After Anna's revelation that she was taking over the Carter Provision, her business career had taken off. Byt the time she had gotten home that evening, she had phone call after phone call awaiting her and her assistant struggled to keep her informed. However, now that she was home in Starling City after being away in Central City for a conference for a week, she was glad to be sitting in her office with her pictures of her friends and family resting on her desk smiling back at her.

Anna sighed as she looked at a letter that Malcolm Merlyn had sent her and she struggled to read through the whole thing. He was wishing her the best with her new role as CEO of perhaps the largest organization that protected the Glades and all its residents but for some reason the entire letter seemed ironic. She had this sinking feeling that everything in the letter was false and all lies.

The girl was so focused on the letter that she hardly heard her cell phone ringing in front of her, but at the last minute she was able to answer the call and place the letter on the large stack of papers at the corner of her desk. "Hey, surprised I got you," the person on the other end spoke making Anna chuckle sarcastically. "It's certainly been a long week. What's up?"

"Just checking in, how was the conference?"

Anna shrugged and glanced up at a picture of her and Oliver that was sitting on her desk. "Relatively boring. Everyone just wanted to know what my plan is for the city," she honestly replied. The person on the other end laughed, "What did you think they wanted to know?"

Anna smiled, "Good question, Ollie."

"Seriously, what did you tell them?"

"I told them that I have a team of one hundred volunteers going out in two weeks to repair the old bridge on Hart Street. After that they're distributing blankets around the city, sort of a New Years gift."

"Don't stress yourself out, Bella."

Anna rolled her eyes, "I'm fine, Ollie. And you know, I should probably go so I can finish all this paperwork within the hour."

"Stay safe."

"I will."

"I lo - See you soon."

The call ended abruptly and Anna slowly placed her cellphone down on her desk. Her heart fluttered at the thought of Oliver saying 'I love you' since it had been weeks since she heard it last, but she knew she needed the time away from their relationship and that this split was for the best. She couldn't keep concentrating on what they had in order to focus on what they could.

Anna considered calling him back as her fingers hovered over her screen, but her assistant walked into her office and she immediately shoved her phone away in her drawer before looking up at the boy as he slid into a chair across from her desk. "What is it?" she asked as she looked back down to focus on her paperwork. "Don't you just love the evening? I for one love staying after hours. My office is so great, isn't it great? We're like office buddies."

Anna chuckled, "Your office is right next to mine, Jordan. I can see that you were playing Coolmath on your computer a few minutes ago." Jordan looked at his lap and scratched the back of his head, "Oh, you saw that?"

"Mhm," Anna mumbled as she signed a paper and moved it to the completed pile. "Well, you know, that's uh, well, moving on! How was the chat with the boyfriend?"

Anna glanced up at him, 'We're on a break," she simply stated. "Like Ross and Rachel?"

"It's complicated."

"Oh, okay. He's pretty cool, though. He complimented my jacket," Jordan smiled while popping the collar on his suit jacket. He recalled the memories of meeting Oliver two weeks back where the older man gave a simple nod to the assistant's outfit choice before turning to have a conversation with Anna. It was safe to say the boy was a little awestruck. "He doesn't scare you?" Anna questioned, knowing Oliver Queen was very scary to a lot of people.

"A little, but to be honest you scare me a little more."

Anna sighed and placed her pen on the desk before leaning on the wood with her arms crossed. "Jordan, why do you think I hired you?"

"My good looks and delightful charisma?"

"How old are you?" 

"Twenty," Jordan simply responded, not quite seeing what his boss was getting at. "You're young, you could be the face of this company. I want to promote you one day, make you my colleague, not just my assistant -"

"- I prefer the term secretary."

"You need to prove to me that you are that person. I have a lot of hope for you."

"Thank you, Annabelle."

"Ms. Carter," the woman corrected while staring at the twenty-year old boy. "Ms. Carter," he repeated while nodding and briefly closing his eyes. "Get out of my office." 

The boy quickly scrambled to his feet and approached the door, "Getting out of your office."

