Chapter 3: It's another thing to let a story work you

Karen doesn't remember the last time she had enjoyed herself so much during the holidays.

As she watches Foggy and his siblings bicker over who gets stuck with doing the dishes, Karen can't help but think of her brother and how they used to have similar discussions as children. The familiar pang in her heart that always hits her when her thoughts fly to Kevin is accompanied by warm nostalgia about the good memories she has of him. It's a nice change.

Ever since she came clean about her past to Foggy and Matt, she's been able to talk more openly to them, and Karen thinks that's really helping her move forwards and deal with all the trauma she's been through.

From somewhere on the second floor, Karen hears giggling. She wonders if it was a good idea to send the grandparents to put the children to sleep.

Her eyes wander to her left and stop at Matt, who's sitting at the kitchen table across from her, teasing Foggy, who has just managed to avoid dishes duty, but got stuck with drying instead. Foggy stands with his back to them, balancing cutlery between Theo, the unfortunate soul who lost rock-paper-scissors and is now elbows deep in soapy water, and Candace, the winner who now gets to put away the dry utensils.

Karen and Matt had offered to help, but Foggy steered them to sit in the kitchen chairs – 'what kind of host would I be if I made you do all the washing?'

Matt's at ease. Karen thinks that if it were just the three of them, he would have taken his glasses off. Still, he's relaxed in a way she hadn't expected him to be. He's usually distant – if extremely polite and charming – with most people.

Karen always found the dynamic between her ex-bosses very interesting. Early on she realized they were much more than business partners: they were close friends. Now, getting to know Foggy's family better, she's starting to realize just how significant Nelson & Murdock's rupture really was.

More than that, from what Karen has been able to put together, being stranded from Foggy also meant that Matt lost access to very important people in his life, leaving him more isolated than Karen had realized at first.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Matt quietly asks, pulling Karen back to the present. His face is turned in her direction. With the dark glasses on, it's almost like he's looking her in the eyes. His expression is light and amused, mildly curious. He seems well-rested and alert.

After resting for a few hours, when Matt finally came down for dinner he looked much healthier and steadier on his feet. The meal went smoothly, with the Nelsons quickly getting used to having Matt back in their midst. There was much family gossip Matt had to be updated on, so he and Karen spent most of the dinner listening to amusing stories.

"Just thinking how glad I'm that we decided to accept Foggy's invitation," she replies, wondering what Matt had felt from her to cause him to ask such a question. "This so much better than being stuck at home watching crap telly and eating microwaved, store-bought food."

Matt chuckles, nodding his assent. "Definitely." He pauses for a moment, as if trying to decide whether to disclose something or not. "Especially now that my 'motion sickness' has passed," he says, raising his eyebrows meaningfully.

Karen startles. "You were listening to that?" She whispers in his direction, glancing up to see if the others heard anything.

Matt looks embarrassed when he answers. "Couldn't help it, sorry."

"Well, I had to say something to them," she defends herself. "I think Candace was starting to think you were avoiding her."

Matt makes to reach out to her hand over the table, and Karen meets him half-way through, so as not to look suspicious if anyone happened to be looking at them.

"No, no," he's quick to reassure her. "I don't mean it that way. Thank you for covering for me with them."

Karen squeezes his hand. "No worries. I did get to hear some pretty interesting stories about what you and Foggy got yourselves up to back at college. So it was worth it," she says teasingly.

Matt laughs. The sound is open and warm, and Karen can barely believe that this is the same man who broke into her apartment a few months before, beaten and bitter.

"Out, out with you all!" Anna Nelson says, bursting into the kitchen.

Karen and Matt quickly jump to their feet and make to leave.

"Oh, not you two, dears," she patts Karen reassuringly on the back, voice going softer. "I meant my three children, who seem to spend more time bickering than tidying up properly!" Anna exclaims, voice going louder as she addresses the trio.

Foggy, Theo and Candace share a 'here we go again' sort of look, and hurry up to finish their respective duties.

"I'll get a head start on tomorrow's dinner," the older woman explains to Karen, indicating the defrosting cut of beef waiting on the counter. "God knows that it'll be impossible to finish everything up in time to go to mass otherwise!"

Karen nods along as if agreeing, even though she herself has little experience with preparing special Christmas dinners – or going to masses, for that matter – so the logistics of the whole ordeal are lost to her.

Across from her, Matt's frowning. "There is no need for you to accompany me to mass, Anna," he says. "I know you usually don't attend. I'm fine with going on my own."

Anna waves her hand in a dismissive gesture. "Nonsense! You came all the way here to celebrate with us. It's the least we can do. Besides," she leans forwards to stage whisper in Matt's ear, "I'm pretty sure my late mother would be very happy to see me returning to church after so many years."

"Wrong kind of church, dear," Edward Nelson cuts in, stepping out of the hallway and into the kitchen, carrying with him three empty mugs. "You know that just because they all have crosses on the wall it doesn't mean it's one and the same thing."

