Alison's POV
(bellamysgirl)

Mary answered on the second ring. Her tone was as frantic as I'd felt not thirty minutes ago. "Hello?" she asked. She must not have recognized the caller ID. I inhaled. "Hi, it's Alison. Fletcher. You met my colleague earlier—Foggy-"

"Nelson? I remember. Has Dani tried to contact you?"

"I was actually just going to ask you the same thing," I said, my shoulders dropping. "Did she say anything to you? Has she mentioned any safe houses she might have around the city?" She was quiet a second on the other end, probably thinking. Then she sighed and I braced myself for an empty answer. "No, I don't think so. Where are you? I can help with the search efforts," she offered, followed by a shuffle.

I was quick to try to stop her. "No, no- that's okay. We've got things handled here."

"Alison," I twisted around at the sound of Matt's voice. He was sitting up now, looking in my general direction over the back of the couch. He'd obviously been listening to the whole phone call. "Let her help." My eyebrows knitted together in confusion and I turned to face him fully, pushing the intake speaker on the phone away from my mouth. "She'll know who you are," I pointed out.

"I know. But she's the only family around that Dani has."

I pulled the phone back. "Actually, why don't you come by? Maybe you can help after all," I said, interrupting whatever in the world she was saying. I'd missed the world's longest run-on sentence. I rattled off Matt's address. She immediately switched gears and I could hear a baby wailing in the background. "Okay, great. I'll be there soon," with that, she hung up.

I exhaled and dropped my phone on the table. "This is a bad idea, you know that, right?"

"We don't really have much of a choice, Alison." Right. Honestly, we did. Keep it under our hats until we find some proof that Dani is okay somewhere, then go to her relatives and break the news. It was a horrible idea to include family. But I pushed it aside in my mind as best I could and went to the couch.

I dropped onto the cushion beside Matt and turned myself toward him. "I need to check this," I informed, as my fingers gripped the corner of the large bandage on his side. He stayed silent with nothing but a worn look on his face as I slowly pulled back the bandaging. "She's stronger than you think," I said, suddenly. It just kind of came out. I quickly added, "Dani, I mean."

"You weren't there, you didn't-" he stopped himself, inhaling deeply. As he exhaled, he finished, "You didn't see the blood. She was barely alive when I...I left her." I sat back after pushing the bandage back against his skin. Looking at his face was a mistake. It was grief stricken like I've never seen. Not on anyone but myself. My heart sank. I swallowed. "Matt, you can't do that," I shook my head.

"Why not? That's exactly what I did. She told me to leave and, like an idiot, I listened to her. I just took off without doubling back to make sure she was okay," he vented, getting subtly angrier by the syllable.

"How on earth do you think you could've gone back for her? In the state you were in last night? It was a miracle you got out in the first place," It's funny, I was arguing to him about him. But the more I talked about it, the more I wanted to crawl in a hole and pretend it wasn't happening. "Dani is alive out there somewhere, okay? You can't give up that easily—she wouldn't want you to."

"I heard a gunshot, Alison! Right after I got out of the water, I heard a gunshot," he snapped a bit. I took in a breath, desperately trying to force my heart together. There was a line being carved straight through the middle and the two halves it was creating were threatening to split apart. I knew if I let that happen, I wouldn't be able to put myself back together. Matt looked like he was about to cry a second before the tears started down his cheeks.

He moved to sit facing straight forward, looking away from me. My eyes prickled with water and I quickly swallowed them down as best I could. "Y-you don't...you don't know for sure," I tried, aimlessly. "She could have gotten away, just like you did."

"Alison, stop," he sniffled.

"I'm not giving up on her!" I stood abruptly, using my grief to somehow generate enough strength to get angry. "I won't. I can't lose another person I care about." Matt didn't say anything, just cried quietly there on the couch. I was almost completely sure he was ignoring me now. He'd given up, come to the conclusion that she was dead, and it hurt too much to think about. I instantly felt bad. Even though I knew she wasn't dead, he believed she was.

And constantly harping on him about finding her alive was just constantly perpetuating a false hope in his mind that could never be true for him. I dropped back down on the couch beside him and wrapped my arms loosely around his shoulders, pulling him into me in a hug. A small sob escaped him and his face buried into my shoulder. I bit my quivering lip, eyes welling up, trying to keep it together. Suddenly a quick knock sounded from the door.

