Chapter 3- Changed

Franks point of view…I found this challenging as Frank is so complex and carefully crafted as a character but I'm glad I did this chapter from his side through Karen finding something out about herself. I was trying to decide where to end this chapter as I have an important scene coming up I needed to work around. Thanks for the comments, I hope you enjoy and I look forward to thoughts on this chapter. - Red

The city lights speckled through Karen's apartment as I lay there, on her sofa. I doubt I'd sleep tonight, not because of the humming lights but because Karen was so close and it was my job to make sure no one took her again, or hurt her, or added to the mess of shit she'd been pulled through. The bedroom door was ajar and although I couldn't see her, I heard her heavy breathing over the slight rain outside. I focussed on the rhythm of it and it gave me a sense of grounding. With anyone else, it would be easy to safe guard them but Karen neglected her own self-preservation when her passion took over… and she was the most passionate person I'd ever known. As I kept her safe, I was close to her and as I was close to her I had been slipping…. into something. Now I had no war to fight in, my days were filled memories that cut me again and again- like barb wire in my chest. I had no illusions that would ever change and I didn't want it to. I hung to that pain, terrified to lose the last part of them and with them- my humanity. These days, there was just silence and in the silence, lay the worst torture. When David had used his 'Micro' skills to help me keep track of Karen, he had been hesitant- unsure. That was until I reminded him he'd done the same thing with his family not so long ago.

"Look, I wouldn't be asking for anyone else…." I said. We were sitting in back to back booths at a diner way out of town. I hadn't wanted to put him or his family at risk, they'd been through enough shit.

"Yea I get it Frank…. but I did that with Sarah and the kids because they were at risk"

"You heard Karen on the radio with that bomber, you read the article that she wrote to piss him off. she's always at risk. She's always putting herself in the line of fire- every line of fire. Look, I get it if you can't help" I said. I rubbed my face with my hands. David sighed, a silence hung in the air. He faced the opposite direction from his adjoined booth, as if we were not here together.

"I owe you everything, I can't say no…."

"You don't owe me shit. We both know I got what I wanted" I said. He was cleanshaven and his shirt was ironed which I'd never seen in the time we spend together. Having his wife back was clearly good for his personal hygiene.

"It's good to see you Frank. I've missed you"

"Come on, don't do that. Don't say you miss me- Jesus" I said. The people I care about get trampled over, pulverised into the pavement so it's best I stay away from that. Karen was different, she attracted just as much crap as I did and I found myself going insane at the rate she goes after trouble like it's an old friend.

"Of course, I will help but do you really think Karen will be happy with this? Sarah…. she had my balls when she found out I'd been watching her" He said.

"And she was alive to be pissed at you. I don't need pervy cameras inside her apartment. I just need one set up outside it, and a tracker on her phone would be good" I said.

"Yeah, not pervy at all" He remarked.

"I…. need this. I need to keep her safe and know that I can. I just do" I said.

"Alright Frank. Alright" He said, his tone was understanding.

I wasn't hiding it from Karen, if she asked me, I would tell her. I would also tell her that camera pointed at her window would stay there whether she liked it or not. I knew she was in trouble because I'd been tracking her phone. I knew it was extreme but who was going to protect her if not me? The Devil was gone, not that he had ever been good at keeping her safe.

I recalled the first time I went to her apartment, her hands shook as she pointed the gun at me, her eyes wide and ready. Shortly after that, I had to pin her to her carpet to escape the wave of bullets coming at us. I remember the silence falling after the gunfire and how my thoughts kept veering to the feel of curves under me. I'd punished myself for those thoughts, every night with the guilt. Karen made me feel more than I ever thought I could again. She made me sick with worry I'd lose her. She made me smile with that filthy mouth of hers and how often she used it. She got that look in her eyes sometimes, the look like she'd do anything for me and evoked the same reaction back. Which brought me to the guilt, it was heavy and constant when I am around her.

When I'd seen her curled up and crying in the shower, all I knew is I needed her to be ok and as I touched her wet skin to wrap a towel around her, I'd realised there was a very real need to be close to her. She'd seen people die in that building and she had nearly had the same fate. I would have left tonight and finished all of them who had a hand in the twisted experiments on the people they took but there was no use in leaving when I'd have a better chance in finding them with Karen.

