Nygma

That was my day; organizing the new files and giving my recommendations to the Captain.

I made the trek up and down the stairs to the lower level of the department many times, after a while it began to bother my wound. Maybe it was too early to come back, but nevertheless I was here.

Gordon eventually came to work but he was in a sour mood the rest of the day. He definitely wasn't being active in my investigation of the dead body on the scene we were all called to.

I stayed late that evening. I needed to look through my files to see any matching incidents like the one we were called to today.

As I was flipping through the box I glanced up seeing a figure in the doorway of my office.

"Hello Detective Gordon," I smiled.

"Ed," he greeted in response. He sighed heavily coming into my office and closing the door behind him.

That struck me as odd sitting there I could only think of the many fantasies I had before of the man doing just this. Though something seemed way wrong.

"Anything I can help you with?" I asked getting to my feet.

Jim shook his head. He sighed again and sat on the edge of my desk. I sat as well.

"Edward, we need to talk."

I nodded my head beckoning him to continue.

"There are incidents that have been happening lately that lead me to believe you think there is something between us when there is not."

I didn't respond, I was just watching him quietly.

"I am coming to you as a friend Ed, because that's what we are is friends, co workers. That's it."

I nodded weakly acknowledging his words. Though it didn't mean I was going to accept them.

"I hope I'm not mixing signals here, are you gay?"

I blinked at the question, well I always struggled with my sexuality but to hear it right now? Out of HIS mouth?

"I am.." I trailed off.

"I'm not." responded Jim. "Very...very straight. I love my girlfriend very much."

Oh yeah Barbara. Who could forget. She seemed like a lovely woman, however I wish she was dead.

I didn't really know what to say, this whole thing just sort of hurt. I was just shot a week beforehand, I knew what pain was like but this was far worse.

I just looked down at my filing box not saying anything. I began to shuffle through papers again.

"I need you to acknowledge what I'm saying Edward. This has to end. You took a bullet for me, and I feel it was out of some feeling you have for me."

I shook my head frantically at that. "No...no it wasn't. It was purely, because the man was going to kill you, and I had to stop that from happening to my co worker, to my friend." I muttered not looking back at him.

"Ed.." Gordon trailed off watching me intently as he got to his feet.

I looked to him and waved my hand in the air as if I was brushing the suggestion off.

"I'm sorry if I was sending you these weird signals. It's purely platonic is all." I smiled to him.

James Gordon, just fucking leave my office NOW!

"Good, glad we're on the same page. Thank you for what you did that night, Ed. I do appreciate it." he added before slipping out of the door.

I watched him walk away and listened to his footsteps fading. I got up and closed the door behind him, and counted to 50 in my head before letting out a scream.

I slipped to the floor with my back against the door. I knew he was never going to be with me I KNEW that. This still hurt though, I wasn't even crying I just sat there and stared at the opposite wall. I looked to my hand and noticed blood was running down my arm. I had picked up and squeezed one of my pens so hard it penetrated my skin.

I dropped it on the floor and remained there motionless and silent.

The hours dragged on by, I did not move. I heard the slight bustling from the overnight officers above me.

Gordon on the other hand called Oswald receiving his voice mail he left a message.

"Cobblepot, I handled the situation with Nygma, so you can stop throwing it in my face. Also, I want you to leave him alone. He's a good person and doesn't need to be involved in whatever business you keep involving him in."

Click

Oswald

I shut my phone in disgust and threw my phone across the room. FUCK YOU, GORDON! Sure I'll stay away from Nygma... I seethed. You want to find Fish, Detective Gordon...You'll find her! I'll make sure of it!

I know that the anger I felt at Gordon was not completely warranted. I mean I was the one who pushed Gordon so hard to tell it to Nygma straight, that Gordon could never, and would never return Nygma's feelings. Still I was feeling a bit guilty at what I started, so I decided tomorrow I would try to pay Nygma a visit under the pretense of telling Gordon how to find Fish.

Nygma

I didn't even bother to go home, I just sat against the door of my office the entire night. I must have dozed off, I don't remember when; though when I came to, sunlight was streaming in through the windows waking me up.

I yawned weakly and looked around as the memories flooded back to me. I had noticed I went into a rage destroying the entire office, I certainly don't remember doing that.

That wasn't good, now I'd have to sit here and arrange everything again.

Fuck it! I stated and just stood up walking over to the closet in my office where I kept a clean set of clothes in case of me falling asleep in my office.

I changed into my new set of clothes and cleaned the blood up off of my arm. I felt numb, I didn't feel much of anything at all at this point. My entire world had come crashing down, and the worst part was that I knew it would happen sooner or later.

Gordon was straight, obviously. Everyone in the precinct knew who he was knew he was very much in love with Barbara. I always had to wear my heart on my sleeve and it always backfired.

Well no more of that.

