When the second week started with Matt still not coming back to the orphanage after school, Maggie thought on Father Lantom's advice or warning for that matter. The door was cracked and she just had to step through cautiously. A journey of a million miles begins with a single step but that first step was the hardest to take.

Tuesday afternoon, Maggie slipped silently inside the door of Fogwell's gym and just watched. Matthew was in the ring with someone at least six inches taller than him holding sparring pads for him to hit. Matthew didn't move like Jack used to. Jack hit hard and went for brutal punishment like a predator on the hunt. Matthew was faster and smoother, throwing fast combos of both punches and kicks and wearing his opponent down before unleashing the Devil as Jack called it.

"I hope you're not planning on taking him back early. My wife's making one of his favorites tonight and that will break both of their hearts," Fogwell stated as he walked over to where Maggie was watching quietly. "That boy'll put away three bowls of her ravioli if I let him."

Maggie shook her head. "I'm just watching. I haven't seen him smile like that in a long time."

Fogwell looked up at Matt in the ring with a huge glowing smile on his face as he got some water and wiped his face on his t-shirt before going in for another round when the smile turned into laser focus as his fists made contact with the sparring pads just as hard as most of the grown men in the room. "He's good too."

"Fogwell, don't you dare even suggest to make my boy a prize fighter," Maggie warned.

Fogwell laughed. "Nah... wouldn't dream of it. This boy's gotta bigger destiny than prizefightin'. I see so much of Jackie in him."

Maggie sighed and smiled, remembering the day Jack pulled her into his corner during a fight that she shouldn't have been at. Sixty seconds he said. It was longer than that and she fell in love with him as she wiped blood and sweat off his face in between rounds. "You're not the only one," she said quietly. "Try not to tire him out too much. I hope to try to talk to him before he falls asleep."

Fogwell nodded in understanding. "I gotcha. I'll see ya later."

Maggie took one last look back at Matthew floating around that ring before she ducked out the door to make her way to the nearest legal aid office.

That evening, Maggie sat in her room with a business card of a lawyer who would take her case pro bono and a pile of papers trying to find everything on a list of documents needed to move forward. She was grateful when Sister Anne had knocked on her door to tell her that Matthew had returned.

It was now or never. A single step.

Maggie knocked on Matthew's door and said a quick silent prayer to Jack to give her strength to fix what had been broken.

"Come in."

Maggie opened the door to find Matthew sitting on his bed in a t-shirt and pajama pants, reading before bed. "Hello Matthew. Can we talk?"

Matt's fingers stopped moving over the page and he looked up. "Do we need a ref?"

"I would like to hope not but I'm sure Father Lantom would if we asked. May I sit?" Maggie asked as she patted his bed.

Matt moved his book to his bedside table and slid back against the headboard to make room. "What do you want to talk about?" he asked, a little bit of hurt and suspicion slipping into his voice.

"I wanted to talk about our situation."

"Situation?" Matt questioned, crossing his arms in front of him like a wall.

Maggie quickly realized her poor choice of words. "I want to know what you think about trying to rebuild our family."

Matt's arms loosened a bit. He was curious. "What do you mean?"

Maggie took a deep breath. Good Lord this was difficult. "I started to look into what would need to be done for me to be your mother again bit before I go any further, I would need to know if that is something you would want."

"Does this mean we would go home?" Matt asked hesitantly.

"It wouldn't be to the apartment that you lived in with your Dad. We would have to get a different one."

"Does this mean you would stop being a nun and just be my mom?"

"Yes Matthew."

"Does this mean you're in it for the long haul? I mean you're not just going to up and bail if shit gets hard."

Maggie chose to ignore the choice of words for the moment. "Yes, it does," Maggie said softly. "Matthew, I can't begin to apologize enough for what my choices have done. I know I made a mistake that cost me the most precious gifts I ever had- you and your father. I hit the mat and didn't know how to get back up without help. There's a long and difficult road ahead of us to rebuild our family but I'm willing to put in the work if that's what you want."

Matt listened carefully to what Maggie had said. He heard in her words that she did care about him. "Murdocks get knocked down," he whispered, not fully trusting his voice.

"But we always get back up," Maggie finished for him. "Are we in this together, Matty?"

Matt nodded as his face crumbled and he started to cry.

Maggie smiled as her own vision blurred with tears. "Can I give you a hug?"

Matt nodded again as he inched forward to meet her open arms, tucking his head into her shoulder.

Maggie held her boy tight, petting his hair gently as he cried. "We're going to get through this, Matty. We've got about a million hours of work ahead of us but we're going to win."

"You're gonna need to rewatch ROCKY a few times if you're gonna try to quote it," Matt muttered as he sat back and wiped his face.

"And I'm sure you're the expert," Maggie scoffed as she nudged Matt's shoulder. "I see why Dad called you smart ass."

Matt shrugged. "He wasn't wrong."

Maggie laughed. "Go to sleep. You've got school tomorrow. Good night."

Matt slid down and pulled his blanket up, slipping his hand under his pillow and pulling out a book, a printed book. Jack had been reading it to Matt before he died. It was easier to fall asleep to his Dad's voice instead of the sirens of Hell's Kitchen. "Would you read to me?"

Maggie paused and saw that Matt was holding out a book to her, The Princess Bride. She sat back down on the edge of his bed. "This one?"

Matt nodded. "Dad was reading it to me, especially on some of the bad nights. He got it at a secondhand bookstore. He figured the movie was pretty good so he'd give the book a go."

"Do you remember where you left off?" Maggie asked. She wasn't surprised when Matt said no. "Then, let's start at the beginning. Get comfy."

A little more than two chapters in, Matt was falling asleep to his mother's voice.