Chapter 23
Reconciling Love and Duty Amidst Chaos
"Balance is not something you find, it's something you create."
-Jana Kingsford
Oliver hoped things would get better once Cayden was caught, but the opposite was happening. Cayden James was dead. Murdered. Oliver was notified the night it happened, and would be getting the results of the investigation later today. After which he had a meeting with a lot of City Officials on where he was with returning the 70 million dollars Cayden stole.
But first Oliver and Katie had their counseling session with Nick, during which Oliver's phone was blowing up so badly he had to step out to figure out what was wrong.
"I understand they're worried, but I'll address their concerns at the scheduled meeting. I told you two I needed the morning."
"We're sorry Ollie, we're just getting it from all sides here and they just wanted us to confirm we couldn't move the meeting up."
"I can't." Oliver replied glancing back to the door where Katie and Nick were waiting for him. "I get the City needs answers right now, and I'll do my best to get them, but right now none of that matters more than her."
"Understood." Quentin replies. "We'll keep fending them off, and we'll see you when you get here."
"Thanks Quentin."
Oliver ended the call and slipped the phone back into his pocket before walking back over to the door. He took a deep breath, before pulling open the door with an apologetic smile.
"Sorry about that." Oliver walked back over to sit beside Katie. "City Hall is just busy this morning."
"Did you need to go?" Katie looked over to him and Oliver shook his head. "Oliver, if you have other responsibilities-"
"Absolutely nothing is more important than this. I'm staying." Oliver said before turning to Nick. "So where were we."
"Well you two were catching me up on how you two ended up back here." Nick said glancing from Oliver to Katie. "You and your children recently found out that Oliver has returned to being the Green Arrow after promising that he would give it up." the man turned to Oliver who dropped his eyes. "After you and your friends hid it for months. The last time you two were here, we talked about some communication exercises to help you navigate through moments where you want to express how you're feeling, when you're feeling it. Were you able to do that?"
"Somewhat." Oliver replied glancing over to Katie. "Alcohol helped." Katie chuckled before turning back to the doctor.
"I found it difficult, mostly because I wasn't sure of what I was feeling."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, sure I was angry at the lies, and the secrets, and the fact that they all knew, but there was something else, something I don't know—maybe I was trying to ignore."
"And have you determined what that feeling was."
Katie looked over to Nick, before turning to Oliver, not sure she wants to say these things out loud. She turned away and sighed.
"Hey," Oliver reached over and took her hand. "Whatever it is, you can say it."
"No I can't." she replied with a shake of her head. She let out a deep breath before turning to Oliver. "I was trying to understand the why. And I've heard everything you've said about feeling like you've failed, or seeing the disappointment in my eyes once I found out, and what I got from that was that, when you came to the point where you realized you had to put that suit back on, you didn't feel like you could tell me. You literally said you were scared to tell me." she turned back to Nick. "And that just made me feel that I've somehow messed up somewhere in the whole wife department."
Nick opened his mouth to speak, but Oliver spoke first.
"That's absolutely not true." Oliver grasped her hand bit more and Katie turned to him. "Me, lying and hiding this from you, is not some kind of reflection of you or anything you've done as a wife. Twinkie, you're the my best friend, and the love my life and being your husband, you being my wife, it's—it's-" a smile pulled at his lips as he looked into her eyes. "It's everything. Twinkie, the whole world could be falling apart around us, but with you by my side, I always have hope that we will make it through."
Katie smiled over to the man before they turned back to Nick.
"Well what I was going to say wasn't as sentimental as that." Nick said before turning back to Katie. "But I do see that this has been a common emotion for you. The actions of your husband, or your children, or the things that happen to them and you feeling as if it is some sort of reflection of you as a wife and mother. You have to stop worrying about failing." he turned to Oliver. "That is my advice to you as well. You have so many balls in the air, so much pressure from a lot of different angles, and you're afraid one of them is going to slip and so you back yourself into a corner, and to get out, you make poor choices."
Oliver nods, because it was a fact he was coming to realize.
"Alright, we're going to end today's session with an exercise." Nick said and they looked over to him. "It's called soul gazing. And it is pretty much like the name says. The two of you, no words, no overthinking, just look into each other's eyes where everything you can't say or won't say is just there." he stood to his feet. "I'm going to step out of the room so it isn't too weird." he looked over to Katie. "And I know what you're thinking-"
"Soul gazing just sounds an awful lot like a fancy way of saying staring contest, but hey, this is your profession, not mine."
"I'll be back in five minutes," Nick said before heading out of the office.
Katie sighed as she and Oliver turned to face each other.
"This is totally just a staring contest." Katie muttered and Oliver just laughed, his hand still holding on to hers. "And I feel like your day is already pretty jammed packed, and staring contests just seems unnecessary."
"Twinkie, I would choose staring at you for five minutes versus solving the world's problem's any day." Oliver replied and the smile on Katie's face grew. "Plus I think we're doing it wrong anyway, with all the talking."
"Yeah, well silent staring with us, only leads to things that can't happen in Nick's office." Katie replied and Oliver smiled before sliding a bit closer to her. "What are you doing?"
"Just getting a better view, doctor." Oliver replies reaching forward and sliding her hair back behind her ear.
And that's just how they sat for the next few minute, their gazes locked on each other, getting sucked into the emotions of the moment.
By the time Nick came back into the office, neither Oliver or Katie moved from their spot on the couch where they were still staring at each other. He soon realizes, they probably don't even know he's in the room with them. He walks back over to sit, and after another minute or two, they both break the spell they'd fallen into and turn to Nick.