I left the office and went upstairs for a cup of coffee. I needed something in my stomach.

Officers and detectives were all filing in for the day shift. I would have to come face to face with Gordon at some point today. I really was not looking forward to that meeting.

"What happened to your arm Ed?" asked Ms. Kringle noticing some blood on my sleeve.

"I'm fine." I responded not even giving her a glance.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yes. Ms. Kristen Kringle I am perfectly fine. Stop asking." I started walking past her with my coffee.

Oswald

I began my walk to the precinct to talk to Gordon. Fish wasn't that hard to find; I just didn't want Gordon to have the satisfaction of taking her one for a third time. If I was lucky it would be the last time, hopefully it would end with Fish dead with Gordon badly wounded. That would be a win for the both of us.

I smiled at the thought of it all.

I arrived to the precinct, and found Gordon at his desk. I walked up to his desk.

"Cobblepot?" Jim didn't even look up from his file he was studying.

"I am returning to relay the information you called to obtain." I replied.

"Did it really warrant a personal visit, Cobblepot?" he replied back shortly.

"You wound me Jim dear friend. After I went out of my way and risked my mens necks to obtain what you asked me for. If you are going to continue to be rude to me, I'll just leave."

"Cobblepot...please stop toying with me and just telling me what you found."

I sighed, and told him where Fish was located. I bid Jim farewell.

As soon as I was out of Jim's range of hearing, I opened my phone.

"Why hello, Fish. How are you doing?" No response. "Before you hang up on me, I just wanted to give you a heads up that Gordon is on his way to your place trying to take you down again." I shut my phone before she could say anything else to me.

This is the last time you underestimate me you little shit!

Next, I started scanning all of the staff in the precinct, but no tall lanky men in lab coats to be found, so I sighed and turned around to start leaving the precinct and I ran smack into a cup of coffee.

Nygma

He ran into me and I blinked surprised to see him there.

Oswald grunted angrily stepping back and wiping the coffee off the lapels of his suit.

He then noticed it was me and stopped.

"Who were you just on the phone with?" I asked clearly hearing the names Gordon and Fish.

My voice was drained of any energy and cheerfulness I usually spoke with.

Oswald

I paused for a second trying to decide if I should lie to him. How much would he tell Gordon? Probably nothing now that Gordon had broken him. I could tell by his tone of voice that he was a broken man that needed fixing.

I stared up at him. He looked so unlike his usual self. His hair was disheveled and his glasses we hanging off a bit more to his right side.

"Neg, you look like shit!" I hoped I could use this statement to dodge his question. "Let me take you away from this place for a bit. I doubt that they'll even notice if you're gone. I mean they take you for granted here, Neg...Why do you put up with it? Your gift of intellect needs to be acknowledged!"

He blinked at my words, as if he barely heard me. His mind was far away, somewhere he wanted to be, I could only imagine.

"Go where? I have work to do." he murmured. "Stop avoiding my question. Who were you talking to Oswald?"

I sighed,"Gordon had asked me to find Fish for him. I guess he has some death wish...I was calling one of Fish's associates to warn them of Gordon's plans."

"We can go anywhere you like. You just look like death. I really doubt that you have that much work that you can't go out and enjoy a beautiful gloomy day in Gotham."

Nygma

"Why would you do that? Do you want to see the man killed? I mean I took a bullet for the man and that will be in vain if he's dead. I don't care if the man just destroyed my soul but Jesus Christ."

I looked down into my coffee cup at my last words and sighed internally.

"There's no such thing as a beautiful day in Gotham." I added as I walked back towards the coffee pot.

Oswald threw his hands up in the air before shuffling out of the police station.

I returned to my office and just stood by the window staring out into the gloomy skies of Gotham. Everything looked so cold and wet. I thought about what Oswald had told me about telling Fish about Gordon going out to get her.

It angered me greatly actually, I still cared for the man even though he broke my heart.

I walked up to Gordon's desk once Bullock had disappeared somewhere.

I stood near Gordon and told him what I overheard Oswald talking about. I wanted to warn him, to make sure he would stay safe.

"That's very interesting...thank you, Ed." nodded Gordon giving me a half smile before getting to his feet and grabbing his jacket.

"Knew I could always depend on you, friend."

I nodded watching after him. I figured there was no harm in what I did, Gordon just wouldn't be going in blind now.

Get her Gordon, the bitch had me shot!

I decided to go finally clean up the office I had destroyed. The filing might calm me down.

I passed Ms. Kringle in the hallway without giving her a second glance.

Oswald

It had been another few weeks since I had stormed out of the precinct frustrated at Nygma's emotionless state. I think what frustrated me more was the fact that I was partly to blame for it.

I sulked in a booth in my club. I was so close to pulling out my hair out of sheer torment and slight guilt over what I had done.

