It'd be great if we could get some help—FN

Riley stared at Nelson's text for a long while, put her phone down, did some work, and then stared at it again. It had been less than two days since he'd given her that speech. It seemed to only add to the confusion she was already experiencing. He messaged her asking for a search on a database for an ally of someone they were representing in court later this week. Apparently it would slide them into a victory if she could lend a hand.

Was this a trap? Does he intend to stage some sort of intervention? She had not seen Murdock in over a week, and it was childish if she avoided meeting at their firm altogether merely because he may or may not be there. Last night she informed Tommy that Murdock wouldn't be on his case anymore. That explanation had involved a lot of complex dodging. Her brother knew her well enough to know when she was really upset about something, and so Tommy began to pry; what happened? Did you argue? Did you say something? Did he? Were you secretly dating this whole time and it didn't work out?

Absurd things like that.

If only he knew it was a hundred times crazier than a tryst that fell apart.

She leaned back in her office chair, the room was empty. It had been an uninteresting day of being forced to stay planted in the office while everyone else got to do the fun stuff. The sun from the window was egg yellow, falling on her countenance. Riley closed her eyes and rubbed her hand over the bandage on her abdomen. Immediately after confronting Murdock, the nurse at Metro General complimented the skill and precision of the 'acquaintance' that re-did her stitches. His gentle hands carefully sewing her... and his face carved in guilt swam to the forefront of her memory.

Riley had to ban those thoughts.

Yet it got a little harder day-by-day to do just that.

She shook herself back into a more rational mindset. Possibly against her better judgment as usual, she decided to do Nelson the favour. A few clicks later she obtained the contact he needed.

Why should I be afraid of him? He should be afraid of me. Repeating that to herself as she stood, Riley got her car keys and headed for the car park.

When she got to Nelson & Murdock, Ms. Page answered the door. She was slightly taken aback to see her, nut it was evident the truth was still hidden from Karen since she was nowhere near as distraught as Nelson was when Riley entered his office.

His hair was disheveled and there was a small pile of coffee cups in his trashcan. "You-you're actually here," he breathed, startled.

"Yeah, I got what you asked for," she held up the file.

"I wasn't sure you'd even try," he started to stand making it more awkward. "I mean—I know I was really out of line that day, I was pushy, I-"

"I am not here to listen to any apologies. This isn't about you." She placed it down on the edge of his desk so he would stop getting up to shake her hand, or God forbid, hug her. "Take it. Win the case."

"Thank you." He clasped his palms together. "Thank you!"

She smiled in a friendly but chagrined manner and said goodbye to both of them.

As she opened the door she ran into Matt Murdock.

She went ice cold all over; her heart thudded in her chest as if she slammed on car brakes. A millions curses came to her head.

His Adam's apple visibly bobbed as he swallowed deep, his grip on his cane wavering slightly. It felt as if it was yesterday when she found out, when she'd been choking him to death on his living room floor. It felt like a nightmare but only became more shockingly real with him standing before her, with an ashen face, guilt-stricken as ever.

Ms. Page was watching them like a hawk from her desk. They both had to watch what they said. Even as her heart rate escalated through the roof and her throat went dry. She initiated the greeting.

"Murdock," her voice did not sound like her own. It took all her willpower to maintain control over what her body wanted to do.

Did he sense her in the office this whole time? He must have if he could smell C4 and hear through walls. Did he want to intentionally bump into her? Was anything ever just a coincidence with Matt Murdock? Perhaps he was trying to prove a point just as she had when she decided to help Nelson with the case he was struggling with.

"Detective," he replied, monotone.

"Late to work again?" She asked casually, yet inside wishing she could grip on something to help her contain the tidal wave of emotions crashing inside of her. She was reminded of why she hated him to begin with. Riley didn't think she was capable of feeling that much hate again in her life.

"I haven't been sleeping well," he rasped.

Obviously she was the reason behind his insomnia. At first she couldn't give two shits if he was tossing in bed at night without a moment of respite. He deserves it. But a teensy part of her asked; was she wrong to have threatened him? It had come so naturally at the time. She'd been a rage-fuelled monster. The awakening of that side of her frightened her almost as much as the truth about Matt Murdock did. In her experience, that kind of strong negativity never led to good things for her.

