Chapter 12
Surprise
"We are afraid of the enormity of the possible. "
-Emil Cioran
Felicity appeared outside of Rory's little hole in the wall apartment. She hadn't spoken to him since this morning when she couldn't take the secret anymore and told him about the explosion in his hometown. Every time he mentioned his hometown she couldn't stop thinking about the reason behind it. The truth was she only had a little bit of the truth. She has no idea why the darkness inside of Katie stopped all but one nuke, but she felt that she couldn't hide it from Rory any longer and she was pretty sure she's going to have to come clean to Katie as well. She told him about the other explosions that never happened, and how the one that hit his hometown was missed. She didn't go into too many details, she didn't tell him about the darkness in Katie's body or even her powers, just that the woman was able prevent the others but not the one that killed the people in his hometown. He quit the team after that and now she was here hoping he would change his mind. It didn't seem to be working.
"Felicity, I appreciate you coming down here, but I just can't." Rory said with a shake of his head. "I can't do this knowing that for some reason I don't completely understand, one woman decided that my entire family would die."
"That's just it. I told you that we don't know the complete story. There's a reason, I'm sure of it. She just can't tell us right now."
"You're probably right, there probably is a reason, but it doesn't change what happened. There was something she could do and she didn't do it and I can't-"
"Work side by side with someone who is a reminder of what you lost. I get it. I remember thinking I was the one trying to stop Darhk from stealing those nukes, that I was the one who failed when we thought he took them. That devastation that I could've stopped him and couldn't—I know it's not the same thing, but seeing you reminds me of that feeling too. But we want the same thing—to live with what happened and move forward." Felicity's phone buzzed and she pulled it from her pocket. "It's Curtis." she looked back over to Rory. "I'm so sorry, and we could really use you."
"I'm sorry Felicity, I just can't right now."
Felicity simply nodded. "Well if you change your mind, we're here." he gave a nod before watching her leave.
Ari sat beside Curtis at one of the computers. She'd been typing away trying to figure out the endgame with all of this.
"Anything?" Curtis asked her and Ari turned to him with a shake of her head.
"Nothing. I just can't figure out what the point of all of this was. Church wanted that explosion, he wanted to raid the SCPD, but would he really just do this for weapons?" she turned back to the monitor.
"Well he is a bad guy and bad guys usually want more weapons." Evelyn said from behind the girl. "Maybe you should spend less time trying to think like a criminal and more time trying to find one. Or maybe thinking like one comes easier for you given who your parents are." Ari refused to look over to the girl, instead she turned back to Curtis.
"It's so weird that she thinks I won't just kick her ass right now."
"I'd like to see you try," Evelyn took a step forward, but Curtis held up a hand to stop her.
"Definitely not the time." he said just as the elevators opened and in hurried Felicity.
"It's about time, blondie," Rene said impatiently and Felicity grit her teeth at the nickname she could not get away from.
"That's not my name." she said going over to Curtis and Ari. "Any luck locating church on your recon?"
"No, but street cams actually picked him up so he's on the move." Curtis said. "so we know he's on the move we just have no idea where he's going."
"We can't go after Church until we know his end game." Felicity said.
"Sounds like an excuse to sit around and do nothing." Rene said and Felicity rolled her eyes before reaching forward to type something.
Ari's phone buzzed and she looked down to see it was a call from Katie. She stood to her feet and moved away from the others take the call. "Hey, what's up?"
"You still at the bunker?" Katie asked.
"Yeah, why?"
"No—no reason, I was just-"
"Hey, are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, just sitting here alone worrying about you and Oliver and you're the only one who can answer your phone. You're probably busy. I'm sorry, just be safe, I'll see you when you get home."
"You sure you're alright?"
"Yeah, I'm sure. I'm good. See you when you get home."
Ari looked down to her phone for a moment before turning to join the others.
"Why does that sound familiar?" Rene asked. Their eyes on the monitor. Ari walked over to see an address now on the screen.
"Because we were just there." Evelyn said and the moment Ari saw the address she knew she was right.
"That's where the ACU is bunkered," Ari said everything making sense now. "He planned all of this. He wanted his guy to be taken by the ACU."
"Church is going to take them out." Felicity said and Ari nodded.
Katie found herself lying on the small couch in the nursery after a while. There was just something about a death threat being slipped under the door that made the woman want to stick close to her daughter. She looked down to her phone once again hoping Oliver would call or send a message and it was killing her not knowing what was going on with him. She swiped opened her phone to send another text.
"You're so infuriating you know that. I'm still mad at you, if you haven't guessed, but an "I'm still alive" text would actually be courteous. But do I get one, nope because Oliver Queen just has be focused on the task at hand and I get it. I really do, but I'm still sitting here wondering how long I'm going to give you before I decide you're the one who needs saving. Which I will, just know that when I find you, I will probably kick your ass. You're so annoying, just come home already." she sent the message before dropping her phone and letting out a heavy sigh.
Bruce lost the coin toss. Oliver would be going in to retrieve John, while Rick would be going in through the front as eyes and ears. Bruce was stuck in the stakeout van with Lyla who knew he really didn't want to be there. They'd just gotten through the security check point, both Oliver and Rick inside.
"You know I appreciate your help with this," Lyla said looking over to the Bruce who turned from the prison's surveillance footage.
"Just make sure when I'm stuck in some prison, John is the first person to volunteer to break me out."
"You know he will be." Lyla said turning back to the screen to see Oliver was now inside. "Cell 1138, right side, third from the left.
"He's not here," Oliver said.
Bruce quickly typed. "Shit. They moved him to gen pop."
Lyla huffed. "Oliver if you go in there, neither one of you is getting out."
"Talk to me. When is he coming back to his cell.
"Outside of our window." Lyla said.
"If those MPs wake up the first thing they're going to do is move John and rest of the inmates to a safe location. We lose our shot."
"Abort. We're blown."
"You know I think I'm offended." Came Rick's voice. "You get me here to do what I do and you don't even give me a chance to do it."
"You have an idea?" Bruce asked.
"I do, but it's kind of loud and proud." Rick replied and Lyla and Bruce shared a look. "Make yourself scarce Queen, I'll get John to you."
"I think I'm going to have questions when this is all over," Oliver said.
At the moment, one thing was clear. They needed to stop Tobias Church. They'd just watched security footage of Tobias and his crew as they blew into the ACU bunker.
"D'angelo's right, we need to put Church down." Rene said.
"Against that? Without Oliver. No—we're shorthanded as is." Evelyn said turning to the man.
"You scared?"
"No, but I'm also not stupid."
"Evie's right, I'm not sending you out there just to get slaughtered." Felicity said.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Curtis said and Felicity turned to him.
"You saw what you're up against, ok? This isn't some drill where you take down a petty thug or drug dealer. This is real, ok, with real stakes. The 4 of you could die out there."
"That's something we get to decide for ourselves, isn't it?" They turned now seeing Rory walk in. "I mean I don't know about anyone else, but I didn't join this team to stay safe." Felicity turned to him with a smile.
"Fine, then how about a vote." she said.
"We're all going to say yes, blondie," Rene said before turning off to suit up.
"fine, just go and don't die." Felicity said and Ari walked over to her as everyone else went to get changed.
"You should probably have my cousin on speed dial. She's definitely not going to be happy about this." Ari said and Felicity just nodded before watching the girl go off to get changed as well.
Bruce and Lyla lifted their heads when they suddenly heard an alarm going off. They looked between the monitors.
"Code yellow, return all prisoners to their cell."
"He's on his way Oliver," came Rick's breathy voice. He was running.
"Rick, where are you?" Lyla asked.
"Getting the hell out of here before that guy I just knocked out and tied up wakes up. I'm meeting back up with you two at the plane."
"So much for quiet." Bruce said.
"Oliver when you get John, you're going to have to move quickly. There are going to be a lot of soldiers with guns all over the place now."
"Got it." Oliver replied.
Katie didn't actually know she'd fallen asleep until her ringing phone woke her up. She quickly answered it, glancing over to Robyn who only stirred but didn't wake up.
"Hello, Oliver?" she whispered as she stepped into the hallway.