No word from Nygma in the time since bumping into him as I was leaving the precinct. That is what bugged me more. I pictured how horrible of condition he looked when I had last seen him. I tried to keep the dark thoughts I had from surfacing. However, I could not hold them any longer.

What if he offed himself? You'll be the one to blame for killing him, you know!

I pulled my legs up to my chest and started pulling at my hair, screaming trying to drown out the accusatory voice.

I don't know how long I was like that, but a buzzing in my pocket snapped me out of it. I picked up the phone so fast without checking who was calling.

"Cobblepot, this is Detective Gordon. I need your help on this case I'm working on. Meet me later tonight at this address." With that Jim hung up without giving me an opportunity to respond.

My heart sank as he told me the address to meet him at. It was the exact address I had given him a few weeks ago. I was going with him to take on Fish...

The despair did not last long as I gritted my teeth in rage, Sure I'll help you out, Gordon, you little shit!

Nygma

I just went about my daily life but was completely lacking my normal enthusiasm.

I was silent as I was trying to pick up my own pieces it was working well enough. I had thought about calling up Oswald a few times but decided against it.

It was getting better though; everyday it was slightly easier. I hated when I had to go out on calls with Gordon, it was mainly silence between the two of us. I don't know what irritated me more.

But who could blame me?

"I am going to take care of Mooney tonight," Gordon spoke up as I was handing him case notes that evening.

I blinked and nodded. "Be careful Detective. I hear she's a nasty thing. She really doesn't smell nice."

"Don't worry I will be fine." Nodded Gordon. "Don't follow me."

"Wasn't planning on it," I responded.

The last fucking time I tried helping you I almost died. Nah I'm good.

Oswald

I stood outside a small brick building in the theater district of of Gotham. I swallowed a few times. Detective Gordon had still yet to show his ugly mug. I double checked and triple checked that my men were all in place.

I have no idea what Jim needed me to help with this assault. I halfway considered not showing up, but I knew I wouldn't hear the end of it from him. I wanted this to be the last time I interacted with Jim if I could help it.

"Cobblepot." I turned around to see Jim Gordon walking up to where I was standing. "Glad to see that you showed up. Are you ready?" Jim looked at me.

"Whenever you are, old friend." I smiled back at him.

We started walking up to the building. All I had with me was my trusty umbrella. I used it as a cane while walking to be able to keep up with Jim's longer strides.

Jim kicked in the door and waved me in. Wow, Jim you aren't to subtle on a raid, are you?

I followed directly behind Gordon. He crouched behind the corner his gun cocked. He peaked around the corner and then rushed down the hallway. I debated calling after him to wait for me, but if you want go on ahead to your death I won't stop you, Jim Gordon, old friend, I smiled.

I continued down the same hallway that Gordon started running down until I was in an empty atrium. I looked around and Gordon was no where to be found. I sensed that there was someone in this room.

"Penguin, how nice of you to join our party." I heard a female voice say before everything went dark.

The next thing I knew, I was surrounded by meat and I was staring at someone's shoes. There was a large rope tied around my midsection hold my hands firmly behind my back. The room spun as I tried to get a bearing of my surroundings.

THUNK!

I couldn't speak or breathe for a few moments as a large object made contact with stomach. I was hit with such force that I swung back and forth a bit on whatever my feet were tied to. Probably a meat hook, I thought judging by my surroundings.

"How did that feel Penguin? I don't think I've hurt you nearly enough yet for snitching our location to Gordon." I took a few more hits, this time to the chest. I held in the screams of pain that I wanted to let loose. I did not want to give them that satisfaction.

"Gentlemen and lady, I believe that we can reach some sort of agreement." I was able to get out when I caught my breath between hits.

"Because of you, Gordon now has few of Fish's men in custody!" came a deep male voice, that I recognized as Butch.

"Oh really now! I was not expecting Detective Gordon to make it out alive this time. I mean considering that after she nearly killed him twice." I was about to let out small chuckle when the hit me in the leg that Fish had broken once before, forcing me to waddle like a penguin for the rest of my life. Instead of a laugh I let out a scream of pain.

Butch chuckled, "I think we're done...for now."

All of the goons left but one. I did my best to motion to the man to come over to me. As this was I man I had planted in Fish's ranks long ago he came to my aid. He cut through the rope holding my arms in place and then carefully lowered me down from the meat hook.

"Hey, I need you to do something for me. I need you go to the GCPD precinct and find a man that goes by the name Edward Nygma. Tell him what happened tonight, and that his medical expertise is needed at the Cobblepot Clinic."

Nygma

I was sitting in my office late that night writing up some reports that I had not done yet. I glanced up seeing a larger man in my doorway. He did not seem familiar at first until he was more in the light.

I had seen him with Oswald before. I sat down my mug.

"Can I help you?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

"Your expertise is needed at Cobblepot Clinic this evening Nygma." he responded.

