Sorry guys. I know there was a bit of a delay. Well here's the next chapter. Hope you had a great Christmas.

The next morning, Halina's ears were assaulted with the high-pitched sound of her alarm, then felt a chill pass over her body as she heard fumbling sounds come from her nightstand then the sound of the snooze button being hit with some force. Halina groaned as she rolled onto her back and when she opened her eyes, they were greeted with the still very naked Matt Murdock turning back to her. The chill had been him, unwrapping himself from her to reach back and assault her alarm clock. It was 6 AM and she was pretty sure she'd only had about two hours of sleep as the two of them did not stop after just one round. That man really did have infinite amounts of energy and an insatiable need.

"Ugh." Halina said rubbing her eyes as Matt propped himself next to her.

"You could call in sick." Matt said, kissing her shoulder.

Halina sighed. "I wish. I have an appointment at 8 and I still have some prep work left." Matt cocked an eyebrow smiling down at her. "Yeah, yeah cutting it close, I know."

"I didn't say a thing." Matt said as he laid back and closed his eyes.

Halina sat up and looked back at his glorious six pack, biting her lip as she mentally drooled at the sight. She didn't bother taking the blanket with her, partly because he wouldn't see anything and partly because she figured it wouldn't make any difference from what he could see. She grabbed some fresh underwear from her dresser and walked to the door, stopped then looked back at him. His eyes were half open staring at the ceiling, but she could tell he was watching her.

"Do you want to come?" Halina asked smiling.

"Am I that transparent?" Matt said smiling broadly. "But I better not, I don't think you'd make it to work on time."

She blushed despite the hours they'd been…getting acquainted. As she continued her walk to the bathroom and started getting ready for the day, she smiled foolishly as she went. The whole time Matt just laid there in bed, watching her as she came back and started dressing for the day then disappear again to do her hair and makeup. By the time she'd exited the bathroom a second time, she found Matt in the kitchen making an omelette, pants back on but thankfully still shirtless. Halina walked up behind him, hugged him then ran her hands down his chest and over his abs, brushing the top of his pants.

"Don't get too handsy." He said smiling over his shoulder at her. "It's taking a lot of will power to behave right now."

"I'm trying to decide whether you're so energetic because it was just that good or its just been that long." Halina said then kissed his back before turning away to sit at her peninsula.

Matt grabbed a plate, lifted the omelette out of the pan and onto the plate. He gave her the plate and the fork then walked over to where her coffee maker was percolating fresh coffee and grabbed the pot to pour her a cup.

"Can't it be both." He said putting the cup beside her plate as she cut into the omelette with her fork. "It really has been a while, I'll admit. I seem to be busy a lot lately but…uh…yeah it was pretty damn great."

Halina smiled around her fork and watched as he turned back and poured some more egg batter into the frying pan to make himself some breakfast. Halina continued to eat in silence, watching Matt as he watched the egg slowly cook. After a moment, her smile slowly faded as her mind began to wake up and start wondering if this was just a one night stand.

"What is it?" Matt asked, his back still turned to her as he flipped his omelette.

"What is this, Matt? Between you and me?" Halina asked, gluing her eyes to her plate not wanting to meet look at Matt's face as he turned towards her. "Just a one night stand? More?"

"What do you want this to be?" Matt asked, his voice suddenly emotionless. "I'll be whatever you want me to be, Halina. But personally…" Matt trailed off, causing Halina to finally look up.

"Personally?" Halina asked as she saw a bit of hurt in his face, maybe even a little bit of fear that flickered across his face but was gone so fast she wasn't sure she saw it.

Matt turned away and started poking at his omelette. "I'd like to continue getting to know you but if you don't want to see me again, I get it."

Halina suddenly became incredibly sad. Matt just expected her to reject him. She always saw him as confident, depressed maybe, but sure of himself in many ways. And maybe he was, about somethings, like his physical abilities but he seemed to have little self-worth. That was the part of him that was broken, he didn't seem to think he was worth loving. Just a good one night stand.

She put down her fork and stepped around the peninsula and turned him to face her. "I want you to continue being in my life, Matthew Murdock. I would've never let you in here if I didn't. Like I said before, there something about you that I just…trust, that makes me feel safe, makes me feel okay with myself."

