10. The beginning of an end

Vera might have been scared shitless, but she was only human. When she was not talking to Terri or anyone else, she was… dozing off. Enough to force herself to put away her contacts and wear her glasses instead, because her eyes burned. She was losing track of time; she might have her watch, but that wasn't the point. She wasn't even sure if it was a.m. or p.m. Christ. She hoped Matt was more aware of his surroundings, though she doubted he caught even an hour of sleep between all the shit.

Vera was just returning from the bathroom, teeth brushed and contacts on again, because she needed to feel like a human being at least, when they stumbled in.

And by 'them', she meant the officers. And by 'stumbled', she meant dragging three unconscious people in. Vera stared in horror at the limp body of Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and— and Matt as well. Her heart stopped. He wasn't- he wasn't-

Vera didn't even realize she followed the cops on autopilot as they carried Matt's bo- Matt to some office. He was just unconscious, right? There was some blood on his shirt, but-

"And take his shirt for blood samples," Detective Knight ordered to the couple of cops, who dropped him on a couch with a huff.

The 'thud' snapped Vera from her trance. Matt was just unconscious. And they were about to strip him.

"I'll do it," Vera offered, surprised how quickly she thought of what could it mean if someone else would do it. One point for her. Sadly, she had lots of 'minus' points.

One of the cops looked at her, sceptical. "Yeah, you won't. He's heavy as fuck."

"It might be difficult," the other explained, before she could protest. Unlike his colleague, he was almost unnaturally polite. It stopped her from snapping. These two needed two different strategies to be convinced, dammit. "He's unconscious, these people feel even heavier."

The first cop, cop A, just smiled at her victoriously.

Vera cleared her throat. "Uhm. Just…" She showed them her left her shamelessly. "He had fallen asleep with his arm over me before, so I know exactly how heavy it is. I'm pretty sure I can imagine the rest." She turned to the cop A. "Actually I don't have to. He had… uhm, his body went limp over me before if you know what I mean."

Cop A aka the smug smile guy scoffed, measuring her with his gaze from head to toe. She supressed a shiver.

Cop B aka the polite guy cleared his throat. "Right."

"Doesn't change a thing. You won't handle him. Not alone."

I'll show you what I can or cannot handle, you arrogant prick.

She sighed, mentally counting to ten. That guy was impossible.

"I won't have to." She turned rather to the cop B. "Could you please send Foggy Nelson here? It's okay, he was his roommate in college and is his best friend…" She couldn't resist squinting at cop A as he sighed dramatically. "…So he'll hardly see something he hasn't before."

"Of course. We need to bring you a bag and some clothes for him anyway."

Vera smiled at cop B – Drake, she needed to remember that – with relief.

"Could you bring a first aid kit as well, please? Just in case. I have some training, I'll check him up. Thank you."

Another annoyed sigh from the cop A as they were leaving. Vera would swear she heard him mumble "crazy bitch" on his way, but she wasn't sure.

"Love you too…"

The moment they were gone, she was at Matt's side. She wouldn't start examining him just yet, but she needed to make sure he was still breathing at least. She attentively watched his chest and abdomen, her palm hovering above his nose and mouth.

Ten seconds, come on. 1, 2…. Breath, thank god. 5, 6, 7… .Another breath. 10. Good, that was good. She didn't even have to tilt his head back to clear the airways, which was even better; she had no fucking idea what had happened to him, she really did not want to hurt him further; though given the way the officers dragged him in, they had been hardly worrying about a spine injury, so there was thick chance she couldn't make anything worse.

Foggy stumbled to the room. "Hey! What the hell happened?!"

Vera just sighed and shrugged, pulling out two pairs of gloves from the kit he had brought, asking him for help.

To be fair, cop A had a point; Matt was freaking heavy. Vera knew that, he was all muscle and he had gone limp over her before (it happened sometimes, when he was tired, but they couldn't keep their hands off each other anyway and once he came, his body just went absolutely limp for few moments before he bothered to let her breathe). But she had never had to strip his shirt in that state.

