Chapter 4
Welcome Home
"There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered."
Nelson Mandela
That tricky bastard, Machin got away. Oliver stalked into the bunker, where he returned his bow and quiver to their stand.
"Hey, man, I'm sorry, I tried searching for him using the aerial map, but it's like he just disappeared." Curtis says walking over to the man.
"It's fine Curtis, just make sure those facial recons are still running—" he stopped and turned to the man. "And you should go home, it's late."
"Ok," Curtis was about to turn, but he stopped and looked back to Oliver. "Hey, I've been meaning ask, how is the missus?" Oliver turned away and Curtis suddenly realized that probably wasn't the best question to ask at the moment. "You know what, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked and-" Curtis turned to leave. "I should go."
"Curtis," Curtis stopped and turned back to Oliver. "She's ok. She still doesn't remember anything from the past couple of years, but I think she's still in there. Thanks' for asking." Curtis simply gave a nod before turning and heading for the elevator. Once he was gone, Oliver turned, his eyes looking over to the Guardian's suit, suddenly dreading the conversation he's going to have with his wife to explain all of this.
Oliver turned at the heavy footsteps, to see Bruce stalking inside, pulling the cowl from his head and tossing it on the table.
"I'm going to take a sick pleasure of beating the shit out of that bastard when we find him." Bruce said looking over to Oliver.
"Well until then, Curtis still has the computers searching for him, so hopefully we'll have something soon. I'm going to get changed and head to the house. Thea said there are still reporters crowded out front, so I need to deal with that and check in with Robyn and Ari before I head back to Coast City. You can go on ahead if you want." Oliver turned about to get changed when Bruce stopped him.
"I'm sorry," Oliver stopped at those words, turning a confused look to the man. "You're right, we left and-"
"Bruce, stop-"
"No, just listen. I'm not apologizing for leaving. I stand behind that one hundred percent because it's what I needed, and it's what Felicity needed. Look I'm apologizing for leaving when we did. You were right, a lot was happening, we could've left at a better time."
"Seriously Bruce, I get it. When we found out Katie was pregnant with Robyn, I didn't think twice about leaving Starling. It's what we needed and nothing or no one else mattered." Oliver turned away with a shake of his head. "I guess I'm just seeing what it's like to be on the other end and I can be alright with it." and with that Oliver turned to get changed.
Oliver was sure that at this time of night, the house should be quiet. He'd only turned the corner, his eyes widening at the sight of bright lamps, and news vans lined up along the block as reporters camped out in front of his house. Oliver let out a groan the moment he neared the house. When reporters finally spotted him, they suddenly crowded around.
Once he stepped out of the car, he saw Hank and Steve sift through the crowd, but Oliver simply held up a hand to stop them.
"Mayor Queen, how long has you wife been out of her coma?!"
"Where is Mrs. Queen right now?!"
"What happened at the train station?!"
Each question came one after the other, and he expected them. Oliver moved away from his car, further onto the sidewalk so they all could see him.
"You all have a lot of questions, and I completely understand your curiosity and concern which I will address at a later time in a more appropriate setting." Oliver glanced over to the house, catching a glimpse of someone in the house peaking through the curtains. He turned his eyes back to the reporters, all either holding a camera aimed at him, or a microphone. "What I will say now is that yes, my wife is awake and she is recovering." the man dropped his head and let out a heavy sigh before looking to the eyes on him. "My wife has waken up with a mild case of amnesia, which lead to the incident that occurred today at Star City Rail. Right now my only concern is getting her the care she needs while also making sure my kids are safe and I don't think that happens with a crowd of people hanging out on our lawn. Look, I know you all want a story, but this is my home, and I would very much appreciate if you all respected our privacy and let us get through this on our own. I know this city cares for us, cares for the health of my wife, and I promise you I will keep you updated on how her recovery is progressing." Oliver paused for a moment before giving a nod. "Now it's late, and I'm sure you all have families you all should be getting to. You and your affiliations will receive notice on that upcoming press conference. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to get to my family." the reporters all parted to allow the man inside his home. When he walked in, he glanced over in to the living room where he saw Thea standing near the window.
"Looks like they're clearing out." Thea said turning to her brother. "Must've been one hell of a speech."
"Thea, I'm sorry it took me so long to get back, I was with Twinkie trying just to talk to her and explain what was happening, then we got a lead on Machin." Oliver shook his head before glancing up the stairs. "Are they sleep?"
"Robyn is, but Ari is well a very angry teenager." Thea replied, and Oliver turned back to her, seeing a hint of anger in her as well. "Can't say I blame her." Oliver watched as his sister turned off, and walked into the kitchen and he followed behind her.
"Speedy-"
"I just, I know I'm not supposed to be angry with you right now, but I just can't help it." she turned back to her brother. "You took her to Coast City. Why? Why not bring her home?"
"Because she doesn't remember this home? Look I've never had a wife with amnesia, so I'm doing the best that I can. Thea, I didn't want to overwhelm her with all of this. I wanted to prepare her for the moment she walked into this house and she saw a baby that's starting to look like her everyday, or to see a cousin whose now a teenager." Thea turned away and Oliver sighed. "Thea-"
"How is she?" Thea asked leaning against the kitchen counter and looking at the hanging basket of fruit.
