"What about this one?" Victor asked happily and held up a large bouquet of sunflowers.
Alex bit her lip then replied, "It might be a bit much. Let's keep looking."
Victor rolled his eyes but put the sunflowers back. The sunflowers were pretty enough. However, Alex didn't know what Oswald's mother would like. She doubted that Oswald's mother would care about the types of flowers, but Alex wanted it to be special. The woman had just gotten out of the hospital after all. Luckily, the fall hadn't been too serious, and Oswald's mother had left the hospital the next day.
"Are you looking for something cute or classy?" Victor asked while looking around the shop. "Help me help be honest, I think she'll just appreciate the thought, and if she doesn't… who cares?"
"I know I'm probably overthinking it… but I remember Ivy telling me that different flowers have different meanings… And I don't know if that's common knowledge."
"It isn't," Victor said but continued his search. "Why don't you ask the flower guy which ones mean 'get well soon and please don't fall again'?"
"Well, for one, I don't think he'd know," Alex said, glancing at the guy at the counter who was hitting on a woman who had come in to buy flowers for her grandmother's funeral. "And, two, I don't want to talk to him more than necessary."
Victor glanced at the flower guy and muttered with a shrug, "Fair enough. Do you… want me to remind him to use his manners?"
"No, pretty sure she's reminding him right now."
A loud slap echoed across the flower shop. Alex pretended not to be interested while Victor looked on with glee and cheered on the woman as she left the shop in a huff. The man disappeared into the back. Alex decided to delve deeper into the store… away from the counter. After a few moments of looking around, she heard a voice from behind her say, "Excuse me."
She jumped a little and turned to see a man in a lab coat looking at her with an enthusiastic smile.
"I heard you earlier, and I may have a solution to your conundrum," he said cheerfully, and Alex gave him a curious look. "I am known for having white hair and a green body. My eye opens every morning and closes every night, and you can find me from the meadows to the tops of mountains. What am I?"
Alex was dumbstruck for a moment before she thought about his riddle. "White hair and green body" meant some kind of white flower. "From the meadows to the tops of mountains" probably just meant that it's a flower that can grow almost anywhere. It was the eye thing that bothered her. Maybe that meant it was a flower whose petals opened with the day and closed with the night… Day… eye…
"Um… a daisy?"
The man beamed at her and pulled out a bouquet from behind his back. Daisies, carnations, and lilies were tied with a pink bow.
"It's perfect," Alex said, giving the stranger a smile.
The stranger looked bashful for a moment before he handed her the flowers and said, "I am sorry for eavesdropping… I wasn't trying to… I just thought I could help."
"You did help. Thank you very much. It was nice to meet you…"
"Edward… Edward Nygma."
"And you can call me Lizzie," Alex said, noticing Victor looking for her. "Well, I need to go now. Hopefully, I'll see you around."
"Me too. Hope to see you around, that is," he said awkwardly.
Alex gave him a reassuring smile before she walked to the counter to pick out a vase and pay for the bouquet. The guy at the counter quickly rang her up with a terrified glance at Victor. Alex gave Victor a questioning look, but Victor just whistled happily as he strode out of the shop. After thanking the flower shop guy, Alex followed Victor out to see him waiting by the car.
"Did you threaten the flower guy?"
"Huh?! Me?! No way," Victor replied cheerfully as he opened the door for her.
With a sigh, Alex got into the car and gently but firmly held the vase of flowers. Victor gave the flowers a satisfied look as he got into the car and told the driver to take them to Cobblepot's house. Alex watched the flower shop fade into the distance. She felt a little bad that she hadn't talked to Edward a bit more. He hadn't seemed like a bad person, just lonely, but this was Gotham. Better safe than sorry.