"You can go home!" Anna called out as he walked out the door. "I'll go home!" Jordan replied while pointing up at the sky and then dropping his hand to his side. 

Anna smiled at his innocence as he walked into his office and began to quickly gather his things. She retreated her eyes back to her large amount of work when her door opened once more. "Did you forget something?" she asked with a snicker as she looked up and saw the boy. "I found this in my bag, I think maybe it got mixed up in my things from the conference," he said while holding out a leather journal. Anna stood quickly and grabbed the book, "Did you read this?" she demanded, fear consuming her thoughts. "No, I-I just thought it was important. It seemed pretty old and worn so I thought that maybe - "

"Thank you for returning this, Jordan. It is important, I do not know what I would have done if I had lost this."

"Yeah, no problem, Ms. Carter. Um, was there anything I can do before I head out?"

Anna shook her head and slowly sat down. As Jordan left the office for the last time that night, Anna cleared her voice, "Actually, Jordan," she began, Jordan's hand freezing on the doorknob as he turned around, "Yeah?"

"Take a few days off, you've worked hard these past two weeks."

Jordan's face lit up, "Seriously?"

"Seriously," Anna nodded. Jordan grinned from ear to ear, "Thank you, Ms. Carter, it means a lot."

The boy left the building, his hopes high and his smile bright. Anna was left to herself to complete her tasks, but she couldn't ignore the feeling that her secret could have been revealed tonight. What was stopping Jordan Mitchell from reading the journal? Nothing, absolutely nothing.

Anna's hands shook as she opened the journal to the last page, reading the last entry that she had recorded the night before. Her breathing became uneven as she read over each word and fear resonated deep inside her heart. One passage could change everything. She needed to be more careful, or her entire world would come crumbling at her feet. 

My name is Annabelle Carter. For five years I was stranded on an island with only one goal: survive. Now I will fulfill Robert Queen's dying wish: to use the list of names he left his son and bring down those who are poisoning our city. To do this I must become someone else, I must become something else.

•••

Annabelle smiled as she took a small bit of the salad before her and she smiled at Walter who gave her a wink in return. "Did you hear - " someone asked, their question trailing off as Anna looked up to see Oliver entering the dining room with a polite smile. He grinned at Anna and walked over to give her a kiss on her cheek before sitting down next to his mother to enjoy the dinner party that neither him nor Anna knew was happening that evening and just adjusted into it. 

"The thing that people forget it that Robin Hood was a criminal," the County Commissioner stated while looking at Walter. "And stealing from the rich to give to the poor is really the job of the Democrats," another man added in, gaining laughs across the table. "All joking aside, commissioner, crime is down for the first time in five years," Malcolm Merlyn jumped in while nudging Anna's shoulder. She looked up and smiled uncomfortably, thinking that Malcolm was implying her company was assisting in that. "That's because of the changes my department has implemented," the Commissioner replied.

"Or, perhaps it's because the vigilantes' activities have had a chilling effect on the city's criminals," Walter argued. "What are your thoughts, Oliver?" Malcolm asked. "I think the vigilantes need better code names than 'The Hood' and 'The Hoodess.'"

Everyone laughed at Oliver's sublte joke and Anna looked down at her plate, feeling quite uncomfortable with this conversation. "I agree," Malcolm voiced, "How about 'Green Arrow' and 'Purple Arrow'?"

"Lame," Oliver quickly jumped in. Malcolm smirked and everyone began to have little conversation when Walter excused himself for a business call. While he was out, two police officers entered the home and conversed privately with the Commissioner. "I'm sorry, something's come up," he said while standing to his feet.

"Is everything okay?" Oliver wondered. "The vigilante has struck again. He just put an arrow in Adam Hunt," he said. Oliver met Anna's eyes and she shook her head in confusion. "Annabelle Carter, I need to see you for questioning," the Commissioner added before leaving. "What? Why?" the girl asked as she stood, placing her napkin on the table while pushing in her chair. "The last person Adam Hunt talked to on the phone was your office."