"I'm going to assume the fact that it took you this long to realize I was back as the exercise worked. If it did, try to use it at home when you feel overwhelmed with emotions you don't think you can verbalize." he said and they just nodded. "Alright, so we're at the end of the session. You can talk to Nancy about scheduling your next appointment. Now that we've identified this most recent bump in the road, I think next we have to talk about getting over it."
"I thought we did that." Oliver replied, glancing over to Katie with a smile. "We've been moving forward, getting back to our lives." he turned back to the doctor. "I'm not sure what else is left to do other than doing what we're doing."
"Forgiveness." Nick said. "Moving forward doesn't truly happen until there's forgiveness. Without it, you're just patching up a crack in the road that just gets bigger as time passes and becomes a problem later on." the man turned to Katie. "You mentioned not being able to understand your emotions through all of this, but I think it's time you tried. Because once you understand what it is you've felt or are still feeling, we can discuss how to separate yourself from those negative emotions." He turned to Oliver. "That is also a take away for you as well. You also need to forgive yourself, so think about what emotions this situation has brought up, write them down at least three and bring them to the next session, alright?"
Leaving Nick's office, both Katie and Oliver thought over the homework he wanted them to think about. They stood on the elevator, their backs on opposite sides looking over to each other silently.
"Want to ride to City Hall with me and I'll find someone to grab your car?" Oliver asked and Katie smiled but shook her head.
"I wish I could, but I-" she held up her wrist to look at the time on her watch. "I have a list of errands to get done before I head in." she sighed before looking back over to him.
"Let me help." he replied and Katie chuckled.
"You've been delaying going to City Hall all morning, I doubt you have time to go with me to buy pull ups and socks."
"Fine, probably not now, but I could go later, to help out." he said and Katie didn't say anything. "I need to do a better job in holding my weight with being a parent and our home life." he walked over to stand in front of her. "We split the responsibilities and prove that we can do both. You can do both."
"I guess we're going to see." Katie said holding out her hand. "Give me your phone."
Oliver slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone and handed it to her. He watched curiously as she swiped and typed before handing it back to him.
"This is the list." she said and Oliver looked down to the long list of errands. "Being away from the house, things piled up."
"I can see that." Oliver stared wide eyed at the list as he swiped wondering where it ended.
"Oliver, you don't have to do this, I can have all this done by the end of the week." she said and Oliver lifted his eyes to her.
"You've done all this stuff before in a few days?" Oliver asked with a furrowed brow and Katie just nods.
"Yeah, it's all about time management." she replied before pointing to the list on his phone. "This is like a shared list, so you can see what I get done and I can see what you get done so we're not doing the same thing, just remember to check anything off that you've done, ok?"
Oliver nods, once again dropping his eyes to the list and Katie just let out another laugh as the elevator opened.
"I may be late to your meeting." she turned and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "But I will be there." she pulled back to see him still scrolling through the list, and it just made her laugh. "See you later Oliver."
He lifted his eyes to her as she turned and headed off. Oliver stepped off behind her. He glanced up to see her walking down the hall in the distance, and sighed.
"A few days." he muttered both impressed and in disbelief.
He glanced down to his watch and figured he should head over to the SCPD for Captain Hill's finding on Cayden's murder.
By the time Katie finally got to City Hall, she was on her third cup of coffee. She hurried inside, flashing her employee card. She knew she was going to be late, but she didn't want to be this late. She spent the time after leaving Oliver, tackling the grocery issue. Everything at the house needed to be tossed and they needed to restock everything. So her quick trip from the store back to the house was anything but quick.
She wanted to dump her jacket and bag in her office, but she was too late as is. So she was just going to head straight to catch the tail end of the meeting. Once the elevator opened, she briskly walked down the hall until she reached the conference room where she found Claire waiting for her.
"Finally!"
"Why didn't you go in?" Katie asked.
"There's a lot of people in there and you know how I can some times be overly vocal at the wrong moments." Claire said.
She grabbed the door and pulled it open. Katie was about to step in, just as her cell phone rang. She held up a finger, and slipped her phone from her pocket, looking down and noticing the number.
"Uh, I have to take this." she looked up to Claire and nudged her head. "Go inside, take notes, and bite your tongue if you have to."
"That's easier said than done." Claire sighed before stepping into the room.
Katie answered her phone quickly and brought it to her ear.
"Craig? What's up?" the woman's face fell at the words her lawyer just said.
Claire snuck into the meeting that was filled with people. There didn't seem to be enough seats, so there was a crowd of people standing around the table as well. She seemed to slip in across the room from where Oliver sat, Quentin and Thea standing behind him.
"We're on the verge of financial collapse. Without an influx of cash soon, we all have to shut down- schools, sanitation, emergency services, everything." said one of the representatives at the table Claire didn't recognize.
"Everything except the Second Chance project which seems unaffected by all of this."
Claire glanced up unsure where the comment came from with so many people in the room. She glanced down to see Oliver searching for the source of the comment as well.
"The Second Chance project was funded by external investors. That's money not provided by the city." Oliver replied.
"But it is a City Project." The man from the other end of the table said. "Right now, this city needs every resource it can get, and that project is one of them."
"You can't be serious." Claire scoffed, gaining looks from everyone in the room.
Oliver lifted his eyes over to her and she just shook her head before stalking out of the conference room. He turned back to the crowd of people who turned back to him.
