Chapter Text
Jim groaned, rolling over toward the nightstand, the shrill noise of his cell phone waking him. He quickly checking the Caller ID to see that it was his partner. He figured he'd better answer to see what in God's name Harvey wanted at 3 AM after the hellish night they had both just had. "This had better be good. I was dead to the world cuddling my favorite pair of boobs," he answered grumpily, barely able to hear Bullock over the loud music on the other end of the line. "Where the hell are you?"
"Drinking...but they got a hit on the APB; you'll be happy to know instead of everyone storming the location, it's our job to bring Penguin in," Harvey explained, downing his shot before motioning for another. He was not ready to deal with Cobblepot's bullshit or sob stories. "It's weird, they say they spotted the car outside a warehouse down by the pier."
Jim frowned, moving to sit up and trying not to wake Lee. "A safe house? That doesn't make a lot of sense seeing that he could have just as easily holed himself up in that mansion," he pointed out, getting up and searching for some clothes to throw on. "He's injured too, so why go somewhere without medical attention?"
Harvey rolled his eyes. "Do I look like Cobblepot, Jimmy Boy? You can ask him yourself," he snorted into the phone. "I'll text you the address and meet you there in a half hour."
Jim let out a large sigh, throwing on a hoodie and a pair of pants before reaching for some comfy shoes. If he was going to deal with an over-emotional mobster with a gunshot wound he was going to at least be comfy.
"Was that Bullock?" Lee asked, voice thick with sleep. "Did they find that kid--Penguin--Cobblepot person?" The good doctor moved to sit up, hair sticking to the side of her face, making Jim smile fondly. He sat back down on the bed to brush it away and kiss her cheek.
"You heard all that? I was hoping not to wake you," Jim excused, still smiling. "Yeah, they found the car, anyways. Not sure if Oswald is anywhere to be found so I guess Harvey and I'll find out and hopefully not get shot in the process of trying to calm him down and take him in."
Lee looked in thought, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and throwing her hair in a messy bun as she moved to get out of bed and throw on some clothes. "I'll come," she offered, smiling while Jim checked his gun before giving her a pointed look. "What? I could be useful--you said he was shot before managing to get away and I happen to be great at digging out bullets and gaining trust, so don't give me that look."
"No way, Lee!" Jim exclaimed, shaking his head at her. "Oswald is dangerous on a normal day; he's lost it--he was ready to die!" He frowned thinking back to his show down with the mobster, guns drawn, with such a raw expression on Oswald's face that unnerved the cop.
'One of us will die tonight. I've made my peace with that.'
Nothing good came from Penguin playing all or nothing, and he wasn't about to involve Lee in any more of this if he could help it. "You're staying here and we'll take care of it..."
"Oswald...I've never heard you call him by his first name," Lee chuckled, holding Jim's hands trying to calm him down. She could tell he seemed to be getting increasingly stressed just talking about it. "You care, and I'm glad because it sounds like after all of this he just needs a friend. So let me help you so no one else gets hurt." She kissed him gently, hoping she'd won him over. "I do know how to shoot, contrary to popular belief and I've worked with people crazier then The Penguin. “I'll be fine, Jim."
'Friends don't owe friends, silly.'
All of Oswald's previous quips seemed to roll around in Jim's head like rocks while he stared, slightly dazed, into Lee's eyes. "Fine...but try not to get involved unless you have to....please, Lee," he sighed, as she grinned. "You and your need for adventure."
Lee tugged Jim toward the door. "A little adventure never hurt anyone, Jim," she teased, smiling at him, throwing on her coat in the process. "Lee, one; the great Jim Gordon batting at zero this morning." She grabbed his hand again.
"Adventures with Cobblepot are gonna be the death of me," Jim complained, the two heading out the door to meet Harvey.
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"Car is clear, Jim!" Harvey shouted after opening all the doors and popping the trunk while Lee and Jim hunted around outside the building to make sure no one was lurking around. "Lotta blood though. Penguin has to be close by with how much he's bleeding. You want me to call backup?"
Jim shook his head and kept his gun drawn, Lee following behind him. "He's probably inside. We don't need back up---he'll listen to me," he stated.
