to focus on." she leaned in, placing a kiss to his lips. "So how are we getting home?"

"We're sharing a car because Alex made a deal with my worse enemy." Oliver said and Katie looked at him in confusion, before turning at the sound of the elevator. Both turned to see Felicity and Bruce in a very intense make out session.

"Is this how uncomfortable people are when we kiss?"

"I think so." Katie replied lifting her hand and snapping her fingers. "Hey cut it out!" the couple on the elevator pulled back and turned to their audience. Bruce snaked his arm around Felicity, who looked up to the man all smiles as they walked over to Oliver and Katie. "You two look sickenly happy right now." Felicity turned to Katie with a bright smile. "It's happening isn't it?"

"What's happening?" Oliver asked in confusion, when Felicity suddenly lifted her hand to reveal a very large diamond ring. "Oh—" he turned back to Bruce with a furrowed brow. "Congratulations?" Katie gave the man a slap to the chest for his lack of enthusiasm before bringing Felicity into a hug.

"I'm so happy for you two." Katie replied, not seeing the looks being passed between Oliver and Bruce. Once they pulled back, Katie turned to Bruce, pulling him into a hug as well. "I'm glad you found a brain rolling around in that big head of yours." she pulled back and giving the man a smile. "This is really good news."

"Then why does Oliver look like someone just ate his candy cane?" Felicity asked and their eyes turned to Oliver who tried masking his true feelings with a smile.

"Oliver doesn't like change." Katie replied and the man turned to her with a shake of his head. "I mean look how long it took him to admit he had feelings for me." she turned back to the engaged couple. "Why are we sharing a car? I'm sure you two want to be annoyingly happy alone?"

"Well Oliver and I have to discuss a business venture." Bruce replied looking over to Oliver who sighed. "You see I was the highest bidder on this year's Christmas Tree of Hope." Bruce says glancing up to the tree. "I actually donated this year's star." they all looked up to the beautiful tree topper. "And I might have talked to a couple of people to get me on that stage to flick the switch at the ceremony."

"Why?" Katie asked.

"Because right there in front of that tree was going to be the moment I proposed, and then some guy who works for Oliver asks if I would do him the favor of letting him do it in hopes of helping his image."

"And you said yes."

"Well no. He refused, Thea came to me and I made him do it, not knowing the bigger plan at play." Felicity said with a smile that she turned to the man. "Proposal on the roof, with the fireworks was nice too though."

"You had fireworks?" Katie asked with a shake of her head. "I got three proposals out of this guy, and not one had fireworks." she looked over to Oliver.

"Well our love creates our fireworks, Twinkie." Oliver replied leaning into place a kiss to the woman's cheek.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Katie replied before turning back to Bruce. "So what's this business venture?"

"Wayne Enterprises is expanding its subsidiary here in Star City." Bruce said before turning to Oliver. "And having a good relationship with the city's officials is just good business."

"I've already told him that at this point I have no power to anything."

"And I told him that he shouldn't sell himself short. It's just a conversation." Bruce replied, and Oliver simply nodded.

"Oh, have you told your mom, yet?" Katie asked and Felicity shook her head.

"She's going to freak, so I'm going to need some ideas on how to tell her." Felicity replied walking over and looping her arm with Katie's as the two women headed for the door. Bruce moved to follow, but Oliver took a step forward to stop him.

"So this is happening?" Oliver asked and Bruce looked at him in confusion. "Marriage is big, and shouldn't be entered without you being completely serious about it."

"I didn't know you became a marriage expert in the five minutes you and Robins have been married." Bruce replied sliding his hands into his pockets. "What's this about?"

"This is about me not wanting Felicity to get hurt. She's my friend and I just want to make sure-"

"She's your tech girl and you want to make sure I'm not going to steal her away and take her to Gotham." Bruce replied with a shake of his head. Oliver didn't want to admit how true it was, but Felicity had become an integral part of the team, and he wasn't sure how it worked without her. "Oliver, we're getting married, and whatever happens in our lives will not concern you or what you want. I mean if that was how life worked, you definitely wouldn't be married to Robins right now." and with that the man moved around Oliver to catch up to the girls. Oliver let out annoyed sigh as he glanced back up to the tree, before turning and heading out as well.

