A what if? Tale where one small instance can change the whole of the universe of Gotham. Takes place in the episode "Arkham" where Oswald goes to Jim at his home letting him know he's returned to which Jim doesn't take to kindly to. WARNING! Will contain nonconsensual spanking! Co-written with the lovely BlackFox12! She's running Gordon, and I'm running Oswald and peripheral characters.

Chapter One

Unwelcome Guest

The lights flickered in the dark street of the entrance to Jim and Barbra's condo as the decay of the city enveloped the two men. Oswald had taken the initiative to show up at the detective's home, the second part of a well-made scheme. Everything had hinged on this man taking pity on Oswald and not planting a bullet in his brain. Of course, Oswald knew men like Jim would hesitate to kill, and when Oswald had hit the cold waters of the river meant to be his death bed the shot still ringing in his ear, Oswald knew he had read Gordon right. Now all that remained was to gain his trust.

Jim was angry, and Oswald had to think fast or all of his well thought plans would be dashed into a million pieces. Jim was a good man, and he was also a smart man not prone to be goaded into favors in the way most people in Gotham were. So, Oswald appealed to the one thing he could offer a man like Gordon, the truth. The detective paused long enough to hear Oswald out acknowledging his words if not agreeing with them.

Oswald turned to leave, but he stopped short coming face to face with Barbra wearing a mask of confusion followed by a dawning realization, "You're Cobblepot… aren't you?"

Oswald's mouth worked to respond not expecting this new player as he gave her a sly sheepish smile nodding quickly, "Why Yes! Yes I am. You have no idea the hero you have at your side ma'am." He turned his smile onto Jim, eyes shining brightly, "This man saved my life… I was coming to thank him personally, but I'm afraid I may have offended him by coming here. I… I really should be going," he raised a hand taking two steps back with a slight bow turning once more to leave.

"Wait," Barbara's voice called to his back, and Oswald stopped turning back to face the two. Turning to face Jim, Barbara asked, "Is what he said true Jim? Are you two in some kind of trouble?"

Jim knew there was no way this could end well. Someone was going to realize that Oswald was back in town and that Jim hadn't in fact killed him. And he knew that was going to get back to Fish. If he was lucky, Barbra wouldn't be dragged into this... but he doubted he would be lucky.

Still, the last thing Jim wanted was to pull Barbra into this situation along with him. Keeping a wary eye on Oswald, he addressed her. "Would you give us a minute? Please," he added, trying to be reassuring.

Barbara hesitated clearly unhappy about being kept in the dark but nodded her acceptance as she gave one last glance to Oswald before heading back inside the building.

For his part, Oswald's smile widened as he gave her a small wave before hobbling over to stand next to Jim that same devilish smirk still played across his lips.

Jim watched Oswald, unsure of how much he could trust the other man. He might seem sincere... but just by coming back here, he might have put them both in danger. "You should leave. Disappear. Before someone sees you and tells Fish you're still alive... if they haven't already." His voice was low, even though there was no one around.

Sensing the other man was on the edge, Oswald moved closer responding, "Don't worry; I'll stay low. Fish won't be looking for me, dead remember!" Oswald gave a small laugh at his own joke before continuing sincerely, "Let me help you Jim. You need me, and as much as you might like to deny it, I'm your best shot at getting any evidence to bring people like Falcone and Mooney down."

"I don't trust you," Jim said bluntly. "I don't know why you want to help me, but I'm sure it's not because of your altruistic nature. What's in this for you?" Maybe he didn't really have a choice, but he wasn't going to throw in with Oswald without knowing what the other man's angle was.

Becoming slightly jittery at the other man's intense stare, Oswald raised his hands in supplication, "Gotham is my home, and you saved my life; what more reason do I need?"

"I also told you not to come back here," Jim replied. "Or do you want both of us killed for real this time?" He'd bought himself some security by faking killing Oswald... but the moment Fish, or someone else who worked for her, found out he was still alive, that security would vanish.

Oswald shook his head vehemently no, "Of course not!" Feeling it was his time to exit before Jim continued down his current path of logic, he backed away from the man as he continued to speak, "No one is going to find out about me; you'll see; you and I are going to make a great team Jim Gordon! I'll be like the wind in the shadows, and together, you and I will make a difference in Gotham." Oswald spun around now several feet away from the man to hobble off down the city street to disappear around a dark corner.

It wasn't until Jim had been drug in to the mobster Maroni's restaurant did Jim see Oswald again. Of course it was a compromising situation that thankfully ended well for both participants. And after all was said and done, Oswald decided he should probably apologize to the detective to regain some face. What better way to do so than with the assistance of Barbara? He figured playing the sympathy card with her first would help to butter Jim up and keep Gordon in his good graces.