In the end, they managed; Foggy was a great help and it made Vera wondered if he had ever had to deal with drunk-limp Matt like this.

Foggy was watching her and sometimes helped her to manipulate Matt's body as she tried to somehow examine him, feeling for bumps and other deformities, checking for any bleeding, carefully palpating for any serious inner bleeding as well. He had one bump on the back of his head and some bruises that would blossom very colourfully, she was sure, but for Matt, he was practically fine. Though the head bothered her.

Once again with Foggy's assistance, she managed to pull a NYPD t-shirt on Matt's torso. When done, she sighed heavily, collapsing on a chair she had dragged to Matt's improvised bed.

"Thank you, Foggy. I couldn't have done this alone and… I didn't want them to… to see the scars," she explained sheepishly.

Foggy gave her a tiny smile. "Of course, good call. And he's my friend, you know."

"I know. But still. Thanks."

"No problem. What did you tell the cops anyway? The guy who gave me the stuff was… uhm-"

"Calling me a crazy bitch?" Vera supplied helpfully, causing Foggy to grimace.

"Yeah, something like that."

"I was trying to be… convincing. Persistent. He probably thinks I'm crazy, stubborn and extremely possessive of Matt's body or something, don't want anyone to see him, which technically isn't wrong, I really don't. Just for a different reason than he had probably imagined. So… yeah."

"Uh-huh. Building yourself a reputation."

"Well, I can live with that. If I let anyone else discover his identity on the other hand…"

She gulped, watching Matt's peaceful expression. He looked like he was just sleeping, while in reality, someone had knocked him and two super-powered people unconscious, somehow had got blood on his shirt and possibly had taken Danny, because there was no way he would have just left them there like this. Vera had no idea where Stick fit in the scenario, but she didn't care too much about that. This was enough of a mess as it was.

"You know it's not your fault, right?" Foggy asked and she slowly turned her head to him, meeting his serious eyes.

Vera thought she knew what was he was talking about and she did not agree. She escaped his gaze, taking off the gloves and hiding Matt's hand in hers. She played dumb.

"What isn't?"

"Some people knowing about him," he answered with a sigh, seeing through her lame act easily.

Vera squeezed her eyes shut, fighting tears. With Matt unconscious, she had backburner the problem, but it was still present. It still stung.

"Really?" she looked at Foggy briefly before returning her gaze to Matt. "Because it kinda feels like it is."

"Well, that's bullshit."

"Is it? Trish figured it out together with my involvement in the Worshippers shit. Jessica because she saw me and Daredevil interact after Stick attacked me and she knows I'm engaged to Matt. My landlady, Terri and Victor know – surprise, surprise – because of what happened at my apartment with Stick. Danny, who told Colleen, knows because Matt left to fight alongside him, to protect me, which was also the biggest clue for Karen. Hell, the Avengers know because I have involved them. How is all of this not my fault?"

Foggy observed her for few seconds as she was quickly wiping away the tears from her cheeks, before he rolled his eyes to the ceiling, looking like he was concentrating really hard.

"Still bullshit. Jeeez, you're self-important."

"I— I'm sorry, what?" Vera stuttered, incredulous.

"The world does not revolve around you, Vera. Not talking about Matt's, that's another story. None of that was your fault. Sometimes it's hard to believe that, but Matt's an adult, so he's making his own choices. And he chose to be with you. That meant putting you in danger-"

"Yeah, I bet no one told him how dangerous I will be to him and his secret identity."

"That's— shut up. What I'm trying to say is that he chose to be with you. I'm pretty sure he knew the risks, but that- that doesn't mean you're putting him at risk. Okay? Everything you mentioned – Matt leaving, Matt saving you, protecting you – it was his choice. It is his choice. He loves you so he cares for you, looking after you; it's really not on you that you needed to be saved from his crazy ninja master. The moment Matt decided to make a move on you-" Foggy kept explaining and Vera froze.