Her hands were shaking so she shoved them in her pockets, the control she thought she had over the situation had clearly never been there to begin with. "Well good luck with that," Riley replied tersely.

She slid past him without another look or word.

Knowing what she did of his super senses, she did not feel safe to breathe, or blink, could not trust a single cell in her body to react normally as nature would have it, until she was on the pavement outside and fast-walking back to the precinct.

She didn't trust him and she didn't trust herself to be around him again.

That's the last time I ever do a favor for Nelson and Murdock.

Matt

With his thoughts racing he hastily replied Karen's sharp questions. His senses were still overwhelmed by her smell, the cadence of her voice, every minute reaction she had towards him. Her new default was to attack him and she tried very hard not to do that in front of the others.

He had not expected her to be there, but had gone up the stairs presuming he would be able to deal with it, but boy he'd been wrong. He shut the door as gently as he could behind him once he was inside Foggy's office, even though he almost snapped the handle off.

"What—" he began with a concealed growl "—did you say to her?"

Riley

On her left, Malek yawned as she replied a text to her latest 'boy-toy' and Leo munched obnoxiously on a bag of pretzels to her right. Perfect, I got the sexter and the loud chewer as stakeout buddies.

The three of them were lying flat on their bellies monitoring a cramped doorway a hundred feet from them. The entire team was on a dark rooftop across from a Woodrugh crew stash house. There was supposed to be a trade between them and a rival crew, a sign of good faith, also a sign that a coalition was forming between small-time dealers to strengthen them against larger, more well-organized mafia.

Her team's restlessness was warranted; they'd been at this for a few hours. Currently it was her turn to hold the binoculars.

"You know what the best advice I've ever gotten about stake-outs is?" Leo asked her and Malek. It was just past midnight. The last time she ate was dinner and her stomach moaned like a dying whale.

"What?" Riley asked, she was so bored she would accept any kind of amusement then. Even Leo's endless parade of eccentric, mostly unremarkable, questions.

"Adult diapers," said Leo, like it was some groundbreaking revelation. Malek and Riley gave him unconvinced sidelong glances, not prepared to take that advice seriously. He shrugged noncommittally munching on a gummy bear; apparently high calorie sugary snacks were key for stakeouts too- according to Leo. "Believe me or not, Fitzgerald swears by them."

Malek snorted; "You think he's wearing one right now?"

Riley lowered her binoculars and the three of them gave a long look at Fitz and Croftsky on the other end of the roof as they surveyed another entrance. They particularly focused on their boss' tail end.

"Doesn't look cushioned enough," whispered Leo back at them, shaking his head critically.

"Guys, can we please focus?" Said Riley, annoyed.

Leo put down the bag of gummy bears and stood up to stretch his legs and arms; "We've been here for three hours and nothing has happened. We've been focusing for quite a bit already."

"Can you sit down?" She snapped, praying no one had spotted him from across the street or down below, she smacked the side of his calf.

"Why are you even here Knight? That stab wound's still got to be healing," replied Leo sullenly, not sitting down.

"It's better than being at a desk." Honestly she just wanted to get out of the precinct's four walls. Recon wasn't going to put any strain on her injuries and Fitz allowed it.

"Not really," Leo's impatience was starting to get on her nerves.

"Wait I see movement!" Announced Malek. Riley lifted the binoculars back. Finally some action.

But it wasn't the Woodrugh crew -or the crew they were supposed to meet with- scaling the red brick walls.

It was Daredevil.

When she lowered the binoculars again the reaction on her face could only be described as incredibly pissed off.

"That son-of-a—"

Bursts of light and gunfire exploded from inside, flashing against the windows. Fitzgerald ran over to their corner, the wrinkles on his forehead creased as deep as a canyon. They hadn't had enough time to radio it to him before chaos broke;

"Why did none of you morons signal?! Do each of you have your thumbs up your asses?"

"It's not the other crew, it's fucking Daredevil," hissed Leo. Collectively, the entire team was pretty annoyed with the vigilante.

"Gah! Everyone to the ground! Go! Go!" Ordered Fitz pointing shoving his index finger rapidly at the roof's exit. Everyone started to gather, already dressed in bulletproof vests, sprinting for the door.

As she stood up to join them thinking Fitz would let her into the field, he shut her down straightaway; "Not you Knight, stay put!"

