Saving Grace

Chapter 21

It was an adjustment. Nothing he couldn't handle, but the distance between himself and his wife was distinctly unpleasant. He could rest easy knowing that she was safe and that the baby was growing out of harm's way, but resting easy wasn't really in the cards when he had to spend so many nights alone. Nevertheless, he carried on, and he maintained a good attitude for Grace's sake. The separation was even harder on her. She longed desperately to share in the nesting experience with him, to involve him in every little thing—the way he really ought to have been involved. And when she reached that stage in her pregnancy when she wanted a lot of sex, he couldn't be there often enough, no matter how many trips he made. It was a trying time.

But, despite the obstacle of their separation, it was also a glorious time. Grace was currently about six months along, and she had grown into the very image of motherhood. There was nothing Oswald adored more than when she would pull him close and place his hands on her belly, anticipating a kick. They shared a closeness in those moments that he never would have imagined possible.

Now I really don't understand how my father could have been so unkind to me. Or Grace's father to her. How could you not give all the love in the world to your own child?

Grace found the concept of motherhood frightening, so Oswald didn't let on how terrified he was of being a father. He would just…do the best he could. And try with all his might to be a better man than his own father had been.

What else could he do?

I have so much more in life than I ever thought I would. Power and family. The power…I deserve that. But my family—I would give up everything else for them.

So there it is. That's my weakness. That's what I will always love most…But I will do right by my son or daughter, even if it does kill me.

He woke up that morning in a fairly good mood. He would be going down to see Grace that day, and together they would go to the appointment which would reveal whether the baby was a boy or a girl, having put it off until this point. Grace had wanted to be surprised when he or she was born, but had recently changed her mind.

A little miss or a little mister. That was the question. And the anticipation was killing him.

So naturally that would be the day he and Gabe were swarmed by police just as they were about to leave. That would be just the time for an overzealous officer to slam Oswald's nose into the car as he was cuffed. That would be the point in time to throw him into that same cramped cell in the middle of the precinct that he had occupied before—with Gabe, no less—back when he still worked for Maroni. Yes, today was that day. Fantastic.

But what had really stunned him was the reason for it all. He hadn't been able to believe his ears when they had first started to cuff him. "Oswald Cobblepot, you are under arrest for the murder of Grace Ackerman."

It was the most absurd thing he had heard in his life.

But no, it was true. That was what they were bringing him in for, as preposterous as it was. On the one hand, this was good. It meant he had hidden her so well, people were actually starting to suspect that she was dead. On the other hand, there was no evidence whatsoever. The charges were certainly trumped up.

Jim Gordon knew it. Oswald could see it in the somber man's eyes when he came to his cell door.

"Did you do it?" the detective asked, straight-faced.

He rolled his eyes. "What? Kill the love of my life? Of course not, Jim. You know I don't do that sort of thing."

Jim sighed. "Well they needed something on you, and this gives them an excuse to dig into your affairs. You're a trophy in here. Every up-and-comer wants to be the one who bagged the Penguin."

"Flattery will get you nowhere with me today, old friend. Let me out. I have places to be."

"I can't. I've tried. There's nothing I can do."

"Have you tried grabbing the keys and unlocking this door?"

"It has to go to trial. Unless you can prove that Grace is alive." He shrugged. "Sorry."

I can't so much as call her. They might trace her location. I'd go to jail before letting these moronic cops find her.

"Well you're just no help at all."

Jim started to walk away, but Oswald grabbed the bars and called after him.

"Jim! Jim, wait. Grace is alive. I know you believe me. Please. Please, you have to get me out of here. I have somewhere very important to be."

"Where?"

He shook his head helplessly. "I can't tell you."

"Then I can't help you."

Oswald pulled himself away from the bars, scowling but silent.

Fine, damn it. I'll stay in here if I have to, but I'm not giving Grace away.

He sat down next to Gabe and ran his hand over his face.

I just won't find out today. She'll go to the appointment without me. Maybe.

"Don't worry, boss," Gabe tried, "They don't got a thing on you."

"That's not stopping them from holding me, is it?"