The self assurance in his partner's voice made Harvey huff and roll his eyes but, he followed along none the less. "This is a bad idea, Jimbo. I smell a trap. That little shit is always scheming," Harvey shot back, walking in last to the warehouse. The trio flipped on the lights and cleared the rooms as they went. "This is like some bad horror flick. I feel like somethings going to jump out and attack me."
Lee chuckled, smirking at him. "Big bad Bullock scared of the dark? I never would have guessed," she mocked playfully, the group coming into the last room and flipping on the lights. The smell of death lingering in the air. "Is that Cobblepot?" she gestured to the man slumped over a woman's clearly lifeless body, old crusted blood mixing with bright red from Oswald's still-bleeding wound.
Jim wore a deep frown at the sight in front of him. Not that he had thought for a second Oswald had lied about his mother being killed, but he had been hopeful it hadn't happened in such a gruesome way. He felt a strange mix of emotions for the other while he approached quietly, unsure of how the mobster kingpin would take him being so close in his space.
"Oswald, I'm sorry for your loss," he whispered softly, putting a hand on his back -- unsure if he was even conscious-- frowning when he felt the other tense. "Please..let me help you...you're bleeding a lot---" He cursed loudly when The Penguin whipped around and took a chunk out of his arm with the switchblade he was so fond of.
"Can you bring my mother back to me?" Oswald snarled, breathing heavily, as if the motion had robbed him of what little energy he had left while he stared hard at the person he used to think of as a friend. He took the silence for his answer to the painful question. "That's what I thought. Just leave me be. If you can't bring her back then you're useless to me, Jim!" he screamed before resting his head back on his mother's chest, hoping they would leave him to mourn in peace.
Jim winced, holding his hand over the gash. He'd never seen Oswald like this and he honestly didn't even know how to react. "I'm not leaving you to bleed out because of self-pity and stubbornness," he snapped, angry before he could stop himself. Harvey sighed, rolling his eyes; Jim was never known for his way with words and if he kept this up there was no way they were gonna get Oswald to go anywhere with them.
"Self-pity?" Oswald hollered, his eyes wide. He quickly scrambled to force himself up, the action taking a few tries before he managed to stay standing upright. The Penguin looked like he wanted to attack any of the three, but didn't seem too trusting of his legs to actually carry it out. "He killed her--she died in my arms and you protected him!" He finally took a few shaky steps forward, pointing his knife at Jim.
Lee scowled at the situation in front of her. Jim seemed to be getting them nowhere and she could see Oswald's body shake from the stress of pushing himself.
"Oswald...I'm sorry! I've done nothing but try to keep you alive tonight!" the detective began, trying to do damage control, noticing Lee approach. "Lee, I've got this. Stand back." He frowned when Oswald fell with a cry, landing painfully on his bad leg.
"Oswald--can I please help you? I'm a doctor and I can patch up your wounds," Lee offered, holding out her hand, daring to move slowly closer to the injured man against Jim's judgment. "You're in pain and will bleed to death if you stay here! Let us help--we're not the enemy." She sighed, noticing he seemed to be ignoring her. His will to fight was suddenly gone as he dropped to back to the floor, going back to curl up by Gertrude.
"Just go away. I did this---let it happen to her--I deserve to pay for what I did!!" Oswald sobbed, causing even Harvey to wince at the tone. "I want to be with my mother." It was like he'd given up and there was no talking him out of it.
"Jim, we gotta get him out of here," Harvey yelled, hearing over his radio that Barnes had caught wind of Cobblepot's whereabouts and was sending back up. "They're not gonna be as forgiving when they show up." Jim and Lee exchanged solemn glances before turning their attentions back to the sobbing, fallen king.
"Harvey is right, we need to go. Do something, Jim," Lee urged, not really having much of an idea on how to get him to leave willingly. She was honestly hopeful that Oswald would have passed out by this point, but luck was apparently not on their side this early in the morning.
"You're not gonna like me, but you can bitch later when you're not going to bleed to death, Oswald," Jim grumbled, scooping up the injured man trying to haul him away to the best of his abilities. Oswald sunk his teeth into Jim's arm hard enough to draw blood---struggling with the last of his strength trying to get the other to let him go before resorting to yelling obscenities. "You know this would probably be much less painful and easier on the both of us if you just calmed down and stopped struggling."
