Alison's POV
(bellamysgirl)
The preacher was talking, praying—saying something but I wasn't sure what. It was like I couldn't feel anything. Everything was just empty. Doris had a tight hold of my hand on my right, Chase snuggled into my left. People were crying, feeling sad, doing what people normally do at funerals. But all I could do was stand there staring at the casket being laid down. After the words were said, the few that were at the funeral, were able to place flowers on the casket.
Purple, almost lavender roses. I should know the exact color by now. I helped Doris plan this. But that whole time, never once did it hit me like right now. Never once did I stop and think Ben wasn't coming back. It all just rolled right over me. The true weight of what's happened was finally setting in. I sniffled. "Chase, honey, why don't you take your flower over?" I suggested, bending down an inch to see Chase.
I could tell it was hitting him, too. But I don't think he quite got it. Chase never spent any long periods of time with Ben, so most of his moping was probably just everyone else's moods getting to him. He nodded with a sigh and let go of me, before starting over for the casket. I wiped at a loose bit of water from the corner of my left eye and turned to Doris. Thankfully she was able to make it today. She was in a wheelchair, but she was here.
Before I could say anything to her, she looked up at me. "Thank you for helping me make this happen, Alison," she said. "Ben…he always spoke fondly of you. You were his protégé. His favorite student. He saw a lot of himself when he was starting out in you." She smiled weakly and I inhaled, trying not to break down.
I faked a small smile. "He was very special. If there is anything you need—ever—I'm here, okay?" I looked up at her caretaker, the nurse that escorted her here. "If she needs anything, can you call me? Whether it's insurance or- just anything."
"Oh, that's not necessary. Ben took out a policy a while back…he's taken care of me," she waved it away. Her eyes started filling up and she looked down. "He's always taking care of me, even now."
I held her hand tighter and moved to stand in front of her. "Doris, please…please call me. Chase and I will come visit you so you won't get lonely," I said, gaining her attention. "I don't care if you say no; I won't let you be alone. Ben…Ben was like family to me. You have me now, okay? You have me." She smiled a bit through some tears and her caretaker leaned forward a bit.
"It's time we get back," she announced.
I nodded and squeezed Doris's hand. "I'll call you in the morning, yeah?"
"Thank you," Doris nodded. "Thank you for everything, Alison." I let go of her hand and her caretaker rolled her away, back to the road through the cemetery. A sudden touch to my arm startled me slightly as I turned back toward the casket. It was Matt. Dani and Karen were talking about something while putting their flowers down, out of ear shot.
I turned to face Matt fully. "This seems like a stupid question but…how are you?" he asked, gently. How am I? I looked to Dani and Karen. They weren't paying attention. They were busy now, looping Chase into the conversation. I looked back at Matt. I couldn't quite think of what to say but my chest started aching, and my eyes were no longer completely dry.
Tears started rolling down my cheeks. "He's gone…Ben's g-gone, Matt," I sucked in a breath, trying to tamp it down—and failing. It only made it worse. "How do I get better after this, after…I can't lose anyone else. I can't." I was shaking my head, the tears blurring my vision. Matt put his arms around me, pulling me into his chest, and I buried my face in the shoulder of his coat. "You won't," he said, almost too quiet for me to hear. "I promise."
Promise. He doesn't even know. Every time I lose someone it's because of me. Because of something I did. It doesn't matter if you stop Fisk. I'll still be right here, ruining everything I touch. I felt a hand on my back and pulled away. Dani gave a saddened smile. I tried to return it but it flopped like a dying fish. Her eyes were knowing, sympathetic. She opened her arms and I stepped into them. "I'm so sorry, Alison," she said.
I could hear Chase's voice get closer, so I sniffled back my tears—wiping them away—and stepped back. My gloves were probably really wet by now. I stepped around Dani and walked the few feet it took to get to the casket. A large bundle of roses already lay on top. I took a deep breath and placed my rose with the others, then stood back a moment. Out of the corner of my eye I could see someone step up beside me. "I'm very sorry for you loss," it was a man's voice.