"Frank" Her voice was small, unsure and it had me springing up from where I lay. She was sat up in the bed, holding her head. Her strawberry blond hair cascaded over her face in messy waves. I sat next to her on the bed.

"You ok?" I asked.

"I just have a headache. Would you grab me some painkillers and water?" She asked, rubbing her temples. I did as she asked and she gulped them down immediately. I looked down to see her hand shaking a little.

"What's wrong with you?" She asked me, her eyes drooping a little from her fatigued state. I took her hand in mine and pressed it to my lips.

"I'm waiting for the day I don't have to worry about you" I said. Her lips tugged into a smile and her hand swept over my hair. It felt too good.

"Maybe I like it when you give me attention" She said, playfully.

"Ah, now it makes sense. Sniffing out danger to catch my eye- is that how it is sweetheart?" I asked to which she grinned even more. She shrugged.

"I didn't think calling you to catch a movie had the same flare to it" She said. Her smile filled her face and touched her eyes. It was beautiful just as she was. Her sight caught mine, those eyes which had a tenancy to hold me still even in chaos. Her lips were soft and so perfect to the touch- a pleasure I didn't deserve and yet was desperate for. Before I could tell her anything more, she gasped, grasping her forehead.

"Karen?!" She didn't answer, she just gave out stifled noises of pain until those sounds became shaper and more agonising. I held her tightly but she wouldn't respond. She just pressed both her hands to her head as if she were trying to hold it together and she let out screams. They went right through me; I'd hurt enough people to know the sound of agony. Then all sound stopped, she was still, her eyes closed. I frantically reached for a pulse. There was no doubt it was still strong but she still wouldn't wake. That's when I noticed a small pin prick at the side of her neck, mostly unnoticeable as it was hidden by her hair. I reached for her phone on the nightstand.

She'd been rushed into hospital. The paramedics had come bursting in after what felt like a lifetime of holding Karen in my arms. The only thing that kept me sane was the thump of her heart that still felt steady. They asked me questions to which I didn't have answers to and the only ones that knew were dead at my hand. This was my fault and if Karen died because of me…. It would be the last nail in my coffin. I now stood by her hospital bed, staring at the doctor who was telling me they had no idea what was wrong with her.

"You see doc, that woman in that bed is not going to die – so do something!" My voice had become loud and I knew it. The doctor was visible unsettled.

"I'm sorry doctor, what he means to ask is what will you be doing now to find out what's wrong with her?" Foggy Nelson stood on the other side of the doctor, and he had come at my request. Every person I spoke to was a risk that someone could recognise me from technically still being a fugitive. The last thing I needed was to be forced away from Karen right now.

"We are going to get Miss Page into an MRI soon, hopefully it will give us some answers" The doctor said.

"How soon?" I demanded.

"I'm sure as soon as they are able. Thank you, doctor" Nelson said, to which the doctor exited. I looked down at Karen, still and quiet.

"Look Frank, you aren't helping around here. Maybe you should go" I looked up at the lawyer with distain. He shifted nervously. "Ok, maybe not"

I paced the room a couple of times and turned to Nelson. "I have to see about a lead. You need to be here in case she wakes up" I said.

"Before you go anywhere. You are going to tell me what's going on, what you've got my friend into now" He said, disapproval in his voice. I knew he'd never taken a shine to me and he resented me further for the fact Karen had- I could see he cared for her.

"There is no time for that. I'm not going to leave the hospital, so I won't be gone long. Just stay with her"

"You don't have to tell me to stay with her like you're the only one who gives a crap Castle" He said frustrated. I ignored his tone and left the hospital room. I pulled my hood up closer over my face as I stalked the halls. I went up to the desk where a woman sat and I caught her eye. It didn't long to convince her to tell me which room the Toby kid was in, I spouted off some lie. In my experience people receive charming lies a lot better. I followed the room numbers until I came to the right one. His mother seemed to be with him and I waited until she left the room. I knew I had to be quick. Once inside, the boy in the bed stared wide eyed and alarmed. I put my hands up.

"Hey kid, it's alright. I'm not here to hurt you. My friend, she's here in the hospital like you. I know they did something to you in that place and they did something to her as well" I said.

"Stay away from me. Please. Please" He chanted, shielding his eyes from me as if that would make me go away. I moved closer and he squirmed. I lowered my voice, making myself slower and taking my time for him to understand.