Matt raised a hand brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers. "Okay. So are we dating or…friends."

Even Halina was shocked when she laughed but she reached up and pulled his face down to hers and kissed him, deeply. "Definitely not just friends." She breathed and Matt grinned as she tried to rub the lipstick from his lips.

A little while later, she was standing by the door with her phone in hand looking at her calendar, waiting for Matt to find his last sock which had evaded him for the last five minutes. Finally finding it under her couch, he pulled it on and then his shoes. Halina looked at him as he walked over to her.

"Do you have a phone? I haven't noticed you carry one." Halina asked.

"I need to get a new one, why?" Matt asked as he approached the door.

"Well, it would be weird if we're dating and we don't have each others phone numbers." Halina said reaching into her briefcase then pausing. "Can you read paper?"

"Yes and no." Matt said smiling. "I can read the impression left behind by a pen."

"Right." Halina said as she pulled out her sticky notes and a pen then began to write, pressing harder then necessary making certain he could feel it.

Once done, she dropped the pen and sticky notes back into her briefcase and stuck the note to Matt's chest. He smiled as he pulled it off and ran his fingers over the numbers.

"The first one is my cell." Halina said, opening the door as she rummaged in her pocket for her keys. "And the second is my work number with the extension."

"Thanks." Matt said, stepping through the open door so she could close the door and lock it. "I'll let you know when I get a new one."

They walked down the hall together then down the steps outside. Halina jogged down to the curb as she saw an empty cab coming and flagged it down. Matt stood there slightly behind her waiting patiently for her to look at him again.

"Do you need a ride?" She asked as she opened the door.

Matt shook his head. "No. I'm meeting Foggy at his family store, its only a few blocks away. We're gonna work out of there for a while, until we can afford to open a proper office again."

"Shouldn't you be putting on some proper business attire then?" Halina asked with a smile.

"We're just talking about things today, getting set up. It's not going to work well for long working out of the back of a small shop so we gotta figure out how to get a couple quick and easy cases that pay decent." Matt said stepping in close to her.

"Hey lady, either get in or close the door." The cabbie said grumpily.

"Yeah, yeah. Just one more second!" Halina hissed at the driver. "Well, I guess I should go, I've got a lot to do still."

She kissed Matt, probably a little too passionately because his hand came to her hip, and she could feel his body react to her as he pressed against her. Halina had to push him back to end the kiss, as she was pinned between him and the car. Matt smiled sheepishly as he stepped back onto the curb.

"Sorry." He said then licked his lips then tried to rub off the lipstick on his lips once more.

He watched as she sat down in the cab and swung her legs in then he shut the door for her and waved as they sped off. The bliss ebbed away as soon as Matt was out of sight and her brain reminded her of the day that she had ahead of her, and she was likely to be working late into the night on two hours of sleep. But Matt had definitely been a worth while distraction, and not just because of the great sex but because she genuinely liked talking to him. The fear that she had been gnawing on all day yesterday, now seemed foolish and she was determined to not let that horrible man have any more time in brain. She wanted to be free of the fear he'd caused her for all these years, and Matt Murdock was the one who'd freed her from him. She wasn't even remotely afraid of Matt but he also wasn't in the least bit boring, he'd definitely keep her occupied.

Maybe he'd be willing to teach her more of how to defend herself…if she could get him to focus on it. Although the man did seem to have great self control. Even when he was making love to her, he was very focused on her, looking for any sign that she needed him to stop. He was desperate to not frighten her. Halina shook her head as the cabbie stopped in front of her office building. She looked at her watched and cursed; it was 7:30. Matt Murdock may well have been the best thing to happen to her personally, but he'd screwed up her workday.

At a quarter past 12, Halina's phone buzzed at her elbow as she squinted at her computer screen, trying to force her tired eyes to focus on the words in front of her. Giving up for the moment, she flipped her phone over to look at the caller ID but all it said was unknown. She didn't really have the luxury to not answer as most of her clients came up unknown. Sighing, she picked up the phone and hit the answer button.

"Halina Jackson."

"Hey, its Matt. You're not in the middle of something are you?" He asked.

Butterflies instantly fluttered in her stomach as she tried to control the smile on her face. She was at work and people get nosy if you look too giddy. "I am working but I'm not in the middle of any meeting. It's pretty much a guarantee that if you're calling me at work, I will always be in the middle of something. But I could use a distraction, even if it's a momentary one."