Karen can't help but chuckle, together with the Nelson siblings by the sink. Matt visibly tries to soften his smirk, but it doesn't really work.

Flaying a bit, Anna steals a kitchen towel from Foggy's hands and uses it to hit her husband playfully on the chest.

Edward easily avoids the worst of the hits, passing the dirty mugs to Theo to wash.

"Heretic comments notwithstanding," the graying man presses on, grabbing the blind man by the shoulder and squeezing gently, "Anna's right. It will be a pleasure to take you, Matt. We know how important your faith is to you."

"There is a Roman Catholic Church a few blocks away," Anna adds, belying her early ignorance. "Candace will stay behind to put the kids to sleep, but whoever wants to accompany us is welcomed to come along."

Matt opens his mouth again, and by the way his knuckles whiten as he holds onto his cane a little too tightly Karen is certain he's going to protest.

"Sure, I'd love to go," she interjects, before he has a chance to refuse their offer. Karen can't really say she's had good experiences with churches so far in her life. The last times she attended one was either to witness a priest get killed right in front of her, or to pay her respects to dead people. She'd like to change that, and coming to Midnight Mass seems like a good way to do that.

"Count me in, buddy!" Foggy adds, finishing up with the mugs and passing them on to his sister.

"If you don't mind me missing all the cues to stand up and sit down, I'm all for it," Theo tells Matt, surprising Karen a bit. She hadn't pegged him as someone who'd offer to do that sort of thing.

Matt laughs, and he looks comfortable again. "You basically do whatever the person next to you is doing," he says. "You cannot go wrong."

"Unless you're sitting by the Nelsons," Candace comments, smirking at them. "Then you're screwed."

"Oh, but you're forgetting something very important," Foggy jumps in to correct her. "If the Nelsons are in a church, they surely have a Matt Murdock with them. He'll keep us in line."

Karen has to bite back the 'awww' that threatens to escape her lips. Matt is flushed enough as it is.

After helping Anna in the kitchen, Karen follows the others upstairs. The door to Foggy and Matt's room is already closed, so she crosses the hallway as quietly as she can – though if Matt's still awake he will hear her anyways.

Inside her room, she sees that the light is on and the door to the built-it bathroom is closed. Karen quickly changes into her sleeping clothes and waits for Candace to finish up in the bathroom. Once it's her turn, she efficiently washes her face and brushes her teeth. As she washes her hands after using the toilet, Karen hears voices coming from the bedroom.

She opens the door to find Candace sitting cross-legged on her bed, glaring daggers at her mother, who stands by the closed window.

"It's a little sketchy, that's all I'm saying. What kind of person disappears like that?" The playfulness that colored Candace's tone earlier that evening is gone. A skeptical, serious woman has taken her place.

Anna's frown is hard and angular. All the softness of the old lady has turned into sharp edges. "Do you hear yourself? It's Matt we're talking about. We've known him since he was barely more than a kid. We know he's a good boy. He's just had a difficult life, that's all."

Candace huffs. "Him being an orphan has nothing to do with this," she points out, then, as she realizes Karen is watching them, clears her throat. "Ah, sorry Karen. Didn't hear the door opening."

Karen doesn't even try to pretend she didn't overhear what they were saying. "You were talking about Matt's disappearance, right?"

The two women share a silent look, something passing between them.

"I'm sorry Karen," Candace finally says, ignoring the warning looks her mother is sending her. "I know Matt's your friend. But you have to agree that it all sounds a little suspicious. Around May Foggy tells us Matt had 'gone missing', no further explanations, and a few months later, he announces Matt had come back and expected we to just be okay with it. It doesn't add up."

It really doesn't, Karen mutely agrees, running a hand through her hair, trying to come up with an explanation to that. She thought she was done covering for Matt for the night. Apparently not.

"Everything alright, here?" Edward suddenly asks, appearing at the door.

Jumping, Anna's hand goes to her throat. "Christ Ed, you scared me."

"We were just talking about Matt," Candace clarifies, eyeing Karen curiously.

"What about him?" He asks, sounding puzzled.

Before they have a chance to answer, loud steps can be heard approaching from the corridor. A confused Theo frowns when he encounters the group of pajamas-clad people in the small room.

"I came to get an extra pillow. The couch is hard," he comments in lieu of explanation. "Are you having some sort of secret meeting and didn't invite me?" The young man demands, and Karen can't for the life of her tell if he's joking or not.

Feeling distinctly uncomfortable, Karen avoids eye-contact and wonders if Matt is listening to this awkward conversation. The thought that he is only makes her distinctively more uncomfortable.

"I guess we are now," Candace mutters, before turning to face Karen again. "Alright, you know something," she decides. "Spill."

"What is it that she knows?" Edward insists, sounding worried now.

"It's about what happened to Matt when he was missing," Anna explains, sounding tired. "Candy has all these wild theories about what he was doing during that time."

"You mean you don't know?" Theo asks, eyes widening in surprise at them. "Shit. I thought everyone knew by now."

