Author's Note: I've rewritten/edited this chapter so many times I've lost count! Hopefully it's up to par now. Thank you for your reviews. Enjoy!
Chapter 2
"Come on," Matt coaxed a frightened child out from under her bed. "It's okay, I'm going to get you out of here." She crawled out slowly, hugging a small teddy bear tightly against her chest. He held out his arms to her in invitation, not wanting to scare her back into hiding. She jumped into his waiting arms. "I've got you," he whispered reassuringly. He pressed her head into his shoulder, shielding her from the smoke and flames surrounding them. He ran to a nearby window, somehow managing to avoid most of the obstacles in his way. He hissed when his knee banged into the corner of a dresser. Matt climbed out onto the same fire escape he had led three others down only moments ago. Ambulance sirens whirled as it quickly pulled up to the scene. Matt rushed over to it, a paramedic exiting the vehicle. "This girl and those three people," Matt pointed towards the small group huddled on the curb, "were trapped inside. They're all suffering from various injuries as well as smoke inhalation." The paramedic nodded, instructing his partner to attend to the adults waiting on the sidewalk. Matt tried to pry the girl off of him, but she wouldn't budge, finally feeling safe for the first time since the fire started. He knelt down, setting her feet gently on the ground. "I know you're scared, but these nice people need to look you over to make sure you're okay."
She nodded, wiping her eyes. "What about mommy?"
Matt gritted his teeth, having almost tripped over the burnt body of her mother when he had retrieved the girl. It had looked like the woman was trying to get to her daughter, but the flames got to her first. "I don't know sweetheart." He hated lying to her, but he needed to go find Jessica and Malcolm. At his nod, the paramedic picked her up, placing her on a gurney and attaching an oxygen mask to her. Daredevil pulled him off to the side, "her mother died in the fire. Find her father or next of kin. She's going to need them here when she finds out."
"Yes sir," the paramedic responded. "Despite what the police may say, we see what you do for this city and its people, and we're grateful." Matt smiled, giving the man's shoulder a gentle squeeze of gratitude before the paramedic returned to his patient.
Matt listened for Jessica, tried to pick up her scent, any hint of her, but each time he came up empty handed. She was supposed to be out here already. She only had to get Malcolm whereas he had to get multiple people. What was taking her so long? Unless...
Matt ran back into the flames, ignoring the worried voices of onlookers behind him. Jessica was already injured before they had parted ways. A thousand scenarios ran through his mind, none of them good.
He scaled the inside of the building, returning to the fifth floor. He moved down the abandoned hallway. He heard the creaking underfoot a second too late, the floor caving in around him. His body collided into the hard and unforgiving tile floor below, ashes and debris chasing after him. The man groaned, rolling over onto his side. Pushing himself back up, he made his way to the staircase, afraid that if he tried to climb back up through the hole the weakened floor would give way, sending him tumbling back down again.
He walked down the hallway carefully this time, making sure to give the hole a wide berth. He listened for Jessica's heartbeat, trying to find out which apartment was Malcolm's. The steady thrum came from off to the right, but it did little to alleviate his fears. Matt pushed aside the fact he could only hear Jess's heartbeat, not Malcolm's. He followed the familiar sound into Malcolm's apartment, using it to center himself and find Jessica. He shook his head, trying to clear the dizzying flames from his vision. Everything was distorted. "Jessica?" he frowned when she didn't respond. "Jess!" His boot brushed against the discarded wet rag she had been using. Damn it, where was she?! "Jess, answer me!" he yelled, his tone becoming more and more panicked by the second. His foot caught on the edge of a large beam that had fallen, causing him to land unceremoniously on the floor. Matt placed his hands underneath him to push himself back up, but his left hand rested on something soft. He traced the outline of the shape, down to the fingertips. "Jessica?!" Both hands quickly assessed the situation: Jess was unconscious, her prone form trapped underneath the smoldering beam he had just tripped over, her breathing shallow. "Shit," he patted out an ember that had sparked to life on her jeans. "Come on, wake up." He tapped her face but received no reaction. Daredevil stood up, latching his hands together under the huge column of wood, lifting with all of his might. The beam wouldn't budge. The effort caused him to take a deep breath, inhaling more smoke. He coughed loudly, unsure how much more his lungs could take. If the fire didn't kill them, the smoke would. Matt knelt down. "Jessica," he shook her. "I need your help. I can't get you out and there's no way I'm leaving you alone to die here." God forgive him for doing this, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Daredevil punched Jessica, wincing with guilt as he did so.
