Hello everyone. AUTHOR'S NOTE so you can just skip down if you want...

I'm sure most all of you are aware that Marvel's The Punisher just aired on Netflix. Jon Bernthal (my one true love) portrays Frank Castle like no other and I have been a fan of Marvel's Daredevil. Anyway, I have been writing and rewriting this for a few months but after the new series, I decided to pick it the story up again and try and align it with newly revealed information in The Punisher. I also wasn't sure whether to post the story in this category or in another...idk...yikes, this is awkward...

Okay for realsies this time. So I promise no major Punisher spoilers. I just want to do a follow up to after Frank supposedly died and right before his solo show. If you have any thoughts, questions, or concerns just hit me up. R&R and nothing belongs to me, yadda yadda...

SideNote: I am one of those people who enjoy songs in fics. I feel like it sets the mood. If you don't wanna listen or read it, just skip past. Y'all are smart cookies. I also swear upon ALBUS PERCIVAL WULFRIC BRIAN DUMBLEDORE'S GRAVE the author's note will never be this long again. You know how first chapters go.

"Dear Dictator"

Saint Motel

Everyone is gonna run away, today.

It's not cause what you do or what you say,

It's just time to get leaving now.

Nobody has ever seen his face, but fear his smile.

I heard he'll drink your blood just for the taste, then laugh, and spit it out.

Everybody tends to disagree, on just how evil,

A single human being should ever be, and all your bones they scream for more.

And at the trial, they'll be no jury, and all the dead are going to play witness.

It's not too late, to say you're sorry, but it's too late to truly mean it.

And at the trial, they'll be no jury, and all the dead are going to play witness.

It's not too late, to say you're sorry, but it's too late to truly mean it.

Everybody finally ran away, today.

It's cause what I do and what I say.

It's just time to get leaving, time to get leaving, time to get leaving now.

Darcy Finch walked aimlessly down the beach watching as seagulls ducked through the strong wind current. A storm was rolling through the city and Darcy was ready. Her poncho flapped loudly against her body. Thunder echoed across the water right as lightning lit up the dark shoreline.

She shivered as the rain began pelting down. Another clap of thunder, it was close. The ground practically shook with every bang. That was until a stray bullet flew into her thigh. Darcy landed in the muddy sand and could barely hear her screams over the loud rainfall. Her body was in shock and the freezing April monsoon wasn't helping.

What seemed like hours was only a matter of minutes. A dark figure loomed over her. Darcy couldn't see much through her swollen tear stained eyes. Lightning lit up his silhouette, as fear filled her being. The pale skull glowed on the man's chest.

Wheezing, Darcy sat up to crawl away from the man. His hand snapped down on her shoulder and she froze with fear.

"Hold up there little miss. We need to get you taken care of," the man said gruffly.

"Please don't kill me," she cried out quickly. Darcy could barely make out his laugh and response over the rushing wind. He leaned further down over her to lift her up by the arm. Darcy cried out as her right foot met the ground.

"Easy there," he murmured into her ear.

He wrapped one of her arms behind his neck and they began hobbling to the street. The two walked past a group of dead men. There had to be at least six just bleeding out onto the pavement. Darcy swallowed thickly before moving her eyes back up, trying to focus on anything else. Once they made it to the main street which was lit up he dropped her onto a bus station bench. Before she could get a good look at him, he was already walking away.

"And you don't remember seeing anything of report?" The police officer stood over Darcy's hospital bed with a notepad in one hand and a skeptical look scrunched onto his face. She looked back at him with a shrug and continued to eat the orange jello. He sighed in agitation and left the room.

"Thank you for not saying anything about Frank," sighed Karen as she sunk back into her chair. Darcy shrugged again.

"It's not like he actually tried to kill me, and any friend of yours, I would say is a friend of mine, but we all know your track record." Darcy swallowed the citrus gelatin and went for the second cup sitting on the tray.

"So, what's the damage?" Karen stood up and came over to gaze at the thick bandage on her leg.

"No major arteries, no bone fractures. Bullet didn't splinter. If I had been standing an inch more to the left it might have only been a graze. Bullet didn't make it through all the way so they had to remove it. No cast or anything. Just this ugly band-aid. Check up is in two weeks. Any questions."

"How are, you, though," Karen smiled weakly down at her.

"Honestly, I'm just really tired," Darcy smiled weakly back.

"Well, Ellison said you were good to miss this next week, so just stay home and rest up." Karen reached over and hugged the injured girl before walking out of the hospital room.