"I will have the funds returned in 48 hours. You have my word." he let his eyes move across the room. "You all have my word. Thank you."
Oliver stood to his feet and walked from the conference room, Thea and Quentin following behind him.
Claire stalked out that room in total disbelief. They really want to take the money from a project the city didn't even want to fund.
When she saw Katie still standing in the hall, looking down to her phone, she decided to go over to tell her about the audacity of the people back in that room.
"Boss!" Claire hurried over and Katie lifted her eyes to the woman. "You will not believe what just happened."
"Is the meeting over?" Katie asked, glancing back and seeing people filling out of the room.
"Probably, but you won't believe the ideas they were throwing around in there. They want to use the money from our project to replace what that computer psycho stole, can you believe that?"
"Did Oliver go back to his office?" Katie asked turning back to Claire who just shrugged.
"No idea, did you hear what I just said. They want to take our money after refusing to fund the project. We can't let that happen."
"I have to talk to Oliver." Katie muttered before walking around the woman down the hall.
She didn't knock before walking into Oliver's office, only to realize he wasn't alone. There standing in front of Oliver was Thea, Dinah and the City's senior accountant. They all turned to her when she walked inside.
"Sorry, I didn't—I didn't know you were in a meeting." Katie said looking over to Oliver.
"Is everything alright?" Oliver asked.
Katie had to fight not to just melt into a puddle of tears right now in front of him and everyone in the room. Instead she pulled on a smile and nods.
"Yeah, I just-"she glanced around to the eyes on her before turning back to Oliver. "It can wait."
"You sure?" Oliver asked noticing something not seeming right with her.
"Yeah, it can wait." she said before looking back to the eyes in front of her. "Sorry for interrupting." she turned and rushed from the office, closing the door behind her and letting out a deep breath.
Katie headed off toward the elevator, reaching forward and pressing the button as she waited for the doors to open. Once they did, she was greeted with the unexpected sight of the expecting Laurel Lance, or should she say Laurel Mills.
"Hey," Laurel greeted stepping off of the elevator. "Glad to finally see a familiar face in this place. I was looking for my dad."
"Oh, I haven't seen him." Katie said glancing back and letting her eyes scan the hall. "I uh—I was just in Oliver's office, but he wasn't there." she turned back to Laurel. "I'm sure he's somewhere around here."
"He really has me worried. I tried calling him last night and he didn't answer. Then he sent me a text late last night that he was fine and just missed my call." Laurel shook his head. "He's just been acting weird since-" she turned to Katie. "Since he was taken by Black Siren."
"Ethan finally told you."
"Yeah he finally did." Laurel shook her head. "I don't know what that woman did to him, and whenever I ask him about it, he gets all defensive." the woman sighed. "Maybe he's in his office." she turned back to Katie whose eyes were down to her phone. "Hey, are you ok?"
Katie lifted her eyes to Laurel and her shoulders dropped as she shook her head.
"Not really."
She moved around the woman to press the button for the elevator. Once the doors opened, she stepped inside giving the woman a wave before the doors closed.
Laurel stood there for a moment before heading down the hall, stopping when she saw another familiar face.
"Speedy!" Laurel called and Thea turned to her with a smile.
"Oh my gosh, look at you. I swear you get bigger every time I see you." Thea said greeting the woman with a hug.
"That's not funny." Laurel said before lifting her eyes to see Dinah walk from the office as well. "Well, hey there, stranger."
Dinah didn't say anything to the woman at first. Just now realizing how hard it was to look at the woman who had the face of the woman who killed the love of her life. She let her eyes fall to the woman's large belly and a smile found it's way to her lips.
"Hey Laurel, you look like you've been busy." Dinah said and Laurel just laughed.
"You have no idea." Laurel sighed before glancing down the hall. "I'm looking for my dad. I'm getting the feeling he's dodging me."
"Why?" Thea asked and Laurel sighed turning back to her.
"The last time we had dinner, I mentioned Ethan possibly heading back to his job in Metropolis and dad got upset."
"You and Ethan are going back to Metropolis?"
"He got a call, and he said he's thinking about it." Laurel shrugged. "I mean back in Metropolis there isn't a woman running around with my face, so that's kind of a plus."
"You haven't seen her, have you?" Dinah asked and Laurel shook her head. "What about Ethan? The last time he saw her, he made it seem like she had a soft spot for him."
"Ethan has met her?" Laurel asked glancing from Dinah to Thea. "He didn't tell me that." she turned back to Dinah. "She had her own Ethan on Earth-X. And he was a doctor too, that she loved. He died in a raid on the hospital, lead by her father." Laurel sighed. "I'm going to see if my dad is in his office." she turned back to Thea. "I'll see you later." she waved to Dinah before moving around them.
Dinah stood there for a moment watching the woman before getting a thought and heading off toward the elevator.
When Oliver arrived at home, he'd never been more happier to see anything. After the meeting with the accountant where he found out the 70 million dollars in Cayden's Morto Cortes account had been withdrawn, all he think about was just getting home. He glanced over to the passenger seat of his car and sighed at the bag. He wanted to go to the store before coming home to grab some things from Katie's list, but he arrived just a few minutes before closing so he was only able to grab a few things.
He grabbed the bags and finally stepped out of the car. When he walked inside of the house, he was immediately hit with the smell of freshly baked cookies. He carried the bags to the kitchen where he found Katie, Will and Robyn standing in front of pan of cookies.
"Something smells good." Oliver said and they all turned to him.
