Chapter 8:
Katya tapped her foot impatiently as she listens to her Aunt talk. She is watching her Aunt intently but she hearing nothing, it's not that she doesn't want to listen she does but she can't let herself be part of this world, not yet, or of this family. Not until she knows her mother is safe. The guilt of being happy when she didn't know where her mother is would be too much.
Jays hand on her knee brings her out of her thoughts. She looks over at him and he gives her a reassuring smile.
"It's ok." He mouths.
Katya smiles back because no matter what is going on she can't see Jays smile and not smile back.
Katya looks back around the room. Roy had sent her cousin their son Tommy to his room and Katya couldn't be more grateful. One day she will take the opportunity to get to him. Roy and Thea haven't change much at least not from their pictures, sure their older but that's about it.
"How's your mum?" Thea asks grabbing her attention.
Katya looks over at her and Thea is looking conflicted. Katya knew they were friends but by the looking on her face she also mad at her mother probably from keeping her existence from Oliver and if she is honest she can't blame her.
"I need to find Oliver." Katya states ignoring her Aunts question.
Roy frowns.
"You found him easily the first time, why can't you find him now?" Roy asked.
Katya sighs.
"I tried to trace his phone but something is scrambling the signal." Katya confessed.
Roy smirked at her.
"You are so much like your mum." Roy comments but he doesn't elaborate.
Katya smiles because she knows it's true at least when it comes to computers.
"He is probably in the lair." Thea adds.
Katya looks over at her Aunt.
"Don't you get signal there?" Jay asked.
"We used to." Roy started.
"But about four months ago nothing, no signal and you couldn't trace anyone to the lair." Roy added.
Katya looked down. Someone had to have done that. It would be difficult to do and Katya can't help but wondered who would do that.
"Roy why don't you go get Oliver, in the meantime I can get to know my niece." Thea suggested.
Katya opened her mouth to argue when she felt Jays hand on her knee once more. No matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't rush this.
Oliver rubbed his head. He had been staring at a computer screen for far too long and it was starting to give him a headache, but he couldn't bring himself to look away. The emails just kept coming and according to the email timeline Katya wasn't even seven yet.
Felicity wrote in so much detail, if he closed his eyes he could almost see every moment in Katya's life that he had missed. There were pictures and videos, every one of them made his heart ache. He learnt about Felicity's fears, he wished she had given him the opportunity to be there to get rid of her fears or be right there alongside her worrying too. He deserved that right and Felicity had taken that away from him, it was so unlike her and that confused him even more. The Felicity he knew believed in telling the truth even if it wasn't what someone wanted to hear. She thought for what she thought was right regardless of the consequences. It had become one of the best and worse things he like about Felicity. She was like his moral compass, telling him what was right or what was wrong. When he was ready to give up to Slade she fought with everything she had.
FLASHBACK
Slade was winning and he hated that thought. His mother was dead but that wasn't enough for Slade, he wanted Oliver to pay and that meant losing someone else he loved.
Oliver thought; Laurel and Sara were safe with each other and Detective Lance, Thea was safe with Roy. That left Diggle and Felicity, both who stood in front of him now both to stubborn to let him do this alone. He wish he had the strength to make them leave but he was selfish and he needed them and they knew it.
"You should go." Oliver mumbled to Felicity as Diggle talked in the far corner over the phone.
Felicity looked up from her tablet.
It wasn't the first time he had told her this, it wasn't even the second. Ever since Slade's reappearance Oliver had been trying to get everyone he cared about to leave him so they stood a chance of being safe.
Felicity rolled her eyes and ignored him.
"Dam it Felicity please." Oliver yelled.
Diggle looked over at them his eyebrows raised.
"You guys need to get out of Starling now, why you still can." Oliver said.
Diggle sighed and went back to his phone call ignoring Oliver just like Felicity had.
Oliver slammed his fist into the table in frustration.
"Leave now." Oliver ordered.
Felicity looked at him once again her bright blue eyes never leaving his.
"My life, my choice." she said simply.