"So you think this is his fault?!" she cried out, covering her mouth, shocked how loud she was. She wasn't too loud, but still. What the hell, Foggy?!

"Heck, no. Though he would probably think so, jeez, I never realized how similar you are in some ways. It's anybody's fault. It just happened. When you asked the Avengers to help you, you saved his life and he actually told me you were trying to protect his identity while you were bleeding out, so that argument is lost here. As for the rest, neither of you asked Stick to hurt you, neither of you asked the crazy kids to… crucify people in his name. You couldn't have prevented Jessica, Trish or even Terri getting involved. Everyone makes choices on their own and you can't be responsible for everyone, like it or not. Things happen."

Vera gulped, raising her eyes to him. "Well, things suck."

Foggy chuckled at that, sounding as if he wasn't sure himself if the sound he made was meant to be amused or not.

"Yeah, well. Not wrong here. But it's not your fault. One event leads to another. You're not… you're not doing any harm to Matt's life or whatever shit you're thinking right now." Foggy took her free hand, squeezing it lightly. "In fact, if you ask me, he's one lucky bastard to have you, okay? I might like the way he's beating his way through his life, I might not, but I'm sure as hell happy for him to have a kickass girlfriend – fiancée – by his side."

Vera pressed her lips together, the sobs he was trying to hold inside breaking through anyway. "Dammit, Foggy."

Matt's best friend smiled at her warmly. "You're gonna be okay with him here? I'll go check if I can find out what happened, okay?"

Vera gave his hand a squeeze, attempting a smile as well. "Yeah, go. Good idea. Thanks for the help again. And… the rest too."

"You're very welcome, Ms. Machackova. Just… if he wakes up before I come back, don't tell him it was me who made you cry, okay?"

Vera chuckled through her tears, gesturing with her hand to chase him away. "Go use your smart mouth and undeniable charm somewhere else, Nelson."

"Oh, you think I'm charming?" he called out from the door. "You shouldn't tell him that either…"

"Foggy!"

She shook her head in disbelief as the door clicked behind him.

"You have the weirdest friends, Murdock." She brushed Matt's hair of his forehead and placed a light kiss there. "I see why you like them."

It literally came out of nowhere. One moment she was almost dozing off despite her determination to watch Matt attentively, checking his breathing and changes in his pulse (Foggy had apparently changed his plan, because he had not come back for hours and Vera was not about to leave Matt to find him), and the next… she had her face on the floor, her arm twisted behind her back, solid weight keeping her down. Vera was fully awake in a fraction of a second, completely shocked, her heart stopping before her pulse skyrocketed. Because what the actual fuck?

"Matt?" she choked out or mumbled, whined or something, out of breath and with her cheek pressed against the cold tiles.

His weight disappeared with a gasp, the force twisting her arm painfully and making her eyes water gone at instant. She used her other hand to return the cruelly sore arm into more comfortable position, focusing on not whimpering as her muscles and tendons protested with the movement. She rolled over only to see Matt panting, watching her in horror, supporting himself onto a table by the wall.

"You're up," she noted brilliantly, sounding less cheerful than she attempted. Bending her knees, she sat up slowly.

Matt gulped, his face paler than when he had been lying unconscious on the couch, every last drop of blood drained from his face.

"I'm so sorry."

Vera tried her best to ignore the pain in her shoulder and arm (and elbow and wrist), climbing up to stand up as well. "It's okay."

It was not okay. It hurt like a bitch. Jesus. What exactly had happened to leave him in a killer mode?

Matt shook his head, not looking like he was any calmer. "I'm so sorry, Vera. I would nev-"

"Never hurt me on purpose? I know," she breathed, carefully touching his forearm. He frowned miserably, but visibly tried to slow down his furious breathing. "Sit down, Matt. Come on. You look like you're barely standing." Despite of the ninja shit you just pulled out.

He let her tug him lightly in the direction of the couch, obediently sitting down, his face still twisted in misery.

"Harlem precinct?" he whispered, unsure.

