Chapter 7

Just Smile

"Death is not the greatest loss in life.

The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live."

-Norman Cousins

Oliver wanted to kill David Parker. It was strange, because sure Oliver wanted to kill people before, but since he made an oath of not killing, that want never got far. But now, after Barry told him an impossible story about a man who killed innocent women, Oliver has new felt this strong of an urge to kill anyone before.

"Oliver you're starting to freak me out, say something." Barry said still closely watching the man. After he finished speaking he wasn't sure what Oliver's reaction would be, but an eerie silence wasn't it. "Look right now there isn't any proof that this case is in any way connected to Katie and David."

"You said Detective West wanted you to check out some old files?" Oliver asked and Barry nodded. "Go. Go over everything from the case and if you find anything that gets me closer to Katie, I want you to call me." He expected Barry to turn and walk away, but the young man didn't move. "Why are you still standing here?"

"What are you going to do right now?" Barry asked and Oliver let out an annoyed huff. "Oliver just go back to my place, and wait for my call. The last thing we need is the Arrow to pop up. We don't need any connections between him and Katie. That would lead to too many questions."

"I don't care about questions, Barry. Right now only one thing matters and that's making sure that I find Katie before it's too late." With that Oliver turned and walked away from the man.

Insanity has been defined as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Felicity felt like she was probably going insane, but at the moment she didn't care. She sat in front of her monitors, watching the surveillance videos from Katie's loft for what felt like the one hundredth time. She was intent on seeing something, a clue that could lead them to Katie. She was so focused on the video, that the hand suddenly on her shoulder caused her to practically jump out of her skin.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"What, cause me to have a heart attack." the woman said with a shake of her head, as she held a hand to her chest. "What are you doing here, Bruce?"

"I came by to see if there was any news on Katie and David." Bruce said looking up to the video that was paused on David holding Katie. "You find anything from this video?"

"No, and I don't know what else to do." Felicity replied with a shake of her head. "I knew there was something off about him, something just not right and I didn't say anything." she turned back to Bruce. "I didn't say anything and now-"

"Felicity." Bruce says taking the seat beside the woman. "You and I both know that one of the things special about Katie is that she has this knack for seeing the things others want to stay hidden. She can see the masks people wear, which is why I have no doubt she saw the one David was wearing." Felicity turned back to the surveillance video and side.

"Of course she did. She just really wanted to be wrong about him." Felicity turned back to Bruce. "Now she's nowhere to be found." Her phone suddenly rang, and Felicity turned to see Oliver's number. "It's Oliver." she quickly put the phone on speaker. "Oliver, did you find her?"

"No." Oliver replied, his voice filled with frustration."Look Felicity, I need you to look into something called the Smiley Face Murders."

Bruce and Felicity shared a look, neither liking the direction of this phone call.

"Does this have something to do with Katie?" Felicity asked her voice growing low, hoping it didn't.

"I don't-" the man sighed. "I don't know, but right now it's all we have. The murders were an old case of David's before he left. The CCPD seems to think there's a connection between the victims and Katie."

Felicity turned back to her monitor and began typing away, the first thing popping up was a newspaper article that made the woman grimace.

"Oh my god." Felicity muttered. "The last murder was about ten months ago. A woman named Harriet Baker. She was a bartender, but that's pretty much it. I don't see any connection between her and Katie."

"Felicity, can you bring up the pictures of the other victims of this killer?" Bruce asked.

"Bruce?" Oliver spoke. "What are you doing there?"

"Trying to help find my friend." Bruce said as the photos appeared on the screen. "Oliver I think you're right."

"You do?" Felicity asked looking over to the man before turning back to the screen. "I don't-" she suddenly noticed it too. "What the hell?"

"What is it?" Oliver asked.

"They all look like Katie." Felicity spoke swiping between the pictures. "Every last one of them." she turned back to her phone. "Oliver if this guy is behind Katie's disappearance-"

"Hey this could just be a coincidence alright." Bruce said not wanting to believe someone as crazy as this could be holding Katie captive. "A bunch of woman who look like her-"

"David was the lead detective on this case." Felicity said reading the article. "It says here he never caught a break in the case."

"And the moment he leaves, the murders just stop."Oliver comments. "It's him, it has to be him."

"Are you saying you think David is the Smiley Face Killer?" Felicity asked glancing over to the other monitor that held the video taken from Katie's loft. She always felt something was off about the man, but she never believed he was a murderer. "Are you sure?"

