AN: Okay, so this fic is going to go to some crazy places, which I'm excited to write and for you guys to read. I'm worried that some of my upcoming ideas might be too much but then again this is fanfiction and fanfiction is supposed to be fun and creative and what-not. I mean TV shows go from one ridiculous plot bit to the next, keeping things interesting and hopefully that's what I'll be doing with this fic as well. Enjoy and please review!

Playlist:

Band of Skulls-Navigate

Chapter 26

While Isabelle spent the day with Bruce, Oswald spent it in jail. Truthfully he knew raising the taxes on the fishermen wasn't the best idea but he'd been so worked up by seeing Isabelle and the way things went the night before with her that he allowed it all to cloud his mind.

Isabelle didn't seem like herself, she seemed anxious, scared even, when she looked at him and he hated that. He desperately wanted her to tell him what happened, to let him know from her lips if Fish or Falcone really did do something to her. If so, he wouldn't rest until he made it right but he didn't want to do anything without hearing it from her. He knew it was possible that Fish or Falcone, or both, were just trying to get to him.

He was lost in thought, his head in his hands, his bony elbows resting on his knees. Oswald was beginning to think he knew what some of the guys in high school meant when he overheard them talking about how confusing their girlfriends could be. He'd smirked at them then, sure that that was just their problem. If Oswald ever got a girlfriend, which at the time he still had the teeniest bit of hope because of the way Anna Bruster smiled at him every morning in homeroom, he would surely know how to please her and keep her happy. He realized now how terribly wrong he was. He'd had no idea what relationships entailed.

Anna Bruster. He'd asked her to Junior prom, in front of everyone in the cafeteria, two dozen red roses in his hands, and she'd laughed so hard she cried. Oswald walked out of school that day completely humiliated, more than he'd ever been, and people teased him about the incident until about halfway through senior year.

He was sure he was the happiest on the day of graduation, standing up there at the podium giving his Salutatorian speech while his dear mother cried happy tears in the audience. He wanted Valedictorian, of course. But he lost out, coming ever so close, to the other student in school who was maybe as unpopular as he was, Edward Nigma. Oswald was still beyond mollified to be able to stand in front of the people that had rejected him for years and to be the one to give them empty words of encouragement. It was the one time he and Nigma got along grandly. Whenever they got stuck together for projects or in groups, they tended to ignore the other, simply because they didn't want to acknowledge how alike they were in being two of the biggest outcasts.

Imagine his surprise when he found out Isabelle and Nigma had gone to lunch together. Isabelle had no way of knowing about Oswald's somewhat past featuring Nigma but he couldn't be sure whether or not Nigma knew Isabelle was his.

Isabelle told him she couldn't tell him anything for his own good. What the hell did that mean!? It meant one thing for sure; whatever Isabelle was trying to keep from him it was to protect him. Isabelle, even if she told him not to come back, still cared about him, and that was enough for the mean time. But if she thought he would heed her words and stay away she was mistaken. He would find out what happened to her and he would take away the fear and anxiety that enveloped her the day before. He was pulled from his thoughts by Maroni's arrival.

~O.o~

Isabelle arrived a bit early to meet Edward for dinner as promised. Jim called her shortly after breakfast to tell her he would try and come by and see her after work today but he was headed to the station to work on a case he picked up at Arkham. She told him about lunch with Edward, which he seemed too pleased about, and that she would hopefully see him there.

"Edward," she said, spotting them.

He turned to her, his face immediately brightening. "Isabelle!"

"What's that?" she asked, pointing to the cupcake on his desk. "Is that a…bullet?"

"It was for Miss Kringle. A riddle."

"I take it she didn't warm to it?"

Edward shook his head.

"Next time just try flowers, maybe?"

"Perhaps. Or maybe I should tell her what the answer to the riddle is."

"Maybe. Have you seen my uncle Jim? I came a bit early so I could see him."

"Of course," Edward pointed. "There he is."

"Thanks Edward, let me know when you're ready to go. Oh," she said, whirling around. "There's going to be a charity ball, thrown by Bruce, tomorrow night. I know it's short notice but-"

The smile on his face made her smile even more. "I would love to attend the ball with you. Take all the time you like with your uncle."

