Olivia didn't know how this could have happened. Barbara had attacked Lee. She had tried to kill Lee all because she wanted Jim back. Jim had called his sister after Ed had left and told her what had happened. Walking into the apartment after an hour following the phone call, Olivia rushed to the door. She had put the kettle on and poured Lee a cup of herbal tea alongside running her a bath. Walking into the apartment, Jim had his hand on the small of her back as she walked steadily.

"Lee," Olivia whispered her name as she stood in the hallway. "Are you okay? Sorry, no, stupid question, of course you're not."

"It's fine," Lee said, managing to fix a smile on her face. "I'm fine, Olivia. I just…it was scary and weird and I don't know how to feel."

"Barbara has been arrested. She admitted that she was the one who killed her parents when the Ogre had her," Jim said and Olivia's eyes widened and her mouth gaped as her brother nodded at her and sighed. "I know," he said in reference to her shock.

"That's horrifying," Olivia said to him as Lee slipped her heels from her feet. "What happened to her? I don't understand, Jim. Barbara was always…normal," she said, settling on the word.

"I know," Jim said and she sensed her brother was struggling to come to terms with what had happened that evening. Olivia shook her head and looked to Lee once more as the doctor pushed her hair behind her ear.

"I made you a cup of herbal tea," Olivia said to her. "I also ran you a bath. I figured you might want to…well…you know," Olivia didn't entirely know what to say, but Lee understood. She had grown fond of Olivia in the short time she had known her. She was kind and considerate.

"Thank you," Lee said, moving a hand to her upper arm and holding it softly. "That sounds nice. I am going to go and take my tea with me to the bathtub. You two just make yourself at home."

"You going to be okay?" Jim checked with her.

"I'll be fine," she promised him.

Wandering into the kitchen and then the bathroom, Lee left Olivia and Jim alone in the hallway. Moving to her brother, Olivia held onto Jim, hugging him tightly as he wrapped his own arms around her. She let her head move to rest on his shoulder as Jim bent down to kiss the top of her head.

"You okay?" she asked from her brother.

"No," Jim admitted to her in a soft voice. "I feel weird, Liv. I don't know how to feel."

"You don't need to know how to feel," Olivia promised her brother. "Lee is here and she is safe. Barbara is gone. Just focus on that."

"I'll try," Jim nodded his head. "I'll try."

….

Olivia had a day off work. It was half term and she was grateful for that. Entering the GCPD, Olivia looked around for any sign of Jim or Ed. She had agreed to meet Ed for lunch and she was just grateful that the two of them seemed to have gotten their friendship back on track. Looking around the large, open office space, she contemplated wandering into the space, but held back at the door. She wondered if Jim knew she was coming by.

It had been a few weeks since everything that had happened with Barbara and things were still crazy in Gotham. Some inmates had escaped from Arkham and were proving difficult to round back up again.

Ed had spotted Olivia in the entrance hall, but had snuck into the corridor and to his office. He needed to grab his coat before he met her for lunch. But that was the issue. Every time he saw Olivia he was struggling to control his thoughts. He was struggling to stop the other voice from entering his head. He had managed to keep it hidden from her, but when he was on his own it proved difficult to keep quiet.

"I know what you thought when you saw her."

Looking to the side, he saw the mirror image of him, but without his glasses or nervous disposition. It was like it was the version of Ed that he wanted to be.

"She is my friend," Ed said in a murmur and shrugged out of his grey jacket and reached for his long winter coat. "She is just my friend."

"Is that why you keep thinking about what it would feel like to kiss her? You know, if you brought her in here then we could have fun with her?"

"Stop it," Ed demanded.

"You're denying yourself. I could have her screaming our name in ten minutes if you let me."

"Her brother is sat out there."

"Even more a risk. The thrill of getting caught as you rut against her."

"You are going nowhere near her," Ed said and grabbed his bag. "And that is final."

Storming out of the office, Ed wandered through the corridors into the open office to find Olivia talking with Lee. Ever since the inmates had escaped, Barbara had been free again and Lee had been concerned with what was going on. Olivia understood her fears and had assured her that she was there for her.

"Hey," Olivia said as she saw Ed approach and Lee stood to the side, turning around to see him stood there.

"Olivia," Ed said in a small greeting. "Lee."

