Consciousness came to him slowly, as if he were slowly coming to the surface of quicksand. The sounds and smells around him slowly resolved from random chaos into the heartbeat of the world around him. The antiseptic, floor wax, and medication smells were unmistakably that of a hospital. His chest, arms, and legs were wrapped in bandages still, but he was feeling more as if the world made sense.

Well, mostly. Matt had thought for sure he'd die that night under Midland Circle, and at the time, he really didn't care - he could feel the uncertainty coming from Elektra then, despite the rage and bloodlust surrounding her like a cloak. Then, the last thing he knew was the soft caress of her lips, the feel of one of her tears falling onto his cheek as she whispered her apologies. He had said nothing, just held her close as the world fell around them.

The first time he had awoken, he had no idea where he was. Able to hear footsteps and heartbeats, but no voices - even out of what was normal human earshot. He had lain there in silence for more than a day, before he heard the familiar voices of Claire's no-nonsense pragmatism, Colleen's quiet cheerfulness, and Jessica enjoying running sandpaper on people's nerves. He smirked at that - Jessica may be abrasive and truly enjoyed getting a rise out of people, but she had very thoroughly proven herself as an excellent detective, and a good friend over the past few days.

Since then, he had enjoyed being lazy, as much as he'd never admit it to anyone. He spent most of the days and nights sleeping, his body greedily taking all the rest it could, given his normal sleeping habits. His body ached with a regular rhythm in time with his heartbeat, and he simply endured, and slept.

Over the past two days however, he'd had a steady stream of visitors. As embarrassing as some of them were, most of them were actually a relief - and in many ways, an affirmation of life after so much death. He had seen both Luke and Claire yesterday, followed soon after by Danny and Colleen. As strange as the circumstances of their meeting may have been, Matt was very glad he had met people like these, Danny's immaturity sometimes aside.

Jessica and Trish had visited him together earlier today - that had been both wonderful and annoying. Wonderful, because they truly did act like sisters visiting an old friend - Trish, the bright and cheerful one, and Jessica, the sarcastic and cynical one. They balanced one another out hilariously well, and he chuckled many times while they visited.

"So, how did you get injured so badly?" Trish asked him finally. He could feel that she had been trying to be tactful the entire time they were visiting, but it seemed that she couldn't contain the question any longer. "What happened to you?"

"I think some of the building landed on me," Matt said with a wry smile. He may be taking a page from Elektra's book here - it was technically true, but it definitely wasn't the whole truth. Besides - he wasn't sure he was up to talking about the whole situation right now anyway. There were too many unknowns yet, and most of them hurt too much to think about.

He could feel the specific slight air movements made by her shaking her head. "Even blind, you still help other people without even thinking about it. That's amazing."

"Yeah, he can be a real horny bastard about it sometimes, though," Jessica added, the smirk on her face obvious. He couldn't see the twinkle in her eyes, but he knew it was there.

"Jessica, Matt's love life has nothing to do with having a building fall on him," Trish chided her friend/sister.

He next heard Jessica chuckle. "You sure about that?"

"Why, was he trying to save his girlfriend or something?" Trish asked, sceptically.

"I heard a rumor about him trying to save his ex by doing stupid shit. Like, voluntarily trying to get her from a collapsing building," Jessica replied, the smirk even more audible in her voice.

Matt sighed.

"That's a beautiful thing though, Jessica," Trish said, obviously offended on Matt's behalf. "Even if they're not together any longer, he still risked his own life to make sure the woman he still loves is okay. Nothing about that is wrong!"

"Except the part where she's a zombie," Jessica said off-handedly, before taking a sip of whiskey-laden coffee from her cup. "And maybe the part where she has a couple unhealthy fetishes."

"Oh my God," Trish said, and Matt could hear and feel the air movements that signified her putting her head into her hands, before raising her head and addressing him directly. "Matt, I'm so sorry - we didn't come to see you so that Jessica here could talk shit about your ex."

"It's fine," Matt said with a wry smile. He had to admit that shit-talking was both an art and a skill, one that Jessica devoted much of her waking life to perfecting. Something like a da Vinci when it came to offending people. "She and I had a pretty... dramatic relationship."

"Shit," Trish cursed. "I have to run back to the office. Jessica, will you be okay for getting back?"

"Yeah Trish, I'll be fine," Jessica said offhandedly, but Matt could feel the warm smile from her. Though Jessica didn't, and probably would never say the words, she did care deeply about a certain few. "Go make idiots cry on air some more - that made my entire day last time."

Matt heard the two embrace in a hug, even as Trish chuckled. "I'll do my best," she said to her friend. Turning to Matt, she gave him another warm smile. "Matt, I hope you feel better soon. It was wonderful to meet you, and next time, I hope it's under better circumstances."

At this, Matt laughed quietly. "Yeah, me too. It was an honor to meet you too, Trish."

After hearing her footsteps leave the room, and fade into the background noise of the people in the hallway, Jessica sat in the chair next to his bed. "Speaking of, can I ask you some embarrassing and personal questions about your ex?"

