A/N

Gah I lost track of the date; sorry this should've been up several days ago!

But, without saying much, this chapter has to be one of my favourites so far - it does open up a whole new door for the entire fic.

I'll continue my notes at the end...hope you like this!

In the evening, Jo headed to Mooney's to work her shift as promised. It was safe to say that, out of her two jobs, this one made her feel more at ease – even if it meant giving the occasional blowjob to strangers old enough to be her father.

Fish had been paying Jo both more money and more attention since she had become her undercover spy; a fact which had delighted Jo very much. She had always admired Fish, so being close to her boss at last was a very good sign – especially if she was soon going to take down Don Falcone.

When it was Jo's turn to perform a song, she felt strangely confident and almost eager to get on the stage. Perhaps singing had become Jo's way of relaxing, or venting her emotions – or both – but she had recently taken to the idea of being centre stage. In more ways than one.

Harvey had spent all day (and the previous night) thinking about Jo. Ever since they'd met, it was evident that there was some sort of spark between them; she was a strong young woman who wasn't afraid to challenge him – and he did like that about her. That, and the fact that she was beautiful and witty, made Jo fascinating in his book. And although Jim clearly had a clear amount of disdain for the dancer, Harvey thought she was absolutely brilliant.

Knowing that she worked at Mooney's almost every evening, Harvey paid the nightclub a visit; even though he had great difficulty answering Fish when she enquired about the surprise visit.

"I'm here to see you, Fish." He insisted, taking a seat at her table and ordering a bottle of Jack.

"Well this is a pleasant surprise, Harvey. It's been a while since you've visited me on a social call only." Fish smiled at him, instantly believing the lie while sipping her own glass of wine.

"You must have a good show lined up tonight…the place is full." Harvey said, looking around the room at all the patrons – as well as looking for any sign of Jo.

Fish nodded, "there's always a good show here, Harvey darling. I do have good girls, after all." The lights grew dim again as the pianist began to play. "Speaking of good girls…" She gestured towards the stage and Harvey followed Fish's eyes to where Jo stood, holding the microphone stand.

Of course it didn't take Jo long to notice that her new friend of sorts was sat at Fish's table but she just didn't know how to feel about him being there: Harvey almost seemed out of place. Like he belonged somewhere better.

"Jo…that's your cue!" She turned to the pianist, who had now been playing the same few notes for longer than he should have; hence why he was now hissing a reminder for her to start.

With an apologetic smile, Jo nodded at the pianist and finally began to sing.

"You had plenty money, 1922

You let other women make a fool of you

Why don't you do right, like some other men do

Get out of here and get me some money too

You're sittin' down and wonderin' what it's all about

You ain't got no money, they will put you out

Why don't you do right, like some other men do?

Get out of here and get me some money too…"

Throughout the whole of the song, Harvey noticed how the patrons' gazes didn't wander away from the stage in the slightest – particularly the eyes of a highly wealthy man, who turned to Fish at the end of Jo's performance with a smirk and a nod. It didn't take a genius to work out what was going on; the arrangement that was being made before his eyes.

Harvey felt sick at the thought and as Fish clicked her fingers and told Butch to inform Jo of her 'appointment' he knew that he'd have to find a way to get the young woman away from her role as a sex toy before it became all she knew.

Jo belonged somewhere better.

There was an impatient knock on the dressing room door as Jo was pulling up her stockings. "I'll be out in a minute, Butch. Keep your hair on!"

The knocking continued and Jo groaned, rushing over to the door and peeking behind it. She blinked in surprise when she saw that Butch wasn't at the door, nor were her fellow performers. "Detective Bullock, this is a surprise. You're not here because of work are you?"

Harvey chuckled and shook his head. "No, you're not in any trouble…unless you want to confess to committing a crime?"

"Oh, you know me, Detective. I'm a bad egg." Jo smiled to herself, knowing that he wouldn't realise the truth in her words. "Come in, by the way. I'm just finishing up."

She held the door open and Harvey checked the space behind him once before following the dancer into the dressing room.

Jo sat down on the leather sofa and patted the empty space beside her, indicating that the detective join her. "What're you doing here anyway? I was surprised to see you at Fish's table…did you have some business with her?"

"Heh…actually I'm here to talk to you, Ms. Carnell." Harvey struggled to meet her eyes with those words, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"Is it important?" Jo asked without thinking, coming off slightly disinterested. "No, sorry. What I meant to say was can it wait until tomorrow? I…I have a client in ten minutes."

"I'm afraid not. We didn't get to finish our conversation yesterday at the GCPD."

"Alright, how can I help you?" She decided to listen while fixing her hair; although a feeling of dread was building up inside her.

Harvey let out a deep sigh, "let me take you out to dinner to thank you…for the other day, you know?"

