A/N: Hi everyone! sorry for the delay, but as you probably know, the side had been down in the last days... The visit counter was also down, so I don't know how many of you have read the last chapter, by the way I'd like to thank you anyway, also for the rewievs and for having put this into your following/fav. lists!

Oh, and I can't forget to mention my beta InsertImaginativeNameHere. Thank you for everything!

Chapter 13: Wanna bet?

Foggy was quiet. He had been in silence since the moment Matt and Karen left.

Stick had locked him in the room that previously had been Karen's prison.

For someone as talkative as he was, not to talk for that amount of time could be considered a record.

They didn't tie him up, luckily, but they had taken his phone. Time had passed slowly, very slowly with nothing more to do than stare at the ceiling, laid on the bed, his hand under the nape of his neck.

He wondered if Matt was ok, if Claire had managed to perform one of her miracles on him. He was regretting right now not to have added phone calls to his deal with Stick.

What is done is done, partner.

Oh, hi, Little Horn. I was starting to miss you.

Perfect. Now he was talking to his brain.

It would be a long, long week.

He hadn't realized he had fallen asleep until Stick had woken him up with an energetic shake of his shoulder. He started, choking back a cry of fear just in time.

Something was put at his ear and it took a while to understand it was a phone.

-Five minutes, kid- Stick told. Foggy didn't know if he was talking to him or Matt, but he didn't waste time.

-Matty? You ok?-

-What were you thinking Fog?- Matt wasn't angry. Everything in his voice was screaming about concern and dread. He was scolding him but, behind that, he could hear his unspoken thank you. Well, not exactly a thank you; something more like: you didn't have to do something like this to me because I am able to care of myself and other crap along those lines that Foggy had decided a long time ago to take as a thanks. But what really unleashed his tongue was hearing him speaking in his normal voice. Not in pain (well not so much, at least), not like he was unable to breathe.

-Matty. I'm fine, ok? I'm bored, actually. I'm starting to chat with my brain, and probably it can be considered a little insane that it's answering me with your voice, but beyond that. I'm fine-

-Are they treating you well?-

-It's not exactly a luxurious hotel, but it's ok. I'm untied and they leave me alone basically all day long. Which is the boring part, by the way. Hey, speaking of… do you think they can tell if I start to pull faces at them?-

-Fog. Don't you dare to do such a thing!

-You are such a party-pooper!- Foggy complained, and Matt's laugh was one of the best thing he had heard these days. -But, seriously. How are you, buddy?-

-Claire extracted something like eight or nine pieces of glass from my back, everything's gonna be ok. You'll be free in no time-

-Claire! Are you listening?-

-I'm right here!-

-Restrain him, if you have to, but don't let him leave that house before a week passes, ok?-

-Got it. I'm on it-

-Fog…-

But Stick choose that moment to take the phone back. Time had passed too fast, but it was all that Foggy needed. To hear Matt speaking without choking and make sure Claire (and Karen) would keep him at his apartment.

For this reason (and the fact that man scared him enough to not dare to challenge him) he didn't complain when he was forced to interrupt the contact with his friend.

-Happy?- The man asked down the phone, sarcasm and disapproval radiating from his voice. Foggy focused to try to listen to what Matt was replying, but nothing came to him. His friend was probably speaking in a low voice with the proposal to not be heard from Foggy. All he could see was Stick's face, his cold and unfocused eyes. -Fine. Five minutes per day, kid. Nothing more- The man hung up the phone and looked at him, like he could really see him. Foggy swallowed and made a step back, finding his back cornered against the walls. -I really can't understand why Matt cares so much about you. You are weak, and useless-

Shutting up and taking the verbal punches probably would have been the wisest thing to do, but Foggy realized he couldn't stand Stick's attitude any longer

-Maybe It's because beating people it's not the only thing in Matt's life, plus, I didn't leave him when he started to show he cared about me!-

-He wanted a fucking father…-

-And you wanted a fucking soldier!- Foggy cut him off. He knew that story and he didn't want to hear that bullshit again. It hurt his heart to think about a little kid being trained as a soldier.

-And I am going to have him! You can bet your ass on it, kid-

-Why?- he asked suddenly -You have all these ninjas. Why do you want Matt so bad?-

-Because Matt alone is long way better than all these guys together. He is the key to winning this war-

-Against what?-

-Evil-

-Then why didn't you just ask for his help? Why did you have to kidnap him? You almost destroyed him!-

-Because, your stupid Catholic friend has feelings! I have to turn him in a real soldier-

-Say it loud and clear, Stick. You want to turn him into a killer. That's not gonna happen. No way-

-Wanna bet?-

But Stick didn't leave him the time to answer. He closed the door behind him. The conversation was over, at least for now.

