Chapter 7

Lilly was yet to arrive back home. Oswald had returned with Ed, his thoughts still on their conversation about his kinks – until he had walked into the house and Rose had asked him to come through to the front room. He had sat down with Ed and listened as she and Ivy explained all they knew, and Gertrude looked on, adding, "It is true, Ozzie may still be alive."

He had sat in silence for a moment, then as the news sank in, he felt the worst of his pain lifted by hope. It was most certainly possible that Ozzie was still alive...

"What ever he's done," Oswald said as he got up and paced the room, "It can't be so bad that he had to go to such great lengths to fake his death. Either he's in some kind of deadly serious trouble, or he's got everything out of proportion to the situation and panicked! Either way, when I find that little shit, I'll kill him for what he's done to this family!"

"We must try and be understanding, Oswald!" his mother said, "If you are angry with him, if he comes home to your rage, he will run away."

Fury blazed in his eyes.

"Mother, he will be coming home to my rage!"

Then Lilly entered the room.

"I found him," she said quietly, and she stepped aside.

As Ozzie walked into the room, he gave a sob.

"I'm really sorry!"

Oswald's jaw dropped, he was staring at him in disbelief the same way Ed, Rose and Ivy and his grandmother were all staring: He really was alive, he had just walked back into the house...

"You little bastard!" Oswald yelled as he lunged towards him, "We mourned you, we thought we lost you! What the fuck did you do it for?"

Rose got up quickly, ready to dash forward and get between them if Oswald lashed out at their son. But he didn't. As soon as he reached him, he grabbed hold of him, pulled him into a tight embrace and as all his anger melted away, he sobbed.

"I love you so much! I thought you drowned! Do you have any idea what that did to us?"

As he pulled away, he placed his hands on his shoulders and looked into his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Dad! I was scared... I thought I had no choice."

Oswald blinked as another tear ran down his face. He saw real fear in his son's eyes and it wasn't fear of his father's wrath – it was something much deeper. He took a breath, forced his emotions to calm a little and then spoke again and this time, he was in control of his anger.

"There is nothing you can't tell me about," he said, "We know you faked the medical report, we know you faked the drowning – we worked it out before you came home today! What ever the reason for your actions, you're safe, Ozzie. I want you to stop crying and enjoy this reunion with our family, and then, you will sit down with me and tell me everything. Can you do that?"

Ozzie nodded.

"Good," Oswald added as he pulled him close and gave him another hug, "That's what I wanted to hear. Later, we shall sit together and have a drink and you will talk to me and leave nothing out, okay?"

"Yes, Dad," Ozzie said quietly, and then Rose hugged him and he cried in her arms. As she held her son, it was still sinking in that he had really walked through that door, alive and well. Then as she hugged him tighter, she looked over his shoulder and Ivy gave her a radiant smile.

"I told you so," she said warmly, and for once, Rose could only smile back in agreement.


As Lilly's phone rang, she glanced down at it, expecting Ivan to still be at home and calling to ask where she was – but it wasn't Ivan. It was Jim Gordon. She left the room, leaving Ozzie to a tearful reunion with the rest of the family and took the call in the hallway.

"Lilly, have you made contact with your brother yet?" he asked.

"The situation is under control," she replied in a low voice, "I hope you have some news for me."

"I have the phone records. Where is Ozzie? Have you found him yet?"

"You can be sure his disappearance will be cleared up very soon," she replied, "And thank you, Jim – I'll meet you at the usual place tomorrow and pick up those numbers. I still need them. Thank you for your help, I appreciate it."

She ended the call, then returned to the front room, where Ozzie was sitting between his mother and grandmother and talking about how much he had missed them. He looked towards her, for a moment their gaze locked, then Lilly smiled.

"I should be heading home," she said, "Ivan doesn't even know the good news yet! I can't wait to tell him you're home!"

"Thanks for picking me up, Lilly," he said, and she gave him a look that he understood, it was a silent thanks for sticking to the story she had run past him once they had returned home...

