AN: Okay Jim and Isabelle meet major drama! Also some very fluffy, close Oswald/Isabelle time. Enjoy and please review! I love reading what you have to say, your thoughts, what you think might happen next, etc. It puts a smile on my face! Also I have three very intense and emotional chapters already written, the idea for two of them had been swirling around in my head for months so I finally typed them up as for the other I can't decide if I'm going to use it or not but either way it will probably be another chapter or two (that I have not written yet) before I post them so I do have stuff plotted out and a bit already written so hopefully that means fast updates! This also means that I am getting super close to getting to the mid-season finale (as far as I can tell) which I've also known exactly what I'm going to do there since I started this fic but I haven't written it yet either. Thanks you guys for sticking with me!

Playlist:

12 Stones-Lie To Me

Kari Kimmel-Black

Reeve Carvey-New For You

Ellie Goulding-Dead in the Water

Billie Holiday-You Go To My Head

Beck and Bat for Lashes-Let's Get Lost

Andrew Belle-In My Veins

Chapter 14

Jim slammed the door. He took off his jacket, flinging it down and loosened his tie.

"Sit," he told her, pointing at the couch.

She did as he said watching him pace back and forth as he got his thoughts together. His face was still red.

"Do you…do you have any idea what you're INVOLVED IN!? You're DATING a snitch! That puts you in DANGER! You're my niece and you're working for Fish Mooney! MOONEY of all people! She tried to have me killed! Imagine what she will do to you if she finds out you've been…you're with Oswald Cobblepot!" he yelled, exasperated at the whole situation.

"She doesn't even know he's alive," she tried.

"And how long do you think that will last!? She'll find out sooner or later!"

"Oswald said…"

"Oswald said WHAT!?" he snapped. "That he could protect you!? He's a weasel! Are you really this naïve!? You really think he cares about you!? He's using you because YOU'RE MY NIECE!"

"That's not true!" she yelled, jumping up from the couch.

"Oh don't tell me you love him!"

"No I don't I just…"

"Oh I see you TRUST HIM! Are you really this stupid! You are smarter than this Isabelle!"

"Me caring about Oswald is not stupid!" she yelled, tears in her eyes now.

"I'm…I don't know what I'm going to with you!"

"What are you just gonna' send me off for someone else to deal with like my mom did!?

"YES!" he bellowed, throwing his arms up. "If that's what I have to do!"

Isabelle stepped back as if he'd slapped her.

Before he could say anything she grabbed her jacket. "I have to go to work."

"You are not going back there."

"So what am I supposed to do? Just quit? Mooney doesn't let people quit! And even if I tried it would look kind of suspicious don't you think?"

He didn't answer as she stepped out, slamming the door.

~O.o~

When Isabelle arrived back to the apartment Jim and Barbara were arguing in the kitchen. He was on a roll tonight.

"Jim why won't you tell me about Oswald Cobblepot?"

"Because I don't know anything."

"You're lying Jim, please, just be honest with me."

Isabelle was trying to quietly make her way to her room but stopped when Jim called out her name. He came up to her as she turned around. "We need to talk."

"No we don't. I think we talked enough earlier," she answered curtly.

"What's going on?" Barbara asked, folding her arms across her chest and watching the two glare at one another.

"Jim doesn't want me to see Peter."

"Why not?" Barbara asked. "I thought we talked about this Jim."

"She's my niece, not yours. I practically raised her."

"Oh that's rich! You mean you took me in because your sister was an alcoholic who couldn't take care of her kid. You hated having to take care of me! I was just your little rebellious niece who always got into trouble!"

"Yeah and I thought you were done with all that."

"There's a difference to being a sixteen year old who sneaks out to parties with her friends and a twenty-two year old that is just dating someone."

"Someone who isn't good for you. What's wrong with Nigma?"

"Oh so you were trying to get us together?" Isabelle snapped, a hand on her hip and the other one held up with her index finger pointing at Jim.