Foggy relaxed his back, leaving the walls support his weight. He unclenched the fists he hadn't known he was keeping and discovered his hands were shaking, but not with fear, with anger.

-How is Foggy?-

Karen asked him as soon as he had closed the call with Stick. He had tried to make a deal, but whatever Foggy had offered him was still better according to his former mentor, and all he could get was 5 minutes of call once a day.

-Fine… nervous, probably. But fine-

-You can read minds, too?- she asked, and Matt knew that sooner or later he would have to give her some explanation, but in this case there was no need to use his heightened senses.

-No. He was speaking fast, with short sentences. I've known him enough to tell that is his typical behaviour when he is nervous- he answered, starting and hissing when Claire touched one of his bruises with the antiseptic. -Karen. What's the deal between Foggy and Stick?-

The girl paused for a while before speaking. He wouldn't have done it, but her delay and something in her voice made him unconsciously listening to her heartbeat while she explained that Foggy had promised to leave he and Stick do their job after that week. She wasn't lying, not at all, but there was something she wasn't telling him.

-Karen. Tell me everything-

How in the hell was that even possible? She had always considered herself a decent liar, but Matt had discovered her immediately, was he really blind? She moved only her eyes, looking for Claire's for help.

She wasn't telling him a little detail, the one regarding the punishment. Karen didn't want to reveal that Foggy had offered himself for being beaten instead of him. The nurse was silently asking a question: what's wrong?

-Karen?- Matt's voice created a shiver running down her spine. It was nearer to Daredevil's voice than the lawyer's. It was darker, lower, cold, even and dangerous at the same time.

-Matt- Claire was whispering to his ear, her hand on his tensed shoulders. -She is not the enemy. Calm down-

-It's Foggy.- Matt was now almost whimping -I can't calm down. I really can't-

Karen could understand that.

-Matt… he... - she took a breath, rewatching that scene in her head not for the first time that day -He will be your punishment- She did it. She had said that out loud.

And just like that night at the office, his eyes filled with tears. The only thing she could do was hug him as tight as she dared considering his injuries. He was trembling and sobbing, and she didn't want to imagine what was going on in his mind.

Surprisingly, Claire backed up, leaving them alone, as if she was too upset to stay in the same room with them. Karen hoped it wasn't because of her, but now she couldn't think about her, too, not with Matt like that.

-I… I don't want...to… kill… him- he managed to say from somewhere against her shoulder. She stayed quiet, holding him and caressing his hair

-It's going to be all right, Matt. You'll figure something out. Now, breathe, please. Calm down… calm down. As long as you are here, he is safe, ok?-

Ok. She was quite a bad person. She was using Foggy's position to convince Matt to stay at home as long as possible, but, that was also the truth. Stick couldn't punish him if he wasn't there -They've talked about a beating, by the way. He will live, Matt… We'll take care of him. I promise you, Matt-

His head rubbed against her shirt while he nodded again, controlling his breath to stop the shivers and the cry. She had to admit that, he had an amazing control of his body and mind.

Claire seemed to have vanished somewhere, so Karen stayed with him until he finally managed to fall asleep. She sighed. Sleep was good to recover.

Claire came back after half an hour, her eyes were red, but she was calm. Karen was in the bedroom, reading the only book not written in braille she had found in the house.

-Claire? Are you ok?- she argued when the nurse let herself fall on her side of the bed.

The nurse shook her head, but put a finger on her own mouth before reaching for her phone.

"I don't want Matt to hear this" she texted "But this is all my fault"

Karen didn't need to write her question: her face was probably clear enough to read, because Claire started tapping on the screen again. "I told him to be Matt's Daredevil… I didn't mean literally though"-

Karen smiled and reached for her hand, squeezing it slightly.

"Not your fault" she wrote "Foggy is the only family Matt ever had before meeting you and me, and Foggy considers him more than a brother. He would have done something like that anyway" then she started speaking again, in a low voice.

-Now, be strong and hold on… this is gonna be a loooong week-

She was rewarded by a smile.

He had crossed the line

Stick was dead.

By the difference of temperature he could "see" the shape of his own hands on his neck. He had strangled him to death.

Matt fell on his knees, his hands on his ears, trying to shout out the moans of pain and terror of his former mentor, but nothing changed. They were just echoes in his head.

He'd wanted to cry, to scream, to… he didn't even know what anymore.

He had become what Stick had always wanted.

He had become what he had always feared to become.

He had let the Devil out, and he hadn't been able to stop it.