"No, it's me." came Felicity voice. "We need your help."
From what Felicity told her on the phone, Tobias Church was making moves again. This time attacking an ACU bunker and that the newbie vigilantes decided they would stop him without Oliver. Apparently the only injury was Curtis who was stabbed as they were leaving. Katie currently stood in the elevator waiting for the doors to open to the bunker. She looked down to her daughter who was not happy about being pulled from her crib. There was a lot of crying that didn't stop until they were in the car when the girl drifted back off to sleep. The moment the doors opened, Katie hurried off, and she saw them all crowded around Curtis who was lying face down on one of the tables unconscious. Evelyn had her hand around the knife in his back about to pull it out.
"Don't touch that!" Katie yelled and the girl jumped, everyone's eyes turning to Katie. She looked around the room, relieved to see Ari. "Just don't touch anything." she turned back to Evelyn. "Back away from him." Evelyn did as she was told. Katie pulled off her jacket. "I need everyone to get as far away from me and Curtis as possible right now." she turned to Ari. "Go put Robyn down in the back." Ari nodded before taking Robyn's stroller. Katie turned to see Evelyn, and Rory still standing near Curtis. "I don't like to say things twice."
"Guys just go, let her work." Felicity said. Evelyn simply nodded before she walked off. Rory stood there for a moment looking over to Katie and Felicity got nervous. "Rory, please just go." he turned to her before deciding to listen and soon he walked off. Katie hurried over to Curtis, before glancing around and grabbing a pair of gloves and a pair of scissors to cut his shirt. "So I get the whole, "Grr" thing right now, but they're all a bit raw right now after what just happened."
"What part of that am I supposed to feel sympathetic about?" Katie says tearing Curtis shirt apart to look at the stab wound. "They should've never been out there."
"Oliver was gone and Church was going to attack the ACU. They were the only option."
"Except they were not the only option!" Katie growls, but takes a deep breath and looks back up to the woman who was clearly upset with what had happened as well. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I just- I wish I was called."
"I'm sorry, but at the time I wasn't sure if I should." Felicity said and Katie looked over to her. "Twinkie, you haven't worn that suit in months and I have never gotten any inclination that you would want to be Oliver's stand in here when he's gone. I thought I was respecting some sort of unspoken wish to not be apart of this." Katie looked at her for a moment wondering if she were right. Katie shook her head.
"Do you know why I put on that suit to save Oliver when he was kidnapped?" Katie asked looking over to the woman. "I saw that suit and I had no idea what the hell it was, but I knew that I was going to put it on if it helped me get Oliver back. I don't know what it means to wear that suit, Felicity, but if it means saving the lives of people I care about, I will put it on, every time. Remember that."
"I will."
"Thank you. Anything on Rene?" Felicity shook her head. "Go, see what you can do about finding him. When you have something, let me know and I will go." Felicity nodded before going off. Katie looked back down to Curtis, examining the stab wound. It was in his back, a couple of centimeters to the left and it would've punctured his spine. "We're definitely upgrading the gear around here." Katie says before grabbing some gauze. She reached forward and pulled out the knife before immediately placing the gauze over the wound to stop the bleeding.
Of course, John Diggle being John Diggle wouldn't make saving his life easy. He actually argued with Oliver about coming to save him and risking his life. Oliver was finally able to convince the man before it was too late. Both men had finally made it outside.
"Put this on." Oliver said handing a harness to John who looked down to it in confusion, but he put it on anyway. "Let's go!" soon there were footsteps and they turned as soldiers with guns came their way. "Dig, your harness." John looked over to Oliver before looking down to his harness and making sure it was secured.
"You two, freeze!" one of the soldiers said. "Down on the ground, lace your fingers behind your head!"
"Do it now!" the other soldier said. "Soon more soldiers came and they were surrounded. John thinking there was no where else to go, raised his hands.
"John, don't-" before Oliver could finish his sentence, flash bombs exploded in the sky above them and all the soldiers surrounding them looked up. "John don't move!" and when they heard the propellers, Oliver pressed the button on his own harness sending the zipline to the plane and in the blink of an eye he and John went shooting up in the sky.
Katie had long stitched Curtis up and was now wiping the painted face mask off with a towel. She glanced up when she felt eyes on her. It was Rory.
"I'm sorry for yelling before. Today has been a roller coaster of a day."
"Same." he replied still watching her. Watching how gentle she was with Curtis, and he couldn't see it. This woman he's heard so much about, whose done so much for this city, why wouldn't she stop that nuke. He wanted to ask her, but he knows without her memories she won't be able to answer.
"I'm sorry." Katie stopped wiping and looked over to Rory.
"You said that already."
"Yeah, but I'm not apologizing for the yelling." she replied putting the towel down and pulling off her gloves and walking around to him. "I actually don't know what I'm apologizing for which is really weird, but I want to stand in front of you and tell you that I'm sorry with everything inside of me. And since I don't know what I'm apologizing for, I'm not going to ask you to forgive me." she shook her head. "Just know that I'm sorry." she turned when she heard a groan from Curtis and she quickly went to check on him not seeing how dumbfounded Rory had found himself.
It was bordering on morning and there was no indication of where Rene could be. No one had left the bunker even though they were barely keeping their eyes opened.
"Alright, that's it." Katie walked over and they all turned to her. "You all need to go home, get some sleep and then come back later."
"We can't just go to sleep when Rene is out there." Evelyn said and Katie turned to her. "It was your stupid rule, remember. We're responsible for making sure everyone on this team made it home."
"Well that wasn't a stupid rule, and I still stand behind that, but everyone standing around here barely able to stand up right isn't going to accomplish that. When we get a location on Rene, I need everyone in this room totally and completely focused and able to work to their full potential. Nobody goes back out there on lack of sleep or food."
"And you decide that now?" Evelyn asked and Katie looked over to the girl with a smile before walking over to stand in front of her.
"I do." Katie replied before turning to the others. "When Oliver is not here and you require tactical supervision, you get me." she turned back to Evelyn. "When Oliver is not here, I decide who does and does not go out there. You can not help Rene when you can barely keep your eyes opened. You're going to take Curtis home." she turned to Ari. "You and Robyn are going home with Felicity."
"Oh, I was going to stay-" Katie turned to Felicity who sighed. "I can keep the search running until after I sleep and my brain doesn't feel like complete mush." Felicity stood to her feet.
"Everyone go home, sleep and then come back here. We're not going to stop searching until we find Rene." Katie said and they all followed their orders and headed home.
Ari had gathered Robyn and her things and packed her into her stroller. She turned to Katie who was staring down to the monitor. "You're going out there, aren't you?"
"No, I'm not, as much as I would love to. I need a starting point. I'm the only person here who has slept tonight, so I will keep an eye on Felicity's search." Katie brought her arms around the girl in a hug. "Get some sleep."
Katie's eyes were glued to the monitor and there was still nothing. She stood to her feet and began stretching her sore muscles. Her eyes looked over to her phone that beeped when she picked up she saw Oliver's name. She let out a sigh before opening the message.
"First, if you haven't guessed, I'm alive. I'm sorry for not letting you know sooner. We have John and we're on our way home. Second, my face isn't stupid, but I figure that's just your anger talking. Third, I had a lot of crazy days without you, but I had Thea so she helped a lot. I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you with this one. Fourth, I know you're still upset with me and I plan on fixing that when I get home. I miss you too. More than I thought I would actually. I should be home soon. I love you. "
Katie smiled as she looked down to the text and without realizing it, tears streamed down her cheeks. This one time, when there was no one else around, she decided she'd let the fall.
The next morning, when they got back to Star City, the first thing Oliver wanted to do was get John settled in the place he'd have to hide out. There was only one place that came to mind and it just so happened to be a H.I.V.E safe-house.
Oliver looked over to a hugging John and Lyla and he smiled. John pulled back and turned to Oliver.
"So how mad were Katie and Felicity about all of this?"
"What makes you think they were mad?" Bruce asked and John looked over to him and chuckled.
"Because I know Felicity and I get the feeling that even though Katie doesn't remember me, she wouldn't be alright with Oliver risking his life to break me out of prison."
