Chapter 7

"They told me, but I didn't believe it."

Oliver watched in silence, arms crossed over his chest as Alex Danvers ran into her father's' arms. It was the most emotion other than anger that Oliver had seen her express since his arrival on Earth-38, and the sight couldn't help but melt his icy exterior a little as he watched the scene unfold. The crowd was a shield as Oliver watched the agents applaud, the Danvers sisters helping their father up towards the infirmary, and the eventual dispersal of the crowd.

It still wasn't sitting right with him. In his experience things like that didn't just happen, almost every time someone had 'come back from the dead' it had been bad news for everyone involved. Sara had been…confusing, Slade had been hell-bent on killing him, and Earth-2's Laurel had been a blow to his heart that Oliver still recoiled from when he thought about it. So, of course, he was glad that the sisters had their father back, he was thrilled for them, but his 10 years of training and experience had taught him to always look a gift horse in the mouth.

Everything about the rescue had him on edge. For the better part of 16 years Cadmus had kept Jeremiah Danvers, their single most valuable asset, invisible, had taken every precaution in moving him and had only inadvertently (or so Supergirl and the D.E.O. were supposed to believe) revealed his existence to Supergirl during her capture. Then, for such a clumsy mistake to be made after so much meticulous planning was just…too obvious to be ignored. The warehouse they had moved Jeremiah from hadn't even been one they were monitoring, and Oliver's keen instincts knew something was wrong.

Which left Oliver with two options, at least for the time being. Either Lena Luthor had deliberately pointed them in the wrong direction, had tried to keep him from looking too closely at that warehouse, or Cadmus had let Jeremiah go intentionally. The first option wasn't all that likely, Oliver hadn't picked up anything during his interactions with Lena to suggest she had been lying to him and Kara's testimony made the C.E.O. even less likely to be guilty in his book. The second was…frightening because there could have been any number of motivations behind a tactical play like that.

With a heavy sigh, Oliver took to the stairs, following the route to the infirmary he had seen Kara and the others take. He didn't want to air his suspicious yet, not in front of everyone. Kara was the obvious choice to speak to, she had asked for his help and clearly trusted his opinions, but family was a blind spot, Oliver knew that better than most. J'onn was the next logical choice, if he could rationally present his suspicions then the Martian could easily confirm them with a little mind reading. Failing those…Oliver would go it alone, it wouldn't be the first time.

"…rotting out there in the Amazon, but…I came to at Cadmus." Oliver heard Jeremiah speak, and paused in his tracks lingering outside the room to listen to the conversation. "They saved me, so I could save Henshaw. They forced me to keep him alive, to enhance him. Physically turn him into the monster he was beneath." That would be the real Hank Henshaw, Oliver realised. Kara had managed to convince J'onn to give him access to the D.E.O. casefile log and Oliver had been doing plenty of research along with his investigation over the last week. "It is strange…seeing you in Henshaw's skin."

Oliver rounded the corner at that, looking through into the room to observe as well as listen.

"I hope I've put it to good use." J'onn responded.

"Better than he ever did." Jeremiah grinned in response, and something about it picked away at Oliver's intuition.

"But what happened after that?" Kara asked, still clad in the Supergirl uniform. "You were gone for such a long time."

"I guess I did too good a job enhancing Henshaw, 'cause Cadmus wanted me to stick around, help 'em with other projects. In the beginning, I tried to escape again and again. Bet, well, let's just say they didn't appreciate that very much."

There was something in Jeremiah's words that continued to pull at Oliver. He couldn't quite place it. Perhaps it was the way it was said, or perhaps it was the way the story seemed to be exactly what was needed to placate the Danvers sisters. The rescue was still tugging away at him, and Oliver couldn't help but to allow Jeremiah's latest testimony pile on to the doubt he was feeling.

"Oh, dad, I…"

"It's okay, by…by working with them I was helping to keep you and your sister safe."