"There has only been two people at my office tonight, Commissioner, sir. And I can assure you neither of us were making phone calls to Mr. Hunt."

"The evidence says otherwise, come with us, please."

Annabelle tossed a worried glance at Oliver as he stood up to race after her, but it was Moira who stopped him from running after her. 

Malcolm Merlyn sat with a grin on his face after she departed from the group, and his plan was only just beginning.

It was only after Oliver suited up and raced to the scene to discover that this was a copycat's doing that Anna was being framed, and there was nothing he could do about it.

•••

After a day's worth of questioning and interrogations and conversations with Anna and members of her company while she was present, the police had determined that the I.P. address of the phone call from Adam Hunt was traced back to someone named Peter Anderson, a marketing consultant tha previously worked with Adam Hunt. 

The police found incriminating evidence from his desk and apartment that the man had been working to destroy the Carter Provision from the inside-out so Adam Hunt would have no further competition in the Glades and could restore his 40 million dollars that 'The Hood' had previously stolen from him.

It was a grueling day and Anna had to now struggle with finding someone to replace Peter Anderson on top of giving more statements to the police to support their claim. 

She was happy to go home and relax in her bed with a bowl of popcorn and a season of Friends when she was filled in on the copycat vigilante and Oliver's outreach to Lance for help. Not only that, but she was roped into the living room to have a household meeting and she had absolutely no idea what about.

"We're celebrating Christmas," Oliver began as everyone was seated in different chairs and on the couch. Anna rolled her eyes and dropped her head back onto the chair before letting out a silent huff. "Anna and I went five years without it, and then Thea tells me that you guys didn't have it either and that we're the reason. So maybe now we can be the reason we have Christmas again."

"To be fair I had no part in this and this we Oliver keeps referencing does not include me," Anna pointed out to the family before falling back on the chair. "You shush," Oliver scolded the woman. "I thought I would throw the Carter-Queen Christmas party."

"You?" Thea scoffed. "Yes, Oliver, is this really the best time? Annabelle just came back from the police station and -- "

"Mom, I know that I haven't been the son, or the stepson, or the brother, or the boyfriend - " he added in to keep the facade that Anna and Oliver's relationship was fine to everyone else alive, '- that all of you deserve. Especially lately. But this, this feels like the right moment to start making up for lost time. What do you say?"

"I say yes," Moira smiled with a nod as she looked proudly at her son. "Yes! Okay, I will take care of everything, you don't have to do anything. Just show up, look fantastic, and bring some Christmas cheer, okay?"

Moira nodded in agreement while Thea rolled her eyes. Oliver stared at his sister until she finally huffed out a 'Fine,' and he smiled, then looking to Walter. "You're a good man, Oliver," he nodded. Oliver grinned before looking at Anna who was practically now sleeping in the chair, "You actually have to do stuff," he said as he grabbed the girl's hand and heaved her up. "No, no, I'm sleeping. Hold on," she whined. Oliver tossed her over his shoulder playfully, the girl falling against his back with a groan.

"Come on, up you go," he chuckled as he exited the room, going to make the trek upstairs and plop Anna on her bed so she could sleep and he could start preparing for the party while still finding out who this copycat was with Diggle.

As Anna laid under her covers, Oliver left the room and sighed, knowing that from here on was the hard work of putting a broken family back together.

•••

Moments after Anna left the basement of the club after looking closely at an arrow that Lance provided the team from the copycat archer, Anna was on her way to Queen Consolidated with a job for Felicity Smoak. Oliver had asked Anna to do this job to make it less suspicious because Oliver had come in with some pretty weird requests for the girl.

Now it was Anna's turn.

Anna sighed as she walked into the building with an arrow in her purse and she smiled at the people that knew her. She made her way through dozens of people and several halls before finally finding the IT department on the bottom floor of the building. She saw the door for Felicity Smaok and walked right in, seeing the woman on her iPad at her desk.

She stood in front of Felicity, the woman still not realizing there was someone in her office. It wasn't until Anna said "Hi," that she looked up startled and locked her tablet. "Don't you knock?"

