Title: A Fond Memory

Author: Seraphyne

Fandom: Gotham

Character(s): Oswald Cobblepot

Oswald Cobblepot was ushered unceremoniously through the metal doors that led into the dark underbelly of Arkham Asylum. They'd taken his umbrella first so his shuffling gate was slower and less sure-footed then usual. He'd slipped several times, but the steal grips of the guards' hands on his upper arms kept him on his feet. He would sport some rather nasty looking bruises later, but what was a little man-handling to the brutes of Gotham?

His journey ends in front of a tall window with Plexiglas and wire mesh between him and the attendant standing there with a bundle of clothing and towels. The attendant holds the bundle out to Oswald and waits not saying a word. After a moment, Oswald realizes that he's supposed to take the items from the attendant. His knew clothes and toiletries for his stay at Arkham were dumped into his arms as soon as he held them up. He's then pushed and prodded towards another steel reinforced door, one with several locking mechanisms that hissed and clicked into place once he passed through and the door shut behind him.

The new room Oswald found himself in was small with only a bench against the wall. The guards pause at the door and cross their arms over their chest as if they had all watched a video on intimidation, but neither would ever strike fear into anyone's heart. Brute force was their weapon and with someone as lithe as Oswald, brute force would always win. Lying the Arkham assigned clothing down on the bench, Oswald takes his time removing the tie and tie pin from his latest tux. In fact he takes his sweet time removing every loving article of clothing he is exchanging for the one-size-fits-most Arkham uniform that looks way more like prison issued attire than anything else.

This has to be the saddest part about being arrested and convicted of being insane.. No taste in clothing what-so-ever. He pauses an uncomfortable minute as he's about to remove his dress shirt. No one but his mother has ever seen the article of clothing he wears beneath his dress shirts. It's a painful memory, but one that solidifies just how much his mother loved him.

.:~:.

Oswald stood back up as straight as he possibly could and pulled his shirt back over his head. The visit with the doctor didn't seem to be going as smoothly as he had thought it would or at least that's the expression he was reading on his mother's face.

"Oswald needs a brace Ms. Kapelput, there is no way around that. The curvature of his spin is greatly impacting his day to day activities and it will only get worse if he does not start wearing a brace immediately." The doctor shuffled some papers into Oswald's medical file and then took a seat in the rolling chair across from Gertrude Kapelput. She sat in the only other chair in the small examination room while Oswald stood in the corner listening to the conversation, but not really understanding nor caring at that moment.

"And how long will he haf to wear dis contraption? Will he aft to keep it on fer always?" Her heavy accent was sometimes difficult to make out and so Oswald was ready to translate if the doctor seemed unable to understand her.

"He will always have to wear a brace. Over time the braces will be less and less constricting as they train his back, but sadly Ms. Kapelput he will always need one." The doctor crossed his legs and laced his fingers together on top of his knee. "Let me at least show you what it will do for him. You will see that he definitely needs it." Pressing a button on the phone within the room, the doctor gave a terse command to someone on the other end of the line and two seconds later the door opened and a large black article of clothing was pushed through the door and then the hand that had held it disappeared. "Come here Oswald. No, no, you can leave the shirt on this time."

Young Oswald walks over to the doctor painfully, not even able to look the man in the face because of the awkward curve of his spine. A condition he had been born with that had only gotten worse as he grew taller. With each step he took, left and right, an excruciating bolt of white-hot fire laced across the lower and middle parts of his back. The doctor took the brace that had been shoved through the door and unfastened it. The Velcro tearing loudly within the small confines of the space. Ms. Kapelput's expression had not improved with the look of the contraption her son would be forced to wear always. It hurt her heart that her beautiful baby boy was always in pain.

The doctor wrapped the fabric around Oswald's stomach and chest area, velcroing the pieces back together along the boy's spine. "These four straps are meant to be tightened as tight as possible one at a time. Like so…" As he spoke the doctor pulled on the strap across Oswald's hips and tightened it, wrapping it around his body until it velcroed in place. He then grabbed the next one and did the same thing. With each strap tightened and fixed in place, Gertrude Kapelput noticed a change in Oswald's stance and back. Slowly the boy's spine straightened, his neck lengthening where he could look around the room in the proper manner as everyone else. He stood straight up and down, no hump or curve at all.

The bright smile that Gertrude found on Oswald's face melted her heart and skepticism of the 'brace' and she found that this was what she could do for her beautiful boy. She can indeed give him the normal childhood he had always wanted, full of friends that would no longer make fun of him. No more pain either! "Tiz a miracle! He can stand up tall, no round on tha back!"

"Exactly! This is why he needs this!" The doctor beamed at the older woman and patted Oswald on the shoulder. "This is the standard one that everyone starts out on…" Oswald's attention was pulled away by the sheer feel of joy he was experiencing. No pain. He had no pain in his back and he could see all around him! He had noticed something that the doctor nor his mother had though. With each tightened strap pulling his spine into alignment, they had also pulled his right leg outwards. His right foot was now perpendicular to his left one. No matter how hard he tried he could not turn his right foot back to it's proper alignment. Not only that, but there was an odd sensation that slowly turned into a dull bone-deep ache within his right pain never increased further, but it did not decrease at all either. It was concerning and he was about to point it out to his mother and the doctor, but his train of thoughts were interrupted.