"Well I think all will be better once they see that the plan worked." Bruce said looking over to Oliver who didn't seem too optimistic. "Damn, I'm going to have to buy her something."
"That's not going to work, man." John said and Bruce turned a glare to him that just made John laugh.
"Look I really appreciate what you guys did for me. And that includes Rick, where ever he ran off to." he looked over to Lyla who shrugged.
"No idea, but with Rick's new job with Waller, he doesn't usually stay in one place too long. I assumed this time would be different since I figured he'd want to see-" Lyla stopped herself realizing she was saying too much.
"You assumed he'd stay to see Katie." it was Oliver who said the words. "Because she and him were more than just friends, right?"
"That I don't know. Honestly." Lyla said glancing over to Bruce who just shook his head. "I just know that they were close." she turned back to Oliver.
"Just get it out of your head with it Oliver." Bruce said and Oliver looked over to the man. "It doesn't matter what happened, only what is happening right now. Right now your wife probably wants to punch you in the face, but I bet she'd hug you after. She doesn't feel that way about Flag."
"I have no idea what that means." Oliver muttered with a shake of his head before turning back to John and Lyla when his phone buzzed. He looked down to see a message from Felicity.
"What's wrong?" Lyla asked and Oliver looked over to her.
"I have to go." Oliver replied turning to leave.
"Hey," John walked over to him and Oliver stopped and turned back. "When you said you hadn't changed. Don't." Oliver gave a smile before shaking his hand. "And she'll forgive you. It's the Twiver way." Oliver just shook his head before hurrying out of there.
"So do we know where the flash bombs came from?" Bruce asked looking over to Lyla who nodded with a sigh.
"Yeah, I got a call when we landed. It was Jacob making sure everyone was safe."
"Did you tell him about any of this?"
"I didn't tell anyone at ARGUS." Lyla said with a shake of her head. Bruce turned away and slid a hand over his face. "What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking Robins bit the bullet and asked Jacob for his help with this." he said turning to her.
"She really is good." Lyla sighed.
"Yeah, but I'm almost afraid to know what happened at that little reunion."
"Do you think she shot him again?" John asked and Bruce looked over to the man and shrugged. Bruce felt his own phone vibrate, and he quickly pulled it out hoping for a message from Felicity responding to one of his many messages he's sent since his returned. He looked down to the phone and didn't see a message from Felicity.
"Now you have a look." Lyla said and Bruce looked over to him. "What's wrong?"
"At the moment, nothing, but I'm pretty sure that's going to change." Bruce stood to his feet and walked over to John and held out a hand. "You owe me big time buddy, and I plan on collecting soon." John chuckled as he shook Bruce's hand.
"I'm laughing, but I'm actually scared to death." he said and Bruce just smiled.
"You should be."
Felicity glared at the monitor. She'd returned to the bunker after maybe a few hours of sleep to find the search not picking up nothing on Rene's location.
The blonde groaned. "What is the point of having keyhole satellite imagery if you can't use it to find anybody?"
"I feel like I don't understand half the sentences you say." came Rory's voice from behind her. The woman turned to see him holding two mugs of coffee and she assumed one was for her.
"What I'm saying is that no matter how hard I try I cannot find Rene anywhere." she shook her head before turning back to the screen. "And I was the one who told you guys to leave him behind."
"Sounds like another impossible decision." Rory said and Felicity sighed. It seemed her life seemed to be a never ending cycle of impossible decisions, but he figures he's referring to the ever present elephant in the room. She turned to the man with a slight smile. "You know she apologized to me. It was a strange apology. She said she didn't know what it was for, but that she just wanted me to know that she was sorry." he turned away slightly. "I think I believed her. I'm not sure why since I don't know much about her besides that she can be really nice at one moment and grumpy in the next." he turned back to Felicity who let out a light chuckle. "I think you were right before. If we're gonna do this, we can't let guilt swallow us up. I'll keep you from doing it if you promise the same for me." Felicity smiled before standing to her feet and taking the mug and clinking it against his.
"Deal." Felicity said and Rory glanced around.
"Where did she go anyway?" he asked.
"Well it was her turn to rest, but she wasn't going anywhere. She's hopefully taking a nap in the backroom right now." Felicity replied before glancing around. "Ari is here somewhere."
Ari paced back and forth with her phone pressed to her ear. She'd called Oliver dozens of times and he wasn't answering. She was sure at this point she knows he's screening her calls because he knows she's going to yell at him. His phone went to voice mail once again.
"You know preventing the inevitable doesn't actually stop it from happening. You totally ditched us without a word and then I find out you're playing jail breaker." she let out a huff. "And you ditched me on my birthday doofus, which I may never forgive you for. Your fate solely depends on whatever gift you got for me." she slid her hand through her hair. "You know you can answer so I at least know you're alright. You'd ground me forever if I ever went dark this long." she shook her head because she knew she was truly worried about him, but she didn't want it to actually show. "Whatever, do whatever you want." she ended the call and let out a groan before deciding to head back out to see if Felicity had found something. She didn't expect for everyone to be there, including Oliver.
He was looking down to Felicity before lifting his eyes to the others, and that's when he spotted Ari across the bunker and he stared at her for a moment. It was the first time he'd seen since this whole look and he couldn't get over how different she looked.
"We're gonna find him, we're gonna bring him back..." Oliver said before turning to the others. "Where ever he is." he turned back to Felicity. "Let me know the exact moment you have something." Felicity gave him a nod. "And if it could help, maybe you could pull Bruce in on the search." Felicity gave him a look and she simply nodded. Oliver let out a sigh before walking over to Curtis who was standing up, but still clearly in pain. "How are you doing?"
"Better, thanks to your better half. She's around here somewhere I think."
"Yeah, she came in and played mother hen." Evelyn said. "Apparently she's our other team lead when you're not around."
"Well she is my Guardian, so I'm going to say yes. I try her completely." Oliver said before turning to Curtis. "Take it easy, ok?" Curtis gave a nod before Evelyn helped him over to a seat to sit. Oliver glanced back over only Ari was gone, but he's pretty sure he knows where she is.
Oliver hadn't really come up to the roof of their hideout when it was first created. He really didn't have a reason to. It wasn't until Ari joined the team and he would have to find her when she wanted to hide did he actually come up here. He pushed open the door where he found her standing near the ledge looking out to the city.
"I've listened to all of your voice mails." he said walking over to stand beside her. "Each one as scary as the next." she didn't say anything and he looked over to her. "I'm sorry for leaving without telling you what was going on. I just thought the less you knew the better off you would be." still nothing and he let out a sigh because he wondered how he found himself surrounded by so many stubborn women who never made anything easy for him. "I'm sorry I missed hanging out with you on your birthday, that I really do regret."
"It's fine, whatever," she said before turning and heading for the door.
"Ari," she stopped and turned back to him.
"Oliver, too much is happening right now for me to care about this. We're good, be here, don't be here, I'm fine either way." she really wasn't. "I'm not a baby. I don't sit around wondering where you are." sometimes she did. Sometimes she was scared he wouldn't come back. "So you can go when you want, no matter who needs you here." she once again turned to leave.
"Ari, wait!" she pulled opened the door, and stopped, but didn't turn to him. "What happened?" Damn, she was going to cry if she didn't leave now. She was too tempted to tell him everything. To tell him about her mother and how at some point her mother could be ripping her away from all of this.
"Doesn't matter anymore." she said before leaving the man on the roof with his guilt. He actually expected her anger, but there was something else. Something he missed when he was gone and she was holding it in for some reason. He'd have to keep talking to her, in hopes that she'll let him back in.
Oliver looked back over the edge of the roof, and slid a hand over his face. He hoped his reunion with Katie would be better. When he came back down to the bunker, he glanced around in search of her. Soon his eyes turned to the door of a room that he created just for her. He walked over, pushing open the door and there she was. She was laying in the bed, eyes closed. He smiled before walking over to the crib where Robyn seemed to be sleeping as well. He knew she wouldn't be out for too much longer. He placed a hand on top of her head before walking over to the bed and sliding in beside her. Oliver's eyes looked over to his wife and he let out a sigh of both relief and contentment. It was this moment he always waited for whenever he was away, or out on a mission. The moment where he was back home and home was where ever she was.
