Discovery Devotion Destiny

by kayemen22

In the blink of an eye, everything changed. Oliver now had to figure out how to balance being the Mayor of Star City with being the Green Arrow. He had to do it all while being the parent to a crawling baby and a mischevous teen. New enemies would threaten all of it. He's going to need his wife...except she doesn't even remember he's her husband. Or that she has freaky powers.

5. Worth a Thousand Words

Chapter 5

Worth a Thousand Words

"Fear warps our understanding of reality

and even our ability to see reality clearly."

-Victor LaValle

---

Oliver thinks he should worry. He stands at the end of the hall of the second level of their house staring at their bedroom door. His wife was on the other side, and he barely saw her. One week since they stepped foot into the house. He actually held his breath when she walked inside now able to see what she didn't see in the house in Coast City. Pictures of them together. Pictures of herself. He watched her face, watched the dip and rise of her brows as she studied each picture she passed. The last picture she looked at was his favorite. It was a picture from their second wedding. They were standing outside, a fussy Robyn in her arms flailing about as they both look down to her in amusement. That picture held her longer than the others. After a few moments, she turned to him and said she was going to go up to her room. She quickly retreated and he followed, only to find her standing in the middle of Ari's room. That's when he told her that their room was further down the hall. She didn't say anything as she gave a nod and walked into the room closing the door behind her.

Today as he stands at the end of that hall, he wonders if he should go to her. She wanted to come back so he could show her where they started, and yet she still hasn't come out of that room. He or Thea brings her up food, that she takes, but she never leaves the room and now he's just worried.

"Ollie?" Oliver turned at the sight of his sister who was coming up the stairs. She glanced down the hall to the door and sighed. "Still haven't worked up the courage to ask her?"

"Maybe it's too soon." He turned back to the bedroom door. "There's going to be a lot of people at this Gala—"

"Ollie, you've already confirmed your attendance, and if you ever want to come to some sort of agreement about the ACI."

"I get that, which is why I will be there, I just don't-" Oliver turned to his sister. "There will be a lot of people there, a lot of press, and I'm not sure if she will be comfortable with that." Thea looked at him for a moment with narrowed eyes. "What?"

"Ollie, are you nervous about asking your wife out on date?" Oliver rolled his eyes, before glancing over to that door once more. He shook his head before turning and heading to the nursery instead. "You are, aren't you?" Thea followed him, smiling at the sight of her niece who was awake and bouncing up and down in her crib.

"Dah da da da," the girl repeated as she continued to bounce. Oliver scooped the baby into his arms, pressing kisses to her cheek and neck causing breathless giggles as he brings her to the changing table.

"Can you say Thee-ah?" Thea says from beside her brother. Oliver looks over to his sister and just shakes his head. Robyn's vocabulary hasn't expanded beyond Da da or Ree Ree and the occasional hi and bye. The rest is incoherent baby babble and what they think might be animal sounds she learned in day care, but it hasn't stopped his sister from trying to change that. "C'mon, it's really easy, say Thee-ahhh." Robyn decides to spit bubbles instead, and Oliver can't help but to laugh.

"I think that's her way of saying, give it up auntie Thea." Oliver says before going about changing her diaper.

"Why are you nervous about asking Twinkie out on a date?" Thea asked and Oliver huffed as he tossed the dirty diaper into the bin and grabbed a wipe.

"Because this wouldn't be a date. Our next date won't be at some police gala." he grabbed a fresh diaper and sealed it around the baby before picking her up in his arms. "Like I said, there's going to be a lot of press there, and I don't want cameras jammed in her face." Oliver carried the child out of the room down the hall before knocking on Ari's door. "Are you up?!"

"Unfortunately my eyes have opened once again to this dungeon you've got me locked in!" Ari called back dramatically and Oliver rolled his eyes.

"Well once you've gotten over that, come down for breakfast!" he said before turning and heading down the hall.

"Hey, I can move the press, or she can come in through another entrance or—" Oliver stopped and turned his annoyed expression to her. "I'm being pushy, I know this, but Ollie she's back and it's time for her to come out of that room and actually join her life."

"That doesn't happen until she's ready. I'm not pushing her, and neither are you." with that, Oliver turns and head downstairs to make his daughter's breakfast. Thea sighs, her eyes glancing back down to that bedroom door before going downstairs as well.

Arianna begrudgingly stepped out of her room at the smell of waffles. She wants to curse Oliver's name for knowing her weakness. She steps into the hallway about to head down, before looking down the other end to Oliver and Katie's bedroom. She hadn't seen much of her cousin since they came back. Oliver said it was because of all the pictures and that seeing her face in them and not remembering was overwhelming. Ari was still upset with Katie at coming back and attempting to put a stop to her relationship with Nyssa, but she figures there was a past there she doesn't know about. She lets out a dramatic sigh before heading down the hall and knocking on the door.

"I'm not hungry!" Katie's voice calls from inside of the room and Ari lets out a snort before twisting the door knob, and walking inside. The room was dim when she walked inside, the only light coming from the streams of sunlight cracking through the drawn curtains, and the laptop opened on the bed. "Ari?" Ari walked over and climbed onto the bed beside her cousin to look at the computer.

"I think this is my laptop Oliver confiscated." Ari said as she looked at the screen to see a picture of Katie, and some article about her return. "You shouldn't read this stuff." she looked over to Katie who sighed as she fell back on the pillow behind her. Ari looked from the laptop to the note pad that seemed to be scribbled with notes. "Are you like researching yourself?"

"I'm not sure of what else to do." Katie says pointing to the computer. "It's so strange to be reading some of this stuff and not have the faintest clue about any of it. "I was the CEO of my father's company, apparently did great things before I stepped down. For a while I was also a doctor at GMH before I quit to focus all of my attention on my family's company." she sat up from the bed and stood to her feet. "Let's not forget the fairy-tale love story that happened in congruent to all of this between Oliver Queen and Katherine Robins." she turned to face Ari and let out a huff. "There's this whole life that I was smack dab in the middle of and right now I can't remember anything. If you have any better ideas of how I should handle this, then I'm all ears." Ari turned away for a moment, her eyes looking down to the screen.

"Waffles." the girl said turning back to Katie, the look of confusion clear even in the dim-lit room. "Oliver's making waffles, and don't tell him I said this, but they're kind of awesome. So start with waffles."

"Ari, I don't think waffles are going to solve my problems."

"Not solve them, just bury them under mounds of maple syrup." Katie laughed despite herself. She slid a hand over her face and decided that she was just going to step away from this.

"Fine, lets go eat waffles."

Oliver was trying his best to ignore his sister, but she was making it hard.

"Ollie, are you listening?"

"Not really." Oliver says placing another waffle on the plate beside him. "Thea I won't be late. I know how important this gala is." Thea let out a snort before turning to her niece who happily ate her cereal in her highchair.

"You see your daddy says this, and yet he's still going to be late." Thea reaches over a plucks a piece of cereal from the baby's bowl and tosses it into her mouth. "How are you feeling about the press conference this weekend?" she looks back over to her brother who seems to stiffen at the question. "You're not having second thoughts are you? Because if that conference doesn't happen—"

"I know. I'll have the press camping out on the front lawn." Oliver lets out a sigh before turning to his sister. "The press conference is still on, and I will answer all of their questions as best I can."

"And Twinkie-"

"The answer is no, Thea." Oliver replies as the kitchen door pushes open. He knew the smell of waffles would get the teen downstairs. He turns, expecting the snarky Ari, but what he doesn't expect is to see his wife as well. "Hey, hi, uh—are you—I made—" he has no idea why he's suddenly nervous and rambling and so he takes a deep breath. "Good Morning." she doesn't say anything as her eyes seem transfixed on the baby across the kitchen still eating her cereal. Robyn's eyes happen to look up, and she sees the new faces in the kitchen. She looks at her mother, and stops eating. Her hands suddenly shoot out toward Katie, and she's babbling something no one in the room can understand. Katie takes a step forward, and then stops. She places a hand over her chest before taking a step back. "Katie?" she finally looks over to him before turning and leaving the kitchen. Ari, turns to follow, but Oliver walks over catching her arm to stop her. "I got it. You eat your breakfast." Oliver pushes through the kitchen door, in time to see Katie heading back up stairs. "Katie, wait!" he's glad she stops walking. "What just happened?"

