"Hey, I'm going to head out a little early today," Matt called out the open office door. Foggy appeared in the doorway and leaned against the frame.

"Ah, its Friday isn't it," he said with a knowing grin. "I was going to invite you to drinks at Josie's, but I forgot what day it was." Matt smiled, he was getting used to his weekly visits to the hospital to visit Layla. It had been a few months since he had been discharged, but he had promised that he would come and visit every week.

"Mind if I join you?" Foggy asked.

"Sure, Fog. You know Layla loves when Mr. Foggy comes to visit." Matt smiled at the accidental name Foggy had made himself. Foggy laughed and moved to grab his bag from his office.

"Do you think it would be okay if I came, too? I would like to meet the famed Layla that seems to be getting all of Matt's spare time nowadays," Karen shifted her gaze from her computer to the door of Matt's office.

"I don't see why not," Matt shrugged, looking towards Foggy. He shuffled the papers on his desk into neat piles before grabbing his cane. "She's been doing pretty well from what Elizabeth has told me."

"Perfect!" Karen reached down for her bag and propped it on her shoulder.

Matt knocked on the door to Layla's room. She had been moved to a private room a week after Matt had left since most of the time at least on of her parents would stay in the room with her. He didn't get a response and knocked again; sometimes Layla was playing or watching TV and the knock couldn't be heard. Soon there was shuffling and low voices behind the door. Matt retreated a step right as the door opened. Immediately, he could tell things had changed.

"What's wrong…?" Matt didn't hesitate to ask. Jeff was clearly exhausted. He didn't give Matt his usual chipper greeting.

"Matt, can I talk to you…?" Matt understood the unspoken privately.

"Guys, could you- uh…give us a second?" Matt listened to the nervous shuffle and shift of weight as Foggy placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, of course. We'll be in the waiting room if you need us."

Matt listened as they left, maybe only as a distraction to the conversation about to come. He knew there was a big possibility that Layla wasn't going to get better, but anytime he tried to address the facts, he found himself angry and upset so he tended to avoid the topic altogether.

"Matt, I…" the exhalation of breath from Jeff made Matt want to break down in tears right there.

"Is she…?" Matt lowered his head and gestured vaguely to the door.

"No…but she isn't doing well. Her body isn't responding to the treatment as well as it was before. She was doing fine, I mean, you saw her last Friday…"

Matt nodded. She had seemed tired and worn but nothing that would have suggested this sudden of a downturn.

"Well, Tuesday it all turned south after treatment and she's been on life-support ever since. They had her in ICU for a few days but just moved her back up here this afternoon. Its…" Jeff rubbed a shaking hand over his eyes. "It doesn't look good, Matt. We would've told you sooner, but…"

"No," Matt was quick to object. "No, don't do that to yourself. I completely understand."

Jeff nodded solemnly and the two stood outside the door in silence for a few moments.

"You can go in, if you'd like…"Jeff gestured toward the door. "I told Eliza I was going to get some coffee while I was out here. Would you like a cup?"

"No, thank you," Matt smiled half-heartedly and reached for the door. He didn't know how he didn't hear it before, the machines beeping and whirring. There were so many more than before. Layla's breathing was mechanical. It sent a chill down Matt's spine and water pricked the corners of his eyes. Her heartbeat wasn't even hers; it sounded wrong, like someone had taken a recording of a heart and placed it in her chest. Matt hadn't realized he hadn't moved past the closed door until Eliza was touching his arm.

"Matt, I'm so sorry," she touched his cheek gingerly. Matt shook his head.

"No, I'm sorry. If there was anything I could do…I would…" Matt shook his head again and stopped talking before the words got caught in his throat.

"You have done so much for us, for her. We are so grateful to you. For a point there we thought that she might have given up. She was so depressed, all the time. Nothing we could do seemed to cheer her up. I don't think you can ever know how much that meant to me and Jeff."

Matt nodded and knitted his brows together tightly. He couldn't cry in front of Elizabeth, it wasn't fair. Here her daughter is dying and she is the one thanking him.

"My job…can get pretty shitty. I see too much of the underside of the city, you know? Sometimes its hard to remember that..." Matt trailed off, trying to find the right words.

"That there is good here, too?" Elizabeth offered. "You are the good, Matt. I know I can see it and Layla saw it, too." She glanced over her shoulder at the hospital bed. "I'll just step out, if that's okay with you?" Matt nodded and she brushed around him, shutting the door as she went.

Matt was alone. The room hummed and the tiny room echoed with the tinny machines. He placed his cane down and moved closer to the bed. He didn't know what to do, or say. Should he say anything? Matt tried listening to her heartbeat again, but found that it was too different to be any kind of comfort to him.

He stood there a while, not doing much of anything besides getting lost in his memories and thoughts. Reaching down, he found her tiny hand, gave a small squeeze and placed his folded glasses with her. Leaning over, he gave her a feather-light kiss on the top of her head and quickly retreated. His heart started racing as if it was finally catching up to the situation. The numbness he had felt was fading and what took its place was so sharp it almost knocked the wind out of him. The room was suddenly thick with the smell he knew so well, but didn't want to acknowledge. Layla was dying. His brain shut down and only the thought of escaping was left.

He pulled open the door and raced down the hall, forgetting his cane and not bothering to stop when he heard his name called after him. He knew where the waiting room was. He burst in, hoping that the only two occupants were Karen and Foggy.

"Matt? Shit." Foggy was on his feet and across the floor before Matt could even stop. "Hey, hey, its okay. Matt, you're okay."

"No, no, no…Foggy none of this is okay…none…" Matt's words were strained with sobs. He tried to pace. Foggy caught him with one arm and wrapped him in a hug.

"Breathe, Matty. Christ, just breathe." Foggy rubbed comforting circles in his back as he shared a glance with Karen. She looked as if she had seen a ghost. Foggy felt the same. It was like seeing Matt in the hospital bed all over again.

"Foggy…" Matt tried to remember a time when he cried this hard. The only time he could think of is when he had found his father. This realization completely unraveled him. Suddenly his legs didn't want to support his weight. Foggy caught him and they sank to the couch next to Karen.

He didn't know how long he had been there, but Foggy didn't show any signs of letting him go until he made the move. Matt finally was able to compose himself enough to pick his head up from Foggy's shoulder which made him jump. Apparently he'd been like that for a lot longer than he thought.

"Hey, Matty," Foggy's voice was soft. Matt was grateful, his head throbbed. His eyes felt like they were too big for his head and his ribs ached.

"Sorry…" was the first thing Matt could think to say.

"Don't be," Foggy tucked a tissue into his hand but the cheap material felt like sandpaper. "Just in case."

Matt nodded numbly.

"Do you want to get up?"

He nodded again.

"Okay, ready?"

A third nod. Matt rose to his feet and his body felt like every fiber of his being was being weighed down. Something was being pressed into his hands- his cane. His mind searched for an explination. The confusion on his face must have been enough for them to notice.

"You left it in the room when you ran out, Elizabeth brought it down a little while after," Karen offered. He nodded again, worried that he didn't hear Elizabeth coming, but his fatigued brain wouldn't let him dwell on the thought for more than a few seconds.

"Visiting hours are over, so they said they would call if anything…changes…" Foggy tapped Matt's hand and guided it to his elbow. Another nod. Matt didn't know if his voice would ever be useful again; it currently felt like someone had taken a grater to his chords. Foggy and Karen guided him to the elevator, but he made sure to pinpoint the room as he left. The automated heartbeat was still going. It wasn't much of a comfort, but for now it was all Matt had to hope on.