Ch. 10

Matt had to come clean with Karen. Even if it meant losing her, he felt like it was necessary. If he was going to keep the baby, she was going to find out, and better to find out from him now then be surprised later. Besides, why keep living with the fear of what would happen when she found out? Better to rip the bandaid off fast then to do it slowly.

For hours after he returned home, Matt thought of what he should say.

"Karen, I have some things I need to tell you," he started. "And you may want to sit down."

That sounded good. She should probably sit down. From there, though, things got harder. There was so much to say - both secrets - his secret identity and his current situation - had to be revealed, and they were so complicated…

Matt was still thinking about it when Karen showed up. She was wearing the perfume that he liked, probably trying to put him in a good mood after his procedure. Karen was nice like that, but her efforts made him feel guilty. He felt even worse when she offered him some dinner that she'd brought over. Apparently she'd cooked for him, knowing that he might be too uncomfortable to make anything for himself. Why did she have to be so damn nice?

Matt suggested putting the food away for right then, because he needed to talk to her. He could hear Karen's heart rate increase and smell the small amount of sweat that was forming on her body. He wondered if she feared that he would break up with her. 'We need to talk' was never a good statement, he supposed.

"I have some things I need to tell you," he began, just as he had planned. "And you may want to take a seat."

Karen raised an eyebrow (not that Matt could see it) and sat down in one of the chairs across from the couch.

"Okay," she answered. "What's up?"

Matt sighed.

"This is… It's going to be a lot for you to take in. And you're probably going to hate me after it."

"I don't think I could ever hate you."

"We'll see."

"Okay…"

Her heart rate had slowed. She was likely more confused than anything, now.

"You know… You remember the Devil of Hell's Kitchen? The guy they call Daredevil now?"

"Yeah, of course. He saved me and all."

"It's… He's… He's me."

Silence. He heard Karen take a deep breath, then start to chuckle.

"Okay, nice one, Matt. What do you really want to talk about?"

"I'm not joking," Matt replied, seriously. "I'm really him. I can prove it."

Karen was silent for a second again.

"Prove it?"

"Yeah. Come here." He stood up and led Karen to his closet, where he pulled out the box that held his father's boxing stuff and his old black outfit. He took the shirt, sticks and mask out and held them up for her to see.

There was more silence.

"...This is a Halloween costume, right? I don't get it, Matt. Even if you… I mean, you're blind, for Christ's sake."

That remark irked Matt more than he would have liked to admit. He threw the black shirt, mask and sticks down and pulled out his new red and black suit.

"Just because I'm blind doesn't mean that I don't know what's going on around me. I can hear things, feel things, smell things. I can fight, Karen. I'm the one who saved you that night when you were attacked in your apartment. I knew to go there because I knew you were lying about keeping the information from Union Allied. And I knew that you were telling the truth about not killing Daniel Fisher, too, when I first met you, because I could hear your heartbeat. I can tell that just before, when I said we needed to talk, you got nervous."

"How…? I mean, Daredevil can really fight… How did you learn that? It's not like boxing, Matt, not like what your dad would've done."

Matt had memories of explaining this to Foggy, and he didn't really want to draw it out with Karen.

"It's a long story, but I had a mentor as a kid. I trained - and I continue to train - and I use my heightened senses to my advantage. Do you want me to put on the suit and show you?" Matt still felt annoyed. He had hoped that maybe Karen would give him a little more credit, but at the same time he felt that he shouldn't have been surprised. He did play up the 'regular blind guy' act pretty well.

Karen thought for a moment, unsure of what to say. Finally she settled on "holy shit."

She didn't seem angry. More shocked than anything. Matt took that as a good sign and continued.

"I'm sorry for keeping it from you, but I didn't want you to get sucked in to everything that I've had to do to help put Fisk away."

Karen shook her head.

"You're right. I need to be sitting down."

The two went back to Matt's living room and took their seats. Karen pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to take in what she had just learned.

"I understand if you're upset," Matt started, but Karen cut him off.