Running his hand over his still-bandaged face, Matt sighed. "Sure."

"Awesome," Jessica said, taking another sip of her whiskey-infused coffee. Technically though, there was enough whiskey in it that it was more coffee-flavored whiskey. He suspected that she'd already "refreshed" it at least once. "So, why would she offer to train someone to fight?"

Matt stopped mid-motion, tilting his head to the side curiously. He ran the question through his mind a few times, but it still didn't quite make sense. "I don't know," he said finally. "She had never had any students - or at least, she didn't tell me about them if she did. She was always... busy," he said with a slight grimace.

"Huh," Jessica said, taking another sip. "I caught her on a rooftop overlooking your room the other night. She said she was watching over you, and then gave me some bullshit about wanting me to be her student after I tried to punch her a few times."

Matt's lips twitched at that, but then he ran the scenario through his mind. "Did she attack you at all?"

"No," Jessica said thoughtfully. "I really thought she would - it's part of why I was trying to piss her off, so she'd slip up and we could bring her down again."

"And... instead of attacking you at all, she... offered to train you?" Matt asked slowly. This didn't sound like her.

"Well, the bitch did say that watching me punch was physically painful," she grumbled, taking another sip. "I didn't hear her talk shit when I popped her in the jaw, though."

At this, Matt chuckled - that did sound like her. "You know, her first teacher was Stick - same as me," he said with a smile that widened into a smirk. "And she was next taught by the Hand. You could probably do worse."

"Oh, for fuck's sake," Jessica sighed. "This is going to be some wax on, wax off bullshit isn't it?"

"I'm more impressed that you're actually thinking about it," Matt replied with a smile.

"And you don't see a problem with this?" Jessica asked him, skepticism lacing her words.

Matt shrugged as best he could, laying as he was in a hospital bed. "She'd be one of the few that could help you learn to use your strength properly. It might also give her a purpose for something other than..." he trailed off for a moment, not sure how to word what he wanted to say.

"...Death, mayhem, stabbing, and destruction?" Jessica finished for him.

"Yeah, those," Matt said with a smirk.

"Don't know about that, but she did tell me that she managed to get the land Midland Circle was built on," Jessica said thoughtfully.

The smile vanished from Matt's face. "You're telling me that she now owns that land, and the underground area beneath it?"

"Yeah," Jessica said. "She said she wanted to build a coffee shop there."

Feeling as if someone had hit him hard enough that reality was skewed, Matt simply tried to process that for a minute, and found that he couldn't. "A coffee shop?" he repeated dumbly. "But that... that doesn't..."

"She already has a name picked out," Jessica added before taking another sip, the smirk on her face a physical presence he could feel.

Matt waited a few seconds, and when she didn't volunteer, he had to ask. "So... what's the name she picked?"

"She wanted it to be a surprise. She wanted to see the look on your face when you found out," Jessica grinned at him.

"First you ask me if you should trust her to be your fighting instructor, and now I find out you're keeping one of her secrets?" Matt asked incredulously.

"Oh, calm your pointy red tits Beelzebub, it's nothing bad," Jessica snorted, and then chuckled. "In fact, it's even funnier now that you told me about Stick."

"Yeah," Matt said, with thoughtful silence. He had many mixed feelings about his old teacher, but watching Elektra kill him still brought a lump to his throat.

"I'm sorry about Stick - I shouldn't have brought it up," Jessica said uncomfortably.

Matt paused a moment. "Wait, did you actually apologize for something?" he asked, shocked.

"Oh, fuck you Matt. I hope you get gored by one of your horns," Jessica retorted. "Alright, I have to head back to work. Unlike some people, I didn't manage to turn a disaster into a vacation from work."

Matt couldn't help it - he chuckled again. "I knew you'd be able to sniff out my evil plan. And I would've gotten away with it, if it hadn't been for you damn kids," he said, even raising a fist in the air to shake it at her.

Jessica laughed at that. "Fuck off, Murdock. I hope you rest up and become a slightly less full of shit lawyer," she said with a chuckle, before walking out.

Nestling himself into the mostly-comfortable hospital bed, Matt simply allowed himself to relax. A few minutes later however, the feel of another visitor brought him out of his light sleep, just before a soft knock sounded on his door. The figure felt older, moving more slowly, but more at peace with the world than most. Sure enough, he next heard Father Lantom's voice. "Matthew? Am I disturbing you?"

"Not at all, Father," Matt said with a tired smile. "It's good to hear your voice. How are you, and how is the church?"

"Better than one of my wayward flock, it seems," Father Lantom answered with a smile, as he walked into the room, and sat down on the chair next to Matt's bed. "I heard only last night that your ticket to Heaven had apparently been delayed, and rerouted," he elaborated, the smile on his face a presence that Matt could feel.

"I feel very lucky," Matt said softly. "I wasn't sure I was going to make it that night."

"I met the one who saved you, you know," Father Lantom smiled at him. "Which reminds me, Matthew - you owe me a latte."

Matt's face twisted in confusion. "What?" he asked after a moment. "What do you mean? And why do I owe you a latte?"

