A/N

I'm back again! Sorry it's been so long but uni really is time-consuming at the minute. However here's a big chapter to make up for it! I was in a mood when I wrote the second half of this chapter and that will probably become apparent hahaha.

Anyway I hope you all enjoy; please leave a review if you have the time - they really do help!

The evening of the unfortunate gala disaster, Oswald waited for Jo's call. He sat in his chair for hours that evening, glass of wine in hand as Butch and Gabe watched anxiously. It was as though Jo had never returned; she was still missing and Oswald was as tense as ever. The King of Gotham would never truly be satisfied, not when he was absent of his queen.

But calling Oswald didn't even cross Jo's mind that night. She was too caught up in seeing to it that her mother and Bruce were well; even if she had to tread carefully to ensure that no members of the public realised her connection to the Waynes. Subsequently, Jo was prohibited from acting too concerned for Bruce's wellbeing, even though she'd been terrified. The whole ordeal had opened her eyes: she really did want to be a part of a family, her mother and her brother. And her unborn child.

But despite all of her worries, that wasn't the main reason that Oswald slipped Jo's mind. Instead, she found herself distracted by the presence of another man, the one who'd saved her brother's life.

Theo Galavan had waited around in the hospital following his examination, if only to contribute towards the façade that he genuinely cared about the safety of Bruce Wayne. Hearing the sound of heels on the floor, Theo looked up to see Jo leave the nearby ward; their eyes meeting when Jo glanced his way. Of course she was aware of who he was, and what he had done, yet Jo was unable to express her gratitude to the mayoral candidate. So instead she had to return to old habits of lying. Or rather, her new talent of acting.

"Visiting someone?" Jo slowly walked over to him, a warm smile in place. "Don't I know you from somewhere?"

"Theo Galavan, I'm running for Mayor." He smiled and held out a hand for Jo to shake, simply regarding her as another potential supporter. Well, it couldn't have hurt; she was a stunning beauty after all.

"Ah of course. I was watching your speech the other day, you made some interesting points." Jo's friendly disposition cleverly masked that lie. "I'm Jo Carnell."

"Let me guess, you're a model." Theo figured a bit of charm would've helped him gain an extra vote. Although her being in a career like that wouldn't have been too surprising.

"Broadway, kind of." Jo smiled, a slight glow in her cheeks. "Are you just flattering me to get my vote?" She raised her brow and Theo chuckled and shook his head to dismiss the playful accusation. "Oh come on, Mr Galavan. You wouldn't be the first man who's complimented me to get his way. That's just the way this city works, isn't it?" Jo sighed pensively, recalling her messy relationship with Oswald. "Everyone has an ulterior motive…"

Not even the level-headed Galavan could deny that Jo was a beautiful woman, with a certain aura of wisdom to her, perhaps even his type if he actually had one. He figured it a shame that he was preoccupied with upcoming plans otherwise he would've enjoyed having some fun with her, maybe even more than that. There was no way for the future Mayor to determine whether or not Jo was the type to abandon all morals in exchange for power and riches.

But maybe…

"Would you care to join me for a drink?" He smiled almost cynically. "I could definitely use one after this evening. And besides, this setting isn't quite…glamourous enough for a gorgeous girl like yourself."

Jo cocked her head to the side, amused by the boldness of her new acquaintance. Well, blatant flattery rather. "I'd love to but I'm not a drinker."

"Well we don't have to drink. We can just…enjoy each other's company?"

"Mr Galavan, we hardly know each other. For all I know you could be some…criminal mastermind." Jo smirked, intrigued by the handsome stranger before her. He seemed to possess a certain aura of mystery, one which Jo had never been able to resist.

Theo laughed at the joke; unsure of where things were headed with Jo or even what his intentions were with her. But she was gorgeous and confident, with a good sense of humour to match. "I can assure you that my life is an open book. Nobody likes a mayor with secrets now do they?"

"Oh but everyone has their secrets. Their skeletons."

"Not everyone, not me." Theo threw her a quizzing smirk, intrigued by Jo's cynicism. "I can't help but feel as though you've seen quite a few skeleton-filled closets…"

Jo shook her head, "I've got one of my own actually."

"What terrible things could a gorgeous girl such as yourself have done?" Theo was almost patronising in his tone so Jo had to bite her lip.