Rather than try and control the foolish smile on her face, Halina decided to turn towards the window so no one could she her face. It was impossible to keep the smile from forming.

Matt chuckled. "Yeah, I heard Hogarth is a real ball buster. I wouldn't recommend telling her that you're talking to me, she's probably not a fan of mine since I stole Foggy back from her."

"Noted."

"Anyway, I thought I'd let you know I got a phone again. I figured it should probably take priority so clients can get a hold of me."

"That'd be wise." Halina felt a little foolish with how giddy he was making her feel. She wasn't eighteen anymore. "Did you get things figured out?"

"Uh, sort of. Foggy doesn't think we need to advertise, just word of mouth since we're kind of already known in Hell's Kitchen. Karen thinks we should put an ad in the paper and promised to get us deal with the Bulletin since she technically still works there for the next week."

"I'm sure the people at the Bulletin aren't your fans either."

Matt chuckled again. "No probably not. Especially since Ellison, her boss, is quite fond of her. She said she'd still do freelance work still, especially since we don't know when the next cheque will come in."

"Did you say anything to Foggy? About us?"

"No, it's only been like 12 hours." Matt said making Halina laugh. "Less, depending on when you consider our relationship starting. Besides, I don't need to distract him with my love life right now, we have a business to set up."

"I'm sure Marci's already offered Foggy this, but I can probably smuggle you some office supplies." Halina said, biting her lip.

"I might have to take you up on that." Matt said with a laugh.

Halina heard her door open and turned to see Hogarth standing moodily in her doorway. "Miss Jackson, is that a business call?"

"Shit, that sounds like Hogarth." Matt said. "I'll let you go. Call me when you're off work."

"No." Halina said, hanging up her phone.

"Come with me." Hogarth said, walking briskly away. "Bring a jacket and briefcase."

Halina quickly grabbed her briefcase and jacket then trotted after Hogarth as she headed for the steps that led to the lobby. At the bottom stood Marci, her jacket already on and holding her own briefcase, alongside the two interns who'd recently been brought on. Together they followed her out the front door and out into the cold where a black Suburban SUV waited directly in front of the doors. The driver opened the door as they approached and Hogarth stopped and waved them in, impatiently.

"I don't slide." Hogarth said as she got in last. Hogarth pulled out a file from her own briefcase and handed it to Marci. "Alright, you two." She said looking at both Marci and Halina. "I know you two both have a lot on your plate, that's why these two are here, to help lighten the load. Normally, I'd handle the situation myself, but I have other commitments that conflict with this. We are representing a massive construction firm called Hollar United. The owner is an old friend of mine, he handled the renovations of our offices, which is why we have the case to begin with and since I cannot represent them myself, I promised him I'd get him my two best lawyers to handle the situation instead."

"What's the suit?" Marci asked, flipping through the file Hogarth had handed her as Halina looked over her shoulder.

"Hollar United is suing Dopker Manufacturing and Supply for the sale of faulty and mislabelled products and damages to their firm's reputation due to the resulting structural failure of the seventh floor in one of their projects, killing three people and injuring dozens more." Hogarth said watching them.

"That hotel in Chelsea?" Marci asked, looking up from the folder.

"Yes." Hogarth confirmed. "I'm not going to lie; this one is going to be a bit of a grind. Halina, I've handed off your smaller cases to the others, but you need to try and get that Zackman's business done as quickly as possible. Marci, I hear that Franklin and Mister Murdock are back in business again?"

"Yes, they don't have an office yet but…"

"Both are excellent lawyers, hand them some of your more difficult cases. They should be up to the task. I'm sure Franklin remembers, since it wasn't that long ago that he worked for me, but remind him we take thirty percent of the fees, which will probably still be more than ninety percent of the clients they take on."

"Uh, yeah, I'll remind him." Marci said, managing to keep her voice polite.

It took them approximately half an hour to reach the companies building, which was a twenty story building with its name across the top. They followed Hogarth inside and entered an elevator which took them to the eighteenth floor. As they stepped out of the elevator, Halina was impressed by the view. The entire building was essentially encased with glass, giving a sweeping 360 degree view of the city. There were only half a dozen offices at the other end the building, but their walls were entirely made of glass. The rest of the area was wide open, with desks sprinkled here and there, often surrounding a decoratively encased support beams, likely the area were the power and phone lines snaked down from the ceiling, so they didn't ruin the aesthetic of being a wide open space.