"Jim," Barbara said. "Why would you do that?"

"Because…Peter is bad news."

"I'm done talking tonight, I'm going to bed. Goodnight Barbara," Isabelle said.

"Isabelle."

"No, Jim," Barbara placed a hand on his shoulder. "Whatever is going on between you is between you two and I won't get in the middle of it but we are not done talking. Let's go to bed okay?"

He nodded just as Isabelle's door slammed.

Isabelle kicked off her heels and threw her jacket over her desk chair. She was exhausted, grabbing a make-up removing wipe and cleaning her face, not feeling up to a shower tonight. She went to her dresser to get her pajamas when she noticed Oswald in the corner.

She jumped back her hand flying to her chest and the clothes in her hands flying across the room. "What the hell Oswald! You have got to stop doing that!

He chuckled. "Doing what?" he asked innocently.

"Popping up out of nowhere. How did you get in here anyway?" she asked, grabbing her pajamas. "Wait, I need to change. Turn around."

"Of course," he said, turning around.

She quickly got off her work outfit and pulled on her purple sleep shorts and oversized grey t-shirt. Oswald couldn't resist peeking, catching a glimpse of her black bra and black and white striped bikini panties, making his cheeks pink and his pulse race as he admired her smooth, barely tanned skin.

"What are you doing here?" she asked as she turned back around. She took in his pink cheeks and narrowed her eyes at him. "You peeked."

He simply smiled.

She was flattered and her own cheeks blushed at the thought of Oswald seeing her in only her undergarments. Well it was her fault for changing in front of him, although a sneaky part of herself told her she'd done it on purpose, just for that reason. She sat down on her bed and patted the spot next to her, smiling at him as he hobbled over. They were quiet for a moment. "You don't sparkle do you?" she asked, trying to hold back a giggle.

"What?" he looked appalled.

"Nothing, it's just" she chuckled. "Nothing. So you heard all of that?" she asked, looking down at her dark purple painted toenails.

"I did. I am sorry to be the cause of all of your troubles."

"No," she looked up at him. "It's not your fault. I'm the one who lied; I'm the one who got a job with Mooney, not you."

"He raised you?" He asked, curious.

"Sort of." She lay back on the bed, her legs dangling off.

He copied her, turning his head so he could see her.

"My mom drank a lot and she went out to clubs at all times of the night. She'd come back on a school night at four in the morning completely trashed and then I'd be taking care of her all night, holding her hair while she threw up. Imagine what that does to a kid. I started missing a lot of school, acting out, I was angry all the time. I hated seeing her like that and I hated her. How can you do that to your kid you know? How can you be okay with letting your ten year old cook and clean and keep up their grades in school while as soon as you got home from work you were back out the door going God knows where, drinking all night?"

Oswald propped himself up on an elbow and leaned over her, reaching out a finger to wipe away a stray tear. "Where does Jim come in?" he asked softly, hating to see her cry and at the same time her tears were making him feel panicky.

"He came to stay with us for a month when I was twelve and he saw it all. He and my mom got into an argument and she told him to pack my stuff and take me. She said she never wanted to see me again."

There were more tears now and Oswald was becoming less unsure of what to do. "Did…did you ever see her again?"

"I saw her at my high school graduation but that was the last time before she passed away a few months later."

"I'm sorry Isabelle," Oswald said sincerely.

"It's okay. I was awful with Jim at first. I stole his car when I was fifteen, I started drinking myself, I snuck out all the time, skipped school, shoplifted, I talked back and we argued constantly. But he helped me. A lot. I got through it, graduated from high school, got my Vet Tech degree but now…"

"Now he thinks you're going down the same path."

She nodded, moving closer to him and pressed her tear-stained face into his suit. "Will you stay tonight Oswald?" she whispered.

"I'm not going anywhere," he said and Isabelle noticed how confident he suddenly sounded, not the flustered, shy Oswald she often saw.