Katie let out a sigh, and without a word slid over and wrapped herself around him, laying her head on his chest.
"I'm still mad at you." she muttered still half asleep. Oliver smiled closing his eyes as he brought his arms around her.
"I'm going to fix that." he sighed before drifting off asleep.
Oliver didn't realize he'd been asleep that long until he heard Katie's voice.
"Robyn, don't-" he heard her whisper, before he felt tiny hands on his face. Oliver cracked open an eyes to see Robyn with a toothy grin smiling down to him.
"Dah, dah," she called pulling herself out of Katie's arms toward Oliver. Katie turned, and saw Oliver opening his eyes.
"Sorry," she said.
"Obviously someone thought daddy needed to wake up." Oliver said pulling the girl into his arms and placing a kiss to her cheek before hugging her to his chest. "I missed you."
"She missed you too." Katie said and he looked over to her. "She was calling for you yesterday before bed." Oliver let out a sigh before pressing another kiss to her head.
"I'm sorry, sweetie" he said before turning to Katie who was looking at something on her phone. "What's that?" Katie let out a sigh before turning the phone so he could see. Oliver frowned because it was surveillance video of the front of their house. He watched as someone walked along the path to the front door, their head down and a hood over the head before bending over and sliding something underneath. "When did this happen?"
"Last night. I was on my way up to take a shower and then this-" turned and grabbed the folded envelope from the table beside the bed. "Was slipped under the door." Oliver looked at the envelope before turning back to meet her eyes. Oliver sat up a bit more before taking the envelope and opening it. He half expected to see black rose pedals, but instead it was just a sheet of paper. He pulled it out and read it's cryptic words whose meaning couldn't be clearer. He turned back to Katie whose eyes were once again on the screen. "The camera never catches their face. It's like they know its there." she let out a sigh before turning the video off and standing to her feet.
"I will talk to Steve." Oliver looked back down to the paper and sighed. "This definitely should not have happened. No one should be able to slip things under our door." he stood to his feet still cradling Robyn in his arms as he walked around to Katie. "I will have Felicity check out this note. Maybe there's something on it that can lead to whoever this is."
"I've already talked to Steve, threatened him and his team a bit. And Felicity already has the letter, this is just a copy." Katie said before taking Robyn from his arms. "We're also going to have to keep a better eye on Ari and her grades. While you were gone, there was an unannounced visit for Ari's social worker coming to voice concerns from Heather about Ari living here, being kidnapped, and around gunfire and her grades dropping. Heather has all of it documented and plans on using it if she gets out to get custody back." Oliver's eyes widened as he looked over to Katie. "I've given a call to my lawyer. I want to see what steps we need to take to adopt her." Katie moved around the man, but stopped and turned back to him. "As much as I would just like to leave after dropping that bomb, I just can't without seeing how you feel about it."
"Of course, I'm fine with it, but it has to be what Ari wants."
"Right, we will talk to her about it when things calm down." she turned to leave once again, but Oliver took a step forward to stop her.
"Twinkie, wait," she glanced back to him. "I'm sorry." Katie let out a sigh before walking over to him.
"Oliver an apology is only as good as the actions you put behind it. You keep apologizing for something I don't think you can stop doing which is why I'm not going to accept it." she shook her head. "I don't know how to handle this situation." she let out a snort. "Maybe I would if I remembered, huh?" she turned to leave once again
"It's not easy. Me, you, our life is not easy." she looked back over to him. "It never has been. But we work through it together. If I do something stupid or something you think is reckless you step in you get me in check. When you decide you want to save the world all on your own, I step in and we handle it together. That's how we work. We handle it together." she walked back over to stand in front of Oliver. "But if it gets too hard, then we're out."
"Just like that?"
"Yeah, just like that." he replied with a smile and Katie bit her lip to stop herself from smiling. She really wanted to be stubborn a bit longer and yet she felt as if she would forgive him. "Do you forgive me now?"
"That depends." she replied before turning and finally leaving the room. Oliver quirked a brow before hurrying after her.
"On what exactly?" he asked as they walked over to Felicity who looked between the pair.
Felicity turned her eyes to Katie. "Did you tell him?"
"Tell me what?" Oliver asked turning to Katie as well.
Oliver had no idea how they talked him into this. Oliver stood, his arms folded over his chest as he stood behind Felicity.
"You know even though you're not making a sound, I can still feel your nervousness just radiating off of you." Felicity said her eyes down on the monitor. "She's going to be fine."
"I would be more inclined to believe that if I was actually there with her." Oliver let out a huff as he looked down to the monitor.
"Oliver you just came back from breaking your friend of some prison on a very mission impossible type case and you've only had a couple of hours of sleep."
"I told the both of you that I'm fine." Oliver hissed. Oliver knew there were a lot of things contributing to his temper right now, and maybe lack of sleep was one of them, but he's positive he had enough focus to be back up for his wife right now.
"Is she there yet?" Ari asked walking over to stand beside Oliver. The girl shook her head. "I can't believe she's doing this." she turned and swat Oliver's arm. "How could you let her do this?" he turned to her with a glare.
"He didn't have much of a choice," Felicity said and Oliver turned back to her. He heard the amusement in her tone. "And she's going to be fine. She can do this."
"She can shake down some thug in the middle of day and not get caught or shot, huh?" Ari asked walking over to sit at the monitor beside Felicity. "Well I will believe it when I see it."
"Am I the only one wondering why we're not all in on this?" Evelyn asked walking over as well. "Why are we putting all of our hope on some rich doctor?" the girl realized how offensive that sounded and quickly turned to Oliver. "I didn't mean-" she shook her head. "I'm just saying, are you really sure we should be depending on her to do this?"
"I'm here," came the voice from the speaker and they all stepped in closer as Felicity pulled up the screen that was playing the video from the camera Katie was wearing. "And my ears are burning. You guys still talking about me and this brilliant plan?"
"Well we won't know how brilliant it is until you come back. Now focus." Oliver said before looking over to the other monitor. "Rory are you in place?" It was Rory who was her actual back up, much to Oliver's frustrations.
"I am." the man said from his place on the roof of the apartment building. "So, are we sure this is going to work. Shaking down some thug in the middle of the day seems kind of risky."
"So does attacking a CEO at a clinic opening in the middle of the day." Ari said. "But what do I know?" they all went silent as they focus on Katie's camera. Katie moved about the filthy apartment that was littered with trash. She brought a hand to her nose.
"This place smells like ass." she said as she looked around.
Evelyn frowned slightly. "What is she doing?"
"She's looking for weapons." Oliver said his eyes never leaving the screen. "When questioning a suspect, and you're questioning them on their turf you want to hold as much power as possible."
"Exactly," Katie spoke as she reached under a nearby table. "And the last thing I want is for this guy to surprise me by pulling a gun out of the cookie jar." she continued looking around. "I'm going to finish sweeping the apartment, Rory let me know when you see him."
"How certain are we that this Lewis guy can lead us to Church?" Ari asked turning to the wall monitor to see the mug shot photo of some grungy guy with a scar above his eye.
"He's one Church's men that were picked up during ACU raid on that factory Oliver and the others were taken to when he held them hostage."
"And the police released him?" Ari asked scrolling through the criminal report.
"Yep. He lawyered up and fed the judge some story about being forced to be there."
"And they believed him?" Evelyn asked and Felicity just sighed with a nod. "Isn't that a fine justice system we have."
"He's actually being watched by police in hopes that he makes contact with Church again." Felicity said.
"Wait, what?" Oliver said and Felicity's eyes widened as she turned to Oliver. "You didn't tell me that." Oliver shook his head before walking back over to the speaker. "Did you know this guy is being surveilled by the police before you and Felicity cooked up this plan?"
"I did, but I was hoping you didn't find out about that until after this was over." Katie sighed. "It's fine."
"Nothing about this is fine. The risk on all of this just got multiplied. I want you out of there."
"Why?" she asked as she moved over to the window and pulled closed the curtains.