Vera nodded, straightening the chair she had been sitting on before and Matt had managed to knock over when taking Vera down. She gritted her teeth when she used her left hand – yep, that would be sore for a while.

Matt looked like stakes were being thrust under his fingernails, drawing a sharp breath in. Vera cut him off before he could apologize again, sitting down on the chair.

"Matt, I'm okay, forget it. It's you I'm worried about. How do you feel?" She only met silence. "Poor choice of words. I'm no Claire, but I did check what I could. I think nothing is broken. What do you think?"

"Nothing's broken," he reassured her quietly. That was a win.

"I found no external bleeding. Agree?"

"Yeah, no bleeding."

"A bruise is forming on your abdomen, I bet your ribs are in agony. Pain level?"

He tilted his head, still frowning. "I'm fine, Vera."

"Goddammit, Matt." Don't use that sentence and don't bullshit me! "Please?"

She hated she couldn't take care of him properly. He must have been through hell and she knew literally nothing. He probably received a blow to his head big enough to knock him out and there was a bruise in the middle of his torso looking so terrible that Vera wondered if he had met with Luke Cage's sole. She worried about internal bleeding as well, but that was something she just couldn't tell just by observing him the way she had.

"Just… humour me, Matt."

"I—" He seemed abashed. "Three?"

"Jesus. That's a lot," she breathed, horrified.

"It's a ten level scale. Three isn't much," he noted, confused.

"Yeah, sure. But your 'three' is… like my six or something. If you said four or five, I would probably ask for morphine. Okay. Head? I found quite a bump on the back of your head, which is probably what caused the unconsciousness."

"Probably."

"So? I would ask about vision, given the localization of the injury, but… well. What about other things? Intense pain?"

"No."

"Nausea? Vertigo?"

"Neither. I'm-"

"Hearing problems? Anything unusual about your senses?"

"No-"

"Do you remember what happened?" she asked eventually, half curious about what had happened, half about him remembering it, because not remembering getting a head injury when there obviously had been one, that was a no-no.

Matt gulped, looking almost panicked. "Yeah, I do."

Vera just managed to stare at him as he told her about finding out that Hand had a plan with Danny Rand – that they didn't know any details about – and about the idea of hiding him, which had been something Danny had protested against. She had no words when Matt hold her they had knocked Danny unconscious and while Luke and Stick had kept an eye on him, Matt and Jessica had gone to the architect's house, had talked to his daughter and had found blueprints of a building in a piano – yes, Vera kept her mouth shut even at that weird note.

The real shock came when Matt told her about the latest events.

"Stick is dead?" she breathed, absolutely stunned.

Her first thought was almost relief – that guy was a jackass, a dangerous jackass, who had tried to kill her. She would not miss him at all. The second thing that hit her was fear – someone had killed Stick. Stick. From what she understood, Matt's ninja master was an unofficial leader of their little group of vigilantes and he was a great support when it came to fighting. The third thing was even more intense fear, because Jesus shit, someone had killed a guy who had seemed to be unkillable; whoever the person who had killed him was, they were… even more dangerous than Stick. And they fought against Matt and company, great. Fourth, while Vera hated the guy, he had once helped Matt when he had needed him and it was the kind of help that affected the majority of Matt's life if not all of it.

Vera had no fucking idea how to feel about that man dying. And if she was being honest, Matt looked like he wasn't sure either.

"Yeah," he rasped. "And they took Danny."

Vera gulped. "Yeah, I figured as much. Christ."

"I need to go," Matt exclaimed, supporting himself onto the couch to stand up and at the very same moment, the door to the office they were in opened.

"You are not going anywhere, buddy." Foggy was holding two cups of coffee in his hands, watching Matt incredulously. And a little relieved. "Good to see you awake, by the way. The coffee was meant for Vera, but if you want…"

"Thanks. But I need to go."

Foggy shook his head, equally stubborn. "No, you don't. You look like shit."

"Agreed."

Matt sighed, reaching for his jacket Foggy and Vera had tossed over a chair earlier. "Foggy, they took Danny Rand."

