I actually didn't wait to post this this time! Someone applaud me!
She's screaming, that's all she can do. All her fighting is pointless against the stronger men that hold her arms and legs. Her broken body struggling against the Russians that drag her away, old injuries tearing open and slowing her struggles. Fear-fueled tears race down her face, cutting tracks in the dirt and blood that stains her cheeks.
Matt can't move. Everything hurts too much, his own body heavy and refusing to obey the most basic commands. Lead. That's the only way he can describe it. His entire body is made of lead, rendering him even more useless than the female being taken by the Russians.
All he can do is lie on the ground in a pool of his own blood and sense everything going on around him. He can't even call to her. Can't assure her that he'll find her again. Can't even lie to say everything will be OK.
Leslie's being taken, and he can't do anything.
He's failing, and he can't stop it.
#########
A few quiet knocks on his door frame pulls Matt from his nightmare and he leaps up, banging his knee on the edge of the table while his senses take in his surroundings.
Karen. It's just Karen in the doorway, and judging by her stiff posture, she's looking at him funny. "Uhm," she starts, glancing behind her as Foggy appears in his office window. "I was going to ask your preference on lunch, but now I think I'll ask about that."
"Yeah, Murdock," Foggy agrees, voice slightly muffled by the glass he stands behind. "What was that?"
Matt inhales deeply and tries to soothe his racing heart, failing to banish the remnants of the nightmare from his mind. "Nothing," he lies weakly, running his hand through his hair to ignore the looks he feels coming from his friends. "Just a dream I guess."
Karen's posture relaxes and she takes a half step toward him. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asks, concern clear in her voice. "I read somewhere that talking helps."
"No no," the blind lawyer rejects gently, shaking his head and feeling around for his cane. "I just need some air. Has anyone decided lunch yet?"
Foggy shakes his head and enters his office, grabbing his cane from the wall near the door and extending it in his direction. "Here," he says. "I think we settled on subs from the little place down the street. I'll call it in and you can pick them up, sound good?"
"Yeah," Matt replies distractedly, feeling his way to his friend and accepting the came from his hand before passing him. "Sounds good."
"You're paying?"
"Mmhmm."
"You want what you always get, right?"
"Sure," Matt says, now at the door and grabbing the knob. "I'll be back in a few." Without waiting for a response, Matt hurries out the door and almost forgets to be blind, already set in the plan he didn't realize he made.
He's just going to pop in to check on Leslie. Just a peek. He has to know she's alright. His dream may have just been a dream, but it still shook him. He's already had people threatening to find her, any possibility of them actually finding her sends him up the wall. Especially when she's home alone.
As soon as he hits the street Matt quickens his pace, having to mentally restrain himself from breaking into a sprint. He's in a rush, but getting exposed isn't going to help anything. So he keeps his steady but quickened pace and makes his way home.
The trip takes about ten minutes in total but it feels like a lot longer when dealing with the rest of the lunch hour traffic. He takes the stairs to his apartment two or three at a time, almost breaks the key in the lock with how hard he turns it and nearly slams the door against the back wall when he opens it. Leslie's heart rate piques at the ongoings and she leaps to her feet, the book she was reading flopping uselessly on the floor as she scurries behind to the opposite end of the couch.
Relief comes in the form of a heavy sigh and Matt finally manages to slow himself down, dropping his stuff by the door and entering the apartment with his hands up and a hesitant smile on his face. "Hey," he starts, trying to hide the slight exhaustion that begins to catch up to him. Leslie doesn't relax though, he can sense the slight tremble that sets in from her tension. He lets his arms drop, but doesn't try to approach like he wants to. "Are you hungry?"
It takes a minute or two for Leslie to relax to her normal state, but when she does, she gives a small nod in response. Matt mimics the nod and starts for the kitchen. "Karen and Foggy probably ordered their food already," he explains, keeping his voice light like Foggy does, but still keeping his senses tuned on her in case something happens. "We're getting subs. Is that OK?" Another quick nod from Leslie as she slowly moves to pick up her book. "Any pretences on what goes on it?" A quick shake of the head as response. "So anything is OK?" Nod. "Great."
He knows she's still on edge and he knows he's the one who put her there when he burst through the door. He's still pretty jumpy from that encounter with the Russians earlier this week, and the dream he had felt so real, so that didn't help at all. Even though Leslie only left his house twice in all the time she's been here, he can't help but feel as though something terrible is going to happen because of it.