"Toby, there's a girl who was trying to find you and she did. Do you remember a girl in the room with you? She has long, blond hair and blue eyes" I said. A moment passed before he was able to look me. He shook from head to foot.

"There was a girl…. In the dark. Just before…"

"Before what?"

"Before they shot me" He said. I looked him over. There were no holes in him that I could see, no injuries or even cuts or bruises. He seemed free of any wounds.

"Toby, I need to know kid. Can you remember anything about the ones that did this to you or what they did?" I asked.

"The girl was the last thing I saw" He muttered, his eyes drifting to somewhere else.

"Hey! That girl is in the hospital because of what they did. Can you remember anything that could help her?"

"They said we were the next batch. That we had the right blood to be changed"

"Changed into what?"

"Power. To have power we didn't have before" He said. The longer I spoke to him the more I began to think none of this would help. Then just, I was about to ask another question but he leaned down and ripped the IV out of his hand. I looked over it in confusion. A small amount of blood leaked from the hole in his vein and then in an instant the hole closed. His hand had healed as I stood there.

"They did shoot you in the head" I said. When I looked up he was crying, his eyes red and sore with emotion.

"I came back. It was so dark. So dark. Cold and everything hurt"

"Toby I'm going to get these pieces of crap, you hear me kid?" I promised. Tears still came down his face.

Karen's locks splayed out under her. Her eyes were open when I returned, talking to Nelson, holding his hand tightly in hers. "Karen! How are you feeling?" I asked.

"Tired and still have that damn headache but I'm alive. They must have done something to me Frank…." She began to panic so I took her free hand and squeezed.

"I'm working on it" I said, hoping to calm her. I didn't want to panic her with the facts- that she'd been put through some experimental treatment and I had no leads to where I could find the ones responsible. Seeing the state that Toby was in, was not comforting. She winced in pain.

"You…. Went to talk to Toby. He…. he…. He was shot and he healed?" She said. My eyebrows pulled together.

"How did you know that Karen?"

"What do you mean? You just said Toby was healed and you worried what they did to me" She said. I froze, looking up at Foggy who looked just as thrown.

"He never said anything like that Karen. Maybe I should get the doctor back in here again….?" Nelson said. Karen never responded to the question, she just winced through closed eyes again.

"God Foggy, please stop. Stop talking about Matt so much…. It still hurts too much" She pleaded. The lawyer's eyes widened. As soon a thought came into my head I heard Karen's voice again.

"Frank, that is ridiculous" She said.

"Karen, look at me. Look at my lips at the same time as listening to me" I told her. She opened her eyes and gave me her full attention. Then- in my head alone- I thought the words.

Karen? Can you hear me?

Karen smacked her hand over mouth, gasping with the realisation of the situation.

"What is going on?!" Foggy demanded.

"Holy shit Foggy. I can hear what you're thinking" She said, finally saying it. She withdrew her hands, scurrying up the bed. A minute passed, Karen seemed to be concentrating.

"I can't hear anything now" She said, I could see the hope in her eyes that it was some strange one-time occurrence but I was more suspicious. I handed my one palm out for her to take, encouraging her. As she took it with an unsteady hand, she winced once more.

You can hear me again, can't you?

Karen took great effort to steady her breathing then whispered one word.

"Yes. Oh no, no. How? Why?" She panicked.

"We are going to sort this, I swear to you Karen"

"I'm scared Frank. This can't be happening" She said. I took her face in my hands, she was trembling, her eyes were red and she was more pale than usual but even in this state she was beautiful. She blushed, making me realise that she'd known what I just thought.

"Hey, I'm not leaving you. You aren't alone Karen"

"It's not your job to take care of me Frank and it's not your fault if something happens"

"Karen don't…"

"Listen to me right now- we don't know what this is and I saw those other people that were taken. They were…. in bad shape and if I don't make it- that's not your fault. I pushed it. In no way is this on you" My fists balled up, anger boiled inside my chest. I stood- pacing again.

"Nothing's going to happen to you Karen. We will figure this out. No way in hell am I losing you to" I heard Nelson say to her. With that I bound my fist into the cream coloured wall, the pain greeting me in a familiar way.

"Frank?" Karen called. I ignored her. "Hey Punisher – look at me. Now" She demanded. I liked to hear the strength in her voice again, telling me what to do. I turned, looking down at her.