"I don't—" she turns toward him as he climbs the steps to stand in front of her. "I don't know what just happened. I saw her, that baby, that beautiful-" she lets out an uneven breath before taking a step back to sit on the step. " I wanted to pick her up, to hold her in my arms, to stare at her face, but-" she looked to Oliver who lowered himself to sit on the step below her. "When I took that step toward her, this feeling of dread washed over me. Like some sort of sign that I shouldn't be near her. Why-" she dropped her eyes. "Why would I ever feel that way?" Oliver let out a sigh as he placed a hand on top of hers. He was confused at first about her reluctance to see their daughter and now he knows why. It's why after that first time that darkness took over, his wife refused to see Robyn in fear that she was a danger to her. Right now that fear is still inside of her, she just doesn't remember why.

"Well you will hold her when you're ready." Oliver says and she looks down to him. "But I think you should know I believe that the moment you do, you'll feel a whole lot better. It's kind of her superpower." she smiles and he does as well.

"You know I read online that you're going to some police gala tonight." she says and Oliver's eyes widen a bit. "I found Ari's laptop in the closet and have sort of been digging." Oliver frowned slightly, unsure if he wants her source of information to come from the internet.

"Well yeah, I've been working with the police to find some improvements, but I can stay here with you if you-"

"No," Katie says quickly and she notices a flash of disappointment over his features and she turns her hand to squeeze his. "Not like that, it's just, you're the Mayor. You should be doing Mayoral things like going to police galas, not babysitting your crazy amnesic..." for the life of her, wife just couldn't roll of her tongue and yet it didn't change the reality. "Wife. You should go." Oliver looked at her for a moment and gave a nod.

"Ok." he said still holding on to her hand. "It's just—uh-" a fumbling Oliver Queen made Katie smile even more. She's never seen him act this nervous before. He stops, takes a deep breath and looks up to her with a smile. "Did you want to come with me?"

"To the Gala?" Katie asks. Since returning, she hasn't really been faced with the outside world, except for the stint at the train station which resulted in what she think was a panic attack. She didn't want that to happen again, especially not at some important function. "I'm not sure I'm ready for that." he didn't seem as disappointed with the answer as she expected, which made her believe that it was the answer he did expect. The sound of Robyn's laughter sounded from upstairs that caused her parents to lift their eyes up. Katie once again placed a hand on her chest, before turning away and looking back to Oliver. "So I have it on good authority that you make some pretty awesome waffles." Oliver smiled before standing to his feet and holding out a hand to her. She looked to his out stretched hand before taking it and letting him help her to her feet.

"I don't want to brag, but I'd say they're kind of better than awesome." Oliver knew he had to be smiling like a fool right now because the smile on the woman's face in front of him only caused that flutter in his gut that only she could.

"Well I think I'll be the judge of that, and I'm kind of a harsh critic." she has no idea that she takes a step toward him, closing the space between them. There's a voice in her head screaming at her to back away, and yet that voice doesn't seem to over power that tingling underneath her skin and that nagging desire to reach out and slide her hands on his chest. They stand there, the silence between them, as they feel that air between them getting thick and filled with desire. Suddenly the doorbell rings, and they're forced out of the moment. "Right, I'll go check out the waffle situation and you can get the door." she doesn't give him the chance to respond before she moves around him and heads into the kitchen." The doorbell rang again, and Oliver heads down the stairs to pull it open. His eyes widened at the sight of the man he didn't expect to see.

"Constantine?" the blonde haired Brit smiled widely before peeking in the house.

"Hey there mate, mind if I—" Constantine attempted to walk into the house, but Oliver jerked up his arm to stop him. Oliver glanced back into the house before pushing Constantine back as he closed the door behind him. "So I'm assuming the reason you didn't call me is because you really don't want me here?"

"Bruce called you."

"He did, but it should've been you though."

"Look, she's fine. That thing is gone, and she's fine."

"Except for the whole memory loss thing, right?" Constantine asks with a shake of his head. "You know I distinctly remember you wanting me back here when she woke up, and now—" Oliver turned away from the man's gaze. "You're afraid of what I might find."

"You're not going to find anything, because she's fine," Oliver turned back to the man. "It's gone and my wife is back. We will work on getting her memories back."

"Yeah, but you have her in the house, with your kids. Shouldn't you make sure she really is alright?" Constantine asked and Oliver knew he was right, but he doesn't know what it is. He just knows it's gone. When he looks at his wife, he sees her. Maybe he just doesn't want to tempt fate with possibilities. "If she's fine, I'll find nothing. Hell, I might even be able to figure out why she can't remember anything."

"Fine, I will talk to her and see how she feels about this. I'll call you." Oliver takes a step back and Constantine simply nods before turning and walking away. Oliver watched the man until he walked down the sidewalk and finally out of view. He let out a sigh before stepping back inside the house where he was immediately struck with the sound of laughter from the kitchen. He hoped that feeling in his gut wasn't steering him wrong.

In the span of the next hour the entire house was quiet. Ari had gotten dressed and left for school. Thea had gotten a fussy Robyn ready and taken to daycare before going to city hall. Katie had showered and changed before climbing back on her bed and opening the laptop. In the last week, she'd searched what she felt was everything under the sun about herself. But she knew she wouldn't find everything. There was a big chunk she's sure she wouldn't be able to get from the internet. She stared at the screen for a moment before a smirk came to her face as she reached forward.

"Mayor Oliver Queen," she muttered as she typed. As soon as she pressed enter, she smiled when Oliver's face appeared. She let out a snort when she read the headline for one of the articles. "Mayor Handsome." she scrolled until she saw an article about a press conference Oliver would be speaking at in a couple of days. She pressed the link and began reading, and that's when she saw her name. She didn't look up at the knock on the door, or when the door openEd.

"Hey, I know I'm supposed to wait until you tell me to come in, but I have something for—" Oliver stopped at the sight of Katie lying on the bed, totally focused on something she was looking at on the screen. "Hey, what's wrong?" she lifted her eyes to him with a shake of her head.

"You're having a press conference about me?" she asked and Oliver let out a sigh before walking over to sit on the edge of the bed beside her to look at the screen. "I didn't think my return garnered a press conference."

"You underestimate your presence in this city." Oliver says looking over to the article before closing the laptop. He turns to Katie with a smile. "You've done a lot for the people in Star City. This city loves you and after the accident, and your coma, they were upset."

"And then I magically appeared in a train station and now they want answers." Katie says turning away. "I guess I understand. I just I never thought people would care that much about me being here." she turned back to Oliver and just shook her head. "Will I need to be at this press conference?"

"Not if you don't want to. There will be a lot of people there, a lot of press and I don't want you to step in that if you're not ready." she dropped her eyes for a moment before looking back over to him, never quite expecting the intensity of his gaze when he looks at her. She clears her throat before opening the laptop and pulling it to her lap.

"You said you had something for me?" Oliver's attention came back to the moment and he nodded as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a cell phone.

"Yeah, this is for you." Oliver says handing the phone to Katie. "My number is programmed into it, so are Thea's, Bruce's, and Felicity's." Katie looked down to the phone swiping a bit on the flat screen phoned with a slight frown.

"Four years, and even the phones are different." she said with a slight smile before looking up to Oliver.

"Call me for whatever reason, whenever you feel like it." he says and Katie chuckled. "I don't care why you're calling, I will answer."

"Well that's good to know." she glanced back down to the phone. "Were you headed to work?"

"Uh, yeah. I haven't really been in the office these last couple of days, but I could stay if you wanted me to. You'd be here alone and if you're not comfortable—" Oliver shook his head. "Actually, I'm going to just stay. They can call if they need something and—"

"Oliver," he stopped talking and turned back to her. "It's fine. I will be here when you come back." he looked at her for a moment, wondering if she'd just read his mind. He really didn't want to leave her here alone, and he certainly didn't want to leave her only to return to find that she was gone. She looked over to him, seeing that hesitance once again, and so she closed the laptop and turned her body to face him fully. "You're the Mayor of Star City."

"I know, but-"

"No buts, you are the mayor and it's your job to make sure the people of this city are safe and taken care of and you can't do any of that babysitting me." she looked down to tie, and it was a bit crooked and so she reached forward to straighten it, her hands falling to rest on his chest before looking back to those eyes that always felt as if he were staring down to her soul.