Lilly left the house, following the path back home, where Ivan would be waiting. To have Ozzie home was a huge relief, now all she wanted to do was lay with Ivan and close to the comfort of his familiar warmth, sleep well for the first time since her brother had vanished.


"Talk to me," demanded Oswald.

His son had been home for three hours. Now he was in the study, sitting on a sofa between his father and his Uncle Ed.

"Go easy on him, he's been through a lot," Ed reminded him, "Take your time, Ozzie."

Then Ozzie grabbed his drink off the table and downed it quickly. He looked form his father to his uncle and then nodded.

"Okay...I'll tell you everything, and before I start, I'm so sorry for the potential trouble I've caused."

Oswald shifted back, leaning against the seat as he looked intently at his son.

"Our reunion is over. Start talking. What have you done?"

Ozzie was shaking. Ed poured him another drink.

"Go slowly with this one, don't get drunk, just explain," he told him, trying to sound far calmer than he felt. It was clear something heavy had happened – he had never seen Ozzie so scared. Not even the day of the fire in the barn back when he was a kid came close to this...

Ozzie glanced to Ed, then looked to his father.

"I was seeing this girl before I met Bridgit. It was nothing serious. She was pretty and she was all over me as soon as she found out I was a Cobblepot -"

"That's interesting," Oswald remarked, "Please continue."

"It was fun at first. But like I said, it wasn't serious – at least, not to me. Then I met Bridgit and I told Melanie it was over. She was angry. I changed my phone number and got on with life and she got hold of my new number, she kept calling me, then she said she was pregnant and if I didn't come back she couldn't keep the baby."

Oswald gave a heavy sigh.

"What did she do?"

"She said she had an abortion. She was really upset about it. She said she was going to tell her father everything, and that he would be so angry he would start a war. He would get his people and then you would get your people and a lot of people would die if I didn't go back to her."

"What's her name?" Oswald asked.

"Melanie."

"Melanie, what?" he demanded.

Ozzie hesitated, then he spoke again, in a hushed tone.

"Melanie Velaska."

Ed laughed out loud as Oswald shot him a glare.

"It's not funny, Ed!"

"Melanie Velaska? Ha! Yes, it is... oh my god, really, Ozzie? You believed her?"

"What do you mean? Ozzie was utterly confused.

"What do you know about her, Ed?" Oswald demanded.

Ed laughed again as he shook his head.

"Oh dear, I shouldn't be laughing under the circumstances... but it's like this: She's a liar. She's not Velaska's daughter. He briefly lived with her mother, who had a son by Jeremiah... he gave her his name while he was with the mother. Melanie is ambitious. She wants to get herself a powerful guy with underworld connections. And that girl was never pregnant! She's tried that trick with a couple of other guys. She used to hang about the Iceberg Lounge trying to pick up rich guys with powerful families..." he laughed again, "Victor heard about her games and banned her from the club! He told her to fuck off and never come back!"

Oswald stared at him in disbelief, then he looked to his son.

"You really though she'd use Jeremiah to start a war over you breaking up with her? How dumb are you, Ozzie?"

He took another swig from his glass and then became tearful.

"She said there would be a war. I didn't want anyone I love getting hurt...What was I supposed to do?"

"You should have come to me and Ed!"

"I was scared. I just kept thinking, everyone I love will get hurt or die... For all I know, she might have made up shit about me to Valeska!"

Oswald gave a groan.

"Thanks a lot, Ozzie. Now I'll have to call him. This will be very embarrassing... and I'll be stuck on the phone for hours listening to his problems!"

That remark came as a surprise.

"Jeremiah has problems?"

"Of course he does, Ozzie! Like me, he has kids! When they grow up, they cause problems!"

Ed had completely missed Oswald's angry tone as he laughed again.

"That was a smart move getting those antibiotics," he said, "Not just for the river... I'd want them too if I'd slept with Mel Velaska!"

Oswald glared at him.

"This isn't funny!"

"I'm sorry," Ozzie said, then he blinked away tears and took another shot of his drink.

"I promised Lilly I wouldn't say anything.. but something else happened, too... the guy who was hiding me, him and his girlfriend had plans to kidnap me for ransom."

That admission came as a shock.