That was one of the few things that had happened Oliver was inclined to believe. Family was family, and no matter what he struggled to see how any father could betray his own children n so wholly. Sure, both Oliver's parents had kept secrets and left behind demons, but that had been done with the best of intentions of their part, regardless of whether or not it those decisions had actually been the right call.

Swallowing heavily, Oliver took the final few steps and pushed through the door into the room, having heard enough and wanting to do a little prodding himself. The quartet turned to look at him as he entered, and Oliver crossed the infirmary towards them with slow, calculated strides. His eyes flicked from Kara to Alex, and finally to Jeremiah. Stopping at the foot of the bed on Kara's left side, Oliver scanned his eyes over the man in question, eyeing each of the wounds carefully and not being able to stop himself from feeling a small modicum of sympathy for the torture Jeremiah clearly had been through.

"Oliver Queen, of Earth-1." Jeremiah smiled at him. "J'onn tells me I've got you to thank for reuniting me with my girls."

"I did what I could," Oliver answered. "Just glad to have been able to make a difference here."

"Well, I am so lucky that you found me." Jeremiah began before turning to his daughters. "I am so lucky to be back with you two."

Oliver said nothing, not wanting to voice his doubts when the odds for support were clearly not in his favour. Alex and Kara were too emotionally compromised, and from what he understood J'onn owed his life to Jeremiah. He needed to wait, bide a little time to investigate before he made any accusations. He could, however, test the waters, make a suggestion and see how Jeremiah reacted.

"Luck is certainly one word for it." Oliver spoke clearly.

"What'd you mean?" J'onn rose to his feet, meeting Oliver's eyes.

"The warehouse Cadmus moved from today wasn't one we were investigating, not even close, yet we got an alert that they were moving equipment."

"So?" Kara spoke up. "We caught them red-handed."

"Maybe not," Oliver countered. "This might have been intentional, maybe Cadmus are trying to distract us from some other scheme."

"No, Oliver…" Kara tried.

"No, Oliver might be right. You need to keep your guard up." Jeremiah cut over her. "Because Cadmus does have a weapon."

"What is it?" Oliver questioned, arms crossing over his chest as he did.

"A nuclear fusion bomb. They're going to destroy National City and blame it on hostile aliens."

It seemed plausible, Oliver would relent to that much. It would be a reasonable distraction on Cadmus's part, to orchestrate Jeremiah's "rescue" in order to distract the D.E.O. from a plan of that magnitude. Then again, given the meticulous planning on the part of the group so far, it seemed unlikely that they'd make a mistake to the degree of allowing Jeremiah to know the plan existed. Oliver had hardly spent any time at all in the presence of Jeremiah Danvers, yet already his suspicions were growing, and he hated the feeling it brought to him.

"How did Cadmus get their hands on it?" Kara asked.

"Well, they didn't steal it. They built it." Jeremiah answered, a look crossing his face Oliver couldn't quite read. "Using the radiation they mined from your heat vision when you were in their custody."

Oliver had read that file a few nights ago. Anything pertaining to Cadmus had been at the top of his list and just reading that they'd managed to capture Supergirl had piqued his interest. The information that her powers had been burnt out, and that something called Nth metal had been able to hold her, had been an education. From the look on Kara's face though, she was already blaming herself, and that was something Oliver could most definitely understand.

"Okay, so we track the bomb down." Oliver spoke up, doing his best to snap Kara out of the black hole she was about to fall into. "Something that big and that powerful is going to itself away eventually; radiation, heat spikes, something. Even if I have to hood up and put an arrow through every xenophobic lowlife in this city, we will find it."

At that Jeremiah's gaze turned to Oliver, an almost irritated look on his face.

"I take it that means you'll be sticking around for a while."

"I will." Oliver turned at that, waiting for the blonde beside him to meet his eyes before continuing. "For as long as Kara needs me."