"Sorry," Lee said, "I'll let you two head off on your lunch. Are you going anywhere nice?"

"Ed promised that he would take me to this new Italian that has just opened up," Olivia said as she felt someone barge past her, his shoulder bumping into hers. Her satchel fell from her shoulder and she winced as Ed looked at the man and Lee sniffed haughtily, noticing other officers in blue enter the precinct.

"Excuse you," Olivia mumbled, grabbing her bag again and placing it back on her shoulder as Lee looked at the officers and then to Ed.

"Do you recognise any of them?" she asked, motioning with her chin to them.

Ed turned his head over his shoulder and eyed them with intrigue. Looking back to Lee, his brow knitted together and he shook his head. "No," he said.

It was then when smoke entered the precinct and gunshots began to echo through the room. Lee ducked down as officers began to shoot at their impersonators. Lee grabbed hold of Olivia and pushed her down to the ground as Ed did the same, crouching over her as the gunshots continued to ring through the room. Olivia felt Lee huddle against her as they remained on their knees, Ed's body covering her back.

"Are you okay?" Lee asked Olivia, holding onto her arms and looking her in the eye. She nodded once.

"Yeah," she said in a low voice as she turned her head over her shoulder to look back to Ed.

He nodded at her as the gunshots died down and Lee knew they had to move quickly. Grabbing hold of Olivia by the hand, she dragged her to the door in the corner that led to the supply closet for stationery. She could only hope that no one had gone there. Olivia took hold of Ed with her free hand as she pulled for him to follow her. Entering the cupboard, Lee closed the door quietly, making sure it didn't make a clicking sound.

"What the hell is going on?" Olivia whispered as Lee kept her hands on the door, making sure it stayed shut.

"I don't know," Lee responded in an equally soft whisper.

"They must have impersonated the officers," Ed said and Olivia looked to him, only then noticing the blood on his shoulder. She was about to shriek, but she regained her composure and Ed nodded. "I'm fine. It hit my shoulder and it doesn't hurt too much."

"Lee, he's been shot," Olivia said, looking to Ed as she moved over to him and helped him peel his coat from his shoulder, looking at the wound in his shoulder.

"Okay," Lee said as she moved to stand in front of Ed. She eyed the wound, holding his shoulder and seeing him wince as Olivia stood to the side. "It isn't deep. By the looks of it, it is just a scrape. We will need to clean it and cover it up when we get out of here."

"Good news," Ed mumbled sarcastically.

"Where was Jim?" Olivia wondered. "Did anyone see him?"

"He wasn't in the precinct," Lee said. "I came to look for him before I saw you."

Olivia nodded and looked to Ed as he glanced back down at her. Moving slowly, he dared to let his hand take hold of hers, his fingers squeezing hers tightly as she felt her step closer to him, their fronts almost brushing.

"It's going to be alright," Ed promised her in a whisper. "I promise."

Nodding once, Olivia kissed him on the cheek before hearing a voice begin to shout for Lee. It was Jim. Lee threw the door open and rushed back into the precinct in time to see Jim looking around. His face was covered in blood, his eye black and his lip split. Olivia gasped in horror as she walked with Ed into the office again.

"Jim," Lee sighed his name. "What happened?"

"Barbara," he said to her. "She got me to follow her and had one of the escapees attack me. The rest of them attacked here while I was gone. They killed the Commissioner."

"My God," Lee whispered, placing a hand to her chest.

"Did any of them hurt you?" Jim asked her.

"No, we hid before they could find us."

"We?" Jim asked and then noticed his sister emerge from behind Lee and he sighed, shaking his head as he stepped forwards and she looked horrified at the sight of his face, wondering what had happened to him. "Liv, what are you doing here?"

"What happened to you?" she demanded from her brother.

"Barbara," Jim only said. "Are you okay? Were you hurt?"

"I'm fine," Olivia said, "but I need to get Ed to a doctor. He was shot and his wound needs cleaning. You need to see a doctor too…God, Jim…your face."

"I'm okay," Jim promised his sister, moving to squeeze her shoulder.

"I'll take a look at your face," Lee said to Jim and looked to Olivia. "Liv, can you get Ed to a doctor."

"Sure," Olivia said and took hold of Ed by the hand once more and moved into the precinct where paramedics were arriving.

