Chapter 4
Come Home
"Fear keeps us focused on the past or worried about the future. If we can acknowledge our fear, we can realize that right now we are okay. Right now, today, we are still alive, and our bodies are working marvelously. Our eyes can still see the beautiful sky. Our ears can still hear the voices of our loved ones."
-Thich Nhat Hanh
Ethan Mills was tired. It had been a long day at the hospital. He still couldn't believe he actually had the job of hospital Medical Director of Starling General. It was a job he never thought he'd have in a million years, and yet here he is. It was a dream, and yet he couldn't enjoy it. Not truly. Not when he didn't know where his wife was.
It has been months since he's seen her. He remembers the last conversation they had. They were arguing. They'd gotten married in some spur of the moment trip to Atlantic City and they hadn't told anyone about it. He on one hand, wanted to tell the world, but he knew they should start with their family and friends. She seemed hesitant to tell anyone. She hadn't even told anyone at her job. He was afraid she'd regretted actually doing it, and so they fought. He accused her of not being honest, and telling her to just admit she didn't want to get married. She said he was just being dramatic and so he asked her point blank if she regrets getting married, and before she could answer, lightening struck and he lost control of the wheel. And that was it. The next moment he looked over to her, she was no longer his wife, but this person from a different universe. Months later, he's no where near closer to getting her back, and no one seems to care.
Ethan got the call from John about needing a cure for Terodoxin, so he waited for them. When John and Dinah appeared at the door to his office, they noticed the man staring off. The pair shared a look before John reached up and knocked on the door. Ethan turned, finally noticing their presence, before standing to his feet and reaching into his desk drawer and pulling out a vial of green liquid.
"Close the door," he glanced over to Dinah, who nods before shutting the door.
"Is that it?" John asked walking over and Ethan nods.
"Yeah, you just have to administer this to the patient and it should neutralize the TCCD poison." Ethan hands the vial over to John who nods.
"How long will it take to reverse the effects?" Dinah asked, and Ethan glanced over her and sighed.
"Immediately," he replied before turning back to John. "Was that all you needed? I should get back out there."
John noticed the man's short behavior and knew with this thing with Laurel, he really had been taking it hard.
"Hey, thanks for this, we really appreciate it." John replied and Ethan nods.
"Yeah, sure," he says before heading toward his door.
"We haven't given up, you know." John said and Ethan stopped and turned to him. "We're going to figure out a way to get Laurel back, believe that."
"Honestly John, I don't. You guys all seem to have something going on and I find it hard to believe, finding my wife is mixed in with that." Ethan shook his head. "You know I've never asked you guys for anything. I've never asked for a single thing, where as you guys seem to need something from me quite often." he held up a hand and took a step toward the man to explain his words. "And I'm not saying that I help you guys to get something in return, because hey, I'm a doctor, it's sort of my thing to help and not expect anything for it, but this-" Ethan shook his head. "It's been months, man. What are you actually doing to find her? Can you at least answer me, that?"
John didn't say anything because he didn't want to lie. The truth was, they hadn't given up on trying to find Laurel, but it was also true that they didn't even know where to begin.
"That's what I thought." Ethan gestured to the vial. "You guys have any questions about that, just call me and if you need anything else, I'm here." he nods. "You take care of yourself," Ethan turns and nods toward Dinah before walking from the office.
"We're going to have to figure this out." Dinah said turning to John. "I mean, even if for more than just getting Laurel back. If this whole multiverse thing is as bad as I think, there's no telling who all got sucked out and who got brought in." she looked at the man for a moment. "And if you're not able to do this-"
"You know what, just don't. " John replied. "I'm telling you, it's none of your business."
"I am out in the field with you at less than 100%." Dinah snapped angrily as she folded her arms over her chest. "This is damn well my business, and it's Oliver's." she waited for him to say something before asking the question. "What doesn't he know?"
John sighed, "On Lian Yu, Felicity and I got caught in one of the explosions."
"I thought you guys were fine."
"Felicity was. I caught some shrapnel."