XXX

The more Oliver watched the Danvers family, the more he hated the growing suspicion. The reunion between Jeremiah and his wife had been practically heart-warming to watch, but all it did to Oliver was force him to double down on his theories. The look Jeremiah had given him on learning that he would be staying on Kara's Earth even after the rescue, coupled with everything else that had come up in the short time since was pooling towards an outcome Oliver was not looking forward to. Knowing what they had all been through Oliver really did want nothing more for the Danvers than for them to have a happy reunion, which was the reason he was really hating his inability to 'switch off' from his suspicion.

He had time, to make a play, to keep a close eye on Jeremiah Danvers, to protect Kara.

Then, she had invited him to a family dinner. Insisted that he be there with them because it was because of him that they had been lucky enough to find Jeremiah. It bothered him, the seeming insistence on normality at a time of potential crisis. Assuming Jeremiah's claims about a nuclear weapon were true, then the D.E.O.'s main operatives taking a night off to dine seemed more than a little counterproductive. If Winn's scans of the city turned something up then they would all be better off to be at the D.E.O. so that they could mobilise quickly.

Yet Oliver once again found himself outside the door to apartment 4A. He'd agreed to Kara's request because he'd needed to, it gave him a chance to observe Jeremiah a little more closely and maybe get the chance to ask a few of the right questions. Or that was what Oliver had been telling himself as he rode his D.E.O. issue bike over to Kara's building. In reality, and what his subconscious was screaming at him, Oliver had agreed to dinner because it was Kara, and how could he say no to her? The brilliant smile and practically glistening eyes, all with that pleading voice that had told him she really did want him there, that she wasn't just being polite.

So, he knocked on the door, and in the pause straightened his jacket a little. He hadn't been too sure of the dress code for the night and hadn't wanted to ask Kara. Between his upbringing as a Queen and the formality assigned to his job as the mayor, Oliver had opted for something a little more…respectable. He was clad in his favourite deep grey Armani, jacket unbuttoned, with a crisp white shirt, undone at the collar, underneath and finished with a pair of shiny black oxfords. Reflexing rolling his left wrist, Oliver watched the door swing open.

He was definitely overdressed.

He shouldn't have agreed to dinner. Oliver could tell it almost immediately. Just looking at Kara caused the thoughts of the events a few nights prior fill his mind once again, and he almost couldn't suppress them quickly enough. He did, however, manage to catch the look on Kara's face, staring at him appreciatively, practically frozen in place as she did.

"Ol…Oliver," Kara managed after a few moments. "You look…"

"Overdressed?" Oliver cut over her.

With a slight shake of her head, Kara continued. "You look amazing."

"So do you." Oliver answered immediately, his mouth running ahead of his rationality for a change, and he briefly realised how Felicity felt in these situations.

It was an automatic answer, but an honest one nonetheless. Kara was different, that was blindingly obvious to anyone. She was always happy, ridiculously so, but there was a lightness that Oliver hadn't seen in her before. Even with all that happiness, there was a weight behind her eyes, one that Oliver recognised all too well, he saw it in himself, in Barry, in so many of their friends. In that moment, stood in the doorway to her apartment and looking into those brilliant blue eyes, Kara didn't just look happy, she looked free.

And to Oliver, that made her look even more beautiful.

The look on Kara's face told him all too clearly that she hadn't expected either the quickness or honesty of his reply. After the events of the previous week, the kiss that had almost been, Oliver had sworn to avoid any hint of that level of closeness and Kara had obviously noticed. It shouldn't' have been a shock to him that she wouldn't have been prepared for such a U-turn.

"I…uh…" Kara stumbled for a moment. "Thank you, Oliver."

The smile that crossed Kara's lips at that immediately spread to Oliver's own.

"Come on in." Kara beamed at him, stepping to the side so Oliver could enter the apartment.

In that moment, the struggles of the last week; the tension, the avoidance, the hiding, it all seemed to dissipate. Kara became again what she was when Oliver arrived on Earth-38, an untapped reservoir of hope and happiness, someone Oliver trusted immediately and wholly, someone he could actually be himself around.