Oliver had never wanted to kiss anyone as much as he wanted to kiss the woman in front of him at the moment. His eyes chanced a look down to her parted lips and he could feel himself lean forward, but he stopped himself. He didn't want to move too quickly and scare her off which he's sure he would do with the pent up desires he has swirling around inside of him right now.

"Right, you should go," she pulled her hands back and slid away a bit from him, hoping space would clear away the sudden desire to pull him into bed with her. "And I'm just gonna-"

"Twinkie-" she turned to him and he sighed. "Sorry, Katie, you'll see a lot of things on the internet that just aren't true or aren't the complete truth. If I were you I just wouldn't hold much of it with a grain of salt." she gave him a nod and he could could see her deflate a bit and felt the need to give her hope. "There's somewhere I'd like to take you later." she turned back to him with a quirked brow. "The first stop on memory lane." she smiled and gave a nod.

"Sounds like a plan." he smiled before heading out of the room. She glanced down to the laptop and suddenly remembered the question she had for him. "Oh, there's something I was wondering about. Something I read on here—" Oliver stopped and turned back to her. "What is this Green Arrow business?" the man tried not to show his surprise at the question. "Is there really a guy out there shooting bad guys with arrows?" Oliver cleared his throat but gave a nod. This was a topic he hoped to avoid until she actually remembered more about their life. At the moment he's not sure it's something he should drop on her yet.

"Uh yeah, No one knows who he is, but he's been helping clean up the city." Oliver said and Katie looked at him for a moment before looking back down to the laptop. And now he was curious about what she thought. "So, any initial impressions on the guy?" Katie shrugged as she opened the laptop.

"Guy seems like an idiot. I mean who'd go out there trying to fight bullets with arrows. It's like he's trying to get himself killed." if she were looking over to her husband, she'd see the frown on his face at her words. "See you later, Liver." Oliver turned to leave, his hand going to pull open the door, only stopping when he realized what she'd just said. He turned back to her, and she looked up from the laptop to the man in confusion. "What?"

"Did you just called me Liver?" Katie dropped her eyes with a frown as she realized that she did. She shook her head before looking back over to him.

"I'm sorry, I don't know why I called you that, I-"

"Don't apologize." Oliver said with a smile as he took in a deep breath trying not to show just how happy he was to hear that damn nickname after feeling like he hadn't heard it in ages. "It's fine. It's your nickname for me." she looked at him for a moment turning away slightly.

"I made that stupid name stick?" she asked before looking back to him to see that smile still planted on his face. "And you actually like it."

"I do. I was your Liver, and you were my Twinkie. Together we were Twiver." Katie turned away once again, closing her eyes hoping something would come to her, even something small, and yet nothing. "Hey-"

"I don't remember," she whispered opening her eyes before turning back to Oliver. "I'm sorry,"

"Don't apologize, never apologize. It will happen, I know it will." for some reason she believed him. Beyond everything she felt, with that certainty in his eyes, she just believed him.

"Alright, enough optimism, go to work." she said, dropping her eyes back to the screen hoping to salvage what little self restraint she had left. Oliver simply chuckled before heading downstairs.

Oliver ignored the lingering stares on him as he entered City Hall. He's pretty sure no one expected him to show up today which is why they were all surprised to see him. He smiled, waved a bit until he finally reached his office. He snagged his phone from his pocket making sure he didn't have any missed calls from Katie which he knew was ridiculous. He hadn't been gone that long, and yet he was tempted to call her. There was a knock on his door and when he looked up, in walked his sister.

"Hey, I was just-" Thea trailed off as she looked over to her brother who looked back to his phone. "You want to call her?"

"Just to check in." Oliver says looking back to his sister. "To make sure everything is alright at the house and that's she's fine." he looked back down to the phone and just shook his head. "Actually I'm not going to call her." Thea watched in confusion as he picked up his brief case. "I'm just going to go back home." he headed for the door, but Thea took a step to the side to block him and he let out a groan of annoyance. "Thea-"

"Oliver, right now you have to give her some space. I know you're worried about her and want to be around her all the time, but she's not going anywhere. Memories or not, I see the way she looks at you. She may not remember this life, but a part of her knows this is where she belongs. So calm down, take a deep breath-" Oliver let out a deep breath. "And now put on a smile because you're just on time for the budget meeting." Oliver frowned before letting his sister pull him from the office.

Katie emerged from her room when she realized she truly was the only one there. She walked down the hall, her eyes moving across the pictures on the wall. It was still hard to believe that she was the one in these pictures, in these moments and yet she couldn't remember it. Right now she wasn't focusing on that. She was taking a break from actively trying to force memories and was just going to step away in hopes that they just returned on their own. She continued down the hall, her pace slowing as she looked down to the door that was slightly opened. Katie pushed opened fully the door to the nursery and let her eyes move across the room. She smiled as she looked at the yellow walls and the plush stuffed animals that filled the room. Her eyes were drawn to the pictures that hung on the wall all showing various moments in little Robyn's life. She settled on the one in the center, it was the picture she'd seen before of her and Oliver, she's in a hospital bed staring down to swaddled Robyn in her arms. The look on both of their faces in this moment she could only describe as what looked like real, pure happiness. She placed her hand on the picture wanting so badly to remember this moment. She turns and looks in the crib, picking up what looked like a stuffed banana wearing a sumbrero. Laughing at the funny thing she hugged it to her chest before walking over to take a seat in the rocking chair near the window. Sitting there she closed her eyes, breathing in the room. Rocking back and forth in the chair, Katie soon fell asleep.

With a gasp, Katie sat up her eyes wide as she glances around the room she's in. It's a room she doesn't think she can forget. The small, dimlit room that was her prison for years in the demon's fortress. She jumped to her feet going to door, and pulling on the latch, shocked it actually opened. Peeking her head out into the hall, she glanced down both ends glad none of the demon's assassins were patrolling. This was her chance to escape and she wasn't going to waste anymore time. She ran down the hall, not looking back, only forward for her freedom. There was a large wooden door up ahead and so she increased her speed, lifting her arm to barrel through. The door burst open and Katie came to a sliding halt as she came into the demon's war room where a fight was commencing. Her eyes widen because the two people inside the fight circle looked exactly like her. There only distinguishing traits to note was that one them was wearing an all yellow league attire, while the other wore all black. The fight itself seemed so brutal and bloody, as both women were covered in cuts and bruises. Katie wasn't sure if she should interfere, but soon she wouldn't as both women stopped and looked over to her. Suddenly the one in all black turned and ran toward her, but the one in yellow quickly ran after her, jumping on her back and forcing her to the ground before looking up to Katie.

"You shouldn't be here!" Yellow yelled toward Katie. Katie's eyes widen when the woman suddenly snapped the black clothed woman's neck before standing to her feet and walking toward her. Katie took a step back but the door behind her stopped her. "You should go."

"Who—who are you?" Katie asked staring at the mirror image of herself, and the woman smiled.

"Right now I'm your Guardian," she glanced over her shoulder to see the dark clothed woman groaning as she sat up. She turned back to Katie, glancing down to her hands and seeing the stuffed banana and smiled. "Jose Banana," she looked back up to Katie and smiled. "It's time for you to go."

"Wait, you're—" Katie soon realized who she was looking at. "You're her...or me. You're the me who remembers. You have to come back. They want you, not me."

"I can't, I—" she glanced over her shoulder and took a deep breath preparing to go back into battle. She looked back to Katie. "Just take care of them, and don't come back here." Katie's eyes looked down to the woman's hand seeing it glowing before she pressed it to Katie's chest.

Katie's eyes flicked open, with a loud gasp as she stood to her feet. Her eyes darted around the room, realizing she was back in the nursery. She looked down to the stuffed toy in her hand and lifted it.

"Jose Banana." she stared at it for a moment when suddenly she sees the image of the toy sitting on a counter before she picks it up and sits down next to a few pregnancy tests. She lifts her eyes from the stuffed toy and lets out a ragged breath. It was the first memory she's had since being back and she doesn't even know what it means. She darts from the nursery to her bedroom where she quickly grabs her phone.