She stood by his side as he sat on a desk and peeled his shirt off, leaving him in a vest as his wound was cleaned. He watched on as Olivia stood there, her hand covering her mouth as she did her best to consider what she was seeing. She was in a state of shock. She had been worried for Ed. She was letting her mind run away with her.

"Mr Nygma…my gosh, what happened?"

Olivia looked over to where a red headed woman was approaching, dressed in a pencil skirt and white shirt. A green cardigan sat on her shoulders and her glasses were large on her face. She had wide eyes and Olivia couldn't help but notice how her featured seemed so proportionate to her face. She had to be Kristen Kringle. From what Ed had said about her, there was no one else it could be.

"Oh…nothing," Ed said, not wanting her to worry as she stood before him and the paramedic covered up his wound with a white bandage. Olivia took a step back and bit down on her bottom lip. "It is just a graze I got in the crossfire."

"Does it hurt?"

"No," Ed lied. He felt slight pain, but nothing terrible. "I am fine. I…well…I pushed Olivia out of the way and it hit me as I bent down."

"You got it protecting Detective Gordon's sister?"

Olivia wanted to snap at her. Detective Gordon's sister had a name and she was standing right there, but Kristen hadn't even noticed her. Olivia didn't even know Ed had been hit protecting her. She thought that it had just happened. But it had all happened so quickly.

"Yes," Ed confirmed.

"That was so brave, Ed," Kristen said and took hold of his arm that wasn't injured. "Do you need anything?"

Olivia felt invisible. Was she invisible? Ed hadn't even looked at her since Kristen had made her appearance. She guessed that confirmed what she already knew. Ed wanted Kringle. He only felt that he wanted Olivia because she was available. As soon as Kristen came and offered attention then he was gone.

"No," Ed said as Olivia contemplated turning and leaving, "I was just going to take Olivia out for lunch…I guess the building will be shut down anyway."

He looked to her then and Kristen followed his gaze over to her. "Oh," Kristen said. "I am sorry, I did not notice you there."

"I guessed not," Olivia said, struggling to want to be pleasant to the woman who held Ed's affections and had done nothing but rebut him.

"Well, it is nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Olivia said, voice haughty as Ed continued to watch her for her reaction, wondering what was going through her mind. "I'm just going to see Jim. I'll be back in a minute."

"She seems uppity," Kristen commented.

Ed didn't want to tell her that would be because of what he had said about Kristen. "She's tense," was all Ed said. "I should get going."

"Listen, Ed," Kristen said in a soft voice, "I…I know I haven't been kind to you or even nice, but I want to make that up to you. Perhaps we can have dinner one night?"

Ed wondered where that had come from, but he did not contend against it. This was what he wanted. So why did he feel so deflated? Why did he feel as though none of it mattered? He nodded his head out of instinct and agreed to catch up with her the next day to set up a time and date.

Leaving the precinct with Olivia after she had spoken with Jim, she insisted on driving after Ed had finished placing his shirt back on and had found his coat and her bag in the cupboard. He had winced at the movement as he struggled to do his tie up. Standing by the car, Olivia reached for the tie, swatting his hand from the way.

"Kristen asked me for dinner," Ed said to Olivia as she finished knotting the tie.

"And what did you say?" Olivia asked, focusing all of her effort onto the tie.

"I said yes," he said and continued to watch her.

"That's good," Olivia said. "It's what you have wanted."

"It's not-"

"-Why didn't you say you got shot protecting me?" Olivia interrupted him from what he was going to say. But he had wanted to tell her the truth. He wanted to finish his sentence and tell her that it was not what he wanted. What he wanted was Olivia to accept him, but he was not getting that anytime soon.

"It all happened so quickly," Ed said with a shrug as Olivia kept her hands on his chest once she had finished knotting his tie. "I didn't know what was happening and…I…I wanted to protect you."

"Thank you," she said to him with a genuine heartfelt look as he continued to stare back down at her.

"I would do anything for you," he whispered and Olivia almost felt like something had changed. There was a shift between them as Ed moved a hand to her cheek and tucked her hair behind her ear. He bent down just as Olivia escaped from his grip and unlocked her car, knowing what had been about to happen.

"I will take you home," she said, opening the passenger door for him.

Ed let out a shaky breath and nodded. He had wanted to kiss her. It was all he had wanted to do. Why would she not let him in? What more could he do?

….

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