A/N: Thanks to everyone for reading, reviewing and following so far!
A little warning: since both and my terrific beta have a life next updates could be not as regular as so far. I'm sorry but I promise I'm not dropping this story!
And remember: I don't bite those who reviews but I might who doesn't :D
Chapter 16: We Are Your Family
Good thing about Matt being back in Hell's Kitchen? Foggy would never live in agony anymore (not so much, at least).
Bad thing about Matt being back in Hell's Kitchen after Stick left him a card without any explanations? He had become the most annoying person in the office.
And by annoying he didn't mean in the good way.
And by the office Foggy meant in the whole city.
The first days, he had tried to be sympathetic. Matt was tired and angry, and he could understand it. Actually, he was disappointed as well as his blind friend. Stick had put all of them through Hell to have Matt back, he had tortured and punished them without showing any mercy; fuck, he had almost killed his own pupil, and now all he gave them, all he had given to Matt was nothing?
Karen (and Claire, actually) had tried to convince him he had to be glad his best friend, his brother, had come back and that the longer Stick stayed out of their lives the better, and when he didn't recall the events of the last month he agreed with them, but still, Matt deserved better, and Foggy wasn't completely sure he didn't feel guilty about it, because he was a damn good Catholic boy and he was damn good at finding his own faults where they didn't exist at all.
The results of all his guilt/anger/ disappointment/insert-more-self-destructive-feelings-Matt-could-possibly-feel-and-you-can't-even-imagine-because-they-probably-don't-even-exist-yet's-name-here was that Matt was becoming insufferable to him (and Karen, actually. Claire was out of the equation. The girl seemed to be some kind of witch or superhero with the power to bring back the usual Matt when she was around. That, or she really could scare their friend so much he was compelled to obey her, Foggy hadn't decided which yet). It was like having an angry Daredevil on duty instead of the quiet lawyer in their firm, and it wasn't good for their nerves (including Matt's, of course).
That anger or whatever it was, went on for a whole week, until Karen decided to kidnap Claire on her night off and take the nurse with her to the movie theatre to watch one of those flicks full of love, tragedy and young girls crying she loved so much and Foggy firmly refused to see, because there was a limit even in a relationship.
They were handling a difficult case. A not-so-young-couple was fighting to have their kid back after they were found guilty of drug abuse and, most important, beating the kid to the point he had to be hospitalized for a while. Foggy didn't even know why Matt had decided to take this case. The pair were now out of prison but they weren't yet declared cleared for drugs, and they obviously weren't the best thing for that kid who had been, for the record, taken in custody by a couple which had already declared his wish to adopt him if (when, because Foggy thought it definitely was a when ) the judge would decide the biological parents would put the young boy in danger. On normal days, Foggy would have no doubt Matt would have rejected it, still, now he was fully convinced the best thing for him would be to live with his biological family, and he had been so stubborn if he hadn't been Matt, or better, if he had been the usual Matt, Foggy would have choose to represent the adoptive family just to drive some sense in him.
-Matt...- he repeated for the who-the-hell-keep-the-counts-anymore-th time in two days -I'm ready to bet my law practicing license that kid is not gonna reach his 13th if we help those guys...-
-They are his parents, and they love him-
-Matt, they are drug addicts!- oh, what the hell. This is wasn't Matt, this was some kind of soulless lawyer who only cared about the money (because the guys were rich, despite everything) and he couldn't bear it any longer. -What the hell is going on with you? He has found a family who loves him, truly, and wants to adopt him! We should help them, pro bono!-
-They think they love him! But someday they'd have their own kid, or he will fail them, and they will simply put him back in an orphanage, if he is lucky enough-
And now Foggy finally understood the problem. It was Stick. Suddenly all his aggressiveness vanished and he really wanted to kick his own ass for not having figured that there was something wrong with his partner sooner. He sighed, thinking what the best way to say what he was going to was. Probably it was going to end badly, but the blond lawyer couldn't afford to condemn a kid to misery to follow Matt this time.
-Matt.- he started, trying to sound calm and not too sickly sweet. -I know Stick left you when you were a kid, and I know you think is your fault and…- he had just taken the point, if not the match. Matt ducked his head, avoiding his eyes. Foggy risked a step forward his friend. -Matt… it wasn't your fault that time, and it wasn't your fault last week. He is a dick-
The blind guy nodded, but Foggy knew him well enough to be fooled by his half smile, so he went on -We are your family, Matt. Me, Claire, even Karen. We all risked our lives for you, buddy-
And that was the wrongest thing to say to the guy with the bad habit of putting everything on his own shoulders. Luckily for them, his brain could think even when Foggy went offline, and he found his mouth keep talking -Don't do that. Don't put that on you, Murdock. It was our choice. It was my choice to make that deal, and I would do it again without a second thoughts, ok?-
-And for what?- suddenly Matt's voice was bitter and full with anger and barely restrained tears -After a month he left me, in the middle of nowhere, without a single word. He just… he's just used me. He hurt me… and you… and… now what?-
That wasn't an easy question to answer. You couldn't just tell someone to move on after what they had been through, especially if that someone was Matthew.