"Shit."

"Which means the Hand has the Iron Fist and Stick is dead and Elektra is dead and alive at the same time and— and I really don't have time for-"

Foggy's bewildered "Elektra?" was spoken simultaneously with Vera's equally confused "Who's Elektra?"

Matt froze, paling. Vera hadn't thought it was possible for him to get any paler.

Who the hell was Elektra and how did Foggy sound as if he knew who Matt was talking about? Why Matt hadn't mentioned her when telling Vera about what had happened?

"Yeah. The Hand, they… I don't know. They did something to her, I can't hear her heartbeat, she's the one who killed Stick and-"

"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute. We're talking about Elektra? College era Elektra? The-one-who-almost-made-you-fail-law-school Elektra?" Foggy babbled.

'The-one-who-almost-made-you-fail-law-school Elektra?'

Vera blinked, her heart speeding up. Whoa, wait. Elektra was Matt's-

"Dude. How badly did you hit your head? You know I've never approved of her, because she was making you a reckless little shit and you were just not yourself when with her, but what you're saying is insane."

-girlfriend, Vera finished mentally.

Okay.

What?

"Foggy, look, I— I don't know. It's her and- and Stick trained her to fight the Hand and now she's with them and she almost killed the architect who killed himself and-"

Foggy just stared at Matt, horrified and confused and probably questioning Matt's sanity and Vera… didn't understand what just happened.

"So… your ex-girlfriend from college apparently died and was brought back to life, because that sounds like something the Hand could do, obviously, they can do anything, and she's a backstabbing killer with no heartbeat now. And— and she- killed Stick and took Danny. Šmarja."

Matt shot Vera a desperate look and Vera's mind raced. There was something about what Matt had said…

"Wait. She almost killed the architect?... She's been in town for a while then. You've fought her before, haven't you?" she realized, amazed and horrified. It was obvious. Jesus. What the hell? "And you didn't think it was a good idea to mention her?"

Say that Matt was very uncomfortable with Vera asking him questions was an understatement. A huge understatement. Something in her stomach knotted unpleasantly, something they had no time for now, she fucking knew it was jealously, but it was also pure anger, because here it was again, Matt's not sharing and if Matt hadn't mention this woman, it must have been intentional; for some reason, he didn't want Vera to know.

Why?

"Vera— I- I don't know what to tell you. I found out some things about my past and Stick and…"

"And what?" she asked, betrayed. What could possibly make him keep his ex, who was now apparently a killing machine which somehow seemed equally relevant as the 'ex' part, from her?

Because Vera was coming up with only one single explanation and it was maybe unfair, especially given what Colleen had told her, what Terri had told her, Foggy had, hell, Matt had and it was making no sense.

"Stick, he… he had manipulated me more than I thought-" Matt stuttered and Vera was just done.

"Oh, come on…" she muttered under her breath, running her hand down her face.

This wasn't happening.

"Vera, I need to talk to you," Terri's voice sounded from the door and Vera shot her a surprised and very exhausted look.

Vera was fucking beat. She hadn't properly eaten for god knew how long, she hadn't slept, she was scared and emotionally drained and Matt was fucking keeping secrets from her, possibly having feeling for his resurrected (?!) ex from college.

"Not the time, Terri," she mumbled. "Sorry-"

"NOW."

Vera eyed her, taken aback by the urgency in her voice.

To make it perfect, Detective Knight appeared behind Terri's shoulder and she seemed pleasantly surprised.

"Mr. Murdock. You're awake."

"Detective? Detective Knight, is that you?" Matt asked, confused, putting his glasses on. Vera mentally rolled her eyes at his charade. He was perfect in his role, wasn't he? Acting and lying was definitely one of his strong suits when it was convenient for him.

She bit her cheek at the poisonous thought, but goddammit, that secrecy stung.

"Vera-" Terri urged again.

