Walking into her apartment, Olivia was shocked to see that Jim was already there. He had changed out of his guard's uniform and into a sweatshirt and jeans. He was holding a beer and had some late night TV show playing. Closing the door to her apartment, she locked it and bolted it, groaning as she rested her forehead against the door. Jim's brows arched on his forehead as he watched her, wondering what was going on as his sister let her fist bang against the door.

"What is wrong, Liv?" he asked from his sister and she turned around to see him. She ran her hands down her cheeks and Jim noticed that she looked slightly flushed, her eyes puffy. She was a combination of drunk and upset. Who had done that to her? Who had made her cry? "Olivia, who hurt you?"

"What?" Olivia wondered.

Jim pointed to her. "You're crying," he commented.

"No one hurt me, Jim," Olivia promised her brother. "I made a mistake. I made a really stupid mistake and I don't know how to make it right."

"What happened?"

"Ed," Olivia said. "Ed is what happened, Jim. He walked into my life and I know…I've known for a while that maybe I thought about him as more than a friend. I mean, how could I not? We spend a lot of time together and I feel something for him…I know I do."

"Christ," Jim muttered and placed his beer bottle down on the coffee table. "Olivia, I have nothing against Nygma. He is a bit odd, but he is harmless and he seems to care about you a lot."

"Why do I suspect there is a but to this conversation?" she asked from her brother and flopped onto the sofa as Jim sat down next to her. She shrugged her coat from her shoulders and let it fall behind her as she folded her arms over her chest, her accusatory glance turning towards her brother.

"But," Jim drawled, "would he not drive you mad?"

"He hasn't so far," Olivia shrugged. "I find him endearing, Jim. I understand him. He understands me. I can't explain it."

"Then why are you crying?" Jim asked. "If you feel this way about him then why are you crying? Did he knock you back?"

"No," Olivia sniffed loudly. "In fact, he did the opposite. He wanted to talk about it and I didn't want to. He was the one who wanted to know more…talk more…but I didn't. I don't want to ruin what we have. We are good friends, great friends, even. What if we ruin all of that?"

"And what if you never know the truth?" Jim wondered back from her. "What if you just live with regret?"

"I don't know if I want to try…I know that I want to break up with Jason, Jim," Olivia admitted to her brother. "We're not compatible in the slightest. Whenever I am with him I never feel comfortable or that I can be myself."

"Then break up with him," Jim urged from his sister. "Olivia, I don't want you with anyone else who doesn't treat you right, okay? You are my sister and I need you to be happy. I want you to be happy. If Ed makes you happy and treats you well then that is enough for me. It should be enough for you."

Olivia shook her head. "It's not," Olivia said in a whisper, "because, deep down, I know that he won't stop thinking about Kristen Kringle. Even if we did something about this, I know that Ed will always care about her."

Jim closed his eyes for a second and Olivia moved to sit on her knees, looking at her brother as though he held the answer that she needed. She looked at him like she used to do when she was younger and she wanted him to tell her that everything would be okay. At that moment in time, she looked exactly like that little girl.

"Don't I deserve someone who wants just me, Jim?" she asked from her brother. "Is that too much to ask? Someone who wants just me and won't hurt me?"

"Why the hell would you think anything differently?" Jim asked from his sister and she shrugged.

"Because sometimes I think that it might be me," she whispered in a gentle voice and Jim moved to hug his sister, holding her to him and assuming that wasn't the right time to tell her about Lee Thompkins.

….

Olivia felt like a coward. She knew that she should call Ed after what had happened, but she simply sent him a text to tell him that she wasn't feeling too well. She finished changing into fresh clothes and went grocery shopping before preparing dinner for that night. It was that night, when Jim got back from Arkham, when he told her all about Lee Thompkins. Olivia had been mystified when he said that he intended to go on a date.

"You're engaged," Olivia informed her brother, her voice low and slightly annoyed. "Does Barbara know?"