The larger man paused. "Bottom line, they don't know where she is, right? Nobody does. So we win."

Oswald smiled to himself. "Well said, Gabriel."

They were in there all day, and almost no attention was paid to them. The stress of the situation aside, Oswald found himself incredibly bored. There was nothing to do in an eight-by-nine cell with only Gabe for intellectual company. So he retreated into his mind, trying mostly to concentrate on Grace.

He was dozing against the wall, daydreaming about her, when the sound of an air horn nearly startled him out of his seat. The precinct went quiet and all eyes turned to the source of the noise near the doors. A tall, mocha-skinned woman had blown the horn, and the ensuing silence was quickly followed by the voice of a young, blonde, pregnant woman.

Oh my God.

"Hello, everybody!" she said, "My name is Grace Cobblepot. Just wanted to let you know I'm super-duper alive."

What is she doing?

Oswald almost tripped over himself as he rushed to the bars of his cell.

"Grace!"

She grinned and began maneuvering through the desks towards him. Instantly, they were reaching through the bars to hold each other as best they could.

He very nearly couldn't contain how happy he was to see her.

"Grace…what the hell are you doing here?"

But this was still the most dangerous thing she could have done, and he wasn't okay with it.

He kissed her forehead. "Explain yourself," he said sternly.

"Victor was close when you got arrested, and he called Shani." She looked past him for a second and smiled. "Hi, Gabe."

"How you doing, Mrs. C?" Gabe responded fondly.

"Grace…I'm not happy about this. Your heart may have been in the right place, but I wish you hadn't come." He pointed an accusing finger at Shani. "And you're in trouble."

Grace sighed. "I figured you'd say that. Sorry. But I had to. And don't blame Shani. I made her bring me." She turned and addressed the general crowd. "Could someone unlock this please?"

Harvey Bullock stepped up, looking not exactly pleased. "Hey, Grace," he greeted nonchalantly.

"Hey, Detective."

"Oswald," he said, turning the key in the lock, "You're the luckiest SOB I've ever met."

Oswald gave a tired smile as the cell door opened. "Thanks, Harvey."

"But we'll get you next time. You can count on it."

"I look forward to watching you try."

The day was turning around, but Grace was still in a high-risk situation as far as he was concerned. It was time to go.

"Shani, take Grace back to the car."

Grace frowned. "Aren't you coming?"

"Of course, dearest. I'll be along in a minute. I just have to sign a couple things."

They both looked to Harvey. "Yeah, he does," the bearded detective agreed.

"Fine," she acquiesced, "but hurry. I have something to tell you." She smirked and turned to go.

She knows. She went to the appointment.

Excitement started to bubble up in his chest as he watched her go. When she was gone, he turned back to Harvey. The older detective was watching her go as well, a look of some distaste clouding his features.

"What? What is that face?"

"I don't like it."

"…You don't like it. Like what?"

He gestured in the direction Grace had gone. "This whole…thing with you two." He shuddered and turned to his desk, finding the form Oswald needed to sign.

"You've piqued my interest, Harvey," he said, stepping over to the desk, "To what thing are you referring?" He picked up a pen and looked at the paper.

Harvey didn't answer.

Oswald started to sign. "Do pregnant women make you uncomfortable?"

"Hey, whoa. I'm not talking about this. Especially not with you."

He smiled to himself, having just thought of something. "Oh I know what it is." A mischievous glint came into his eyes and he looked up from the form. "You can't imagine me having sex."

The shock on the detective's face was more than satisfying.

"You know what? No. You're right. You can't. In my mind, you're like a Ken doll. And that's the way it stays." He snatched the form. "Gimme that. Get the hell out of here."

Oswald laughed to himself all the way to the car. Getting Harvey so flustered was almost enough to make his day. But it was his anticipation for speaking with Grace that really had him excited. As quickly as his limp would allow, he made it to the car, and his wife was kissing him as soon as he took his seat beside her.

"Okay," he said between kisses, "Come on…The suspense is killing me. What is it? I know you know."

She grinned, but remained silent for a few more seconds, increasing the suspense.