A quick shake of his head clears the thoughts from his head and he moves to the cabinets. "Is everything alright here?" he asks, voice too clipped to even be considered casual. "Are you drinking enough water?" Two nods from Leslie as she slips back on to the couch and pulls the blanket over her legs. "No one came by?" She shakes her head. "Good." Another nod. Matt returns the nod as he grabs himself a cup from the shelf and fills it to the brim with water from the tap. After he downs half the glass, he pours the rest down the sink and sets the cup on the counter.
"I'm heading back out now," he informs. "I just stopped by to see how everything's going." Leslie nods a few more times and turns her head with his movements, following him as he makes his way out the kitchen and around the wall to the door. "If you need anything before I get back, you can call my number on the second phone, alright?" Another nod. "Great. I'll be back in a few."
The lawyer crouches down beside the door to gather his discarded belongings and freezes, zeroing in on the changes in Leslie's breathing and heart rate. The breathing pattern is almost familiar, but he can't place it. Like he's heard it before, but only in other people. Almost like she's going to-
"Matt?"
It takes all he has not to burst into tears. That single word uttered with such an intense fear from the last person he'd expect to hear talk. Her voice is quiet, so much so that he almost believes he imagined it. But he knows there's no way he could ever imagine such a broken voice himself. Trembling slightly and croaking from disuse.
She's tense now. Waiting for punishment he can tell. How long has gone by since she spoke? Too long probably. Way too long by her standards probably. He straightens quickly and clears his throat. "Yes, Leslie?" His tone is tight and he knows it. He's doing his best to hide his shock, but he totally blew it with that one.
Leslie doesn't seem to notice though, digging her nails into the blanket as if choosing her words. "Would it be... Can I..." Her words die, but she inhales and exhales heavily to get them back. "Can I have a doughnut?"
Matt almost laughs. He doesn't know why, but it feels right at the moment. "Of course," he answers, voice portraying the smile he didn't even realize he formed. "Is that all?" She seems to lose her nerve after that. All he receives is a confirming hum before she returns to her silence. "Alright," he continues, grabbing the knob with his free hand and opening the door. "I'll be back with your food in a few minutes, OK?" Another nod. "See you then."
He steps out as Leslie nods once more and locks the door, shoving his keys in his pocket and withdrawing his phone in the same movement. His phone rings at the same time he pulls it out and he nearly drops it in surprise, fumbling slightly before finally managing to answer it. "Hello?"
"How's Leslie?" Foggy asks, voice echoing in the background enough to tell Matt he's hiding in the bathroom. "Don't bother denying it, I know you went to check on her."
"Yeah I did," the blind man agrees, not bothering to put his blind act on in the empty apartment building. "She's fine. I scared her a bit when I came in, though. But she's fine now."
"That's good," Foggy says, releasing his own sigh of relief. "With the way you left the office, someone could've sworn she was dying." Matt comes up without a reply and Foggy inhales deeply. "Alright, that was a bad joke," he admits. "My bad."
"It's fine," the other man replies, another smile pulling up his lips. "She's really ok. She even talked to me."
Matt hears Foggy's jaw drop and he laughs lightly as he starts down the first flight of stairs. "Hold the damn phone," he starts,clearly trying not to shout in excitement. "She talked to you?"
"Yup."
"Like actual words?"
"Actual words."
A small bark of excited laughter escapes his friend's mouth before he can bite down on it and he takes a moment to regain some composure before he speaks again. "What'd she say?" he asks happily. "How much did she say?"
"She didn't say much," Matt responds, finishing his descent and starting his actual blind act. "Just asked for a doughnut."
"I told you she loved junk food," the second lawyer boasts teasingly. "Anything else?"
"Nope. Hey, can you order her a sub when you order ours? She's kinda hungry."
"On it. What does she want?"
"It doesn't matter to her," Matt replies as he makes his way onto the street. "Just nothing too extreme. We don't want to overwhelm her."
"Of course not. I'll just get her a basic turkey to start off with."
"Sounds great. Tell Karen I'll be back in a few." After receiving the final farewell from his friend, Matt disconnects the line and shoves his phone back in his pocket. With his spirits a bit higher than they have been in a while, Matt allows a faint smile to dance on his lips as he makes his way to the sub shop.
Maybe he can do this.