"No," Jim said to his sister. "Olivia, as far as I am concerned, our relationship is over. There is no more us…how can there be?"

"Jim, that is wrong!" Olivia snapped at her brother, feeling anger course through her at hearing him. "The last time I spoke to Barbara was when I dropped her off at the train station. She was very much under the impression that you were just on a break."

"And I haven't heard from her since," Jim responded. "She won't answer my calls. She is ghosting me. Why should she think we have any semblance of a relationship?"

"Maybe she needed time?" Olivia asked from her brother. "Maybe she just needed time to herself? It's not been that long, Jim…not really."

Jim shrugged. "It's been ages, Olivia," he informed his sister. "She seems to be under the impression that she can just run away without even talking to me. I don't know what she expects to happen. I can't wait forever for her to come back."

"No, but you can try to talk to her and tell her it is over before going and dating someone else," Olivia said. "What, did you just call her once or a couple of times?"

"Don't put this on me, Olivia," Jim demanded from his sister. "I tried to call her, but she wasn't picking up. She wasn't interested in anything that I said last time I spoke to her. I don't know what you expect me to do."

"Not this," Olivia said. "Leave her a voicemail and say it is urgent, or text her and say you need to talk. I just don't like the thought of her coming home and finding you dating someone else."

"Fine," Jim agreed with his sister, nodding his head at her. "I will try to call her again, but you would like Lee, Olivia. She is really nice."

"I don't doubt it," Olivia responded and continued chopping up the onions, her eyes closing for a second as she felt them water from the sting of the onion. "What I do doubt, however, is the fact that you have been able to move on so quickly."

Jim shrugged and leant against the worktop as his sister continued preparing the stir fry. He leaned over and reached for a bottle of beer from the fridge, pulling the top off of it and holding it in his hands as he did his best to consider what to say to his sister.

"I loved Barbara," Jim promised his sister. "I mean, she is a nice girl. Things haven't been the same in a long time though. Since coming back to Gotham things have been strained. I just don't know if we're compatible."

Olivia shrugged. "I don't know," she said to him. "I never saw the two of you together really. You were so different and I don't think Barbara ever really liked me. I mean, not really liked me."

"Don't take it personally," Jim urged from his sister. "She doesn't like many people."

"Great," Olivia said. "So what? You're going to take this doctor on a date? Where are you going?"

"Circus," Jim said and Olivia rolled her eyes at hearing her brother. "What?" he asked after her expression.

"Just not exactly the most romantic notion I have heard," she said to her brother. "I would have thought flowers and dinners were more your style."

"I'm evolving," Jim commented and Olivia scoffed, chuckling and rolling her eyes.

"Anyway, you can't be one to lecture me, Olivia. Have you spoken with Ed yet? Or have you spoken with Jason?"

Olivia bit down on her lip and poured some oil into the pan, letting it heat up and Jim took his turn to berate her, knowing that she was making things worse for herself. She had to talk to both of them and deal with the situation that they had been put in.

"I will call Jason tomorrow and tell him it isn't working," Olivia said. "I will talk to Ed eventually. I promise."

"Better be sooner rather than later, Liv."

…

Breaking up with Jason wasn't something that Olivia liked the idea of doing, but she knew that she had to. She had asked to meet him and he had told her that it would be great if they could meet her at his place. She had agreed to drop by after work and had taken the elevator up to the penthouse suite he owned. She looked around as the doors opened, the sight of his place enough to make her jaw drop. No doubt he wasn't joking about his riches.

He was waiting for her by the sofa, dressed in a smart black suit and holding a cell in his hands. He looked as though he had just gotten home from work, his coat over the back of his armchair.

"Olivia," he spoke her name in a soft voice, noticing that she wore a dark plum dress, her hair hanging in loose curls down her back. He had to admit that she looked lovely. She didn't hold the high air of sophistication that he usually went for. She was different. She was down to earth. She was charming and adorable. Of course, it helped that he knew who her brother was too. He had heard all about the ripples Jim Gordon had caused in the GCPD before he had been let go.