"Where do they live?" Oswald said darkly as murder shone in his eyes.

"It doesn't matter. I killed them... well, I stabbed one and tied the other one up. When Lilly arrived, she finished her off. Then I got cleaned up. Two hours later we set fire to the house. Don't worry, Lilly was very careful. She cleaned the basement and helped me with the gasoline. The cops won't trace either of us."

Oswald was stunned by his son's revelation. He hadn't noticed the concerned expression that had come to Ed's face when Ozzie had said they left two hours later.

"Thank you for explaining," Oswald said, and he gave his son a pat on the back, "You have another drink with Ed, I'm going to explain everything to the rest of the family and then we can figure out how to smooth things over with the cops. You've been through enough, I won't let them prosecute you for faking your death. There will be a way around this."

Oswald got up from his seat and left the room. Ed paused for a moment, then he turned to Ozzie and dropped his voice.

"You cleaned up the murder scene and left two hours later? What happened in those two hours? And don't you dare lie to me!"

Ozzie looked down at his drink. In the blink of an eye it flashed back to him, a series of snapshots of what happened before they left:

They were up in the bedroom, in front of the mirror.

Lilly put her arm around him.

"Don't we look pretty together..." she had remarked.

He had kissed her.

They had fallen back on the dead kidnapper's bed.

It was so wrong, but it had felt like nothing he had ever felt before...

Ozzie raised his head and met his gaze.

"She is my fire that never goes out, a burning yearning, eternal like my damnation... That's part of a poem I wrote about her. I have hundreds of them!"

Ed glared harder at him.

"I don't care about your crappy poetry! What happened?"

"What do you think happened?" Ozzie said quietly, "Lilly always gets what she wants."

"No!" Ed said sharply, "No Ozzie, that's an excuse! It takes two people to have sex and you could have turned her down!"

Ozzie shook his head.

"You don't understand... we have this powerful bond. It's a love that can never be truly fulfilled. Our eternal torment!"

Ed gave a heavy sigh as he struggled to control his temper and not yell at him and have the rest of the family hear the truth.

"Ozzie, it's not magical or mystical or something out of a classical poem – it's disgusting! That feeling you got when you was with her? It's a thrill because you know it's wrong! And you're so wrapped up in your romantic daydreaming you think it's a beautiful love story – it isn't! You made your first kill, Lilly joined the party. You were both hyped up and you had sex. This must never happen again!"

"I'm sorry," Ozzie said quietly, "I know we have the same father, but when I was growing up, she was the girl next door. She didn't even live with us."

"You must have been jealous when she met Ivan?"

"No," Ozzie replied honestly, "And she's not jealous of me and Bridgit. We know we can't be together."

Ed shook his head, wishing he had never learned this sordid family secret.

"You should call Bridgit," he said, "Not tonight, tomorrow. Let Rose speak to her first and break the news that you're alive. Then give her a while to let that sink in, and call her. The sooner you get back with her the sooner you can end this vile attraction you have for Lilly!"

Ozzie could barely look him in the eye as he nodded in agreement.

"I want to see her," he agreed, and then he fell silent and drank some more, wishing the booze could wipe his memory of the whole awful mess he had made of his life.


Later that night as Rose got into bed, she realised this would be the first night she could truly sleep well again. Her son wasn't lost, missing or dead. To have that grief and uncertainty taken away and replaced with reassurance that the world had been set right had been instant relief from pain. She shifted closer to Oswald, who was warm between her and Ed. The light was still on and as she looked into her husband's eyes, he smiled and turned his head and kissed her.

"It's going to be okay," he said, "All is right with the world again, my son is home."

Ed put an arm around him as he turned on his side.

"We just have to keep a close watch on him from now on – he's not too smart and he's certainly more than a little unstable. But, he has his family and we can handle a little bit of crazy."

Oswald laughed.

"Because we are all more than a little insane!"

Ed laughed softly and pulled him close as he kissed him, then Oswald rested on his back again, looking from Ed to Rose.

"I feel as if a piece of my heart has just been put back into its rightful place."