"That's the smell of young minds being shaped." Katie said looking over to Robyn who was licking frosting from her fingers.
"Katie was teaching us about thermodynamics." William said looking down to the various cookies. "Plus we really just wanted cookies."
"Shsss" Robyn shushed with a finger to her lips as she looked over to her brother.
"At least one of you knows how to be discreet." Katie placed a kiss to Robyn's head before looking over to Oliver and the bags in his hands. "What did you bring?"
"Dog food, socks, and laundry soap." he said and Katie looked over to him with a furrowed brow. "They were closing and this was all I could grab."
"You know you really didn't have to do that." she said as she watched him placing the bags down. "I've heard the buzz around the office, and I heard you had a long day."
"Yeah, but the dogs need food, Will needs socks, and we need soap to do laundry." Oliver looked over to her. "And I will tackle more things on that list tomorrow." he turned to Will. "Don't you usually have tutoring after school, bud?"
"We all got sent home. Mr. Cho said something about the budget." Will replied looking over to his father. "Is it true they might be closing the schools?"
"I'm working very hard to make sure that doesn't happen." Oliver said turning to Katie. "I meant to catch you before you left. You needed to talk to me?"
"Yeah," Katie sighed before turning to Will. "You think you two can keep working on the cookies while I talk to your dad."
"C'mon Nugget."
Will grabbed the pan of cookies and placed it on her little table. Katie placed the girl on her feet and watched as she ran over to her brother.
When Katie turned back to Oliver she nudged her head for the other room, and he nods before following her into the living room.
"You seriously look like you've had a long day." Katie said walking over to sit on the couch, and Oliver dropped to the seat beside her. "What happened?"
"The money that Cayden extorted from the city, someone emptied the account." Oliver said and Katie shook her head.
"Let me guess, Black Siren, Anatoly and Diaz are the top suspects."
"Or another player we haven't seen yet. I talked to Felicity, hopefully she might have some answers on where the money went." Oliver replied and Katie turned away and sighed. "Hey, what did you want to talk to me about."
Katie turned back to him, but didn't say anything.
"I kind of feel like you're having a pretty crappy day and what I have to tell you is just going to make it worse." Katie dropped her back to the couch and looked over to Oliver. "I was on my way to the meeting, when I got a call from Craig. There's a problem with Ari's adoption."
"What kind of problem?"
"CFS is putting a hold on the application. Craig thinks someone from the District Attorney's office has something to do with it."
"Because of the case?" Oliver asked and Katie nods.
Oliver turns away, sliding his hands over his face. They'd been patiently waiting for it to be official, that Ari would be their daughter, and now because of this case, that might not happen. He turned to Katie who didn't say anything.
"I'm sorry," he said and she shook her head. "This just feels like something else I'm screwing up."
"We will figure this out. Craig and his team are trying to find a way around this. Plus, it's like we said, a piece of paper isn't going to change anything. She's our daughter, and whatever tactic they're trying to pull won't work."
"Does Ari know?"
"No, I was hoping we could tell her when she got here." Katie said and Oliver nods, before turning away and once again slipping his hands over his eyes. She dropped her head to his shoulder, and closed her eyes. "Being a grownup sucks." she heard Oliver chuckle, before he slips an arm around her and pull her closer to him.
"It really does." he replied before placing a kiss to the top of her head.
"Claire mentioned talk of the city taking the money from the Second Chance Project."
"It was mentioned, but I wouldn't do that." Oliver sighed. "We're definitely not there yet. I'm just hoping someone figures out where this money is, because if I don't have it in the next 48 hours the city is going to have my head."
"48 hours?" Katie lifted her eyes to him. "How much was it?"
"70 million." Oliver said and Katie sighed as she turned away. "You're thinking. What are you thinking?" Katie turned back to Oliver and placed a kiss to his cheek.
"I'm thinking I won't let the City have your head." she said before standing to her feet. "If you find yourself all of options, let me know." Oliver looked over to her with a furrowed brow. "There's that number my dad left me and apparently whatever I need, all I have to do is call."
"And who is on the other end of that number?"
"No idea, but I figure when you're calling it, you're at the point where that doesn't even matter."
"Well we will keep at it." Oliver said standing to his feet. "Before we go the stranger on the phone route, let's see what Felicity can dig up." Katie nods before turning to head back in the kitchen. "And I'll talk to Jean." she turned back to him. "Stopping this adoption feels like overreach, and there has to be a way for us to get them to back off." Katie just nods before stopping at the sound of Oliver's phone ringing. He slips it from his pocket. "It's news on the money." he looked over to Katie. "I have to head back to City Hall."
"Ok, I'll uh, save you a cookie, and I guess we can talk to Ari tomorrow." she replied and Oliver sighed before walking over to her. "Oliver, it's fine."
"You've stopped calling me Liver." he said and Katie looked up to meet his eyes.
"You should go." she placed a kiss to his cheek before pulling away and heading into the kitchen.
Oliver stood there, watching her leave, now believing that maybe they really did need to have a discussion about forgiveness. He sighed before turning and heading for the door.
Ari sat behind her computer, Curtis beside her, and Dinah on the other side of the table. She'd been waiting for one of them to bring up Dinah and her crazy vendetta, but they were still tip toeing around the conversation.
They still were having no luck in locating Diaz, Black Siren or Anatoly. At the moment, they figured the key was finding the missing money which is what Ari was doing.
"Any clue we get can lead us to the scum who worked with him." Dinah said.