I glanced left. It was the priest. I turned back to the casket. "Thank you," I replied, as loud as I could manage.
"You're a friend of Mathew's?" he asked, lightly.
"Yes," I nodded, turning a bit to see him. I held out my hand. "Alison Fletcher."
He took my hand and shook it once gently. "Father Lantom. I preach at St. Mathew's. If you ever need to talk to someone about your grief—or anything else—please don't hesitate to come to the church."
"Thanks, but I'm not religious."
"That's alright, we don't mind sharing. The confessional is always open…I promise I won't try to convert you." He said the last bit pointedly, like it was supposed to be a joke. But it seemed just like a lighthearted comment. I smiled closed-mouthed and he sauntered away before I could reply.
After we'd finished at the ceremony, we went back to the law firm—Dani, Karen, Matt, Chase, and I. Karen wouldn't shut up. On the ride there I could at least get some quiet. But as Chase and I joined the others in the hallway, almost to the door to the law firm, Karen was going on and on. Dani looked like she wanted to make it stop the hard way.
"…he just stood there, like he was his friend!" Karen fiddled with the keys in the door a second, then pushed it open and marched through. "Like he had nothing to do with what happened."
"I thought Ben said he didn't have any evidence Ellison was taking money from Fisk," Matt said, tiredly, shutting the door behind us all. Chase went into the office and started rolling around in an office chair. "No but it makes sense," Karen pushed. "I mean it explains-"
Dani hung up her coat with a heavy sigh. "Karen, stop right there. When something like this happens, you want to blame someone, want a reason why. But there's no other reason here than Fisk. Us, in this room?" she gestured a hand around in a circle. "We know who the real enemy is."
"Yeah." Karen dropped into the chair behind the front desk, leaning her elbows onto the desk top. She looked like a bit of a wreck. Probably not as much of a wreck as I felt. My hands were still shaking from long before the funeral. They never really stopped after….
I went over to the coat rack and hung mine up, along with my scarf. I slipped off my gloves and stuffed them in my coat pocket. "The worst part about all of this? Foggy," Karen said. "He didn't even show up."
"You said he left a message," Matt pointed out.
Karen made an annoyed sound. "Yeah, he left a message. Letting us know he had better things to do."
"I'm sure he didn't say that," Matt argued.
"No, but that's what he meant."
"Let him be a jerk," I started across the room for the small kitchen area. "We're better off without him." I opened the cupboards until I found a cup, poured day old coffee in, and then shoved it into the microwave for a minute. "I'm sorry, Alison," Karen apologized, from the other room. "How are you doing?" I started pouring sugar and some kind of creamer—I think that's what it was, but it looked more like wet sand—into my cup.
"You wanna know how I'm feeling?" I inhaled, bringing my coffee with me to the doorway, leaning a hip into it. "I'm angry. I want Fisk punished. I want him arrested. I want to be in court the day the jury hands in the verdict. And I want to see that smirk wiped from his face the moment when he realizes he'll never be a free man again." I must've used a much more sinister tone than I aimed for because everyone was staring at me now.
The whole room was silent a moment. But Matt spoke up, "Everyone that's taken money from him, everyone that's helped him tear apart this city…they're all gonna get what's coming to them…along with Wilson Fisk."
Dani's POV
(Nightwing27th)
I heaved, out of breath and shape. Sweat poured from places I forgot I had. I bent over, resting my hands on my knees. I sniffled. "I told you…I'm not a boxer, Murdock." I stood, taking a few steps and I tried to calm myself. I glanced at Matt. He was highly amused, that stupid grin on his face. "Well, you did say you wanted to hit something."
"Yeah," I wiped my face with the back of my wrist. "I was just hoping it'd look a little more like Fisk." I sighed and then leaned against the ring. "Your turn," I pointed at the bag. He smiled and walked up to it, adjusting the wraps on his hands. He started punching the bag as I took a drink. "One of these days, we need to come up with a plan," I blurted. I know we need to have this talk, and so does he. But, it probably could've waited.