"Of course he's not sure." Bruce comments. "Oliver I get you want to figure out who has her, but accusing someone of being a murderer-"

"It's him!" Oliver snapped angrily. "Felicity I need you to compare the locations all the victims were found-"

"See if they were in close proximity to each other, if they were then there's a chance the killer could have been keeping them somewhere in the area." Felicity said typing away. "I'm on it."

"Give me a call when you find something." Oliver replied before ending the call.

"Oliver is grasping at straws." Bruce said with a shake of his head.

"The woman he loves has disappeared from the face of the earth. He's scared that she may be in the hands of a killer, straws are all he has right now." Felicity sighs. "This is all a bit crazy, but I think there may be something here." she watched as the files downloaded. "She's alright, right?" she turned to Bruce, needing some reassurance that there was still hope.

"Felicity, Katie has been through a hell of lot in her life, I promise you that some crazy person isn't going to be the thing that takes her out." Bruce said before placing a hand on the woman's shoulder. "Plus I have a feeling there are more eyes on her than even we know." Bruce says knowing Jacob had to know where she was, but he had the feeling that he wouldn't share it.

"You mean the league?" Felicity asked and Bruce simply nodded since he was sure that Ra's probably had eyes on her as well. "I thought the league was protecting her for some strange reason, why wouldn't they save her."

"They would save her, only if they thought she needed to be saved." Bruce sighed. "It means that whatever situation she may be in, they feel she should be able to get out of it herself."

Katie's eyes bore into the cuff on her ankle. She can't even tell how long she'd been staring at the damn thing, analyzing it, looking for some sort of loose piece, or rusted section. There wasn't one. It was strong and the only way it was coming off her ankle was with a key. Katie sat with her leg folding in, as she let her hand slide across the cuff. She needed to get the key from David. How she would do that, seemed to be a different problem.

When the cart finally stopped, Katie stepped off unsure if they were where they were supposed to be. The only thing she saw was a small rickety house in the middle of no where. She turned to see the Harrison guy give the driver a couple of bills before the man turned and rushed him and his cart away. Katie soon found the uncertainty in this situation. She was now left with the stranger who she met in the street, and was now at his house alone. He turned to her with a smile before glancing over to the house.

"I know it doesn't look like much, but it's strangely comfortable." Katie nodded, glancing back to the house as well. "Plus it's only temporary once I'm done with my work."

"Work?" Katie asked turning back to the man.

"Oh, I'm researching for something I think could be amazing."

"You're a scientist?" she asked and the man nodded with a smile. "And what is this something amazing?"

"I don't quite have a name for it yet, but it will be able to power whole cities with clean energy." Wells replied and Katie nodded.

"Wait a minute, you're Dr. Harrison Wells." Katie said with a pointed finger and he just looked amused. "Sorry, but I remember reading some of your case studies when I was in medical school."

"Really, which ones?"

"I don't really remember. I usually read them to help me sleep." she replied honestly and the man couldn't help but laugh. "I'm sorry, that was a terrible thing to say."

"Don't worry about it, some of my early stuff was a bit trivial." Wells said before nudging his head toward the house. "Did you want to come inside?" Katie stood for a moment, turning away.

"I didn't know your place was on the outskirts of the city." Katie said looking around at nothing but barren land. "You're pretty secluded out here, aren't you?" she turned back to the man who let out a chuckle.

"I am, but it's only so I don't get any disruption during my research." Harrison replied. "I know this is a bit-"

"Weird?" Katie asked and the man nodded.

"Don't worry, our foot cart driver works at the local car rental shop in the city."

"You chose a foot cart over a car?" Katie asked.

"I like to experience the authenticity of the places I visit." Harrison replied. "He said he would send the car right over." he nudged his head toward the house. "We should get inside-" he glanced up to the sky that was turning gray. "A storm is coming soon." he looked back over to Katie. "Don't worry, I don't bite." and with that he turned and headed for the house. Katie stood there for a moment, her arms wrapped around herself, as she glanced up to the storm clouds already forming. She let out a sigh before following the man into the house.

The SCPD was still a mad house as the phones rang off the hooks, and officers and clerks rushed about. Lance soon found himself going from one end of the station to the next to see what new information had been found on Katie and David's disappearance. He actually probably wouldn't have stopped if his daughter didn't appear in front of him.

