Ed wasn't convinced that Jim was doing the right thing. He was worried that the man was making brash decisions that would endanger Olivia. That was if the Ogre even had Olivia. Ed had gone about his work, thinking about her and praying that she would come back safe and sound. He wanted her to come back. He needed her to come back. He felt hopeless. Ed was not a detective, despite the fact that he was intelligent enough to help. He could only sit and wait as Jim ran around the GCPD and demanded to know who had worked on the Ogre case.

"Has there been any news?"

Ed had been working at his desk when he heard Kristen's voice enter his ears. He turned up to look to her, almost stammering as he watched her for a few moments. He was still smitten. He couldn't deny that. He looked at Kristen and he also felt a longing to protect her. But was it the same longing he felt when he saw Olivia? Did Kristen ever make him laugh like Olivia had done? Did she ever talk to him like Olivia did?

Shaking his head, Ed moved those thoughts from his mind and answered Kristen's question. He couldn't talk about Olivia in the past tense. She was still alive. She was fine. Ed had to think that.

"No," Ed said with pursed lips. "She is still missing."

He didn't tell Kristen about the Ogre. He didn't want to drag her into this business. He didn't want to drag anyone into it.

"I am sorry, Ed," Kristen admitted to him. "I know that she was important to you."

"Is," Ed corrected in a mutter as he went back to look at his computer and Kristen frowned. "She is important to me."

"Anyway," Kristen said, wrinkling her nose. "I want to give you the case file back and tell you that…well…Tom…we're fine now."

"No, you're not," Ed responded, not bothering to look back to her and listen to her lie to him. He had to protect her. He had to do something to help her, but his mind was back on Olivia and he was in a vortex of thinking about her. "You are fine for the time being, but I know that you will not be happy with him. He is cruel, Kristen."

"He has a temper and I knew that," Kristen said and Ed moved to look back up to her. "But we are going to work through things. I know that we can. We have to."

"No, you don't," Ed said to her. "You can end it with him and I would protect you. I would make sure that he didn't come for you or hurt you."

Kristen moved her glasses further onto her nose as she wrinkled her forehead, turning a slight shade of red as Ed realised what he had just said to her. He almost felt himself blush, but he didn't. Instead he went back to his work and closed his eyes for a brief moment.

"That is sweet, Ed," Kristen said to him, coughing once. "But I don't need you to protect me."

"Just as well," Ed said and moved to his feet. "Because I couldn't protect her."

Ed swept from the room and Kristen watched him go, a sense of concern taking over her for him. She wanted to go and comfort him. She wanted to go and tell him that things would be okay. All she could actually do was stand there and watch him go, her mouth agape as she wondered how it might feel to have a man care for her as much as Edward Nygma clearly cared for Olivia Gordon.

….

Olivia sat on the bed that evening, her wrist cuffed to the headboard as Jason sat next to her, watching the TV that sat on the chest of drawers across from them. Jason had bounded into the bedroom, telling her how he was excited to tell her what he intended to do. But then he had placed his cell in front of him and dialled a number Olivia recognised. Jason pressed a finger to her mouth, urging for her to keep quiet as the phone rang.

"Gordon," he spoke and Olivia almost shouted in relief. It was Jim. Why was he calling Jim?

He kept his arm around her, stroking her hair softly as she played along, trying to stop tears from silently falling down her cheek as she longed to speak to her brother and tell her where she was.

"Detective," Jason answered, his lips pulled into a smug smirk as he watched Olivia for her reaction, trying to read her for any sign of weakness. She caught him staring and knew instantly that this was a test. He was testing her and she had to pass. "I didn't get a chance to say hello properly to you in the alleyway."

"Listen to me," Jim's gruff voice began to speak, "I-"

"-Don't bother tracing this, I won't be on the phone long," Jason responded.

"I will give you one chance to turn yourself in and give me my sister back," Jim said and Olivia felt her stomach churn. He knew. He knew that Jason had her. "You make me come after you and I will put a bullet in you myself. If you have hurt my sister then I swear to God I will make your life a living hell."

"Something tells me you have begun to buy your own press, Detective," Jason responded. "A hero cop who is going to clean up Gotham…the rising star of the GCPD."

"I'll stop you."

"No, you won't," Jason said. "Keep on the current course, Detective, and I will kill somebody who you love. This is your only warning."

He hung up then, tossing the cell to the bottom of the bed before looking to Olivia. She had been stoic throughout that entire ordeal. She hadn't budged. She had sat there silently, listening intently. But not once did she speak. Instead she looked to Jason once he had finished, her eyes wide.

"You're going to kill me?" she asked him and Jason smiled softly, moving his hand down her cheek as he looked at her.

"No," he whispered, his gaze searching hers. "There are other people who your brother loves, Olivia. I can hurt them instead…I met one of them last night."