Cold dread pools at the bottom of Karen's stomach. Does Theo know Matt's Daredevil? How could he know? Does Foggy even know Theo knows?

Shooting a glance at the others, Karen realizes she's not the only one who's nervous. Anna is biting her lip anxiously.

"Knew what?" Candace presses, leaning forwards in her bed.

"I mean," Theo continues as if his sister hasn't spoken, "they're both awful at keeping secrets. Foggy tried to feed us the whole disappearance story, but he couldn't talk about it with a straight face. And after Matt came back, just after the shit with Fisk? Well, in that moment I was absolutely certain."

"About what, Theodore?" Edward urges.

"Just say it already!" Candace snaps.

Karen's heart is beating so loud and fast in her ears that she doesn't know how Matt isn't bursting into the room to check if she's having a heart attack. She almost doesn't catch on to Theo's words.

"Well, that Matt was working for the government," he says, perfectly calm. "It's the only thing that makes sense."

Karen's knees go weak with relief, and it's miracle she doesn't fall to the ground.

"For the government?" Candace asks, doubtful. "Doing what?"

Theo shrugs. "Your guess is as good as mine. But I'd say it has something to do with international espionage. You ever noticed how worked up he gets whenever Sokovia is mentioned? I think he found something there to do with Fisk, and used it against him after the fucker tricked the FBI into letting him go."

"Matt, a spy?" The older sister is incredulous, and Karen empathises greatly with her. "But he's blind!"

Theo shrugs again. "People underestimate him because of it," he reasons. "They don't see him coming, get it?"

Candace looks dubious, and Anna just looks tired, but Edward has a contemplative air around him.

"I thought Matt was in a witness protection program," he confesses. "I figured he had dirt on someone, and was being targeted for it. Then he came back, right after Fisk went down the second time, because whoever was coming after him had been caught."

When put like that, Karen thinks, that does sound reasonable.

"What did you think he was up to?" Theo shoots to his sister, raising an eyebrow.

Candace flushes, and for a moment it looks like she won't respond.

"I thought he had eloped," she admits at last, looking away. "I mean, Foggy seemed so heartbroken about it, but at the same time he refused to fill a missing person report. I thought Matt had gotten together with that old girlfriend and his and left town."

Karen grimaces at the thought that something like that could have happened, if only things had played out differently a year before.

The other Nelsons are staring at Candace with expressions varying from vague amusement to total incredulity.

"For Christ's sake. Why would Foggy lie about that?" Theo asks, exasperated. And before she has a chance to answer, he adds: "You know your theory that Foggy's secretly in love with Matt is just you projecting, right?"

Theo gets a pillow thrown in his face for that.

"He would lie, Theo," Candace says slowly, still a few shades redder than what Karen supposes is healthy, "because that girl is sketchy as hell. I don't doubt she has all sorts of conexions with criminal organizations. I thought that maybe she got Matt mixed with all of that, and Foggy had to cut ties or risk getting involved too."

Well, when put that way… Karen's thoughts trail off.

Anna sighs, making all eyes turn to her.

"I promised Foggy I wouldn't tell you," she begins, quietly. "But I think it's best that you know the truth, instead of making up these nonsensical conspiracy theories." Anna pauses, and her gaze flickers to Karen. "I think you know what I'm about to reveal to them, dear," the older woman tells her.

Karen doesn't know how to react, nor what to expect. The night so far has been filled with surprises. So she just gives the woman a minuscule nod that could mean anything.

Anna exhales slowly, as if steeling herself. "Matt had to be sent to a drug rehabilitation clinic," she discloses, looking guilty as she does so. "He had been having problems with drinking for some time – that's the reason their firm shut down. He started doing heavy drugs, and things spun out of control after that. He overdosed. Foggy tells me he truly believed for a while that Matt would never come back from the coma. But eventually he did and began treatment. Now he seems to be doing better."

The Nelsons stare in stunned silence at her.

Karem reflects that even lacking crucial facts in the story, still they managed to paint a reasonably accurate picture of what has been going on with Matt these past years.

"Matt, a recovering drug addict?" Candace finally asks. She sounds as skeptical, as when Theo had shared his theory that Matt was a spy. "No freaking way. I'm sticking with my eloping hypothesis. It's way less depressing."

"Yeah, sorry Mom. Espionage sounds much better," Theo decides, twisting around to go back to where he came from, carrying the pillow his sister had thrown at him. "Night, guys."

Pursing her lips in annoyance, Anna turns to face her husband. "Are you going to say you prefer to believe in your ridiculous theory, too?" She demands, almost like a dare.

Edward, smart man that he is, gently wraps an arm around his wife's waist, directing her out of the room. "Not at all, dear," he replies. "But we should let the girls get some sleep now." He pauses by the door, to flick the lights out. "Goodnight, girls."

In the dark, Karen can finally let her shoulders sag in relief, exhaustion, and reluctant amusement.