But I didn't want to let him go. Though, I knew I had to. I pulled myself away and quickly stood, hurrying over to the front. I paused at the door, hand almost to the knob, and my stomach twisted. What if it was Dani? What if she made it back? I inhaled and pulled open the door. Mary looked a bit ashen, a baby in one hand and a carrier in the other. "Mary, come in," I stepped back, pulling the door with me.

Just then, a tall man with dark hair stepped up beside her. "You forgot this in the car," he told Mary, holding up a purse. I raised a brief eyebrow as he turned toward the door, seeing me. "Hi there. I'm Clint Barton—Dani's cousin." He held out his hand to shake and I hesitantly shook it. "Alison Fletcher," I nodded once.

I moved back again and Mary stepped inside, followed shortly by Clint. I shut the door behind them and hurried around in front so I could be the first one in the living room. "Matt, Mary and Dani's cousin are here," I announced, stopping a few feet from the couch. Only then did I notice Matt wasn't on the couch. A second later, he emerged from the bedroom, zipping up a jacket. He didn't look any better than before but at least he wasn't topless.

"Hi. I'm-"

"Murdock, right?" Clint asked, knowing. "We actually kind of met before. I was the naked guy in her office."

My eyebrows shot up. "Excuse me?"

"It's a long story. We're here to help. Where have you searched already?" Clint asked, waving it away. He seemed to be all business—which was exactly what we needed. I loosely wrapped my arms around myself and turned to be able to see everyone at once. "We checked the local hospitals already, we know she isn't home...she isn't at my place or Foggy's," I listed, trying to think.

"Just so we're all clear...he's the Man in the Mask and Dani is the Angel of Hell's Kitchen, right?" Clint asked, rhetorically, pointing a thumb in Matt's direction. I nodded a little, hesitant, and he gave a solid nod before turning to Matt. "Good. Where did you last see her?"

I wrote down an address Matt rattled off and Clint headed out to check the warehouse. I needed something to keep me busy—and so did Mary—so I started calling the hospitals to check again, just in case she came to one a little late, and Mary started randomly doing dishes in Matt's kitchen. Mary's baby, Elizabeth, was very awake and needed watching, so I held her while I made the calls. It reminded me of back when it was just me and Chase.

He was only six months old and I was desperately trying to find a job. He would fall asleep in my arms while I stayed up late, looking for jobs online. Then we'd be right back there the next morning while I made calls about the jobs I'd found the night before. It was a vicious cycle until I got picked up at the Bugle. Then it was babysitters and working weekends but we had food on the table. There were a lot of times during all that I had wished it all away.

But I don't think I would do it any differently now, honestly. I had just hung up with one of the hospitals when Clint called. I almost immediately answered. "Hey, what did you find?" I answered. Marry dropped everything in the kitchen, speeding out to the table where I sat. "Well, I found her cell phone. That would explain why she isn't returning our calls," Clint replied.

"Okay, anything else?" I prompted.

"No sign of her anywhere near here. I'm gonna check her place again and then head back to you." I sighed as his end went dead, dropping my phone on the table. Mary waited patiently for the pass-down of what he'd said. I inhaled. "He found her cell phone there, so now we know why she can't be reached," I announced, recounting. "Nothing else yet. He's going to check her place again."

Marry nodded, a bit disappointed, and hurried back into the kitchen. I bounced Elizabeth lightly in my arms as I stood up from the table. I turned toward the couch just in time to see Chase come from Matt's room. He rubbed his eyes with a brief yawn, then glanced around. "Where are we?" he asked, puzzled. He looked straight at me. A smile suddenly spread across his face as his eyes settled on Elizabeth. "LIZZIE!"

He tore across the room to me and practically ripped her from my arms. "Chase!" I gasped, wide-eyed.

"You're not doing it right! Dani holds her like this," he announced, readjusting her in his arms. I sighed heavily and he headed over to sit in one of the chairs opposite the couch, on which Matt sat quietly. "Be careful with her," I told Chase. He nodded quickly. His eyes were practically glued to Elizabeth. I went to the kitchen counter and peered over it at the sink. "You don't have to do that, you know," I threw the words out there.

Mary looked focused, concentrated. Obviously she was trying not to think about Dani. She shrugged, tugging up a shoulder, glancing at me briefly. "It helps if I stay busy," she waved it away. Her eyes flitted over my shoulder a second before looking down at the dish in her hands. "Chase seems to have really taken to Elizabeth."