Arriving well before Jim's shift ended, Barbara opened the door to a disheveled looking Oswald. She was stunned looking behind him quickly before inviting him in, "What happened to you?"

Oswald thanked her letting Barbara lead him to their couch as he responded, "I'm okay really. I, I made a mistake, and I wanted to apologize."

Barbara's eyes scrutinized Oswald now, "Mistake? What did you do Oswald?"

Oswald continued to spin a story of working undercover to unearth Maroni's plans and that his cover had been blown, so he had had to resort to Jim's help to save his life once more. Barbara listened with rapt concern finally asking if Oswald had wanted a hot tea. He accepted gratefully, and Barbara stepped away moving past the kitchen to the bedroom to call Jim privately.

When Jim answered, Barbara whispered, "Jim, I've got Oswald here, and he's pretty banged up. What the heck is going on?"

Upon reflection, Jim realized he probably should have expected something like this to happen. Whatever Oswald's angle, he clearly wasn't going to just stay under the radar like he had before.

"I'm on my way," Jim said into the phone. "I'll tell you the situation when I get back." By then, he probably would have figured out what kind of spin to put on things.

Barbara replied, "Okay. I'll see you soon." Hanging the phone up, Barbara quickly made her way into the kitchen pouring the promised tea and bringing it to Oswald.

Oswald smiled gratefully taking the tea from her, "Oh thank you Barbara; Jim is lucky to have someone so kind at his side."

Barbara smiled sitting across from him, "Oswald, don't you think what you're getting yourself mixed up in is dangerous?"

Oswald chuckled, "We all do our part I suppose."

Barbara and Oswald continued to talk as Jim made his way through the busy Gotham streets back to their flat.

Jim was worried about Barbara, but he didn't actually think Oswald would harm her. Still, he was distrustful of the other man and he drove as fast as he dared towards the flat, finally parking outside and getting out of the car to enter the apartment.

Although Jim's first instinct was to grab Oswald and throw him bodily out onto the streets, he managed to calm himself down. His irritation crept into his voice, though, as he demanded, "What are you doing here now?"

Oswald rose with a start feeling the other man's anger vibrating off him in waves, "Jim! I, I just came by to express my sincere apology for dragging you into that mess earlier… I put you in danger, and I didn't mean for that to happen, I assure you."

Jim glanced quickly at Barbara, trying to decide how much he wanted to reveal to her, before he addressed Oswald. "Really? Then what did you mean to happen?"

Oswald shuffled nervously, "I merely was trying to get a better angle on his operations of course; it just didn't work out the way I'd planned is all."

"That it didn't work out the way you planned is the only part of that I believe," Jim said. "I know you're working your own angle here. I might not have figured it out yet. That doesn't mean I don't know you have one."

Barbara stepped between the two putting a hand on Jim's shoulder, "Can I speak with you in private?"

Jim hesitated, glancing at Barbara before he looked at Oswald. "Don't do anything," he warned, before turning back to her and nodding.

Barbara led Jim back into the bedroom to talk glancing over at the expectant Oswald before closing the door over and speaking in hushed tones to Jim, "I don't know what Oswald's intentions are, but from the little I've talked with him, he seems to be on a rocky path. He's already made clear his meddling seems to have dire consequences not just for himself but for you as well. Maybe we should keep a closer eye on him… I don't know, to maybe keep you both out of trouble? He could stay here with us in the spare bedroom, and I can keep tabs on him during the day. What do you think?"

"I think he can't be trusted," Jim said bluntly, even as he kept his own voice quiet. He sighed, meeting Barbara's gaze. "I don't think having him stay here is the best thing." For all he knew, that was what Oswald had been angling for, with the way he constantly showed up. Maybe it would give him a way of finding out what the other man was up to, but he'd have to watch everything he said or did.

Barbara sighed, "What do you suggest Jim? From what he's told me this afternoon, I don't trust him out of our sight whether he means well or not."

Jim nodded, although quite reluctantly. "I know. But if we have him staying here, we'll need to watch everything we do or say. I don't trust him not to use any information he gets against us."

Nodding her agreement, Barbara stated, "Everyone thought he was dead, and he came back to town. He said he was going into hiding and got you dragged into some don's clutches to verify his story. You can't take him to the station because people there still think he's dead and might alert the gangster that wanted you to kill him which could be a lot worse than the problems he's already caused us. He seems more dangerous on his own than being supervised with the ability of gathering information. Besides, what could he really get from us that he couldn't have gotten already? I'm going to stand behind any decision you make, so where we go from here is up to you."

