Chapter 11: Matt's Apartment
Matt paused on the pavement under his apartment window, feeling the cold metal of the fire escape under his fingers. He wasn't going to be able to get Amy up those steps. The girl was hanging on by sheer will alone; she was physically drained from shock and blood loss from the bullet wounds as well as exhaustion from whatever the Kingpin had done to her. Matt gritted his teeth. He would exact a price from Fisk someday, for what Amy had gone through. Right now, however, he had to get Amy cared for. "Amy," he leaned over her, "Can you sit and wait right here? I'll be right back." He would go in, change, and come out the regular way so that no one would see him in the Daredevil costume.
Amy nodded, just the barest twitch of her head, and Matt helped her sit down against the wall, her back braced against the rough brick. "I'll be right back," he said again, to reassure her, and headed up the metal fire escape steps.
Amy sagged back against the brick wall at her back. She ached so much. The bullet wound in her leg throbbed. The other bullet, the one that had pushed her backward off the docks and landed Matt and herself in the water, had embedded itself in her shoulder. She'd fainted, briefly, but the shock of hitting cold water revived her quickly.
She wondered groggily where Matt had come from. She had burst out that door, running the way she thought she'd come, and heard his voice. She knew immediately it was his. And he had protected her, caring for her, on the long trip back from the docks to wherever she was now. He had taken off his own jacket, draping it over her shoulder to give her some covering over her nude upper body.
She felt the jacket now. The leather was tailored to fit him, that much was obvious. She had been unable to zip it up over her breasts. She felt the stuff. Butter soft, probably skintight, although it was so waterlogged now that she wondered if it would have to be replaced. Her hands stopped when she felt an embossed sigil on the breast of the jacket. She traced the letters with her fingers, determined that they were two interlocked D's. She sat pondering that for a moment before she realized their significance. She'd seen the interlocked D's on a news report long ago, on TV, when she still had her sight; it was the mark of Daredevil, the Man Without Fear. Matt was Daredevil? It was inconceivable to her. Matt was blind.
"Amy?" Matt spoke softly at her elbow.
Amy turned her face to his. "You're…you're Daredevil?!"
Matt saw her fingers caressing the interlocked D's on his jacket, and sighed. "Not so loud," he said quietly. "Yes, I'm Daredevil. It's a secret. Come on, let's get you inside, and I'll call Charles and let him know you're here with me, and you're safe. He can have Hank come down here and take a look at your wounds. I don't want to take you to a hospital; it would be a little difficult to explain." He led Amy around the side of the building up to the front door.
He led Amy into the apartment and steered her into the second bedroom, then tried to get her to lie down on the daybed in there. Amy balked. "I want to shower," she said. "I want to scrub his touch off my skin. Please?"
Matt sighed. Taking her arm, he led her gently into the bathroom and guided her hands to the taps. "Don't use really hot water, or the bleeding will increase. Try not to touch the wounds at all." He pushed the bottle of shampoo into her hand. "Here's shampoo." He left the bathroom, and moments later heard the pipes rattle in the walls as she turned the water on. He went to the phone and dialed the mansion's number.
* * *
Bobby seized the phone halfway through the first ring. "Xavier Institute…Matt? Matt, you have her?..Is she all right?…Oh, my God…Oh, no…I should have gone in there with her…Yes…yeah, I can do that…Hank and I will be there as soon as we can…tell her I'm on my way!" He slammed the phone down. "Matt's got her!" he told the waiting X-Men. "He found her down by the docks, got her to his apartment. She's been shot, in the leg and shoulder, but Matt says they're not fatal wounds. He didn't want to take her to a hospital—there'd be all kinds of questions asked—but wants Hank to come take a look at her."
"Certainly," Hank said, rising from the kitchen table where they'd all been sitting, drinking coffee, unable to sleep from worry about what might be happening. "Give me a moment to get my things together, and we shall be on our way."
There was a general air of relief as the others got up from the table. "Call us as soon as you know she's okay, please?" Jean begged Bobby as she got up from her chair.
They were at Matt's apartment building in less than half an hour. Bobby took the steps two at a time, getting to the door before Hank had even gotten past the second floor landing. Matt opened the door at his first knock.
The lights were on, probably for benefit of the guests, as Hank and Bobby both knew that lights weren't a necessity for a blind person. Matt directed them into his second bedroom, and Bobby sucked in a breath as he entered. "Amy?"
Amy turned her face toward the door. "Bobby?"
Bobby swallowed hard. Amy's body was covered with bruises and cuts, and the hastily-put together dressing on her thigh and arm was already showing spots of blood from the still-bleeding wounds. Hank went to the head of the bed, immediately, and pulled the dressing away from her shoulder to look at it. Amy flinched as he touched her arm. "Easy," he said gently.