"Scum, singular, or scum, plural?" Curtis replied. "And, yes, that is me bringing up exactly what's going on between you and Black Siren."
Ari lifted her eyes looking between the two wondering if this was it. If this was the moment they were going to stop beating around the bush.
"Well, we're not braiding each other's hair, Curtis." the woman said.
"I mean, but you are out for revenge, and I don't- I don't feel too good about that." Curtis replied.
"Neither do I." Ari said.
Dinah turned to her before glancing over to Rene who didn't say anything before her phone beeped. She pulled it from her pocket and smiled.
"Got to go. Looks like we got a lead on the missing money." Dinah stood before hurrying off.
"That was a convenient text." Ari sighed sitting back in her seat and looking over to the guys.
Curtis turned to Rene who didn't say much before.
"You ok with this?" he asked and Rene sighed.
"D. Hunting Laurel?" Rene asked glancing over to the stairs the woman just rushed up. "Let's just worry about the money first. Then we'll deal with Dinah."
"The longer we wait, the worse it's going to be when it gets to that moment." Ari replied and they turned to her. "We need to stop pretending that everything is ok with her, and this hunt for the money isn't just her key to getting closer to finding Black Siren. She's dancing the line on this one, and if we don't stop her soon, she's going to cross it and once that happens, there's no coming back for her." Ari glanced over to the clock. "I have to go, or scary mom is going to come looking for me." Ari stood to her feet and grabbed her jacket and back pack, waving to the guys before heading for the steps.
"Her self righteousness is annoying sometimes." Rene said.
"You only find it annoying because you know she's right. It's also the reason you like having her around." Curtis stood to his feet as well before heading off leaving Rene standing there with those final words.
"Like having her around." Rene muttered. "Barely."
By the time Oliver returned home the second time tonight, the clock had just struck midnight. He let out a heavy sigh. He hoped with Cayden gone, he'd have more time to spend with his family. But between trying to find this money, and the three suspects on the loose, time was just not on his side.
Oliver stepped out of his car, and stretched the tension in his neck, before he heard the sound of barking from behind the house. With a furrowed brow, he decided to take the stone path to the back yard where he found Harry and her puppies running around. One of the puppies spotted Oliver and ran over, jumping on his leg until Oliver finally reached down to pick him up.
"I missed you too Larry." Oliver said scratching the puppy's ear before looking over to see Katie lying on the grass, staring up to the sky. He walked over and looked down to her.
"Can't sleep?" he asked and she glanced over to him.
"Not tired." she replied turning her eyes back to the sky. "When I was a kid, and I couldn't sleep, I'd sometimes come out here and just look up to the sky and talk to my mom." She sighed "Any luck on locating the money?"
"No," Oliver said lowering himself to the ground and letting the puppy run off before lying beside her. "Felicity found surveillance video from the bank in Morto Carltes that she anonymously sent to the accountant." Oliver sighed. "It was Black Siren."
"Reimsdyk saw a video of Black Siren on a video?" Katie looked over to Oliver. "Are we not worried that he might get suspicious of Quentin's pregnant daughter looking an awful lot like the woman who stole the city's money?"
"I called Laurel, told her to steer clear of City Hall for a while until we can figure out how to handle her doppelganger." Oliver replied turning his eyes up to the sky. "Dinah was there to see the video. She's pushing this vendetta hard against Black Siren. I get she and the rest of the team are upset with me right now, but I know the road she's going down and I know what's on the other side, and I can't let her do it."
Oliver glanced over to Katie whose eyes were still up to the sky and he let out another sigh.
"Let's talk about something other than the city's lost money." Oliver said and Katie let out a snort. "Have you had a chance to make that list Nick asked us to make?"
"No, I haven't."
"Maybe you should think about it." Oliver said and Katie lifted her head to him with a quirked brow. "I don't think you've moved past any of this. I think you've just gotten really good at pretending you're ok when you're really not."
"And what makes you think that?" she asked, turning to her side, resting her head on her hand as she looked over to him. "Because I call you Oliver?"
"Twinkie, I've known you long enough to know when you're hiding. You still have those walls up, keeping those emotions to yourself. Just talk to me, tell me what it is you're holding on to. I can take it."
Katie didn't say anything as she looked over to the man. She didn't know what to say and soon she wouldn't have to. They turned at the creaking sound of the back door opening to see Ari and Will, clad in their pajamas.
"You two alright?" Oliver asked sitting up and look over to them.
"I was looking for Curly and Moe." Will said walking over to pick up the puppies. "They were in my room when I fell asleep and when I woke up, they were gone."
"He woke me up calling the little fur balls." Ari said looking over to the couple. "What are you two doing out here so late?"
"Nothing." Katie said, but the girl still walked over to lay on the ground beside her, lying her head on Katie's shoulder. "You have school. You both have school." Will walked over to slip in between Oliver and Katie to lie on the ground as well. "Fine, five minutes and then everyone's going to bed." Katie lied back, sliding her arms around them.
Oliver smiled over to the three of them before lying back as well, finding the tension in his neck was miraculously gone.
The next day, Katie sat in her office, silently staring over to the window. They didn't get a chance to talk to Ari, because Oliver had a sudden early meeting. She thinks she's a bit relieved, still not sure she's ready to break the news to the girl.
There was a knock at her door, and she turned to see Claire.
"I just got off the phone with the cute construction guy who is running the build of the SC project, and he wants a meeting with you."
"Why exactly?"