Isabelle smiled but her smile faltered when she saw Oswald's body on a desk. Without even thinking she ran forward.

"What happened?" she looked up to see Salvatore Maroni sitting in a chair. "Mr. Maroni, what a pleasure to see you again."

"Isabelle! Yes, it's nice to see you too. It seems your boyfriend here has been electrocuted."

"Electrocuted!?"

"Isabelle," came Jim's voice from behind her.

"Uncle Jim," she turned around and hugged him. "What's going on?"

"There's a criminal on the loose, seeking revenge. I think now is a good time for you and Nigma to head to dinner."

She looked back at Oswald. "I…"

Maroni and his men were laughing. "You guys are, like, hungry for this. What do you guys do here for excitement? Remember that joke about the, uh, what is it? The two cops and the undertaker that go on a fishing boat."

Harvey spoke to Jim, "When you use a tethered goat as bait, shouldn't the goat be out in the jungle and not in the house?"

"This house is the best-defended spot in Gotham. Buchinksy is crazy and arrogant and resourceful. Wherever Maroni is, he'll come after him. He'll enjoy the challenge."

Isabelle, listening to Maroni tell jokes, noticed Oswald move, his eyes open. She went to step over to him but both Harvey and Jim placed a hand on her shoulders to hold her back, not wanting her to get in between Oswald and Maroni right now.

Oswald, once again, found himself in the police station. He was sprawled across someone's desk. He gasped though and sat up quickly, warily eyeing Maroni.

"Hey, there," Maroni said.

"Hi…hi, boss. How long have I been unconscious?"

"Couple of hours."

"Oh, my gosh. I-I must go. My-my poor mother…"

Maroni held up his hand and Isabelle could see that Oswald was lying and Maroni knew it.

"Your mother can wait," Maroni said.

"It's her heart, poor thing. Valves. She-she might be taken at any moment…" Maroni just sipped from his coffee cup. "But…but, by all means, of course, she can wait."

"When you woke up before, you said you had urgent business…with Falcone."

"I did? I said that? Did I?" Oswald answered, looking around. He froze when he saw Isabelle.

"I-Isabelle?"

She took that as her cue and looked to Jim then Harvey who reluctantly removed their hands.

She walked up to Oswald and brought a hand to his face, gingerly touching the abrasion on his cheek for a moment. "How are you feeling?"

"W-what are you doing here?" Oswald was utterly confused, still recovering from the literal shock to his system.

"I'm meeting Edward for dinner," she answered honestly.

His eyes narrowed.

"I heard you were electrocuted," she continued. "That could scramble the brains for a bit. Did you really say you had business with Falcone?"

Oswald, Jim, and Harvey watched her warily.

"Apparently so," Oswald answered, pretending to still not know why he would say such a thing.

"But that's ridiculous," she chuckled. "You said so yourself, while you do admire Falcone and all that he's done for himself, he is getting along in years. He's not the same young Don he used to be and Maroni should be the one to step in when Falcone retires, to take his place."

"He did?" Maroni asked skeptically, looking at her.

"He did," she answered, looking him in the eyes. She turned back to Oswald. "Well, I should go. I don't want to keep Edward waiting too long."

Oswald reached out for Isabelle's hand as she moved but he missed, almost falling off the desk. "Isabelle please-"

"I'm sorry, Oswald."

He began to panic. He hadn't expected to see her again so soon. "Isabelle I'm sorry for whatever happened to you! I promised to protect you and I broke my promise! Pl-please!"

Maroni stood and walked over to Isabelle, putting an arm around her shoulders.

Isabelle held back the grimace on her face as he spoke. "You promised to protect this girl and you couldn't manage to keep that promise?" Maroni shook his head. "I wonder who else's trust you've broken."

Oswald swallowed hard as Isabelle left to find Edward.

On the way Isabelle ran into someone.

"Oh, sorry," she said.

"Hello, how can I help you?" the woman with a ponytail and glasses asked nicely.

"Oh, um, well I'm a friend of Edward Nigma's. I'm looking for him. He was just over there," she pointed.

"Really, I didn't realize he had any friends. I'm Kristen Kringle."

Isabelle narrowed her eyes a bit at the comment, but shook Kristen's outstretched hand. "Well, he does have friends. We're going to dinner actually. So you're the Kristen Kringle he talks about."