"You are going to pull it together. We have work to do" She said. So, I did what I had done for a long time; I let that burning rage inside my gut urge me onwards.

Down the hall, screams sounded, echoing through the hospital corridor hit us. I reached for the gun in my waistband that was hidden under the length of my jacket. Karen tried to get off the bed and I held up a hand. "We have to go"

"What's happening, has someone come for Karen?" Nelson questioned.

"They must be here for the boy that survived"

"Then we must get to him" Karen said as she pulled her jeans on under her gown, still looking weak. Foggy must have brought her something because I knew I wouldn't have thought of it. Then she turned to us and made a circle motion with her finger. Nelson immediately turned his whole body and I turned my head. She quickly swept a T- shirt over her head and a jacket over that before slipping flat shoes on.

"You and Nelson are going to get out of here, I'm not taking any chances"

"Yea…. that's not happening. I'm coming with you" She protested. I sighed heavily but she was already picking up speed down the hallway. I'd have to drag her back over my shoulder if I wanted to stop her.

"You aren't good for her" Nelson said.

"No shit" I said, annoyed at the obvious statement.

"Then leave, you don't have to stay in New York. You know Karen would be better for it" He said. The thought of leaving right now was something I wouldn't entertain but I had considered it, even come close.

"That candle your burning for her is going to burn you Nelson"

"Leave Castle"

"When she's safe"

I followed her, catching her up and steering us into the right direction.

Around Toby's room was loud and chaotic. I pulled Karen behind me and I felt her shape tailing me as we moved forward. I hoped she didn't make skin contact because she'd see how was capable she was of distracting me with her new skills. I could see four officers having trouble to contain masked men with guns. The masks had the advantage since they cared nothing for people in the crossfire. I pulled out my gun and used my first bullet to puncture a masked man in the temple. I felt Karen flinch behind me. I couldn't see how many men they had in total but I constantly scanned the area, canvasing as much of the scene as possible. The police were down quickly, two with most likely fatal blows. I told Karen to stay around the corner and I picked up a metal gurney before tilting it up and using it to shield me as I got closer to them. I hit the first one and felt a crack in his nose. The second I shot in the chest while dodging his barrel. From here I saw inside Toby's room, there were three masks in there and he was shaking and crying out. I sprinted into the room, taking one out and wresting with the other. I was about to shoot him when I heard a voice from the third.

"Stop. Push the gun away!" The third one demanded. One gun was pointed at the distraught kid on the hospital bed. He cried out for his mother who was crouched in the corner.

"NOT MY BOY…. PLEASE…. PLEASE!" She screamed.

"Quiet" He spat at her, inching closer to Toby. Of course, I knew he wouldn't be killed by that gun, he recovered from a headshot so there was that.

"PLEASE" The mother continued and that's when he turned the gun on her. I heard Toby's voice. He'd come back into reality and realised his mother was in danger. The one man, still held by the point of my gunpoint looked at his weapon that had slid across the floor behind us. If he moved for it I would be ready.

"No, point it at me. I…. I'm the one you want. Take me" Toby begged. His mother sobbed in the corner.

"Put the fucking gun down!" He shouted at me. I took one breath, lowering it and throwing it across the floor. The one I almost had, leaned down to retrieve his gun and then that's when Karen came around the door and a shot rang out. She must have taken it off someone I'd taken out in the hall. She'd hit his shoulder and I used the distraction to charge at the one in front. He turned the gun in my direction but it was too late, I jammed my knee in his gut and dug his head into the wall behind him. With a quick snap, he was taken care of. I turned to Karen, she still held the gun above the masked man who now lay bleeding on the floor. I checked her over to make sure she wasn't hurt.

"Th…. thank you" The mother said, holding her son tightly in her arms. I went up to her.

"Listen, have you got somewhere to go that people won't find you?" I asked her. Quickly she realised what I meant, what the situation meant.

"My sister has a static home she uses for holidays"

"Go there, and stay there for a while. If you don't, they will come for him again. You have to go now" I instructed. She nodded frantically, pulling Toby from the bed.

"Do you have my number on my phone from when we spoke?" Karen asked.

"Yes"

"If you need help, call and I will let you know when they are…. caught. Don't go to the police, it's not safe" She said. I was hearing commotion outside. I gave Karen a look to say we needed to go.