Anna smiled, "The door was open."

"Right," Felicity cringed. "Um, hi! You're Annabelle Carter," the girl said while shaking her hand. "Yes, I am," Anna replied, "You're Felicity Smoak."

"Oh my gosh, you know my name. That's so cool, you're like really famous right now," Felicity rambled on, making Anna laugh at her geekiness. "Yeah, um, I was wondering if you could help me with something."

"Of course! I would be honored."

"Right, okay. My buddy Steve is really into archery," Anna began with, pulling the arrow from her purse and watching Felicity's eyes widen. "Apparently it's all the rage now, I don't really understand."

Felicity nodded and placed her tablet on her desk, "I don't know why, either. It looks utterly ridiculous to me. Anna nodded, "Mhm. Anyway, it's Steve's birthday next weekend and I wanted to buy him some arrows. The thing is, however, he gets these special custom-made arrows and I have no idea where he gets them," Anna finished as she placed the weapon on Felicity's desk. "I was really hoping that you could find out."

Anna sat down as Felicity picked up the arrow and got to work. She observed the arrow carefully before seeing something 'obvious.' "The shaft's composite is patented," she said before clicking buttons and typing on her laptop. "And that patent is registered to a company called Sagittarius. That's Latin for the archer."

"And it just so happens to be my sign," Anna smiled as she took back the arrow and placed it back in the tube that she put into her purse. "Could you find out where and when this was purchased?"

"According to Saggitarius company records that particular arrow was part of a bundle shipment of two-hundred units," she said as she began writing numbers on a notepad. "And sent to... this address," she added as she tore off a piece of paper and handed it to Anna. 

"You're truly remarkable, Felicity. I'm going to put in a good word for you. I know some people," Anna said as she stood to her feet and smiled brightly at the girl. "Merry Christmas."

"I'm actually Jewish," Felicity chimed in before Anna could leave the room. Anna turned around, "Happy Hanukkah," she corrected herself before leaving the department with a feeling of reassurance cycling through her.

•••

"This is very sketchy, Oliver," Anna whispered as she walked side by side with Oliver to an abandoned warehouse - the exact address Felicity had given Annabelle earlier that afternoon. "Would you rather be planning that Christmas party that you have tried you rbest to stay away from?" he scoffed, ducking below a fallen metal beam as they neared the destination.

"Don't do that. You have no right to do that."

"Do what? Point out the obvious? I wanted to do this for us, for us to have an actual Christmas for the first time in five years."

"I spent my first Christmas away from here with Sara, Oliver. We helped each other get through the tough day by having each other. And when that day ended, we went back to training to stay alive. This day reminds me of what I don't have. Of who I lost. It just reminds me that my parents are dead, Sara is dead, your father is dead, these people are all dead because of that damn boat. How are you not reminded of all that?"

"I'm trying to look past it and move on."

"You should let me know what therapy you've been going to that will help me be like you then," Anna sneered as the two finally entered the warehouse.

Both of them grew silent, allowing the dark aura of the building to fill their senses instead of voices. As they continued forward, there stood a single arrow in the center of the room. And as they stood in front of that arrow, the door behind them slammed and both of them whipped around with their hands on their quills and the eyes concentrated on the enemy. However, the coast was clear, and Anna was the first to turn around at the sound of electricity crackling. "Oliver," she whispered, her eyes staring at a makeshift contraption before her. 

"Go!" Oliver shouted, turning and running towards the door. Anna was fast behind him, watching Oliver shoot an explosive arrow at the metal door as the contraption behind them exploded. The two just barely jumped through the door in time and after rolling on the ground with their bodies hitting the pavement hard, they looked up and saw the entire complex in flames. 

Anna coughed, smoke filling her lungs. She couldn't believe what just happened. They had a lead, a strong one, and it just blew up. Oliver glanced over at her and helped her up, slinging one of her arms over his shoulder and helping her walk out of there safely. 

Neither one of them suspected that their lives could have just ended, and right before Christmas.