"Maybe to talk about when they can actually start working again." Claire walked over to sit at the chair in front of the desk. "I get the city is kind of going through a financial crisis, but we aren't. We have the money to allow them to keep working so we don't get so far behind.
"Claire, tell me, what good is the Second Chance Project if the entire city shuts down?" Katie asked and Claire sighed as she sat back in her chair. "I get it, we have the means and resources to keep the project moving forward, but none of it will make any difference if that money isn't returned. Right now, all efforts just need to be on what's best for the city right now and this project isn't it."
"So what am I supposed to do?" Claire shrugged. "I seriously need something to do."
Katie looked at the woman for a moment before standing to her feet.
"Follow me."
Claire followed Katie to the elevator, where they stood as it headed up a couple of floors. When Katie stepped off, Claire was right behind her as they headed to Oliver's office.
"Is he in there Maddy?" Katie asked and the assistant nods.
"He's in with Ms. Queen and Mr. Lance." Maddy replied.
Katie stopped and turned back to the door, before turning back to Maddy.
"Oh, ok, could you tell him I stopped by and that-"
"Mrs. Queen, I would rather not hear another lecture from the mayor regarding your visitation." Maddy said before picking up the phone and pressing a button. "Mrs. Queen, and Ms. Hastings, here to see you sir."
As expected, he told her to send them in. She put the phone down and gestured for them to go inside.
"You know Maddy, sometimes I don't want to interrupt his meetings." Katie said looking over to the woman who just chuckles.
Katie opens the door to find Oliver sitting behind his desk, with Thea and Quentin standing in front of him. Claire came in behind her, looking around before turning to Katie.
"If you're busy, we could come back another time." Katie said looking between the three faces. "I can imagine, you have a lot going on."
"You know you say that Twinkie as if he wouldn't drop a call from the president if you were to interrupt him." Thea laughed.
"I should be heading home." Quentin said before turning to Oliver. "I'll call you to let you know if I figure out something."
"Thanks Quentin." Oliver said before watching the man turn for the door.
"Oh, did Laurel find you yesterday?" Katie asked the man who stopped and turned to her. "She said you've been dodging her."
"She's being overdramatic and pregnant, I'm not dodging her and uh—yeah, I caught up to her." Quentin replied with a smile before heading out the door.
"I forgot to ask him something." Thea said looking over to Oliver, "I'll call you."
"Wait, Thea before you leave, I was wondering, with this whole impending city shut down possibly happening, is there anything you could use some help with?" Katie asked before gesturing to Claire. "We're holding off on moving forward with Second Chance until we know the city is in a better place, and Claire was itching to help."
"I was?" Claire looked over to Katie who just shook her head. "I mean, sure, yeah, I was." she turned back to Thea.
"We could always use help in searching for areas we could pinch some pennies. Have you reviewed budget reports before?"
"Unfortunately I have." Claire sighed. "You want to email them to me, and I'll let you know if I find something."
"Perfect, and thanks." Thea said before turning to Katie and waving before leaving the office.
Thea scrambled out of the office, glancing around, but didn't see Quentin anywhere. She hurried down to the elevator, pressing the button. When it opened, she looked up surprised to see Laurel.
"Hey," Thea said stepping inside. "Two visits in two days."
"I know I'm supposed to be steering clear of City Hall, but I'm still hunting down my dad. Someone near his office said he was with Ollie."
"He was, but then he left." The sighed turning away.
"What's that look?" Laurel asked and Thea turned back to her. "Is everything alright with my dad."
"I don't know. We were just in a meeting and—I don't know I just get the feeling he's hiding something."
The doors to the elevator opened, and when they glanced out, they spotted Quentin just as he was walking out of the building.
"Maybe we should find out." Laurel said looking over to Thea who nods before the pair hurry out to catch up to the man.
When Thea left, Claire turned to Katie with a furrowed brow.
"Budget reports, really?" Claire said eyeing Katie.
"You asked for something to do, and now you have something to occupy your time." Katie replied.
Claire just groaned before turning to leave.
"Your help is appreciated Claire!" Oliver called after her, and the woman just waved a hands as she left the office. Oliver turned to his wife. "Why are we subjecting Claire to budget reports?"
"She literally asked for something to do." Katie replied walking over to take a seat on the edge of his desk beside him. "Seriously, did we interrupt?"
"No, we were done." Oliver replied slyly sliding his hands along her legs. "Quentin thinks he may be able to get Black Siren to trust him. I guess he thinks she's made a connection to him."
"Are we sure that's safe?"
"Quentin will be careful." Oliver sighed as he looked up to her. "How has your day been going so far? You still haven't started back on second chance."
"It doesn't feel like we should. Plus, I've been getting dirty looks from some people and I don't want to rub anyone the wrong way."
"Don't let anyone make you feel you shouldn't be working on this project." Oliver said, his hand suddenly slipping under her skirt, but she caught his wrist to stop him before he went any further. "Can't blame me for trying."
"Yes I can." she replied standing to her feet and leaning forward to place a kiss to his lips.
She intended to pull away and head back down to her office, but she should've known Oliver wasn't going to make it that easy.
Oliver's arm slipped around her, pulling her to his lap with a squeal, before he spun his chair to face the window.
"Mr. Mayor, your door is not locked." Katie said trying to stand from his lap, but he kept his grasp around her firmly. "We could be caught."
"Twinkie, Maddy knows that when you come to my office to see me, she is to let you in without question. She also knows that when you're with me in this office, no one is allowed to walk in without my approval."