She nodded glumly, obeying.

With a huff she sat back down and snatched the packet of gummy bears Leo left unattended. Does he know I'm here? She wondered. Nelson's long speech still echoed in her head, and she caught herself thinking about Matt Murdock when she didn't want to even remember him to begin with.

Her ears caught the chatter over the radios. She knew she had to stay alert even if she wasn't in the thick of the action, she raised the binoculars again.

She saw a dark figure climbing out from a window and when he came into the focus of the streetlight another figure dashed out after him, Daredevil. Even if it had been a week, her brain was still catching up with it:

Matt Murdock is Daredevil.

That was still going to take some getting used too.

The pair of them was making it to street level. There was a motorcycle that the drug dealer he was chasing made a beeline for.

Oh no, no way is he getting away with this.

And she wasn't talking about the dealer.

Driven by an urge to do things by the book, and possibly a little bit by a need for revenge via making a point- Riley disobeyed Fitz and ran for the exit. She needed a bit of order back into her life, and cops needed to be the ones to serve justice again. Riley thought it was ironic that every facet of the criminal justice system was technically being represented in that moment; Riley the police officer, Murdock the lawyer, and the criminal.

When did it get so messed up?

As she sprinted down to the ground floor, the lag of the stab wound hastened her. But she charged forward. She hopped onto her motorcycle, strapping the helmet on. Riley gripped the accelerator, speeding up. She saw the young dealer and leaned to the right to chase him, narrowly missing an incoming vehicle from the opposite direction.

She could hear the wind whistling passed her ears, as she sped up, the dial inched higher and higher. She made a sharp turn that nearly had her elbow scrape against the street. It was becoming clear however, that this criminal was much better than she was at driving a motorcycle.

They twisted and turned in circles until he finally managed to outdrive her at a T-junction. He was going at least ninety miles in a housing district, and there were too many pedestrians, it was a risk she could not take. The lights went from red to green and a car driving forwards was in her course and she was a millisecond from crashing into it.

She squeezed the brakes and the tires cried out against the friction. Her bike halted tilting forward, the thrust almost flung her off. She watched the perp speed away to freedom. Riley removed her helmet; her hair was matted to the top of her head with sweat.

Riley looked to the alleyway she knew he would be lingering in, of course he wouldn't leave her to do what she was paid to do without unnecessarily monitoring her.

She quickly parked her bike and stormed into the cramped alley. "Stop. Following. Me!"

Her yell woke a tenant who popped his head out from four stories above. "Shut the hell up lady!"

"Get back inside your apartment!"

Her eyes had to adjust to the shrouds of black as she strode further down the path. How can anyone see or do anything in this darkness?

But then she remembered whom she was dealing with.

Even with the tall facades obscuring most of the light she could still see the blood red of Daredevil—Matt Murdock's—costume as he stood atop a dumpster. He did not chicken out and run from the confrontation. She didn't know if she respected him for that or wanted to punch him in the face once more, all she knew was that he was the perfect outlet for her rage at losing the perp.

And she wasn't done being monumentally pissed at him either. There was no Karen or Nelson to stop her unleashing that rage-fuelled monster inside this time.

"I'm not following you," he countered with a barely concealed growl, his jaw hard as stone. His chest was rising and falling as he panted from running.

"What the hell are you trying to prove?" She questioned, Riley flung her arm at the street behind her. "We lost him!"

Daredevil—fuck, it's Murdock, she had to remind herself, the costume was throwing her off—jumped down to ground level with her, edging closer. It was first time she was encountering this version of Matt aka Daredevil. He's always worn some kind of costume, the suited lawyer or the red Devil suit. As Nelson said; she still could not put two and two together in her head.

He's blind, I've seen him bump into the corners of tables, swing his cane about looking for doorways, held my arm to cross the road for goodness sake.

But he was also the same person that dodged the countless bullets she aimed at him, taken down three armed officers all whilst handcuffed, also tossed a guy out a window like he weighed nothing.

The conundrum was enough to give her a headache right there and then.

What the hell am I dealing with? Who the hell am I dealing with?

"It's your squad's fault! If they hadn't barged in—"

"They barged in because of you!" Riley shot back, "We were there for three hours—"

"Yeah, getting nothing done!" He argued, swiping a hand through the air.