•••

After showering and washing the smell of smoke from her hair, Anna was dressed in a red dress that hugged her sides and exposed her back. She had drenched herself in foundation to cover her scars on her arms, legs, and back, and after completing her makeup and her hair, her and Oliver were off to the annual Christmas parties with fake smiles on their faces. They had to convince Moira, Walter, Thea, and many other party guests that they were still together, however, few knew the truth.

As they walked inside, hand in hand, Diggle smiled at them both, then eyeing their hands to which Anna slid hers out of Oliver's. "I see the halls are decked, Oliver smiled, looking at Diggle. "You both okay?" he wondered, knowing the event that happened almost an hour earlier. "We'll manage," Oliver replied, "Is everyone having a good time?"

"You sure you wanna do this, man?" Diggle asked, "Maybe now's not the best time for you to be Martha Stewart's elf."

"My family needs this party, Diggle. Which means that I need it."

Diggle shrugged and looked to the door as it opened. Oliver glanced over his shoulder and noticed a boy with flowers walking in. "Hey, dude. Uh, Thea invited me. I hope that's cool," the teenager said. Oliver glanced at the flowers, "These are for your mom."

Oliver turned back to face Diggle and raised his eyebrows, "Smooth," he whispered before walking away into the living room where the party was. "Good luck, kid," Diggle chuckled at the boy while walking away with Anna.

Diggle and Anna smiled at each other and he linked an arm in the girl's, "Are you alright?" 

Anna shrugged and approached the living room, "The holidays are always the hardest," she sighed as she noticed Oliver taking a picture with his family. "It seems they are," Diggle agreed. "Annabelle, dear, come take a picture with us," Moira called out, waving her hand to motion the girl closer. Anna glanced at Diggle and smiled, then walking over to stand with Oliver who wrapped his hand around her waist. "Just go with it," he whispered in her ear as the family prepared for a second picture.

Anna smiled, the flash going off a second later and everyone immediately relaxing from their poses. As soon as the picture ended, Shawn, Thea's guest, approached the group. "Mrs. Queen, these are for you," he said, holding out the flowers to the woman. "Well, thank you. I'll go put these in water," she beamed while stepping away.

"Is everything alright?" Walter stopped her, confused as to why she seemed so distant that night. "You and I should talk alone," she whispered to him before exiting the room in typical royal fashion. "Everything okay between the two of you?" Oliver asked. "Yeah, I'm sure it will work itself out," he responded before excusing himself to go find his wife. 

Anna patted Oliver on the back before going to the corner where Tommy and Laurel had just entered. Oliver was close behind her and smiled at the two, "So glad that both of you could make it," he welcomed, then giving Tommy and Laurel hugs while exchanging 'Merry Christmas's.'

"Glad you're here," Anna said as she gave Tommy a hug, but avoiding one from Laurel. Oliver noticed her resiliance to give Laurel a hug but it went unnoticed by Tommy. "So how long do you think it'll be till this isn't so weird?" Tommy questioned, gesturing to the three of them. Oliver slapped Tommy on the shoulder hard and Anna sighed and glanced around, her eyes lighting up as she saw someone familiar, "I'm going to go make conversation," she excused before walking away. Oliver pursed his lips as he watched her go and felt even more guilty than he did weeks ago. This was all his fault, and nothing he did could take that away.

Anna smiled as she tapped on someone's shoulder, them turning around and laughing. "Ms. Carter, you're here!"

"Of course I'm here. I do live here, after all," she chuckled, giving the man a friendly hug. "I'm glad you came. It was a last minute party and I honestly expected you to have other plans," she admitted.

The man shrugged, "You gave me the week off, everything I needed to do has already been done. You really just saved me the night from watching Gilmore Girls and eating a gallon of ice cream," he shrugged. Anna pursed her lips to bite down a laugh - a real laugh - and the boy slapped a hand to his face. "I can't believe I just told my boss that I watch Gilmore Girls."

"Everyone has their dark secrets, Jordan," Anna grinned. "Besides, Gilmore Girls is a good show, so I don't blame you."

Jordan smiled, "You really are a cool boss."