Darcy finished the last jello cup before groaning loudly. The dim hospital light flickered above her head and the hospital bed curtain swayed gently with the AC. She wanted to itch the covered patch of skin on her thigh, instead, she settled on picking the nail polish off her nails.

Eventually, a nurse came in and released Darcy to her father. He pushed the wheelchair towards their car while she held onto the new set of crutches. After helping her into the car he sighed and started the engine.

"Darcy, your mother and I are glad you are okay, but you really scared the hell out us."

"It wasn't like I was trying to join in on the gang festivities," Darcy grumbled.

"You know how we feel about when you go off on your own at night. I feel like this just proved our point even further," he sighed again. "Just take it easy when we get home. You know how your mother will be."

She studied her father while he continued to rant. He was hunched forward over the wheel. His square rimmed glasses rested high on his nose and his brows were scrunched together. Captain Desmond Finch was a tired man who worked long days and often nights at the 105th precinct in Queens.

He said it was raising six kids that made his hair turn silver. Really it was the fact that he was getting too old and work was taking its toll. His hair had mostly turned gray but there were the occasional splotches of black.

Darcy's father was one of her best friends and her role model. Being the youngest meant that she was his baby girl. Her mother was the same way. She met Desmond as they had both grown up in an Irish American neighbor as kids.

Regan Finch was a hard-headed and stern woman. It probably had to do with being a fiery redhead. She was almost as short as her temper and as loud as her personality. She was Darcy's only other friend though. She taught Darcy practically everything she knew, aside from the self-defense and gun range training from her dad. They were getting older now, and it was harder to do things with them. Alas, Darcy was the only child still living at home.

Her oldest sister, Kassidy, just had her fourth kid. Desmond Jr., DJ, a member of the coast guard, finally lost his bachelor status. Their brother, Charlie, was in the air force along with their sister, Colleen. Donny, Darcy's twin brother, was in the marine corps. They were all really close, but with being so far apart, staying in touch became more difficult every passing day.

Darcy and her father pulled into the parking garage and parked onto their level. Her dad helped her out and onto the crutches. He kept pace alongside Darcy as she hobbled into the hallway. Once they reached their door, Darcy's mother jumped out to pull her into a bone-crushing hug. She was crying and Darcy was rolling her eyes. Desmond pushed past and sat down on the couch.

"Do you know the scare you gave us?" she snapped at her daughter. Darcy shrugged and used her shoulder to push the front door closed.

"I'm sure I gave you quite a fright," Darcy muttered sarcastically.

It had been over a month and Darcy had long ago returned to work. Although she had an actual communications degree she still didn't have quite as nice of an office as Karen. That was the only resentment she held for the kind woman.

Darcy had been hired right after graduating NYU since she had held multiple internships with The Bulletin. She had a passion for writing and reporting and took over the A&E section. Marshall Riccards was her partner in crime as he was the A&E photographer.

"Hey there Darcy," Marshall rolled back in his chair and smiled broadly at her. She looked up from her laptop and turned to face him.

"What's up Marsh?"

"We got that gallery opening on Wednesday. I was wondering if you wanted to grab something to eat beforehand."

Darcy smiled faintly and went back to typing away on her computer. "Sure sounds good."

"As a date," he trailed off. He fidgeted nervously in his chair as Darcy slowly turned back to study her partner.

"Marshall," she said quietly. "You know I don't date, and especially at work," she sighed and felt a pang of sympathy for her friend. "I just am terrible at relationships and I don't want to ruin our friendship and then have to see you every day here."

"That's fair. Well, I thought I would give it a shot," he stood up and smiled weakly at Darcy. "Well, I'm headed out for the day. I'll see you next week." Darcy nodded and waved to Marshall as he walked away with his backpack.

"Why are you always so tough on the boys here?" Karen smirked as she leaned against Darcy's desk with her arms crossed.

"I'm not tough on any of them. I just really don't want to mix work with sex and I especially don't want to date another journalist. On top of that, I just," Darcy leaned over and placed her hands on her face. "After the whole Drew thing, I don't think I'm ready to go back into it."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Still, though, you guys broke the engagement like four months ago. You can't really move on until you move past this," Karen rubbed her friend's back encouragingly.

"If you can get me a date outside of this hell hole, I'll consider it." Both Karen and Darcy laughed.