Oliver let out low growl. This was one of the reasons he absolutely knew this idea was bad. It was his wife and the fact that she never listened to him.
"I just told you that it's risky. Too risky and if you're caught-."
"Don't worry, I won't be caught, and I'll come back to you." she said with a snort and she could almost picture the look on Oliver's face. "You're going to trust me now."
"I do trust you, I just-" Oliver clenched his jaw as he watched her close the curtain on the last window, bringing the room into darkness. Felicity's fingers quickly typed as she switched the video to night vision so they could see a bit clearer.
"He's here and he's on his way up." Rory said.
Oliver felt his nervousness even more. "Get out of there now or I'm coming to get you."
"Oh Liver, be quiet and let me do this," she whispered before moving to hide.
Oliver groaned taking a step back, pausing for a moment before shaking his head and walking off. Ari turned and ran after him.
"You're not seriously going to get her, are you?" Ari asked and Oliver stopped and turned to her. "Dude you just risked your life and our lives breaking John out of that prison."
"That was different."
"You're right, it is. She's about to question some low life while you were trying to evade heavily armed guards." Ari took a step toward him. "Oliver, it's the fact that you knew she could do this that you actually let her go in the first place. You're scared and so am I, but she can do this. She's the Guardian. She's our Guardian and she can do this. Now I'm going to go back and watch because I feel like I could actually be learning something." with that Ari turned and head back toward the others. Oliver stood there, his thumb mindlessly sliding across his wedding band before he relented and and walked back over to the others to watch as well.
"What's happening?" he asked as he walked back up to view the screen. No one said anything and he didn't need them to as he looked down to the man's bloody face as he lay on the floor.
"Let's try this again, from the top." Katie's modulated voice spoke from above the man. "Tell me where I can find Tobias Church."
"You have no idea who you're messing with. Church will kill me if I snitch." Katie let out a light laugh as she dropped on the floor in front of the man and he looked at her warily.
"You know what surprising?" she asked. "You assuming death is the worst thing that could happen to you." she watches as his eyes veered to the couch behind her. "I found the gun hidden in the couch cushion. Horrible hiding spot by the way." she pointed toward the kitchen. "Found the one hidden in the cereal box. The one in the drawer next to your bed, the one in your closet." she let out another laugh. "I even found the one you hid underneath your toilet."
"I'm not saying anything," he said. "Do whatever you want, because I'm almost positive the punishment from Tobias Church will be worse." they both sat there for a moment in silence.
"Challenge accepted." Katie said.
The video feed suddenly dropped and the team stood there in confusion.
"What the hell just happened?" Oliver asked and Felicity glanced over to him. "She cut the camera?" he growled going over to the speaker. "Guardian, can you hear me?" he paused and waited for a response.
"She took out the comlink." Felicity said as she typed trying to see if she could turn it back on. "Ragman, do you have eyes on Guardian?"
"Not at the moment, but I thought the plan was I be look out and intervene if needed." he replied. "Should I go in?"
Felicity turned to Oliver who looked over to her before turning to the blank screen. He slid a hand over his eyes. He knew what she was doing. Knew her questioning methods were probably something she didn't want the others to see.
"What's the call Oliver?" Felicity asked. Oliver took a step back and turned around so he couldn't see the eyes looking to him for the answer he wasn't sure about. On one hand, he could trust his wife who he knew was capable of getting out of this situation. On the other hand, this was still new to her, and there were so many risks, so many things that could go wrong. "Oliver?" Oliver clenched his jaw and turned around and had only opened his mouth when Rory said the words he did not want to hear.
"Something's wrong." Rory went to the edge of the roof. "Cops, lots and lot of cops are pulling up in front of the building."
With a few clicks of the keyboard, Felicity let out a sigh. "Someone called the cops. Reported the sounds of a struggle coming from Lewis' apartment. And since his name is flagged in the system with connections to Church." Felicity shook her head before turning to Oliver who turned meeting her eyes. "Oliver, maybe if we-"
"Ragman, get in there and get her out, now!" there was no hesitation with the order.
"I'm on it." Rory said about to swing into the apartment, but he came to a sliding halt when the voice came through the comlink.
"Don't!" Came Katie's voice. "I'm fine." there was a slight tension in her voice as she spoke. "He doesn't have an exact location, but he gave me an area. Felicity, I'm sending it to you now. Ragman, meet me at the rendezvous point."
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. We're coming back now." the link ended and Oliver let out a groan before turning to Felicity.
"It's still a lot of area, but it's searchable." she said before glancing over to Oliver. "I'll set the search up for Church's van and I'll let you know if it comes up with anything." Oliver just nodded and without a word stalked off.
Rory looked over to Katie as they rode the elevator down to the bunker. She tilted her arm to get a better look at the cut across her shoulder.
"First rule, always assume the target is armed." Rory said and Katie looked over to him with a quirked brow. "It's a-" he shook his head. "Never mind." Katie just dropped her eyes back to the cut. "I get the feeling Oliver is going to have an issue with this." she placed a hand back over it to slow the bleeding.
"Always assume the target is armed, but if you forget, make sure you know how to disarm him." she said taking a deep breath. She was completely sore and she knew she was a bit bruised from the fight, but it was familiar. It was something she didn't question or was confused about.
"And how did you..." Rory let the question linger as Katie turned toward the doors.
"Let's just hope he never dreamed of being a hand model." she said just as the doors opened. She'd only taken a step off before Oliver appeared in front of her. His eyes zeroing in on the blood seeping from her through the hand holding her arm. "Would you believe that I cut myself shaving?" zero amusement showed on Oliver's face.
Katie soon found herself in a very unexpected spot. She sat on the metal table in the medical area of the bunker and watched as Oliver meticulously stitched her arm. She watched his complete focus on the stitch that actually looked perfect. He still hadn't said anything to her which she assumed meant he was really upset.
"Who taught you how to stitch?" she asked and his eyes only flicked up to her for second before looking back to her arm. He didn't say anything and she rolled her eyes. "You know of all the bad things your brain concocted about what could happen, I bet a cut on the arm wasn't one of them." he still didn't say anything and she watched as he finished up the stitch before cutting the thread. He turned and grabbed a bandage and placed it over the stitches and Katie hissed slightly as he pressed a bit harder than necessary. Without a word he turned as if to leave and Katie hopped off the table. "You didn't expect that fear, did you?" he stopped walking and turned back to her. "You thought you were fine, rationally you knew I could it, but then the danger got closer, and then your heart races, and you start doubting everything." she walked over to stand in front of him. "You were gone for a day, and I couldn't stop worrying that someone was going to show up at the door, or call saying that I would never see you again." Oliver let out a sigh and dropped his head. "And then I saw you, and all the fear and anxiety went away and rational thinking came back and I remembered that you're really good at this." Oliver lifted his eyes back to her. She placed her hands on his chest, and felt as his arms wrapped around her, pulling her to him.
"You're really good at this too." he admitted to her and to himself. "But I think you're right. I don't think I will ever not worry about you when you're out there. That's why the next time you do something as dangerous as what you did today, I will be your back up."
"Fine, well the next time you break someone out of prison, I will be your back up." She replied and he smiled as he brought his lips to hers. They knew there were a million things they should be worried about right now, but it was as if they weren't in control at the moment. It was a need...a desire, that lived inside of them that always seemed to steer them to moments like this.
When Oliver's tongue swept inside of her mouth and she released a soft whimper. It's when her fingers slip underneath his shirt touching the heat of his skin does Oliver seem to forget rhyme and reason. He slides down, wrapping his arm around her, lifting her from the floor and walking her over to sit back on the table. In the next moment, his shirt came over his head and is tossed to the floor before his lips latch back on to hers, as his fingers move to the bottom of her shirt.
"Whoa!" the voice yelled and the couple pulled apart, turning to see Felicity whose back was now turned. "Sorry, I so did not expect to interrupt, but-" she shook her head. "You two are aware you're not alone, right?" Oliver let out a sigh as he reached down to pick up his shirt and pulled it back on before turning back to Katie, seeing that look of frustration he's sure was on his face right now.
"You can turn around Felicity," Oliver said. Felicity cautiously turned with a nervous smile as she walked over. "Do you have something?"
