A/N: here I am again! I came back from Rome a few days ago, and I discovered it's a beautiful city! By the way, thanks to everyone for reading (and rewieving) so far.

Thanks again to my beta InsertImaginativeNameHere for her amazing job!

CHAPTER 12: Darts and glass.

He was living in a world of pain. Pain and fog. Fog and pain were covering everything around him.

The darts game might be turned into a tournament because there were at least twenty people throwing darts against his back. He really wanted to know who'd had this crazy idea of putting a bull's eye on it. Foggy, probably. Or someone else at the bar.

-Matt? Are you there?- Karen's hand was on his head, caressing his hair, but somehow her voice sounded strange to him. -Matt?-

He tried to say something, but speech was nearly impossible to him. He ordered his eyes to open and his hand to move slightly, very slightly. If he'd limited his movements to those little things, the players wouldn't be bothered and wouldn't fling darts so hard. They calmed down, and he finally could try to focus on that hand. It didn't really feel like his secretary, but it wasn't Foggy either. It totally looked like…

Panic grew into him, when he realized the voice he had connected to Karen was not his secretary's one.

-No. No. No. Matt. Matt calm down. Calm down.- Claire urged, her hand leaving his hair to reach his cheek, caressing it, the other one taking his -It's ok. It's your place. Feel it, come on. Focus- She had just put something in his hand. It was one of his dad's boxing gloves.

He held them tight, ignoring the darts tournament. Screw them. Next time they could use a wall. That helped him to calm down and focus. He relaxed his muscles, and the pain began to mitigate. He remembered Foggy's words. Right. No darts. Stick and glass. A lot of glass, actually. In his back.

-Matt. I need you to stay still right now. It's going to hurt. Can you handle this?-

He nodded. Anything would be better than glass stabbing his flesh. He felt something on his mouth. A fold. He started fighting. -Matt. It's ok. Open your mouth. It's just a t-shirt.-

Claire was speaking him in that kind of voice that could make him doing everything she asked. It was honest and sweet. He obeyed and the cotton rag was placed into it. -Bite this when you are in pain, ok? You have to stay very still if you don't want me to anesthetize you-

He nodded and braced himself for pain. He felt the first rush, then nothing.

Nothing was a good thing, actually. Nothing didn't hurt.

The nurse sighed in relief when Matt passed out.

-That's the best you can do? Put a shirt in his mouth and hope he passes out?- Karen was sitting on the floor, near to the couch when the ninjas had left Matt. She had jumped when the girl suddenly had come out from the wardrobe and without giving her the time to elaborate what was going on, had begun to cut the guy's shirt to check him.

She had watched her going pale at the sight of his wounds, then regaining control and starting to talk to him. She had been silent until that moment, too confused and scared to speak, but now anger had taken the upper hand.

-He doesn't want drugs of any kind- the woman responded without taking her eyes off Matt, her hands were moving slowly around his back. -And if he bites something he can stay still. So, yes, that's all I can do to keep him collaborative. Are you Karen?-

-And who are you? Stick's little whore?- It wasn't probably the best way to keep herself safe, but she couldn't refrain from being aggressive, not with Matt like this and Foggy hostage of that beast. On a better day, Karen would probably think that if she'd worked for Stick she didn't need to hide herself in a closet, but that was not a good day, and Karen wasn't in the mood for such details.

The nurse (suddenly Karen remembered her from the night of the explosion) didn't respond to that, too focus on taking out a very big piece of glass from the blind man's back. Five or six of them were lying in a plate she had found in the kitchen cupboard. Maybe it was real luck Matt had passed out at the first one. Karen keep her breath, fearing that her words would lead to payback on her employer, but she was professional and as delicate as she could be.

-That was the last one- she announced after three more pieces, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the sleeve of Matt's shirt she was wearing.

-So? You are the one Stick calls when he almost kills his best soldier?-

-Foggy didn't tell you anything?-

-Foggy offered himself as a hostage to Stick in order to buy some time for Matt to recover-

-I don't work for Stick, ok?- the nurse turned toward her, reaching out for the young man's hand in the mean time. She didn't seem so surprised about the glasses she had just extracted from his back -I've never even met that guy. I am just the lucky girl who found a blind guy with a black mask dying in her dumpster on her night off, ok? And my name is Claire, by the way-

Karen managed to smile, despite the situation, beside, she had been nice

-I usually find dead sewer rats. A handsome guy is not that bad-

Claire smiled at the joke. She had never thought about it in those terms, but she guessed it was not that far off. She stood and covered Matt with a blanket.

