"Foggy," Marci said, looking up from the files she was skimming. "Would you just answer the damn phone? Don't think I haven't noticed that it's been vibrating in your pocket non-stop for the past five minutes. I don't think whoever is calling you is going to stop."

Foggy sighed, pulling out his phone and looking at the screen. Matt, it read. He was tempted to ignore the call, but it was Matt's first attempt at contact in a while, and he usually wasn't so...relentless. Foggy looked at Marci and stood. "Jus sec," he said softly, then answered the phone. "Hey."

"Foggy Nelson?" said a gruff voice. Foggy frowned, a wave of fear washing over him.

"Yeah. And who the hell is this?"

"This is Matt's landlord, Manny. He wanted me to call."

Foggy's blood ran cold, and his phone almost slipped from his grip. "He's not-is he-" He couldn't even say the words. He'd found Matt dying on his own floor once, in the devil costume. Foggy'd gotten there that night and called for help. Lately, though, he'd been busy and frankly he was still kind of pissed at Matt and had stopped checking in and now-

"He's alive," Manny said quickly, and Foggy let out the breath hr hadn't realized he'd been holding. "They're getting him stabilized for surgery."

"Surg-what the hell happened?" Foggy cried, hoping to god that Matt hadn't been in the suit when Manny found him.

"He was...he was stabbed."

"Shit. Shit!" Foggy's mind was full of questions, but also fear and worry and shame, and he couldn't put words together. He hastily pushed his papers into a pile and grabbed his briefcase.

"Mr. Nelson? Are you okay? Foggy?"

"Uh...uh, yeah. Look, I'm coming over there right now." He hung up and finished shoving his papers into the briefcase. Marci was watching him, eyebrows pulled into a worried frown.

"You gonna tell me what's going on?" she asked as Foggy slammed the briefcase shut.

"I'm sorry, Marci, but I have to go," he said shortly.

"Go where, Foggy? This is a huge case-"

"Matt's in the hospital, okay?" Foggy snapped. "He was stabbed! He was stabbed and I wasn't there and his landlord was the one to find him and I don't know if-" He stopped, taking a breath. Marci hadn't done anything wrong. There was no need to take out his worry on her. Another breath. His voice lowered from the near-shout. "I don't know if he's gonna be okay, Marci. I've gotta be there."

Marci set down her papers, looking him calmly in the eye. "Leave the briefcase," she said. "You don't need to be worrying about work right now. I'll take it to your place later. Go."

Foggy nodded, dropping his stuff on the conference table before heading out to catch a cab, skipping the elevator to take the stairs down, two at a time. The first cab he saw stopped, and Foggy was grateful that, for once, the taxi gods were ruling in his favor.

"Where to?" the cabbie asked.

"Metro-General," Foggy replied, digging his phone out of his pocket. He took a deep breath as the taxi rolled out into traffic, scrolling through his contacts 'til he found the one he wanted and pressed call.

"Hey, Foggy. I haven't heard from you in awhile, how're-"

"Karen, hey. This, uh, this isn't a social call. I'm sorry. I don't…" Foggy cleared his throat. "I don't wanna have to be the one to tell you this…"

"What's wrong?" Her voice was taut, as though she already had an idea what had happened.

"I'm, uh...I'm on my way to the hospital. Matt's been hurt. I don't know all the details-or any details, really-but it's bad. He's on his way into surgery."

"Shit. I'm on my way. Was he...is his secret safe?"

Foggy took a deep breath. The worry in her voice mirrored his own: near frantic. "I don't know. His landlord didn't say much."

'"His landlord? He's the one that found him, then?"

"That's what it seemed like, yeah. I guess we'll find out more when we get there. "

It took Karen a minute to answer, and when she did, her voice was thick and strained. "Foggy, I'm scared. I don't want to lose him."

Foggy sighed, closing his eyes in an attempt to stop the tears before they had a chance to start. "I don't want to lose him either. But if there's anything I know about Matt Murdock, it's that he's tough. And a stubborn bastard."

Karen laughed a little, and some of the tension had left her voice when she replied. "Yeah, he really is."

"Hey, I'm almost at the hospital, so I'm gonna hang up. I'll see you soon."

"'Kay. Call me if you find anything out, okay? And I mean anything."

"I will, Karen. Bye." He put his phone in his pocket and pulled out his wallet, his money ready so that when the cab stopped, Foggy shoved the bills in his hand and stumbled out of the cab, running into the hospital and coming to a screeching halt at the reception desk. "I'm here for my friend," he said quickly. "Matthew Murdock. I, uh...I think he's in surgery. I'm his emergency contact."

The receptionist, a small woman who looked like she could probably kick the shit out of Foggy, nodded and looked at her computer, frowning and clicking and typing in a few things. "Okay, sir. Mister…?"

It took him a moment to realize she was addressing him. He was too worried to be embarrassed. "Um, Nelson."

"Mister Nelson. It looks like Mister Murdock just went into surgery. Once he's out of recovery, he'll most likely be placed in the ICU. If you go to the waiting room on the fourth floor just outside the ICU, I'll let the doctor know you're there and he'll give you what information he can when he can. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

Foggy chewed on the inside of his cheek. "No. No, thank you." He had no idea how long the surgery would be, how badly Matt was injured, and from the sound of it, he wouldn't know for awhile. Meaning his mind would be free to play out worst-case-scenario after worst-case-scenario.