"Alright, I think it's time for you to sit down." Laurel said and Lance shook his head.

"I'm fine sweetie, a tip just came in that I want to check out-" the Captain made to walk around, but the woman caught his arm and began pulling him to his office. "Laurel, I told you-"

"I know what you said dad, but as the person looking at you, you're definitely not fine." Laurel said and Quentin let out a deep sigh before walking around to sit behind his desk. "Dad you have to slow down."

"Slow down?" the man asked looking over to his daughter. "We just found out that they've been missing for days, and you and I both know that when that much time passes, we're bound to either find something we're not going to like or absolutely nothing." he shook his head as he let out another sigh dropping his head back against his chair. "I was afraid something like this would happen."

"You were afraid Katie and David would go missing?" Laurel asked and her father looked over to her for a moment as if wanting to say something, and yet he doesn't. "Dad, what's up?" the man opened his mouth to speak, just as there was a knock on the door before it opened without a response.

"Ms. Lane we talked about this, you wait for me to tell you to come in before you actually come it." Quentin said not having the patience to deal with the woman today. "Look today is just not a good day."

"I can see that, but my editor wanted me to get a quote about the status of the search for Detective Parker and Doctor Robins." Lois asked with her recorder out and ready.

"You will find out the status when the rest of the press finds out and the press conference tomorrow." Lance replied standing to his feet. The woman simply nodded before turning off the recorder about to turn, but she stops. "Was there something else Ms. Lane?"

"Of the record." Lois says and the man simply nods. "Do you think after all this time that they could still be alive?" Quentin had asked himself that question probably a hundred times today. "Captain-"

"At the moment I don't know." Quentin replied looking back to the woman. "But we're not giving up until we have something." the reported simply nodded before turning and leaving the office.

"Dad-"

"You know when I first met that woman, I thought she was just another rich kid who tried to talk herself out of her problems." Lance replied with a shake of his head before turning to his daughter. "And now, now that kid got me. Right under my skin with her stupid jokes and her reckless behavior." Quentin dropped back into his seat. "She makes some stupid decisions sometimes."

"They're usually for the right reasons." Laurel said taking the seat in front of her father's desk. She'd noticed it to. The way Katie seemed to have wormed her way into their hearts quite unexpected.

"Doesn't make it any less stupid." Lance said sliding a hand across his face. "I just hope this isn't that moment I warned her about. " he sighed once again standing to his feet. "One of those decisions getting her killed."

"Dad-"

"I should get back out there honey." Quentin replied walking over and placing a kiss on the top of his daughter's head. "I'll call you with any news."

Laurel turned, and watched her father dive back into the search for the woman she thinks he may care for as if she were his own daughter. She decided she would help as well, but not here. Laurel stood to her feet and left, knowing there was probably another group of people just as determined to find Katie.

Barry took his time in reading the report that he hadn't seen in a very long time. It was the report from the last murder, and the things they found still make his skin crawl. These murders were one of the worst cases he'd worked on since working at the CCPD. He'd been in his lab for almost an hour before Joe finally came in.

"So anything jump out at you?" Joe asked and Barry sighed with a shake of his head.

"I'm sorry Joe. My report was pretty cut and dry. The killer left no forensic evidence behind, suggesting that he or she may have some background in criminal investigating."

"Like a cop?"

"It was theory tossed around, but yeah could be a cop, or someone who utilizes google. There was not enough evidence to focus with either way." Barry said closing the file. "I remember this case really got to Parker."

"I do too." Joe said with a shake of his head. "He was working day in and day out to find this guy."

Barry noticed the look on Joe's face. "What's up?"

"Eddie seems to be stuck on this theory that David could be the Smiley Faced killer." Joe said and he noticed Barry turned away. "You don't think he's right, do you?"

"I don't know. I've read an embarrassing amount of case studies on sociopaths and psychopaths." Barry said before turning back to Joe. "How bold would he be to be the lead investigator on the crimes he was committing?"

"He could sway the investigation, but that would be crazy, right?" Joe says and Barry shrugs.

"The thing about psychopaths is that they rarely show signs of their disorder. They flit in with society perfectly, say the right things, do the right things, all the while they're murdering women in their basements." Barry looked back down to the file in front of him before something hitting him and he begins flipping through the pages.

"You got something."