"Oswald normally comes and asks for my help himself, besides it's late."

"You don't seem to understand...I'm not asking." the man responded.

The tone of his voice made me tilt my head slightly to the right. A quizzical look on my face, "I suppose you're going to make me, then?" I asked with a hint of sarcasm.

I really wasn't in the mood for bullshit.

"Cobblepot was strung up by a meat hook and beaten by Fish Mooney this evening. He needs your expertise." the man explained, I could tell in his voice he was irritated.

I blinked at his response. "Fish Mooney?"

"Yes."

I was confused, Gordon was supposed to be going after Fish. What did that have to do with Oswald? I was up on my feet soon after grabbing my coat and some items before following the man from my office and leaving the GCPD building.

I was taken to the warehouse that we referred to as the Clinic, and I followed the man in. I was thinking of many different scenarios on my way over. I was still so confused, why was he there?

"Oswald."I greeted once I was taken to where he was.

He was laid up comfortably on the table of the clean room. I could tell by first glance there wasn't much blood loss. Thankfully, there had not been a bullet wound or anything similar.

The thought made me think of my own, it was healed for the most part, it was still very tender and the scar was there.

"I want to know what you were doing with Fish Mooney." I requested of him as I checked him over finding the injuries I would have to pay special attention to.

Oswald

I sat up on the table in to look him in the eye. My breathing was still shallow. It took a lot for me to even breathe, let alone normally.

I grimaced with every small movement of my upper body. They got my left side with the club or bat like object that they were hitting me with. I held my right arm gingerly over that spot. With every breath in, pain shot from the center of my chest all the way to the outside of it.

The injury that concerned me more was my right leg. I'm pretty sure that the beating to it had re-broken it. I'm am still in shock as to how I made it back to this place in this condition. I think it would've had to have been by sheer force of will.

There were a lot of things that I wanted to say to Nygma, chief among them how I got into this predicament, however all that came out was,"It's good to see you again, dear friend." I smiled meekly and tried to reach up and touch his face from where I sat.

The action was too much as it shot pain throughout my left shoulder. The room now started to spin again, so as the blackness began overtaking me, I felt myself starting to fall off the table.

Making contact with something soft and warm was the last sensation I had, and then everything faded to black.

Nygma

I saw Oswald start to slip off the table and caught him as he fell off. His sheer weight and the fact I wasn't expecting it knocked me backwards. I sat up still holding him from the fall, I just looked down at him and sighed internally.

I ask most questions not because I'm curious to know the answer, but because I already know the answer and want it confirmed for my own ego. The guilt started to wash over me, I knew why he was there with Fish and it was my fault. I caused this.

For the first time since Gordon ripped my heart out of my chest and choked it in his hands, I felt something. It was not a nice thing to feel at that.

I ran my finger down the side of Oswald's face. I'm sorry, I should have never have told Gordon what you said. Gordon did this to get back at you I know it.

I asked the man who brought me here to help me get Oswald back on the table and I went to my medical bag to get some things out of it. I rolled up my sleeves as I turned back to the table.

I turned on the light overhead, and leaned over carefully unbuttoning his vest and the layers underneath it and swallowed as I looked to his bare torso. It was so bruised up, I could tell some of his ribs had been broken.

There wasn't much I could do other than make the man rest for that part. I immediately hooked up a bag of morphine, and found a way to string it up and inserted the IV I brought with me.

It would at least help with the pain. I adjusted my glasses as I looked to his legs. His one that had been previously injured was jutting at a weird angle, I grabbed my scalpel and felt a firm hand on my shoulder.

"I'm not going to harm him," I stated cautiously, the hand released.

I shrugged my shoulders and inserted the scalpel into the pants and ripped up enough to where I could use my hands to rip half the pant leg off.

The leg indeed had been re-broken, but it hadn't been a clean break, I could feel it by pressing around on the skin.

I asked the man to firmly hold Oswald's shoulders down in case the pain awoke him. I would have to break the leg completely, so it would heal right. He would always have his limp because the leg was in bad shape, but I could at least make sure that he would walk again.

When the man was firmly holding Oswald, I put my hands on the leg and cracked it to the right suddenly until I heard the break and let his leg down.

It didn't phase him, he was still out cold. Though that could also be the morphine kicking in.

I adjusted my glasses and started to prepare a splint to put on his leg until I could bring him a cast.

I did what I could with what I could that night. I left Oswald that morning bandaged up and comfortable. I told the man to stay with him in case he came to, I didn't want him to be alone.

I left by myself insisting that I would walk to work. I had to talk to someone, I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out either.

A fire had ignited inside of me, it was rage and it was consuming the guilt I dealt with that entire night. I was slowly coming to the realization I needed to take control of my own situation, and it was going to start with Detective James Gordon of GCPD.