"I - I don't know how to feel, Matt. If what you're saying is true then you know far more about me than I could ever know about you, and to be honest it bothers me. If I even tell a little white lie, you'll know. You probably can tell where I've been just by smelling me or something."

"Well… If I wanted to, I could, but I usually don't do that. I have to focus if I want to to hear or smell or sense something so clearly."

"Fuck."

After yet another awkward silence, Matt spoke again.

"There's more."

"Oh, God. What else?" Now she sounded angry. Matt flinched and felt his stomach knot. He wanted to stop now, to stop talking, then maybe Karen would forgive him and they would be okay… But the baby still existed, and she would find out soon…All of it made his head hurt.

Ultimately, Matt decided to just go with his plan of telling her everything. He was too far into it to back out anyway.

"I… Well. Those days when I was missing -"

"-That had to do with the mask, didn't it? You were doing something! I was so worried about you! I didn't sleep at all, Matt! I was terrified that someone or something had hurt you! Where were you? Fighting someone?"

She definitely sounded pissed.

"I went to an abandoned building because I tracked some of the men connected to Nobu there."

"Nobu?"

"One of Fisk's associates. He was like a ninja, we fought once and it ended badly. Anyway, I-

"A ninja?! Are you fucking serious?!"

"Yes, Karen, I am."

"Ugh. Go on."

"The building was rumored to house some of Nobu's associates, people he had been funneling money to. I intended to take them out, shut down whatever operation they had. But they caught me off guard, gassed me with something - CO, I think - and restrained me."

"So you were restrained by the friends of a ninja in an abandoned building," Karen replied, wanting to ensure that she was understanding this correctly.

"Yes. I woke up on the bed I was found in. Foggy and Brent found me there. But before they did, the Japanese guys, they injected me with something. More than one thing."

"Foggy knew about your other identity, then." Now she sounded calmer. The quick change in Karen's emotions made Matt nervous.

"He did, but please don't blame him. He wanted me to tell you, but I was afraid."

Karen frowned.

"Is that what made you sick? The injections?"

"It did more than make me sick."

"What do you mean?" Karen wasn't sure that she wanted to know, but she felt that she had to ask.

"The whole thing was an experiment - I had no idea that they were doing anything like it."

"Get on with it."

"I… You probably won't believe me, but I'm pregnant."

Karen blinked.

"Now you've really got to be kidding me! How the hell is that even possible? Last time I checked you were a guy, Matt! Or wait, is there something else you're not telling me? What, were you born with a vagina or something? Are you some type of… some type of a hermaphrodite?!"

Karen stood up and began pacing. She wanted to scream, punch something. She wanted to get away more than anything. She needed to think.

"No, no! I - it's not - the injection contained nanobots and some of the building blocks that my body would need to produce a uterus. I don't have a vagina but they also added in something else - someone else's sperm, to fertilize the eggs that my uterus would produce. God, it feels weird saying that."

Karen stopped pacing and looked at Matt.

"Please tell me that you're kidding me."

"I wish I was. I can ask Claire for some ultrasound photos, if you want proof."

"No thanks," Karen huffed. "So all this time, all of these visits to the doctor, the story about having an ulcer - all of it was a lie! You knew what was going on, didn't you?"

"Not at first, no," Matt answered truthfully. "I only found out a couple of weeks ago."

Karen started heading towards the door.

"I can't believe you," She said, grabbing her coat.

Matt grabbed her arm, trying to stop her from leaving.

"Karen, please! I'm sorry that I kept all of this from you but I had to tell you. I went today to get an abortion, but I couldn't do it. I couldn't kill an innocent."

"How long?"

"How long what?"

"How long until you… I don't know… Give birth?" Karen felt somewhat disgusted by that prospect.

"Six months."

Karen took a deep breath and shoved Matt's hand away. She opened the door.

"I need to go now, Matt. I need to think." Despite her neutral tone, Matt could sense that she was anything but calm.

"Karen, please, I really care about you -"

Karen responded by walking out and slamming the door behind her.

00

Neither Matt nor Foggy was surprised when Karen didn't show up at the office the following morning. Matt knew that she needed space, and Foggy had received a late night phone call from Karen detailing everything that had been discussed.