"I don't know." Barry said skimming through his reports. "We found a partial print at one of the crime scenes. We thought we'd gotten lucky, that the killer finally slipped up, but it got lost in transit."

"Disappearing evidence?" Joe asked and Barry nodded.

"I think I have-" Barry suddenly smiled before picking up a photo. "Here it is." he turned it to Joe who looked confused as he saw what looked like an finger print on park bench where the victim was found.

"What am I looking at?"

"It's the print." Barry said jumping to his feet and rushing over to his computer area. "Do you remember that email that got sent around a couple of weeks ago about the upgrades that we were getting."

"I usually delete emails when I don't even understand the first sentence." Joe said walking over to see what Barry was doing.

"Well if you would've read the email, you would've seen that one of our upgrades was advanced imaging enhancing software." Barry said and both men looked up to the monitor as the print appeared on the screen and suddenly the search was running.

"You're running prints from a photograph of the print?" Joe asked and Barry nodded. "Technology I tell ya."

"Soon we should-" the computer beeped and both men eyes widen when they saw the match for the print. "Have a match."

"Email me that match." Joe said already rushing out the door. Barry simply nodded as he stared in shock at the image of David Parker's ID photo on the screen. Once the shock passed, Barry pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed Oliver's number, apparently to tell the archer his gut was right.

Katie's eyes were closed, but she was far from sleep as footsteps came creaking down the wooden steps once again. She didn't even open her eyes at the sound of something sliding across the floor.

"It was all for you." Came David's voice. "All of it." he chuckled with a shake of his head. "They were just test, practice you know. You see I didn't feel I was ready to make that move with you, so I needed to make all the mistakes first."

"How many women have you kept down here?" Katie asked finally opening her eyes to see the man just sitting, just outside the chalk line.

"Eight, no nine, no, no, it was eight. There was almost a ninth, but-" the man sighed.

"But what? Did you grow a heart and stop being crazy?" Katie asked and the man turned a glare toward her.

"I don't like that word, Rob." David replied and Katie a slight twitch of the man's eye. "It's mean, and not true. I'm totally a sane, functioning detective. And I'm damn good at my job. I could've made you happy you know, that's all I wanted to do was make you happy."

"Which you probably would've done if you weren't crazy!" Katie snapped and the man suddenly jumped to his feet angrily, wanting so desperately to cross the line, but he doesn't. Katie stood to her feet, and walked over to stand that foot away from the man, a smile coming to her lips. "You can call it practice all you want, but the truth is you were enjoying yourself. You liked bringing them down here, chaining them in your little torture room because that is just what crazy people do." the man's fists clenched at his side, and she knew he was getting angry, and she just needed him to cross that line. "The truth Dave, we were never going to be happy, because you would always just be a rebound." she chuckled. "You were a distraction from the man I really love."

"Oliver-"

"Yes Oliver. You wanna know where I was? Why you couldn't find me?" she watched his breath quickening. She almost had him. "I was with him. Making love to him. And it was good. It was hot and sweaty and-"

The man growled taking a step forward, and Katie did the same, but before she knew what was happening, David was suddenly gone. She stood there alone, looking totally confused as she searched for the man who was there one moment and gone the next in what seemed like a yellow blur.

David was tossed to the wooden floor with a thud, and he angrily hit his fist against it before turning his head to the man staring down to him.

"I told you to not engage."

"I know, but-"

"No buts! She was playing you, and she almost had you." David watched the man in yellow walk over to the window and peek out. "You've been made."

"What?"

"It was bound to happen. Your little smiley face escapade was bound to turn up something."

"What do we do?" the man turned back to the man in yellow he looked at him from his masked face.

"We? Oh this isn't "we's" problem. It's yours. There was a plan in place. I needed-" the man in yellow let out a frustrated sigh. "She was going to be a great help, but now you screwed up." the masked man pulled a lighter from somewhere in his suit before tossing it to David who caught it. "Make it go away and then you go away." and with that the man and yellow was just gone.

David stood to his feet as he looked down to the lighter before doing as he was told.

Oliver hated waiting, he hated the not doing anything, because when he wasn't do anything, his mind was forced to imagine the possibilities. For some reason those possibilities were never good. He found himself pacing in Barry's apartment slash lab when his phone suddenly rang. He turned the phone to see the caller ID, and quickly answered seeing Felicity's name.

"Tell me you have something Felicity."

