Chapter 4

Once she made it to the street, Elizabeth braced herself against the front of the building, gulping in the fresh air. Claire had mentioned, in passing, as she was leaving for two weeks to help her sister with the new baby that Elizabeth might get a strange call in the middle of the night regarding a near-dead vigilante known in the papers as Daredevil. But most likely not. Probably not.

They had discussed him before, only she didn't realize that Mike was really Matt and he was blind but he wasn't. And he fought crime in the dark or something like that. But she understood why Claire had chosen to unburden this information on her, though, seeing as Steve Rogers proved to be a sticking point between Elizabeth and Jim. Or the straw that broke the camel's back and their engagement.

Elizabeth realized that she needed to go north about 27 blocks to get home from where she now stood. She thought about a cab but decided to clear her head a little on the walk. She fired off texts to Jim and Claire as she started on her way.

Jim's reply to her repeated thanks was typical. At least this one isn't a superhero. She laughed out loud. Their secret was safe so far. Claire, having way too much to text, called instead.

"Liz?"

"Hey."

"I'm so sorry. I didn't think they'd need to call you."

"It's fine."

"Is he okay?"

"Not really. I had to call Jim to patch him up."

"Oh Jesus."

"Don't worry, we made him sound really pitiful. Jim is none the wiser."

"I'm sorry to get you messed up in this."

"It's not like I haven't asked for it before." Claire knew Liz's history, but they didn't need to re-hash that now. "How exactly does he do what he does?"

"I'm not sure, but his senses are really, um, sensitive?" Claire laughed. "I guess that's where that word comes from." She continued. "Especially smell. He can taste anything he can smell, but then there's the touch thing, too. And the sounds. It's like he can hear what you're thinking. God, just all of it is amazingly intense. But he really has to concentrate to go full-on, um, vigilante. Sometimes afterward, he's very blind. I don't know how to explain it exactly, but you'll see what I mean."

Liz wasn't sure what she was supposed to do with all of this information. "Okay?"

"Did you see the soap in his bathroom?"

"Yeah."

"Get some of that at the drugstore and shower with it. And get some unscented deodorant and detergent. All Free and Clear. He's okay with that one."

"God, Claire."

"It was a little more, um, involved than I let on earlier."

"Are you sure you want me there?"

Claire knew Liz's history, but her answer was final. "I can't be with him. He wants this life despite what it's doing to him and the people close to him."

"Is there someone close to him?"

Claire was silent for a minute. "You mean other than Foggy and the secretary, Karen?"

"Yes."

"There was."

"And?"

"She was killed last week."

"Oh my God, Claire!"

"I hoped Foggy could keep him in a little longer." Elizabeth's end of the phone was silent for a long time. "Lizzie, I'm so sorry. I just didn't know who else to call."

"It's okay Claire. His secret's safe with me, and I'll do what they need me to do."

"He's a lot sweeter than he gives off as a first impression, especially when he's hurt."

Elizabeth's head was swimming. "I have to go."

"Okay. Keep me posted?"

"I will."

The call terminated. Elizabeth continued moving north another three blocks before her second wind came to an unceremonious end, and she nearly tripped on a break in the sidewalk. She wasn't sure she had enough strength remaining to hail a cab. But when she did, she gave the address of a shop down the block from her apartment. She clearly needed to pick up some sensory deprivation essentials.

She dropped the bags on the floor as she stumbled through the door, catching a glance of herself and the dried blood smeared across her forehead and scrub top as she passed the mirror in the foyer. Why hadn't she noticed that earlier? She'd been to the bathroom at Matt's and at the surgery center. She stripped her clothes off and threw them into the washer, adding a capful of the new detergent. She searched around quickly for a few of her lounging staples to wash her scent off of them, too. While the clothes were percolating, she hopped into the shower and doused herself in the nothingness of his soap. Fifteen minutes later, she exited the shower and shot her dark bobbed hair with the hairdryer for a few minutes. She waited to switch the clothes to the dryer and collapsed in bed, asleep before her head hit the pillow.

When she woke, the sun had nearly set. She'd been out for hours. She sat up and checked her phone. One text from Foggy. Apparently he'd cut out the middle man by acquiring her number from Claire. She responded that she'd be back at Matt's within the hour. She hoped Foggy had managed to steal a little bit of rest himself, but from the few hours that she'd known him, she couldn't assume that he had.

When she arrived at Matt's building, she climbed the stairs with her pack of provisions. She didn't have a key, so she knocked. After a moment, a tall redhead in a pencil skirt and silk high-necked blouse pulled open the door. This had to be Karen.

"I'm Elizabeth," she revealed, not sure how prominently she would figure in the version of the story Karen had been told. "I'm guessing you're Karen." The woman stared back, even more skeptically after that remark, if that was even possible. Liz tried again. "Is Foggy still here?"

Karen stepped back to allow her to enter. "He just left, but he said you'd be coming to check on Matt." She followed Karen down the hall and into the living room. "Matt said you're a doctor," Karen offered, warming a little. Elizabeth nodded. Karen continued. "He's a little restless, wants to move around, maybe take a shower or at least wash off a little?"