Oliver barely made it out of that budget meeting without falling asleep. Now he was at a lunch meeting he really didn't want to be attending. He glanced over to Thea who sat beside him. She wasn't really needed at the meeting, but she insisted because of who the meeting was with. Thea looked up from her phone, a scowl taking over her features as she spotted the woman across the restaurant.

"Here she comes." Thea says and Oliver turns as well and they stand to their feet as Annabelle walks over all smiles.

"So sorry I'm late," she says taking Oliver's hand to shake before turning to Thea the smile dropping slighltly. "Ms. Queen, hi, I wasn't expecting you at this meeting."

"Well as Oliver's Chief of Staff, I want to know exactly what kind of involvement you're looking to have with him in this new project."

"Of course," Annabelle turned to Oliver and gestured for him to sit. "Why don't we get down to business then." They all sat around the table and both Oliver and Thea turned to the woman. "So I wanted to meet with you to hopefully get your support on an idea we think could have an incredible impact on the city."

"Well I'm always interested in ways we can help this city," Oliver replied. Annabelle's smile widened and Thea had restrain herself from rolling her eyes. "And what's this idea?"

"Ok, so the New Beginning's Initiative, was great, it helped flood our economy with a much needed workforce. It helped bring jobs and just helped bring people together, but I think it could be better. RI is toiling with the idea of making the initiative more profitable, for the company, for this city, and for the people of Star City." Oliver glanced over to Thea who looked at the woman with a slight frown before he turned back to the woman. "At the moment, the initiative allows local business owner to freely request needed employees for their businesses."

"Right, it's a program that's supposed to help businesses and citizens in need of work through job training and direct hire programs. That's the whole purpose of the initiative." Thea commented trying to keep her tone void of the agitation and annoyance she held solely for this woman.

"Yes, but with the extra profits coming into these businesses, wouldn't it make sense for a service like this to be valued more?"

"You want to charge people to request services from the initiative?" Oliver asked hoping that's not what the woman was getting at.

"You say that like it's a bad thing. The world is built on the fact that everything worth having comes at a price. Whether you believe it or not, the NBI is a product that is showing it's value every day it's used. A product my company developed—"

"Not your company." Thea sneered and Annabelle turned to her with a frown. "Katie and Ray didn't develop this initiative to make money, it was never about money, it was about helping the people in this city."

"And neither one of them are currently heading up this initiative. Neither one of them are the CEO of my company. It's my job to see what was, and what can be, and though the NBI was good for what it was at the time, I believe that it can put so much more into this city." she turned back to Oliver and gave the bright eyed smile that showed all of her teeth. "Mayor Queen, you've stood behind this initiative from the beginning and I'm asking you to continue to stand behind it's next phase as the Greater Beginning's Initiative." she reached over, and placed her hand on top of Oliver's, a move that caused Thea to stand, but Oliver held up his hand to his sister before turning back to Annabelle.

"I'm sorry Annabelle," Oliver pulled his hand from the woman. "As my Chief of Staff mentioned, this initiative was never for profit which is why it has helped pushed this city forward. Ray Palmer and my wife created this program thinking only of this city, thinking only of the people and that's what I stand behind. I will not offer my support of this initiative and I doubt my wife will either."

"Excuse me?" Annabelle seemed confused by that statement.

"Oh, you don't know?" Thea asked and the blonde turned to her seeing the smile come to her lips. "Well when Katherine Queen stepped down as CEO of Robin's Incorporate, part of her exit contract included a clause as a majority shareholder. That clause was negotiated by Jacob Robin's before his death. You see it gave his daughter his company, and in the event that she could not be CEO anymore, she was to keep a large portion of the company's shares that even the board could undo. You're gonna need her vote to get this passed and I doubt you will." she looked over to Oliver with a satisfied smile of her face. "And then there's Wayne Enterprises, so I doubt this little initiative will ever see the light of day." she turned back to Annabelle before standing to her feet. "This meeting is over, and from this day on all meetings between the Mayor and RI will be handled with your COO, Mr. Carroll." Thea walked around the table to stand above the woman. "If you touch the Mayor inappropriately again, I will hit you with the biggest sexual harassment suit you've ever seen." Thea smiled at the woman sweetly before turning to Oliver. "Ready?" Oliver looked over to his sister a bit shocked, but mostly impressed as he stood to his feet and turned to leave, not even sparing a glance to Annabelle as they left. Oliver looked over to his sister as they stood outside the restaurant waiting for their car.

"You know I could've handled that, right?" Oliver asked and Thea looked over to him and chuckled.

"I know, but I just had to." Thea said as the valet pulled the car in. "I've been wanting to tell that woman off for months now." Oliver pulled open the door for his sister who was still smiling and he just shook his head. He walked around to the other side to get in when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out, looking down to the number before quickly answering. "Hey, Katie, what's wrong?"

Katie found herself sitting on the bed, phone pressed to her ear now hesitating. Did she really call him to tell him about remembering some stupid stuffed animal?

"Katie?"

"Hi, I-" she looked down to the stuffed toy and just sighed. "I just wanted to call. I guess I have no reason. You're probably busy and I'm being weird, I'm sorry, I'll—"

"Wait, no I told you to call whenever you wanted and that includes random, no reason calls. I don't mind those, and I'm never too busy for them." Oliver said and the smile tugged at Katie's lips. This man couldn't be this sweet all time, she thought.

"Ok, well even so, I think I mind taking away your time you should be dedicating to the city, so I'm going to hang up. I'll see ya later I guess." she ended the call with a shake of her head before tossing the phone on the bed. "Such an idiot," she looked over to the stuffed banana and sighed. "It's just a toy." she stood to her feet and headed for the bathroom when the sound of beeping caused her to stop. She turned, the sound coming from the laptop. She frowned before walking over and flipping it open. There was something blinking at the bottom of the screen, and soon Ari's twitter feed appeared and Katie frowned as the text seemed to be moving quickly. Tweets and chirps kept coming right after the other and Katie could barely read them, but it was when a picture appeared did she finally realize why everything was going crazy. It was picture of Oliver in some restaurant, sitting across from a woman who was holding his hand and smiling at him as he stared at her. Katie couldn't stop looking at the picture no matter how heartbreaking it was.

That was the Oliver she knew. The Oliver she recognized. The Oliver who said sweet things to her while staring lovingly at skinny blondes in public restaurants. She slaps the laptop closed and stands to her feet with a huff, unsure what to do.

Thea looked over to her brother who currently wore a big smile on his face as he looked out the window of the car. She couldn't help but smile as well. She knows how hard for him it was when Katie was gone. The pain and sadness he held onto without showing it to any of them. She could truly say that the day Katie was pronounced dead was the day a part of her brother died too. And then she came back as something evil that caused mayhem, before ending up in that coma. She was just glad that Katie coming back also brought the life back to her big brother's eyes. They'd only pulled in front of city hall when her phone beeped. She looked down to see numerous notifications popping up. She opened the first one and her mouth dropped opened.

"You have got to be shitting me." she muttered and Oliver glanced over to her as she looked to him before turning her phone for him to see the picture. His eyes widened as he grabbed the phone to get a closer look of the image of he and Annabelle at the restaurant, her hand holding his, and he cringed at the headline above it.

"Mayor Handsome becomes Mayor Cheater." he looks over to Thea who is just shaking her head. "What the hell is this? Who took this picture?"

"I don't know, but I'll try to get this article taken down." Thea says grabbing her phone and emailing the public relations department. She glanced over to her brother who turned to look out the window, before he quickly took out his cell phone and called Katie. He listened to the incessant ringing before it went to voice mail.

"Fuck," he pulled the phone from his ear and looked up to his driver. "I need to go home, now!"

"You think she saw the photo?" Thea asked and Oliver shook his head.

"She has a cell phone, and she has a computer." Oliver slid a hand across his face in frustration. "Thea if she sees this, and I don't get a chance to explain—"

"Hey, that's not going to happen. She's not going to leave." Thea tried reassuring her brother, but she's not sure it's working. She knows he's afraid of losing her again. When they pulled in front of the house, Oliver quickly jumped out, running inside, glancing around before heading up the stairs.

The bedroom door was cracked opened and he pushed it further only to find it empty. He walked over to the bathroom, but there was no one inside. Oliver turned, panic racing in his chest as he rushes down the hall peeking in each of the rooms before coming back downstairs. He looks over the rooms before coming into the kitchen where he finds Thea.

