Chapter 50

I return from work exhausted. Hopefully drugs like Viper don't spring up very often, or else I'll collapse.

I open the door of my apartment to find Oswald sitting on the couch, holding a black box wrapped with a white ribbon. Was he sitting there the whole time?

"Welcome home, my dear," he gets up from the couch, and presents the box to me, "a present, for you."

I carefully let the box slip into my hands, his fingers grazing mine as he hands it off. I pull the ribbon off of the box, letting it fall to the ground. Upon opening the box, I gasp as the gleam of a pearl necklace shines against the light.

"Oswald...why did you-"

He chuckles, "What's a woman without at least one set of pearls?"

He takes the pearls and wraps them around my neck. Old-fashioned thinking aside, it is a nice gift.

We cuddle on the couch, his arms wrapped around me and mine around him.

"That dove that use to come by the hallway window doesn't come around anymore," he mutters to me, pulling my back so that it presses against his chest.

"Really? Maybe it passed."

He shakes his head, "No, it must be getting its food from somewhere else now. That spoiled little bird. I give it everything it could ever ask for and yet...it still betrays me."

"You did break its leg," I point out.

He shrugs, "Yeah...but...it forced my hand. It was going to fly away."

I reach around and remove the necklace and place it back in the box. Whether Oswald is intentionally making connections between me and his dove or not, it's unsettling to say the least.

"W-why are you putting the necklace away?" he stutters nervously, sensing my unease.

He firmly grasps my arm, and I slowly turn to him, "Oh, I just, didn't want to damage it."

Oswald loosens his grip, but still keeps his hand attached, "I need to tell you something. I...I'm scared."

I scrunch my eyebrows, this is new. When has he ever admitted to being scared?

"Scared of what?"

He looks down, "...I'm scared of...of...loss. Losing what I've gained. Not just you but...everything. My money, my power, Mother...I mean...before I can start accumulating more, don't I have to secure what I already have?"

I place my hand on his shoulder, "Oswald...loss is natural, you can't prevent it. For everything you gain, there is going to be something you lose as well. You can't take without giving as well."

He sniffles, the tip of his large nose a bright red, "Well, you'll never leave me, right? I'll always have you, my constant, secured, and guaranteed. Right?"

"Honestly...I don't know," I admit outright, "I can't predict the future."

There's no way I'm promising Oswald forever at this stage, if ever. Honestly, I'm considering whether keeping him around is a good idea at all.

He lashes out, throwing his entire weight onto me, nailing me to the couch with his arms, his eyes red and watery, "Swear to me! I need to hear it! Please!"

"Oswald, calm down!"

He slowly backs off, sitting up, "I-I'm sorry. I stepped out of bounds. I apologize."

I reach over, kissing him on the cheek, "Hey, your fear is completely justified. Just don't let it get to you."

He responds to my kiss, leaning over and kissing me on the lips, nipping at me until I'm in his arms again. He embraces me, holding me close, "I fear it already has."

Fish Mooney's is quiet upon my arrival. The only person in the restaurant area is Liza, who's sitting at the bar holding a bag of ice to her jaw. Upon further inspection, I realize she's nursing a large bruise on her cheek.

"Liza, what happened to you?" I ask, sitting down on the stool next to her.

She sighs, "That Nora bitch slammed my head down into the concrete. Ha, it's always the nice ones that have the biggest bite."

"Ms. Mooney had you two fight it out?" It's not uncommon for a mob boss like Fish to have competitors for a job opening fight for it.

"Yeah. She thought she could surprise me, making the first move and attacking me. But she had no idea who she was up against."

I nod, "So, I take it Nora is out of the running?"

Liza chuckles, "Yeah. Good riddance."

We sit in silence as the sound of high heels pounds against the hardwood floors. Fish appears behind us, dressed to the nines in a medium length dress.

"Ladies, good evening. Trixie, why don't you start getting ready backstage? I need to steal Liza for a bit," she places her hand on Liza's shoulder.

"Of course, Ms. Mooney," I nod, getting up from the bar stool.

I begin walking down to the dressing room when Fish raises her hand, "Hang on, actually Trixie, I might need your help with this."

I come back to the bar area where Fish and Liza are. Sitting at the bar, Fish takes out a tape player and turns it on. A high-pitched Italian aria starts playing.

"I need to teach Liza this song, but she can't hit her high notes...or for that matter any notes. See what you can do," she instructs.

I nod, while Liza flips her thick black hair, "How about you sing the song first Liza?"

She begins singing along to the song, her monotonous, flat voice barely glottal-frying out the notes. It's not that she can't sing the notes, it's that she doesn't want to.

"Girl, what the hell do you think you're doing? I chose you for this specific job, and you think you can just blow me off?" Fish hisses, slamming her hand on the table.

Behind Liza, the other girls come out onto the stage, ready to rehearse our numbers. Ann waves to me, and I give her a discreet smile as Fish and I continue to work with Liza.