"I have something. " Felicity replied. "You were right. All of the murders did happen in the same area. The fifth district of Central City. The victims were found at parks, bus stops, even one was found at the grave yard. I narrowed the area down and it would seem that someone we know owns property in said area."

"David. Where is it?"

"It's a townhouse, it's been on the market for a while, but no one's buying it. Would probably make the perfect place to hold your victims, wouldn't it?"

"Felicity email me the address." Oliver said heading over to his bag and pulling out his arrow suit.

"Alright, but Oliver you shouldn't go alone, I'm going to call Barry and-"

"Thanks Felicity." Oliver said before ending the call and tossing the phone back into the bag before pulling off his jacket.

Katie sat picking at the cuff around her ankle, knowing it was pointless, but she just had the feeling that he wouldn't keep her in this basement for too long. She began looking over the chain, when an unexpected scent sift past her nose. She sniffed a couple of times, before she jumped to her feet.

"Smoke." she muttered to herself walking as far as he chain would allow, and she finally saw the smoke seeping down to the basement. She turned and began trying to pull the chain from the wall, but it wouldn't budge. Katie had no idea what else to do and so she turned and did the only thing she could. "Help!" she began coughing as the smoke thickened. "Somebody please, help me!" she began backing up trying to create as much distance from the smoke as she could, but it was no use because it was already filling the room. Katie pulled her shirt up, trying her best to cover her nose and mouth. "Somebody!" she could barely talk through her fit of coughing. Suddenly the room began to blur, and she was suddenly lightheaded as she slid down the wall, falling to the floor. "Somebody-" her face was pressed against the cold concrete, her eyelids were getting heavy while her chest was on fire. There was nothing left in her to fight. She could've sworn she heard something crash, and she probably was dreaming when she saw feet moving toward her. In the moment Katie wasn't sure what was happening, and she didn't care at the moment. There was only one thing on her mind right now, the one thing that always made the bad just fleet away. "Oliver." it was the last word she uttered before consciousness finally left her.

Oliver smelled the smoke when he was only a block away. If it was at all possible, he sped even faster until he came to a screeching halt at the sight on house that was on fire. There was already a crowd forming outside, that seemed shocked to see Starling's masked hero, rushing toward the house. Before he could get too close, Barry suddenly appeared in front of the man, now wearing a red suit, and mask, trying to push him back.

"You can't go in there." Barry said struggling to hold the man back.

"Let me go!" Oliver said also struggling to get out of the man's grasp. They heard the sounds of sirens, and Barry knew they couldn't be here when the police showed up. They were already too exposed, he glanced over to the crowd of people who now held cell phones recording the exchange. "She's in there, she's-" before Oliver could even finish the thought, he and Barry were tossed through the air from the house suddenly exploding.

There was a ringing in his ears, as Oliver sat up to see the house engulfed in flames. He tried to stand to his feet, only to stumbled back to the ground.

"Twinkie-" he muttered as he watched the house that she was inside turning to ash in front of his eyes. He once again tried to stand to his feet, this time he was successful and the only he could think of doing was getting to Katie. He moved to the house, but Barry once again appeared in front of him.

"It's over Oliver." Barry whispered. "She's gone."

Those seemed like impossible words to Oliver, because she couldn't just be gone. Katie, Twinkie, his Twinkie just couldn't cease to exist. He continued trying to push past Barry, but the man wasn't going to let it happen. The flashing lights in the distance was the last straw. Barry knew the police couldn't find them there, and so Barry grabbed Oliver's arms and rushed them off.

When they finally stopped, they were in the middle of a field, just outside the city limits. When Barry let go of Oliver's arms, the archer dropped his hands to his knees, finding it hard to breathe.

"Don't worry, it'll pass." Barry said looking down to the man who didn't budge at his words. "Oliver-" the archer didn't utter a word. "Oliver-" Barry reached down touching the man's shoulder, but Oliver pulled from his grasp, standing to his feet and walking away. "Where are you going?!" still no reply. "Oliver, she's gone!" it was the second time those words were spoken, and this time it froze Oliver in place as those two words bounced around in his head. "I'm sorry, but we will find David, and-"

"And then what?" Oliver asked whipping around to face the man. "Do you know, cause I don't. I don't know how the sun is going to rise tomorrow, or why the wind is still blowing, I don't know why my heart-" Oliver pounded a fist against his chest. "I don't know why my heart is still beating when she's just gone."