"Jeri, it's been forever!" Said a squat balding man, as he came from the largest corner office.

"Melvin!" Hogarth said smiling slightly. "I've only come to deliver you your attorneys in person." Melvin kissed her cheek, but she had to bend forward to receive it. "This here is Miss Stahl, she'll be the lead on the case, and this is Miss Jackson, lesser in experience but no less in brilliance. Alright, introductions have been made and I really must be going. I'll see you ladies back in the office later."

The interns looked a little confused as to where to go as Hogarth returned to the elevator, but Halina made a subtle gesture, indicating that they should stay.

"And who are these two people?" Melvin asked, indicating the interns.

Halina suddenly realized; she had no idea what their names were.

"We're interns." The young man said. "I'm James O'Cleary and this is Hetty Williams."

"Ah, I see." Melvin said, tuning them out the second O'Cleary had said interns. "This way."

They followed Melvin to the corner office from which he had come from, and once inside he closed the door behind them as they moved further into the room. He then indicated for them to take a seat around the short conference table that sat nearest to the door as he walked to his desk at the far end of the room and picked up the phone.

"Mister Armitt, we are ready for you." He said then hung up the phone. After he'd hung up the phone, he slapped his hands together and smiled. "I must apologise, I also have things that need my attention. Mister Armitt has only been with the office a four or five months, but he is up to speed and he can answer any questions you may have. Or he'll send them up the line to me. Take your time. Now if you'll excuse me."

Marci glanced over her shoulder and watched as Melvin disappeared through the door, closing it behind him as he went. Once he was out of earshot, Marci leaned into Halina.

"It'd have been nice for a little more warning." She muttered.

"You're telling me, I have to be in court at 7 AM tomorrow and shit tonne of work still left to do." Halina had planned on maybe trying to have a short dinner with Matt after work, but she probably wasn't going to be able to see the man for the next couple of days. He might start thinking that she's ghosting him.

"I'll take the brunt of the work, for now." Marci offered. "I've just got to finish some paperwork and send it off before I'm done with the Clayton case. I'll give Foggy the Arnold case; he'll like that and I've got some real gems that Matt will absolutely destroy the opposition with his quirky brain. That'll substantial reduce my case load. With those cases off my plate and on to theirs, hopefully those two will be out of that butcher shop by the end of the month."

"They're working out of a butcher shop?" Halina asked with a smile, Matt had just said it was the family business but not what the business was.

"Yeah, Foggy's brother owns it." Marci said smirking. "Nothing beats free office space, right?"

Both women chuckled and stood quickly when the door opened behind them. Halina froze instantly as she saw who stepped through the door and her world went silent. The man smiled and walked forward, first offering his hand to Marci who said something Halina didn't understand and then he was offering his hand to Halina, who flinched ever so slightly but took the hand robotically and muttered her name, like he didn't already know who she was.

Halina stiffly sat down as Caleb moved around to the other side of the table and took a seat directly across from her. He had a self-satisfied smile on his face as he looked at her, she couldn't imagine what expression she wore. Halina forced herself to look at Marci who was talking to him as she opened the file. Just past her, she could see the interns furiously taking notes as Marci was obviously asking questions. Marci glanced at her, but Halina only stared blankly back, a note of concern entered her face, but she turned back and resumed speaking.

Halina had no idea what was being said as she wrestled with the images that wanted to show themselves in her minds eye. Suddenly she realized that Marci was standing again and reaching for Caleb's hand as he rounded the table once more. Marci then handed him her card and when Halina didn't respond she nudged her.

"Card." Marci said, looking more concerned then ever.

"R-right." Halina said as she reached into her pocket for the decorative card holder that contained her business cards. With fumbling fingers, she managed to free a card and hand it to Caleb.

He walked with them to the elevator standing directly beside Halina, making her tense up as she took in his familiar odour. She wanted to scream, punch him in the face and run like hell, but she couldn't do that. When the elevator doors closed, Marci looked over at looking very concerned.

"Lina, honey, are you okay?" She asked putting hand on Halina arm causing her to flinch.

