Ed was the first to wake up the following morning. He had to be honest and say that the sofa had not been entirely comfortable. He found himself changing into a fresh suit for the day in the bedroom, careful not to wake Olivia and give her a few more minutes sleep before they set off. Besides, the longer he dragged this out for then the more time he would have with her. Once he had finished brushing his teeth he came to the bedroom once more and saw that she was awake.

"Good morning," Ed said rather brightly and she looked over to him as she tried to stand up.

"Hey," she managed niceties for him.

"What are you trying to do?" he wondered from her. "Do you need any help?"

"Just some pain medication. It should be in my suitcase," she said and Ed went to the case and opened it. He found the medication and grabbed hold of the bottle of water he had brought with him. He handed it to her and she downed the pills, a hand moving through her hair and tossing it behind her neck. Ed watched her for a few moments and saw the pain on her face.

"How long does it take for them to kick in?" he wondered.

"Not long. They're pretty strong," she informed him. "I'll get dressed and then we can be on our way. I should try to wear something a bit more presentable than sweatpants and a shirt."

"Do you need a hand?" Ed asked from her.

"I can manage," she responded. "Just give me a few moments to change."

Ed nodded, leaving the case on the bed besides her. "I'll go and see if I can get anything from the vending machine down the corridor for breakfast," he commented.

He left her to change, leaving the room and heading to the machine. He reached for his wallet and pulled out a few coins, placing them into the machine and selecting some protein bars. Placing them into his suit pocket, he moved back to the room, suspecting that he had given her ample time to change. It turned out that he had been wrong. He found Olivia perched on the bed, dressed only in her black set of underwear as she looked to him and snapped.

"Ed!" she shouted his name.

"Liv, come on," Ed complained. "It isn't like I haven't seen you before. Just let me help you, would you?"

"I can manage," she snapped again.

"You're so stubborn," he mumbled. "Just accept the help and realise that it doesn't mean anything."

Olivia huffed loudly and she reached for a long flowing blue dress. She pulled it over her head and it flowed down to her waist. She held her hands out and Ed helped her to stand, the material flowing down to her feet then as she kept her fingers tightly around his, the pain still aching in her limbs as she tried to keep weight on them.

"I can zip it up," Ed said to her and he delicately manoeuvred her until she had her back to him. Ed kept a secure arm around her waist, her hands holding tightly onto his forearm while his free hand went to the zip and he tugged it up the dress, moving her hair out the way. He kept his hand on her back, his fingers splaying at the top of it and towards her neck as he looked over his shoulder to where her hands sat on his suit covered arm.

"Okay?" he checked with her.

Olivia didn't want to admit that she had briefly forgotten herself for a moment. Ed's arm around her felt so familiar. His hand touching her back caused her to tingle slightly. His breath blowing down onto her was almost comforting and she leant back against his chest for a moment.

"Hmm," she simply hummed for a moment.

"Come on," Ed said, not pushing his luck as he moved his hand from her back and tucked her hair behind her shoulders. "We can get going and hit the road. I'll see if I can grab us some drinks from a coffee shop on the way too."

"Yeah," she responded and Ed thought that she sounded slightly disappointed as he moved away from her, handing her the crutches instead. But this was what he wanted. He wanted the small, fleeting touches to make her realise what she longed for. He was a patient man. He knew how to wait to get what he wanted. When it came to Olivia he had a lot of experience too.

He packed the rest of their things and went to the car. Once they were on the road, he opened a window, letting his arm dangle out of it as Olivia remained on the seat across from him.

"Do you remember that night when you told me you had killed Kristen?" Olivia asked from Ed and he turned his gaze to her for a fleeting moment as he continued down the highway. She was looking straight ahead, her hands laced together in her lap.

"Yes," Ed said, wondering where this was going.

"I thought that it was almost like karma, you know," Olivia said. "We had been so happy and then when you told me it was almost like fate was against us…like she was still getting between us even though she was dead. Like she wanted me to feel guilty for being the one who wanted you and I resented her, even though she was dead. I resented her for even laying eyes on you and thinking that she loved you when really she was just a user. I despised her, Ed. And I know that is a terrible thing to say because she is dead. I know it is wrong, but I could not stand her."

Ed gulped.

"But then I found out that you had framed my brother for murder and really it made everything ten times worse," Olivia continued. "And you continued killing, Ed…Oswald…Pinkney…the others in Gotham."

"How did you know about that?"

"I get the news, Ed," she deadpanned with him. "I could forgive Dougherty. I could understand it. And in a warped sense I could understand Kristen. I could understand that she pushed you and I know that you were only trying to protect me. But everyone else? Killing with no reason? I don't understand it."