Oliver had to deal himself a mental slap to snap himself out of that particular trail of thought. He couldn't…he wouldn't allow himself to let things with Kara develop any further. The woman was practically infectious with unending optimism and sunny personality, and it was a weakness Oliver couldn't afford. National City and Star City were different worlds in more than just the literal sense. Kara's happy-go-lucky attitude and lifestyle just wouldn't blend with Oliver's world, if his enemies were to know about Kara, it would be all too easy to exploit her naivety and trust for some sick purpose. As indestructible as Kara was, Oliver knew there would be people who would figure out how to exploit her.

Pushing all those thoughts down Oliver stepped past Kara and into her apartment, almost glad that he already knew it, as it cut away at some of the tension he was feeling. Jeremiah was at the kitchen island, preparing something with a woman he presumed was Kara's adoptive mother, and Alex was stood in the living space with someone Oliver didn't recognise at all. Oliver took in the room carefully as he walked, judging and analysing the people within it. He couldn't switch off from his instincts at the best of times, but with his concerns of Jeremiah Oliver was on extra high alert.

They all seemed happy, smiles and laughter all around that set far apart from the expectations Oliver had set for those people. It was nothing short of a miracle to him that Alex was smiling, the woman had been so cold and stubborn (far more like himself than Oliver was willing to openly admit) that he had almost thought it impossible to see her smile. The irony of that thought was completely lost on him.

Then Kara was at his side. Her arm wrapping around his and pulling him across towards where her parents stood with enough strength that Oliver knew better than to argue. As the two came to a stop before the island, two sets of eyes fixed on them.

"Eliza," Kara began with a smile. "This is Oliver Queen, he helped us bring Jeremiah home."

The older woman offered Oliver a warm smile, one that almost reminded him of his own mother, and began to walk around the island. Eliza Danvers looked to be a kind woman, she fit the most utopian image of a mother that Oliver could think of.

"Thank you," Eliza smiled, coming to a stop in front Oliver and Kara. "Our family owes you so much, Mr Queen."

"It's Oliver, please." He smiled back. "And you don't owe me a thing, Mrs Danvers, there's nothing I wouldn't do for Kara."

Once again he surprised himself with the ease at which the words slipped through his lips. Even to his own ears, it seemed strange that he focused on Kara, it wasn't the first time that his usual rhetoric about protecting and helping people had been centred on the blonde at his side.

It was John's fault.

That was what Oliver chose to tell himself. If it hadn't been for Digg's parting 'wisdom' about Kara and the good she might do for him, Oliver was almost certain that he wouldn't have been falling down that particular rabbit hole.

Pushing those thoughts down once again, Oliver noticed the wide smile that Eliza was giving him. He didn't miss the way her eyes moved between himself and Kara, and he recognised that smile too, it was one his own mother had given him once or twice when he and Laurel had first started dating.

He didn't have the time to dwell on it, however. Kara tugged lightly on Oliver's arm, pulling his attention away from her parents. Oliver was a little thankful that he already knew Kara's apartment, the familiar surroundings made him slightly more comfortable when he was faced with Alex and another woman he didn't recognise. Given his earlier interactions with Alex, Oliver had expected to see more hostility in her but she looked as happy as she had done back at the D.E.O. when they had first rescued Jeremiah.

"So, you already know Alex." Kara beamed at him. "And this is Maggie Sawyer, her girlfriend. Maggie this is Oliver Queen."

"Good to meet you." Oliver smiled, shaking the hand that was offered to him.

"Likewise, Ollie."

It was almost a struggle for him not to react to that. No one called him Ollie. Since his return from the island only Tommy and Laurel had continued to use that name, and only because they still saw something of who he was before in him. Ollie was the boy who died in the fires of Lian Yu, not the man who had returned from hell. Clearly, Kara had sensed the way he had tensed up, her hand still on his arm, and at the questioning look she shot him, Oliver snapped back to his more 'sociable' personality.