"No, the search is still in progress, but-" she turned to Katie. "Your phone was ringing." she handed the phone to Katie who looked down to the number and sighed.
"Damn," she looked back up to Oliver. "I forgot to cancel the birthday party. A couple dozen kids are going to be showing up in like an hour. What do we do?" Oliver looked at her for a moment.
"I think we have a birthday party." he replied and Katie looked at him in confusion. "There's no telling how long Felicity's search could take and I don't want Ari's entire birthday weekend to be ruined."
"Are you sure? It doesn't seem right with Rene missing." Katie said. There was a beep from Felicity's phone and they turned to her.
"Well that may be changing." she said with a smile as she looked up to them. "I got a hit on the van." Oliver nodded before turning back to Katie.
"You're about to say something I don't like." She said.
"You and Ari go to the party. I will get Rene."
"What about that whole cute us being each other's back up when the other does something dangerous. Has that changed?"
"It hasn't, but I'm not breaking anyone out of prison right now." she shook her head and he brought his arms around her. "Ari deserves a birthday party." Katie turned back to him. "She deserves some kind of normal." they turned at more footsteps to see Ari.
"Felicity, I think we got him." she said turning from the woman to Katie and Oliver who were staring at her. "What?"
Arianna Locke woke up the morning of her birthday expecting to feel different. She didn't expect that feeling to hit her days later as she stood in a hotel room staring at herself in a mirror. It was strange how she couldn't tear her eyes away from the girl looking back at her. The girl who was both a vigilante and a coward. She glanced over her shoulder at the sound of her phone and when she walked over she saw the text from Katie asking her when she was coming down. Ari let out a sigh before lifting her head and glancing around the room. It was a gift for her and some her friends from school to come back up her after the party for a sleepover where they would watch movies and order room service. She was probably going to uninvite them once she got down there since she had no intention on being at this stupid birthday party for long. She hated that Oliver and Katie wouldn't let her stay at the bunker when Oliver went to retrieve Rene. She turned back to the mirror and straightened out her high collard long black dress. It was Thea's stupid idea to make it a costume party, and at the time Ari thought it would be cool to have a Famous people in history costume party which is why she was currently dressed as Marie Curie.
"Why the hell would pick Marie Curie?" she said to her reflection. She shook her head at the dress that barely showed any skin which she didn't think about when she decided to go for the historically accurate look instead of sexy. "Jamie is going to laugh at you," she just let out a huff before stalking out of the room.
Katie should've known better than to trust Thea with something as simple as picking up her costume because somehow her Ruth Bader Ginsburg became Wilma Flinstone. Now she had to walk around the party in flimsy toga that was entirely too short. Katie glanced around the party, in search of Ari among the crowd of teenagers. It was when her eyes spotted someone she didn't expect near the doors that lead to the hotel's garden area that was opened up for the party as well. He nudged his head out the door before turning and Katie stood there for a moment before going after him. When she walked out of the door, she didn't see him immediately. For a moment she thought she may have hallucinated seeing him, but then she spotted him across the garden. With a roll of her eyes, she sifted through the rowdy teenagers who ran about before appearing in front of him.
"Wilma Flinstone, huh?" he asked and Katie just shook her head, but she didn't say anything. She looks at him for a moment, her mind going back to the last time they saw each other. That moment before she stepped on the plane back home.
"Hello Rick. I thought you'd long gone by now."
"Yeah, well I couldn't leave without stopping by to see you bird." she shook her head at the nickname. "So, how are you doing?"
"The real answer to that question is complicated." she laughed with a shrug. "But I'm good. It's all just-" she let out a sigh as she looked up to his eyes. "Not the life I expected."
"I think we all wake up with that realization."
"Well the difference is you know how it all unfolded." she muttered before glancing around the garden once again. "I think I should thank you," she turned back to him. "For helping Oliver."
"I promised I'd always be there if you needed me." he said and Katie smiled.
"Well I'm glad this is one promise you decided to keep." she said and she wished she hadn't almost immediately after she said it. She shook her head. "I should get back to the party." she turned to leave, but he caught her hand and she let out a sigh before turning back to him. "Flag—"
"If you tell me you're happy, I'll turn around and walk away." Rick said, "But if you tell me-"
"I love Oliver," she said interrupting him before he could say too much. "I'm in love with Oliver and he's annoying and a headache, but he and my daughter and Ari, they make me happy." she took a step toward the man. "You promised me you would get me home, and you did. What you didn't know, hell, what I didn't know was that it was him." she gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "You have no idea how thankful I am for you and what you did for me." Rick silently stared for a moment before leaning forward and pressing a kiss to her cheek.
"Goodbye, bird." he whispered before pulling back his hand and walking off, disappearing somewhere in the dark garden. Katie stood there for a moment before turning about to walk back inside, but she froze the moment she saw Oliver standing there looking at her. She walked over to him without a word, trying to gauge from his expression just what he was thinking.
"So how much of that did you hear?" she asked. Oliver didn't say anything for a moment, but he did take step toward her and slid his arm around her waist pulling her closer to him. His lips descended upon hers, a soft whimper escaping her as she melted into his embrace. Katie knew she had to be the clearheaded one, had to be rational. She pulled back breathless. "We can't do this at this party full of teenagers." she heard him laugh as she looked up to his eyes. "Rene?"
"He's safe, at the bunker. He's pretty beat up, but he's ok."
Katie began to pull away. "Right, I will grab my jacket and then-" Oliver pulled her back to him and she looked up to the man in confusion. "What?"
"I've made other arrangements. He's being taken care of." Oliver said and he smiled at the confused look on her face. "I'm sure." he looked around the party. "Where's Ari?" he looked at the faces of all of the costumed teens. "I didn't know there were going to be this many people here."
"Of course you didn't." she said and he brought his eyes back to her. "Just like you didn't know you were supposed to wear a costume." he laughed as he took a step back to give the woman a once over. His eyes going from the red wig, down the toga to the white strapped sandals.
"I have no idea what the theme of this party is supposed to be." he glanced around seeing a few kids dressed up as ninja turtles. He just laughed before turning back to Katie. "But I think you make a beautiful Wilma. I don't think I could pull off Fred though." she just laughed before turning and walking away. "Hey, Wilma!" he called before chasing after her.
When Ari finally entered the party, she was actually shocked at the turn out. She's almost positive half of these people have never spoken to her before. She figures no one would dare turn down an invitation to a birthday party thrown by the mayor and his wife. She glanced around the party for some of her real friends which was hard with all of these people. They could be anywhere. She pulled out her phone before glancing over and seeing Oliver and Katie near the food table and she hurried over.
"Hey," they turned to her with smiles. "Did you find Rene?"
"Yeah, he's fine." Oliver said his eyes trailing over the girl trying to figure out who she was supposed to be. "Don't tell me, you're-" he racked his brain and both Katie and Ari shook their head.
"She's Marie Curie." Katie said and Oliver turned to her with a quirked brow. "C'mon, I helped you write that paper on her for your history class." he still looked totally confused and she just shook her head as she placed a hand on his cheek. "Oh you're so lucky you're good looking."
"You know what Twinkie-" he brought a hand around her waist, pulling her to him and she squealed with laughter.
"Hey!" Ari said and they turned to her. "None of your old people PDA at my party. Get a room." her phone buzzed and she looked down to see a text and just walked away without another word.
"Did she just call us old?" Katie turned back to Oliver. "Are we now the lame, old parents at the party we used to make fun of when we were younger?" they glanced around to see indeed there were teens staring at them and laughing. "That's just great."
"Well maybe she's right." Oliver said and Katie turned to him with furrowed brow. "Not about the old and lame, we're totally cool parents."
"I don't think cool parents get to call themselves cool. That just makes them even less cool." Katie replied and Oliver laughed before placing a kiss to her lips. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and he let out a groan as he pulled back to see who it was. "Is it about Rene?"
"No, just-" he looked back up to her. "Give me a minute, I have to take this." Katie nodded before he pulled out of her grasp and headed for the doors that lead to the lobby. Katie stood there for a moment, unsure what that was about, but shook it off before turning and seeing her sister in law laughing and chatting up someone she hoped wasn't a student from SC prep. Thea turned and spotted Katie before saying something to the guy and walking over.