"As expected. She's confused, has a lot of questions, but she seems to be taking everything alright."
"What have you told her so far?" Thea asked finally turning back to her brother.
"Well, I told her about us being married which she really didn't believe at first." Oliver said and Thea smiled with a snort. "What?"
"Nothing, it's just I guess that makes sense, seeing as three and half years ago the two of you weren't in the same orbit. And before that were the shitty high school years, so I get it."
"Yeah, well I told her about Robyn, and that's as far as I got. I think she's still trying to take it all in. I was actually about to talk to her some more before Curtis called. I was going to head back after I checked on the kids." Thea frowned, turning away. "Thea—"
"Ollie, I know you're doing what you think is right," Thea turned back to him. "But how does this work? You still have two kids here, and I'm happy to help out, but I'm sure there are fires waiting for me at city hall that I'm going to have to take care of at some point." Oliver turned away, letting his back drop back against the counter. "You're going to have to bring her home."
"I know." Oliver sighed. "It's just I've lived five months in this life with her just being in that hospital room I would visit, and now she's back and the world knows it and I just-"
"You wanted to keep her to yourself for a little while longer." Thea said and Oliver sighed which she took as his agreement. "She's stronger than you're giving her credit for. She can handle all of this. And sure it will be scary, and probably unbelievable, but she will handle it and hey, maybe along the way she'll start remembering who she was."
"And what if she remembers how she ended up in that coma?" Oliver asked, looking over to his sister. "What if she remembers what she almost did?" Thea turned away and let out a sigh of her own.
"Well then she'll get through that as well. Now go-" she nudged his shoulder. "Go see your kids." Oliver pressed a kiss to Thea's head before turning and heading up the stairs. His first stop he figured would be his easiest. He pushed open the door to the nursery, where he surprisingly found his daughter standing up in her crib. It amazed him everyday how quickly she was growing up.
"Dah, dah." she began bouncing up and down when Oliver came over to scoop her in his arms causing her to giggle in excitement.
"Hi sweetie," Oliver pressed a kiss to her head as he hugged her close to his chest, and he felt her head fall to his shoulder. "I'm so sorry I wasn't here sooner." he gently bounced her in his arms as he rubbed her back. She let out tiny yawn as she closed her eyes. "I don't know if you've heard the good news, but mommy's back. She came back to us and I'm going to bring her to see you really soon." she was sleeping, but he wanted to hold her a bit longer. Oliver walked over, and carefully lowered himself to sit in the rocking chair near the window. He closed his eyes, as he continued rubbing his daughter's back, rocking back and forth.
The silence was comforting, and peaceful. Oliver wasn't asleep, but he felt as if he were pretty close. He didn't realize his own exhaustion.
"Ollie?" Thea's voice whispered, and Oliver's eyes snapped open to see his sister hurrying over. "We have a problem."
Felicity wasn't quite sure what she should do. She cautiously took a step forward.
"Katie, you can't do this." Felicity said, but it was as if Katie couldn't even hear her.
"What is this?" Katie growled pushing the knife against Nyssa's throat. "Your father is dead, and now you're here for payback?!"
"What are you talking about? I'm here to see you, to make sure you were truly alright." Nyssa said staring up to the dark eyes of her cousin. She knew she could free herself, could get out of this situation easily, but something was wrong. Katie looked down to the woman in confusion.
"What the hell are you talking about? What—"
"Katie, stop!" that voice yelled from the other side of the yard, and it was enough for Katie to finally lift her head, her eyes going wide at the red haired teenager who quickly ran over.
"Ari, what are you doing here?" Felicity asked glancing from the teenager to Katie who couldn't tear her eyes away from her young cousin.
"Katie, you have to stop." Ari dropped to her knees beside Katie, tossing her arms around her, hugging her tightly as she began sobbing. Katie wasn't sure what was happening, but the knife in her hand slipped to the ground as she brought her arms around the teenager.
"Arianna?" Katie whispered completely confused as she held the girl.
When Bruce arrived, he found Felicity nervously pacing. The moment he walked in, she stopped and hurried over.
"It's about damn time." The woman said, glancing up the stairs. "I think we have a serious problem." she turned back to Bruce.
"Where's Nyssa?" Bruce asked.
"I have no idea. When Ari showed up, Katie brought her back inside, just leaving Nyssa outside." Felicity said glancing back up to the stairs. "She almost did it though. She almost killed Nyssa right in the backyard." Felicity turned back to Bruce who who let out a sigh as he turned back to the woman. "Now she and Ari are up there, and she's probably learning why her young cousin just stopped her. She could be learning the truth about Ra's and who he is to her."
"Have you talked to Oliver?"
"Yeah, he and Thea are on their way." Felicity replied turning back to the stairs. "Should we—"
"I don't think we should. If she is learning the truth, she's not going to be happy with anyone who didn't tell her sooner."
Ari sat cross legged on the bed, looking over to her cousin who stood looking out the window. She still couldn't believe it. For so long she'd been so afraid that she'd never have this moment.