"S-sorry. I just suddenly felt sick." Halina said lamely and she knew that Marci didn't buy it, but she didn't say anything else.

As she walked with Marci and the interns, she heard them groan as they realized that Hogarth hadn't left them with a ride back and they would be taking a taxi. Once they were at the curb, Marci hailed one down and was about to get in when she noticed Halina just standing there staring at the pavement.

"You two take it, I'll take the next one." Marci said to the interns who happily climbed in, out of the cold. Once the car had left, Marci tried to look into her face, so Halina forced a smile. "Honey, you're scaring me. What happened in there?"

"Nothing." Halina said as the crisp air started to clear Caleb's odour from her nostrils and the fog from her brain. "Like I said, I was feeling sick all of a sudden. I'm going to stop at the pharmacy, pick something up. You go on ahead without me."

"I could go with you?" Marci said, obviously detecting that something wasn't right.

"No, its fine. One of us should get started on that case. I'll come see you when I get back." Halina said, finally starting to sound normal, although she still felt utterly terrified.

"If you say so." Marci said, turning reluctantly away to hail another cab.

She looked back at Halina as a cab pulled up, who forced a smile on her face, then reluctantly climbed inside. Halina waved at Marci as the cab pulled away. Halina let out a shaky breath as she reached for her phone. What she really wanted to do was go home and lock herself in apartment and never come out, but she refused to do that. She needed to feel safe and the only person she could think of who did that for her was Matt, and that was completely irrational. She barely knew him and though she really liked him, she shouldn't be able to trust him like she felt she did. Besides, did she really want to burden her hours old boyfriend with the scars of her last?

Tears rolled down her face. At the moment she didn't care, she just needed a moment to feel safe, so she could get her shit together. She unlocked her phone and went to the call history. She hadn't had the opportunity to add Matt's number to her phone, but he was the last person to call her. She tapped on the number and listened to it ring a few times, trying to desperately get some self-control before he picked up.

"I didn't expect you to call me back so soon. You can't be done work." Matt's voice came happily.

"No." She squeaked. Matt didn't reply, so after a breath she asked. "Where are you?"

"At home." He said slowly. "Halina, is everything okay? You sound…upset. Is it Hogarth?"

"No." She said again, a little stronger. "Can I come over?"

"Absolutely." He said then gave her the address. It was in Hell's Kitchen, really not all that far from her, just in a different direction then she usually went.

She told him where she was and that it'd take her a little while to get there before hanging up. She flagged down a taxi and gave the driver Matt's address then sat back and tried to get herself under control. Tears kept flowing down her cheeks as she crossed her arms over her body, trying to stop the shaking. When the cab stopped, she quickly paid for the ride and stepped out. She raced up the steps to the top floor, where Matt's apartment was located then stopped in front his door to catch her breath and collect herself. She hadn't been standing there for no more than a few seconds when the door opened and she saw Matt looking in her direction worriedly. He had changed from his clothing from this morning and was wearing a baggy pair of pants and a t-shirt, he had also shaved.

Matt stepped out of his apartment and put his hands on her face as he ducked down to her eye level. "Your heart is racing. What's going on?" He asked softly.

Halina bit her lip as tears started spilling down her cheeks once more. Matt kissed her forehead then wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He walked her inside the apartment, closed the door and walked her down a hall. They had just made it to the end of the hall when Halina suddenly turned to him and buried her face into his strong shoulder and wept. Matt instantly engulfed her in a tight hug as he tried to soothe her, rocking her back and forth as he rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head. When her crying subsided, she suddenly pushed herself out of his grasp and turned away, utterly humiliated with how she was behaving.

"I'm sorry." She said, further embarrassing herself by hiccupping in the middle.

"Don't be." Matt said as he put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sure you're regretting that cup of coffee right now." She said as she wiped her face, probably looking like a racoon right about now. Good thing he couldn't see her face. "I'm sure I'm looking awfully crazy right now."

Matt sighed. "No. Not crazy just very upset. What happened? You sounded fine just a little while ago. Tired maybe, but fine."

"You know that saying: 'speak of the devil and he will come'?" Halina asked as Matt walked around her to stand in front of her.

"I'm Catholic, of course I do." He said attempting to make her smile.