"I want to stay with my mother!" Oswald wailed, his voice going hoarse as they reached the car. Jim was feeling lucky; the kingpin seemed to have completely worn himself out so they could get him easily inside the back of the car. "I don't want her to go away!"
Jim nudged him over so he could sit in back while Lee got in front to drive home.
"I don't envy you, Boy Scout," Harvey stated with a sigh, shutting the door for the other. "Call me if you need me." He watched Lee drive off before getting in his own car to get out of there before he had the whole GCPD to deal with.
Jim groaned, feeling more exhausted then when he'd gone to bed as they neared home.
"How's he doing?" came Lee's voice, snapping Jim out of his thoughts. Half way through the ride Penguin had gone quiet but still hadn't passed out or tried to sleep. His eyes were dazed, staring out the window, or at Jim when he felt the other run a hand through his matted hair in hopes of offering some comfort. "We're almost back to my place and we can get you both cleaned up."
"I'm not sure how to answer that question. He's breathing still, so I guess good?" Jim answered, his body tensing when he felt the other snuggle closer. He couldn't believe how suddenly protective he felt over Oswald as he pulled him close, hoping to stop him from shivering. 'He killed my Mother, Jim' replayed over and over in his mind. "Lee, I think he's going into shock--he keeps shaking. How much farther?" He was overjoyed when she drove the last few blocks and her apartment came into view. Lee parked in her ramp so they could get Oswald into the building without the possibility of being spotted.
"Get his clothes off, I'm going to go look for my first aid kit," Lee stated, walking toward the bathroom. Jim set Oswald down on their bed, staring awkwardly before moving to start taking off the many layers of clothes.
"It's like it's never-ending. Didn't know I needed an instruction guide to get clothes off," Jim joked in hopes of getting Oswald to say something, even if it was to yell at him again. "Guess I don't wear a lot of formal wear." He cringed, finally getting a good look at the gunshot wound only to be pushed away by an incoherent Cobblepot.
"It hurts...everything hurts, Jim," Oswald mumbled softly, refusing to make eye contact with either of them when Lee entered the room again. Jim was momentarily distracted, almost not catching Penguin as he pitched forward, finally giving into unconsciousness.
"Finally. That'll make this ten times easier," Lee remarked almost cheerfully. Jim propped Oswald up on pillows before having a small pile of blankets thrust at him. "Warm these up in the dryer, would you? I'll be okay I promise." She smiled at her lover's skeptical look. "What's the worst he could do--he's unconscious, Jim"
"Just be careful. I'll be right back once these are warm and I have my phone," Jim stated, unsure of how comfortable he felt leaving his girlfriend with Cobblepot, even if he was unconscious with a bullet hole. Lee rolled her eyes and shooed him off to the apartment's laundry room, while she got to work stitching up their guest so the blood would stay in his body where it belonged.
Lee grumbled to herself. It had been awhile since she actually had to dig a bullet out of someone and she had forgotten what a pain in the ass treating the living actually could be. Oswald moaned, trying to turn away from her, the pain making him stir.
"I would kill for something to completely knock your stubborn ass out with. You're as bad as Jim," she complained playfully, holding him still. Stitching him up proved to be a bit of a challenge. "I'll get you some pain meds if you promise to be still." She took his staring at her with eyes barely open as a yes, and headed to the kitchen in search of if she had some of the “good stuff” left; so deep into rummaging around through her cupboards, Lee failed to hear someone sneaking as silently as they could up behind her.
"So this is where the little wounded prince went," the silky voice mused, hand over Lee's mouth with her body pressed flush to his, holding her there with his free hand. "Don't scream--I mean you no harm. I just want my employer."
He let her go, Lee whipping around to see who dared to threaten her in her own home.
"Victor Zsasz, pleasure to meet you, Good Doctor. Leslie Thompkins was it?" He grinned wolfishly when Lee gave him the best glare she could muster with how flustered she was before turning on heel and storming back out of the kitchen; only to come back to grab the bottle of aspirin she found before the assassin had shown up. She flipped him off for good measure as she left the room again.
"Would you like me to bring this glass of water?"
An exasperated sigh was Lee's reply as she propped Oswald up a little further so she could give him the meds, Victor helping him drink.