"So Nyssa is my—" Katie cleared her throat. Only moments earlier did Ari reveal something that no one in this house had told her. She turned to the girl before walking over and taking a seat across from her. "My cousin. Her father, my uncle?" Ari turned away, now feeling slightly unsure if she should've revealed the information. She knew she didn't know the complete story of Nyssa and Katie. All she knew was that Nyssa was nice to her, and looked out for her and she assumed she did the same for Katie. "Ari?"
"Oliver hasn't told you any of this?" Ari asked turning back to her cousin.
"No he hasn't." Katie says turning away. "Ra's is my mother's brother." Katie once again stood to her feet and walked over to the window. She closed her eyes, suddenly struck with memory after memory of her time with the demon. He was a monster, and now she's being told that his blood runs through her veins.
"Katie,"
"Ari, it's late." Katie says turning back to the girl and sighs. She was so big. She thinks about the little girl she remembers and now in the years she's missed a young woman has taken her place. "I should call your mom or dad. They're probably worried about you." Ari frowned, and Katie stopped unsure if she'd said something wrong. "What's wrong?"
"Katie, I don't live with my parents. I live with you and Oliver." Katie stared in more confusion before she walked over and took a seat across from the teenager. "My dad is dead, and my mom is in prison." Katie's eyes widen as she turns away from the teen's eyes. "You took me in because you were the only one I had left." Ari sighed before once again leaning forward and tossing her arms Katie in a hug. "I thought you were gone." Katie simply hugged her back. She wasn't sure of much of anything right now, and she hated how much of her own life she didn't know about.
"Ari I'm so sorry about your parents,"
Oliver walked in the house, his eyes glancing to the steps. He turned at the sound of footsteps to see Bruce and Felicity walking in. He'd gotten the call earlier about Nyssa, and Ari showing up and he had no idea what he would be walking into. He glanced back to Thea who pushed in a sleeping Robyn in her stroller. His eyes looked back over to Bruce.
"Nyssa?" he asked.
"No idea, but I don't think she's gotten too far." Bruce said standing to his feet. "I'm going to go out and try to find her." Oliver glanced over to the man with a quirked brow. "Don't worry, I'll keep it cool." Oliver just shook his head before turning to his sister.
"I'm going to go up there and see how she's doing. Can you take Robyn up to the nursery?" Oliver asked and Thea just nodded.
Oliver soon found himself in the familiar spot outside their bedroom door, where he was once again hesitating. They were in a good place when he left and now he's not sure where they were. He lifted a fist to knock, but the door opened before he could. His eyes looked down to see Ari, who looked nervous. Oliver let out a heavy sigh as the girl backed up into the room.
"Arianna Louise Locke," Oliver said, his eyes piercing the teenager who continued to back away. Ari's eyes went wide at the man's use of her full name which he never did. She knew she was in trouble now. "Do you have absolutely any idea how in trouble you are right now?"
"I know I screwed up, but-"
"How did you even know she was here?"
"I tracked your call, but that's now the point, Oliver you—"
"You tracked my call, that's just great!" Oliver slid a hand over his face before lifting his eyes back to the girl. "Ari, you ran away again and—"
"You knew where I was because you had Felicity lojack every electronic device I own." Ari said with a pointed finger. "Didn't think I knew that, did you?" the look in Oliver's eyes let her know she wasn't getting out of this easy. "Oliver, I'm sorry, but—"
"Ari, I don't know what to do. I ground you, take away your—" he shook his head. "Took away some of your electronics because apparently you have some hidden that I don't know about." He turned back to the girl. "And it hasn't changed anything. You're still making dangerous decisions and I have no idea how to get through to you so you can see it. If something were to have happened to you—"
"It wouldn't."
"You don't know that. This time you were able to get from Star City to Coast City. Anything could've happened."
"It wouldn't." Ari said once again and Oliver frowned at her certainty. "I can protect myself now if I need to." Oliver continued to look at her for a moment, and suddenly it clicked.
"Nyssa," Oliver had flat out told Nyssa that she was not to train Ari at all, but apparently it didn't matter. "You have been sneaking out more and you're meeting with Nyssa."
"You should be relieved. I'm not some helpless kid who can't take care of herself. No one will ever hurt me again." Oliver's eyes looked down to the girl once again in a very unexpected situation that he had no idea how to handle. "You know I'm right. She helped me and—" the door to the bathroom opened, and both turned to see Katie who walked over to stand next to Oliver.
"You are never to see Nyssa again." The order took Ari by surprise, but she quickly opened her mouth to oppose. "And there is absolutely nothing you can say to change that. If I find out that you're sneaking out to see her, then I will ensure it never happens again." Katie took a step toward the girl. "You will not run away again because despite what you think, there is always someone out there who can hurt you, and apparently it's our job to make sure that doesn't happen. There will be no more lying, and when we get home we are going to tear your room apart until we find every electronic device you own. You're grounded indefinitely until I say you aren't."
"That's not fair! I was coming to see you! You were dead and then in a coma and I thought I lost you and—"
"And you would've seen me. You know you would've and I'm sure Oliver told you that. He also told you to stay put, but you didn't listen to him. You thought you knew better, but Ari you don't not always, and in situations like this where he's trying to keep you safe, you should've listened." Ari glared to the woman before looking over to Oliver. She let out a huff before stalking out of the room slamming the door closed behind her.