"Ollie, don't panic."

"Don't panic?!" Oliver says clearly panicking. "My wife is gone and I have no idea where she is." he turned around, pulling out his phone and pressing a single button.

Felicity let out a deep moan as Bruce's lips kissed and nipped along her neck and shoulder. She was currently propped up on one of the tables as Bruce's lips did wonders, his hands sliding up her thigh as his fingers dips under the elastic of her panties eliciting another moan she doesn't even attempt to suppress. This was definitely not supposed to be happening right now. He was supposed to be helping her with finding possible candidates for Oliver to vet for a new team.

"Whoa!" a voice said and Bruce and Felicity quickly untangled themselves from each other and turned to see Curtis now with his back turned to them. "That was definitely not the first thing I expected to see when I came down here." Bruce turned back to Felicity and sighed before the woman slid from the table, pulling her skirt down.

"Curtis, hey, hi, sorry you had to walk in on that," Felicity said looking over to the man, his back still turned. "You can turn around." Curtis reluctantly turned around looking between the pair. "Sometimes we get carried away, but we know that should absolutely not happen here. Don't we, Bruce?" she looked over to Bruce who looked over to her without a word, but his expression spoke for him, and she couldn't help the smile as she lightly swat his arm before turning to Curtis. "Right, so, I have some people I think could be good for the new team if you want to-"

"Actually that's not why I'm here." Curtis says walking over to sit behind one of the computers. "Oliver called me. Katie's missing."

"Wait, what?" Felicity looked over to Bruce whose expression suddenly went dark before he headed over to stand behind Curtis and Felicity followed. They both looked down to the screen to see a GPS search in progress. "Wait, does she have a tracker?"

"Oliver says he gave her a cell phone which I may have, against my better judgment, installed a locator upon his request. I thought he was being a bit paranoid, but maybe I was wrong."

"No, he's definitely being paranoid," Felicity says looking down to the location on the screen before turning and dialing Oliver's number. "Oliver, before you say anything, let me say that putting a tracking device in Katie's phone is beyond—" she paused and let out a sigh. "Yes, we know where she is and—" he interrupted her again. "And she's not running away Oliver. Sometimes people just need time to themselves and she deserves that too." she let out a huff. "No, I won't tell you where she is." Felicity ended the call and looked over to Bruce and Curtis who looked over to her and she just shrugged. Soon Curtis' phone rang and when he pulled it out, he actually looked a bit scared. "Curtis—"

"He's scares me."

"I scare you, remember?" Felicity said and the man looked over to her. "She obviously wants to be alone and we are going to give that to—" without a word, Bruce headed toward the elevator. "Bruce, don't—Bruce, just—" he wasn't listening as he stepped onto the elevator. Felicity let out a huff before turning back to Curtis who'd just typed something on his phone. "What did you just send?" Curtis stood to his feet and began backing away.

"No-nothing, just-" Felicity inched toward him and his eyes widened. "Felicity, why are you looking at me like that?"

Katie sat on a park bench, her eyes staring down to the ducks currently eating the bread crumbs she'd just tossed. She doesn't know how long she's been sitting out here, but she knows she just needed to get away from that house and that stupid picture she couldn't stop thinking about. For a minute there she truly did believe that Oliver had changed, but he was still that guy who'd always let her down in the end. She just hates that this time she really didn't expect it. Foot steps behind her tore her from her thoughts, and she turned frowning at the sight of Bruce.

"Bruce, what the hell are you doing here?" she asked glancing around before turning back to him. "How did you find me?"

"That doesn't matter, what matters is why you're here." Bruce says walking over and she stood to her feet and backed away from the man. "Robins-"

"No, I think how you found me matters more than why I'm here." she says when she hears more steps and when she turns, her eyes go wide at the sight of Oliver. "What—how the hell did you find me?"

"Robins, we were just worried about you. You disappeared and didn't tell anyone where you were going."

"Yeah, because I'm an adult and can come sit at the park when I get the urge!" she turned to Oliver who walked over to her, and she took another step back. "Stay the hell away from me. One of you tell me how you found me." Oliver let out a sigh.

"The phone I gave you earlier." Oliver says and Katie looks over to him in confusion as she takes the phone out of her bag.

"You tracked my phone?" she looked back over to the man. "Am I seriously just not allowed to come to the park by myself?"

"Of course you are, I just—" Oliver dropped his head, realizing he probably should've listened to Felicity. Instead he let his fear drive him to this insane moment he's not even able to explain.

"Robins-"

"You should go, Bruce." Oliver said and Bruce turned to him with a furrowed brown. "I can handle this, you can go." his tone left no confusing implications about what he wanted and so Bruce cast one final glance over to Katie before turning and stalking away. "Twinkie-"

"Don't call me that, you-" she growled in annoyance before throwing the phone on the ground and stomping it a few times before looking back over to him. "Just go away, I don't want to see you." she turned and sat back down on the bench and Oliver let out another deep breath as he realized from her words that she did see that picture and now she was upset. He knows he should turn around, let her cool off, but he can't. He can't walk away from this woman with her thinking that he would ever dishonor their marriage in anyway. And so he walked over and took a seat on the bench. She let out a huff before standing to her feet to flee.

"I know you saw the picture, but it's not what you think!" he called and she turned her darkened gaze toward him. He was finding that everyday she was back, he was able to read those emotions more clearly.

"So you weren't on some date with the CEO of my father's company?"

"No, absolutely not." Oliver says taking a step forward, but she once again backed away, and each time she did it, his heart ached. "It was a business meeting. That picture didn't capture the fact that Thea was sitting at that table as well." Katie shook her head turning away and looking back out to the pond. "It wasn't a date."

"Why was she holding your hand?" Katie asked turning back to the man. "Is there a lot of hand holding during your business meetings?"she rolled her eyes once again turning away, but she stopped and turned back to him. "You know I really believed it. This picture of us as the happy couple, where I loved you and you loved me and nothing else mattered. I believed it because I wanted it, but I guess that was a fantasy too, huh?"

"You don't believe that." Oliver ignores that pit in his stomach caused by the fear of her walking away from him. "Deep down, you know that's not true. You know that picture is bogus and you know that I love you, and you love me, and nothing else matters. That's not a fantasy. It's our reality." Katie dropped her eyes not sure what to believe. Her head and her heart were warring and she didn't know which one to follow. She took a deep breath before meeting his gaze.

"Oliver, I have a daughter, and we have Ari, so whatever this fear you have of me running away isn't going to happen. Sometimes I just want to be alone and you will have to be alright with that. You will just have to know that I will come back."

She was right, and he knew she was right, but for months she wasn't here. For five months her life hung in the balance. She's been back a week, and that irrational fear that he's going to lose her is still pulsing under his skin and he can't just ignore it and pretend that it's not there. She wasn't looking at him right now, her eyes over to the pond before she turns back to him.

Katie just shook her head. "I still need time to figure out what I actually feel about all of this because right now I'm so confused. It's just a lot, with you and these stupid pictures and freaking Jose Banana, I just—I need time."

This wasn't supposed to happen. That thought kept playing over and over in his head. Of everything she questions, his love for her should never be one of them. But she needed time and he would give it to her.

Oliver silently nodded. "Ok."

"I'm going to take a cab home." she doesn't wait for his response before she turns and leaves him there.

"Fuck!" he shakes his head about to go after her, when his phone suddenly rings. He agressively snatches it from his pocket. "What?!"

"Uh, hey Oliver, it's Curtis, I was calling with good news."

"What is it Curtis?"

"Machin, I think I found him and his bomb."

Oliver lets out a huff as he turned and headed back to his car. He really needed to hit something right now, and he thinks Lonnie Machin would be the perfect punching bag.

"I'm on my way."

When Katie returned back to the house, she heard rushed movement from upstairs. She quirked a brow as she went up the stairs where she saw a quickly moving Thea rushing into her room wearing only a robe. Katie eased over to the woman's doorway just as Thea plopped down in front of her vanity to do her makeup.

Thea looked up and smiled when she spotted Katie. "Hey there. I heard you caused a bit of ruckus."