Then he gave a sigh of satisfaction to feel Ed and Rose both sliding their hands over his body in unison, it was a gentle embrace from the two people he loved and made him feel warm and protected from the evils of the world.

"I'm not angry with my son, not any more," he added.

"Neither am I," Rose agreed, "As long as we always love and forgive them, it doesn't matter what our kids do... there's nothing so terrible it can't be forgiven. We don't have to approve or be happy about it, but we should always forgive."

"Absolutely," Oswald agreed as he looked into her eyes.

Ed had been listening, and while Oswald had taken it to apply to Ozzie faking his death, Ed was thinking about the secret that no one else knew, about Ozzie and Lilly. Rose was right. No matter what they did, they had to forgive their kids and never stop loving them, because love didn't mean approval, it was just the one thing that they needed to hold on to...

"Rose," Ed said, and as she raised her head, Ed leaned over Oswald and kissed her, deeply, passionately, as the kiss ended and he drew back Oswald's eyes lit up in wonder.

"I've always wanted you to kiss her like that!"

Rose felt a flicker of surprise and then she smiled.

"You should do that more often, Ed."

"Maybe I will..." his hand slid down from Oswald's waist to his groin, and he stroked his growing erection.

"It certainly turned you on..."

Oswald gave a sigh as Ed caressed him, then he kissed him deeply and turned over, pulling Rose closer.

"I love you," he whispered, and as he began to make love to her, Ed's hands were sliding softly over his back, then as he started to kiss down his spine, he slowed his movement against his wife, giving a murmur of bliss as Ed's mouth went lower still. As they made love together, it seemed like everything was perfect in the world again. Tomorrow, there would much to handle as they covered up the facts around their son's disappearance, but for now, as they loved each other, warm in their bed, they felt safe from the entire world.


Early next morning, Ivan drove Lilly to meet with Jim Gordon by the river. Again? He had asked, and she had recalled how she had covered her meeting with Ozzie by using Jim as an excuse, later claiming Ozzie had called her on the way back and asked for a ride home...

While Ivan waited in the car, she met with Jim, who handed her the phone records.

"Thank you," she told him, "You can be sure I will fulfil my part of the bargain soon. I still have a few family matters to clear up, but when it is resolved you can be sure I will be very keen to have the next name on your death list."

Jim paused for thought.

"Lilly, I'm thinking about taking a promotion. If I do, I won't be able to carry on with our deal. That cuts you free from your obligations, if you wish."

Her ice blue eyes registered surprise beneath the shade of her parasol.

"Why would I want to stop the games? I'm having so much fun!"

"But you're young, you might want to walk away from this deal and marry Ivan, have kids one day?"

Her eyes glittered like pale sapphires as she smirked at his suggestion.

"I'm the Gotham Jigsaw - I have no maternal instinct."

"Well, maybe I can find a replacement to carry on our work."

"At the GCPD, the way the place is run these days? My father recalls the days when the whole of the police department was on his payroll. These days finding a dirty cop is rare indeed."

"I know of someone," Jim replied, "I'm trying to work it out so he's my replacement. I even put his name forward. He's perfect for this – in more ways than one. He has links to the force and the underworld. He would gladly carry on with your work and mine."

Lilly arched a dark eyebrow.

"Who is this man?"

"No names, not yet. Once the deal is done, you can meet him. He would be far more enthusiastic about the execution side than I have ever been – in some ways, he's a good cop. In others, he's not – but I have no doubt he can carry on where I left off. He will probably want to help with the games, too. You'll get along with him very well."

"I look forward to meeting him," she replied.

Jim smiled fondly.

"I'd better go now, speak soon, Lilly."

As he left, Lilly turned and walked away with a smile of satisfaction on her face. When she reached the car, she got in and held up the phone record.

"Look what I've got, Ivan! A long list of my brother's cell phone records."

"But he's home," Ivan replied, "What use is that now?"

Lilly's eyes iced with a murderous gleam.

"It makes my life easier. I can find her number, I can call her. Then I intend to meet her and have a little chat. No games yet, I just want to see for myself what kind of person would be the cause of so much pain for my beloved family!"