"I can only imagine how that conversation went with Maddy. She probably thinks these are like sex meetings or something." Katie shook her head as she looked out the window ignoring Oliver's laugh.
They just sat like this for a few minutes. Oliver's arms wrapped around her as they just looked out the window, before Oliver broke their comfortable silence.
"Have you began working on that list?" Oliver asked.
"What is your obsession with that list?" Katie turned her eyes to him.
"Twinkie, I told you, it just feels like you're going with the motions instead of truly forgiving me." he said.
Katie dropped her eyes to his tie for a moment before meeting his gaze.
"What if I can't forgive you?" she asked with a shrug. "What if I can't forgive any of it? Oliver, me forgiving you or not doesn't change that I'm here, with you, prepared to just move forward."
"And I appreciate that, but it doesn't feel—ok, how about we start with, why can't you forgive me?" he held her gaze before she turned away, her eyes going to the window.
"Oliver I can't forgive you until I finally face the emotions I haven't even—there is a long list of people I'm trying to figure out how to forgive, both dead and alive. But that's something I have to work out for me, in my own time." she placed a hand on his cheek. "Please, just let me figure it out, ok?"
Oliver nods before pulling her lips to his, and for the next minute or two they let themselves fall out of reality. Katie pulled away first, figuring she would have to be the one to pulled them back to the moment.
"I should let you get back to work." she said.
"Or you could stay, and this could be how we spend the rest of the day," he replied, his hands once again sliding along her legs.
"Sorry Mr. Mayor, but Maddy takes bathroom breaks and that leaves that door unattended and I am not willing to risk getting caught in a compromising position with the Mayor."
She gasped at the feel of his fingers, as they inched dangerously close to changing her mind.
"Tell me more about these compromising positions."
Katie laughed before grabbing his arm and pulling his hand from under her skirt, shaking her head at the pout on his face.
"I'm going back to my office now." she said and he sighed but relinquished his hold on her to let her stand. She walked toward the door, but stopped before leaving, and turning back to see him looking over to her. "Any preferences on dinner tonight?" Oliver smiled a bit, but it faltered as he shifted in his seat. "You're not going to be home for dinner?"
"Now that we have a lead on the city's money, me, Felicity and John are going to try to track Black Siren tonight." he watched as she wordlessly nods. "Once we get the money back and things calm down, I-"
"Oliver, it's fine." Katie said with a smile hoping to give the appearance of indifference.
In reality, it made her sad. It always made her sad when he chose to be out there risking his life, instead of being at home with them.
"We will see you whenever you get home." she waved before turning to leave.
Oliver dropped back in his seat, as he watched her leave. He thinks he's really feeling the pressure with trying to balance all the responsibilities in his life. The truth was there was no balance. It was impossible to balance. In the end, he always dropped the ball. He just hated that it usually happened with his family.
The day dragged on. Oliver glanced down to his watch and figured he should head over to the bunker. He stood to his feet, grabbing and slipping on his jacket before there was a knock at his door. He turned, and a smile came to his face at the sight of his son.
"Hey, buddy, what are you doing here?"
"Katie sent a car to pick me up from school because she had some meeting with some construction guy and wouldn't be home when I got there, so she had them bring me here." Will walked in to the office looking around. "She said she wasn't sure if you were still here, but I wanted to check to be sure."
"Well I'm glad you did." Oliver said walking around to the boy and gesturing to the seat and they both sat down. "So how was your day?"
"It was cool." Will shrugged. "Were you on your way out?"
"Uh yeah, by I got time if you wanted to hang out."
"Could you head back down to Katie's office with me?" Will asked and Oliver looked over to him with a furrowed brow. "I may only have come here hoping to find you because the construction guy, I think he was like flirting with Katie, right in front of me."
"Will, maybe you just-"
"You don't believe me," Will scoffed before standing and leaving the office.
"Will!"
Oliver jumped to his feet to follow after the boy. He caught up to him just as he reached the elevator.
"I didn't say I didn't believe you. I was just saying that maybe you were mistaken."
"He was looking at her butt." Will said and Oliver looked over to him. "When she wasn't looking, he didn't know I saw him, but I did."
The elevator doors opened and Oliver turned, bringing a hand to Will's back as they both stepped inside.
"I guess it wouldn't hurt to stop by to meet the guy." Oliver said as the doors closed.
When they arrived on her floor, they headed toward Katie's office, that was slightly open, allowing them to hear her laughter.
Propriety now out the window, Oliver walked inside, not even bothering to knock. He walked in to find Katie and some guy dark button shirt with jeans and a leather jacket.
"Hi," Katie greeted Oliver surprised by his sudden appearance. "Is everything alright?"
"Uh yeah, Will stopped by and I was just bringing him back down." Oliver said before turning his attention to the man sitting a bit too closely to his wife. He took a step forward and held out his hand. "Oliver Queen."
The man stood to his feet and shook Oliver's firm handshake.
"Bradley Duncan." The man replied. "And it's an honor Mayor Queen."
"Bradley is the construction manager for the SC project and he just wanted to meet about some concerns about the delay."
"Yeah, if my guys don't work, they don't get paid. I just wanted to meet with Kate here to see if there was a plan for when we could start back on the job."
"Kate?"
Oliver looked from the man with a quirked brow before turning to Katie who just shook his head.
"Brad is an old friend from Columbia. He recently moved to Star City to take on the job of Construction manager for Wrexler construction. We were lucky to get him and his team for the project."
