The Freaks Of Gotham (Jeremiah Valeska x OC x Jerome Valeska) (Gotham Fanfic)

Chapter 5

I wake up to find myself alone on the sofa, which was odd since whenever I'd fallen asleep here before Jeremiah would either stay with me or carry me to bed. I decide to check inside his office and I find him mumbling to himself while scribbling on a board that held a picture of him on one side, Jerome on the other and me in the middle. I watch as he slowly starts muttering angrily to himself and begins to scratch the eyes out on his brother's picture. I walk closer to try and read what he had been writing, but I accidentally kick something with my foot. He instantly spins around as he hears the noise.

"Ah, A-Ash, how long have you been standing there?" He asked, walking over to me and placing the pen onto the table.

"Not long, what are you working on?" I ask, trying to look over his shoulder at the board.

"Oh, it's n-nothing, don't worry about it." He says, carefully leading me out of the room. I could tell he was hiding something from me, he mainly only stuttered when he was nervous. However, I decided that it's best to just wait until he's ready to tell me himself. I notice him being a bit distant over the next few days.

Jeremiah's pov:
What could they possibly like about him? How could they possibly... I stared at the board I had created, all of the random nonsense I had scribbled down onto it. It wasn't possible, they couldn't like him more, he wasn't better than me. The only thing he did which I didn't was... He stayed with them. He never abandoned them. Did I hurt them by leaving that night? I'm pulled out of my thoughts by the sound of them screaming. I silently curse under my breath as I run into the bedroom. They were lying in bed, tossing and turning, constantly screaming. Then, they started to silently cry and mutter under their breath. I climb into bed and hug them, hoping to help calm them down. They were having a nightmare, and for some reason, they hadn't woken up yet. They continued mumbling, but there was only one word that I heard repeatedly one name. Hugo Strange. Once they had calmed down, I headed back into my office. I quickly typed the name into my computer, however, all that came up was that he worked for Wayne enterprises at Arkham Asylum. Why would Ash have a connection with him? Unless... Was she visiting Arkham to see Jerome? I became lost in thought once again and only snapped out of it when someone tapped me on the shoulder.

Ash's pov:

I hadn't slept well the night before. I remembered drifting in and out of consciousness during a nightmare, although I can't remember the nightmare, I can remember what happened during it. I was panicking or in pain or something like that, at least that's what it felt like, and Jeremiah had come in and tried to comfort me during it. I sit up to find he was out of bed again, for the 3rd time since Jerome's death which was a week ago. I walk into his office to find him sitting there, staring into space. I look over at the board he had been working on for the past few days, the pictures I had seen were still on there, but the writing was clearer now that I was closer to it. It read:

"How?"
"They like him more"
"He's more psychotic, but he stayed with them"
"I'm smarter, but abandoned them"
"How"
"Why" was all I could make out before the writing became more frantic and confusing. I tap Jeremiah on the shoulder.

"Hey, Jer, are you ok?" I ask. He finches as I touch him, then looks up at me.

"Sorry, did you say something? I was... I was... What was I?" He asked. He seemed slightly dazed. I carefully lift his face so he's facing me. His eyes are bloodshot and he looks pale. I place my hand on his forehead and remove it quickly, shocked by how hot it is.

"Jer, you're ill, have you not slept since Jerome's... You need to sleep Jeremiah, otherwise, you'll just get worse, come on." I say worriedly as I carefully pull him up off the chair. He almost falls over and is unsteady on his feet, so I wrap his arm around me to help support him. I lead him to the bedroom and lie him down on the bed.

"Now, stay here, I'm going to go get some water and I'll ask Ecco to get some medicine for you and cancel all your work for today. You need to rest Jer, ok?" I say, looking into his hazel eyes.

"O-ok" He mumbles, still sounding confused and dazed. I kiss him on his forehead and leave to sort out everything that he'd need.

Jeremiah's pov:

"What's up with you then? Are you feeling... Under the weather?" The familiar voice asks.

"Shut up" I mumble trying to clear my head.

"Nope, I can't, I'm already dead, so I don't have to listen to you anymore, but still, here we are, you're ill and your first instinct is to call me." The redhead steps out from the corner.

"I-I said shut up, leave me alone b-brother, you're meant to be d-dead." The headache worsens with each word I speak.

"I would, but that's no fun, after all, I'll only be around for a day or two, only while you're like this, you worked yourself to the bone this time didn't you? Staying up all night for a week just to think about whether Ash liked you or me more. What was the point of that? I mean, I'm dead, so it's not like they can come running to me can they?" He walks over, his voice becoming quieter and quieter the closer he got. The sound of the door drew my attention away from him. The door handle slowly moved downwards as someone opened it.