Chapter 48

I return to my apartment already changed back into my normal clothes. I hide my costume in my suitcase and rush to the living room when I smell something burning. Upon opening the door, my vision is clouded by gray smoke. Fanning it out of the way, I slowly step toward the kitchen, where Oswald is frantically jumping in between two pots, trying to keep the both of them under control.

"Oswald, what are you doing?!" I cry.

He whips around, "Oh, oh hello Natalie. I...I got home early from work, and thought that you might be...pleasantly surprised by some cooked cuisine. But, well...as you can see-"

I push him out of the way and turn off the stove on both the pots. Using an oven mitten, I pop the oven open and cough as a wave of smoke comes out. In a tin foil tray, a burnt, shriveled chicken sits surrounded by a blackish dust.

"Oh Oswald…" I turn around to an embarrassed Oswald, who's stuck his hands in the pockets of his suit jacket and his nose digs into his shirt as he bows his head down.

Removing the chicken from the oven, I set it to the side and open up the pots. What appears to be vegetable soup overflows from one of them, and a congealed, gravy-like sauce bubbles from the other.

"Well, maybe we can salvage the soup…" I conclude, tossing the gravy pot in the sink.

Oswald stutters, "I, I sincerely apologize...I was just...I...I-"

"Forget it," I mumble, "you tried."

Pouring the soup into two bowls, I set the table, and Oswald and I sit on either side.

"Raoul Morgan no longer works at the club, correct?" he asks.

I nod my head, "Yeah, he's now the janitor over at the Royal Flush Casino. I think he's doing information gathering for Amanda there, since it's essentially a pleasure palace for Don Falcone and his right hand men."

Oswald's eyes become glassy as his mind wanders, "Yes...good…"

I try the soup, and then try even harder to not spit it out immediately. What is in this? He better not have slipped something into it.

"Do you think Raoul would comply if I asked him for a favor?" he continues, quietly sipping his soup as if it were completely normal.

I shrug, "Yeah, of course. He's been terrified of you ever since you beat him with the bat."

He looks over and realizes I haven't touched my soup in a while, "You...you don't like the soup?"

"Uhm...I'm...I'm just not familiar with the taste. What is it, exactly?"

"Seafood chowder, I tried making it how Mom makes it, but it certainly isn't the same. Perhaps it needs some salt-"

"No!" I cry frantically, startling Oswald. He slumps in his chair, bowing his head in shame and embarrassment.

I twist my lips, before getting out of my seat and crossing toward him. Rustling my hand through his hair, he tilts his head up.

"Oswald, you don't need to impress me, you do that well enough on your own," I tell him.

He reaches up and kisses me on the lips. I slide down to meet him, leaning my body forward into his. I straddle myself onto his lap, and he grabs me by my knees to hold me up. I let go, as Oswald's hands move up to my waist.

"Oswald, Major Crimes thinks that Detective Gordon killed you," I inform him.

He rolls his eyes, "C'mon Trixie, do we really have to talk business now? I just wanna…" his voice trails off as he perks his head up and starts licking my neck. I wrap my arms under his, pushing his chest into mine.

"Oswald, I saw you talking to him back at Fish Mooney's. What is your association with him?" I press, pushing him off of me.

"He's...insurance. Just in case you no longer have ties to the police, I'll still have a contact within the police force," Oswald confesses.

"Alright, but you better inform the police department that you're alive. Those Major Crimes cops interviewed your mother when you first disappeared, they still think you're dead. If not, you're going to lose your contact, guaranteed."

"...fine. It is in my best interest to keep Gordon around. Although I didn't know you're familiar with him," he admits.

I get off of his lap, "Heh, I'm not so much familiar with him rather than antagonized by him. He saw me at Fish Mooney's, so now he thinks I'm a spy for him."

Oswald's pale green eyes flicker slightly, "Hmph...interesting…" he gets up from his chair, "one last piece of our meal tonight. Dessert."

He opens the cupboard and pulls out a small paper bag. Reaching inside, he pulls up a slightly bruised apple, "Tada! I went all the way over to the produce store on Johns street and got these. Looks pretty good, no?"

I chuckle, nodding my head, but just then there's a banging from out in the hallway, louder than usual. I slowly approach the front door and push the door open. The hallway's empty but at the bottom of the stairs, the manager stands facing away from us. His usually slouched posture has been corrected, standing perfectly upright, his breathing heavy. Oswald stands behind me, clutching the bag of apples. Upon further examination, I notice that his skin is stark pale, even compared to Oswald's, with veins visible and throbbing.