Now he was the Devil.

There was no way back to what he had just done.

The week had passed and Matt had left his apartment alone during the night, a goodbye message written on the screen of his laptop. He had gone directly to the isolated house Stick had rented.

He had found himself restrained by four ninjas, who prevented him from moving, and he was forced to hear Foggy being beaten. His best friend had been brave. He had tried to not make a sound, but eventually the pain had become too high to handle.

Matt was trying to not listen to his fear, to focus on Foggy's heartbeat to make sure he was not going into cardiac arrest or something like that.

He couldn't tell what had happened after that. Somehow he might have found the strength to free himself and jump between Foggy and Stick, attacking the blind man.

He couldn't remember what he had exactly done after that, like if someone else (or something else) had taken charge of his body.

And now they were here. His whole body was shaking hard after the shock.

-Matty… Matt….- he felt Foggy's hand trying to reach his shoulder, but he shirked. He couldn't let him touch him, not after what he had done. He didn't give up, though and tried to hug him from behind. He fought that gesture

-Stay away from me!- he screamed, his voice almost hysterical.

-Or what? You'll kill me too?-

He had lost Foggy too… As Stick had wished.

-No, Foggy...please...I wouldn't…-

-Matt! Matt! Wake up!- he suddenly jumped awake and found himself squeezed between Karen's and Claire's arms. He gasped, looking desperately for some air. They released him, without losing the physical contact with his body.

-Stick! I…- Matt was trying to speak and breathe at the same time -Fog!-

-Matt, calm down. Calm down!- Karen was almost yelling, definitely not helpful. Then he heard her voice, her usual whisper, so low.

-Matty. It's ok. It was a nightmare. Calm down… breathe- He opened his mouth to speak, but he felt her finger on his lips -Shut up and breathe- she ordered. -Follow my lead- he felt her hand laid on his chest. As she moved it over, he followed it inhaling air, than released when she gently pushed it against him. She kept going like this, mumbling at his ear at the same time, throwing the nightmare away, promising him everything was ok until he had managed to pull himself back together.

-Sorry, girls- he apologized, using the sleeve of his pajamas to dry away the sweat from his forehead and getting up from the couch that since a week was his bed.

-Are you ok?- Karen asked and he nodded, directing himself into the shower without a single word, cursing himself in his mind.

He had tried to appear confident in front of them, keeping the girls out of his dread, pretending to sleep every time they had passed near his sofa during the night to get some water, forcing himself to laugh at Foggy and his non-stop talking during the 5 minutes Stick had allowed them. And now his mind had betrayed him on the very last day, when his wounds were almost completely healed (well at least most of them). He ran the cold water, pushing his body to stay still under the flow, hands on the wall and head ducked toward his feet.

Several minutes had passed since they had seen Matt entering the bathroom.

Claire let herself have breakfast and changed her clothes before getting worried. The flow had stopped since a while now, but she couldn't hear any sounds that suggested the man was still alive.

She waited half an hour, then she decided she was cleared for breaking open the door. The bathroom was empty.

-Shit- Karen swore - Where in the hell…-

But Claire had suspicions about his destination.

Matt's attempts to be ok were good, very good, actually, but Claire had knew him enough that she didn't buy his faking, and now she was very concerned about a potential panic attack.

-Karen, please, can you stay here?-

-Where are you going?-

-I have an idea, and, if I am right, he needs medical assistance-

-Why did he leave, then?-

-He didn't want us to see him- Claire explained, already closing the door behind her.

She took her way to the rooftop and smiled when she saw his shape. He was sitting on the edge, with his legs dangling in the air. She didn't move, though, and she didn't approach him. He seemed ok, and she was going back, leaving him alone, when he called her.

-Stay, please-

Matt heard Claire's heartbeat the moment she had left his apartment, and had followed her steps through the stairs and the door. He had ignored her, he could smell she was only worried about him, but when she was leaving, his mouth had spoken before his brain could shut it up.

-Stay, please-

Her heartbeat changed for relief and something else he couldn't really fully understand, but he knew he was a good change, not as if she were upset or scared. He heard her approaching him, her hesitation when she came close to him and saw the space behind the edge. He couldn't really see it, his radar sense had given him information about the height, but she was actually seeing it, the seven floors between them and the street below. He raised his hands toward her to help the nurse sitting down beside him on it, his torso so dangerously exposed to the air during the whole manoeuvre that Claire gasped a warning. His balance though, was perfect, he was sure he wouldn't fall down. She was slightly shaking despite the fact he was holding her, and soon she changed her position, sitting herself astride, with one foot safe on the roof. His lips side rose in an half smile, teasing her tension, but took her hand to reassure her. He wouldn't let her fall.

