Chapter 7

Karen arrived about forty minutes later. She fawned over the sleeping patient for a moment or two before Liz sent her up to retrieve Foggy from the roof. Her face darkened when Liz gave her the quick synopsis of the past hour and the conversations between the two men. She nodded knowingly as she headed up to find him. He was sitting on the edge of a planter box, staring off into the setting sun when Karen approached him.

"Hey," she whispered as she took a seat to Foggy's right. "Liz said you've been up here for a while. Aren't you cold?" She shivered, punctuating her point.

He reached his arm around her to protect against the chill of the evening breeze. "Just needed some air."

Karen snuggled into his side. "She does seem different than the others. Than Elektra, for sure." The two women briefly crossed paths a few weeks earlier. It hadn't been especially pleasant for Karen.

"She isn't. Believe me, Karen. They never are. And he knows it. Why do you think he never…" Foggy stopped.

"He never what?"

"You." Foggy burst.

Karen twisted in his arms, pressing her body even closer to his. "Foggy. That was a long time ago."

"It was a year ago. And I get it Karen. He is handsome and charming and wounded. And I've never been able to compete with that." He rested his pursed lips against her forehead.

Her fingers found their way to the edge of his hair that brushed his collar. "It's not a competition."

"That's not what I mean." Foggy pulled back and blew out a breath. "I mean…I don't know what I mean."

Karen turned his face toward hers. "Hey. I know how much he means to you."

He extricated himself from her grasp and stared off to the west again. "He does, too. And it doesn't make any difference to him. He doesn't care what this does to me, what watching him so fucking close to dead does to me."

Karen placed her palm on his cheek. "Oh, Hun."

His hand reached up to meet hers, allowing their fingers to interlace. He brought them both back to his lap. "I can't go back in there with him tonight. I can't do it, Karen."

"You have to. He's not himself. Even I can see that."

"And what about this girl? She seems nice enough, even if she does have the same need for disaster as Matt. That's all we need – two of them to look after." Foggy shook his head.

"Seems like she can look after herself just fine. She took care of things well enough yesterday." Karen blushed, hoping it would blend into the crimson reflecting from the horizon.

"Oh, I'm sure she took care of everything, and I'm sure he helped out the best he could," he scoffed.

"Foggy."

"I'm just so tired of it, Karen. He's over 30 now. I can't clean up after him forever."

"You can, and I'd bet that you will." She took their connected hands and pulled him toward the door as she stood. "Let's go eat. It smells really good. And he can hear us."

"I know. I'm counting on it."

"Foggy."

"Let's just go in."

All four of them picked at their plates as they sat in silence. Matt managed a handful of bites before he pushed his plate back. Karen shot Foggy a glance and nudged him toward Matt's barely touched dinner.

"Do you want something else?" He asked the other man. "I can run down to the Thai place." Matt couldn't live on pho alone, but it could get him through the next few days if needed.

"No. This is good. I'm just not hungry." He rubbed his eyes behind his glasses.

"You've barely eaten anything in two days, Matt."

"I'm not hungry, Foggy." He pulled back from the table. "But thanks for this, Liz. It really is good." He propelled the chair forward a couple of pushes in the direction of the bedroom. "I think I'm going to turn in."

The other three watched as he retreated slowly into the master suite. Foggy glanced down, realizing that his hands were clenched into fists as he watched Matt exit. Karen covered the one closest to her with her own hand.

"Maybe we should give him a little space?" she suggested.

"So he can break his neck the next time. Excellent idea," fumed Foggy.

"He's not going out anytime soon. And I have a feeling that he'd appreciate getting us out of his hair," reasoned Karen.

Foggy looked over toward Liz who stood by the kitchen sink, not even attempting to veil his forlorn expression. She jumped in immediately. "I'll clean up here and make sure he makes it to bed okay. I'll stay tonight and be here in the morning. Someone still needs to be here, and I'm an outsider, so maybe that will seem a little less intrusive."

Foggy couldn't overrule everyone. He pulled his hand back from Karen's before he shuffled toward the door, head bowed in defeat. "I can't fight all three of you."

Karen glanced from Liz to the place where Foggy had just stood and back.

Liz motioned toward the door with the wave of her hand. "I'll look after things here, Karen. Go with him."

Karen paused for a conflicted moment before she nodded and raced after the already disappeared Foggy. Liz surveyed the counter top, the kitchen table, and the dishes in the sink in front of her. Matt didn't have a dishwasher, and the place was now a colossal mess. She left everything for the moment and headed into the bedroom. Matt had made it as far as the bathroom by the time she caught up with him.

"Hey." She knew he knew that she was there, but it still seemed more polite to announce her presence verbally.

Matt hadn't quite made it to his toothbrush yet. "He won't stay away. He can't."

Liz slid in behind him. "He worries about you because he cares."