Ivan's eyes widened. For once, what she was suggesting was alarming, even after all the kills she carried out...

"I know your mother explained everything last night, and you're still angry but Lilly, I really think you should stay away from her! Melanie is a Valeska, even if only in name. If a Cobblepot kills a Valeska there really could be a war."

"I didn't say I was going to kill her," Lilly replied, "At least, not yet. Trust me Ivan, I know what I'm doing."

"I hope you do..." he muttered, then he started the car and they drove away from the river.


Later that morning, Rose and Ed were in the study, watching as Oswald made a phone call to Jim.

"Yes," he was saying, "That's right Jim, it's wonderful news! Ozzie is home and safe. He's also very well – Ivy drove him to the hospital this morning to check on his condition and the tests came back clear. It's like a miracle! My son, who was driven to attempt suicide, now has everything to live for, he's cured! We are all overjoyed!"

"What happened after he jumped in the river?" Jim asked.

"He doesn't remember," Oswald replied, "Maybe that's a good thing. His state of mind is no longer a cause for concern. And I can have a doctor sign a statement to that effect of you want to be difficult, my son is home and staying home. He doesn't need locking up."

"I'll trust you on that," Jim replied, "But I will need him give a statement to clarify all of this later."

"Much later," Oswald agreed, "He needs time with his family now... He doesn't need to deal with cops today. I'll bring him along to see you in a few days time, and I shall sit with him while he gives his statement."

"I'm sure you will," Jim replied, and Oswald smiled on hearing that tone in his voice – if Jim suspected they were hiding something, he knew it would stay hidden, the family were closing ranks.

As the call ended. Oswald smiled brightly as he looked to Ed, then Rose.

"That's resolved! Now, where is Ozzie?"

Ed looked at Rose. She looked at him, then to her husband.

"He came back from the hospital with Ivy and then went straight back to her place. He's playing video games with Eddie."

Oswald shot her a look of disbelief.

"He's not been home twenty four hours, he knows you told Bridgit this morning, he needs to see her and explain!"

Rose shook her head, knowing there was nothing she could say to excuse his actions.

"He wanted to play video games with his brother," she replied, "I haven't told him how Bridget reacted when she found out the truth. She's going to dump him."

"I don't blame her. And that possibility hasn't crossed his mind? He's just gone off to hang out with his brother instead?"

"You know Ozzie," she replied, "Since when did he handle relationships well?"

Oswald gave a heavy sigh.

"Did he spend any time with Karina before she went to school? I know she was overjoyed when we told her he was alive, she couldn't stop hugging him yesterday, she was crying with joy!"

"He said Hi to her before he left with Ivy," Rose replied, "And apart from complaining about having to get checked over because of the medical thing, he was acting like it's just another normal day. Like none of this ever happened."

Ed spoke up, cautiously. He knew how much Oswald adored his son, but it had to be said...

"I don't want to upset either of you," he told them both, "But Rose, Oswald... I can't hold back from saying this. Ozzy was a good boy most of the time while he was growing up, but once he got older, and the drinking and the wild lifestyle started I think it was a warning sign of something. He's impulsive, he doesn't seem to grasp the seriousness of anything. I love him as much as you do, like my own son – but I think he's crazy. I think it took its time to emerge but he's got more than Lilly's darkness... he's the weaker one of the two. He was always the same, even when they were kids... the smartest thing he ever did was leave the barn before it burned! I'm not saying it's our fault – we gave those kids the best life they would have had. We've been great parents. It's just in them – in him. Oswald, if your son was as sharp and clever as you, he could do great things. But he's as destructive as Lilly is dangerous."

Then a flicker of alarm came to his gaze as Ed realised he had said a little too much.

Oswald got up from his seat and glared at him.

"Just because your son is a good student with career ambitions, and Ivan turned out okay, it doesn't make you entitled to judge my children!"

"They're our children!" Ed said angrily, as Rose looked on and felt caught in the middle of their quarrel, "I raised them with you. I'm entitled to say this! I don't even think it has anything to do with the Cobblepot curse – it's just bad luck!"

Oswald's jaw dropped. Those words had hurt, deeply.