"Ah, we're the lucky ones." Bradley said smiling over to Katie, nudging her arm before turning back to Oliver who turned back to the man.
"We were just finished." Katie said, noticing that look on Oliver's face. She turned back to Bradley. "Let's talk on Monday and I will give you an answer."
"I'm going to hold you to that Kate." he replied taking a step toward her, but catching himself and glancing over to Oliver. He turned back to Katie. "Monday, I'll give you a call." the man nods before turning to Oliver. "Mr. Mayor."
Oliver just nods before watching the man head for the door. He gave a wave to Will before leaving the office. Oliver turns back to Katie who just shakes her hand and points at him.
"Don't even start."
"Ah Twinkie, I think I am." Oliver chuckled before turning to his son. "Hey bud, there is a floor break room with lots of snacks and a tv, why don't you go check it out while I have a word with Katie."
"It won't be long Will, I'll come grab you when it's time to head home." Katie said.
Will sighed, but headed out of the office. Once he was gone, Oliver turned back to Katie.
"Oliver-"
"You know Will only came up to see me, so I would come back down here because some guy was looking at your butt when he didn't think anyone was looking at him. And then we come down here, and you and Brad are sitting way too close and having the time of your life."
Katie looked at Oliver for a moment, her arms folded over her chest.
"Are you done?" she asked.
"Who is this guy?"
"I just told you who he was."
"He's too comfortable for him just to be a friend from college." Oliver replied and Katie just shook her head. "So is he an old boyfriend? It's been a while since one of those have popped up?"
"Fine, yes, briefly, when I was freshman, it didn't work out, but we remained friends."
"Were you ever going to tell me about this?"
"Tell you about what?" she looked over to the man in confusion. "Since the Second Chance project started, I've seen him, like what, three times, this one being the fourth." Katie headed over to the closet to grab her jacket.
"What was so funny?" he asked and Katie turned to him. "What part of the business meeting had you laughing before we walked in?"
"He told a joke. It wasn't that funny, but I laughed to be polite." she replied walking over to grab her things and put them in her bag. "Any other questions for me detective Queen?"
"Why did you two break up?" Oliver asked and Katie let out a snort. "I'm just trying to understand who this guy was to you."
Katie sighed before putting her bag down and walking over to stand in front of Oliver. She hated when he got like this. She hated when he got jealous of guys she had absolutely no interest in. She reached forward and grabbed his hands, and placed them on her waist.
"Oliver Queen, everything inside of me is yours." she inched closer, feeling the tightening of his grasp around. "Every inch of my body will only be felt by these hands." she brought her face close to his. "And your lips are the only ones I will ever taste on mine." she slid a thumb over his lips with a smile before lifting her eyes to his. "And your ass will be the only one I kick if I have to remind you of any of this again."
Oliver smiled before leaning in to her lips, capturing them in a heated kiss.
Katie allowed him to sweep her away from the moment. His tongue slipped between her lips, stealing every bit of sanity and logic. He lifted her up, her legs wrapping around him as he carried her over to the couch where he laid her down. He tugged off his jacket, tossing it to the floor about to join her on the couch when his phone suddenly beeped.
And just like that reality swept back into the moment. Oliver remembered that he was supposed to be heading to the bunker now, and yet he found himself not wanting to walk away from his wife in this moment.
"Oh that bitch reality just ruined the moment again." Katie sighed before standing from the couch. "I should go grab Will. Robyn is at a sleep over with JJ and Ari is out with her team, and you—you have a Black Siren to find. Tonight it's just me and Will."
She reached down to pick up his jacket and handed it to him before placing a kiss to his cheek. She tried to pull back, but he slipped an arm around her and she tried to blink away the impending tears. "Oliver, it's fine."
"You keep saying that, but it's not fine." Oliver replied, his arms still around her.
Katie sighs as she drops her head to his chest.
"No, it's not." she admitted. "But you still have to find that money, so we can't do this now." she pulled back and looked up to meet his eyes. "Be safe, and come home with all your limbs."
"Yes, doctor." he replied as she pulled from his grasp to grab her bag. "You'll let me know when you're ready to talk about what's not fine."
"Yes, Mr. Mayor." she replied with a smile, before they turned and headed for the door.
That evening, Katie and Will stopped at Marlo's for pizza. Katie watched as the boy walked around to see all the pictures before coming back to their table.
"So your dad said you came to get him today because you saw Mr. Duncan do something that didn't make you feel comfortable."
"He was being weird and looking at your butt." Will replied and Katie chuckled. "Like I wasn't even standing there."
"Well I'm sorry you had to see that, but you didn't have to get your dad. You could've told me and I would've straightened him out."
"Ok," Will said before turning and messing with the little jukebox on the table. "I'll remember that the next time I'm in a room and see some guy staring at my mom's butt."
Katie's heart fluttered whenever he called her mom. She tried to play it cool, to not smile too big and not make a big deal about it no matter how much she wanted to. She just picked up the menu and held it up so he couldn't see the big, stupid smile on her face.
Author's Note: Awwww...
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Sneak Peek
Ari found Dinah, just as the woman swung her staff across the face of an unarmed Black Siren who was lying on the ground injured and unarmed.
The teen growled, before reaching behind her and grabbing her two steel escrima sticks. She ran forward, and made it in time to block another swing from the woman.
"Funny running into you here." Ari said before throwing a kick and then another swing of her sticks, making Dinah stumble back. "I told you I'd meet you at this moment, didn't I?"