He turned in the chair to almost face her. "I'm sorry about dinner. Maybe I'll feel like eating tomorrow."

"It's fine, Matt. Really."

He dropped his head into his hands. "I'm so tired. I think I overdid it a little today." As soon as he said the words, his head jerked up. "Do not tell Foggy I said that."

She placed her hand on his shoulder. "I won't. Do you want some help here, or do you have it?"

"I'll get to bed faster with help," he decided with a groan.

"Okay." She moved in closer and helped him maneuver the chair further into the bathroom so that the edge of the sink was within his reach. He accepted his toothbrush as she stood to the side. "Shower?"

Matt considered this for a moment. "Yeah. If you don't mind."

"You'll need new sheets on the bed, too." They hadn't gotten around to changing the cotton ones from last night yet.

"The silk ones are in the closet."

She helped Matt slip into the tub and handed him the shower head. He convinced her that he could handle the rest while she made up the bed. Liz left him to his own devices and exited to prepare the linens. She finished a few minutes just as he called for her. He couldn't quite reach the faucet. Liz extinguished the flow of water and handed Matt a towel before she helped him scoot back into the chair and then continue into his bedroom. Once he collapsed onto the bed, he allowed her to help him dress, totally spent. She thought he was asleep when she slid off the bed and started toward the kitchen to finish the clean-up, but his hand caught hers.

"Stay," he breathed.

"I have to take care of the kitchen."

"It can wait."

It couldn't. "Give me ten minutes. Okay?"

He yawned. "I'll try."

She made it back in seven, having thrown everything in his meager supply of Tupperware. There was plenty of room in the fridge. She wiped up the counters and ran hot soapy water in which she placed the dishes for soaking. Still, Matt snored lightly as she entered his room. She headed instead into the bathroom where her own toothbrush had taken up residence. Once she'd washed up, she passed through his room on her way to the couch. His breathing had changed. She stopped short of the living room.

"Matt?"

"I keep hearing them." He reached for her as he attempted to sit, his face awash in anguish.

She climbed onto the bed beside him and placed her hand in his. "Who do you hear?"

He took a deep breath and exhaled with a shudder, straining against his inability to move. "People who are in trouble, who need me, or him."

"What?"

He swallowed hard and licked his lips, biting the bottom one as he spoke. "There's a woman two blocks from here who's being attacked by her date."

Liz's eyes grew wide. "Should we call the police?"

"And tell them what, exactly?"

"That I heard something at my neighbor's house and ask them to check it out," she offered.

"Fisk is still running this town, including the NYPD." He shook his head in disgust. "It wouldn't matter even if we did."

"There have to be some honest people left in the city. He can't have gotten to every officer."

"He hasn't, but I don't know which apartment it is."

She traced the outline of his hand with her finger. "Can you narrow down the building?"

"The block, maybe. I don't know if I can do any better than that without getting closer. I'm usually closer," he lamented.

"Maybe she actually has neighbors who will come to her aid, or will at least call 911."

"Hm," Matt mused. "You really don't know much about Hell's Kitchen, do you?"

Liz let her hand trail up Matt's arm. "What can I do to help?"

Matt exhaled, his breath hitching as he considered his complete helplessness. "Nothing. There's nothing we can do. I shouldn't even know what's going on out there, but I do."

"Can you shut it off in any way?"

Matt shrugged with a quick shake of his head. "Sometimes when I'm really drunk I don't notice it as much."

"Do you still get the spins?"

"Yeah." Matt laughed genuinely. "I do. And it can be pretty intense."

"Well that sucks. Seems like you'd maybe get a pass on that."

Matt squeezed her hand. "It does, doesn't it?"

"I'm sorry, Matt," Liz responded.

"About the spins?" He shrugged again. "I'm all good there."

"Not about the spins."

"I know." He pulled her closer to his left side, carefully minding the stitches.

She kissed his upper arm. "Maybe we can keep your mind off all of this some other way?"

"Liz," he breathed deeply as he attempted to rein himself in. "That's sweet, but that's not what I meant."

"Oh, sure." She attempted to duck from beneath his arm, but he held her tight.

"That's not what I meant, either. And it's not that I don't want to, it's just that…"

"Hey." She kissed his cheek. "You don't have to explain anything, Matt. And all of the world's problems can't be solved in the bedroom. I sometimes forget that."

"It's not a horrible way to solve some problems," he pointed out.

"But maybe not the bigger ones."

"Maybe not."

"I get that," she agreed. "I should go to the couch."

She attempted to extricate herself a final time, but he held her hand. "Or you could stay here."

"Matt."

"Just sleep. I promise." He turned his faced toward her, almost looking her in the eye. "Sometimes it's just nice to have another heartbeat in the room. You know?"

She did. "Okay." Liz settled carefully back against his side. "Let's just sleep."

TBC