Deleted Scenes [BtF Series]

The Safest House

NOVEL: Born to Fly.
TIMELINE: Late Season 1
WHY DIDN'T IT FIT: I thought of it way too late. Otherwise, I probably would've included it.

Jim wheels me through the small apartment. Lee follows just behind. Oswald holds the door open for us.

"Thank you for letting her stay here, Mrs. Kapelput."

"Of course, my darlings. Anything for the young woman." Gertrud's eyes remain trained on me. "Will she be okay?"

Cobblepot nods, locking the door behind him. "Yes, Mother. But the next few weeks will be critical for Sera's condition."

"I'll be stopping to check in on her every day if that's something you're comfortable with," Lee comments. "You won't have to do anything major for her."

"And I'll be home every night," Oswald says. "Really, just make sure she stays comfortable. Dr. Thompkins will write you a list of instructions."

Before following Lee into her kitchen, Mrs. Kapelput places a kiss on my forehead.

"You will make it, my darling. You are so strong. Take her into your room, my boy. Get her comfortable."

Jim and Oswald escort me into his childhood room, which is exactly as I'd imagined. Bookshelves and odd artifacts lay scattered about his room. Penguin pulls back the covers while my brother helps me walk over to the bed.

They tuck me in with a strange tenderness I haven't felt from either of them.

"Thank you," I whisper through the pain and gauze.

"Sleep," Oswald replies.

Jim pushes my hair out of my eyes. "He's right. Rest, Sera. Rest will be the best thing for you."

I drift in and out of consciousness. I'm awake when Lee sets up and IV racks next to my bed. I'm asleep when Gertrud delivers my first meal of soup, which I have to pathetically sip through a straw.

"Are you sure she's safe here?" My brother demands.

Penguin does his best to calm his nerves. "There's nowhere safer for her, truly. My mother has stayed out of the gaze of every single mobster who has ever come looking for me, Jim. She's safe."

"He has a point," Lee chimes in. "Perhaps we shouldn't talk like this in front of Sera. She needs to heal and if you two are—"

"I'm not fragile," I groan, struggling to sit up against the pillows that smell like my very heart. "You don't have to sugarcoat things for me."

Oswald's countenance holds my own. I want to confess to him. I want to spill everything in my chest that I feel about him to him right now. Jim and Lee prevent it.

"We know," he says. "You wouldn't still be here if you were, Dr. Gordon."

Jim sighs. "We all have to get back to work. This gang war has to roll over soon. Are you going to help us, Penguin?"

He nods. "I'll do what I can."

Lee is the last one left in my room.

"Give us a call if you need us. Gertrud is right outside. Try to use your hands as little as possible, okay? Rest up, take your medicines, and don't forget to eat."

With that, I'm left in the silence of a rickety, old apartment.

Over the next few weeks, I sleep quite a bit. Lee comes in as she promised. Jim also checks up on me during his breaks or after work. I see Gertrud the most. She feeds me soups and keeps me company during the hard times.