"Well, he came." Halina said, wrapping her arms around herself, hunching over, like she was trying to physically force herself to stop shaking and stay in one piece.

Matt took a step forward, raised a hand then thought better of it. "Caleb." He said softly.

She hated that he was scared of scaring her. She could tell he wanted to comfort her but questioning whether she'd be uncomfortable with it. Bless him. She thought. But she rather have him close, and this thought made her realize that she really wasn't afraid of him. She wished she knew why she was so trusting of him.

"Yeah." She replied.

She noticed his couch and thought it looked inviting, so she walked over to it and sat down, arms still wrapped around her body as she bent over her knees. Matt joined her on the couch but gave her distance, she noticed him raise his hand a couple of times then drop it. She straightened up a little and looked at him.

"It's not you I'm afraid of." Halina said and scooted a little closer to him. "Don't ask me why, but I trust you, Matt."

Matt seemed to finally relax a little and put a gentle hand on her back as she put her head in her hands.

"Tell me what happened." Matt said gently. "If you can."

Halina pulled her hands back and stared at the floor. "Hogarth needed Marci and I to take a case for her. The client is a friend of hers, but she has some other obligations which is why she asked us to do the work. The client has a massive construction firm, and he couldn't be bothered to deal with the issue himself, so he got one of his associates to answer our questions." Halina's voice cracked again as tears threatened to overwhelm her again. Matt moved in closer and wrapped his arm around her once more. "It was Caleb. I…I just froze. I have no idea what happened in there. Next thing I know, we're walking back to the elevators and he's there right beside me, smiling at me like he always did when he knew he was doing something I didn't like. He knew I was still afraid of him."

"Men like that never change." Matt muttered, sounding angry but obviously trying to keep his emotions in check.

"I don't know what to do, Matt. This case may take months! He's our contact." She suddenly sat up and looked at him pleadingly.

"Tell Hogarth. I'm sure she'll pull you off the case if she knows the situation." Matt said.

"No!" Halina said mortified.

"You don't need to tell her everything. Just tell her that he's an ex, things ended poorly between the two of you. Maybe that you are concerned about your safety. She doesn't need to know more then that."

"I can't do that." Halina said. "She'll just see it as weakness. And I need this case, I need the experience. Besides, I'm tired of running from this. I…I need to face this…I just don't know that I can."

Matt turned sideways on the couch and grabbed her hand with one of his and turned her face towards his. "You can. If that's what you really want. I'll be right here, helping you anyway I can, but I still think you should tell someone. If not Hogarth, then Marci. I know Marci, she will do everything she can to shield you, she can be very protective about her friends. Trust me, I know. She'll be discreet too. Anyways, she's your friend. She has to have noticed that something wasn't right with you at that meeting."

"She has." Halina admitted. "I told her I wasn't feeling well and told her I was going to the pharmacy to pick something up."

"Quick thinking but probably ineffective." Matt said, then smiled slightly. "She annoyingly perceptive."

A bit of a smile quirked the corner of her mouth. "I've noticed."

Halina moved forward and pecked Matt on the lips, then put her head on his shoulder and the two them laid back on his couch. They laid there for several minutes with Matt's arms completely encircling her as she laid on top of him with her head resting on his shoulder and her hand on his well muscled chest.

"What now?" He asked after a while.

Halina still felt a little freaked out, but she had regained control of herself and even though she really didn't want to leave her bubble of safety, she had to.

"Go back to work before I get fired." She muttered.

"Will you be okay?" He asked, giving her a squeeze.

"No, but I'll survive." She said rubbing her cheek against his shoulder.

"Stay with me, tonight." Matt said softly, "it'll make both of us feel better."

"I have to be up really early tomorrow. I've got to be in court by seven."

"I'm closer to pretty much every courthouse in the city then you and your work." Matt persisted. "You can go home, get what you need then spend the night here. I can even pick you up from work…if you want."

"Considering we're trying to keep this from our mutual friends, that probably wouldn't be wise." Halina replied, although the suggestion was immensely appealing.

"Please, Halina." Matt said as she sat up.

Halina looked at him as he too sat up, studying her carefully with a worried expression on his face. "Okay, fine. I'll stay over but don't pick me up. I'll call you when I leave."

"Thank you."

Thanks for reading I hope you enjoyed it.

-Shockra