Jo blinked in surprise and moved away from the mirror, her green eyes meeting Harvey's anxious gaze – he clearly wasn't in his comfort zone. Frankly, neither was Jo. "How about a coffee one afternoon?"

"See, we can get coffee anytime. I figured that the best way to make it up to you is to take you out for a slap up meal tomorrow night" He grumbled, "Besides, I want to spend time with you."

The performer really didn't know what to say. Harvey had made his feelings for her apparent in so many words, at least; however Jo just didn't know how to respond. Sure enough, recently, she had grown attached to the detective but did she just want a friendship with him and nothing more?

"As nice as that sounds, I'm going to have to decline."

"Can I ask why?"

"I'm washing my hair tomorrow."

"Aw come on Jo, don't give me that excuse." Harvey groaned, chuckling to mask his disappointment. "If you don't want to spend time with me, just tell me."

"It's not that…I've just got a lot on my plate at the moment…" Jo sighed and turned back towards the mirror; if only to avoid witnessing the potential damage that her words had caused. "So I can't go anywhere with you. I just don't have the time, I'm truly sorry."

"Maybe you'd have more free time if you walked away from this place…" Harvey said without even thinking. He didn't want to disrespect Fish but Jo was definitely better off in a different line of work.

"Is that what this is about?" Jo stood up. "If you were as eager to be my friend as you say, you wouldn't care about who I am on the outside."

"Yeah well maybe I don't just want to be your friend. Maybe I want more, which is why I can't stand to see you in this place, Jo."

"Please don't put me in this position." Jo begged, hanging her head. She knew that she'd end up with a migraine once Harvey left. "You're a decent guy but—"

"Ooh, who's this handsome gent? A friend of yours, Jo?" Kitty entered the dressing room and smirked upon seeing Jo hiding away with a detective.

Harvey stood up, trying his best to act as if Jo hadn't just shot down his attempt at issuing her with an invitation. "Detective Harvey Bullock, ma'am."

"Well Harvey, I'm Kitty." She winked at him, then turned her attention to Jo who was trying to hide away at the dressing table. "Jo, you didn't tell me that you had a gentleman caller."

"That's because I don't." Jo insisted, pinning her hair up in a bun before turning around. "Besides, shouldn't you be upstairs now?"

Kitty shrugged, "I don't feel like it today. You two should go upstairs instead…"

"Well I wouldn't argue with that." Harvey chuckled, only half joking. To be honest, he just really wanted to get Jo's attention; to make her laugh and accept his dinner offer.

"Harvey, I've already said that I won't go out with you." Jo pointed her finger in his direction. "I don't go out on dates with any guys – especially not cops."

"Alright, I understand." Harvey placed his hat on top of his head and left the room dejectedly. "Good evening."

As soon as he had left, Kitty wasted no time in cornering her friend. "What was that? He was asking you out on a date – a free meal, Jo – and one with a cop no less. Why would you turn him down?!"

"I'm not interested in dating anyone at the moment." Jo insisted, standing up and straightening her skirt. "Besides, he's a cop and I'm a rich man's prostitute. That didn't work out the last time, did it?"

"Jo, Charlie died because he was stupid enough to challenge Falcone not because of you. This Harvey guy seems like he's got a good head on his shoulders and he's been in that game a lot longer than Charlie so just relax and go out for dinner with him."

"I can't, Kitty." Jo sighed and lowered her voice. "I'm already seeing someone."

"Ooh really? Who's this lucky guy?"

Jo grimaced and shook her head. "Forget I said anything."

"No, I won't. If you're fucking someone I want to know." Kitty said with an intrigued smirk, sitting down beside Jo. "I won't tell, come on."

Sighing, Jo stood up and locked the dressing room door. "Oswald Cobblepot."

"No, really who is he?"

Jo smiled apologetically; her guilty face being enough to gain Kitty's belief – and utter disgust.

"I thought Fish and Falcone had him killed…"

"The detective who was given the task didn't do it. When Oswald returned to Gotham he came to me for help and I could hardly throw him out to fend for himself, now could I?"

"Are you stupid? He's not some stray dog who needs you to care for him, Jo! Do you want to get thrown into Gotham's finest rivers with a bullet in your head?!" Kitty hissed, cornering her friend against the door. "My god Jo. Please tell me this is some sick joke…or a nightmare."

Shaking her head, Jo took Kitty's hand desperately. "Please, don't tell anyone. Nobody can find out…especially not Fish."

"Oh Fish will find out, Jo." Kitty said, pulling her hand away. "I'm gonna have to tell her."

"What?"

"We can tell her that Oswald threatened you – that you had no choice. Maybe then she'll understand and only that Penguin creep will suffer the consequences that come with pissing Fish off."

"No, I can't let you do that. Oswald is a nice guy beneath his bizarre quirks…he's different with me." Jo attempted to explain, still blocking the door.