"Son of a bitch," Jessica wheezed. Her eyes cracked open, staring up at the flames surrounding the devil. "Ah fuck, it's finally happened. I'm in hell."
Matt chuckled, "no, but not for lack of trying."
"Bastard. You owe me...some top shelf whiskey for that shit you just pulled Murdock," she threatened weakly.
Matt smiled, "deal. But first we have to get you out of here."
Jessica's head lolled to the side, her eyes slipping closed again.
"Hey," Matt tapped her face lightly to keep her awake. "Stay with me."
"Kinda...can't go anywhere," she shot back, her gaze resting on him once more.
"Yeah, that's part of the problem. Can you lift the beam?"
Jess repositioned her arms, groaning as she pushed the massive chunk of wood up and flung it to the side. Matt reached down a hand, which Jessica accepted, hoisting her to her feet. She swayed, her eyes glazing over. "Whoa! Easy." Matt caught her, leaning her into his side. He felt her stiffen, but offer no other form of protest. Now that she was upright, the blood from the cut above her eyebrow began flowing down, into her eye and sliding over her cheek. "Where's Malcolm?" Matt asked, half-dreading the answer.
"He's not here?" she mumbled. She had scoured every inch of his apartment searching for him before the beam knocked her out.
Matt shook his head, "the only heartbeats left in this building are yours and mine."
Jessica paused, knowing that could mean one of two things: either Malcolm wasn't home during the explosion or it had already killed him. Either way, there was nothing more she could do here.
Matt read Jessica's body language, taking in the exact moment she resigned herself to whatever fate may have befallen her friend and neighbor. They hobbled towards the doorway, stopping abruptly when they heard a cracking noise from somewhere above them. "Move!" Matt yelled, pulling Jessica with him. They stumbled, managing to just barely make it out of the way of the mangled bedroom set that came crashing through the ceiling, effectively blocking their escape route.
Okay, Plan B. "This way," Jessica took the lead, ushering him towards a window. The building groaned around them, echoing in Matt's ears. They didn't have much time left.
"There's no fire escape," Matt coughed.
"Nope." Jessica kicked the window out, using Matt to steady herself. The rush of air fueled the fire around them.
"But we're still going out this way," Matt assumed.
"Yep," she answered, her eyes locked on the building across the alley. The floor began to give way beneath them. "Hold on!" Jessica clung to Matt's waist as he wrapped his arms around her. She put one foot on the windowsill, launching off of the ledge, cringing as pain raced up her injured side. They flew across the gap, breaking through the window in the building opposite them. Jessica twisted so that her body took the brunt of the fall, shattered glass raining down over them as they rolled a few yards.
Matt raised himself up on his hands and knees, looking over at Jessica as she moaned from her position. "Idiot," he muttered, checking her over. "You shouldn't have done that."
Jessica swatted his concerned hands away, "it was better than becoming super-powered pancakes."
"No, not that. I could have taken the impact," he huffed. She might be strong and heal faster than others, but she wasn't unbreakable. Add to that the fact she was already hurt before they went soaring through the air. At least he had his suit to protect him; she had nothing.
"I'll heal," she commented offhandedly.
He gave her an incredulous look, "that can't be your answer for everything."
She shrugged before thinking better of it, wincing from the motion. "For most things. For everything else, it's alcohol."
"Jessica-"
Despite her weakened state, a fire lit in her eyes that rivaled the one burning in her home. She jabbed a finger in his chest, almost knocking him flat on his ass. "Look, I'm not going to stand by and let you get yourself into deep shit again because you care about everyone else more than you do your own fucking self. And you can't even see how fucked up that is."
"Jess..."
"No. 'Saint Matthew sacrificing himself for the greater good,'" she mocked. "I will heal, you won't."
"I won't leave you again Jess," Matt said softly.
Jessica growled, muttering curses under her breath. Matt knew he had struck a nerve with his actions and his words. Jessica had a hard exterior, and to most of the world, it looked like she didn't give a damn. But he knew better, he knew her better. Only, he didn't know exactly how much his 'death' had affected her. And she wasn't too happy about being called out on that fact.
She sighed, laying back on the broken glass scattered on the ground. "You're still an asshole."
He smiled, "I know. And you still don't give a shit what happens to anyone."
"Damn straight," she mumbled, closing her eyes.