"And didn't tell anybody?" Dinah looked at him with a furrowed brow.
"Thea was comatose, Samantha and Jacob dead." John shrugged with a shake of his head. It was how he justified it. With everything going on, what happened to him didn't seem like that big of a deal. "I was low-priority."
"John, that was 5 months ago." Dinah walked over to the man.
"Ethan said I have nerve damage. Degenerative."
"That's why you haven't been pulling your gun." Dinah just shook her head, still not able to believe he'd been holding on to this secret for so long.
"Dinah, I have this handled."
"Yeah? You should tell that to Rene." Dinah countered. "He ended up in the hospital because you couldn't even get a single shot off."
"It's just a tremor. I can manage it." that's what he kept telling himself. "I'm a soldier, push through."
"So, what, I'm just supposed to lie to everybody now just like you've been doing?"
"You have to do whatever you have to do, but I'm asking you, please, will you trust me on this one?"
Dinah just looked at him for a moment before her eyes drop to the vial holding the cure. She looked back up to the man.
"We should get going." she said before heading for the door.
Oliver decided to go to City Hall to wait for Felicity and Curtis to get a location on where the Bratva was holding Tarkov. He mindlessly fiddled with his wedding ring as he rode the elevator, unable to not think about his family.
This day had took a turn he just didn't expect. It started off with hope. Katie's idea, the Second Chance project, he could just feel that better days were ahead. But with that picture, and then Anatoly popping back up, everything was just going to shit. He was feeling the pressure more and more lately. Having to be the Mayor, and the Green Arrow, while also being a husband and father. He assumed with time, he'd get a better handle on it, but the opposite was happening. With so many balls in the air, he felt that he wasn't giving his best as husband and father which is something he promised himself would never happen.
When the elevator open, Oliver stepped out, surprised to see Rene standing there.
"What are you doing here?" he asked as the man walked with him to his office.
"Working, obviously. what are you doing here?" Rene replied.
"Felicity and Curtis are working on locating Tarkov, he has maybe an hour left."
"Then why aren't you home with your family?" Rene thought it was an innocent question, but Oliver stopped and turned to the man with a glare. "Sorry if I hit a nerve."
Oliver scoffed before turning and heading into his office. "When have you ever been sorry for hitting a nerve." Oliver dropped down to his seat behind his desk, before looking over to Rene.
"That's a fair point." Rene sighed, a bit nervous about what he was about to say next. "Speaking of family, we received a person of interest list from Agent Watson. Will and Ari are on the list."
"She wants to interrogate my children?"
"They're alibis, and I'm sure Ari could probably spin a believable story, but I'm not sure Will is a good liar."
"Absolutely not." Oliver angrily shook his head. "She is not to—she is not to go anywhere near them." Oliver turned away.
"I don't think it's up to you." Rene replied and Oliver looked over to him. "Or the Doc. How did she take the whole federal investigation thing?" Oliver didn't say anything, his eyes turning away. "You didn't tell her, did you?"
"There's a lot happening," Oliver turned back to Rene and sighed. "And she's pretending that she's taking it well, but she isn't. I'm going to tell her, soon, I just need some of our problems to go away before I do."
"I hope it happens before federal agents show up at your house to question your kids." Rene said and Oliver sighed at the thought.
"Telling her won't change how she would react in that situation." Oliver looks back to the man. "She calls me over protective, but when it comes to her and those kids, she can get scary. So I'm going to do everything in my power to keep those kids as far away from this as possible. They've both been through enough as is."
"Alright," Rene dropped to the seat in front of the desk. "So uh, Lance told me what happen with Will at school." he shook his head. "Kids are mean."
"He's not worried about bullies." Oliver sighed dropping his eyes to his hands as he thought about the conversations he had with his family tonight. "He's worried about me." he looked back up to Rene. "They all are. I talked to him and Ari earlier tonight. Will seems to think that at some point the things I do will take me away for ever. And Ari thinks she needs to come back to City Hall and to the team, to protect me." he slid a hand over his face. "I tried to assure them both, that I will come back to them, and I say it as a promise, but the truth, I can't promise that." he shook his head. "It's just lie."