Oliver stood there, looking over to Katie a bit amazed. He missed her so much and one of the reasons were for moments like this. Where he was at his whits end in parenting situations and he didn't know what to do. He knew she would just know what to do.
"Thanks, that was-"
"Why didn't take me to see her?" Katie asked turning back to the man. "Or brought her here? Or I don't know tell me that we raise my cousin's daughter after I killed him and sent his wife to prison?" Oliver let out a sigh.
"I'm sorry, I just wasn't sure how to bring that topic up. Like you said, we have to be careful. We have no idea what information can hurt you, or effect you, and I just wanted to ease into everything and not throw everything at you at once."
"Like Ra's Al Ghul being my uncle and Nyssa being my cousin?" Oliver dropped his head. "I'm sure you were going to tell me that too, in good time, right?" Katie turned away from the man stalking over to stand by the window.
"I know Nyssa was here." Oliver said and Katie closed her eyes and let out a sigh. Apparently her leaving hell didn't get her very far. Nyssa, and her father were still tangled in her life even after getting away, and now she knows she's in her family's life as well.
"How much do you know about me and my time in Nanda Parbat?" Katie asked.
"I think I know the majority of what happened to you, but I don't think I know all of it." Oliver said and Katie opened her eyes and looked back to him. "I know it was a time you've never really gotten past."
"So you know that the Demon hurt me?" she asked taking steps toward the man. "Did you know know his daughter sometimes joined in on the torture as well?" she found herself standing in front of him. "They're monsters and I just found out that their blood-" she lifted her hands, and Oliver looked down to see how they were shaking.
"Hey," he took her hands in his and she lifted her eyes to him. "You are not a monster." she shook her head, pulling from his grasp before walking around the man back over to look out the window, her eyes once again looking up to the stars.
"This isn't real." she said turning to face him. "None of this can be real."
"Twinkie-"
"Don't call me that!" she said angrily before stalking out of the room. Oliver wasn't sure what to say or do, but he wasn't letting her go, and so he followed after her.
"Oh my gosh!" he heard and turned to see his sister engulfing Katie in a tight hug. "Twinkie, I'm so happy to see you."
"Speedy?" Katie said and Thea pulled back, letting the woman see her face clearly. Katie stared back to the woman with wide eyes as she placed her hands on her face. "You're so old." both women laughed as Thea once again brought her into a hug that Katie returned.
"I missed you so much." Thea muttered not wanting to even pull away. "You have no idea how much we missed you." Katie didn't say anything and so Thea lifted her head to see the woman glancing to the room behind her. "Oh-" Thea looked back to Oliver who quickly came over.
"Katie, we heard that Ari was here, so I thought me and Thea would bring Robyn." Oliver said watching the dazed stare of the woman who continued to stare into the nursery her eyes locked on the crib. "Would you like to meet her?" Katie took a step toward the nursery, stopping just before she could enter. It happened so suddenly. Katie's eyes clenched shut as she turned away. Her heart began ramming in her chest. "Twinkie?" Oliver placed a hand on her shoulder, only now realizing that she was shaking again. "Hey-" he moved to stand in front of her, placing his hands on both of her shoulders. "Hey Twinkie, look at me." she shook her head before turning her eyes to him. She glanced back into the nursery before pulling away and stalking down the hall. She quickly jogged down the steps, her eyes going straight to the front door fully prepared to just walk out.
"Hey, what's happening?" Katie stopped at the question, turning to see Felicity. "Is everything alright?" Felicity cautiously stepped toward the woman, turning as Oliver came down the stairs. Katie glanced back to him before once again turning for the door.
"I'm sorry!" Oliver called after her. Her hand was on the doorknob, but she stopped. "I should've told you the truth. This is all crazy and scary, but don't run away from this." she glanced over her shoulder to the man. "You once told me that you were taught to face your fears head on. So let's do that now. Let's face this, together." Katie turned back to the door, and she couldn't help but want to just walk out and leave. She just wanted to run as fast as she could away from everything and yet his words found something inside of her. She pulled her hand back and turned to face him. He let out a sigh before turning to Felicity.
"Oh, right, I'm just going to go up to check on Thea." Felicity said before heading up the stairs. Oliver turned back to Katie who fell back against the door and looked back to him. They stood there in silence.
"Do you want to know why this can't be real? Because there is no way in hell I would ever let that woman near anyone in my family, and yet my baby cousin knows her by name. Ari just told me that Nyssa isn't a bad person, she helps people now."
"Katie-"
"The truth, Oliver." she said and Oliver let out a sigh.
"The truth is that the Demon came back for you." Oliver said and he noticed her take a slight step back, but he stepped forward, taking her hand. "But there was no way I was going to let that happen. I promised you that I would never let that happen." she looked up to his eyes and she could see the seriousness of his promise.
"Did you kill the demon?" Oliver looked at her without even blinking.
