Roy tore up the stairwell, feet barely having time to touch the ground as he shot upward. "You guys don't have much time," Felicity was saying in his comm, "She's on the roof, she's about to jump."

"If that girl doesn't testify or give a statement the police will have to release Jackson in twenty-four hours," Oliver said, "Arsenal, I'm five minutes out. You need to stop her before I get there."

"I know," Roy breathed.

The Arrow Team had been tracking Andrew Jackson, a resident criminal in Starling. He had been dealing drugs out to kids, stocking high schoolers up with all sorts of crap. The police had suspected him of robbery and petty theft, but they had never been able to get charges that stuck. The only witness they had was Jackson's girlfriend, a terrified abused girl who was the only way they'd be able to convict Jackson.

The door was in sight now and he ran up, exiting quickly and quietly. The girl looked up, her blue eyes swimming with tears. Her eyes were getting red from crying and she swallowed hard.

"What- what are you doing here?" She asked, voice breaking a little.

Roy took a cautious step forward, and the girl backed away towards the edge.

"I'll jump," she treatened. "I'll do it, I will."

"Roy," Oliver warned.

"I know," Roy told her, cautiously taking a step forward. Relieved when she didn't react, he continued gently, "You don't have to do this, you know. Life sucks, I know, but it'll get better."

"Really?" A hysterical laugh came from the girl, her voice faint and trembly as she continued, "That's what you know, is it? I'm just some stupid girl who can't deal with the weight of life's problems, so I'm taking the easy way out. Well, that's not me." Another hysterical laugh, and then she met Roy's gaze. Her eyes were filled with agony, and her voice was raw as she finished, "That's not me."

There was a pause and Roy took another cautious step forward. There was still about three feet of space between them, and he knew he wouldn't have time to catch her if she jumped now. By the time he fired an arrow it would be to late, and he was out of grappling arrows. His only option was to stall and talk her down.

"Do you know what it's like," she said, breaking Roy out of his thoughts, "When a man in bearing down on you and he just keeps hitting you and hitting you and he won't stop."

Her voice shook as she spook and cracked at the last word.

"Roy, you need to get her down from there," Felicity was saying, and Oliver was telling him that he was still three minutes out but Roy couldn't hear them.

He swallowed hard, trying to get himself to focus, assaulted by violent memories of booming voices and rough hands.

He stepped forward twice, the only way he was going to get her down was if told her but the team would would hear and oh, gosh... Roy shoved his tumultuous thoughts away as he spoke up, heart pounding.

"Yeah, I do." He said softly.

The girl faltered, looking at Roy as if she was seeing him for the first time. She probably hadn't been paying attention to him much at that point, until he had said something that caught her off guard. The silent tension on the comms was blunt, and Roy stepped forward again. His head was spinning, they were never going to look at him the same way after this...

"My dad used to hit me," he could hear himself saying, and the words were pouring out like a dam had burst, "when I was a kid. All the time, he was drunk and angry that Mom left and I was an easy target. He started beating me when I was eight and he never stopped."

Roy registered the shock, pity, sadness, and empathy that crossed the girl's features, and everything in between.

He heard Felicity's horrified, "Roy..." but ignored it, pushing on.

"He would go into these fits of rage and he'd just keep hitting and hitting," Roy faltered, closing his eyes as he exhaled shakily.

This time it was Oliver who said, "Roy..." but apparently no one felt like elaborating on his name.

"I still don't know how I feel about that." He said softly.

The girl's head tilted upward slightly, he had her full attention now. And not just the dazed, depressed state she had been in earlier.

"I understand how hard it is to pick yourself up after that, but you can do it," Roy told her. "I'm not saying it will be easy, but life's worth it."

"Oh, and your just the picture of mental health," She shot back, "At least I don't dress up in a red hood and run around putting arrows in people."

Roy countered, "I'm not the one about to jump off the edge of a building."

"You don't understand what he'll do to me," she pleaded.

"He won't. I won't let him. If you testify, he's going away for good. He'll never hurt anyone again." Roy paused, and added, "He's not going to stop, you know. Hurting people, I mean. If you die he'll keep hurting other, maybe even another girl who knows that he's sometimes a nice guy and thinks she can change him."

"I guess I wasn't strong enough," she said hoarsely.

"He's a bad guy. Some people you can't change, no matter how hard you try." Roy told her, searching for words. "Come down from there. Please."

"And if he comes after me?"

"I'll put an arrow in him before he reaches you. You'll be safe. I promise."

There was a long silence and Emily Milton came down.

When Oliver got there shortly after, Roy didn't meet his gaze as his mentor told him to head back to the cave. He did what he was told and barely said a word as Oliver headed off with Emily to the police station.

Roy took the long way back to the Cave, trying to stall as long as possible. He had briefly considered not going back at all, but he knew the Team could track him down pretty easily. Besides, he couldn't head home as Arsenal, he'd have to take the suit back eventually. So Roy steeled his nerves and headed to the Cave.

Roy slowly made his way down the steps, dreading their reaction as he entered. They were all waiting for him as he reached the bottom of the stairs. Felicity was watching from her chair, Diggle was leaning against the table, and Oliver was standing by Felicity.

"Roy," Diggle startled.

"I don't want to take about it," Roy reiterated harshly as he moved forward, hanging up his bow. His back was to them, he closed his eyes. He didn't think he could bare to look at them...

"Roy," Oliver said softly. "I'm sorry."

And suddenly Roy was fighting back tears. He didn't do crying.

"You didn't deserve that. No one does. Not Emily, not... you."

"It doesn't matter." Roy said hoarsely.

"Yes, it does." Felicity cut in. "Roy, you're our friend, our family. What your father did was not okay. It matters to us, and even if you act like it doesn't, it does to you too."

"Roy, I know how hard it can be to admit when you need help." Diggle added. "But the truth is, if you never accept help you won't be able to pick yourself up."

Roy opened his eyes and turned to face the team. He could feel his eyes watering but he refused to cry in front of the team. Wordlessly, Felicity took two sharp steps and pulled Roy into a hug.

Roy started at first, before returning the hug. As Felicity stepped back, she gazed at Roy in obvious concern. He swiped away at his eyes, exhaling shakily.

"You didn't deserve it," Felicity told him. "Whatever lies he told, however he got into your head, you never deserved it."

The forcefulness of her words caught him off guard. The words caught in his throat so he nodded instead.

"Roy, I've trusted you with my quest, my life, my sister. And I want you to know if you ever want to... talk, I'm here." Oliver told him, and he locked gazes with Roy.

"It's okay to cry, you know."

It was only six words, but suddenly Roy couldn't stop the tears from flooding down his cheeks. He could feel Felicity pulling him into another hug, murmuring softly to him and Oliver and Diggle were at his side, their presence washing over them in a wave of comfort.

And Roy realized even with how far he had fallen, his real family would be there to hold him up.