"It was never with no reason," Ed replied to her. "There is always a reason behind everything that I do, Olivia. You make it sound like the men I killed were innocent, but we both know differently. There is very rarely an innocent soul in Gotham. If you want to be on top then you have to make sacrifices and fight for what you want."

"And you want to be on top?" Olivia asked him.

"I thought that I did," he agreed, "until I found out that you were still alive."

"And then what?" Olivia questioned and Ed shrugged.

"That is down to you and what you decide on this trip."

Olivia shook her head. "That is so unfair," she said to him. "You cannot put your actions onto me. I will not be responsible."

"I am not saying that," Ed said to her. "All I am saying to you is that things are not always clear cut. I always have a motive and everything I do has a purpose. But you, Olivia, have always been my main priority. You know that."

Olivia felt her mouth dry out. "I know," she admitted to him and it was so ridiculous but it was true. Everything that Ed had done had been with her in mind. He had always protected her. He had always been the one who put her first. And the men in her life had always been complicated. Her brother was no saint. He tried to play on the side of goodness, but she knew that he had done bad things. Her father had been similar.

"I don't think Jim forgives me," Olivia said to Ed and he wondered if he should pull over for this chat. He thought that it might be for the best. He was driving along the coast and he knew that some air might be beneficial. "I don't think he forgives me for keeping your secret, not truly."

"He is your brother, of course he forgives you," Ed said and he pulled off, heading towards a small car park by the beach. He stopped the car and Olivia shook her head, looking at Ed and he swore that he saw her breaking in front of him. "Liv…Jim would never turn against you."

"I know," she said, looking out to the sea in the distance. "But he barely visited me in Florida. He barely called. And when he did…things weren't the same. I could sense it. We argued. Everything felt forced. And I don't like it, Ed. I don't like my brother thinking that I would turn against him."

"He will see sense. He can only be angry for so long."

"But I did turn against him, didn't I?" Olivia checked with Ed. "I was the one who kept your secrets and let my bother sit in a jail cell. And now look at me. He sent me away to protect me-"

"-He locked you away and had no right to do that," Ed vehemently said. "Olivia, listen to me, your brother is not a perfect man. He has made mistakes. He had been a fool so many times before. And do you think that he has always put you first?"

"Yes," Olivia responded. "He would never have turned against me like I did him. I chose to keep your secrets over telling my brother the truth. And you…you have this power over me and I don't know how to escape it…I don't know how to push you from my mind because I have done things for you that I would never have done. I became someone I barely recognised…and then I wondered if there was any point in resisting it. Because when I resist you I am miserable. It is the right thing, but I am miserable."

Ed moved then, sliding across the seat and struggling to care about going slow anymore. His hand cupped the back of her head and he lowered his mouth onto hers. Kissing her forcefully, Ed waited for her to reciprocate. She did so eventually. Closing her eyes firmly, Olivia wrapped her hands into his hair, moving to haul her body closer to his. Ed wrapped his free arm around her waist, pulling her so that she was flush against him, hearing her moan as he bit down on her lip and her hands mussed up his hair.

They finally parted for air and Ed saw her red cheeks and her swollen lips. She moved a finger to press against Ed's lips and he remained silent as she looked at them and he ran a hand from the back of her head to her cheek, stroking it slowly.

"All the time I was locked away…seeing you in the news…seeing what you were doing…I blamed myself. I thought that you had done this because I had gone."

"I did it because I wasn't myself, Olivia," Ed admitted to her. "Oswald had said things and I…if I didn't have you then what did I have? I had nothing and I proved myself. I became the Riddler and I enjoyed it, Liv. I enjoyed being powerful."

"And now?" Olivia asked him, her thumb running along his bottom lip as Ed did his best to control himself, watching her lips part as she gasped for breath slowly, her chest heaving against his.

"And now I confess that I enjoyed it," he said to her. "And I would go back to it easily."

"That's what scares me," Olivia said.

"No," Ed whispered, "never be scared, Liv. Never be scared of me."

"I'm not," she said, "I'm just scared of who you became."

She shifted away from him then, moving her hands from him and he let her go. She leaned back in her chair, still flustered. Ed went to his own side of the car, but he didn't start the engine. Instead he remained still, hands on the wheel.

"I love you, Olivia," Ed said, hands gripping the steering wheel. "Just tell me what I can do because I know that you love me. Tell me what you want for us to be together and I will do it."

"I don't know," she admitted.

…..

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