Anna shrugged, "This is my first real job, so I'm coming into the business a little late. Besides, I swore to my dad that I wouldn't be the boss who just makes their assistant run and get coffee. I have other important jobs for you to do, things that make up your salary."

Jordan smiled, "I've got a pretty good salary."

"You really do," Anna nodded, her eyebrows raising in agreement. As her and Jordan continued to converse, she noticed Tommy grabbing a glass of champagne. She quickly motioned him over and he smiled before trotting over to the two. "Thomas, I don't believe you have met Jordan Mitchell yet, he's my secretary," the girl introduced, giving Jordan a wink. 

"Hey, great to meet you, man," Tommy smiled while giving the boy a good, firm handshake. "Same to you. Ms. Carter speaks a lot about you," Jordan smiled, motioning to Anna. Anna chuckled, "We're outside of the office, here you can call me Anna."

Jordan smiled, knowing he was making progress with the closed-off woman, getting her to like him. "Anna."

The girl nodded and Tommy slung one of his arms over her shoulders, "You talk about me a lot, huh?"

Anna rolled her eyes, "Don't go getting all cocky now. You're my best friend, of course I talk about you a lot."

Tommy smiled at Anna's words and Jordan joined their conversation, the three of them talking as if they had all been friends for years. Anna thought this party was going to be the worst night since she had been back, but because of old friends and new friends, she was having one of the best nights she had in a very long time.

Her laughs filled the room, her smile brightening the face of many people surrounding the room, and for once she was worry-free and able to forget about everything bad in her life. That was, until she had to excuse herself from her friends with a "work emergency" that she had to convince Jordan she could handle on her own. 

She made her way upstairs where she heard the words "...in the name of these vigilantes until they surrender themselves to my authority," a staticy voice of a woman on television said. Anna stumbled into the room after tripping on her heels and slowly stopped in front of the television. "That's Jordan's sister in the back," she muttered, staring at the recognizable twin in the chair facing away from the woman talking on the screen. "Those are hostages of the copycat archer," Diggle replied, looking at Annabelle. "He doesn't even know his sister is missing," she mumbled while shaking her head.

Jordan in the past two weeks had become like a brother to her, someone she needed to protect and keep safe. And if his twin sister was a hostage of one of her enemies, she had to stop him. "The police are on the scene, I think you should let them handle this," Diggle suggested.

"Those people are there because of us, Diggle. We have to end this, now," Anna argued. "This guy, he's very dangerous," Diggle stepped in, trying to change their minds. "Diggle, there wasn't anything on the island that wasn't twice as dangerous as this pretender and we survived there for five years," Oliver joined, pointing to Anna for defense. 

Anna shivered as she stepped onto the deck of the freighter, her thin tank top and cargo pants doing nothing to help her stay warm. She wandered to the edge of the railing and looked out, staring at the forest that lined the edge of the island, hiding all its secrets within its walls. The girl dropped her head as she hugged herself and turned on the balls of her feet to face her new opponent of the day. She shook her hands out to the side as he neared and she bent her knees to lock into position.

At once, his hand stretched out to push her back and she caught his fist in her hand, snapping his arm back and hearing teh bones crack underneath. "Shencun," she whispered harshly before kicking him in the stomach and watching him cripple at her feet. 

He was a soldier, a trained soldier, and she was able to defeat him in less than three moves. "You're weak," she spat, letting him roll around in pain with his hand wrapped around his left arm. "How did you ever become a fighter?"

•••

"You go first, you'll land lighter," Oliver motioned to the girl as she threw on her hood and tightened her gloves. "I would love to," she sarcastically replied before slinging her bow over the zipline and hopping off the edge of the roof while holding onto her weapon. She felt the wind rushing through her hair and hitting her eyes and for three seconds she felt free. But that didn't last long as Oliver was quickly behind her and she dropped onto the rooftop of the warehouse and unhooked her bow from the contraption.

She quickly jumped through the glass skylight and allowed the glass to shatter beneath her as she landed smoothly on her feet in a crouched position. Oliver landed behind her and together they stood amidst the five hostages. 