I twisted to see them, leaning into the counter a bit. "Yeah...I don't know how to tell him," I turned back to Mary. "Do I even try?" She opened her mouth to speak when a knock echoed out at the door. Mary seemed as surprised as I was. My eyebrows knitted together and I hurried to the door. "That was fast-" I pulled open the door and instantly shut up. A tall, dark haired, younger looking man stood outside the door in street clothes.

It wasn't Clint. "Hi there. I'm looking for Mary and Clint? Mary texted me, said they'd be here," he explained, somewhat timidly. "I'm Ben, Dani's brother."

"Oh...oh! Come in. Mary's in the kitchen." I quickly pulled open the door, ushering him in, and he stepped inside. I closed the door behind him and held out a hand. "Alison. I'm a friend of your sister's," I introduced, with a polite, mild smile. He shook my hands once and dropped it. It seemed a bit odd, but I tried to file it away as quickly as possible. I gestured for him to follow as I started into the living room, and he did. "Hey, Mary? Ben's here," I called, stopping by the couch.

Mary quickly came from the kitchen as Ben rounded the corner. She flushed with relief and lunged at him, snapping her arms around him so quickly I was sure she'd break his neck. "I'm so glad you're here," she said, on an exhale.

"I came as quick as I could," he hugged her back. Just then, the door opened and Clint walked in, shutting the door behind him. He walked straight to me and held out a cell phone. "This was at the warehouse," he informed. "It's definitely hers."

I nodded and took the phone. "Thanks. I'll look around in the contacts, see if-"

"Ben? What are you doing in town?" Clint suddenly was more interested in Ben, his eyebrows intensely pulled together. He stepped over to Mary and Ben and the three spoke in a kind of huddle. I took the opportunity to step over to Chase. I barely made it to the coffee table when the hairs at the nape of my neck stood upright. "Alison," Matt said, suddenly.

I stopped my trajectory and turned for the couch. "Yeah?"

"Her brother—Ben—he was at the warehouse last night," his tone was hushed. My eyes rounded a bit as I dropped onto the cushion beside him. "What?" I gaped. "How do you know it was him?"

"His heartbeat- Alison, he was one of the ones shooting at us," he pressed, urgently. I twisted to look over my left shoulder and stood, stepping around the couch. Dread mixed with secondhand-betrayal and anger pooled in my stomach, forming a marsh of toxicity. "How dare you," I narrowed my eyes a bit, my voice full of distain.

Ben and Clint turned around to see me, both with confused expressions. I took a step forward. I stared down Ben. "You're working with Fisk! And now you come here, playing the good brother? You helped try to kill your sister, you monster!" I spat, venomously. Ben walked toward me, stopping only a foot in front of my face. "You don't know what you're talking about," he said, darkly, lowering his tone.

A metallic sound followed by a click came just before Clint said, "Step away from her, Ben. Now. Before I have to hurt you." Ben momentarily closed his eyes on a light sigh. Then, in a second, his arm wrapped around my shoulders and the other pulled out a gun. My back pressed against his chest and he aimed his gun at Clint. I gasped from the surprise of the move. Mary covered her mouth with her hand and quickly moved away, toward the kitchen.

Clint had a bow and arrow poised to shoot at Ben, two yards away. "I don't think so, cuz," Ben shook his head, adjusting his grip on the gun. My fingers gripped his forearm, trying to pull it away from me, but he wouldn't budge—he only held onto me tighter. "How could you do it? Betray one of us? We're your family, Ben!" Clint looked furious. Frankly, so was I.

"It's a lot easier than it sounds," I could hear the smile in Ben's tone. "Drop the bow."

"You first- put down the gun, let Alison go and—maybe—I'll let you leave here walking."

"Not gonna happen." My heart raced. Now I was a hostage in a hostage situation. Why do I keep ending up like this? "I'm gonna count to three, and then I'm gonna shoot you," Clint warned, re-aiming. "One...two...th-" Suddenly Ben started convulsing and shaking, and the gun flopped from his hand, clattering to the floor. He dropped along with it. I quickly stepped back a bit as Ben continued to spasm on the floor. I looked up.

Chase stood where Ben once did, a sparking taser resting in his hands. His eyes looked feral and wild. He quickly darted at Ben and shoved the taser's prongs into Ben's side. Ben convulsed harder as the sparking sound increased. "Chase- Chase, stop! Stop." I grabbed his shoulders and forcefully pulled him back. I knelt, taking the taser from his hands, and wrapped my arms around him. He clung to me tightly, breathing quickly.