That struck a chord, she shoved him, but just as her fists rapped against his chest, he put her in a hold with his hands below her shoulders and then pushed her away from him. "I do not want to fight!"

He's untouchable isn't he? His blindness and good looks is a rock hard alibi that would make any jury swoon, and I literally cannot win any physical battle against him with his superior fighting technique.

Untouchable or not, she wasn't done fighting. "We were waiting for another crew to make a trade! And you stopped that."

That gave him pause, "I didn't know that," he stammered, his conviction and frustration waning. He took a step back from her. Suddenly the half of his face she could see; his mouth, his jaw-the part that had always told her that it was Matt Murdock all along beneath the mask- were etched with guilt.

That should have given her total satisfaction. He was wrong, I was right, hallelujah. It was the sort of ego stroke she had been aiming for this whole time, since the moment she threw that mug at him in his apartment a week ago.

But it didn't.

Why the hell didn't it?

"Yeah you didn't know," she shot back but with much less viciousness, she hoped she still posed a threat anyway. "News flash Murdock we police officers do have our shit together sometimes."

"They were going to kill that kid who ran," Murdock explained vehemently. "He was 18 and got mixed up with that gang, he tripped up a little, messed up a trade and they were going to execute him. I heard it from two miles away and I had to help. I had to interfere." He folded his arms, taking a defiant stance, "not like I could ask you to do that on my behalf."

A second ago- for an inexplicable reason- she was feeling, empathy, you could say. But he had to ruin that with his last comment, and that anger she held onto just as easily returned.

He was trying to pin this on her? Throw blame on her? She opened her mouth ready to set off on the opening salvo of arguments she had possibly rehearsed in her head only a million times-

-When Fitz voice blared through her radio;

"Knight! Where are you?" He demanded.

Red-faced, beyond mortified, Riley bit her lip and turned to the side, pressing down on the comm.

"There was a perp escaping the premises, I gave chase, but I lost him."

"Get back here, now!"

Great, now Murdock gets to hear my boss being pissed at me. "Copy that," she said, sheepishly.

When she glanced up back at him Matt Murdock was already gone.

Riley

Unsurprisingly, she had landed herself in trouble once more. It was the second time the Woodrugh crew had evaded them and Fitz was getting sterner with the whole team. Except he directed the brunt of his frustration to her. Perhaps if I was allowed to physically contribute instead of being chained to a desk, feeling my brain turn to Jell-O, they wouldn't be one man down and they would get somewhere with the investigation.

But Fitz wasn't having any of it. As it was becoming apparent to everyone in her life, Riley was a magnet for trouble, and Fitz saw it fit that she be extra careful considering eyes were on her once more after her suspicious kidnapping.

"And please, don't disobey me again," he reprimanded. Thankfully they were in the lobby and the rest of the team was were outside of the precinct when he lectured her.

On her way back to her desk she tried to hide the sour look she wore. Riley sat down for another mindless intricate search cross-referencing several databases. As her hand automatically rested on her computer mouse she realised there was a Post-it note stuck to it;

Woodrugh. 13 Foster Terraces.

Then her eyes landed on the initials at the bottom.

-MM

She had half a mind to launch her fist through the computer screen. Instead Riley swiped it off her mouse and scrunched it up into a ball. Then she whipped out her cell phone and started to type madly;

I don't need your help.

A few seconds later those dreaded three grey dots started to bounce on the corner of the screen;

Ok.

But I'm still going to give it to you.

"Oh my God, fuck. Off," she smacked her phone face down, threading her fingers through her hair.

"Jesus I'll leave then."

She tilted her head to see Leo giving her the side eye as he tapped away at his keyboard.

"Not you," she said with a low grumble in her throat and then proceeded to block Murdock's number.

"Better get on finding that address or Fitz will have both our asses," reminded Leo, not moving his focus from his screen.

She peered at the balled up yellow Post-it at her feet. She kicked it beneath her desk. Stay away, Riley. She didn't need Murdock's Post-it to find Woodrugh. She would do it herself.

…

Restless nights had been leaving her a zombie during the day. After being haunted for the fourth day in a row Riley decided to do something about it. She took medication that night to help her fall asleep. Unfortunately it wasn't doing anything to thwart the nightmares that pestered her nights.