Why am I defending him like this?!

"He's not different, Jo. That freak is no different to those perverse men out there. All he wants is to have sex with you, can't you see that?" Kitty laughed. "You're the only idiot who took pity on him, that's why he's so obsessed with you!"

"Well if that's the case then maybe he and I are alike. We're both outcasts and he's the first guy I've met since Charlie died who has treated me like a human being." Jo furrowed her brow, hearing someone down the corridor. "Why does it bother you so much anyway?"

"Because I love you." Kitty replied with a look of complete seriousness.

"That's not a good excuse for your dictating in my life choices."

"No, I mean I love you. I've loved you for months now." The blonde placed her hands on Jo's shoulders. "Jo, I know that you could never feel the same as me but please get rid of Oswald…for me. I'd rather see you in the arms of a stable, respectable guy than someone like him."

"Kitty stop making me feel like the world's biggest bitch for liking someone who doesn't meet up to your standards. I'm sorry that you had to fall for me but that gives you no right to meddle in my affairs." Jo opened the door, "if you breathe a word of this to anyone then I'll never speak to you again. I'll never be able to forgive you if this gets out."

"Jo, please just try and listen to me…"

"No, Kitty. This is my life. Mine. And if I want to travel down a dangerous road, then that is what I shall do."

Then Jo walked out of the dressing room, slamming the door behind her.

"Where have you been?" Oswald asked as soon as Jo entered the apartment.

"Work, like I told you." She sighed and sat down on the sofa, her whole body desperate to shut down for a few hours.

The truth was, between her offer from Harvey, argument with Kitty and the hour she'd spent with the sexually frustrated tycoon, Jo had no energy left for anything. She was exhausted. Heck, she was surprised that she'd managed the work home without collapsing in the gutter.

Oswald shuffled to sit beside her, keeping his hands in his lap so to reassure Jo that there wouldn't be a repeat of the previous night. "I hope you didn't work too hard, my dear…"

"No, of course not. I just sang, then talked with some customers."

Carefully observing her, Oswald noticed a slight bruising under her chin and frowned. Jo was clearly feeding him misleading information. He grabbed the front of her dress and pulled Jo close to him, further examining the apparent hickey. "Who did that?"

"…Did what?"

With his index finger, Oswald poked the bruise; causing Jo to realise what he was referring to. "You lied to me, Josephina."

"I never promised anything. Some rich tycoon saw me at Mooney's and demanded an appointment." She tittered nervously, "I…I could hardly refuse, now could I?"

"But to let him deface you in this way…you are my lover..!"

"Oswald, it was just sex!"

"Was that all that it was between you and I the other night? 'Just sex', hm?"

Jo didn't answer him. She felt herself grow flustered; a tint of pink gracing her cheeks as Oswald grabbed her chin and forced her to make direct eye contact with him.

"Please don't test me, Josephina. I truly don't want to hurt you."

She still didn't say a word.

Her mind was elsewhere. Thinking of the detective who had visited Mooney's just to see her, just to ask her out to dinner. She'd turned down such an offer to be with Oswald – surely that made her insane.

Maybe so, but Oswald and Jo could be insane together without hurting anyone else. Well, at least Jo wouldn't.

Oswald chuckled darkly and Jo caught a glimpse of his sharp, discoloured teeth – the same ones that had ravaged her skin just a few nights before. She felt sick looking at him; Oswald both terrified her and turned her on. No, in fact she felt sick with herself for feeling such lust for a man who was clearly going to evolve into a cruel and violent psychopath. So why couldn't she say no?

"Well, what if I want you to?" Jo whispered with the hint of a smile as she found the courage to speak up once more. However, those weren't the words that she'd envisioned saying – nor was that the message she'd originally planned to send to him. Instead, she'd basically given the man before her permission to touch and taste every inch of her body. No, Jo was practically ordering Oswald to be rough with her.

And of course, being hungry for power, he didn't waste a single moment of the opportunity.

A/N

Okay, so first of all I'm probably going to post a mature rated scene between Jo and Oswald as a separate fic sometime soon - I just don't want to risk upsetting any readers who don't appreciate any mature content so a 'dirty' chapter will come up but it'll just be posted separately.

At Mooney's, Jo sings the song 'Why Don't You Do Right' which features in the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit (because Jessica Rabbit is so iconic) even though it was a song before the film...sung by Peggy Lee I think? Anyway, the song is amazing but obviously I couldn't type the whole thing.

Harvey and Jo is kind of a thing because of few of you guys do like the pairing so I'm probably going to experiment with the idea - although Oswald won't be too happy I'm sure!

Finally, thanks to everyone for the support so far! Oh, and if you have any ideas or requests or just general questions about the fic or anything else (seriously, anything!) I'm more than happy to give them a bash or answer them or whatever.

Thanks again, see you next chapter! :)