"You got quite the boy there, Fletcher," Clint commented. I saw him kick the gun away from Ben's reach over Chase's shoulder. I glanced over at the couch. Matt was sitting on the edge of the cushion ready to act, holding Elizabeth in his arms. He was looking in our general direction. "I'm okay," I said, for both Matt's and Chase's benefit.

I pulled back to see Chase. He looked shaken from the ordeal. "That was incredible, Chase," I smiled as brightly as I could, still frazzled a bit myself. "You're my hero." A small smile started to force its way onto his lips and he looked down at Ben. "Is he dead?" he asked.

"Not yet," Clint replied, searching Ben for more weapons. "He might be—when I'm done with him."

"I don't understand...why would Ben do this?" Mary asked, to no one in particular. She looked incredibly saddened, like she was just one more strike away from a complete breakdown. I stood and Clint shook his head. "I don't know. The only person really close enough to him to tell us the answer to that question is missing," he said, standing as well. That brought my thoughts back to Dani.

And it gave me an idea. It was like on cartoons when a light bulb turns on above the character's head. "Hold on. What if this wasn't Ben's idea? What if it was Fisk's?" I hypothesized. All eyes were on me. "I mean, think about it. Ben's altercation here was probably already part of the plan—I just sped it up by opening my mouth."

"He could be a distraction," Clint started seeing my point.

I nodded. "Exactly. And why would Fisk want to distract us—the only ones searching for Dani? They wouldn't want us finding her first, which means they don't know where she is either."

"She got away," Matt realized, quietly.

"Okay. You two take the kids back to Dani's, see if she came back—I'll go check hospitals and widen the search area around the warehouse," Clint said, seriously. I nodded and Mary went to get her coat from the rack. Matt stood, wincing once he got all the way up, and stepped toward the end of the couch. "I'm going, too," he announced.

"No, you need to stay here," I insisted, holding up a hand.

"Alison, don't sideline me. I can help," he argued.

"Yeah, you can help by sitting there on that couch and healing," I pressed, stepping toward him. "You're in no shape to go and hoof it around the city. She might come back here, too, okay?" He squared his jaw and sighed through his nose, but sat back down on the couch. Chase hopped up from his chair and carried Elizabeth to the door, where Mary was waiting. Clint gave me a solid nod and I zipped up my jacket, then hurried to the door with the others.

Mary took Elizabeth in her car and I took Chase in mine. I was driving behind her on the way to Dani's. Part of me wanted to believe she'd be there waiting for us and the rest of me just wanted to give it up already. Give up tricking myself into wanting her to be there, only to be let down every time she isn't. So I dialed Foggy's number on the way to get my mind off things. It went practically straight to voice mail. He was probably drinking himself into oblivion.

I wanted to go by his place, see if he was okay, but the more important thing was finding Dani. Until we find a body I'm gonna be looking. I pulled up along the sidewalk in front of Dani's building, behind Mary's car, and cut the engine. Chase reached for his door but I quickly pressed the lock button, and all the doors clicked. I twisted in my seat to see him. "What's going on?" he asked, confused.

"Honey...Dani-"

"Is the Angel of Hell's Kitchen," he finished, knowingly. I paused, raising an eyebrow. "It wasn't hard to put together. Matt said she was missing."

I inhaled. "Yes, and we're here to try and find her. If we don't, though, you'll be staying with Mary here, okay?"

"Okay. Where are you staying?" he asked, deflated.

"I'll be at Matt's. He really needs a friend right now." He nodded in understanding and I unlocked the doors, turning back straight in my seat. I pushed open my door and slid out. Inwardly, I was eager to escape that conversation. I may have been 'new' to parenting ten years ago but I still have no clue what I'm doing. And telling your son his babysitter is a vigilante that's possibly dead is a little problematic. Once Chase was out, he shut his door, and I held my hand out.

His hand slid into mine and I smiled lightly at him. He smiled back and we started for the door. Mary was already there, just started to dig out her keys. Just then, I noticed a black SUV parked not much farther down the sidewalk from Mary's car. My grip tightened on Chase and I walked just a hint faster. The door to the car opened as we joined Mary at the door. I nearly burned right through my own skin at the sight of Steve—or James Wesley, as he's apparently much better known.

He started for us and Mary's head shot, just noticing the movement. "Who is that?" she asked, turning right to see me.