He dragged himself to the elevator, the spike of adrenaline he'd had already waning, leaving him exhausted from worry and desperate for the answers that he knew he wouldn't get anytime soon. He was thankful to find that the elevator was empty, and he got in quickly and closed the doors, then his eyes, leaning his forehead against the wall and letting himself cry for the short ride. The tears had stopped by the time the elevator doors opened again, and he followed the signs until he found the right waiting room. He didn't bother sitting; as exhausted as he was, there was no way he'd be able to relax.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket, dialing Karen for the second time in less than an hour.

"Foggy, have you heard anything?" she asked immediately, and Foggy sighed.

"No, not really. I'm sorry. They just took him into surgery, that's all I know. I just wanted to-to let you know that I'm in the waiting room on the fourth floor, by the ICU."

"I'm almost there, Foggy. Just...just hang in there, okay? I mean, we both have to. For Matt."

"Yeah. Yeah, Karen."

"I'll see you soon Foggy. Bye."

"Bye." He hung up, then stared at his phone for a long time before putting it back in his pocket. He couldn't stop thinking about how things might be different if he'd just kept an eye on Matt. If he'd just called. Or at least answered Matt's calls.

Nothing would've changed, he thought bitterly, and it surprised him, but only for a moment. After all, he was right. Matt wouldn't stop being Matt, and that meant he wouldn't stop being Daredevil. He would keep trying to take on the world, until it killed him.

If it hadn't already.

Those four words were still bouncing around in his head when the elevator doors opened, and Karen stepped out, eyes rimmed with red. She spotted Foggy and offered a fragile smile that crumpled as soon as he pulled her into a hug. She made no sound as she cried, her shoulders shaking lightly against his as he tightened his arms around her frame.

"He's gonna be okay," Foggy said into her hair. And he actually believed. Something told him Matt was gonna get through this and go right back to being a huge pain in everyone's ass. "Why don't you sit down. I'll go and get us some coffee."

She smiled, wiping her eyes. "Sure. Thanks, Foggy. You remember what I like?"

Foggy smiled back. "Of course I remember...cream and two sugars?"

Karen snorted. "No cream, four sugars."

"Four sugars?" Foggy repeated in disbelief, and Karen laughed.

"Don't you judge me, Nelson."

He crossed the room to the counter where a coffee maker resided, getting them both their coffees and sitting next to Karen. He handed it to her and she thanked him, taking a sip of it and making a face.

"How long do you think that's been sitting there?" she asked.

Foggy took a sip of his. "It's not so bad." The taste settled, and he found himself making a face against his will. "Nope. No, you're right. That's terrible."

They sat in silence for a moment, and Foggy found his mind crawling back to the dark space it had been in before Karen had appeared, and judging from the expression on her face, she was going through something similar.

"So...how's work?"

"You know, I love it. I really do. Not that being your guys's...whatever I was wasn't rewarding and all, but this is…" She smiled. "I dunno, Foggy. It just feels like I'm really doing something, you know? Although, there is this co-worker…"

Foggy smiled and nodded and listened, glad to be distracted, laughing at the various little absurdities Karen faced as a journalist. When she was done talking, Karen announced that it was his turn. He did his best, talking about life at a big firm, though none of his stories were as funny as hers. She laughed anyway, and Foggy suspected it was because if she wasn't laughing, she'd be crying. He was just finishing a story about a coworker's unfortunate run-in with a new printer from Japan when a doctor walked in and said, "Mr. Nelson?"

Foggy rose from his chair, heart pounding. "Yeah."

The doctor gestured for Foggy to go to him, and the two of them walked around a corner.

"I'm Doctor Jensen. I'm the one who operated on Matthew. He was in bad shape when they brought him up. The knife hit his pancreas and the inferior vena cava-the vein that carries blood from the lower body to the heart. We were able to stop the bleeding and repair the damage, but he lost a lot of blood. He's in the recovery ward now, then on to the ICU. He'll be pretty weak, and we're going to need to keep a close eye on him to make sure his pancreas heals correctly. But we're very hopeful. He's strong, and young, so everything should heal up well."

Foggy let out a breath he hadn't realized he's been holding, his eyes welling in relief. "He's gonna be okay?"

"It's looking that way," Dr. Jensen answered, and Foggy almost hugged him.

"Thank you. You'll let me know when Karen and I can see him?"

"The minute you're allowed to see him I'll make sure you're told. I've got other patients to get to, but if you have any questions, ask around and we'll get you the answer."

"Thank you, Dr. Jensen," Foggy said, shaking the man's hand. When he got back to the waiting room, Karen was standing up, the lines on her forehead spelling her worry. "He just got out of surgery. He was hurt pretty bad, but doc says he should heal fine."

"Oh, thank god," Karen breathed, sitting back down, her elbows on her knees. She sighed. "Thank god."

Foggy sat down beside her. "Thank god."

XXX

They were allowed in to see him one at a time. He was still unconscious, and might stay that way for up to a few days, but it was good just to see him. Even if he did look like shit. Pale skin, with dark circles under his eyes, a cannula in his nose and IVs sticking out of his arms. Foggy and Karen took their turns visiting him, Foggy talking quietly about their college days, Karen just sitting and holding his hand. They took turns for as long as visiting hours would allow.

XXX

A/N Sorry this took forever to get out! I'm hoping the next one will be sooner, and it for sure will be more exciting. Thanks for the support, guys!