When we had finished eating and had a long conversation, he paid and asked,

"Are you too full for ice cream?"

I shrugged. "We could always get some at the grocery store around the corner and take it back to watch the show." I say with somewhat of a bashful smile.

He grins. "Your wish is my command."

"Yes. And I'm paying for the ice cream, Tommy." I say and he pouts. "C'mon. Let me do something for you."

His pout disappears into a small smile and he says, "Well, then thank you."

We get up and pull back on our coats and he holds out a hand to me and I looked at him then took his hand and we walked out of the restaurant, him carrying the bag of take out.

We got back to the car and he opened the door for me and I got in and took the bag of take out for him. He got into the driver's seat and went to start the car when I grabbed his hand.

"Wait." I said, not knowing why I was doing this.

"Everything ok?" He asks.

I nodded. "Yeah. Of course. I just...how do you cope with a death? I know this is a very sudden and very personal question, but when you found out your mother died, how did you cope?"

He dropped his hands into his lap and fiddled with the keys and was silent for a while, developing a response. When he did speak, it was softly. "Well, when I first found out, my dad wasn't much help. He ignored me then left for a few years. All I had was Oliver. And you and Laurel, too, but...I don't know. I guess I just tried to focus on the good times I had with them, you know? The good memories. I was more angry at my father for leaving than anything. The Queen's were generous and let me stay with them whenever I needed to. I guess I just found myself a new family. Someone else."

I nodded and looked at my hands and squeezed them into fists. "My reason for asking, Tommy, is because on the island I meet someone and I...Well, I fell for them. Hard. I loved him and thought he loved me too. Then things changed with him and he...died." He looked over at me. "I'm telling you this because I want you to understand something. I'm hurting because of his death still, but I want you to know that you aren't a rebound for me. You never were and never will be. I've had a hopeless crush on you since I meet you, I just...I didn't know how you'd feel. You weren't the type to settle, and neither was Oliver. I'm the type to settle. I just want you to know my intentions before we go any further.

"I don't want to lie to you. I'll tell you more about the island at some point. I just wanted you to know I don't see you as a rebound or anything, I-"

He cut me off by grabbing my face in his hands and kissing me. I was startled at first, but my eyes closed and I kissed him back, hands coming up to hold his. When he pulled away, he looked at me and said,

"Take all the time you need, Mia. Because I'm here, and I'm going to be here for a while, ok?" He says and smiles at me and rubs his thumbs across my cheekbones.

"Ok." I reply and smile at him and kiss him once more. He smiled and moved his hands and started the car and drove off down the street to the nearest grocery store and parked. I grabbed my purse and said,

"I got it."

"Then let me come in with you." He says.

"Nooooo. I want it to be a surprise. Please?" I asked and he smiled a little and relented,

"Fine. But nothing plain."

"Pfft. What do you take me for? Of course it'll be filled with amazing things." I say with a grin and be smiled and I got out of the car and headed into the store.

I got to the ice cream aisle and looked up and down at all the flavors, trying to decide. That's when I noticed someone staring at me. I looked in their direction and it was a man in a hat and sunglasses. He wore a coat over a sweatshirt and had the hood up as well.

I clenched my fists tighter around my purse and and just looked at the ice cream again.

I was in a public place. I would be fine.

Rocky Road caught my eye and in the moment that I reached up to grab the ice cream, a hand clamped firmly over my mouth. There was a rag between my mouth and the hand and I realized too late it was laced with a drug.

My eyelids went heavy and the next thing I knew, I was being carried off.

Then, I knew nothing more.

^^^^^^

I woke up slowly. I was sitting in a chair, and my hands were tied to the back of it with zip ties. I winced a little and lifted my head to see the man standing in front of me, but this time he had a red Halloween mask on his face.

I had to give the charade of a scared girl, so I did. No one could suspect me as anything but having PTSD. Not a fighter. And certainly not an assassin skilled with knives.

"You were on the Queen's Gambit. What do you know about Robert Queen?" The man demanded and I noticed he had something clenched in his right fist. It was a taser.

I looked at the weapon once, then back at the man. "What about him?" I asked defiantly.

The man glared at me and with a fast movement, shocked me in the ribs with it on a high voltage. I cried out in pain.

"Answer the question, Miss Walker."

"I don't know an-" I tried to gasp out in pain again as I was hit with another surge.

Tears sprung from my eyes in real pain, and I glared up at him in hatred. "You should stop."

He laughed. "And what are you going to do? You're zip tied to that chair." The man said and the two others behind him snickered.

A grin slowly spread across my face as I said, "I'm not going to do anything, but I can't guarantee that he won't." I say and look up.

There he was. I had seen him come in outnof the corner of my eye. Green hood up, black paint smeared across his eyes, and bow with arrow drawn and aimed at the man. He fired before the man who had captured me could react, and the arrow caught him in the shoulder and he fell to the ground with a grunt.

One guy aimed a gun at Oliver and began to fire, but the other ran at me with a knife. I had to act, and I had to act now.

I stood up and spun around, whipping the legs of the chair into the man and knocking him over.

He got up and I backed away as much as I could. I was never as good at dislocating my thumbs as Oliver was. I couldn't get my hands free and the guy was charging at me with the knife again.

Then, he stopped short, and blood dripped out of his mouth, then he collapsed on his face. There was a green arrow in his back.

I looked up at Oliver in shock and he looked at me and helped me sit again and said, "Police will be here soon."

He pulled out a knife and cut my bonds. As he said the words, blue lights flashed, then he was gone.

I allowed myself to have a panic attack. A faked one, but I sat there on that chair and cried as hard as I could, and called for help.

Police officers ran into the building and I noticed Detective Lance was at the front. He came racing over to me and said, "Mia? Are you hurt?" He came over to me and put the gun in his holster. My hands shook.

"M-My wrists h-hurt a l-little. B-but these guys came a-and kidnapped me. I-I was just getting ice c-cream and-"

"Hey, shh. It's ok, Maria. You don't have to try and talk right now. You can at the station. Let's get you out of here, now, shall we?" He asks and I nodded and another officer brought over a blanket which he wrapped around my shoulders and lead me out to an ambulance where paramedics had me sit down on the edge of the vehicle, and they took my pulse, shined a flashlight in my eyes, and a woman began to lift my shirt, but the thought of her seeing my scars made me push her hand away.

"D-Don't."

She turned to Detective Lance and said, "She was tased a few times. Let's get her to a hospital room so she can recover and have some privacy, then you can ask her the questions. She's under a lot of stress and is in shock."

He nods and looks to me and I bit my lip and a tear slid down my cheek.

I didn't have to fake cry when I saw him staring at me. Because he and Sara had the same eyes.