"You know I'm not exactly parent of the year, but white lies are kind of a key parental tool." Rene said with a slight chuckle. "I once told Zoe she came from a cloud." he smiled at the memory. "I hope her mom set her straight about that one."
"So help with this. How do I reconcile that he's right. That these fears my wife has told me are right. Because when I go into the field, there's a chance I don't come back, and then I leave them all alone." he sat back in his seat. "And now you're telling me they're going to have to what, lie to the FBI to keep me out of prison." Rene didn't have an answer for him, and he wouldn't have to. Oliver's phone vibrated and he pulled out his cell phone to see a message from Felicity. They had Anatoly's location. He informed Rene and the pair rushed out of there.
It was late, and the house was quiet. Katie didn't think she's going to get any sleep. At least not until Oliver is back home. So while the kids are sleeping, she finds herself in the living room, curled up on the couch, the television watching her at this point because she's not paying attention.
At the sound of the doorbell ringing, Katie turned her head before standing to her feet and grabbing a fire poker from the fireplace. She inched down the hall, stopping in front of the door.
"It's me!" a voice called from the other side.
Katie sighed before walking over and pulling open the door to find Martin Ellis.
"What the hell are you doing here, Martin?" the man eyed the fire poker in her hand and she just rolled her eyes before sitting it down. "Seriously, it's late, what are you doing here?"
"Can I come in?" he asked and Katie looked at him for a moment before taking a step to the side to allow him in. "I'm here because you didn't call." Katie closed the door behind him, confused by what he just said. She followed him into the living room. "A while back, you showed up at your father's house, with a request."
"I did, but I assumed that I couldn't actually cash that in, seeing as he's dead." Katie folded her arms over her chest.
"He called me, explained what you wanted and asked me to come up with a plan." Martin reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a folded envelope before turning to meet Katie's eyes. "After seeing that picture, I figure you would've called."
Katie didn't say anything, as she kept her eyes on that envelope. She wonders if it really was that easy. The answer to their problem could just walk through the front door.
"You think we're at that point?" Katie asked turning to Martin who let out a slight chuckle.
"Oh, now, no, you don't need this now. The photo posted on the news is a fake. I was going to send our analysis to Mrs. Wayne and Mr. Holt, but they've figured it out and I'm sure will pass along the information to the news outlets soon. Oliver's name should be cleared by morning."
"Fake?"
"Yes, someone doctored the photo to frame your husband."
"And do you-"
"We haven't determined by who, but we are working on it." Martin walked over to Katie holding out the envelope. "This envelope is for when they try again." Katie looked up to meet his eyes. "Which they will. It's how those bad guys are usually coded."
Katie took the envelope and let out a deep breath before tearing it open, only to find torn piece of papers with a phone number.
"If the moment ever occurs that you're all out of options, call that number." Martin says and Katie lifted her eyes to him. "Just say your name, and the person on the other end will handle the rest."
"And what does that mean?"
"It means that even though Jacob is no longer with us, you and your family are still protected. So of everything you find yourself worrying about, don't worry about that."
"I will always worry about that." Katie sighed before looking down to the number and nodding before looking back over to the man. "And thanks for this." Martin nods before turning and heading for the door, Katie following him out. "So how's the new job?"
Martin once again chuckles as he opens the door and turn to her. "He made it look easy."
"Right." Katie laughed with a shake of her head. "I didn't get it. When I was the CEO, everything was just hard, and everyone was looking at me like I was supposed to have the answers."
"Because we are." Martin smiled, but let out a deep breath. "He always had the answer."
"Sometimes you had the answer too." Katie replied and the man turned back to her. "Sometimes you had the answer before him, I think that's why he gave you the job." Martin just silently smiles before turning to leave. "Oh, Martin-" the man stops and turns to her. "How's-"she doesn't even know how to ask the question. After meeting the woman, Katie didn't stick around for her whole backstory, but with time, she can't stop thinking about the woman who looks like her mother.