Victor chatted happily to the driver as Alex stared out of the window and watched the buildings go by. They were driving closer to Arkham Asylum. Alex caught herself gripping the flowers a little too tightly. Forcing her hands to relax, she breathed a sigh of relief as the car came to a stop. If it wasn't for Pam, then she'd happily never step foot in that place ever again. Victor got out and held the door open for Alex. She crawled out of the car and walked up to the front door. Before she could even knock on the door, it swung open to reveal Oswald's beaming face.
"Welcome! Come on in! Oh, she'll love those," Oswald said as he saw the flowers. His face fell when he saw Victor come in behind them. "Don't you have something else… anything else to do, Victor?"
Victor smugly smiled in return and said, "Where she goes, I go. Boss' orders."
Oswald glared at him but led them to his mother's room. "Mother, these are my friends Lizzie and Victor. Lizzie brought you something I think you'll absolutely adore."
A woman with wild hair sat in the bed and watched Alex with measuring eyes. Alex held up the flowers in the vase and watched the woman's eyes light up.
"Oh! They are lovely!" she said in surprise.
The woman spoke with an accent, Eastern European if Alex had to guess, but as she chatted happily about the flowers, Alex could tell that she had a full grasp of the English language. She'd likely lived in the United States for quite some time.
"I'm sorry for running later than expected. It took a bit of time for me to make a decision. I wasn't quite sure what you would like."
"No trouble at all," Oswald's mother said as Oswald set up the vase on the dresser near her bed. "I've heard about you, Miss Arkham. Oswald speaks of you often. He works as your assistant."
"Yes. He's been a huge help. I don't have a lot of people I know here, so he's been helping me get situated."
Alex wasn't quite sure what Oswald had told his mother about their arrangement, but she assumed that he wouldn't want his mother to know that he was working for Falcone. It'd be better to give his mother as little information as possible. His mother's eyes narrowed on Alex. While her gaze was no longer hostile, Alex could tell that she was still judging Alex. What for… Alex didn't know.
"Oswald, could you be a dear and bring me some tea?" his mother asked, feigning a dry cough.
"Of course, Mother. Would you like anything, Lizzie?" Oswald asked as Victor looked hurt that he wasn't asked.
"No thank you."
"What about me?" Victor whined.
"You can come with me," Oswald said and motioned for Victor to follow.
Victor looked at Alex for confirmation, and she nodded. With a sigh, Victor followed Oswald out of the room. Alex turned back to Oswald's mother.
"What do you think about my boy?"
Alex was surprised by this question but answered honestly, "Exactly what I said. I'm grateful for all of his help, and I'd have been lost without him. Oswald's a good friend of mine."
His mother seemed satisfied by her answer and said, "I heard that you told him to come straight to the hospital… He was so scared. Thank you…"
"I only did what I should have done. Your well being comes before my need for a ride home. It was no trouble at all, and I'm happy that you're doing better."
"Thank you, darling. It was truly scary. As I laid in the hospital bed, I was so worried about my dear Oswald. I kept thinking… who does he have besides his mother? My boy has always preferred to be alone. The other children… they were always jealous of him. They knew how special… how brilliant he is, and they couldn't stand it. But you… you understand him. And he cares about you. Please… look out for my boy."
Alex gave her a small, reassuring smile and replied, "Of course I will."
Oswald's mother gently held Alex's hand in hers and returned her smile. "You may call me Gertrud… if you wish. Having a young woman call me by my first name might help me feel younger. And may I call you Elizabeth?"
"Lizzie," Alex said with a smile. "And I'd be happy if you did."
Oswald came into the room with a cup of tea. As Oswald set his mother's cup gently on the table beside her bed, Gertrud reached out and touched his cheek gently. Alex looked away to see Victor waiting outside the door with a bag of chips. Disco music suddenly started playing, and Victor excused himself to answer his phone.
"It's so very nice to meet you, my dear," Gertrud said tiredly, and Alex turned around to see Gertrud giving her a warm smile. "You will come visit me again soon, I hope?"
"Of course. I'd be happy to."
"Very good. Oswald, would you be a dear and make Lizzie a cup of tea?"