The third time the words were spoken, they'd actually come out of his own mouth, and it actually left a bad taste in his mouth.

Barry looked at the man for a moment, unsure how to respond. This was a side of Oliver that was quite unfamiliar. Emotions were coming from the man that Barry just didn't expect from the usual reserved archer.

"Oliver, I'm so sorry we couldn't stop this." Barry said.

"This wasn't "us" or "we", this was me." Oliver said with a shake of his head before looking up to meet Barry's eyes. "I promised her that I would protect her and I...he was just a guy. I should've seen it, I should've-"

There was a beep in his ear from the comlink, and Oliver knew it was Felicity. He didn't even have it in his heart to tell the woman, but he knew he had to. He reached up, pressing the com.

"Felicity-"

"Get to the hospital now!" Felicity ordered.

"Felicity-"

"I just caught a report of the once missing Katherine Robins was just dropped off in front of Central City Hospital. She's in critical condition and you need-" the woman let out shaky breath. "She can' t be alone anymore. You have to let her know that you're there."

Oliver turned his eyes to Barry, who stared in confusion at the man.

"Barry, get me to the hospital." Oliver ordered, and Barry was still confused, but from the look in the man's eyes, he figured that he should probably ask question's later.

Oliver would've loved nothing more than for Barry to take him straight to the hospital, but Barry stopped by his apartment, and told Oliver he wouldn't be at the hospital for too long if he showed up dressed as the Arrow. So Oliver and Barry both changed, before rushing back to the hospital.

The entire entrance of the hospital was covered by the police and the press all aiming to get a status on Katie.

"It's Oliver Queen!" one of the reporters yelled, and suddenly the man pushing his way through the crowd of flashing lights and questions. By the time he and Barry entered the hospital, they bumped into two familiar face.

"Eddie, Joe." Barry said walking over to the detectives. "Any word on Katie?"

"They're still working on her. She inhaled a lot of smoke, and I guess when she showed up, she was barely breathing." Joe replied. Barry looked over to Eddie, whose eyes stared over to Oliver.

"Mr. Queen, we were made to believe that you were to remain in Starling until the investigation was over." Eddie said walking over to the man. "Suspects are ordered to stay put. It usually doesn't help when they show up in the same city as the victim."

"Well I will remember that for the next time I'm accused of something I didn't do." Oliver replied about to walk around the man, to speak to one of the hospital staff about Katie's condition, but Eddie moved to block him, a hand pushing the man back. Oliver's dark eyes went down to the man's hand in front of him, before looking back to the detective.

"You're are going to stay put, until I get word from Captain Lance about what he wants us to do with you." Eddie replied before he turned, and headed off as he pulled out his phone.

"Hey, just calm down." Barry said, as Oliver's fist clenched at his side. "I will see if I can talk to someone about how she's doing." Oliver just nodded before watching Barry walk off toward the nurse's station.

Oliver felt the need to just slip away, but detective West kept his eyes on him as they stood in the waiting area. He shook his head before beginning a nervous pace.

Joe watched the man and shook his head. The worry was practically oozing from the man as he paced back and forth.

"Hey." Eddie said walking up behind Joe.

"You talk to Lance?" Joe asked and Eddie nodded as he turned to watch Oliver. "And?"

"He's say he's fine. We shouldn't hold him." Eddie replied with a shake of his head. "I guess we don't have a reason, when we know whose behind this."

"That info come back on the house?" Joe asked and Eddie turned to him with a nod. "Parker."

"Realtor said Parker bought it and planned to fix it up before flipping it. On thing is, Parker always had an excuse why renovations could never begin." Eddie sighed as he glanced back over to Oliver. "Lance did say that if we did get a lead on Parker, that we make sure Queen is no where around."

"Oliver!" Barry called and Oliver stopped pacing, and looked over to see the doctor standing in front of the man. Oliver quickly rushed over.

"Oliver Queen. " The doctor greeted holding out his hand to the man. "I'm Dr. Stanley, I've been treating Dr. Robins. Could you come with me?" Oliver simply nodded, glancing over to Barry who gave him a firm pat on the shoulder before watching Oliver and Doctor head down the hall.

The men passed through double doors, and Oliver found himself glancing around, hoping to just see her.

"Doctor, is Katie alright?"

"I will be honest with you. She was in bad shape when we got her. The smoke inhalation did weaken her lungs, so we did have to intubate." the doctor replied glancing over to the man.