"Okay," Elizabeth agreed, wheels turning in her head as to how they'd manage that. He was heavier than he looked.

"What about his leg. Or his side?"

"The cast is waterproof, but we shouldn't submerge his torso. Can he sit on the edge of the tub and we can spray him off or something?"

"I can hear you two scheming out there," Matt called from the bedroom. "I'd like to be a part of the planning if that's not too much trouble."

They headed into the bedroom where Karen spoke first. "Sorry, Matt."

"It's okay Karen." He bit his lip and took a deep breath, but he seemed considerably more relaxed than he had earlier in the day. "Hey, Elizabeth."

"Just call me Liz. I think we're about to get that close."

Matt blushed. "Maybe we should just wait for Foggy to get back."

"I sent him home for the night," revealed Karen. "If you want to do this, you're gonna do it with us."

Matt considered this for a moment and came to the conclusion that he needed a shower. "Okay. What do I need to do?"

Liz pointed to the wheelchair. "We'll need that." She headed into the bathroom to scope out the situation. The tub was big enough, and the shower head was convertible. When she returned to the bedroom, Matt was perched on the edge of the bed, his hoodie discarded beside him, and he was working on removing his pants. "You ready?"

"Almost." He kicked his sweats out of the way with his intact foot and sat before them in his boxers.

Karen glanced over at Liz. "Maybe I'll work on some laundry."

"Are you okay with me doing this?" Liz asked as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders to pivot on his right foot.

"I guess I don't really have a choice."

"Don't you have a swimsuit or something?"

Matt shrugged. "I'm blind enough not to have to look you in the eye. And you're a doctor, right?"

She looked back to Karen, who was now busy stripping the bed, her face even redder than her hair. There would be no help there. Liz gave the chair a push toward the bathroom. "That I am."

By the time Matt had cleaned himself up, Karen had remade the bed and laid out some clean clothes. She knocked on the door to let Matt and Liz know she was headed out for the night.

"Thanks Karen!" Matt called through the door. "Make sure Foggy gets some sleep, okay?"

"I will, Matt. See you tomorrow."

Liz returned Matt to the bedroom where he finished dressing. Then he reached for her to help him move back onto the bed. He stopped for a second, inhaling deeply with his face beside hers. "You smell like my soap."

Liz blushed – not during the whole shower scene but when he realized she'd researched him. "Um, yeah. I talked to Claire this afternoon, and she said if I was going to be over here, it would be less unpleasant for you if I keep the fragrances at bay. Is that creepy?"

Matt heard the sudden increase in her heart rate and felt the rise in body temperature, as well as the heat radiating from her face. He recognized the same response in his own body. He had no idea that would embarrass her. She'd just seen him naked without so much as a change in breathing pattern, for goodness sake. Maybe he needed to get back to the gym. He knew he needed to put her at ease. "No, it's actually really thoughtful. Most people don't know enough about me to even know to do something like that." He felt himself relax a bit as he heard her heart rate slowing back to normal.

She exhaled as he sat back. "Do you need anything? Did Karen feed you?"

"Karen's got her hands full with Foggy, only she doesn't realize it yet."

"Oh," Liz answered. Then the lights came on. "Oh!" She slapped his arm playfully. "Really?"

Matt chuckled, more relief on his face than she'd seen in the 18 hours she'd known him. "Yeah. They smell like each other all the time now. I think it's been about six weeks. They were going to tell me, I think, but then…" he trailed off, a faraway look crossing his face. His eyes filled with moisture.

She hadn't planned to go here and therefore didn't expect this type of reaction. "Your girl?"

He wiped at his eyes, blinking fiercely. "Elektra. Yeah." He wiggled back on the bed. She felt a wall rising between them. "Are my glasses on the table?"

They were. "Yeah." She handed them to him, pretty sure they had lost whatever had just passed between them.

He ran his fingers around the frames for a good minute before he decided not to put them on. "Can we go into the other room? I've been in this bed all day."

Liz stood. "Sure." She pulled the chair back flush with the bed. "We probably should have decided this before the last move."

Matt nodded in agreement. "Probably, but I have no idea what sheets Karen put on here. These feel like they are going to scratch my skin right off of me."

"Perhaps you would like to wear a shirt?" Liz offered as her fingers wrapped around his bare torso.

He leaned into her as he shifted into the chair, a smirk climbing across his face as he sat back. "And what would be the point of that?"

"Protecting your skin against sandpaper sheets?" she asked as she threw the t-shirt into his lap. "Will that do?"

He slid the shirt over his head and smoothed it out before he leaned against the backrest. "That's perfect," he decided with a contented grin.

Liz moved behind him and pushed the chair forward. "How about some tea?" She'd seen the bags earlier in the day on her kitchen search.

"Yeah. That actually sounds great." She moved around him, but he reached forward and grabbed her hand. "I know you aren't sure about me or all of this, Liz, but thanks so much for everything."

"I'm happy to help."

"I can tell."

"Oh. Right." She squeezed his hand. "Let's get you settled on the couch, and then I'll work on that tea."

"Okay," Matt agreed. "That sounds like a plan."

TBC