"Anyway, I'm heading out. I'll see you tomorrow for the final edit party," Karen slung her bag over her shoulder.

"The worst. Literally the worst part about this job. Working on weekends too. Why?" Darcy moaned loudly, "anyway, I'll see you tomorrow. Have a good night and be safe," Darcy watched Karen walk away before attempting to finish up her story.

Ellison walked past and gave Darcy a pep talk before handing her a coffee and sandwich from down the street. Mitchell Ellison, her editor, practically lived in their building. He was always the last one to leave and first to get there. That night Darcy thought she might rival that fact.

It was almost ten and Ellison was putting his coat on and putting files away in his office. After a few more minutes she posted the final draft on the computer. She groaned and stood to stretch. Ellison walked over and waited for her to gather her things so they could walk out together.

Darcy swiped her card and walked to her tunnel before standing to wait. She glanced down at her phone to check the time. In the corner of her eye, she saw a man sitting on the bench by the back wall. He was dressed in all black and his hood was pulled over hiding his face shrouding it in shadow. As the train started to pull up he walked over and stood by her.

Darcy glanced back to look him over. He was sporting a small beard and his hair was messy and hanging on his forehead. His eyes met hers and a strange look clouded his face. Darcy had a strange feeling about the man and one of her hands went into her bag too tightly grip the Glock.

Once the doors to the train opened, the last few people remaining filed out. The man behind her went ahead and entered the car. Darcy followed in after him and sat on the other end. Before the doors could close three other men quickly jumped in. Her grip hadn't lessened any while they sat staggered on the seats.

Darcy glanced at the man in all black that she had gotten on with. He seemed to be sitting rigidly but wasn't looking at anything in particular. Once the train really started to get moving, one of the men got up to sit closer to Darcy. She felt uneasy and scooted closer to the window.

The man attempted to make conversation getting closer with every passing moment. Darcy gave vague and short answers to appear polite. Then the lights flashed off on the train and the men pounced on Darcy. A hand was slapped over her mouth and her gun and purse were pulled away from her. The train had stopped and the doors were open. They were trying to drag her off the car.

Darcy could barely see what was happening and she was desperate to fight back. They were just too strong and it seemed like all her training instilled by her father went up in flames. She thrashed and screamed into one of the man's hands. Trying to bite down but he was wearing padding or something to protect himself.

Then one of the men holding onto her let out a grunt and suddenly the lights flickered back on. Darcy, her assailants, and the man in black weren't on the train as it pulled away. They all stood staring at each other under the red glare of an exit sign a few feet away. One of the men was lying now on the ground, face first, not moving. She had a feeling he was dead.

A shout echoed through the tunnel and the two men charged their new opponent. The man's hood had fallen off and Darcy squinted to see his face, but it was too dark. She gasped when she saw that he was holding a knife, the metal reflected the light as it slashed one of the attackers across the throat. The man went for the last man standing. Darcy didn't see what was happening, her eyes were fixed on the man who had slumped to his knees. His eyes were wide, he was holding his neck as if it would help. This man was choking on his own blood.

A loud crack echoed and the other man fell over. The man in black had killed all three of the men. He was clutching his bloody weapon and walking over to Darcy at a slow pace. He crouched down and looked at her. She was shaking and staring at the blood beginning to pool. The man sighed, wiped the knife in the dirt, then on his pants, then he tucked it away.

"Murder definitely wasn't on today's agenda," he muttered.

Darcy blinked and then closed her eyes and scrunched her brow. Sarcastic confusion is the only way to describe her expression. "Generally, it's not on anyone's."

He laughed and stood up offering her a hand. "No, but it's always on mine, just wasn't supposed to be until Tuesday. We're apparently ahead of schedule."

Darcy wasn't sure if he was joking, partly, she decided. She reached up and took his hand so he could pull her up to her feet. He glanced at the bodies and shrugged before walking towards the exit sign.

"You're the Punisher aren't you? You saved me a little bit ago," Darcy hadn't moved from her spot but was now holding onto her bag that had been lying in the bloody mess.

The man stopped and glanced back at her. "Frank Castle."

"I'm Darcy Finch. Frank, why'd you save me?"

"Well, I wasn't going to just stand by and watch them kidnap and probably murder a nice young woman. Plus I had been following them before they had come down here. I figured they were going to try something. Now come on, let's get out of here."

Darcy followed Frank out of the subway tunnel and back out onto the street. They had at least another mile until they were near her neighborhood. Frank stopped and glanced back at her. Now that they were in better lighting she was able to get a better look at him. He was fairly attractive she decided.

