Ben greeted Matt cheerfully in the morning, not paying attention to Matt's mood. Matt was still groggy as he trudged into the bathroom. He muttered a 'morning' in return. He'd gone out as Daredevil after he'd had dinner with Ben and Peter and had a late night. His head was pounding but at the very least, he had no visible bruising, which was lucky for him. Not only because he had to go to work, but because they received an impromptu visitor.
Ben answered the door ready to greet Foggy who he expected to see at the door. But his smile fell when he saw a woman dressed in a blazer and skirt. She had an oversized bag with her and a couple of folders in her hand. Her hair was pulled up in a bun and she wore oversized round glasses with dark frames. Her face was pinched as if she was already having a bad day.
"Hello," Ben said in a quiet voice.
"Good morning, you must be Ben Reilly," she said and began to walk into the apartment. Ben had to hastily get out of her way before she barreled over him. "My name is Violet Mitts. I'm your assigned caseworker." Ben closed the door and followed her into the living space. "I'm here to inspect the home and to interview you and your guardian." She had peeked into the kitchen and wrote something down before she stared through the bedroom door looking at the single rumpled bed. "Mr. Murdock is here, correct?" She looked towards the bathroom where the shower could be heard.
"Uh, yeah," Ben said, pointing at the bathroom nervously.
"The place is clean, but it's only big enough for one," Ms. Mitts said, looking pointedly at the couch where a pillow, sheet, and blanket sat. "Did you sleep on the couch?"
"No," Ben said and shook his head. "Mr. Uh, I mean, Matt—er, dad?—slept on the couch. He said I needed to sleep on the bed so that I could be well-rested for school today."
"That was reasonable of him," Ms. Mitts said and wrote something down. "I'm glad to hear you've already been enrolled in school. Are you attending PS-129? You're in their district."
"No," Ben said and scratched the back of his head nervously. "We decided to try online school."
"Oh!" Ms. Mitts said, raising her eyebrows. "What prompted that decision?"
"Uh," Ben said and shook his head. "It's a...because I'm new to the city and don't really know how to get around on my own yet?"
Ms. Mitts nodded and wrote something down. "You feel comfortable with that decision."
"Uh, yeah, yeah," Ben said and nodded. But Ms. Mitts raised an eyebrow at the stutter. "And I'll get to go with Matt to work."
"To work? Are you working?"
"No," Ben said with a shake of his head. "Um, he doesn't have a computer here, so I'll be going to his office to get my schooling done there."
Ms. Mitts looked around again. "I see." She wrote something down. And walked inside the bedroom. She came back out quickly and went into the kitchen to inspect the fridge. She tsked but otherwise said nothing. "There isn't a television anywhere."
"That's, uh, probably because Matt didn't need one?" Ben said awkwardly shifting in place.
Matt walked out of the bathroom already dressed for the day. He made his way over to where Ben was standing and took hold of the younger boy's arm to help him relax. Matt had sensed his nervousness since Ms. Mitts entered the apartment. Ben visibly relaxed at his entrance and was grateful for the grounding touch.
"I've never heard of someone not needing a television," Ms. Mitts said and turned to face Ben. She'd been inspecting the cupboards.
"Well, most blind people don't watch TV," Matt said with a small smile.
Ms. Mitts nodded and wrote something down. "Good morning, Mr. Murdock. My name is Violet Mitts. I'm Ben's caseworker. I would've called ahead of time, but I like to get my surprise inspections out of the way early on. I spoke to Ben a little and although you gave up your bed for him, I believe this place is too small for the two of you."
Matt cleared his throat. He had been taken aback by the fact that the woman hadn't reacted to the fact that he was blind. "Yes, I'm aware. I have spoken to the Super and we agreed that I had enough space to add a second bedroom."
"Wonderful," Ms. Mitts. "How soon will that addition be ready?"
"It should be complete by the end of next week."
"Where will you be staying while the construction is underway?"
Matt chuckled and then cleared his throat. He hadn't planned on having to find secondary accommodations but that made sense. "I haven't made the arrangements but we will be staying at a hotel until construction is complete."
"Good," Ms. Mitts said and wrote that down. "I also noticed a lack of fruits and vegetables in the kitchen."
"I will get right on that," Matt said and cleared his throat.
"See that you do," Ms. Mitts said. "Ben also mentioned that there isn't a computer here and he will be accompanying you to work to use one of your computers there. Will that not cause any problems at your workplace?"
"No, ma'am," Matt said with a shake of his head and an amused smile. "But that is only temporary as well. I have ordered him a laptop—"
"Great!" Ms. Mitts said, writing something down. "I have to say that I'm impressed that the two of you are getting on like a house on fire so quickly." Ben scrunched up his face not understanding the phrase. She walked up to Matt and took hold of his hand to slip a card in it. "Please give me a call once you're settled in. I would like to set up a formal meeting for my next visit."
"Sounds good," Matt said, handing Ben the card. "I'll do that."
The woman made her way to the door. "Oh," said Ms. Mitts, a hand on the doorknob. "Please make sure the ratio of alcohol to food is not ten to one sooner rather than later for the sake of the child." She slipped out before Matt could respond.
"That went well," Matt said and cleared his throat. "Breakfast?"
"Uh, what just happened?"
"Child Protective Services," Matt said as he made his way to the kitchen. "They need to make sure that children placed in foster homes are being well cared for."
"They don't do a good job of that, do they?" Ben said, still staring at the door. The woman had intimidated him at first but then he just thought she was rude.
Matt frowned. "No." His voice took on an angry tone. Ben turned to face him. "Too many kids slip through the cracks and are abused by their guardians because CPS is overwhelmed with cases. The ratio of caseworkers to children is a lot bigger than the ten to one she pointed out in my fridge."