"Hey...guy...are you alright? You need something?" I ask calmly.

He doesn't turn around, but suddenly, Oswald steps in front of me and taking one of his apples, rolls it down the stairs to the manager. The apple hits the manager in the foot, catching his attention. He whips around, and the full brunt of his appearance is revealed to us. His eyes are a milky white, as well as his skin. He suddenly charges up the stairs toward us, and I push Oswald out of the way just as I'm tackled by the manager. The force I'm hit with is ten times stronger than what I'd imagined a drugged out thirtysomething to have. I'm knocked into the window, shattering it, and sending several small shards into my arms.

I struggle to get back up, but then the manager moves on from me to Oswald, who's backing up into the apartment. Ignoring the pain in my arms, I rush the manager from behind, grabbing ahold of his neck with both hands and forcing him to the ground. He lashes back immediately, punching me in the head. Has he been taking steroids as well? Perhaps it has something to do with whatever changed his appearance. My head's thrown to the side by his punch, I look over and notice a large piece of glass sticking out of my arm, blood seeping out of the wound. With my arm, I lunge it at him, stabbing the manager in the chest with the glass. It doesn't appear to faze him, so I knock him down with the other arm and stab him again. Blood begins staining his shirt, but he's unflinching. He grabs my good arm and twists it, a sharp cracking sound echoing through the room.

Just then, the manager's body goes limp, and he falls away to reveal that Oswald stabbed him in the head with his pocket knife. He relentlessly yanks the knife out of his head, the sickening ripping of flesh straining as he tears it out.

"You...have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," he murmurs, his hands shaking ecstatically and his teeth clenched together.

Is Oswald going into shock? I first turn to the glass in my arm. Grabbing ahold of it, I slowly pull the glass out, gripping the floor as it's finally released.

I breath a sigh of relief, throwing the shard to the side. Clammering to my feet, I approach Oswald, who's still maintaining an uncomforting gitter.

"Oswald...are you okay?" I ask him, wrapping my arm around his shoulders.

He whips around to face me, his expression calm and expressionless while the rest of his body clenches. Dropping the knife to the floor he grabs me and pulls me into a deep kiss. Why, I'm not sure, but I yank him off of me nonetheless.

"Oswald, what's gotten into you?"

"S-sorry. I guess I just got a little...excited there. It's very thrilling to see you in battle," he explains, shying back slightly.

I head over to the kitchen cabinets, already applying pressure to my wound with my other arm. Finding a medical kit in one of the drawers, I wait for the bleeding to stop before I clean the wound and begin stitching it up. Oswald looks on in fascination, and when I notice his astonished expression, I give a smirk of confidence, "It's just a flesh wound."

I turn to the manager, lying dead on the ground. What had happened to him? I knew he was a user, but I've never seen a drug with these specific kinds of effects. Not only was he strong, but he was also vicious and hyperactive.

Oswald kicks him in the head with his shiny, pointed shoe, "So, do you have any idea what happened to him?"

I shake my head, "No, but I think I know someone who can figure it out…"

Author's Note:

Guest: I can certainly say that more of Oswald's POV is on the way, but whether or not he loves her...well, I don't know if I could give a straight answer. Love is a very fluid concept, and what someone may interpret as love someone else could see as objectification. It's mostly up to reader interpretation at this point

Fuchsia Grasshopper: Hey, I was wondering where your review was, glad to have you back. I understand for Chapter 45, since no one got the alert that I'd changed it. I'm also not surprised that a lot of reviewers have left since Gotham's ratings have been slowly dipping. Last week's episode gave me quite a bit to work with (I've already figured out how to incorporate Episode 13 into BOAF, yes, including Oswald's drunken dance). I also have the feeling something will happen to Mrs. Cobblepot, I'm still working out my opinion on Harvey and Fish, and Butch may be in trouble, but I feel he's capable of escape (by the time you see this, Gotham's next episode will have already aired, so you tell me). Yes, the Trickstress and Batwoman are partners in crime, and I had to make the Batgirl reference since I finally have one of the members of the Batfamily at my disposal. As for Natalie and Oswald, she's going to start becoming more vulnerable around him, and that may get her into trouble. Personally, I don't know if the showrunners would give Oswald a love interest. I did have a dream that Natalie became an actual character on Gotham, and I was playing her (which would be ridiculous, and illegal on several levels). If the writers do give him a love interest, he/she would be very different from Natalie, especially considering their track record on writing love interests (*cough*, *cough*, Barbara)

Thanks! :)