The dream never changed.

She had a knife inside Rob's throat, and she gutted him from neck to naval. The blood was thick and black and coated her as she screamed and screamed. She tried to force herself to wake up but the sleeping pill was a locked door and she did not have the key to open it.

It was the ringing of her cell phone that finally did the trick to rouse her. She shuddered awake, a layer of sweat covering her body. It was five in the morning. A few times earlier in the week she'd sat up too fast and exacerbated her wound, but she learnt to move more mindfully.

It was Leo on the phone; "yo, are you deaf? I've called a hundred times."

"I'm sorry, I-I took something to sleep. Whatever." There was no use explaining anything to him. "What's up?"

"Fitz needs us to roll out, as many bodies as we can to the scene. Try to make it if you can." He gave her an address and hung up.

By 'try' Fitz means he wants me to be there ASAP.

Riley dropped her head back down on the pillow, moaning in frustration. She wasn't going to get any proper rest tonight; it felt like she had only been asleep for five minutes and not five hours. Slowly, she sat straighter, clutching her stomach as it throbbed. She braced herself for the symphony of groans that were about to ensue, as she had to get up and get herself dressed.

Fitzgerald and the squad were at a chemical plant on the outskirts of town. It was not the address Murdock had tried to sneak her earlier. On the drive there she could see an orange glow, forming a ridge against the black sky. Fire. She tightened her grip on the steering wheel, hoping the team was unharmed.

An explosion was not good news for anyone involved.

It was worse than she thought. The fire was ablaze. Golden yellow, red, and orange flames licking the air, sparks and soot crackling and shooting upwards to the heavens. The heat of it warmed her when she got out of the car. It's strong light stung her eyes; she sheltered them with the flat of her hand. She arrived at the same time the firefighters got there. They started to unwind giant water hoses to put it out.

She saw familiar police cars scattered nearby and ran across the dirt towards them.

"Alfie?" Riley said when she spotted him standing with a few other colleagues. As she got to him, the crashing of rubble shook the earth, a colossal chunk of metal signage yawned and swung off its hinges. It detached slowly, trials of flames coming off it.

"You're late," said Alfonso, also covering his eyes from the soot and bright flames. "They're trying to contain the fire. Things got out of hand fast."

"Where are the rest of my squad?"

"They're over there, questioning someone they dragged out in time. I think the rest of them are burning to a crisp."

She cocked her head to peer over his shoulder. Croftsky, Malek, Leo and Fitz stood in a semi circle surrounding the criminal they saved from the fire who was in handcuffs looking up at a Fitz. Poor guy. He escapes the hellfire and lands into another version of it.

"Looks like they have things handled."

Alfie smirked; "someone got kicked off the cool kids table?"

She glared at him. "Fuck off." Alfie just laughed.

"Did Fitzgerald ask you to come?"

"Yeah, a witness placed Daredevil here," he said. "I got my team here to do a sweep once the firefighters deal with the fire."

"A sweep?" She blurted, taken aback.

"Yeah. We have to be sure," Alf replied more firmly.

"I thought you had bigger fish to catch than Daredevil."

"I do. But after what happened to you, I can't just ignore him anymore, I was absolutely correct to hold a grudge against him. You almost died because of him."

She felt like she was in some kind of loop. A few weeks ago this argument was off the table and back they were to it again. "It's 5am, I don't want to talk about this."

"We've both been so busy we haven't talked at all since you were discharged," he went on ignoring her plea. "You don't even remotely have anything to do with what he does, yet you still almost died because of him, for the second time."

Not all of that is true though, is it?

She wanted to tell him everything then. Lay the truth out. He had been right this whole time anyway. "You didn't wake up for four days," said Alfie. "I thought you'd get pneumonia again, or something else just as shitty, be trapped in that ward for a month never knowing if you would make it. I thought about Amy. I miss her so much, and if you died and I did nothing this whole time when I could have? I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

Riley sighed, but the smell of the carbon didn't make the deep breath pleasant or relaxing. If he goes in and finds Matt Murdock, what happens? Does Murdock spill the beans on me? Will he have the upperhand? Would he do that to me? Something did occur to her then. This must be what he feels like everyday. Endless questions tormenting him. Panic bubbled inside her over it, what the future of her career, or lack thereof may look like.