"Wha?! How does this be?! We…" Gertrude Kapelput glanced at her son and paused, seeing the concern on his face. "Wha? Oswald, my dear heart, wha has worried you?" It was Oswald's turn to see the worry and concern on his mother's face. She had had such a bright and beautiful smile moments before, what had happened? He just wanted her to be smiling again and not concerned further about his… problems.

"Nothing Mother. I love the brace. It is wonderful." He smiled for her, his genuine smile, having forgotten about his foot and hip. The dull ache was not too noticeable when he was concentrating on other things. It was a lot more manageable than the back pain that he had without the brace.

"Then it's settled!" The doctor says, clapping his hands together. "I will let Katie at reception know that you'll be taking the brace with you. Oswald, I hope to see you in a month's time to ascertain whether we need to change to a light brace within the year or not. Ok?" The doctor did not wait for an answer, just smiled and left the room.

"Oswald, my sweet boy, let us take tha off." As soon as the door closed behind the doctor, Gertrude Kapelput launched into a flurry of movements, scuttling over to her son to help him remove the brace. The smile that graced Oswald's mouth slowly disappeared as the effects of the brace slowly reverted his posture back to the pain-laced curve of his spine. His mother did not pause long enough to notice as she pulled out a sewing measuring tape from her purse and started taking the measurements of the brace. Filing the information away in her head for later recall. She also found a loose thread at a seam in which to widen so that she could investigate the material of the support system within the brace. "Do nah worry, my loverly, you will nah go witout!" Gertrude was very excited. She knew that she could give Oswald what he needed and it would not involve another job or awkward favors.

It took Ms. Kapelput two months to gather the materials she had needed for this project. The whole time she chanted small songs in her native tongue with a mischievous smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. It was a very nice change around the house for Oswald. It kept his spirits lifted even if it didn't keep his back straight. The jeers and bullying he received at school didn't seem near as bad either, although truthfully it had gotten worse, but that is not what Oswald would remember years down the road.

"Oswald, my handsome young man, come 'ere! Hurry, hurry!" The excitement in Gertrude's voice made Oswald shuffle faster into the living room even if it caused more pain. "See! See! we can prevail! We will always!" She was bouncing on the balls of her feet, wavy locks of silver and blonde hair bouncing along with her. Her eyes bright and shiny as she points to the pale pink, satin-y item lying on the coffee table.

"Wha- what is it mother?" The excitement infectious, even if Oswald had no idea what was going on.

"Come! Put it on! Put it on!" Gertrude picks up the garment, long laces hanging. It's all drapes of cloth and ace bandages sewn together with black threads here and there. There's a loud clank as she brings it over to him. "Turn, remove shirt." Oswald frowns looking at the feminine looking item, still confused. "Now! Hurry!" Oswald grabs the hem of his shirt and pulls it up and over his head. His mother drapes the smooth cloth around his stomach and chest, it's cold against his bare skin. It takes her a long time to feed the laces through the holes. "Lace up front so wit' out me, you can do yerself!" Her excitement still bubbling up around her. Finally it's completely laced and it's very snug against him. Suddenly he realizes what this item is supposed to be and then her excitement makes sense to him.

She grabs the ace bandage straps one at a time and tightens them. Oswald's back slowly straightening as his right leg twists. He finally stands right up, his neck not at an awkward angle in order to see his mother's bright eyes and lovely smile. Oswald takes an experimental step forward and suddenly he's on the floor. His right leg gave out on him. Gertrude helps her son back to his feet and then notices how his right foot is now perpendicular to his left. "Wha tis? Why tis foot tis way?"

"Don't worry mother, it's nothing!" Oswald predicts the way his leg is going to act and manages to make it a limp. He walks around the living room with his arms out, smile on his face. "Look mother! I can walk normal! A small limp and no pain!"

"Joy! I… I jus wish it not look like corset." Oswald looks down at the brace his mother painstakingly created for him. It was a satin pale pink corset that she had constructed it out of. Oswald shook his head, the smile never leaving his lips.

"It'll be under my clothes mother, no one will ever know it's not a real brace." The light that radiated from Gertrude Kapelput's eyes and smile warmed Oswald's heart.

.:~:.

The one Oswald wore now was not satin nor pale pink, but it was constructed out of a corset. His tailor was very good at taking instruction and it hadn't been too hard to find the materials for it. It was painful to remove the corset that had been a part of him for so many years, but the Arkham approved brace was just as effective in doing what it was supposed to do. After he dresses in the ugly white and black striped uniform given to him, Oswald lovingly folds his clothes leaving them in a neat pile with the black corset on top. He turns and painfully makes his way to the door.

"I'm ready now."

"'Bout time…"