"Bad luck? And why are you bringing Lilly into this?"

"I'm sorry," Ed told him, "I was just making a comparison – she's the Gotham Jigsaw, she's smart and she is a born survivor in this cruel world. But Ozzie? He's self destructive. Karina is just fine – so far – but when she gets older, it could be different."

Oswald stepped closer to him, looking hard at him. Rose looked on, feeling as if the temperature in the room had just dropped to zero degrees.

"You're saying I father crazy children?" His voice was filled with anger as it reflected in his eyes.

"No, of course not," Ed insisted, "And I love you, Oswald. I would never say such a thing about the kids – I'm just saying, I'm worried about our son. I think what ever makes Lilly the way she is, could also be in Ozzie. Just in a different way – not in a way that will ever do him any favours."

Oswald's temper simmered down and that dangerous hint of rage that had briefly shimmered in his gaze was gone now.

"I'm sorry," Ed told him, "I didn't mean to upset you."

"I guess it had to be said eventually," Oswald replied, and the hurt that reflected in his voice made Ed's heart ache. Then there was a knock on the door and it echoed down the hallway.

"That will be Bridget," Rose said, "I'd better go and let her in. I'm not looking forward to the fallout from this. You'd better get your son over here to speak to his girlfriend, Oswald."

Then Rose walked out of the room.

Oswald took his phone from his pocket and called his son's number. Ozzie answered right away.

"Yes, Dad?"

"Bridget is here to see you. Get off the video game and get over here!"

"I'm on my way."

There was a pause. He briefly heard laughter in the background as Eddie and Ozzie joked about beating each other's gaming score, then Ozzie spoke again.

"I'll be there in two minutes."

"You need to know she's not happy with you, son. You let her think you killed yourself. That's a lot for her to forgive and I don't think she can, nor do I expect her to! You broke her heart."

"I'll handle it, I'll talk to her."

"What ever she says, I expect you to handle this with maturity," Oswald reminded him.

"Of course I will, Dad! This is my mess, I have to take responsibility for it. I'll be calm and in control and I will handle this with maturity."

"You'd better!" Oswald warned, then he ended the call.

"I hope he does handle this the right way," Ed remarked, then Rose headed back down the hallway alone.

"Ozzie," she called out as her son hurried into the house, "Bridgit's waiting for you, she's at the front door."

"Thanks, Mom," he replied, then Rose returned to the study and closed the door. She looked to the two men in her life as worry clouded her eyes.

"Bridgit is definitely dumping him."

"I don't blame her," Oswald replied.

Then they fell silent, waiting, as Ozzie met with Bridgit, hoping that she might change her mind – a reunion with her would be exactly what Ozzie needed right now, but she had been very sure she wanted to break up with him...


Bridgit had already decided what she would say. When Ozzie joined her as she stood in the hallway by the closed front door, she felt her heart ache and she wanted to cry and hug him out of sheer relief that he was alive and well – but then she remembered what he had done, and as he started to speak, she knew she would not change her mind, not after all she had been through.

"I am so sorry!" Ozzie said, "I did some crazy stuff because I really believed my life was in danger. I thought the whole family was in danger, too! I just didn't get what was really going on. I got desperate. That's why I faked the reason for the suicide, and why I jumped. But I do love you! I just want to make everything right again. Please, Bridgit. Give me another chance."

She saw the look in his ice blue eyes, and she knew he was sorry, but he didn't understand exactly how much pain he had caused.

"I'm sure you are sorry," Bridgit replied, "But you told me you were sick, and then you let me think you'd drowned! I accepted that you'd died – you put me through all that pain! This is why I will never get back with you, Ozzie! But I am glad I met you, because you showed me that my scars don't matter. I can be happy, and I can find a relationship I deserve, too. Just not with you."

Tears stung his eyes.

"Why won't you give me another chance?"

"Because you're crazy, Ozzie! What are you going to do next time you think you're in danger? Are you going to fake your death again and cause misery to everyone who loves you? I can't go through this again!"

"You don't have to, I'll change... Please don't leave me!"