Oliver let out a frustrated sigh.
"Besides what would you do without us?" she asked and before he can even think of a reply she answers her own question.
"Hand yourself over to Slade."
Oliver takes a shaky breath and Felicity's eyes dart over to his. That was exactly what he was planning to do and by the look on Felicity's face she knows that.
"No." Felicity shouts more forceful then he has ever heard her.
She puts her tablet down and walks so she is standing just in front of him. She has to look up to him to see his face but she doesn't seem to care.
"You don't get to do that." she adds just as forceful.
Her eyes fill with tears and there is part of Oliver that wished he never said anything. He hates seeing she cry, but the other part of him knows that this is the only way that she could stand a chance of surviving and every part of him would do anything to make sure that she survives this.
"I don't have a choice." Oliver states.
She slaps him then. Her palm coming into contact with his face, faster than he ever imagined it possible. Its stings but the way that she is looking at him now hurts more than the slap did. She looks lost and distort.
"Felicity." He breaths her name.
"You don't get to give up, do you hear me?" she yells.
Oliver is completely focused on Felicity but he can tell Diggle is no standing right beside him.
"She's right man." Diggle says.
Oliver tares his eyes away from Felicity to look over at Diggle.
"Were in this together till the bitter end." Diggle added.
Oliver sighed in defeat.
"Till the bitter end." He repeats.
Diggle smiles at him before squeezing Felicity's shoulder and wondering off.
Oliver looks down at Felicity her eyes still filled with tears. Oliver swallows hard before slowly raising his hand and gently placing in her cheek. He whips the tears from her face.
"Promise me." She starts her voice breathless and filled with tears.
She takes a deep breath.
"Promise me you will fight not matter what." She begs.
Oliver nods.
"Promise me Oliver." She states again.
"I want to hear those words." She adds.
Oliver learns forward and brushes a kiss on her forward. He lingers there as he breaths the words,
"I Promise."
END OF FLASHBACK.
Oliver looked up as the lair doors opened.
"Not now." Oliver said without looking up to see who it was.
"Oh trust me you're going to want to hear this." Roy voice called from the stairs.
Oliver sighs and turned to face Roy.
"What?" Oliver demanded.
"Katya's looking for you." Roy stated a smug smile filling his face.
Katya tried to answer all of her Aunts questions as best as she could but the truth was she didn't know the answer to half of them.
"So you have any idea why Felicity left?" Thea asked again.
Katya sighed.
"I don't know why my mum did what she did." Katya replied.
She stood up.
"All I know was that she loved him." Katya replied pacing.
"Did you never want to know who you father was?" Thea questioned.
"Of course I did." Katya replied instantly.
"When I was ten my mum got into an accident, I was so scared." Katya started.
She had told this story to one person and that person was Jay and the only reason he knew was because he covered for her, even her mother didn't know.
"I was meant to be at school but instead I got on a bus and came here to Starling." Katya said.
"You came here?" Thea asked.
Katya nodded.
"Yes. But I didn't know that he was married and when I knocked on the door his wife opened it." Katya explained.
"Laurel?" Thea said and Katya nodded.
"Mum used to say she like Laurel because she was this strong and amazing women, but to me she was nothing like that." Katya added.
"What happened?" Thea asked.
FLASHBACK
Nine year old Katya looked over at Jay.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked.
Katya nodded.
"My mum is so sad." Katya replied.
"I just want to make her happy." She added.
"Ok." Jay replied.
"But if you are not back by the end of the day I'm telling my mum." Jay added.
Katya nodded.
"I promise." she said.
Jay held out his little finger and Katya smiled before putting her finger next to his, it was tradition.
"Pinkie promise." Katya said.
Katya hugged Jay quickly before running towards the bus.
Her mum would not be happy if she knew what Katya was doing she would be in so much trouble right now. But mum was hurt and sad and Katya just wanted to make her feel better.
"Mum loves dad and if dad was here mum might be happy again." Katya whispered to herself.
Katya smiled to the bus driver as she got on the bus.