Two hours had passed since Matt and Foggy had left, and Stick in that short time could almost kill him. Foggy was right. She invited Karen in Matt's kitchen to let him rest and made a tea for both of them.

-What happened?-

-I don't know. I just heard a crash, then Foggy was shouting. After a while, Stick's ninjas came in with Matt like this, and Foggy has made a deal with them. He would stay and Matt has won a week off from whatever he was doing with that crazy man-

While she was listening to her, Claire was playing absentmindedly with one of the bloody pieces of glass she had removed. She looked at it for the first time and she didn't take long to recognize that was a kind of glass fiber used for windows. She frowned at it, setting it down on the plate again, concentrating on the blonde woman in front of her.

-Are you ok? Are you hurt?- the nurse asked.

-Eh? No… no. I'm ok. Just bruises. How's Matt?-

-It should be ok… if he doesn't freak out when he wakes up and finds what Foggy has done. I gave him something for the fever, too and I am seriously considering the possibility of making him sleep for the rest of the week if he doesn't stay quiet-

Karen smiled, but her hands were shaking slightly. She was probably scared or angry, or both, and she could understand that. -So…- Claire asked to break the silence between them. -Do you know who he is?-

-I know now. I have no idea how he does it, but he saved my life.-

-Aren't you...pissed with him?-

-With him. And with Foggy. But I'll deal with that when everything will be all right. I'm not a monster. I don't want to kick the ass of a half dead man-

Claire laughed. She liked Karen, she was strong, and funny. Not the princess-in-danger-please-save-me kind of girl. She seemed the kind of girl Matt could fall in love with, she thought drinking her tea.

Why was she even thinking about something like that?

-Are you seriously going to make him sleep for a week? He is hurt, he's going to be quiet anyway-

Claire couldn't do anything but laugh again, but only because laughing was still better than getting angry thinking about how hard it would be keep Matt on that couch after telling him his best friend was Stick's prisoner. -What's so funny?-

-The night I met him first, his lung had collapsed, but still, after an hour he was back on the streets, fighting some Russians who had kidnapped a little boy. So no. It's going to be everything but quiet-

Karen turned her face toward the couch. Claire followed her gaze, anger rising in her chest. Matt was still out, his mouth slightly open after she had taken off the shirt, his back full of fresh stitches and gauzes were covering his minor injuries. If she was right, Stick might have thrown him out of a window and then, probably, he had also hit him, like, a lot. That, or Matt hadn't even try to defend himself. Claire closed her hand into a fist, breathing slow to try to calm down.

-Fo...Fog…- Matt's voice was a bit more than a whisper, Claire was sure it was real just because Karen had went pale hearing that. The lawyer was perfectly still, his eyes closed. The nurse wasn't even sure he was awake. She approached him cautiously, standing a hand to prevent Karen from following her. She wasn't sure about Matt's reaction and she couldn't afford one more patient right now. -Fog… he...help…-

-Matt?- Claire kept some distance between herself and Matt. -Matt? Are you awake?- she was only whispering, but he would hear that. She was sure. Finally, he opened his eyes.

-Cla… ca't… mo..-

That was bad. The freaking the hell out of her kind of bad. She remembered some of the glass had gone very deep inside his chest, and she was wandering if there was some internal bleeding or damage.

-Karen- she said, forcing her voice to be steady - Be ready to call 911 as soon as I say, ok?-

-No… Am...ance-

Claire ignored his plea.

-Little Horn, listen to me, ok? I'm going to use a stethoscope on you. It's going to be cold, and probably it will hurt a little. If I hear something abnormal from your breathing, I'm taking you to the hospital. I can't treat you if I have to open you and drain an internal wound. Deal?-

-D..l-

Claire sighed with relief. Her common sense was begging her to take him to a hospital in that moment, but the deal she had just made was still better than his resolute usual no, so she forced herself to take that as a victory and came back to her job. She laid the ending metallic part of the stethoscope on his back, in correspondence to his lungs, kidneys, bronchus and splin. She heard nothing and cursed.

Matt's lips lifted in response to her swearing. He had won. She cursed again, directly against him this time, making him smile again. She couldn't avoid to smile back.