Bridgit looked at him and shook her head. Even seeing tears in his eyes did nothing to change her mind. She had been through enough and wanted no more of the pain he had put her through.

"I will always care for you, but it's over," she said firmly, "I deserve so much better than a childish, impulsive young man who need to mentally grow up! What you did was so selfish and thoughtless, I could never forgive you, no matter what you say or do! I mourned your death, I saw your family devastated by it... all over some stupid lies that you fell for!"

Ozzie wiped his eyes and glared at her.

"You said you wanted to marry me!"

"Ozzie," Bridgit said as she stepped closer, "I want you to remember this : Sooner or later, you will hear the phrase I've had enough of your shit, every time a woman walks away from you. That's because you need to grow the fuck up! Now I'm leaving. I won't be coming back."

She turned away, opened the front door and began to walk back to her car. Ozzie stood at the door as his eyes burned with tears and anger rose up inside him as his heart ached for the woman who was leaving his life because of his mistakes.

"You'd be sorry if I really was dead!" Ozzie yelled, "Maybe I'll get drunk tonight and drive my car into a wall at ninety miles an hour and die a ball of flames! What would you do then, Bridgit?"

She was just about to get into her car. She looked at him, gave a weary sigh and then shook her head.

"I'd do nothing. I've already been to your funeral. Goodbye, Ozzie!"

She got into her car and drove off.

Ozzie closed the front door and turned away from it, pausing to give another sob. Then Rose was beside him, looking at him with sympathy in her eyes.

"I thought you said you would be mature about this? Do you really want to smash your car into a wall and die in ball of flame?"

"No, I was trying to be dramatic, I thought it might make her change her mind. I love her, I want her to come back!"

Rose gave a weary sigh and hugged her son.

"Making threats won't make her come back. You have to remember, what you did caused a lot of pain and not everyone can forgive that. Now you need to move on from this and learn from it. "

"I don't know how to do that."

"You can start by behaving like an adult when you don't get your own way," Rose told him, " There's no need to yell or cry or have a tantrum! You're twenty-one years old in a few months, Ozzie. Start growing up, that's all I'm asking."

"Why is life so difficult?" he complained as they walked towards the front room.

"I don't know the answer to that question," Rose replied, "But as long as you have your family to love you, nothing is ever as bad as it seems. And we will always be here for you, Ozzie. I promise you that – we will never let you down."


And as Ed left the study, he was about to call to Rose and catch up with her, but as she walked on ahead with Ozzie, they were talking and he caught part of the conversation. Clearly, he had taken the break up with Bridgit badly. Hearing him sound so upset worried him greatly. He was starting to wonder if staying silent about Ozzie and Lilly's sordid secret was the right thing to do – his last, desperate hope had been that Bridgit would have forgiven him, but now he had lost her.

Ed was more worried for Ozzie than he dared explain. He didn't even know how to tell his own husband about the awful secret Lilly had shared with him. It felt like something that he could never voice aloud, for fear of what that shattering news might do to Oswald. He could accept Lilly was the Gotham Jigsaw, to the former king of Gotham, that was no big deal. But if he ever learned the truth about Ozzie and his half sister, he would be devastated.

But he suddenly got the feeling that soon, that terrible secret would be forced out in the open... The thought sent a chill down his spine and he didn't know why he felt it as sure as in that moment it seemed like something cold and dark had descended over the entire estate.

Bad times are coming, we both feel it, Riddler whispered inside his head.

"Shut your mouth," Ed replied in a hushed voice.

He left the house, following the path towards Ivy's place, because he needed to get away for a short while, he needed to feel less alone, and safe again. He had no clue what had just happened, it felt almost like a premonition of the cold hand of death reaching into his family. It scared him as much as hearing the voice of his split personality suddenly speak up. And it felt so very real, like something terrible really was about to happen:

Something cold and bleak as the grave was about to touch his family...

He was right, too.

Something terrible was about to happen, but it was nothing to do with Lilly or Ozzie...It would be unexpected, and afterwards, life would never be the same again, the family would never be the same, because there was no change that sliced through life and scarred it forever, more than the permanence of death...