"If you stay, you're going to be put to use, so help me get your boss stitched up." Now armed with another set of hands, Lee and Victor managed to get Oswald stitched up and sleeping semi-comfortably by the time Jim managed to get back.
"You let an assassin into the house? Cobblepot's pet assassin!" Jim yelled, dropping the warm blankets and drawing his weapon on Victor who seem unfazed by the outburst and simply put a finger to his lips to shush the cop. "Don't tell me to lower my voice, Zsasz!"
Lee rolled her eyes, picking up the blankets and bundling them around Oswald's still-shaking form, hoping it would help. "He let himself in, Jim," she answered flatly, Victor perching himself on the other side of the bed to pet Oswald's head when he shifted restlessly. "He made himself useful. We already have one killer in the house--might as well make it a party."
"Not funny..." Jim began before being rudely cut off by the hitman.
"I'm here to collect my boss, seeing as he's not fit for travel at the present moment. I'll be staying here to protect him since you let his attacker escape," Victor explained, clearly put out and overly tired himself. "You let the murderer of his mother escape his grasp, Mr. Gordon--I don't think he'll react too kindly once he's able to move more freely." He smirked, hoping his boss might be so inclined to let him play.
Jim's stomach did a flop at the mention of Oswald's mother. "I'll make it right," he mumbled, resisting the urge to throw a punch in the other's direction. He could feel Lee's eyes on him and he hardly thought starting a fight would solve anything. "Can we just drop it and go to bed? Penguin for once has the right idea."
Victor got up and circled once around Jim before settling down back down on the bed beside Oswald, who curled up close seeking the other's warmth.
"Oh no, girlfriend gets the bed..."Jim trailed off getting a gun pointed at his head again. "Okay, assassin gets the bed."
"It's fine Jim, Oswald probably trusts him more than us right now," Lee replied, the weariness very apparent in her voice as she grabbed an extra blanket and plopped on the couch. "I want to get a few hours of sleep before he ends up waking up again."
Victor proved to be a man of his word, Jim noted to himself as he woke up with a stiff neck from sleeping in the chair but otherwise unharmed as he took notice of the room around him. He saw Lee was curled on the couch, fluffy blanket draped over her sleeping form before he noticed Oswald half draped over Victor's lap, bundled in a mound of blankets. The assassin's eyes were closed in apparent slumber as well, but Jim doubted the other could be sleeping that soundly as he attempted to creep past to get ready before his early shift. Nothing felt better, even on no sleep, then a scalding shower, and now Jim was feeling somewhat refreshed. He was ready to take on whatever Gotham had to throw at him today; until he walked back out to discover Oswald had weaseled himself out of bed and was apparently frantically hunting around for something.
"Cobblepot...get back in bed," he scolded flatly, moving to grab the injured bird and get him back under the sheets.
"No Jim! We have to go find my mother!!" Oswald squawked frantically, trying to struggle away from the detective. "She's in trouble! We have to save her!" He let out a shrill whine when his shoulder was bumped. "Let go, you're hurting me! I don't have time for this!"
"Oswald stop, your mother is...." Jim trailed off unsure of whether he should say it or not. The gangster was already in a panic and if he didn't remember the events of the night before, telling him could only make things worse at the current moment. "She's fine, everything is fine. You really need to rest--you lost a lot of blood last night." What could a little white lie hurt for the moment anyway? Jim mused, picking up Cobblepot with ease to get him back in bed, trying to ignore Victor's piercing stare.
"I have to see her, Jim!" Oswald protested being covered back up. Whimpering again while he tried to get his body to stop shivering, Oswald was unsure of why he felt both freezing and uncomfortably warm at the same time. "I want my mother, I don't feel well at all." His broken mind craved some kind of comfort that Jim was not about to indulge in at the present time.
"Of course you don't feel well, you went and got yourself shot by a sniper. Go back to sleep, Cobblepot. You need to rest and get your strength back," Jim grumbled with a sigh, not wanting to deal with any of this before work. "Victor is here...he can baby you--I have a job to do." He tried to ignore the worrying thoughts along with the guilt swirling in his head, choosing instead to turn around and put on his coat and prepare to leave. Being around Oswald, let alone his pet psychopath, honestly felt suffocating at the present moment.