"Her name is Eleanor, but Grace is her middle name. She goes by Ella and she's absolutely nothing like your mother." he laughs slightly. "Well there are some parts of our Grace in there. We've got her set up in a nearby safe house, but she comes into ARGUS to work with our science division in hopes of determining how she got here, and if there is a way to send her back." he sighs and looks back over to the woman. "She had a daughter. A you in her universe, but she uh-"
"She died." Katie said and Martin nods. "Felix Faust?"
"She didn't say. I figure it was a sore subject, she sort of shut down after telling that much." he said and Katie turns away. "You may not want to hear this, but I do think it would be a good idea for you to talk to her." Katie turned to him. "Learn as much about Felix Faust as possible. If he's here and if he does plan on coming after you, then you're going to need to know as much about him as possible."
Katie knew he was right, even though she didn't want him to be. Up until this point, she hadn't taken this whole Felix Faust thing seriously, but with her luck she knows she should.
"And is she...Homo-Magi?"
"Not anymore. I guess some parts of the story are the same. Somehow her power did get transferred to her daughter, but she didn't have to die for it to happen. That was another story she wasn't too keen on talking about."
"Do you trust her?" Katie asked and Martin let out a sigh. "I mean there's an evil Laurel out there, breaking people out of jail, meaning the people from this other universe may not be who we'd want them to be. This Ella, could be playing you."
"She could." Martin shrugged. "We have eyes on her, and if she isn't who we want her to be, well we have places we put people like that at ARGUS. You have a goodnight, Mrs. Queen." he nods once more before turning and heading for his awaiting car.
Katie steps back into the house, closing the door behind her before looking down to the number on the slip of paper.
Martin returned to RI that evening, finding that when the place was quiet and there weren't so many people hustling around, he could actually get things done. When he walked into his office, he didn't expect to find Ella sitting behind his desk, a glass of what looked like his brandy in her hand. Without a word, he walked inside, closing the door behind him.
"I know what you're going to say."
"You're watched intensely." Martin said taking slow steps forward. "By trained agents. Why are you sitting at my desk, in a building miles from your safe house."
The woman turned away, bringing the glass to her lips and taking a deep gulp to drain every last bit of alcohol from the glass.
"It's strange. It's the same." she looked over to Martin. "But at the same time, it's not." she sat the glass down. "There was an old newspapers and it mentioned Robins Incorporated, and for a second I forgot." she looked over to Martin. "I came here, with this illogical hope that I would walk into this office, and he'd be here." she turned away, swiping a stray tear. "But he's not here. And he's not somewhere on my earth either. He's just gone. After everything we've been through to be together he's just gone." she turned back to Martin who hadn't moved from that spot in front of the desk as he watched her closely. Ella sighed before standing to her feet about to leave.
"You didn't answer my question." Martin said, and the woman paused all motion. "I'm unsure if you've misunderstood your place here, but you do not venture anywhere without me knowing. Especially in a city where you look like a woman whose been dead for years."
"And you expect me to stay in that safe house until you and your people get around to trying to solve the impossible. The technology to travel between worlds does not exist here yet. There is only one person on this planet with the power to literally tear through worlds and she won't even talk to me."
"You know I think the fact that you look like her dead mother might have something to do with it."
Ella scoffed as she turned away. "In my home she isn't so weak and doesn't let such emotions keep her from the task at hand. If Felix is here, you better believe he's not alone. I'm almost certain, he is somewhere on this earth, with one mission. He's going to kill your girl, and she's going to be too twisted up in bullshit to see it coming."
It was an hour or so after midnight when Oliver returned home. They did find Anatoly, and gave Tarkov the cure, but one of Anatoly's gunman shot Tarkov before Oliver could get him out of there. Coming face to face with Anatoly, Oliver had to ask him why he would do all of this. He knew Anatoly was a criminal, but he at least thought he was honorable. It really was just about Anatoly convincing the Bratva that he and Oliver were no longer friends and that he's not weak. Oliver sighs because he stood there, prepared to not let the man go, but Anatoly's veiled threats to his family did halt Oliver's actions. The man did admit that he wasn't the one who leaked the photo, before disappearing from the factory.