Olivia's brow furrowed. So that was where he had been last night. "Who?"

"Barbara," he responded simply. "But don't worry. You're still the only one for me…I just need to make your brother stop chasing me down and then we can be happy together, can't we? We won't have him trying to ruin things for us."

"He is just doing what he thinks is right," Olivia said to Jason, her free hand going to cup his neck. "Jim isn't a bad person, nor is Barbara."

"Perhaps not," Jason commented. "But he needs to be stopped and I will stop him. I will do it for you."

Olivia forced herself to smile as Jason leaned in to kiss her. She did her best not to gag as she pulled back and he told her that he would be back in a few moments with a drink for her. Olivia remained tied to the bed, knowing that there was no way out. She was buying time. She was doing what she had to do to survive.

…..

"Do you think that was the best idea?" Ed demanded as soon as he saw Jim following his press conference outside of the GCPD. Harvey was on the phone and Jim was stood by his desk, clearly wanting to get going. "If you have angered him then who is to say he hasn't killed Olivia?"

"He hasn't," Jim said confidently. "He isn't going to hurt Olivia. If he has taken her then he has had ample amounts of time to kill her. I don't pretend to know why he hasn't, but I just know that he hasn't. He would have gloated about it…done it sooner…for some reason he has kept Olivia alive."

"And you are certain of that?" Ed demanded from Jim.

Jim sighed and moved to clasp Ed's shoulder. "Ed, listen to me," Jim said in a soft voice. "I know that you are worried for her. Hell, I am terrified, but you need to trust me. I am doing everything I can to bring her back."

"Got it!" Harvey suddenly called out and jumped from his seat as Jim moved his hand from Ed. "That was the doctor. The dead girl from the doctors…Julie Kimbel…came to the clinic by way of Constance Van Groot."

"Van Groot?" Jim checked. "They are one of the oldest families in Gotham."

"Yeah, we thought the Ogre might be rich, but it might be that the old lady had a son," Harvey said. "I have an address. We should get going."

"On it," Jim said and looked to Ed as he pulled his coat onto his shoulders. "Listen, Ed, I'll keep you informed."

Ed couldn't say anything else as he ran off with Harvey in tow, the two of them clearly determined to solve this case sooner rather than later.

…

"He is trying to get a rise from you, don't you see?" Olivia asked from Jason as she sat across from him that very same night after her brother had appeared on TV and told the Ogre that there would be no getting away from him. "Jim only appeared on TV to try and get you to make a mistake."

She had cooked a beef stew for dinner with vegetables. Jason had told her that he was attending a ball that evening and she had simply nodded and asked why. He had told her that he expected Barbara to be there and he needed to make his move. She wanted to dissuade him, but she didn't have the chance.

"He is an asshole," Jason said, placing his knife and fork down, leaving his stew. "He thinks that he knows me so well, but he has no idea. He has no idea who I am or what I can do."

"Jason," Olivia sighed, "Jim is hot headed. He is brash. He is hoping that you are similar to him."

"He will leave me alone," Jason said and moved to his feet, hands on his hips. "He isn't going to get you back. He isn't going to win. He…he will leave us alone."

"No, he won't," Olivia said in a soft voice as she moved to her feet too, moving closer to him. "Jason, I know you think that Jim will let us be, but he won't. IF you hurt Barbara then that will make him even more determined. It will make him even angrier. He won't back off."

"Yes, he will," Jason said.

Olivia scoffed, struggling to keep her emotions in check. "No, he won't," she said. "That isn't Jim."

"Why are you defending him? Do you want him to come?"

"No," Olivia lied. "You know that I don't want that to happen. I want you, Jason."

Jason sighed then as Olivia reached for his shoulders, holding onto him. "I know," he whispered back to her, enveloping her in his arms and kissing her on the forehead gently as she closed her eyes and shuddered at the motion. "I know, Olivia. I…but tonight…I have to do this…come tomorrow, everything will be as it should be. Tonight, I just need you to go into the room…until it is over."

"No," Olivia said, her mind going back to that room as she pulled back and looked to Jason as he walked her to it, his arm around her waist as she tried to dig her heels in and stop him from making her advance any further. "Jason…please…"

"I need you hidden," he told her and pulled the door open, the light shining in the space. "I'm sorry."

"No," Olivia continued as she struggled against him lifting her arms up to cuff her to the chain falling from the ceiling. "Jason…please…I will be quiet…just don't…"

"I can't take that chance," Jason said and Olivia almost screamed as he placed the gag around her mouth, but the ball in her mouth silenced her as tears ran down her cheeks and she struggled in the handcuffs. "Sh," Jason urged, wiping her tears away. "It will all be over soon. I promise."

She couldn't say anything back to him as he walked away, leaving her alone in the room in the dark, only her frantic breaths keeping her company.

….

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