The two couples all sat in the back of Bruce's limousine, silence seeming to fill the air between them. Katie smiled over to the couple across from them, seeing just how happy they were before looking over to Oliver and seeing the slight frown on his face.

"Hey, look at me." she whispered and the man turned to her, the frown changing to a slight smile. "Everything will be ok. Change is good sometimes." she placed a hand to his cheek. "I mean look at us."

"You know I am looking at you." Oliver replied leaning into kiss the woman, just as the car suddenly came to a stop. They all turned to see a car stopped in front of the limousine, before more cars seemed to pull up as well. "What's going on?" Oliver asked the driver. Katie glanced out the window to see men in ski masks, holding rifles run out of the cars, and she gasped turning to Oliver. "Guns!" Oliver tossed his body over Katie, and Bruce did the same completely covering Felicity as a hail of bullets shot into the car.

Katie held onto Oliver's jacket tight, afraid one of the bullets would hit him while he's trying to protect her. The shooting seemed relentless and never ending, and it's Bruce who looked up, and noticed the driver had been shot.

"You stay down." he whispered down to Felicity, before placing a kiss to her head.

"Bruce, what are you-" before she could even ask the question, Bruce had climbed over the seat, and got behind the wheel before speeding off. The bullets didn't stop as they began moving, and it was a sudden bump when Katie heard a slight pained grunt. It wasn't until the car stopped and Oliver lifted off of her did she see Felicity lying in the seat across from them, blood spilling from her mouth.

"Smoaks!" Katie pushed Oliver off of her and scrambled to Felicity's side. "Felicity!" The back door opened, and Oliver quickly turned only to see Bruce whose eyes immediately went to an unconscious Felicity.

And that's when Bruce felt that familiar twinge inside of him.

It was the Dark Knight and he was begging to be let out.

---

Author's notes

No excuses. Life just takes up too much time, paired with a bit of writers block. But I'm here with another chapter for you.

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kuppcake : Yes! We finally have a Twiver wedding and a Twiver baby, all in one chapter. That dream was very telling. Give Ari a chance! Lots of little foreshadowing happening in that dream .

Adela: Yes, I wanted that wedding to be a bit of a surprise, and I'm glad its finally out of the way. Now we get to see New wed Twiver.

Munyue: Thanks so much! So sorry for the long wait!

AmandaLee12: Hope you liked it, and so sorry for the wait! I will try to get myself on a tighter schedule when it comes to these updates

Guest: I haven't given up yet. Hope you liked the chapter!

sakuraverwey: Wow, thanks so much for your support. I'm so glad you're enjoying this crazy story. It sucks too about the secret child, but life throws curves sometimes, and how they work through this will ultimately make them stronger.

Once again I'd like to thank everyone for sticking this out with me, even when I'm not posting as frequently as I would like. I'm really going to try harder to dig into this story. Your sneak peek is below.

Sneak Peek

She let her finger slide across the cool steel on the blade of one of her sais, a ghost of a smile curling at her lips when flashes of a time long ago came to her.

That's how she knew something was wrong. She remembers when memories of the worst part of her life just turned her stomach, and now they make her smile. She shook her head before turning toward the stairs only to stop half way there, before turning back and holding out her hand toward the wall.

"The moment you go there-" she ignored the demon's voice, because at this point hearing him no longer surprised her. "The moment you decide that you would like to be more than a doctor, and more than some business woman. The moment you decide you want to be more than a wife and mother, there is no going back."

"No." she replied with a furrowed brow before glancing over to the ghost. "This is the moment I choose to be what I want to be, and when I want it to be over, it will be." she smiled before turning back to the wall. "Sais!" the dagger flew from the wall to her hand, before she turned back to the demon. "I can see you. Something inside of me allows me to see you, which means there is something inside of me that will let me not see you."

"You truly are not my Nura, are you?" he asked and for some reason the fact that those words just came out of his mouth made her snort. "What has he done to you?"

The woman's eyes dropped back to the sais in her hand, focused on the blade. Suddenly there was an appearance of blood that seemed to trickle down the blade, and she didn't even flinch at the sight