As much as Jo knew that playing nice with the future mayor would've had its benefits, she'd never been the kind of woman who'd settle for being underestimated merely because of her exterior. Respect had always been one thing she'd craved.

I worked for Fish Mooney, and Don Maroni, before they were both disposed of, was what Jo wanted to say, but instead she settled for a more simple answer. "It's like I said, everyone has secrets. Now if you'll excuse me…good luck with the election." Then she smiled and turned on her heels towards the hospital exit, leaving Galavan staring after her, more intrigued than ever.

Oswald didn't get a wink of sleep that night. It turned out that being preoccupied with thoughts of Josephina Carnell was a full-time job. Not that it bothered her.

He'd left endless voicemails, texts…he'd even considered contacting Detective Gordon and filing a missing persons report. But then he remembered that this kind of behaviour, disappearing for hours or even days on end, was rather typical of Jo. Not caring that he was concerned about her, that was also normal. Frankly, Oswald was tired of chasing after Jo but he couldn't let her go. It was like she'd said, his love for her was scary. Because the King of Gotham was willing to do anything to keep her.

However, Oswald wasn't the only person trying to contact Jo.

Harvey stormed into the room, barely acknowledging the goons who had been quick to point their guns in his direction. "Where is she!"

"I can assure you I have no idea."

"She's not answering her cell!" Harvey shouted, approaching Oswald as he shot out of his chair in an attempt to be in a less vulnerable and more commanding position.

Oswald rolled his eyes, "I know that."

"What else do you know Penguin?" Harvey threw him a glare, curious as to what Oswald knew. If he knew.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

It was evident that the so-called king wouldn't have passed up the opportunity to brag, to proclaim his upcoming role as a father – the father of Jo's baby – to declare their undying love. But because he didn't, Harvey knew it could only mean that Oswald was completely unaware. Jo didn't want anyone to know, so Harvey wasn't going to be the one to inform his love rival of the life growing inside her. The baby could've been either of theirs.

And for the child's sake, Harvey could only hope that…

But did he want to be a father?

"Forget it." Harvey grunted, deciding to look for Jo at Wayne Manor instead. "You better stop hiding behind your goons, Penguin. Sooner or later, they'll ditch you. Everyone always does…"

Jo had indeed spent the day in hiding at Wayne Manor, playing chess with Bruce for the most part. She'd seen every missed call, deleted every voice mail she didn't care for, because she'd realised that her bag was missing and had a good idea as to why Harvey was suddenly interested in reaching her.

"Are you sure you don't want to answer that?" Bruce nodded towards Jo's cell, recognising the name on the caller ID. "It could be important if Detective Bullock's calling you…"

Jo shook her head and moved her bishop. "It won't be, don't worry."

"Did you love him?" Bruce asked, having clearly worked out from pieces of conversation that he'd overheard that Jo had dated the detective, albeit for a brief period.

Bruce's question caught Jo off guard and she thought for a moment, deciding to mask whatever feelings she still felt for Harvey Bullock with a shrug. "It was just a bit of fun."

"What about the Penguin? Did you love him?"

"What's with the interrogation, Bruce? You're spending too much time around Detective Gordon…"

Bruce sighed, thinking of Selina and his unspoken feelings. "How do you tell someone how you feel about them? Especially if you're not sure if they feel the same way?"

Jo smirked and tilted her head to one side curiously, "is this about a girl?"

When Bruce didn't answer the question and looked down, Jo's eyes widened excitedly. "It is! Aw my baby brother's got a girlfriend. I bet she's cute, right?"

"Excuse me for interrupting, but Detective Bullock is at the front door asking after you." Alfred stood in the doorway, throwing Jo a knowing look. He was a smart individual, having doubted Jo's honesty immediately following her claim that she had had a miscarriage.

"Can you get rid of him, Alfred? We're in the middle of something…" Jo turned away to move her next chess piece, clearly refusing to acknowledge the inevitable.

"No he can't." Harvey's loud voice could be heard down the hallway before he walked into the room, having clearly invited himself inside. Clearly drunk.

"I told you to wait outside…" Alfred uttered, a hint of warning to his tone.

"Well how can I? She's fucking pregnant!"

Bruce looked to Jo in surprise, his eyes wide and smile excited. "You are?"

"I'm not!" Jo feigned a laugh, although both the men in the room noticed its nervous edge. "If you must know, I lost it."