"I get it. I miss her too. But you can't make these things a personal vendetta Alfie. They don't work out, believe me." Nothing could hold more truth with her than that statement.

"I don't know why you're arguing with me over this," he was getting irritated with her. "I'm done with that. I'm putting a stop to him. And I'm going to trust my gut again. I won't change my mind."

Riley bit her lip and glanced at the fire again, her lashes flickering against the blinding light. Something else occurred to her then; "If the Woodrugh's are burning to a crisp in there, then what makes you think Daredevil is going to survive?"

"Do you think I care if he does?" He replied, dark and uncaring.

And her stark, heart-throbbing, adverse reaction to what he said, was her undoing.

By all means, she should feel the exact way he did, but she didn't. She just didn't. That hate she had been gripping onto for the past week, dissolved. A different kind of panic was settling into her veins. "Just-just do what you need too," she stuttered, walking away from him.

Always in sight of the fiery monolith, bathing her in a deep orange glow, she found a quiet corner away from everyone. Her fingers fumbled in her pocket for her phone.

Matt

The smoke was enclosing on him. His eyes watered. He only heard the violent whooshing and roars of the flames, the crackling fireballs. Every inhalation was a gust of smoke and carbon and acrid sulfur choking him. With the dial on his powers at one of it's lowest position, he didn't catch the creak above him and then the rush of air. A metal and concrete façade broke apart and crashed down onto him.

It was the sudden striking impact first, followed by the pain.

He was on his back. There was no more air in his lungs. Each breathe in only made things worse. There were a hundred dragons breathing fire all around him, heat washing over his face. He was suffocating. Like a burning film reel, black holes formed in his canvas; the black vignette slowly but surely consumed him.

Just as he was fading, he felt a vibration against his leg.

Riley

The dial tone rang and rang. She was dreading his answer, but also dreading the possibility that he may not answer. I should have used the address he gave me, given that to Fitz, then we would have gotten the Woodrugh's earlier in the day and not tracked them here. The fire would never have happened. This was me. All me. She was hunched slightly begging God for him to pick up.

Her exhale of relief rattled through her when he did.

"This is no way means that I give a shit about you," she said before he could get a word in, "but I hope you're not in there."

"Knight…" he croaked, barely audible to her against the hissing of the fire she stood a hundred feet from.

"Murdock?"

"I-I can't move…" he said, voice choking on pain.

"What do you mean you can't move?"

"I'm on the ground floor…east—ugh.."

"Why can't you move? What happened?" But there was only silence on the other end. "Hello?" She lowered the phone from her ear and squinted at the fire engulfing the chemical plant. The firefighters were dampening it, but not fast enough. She was close to where he said he would be.

"Shit."

Riley broke into a run. There was an iron door, she could see a mirage formed by the heat, glimmering over it. Her forehead was sweating. As she neared it jets of flames exploded the windows, glass rained, she shielded herself with her arm.

The stab wound she received still bothered her, left sour feelings and hate on her tongue, and she could blame him and blame him and blame him for weeks for it.

But no way did that mean Matt Murdock deserved to die in a fire.

Riley kept her arm up and went nearer. She felt like she was on fire, but it was just the searing heat of the place. Nearer she went, and kicked the door down. Instantly she was thrown into a fit of coughs, her eyes were burning until tears ran and pricked her cheeks. The walls were flames fifty feet tall, bearing down on her ferociously. Where is he, where is he? But everywhere was the same, she had no sense of orientation.

It was better to get in quick and out as fast as possible. She ran in, screaming for him, "Matt! Matt!"

Just in a time, she let out a squeal of terror and scurried from a piece of flying debris that would have taken her arm off on its descent. It crashed near her sputtering gold sparks. There wasn't a chance to recover from that as she spun madly, searching for him. "Matt!"

Blinking rapidly she almost missed him as she turned this way and that. But there he was, there he fucking was, amidst the rubble and carnage that comprised this literal hell, flattened by a concrete wall that could be crushing his spine. Heart leaping into her mouth, she ran to him.

"Matt!"

Hope you guys liked the chapter! I'm a little sleepy so I definitely have grammar mistakes in this. Please, review, fav or follow if you like what you're reading! Thanks for stopping by xx