-W...er-

-Water?- Claire asked. It was difficult to fully understand him right now, but she couldn't ask him to speak more. A small nod told her she was right. She stood just to find Karen coming with a glass and a straw. The blonde gave them to her and stepped back again, giving her room enough to work. Claire kneeled on the floor, near to his head. -Matt. Open your mouth-

He obeyed and she put the straw in it. -Suck it. Slowly- She instructed him, and waited until he finished the water inside it.

-Thanks- it was barely audible, but it still was a full word, and she considered that a good sign.

-Rest- she commanded -You need it-

Eventually, he closed his eyes and passed out again.

Claire looked at Karen and took her from her arm, guiding her to the closest chair gently. She was shaking and she was turning worryingly white.

-Karen? You ok?-

-How...can...you...stand...all this?- the secretary responded, trying to keep her voice steady gripping her arms around her own chest. -it's… terrible. He… isn't even… him… anymore-

-Karen. Listen to me, ok? He is going to be fine. I promise. He just need to rest and calm himself down.-

-He can't even talk!-

-He's scared, Karen, and in pain. Let him some time, ok? Go and get some sleep you, too. You are exhausted. I'm staying right beside him. I promise.-

-I can't… I... - the blonde woman began to cry out loud.

Claire was expecting that. That girl was strong, but in a few days she had been kidnapped, blackmailed and she had found out his blind employer was the masked vigilante who saved her life, and now she had just seen him unable to move and speak. Collapse was inevitable.

Claire made her stand and accompanied her into Matt's bedroom, closing the door behind her. She didn't want Matt to hear this. She hugged her tight, trying to calm her down.

Karen pushed her away from her, and Claire obeyed her wish. She helped her lie down on the pillow, listening to her sobs, without saying a word but neither going anywhere. Eventually, she managed to get her self control back and lifted her eyes toward her.

-I… I'm sorry- she apologized.

-Don't be. It's ok- Claire left her only to come back with a glass of water -Drink. It will help you relaxing and sleeping-

-I can't take it… Matt is…-

-Karen, listen to me. Matt is the worst nightmare of every nurse by himself. Tomorrow I'll have to inform him that is best friend has offered himself as a hostage to protect him. That will turn him in something even worse than a nightmare and me and you will have to watch him like 24 hours and try to prevent him from getting killed by going back to that Stick. So, I really need you to sleep now. I can't do that alone. So, please, Karen. Take some rest…-

Karen sighed, but took the glass and drank.

-It's Matt. He can't be so terrible…-

-You'll find out tomorrow. Now, rest-

Foggy.

Matt woke up with a start. His head was punching and his back screamed in pain, but, still, he could manage to sit, choking back a moan of sorrow to not wake Claire up.

His head was heavy, but he could still concentrate and think clearly. He recognized the mark of painkillers in it, but not the ones usually left by paracetamol, luckily.

The nurse was sleeping beside him, sit on the floor with her head laying on her arms, using the couch as a pillow. Too late.

Her heartbeat changed and a few seconds later her head raised.

-Sorry- he whispered, aware of Karen's presence, sleeping in his bedroom. Claire smiled to him, her hand reached out his hair, moving a quiff from his forehead. He allowed himself to smile back, before noticing she was nervous and... wait. Why in the hell's name couldn't he hear Foggy's heartbeat? And what were they doing in his apartment? -Claire?- he said, the rest of the question suspended somewhere between them. He was fighting to find the courage to question her and, in the same way, he could tell she knew exactly what his next words would be but she didn't want to speak either. -Where… is Foggy?-

The silence that followed his question was long enough to make him almost panic. Claire's hand was still on his head, so she probably noticed it, and that, probably, convinced her to speak.

-Promise me you won't do anything stupid, Matt- she begged him -Promise me that you are not going back to Stick immediately. That you'll wait until you will be better-

Now he was officially in a panic.

-What happened, Claire?-

He heard her take a deep breath before speaking. Then she updated him on what Karen had told her about the last few hours. Matt stayed quiet all the time, listening with his eyes closed. He felt Claire pushing him back on the couch, but he fought her until she gave up. All he could think about right now was Foggy. Foggy, one of most quiet and funny people in the world (when some blind vigilante didn't piss him off, of course), always smiling...and one of the kindest too. Foggy in Stick's hand. Alone.

-Matt?- he fought back his tears.