"Yes." he said before placing his hands on her face. "And I would do it again. It took a while, but Nyssa finally saw the monster her father truly was." Katie turned away from the man. "Katie-"
"I wouldn't allow her near Ari, no matter how reformed she says she is." she turned back to Oliver. "Her being near Ari was you, right?" Oliver didn't say anything and Katie let out a huff before pulling from his grasp, and walked around him to the kitchen. Oliver dropped his head because he knew she'd be angry about Nyssa's involvement in their lives, about her interactions with their kids. He knew she'd be angry about that even if she did remember. He knew he'd have to defend that decision and so he would. He turned and walked after her.
"Yes." she turned back to meet his eyes. "Given everything that has happened, I truly believe that she had changed, and I trusted her. I didn't want to, I really would've loved to keep her as far away from me and our girls as possible, but I was put in a position where I had to trust her and I'm glad I did because when I needed her, she was there, protecting them when I couldn't." Katie silently stared at the man before walking over and taking a seat at the kitchen table. Oliver stood there for a moment before going to taken the seat beside her. He looked at her once again wondering what was going on inside of her head.
"The demon is my uncle. Nyssa is my cousin. I killed Jeremy, and his wife's grief and anger drove her to attempt to hold hostage a room full of people until she could prove to the world that I was a monster. Now I'm raising their daughter with you, Oliver Queen who is also the father of our daughter Robyn."
"Katie-"
"Just listen, please. My last memories were relief because I'd finally escaped hell and was able to get home, and then I wake up and I can't-" she dropped her head. "I can't reconcile who I am with how I feel." she looked back up to the man. "I can't imagine a world where any of this is possible, and yet I wake up and it just is and that is really-" she closed her eyes and let out a heavy breath and Oliver reached over to take her hand in his. She opened her eyes to see him staring back to her.
"What do you need? This moment, right now, whatever you need I will make it happen." Oliver said.
"What I told Ari stands. Nyssa comes no where near our family." Oliver gave a nod in agreement. Plus he thinks after Nyssa explicitly disregarded his wishes of her training Ari, distance between the two could be good. Katie turned away from the man's eyes as he continued to stare at her. He doesn't think he could ever get tired of just looking at her. After imagining that moments like this would never come, he just couldn't stop himself.
"Katie about Jeremy-" Katie closed her eyes because she'd gotten the details from Ari earlier, and yet it didn't make a difference. "He had a gun to our friend's head and he was going to kill him. If you hadn't-"
"I know the story." Katie says turning back to Oliver. "Ari, of all people, had to tell it to me. I killed her father, and her mother, so crazy with grief, went to the lengths to get the world to see the monster I was. And now I'm raising their daughter."
"Katie, you had no other choice. You could've killed him or watched him kill John." it was a fact that he'd always tried to get her to understand for so long, and yet she'd always let the guilt of her actions make her believe otherwise. More silence followed. He didn't want to push too much and he wanted to give her time to just absorb all of the information that was given to her. "Hey-" he reached over, placing his hand above hers and he was glad she didn't pull away. She turned away though, her eyes going to the pizza boxes that were in front of them. She simply reached forward to open the box and pulled out a slice.
"Right now, I want you to tell me our story." Katie says looking over to the man. "I want to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of our story, and I want you to help me believe it, because right now I'm finding it difficult to believe this isn't all some twisted dream or nightmare, so start from the beginning. You said you chased me across your lawn." Oliver chuckled as he turned to her.
"Yeah, I had been back for a few months and one night, I saw you and-" he smiled at her. "It finally felt like I was home." she look into his eyes, once again seeing that look on his face as he stared at her, and she still couldn't figure out what that look meant. "So yeah, a friend of ours, John Diggle, saw you and he thought you were a reporter trying to question Thea."
"Question Thea about what?"
"She'd just been arrested after crashing her car while she was under the influence of drugs. She was charged and had to go to court because of it. " Oliver said and Katie's eyes widened.
"Speedy?" Katie asked, glancing up to the ceiling before looking back to Oliver.
"Yeah, she was kind of in a bad place after dealing with what happened to me, and dad, and you leaving. You'd just gotten back to town, and you saw us on television after learning that Thea had been let off with only having to serve community service."
"So I saw you on TV after thinking you were dead?" Katie asked and Oliver nodded and Katie sighed turning away. She turned back to him and sighed. "Ok, keep going, what else happened?"
Oliver's story continued. He'd told her about everything from stepping on John's foot, to the hit man sent to kill her. He'd gotten to the Malcolm Merlyn part of their story and his involvement in the attempts on her life to gain control of her father's company. They'd moved to the living room where Katie lied on the couch, her eyes focused on the logs of the fireplace for just a few moments before exhaustion finally took over and she drifted off to sleep. Oliver glanced over to her before standing to his feet and grabbing the blanket from the side of the couch and draping it over her. He dropped down and placed a kiss to the top of her head. His phone vibrated and when he pulled it out, he looked down to see a message from Bruce. He sighed before once again glancing down to Katie as he turned and headed for the back door. When he stepped out the door, he looked over to see Bruce and Nyssa standing at the base of the steps.
"Look who I found?" Bruce said and the woman standing beside him sent a glare before turning back to Oliver.
"Nyssa, what are you doing here?" Oliver asked walking down to the woman. "You should've come to me before you came here. You knew whatever reunion the two of you would've had probably would've ended in the same way." Nyssa turned away and Oliver noticed the look that passed across her face. "You saw the news."