Oliver sat in his car for a bit, looking up to the house, reminded of the last conversations he had and he'd given a lot of thought to what he needed to do next.
When Oliver stepped into the house, he hung up his jacket, before glancing over to see the glow of the television from the living room. He walked over to see Katie flicking through the channels, before glancing back to him.
"You're still awake." he said walking over to take the seat beside her.
"Yep," she replied turning back to the television and settling on some old game show. She sat the remote down and folded her arms over her chest.
Oliver slid closer to her, leaning his elbow on the back of the couch and resting his head on his fist. He slides his other hand along her arm, glad she didn't pull away.
"This morning, there was an FBI agent waiting in my office." Oliver said, but Katie didn't tear her eyes from the television. "Her name is Agent Samanda Watson, and with the picture leak, she has decided to start an investigation into me. I was notified earlier tonight that she wanted to question Will and Ari." with that Katie turned to the man with a quirked brow. "I'm meeting with her in the morning to let her know that absolutely is not happening." Katie still didn't say anything before turning back to the television. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner." Katie reached forward to grab the remote before turning off the television. She turned her body toward Oliver.
"Ok," she replied, reaching up and loosening his tie.
"You know it worries me when you're too calm, right?" a smile came to her face and it brought one to his. "I kind of expected more of a reaction from you regarding the whole FBI thing."
"You know I've been sitting on this couch for a while, waiting for you to come home." she lifted her eyes to him. "And I've been thinking about our life, and everything we've had to face." she placed a hand on his cheek. "We've gone up against some pretty bad boogie men and women, and we're still here." Oliver placed a kiss to her hand. "Does the FBI thing worry me, it does, and if you can't communicate to this agent Watson how bad an idea it would be to even attempt to interrogate our children, I'm positive, I could convince her, but for now we deal with the problems that are in front of us."
"The picture-"
"It's fake, I know." Katie replied and Oliver's brow furrowed. "Martin stopped by with the news." she could see in his eyes that he had more questions so she continued. "I'll tell you about that later, but what I was saying, right now we will figure out the problems we can fix." Katie slid her hand into Oliver's, threading her fingers into his and looking up to meet his eyes. "There is one that I've kept to myself that I think we should talk about."
Oliver sat up a bit, suddenly nervous. "What's wrong?"
"We haven't talked about scar tissue, or the abdominal adhesions since that night." she lets out a sigh and nods. "We should talk about it." she dropped her eyes from his, and he gave her hand a squeeze.
"Twinkie, tell me." he said and she lifted he eyes back to his.
"I've been experiencing...symptoms."
The next morning, Oliver wakes up first, his eyes immediately turning to the other side of the bed, glad Katie was still lying there beside him asleep. It actually took him a while to fall asleep. After she told him that she'd been experiencing bouts of abdominal pain over the course of the last couple of months, he had questions.
He spent the better part of the morning asking questions, about what it all meant and what needed to happen next. She told him that she was going to schedule an appointment with Ethan, to discuss her options. She did mention that surgery could still be a possibility, especially if it gets worse, but they weren't there yet. He just couldn't believe that in these last couple of months, she'd been in pain and he didn't even know it.
Oliver turned away from her, his eyes going to the ceiling. This was big and he was too busy to see it. That couldn't happen. If he knew nothing else, it was that his family needed him, now more than ever. It made what he needed to do a no brainer. He turned and pressed a kiss to her forehead before sliding out of bed.
For breakfast Oliver made french toast, one of Katie's favorites. He had a pile already on the table with some scrambled eggs and fruit. He glanced up as Ari and Will came into the dining room.