"Hi Ms. Monroe, may I say I'm glad you chose the more modest version of this costume." Katie laughs and Thea just shook her head. "Also thanks for totally hijacking my costume. How the hell is Wilma Flinstone an important person in history?"
"I have no idea but at least her costume isn't some frumpy judge's robe that barely shows any skin."
"Everyone isn't here to pick up guys and you better pray that guy you were just flirting with can vote for your brother in the mayoral election." Katie said turning and grabbing her cup of punch.
"He's one of Ari's classmates older brothers. Just graduated college, and is heading to law school." Thea recounted smiling at the guy who was stealing glances at her. "Where'd Ollie go?"
"He had a call." Katie says glancing back to the door. "He should be back soon. I want to give Ari her present."
"She's going to totally freak." Thea said looking over to Katie. "I can't believe you guys actually bought her car."
"It took a lot of convincing for your brother who is still freaking out about her getting older." Katie glanced over to the doors. "I should go see what's taking him so long." Katie looked over to Thea who was still giving cutesy looks to her law student and she just shook her head. "Just go." Katie let out a sigh before walking over and pushing the door back into the lobby. It was nice break from the loud music and dancing teenagers. She got a few looks from people she passed and she knows it's because of this ridiculous costume.
After a quick once over of the lobby, she didn't see Oliver anywhere. She walked over to the front desk, the clerk pulling on a bright smile.
"How can I help you Mrs. Queen?" the young girl asked. The girl glanced down to the other clerk who smiled as well and Katie looked between the two in confusion.
"Uh, I'm looking for my husband. He came out here a little while ago." Katie watched as the young girl seemed to smile even wider. "Uh, have you seen him?"
"Um, let me see," the girl glanced around the lobby, before looking over to the other clerk. "Hey Miller, you wouldn't by chance have seen Mayor Queen, have you?" the young man walked over to stand beside her, still smiling as he looked over to Katie.
"Actually I did." Miller said before reaching down and grabbing something that Katie soon realized was a small envelope. "He asked me to give this to you." Katie looked down to the envelope with a quirk brow before taking it and seeing her name on the front in Oliver's terrible handwriting. Her mouth curled into a slight smile as she tore open the envelope only to find a hotel room key card. She just shook her head before looking back up to the two clerks.
"Thank you for your help."
"You have great rest of your evening, Mrs. Queen." the young girl said as Katie turned. She looked over to the doors that lead to the party, before looking up ahead to the elevators. Without a second thought she turned back to the clerks and pulled off that awful red wig before shaking free her hair.
"Can you toss this for me?" she asked sliding the wig over the counter before running her finger through her hair. She didn't hesitate as she hurried over to catch the elevator before the doors could close.
Katie stepped off of the elevator, and glanced down to the room number scribbled inside of the envelope and trekked down the hall. She couldn't help the butterflies in her stomach as she neared the room. It was the mixture of nervousness and anticipation and they were warring with the other. She soon arrived in front of the door, and for the life of he she couldn't just reach forward to unlock it. It was this very moment did the doubt decide to creep back in her brain telling her that she shouldn't do this, that this wasn't her life, that she didn't deserve this moment. Her eyes dropped down to the key card in her hand, the hand that held a gorgeous wedding ring given to her by the man who had wrapped himself around her heart and she doesn't think that would change if she did have all of her memories.
And so she stopped overthinking, slipped the key card into the door and when she heard that click she pushed open the door and walked inside. A smile came to her lips as she walked into the room that was beautifully decorated with candles all around, soft music playing from somewhere. She walked further inside the large room, her eyes searching for the man. She found him standing in a dining room in front of a table that held some food and a ice bucket with chilling champagne. He grabbed two glasses of champagne and walked over to her.
"So either you decided to take Ari's advice and actually get us a room," she asked as she moved to meet him half way. "Or this was your super secret surprise." she took one of the glasses from him and he didn't hesitate to steal a quick kiss.
"Well I wanted to do the impossible." Oliver said the smile on Katie's face took his breath away and he couldn't help but to return it. "You see this room is our own little world. Here there is no Mayor, or vigilante, or dirty diapers, or annoying cousins who call us old." he slowly brought his lips to hers. "Here, it's just you and me. No distractions or interruptions." she smiled as she leaned forward, her lips brushing against his. "And no reason at all for anyone to have keep quiet."
"Well then-" Katie took a step back and brought her glass to her lips and downed the contents of her glass before sitting it down and turning back to the man. "I don't think we should waste another second." Oliver smiled before drinking his champagne and sliding his glass on the table, and without warning picked up the woman bridal style, and carried her to the bedroom.
The night wasn't terrible, Ari thought. A normal night, with her friends at a party actually made her forget the craziness of her life. At the moment, she and her friend Hannah were laughing at some of the weird costumes as they walked over for more punch.
"Aht Aht!" Thea suddenly appeared putting her hands around the punch bowl. "You can't drink from that now. Someone has spiked it. Another bowl is coming soon." Ari just rolled her eyes before they turned back to the party.
Hannah nudged her shoulder, "So have you seen Jamie, yet?"
"No, I know he's here. He's already posted a couple of pictures to instagram." Ari says looking around. The place was huge and filled with people. The dim lighting didn't help either.
"Just text him already." Hannah laughed before her own phone rang. She pulled it from her pocket and groaned. "It's my mom again probably wondering when I'm coming home."
"You're not staying for the sleepover?" Ari asked and Hannah looked over and shook her head.
"My mom's being a total bitch about the whole thing. I told her there would be adult supervision. I gotta take this before she shows up." Ari gave the girl a nod before watching her friend head out of the hall.
"Hey," Thea appeared at Ari's side. "You ok?"
"None of them are coming to the sleepover." Ari said with a shake of her head. "They all want to, but their parents don't." she turned to Thea who let out a sigh. "Do you think it has to do with my guardian's who are someone's target every other week?" Thea let out a snort before she brought an arm around the teen who dropped her head to her shoulder.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't, I was going to cancel anyway. I wanted to see Rene, make sure he was ok, and see what Church did to him." Ari sighed. Ari felt her phone vibrate and when she looked down to the screen, her eyes went wide. "This can't be real."
"What's wrong?" Thea asked and Ari turned to her before turning back to the party and stalking off. "Ari?"
Ari maneuvered her way through the party, and slipped out the doors to the garden. Her eyes scanning the area before she saw a group of guys huddled around. She hurried over, pushing her way through to see what they were looking at and the moment she did, she wished she hadn't. There standing there for everyone to see was Jamie, and he was currently making out with the bane of Ari's existence...Evelyn Sharp. For the better part of the night Ari pretended that she had a hold on her sanity. That the visit with her mom hadn't totally messed with her head and through a wrench in her life. In this moment, Ari felt that thin thread of sanity suddenly snap and before she could talk her self out of it, her feet were moving.
"You're such a bitch, you know that!" Evelyn and Jamie pulled apart both turning to Ari. Jamie stumbled a bit, a sign that he was a bit inebriated. Evelyn though looked over to Ari, a smirk on her face.
"Ari, hey, what's-" Jamie took a step, but it didn't quite land and he ended up stumbling face down on the ground gaining laughs from the onlookers. Ari shook her head before turning back to Evelyn. The two teens stared at each other for a moment before Ari began walking, and Evelyn did the same until the two were standing toe to toe.
"Nice costume," Evelyn said and that was when Ari stopped thinking and without a word decked the girl right in the nose. Evelyn stumbled back holding her bleeding nose before turning a glare to Ari.
"If you wanted me to beat your ass, all you had to do was ask." Ari said before running to tackle the girl.
Oliver rolled over on his back, his chest heaving as he tries to calm his breathing. He glanced over to his wife who rolled from her stomach to her back, her breathing just a ragged as his. She closed her eyes and pulled the sheet up to cover her.
"You still with me?" he asked a bit breathy, and she lightly laughed as she let out a deep breath before opening her eyes and turning to the man with a smile she thinks may now be permanently etched into her face.