"Yes, and I wanted to see her for myself." Nyssa said turning back to Oliver. "She doesn't remember, does she?"
"No, she doesn't and we were revealing things to her slowly. We hadn't gotten to you and your dad and the fact that the people who tortured her were also her family." Nyssa turned away at his words. She really did try to forget the terrible things her father did, and the terrible things she'd done in his name. Once upon a time she was completely devoted to him and everything he did, and that included the treatment of Katie. She always noticed her father's attention on Katie, his focus on trying to make her into something she had no desire to be. He went to extreme measures to mold his Nura into his liking, and she was right there with him as his devoted follower. "Nyssa, you can't be here." she turned back to the man. "Katie has made it clear that you are to be no where near our family." Nyssa frowned. She'd actually gotten used to the connections created with Oliver and his little family. She'd developed a somewhat comforting relationship with the young Ari. She couldn't help but see some of herself in the girl.
"And you agreed to this? After everything I've done to prove that I'm no longer the person I was?" Nyssa pointed a finger at the man. "After I protected your children when you couldn't?! You told me that I was apart of this family."
"I know what I told you, but you and I both knew that when Katie came back, this—you, being here would be an issue. Whatever happened to her in Nanda Parbat, whatever your father and you did to her, she's still holding on to it and she's reminded of it when she sees you. So for right now, you need to keep your distance." the woman shook her head with a roll of her eyes as she turned to walk away. "That includes Ari. I know you've been training her, after I told you not to," Nyssa turned back to him. "It was not your place."
"No, it was yours, but you refused to see what was staring you right in the face." Nyssa took a step toward the man. "There are monsters out there far worse than Damien Darhk, and one day you're going to find him and you're going to do that annoying thing you do and get yourself a new enemy. When that happens, they will come at you anyway they can, and that includes your children. I'm giving her a fighting chance, and with you and Nura as her guardians, she will need it." and with that the woman turned, stalking out into the darkness.
Oliver groaned in annoyance before turning to Bruce who stood there silently glancing over his shoulder as if looking for someone. Oliver soon felt a sudden tingling himself, and he lifted his eyes to search through the darkness.
"Jacob?"
"Most likely." Bruce replied turning back to the man. "But I'll get confirmation. How's she doing?" Oliver shrugged honestly. He still couldn't gauge her emotions as she took in so much information.
"She seems to be handling all of this ok, but I don't think I would know if she wasn't. I remember her three years ago when she'd came back. She kept everything in and rarely let anything out."
"Anything coming back to her?" Bruce asked and Oliver turned to the man.
"I honestly don't know. She hasn't mentioned remembering anything, but I'm not sure she would. Not to me at least. I mean I feel she's starting to be more comfortable with me, but I also feel that she's trying to keep some distance as well."
"Well then you try harder." Bruce commented before turning and stalking off into the darkness as well. Oliver shook his head in annoyance before turning and walking back into the house. He walked back in to the living room, his eyes going to the couch confused to find it empty. He turned, walking toward the hall, his heart dropping the moment he saw the front door wide open. Oliver quickly rushed over, stepping out onto the porch, spotting the woman standing barefoot in the grass in front of the house.
"Katie?" he rushed over to her and she simply held a hand to quiet him. "What's going on?" she turned to face him, placing a finger to her lips. Oliver lifted his eyes, finally deciding to listen instead of speaking. That's when he heard the sound of glass breaking. Both turned their heads, finding the direction of the sound. "Twinkie, go back in the house, I'll go check it out."
"It's probably just a burglar," she said offhandedly. "You should go call the police, and I'll make sure no one is hurt." she took a step forward, but he caught her arm and pulled her back. She actually knew he wouldn't go for that. She turned back to face him.
"You remember what you told Ari, about listening to me when I'm trying to keep her safe?" Oliver asked and Katie lightly sighed. "Please go back in the house and I will check it out." she stared at him for a moment, and he could tell she didn't want to, but she nodded.
"Find, just-" she looked up to his eyes. "Be careful and scream really loudly if you need help." Oliver couldn't help the tug of his lips as he looked down to the woman.
"I will remember that. Now please, go inside and lock the door." she moved around the man climbing up the steps. He watched her until she was safely inside before he went in search of the source of the noise.
Katie peeked out the window, watching as Oliver walked along the sidewalk. She huffed in annoyance when he walked out of sight. She turned at the sound of footsteps just as Ari came downstairs. The teen stopped halfway down the steps the moment she spotted her cousin. She glared before turning around about to head upstairs.
"There's pizza if you're hungry." Katie said and Ari stopped. The whole reason for leaving her room was to search for food. "I mean you can be upset with me and still eat." Ari turned back around and came down the stairs. She cast one final glance to her cousin before heading for the kitchen. Katie walked back over to the window, hoping to see Oliver, but he still hadn't come back to the house. Soon she heard more footsteps and when she turned, this time she saw Felicity and Thea.
"It got quiet." Felicity said as they walked down the stairs. "Where's Oliver?" Katie shook her head before turning back to look out the window. She was going to give him a couple of more minutes before she went after him.