"I will keep my son safe" She said. We scrambled out together but Toby and his mother took the one side of the hospital to exit and us the other. We took another metal gurney so we could lay on it the bleeding man Karen had shot. I knocked him out and we had put a sheet over his body. I wondered how Karen was doing between how she'd changed and how we were taking this person for information. I knew she was strong, but she also had a big heart and a part of me was waiting for the questioning of morals on this situation.

I dug the bullet out and seared up the wound with heat. He was no use dead. That was all before we got to the edge of town where a cabin stood alone in the woods. Karen looked at the cabin with a chill, maybe thinking of the last time we were here together. The man was tall, fair skin, dark hair and heavy scars across his neck. When he woke he was tied to a chair, shocked at the sight of us. The knife on the work surface made its way into my hand and he knew what was about to happen to him. Just as I was about to cut into him Karen steadied my hand.

"There's another way that I could try…. Before that" She said, eluding to her new ability.

"This piece of shit doesn't deserve your compassion Karen" I said.

"You don't decide who deserves my compassion Frank" She snapped. "Besides, we need information quickly"

"Fine, take a swing at it sweetheart" She sighed, dropping the knife back down. She steadied herself and went forward. The man looked at her in confusion but she ignored him. I could see she was trying to focus and when she placed a hand on his temple she took a sharp intake of breath. I stepped forward but she held up one hand to gesture for me to stop.

"It's so loud and…messy" She said, eyes closed. Her fingers shook a little but she was standing strong. The man was coming to terms with what she may be doing and began to squirm. I turned so he could see the gun on my jacket holster and he stilled.

"It's so loud" She repeated. I looked at the guy, he was also concentrating.

"Maybe intentionally. Maybe he's trying to keep the thoughts of his cloudy. Here…" I said as I hit him forcefully in the gut. He yelled at me, Karen jumped.

"There was a place, I think that's where he was given his orders. I think…. a medical centre?" She said, squinting.

"Good, Karen you're doing good"

"I'm not done yet" She said, her tongue curling up her top lip as she continued to focus. "A lab. A Doctor…. Doctor Vance" She said, wincing in pain. A she said the name the guy began struggling more forcefully.

"Looks like you're getting somewhere" I smiled, she continued to surprise me.

"It's a big, fancy place. There's a crest on the gate"

"You can see pictures in his head?" I asked.

"I think so…. it's not clear so clear though…. Like a splodgy watercolour painting" She said. "I think it's a lion with….wings….riding a horse"

"Riding a horse?" I asked.

"Ah…. make that attacking a horse, not riding" She said, sheepishly. She stumbled backwards, almost falling.

"That's enough" I supported her until she was sat on a stool.

"It's not" She protested.

"Karen, that's enough. We have gotta be able to get something from what you've seen. A place and a name to investigate…. Isn't that what journalists do?" I said. She was catching her breath, gathering herself and nodding. My hand sat on her arm and I didn't give it a thought until her eyes widened. Outside I heard rustling and voices. They'd followed us somehow.

"We need to leave" I said, standing up and pulling my weapon out.

"Frank no!" She said as I pulled the trigger. It was a headshot, clean and finished. She stood.

"You know what Frank, you're an asshole. You didn't have to kill him"

"Is this all we do Karen? You tell me I shouldn't kill people and I do it anyway because it's who I am. It's getting annoying" I said. She threw her hands up in the air.

"Screw you" She said. I grabbed her arm and pulled her behind me. When we sprinted out of cabin I looked back to see men in distance. There were gunshots following us and I bounded after Karen who was already running toward the car. We managed to drive off, bullets bouncing off the back of the car.

"Damn, they must have been tracking him"

"He didn't have a phone" Karen said, she'd known because she'd searched him without me asking.

"These are guys that experiment on people, they probably have no problem putting a tracker in their workers" I said. Karen was quiet, thoughtfully. When I was sure we'd lost anyone who maybe following us, I headed north.

"That's not the way to the city"

"I'm not taking you back to your apartment right now, I feel better having you somewhere no one would think to look for you"

"We have to look up the Doctor"

"You need to rest first. What you did back there, took a lot out of you" I said. She frowned, she was pissed at me. I knew. There was one place I could take her that only I knew existed. It had most of my arsenal there which I knew wasn't the best follow up to what happened in the cabin but I needed her to somewhere safe for a while. Getting a gun restock wouldn't hurt either.