-I want to speak with Stick- his voice was harsh but steady and clear enough.

Well, not exactly. He wanted to go back immediately, but Claire (and Foggy) were right: he wouldn't survive another jump like that, and he could barely move and being useless to Stick would turn him to nothing more than a target for his anger issues. But he still had to know Foggy was all right and that Stick would keep his word.

-In the morning, Matt. I promise. Now, please, try to relax and sleep, ok?-

That tone again, and he found himself to obey like a good boy. He hated that sweet voice, really. And he hated that adorable smile she gave to him, too, that he knew she was giving him and wished he could see.

-May I have some water, please?- She prevented him from getting up and went to the kitchen. When she came back, Matt was trying to stand again

-Which part of "relax and sleep" was not clear?-

-I wanted to check over Karen. Is she ok?-

-Sit down- Claire pushed him gently on the couch again and put the glass in his hands.

-She is fine. I gave her something to help her to sleep. Oh, and she said when everything is over she is going to kick both your asses. Yours and Foggy's. She seemed quite serious-

Matt couldn't avoid to smile. He hadn't any doubt about it. If she was in a mood to say such a thing, she really was ok.

-You should sleep too- he said, hearing how tired the girl was and feeling guilty about it. Because of him all of his friends, his family, was suffering. Foggy had been taken as a prisoner, Karen too and Claire could barely keep her eyes open right now and he was a total mess and couldn't help any of them.

-Matt. Stop thinking.- With one step Claire was at his side, one arm around his shoulder- It's not your fault. We are all in this mess because we love you, we care about you and we don't want to see you dead or turned in some kind of killer or one of those freaking ninjas, ok?- How did she know that? Was he such an open book? -You have that gaze… the I am a devil one- Yes. He was.

-Claire…-

-Matt. She is right- Karen voice made both of them jump. He heard her come closer and sit herself on the other side of him. -I told this to you before. You are not alone, Matt. And you are not a Devil… you saved my life and freed me from a murder charge, remember?

-And you saved me from the Russians-

-Yeah. Who took you because of me, in the first place-

Matt was in one of his "I am responsible for all the evil in the world" periods, which Claire had honestly begun to associate as something akin to to menstruation because it was something that came to him every now and then and he seemed unable to keep his thoughts under control.

-By the way. You suck- Karen suddenly spat out.

That was enough to make him start and turn toward her, guilty painted on his face. Claire wanted to step in, but looking at her, something in her expression told her to shut up and see where she wanted to end up with that. She hoped not in a bad way. Claire's heart sunk. Karen was now silent while Matt… Oh my God. He looked… lost and helpless… and absolutely cute with his eyes wide open, on the verge of tears. He was keeping his breath, trying to prepare to whatever she would say. The blonde was typing something on her cellphone, in a way Matt surely couldn't 'see', then turned the screen toward her; Claire could read "back me up" on it. -I'm taking it as an insult. Claire?-

What the hell did she mean?

-Me too-

-What?- he managed to ask in the shyest tone she could imagine, barely able to hold his tears. Please, Karen. If it is a joke cut it off right now… please.

-You are alone, in your place, with two beautiful women taking care of you… you should absolutely be a fucking Devil!-

The sexual innuendo was so clear that Matt became as red as his Daredevil's costume, if not ever redder. How could he possible be even cuter than before? Claire laughed at his embarrassment, and was relieved when it turned into a light laugh, his muscles relaxing a little bit, his sadness thrown away by her joke. Claire hadn't realized how much she had needed something like that too, until that moment. They all had needed it.

Matt's laugh choked suddenly turning into a painful cough. Clare was already there, ready and fast to support him. He was still smiling though, so she assumed he was fine, more or less.

-I hate both of you, girls-

-Fine. Then sleep so you don't have to see us-

-Claire, you know I'm blind, right?-

-Sleep, Little Horn-

-You too, Claire- and he was serious about that. She really needed to rest, by the way, so she nodded.

-I will, Little Horn. I promise. Your carpet is warm and comfortable-

-Wait- Karen said -Matt has a double bed. Why don't you come and sleep with me? There is room for you-

Claire thought about it for just a second, then realized that she would be able to hear Matt even from there, so she nodded.

-May I join you?- Matt asked immediately, not su much innocently. He was rewarded by two pillows thrown against him by the girls. -Ow! I'm still hurt!-

-Good night, Matthew-

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