"I just needed some air. I went to this pond I used to go to as a kid." Katie shook her head as she walked over to take a seat on the edge of Thea's bed. She looked over to the young woman, still not believing how much she's grown up. "I did find out your brother put a tracker in my phone."

Thea turned to her with slight smile. "Some would call it romantic."

"I mean if by romantic you mean psychotic, then yes."

"He's scared."

"I know that, I do and I would like to help him get over this fear that I'm just going to disappear."

"Well I don't think you can." Thea walked over to sit beside Katie on the bed. "Katie you were gone for a long time. Everyone had hope that you would wake up, but we all were afraid of the possibility that we would have to prepare for the moment it wouldn't happen. My brother, though he would never show it, desperately missed you. And now you're back and he's afraid something else will take you away from him." Katie turned away from Thea and sighed. "So you saw the picture."

"I did."

"And you know it's shit, right?" Thea asked and Katie closed her eyes and stood to her feet. "Twinkie-" Katie let out a snort and turned to the woman. "I get you hate it, but it's our thing ok. You're Twinkie, I'm Speedy, we have embraced our annoying nicknames. Katie that picture-"

"I know," Katie turned back to Thea and shrugged. " I don't know how I know or why I feel it so strongly, but I know that picture is bull shit."

"He loves you. Like, my brother is head over heels, over the moon in love with you."

"Annabelle Grey," Katie turns to Thea and folds her arms over her chest. Thea lets out a snort and stands to her feet. "Who is she, and can I hit her?"

Thea chuckled with a shake of her head. "Well I gave her a few choice words at that meeting. She just rubs me the wrong way, and when she's with Ollie she—" Thea stopped herself, turning to Katie who stared with a quirked brow. She should probably stop adding fuel to Katie's desire to hit the woman. "I've handled it. She and Ollie won't be meeting anytime soon."

Katie nods. "That's good to know I guess. I'm not even sure how I would even-" Robyn's cries echoed down the hall and Katie turned about to go to her, but she stopped and Thea watched her curiously. Katie stood there for a moment before turning back to Thea. "You should-" Thea nodded before hurrying out of the room to check on the child and Katie hated herself for it. She had no idea what this anxiety was that stopped her from going to that baby, but she knows she needs to get over it somehow. She remembers absolutely nothing about her life and yet she feels the strong connection to a child she hasn't even held yet.

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 again."

"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.

She was ready for this, Ari thought. She wore her dark jeans, and black hoodie that was tossed over her head to cover her red hair, paired with the cute leather jacket she liked. She was totally unrecognizable. Over her face she wore the domino mask she'd snagged from the bunker the last time she was there. She did notice her palms were sweaty as she held the sais in her hand. She'd snagged her laptop from Katie's room when she came home just in time to see the notifications of the unexplained energy surge that was located in the middle of this abandoned warehouse. She knows she should call Oliver, but he was busy, being the Mayor and taking care of Katie, and he needed help whether he knew it or not. Plus this was her chance to prove how valuable she could be to the cause.

Ari took in a deep breath. "You've trained for this." which she had. She'd sneak out and meet with Nyssa who trained her in some sort of weird marshal arts she could never pronounce correctly. But she was good at it. Nyssa called her a natural. "You can do this." she heard some sort of beeping up ahead and she stopped the moment she saw the source. "That's a tricked out bomb," she quickly ran over letting her eyes scan over it. "Four bombs." she swallowed the nervousness in her throat. "It's fine, you can do this. You've been studying this guy and the materials, you can disarm this." she dropped her backpack on the ground and rummaged through it, glancing up to the time clock with a shake of her head. "Alright Felicity, lets see what your toys can do?" she inserted the flash drive before taking out her tablet and connecting. She froze at the sound of movements and grunting, and when she turned around, her eyes widened at the sight of The Green Arrow and Lonnie Machin falling from the ceiling. "Oh shit," she was definitely in trouble. She turned back to the bomb, figuring if she could disarm the bomb, maybe her punishment wouldn't be as bad. She began typing furiously, when something appeared out the corner of her eyes. She glanced up to see another guy, this one wearing a hockey mask. "The hell—" suddenly an arrow is shot into the bomb and when she turns she sees the Green Arrow punch Machin, knocking him out before stalking toward her. She begins backing away as she glances back to the screen able to see the functions that are controlling the bomb, and looking down to it she realizes it's going to take some time trying to disarm it.

"Move!" Hockey mask guy shoves Ari out of the way to get to the bomb and she stumbles back a bit.

"Hey, don't-" Ari doesn't get a chance to say anything before the Green Arrow grabs Hockey mask guy and tosses him away from the bomb before turning to her. She doesn't say anything, figuring he probably doesn't know who she is...at least she hopes. She glances back down to her and tablet, furiously typing, trying the disconnect the bomb from it's power source, when suddenly the screen goes black and the words, "YOU'RE IN TROUBLE" appear. Felicity must've beat her to it, Ari thought. She looks back up to the Green Arrow who stalks toward her, before Hockey mask guy jumps back up.

Green Arrow grabs him and pushes him into the brick column. "I thought I told you to stay off the streets!"

"It's my city, too!"

"You want to help?"

"Yeah."

"Then make a donation to the police department." The Green Arrow turns back to Ari, and stalks toward her. "And keep that elevated."

"Keep what elevated?" Hockey mask guy asks, and without a word, the Green Arrow turns, and shoots the man in the leg with an arrow eliciting a pained scream from the man.

Ari stands there too afraid to run away as he grabs her bag and shoves it into her arms. She doesn't even say anything when he grabs her arm and pulls her with him. She expected yelling, but he doesn't say anything. He's walking fast, his eyes ahead when she looks over to him. She wants to speak, to plead her case, but she's smart enough to know that will definitely not go over well. When they go outside, she spots his bike, but he suddenly stops.

"What—" before she can even ask the question, Oliver pushes her down before turning, not expecting to see his wife standing there staring at him. His eyes widen as she looks from him to the teen he's grasping and he sees the darkened glare that she turns to him.

"Let her go!" Katie growls still stalking toward them. Oliver doesn't say anything before he looks down to Ari and gives a nod before she stands to her feet and runs over to Katie. Katie brings her arms around the girl the moment she's close to her. She pulls back, frowning at the mask she's wearing before turning back to the hooded man who's still watching them. "You don't know me, but I promise you that if you come near her again, I will kill you." Katie grabbed Ari's arm and pulled her toward her car.

"That was unexpected." Felicity's voice sounded from the comlink.

Oliver stood there frozen as he watched his wife stalking away from him and he's not even sure why he's stuck.

"Are you ok?"

He watched her car drive away, unable to ignore that ravaging of his insides. That fear that he was going to lose her. What if she finds out about the Green Arrow and isn't as receptive as she was before? What if she leaves him because of this?

"Oliver, are you ok?"

He wasn't. "Yeah, I'm fine." he turns and slides onto his bike, taking a deep breath.

"Good, because your sister has been calling non-stop." Oliver lets out a sigh before cranking the engine.

"I'm late." he says peeling off.

Katie pulled into the driveway, and shut off the car. The drive was silent, because she honestly had no idea how to begin this conversation. She looked over to Ari who hadn't moved either.

"Ok, first you get to explain yourself." Katie says and Ari turns to her. Katie shakes her head before reaching forward, and pulling the mask from her face. Ari turns away, definitely not expecting this chance to actually be able to speak. She wasn't sure what to say. Her cousin doesn't know about the hero business so there's a big chunk of story she's not sure she can say. Is she supposed to lie? She doesn't really want to. She looks over to her cousin who's still awaiting an explanation.

Ari turns back to the house, and begins biting her nails, a nervous habit she thought she got over a while ago.

"I uh, wanted to help."

"Help with what, exactly?"

"That man I went there for, his name is Lonnie Machin. He's a bad guy." she turns back to Katie and nods. "He planted a bomb and was going to detonate it and hurt a lot of people."

"And how do you know this?"

"I've been following his story." she sighs. "Things he's done, and with a little minor computer hacking I was able to figure out that he was building a bomb. And then a carefully calculated algorithm designed to recognize heat signatures and I was able to find him and his bombs." Katie stared at the teenager with a frown as she turned away to look up to the house. She was once again at a loss with the computer hacking and the algorithms.