"So, Alex tells me you like to get dressed up in leather and punish people." Maggie spoke again, a smirk on her lips.

Besides him Kara turned bright red, her mouth hanging open a little in shock at Maggie's words. Alex was doing her best to suppress a laugh, her lips pressed into a tight line, and Oliver was certain that it was more for Kara's sake than his own. Oliver himself was a little taken aback by Maggie's boldness, but impressed by it nonetheless. Almost everyone he met sensed that he wasn't a man to be trifled with but Maggie, this fiery Latina who was all but a stranger had ignored that and quipped.

Oliver was definitely more impressed than anything else.

Before any of them had a chance to say anything else, Jeremiah called out.

"Kids, margaritas are ready!"

That seemed to snap Kara out of her stupor, and she immediately took off towards the kitchen. Maggie followed suit, throwing Oliver a smug wink as she walked by him. Alex, however, lingered for a moment, the smile fading from her face as she met Oliver's eyes. Without anything needing to be said, Oliver knew what she was thinking. He could see a lot of himself in Alex; the anger at the world for taking someone she cared about, the distrust of people, the inability to admit when she was wrong. Instead of letting Alex stumble over whatever form of apology she was considering, Oliver simply offered her a nod.

"Let's get a drink." He spoke, glad that he and Alex already had a degree of silent understanding.

The agent responded with a nod of her own, and she was quickly at her girlfriend's side. Before heading to join them, Oliver took a pause to take in the family. They looked happy, happier than Oliver had seen either Kara or Alex before, but as his eyes rested on Jeremiah the doubt crept back into his mind. He couldn't help but resent himself a little for it. If he was right it would be a crushing blow for the Danvers'. If he was wrong…he'd deal with whatever embarrassment occurred if and when it did.

Shrugging the sense of dread aside, Oliver headed over to join the others, plastering on a smile as he accepted the glass of alcohol from Jeremiah. The moment he lifted the glass from the island the door swung open again.

"Sorry, I'm late." J'onn called out as he walked into the apartment.

"Ohh don't be silly J'onn." Eliza beamed as the Martian joined them.

"Oh hey," Jeremiah placed a hand of J'onn's shoulder as he spoke. "I forgot to do something earlier."

Oliver watched in silence as Jeremiah pulled J'onn into a hug. The fear of what his doubts would do to them all if they came to fruition swelling in the back of his mind once again as he observed the happy faces of those around him.

"Thank you," Jeremiah clapped J'onn on the shoulder as he separated them. "Thank you for saving my life again, thanks for keeping your promise to watch over my girls."

"It was an honour." J'onn smiled back at his old friend.

Besides him, Oliver saw Kara raising her glass.

"A toast," She paused for a second as all eyes turned to her. "To coming home."

The chorus of that sentiment moved around the room, even Oliver joining in the toast, his glass clinking against the others in the centre of the circle they had formed.

"Now, obviously," Jeremiah began solemnly. "This is going to be a time of adjustment. But I hope you'll all be patient with me. I've seen and done things that I wish I hadn't."

"Dad, don't." Alex tried to interject, but he continued unperturbed.

"No, sweetie. If I'm going to move forward, I can't ignore my past. Cadmus changed me, they tried to break me, but in the process, they made me dangerous…" Even if Oliver wasn't wholly convinced of Jeremiah's motives it was a sentiment he could understand. The resentment the older man seemed to harbour for Cadmus sounded genuine enough, and Oliver more than anyone else could understand a need for vengeance against those who'd wronged him. "I know their weaknesses, and I'm here to work with all of you to make our planet safer. So, if you'll have me, Director, I'd like to return to the DEO. Formally."

Before Oliver even had a chance to process Kara spoke up. "J'onn? Can he?"