Matt paused, turning toward me. "Get a hold of Wesley. See if he can help." My heart nearly jumped up into my throat at the sound of his name. Another dead person, which, who knows if he got buried on land. I took a few seconds to reply, as he continued punching. My mind wondered to the night he died, and what I did.
"I can't," I finally said. "He's dead." Matt had swung and missed the bag. He turned to fully face me, his hand held out to catch the bag when it came back. "Fisk must've found out he was a rat." Matt looked slightly confused, yet disappointed at the same time.
"Does Alison know?" he asked.
Yes. "No," I sighed and went for my water. Matt nodded and then went back to the bag again. I inwardly sighed. At least that was over. I just need to keep track of my lies. Alison thinks no one knows. Matt now knows he's dead, but not how. Alison has no idea what I did to his body after she left. Fisk still doesn't know it was us…or I hope he doesn't. And, no one else knows. I think that sums it up. I hope.
Matt continued punching the bag, hitting it pretty aggressively, now. He needs to get it out. At least he's not hitting something alive. That's always good. I sat my water down as I heard the gym door open. I looked up and saw Foggy walking toward us. Foggy stopped a few feet away from me. He nodded and I gave a pathetic wave. He was clearly here for Matt.
Matt's punches steadily slowed, until he wasn't swinging anymore. He breathed heavily as he looked off someplace across the room, away from Foggy. "How'd you know I was here?"
"Known about your outlet for a while," Foggy replied. I just kind of shrunk back and watched. "I didn't say anything because I thought it had something to do with your dad. Now I know better." A few seconds of silence passed, and then Matt went back to hitting the bag. I sighed and squirted water into my mouth. "Thought you'd be out punching people in the head," he glanced at me, "or whatever you do."
"We were," I said, slightly startling him. He seems a little hesitant around me. Good. If the boy's got to learn, might as well be the hard way. Foggy looked at me, doing a double take. I sighed, realizing I was wearing a tank top. All of my scars are visible for him to see. Or, at least, most of them. My hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and blonde, so the scar on my face was extra prevalent.
I grabbed my thin jacket off the floor of the ring and slid it on. Foggy quickly looked away, like he'd just seen me coming out of the shower. "We went to go see Ben's editor," I finished.
"Ellison?" Foggy asked, looking hopeful. "Did he talk?"
"No, we never got close." I glanced Matt's way. He's still hitting the bag, letting me do all the talking. And, he's not looking directly at Foggy, even though I know darn well he knows where he is. "We're trying again tomorrow," I pointed that last bit at Matt. He slowed his punches to a stop and looked directly at me. I tipped my head toward Foggy. Matt sighed, and I swear I saw him roll his eyes.
He left the bag and walked to the ring, in between Foggy and me. He started undoing the wraps on his hands. Foggy looked like he got kicked…or ate something very sour. "Are Karen and Alison upset?"
"That you didn't come to the funeral?" Matt asked.
Foggy nodded. "I just nodded. You could tell that, right?"
"Yeah, I could tell," Matt said. Good, they're talking. Maybe things will get resolved. Or, someone will leave with a broken nose. "I told Karen this was my fault…all of this between you and me. Alison, though-" he shook his head and I could tell he was holding something back.
Foggy just nodded. "I was on my way to the service and I got a call…from Marci."
I scoffed. "You didn't go to Ben's funeral for a booty call?" Matt looked as disgusted as I felt.
"She's been helping me," Foggy said, looking around Matt at me.
"Oh, I'm sure."
He rolled his eyes and then went back to Matt. "She's been copying files from Landman and Zack on the quiet. Whole stack of documents on their dealings with Fisk, and Owlsley at Silver and Brent."
Matt slapped the ring floor, clearly angry. "Ben is dead, Foggy, because he got dragged into this. And now you're doing the same with her."
"We're being careful."
"This has to stop. Fisk has to-" Matt sighed and rubbed his face. He was as frustrated as I felt. Bringing another person into this is stupid. Foggy's middle name, recently. "I have to stop this…before there's no one left to bury." Matt put on his coat, grabbed his bag and then headed for the door.