Anna raced forwards and cut them free, "Where is she?" she spat out. "I-I don't know," one replied, her voice cracking from her frequent sobs. "It's gonna be okay, follow me," Oliver said, walking forwards to lead them to safety. Anna walked behind the group as Oliver walked in front and once the hostages were safe on the roof, they carefully stepped through a narrow hallway.

Oliver led and once he was clear in the opening of another room, he turned to make sure Anna was behind him when he saw nothing but the copycat archer at the other end of the hallway. Anna was backed into another doorway in the middle of the hallway and had no way out. "Thank you for coming, after the warehouse I knew I would have to do something dramatic to get your attention," Copycat spoke.

"What do you want with me?" Oliver demanded.

"What any archer wants: to see who's better."

Both pulled their arrows at the same time, both missing and ducking from each other. Glass shattered all around the compound and Anna took deep breaths to calm her growing fear. Both archers ran different directions to get to a better spot and Anna was left to run out on her own. It was a race to the finish, and no one knew who was who and where was where.

Anna quickly sprinted down the corridor, following Copycat as he rounded a corner. She lunged on her feet and jumped up to grab a bar above her, swinging herself onto a ledge. She hid herself among several beams, her black suit disguising herself from her enemy.

As her enemy entered the room, Anna drew her bow to point at him. She had a perfect trajectory before her reflection glared on a piece of glass and Copycat whipped around and shot the bow out of her hand. She shouted in pain before standing and hopping on several beams above her enemy. She nearly escaped him when he fired an arrow at a light that she was swinging on and it dropped, sending her with it. She cried out in pain before scrambling to her feet to avoid an arrow being lodged in her back - even though her and Oliver both put on protective armor underneath their suits for this fight. She hissed in pain as she ran on her foot before leaping to grab her bow. She quickly mounted an arrow and fired at Copycat, him dodging the arrow once again.

Anna stumbled back, not knowing where it was he ran off to, and turned every second to try and find him. As she turned around again, she screamed loudly as she was crushed by a falling light. Her bow tumbled away from her as she whimpered in pain. The light crushed her back and she could feel her muscles stretching, but she knew she hadn't broken her back but very much sprained more than once muscle.

The pain in her stomach was nearly unbearable as he ulcer roared to life, angry at her for taking on too much than she could handle, and with nearly no energy left, Anna struggled to push herself up. 

Oliver heard her screams from across the complex and he raced into the room Anna was in only to be shot by an arrow. He screamed out, then again as Copycat fired one after another.

Oliver continued to get up again and again, but Copycat continued to kick him while he was down. He threatened Oliver, speaking to him as if he were nothing. It wasn't until he reached down to grab Oliver's hood that Anna found the strength to run up and jump on her opponent's back, swinging her body over him and flipping him over. "No!" Oliver cried out, fearful that Anna would get more injured than she already was.

Anna swung her bow at the archer, smacking him across the face. She launched her foot at his stomach, then grabbing a bow from her quiver and jamming it into his leg. Oliver shakily got to his feet before stumbling away to a nearby window where he snapped the bows off his back and fell through the glass into a dumpster underneath.

Anna fell back as Copycat fell unconscious and she wheezed for air that she couldn't get. "Diggle," she coughed out, her breaths strenuous as she crawled away. "Please," she cried out, "Help..."

•••

The moments following the triple defeat of all three archers involved in the fight that night were very unpleasant. Diggle had picked up both Annabelle and Oliver and performed two tasks. First, he dropped Oliver at the hospital as himself and not 'The Hood' where he could be properly cared for from his "motorcycle accident" and then he had dropped Anna off at the same hospital moments later to make it seem less suspicious, and the two were treated for the same accident.

Oliver was the first to awake and he awoke with a gasp. Diggle rushed to his side and pushed him back down as Oliver groaned out in pain, "Hey, relax, relax, you're safe. You're in the hospital," he assured him. "What happened?" Oliver asked with a hiss leaving his lips.