Jim's first instinct was that he didn't want Oswald anywhere near his and Barbara's home. His second instinct was to admit that she was right. It would be better to have Oswald where he knew he was. "I think you're right." As difficult as it was to admit that. "But don't believe everything he tells you. He isn't trustworthy."

"I can tell. I'll do my best not to give him anything he can use against us." Barbara opened the door for Jim to exit following after him.

Oswald for his part was quite curious as to what the two felt they needed to keep secret from him but had started to grow anxious by the time the two had reemerged. Still standing from when the two had exited, he gave his signature grin as he spoke, "Thanks for the divine tea Barbara, it was a pleasure visiting with you. I can see I've interrupted you folks enough for one day, so I'll just see myself out."

Jim glanced at Barbara, really only to make sure that she was still all right with this, and then addressed Oswald. "We've been talking it over. It would be for the best if you stay here."

Barbara nodded her assurance to Jim and added, "We have a guest bedroom that you can stay in, and the bathroom is across the hall."

Oswald was taken aback, he wasn't used to others extending their hospitality to him, and he had not expected it at all from Jim since the man didn't seem to really like him at all. He blinked regaining his composure before replying, "Thank you, but you don't have to worry about me. I have somewhere I can stay." He didn't want to admit that somewhere would be his mother's.

"I think it'll be best that you stay here," Jim said. "Wherever you're staying now... it hasn't done enough to keep you out of trouble, has it? And if you're so determined to 'help' me... it'll be easier to do that while you're here, won't it?"

'No, it most certainly wouldn't be easier,' Oswald thought. Jim would certainly be watching his every move, and he was supposed to be with Maroni tonight for the casino job, if he wasn't there, Sal may become suspicious and call off the heist which would be devastating to his plans on ingratiating himself further with Sal and may make Maroni distrust him to the point of getting rid of him since he was already on very shaky ground with the man. Without Maroni, Oswald had no leverage for Falcone which was a death sentence in its own right since Falcone currently controlled Fish. It was a slippery slope, but if Oswald wasn't there tonight for the casino job, he really would need to stay low and have Jim keep him safe.

When Oswald became nervous, he often would become more animated, "I do want to help; of course I do! But, staying here? What if someone found out I was here, it could put the both of you in danger; I couldn't bear the thought of putting you two at risk like that."

Jim did his best to hide the suspicion that only became more pronounced with every word that came out of Oswald's mouth. "What plans are going to be ruined by you staying here?" he asked outright, knowing that Oswald definitely had more plans in place that Jim didn't know about.

Shaking his head no, Oswald smiled now apprehensively, "None! I… I don't have any plans, other than going to see my dear old ma. She's been worried sick about me I've no doubt. I'm sure you can understand a son wanting to put his mother's fears to rest am I right?" Jim had met Mrs. Cobblepot, so Oswald had hoped it would be enough of a bone for him to bite and allow him to leave at least for tonight. He could work out staying with him on most any other night without putting a monkey wrench in the works.

"Why don't I come with you?" Jim suggested, fairly certain there was more to it than that... but despite how reluctant he was to have Oswald in the apartment, he wanted to make sure he knew where the other man was.

Oswald's eyes widened a bit, "Uh, Sure." He laughed tautly, "I will warn it'll probably be a bit of an awkward reunion coming to her looking like this with a detective at my side." He hoped if he made Jim feel uncomfortable enough, the other man would leave soon after the two had arrived. Mother hadn't seen him since his 'disappearance' so Jim would likely be her savior 'bringing her boy back home' which could complicate matters worse if Gordon picked up on the vibe and suggested Oswald stay with them to help keep him safe when around her.

Jim just nodded. "Finish your tea, and then we'll go," he suggested. He was reasonably certain that Oswald would try to give him the slip, but he was prepared to stick close to the other man... as close as was necessary.

Fearing he may need every ounce of time available, Oswald quickly sipped the last of his tea and set the glass down on the coffee table. "Barbara," Oswald gave her a slight bow as a goodbye and began hobbling towards the door with Jim hot on his heels. He had let out a slight grunt of irritation as headed down the hall towards the elevator. They would have to be on the 12th floor wouldn't they? Oswald was unusually quiet now as the two boarded the elevator the wheels in his mind turning desperately trying to find a way to subvert Jim's current course.

Jim was quiet as they boarded the elevator, but he didn't take his eyes off Oswald for even one second. He knew the other man would never be able to outrun him... but that didn't mean Oswald wouldn't resort to trickery to escape. Jim would be a fool to let his guard down... and he wasn't that.