"So you went to that factory to disarm a bomb and to stop a bad guy?" Katie asked stilling trying to understand what the hell was happening. Her teenage cousin just told her she was out crime fighting and she's trying so hard not to have a mental breakdown right now.

"I was, but then the Green Arrow showed up and sort of saved the day." Ari says watching her cousin who hadn't turned back to face her. "He wasn't hurting me. He was gonna get me to safety. Probably yell at me." the car once again filled with silence. "Katie, really I just wanted to-"

Katie shakes her head before turning back to the girl. "You're fifteen. You're a child. You are never to be in rooms with bad guys and bombs and arrow wielding psychopaths." she held up the mask. "This is over. Do you understand me?" Ari turned away from her without a word. "Arianna Louise Locke, I recently found out that I am your Guardian. It is my job to keep you safe, it is my job to make sure absolutely nothing terrible happens to you, and I will ensure that." Ari still wasn't looking at her. "Look at me." Ari complied, seeing the seriousness in her cousin's eyes. She's seen a familiar look in Oliver's eyes, but there was something different in the gaze of her cousin. Something that tied itself to something inside of Ari and made her nod her head. "You are grounded indefinitely, we are going to strip your room completely of anything that needs a power source. You will be safe, and I will make sure of that anyway I have to. Get in the house." Ari silently turned, getting out of the car and rushing inside. Katie turned her eyes back to the domino mask, unable to not feel some kind of familiarity with the item. She held it up, letting her finger slide across it before shaking her head and getting out of the car. She headed toward the door, when one of the guards came from around the house.

He walked over to her. "Mrs. Queen—"

"You're Steve, right? Head of the security, guarding this house?"

"Yes, and I'm—"

"If Ari sneaks out of this house one more time and you or none of your men catch her, every last one of you will be fired, do you understand me?"

"Yes, ma'am." he says with a sharp nod. "I take personal responsibility. She's gotten creative with evading us, but we will get more creative."

"Well you better." Katie turns and stalks into the house, not expecting to see Bruce once again, this time sitting on her steps. "Why are you here?" she strips off her jacket and heads for the kitchen and Bruce follows behind her.

"Felicity was supposed to be babysitting but she got caught up and asked me to cover for her until she got here." Bruce watched as Katie looked around the kitchen, pulling open the cabinets in search of something. "What are you looking for?"

"Booze." she sees a cabinet that's locked and she looks at it before looking around the kitchen. "Where's the key?" she looks over to Bruce who shrugs. She rolls her eyes before seeing the tenderizer mallet and smiles.

Oliver arrived just in time, even though he was a bit out of breath as he stepped inside of the gala hearing his sister speaking.

"The mayor will be making his official statement on the anti-crime initiative at the upcoming press conference , but-"

Oliver took a step forward to make his presence known. "But he can say a few words now." he glanced over to the annoyed expression of his sister but continued. "The A.C.I. is an important step towards lowering crime in the city, but I'm not going to consider it without some major reform."

Reporters began closing in on the man, cameras and tape recorders held up. "What type of reforms?"

"Uh, to start, an investigation into allegations of widespread corruption within the police department." Oliver answered and Thea quickly stepped forward to grab her brother's arm.

"Ok. Mayor Queen will elaborate on all comments at the scheduled press conference this Saturday." she pulled Oliver away from the reporters. "Thank you all very much." once they were a good distance away, she leaned over to him. "You realize you just accused the police department of being corrupt at the police department gala?"

"I answered a question."

"Yeah, and you also just put the blame on the police department instead of taking responsibility for the city's crime."

"You know I'm taking responsibility."

"Yes, the other guy, but as the mayor, it looks like you're sleep walking, ok?" she shook her head. "Showing up late again is not helping that perception." Oliver let out a huff, turning away from his sister in search of a drink. "Ari?"

"She's fine. I was about to take of her home when Katie showed up." Oliver turned to the wide eyes of his sister.

"Did she—"

"Recognize me, no, but she did threaten to kill me if I came near Ari again." Thea let out a snort and Oliver turned to her and she just shrugged.

"Hey, I'm sorry, I just don't know what else you expected to happen in that moment. She doesn't know about your alter ego or your nightly adventures. So until she does I would try to keep Ari out of the abandoned warehouses at night. Twinkie would definitely kill you if something happened to her.

"Yeah, and I'd let her." Oliver sighed. "Look I'm sorry I'm late. Being the mayor gives me access to actionable Intel as "the other guy." It's a means to an end."

"Well, it didn't start off like that, Ollie. You wanted to become and then became the mayor to actually be mayor."

"Even if we weren't dealing with a corrupt police department, and we are, or an electorate that thinks I got all my political knowledge by binge-watching "The West Wing," or a teenager who wants to fight crime because of me, or a wife who doesn't remember that I'm her husband and is slowly pulling away from me, I still wouldn't be able to focus on being mayor, Speedy, because I'm flying solo as the other guy."

Thea rolled her eyes as she turned away. It wasn't the first time Oliver played the sympathy card to get her to return to the hood. "Ok, nice try. Talk to the controller about tax initiatives and councilman Garcia about sanitation. I also put the applications for deputy mayor on your desk. I'm going to go drink."

Bruce watched as Katie poured her third shot of tequila, tossing it back without hesitation.

"Maybe you should slow down."

"Maybe you should shut up," she replied with a deep voice he's sure was supposed to sound like him. "I've had a terrible day that ended with me finding my cousin-" she glanced over to Bruce, not sure she should reveal the whole crime fighting debacle. "I just want to drink and forget."

"Drinking doesn't make you forget, trust me I've gone down that road and back. Forgetting, avoiding, that's not how problems get solved." Katie looked over to him as she poured another shot and drank it.

"I guess we're going to find out."

Oliver came to the bunker to hide out, but he didn't expect to see Curtis and Felicity.

"What are you two still doing here?" He walked over to see Curtis working on something underneath one of the computers. "It's late."

"That's what I told her, but she's been complaining that the secondary processor keeps overclocking the GPU cache." Oliver looked over to the man in confusion before turning to Felicity.

"Must be nice to have someone down here who speaks Felicity." the woman laughed before standing to his feet. "I thought you were—"

"Babysitting, I was until tonight's series of unfortunate events happened. Bruce has the pleasure of playing the manny tonight." Oliver frowned but Felicity just shook her head. "Don't worry I just texted him. Robyn is asleep and Ari and Katie are back home." Oliver sighed turning away with a shake of his head. "Looks like the vigilante club is getting bigger." Oliver turned back to her with an unamused look as she handed him a folder. He flipped it open, looking down to a sketch of the Hockey masked man he'd been running into lately.

"What is this?"

"A little dossier on Wild Dog." Felicity said, and Oliver looked over to her.

"Wild Dog?"

Felicity chuckled. "Yeah, you know, because of the shirt. Silly dog just didn't really have the same ring to it."

"I suggested the "wild."" Curtis said proudly with a smile, but it dropped when he saw the unimpressed look on Oliver's face.

"Right, and why do I need a dossier on him?"

"I was thinking, instead of putting an arrow in him, you might consider bringing him into the fold." Felicity said leaning over the folder. "Ok, I know it's not the most enticing of recruitment pitch plans, but there are plenty of candidates willing to compensate for our ineffectual-slash- corrupt police department." she pointed to the monitors behind her showing the images of other vigilantes she'd found. "Evelyn Sharp, Mr. Ski Goggles. Still work-shopping that codename."

Oliver handed her back the folder. "I'm not—I'm not putting together a new team. Felicity it's fine, I'm not holding anything against you and Bruce for leaving. You don't have to do this."

"I think us leaving proves why this needs to happen. In case you haven't noticed, we're a little shorthanded. Plus you're juggling a lot right now, with Twinkie back, she kind of needs your focus too."

Oliver's jaw clenched, but he reigned in his annoyance. "I know Felicity, and I'm trying, I really am to be everything she needs me to be right now. I can do this. I can be the mayor and take care of my wife and kids while handling the assholes on the streets." Felicity took the folder and sighed. "I can handle this." he turned, looking over to the elevator, but paused, still not ready to go home. Felicity glanced over to Curtis, giving him a nod.

"Why don't I check on that processor." he says before walking back over to the computer. Felicity walks over to stand beside Oliver, her eyes looking over to the doors of the elevator.