"I heard something strange outside, and he went to check it out." Katie says before turning back to the women who shared a look of what looked like concern. "What?" the expressions dropped from their faces when they turned back to Katie, both smiling.
"Nothing, it's probably just some kids messing around." Thea said walking over to Katie and bringing an arm around her, pulling her toward the couch to sit. "So how are you?" Katie looked at the woman for a moment, once again lost in her face. Just looking at little Speedy all grown up, just reminded her of how much time had truly passed.
"I'm-" Katie dropped her head, as a tug of emotion almost poured out of her. She pulled on a smile before looking back up to the woman. "Fine," Katie stood to her feet once again going over to the window. "He's been gone too long, I'm just going to-" Katie stopped at the sound of the back door opening and closing. She quickly went to check it out to her surprise, it was Oliver and he looked slightly out of breath. "What happened?"
"It was just kids messing around." he replied.
"Oh," she gave a nod before glancing over to Ari who glanced over to Oliver with a furrowed brow.
"You didn't catch them?" Ari asked.
"No, I did not." Oliver said pointedly, hoping the teen would stop the line of questioning. The truth was it was a few ARGUS guys that Jacob had sent, but they all rushed off when he and Bruce neared. He decided to head back while Bruce continued on their trail. Right now he didn't want to tell Katie about her father or the eyes he always seems to have on her. Ari just rolled her eyes before placing her pizza on a plate, and grabbing her bottle of water and heading up the stairs. Oliver let out a sigh before turning back to Katie, and now seeing Felicity and Thea walk into the kitchen as well.
They all stood there, their eyes on Katie and she suddenly felt annoyed and so she shook her head before turning and going in to the other room. Thea and Felicity went to follow, but Oliver took a step to stop them and they looked over to him in confusion.
"How about you two just give her a break for a bit." the two women sighed and Oliver could see how much they genuinely just wanted to help, but he was afraid of Katie being overwhelmed. Felicity looked over to Thea.
"Wine and pizza?"
"That sounds perfect right about now." Thea said before the two woman grabbed a bottle, no glasses and headed out the back door. Oliver just shook his head before turning and walking back into the living room where he found Katie, looking out the window.
She turned and faced him and he silently looked back to her. A lot had happened today, he knew she was trying to process so much at once and he didn't want to push anymore. He wanted her to tell him what more she needed.
"I don't understand why this is happening." she dropped her eyes from his, and it took all of his will power not to go over to her, wrap his arms around her in comfort. She lifted her eyes back to his, silently staring once again. "But I want to remember. All of this. This doesn't seem like a life someone should just be plopped into the middle of. I want to know how I got here after everything I've gone through." he continued to just listen and she was glad. He just stared at her with that look that now turned her insides into goo. She turned away from the look hoping to reign in her confusing emotions. "Telling me about our life hasn't jogged anything." her eyes found his once again. "You have to show me. Walk me through it." she let out a deep breath as she glanced around the house. "You said we weren't here long, maybe that's why nothing has jumped out at me even though I just feel—" she looked back to him. "I feel this place was important for some reason, but it doesn't feel like—"
"Home." Oliver said and she nods. "Are you ready for that? Going back to Star City, it will be a lot. A lot of people, a lot of questions and comments. A lot of just noise, and I don't want you to-" he dropped his head and let out a deep breath. "We left that city because of that noise." he shook his head as he thought of how he let their fantasy slip away because he couldn't put down that bow.
"But then we went back, right?" he looked back to her and she shrugged. "A part of me is here in this house, and I can feel it, but I can't see it. Because this wasn't the beginning. I need to see how how we got here, and I need to see how we could leave." She walked over to him, closing the distance between them before she hesitantly rose her hand to take his. "You have to take me home." she felt his grip tighten a bit at the words and she wasn't sure what it meant.
The next day, late afternoon, Katie doesn't feel nervous until they turn a corner, and she spots a familiar street sign. She drags her hand across her leg before pinching the tight material of her jeans. When she glances over to Oliver, his eyes are straight ahead, but he feels her stare and glances over to her, and as she expects he smiles at her. Soon he pulls over to the side, and Katie frowns before glancing out the window to a house she doesn't remember.
"I'm just going to wait for Thea's call." Oliver said and Katie turned to him with a quirked brow. "One of the reasons I wanted her and the girls to go ahead was to make sure the coast was clear." for some reason that made her nervous. She glanced back out the window, expecting to spot a foe from her past, but Oliver reaches over and slips his hand over hers, giving a squeeze to reassure her. She turns back to him, his eyes fixed on her with a smile. "From the press. A lot of people saw you at the train station, and they showed up here the other day. I was able to hold them off, but that doesn't always work." she let out a snort, once again glancing out the window.
"How-" she wasn't sure what she wanted to ask. It was still difficult to find a way to fit her reality into what she assumed would be her life. She looked over to Oliver, that softened gaze still on her as his hand still firmly holds her own. "I just-" his phone rang and Oliver sighed as he reached into his pocket. He saw Thea's number and quickly answered.
"Hey Thea, give me a sec, I'll call you back." Oliver said before turning his attention back to Katie and she looked a bit surprised. "What were you saying?" Oliver stared, awaiting for her to speak. He wanted to keep her talking, because when she spoke, he at least got a glimmer of what was happening in her head.