They had spoke rationally, with Foggy listening to Karen more than anything. He wasn't as concerned about her as he was about Matt. The man looked terrible. Granted, he often looked terrible lately, but today seemed worse than usual.

"Matt," Foggy greeted him, wrapping an arm around his friend's shoulders.

Matt had bags under his eyes and his hair was disheveled. He hadn't shaved, either.

Foggy led Matt into his office and sat him down.

"Listen, Karen called me last night. I know what happened. You really don't have to be here if you don't want to be. Go home and rest. I can take care of everything here."

Matt felt his stomach hurt again. Ever since Karen had walked out, he'd had a perpetual feeling as if he'd been kicked.

"You talked to her?" He asked, softly.

"Yes, I did. She told me what happened."

Matt nodded, "How did she sound?"

"Upset. And from the looks of it, you're feeling similarly."

"I need the distraction," Matt said, in regards to work. "If I go home, I'll keep thinking about it."

Foggy placed a hand on Matt's shoulder. If Matt stayed at work, he probably wouldn't get much done, and if he went home, he'd likely sulk all day. It was then that Foggy made an executive decision.

"How about we get you a distraction elsewhere? We can both take the day off. There's not much going on and it's nice outside."

Matt 'looked' in Foggy's direction.

"Where would you want to go?"

"Hmm," Foggy replied, "How about we go get some breakfast at Westway and hit up Central Park afterward? You know, get some fresh air, take a walk. Our work will be here tomorrow."

Despite the hurt that Matt was feeling, he was still hungry. His stomach growled after Foggy mentioned getting something to eat.

"I'll take that as a yes, then?" Foggy asked.

"Yeah," Matt replied, pushing himself up. "Let's go."

00

"That enough sugar for you?" Foggy joked, looking over Matt's breakfast.

Matt had ordered a waffle sundae as he'd been craving something sweet. The waitress must have realized that he was either tired or upset, because she added in two extra scoops of ice cream and extra pineapple sauce. He topped off his meal with a large glass of orange juice. Foggy found the combination somewhat odd, but didn't mention it.

"It's perfect," Matt replied, before taking a bite. "For some reason lately all I want is sugar," he added, though the statement came out muffled as his mouth was still full.

"Eh, my sister had a weird thing for Key Lime Pie when she was pregnant. I guess it's different for everyone."

Matt shrugged and took another bite.

"Speaking of," Foggy continued, "She got a cat."

"Your sister?" Matt asked, "I thought she hates animals."

"Apparently it showed up on her porch and kept meowing and her daughter convinced her to keep it. Now the cat follows her everywhere. She named it Darth Mittens."

"Like Darth Vader? Your sister is such a nerd," Matt joked.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with being a nerd!" Foggy said, playfully. "It is a really cute cat though."

The two made light conversation until they finished their meals. By the time Matt was done, he had far more energy. His mood had picked up, too. He figured it must be a sugar high and felt determined to take advantage of it while he could.

"To the park?" Matt asked, as Foggy paid the check.

"Yep. I'll lead the way."

00

Foggy had been right - getting out of the office had proved to be a good distraction. Matt and Foggy walked along the park's trails, talking and joking. Foggy was saying most of the jokes, but he didn't mind. It was nice to see Matt smile.

At the end of the day, Foggy went with Matt back to his apartment. He'd offered to stay over, and Matt had agreed.

Around nine, Foggy went to the bathroom to shower and change his clothes. He expected to find Matt relaxing when he got out, but instead, he entered the living room to see that Matt was sitting with his head in his hands, crying.

"Oh, Matt," Foggy whispered, coming closer to his friend. Foggy sat down next to him and quietly pulled Matt into his arms.

"I'm a freak," Matt said, in between sobs. "I can't blame her. She hates me!"

Foggy rubbed Matt's back.

"She doesn't hate you. She's just confused. Give her time."

Matt said nothing but continued to cry. Eventually Foggy got Matt into the bedroom. There, they laid in Matt's bed. Foggy held Matt until he cried himself to sleep, all the while silently lamenting that such a nice day had turned out so badly.