"Okay…Oswald…" She took his hand.

He raised his eyebrows. "Yes?"

Spit it out.

"…It's a boy."

Oswald let out a breath. "A boy?"

Her grin got bigger. "Yeah. A boy. Isn't that awesome?"

I'll have a son.

"It's splendid." He took her face in his hands and kissed her forehead.

A son of my own.

"A miniature Oswald Cobblepot," Grace said dreamily.

The Cobblepot name will not die with me.

"Are you sure that's really the name you like?"

"It's the only name I like. He has to be named after you."

Don't cry, Oswald. Keep it together.

He kissed her hand, grinning. "If you insist, my love." He flipped the switch that brought down the divider between the front and back seats. "Did you all hear the news?"

Shani turned her head and smiled, but didn't take her eyes off the road. "Yeah, boss. Congratulations. I told Gabe once we started driving."

"Congrats, Mrs. C. I had a feeling it would turn out a boy."

"We're having a party, just so you two know," Shani added, "I'm going to buy every blue decoration this side of Metropolis."

"Oh my God," Grace commented.

Oswald was overwhelmed. With joy and fear. With delight and doubt.

How long can I keep up this good luck? How many of these blessings will last? Can I really be a husband, a father, and the king of Gotham?

Oswald was there when it happened. It was pouring rain that night at their house near the beach. Looking back, it had been the ideal sort of weather for bringing another Oswald Cobblepot into the world. At the time of the event, however, it could have been hailing frogs outside and he wouldn't have noticed.

The doctor had come to them, just as he'd arranged, but the man had neglected to bring the drugs necessary to ease Grace's pain, and so Oswald had to listen to her scream. He stayed with her, he encouraged her, but he came close to fainting more times than he cared to acknowledge. He could kill people, torture people even, without batting an eye, and yet this whole process made him want to curl up in a corner and cover his ears.

"I'm never doing this again," Grace had said firmly at one point.

He had nodded eagerly in agreement and kissed her hand. "Oh no, I'm never putting you through this again. Don't worry."

The agony of the evening finally did come to an end, however, and the doctor mentioned that it had been a quick and easy delivery. Oswald felt like shooting him in the foot.

That feeling was overshadowed, though, by the confusing amount of other feelings which arose when his son was placed into Grace's arms. With caution, he nestled himself at her side, his arm around her, and together they looked down at their baby. Oswald Cobblepot II had a tuft of black hair atop his head and a face just like his mother. And his father's heart melted into a puddle of eternal love and dedication at the sight of him.

Delicately, he cradled the child's soft, perfect head with one hand. "You will be a great man someday," he said, "You'll have every advantage. I'll see to that. And everything I make in this world, I'll pass to you."

"That's a lot," Grace said weakly, smiling.

His attention turned back to the woman who had given him all of this. He kissed her head. "He's perfect, dearest. He's beautiful. Well done. I love you. I love you both."

She looked at her baby, then looked back at him, still smiling. "We love you, too."

Beloved readers :)

Again, I'd like to express my appreciation for your interest in my story. Every comment, follow, and favorite makes my heart sing.

Phoebe, I'm so glad that you found my little funny parts amusing. I'd hoped that I could make some of you laugh every once in a while. I've very much enjoyed your lengthy comments. And believe me, I understand what it's like to have a bunch of essays to write and that sort of thing. I'm happy that my story is giving you something to enjoy whenever you have the time. Thank you for your suggestions regarding Victor and Shani. I'll refer back to them whenever the time comes for me to write their story.

Crimsoneyes419, I'd like to extend my appreciation to you as well, as you've recently become my most frequent reviewer. As for your point that Lee was out of character in bringing Sarah to Oswald's home, I'm afraid I must respectfully disagree. I think of Lee as a very "I do what I want" sort of character. Perhaps it was careless on her part, but she's not perfect, and whether Jim knew about it or not, he can't really control her. In any case, I hope it didn't bother you enough to take away the fun of the chapter. Please continue to enjoy.

A shout-out to AmalieNico and scorpion22 as well. Thank you for the frequent and very kind reviews.

All my love.