The news the next day read "Man saves child from killer taxi driver." Matt had managed to cover his face with his coat and sunglasses, and Audrey's face was hidden in her arms or his hug for most of the time, so no one knew it was them. That would have made it much easier to connect Matthew Murdock to Daredevil, which Matt did not want. Foggy, however, was a different story. He could not believe what had happened, and especially could not believe that afterwards Matt had calmly gone inside and made mac n' cheese.

What confused Matt was the fact that he was sure that the taxi driver had turned into some sort of dragon, but Foggy had said that in the newspaper photos he'd just been a man with a "mad crazy" knife. Matt had decided that the man must have been on drugs that made the outlines of his body seem, to a radar sense, to be like a dragon's. That didn't quite make sense, but it was better than the explanation "Matt is going crazy."

Foggy had offered to represent Matt yet again in a case against the taxi company, but Matt had refused, more for privacy than anything else.

Matt thought about what Audrey had said. Everything she'd described seemed unbelievable, but in a world where a blind guy could swing from rooftops due to a toxic waste-induced radar sense, Matt supposed that what Audrey had said was the solid truth. However, that made him even more determined to adopt her; he was one of the best fighters in New York and would probably keep her the safest of anyone she could be adopted by, except Tony Stark or Thor or someone like that. To tell the truth, he wasn't quite sure what had happened that day. It was like some force had made the dragon—sorry, taxi driver—disappear.

Anyway, it was with renewed vigor that he set out to take her for another visit to his house, this time with Foggy driving them both to and fro.

Audrey was waiting for Matt in the lobby. While Matt could have found Audrey on his own using almost any one of his remaining senses—smelling her, hearing her heartbeat, feeling everyone in the room until he got to her (granted, that would be awkward) or radar sense, he took Foggy with him to erase any possible suspicion he'd otherwise be under. He needn't have worried; Nurse Aceso was waiting with Audrey and called him over.

"Thank you for being on time. I need to check on someone in a few minutes. She's signed out for a few hours." Nurse Aceso shook Matt's hand and left.

"Is that hospital policy?" Foggy muttered. "Signing a kid out for someone else?"

Matt had thought of that, and it was odd, but as long as he could be with Audrey he wouldn't question it. He was beginning to feel extremely attached to her. He could definitely imagine walking her into her first day of school.

Audrey gave Matt a hug, which took him slightly by surprise.

"This time Foggy will drive us both ways," Matt said. "Just to be safe." Foggy had driven the two back to the hospital the time before and he had not once turned into a dragon. It was really very thoughtful of him.

"Okay," Audrey said.

"Hi," Foggy said.

"Hi, Foggy." Audrey gave a wave in Foggy's direction, and it mostly succeeded.

"Let's go." Matt wanted to leave the hospital, with all its scents of illness and bad memories, and he wanted to get time to really know Audrey.

"I can use the cane a little better," Audrey said. "But can I still hold on to you?"

"Of course." Matt held an arm down so Audrey could find it. He led the way to the car, bent to the side so the nine-year-old could keep a grip on his elbow. Foggy followed. He was more than used to Matt going on ahead.

Matt put Audrey's hand on the car door handle so she could open it herself and he could hear the resulting smile. He did buckle her in, though, hoping it wouldn't make her feel too much like a baby.

"Thank you," she said politely. Matt smiled and went around the other side to sit beside Audrey in the back.

Foggy got in the front. "Matt will not stop talking about you," Foggy said. "According to him, you're the... What was it?"

"Toughest nine-year-old I've ever met." Matt patted Audrey's hand, hoping Foggy had not embarrassed her as much as Foggy had embarrassed Matt. Audrey's heart sped up and Matt heard her lips part in a smile.

"Really?" her head went up, then down. "But I cry a lot," she whispered to Matt. "Nurse Aceso said I shouldn't cry."

Matt felt a hot rash of irritation at that. "Crying is perfectly okay," he said to Audrey. "I cry, too."

Audrey nodded and leaned back.

All through the visit, Matt couldn't get what Audrey had told him Nurse Aceso had said out of his mind. When he dropped the girl off, he marched straight up to the nurse. Nurse Aceso was sorting through files.

"Hello, Mr. Murdock. What can I do for you?" Nurse Aceso's voice was pleasant, soothing.

"Audrey said something in the car earlier, and, well, it was hard to believe a medical professional had said that to a child in her situation." His voice was far more formal than he'd even use in the courtroom. He cared far too much about Audrey, he realized.

"And what was that?" Nurse Aceso kept systematically sorting the files.

"She told me that you said she shouldn't cry." Matt shook his head. "Why would you even say that?"

Nurse Aceso's heartbeat didn't flinch. She put down her files. "Oh, Mr. Murdock, you have no idea of what that girl is going to go through."

That made Matt plenty angry, but he held it on a tight rein. "No idea?" He said quietly. If he let himself go another inch, he'd yell the full mile. "Excuse me, Nurse Aceso, but I believe I know more than you do about what Audrey is going to go through."

Nurse Aceso chuckled. "Matt, Matt, Matt. You hardly know what the average blind person goes through. And oh, Matthew, Audrey is so much more than that."

Matt's head pounded and a torrent of sound flooded through his ears from inside of his head. "What do you mean?" He asked, feeling like he was underwater. "What do you mean by that?" His hands were clenched into fists over his cane, anchoring him to his helpless disguise.

"That waste that splashed your eyes was special, Matt. Audrey's wasn't quite the same, but it isn't often I come across something I can't heal. If I choose."

Nurse Aceso went back to sorting the files, and Matt had the feeling she was deciding who lived and who died. Matt turned to walk away, not sure he could keep his anger at bay. Nurse Aceso whispered to him as he left, his enhanced hearing picking it up as easily as if she'd been right next to him.

"Don't worry, Matt. I won't tell."

Okie dokie! That was a fun chapter. I love writing this so much, honestly. It's just so refreshing to write fan fiction after school essays. Thank you all so, so much for reading! Reviews are incredibly appreciated. Critiques, comments, just saying "hi," anything! I love you all!