"What was that?" Darcy stuttered, she hadn't heard a thing he had said, her cheeks flushed.

"I said, would you like me to walk you back home?" Darcy shrugged.

"If you want, it's a bit more of a walk and it's late."

"Exactly why I'm offering. What if more of those guys come looking for you?"

"Then, by all means, I'll lead the way." Darcy walked ahead of him and rubbed her face. How was she going to explain this one to her parents? "Apparently we have a mutual friend."

"Is that so?" Frank had caught up to her quick strides with ease.

"Karen made sure I didn't rat you out that first time we met," Darcy glanced at him and watched for any reaction but he seemed to just shrug it off.

"Sounds like her. How is she doing these days?" Frank then turned to watch Darcy think.

"I guess she's doing good. She had a rough patch a month ago after finding her boyfriend in bed with another woman. That didn't go over so well with her," Darcy wrapped her arms around her waist as a wind blew by.

"Damn shame. Karen deserves better. So tell me, Darcy, what are you doing in a place like this?"

"Born and raised. NYU grad and all that jazz. You?"

"I guess you could say the same," Frank shrugged. They fell back into silence. It wasn't until they reached her apartment before she said anything else.

"Thanks for uh, rescuing me again. I guess I will see you around. Don't take offense but I'd rather steer clear of you and the people you hang around with."

Frank nodded with a faint smile before turning to leave. Darcy felt that there would be no sleep for tonight.

The next morning Darcy was walking back into the office with a coffee in one hand and a bag of donuts in the other. There was a small group of people scattered about the conference room staring down at large sheets of paper. Editing Saturday, the last once-over before the paper went to print. Red ink everywhere.

"Welcome to the party," Ellison stood and took the bag from her and traded it for a pen and bundle of papers. Sitting next to Karen, Darcy began her task.

"Last night okay?" Karen whispered to Darcy without looking up.

"I ran into you know who again," she whispered back. Karen's pen froze but she didn't look up.

"Why?" Darcy felt it was more of a statement than question.

"I might have almost got mugged last night."

"Are you kidding me?" Karen rubbed her face and gave her friend a stern look. "Listen, Darcy, you need to be more careful. I know you aren't intentionally trying to get into trouble but he isn't good company to keep. I know I talk about him like we are friends but he is a dangerous guy if you aren't careful."

"I know. I'm not completely stupid. Honest to God, I am trying my best to keep my nose clean," Darcy swore.

"If you say so. Well, next week on Friday my friend Foggy is getting some friends together for a bar crawl. Want to be my plus one?"

"Ladies," Ellison snapped from the head of the table. "Focus, we all want to go home, so the faster we do this the faster we can do that."

"Sure. Text me the details," Darcy winked at her friend before continuing her work.

Several hours later, they were all released just around lunchtime. Darcy walked across the street to the small cafe and sat down with her father.

"We got Cujo back from the vet. They finished up the surgery so he is safe and sound back at home." Captain Finch said as he sipped the hot beverage.

Cujo was Darcy's birthday present a couple years back. A large grey great Dane. Her favorite running partner and only other friend. After suffering a major depression episode her parents gave her the dog for emotional support.

"Damn dog sticks his nose everywhere it shouldn't be. Jesus. I still can't believe he didn't get rabies from that stupid rat. Thank God though, I don't think I could handle him dying that way. It would practically be my fault."

Her father rolled his eyes, "you are supposed to keep him on a leash for a reason. It's law after all, though it's not your fault, Cujo would have gotten attacked by some animal at some point."

"He doesn't like leashes and when he is wearing his vest he doesn't act like an idiot. You know he never wanders off when he knows he is on duty."

"Just be more careful please," the police captain stood and put his uniform jacket and hat on. He embraced his youngest daughter before heading out. "I just remembered. Your brothers DJ and Charlie will be in town later this week so help your mother with the cooking."

Darcy smiled and waved him off. After finishing her muffin she dusted her shirt and threw the trash away. As she began walking out the door she stumbled into someone. She stood up straight quickly and began to apologize before she realized who it was.

"Are you stalking me?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Frank smirked as Darcy turned red. "I was just coming in to grab a sandwich. Calm down."

"You calm down," Darcy said stupidly not sure of what else to say, too flustered to think straight. "Stop following me."

Frank watched as she stomped outside and out into the rain.