"Seriously injured and even in mourning, and yet the great James Gordon is still cold as ice--telling the prince little white lies," Victor mused, brushing the matted bangs from Oswald's face while letting him cling---frowning when he realized how warm the other's head felt. Oswald nuzzled the hand, enjoying the cool touch on his blazing skin. "Didn't you save him out of some sort of silly friendship? Or were you finally repaying all those favors....I was actually hoping you felt bad." He smirked knowing he struck a nerve.
Jim advanced, snatching Victor out of bed by the collar of his shirt. "Don't fucking patronize me Zsasz, you kill people for a living," he snapped getting in the other's face without realizing how bad of an idea it was depending on the other's mood. "What the hell would you know about remorse?!"
Victor was silent for a long moment, tilting his head in almost childlike thought to regard Jim. "Funny that my profession should have anything to do with my ability to feel or process people's emotions---let alone my own, Detective," he answered, still seemingly in thought at the posed question. "I wonder---will you be my next tally? You merely saved Oswald Cobblepot from bleeding out because of some misguided sense of honor and morality." He chuckled, amused, noticing Oswald limping toward them out of the corner of his eye. "You couldn't kill him then and you won't let anything happen to him now, no matter how many problems it creates for you."
"You son of a---" Jim bellowed moving to take a swing, managing to stop himself just in time so he didn't hit Cobblepot who had managed to weasel his way in between the two of them. "What part of lay down and go to bed didn't you understand, Penguin?"
Oswald shook his head slowly, the edges of his vision turning black as he fought off dizziness to keep standing. "I can't sleep when you're being loud, James," he slurred, putting a hand on the other's chest to keep his balance. "Jim...Victor...I--I really don't feel so good..." Victor moved to catch him before he hit the ground, Jim too stunned to move.
"Can someone please explain to me what the hell is going on?" Lee inquired, letting out a loud yawn while rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "Why is he out of bed and why are you two yelling?! It's too early for yelling, Jim." She shook her head, still not fully awake.
"I need to go. I'll be late for work. Victor can fill you in," Jim mumbled, his voice nearly a whisper as he crossed the room in a few quick strides, giving Lee a quick peck on the cheek before leaving as quickly as he could. Jim let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding when he reached the street, spotting Harvey's car, grateful to be picked up. He had far too much on his mind currently to even think about driving.
Victor sighed, hushing the incoherent babble coming from the king's mouth. "Such a troublesome boy you are, Oswald," he remarked, laying him in bed, beckoning the good doctor over to get a better look at him.
"You can talk about it, you know, Jimbo." Harvey chuckled, trying to lighten the mood when his partner got in his car and they drove off. It wasn't hard to tell the other was in about the worst mood possible, and Harvey did not feel like dealing with it all day as he shoved a coffee in Jim's direction.
"That's exactly why I'm not talking about it," Jim answered back flatly, practically moaning at the first sip of coffee. It was just what his morning from hell was missing to make it slightly better as he sat back, content on not filling in the other on the goings on at the apartment. "It's fine, morning just got stressful."
"Stressful is dead bodies piling up that you can't find a clue to---you, Boy Scout, have a shit storm on your hands!" Harvey declared, almost missing a red light, cursing when he almost spilled his own cup of coffee in his lap.
"You don't even know the half of it, Harvey," Jim mumbled, continuing to stare out the window while sipping his coffee.
"Enlighten me, Boy Scout, what, is your new pet bird not house trained?"
Jim sighed, trying to puzzle out what to even tell his partner first, seeing that he was going to get nagged the rest of the day if he didn't start talking soon. Talking about Cobblepot anywhere within earshot of their new captain was like signing their own arrest warrant; he might as well get it over and done so Harvey could shut up about it.
"It's bad enough I have Oswald at my house, but then out of the blue Zsasz showed up," he began with a tired sigh, trying to ignore the look his partner was giving him out of the corner of his eye. "I already caught hell from the hitman, don't you start in on me, Bullock!"
"Maybe me and Victor could see eye to eye on something---the fact that you're an idiot!" Harvey shot back, rolling his eyes. He couldn't believe Jim would leave his girlfriend alone with a psycho; at least Cobblepot was incapacitated for the moment, but Victor, on the other hand, was not someone to just try to idly make friends with. "Are you insane?"