"Hang on Ms. Mooney, I have an idea," I propose, "how about to get Liza's voice warmed up, she sing a number with me and the girls?"

She places a long, painted nail on her chin, "Well, Liza does need a bit of...prepping, and the poor thing hasn't had any exercise today. Why not? It can do no harm. A number with the girls it is."

I lead Liza backstage, and the minute we're out of sight, she bashes her head onto the nearest wall, "Ugh, I don't understand."

"Understand what?" I ask from the dressing room as I quickly grab two costumes for us.

"Why she's putting me through this whole thing. First she has me practice my expressions, like how to look upset in a certain way. It's all so precise, so calculated...and so boring. A person can only go so many hours at one thing before they tire out."

I toss one of the costumes at Liza. She looks down at what I've given her, a green leotard with fake leaves decorating the neckline, "...plant lady?"

"Hey, it's between that and clown girl," I explain, holding up a checkered harlequin outfit made of red, white, and black. Honestly I'd just grabbed the two nearest outfits.

"Say, what does Mooney want you to do anyway?" I ask her as we move to the dressing room to change.

She shrugs, "Something about charming an old guy, Falcone, I think his name is. Nothing I haven't done before, although like I said, she's very specific about what he likes. It's almost creepy."

Don Falcone huh? Who knew Fish has it out for her boss? Then again, who doesn't have it out for Falcone? He's the top mob boss in Gotham, there are bound to be people jealous of his power.

"Ha, you know, he may be an old guy, but I'll bet he's rich. If I succeed in charming him, you should totally visit us in his mansion," she jokes, slipping on a pair of green pirate boots.

I roll my eyes, "I'm not exactly the type to be hanging around mansions, in case you haven't noticed."

She chuckles, "It was just a suggestion. Sheesh."

We walk onstage where the other girls are waiting for us. From the side, the band starts up, and Liza immediately turns to me, mouthing, "What do I do?"

"Follow what I do," I mouth back, as the overture ends.

The girls laugh as Jack appears onstage out of no where with a mic and stand that isn't even turned on, "Ladies and gentlemen, Fish Mooney's is proud to announce a first. The first time anywhere there's been an act of this nature." He continues playing MC to a fake audience, while Fish cracks up in her seat, "Not only one little lady, but two. You've read about them in the papers, and now here they are. Gotham's own killer dillers, those scintillating sinners: Trixie Tamaya, and Liza Minnelli!"

Liza and I stand center stage, and we slowly begin moving forward, stepping in rhythm as we sing, "You can like the life you're living. You can live the life you like. You can even marry Harry, but mess around with Ike."

We begin separating, moving to opposite ends of the stage, "And that's good, isn't it grand, isn't it great, isn't it swell, isn't it fun, isn't it, but nothing stays."

In unison, we descend the side stairs to the restaurant area as the other girls take positions on the stage, "In fifty years or so, it's gonna change you know. But oh it's heaven...nowadays."

Jack flashes a wide smile, tilting his mic to the side, "Okay you babes of jazz, let's pick up the pace! Let's make the parties longer, let's make the skirts shorter. Let's all go to hell in a fast car, and keep it hot!"

The entire company breaks out into a dance number as Liza and I shimmy toward the front of the stage while the other girls dance onstage. With his mic in hand, he skips around the stage, the mic cord following him. One of the dancers trips on the cord, creating a domino effect as the rest of the dancers collapse to the floor. The musicians keep on going regardless of what's happening onstage, and Liza turns to me, realizing that it's up to us to keep up the number.

I take her hand and spin her around so that we switch sides of the stage. With our hands in front, we grapevine back to the stairs. We spin back up the stairs, the both of us trying to keep smiles as Jack makes a fool of himself onstage. Liza makes it back onstage before me, quickly grabbing a hooked cane lying backstage and using it to grab ahold of Jack, pulling him toward her. On the other side, I grab the mic by its cord, yanking it away from him. The mic is whipped from his hand as Liza pushes him offstage. I bring the mic to center stage and Liza joins me to finish the number.

"And all that...jazz!"

Author's Note: So, I recently stumbled upon an Oswald's POV scene that was cut from its intended chapter. Since it is an extra and not entirely necessary to the story, I'll do a little wager. From today until February 14, 2015 (the next time I post a chapter), if we get six reviews on any chapter including this one, I'll post it as soon as possible, and it'll also be a gage to see who's still interested in the series. Also, regardless if we reach our goal, I'm posting on Valentine's Day because...because Valentine's Day

Song Natalie and Liza sing: "Nowadays/Hot Honey Rag" from "Chicago"

Narutoske: Thanks, I like writing for Natalie and Ed, they have an interesting chemistry (like Ed said: "he's the brain, she's the braun"). And I felt that Bullock just had to add in his own two cents, even if only to try to get in good with Fish

Thanks! :)