"First, the church had an unusual visitor last night," said Father Lantom, as he made himself more comfortable on the chair. "A certain woman that a certain someone had said quite a bit about over the years. A certain woman that said she'd never been in a church before."

His head felt fuzzy still, and he couldn't for the life of him think of who it might be. Then, what Father Lantom said earlier hit him. "Wait, Elektra was at your church?" Matt said incredulously.

"I think she was trying to find what she knows you found there," Father Lantom replied gently. "I don't think she chose the church at random, Matthew."

It was taking Matt a while to process the idea of Elektra voluntarily being in any kind of place thought of as holy by anyone, and still couldn't. "So, was she there to get baptized?"

Father Lantom laughed at that. "I truly doubt she'd be the type, Matthew. No, it was enough that she simply sought someone to be a listening ear. I don't know what happened with her Matthew, but she had the same survivor's guilt you had."

There were so many things Matt wanted to say, but in the end, he wasn't sure it would help. "Her own life took a turn for the very dramatic a few months ago," Matt said slowly.

He could feel the air movements as Father Lantom nodded. "Matthew, wasn't this the woman you mourned? The one who died?"

Matt took a deep, shuddering breath. "Yeah. She was purposefully brought back to become a weapon for a war in the shadows."

However, he could also feel the look of shock on Father Lantom's face. "Matthew, her resurrection did not seem to be one of Heaven's make, but for someone thought of as a weapon in the shadows, she seemed terrified of never having light again."

That he did not expect. "I guess this explains why I owe you a latte," Matt said finally, with a small smile.

"Telling her about that got her to laugh," Father Lantom said with a kind smile. "She seemed concerned that she would be offending someone by accepting a humble coffee from an old monk."

Matt chuckled at that. "Getting that coffee machine was one of your better ideas, Father."

"I'm just glad if it helps people to unburden their hearts, and not worry so much about ceremony and wording," Father Lantom replied.

"I'm... sorry nobody else told you, Father," Matt said, feeling ashamed. "I should have made sure..."

Father Lantom interrupted him. "Oh, don't fall into guilt Matthew - there isn't room enough on your bed for both you and your guilt," he said with a chuckle. "I found out from someone I wanted to meet anyway, from all the times you told me about her. And," he added with a note of mischief in his voice, "it seems that you told her about me as much as you told me about her."

"What do you mean?" Matt asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"As I said Matthew, she didn't come to my church on accident, or at random," he said with another smile. "Rest, Matthew. Be good to yourself while you're here."

"I'll try, Father," Matt said with a wry smile. "I'll try to save the guilt for after I get home."

"That's at least a start," Father Lantom laughed. "I'll see myself out. You are still in my prayers, Matthew," he said before patting Matt's shoulder, and walking out.

He lay there, as he thought furiously. Something was definitely happening with Elektra, and the little signs he kept hearing about didn't make sense, even when mixed together in his mind's eye.

Distantly, he heard the overhead notification that visitor's hours were now over, as the lights dimmed slightly, artificially suggesting night within the hospital. Nestling more into the sheets and blankets, Matt relaxed, and began slow breathing techniques to let himself fall asleep more easily.

A light knock sounded on the door, as a nurse in full scrubs walked in. "Time for your medicine, Matthew."

Every sense of his snapped fully awake at the sound of a rich, smoky woman's voice with an upper-class English accent. Sure enough, he felt the subtle bulge in reality where she stood - but this time at least, he could hear her breathing, but he couldn't localize where she was in the room. "E- Elektra?"

He felt a pair of warm, almost hot lips press gently against his forehead, and heard the soft clink of a glass vase being set onto the table next to his bed. "I can't stay long," she said softly, pulling the nurse's breathing mask back up over her mouth and nose. "But I... wanted to tell you that I'm so sorry, Matthew. For Stick, for... everything."

Though his heart still hurt thinking about everything involved, her presence was... different now. Still similar, but definitely undergoing some shifts. He couldn't describe it any more specifically than that, other than there being a feeling of vibrancy that hadn't been present before. "I forgive you," he said with a tired smile. "But, you'll also have to forgive yourself."

"That will be more difficult," she said, a note of humor in her voice. "Rest easy, Matthew. We can have our long-overdue talk once you're not wearing hospital scrubs with teddy bears on them. The sight actually offends what little I remember of my childhood."

"Seriously?" he asked with a chuckle. "They gave me the ones with teddy bears?"

"The thanks we give to anonymous heroes who risk their lives," she said with a sigh, shaking her head. "It's atrocious."

He laughed at that. "Somehow, I think I and my dignity will survive."

"Hmm," she replied, the doubt obvious in her reply. "I'll see. Rest well in the meantime Matthew," she said softly, pressing her lips once again to his forehead.

Then, her presence seemed to disappear. By concentrating, he could feel the air currents of her movement out of the room he was staying in, but she had once again cloaked her breathing.

However, there was a new scent in the air. Sniffing carefully, he realized the smell was coming from the glass vase she had left behind.

In the glass vase was a small bunch of orchids.