"I backtraced your signal, I cleaned you up, and got you out of there. You've got a pneumothorax, three broken ribs, and a concussion. But the doctors say you're going to be fine."

"Wh-where's Anna? Where is she? She was there and I -"

"She's worse off than you," Diggle responded with sad eyes, his heart aching for the amount of pain the girl is going to be in for the next few weeks. Oliver's eyes widened, "What? Wh- "

"She's got two broken ribs, a broken foot, broken wrist, bruised spine, concussion, and her ulcer is raging. I found her upstairs, the archer was gone," Diggle said, glancing over at the girl as she laid unconcious in the bed beside Oliver.

Oliver glanced over at her and clenched his eyes shut, "This is all my fault."

"We can't have this discussion now, I've got Anna. But right now you've got some people to see you," Diggle said while shaking his head and retreating to go sit next to Annabelle in the chair next to her bed. He sighed and brushed a strand of hair from her face and pulled the blanket higher up on her torso while the door opened and the Queen family flooded in.

 "Are you alright?"

"God, you look terrible."

"Well, thank God you were wearing your helmet."

"I told them how you were on a bike and a semi pulled right in front of you," Diggle spoke up, acknowledging to Oliver to go with it. "What were you even doing out?"

"You bailed on your party."

"It seemed like the right move. I mean, like you said, it wasn't the best timing," Oliver said with tired eyes. "Okay, but when I was saying that, that was me being a bitch," Thea sighed.

"The truth is, I don't think any of us were at our best," Moira joined in, hugging Thea at her side. "The real truth is, you wanted to have a party to bring us closer together. Well, here we are," Walter smiled. 

"I'm just so glad that you and Anna are alright. The doctor said that Anna will need some physical therapy and quite the extensive recovery time, but we're going to be okay," Moira smiled, then glancing at the girl who laid so broken in her bed. "Mom, there's something I have to tell you," Oliver whispered while glancing at Anna.

"What is it?"

"Anna and I... we- we're on a break. Things got too hard, with being back here, and other feelings came up, and we're taking a break. If we hadn't been trying so hard to act like everything was okay than maybe she wouldn't have come out with me tonight and we wouldn't have been here, or at least she wouldn't."

Moira sighed and held Oliver's hand, "You both love each other, and you'll both be okay, together."

•••

As the Queen family left and then nearly two hours past that, Oliver got to his feet and limped to the window where he stared out at his city. Diggle and Oliver had been waiting for Anna to wake up, and it had been six hours since her last surgery and she still laid unconscious. "You know Dig, when I confront someone, I tell them they have failed this city. But tonight, it was me who failed. I failed them, and I failed Anna."

"Oliver, five hostages are home tonight with their families enjoying the holidays. Because of you. This guy, the other archer, he'll get his, and you'll give it to him," Diggle responded. "We might have a bigger problem," Oliver sighed, "The other archer told me that somebody compiled the list. I always assumed it was my father. But what if it wasn't?"

"What do you mean?"

"I think there is someone else out there. Someone who is more of a danger than the archer. and I am gonna take him down," Oliver sneered, determination resting on his face. 

At this statement, Anna blinked, her eyes opening to a beam of light. She took a breath, her ears picking up on the rattling in her ribs. Pain overtook her body and she whimpered, her eyes clenching shut as she arched her back off the bed. Oliver turned to face her but it was Diggle who made it to her first, his hand trying to push her shoulders down, but that only created more pain. "Anna, calm down, look at me, I know it hurts, but you need to calm down," he said calmly.

The girl cried out, her stomach creating a surge of pain that coursed through her body. "I need a doctor!" Diggle shouted as loud as he could, trying to get his friend to calm down. "Oliver, look away," he demanded the man. "No! That - no!"

"Oliver! Look away!"

The doctors flooded into the room, one helping Oliver back to his bed as the others tried to calm Anna down. They filled her IV with more pain medicine, hoping that she wouldn't kill herself with the stress of her ulcer.

They were certainly right, she was going to be in a lot of pain for the next few weeks.