They stayed quiet, watching (listening to in his case) the life of New York seven stories beneath them. She hadn't asked why he had escaped or what had been the nightmare about, she was simply holding his hand, comforting him no matter what, making him feel safe.

He took off his glasses, that he had worn almost always since Karen was there. She was his friend and he loved her, but still he didn't feel comfortable without them on when she was around. He sensed Claire smile.

-What's that for?- he asked.

-Can't you tell with your superpowers?- she grinned. He loved the way they had learnt to banter about his enhanced senses. That day, at his apartment, when he had told her about the world on fire, she had taken him completely off-guard with the joke about wanting to punch people. It was a level he hadn't even reached with Foggy, yet. They probably would, of course, because it was Foggy and jokes were probably one of the best part of him, but right now, she was the only one with that capability. And he liked that. More than he was supposed to. Probably. He chuckled.

-You know I can't. Do I have to punch you 'till you tell me?-

-You aren't so brave...-

Suddenly, he wanted to play, to be a normal guy having fun with a friend.

Well, almost a normal guy.

He moved fast, too fast for her to predict what he was going to do. He held her behind her armpits in a strong and safe clinch and let her suspended over the edge. She screamed out loud in surprise and fear, and her hand went over her head, grasping the furniture of his shirt. He laughed hard, all his body focused on supporting her weight, listening to her heart. It took a while for her to follow suit, the time to understand she was safe in his arms.

-Will you speak now?-

It was all so fast she couldn't realize what he was doing until he had done it. there was nothing but his arms between her feet and the asphalt 35 meters above. Her hands were closed on the t-shirt he was wearing, while the rest of her body had frozen, but she never doubted knew he would never let her fall. She looked at him, and his laugh was so genuine and happy all she could do nothing but imitate him.

-Ok, ok!- she cried -I surrender, I surrender. I'll talk!-

A second later, she was safe on the rooftop, Matt's arms surrounding and supporting her. The adrenaline rush in her body had left her slightly shaking and not so stable on her legs, she could hear her own heart running against his chest, as if it was echoing in it. She looked at him and her hand raised to his cheek, right under his eye. -I've been missing these... Your eyes-

He flushed and gifted her of one of his shy smiles. Claire loved when she managed to break his stoic attitude, the one he felt like he had to keep in front of people he cared about to not make them worry about him.

Although, she didn't ask why he had insisted on keeping his glasses on, she could imagine the reason was Karen and Claire couldn't really blame him, she was even surprised he was comfortable without them in her presence (even if the fact she had saved his life maybe had made things easier to him), but she had truly missed that sweetness in his unfocused gaze.

-Really?- his voice was soft and surprised.

-You know I'm not lying to you- she paused, then looked at them -They are beautiful... -she couldn't stay serious any longer, not without kissing him, at least. -They are cute puppy eyes-

Matt laughed with her at the puppy eyes, but he could also feel her heartbeat and her temperature rising a little bit, she wanted to kiss him at least as much as he wanted, but for the first time in his life, Matt Murdock held his instinct under control. She wasn't a girl he had met in a bar, she was Claire and he was leaving in less than two hours, plus, she had been very clear before leaving.

His thoughts were interrupted by her lips slightly kissing the corner of his own mouth. It was a soft, shy kiss as if she was waiting for his reaction. And, for a moment, he stood still, too surprised and unable to think, or better, he was thinking to a million things at the same time.

He was going to leave with Stick, the nightmare could become true, they could have no future, Stick could use her...

Stop thinking, Little Horn, and kiss this beautiful girl!

Shut up, Foggy Bear!

But Foggy Bear was right, and his lips immediately found Claire's. It wasn't the kind of passionate kiss able to turn them on. It was soft and sweet, as if both of them were scared of hurt the other one.

-I killed Stick- he didn't know why he was saying that right now, but he felt like he had to say that out loud to someone. -In that dream. He was beating Foggy, and he was screaming so loud he was driving me mad. And I killed him, and maybe all his ninjas... I don't know... Claire...-

She took his face in her hands and began to kiss it slightly almost everywhere, trying to reassure him.

-Shh. Shh. It was a nightmare. It was not real.- she said between one kiss and the next one -You are not going to kill him or anyone else, ok? Calm down, Little Horn-

He managed to smile at that silly, but quite cute nickname (but Foggy would never know he had thought it) and nodded, holding her in a soft hug.

Thank you for reading so far! feel free to let me know what do you think about this! If you don't feel to write in English I can read also Italian, Spanish, French and German... and I don't bite, I promise :D