"Is she alright?" Oliver asked his eyes glancing around ever so often needing to see her.

"At the moment she's stable, but we're going to have to keep her here for a couple of days, but physically I believe she'll be able to get home soon." the doctor stopped and Oliver did the same. "When she does get home, I would maybe talk to her about maybe seeing some one. This was a traumatic experience that she may not be able to handle on her own."

"I will talk to her." Oliver said. Dr. Stanley looked over Oliver's shoulder, and so Oliver followed his eyes to the door behind him. "Is she-"

"She is. She won't be able to speak with the chest tube, and she'll probably be a little out of it from the sedatives she was given, but you can go in and sit with her. I have a feeling she'd like to see a familiar face." Oliver gave the doctor a nod before turning and walking into the room.

The room itself wasn't very bright, and the shades were pulled closed, but he could see her and a breath he didn't even know he was holding escaped his lungs. He walked over and took a seat beside her bed, his eyes going to the tube in her mouth, and the machine beside her bed helping her breathe. His hand found hers, and he grasped it tightly.

"Twinkie-" her head moved slightly, and Oliver watched her eyes lazily flutter open and a smile came to his lips. He wasn't sure how she did it, but just the sight of her eyes seemed to calm raging emotions that were tearing at his insides since the moment he found out she was missing. He lifted her hand, and placed the lightest of kisses to her knuckles. "I'm sorry." she gave his hand a squeeze, and he lifted his eyes to meet hers to see her slightly shake her head. He dropped his head, so their faces were extremely close. She pulled her hand from his grasp, and slid the back of her hand across his cheek before turning her head and once again closing her eyes to sleep.

"I love you too, Twinkie."

Author's notes:

Whoa... lots of craziness in this chapter. But I have to say the man in yellow is probably the biggest WTF moment for me. The Reverse Flash was wor

king with David...and it would seem this plot has ventured even as far back to Katie's time in Bosnia. You won't believe the strange events surrounding that mystery.

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Guest: I'm glad you liked the last chapter, and I think you got your wish in this chapter. David's boss just happens to be the Reverse Flash. We just don't know what his plan was exactly. So I'll give you a hint to that...there's something Katie has that he wants. The problem is she doesn't even know she has it.

rockyroyal,dr: Oh, I loved that Oliver just out right told Katie he didn't want her to marry David and I also love the moment Katie tells him that she wouldn't have been with him if she were going to marry David. Oliver is so busy fighting an unwinnable battle with the unseen enemy which I think he's starting to realize is himself. Oh, I love the idea of a cute nickname for Bruce and Felicity. I'll think up some ideas, but I want you and all the readers to do the same. The whole Felicity and Bruce thing is very adorable at moments, but then it gets sad because they're similar to the Twiver dance, but different at the same time. Bruce has seen too much, experience way too much loss in his life, and the fact that he is having such strong feels for Felicity, only fuels him to pull away. I want Felicity and Bruce to be together, but there is way too much crap standing between them before that can happen. Plus there's the charming Ray Palmer who isn't blind to the fact that Felicity Smoak is a smart intelligent woman. This will soon turn into the debate of how much can you push a person, before they finally give up and walk away.

Adela: I'm glad! Stay tuned, we're getting to some pretty crazy stuff.

I would like to apologize for the long wait. I sort of binged on the new season of OITNB, and the world around me just disappeared. But I want to thank everyone who has jumped on this wild ride, and has added this story to your fav and follow lists and a special whoot whoot to those who left a review. They're always greatly appreciated and always welcomed.

And now for your sneak peek...

"Don't worry though, we gonna show you a real good time."

"I doubt that, but hey, I've really wanted to hit something for the better part of this day." Katie said before tossing down her purse and taking only a single step forward before the men in front of her suddenly stared in terror before turning and running off. Katie watched the fleeing men for a moment before the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She slowly turned to see one of the demon's league, holding his sword as if ready to attack, the only thing visible is his eyes. "Is this it?" the man simply dropped his sword before slipping it back in its sheath behind his back. "Are you alone, because I have to warn you that I'm not going back without a fight."

"I'm not here to fight you." the man spoke, and a chill went down Katie's body, because it was voice she think she'd recognize anywhere. The man pulled the mask from his face, and Katie's eyes widen at the sight of Lian Yu. "Hello Nura." Katie didn't reply because words were failing her at the moment.