-We'll figure out something, Matty. We are a family, and we can't let Stick tear us apart, not like this. Maybe this is just another attempt to make you think it's no use having a family, that family always leaves you sooner or later, I don't know and, honestly, I don't even care.- he would have added that if Stick wanted to split the two of them he would have to kill him but, again, his brain overcame instinct and saved the day.
Now Matt was looking at him, still silent with his eyes hidden behind the dark glasses (Foggy really hated when Matt wore them when they were alone), the rest of his body not really tensed but not quite relaxed either. Foggy almost panicked because his best friend was quiet, and not the good kind of quietness -Matt, speak to me, please. Say something-
-Claire's already left me, once- he murmured, after a long moment in which the only noise in the room was the low hum of the traffic on the street.
-But now she's here, with you. Besides, she'd never abandon you. She was there in less than five minutes when I called her that night. She barely changed from her pajamas. By the way. I left you too, remember?- Foggy felt like he had to risk playing that card -And I felt like shit the minute I crossed your door to leave. Sometimes you piss people off, Matty, and I swear, you are fucking good at that, call it one of your superpowers- he was rewarded by a grin, but he couldn't really tell if it was forced or not -but trust me, no one who loves you could ever truly abandon you. Listen to my heart now, Murdock-
-Fog…-
-Shut up and listen to me- he paused -are you listening?- A small nod. -I am not going to leave you, Matthew Michael Murdock. Never. Am I lying?-
And suddenly the Man Without Fear was crying against his shoulder, leaning onto it with so much trust Foggy almost fell down for the extra weight he found on himself. He recovered quickly, though, and his arms and chest were ready.
It didn't last more than a couple of minutes, and when Matt raised his head, finally pulling off those damn glasses, allowing him to see his eyes for the first time since the night he came back, he recognized his best friend, finally.
-So?- Matt asked, grinning -Pro bono?-
-Well... Could we try to ask for payment? At least?-
-That's my Foggy Bear-
How did he...? Super hearing. Of course.
-How long have you known that? No, don't tell me. I don't wanna know. Just stop calling me that-
-One condition-
-Spit it out-
-You'll drop Little Horn-
-No way-
-Then we don't have a deal, counselor-
-I hate you, Little Horn-
-Me too... Foggy Bear-
000
Foggy was right, Matt thought while he and the blond were going home that night. He had been a completely asshole, and that affected not only his relationship with Foggy and Karen, but also his day job, and all because Stick had left him and for some kind of freaking instinct he was even feeling guilty about that.
-Do you have a plan for tonight?-
-I was thinking... I might go out on patrol tonight. Claire is out with Karen tonight so...-
Foggy smiled, although Matt had clearly heard his heartbeat increase at the thought of him being Daredevil again. Still, all he did was give him a pat on his shoulder.
-Be careful, and call me as soon as you get home, ok?-
-Deal-
-And… Matt?-
-Yes?-
-Don't screw everything up with Claire-
Matt didn't answer that. He knew too well his past with relationships had been not so good since he was in college, but this time was different. Claire was the first to know his secret abilities, except for Elektra, and she was nice, really nice, and strong. And Foggy approved, which was the real news in all of this. And so far, he had been right in an almost creepy way. Eventually, he nodded, greeting his best friend before going home and changing his clothes for the red armor.
000
Claire was happy.
Well, maybe happy wasn't the most right word to describe how she felt since Matt's return, but it was probably close enough, because that was the thing every one of her friends and colleagues had said to her since two months.
The first period had been tough. Matt had felt guilty all the time and Claire didn't know who to thank for that, if God, Stick, Matt's Dad or whoever and for the first times he had something really close to a panic attack every time they had any kind of argument and had almost driven Foggy mad for something she really had refused to understand, because the two were some kind of unique entity Claire decided to accept without asking too many questions about it.
She had figured what the panic was due to in about a week (after he had tried to hide the reasons from her, of course, until the day she had found him trembling from the top of his head to his feet in the bathroom), when they had a fight just after dinner, right before her leaving for her shift at Metro general. That day she was going to take a rucksack instead of her usual bag before she had planned to collect some of her clothes from a friend where she had left them before leaving for Boston, but probably he had thought she was leaving him and he had simply overreacted. It took her a while (and a lot of mental curses to Stick) to calm him down and convince him she wasn't, and from that day she had been extremely careful about her words and actions.
It took him a while to move on, to let go of his fear of abandonment, but soon he began to go out during the nights, stopping sometimes to meet her when she could take a break, and she couldn't help but be happy about that, because it was helping to recover his usual self confidence; plus, the new outfit was doing his job protecting him from serious cuts and other injuries, even when she had to put stitches on him her mind didn't miss the chance to remind her it could have been a deadly shot with the old crappy black suits.
That night, she was on shift, and she was glad to see Matt had stayed at home or hadn't had serious fights until now (she could tell that by the lack of bloodied people arriving with the police). The ER was crowded, but nothing more than minor injuries so she decided to take her time to send a text to Matt and go and wait for him on her usual spot on the balcony outside the waiting room, where he had joined her the night he had come back.
She jumped when Marie, one of her colleagues, rushed into the room looking for her, and followed her at the triage.
The scene she saw froze her right where she was.
This is a nightmare. This can't be true.
-Daredevil…- she murmured, barely restraining herself from running toward him crying his real name.
Thanks for reading!
Uhm… Zoe Perja, what were you saying about Cliffhanger? :D