"Oliver, you just ended a call because we were in the middle of a conversation." Katie says narrowing her eyes at the man. "You're being sweet and considerate and-" she turned away. "I supposedly had this perfect life." she eyed the man who was still staring and she was beginning to wonder if he was actually watching her instead. "Perfect husband, cute daughter, we took in my cousin when no one else would." she pulled her hand away from Oliver and he frowned slightly at the move. "And yet something so bad happened that I can't even remember any of it." She noticed he looked nervous and she just shook her head. "You know what happened, but you won't tell me because everyone is afraid I'll go completely insane or something."
"That's not it." Oliver says, but Katie doesn't turn to him and he hates it. He hates that having her back physically could mean not having her back completely. A piece of her is still gone. Still lost. "We are going to just take everything slow, and then hopefully your memories will come back."
"And what if they don't?" she asked, still refusing to look at the man. She doesn't want to look at him. Doesn't want to see the disappointment in his eyes as he realizes that she could possibly never be that woman he married. "What if I never remember?" she finally turns back to him and shrugs. "What if you never get her back? Your Twinkie, who you built this entire life with? Are you really willing to sign up for that possibility?"
"Yes." he said without hesitation. He reached over and once again took her her hand. "Memories or not, you're my wife, you're the woman I fell hopelessly in love with. So if you don't ever get your memories back, we will just create new ones. The day I married you was the day I signed up for all the twists and turns in our life. This will just be another."
"I find your optimism annoying." she replied unable to stop the small smile that sneaks onto her face. She turns away to look away from him, in hopes he doesn't see, but he does and he smiles.
"You always have." He replied when his phone beep. He glanced down to see the text from Thea. "Looks like the coast is clear." Katie looked back over to him. "Are you sure you're ready for this?" she dropped her head slightly before looking back to him with a nod.
"Yes, I'm ready."
The drive wasn't long, and soon they once again stopped. Her eyes turned and that's when she saw it. Katie stepped out of the car, only taking a single step as she glanced up to the large house she'd only dreamed about. This was it. This was always the finish line. Years of torture, years of deception, years of tears and blood. She always imagined that if she could just get back home, then it would all just be better. Sort of like a switch that could flick and erase everything that happened before. She wanted to cry because she's only now realizing how foolish such thoughts were. She wants to cry because she feels that after everything she's endured, after everything she's done, she isn't deserving enough to be here. It seems like a reward she doesn't think she's earned. Her feet unconsciously take a step back, and a faraway thought creeps to the front of her mind, telling her to run. A hand slides around her back, and she turns to Oliver, whose eyes look to hers with concern.
"Seeing this house just reminds me of the fact that I'm not dead." she says turning back to the house and Oliver doesn't say anything because he doesn't know how to respond. He wonders if it's a thought she's had in the past and just never told him. "It started to feel like a figment of my imagination. Or like some fantasy I was always reaching for, but could never fully grasp."
"You've never told me that before." Oliver said and Katie looked over to him. "The you from four years ago wouldn't have told me that." he smiled before placing a kiss to the top of her head. Memories or not, his Twinkie was in there. He just had to find her. "C'mon, let's go home." with his hand still firmly around her waist, Oliver lead her toward the house, and she let him.
Neither one of them was aware that several photographs were taken of them in the few seconds it took from them to enter their home.
The act itself could only be described as a predator stalking it's prey.
Author's Note:
Yes my friends, I have a chapter for you! Next chapter is when we will dive directly into Season Five...episode one to be exact. It's going to be a doozy.
Review Replies:
Purplestan: Yeah, the memory loss is tough. She's back and yet she's still running. That's what she's going to have to figure out and that will be the hard part. Ah yes! The picture scene...something weird is afoot..but what?
BlueBloodsSVUOrder: Thanks so much for the review! I'm glad you're enjoying the story!
Adela: Yes, Ari is a make it happen kind of person as you can see from this chapter. Thanks for the review!
Sara: Hmmm...so yes it is really too soon, but, if you remember from the previous story (hope you read it) at the second wedding, they actually talked about more kids. They never agreed on a number, but I'm pretty sure it's going to happen...at some point...in the future. Oh and the whole William topic has not come up yet...but it will.
Oh, as always, I appreciate all the people who have added this story to their alerts and have made it one of their favs. Special shout out to those who left reviews! You all are awesome!
Here's your sneak peak.
With a huff of frustration, Katie continues down the hall, stopping at Ari's door and knocking. There was no response, and so she pushed open the door to find that the room was empty.
"Hey, she just needed a new diaper, what-" Thea stopped when she walked over to Katie, looking around the empty room. "You have got to be kidding me," Katie turned to Thea with a furrowed brow. "She snuck out?"
"What, she-" Katie went into the room, looking around before going over to the window. "Aren't there like guards here to watch her?" she looked back over to Thea who sighed.
"I'll call Oliver," Thea said turning and heading back to her room for her phone. Katie once again scanned the room before noticing some papers on Ari's bed. She walked over sifting through what looked like notes and a picture, the name "Lonnie Machin" written on it. She flipped over the picture and saw an address.