He had thought that maybe he could have used her knowledge. Maybe he could have used her to find out what the GCPD knew considering it had been so long since anyone had worked on his case. But then Gordon had been fired.

"Hi, Jason," Olivia said and he moved towards her, bending down to kiss her on the cheek, running a hand down her other cheek. "How are you?"

"Even better for seeing you," Jason said, putting on the usual charm. "So, how have you been?"

"Fine," Olivia said.

"Excellent," Jason said. "Let me take your coat and I'll get you a drink."

"Oh, thank you," Olivia said and she let him take her coat. She placed her bag down by the sofa as he walked into the kitchen, opening up the wine cooler and grabbing two glasses. "Your apartment is lovely, Jason."

"Thank you," he responded, pouring the liquid into two glasses.

Moving towards the kitchen and the breakfast bar, she saw Jason sit down on a bar stool. She moved to sit down on a stool too, perching on the edge of it as he handed her the glass of wine. He looked to her with intrigue, moving to sweep a strand of her hair behind her ear as he saw her cheeks turn slightly red. It never failed to entertain him, the way she looked whenever anyone complimented her or touched her. During their dates, he had always tried to brush his hand over hers.

"So," Jason began, "I was thinking that maybe you could stay over tonight and I could cook. I know that we haven't exactly defined what we are, but I would love to spend more time with you."

Olivia knew that she had to break up with him. She had to do this sooner rather than later. But she was perplexed. "Stay over?" she asked from him.

"Hmmm," Jason murmured and she saw him move closer to her, his lips slowly moving towards hers and she turned her head to the side, letting his lips rest on her cheek. "What is it?"

"It's just that I am not ready for this," she said to him. "I mean, I don't want to do that."

He looked rejected and Olivia instantly felt bad.

"Oh no," she said, holding her hands up. "It's not you, Jason. I promise. I am not ready for that with anyone. It's just that my last relationship ended badly. It ended really badly and I didn't think I would be able to move on."

Jason nodded thoughtfully, reaching for her hand. "You've been treated badly," he whispered to her. "People have hurt you in the past. I know that. I can see that. You don't deserve that…you deserve so much more…someone to love you."

Olivia's eyes widened and she looked to him, squeezing his hand as she knew now was the right time. "So do you, Jason," Olivia promised him. "Look, you're a really nice guy. You're lovely. You deserve someone better than me."

"No," Jason said to her. "I can give you what you want, Olivia. I can give you what you need…a broken little bird…just needing to be put back together. I know how that feels. I can help you."

"Jason," Olivia sighed his name. "You have been really sweet. You really have been, but I can't lie to you."

Jason sighed. "Is it Edward?" he asked from her and her eyes widened.

"N..no," she stammered.

"Because you are always talking about him that I can't help but think that maybe it is," Jason said. "So if it isn't him then what is it?"

"I'm just not ready for a relationship," Olivia shrugged. "I'm sorry, Jason, but it was really nice getting to know you, but I need to go. I need to go."

"No," Jason said and kept hold of her hand. She tried to slip away from him, but struggled, her fingers being held tightly by him. She stood up and placed her glass down before trying to escape again.

"Jason," she whispered his name. "I'm sorry."

"No," he said, this time squeezing her fingers very tightly and stopping her from getting away. As she tried to pull away from him, he yanked her back to him and Olivia recalled exactly how her previous relationship had ended. "I said, no."

"Get the hell off of me," Olivia snarled at him, her voice rising as she continued to try to pull herself free from him, but he was strong. He grabbed hold of her by the waist as he placed his glass down. Olivia shrieked loudly as she bucked against him, trying to free herself from his grip. He moved, bending her over the back of the sofa and keeping his weight against her as her hair fell in her face and she struggled for breath. He moved a hand over her throat, squeezing tightly until her breath went shallow and she became a dead weight.

….

A/N: Do let me know what you think!