"Oww. Please, don't touch it, it hurts," she moaned. Hank looked concerned, and switched on the lamp on the bedside table. He made a sound of disapproval, but began to treat it as Bobby turned to Amy. "Amy, I'm sorry," he said softly.
"Don't be. It was my fault," she said. "I shouldn't have insisted that you wait outside. I should have let you come in with me." She bit her lip as something Hank was doing made her stiffen with pain, then relaxed with a soft sigh. "I'm sorry, Bobby. I shouldn't have gone in alone. Forgive me?"
"Of course," Bobby said. He leaned over and gave her a kiss on her cheek. Amy kissed his cheek back, then lay back as Hank finished with her shoulder and started to dress her leg wound. Bobby held her hand as she flinched and gasped at the probing, then Hank said, "Bobby, will you come out here for a moment?"
He closed the door before addressing both Matt and Bobby. "I regret to infringe upon your hospitality, Matt, but is there any way Amy could stay here for a few days? She's in no condition to be moved right now, and both her wounds show every sign of having contracted an infection. She shouldn't be moved now."
Matt nodded. "No, I have no problem with her staying here. I actually offered to Charles to let her use my spare bedroom if she didn't wish to stay at the mansion. It will be no problem having her stay for a while."
"How bad is it?" Bobby asked anxiously. Matt heard the tone in his voice, and realization dawned. The younger man loved Amy. And he knew she loved him too. The thought made him somewhat sad; he would have liked to take Amy out on a date. There hadn't been anyone for him since Elektra. But Amy was Bobby's, and he'd never made it a habit to chase anyone else's girl. That was all right. Amy could still use a friend.
He belatedly realized Hank had said something. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that? I was thinking about something else."
Hank said, "What time of day would be best for me to come and see her? The wounds will need to be redressed every day, and I'll have to bring medications. It would be best if you were home."
Matt thought. "I leave for the office every day around eight in the morning. We close at five in the afternoon, provided there are no late cases. I usually get home around seven, so anytime in the evening will be all right with me. I don't go out until nine or ten."
Hank nodded. "I shall be by tomorrow at eight, then. Thank you."
Matt held up his hands. "Don't mention it. It's not a problem. While she's here I can work on her knowledge of Braille shortcuts, and she'll have access to my library of Braille books, as well. She has been borrowing some occasionally. And I'll welcome the company."
"Uhm…" Bobby hesitated. 'What about your…'other'…business?"
Matt smiled. "She realized who I was when I rescued her. She felt the double D's on my jacket, ad she guessed. I'm not worried." His voice hardened. "Fisk tried everything he could to get her to tell him where she's been hiding and who's been hiding her. She never told him about you all. And I don't think she would have, either; she has an incredibly strong will." He smiled. "It will be no problem. Really."
Hank opened the door. Amy had fallen asleep while they were talking, and was now curled up on the bed. Her breathing was shallow, and he could see the beginnings of a warm flush creeping over her face. Definitely an infection. He couldn't move her now. He closed the door again and took two bottles of pills from his bag. "When she wakes up give her one of each. One is an antibiotic to combat the infection, the other will bring her fever down and help her to sleep. She has to take one of each every six hours. And she has to have a lot of fluids. No milk. Water would be best, a little fruit juice would help too. Do you have that, or should I send Bobby out for some while we're here?"
"I have that," Matt said. "She'll be all right. I'll make sure she takes the medicine."
Bobby looked back through the back window at the retreating building as Hank drove back to the mansion. "Do you think she'll be okay?" he asked Hank.
"She'll be fine, Bobby," Hank said reassuringly, clapping Bobby on the shoulder. "Now come on. Let's go home. Jean's waiting for a status report."
* * *
That's it for this one.
Hope you all liked it. I hadn't done a Bobby story yet, so I figured it would be nice to have him and Amy pair off. After all, they do say opposites attract, right? There may be another book in this series, focusing on this little love triangle developing between Matt, Bobby, and Amy, but if I do write it, it's probably going to be some time in the future, so don't look for it any time soon. I'm working on my next novella as well as working on the full-length novel 'Power Squared'.
Next up, something a little different. I've gotten a sprinkling of Emails from people who tell me my writing is becoming a little predictable. I use the same theme. So, for my next book, I'm going to break with my usual theme and do something different. It's called 'Shape Shift', and the first chapter will go up probably on Friday. It's going to be a blend of movieverse and comicverse, and it will feature Rogue as the central character. She's going to befriend a student with an unusual problem…if you want to know what that problem is, you'll have to read it!
See you all there for the next book!