Vera held her hand up against Matt (not that he seemed too disappointed she didn't want to hear anything else from him) and walked out with Terri with a sigh. It wasn't like she could be any use right now and the ugly feeling in her gut caused by Matt keeping some crazy ninja ex-girlfriend being in town killing people from her probably wasn't a good thing to discuss right now. Especially not in front of Detective Knight.

They had more pressing issues than Vera's hurt feelings. Danny had been kidnapped. More people were about to die no doubt.

"What's going on, Ter?"

"Let's talk somewhere else…" Terri hissed, taking Vera's elbow hastily, pulling her… somewhere, away.

"Terri-" Vera protested, finally looking at her friend properly. For the first time, she noticed how pale Terri was. It freaked her out. "Terri, are you okay? What's wrong?"

Terri pulled her behind a corner and checked their surroundings. What she said sent Vera into a cardiac arrest.

"I— I had a vision."

'I had a vision.'

It seemed like an eternity since Vera had offered Terri to contact the Avengers for helping her to deal with the insane ability she had somehow gained. Seeing the future. But not all future – only the tragic events. Vera could barely imagine how terrible that had to be for her friend despite the fact she had saved Vera's life thanks to the ability. But when Vera had finally reached Natasha Romanov, Terri had seemed to change her mind from 'that would be cool' to 'God, let's just leave it the way it is'. Vera suspected that Terri genuinely regretted her decision now.

'I had a vision' technically meant a tragedy was about to happen. And while Terri's vision apparently had no concrete time placement, the circle of people she was able to 'look out' for was very small. Which probably meant that Vera's life was in danger. Well. Tell her something she didn't know.

Then again, there was a thick chance this wasn't about Vera at all and Terri saw someone else she cared deeply for and wanted Vera's help.

"What did you see?" Vera asked in a strangled voice, a lump in her throat growing in incredible speed.

"…I saw a building blow up."

Jesus. Will this ever end? Isn't there a ceiling to craziness?

"What building? Who was there?"

Terri threw her hands in the air desperately. "I have no fucking idea. Some fancy skyscraper. But Vera—shit…"

"What?" The look in Terri's eyes gave Vera the answer. For some reason, it was almost calming. "You saw me, didn't you?"

"I saw you – crying."

"What?"

"The police and paramedics were everywhere. And it was Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Claire, Colleen, Danny and you – crying in the middle of them," Terri whispered slowly as if she was trying to explain something to a child.

Vera blinked, not understanding. She didn't want to understand what Terri was saying. No. That was— that wasn't- but-

"I don't— that's not-"

"I'm pretty sure I saw it because someone you care about a lot was in that building. And something tells me that it was definitely not me."

Vera dully stared at ugly wall behind Terri's head, her mind caught in a loop.

No. Not possible. That wouldn't— how would that happen? Since when the Hand blew up buildings? And why on Earth-

That was not about to happen. Terri's sixth sense radar was broken. The knot in Vera's stomach got much tighter and it had nothing to do with jealousy. Nope, jealousy was long gone.

Terri's touch on Vera's forearm was gentle, careful, but it snapped Vera from her thoughts as violently as if it had been squeezed in a vice instead. Vera eyed her friend, not, not believing the possibility of something like that ever happening.

"Now, I'm telling you, because I believe that if I told Murdock, nothing would change. I'm telling you, because I hope you can convince him to be careful or something and not because I want you to do some reckless shit, do you understand?" Terri emphasized, voice deadly serious.

Vera's mind finally unlooped itself and started racing in cosmic speed, the world around her disappearing. She had no idea how long they stood there or how many people had passed them. She had bigger issues.

She licked her lips nervously, her heart as frantic as her mind.

"Terri, do you know what the main difference between me and Matt is?" she rasped, her vocal cords somewhat failing.

"I'm starting to think that apart from the obvious anatomy, nothing," she pointed out. It almost made Vera smile. Almost.

"I ask for help when I know I'm over my head. I need to make a call."

"Haven't you tried to call the Avengers already?" Terri asked, confused.

That was the truth, yes, she had. And?

"I have. And I'll do it again and again until someone picks up their fucking phone!"