"Before you say anything, yes, this really is going to be a regular thing." he gestures for them to sit. "I'll grab the juice, and milk and-"
"I got it." Ari replied already heading for the kitchen, before glancing over to Will. "Grab the plates and silverware Wilbur."
"Don't call me that Armpit." Will replied, but complied and headed into the kitchen.
Oliver shook his head. "Guys, let's lay off the name calling!" he called before looking up to see Katie walking in with Robyn. He smiled at the pair. "Hi." he walked over, pulling Robyn into his arms and pressing a kiss to her cheek before pressing a kiss to Katie's cheek. "I made french toast."
"My favorite." Katie hummed as she looked over to the table before turning to Oliver who was still watching her. She placed a hand to his cheek, knowing he was worried after everything she told him. "I'm ok." he just nods before placing another kiss to her cheek, just as Ari and Will come back into the room.
Today, breakfast was pretty quiet. Everyone not really feeling up to any kind of conversation which is why Oliver felt he should say something.
"I want to apologize." Oliver said and they all lifted their eyes to him.
"For what?" William asked and Oliver turned to him.
"For making a promise I wasn't one hundred percent sure I could keep." he turned to Katie who dropped her eyes for a moment and he sighed. "You know I talked to all three of you yesterday, and it I realized that you all were right, and I was wrong."
Katie let out a snort and he turned to her as she looked over to him.
"Did that hurt to say?"
Oliver just shook his head with a slight smile, before letting his eyes move across their faces.
"I heard you. I heard all of you, and what I said is still true. I am going to do everything in my power to make sure I never leave you, and I know you probably don't believe I have a say in whether that happens or not, which is—is a fair, smart point." he turns to Katie. "Which is why I think I may have a way so that maybe I can."
Katie looked at him with a furrowed brow. "How?"
"I'm working on the details, but I want you to believe me when I say that I am trying to make it happen, alright?"
Katie stares at Oliver for a moment, curious as to what he actually means. She figures they will know soon enough, and so she nods. He looks between Ari and Will who both nod as well.
"Ok," Oliver says with a smile. "I guess, there's one more thing." he let out a deep breath as he let his eyes move between his children and wife. "I promise that I will do my best every day to be the very best father-" he turned to Katie and smiled. "And husband, that I can be and—and that I know how to be. That promise is one hundred percent." he waited for someone to say something.
"Ok," Ari responded and he turned to her with a smile. "And maybe I'm not ready to come back to the team, but I would like it to be a conversation at some point if I realize I am." Oliver sighed, but nods. "But what I am ready for is to come back to City Hall. I have two more years of high school which is right around the corner, and working in City Hall is going to be my saving grace on college applications."
Oliver looked at Ari for a moment before turning to Katie who seemed to have the same nervous expression.
"I mean two years, isn't right around the corner." Katie said looking over to the teen who turned to her. "Two years is like a life time."
"Right, a life time." Oliver said taking a sip of his coffee, wanting to change the subject. He turns to Will.
"Can I get her room when she leaves for college?" Will asked looking between Katie and Oliver who both just sighed.
"You know I think I read somewhere that a lot of college kids just decide to live at home." Oliver suddenly said turning to Ari. "It saves a lot of hassle of living in dorm. Just something you can consider."
Ari just laughed with a shake of her head as she continued to eat her breakfast.
Felicity came into her kitchen, once again to find it empty. She let out a sigh because she knew where her two boys were. And so she turned and headed off down to the hideout where she found Bruce and Damian sparring. The child stopped when he noticed Felicity.
"Before you say it, he's letting me stay home today. You know because of the anguish suffered yesterday when I had to save my friend from those vicious bullies." the boy glanced over to Bruce who just shook his head and turned to Felicity.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure those bullies probably think you're the vicious one, my little league assassin." Felicity replied with a smile. "No I just came down here to see if you two could tear yourselves away to sit down and have breakfast with me, you know like a family." she shrugged and watched as Bruce and Damian turned a look to each other that made her chuckle. They really did have the same face sometimes. "Never mind, it was a long shot, just continue hitting each other with sticks." Felicity turned about to head up the steps.