The optimistic tone in her voice almost crushed him, knowing that he was going to have to interject soon. Oliver had been fully prepared to just observe Jeremiah until he had information and grounds to act on, but if the look on J'onn's face was any indication, the former agent was likely to pose a potentially catastrophic threat.

"Pending a full psych evaluation and a field readiness exam," J'onn answered. "We'll give you the tour tomorrow."

J'onn's acceptance was too much for Oliver. After everything he had encountered, his gut was screaming at him to do something to stop what was happening. Gritting his teeth a little, Oliver leaned down to quietly address the Kryptonian at his side.

"Kara, a word."

His tone left no room for debate. Kara didn't react too outwardly at Oliver's demand. She simply threw him a bemused look and silently guided him away from the others. Only when Kara had taken him away from the main body of her apartment and into her bedroom, did he feel comfortable enough to speak. If his mind hadn't been so preoccupied, Oliver might have taken the opportunity to study the room.

"Is everything okay?" Kara asked, still in something of a hushed voice, given the lack of walls between them and the others.

"Kara listen," Oliver began gently. "I know that you're…thrilled that Jeremiah is back…"

"Are you not?" Kara cut over him, a little less concerned about her volume. "Oliver this is why I asked you to come here, to save him."

"Right but we didn't save him. He was dangled in front of us by Cadmus like a prize turkey. You wanted my help because Cadmus are smarter than that." Oliver paused, letting out a heavy sigh before continuing. "And now he's walking right back into the D.E.O., after living with our enemy for years, with not so much as a debrief?"

"Oliver, I know you're just trying to look out for me, but you need to back down, right now."

Before he had a chance to retort Kara pressed on.

"Why? Why is it so hard for you to trust this?" Kara asked, exasperated. "Barry told me you lost your father, what would you do if he walked through that door right now?"

Oliver gritted his teeth even harder, determined to put another arrow in Barry for sharing so much of his personal life with people.

"I wouldn't trust him, not for a second." Oliver bit out, a little more anger than he'd aimed for seeping into his voice. "Kara, every time someone from my past who I thought had died came back it wasn't innocent. Every single time, there was an ulterior motive, or a scheme, or a lie, because miracles like this don't just happen."

Oliver could see the frustration growing in Kara before she said a word. It was almost too easy for him to forget, not only how new Kara was to the life they both led, but how different her world was from his own. Compared to Oliver's decade of experience, Kara had been through so few of the toils that came along with the lifestyle, the consequences and the suffering that their actions brought, intentional or not.

"This is not your world, Oliver." Kara snapped. "Just because so much of what has happened in your world is dark and cruel doesn't mean it's like that everywhere. That man in there is the closest thing I've had to a father since I lost Krypton, I need you to give him the benefit of the doubt, and if you can't do that…" She trailed off.

"You asked me to help you because you trusted me," Oliver spoke, controlling his voice and doing his best to sound calm in one last attempt to present his doubts. "Because you trusted my gut and my instincts. I know better than anyone that family can be a blind spot but right now those instincts are telling me that we cannot trust Jeremiah."

As he met Kara's eyes, Oliver knew that it hadn't worked.

"I need you to leave." Kara spoke, her voice completely level, her eyes avoiding his.

"Kara…"

"Now, Oliver."

Taking a deep breath, Oliver nodded silently, taking a few steps back towards the living room. Stopping just before rounding the corner, Oliver turned his head to look at Kara again.

"For your sake, Kara," He began in a near whisper. "I really do hope I'm wrong."

Author's Note: So that's not like…another 6 months I've not updated this story or anything. I'd apologise for being hopeless at keeping a schedule, but you guys really should be used to that at this stage. I seem to have got my mojo back though, so who knows, maybe I'll be able to get some real progress made on this over the next few weeks. I guess you all had better just cross your fingers and hope for the best huh?

As always, please, please, please, drop a review, it honestly makes writing so much easier when I know you guys are enjoying this and still want more.