"I am with you, Mr. Queen," she sighed. She slid closer to him, tangling herself around his body as she lays her head on his chest. Oliver's hand tenderly slides along her back and rests on her hip. "You still with me, because I'm not done with you yet." she pressed a kiss to his chest and she heard the rumble of deep laughter. She propped her self up, so her face hovered above his, that smile never leaving her face as she looks into his eyes. "I want to ask you a question, and I want you to be completely honest with me." Oliver's brow furrowed a bit, but he gave a nod. "How was...it?" the confused look on his face let her know that he had no idea what she was talking about and she was afraid she would have to be more specific. She let out a sigh, hoping he would get it and soon his brows rose and she knows he did.
"Are you serious?" he asked.
"Humor me. I've just had this anxiety that when we finally did the deed, it would be different...because I'm not the same person, or at least I don't feel like I am." she shook her head. "Actually never mind. I'm not going to bring you into my neurosis." she pulled away, but Oliver's hand moved to her back to keep her in place.
"It was perfect, Mrs. Queen, as it always is." he said before bringing his lips up to her. His hand slid around her, tugging her gently until she maneuvered herself above him fully. She pulled back once again, placing a hand on his cheek.
"I love you so much." she whispered. "I wish this moment could last forever." she turned away. "I wish even more we could figure out how to do this in our own bed." Oliver laughed and she turned back to him with a smile.
"You weren't that loud." he said as his hand snaked around her. "Plus the walls at home aren't thin. We should be fine." she chuckled as he dropped her lips to his.
"I guess we will just have to find out." she muttered against his lips. They assumed another round would commence, but a vibrating noise interrupting the moment. Katie pulled back and looked down to Oliver. "Is that your phone?" Oliver frowned slightly as he glanced around the room for the phone, but didn't see it right away. He turned back to Katie who was all too prepared to not move. "I didn't think I would have to give you back to the world so soon."
"It's probably nothing I can't get out of." Oliver said as Katie slid back on to bed with a groan. "Just give me one second." Oliver stood from the bed, and Katie looked over to the man who walked from the room with a smile. She hated to see him walk away, but the view wasn't bad. She heard his voice when he answered the phone, but she couldn't quite hear what he was saying. He soon came back into the room, and the look on his face let her know that he wasn't happy.
"What's wrong?"
"There was a fight at the party." Oliver began pulling back on his clothes. "Ari and Evelyn, and now the hotel manager has shut down the party and is sending everyone home. Katie sat up about to get dressed as well. "Wait, you don't have to. I still have hope that we can have this moment a little while longer. I just need to go down there and make sure there weren't any damages and make sure Ari is alright, then I'll be back up."
"We're going to have to deal with this whole Ari, Evie thing at some point."
"I know, but it won't be tonight. I'm sending everyone to their corners and I will be spending the rest of the evening with my wife." he pulled on his shirt before walking over to her and placing a kiss to her lips. "I shouldn't be gone long."
"I'm holding you to that, Liver." she said and with one more kiss he was gone.
Katie let out a sigh as she glanced around the empty room. She spotted a bag inside of the closet and stood to her feet, wrapping the sheet around her. Inside the bag she found clothes for both her and Oliver. She grabbed the pajamas shorts, and a shirt and slipped them on before wandering around the room. Soon she had another glass of champagne, and she plucked a piece of fruit from the tray before going out to stand on the balcony. There were still moments of this new life she couldn't believe. Her standing in some fancy hotel waiting for her husband so they could screw each others brains out was one of them. She smiled to herself as she thought of Oliver, now suddenly very anxious for his arrival. There was a knock at the door and she turned in confusion, before a smile came to her face.
"Did you forget the key card?" she laughed as she headed for the door. She pulled open the door, the smile dropping from her face as she sees someone she definitely did not expect.
"You probably don't remember who I am."
"John Constantine." Katie whispers still in a bit of shock. She looks at the man for a moment before looking down to herself, remembering she wasn't wearing much. She pulled an arm around herself before turning back to the man. "Why are you here?"
"Well, luv I-" he turned with a frown to someone in the hall. "What are you doing? I thought we agreed?"
"No, you just ran away before I could argue," said the dark haired woman who appeared at Constantine's side. Katie looked at the woman in confusion before turning to Constantine.
"Look I don't know what this is, but you can't be here." she shook her head, not liking that feeling in the pit of her stomach at the sight of a man from her past years of hell. She made to grab the door to close it, but the woman took a step forward. "What are you doing?"
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Queen, but this is for your own good." Zatanna said, and Katie looked confused when the woman started muttering something in a language that seemed familiar. She never got a chance to question anything before she felt the entire world swallow her up in darkness.
"And there was your chance to make a better first impression." Constantine said walking inside to pick Katie up off of the floor.
Oliver stood at the passenger side of the car staring down to Ari who held an ice pack against her lip.
"We are going to talk about this tomorrow. Tonight you cool off and we will discuss what happens next."
"What does that mean?" Ari asked turning back to him. "This wasn't my fault. That bitch pushed me too far. She knew I liked Jamie, and because she's sadistic and hell bent on tormenting me, she decided to make out with him at my birthday party."
"And what did fighting her accomplish. Other than the numerous videos now circulating of you fighting at a party." Ari shook her head and turned away. "Ari we just talked to your principal, convincing him that your violent behavior was just a one time thing, and now-"
"You can't even take my side." she shook her head. "Whatever fine, can I go home now?" Oliver looked down to the girl for a moment before kneeling down. "I wanna go home."
"Ari I need you to tell me what's going on with you." he said and she didn't say anything as she refused to look at him. "Something happened while I was gone, I know it. Let me help you."
"You can't." she muttered still avoiding his eyes. "I just want to go home." she dropped her head back on the seat and closed her eyes. Oliver let out a sigh before standing to his feet and closing the door. He walked over to Thea who had her phone pressed to her ear.
"No, I understand, thanks." she said before turning to Oliver. "The viral video of the Mayor's kid online is going to be a pain our asses tomorrow."
"I don't really care about this blowing back on me." Oliver said before glancing back to the car. "I just want to know what the hell happened." he turned back to Thea who had a look. "What?"
"Look, I don't know Evelyn that well, but from what I can tell from what happened, she wanted Ari see them kissing. She wanted to upset Ari." Oliver let out a sigh as he turned away. "What are you going to do?"
"I'm not quite sure yet." he glanced once again to Ari. "You're sure you ok to watch them tonight?" he turned back to his sister who let out a snort.
"Ollie, we're not having this conversation again. Just go back to your wife and do things I never want to hear about. Ari and Robyn will be fine." Oliver smiled before placing a kiss to Thea's cheek.
"You're the best." Oliver said before hurrying back into the hotel.
The moment Oliver stepped inside of the room, he didn't hesitate to head back to the bedroom, already pulling off his shirt. He stopped when he didn't see Katie in the bed. "Twinkie?" he looked around the room, heading over to the bathroom, and flicking the lights on to find it empty. "Twinkie, are you here?!" he walked back out into the room before his phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket, and looked down to Constantine's number before bringing it to his ear.
"Ok, so this time I actually remembered to call."
Author's Note:
Well there you have it.
Review Replies:
BlueBloodsSVUOrder: It has never been blatantly mentioned but at least hinted at with Ricks feelings for her. This chapter it was finally revealed and he got his answer. So glad you like it!
Jason Hunter: I found it I think and you're right that would be a cool costume for Katie's villain. I will definitely save that picture for later. Thanks! I'm glad you liked the chapter.
Adela: Thanks! I love writing Bruce and Oliver. I feel like the characters are so similar and I like having this love hate thing between them. They've been developing this brotherly relationship and they don't even know it.
Well I can never leave without showing my gratitude to all of you. Special thanks to everyone who has added this story to you fav/follow alerts. Also virtual hugs and cookies to everyone who left a review. They're always greatly appreciated.
Sneak Peek
Jacob pointed to the chair at the head of the table. "We have a seat for you here. I think we're still waiting for-" Jacob smiled and pointed behind Oliver. "There he is." With a furrowed brow, Oliver turned, a gasp escaping his lips.
"Dad?"