"Will there be ice cream?" Damian suddenly asked and Felicity stopped and turned to him with a quirked brow. "There's this place we went to yesterday and it has all the ice cream, can we go there?"
Felicity looked at Damian for a moment before turning to Bruce.
"You took him to get ice cream after being sent home for fighting?"
Bruce once again shook his head at his son before turning back to Felicity.
"Technically, he was sent home for defending a friend." Felicity just rolled her eyes before turning and stalking up the steps. Bruce turned to Damian."The one thing I ask you to do. Get upstairs and get dressed, we're going for breakfast, and there will be no ice cream for you blabber mouth."
Damian scoffed before stalking up the steps. "Then maybe I should tell step mommy you told me to lie to her."
"You did what?!" Felicity called back down having heard what Damian just said.
Bruce just slid a hand over his face pretty sure he wasn't going to have the best morning.
Given the hectic previous day, and the fact that it was Friday, Katie and Oliver let Will stay home from school. They offered the day off to Ari as well who declined not wanting to miss a test she had today. Oliver though had his meeting with Agent Watson, so as he stood, tying his tie, Katie stood at the door, watching him.
"What are you staring at, weirdo?" he asked smiling over to her.
Katie didn't say anything before stepping into the room and closing the door behind her before leaning her back against it.
"Tell me." she simply said.
Oliver sighed before walking over and placing his hands on her waist.
"I didn't want to say until it was definite." Oliver replied a smile pulling to his face. "I'm going to call John to meet me later, and I'm going to ask him to take over as the Green Arrow," he paused, waiting for her to say something, to react, but she just silently stared at him. "I'm sorry it took me this long, and after so many arguments for me to see that you were right. It was dangerous, the risk was too great. I really think we will have a great life, and I want to be around for it. All of it." he sighed once again. "And you have to say something, because you not saying anything also worries me."
A smile pulled at Katie's lips as she brought her hands to his chest. "Can you do this? Because if you're doing this, and then down the road that hood starts calling your name, I'm going to be very upset, so before you do this, before you make this choice, just be certain."
Oliver slid his hand along her cheek before dropping his lips to hers. After a moment, his tongue slipped into her mouth, as his hand slid down her body before tugging her as close as possible. He wanted her to feel it. Feel the certainty he felt with this decision.
He pulled back, but barely, their faces mere inches from each other, as they stared at each other.
"I am certain." he replied and Katie let out a deep breath before leaning forward and pressing another kiss to his lips. "I'm also going to be late." he mumbled against her lips before pulling back with a smile. "How about we continue this conversation later."
"We should." she replied pressing another kiss to his lips, not making it easy for him to walk away right now. "Maybe in the dog house." Oliver pulled back with a quirked brow. "No noise restrictions out there." Oliver groaned as he closed his eyes and dropped his head to her shoulder and Katie just laughed. She really wasn't making it easy to walk away. "Go, you have a day, and I'm going to try to figure out how I can get Will to do something more productive on his free day than playing a video game."
Oliver placed a kiss to her cheek, "I'm pretty sure he'd just con you into playing with him."
"That's also a likely possibility for our day." she replied before he pulled away to grab his jacket.
With one final kiss to her lips, Oliver headed off out the door.
Katie dropped down to sit on the edge of the bed, letting out a shaky breath.
It was happening.
She could feel herself breathing again.
Author's Note
hmm, wonder how long the moment of peace will last.
Review Replies
Adela: Thank you!!!
Special thanks to everyone, everywhere. Happy New Year!
Sneak Peek
Felix Faust." Katie said still warily watching the old man. When she imagined him, she pictured someone a bit more terrorizing than the old man she was looking at. "Seriously? You're the guy I'm supposed to be afraid of? I feel like I should find you a chair before you break a hip."
Felix chuckles, before lifting his hand toward Katie, and it the blink of an eye Katie found herself unable to breathe. The phone dropped from her hand, before she reached up placing her hand on her neck as if trying to will the air to leave her lungs.