"Oh, that's-" Alex started to say, but Gertrud gave her a sad look.
"Please, dear. I know I don't have much to offer, but I would very much like to give you something before you leave."
Her words died in Alex's throat, and she gave Gertrud a smile before saying, "Thank you. I'd appreciate that. It was very nice meeting you. I'll let Oswald know when I can stop by."
Gertrud smiled and gave Alex's hand a slight squeeze before she let go. Alex followed Oswald out of the room. Victor was nowhere to be seen, so Alex walked into the kitchen and watched Oswald chatter nervously as he poured her a cup of tea.
"Thank you," Alex said as Oswald handed her the cup. "Are you okay, Oswald?"
Oswald stammered for a moment before he replied, "Ah… I'm fine. Just still… a bit on edge."
"If you want more time with your mom, I don't mind."
"No! …Sorry. I mean… I already asked one of my mother's friends to check on her while I'm gone. They'd probably be happier if it was just the two of them. No… I just need a couple more days to make sure she's okay."
"Okay… but if you end up needing more time, just let me know," Alex replied and took a sip of her tea.
"Okay," Oswald said with a gentle smile. "Oh, with all the ruckus, I forgot to ask… How was your trip to Arkham? Is your friend doing well?"
"Yeah, but… we'll both be doing a lot better once she's free of that place. Victor and I are going to the Arkham manor tomorrow to check on the place. See what a mess my dear brother left me."
"Will you be leaving the apartment soon then?"
Alex sighed and replied tiredly, "As soon as I can. I'm really grateful for all of Falcone's help, but… I feel like I'm constantly relying on him. I'll have to find a reliable security service before I leave."
"I can help with that," Oswald said cheerfully. "It'd be no problem at all."
"After your mom is feeling better," Alex told him with a stern look. "I'd rather you focus on her before me. A job isn't more important than your family."
"Of course!" Oswald replied with a wave as though that was his plan. "Did you get any news about her hearing?"
"Dr. Crane is helping her prepare for it, so I'm hopeful. And… Dr. Crane told me that Jeremy is going for the insanity defense. Dr. Wiggins, I think it was… yeah, Dr. Wiggins will be meeting with him soon."
Oswald's hand tightened around his cup, and Alex turned to the window to see Victor chatting angrily with someone on the phone. That was odd. She hadn't seen him get angry even when someone was bothering him. He'd just calmly threaten them with a smile. Who was he talking to?
"Either way, I doubt Jeremy will just go away peacefully," Alex muttered while watching Victor angrily hang up the phone.
"I won't let him hurt you," Oswald promised, and Alex turned to see the sincerity in his eyes. "I… I'll make sure he doesn't."
Alex touched his hand and replied, "Thank you, but you don't have to worry, Oswald. I have no intention of letting him get away with anything. I have control of the family's money now… so obviously I have the lawyers that come with it. I have the District Attorney, Mr. Falcone, and you on my side. I'm not alone anymore."
Oswald gave her an embarrassed smile before Victor swung the door open with a flourish, turning Oswald's grin into a glare.
"Lizzie! I've got a… errand to run."
Alex raised a brow but put her tea down and said goodbye to Oswald. While he wasn't happy, he walked her outside to the car, promising he'd be back in just a couple of days. Victor was quietly stewing on the way back to the apartment building. Whatever "job" he had, he clearly wasn't happy about it. As the building appeared in the distance, Alex rustled through her purse and pulled out a single miniature sunflower that she'd bought at the counter.
"Victor, this is for you."
Victor's eyes squinted in confusion before he laughed.
"You really know how to make my day," he said, taking the flower with a smile.
"I'll see you tomorrow for our adventure?"
"Wouldn't miss it for the world. Stay safe, okay?"
"Sure," Alex said playfully after a moment of pretending to think about it, and Victor gently hit her with the sunflower.
Alex watched the car disappear into the distance before hearing an alert from her phone. A single message from Bruce displayed on the screen, "We need to talk."