"Yeah, I'm a part of that, too," I said. Matt stopped. I stood next to Foggy with my arms crossed. "Last time you went after Fisk, I found you half dead!" Foggy said. "More than half. I would say take her-" he jutted a thumb my way "-but she didn't even come back till three days later. You go after him in the mask again, he might kill you. Both of you." Matt turned around. "Or you might kill him, which would probably have the same affect on someone as Catholic as you are."
"I've been offering to kill him for a while, now," I said.
Foggy looked down at me, concern on his face, "Yeah, but could you actually do it?"
I opened my mouth to reply, knowing I could do it and still be able to sleep at night, as Matt pointed his folded cane at me and said, "Don't answer that." He then looked at Foggy. "What am I supposed to do? How do I stop him?"
"By using the law, Matt."
"Yeah, like we've been trying to do," I added. "In the beginning, you wanted to use the law to stop him. Which is why I haven't killed him myself." Foggy looked down at me weird. He shook his head and then looked back at Matt. "Like you told me and Karen to do. That's how we take him down."
"'We'?" Matt and I said at the same time. I turned and faced Foggy, puzzled. I heard Matt say, "I thought Nelson and Murdock were over."
"There's nothing I want more than to find a way back to where we were," Foggy looked between Matt and I. "But…I don't know if we can." He seemed more apologetic than I was hoping. He was clearly trying to apologize to both of us…but I'm not sure how I feel about that. Alison's really the one he should be apologizing to, not me. And he and Matt have their own issues to work out.
"I think this whole thing," I said, "was one big eye opener for us- all of us, in our own personal relationships with each other. Time will tell if that's a good thing." I looked between them. "Maybe…we can all make up and try to find a new normal?"
After everyone agreed, and I knew the times of us wanting to kill each other have passed, for now, I quickly left the boys and headed to Alison's. I was late for something. She didn't exactly tell me. She opened the door before I knocked, my hand in the air. I sighed. "Get a new peep hole?" I walked passed her and inside.
Chase came bounding around the corner, a large matted ball of orange in his hands. He was bursting with joy. So much, I could almost see rainbows shooting out of him as he left a very colorful trail of flowers everywhere he went. "GUESS WHAT?!" I sighed, now that I'm deaf.
"What is it, Ch-" The thing in his arms started moving and I slightly jumped back. "WHAT is that?" He burst into laughter, shoving the matted flea bag in my face. "It's my new KITTY!" he shouted. I sighed and held the thing by it's under arms. I looked at Alison. More like glared, with a vengeance.
She started laughing, "Chase has something he'd like to ask you."
"Like, where's the nearest Humane Society?"
"NO!" Chase scowled. "He's my pet!"
"You can tell it's a he?"
"Mom said I could keep him, if you help me give him a bath."
I glared at Alison, again. Then I looked back at Chase. I looked at the cat and sighed. "If I die," I looked at Alison.
"The bathroom's over there," she pointed down the hall. I sighed and the headed that way, holding that thing out in front of me. Chase ran ahead of me and opened the door. I peeked inside. They'd already filled the bath. I glared once more at Alison and then looked at Chase. "You might as well strip down to your skivvies…things are about to get hairy."
Alison's POV
(bellamysgirl)
I sighed, shaking my head. "Chase, what have you done?"
"I blame you," Dani pointed a finger at me with narrowed eyes. The whole bathroom floor was covered in suds and bubbles of soap floated about the bathroom.
I scoffed, crossing my arms. "Me? How is this my fault? You said you'd help him!"
"Because he's your son!"
"Mom, I caN'T FIND RUEBEN!" Chase exclaimed, in a crescendo of syllables. He was spinning, looking, digging in the soap. Dani made a sound that was a mixture of a sigh and a groan. "He's right there." Dani reached into the suds by the sink and pulled up the orange ball of wet fur called a cat. He was making a whining low sound. It started making an almost human sounding noise. It sounded like he was saying, "No, no, no, no, no," on repeat.