I inhaled through my nose. "A ghost," I looked at Chase a second. "Stay here, okay?" I dropped Chase's hand and hurried up the sidewalk toward James. The goal was to keep that demon as far away from my son as humanly possible. Even if this only bought me a few yards. I slid my hands on my pockets as I slowed to a stop, a few feet from him. "What do you think you're doing here?" I questioned, trying to stay calm.

"I came to pay my respects," he said, stopping as well. "That is what you do after someone dies."

"How do I know you're not the one who killed her?" I narrowed my eyes.

He exhaled. "I assure you, Alison, that I didn't touch your friend. That was all Fisk's doing." I let out a humorless laugh, looking away from him. He actually expected me to believe that? He really doesn't know me at all. He never did, because he never cared enough. I turned back to him and paused. His eyes had shifter to see over my left shoulder. Chase.

Something wistful flashed across his face and he looked back at me. "He's...grown up quite a bit," he commented, glancing over again. His whole demeanor seemed to shift. "I'll admit, I didn't expect it to last. But you've done a good job with him."

"Oh, you're complimenting my parenting job now?"

"I truly am sorry, for all of this, Alison-"

"I don't need your sympathy," I interrupted, in pure annoyance. "I need you to stay away from me—and especially Chase." He readjusted his stance with a deep sigh, keeping his eyes strictly on me. "What have you told him about me?" he asked, ignoring my last words.

"Nothing. He thinks his father died in a car accident before he was born," I answered, crossing my arms. Inside I reveled in the look of disappointment on his face and the deflating of his shoulders. But if I were anyone else I'd actually feel sorry for him. He inhaled. "And you really think that's what's best for him?" he questioned.

"Yes, I do," I snapped. "And if you really want what's best for him, you'll walk away."

"Just let me talk to him," he persisted. I let my arms fall to my sides with a scoff of disbelief. He really thought I would say what I just did and still let him anywhere near Chase? He was incredibly naïve if he thought I'd say yes. I started shaking my head, but he spoke before I could. "Please, Alison...I won't tell him who I am. I just need to talk to my son." A sudden pang of indecision hit me. This was a bad idea. Everything in me screamed to say no.

But there was something deep down that told me something different. I sighed, momentarily closing my eyes. As I opened them, I said, "Five minutes." He nodded once, in slight surprise, and made his way past me. I turned to watch him walk over. This would probably come back to bite me hard in the butt. Logically, there was no reason this could go south. But, just in case, I eyed the street a second. After about two minutes, I slowly made my way over to them.

I only heard the last bit of what Wesley was saying in a quiet jumble, followed by Chase's reply. "Fine, I guess. It's mostly B's and C's," he shrugged, probably talking about school. I stayed back just by a foot so that Chase wouldn't feel pressured and Wesley wouldn't get mad that I was hovering, but close enough to keep an ear on the conversation. "That's good," Wesley encouraged, kneeling to better be on Chase's level. "What's your favorite subject?"

"Um...Math, I think," Chase said, glancing at me briefly. I nodded a little—mentally telling him it was okay to be talking to him. Chase knows the whole stranger danger song and dance—better than any other kid his age—so this is probably a bit odd for him. But he went with it easily. Suddenly Wesley seemed to notice the Captain America shield on Chase's pajama shirt.

He smiled. "You like superheroes, huh? I guess I don't have to ask which one is your favorite."

Chase looked down at his shirt, then back up, his eyes brightening. "Yeah. Captain America is the best. I mean, he fights with nothing but a shield and his bare hands. It's awesome. If I had to pick a second, I would probably choose Iron Man, because he's got a metal suit that shoots stuff out of his hands." Chase's enthusiastic way of talking heroes caused Wesley to chuckle a bit. I checked my cell phone clock. Time's up. I stepped over.

"Well, we should probably get you inside, hon. We don't want to keep Mary waiting," I interjected, putting my hands on Chase's shoulders. Wesley took the hint, standing begrudgingly. "You head in, okay? I'll just be a minute." Chase nodded and zipped up into Dani's building. I had the urge to do the same. "He's a lot like you," Wesley said.

"Let's hope he stays that way," I replied, with a solid nod. "You can go back to doing whatever a bad guy does during daylight hours." He opened his mouth to speak but I stopped him. "I don't want to hear it. I let you talk to him, now you leave us alone. No following me around, no keeping tabs on Chase at school—you're gone." With that, I turned and hurried into Dani's building.