She moved so she was under the covers, resting her head on a pillow. Oswald undressed, leaving only his white button up and his boxer-briefs on. He climbed under the covers, wrapping an arm around her waist, getting braver every second.

"What were you doing out with Edward Nigma?" he said after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

"How do you even…"

"So you admit it!" he half-whispered.

She moved back. "What is wrong with you? You have someone watching me?"

"I said I'd protect you and I'm keeping my promise. Stop avoiding the question."

Her brows creased at his abruptness and she shook her head. "Oswald, I was supposed to have lunch with Uncle Jim but he was busy with the viper thing so he basically paid Edward to take me to lunch. It was his way of trying to get me to break up with you."

Oswald was quiet.

"You didn't know anything about the viper drug did you?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Why did you accept going to lunch with Edward Nigma?"

"Ugh! You're being ridiculous," she groaned, pulling away from him and sitting up. "I was hungry and if you must know Edward is my friend now. He's the first friend I've made since coming to Gotham."

Oswald still looked put out.

"I can have friends Oswald," she stated.

"I know but…"

She cut him off, "Oswald," she said, motioning for him to sit up. When he did she placed a hand on either side of his pale face. "I'm with you. You are my boyfriend."

His heart jumped at hearing her say that, it would never get old to his ears.

"I trust you Oswald, so you need to trust me back."

After a moment of hesitation he nodded and she placed a soft kiss to his lips. They sat like that for a while, her hands on his face and one of his on her waist as they traded slow kisses.

Oswald loved the way her lips felt as they moved against his own, soft and sweet and tasting faintly of…oranges? He pulled back, licking his lips, definitely oranges. She was delicious, he thought as he watched her chest rise and fall quickly, matching his own elevated breathing. He was sitting so his legs were straight out, well almost thanks to his bad leg, and Isabelle moved so she was straddling his lap, her knees on either side of his waist, pressing into the mattress. The sudden change in position and the feel of her on his lap caused him to take in a sharp breath.

She pressed her lips to his again, opening her mouth a bit. Oswald followed her example and when he did she slid her tongue in between his teeth to meet his own, eliciting another gasp from him. His hands instinctively went to her hair, pulling it from the loose bun she favored most of the time. He relished the feel of her soft hair brushing against his forearms as her own hands wound their way down his arms and into his own dark hair.

Isabelle had been his first kiss and here she was, giving him the most intimate moment he'd ever had with anyone. It was almost unbelievable. If someone had told him a while ago he'd be in the same bed with a girl, kissing her, tongue dancing with hers, he would have thought they were teasing him, trying to get a rise out of him but here he was.

Isabelle pulled back again but before Oswald could muster a word she leaned down, pressing a gentle kiss to each bruise on his face. He closed his eyes, opening them wide when she shifted on his lap. 'Oh gods' he thought, if she moved again he didn't know if he could stand it. When she went to kiss him again he surprised her, winding his hands further into her hair and pressing a kiss just below her ear.

Her breathing hitched as he kissed a trail down her neck then back up on the opposite side. "Oswald," she breathed her voice throaty, "we should stop."

He continued kissing a trail along her collarbone. "Why?" he muttered against her skin, causing goose bumps with his warm breath.

"Because, I'm not…I'm not ready."

Realizing what she meant he snapped his face up to look at her. "You…you're a virgin?"

She nodded, biting her bottom lip and looking away.

He suddenly felt quite giddy. He'd wondered several times whether or not she had been with anyone before him and to know that she was as inexperienced as he was gave him a huge confident boost. "But can't we just do this?"

She looked at him, trying to get a hold on her breathing. His face was desperate, needy, and she couldn't help it, she was caught up in Oswald Cobblepot's web and she never wanted to leave. "Just this," she breathed, moving her head down so she could copy the same trail he'd left on her on his neck and collarbone, causing his hands to tighten further in her hair.