Dani turned to me, now partially covered in soap. "Now what?"
"Just run the water and…rinse him off?" I had no idea what to do. More water probably wasn't the best idea, but it was all we could do. She groaned shortly and turned back to Chase. "Turn it on," she instructed, jutting her chin in the direction of the tub. He acted quickly to do as told.
I inhaled. "I'll go get some towels."
Just after shutting the door, I heard a slosh and a loud hiss. I cringed. Great. My new cat was probably mauling them both. I won't have much of a bathroom left after this either. Which, I guess is okay, because we'll be moving out of here as soon as possible.
I'll just leave this under floor rotting for the next guy. Just as I'd reached the hall closet, I heard a knock at the door. That's odd. I wasn't expecting anyone. Maybe it was Matt, looking for Dani? I sighed heavily and hurried to the door. I unlocked the deadbolt and pulled it open halfway. Everything in me froze and boiled at the same time. My blood was running hotter than it ever has but my joints were locked up.
Wilson Fisk stood outside my apartment. With my son just inside. My hand slid from the knob to the side of the door, gripping it so tightly that my knuckles shown white. "Mr. Fisk, what a surprise," I caked on a smile, made it look real. "What brings you to my little apartment?"
"I'm very sorry to intrude at such a late hour…may I come in?" he asked, almost hesitant. He seemed saddened. Oh no…he's found out about Wesley. He knows what I did. And now he's here to kill me in revenge. I gave a short nod, trying to hide my rising anxiety, pulling open the door. "Of course."
"Thank you," he nodded.
He walked just inside and I closed the door behind him. I stepped around him, taking a shaky breath, and stood just three feet from him. The man that made Wesley try to kill me. The man that ruined my life. The man that took Ben away from me. The man that tried to kill my son when he hadn't even been born yet. "I'm afraid I'm not here on a very joyous accord," Fisk spoke up, looking down.
I loosely crossed my arms, mostly to hold myself still. My body was split. Half of me wanted to run and hide, and the other wanted to kill him. Or at least slap him across the face. "My friend—he recently passed away," he continued. He reached a hand into his suit jacket and pulled out a white envelope. "He had set aside instructions for this. In the event of his death, I was to give this…to you."
He held it out and all I could do was stare at it. My throat was sore and my chest was starting to ache. That familiar I'm-about-to-start-crying feeling edged a lump up in my throat, but I swallowed it down. Hesitantly, I reached out a hand and snatched the envelope, pulling it back to the safety of my possession. "He…he told you to give this to me?" I asked, almost in shock.
I hadn't expected anything like this. He gave me a note for Chase before he died, but I haven't read it yet. I don't even know if I'll actually give it to Chase. Fisk nodded. "Yes…I hadn't known that you previously knew each other, at the fundraiser…I'm very sorry, Miss Fletcher," he said, apologetically. This whole situation was giving me stress flashbacks to when I was fifteen.
Those men in uniform at the front door…saying dad's not coming home and practically the same thing as Fisk—we're very sorry. Instead of a letter, mom got a folded up flag. At least it was something a little more substantial to remember him by. I cleared my throat, pulling out of my thoughts. "Thank you…for stopping by and giving this to me," I thanked him, though I just wanted to throw up. "I'm sure—wherever he is—James is very thankful as well."
Fisk looked like he felt out of place. Like it was difficult for him to feel something real. "Yes, well, it was my pleasure," he nodded once. I moved to the door and opened it, cueing him to leave. He almost seemed just as thankful as I was to get out of that situation, disappearing down the hall as fast as he came. I closed the door, sure to turn the deadbolt. Sudden muffled sounds startled me and I turned left.
"WHO NAMES A CAT AFTER A SANDWICH?!" Dani stumbled out of the bathroom and slammed the door, sending a wave of suds across the hallway floor in a whoosh. I paused. She looked up at me, her chest heaving for a breath. Her eyes were full of anger and pure annoyance. "What?"