"It's ok to admit that you can't handle this." Felicity said and Oliver sighed. "I guess that's one of those things you're going to have to see to believe, so I will leave it. We should talk about Ari-"

"You gave her access to the systems here, and now she thinks she has to help me."

"In my head, I wasn't thinking she'd go this far." Oliver turned a quirked brow toward her and she sighed. "You're right, I'm sorry, I can admit that was truly a bad decision. Curtis and I will work on restricting her access. That might not stop her though. She's actually pretty impressive." Oliver turned around and let his eyes look over the bunker.

"Twinkie said she thinks the Green Arrow is an idiot. Some guy out there fighting arrows with bullets." Felicity let out a snort and Oliver turned to her and she shook her head.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean—" Felicity turned away from him and looked over to the Guardian's suit. "It's just she's always thought you were a bit of an idiot for doing all of this." she looked over to the man who looked at the suit as well. "She also thought you were brave. I mean when she found out about all of this, she hounded you about letting her help you." Oliver smiled remembering his wife's determination. "You should tell her about all of this." Oliver turned to Felicity who gave a smile. "I think she might surprise you." she nudged his arm. "Plus you're not going to be able to keep this from her for too much longer, unless you plan on telling her your mayoral duties keep you out all night." Oliver turned back to the Guardian's suit and sighed. Felicity's phone beeped and she looked down to the text message from Bruce. "Uh, Oliver you should get home."

Oliver turned to Felicity quickly, suddenly worried and she just shook her head. "Everything's fine, it's just—" she looked down to her phone and sighed. "There's an old friend waiting for you."

When Oliver returned home, he rushed into the house, looking around for any sign of trouble. He looked up the steps, before hearing a noise from the kitchen. He walked quickly, pushing through the door, stopping at the sight of the back door wide open.

Oliver walked over to see Bruce standing at the top of the porch. "Bruce?" Bruce glanced over to him before turning back around. When Oliver walked over, he stopped to see his wife lying in the middle of yard in the grass, staring up to the sky. "Drunk Twinkie?"

"Half a bottle of tequila and now she's looking up to the sky trying to determine the meaning of life." Oliver turned to the man who chuckled. "Have fun with that. Baby's sleep, teen is awake, but safe in her room." Bruce glanced back over to Katie and shook his head. "You know I think you're right."

"About what?"

"I think it's gone." Oliver turned to him, seeing the man still staring at Katie. "Today was rough on her, a lot happened, and she was angry and confused and sad and she just handled it." he let out a snort. "I mean besides the getting drunk part." he turned back to Oliver and sighed. "I think it's gone."

"Thanks Bruce." Oliver turned back to his wife before walking down the steps and going over to her. She didn't look over to him as he stood over her. Just continued to look up to the sky. "So I hear you've been drinking. Which seems impossible since the alcohol drawer is locked and Thea and I have the only keys."

She giggled. "Broke the lock." Oliver couldn't help the smile that tugged on his lips.

"Do you want to be alone?" he asked and her gaze shifted to meet his. He was wearing a suit, no tie, and he look exhausted. He still asked that question and she would always have the same answer never spoken aloud. Always a deflection or a lie.

"Your suit is going to get dirty." She deflected from actually giving an answer.

Oliver smiled before lowering himself to lie beside her. "I don't care." She has no idea why he even asks when he ends up staying no matter what she says.

Katie looked over to him, his face very close to hers so she had to turn away. She was slightly drunk and her inhibitions were definitely loose right now and she's afraid she's going to jump him soon. They laid there in silence, their eyes looking to the sky before Oliver turned to her.

"I'm sorry."

"For what exactly?"

"For everything. Tracking your phone was a total violation of your privacy and I really get that it's just—" she looked over to him. "This city is dangerous. And yes there are people here who love you, but there are also people who would want to hurt you or me by hurting you. I get that you will want to be alone, and I'm fine with that, but we're married, so when you want to be alone, let me know or if you don't want to let me know, let Thea know or Felicity, or Bruce, just someone who can be your back up in the event that something does happen." She turned away from his eyes and looked back up to the sky.

"That sounds fair."

"And the picture—"

"Grain of salt," she said still looking up to the massive dark space above her. "I talked to Thea, but I didn't have to."

"You didn't."

"Oliver Queen is my husband. We have a daughter together and we raise my headache of cousin." she turned her eyes to meet his. "And he loves me. I can't remember a damn thing, but I can feel it in my bones that all of that is true." He stared at her with that look that made her melt. His eyes dropped to her lips and she noticed it right before hers did the same.

"You can't kiss me now." his eyes suddenly flicked back to hers wondering if she was once again reading his mind. "I'm not that drunk, but I'm clearheaded enough to know I probably won't remember half of any of this tomorrow."

"You know, I don't think I've seen this version of drunk Twinkie. I think she's mellowing out with age." he said and despite herself, she smiled and looked back up to the sky. "A couple of more minutes and I'm taking you to bed." he suddenly realized how that sounded and thought he should clarify what he meant. "Not that way, I don't want to—actually I do, I really—" he glanced over to her to see her laughing at him and he couldn't help but to laugh as well.

---

Author's Note:

Thanks for tuning in! Next chapter will continue episode 1 of season five.

Review Replies:

Taffdog19943: Thanks for the review. I'm so trying to get better with updating sooner, but life isn't giving many lemons lately.

Purplestan: It's been a while since I've seen season five, but it's on Netflix so I can rewatch some episodes as I'm writing these chapters. I'm so happy you're enjoying this story, and I appreciate all the reviews you give. Thanks for sticking through this story. I love the Robyn and Oliver scenes as well. As you saw in this chapter Katie's first encounter with Robyn and it was a bit heartbreaking. We've seen this fear before in the last story where she's so afraid of herself that she doesn't even want to be near her daughter. She still has that fear inside of her, she just has no idea why.

BlueBloodsSVUOrder: Yes! Our Twiver is back ;)

Adela: Yes that was pretty lucky for Nyssa since I'm pretty sure Katie would've went through with it. I'm so glad you're enjoying the story! I appreciate all of your reviews.

Bennie: First things first, never apologize for long reviews! I appreciate them all, so thanks so much for leaving this one. Now to answer your questions with long responses...as vaguely as I can to not give too much away, yes...BUT...there was a twist with that whole "real father" plot twist if you remember. It will come up again as we learn more about Katie's mother and these powers no one really knows about...except Jacob, that man always keeps his cards close to his chest. We'll have see if Jacob Robins, the man with infinite secrets, will reveal the truth about this one. As for a Oliver, it's slightly hinted at in this chapter when Constantine stopped by, but he's in very big denial phase since Katie has come back. He has her back and so he doesn't want to think about those painful memories of the past and the things she's done. He really wants things to go back to the way they were, and he's refusing to see how impossible that is when the truth is always clawing on his heels.

Panda: Baby Robyn has a little personality of her own doesn't she? We saw a bit more of her in this chapter and will see a bit more in the next. Yes, she's building her vocabulary and we will see that more throughout the story. *cough* Next chapter *cough* Hmm, you know I haven't decided how William will take to his little sister. I'm sure he'll have a few different emotions of one day being an only child and the next being a big brother. I'm not really sure he'd be angry with her because like you said she's just a baby. You're giving me something to really think about and I like that from reviews! Thank you!

I will end yet another chapter telling all of you reading this that I appreciate your support and interest in this story! I know we're all living in very confusing times and I'm glad this story can distract you a bit just as it does for me when writing it. Thanks to everyone who has added this story to your fav/follow alerts and a very big shout out to those who left reviews! They're always exciting to read and they actually help me shape this story a bit. Keep them coming! This story is a work in progress so I'd love to hear your suggestions for further chapters! They really might make their way into this story.

Be safe!

Sneak Peek

A SWAT truck pulls up, tires squeaking as it comes to a stop. Soon Oliver and a couple of other people she doesn't know are pushed into the back of the truck. The doors had only slammed closed when Katie was finally close enough and when it pulled off, she ran after it as if she could even catch up. She stumbled to a stop when the distance had got too far.

"Stop," she muttered her labored breaths coming out quick and jagged. She saw the back of that truck hoping her words could some how manifest themselves into reality... but they didn't. The truck kept going...Oliver inside.