"No wonder she came and left so quickly."
"She had five files in her arms but ten more in her purse," Matt said and sighed. "But she actually sounded like she cared even though she came off as curt."
Ben hummed and went into the kitchen to help Matt with breakfast.
On the walk to Matt's office, Ben shared what the CPS worker had said about the public school to get Matt's thoughts on the matter. Matt asked him if he wanted to do that instead of online school. Ben asked if he could. Matt smiled at the young man not wanting to answer the question. He wanted Ben to decide on his own.
They had spoken about what had happened with the scientist after Peter had left the apartment. Ben hadn't really been happy about the outcome even though he'd been freed of the worry of being hunted down. Though, he had so many unanswered questions about why he was made. What had been his purpose? What was the reasoning behind stealing the experience of a normal childhood from him? Why did he have to be plagued with Peter's memories? All they did was make him feel like an outsider in his own life. Because there was Peter and here was him; they'd lived the same life but in actuality hadn't. He only had the memories, he hadn't experienced them truly. Because he was a fake. A carbon copy. Not a real person. He needed his own life. He needed to make his own decisions. Until then, he wouldn't feel like he was his own person.
"Yeah, I think I would rather go to school instead," Ben said with a determined frown.
"I'll have Karen make the arrangements when we get to the office," Matt said and squeezed Ben's arm. He'd been holding on to Ben's arm instead of using his cane, for appearance's sake.
"Thanks, Matt," Ben said sincerely. Then he swallowed. A surge of nervousness had made him rethink his previous decision. "Is it normal to be nervous about actually stepping inside a school building?"
"Yes," Matt said with a small smile. "That is completely normal. No matter what age you are."
"Okay," Ben said and let out a breath.
"You're going to do great in school, kid," Matt said and bodily nudged Ben.
Ben let out a breath and closed his eyes for a moment. "Yeah," he said softly. "I want to do this." He was talking to himself. But Matt smiled all the same.
An hour later, Ben let out an aggravated groan. "Why can't I just go to the public school that Mitts lady mentioned? Why do we have to look at all these other options?"
"I'm not sending you to a public school," Matt told him and rubbed a hand over his face. Karen was the one going through the different schools and rejecting one after another. He wasn't even sure what she was looking for but Ben was right, this was taking too long. Ben groaned again. "I understand your frustration. But we went over this. Public school won't challenge you and you'll end up sitting in a classroom bored out of your mind."
"I bet it will be better than this," Ben said and let his head fall onto the table. "Ow."
"No, it will be worse," Matt said and squeezed Ben's shoulder. "Karen, any luck?"
"I'm sorry but registration is closed in most schools. I don't think you'll be able to enroll him into a private school mid-year, Matt," Karen said, blowing out a breath to move her bangs out of her eyes. "Unless you know someone who knows someone."
Matt looked to the heavens for help.
"I got it!" Foggy said and came out of his office holding a piece of paper in his hand. "Well, actually, Marcy got it. It's her alma mater!"
Matt, Karen, and Ben stared at Foggy blankly. What the heck was he on about?
"Standard High," Foggy said, his smile faltering. "It's a good school. And it has open registration. Also, it's in the Upper West Side. Basically down the street." He received blank stares in return.
Foggy had overheard the others earlier and called Marcy to find out if she knew any good schools for Matt's newly acquired foster kid. Marcy was more than happy to provide an answer. She'd been elated when she'd heard that Matt was fostering a kid. She said something to the effect that Matt would be less of a handful now that he had to be responsible for another human being. Foggy simply smiled and agreed with her. Though he hadn't mentioned the little he knew about how Ben had come into Matt's life. He didn't think it was pertinent information to share.
"What is it?" Foggy asked when he hadn't received any feedback. "Not a good fit? I mean, it's filled with rich kids but there's gotta be a few good eggs in the bunch. I mean, Marcy went there and she's awesome."
Ben suddenly stood up and pointed at Foggy. "Thank you!" Then he turned to look at Matt. "It's settled! I'm going to Standard High!"
"It's settled," Matt said to Karen and chuckled. Karen smiled at him and looked at Foggy gratefully. "Thanks, Foggy. So when can we enroll him?"
"Now?" Foggy said with a shrug. "Marcy was going to call the principal to recommend Ben. So he's a shoo-in."
"Woah," Karen said as she scrolled down the computer screen. "Foggy wasn't kidding. It's the most elite public school there is. They're pretty strict on grades, too."
"Ben will be fine," Matt said and stood up. He looked over at Karen and asked for the manila folder with Ben's paperwork. It was all forged but it would pass muster.
Luckily, Matt had contacts that could set up an identity on short notice. It wasn't something he was proud of but Castle didn't ask questions and it had been an emergency situation. He was glad that the scientist who'd cloned Ben was no longer a problem—god forgive him for thinking ill of the dead—but there was no saying that anyone who worked with the man wasn't aware of Ben's existence. He would need to keep an eye on the boy. Lucky for him, he knew a few people who would help him with that.
"Let's go, kid," Matt said and made his way to the doorway.
Ben grinned and rushed after Matt. He was still nervous but was more excited to go to school.
"I've never seen a teenager so happy to go to school," Foggy said with an amused chuckle.
Karen nodded in agreement but a small part of her was worried about the boy. Foggy only had a minimal amount of information. Karen had looked into the boy's past. As if his family's history hadn't been bad enough, Ben had escaped from the grasp of a madman. She hoped that things would look up for the kid from now on. Especially since the psycho who posed the greatest danger to the boy was dead. Karen was grateful for that and hoped that that meant Ben was truly safe now.