Harvey furrowed his brow and shook his head. "No you didn't. See I've spent enough time around you to know when you're lying…"

Sensing that an argument was about to break out, Alfred gestured to Bruce to follow him out of the room and the boy obeyed without a second thought. He knew that, whatever Jo had done, she could handle herself in her present situation. He wasn't worried, she was strong just like him.

When Bruce and Alfred had left, Harvey closed the door and stepped further into the room, staring Jo dead in the eye. Jo grimaced when she smelled the hard liquor on him. "You're wasted. Go home and sleep it off – wouldn't want your fiancée to see you've turned back to the booze."

"Are you mocking me?" Harvey frowned as he sensed a sarcastic edge to her tone.

"Harvey, believe me I don't want you to become a drunk…"

Harvey laughed cynically, "that's funny since you and this secret of yours have pushed me back towards to bottle." He paused, hoping that Jo would say something. Maybe she'd try to defend herself. Instead she just looked tired, bored even. "When were you gonna tell me?"

"Tell you what?" Jo knew what was coming and she just wasn't prepared.

"Cut the crap Jo. You left your bag here last night, you know that. You already know why I've been tryin' to get ahold of you all day, that's why you've been ignoring my calls – and Cobblepot's!"

"Oswald doesn't know…" Jo whispered.

"I gathered." Harvey chuckled cynically; taking Jo's lack of denial as a confirmation of her pregnancy. "Is it mine?"

Jo frowned, "You really wanna talk about this here?"

Harvey threw Jo's bag on the armchair beside him, along with the baby scan photo. "For once just tell me the truth, Jo. Are you having my kid or his?"

"I don't know." She shrugged, keeping her voice low.

"You told me you were on the pill." Harvey pointed his finger in her direction, brow furrowed angrily. "Did you skip it so this would happen?!"

"Do you really think I'd do something like that? Harvey I can only just afford to keep myself alive, never mind a kid!"

"Is this why you came to see me the other night? You wanted to see what money you could get from me…"

Jo threw Harvey a look of disgust. "No! What kind of person do you take me for?!"

"A manipulative slut." Harvey replied harshly, not even looking Jo in the eye. "Why else would you tell me, you love chaos…"

"I wanted to tell you because you have a right to know, but you were too busy loving it up with your fiancée to give a shit!"

Harvey scoffed, "you really are jealous of Scottie, huh…"

"I don't want to get back with you. Just like I didn't want to come back here." Jo told him firmly. "I'm here to repay your partner's debt to Penguin."

"You gonna tell Penguin too? He has a right to know…"

"It's not that easy with Oswald, you know that." Jo shook her head, "he'd never let me go if he found out he could be a father…"

"Well you better tell him soon. If you want help raising that kid you better tell him it's his."

Jo paused, looking to Harvey in shock. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Even if you're having my kid, I don't want anything to do with it or you. I've got it good with Scottie; she's honest and loyal, something you could never be."

"You're not serious." Jo shook her head, tears forming in her eyes. "I refuse to believe that you'd abandon our baby. You're not like that."

"Well perhaps you don't know me as well as you thought you did." Harvey replied starkly, trying to hide his burrowing feelings for Jo. They were still there, he just didn't want to give her the satisfaction of seeing them. "I don't want it in my life."

"Good 'cause we don't want you either." Jo snapped back, not thinking straight but refusing to let Harvey think that he'd hurt her with his cruel words. "My daughter doesn't need some low life alcoholic ex-cop in her life."

"Just like she doesn't need a selfish, scheming ex-prostitute fucking up her life like she fucked up her own, right?"

Blinking back the tears that formed in her eyes, Jo pointed towards the door. "Get the hell out."

Realising that there was no going back, no taking back the horrible things he'd said, Harvey turned to leave, but not without muttering "good luck" to Jo.

"For the record, I never forced you to drink!" She shouted after him, running to the door. She just needed to get it off her chest. "You were a fucking drunk way before I came along!"

"See you around Jo." He replied loudly before opening the front door.

"Fuck you!" Jo screamed back.

And as she watched Harvey slam the front door shut, Jo knew that was it. He'd well and truly walked out of her life, angrily closing the door behind him. Good. She didn't care. She was better off alone, her time away had taught her that much. Besides, it wasn't like Jo had expected to suddenly have her baby's father step up to the plate – hell she hadn't even imagined to return to Gotham. So that was it: Jo was officially going to be a single mother.

Unless she told Oswald…