It wasn't a long journey, but it still made Katya nervous in case her mum or Jays mum found out.
When the bus pulled up to a stop Katya walked quickly of the bus.
"Hey kid." The bus driver called.
Katya turned to look at the man.
"Do you know where you're going?" He asked.
Katya smiled.
"I going to see my dad." she said happily.
Her mum always said that her dad would love her and she couldn't wait to meet him.
According to the instructions that she and Jay managed to find on the computer, her dad's house was just a short walk from the bus stop. Katya hurried along the path, stopping when she got to the road. She looked left and right just like her mum taught her. The road was clear so she crossed the road. It was another ten minutes before Katya came to the address Jay had written down for her and she was tired.
Her mum had once said that her dad had a lot of money but the house was smaller than what she had been expecting. It was still a lot bigger than what she and her mum lived in. Katya knocked on the door.
After a couple of minutes the door swung open and a women with long brown hair opened the door. She smiled down at her.
"Hi Sweetie, who are you?" The women asked.
Katya frowned she had seen the women's face before but she couldn't place it.
"I'm Katya, who are you?" Katya asked holding out her hand for the women to shake her hand. Mum always said this was how you greeted and adult.
The women laughed as she shook Katya's hand.
"I'm Laurel." The women replied.
Katya smiled.
"That's a pretty name." Katya replied.
Mum always said it was nice to compliment someone.
"Thank you sweetie, but what are you doing here?" Laurel asked.
"I'm looking for my dad." Katya replied.
The women looked around her as if she was looking for her.
"And who's your dad?" She asked.
Katya smiled brightly and pulled out the picture of her father from her backpack. She kept the picture in her bag ever since she had to do a school project about her family when she was six.
Katya handed the picture to the Laurel.
"His name is Oliver Queen, do you know where I can find him?" Katya asked.
The women gasped and dropped the picture.
"Hey." Katya cried.
Katya bent down quickly and picked up the picture before hugging it close to her chest.
Katya looked up at the women to tell her off but she stopped when she noticed the women's face. She looked sad and angry.
"Your daddy isn't here." Laurel said suddenly.
Katya smiled.
"You know my dad?" Katya asked.
Laurel scoffed.
"I'm his wife." she said, her tone was cold and harsh.
"His married?" Katya asked trying not to let herself cry.
Laurel nodded.
"Yes, and soon we will have a family of our own and there won't be any room for you." Laurel said.
Katya's lip trembled. She would not cry. Not here.
"I'm sorry sweetie but I just don't want you to get hurt." Laurel said her voice back to the kind way it was before.
Katya nodded.
"I'm sorry I bothered you." Katya said.
She didn't want to be somewhere she wasn't wanted.
END OF FLASHBACK.
Katya shook her head
Thea stopped her from pacing by grabbing her arm gently and turning her round to face her.
"Did she say something to you?" Thea asked.
Katya shook her head.
"It doesn't matter." Katya replied.
"Yes it does." A deep voice rumbled from behind.
Katya turned round to find Oliver standing there with Roy next to him. Oliver looked annoyed and angry.
"Hi." Katya said softly.
Oliver eyes softened.
"Hi." Oliver replied.
"I need your help." Katya said.
Oliver nodded.
"Of course." he replied.
"But one day you're going to tell me what Laurel said to you." he added.
Katya nodded.
Oliver sighed.
"Tell me everything," Oliver ordered lightly.
Katya blew out a breath.
"I don't know where to begin." Katya admitted.
"Start from the beginning and we will go from there." Oliver suggested.
Katya nodded.
"Ok." she replied.
Note: Hey everyone just wanted to say thank you for reading and for your reviews.
Two things, first I am really sorry but no matter how much I try I can't seem to like Laurel. So to all of those who like Laurel I am really sorry about this chapter. Please don't hate me too much for it :-)
Secondly, I am thinking about writing a one shot serious that will go along with this called "How it should have been?" it will consist of moments in their lives if Felicity never left. What do you think would anyone be interest in this?
Once again thanks for reading and I will update again soon.