Jim shook his head, regretting his decision to say anything and praying they would show up at the station soon to end this conversation.
"It's fine. Oswald seems to like Lee so I doubt he'd let anything happen to her," he excused, hoping to God he was right. "She got him stable, I think, but Oswald was acting weird this morning--like he didn't remember anything from last night--so I'm sure Victor will have his hands full with dealing with his boss instead of harassing my girlfriend."
Harvey laughed, pulling up to the station finally, turning off the car and preparing to get out.
"You trying to convince me or you, Jim?" he inquired with a grin, holding the door open for his partner. "Come on, your boyfriend left us a mound of paper work...remind me to kick his ass once he's done bleeding out."
The two only made it a few steps inside before noticing Captain Barnes glaring at them.
"Well shit, wonder if our poor life choices have finally caught up to us."
"Gordon! Bullock! My office now!" Barnes remarked sharply, leaving no room for argument. The two exchanged glances, grudgingly trudging up the stairs and into the captain's office.
"You wanna tell me who the hell's bright idea it was to disobey orders and harbor a criminal that's responsible for a massacre, let alone trying to take out our new mayor?"
Harvey could feel the tension rise in the room without even having to look at the scowl on Jim's face. He couldn't wrap his brain around why Jim was so hell-bent on saving that snitch time and time again when all it did was catch him hell. "I got no idea what you're talkin' about, Cap," he taunted, choosing to press his luck a bit. If Cobblepot was gonna get them arrested, might as well go out mocking his new, pain in the ass boss. "Me and the boy scout here have been tirelessly looking for our favorite pet Penguin."
Barnes scoffed, rolling his eyes. "You might wanna try not letting him escape in the first place," he pointed out dryly, moving to sit at his desk, pulling out a few files. "The Penguin is armed and dangerous; he's only been escalating his attacks on the mayor and I don't wanna find out if the fourth time is the charm. So get it done! No more excuses."
"Theo should get what he deserved---he killed Oswald's mother in front of him," Jim blurted without even thinking. In two quick strides, the captain was up out of his chair and in the detective's face. "Oswald isn't going to stop until that man is dead."
"Then you better do something about it, huh," Barnes ordered, trying to stare the other down, hoping to talk some sense into him. "For all you know Penguin killed his own mother to get you all twisted---he's a snitch, a criminal, and a damn good liar. Don't forget it, Jim!"
"All right, well we clearly have work to do, right, Jimbo," Harvey jumped in, hoping to pacify the situation. He could tell Jim was about to take a swing at their boss over what was said, and it was best to just leave it alone. Jim shoved Harvey off but followed him out the door, eager to get away before he did something that would get him arrested. "You gonna be okay?" Harvey plopped in his desk chair and took out his flask--today was gonna be a long day he might as well start preparing early.
"Galavan is playing us for idiots," Jim snapped, clearly still put out by everything. He couldn't believe Barnes had the nerve to suggest Oswald had killed his own mother. He tried to force himself to relax, idly spinning his cell phone on the desk where he sat. He felt strangely torn between calling and checking up on the mobster and marching home and arresting him just to prove he could still do his job. "I just don't know exactly what to do about it yet, Harvey."
"Easy; gift wrap him to your boyfriend and watch him rip the guy apart," Harvey answered, grinning, making it Jim's turn to shoot him a dirty look. "Oh come on, I'm just saying what you've been thinking."
Jim sighed, standing up and throwing his coat back on. "Tempting--it's tempting," he tried joking, shooting Oswald's phone a text figuring Victor would answer. He wasn't sure how to feel about the fact he was worried for the other. "Only then he'd end up as a smear on my floor, and blood is hard to get out of the carpet."
"The fact that you know that means you two have been hangin' out too much, Jimmy Boy," Harvey remarked, shrugging and moving to follow. "So where we off to if not to bring Cobblepot the mayor's head on a silver platter?" he inquired as they left the station.
"To go try to find some evidence---anything to put that smug bastard away."
"Off on another adventure then," Harvey sighed, getting up and throwing on his hat while following his partner back out into the cold.