"He talks about me?" Kristen asked, curious.

"He admires you."

"I've noticed."

"I know Edward's…different but he really is a sweet guy."

"You're detective Gordon's niece, Isabelle, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"Oh, you were the one who was… sorry, not my place."

"No, no. It's okay. I was the one who was hurt, badly. That's what I was going to mention actually. Edward called me every night after I recovered to be sure I was doing okay and my uncle tells me he asked him how I was doing as well. I think he may have been wondering if I was lying to appease him, which I wasn't. My point is he's a great guy and maybe if you gave him the chance, you'd see that too."

"I don't doubt he is, he's just, weird. Odd. And I'm kind of talking to someone else right now."

"Ah, I see," Isabelle answered, getting annoyed at Kristen for the things she was saying about Edward, as if those words didn't carry much weight. Isabelle knew though if Edward heard her say such things he'd be heartbroken. Kristen was a favorite topic of his during their nightly phone conversations.

"Yes, perhaps if you could relay that to Edward?"

"I can, but I don't know if it will change anything."

"I just don't want him to continue to make all these advances and get nothing in return."

Isabelle nodded. "Well, it's nice meeting you Miss Kringle."

"It's nice meeting you as well," Kristen smiled.

Isabelle didn't know that Edward had already explained the riddle to Kristen and that he'd already overheard her saying how weird he was.

Isabelle went in search of Edward again; coming out onto the main floor she heard Oswald's voice. "I have no business with Falcone. I swear on my mother's life. May God strike her dead with horrible torment if I'm lying."

"I guess he didn't buy your little bit from earlier," Jim spoke up from behind Isabelle.

"Guess not. Have you seen Edward?"

"I think I saw him head into the bathroom."

"Okay, I'll just wait here for him then."

Maroni spoke up. "Okay, then, my friend. I'm sorry I doubted you. Go see your mom. Give her a kiss for me."

Oswald smiled and clasped his hands together, uttering a soft "thank you."

As Oswald went to leave, and as Edward came up to Isabelle, the lights started flickering. Items on desks began to rattle around.

Strikes of electricity ran around the ceiling, lighting the place up and Oswald's eyes met Isabelle's before he jumped from a close strand of electricity. As the strikes grew in frequency and strength Oswald went for Isabelle, grabbing hold of her hand just before everyone went down to the floor, stunned.

Oswald and Isabelle's fingers were still clutched tightly in the others as they lay unconscious.

"Isabelle? Isabelle?"

She slowly opened her eyes to see Oswald and Jim hovering over her. It was Jim that had said her name. He helped her up and she wrapped her arms around him.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

"Yeah, you?"

"I'm fine. I'll have to thank Edward for the shoes."

She looked to Edward, "Are you okay?"

He nodded, giving her a reassuring smile.

Isabelle saw Oswald was leaving. "I'll be right back."

"Oswald," she called when she caught up to him.

He turned around.

"Why did you grab my hand earlier?"

He took her hand in his again. "I-I thought I could keep you from harm in some way. I broke my promise once but I intend to make it up to you." He kissed her on the cheek and whispered into her ear. "Falcone will know of Fish's betrayal before the night is over. Her place will be mine," he chuckled.

"Oswald," Isabelle breathed, not doubting him for a second. "That's-that's great!"

Oswald placed a kiss on the top of her hand and let it drop back to her side, turning to go. Isabelle's heart lurched. Fish was on her out and to Isabelle that meant she would be safe soon. He'd have Fish's place which wasn't necessarily the same as running Gotham but it was something. It was…enough. She didn't want Oswald to leave right now. To be honest she was tired. Tired of going back and forth over telling Oswald or not, blaming him and herself, wanting to see him but telling herself that nothing good could come of it. She suddenly felt that she had to make a decision. Did she really want Oswald Cobblepot? Did she really trust him? He was the first guy to ever stir any kind of real romantic feelings in her. She knew what she wanted and he had grabbed her hand, hoping to keep her safe, and she was watching him leave.

"Wait," she said before she could think about it anymore.

He turned back around to face her.

"Come by the Manor tonight. Maybe around midnight?"

Oswald's eyes widened and he nodded quickly before turning to leave.