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Karen was scared. She wanted to run, to go home and find somewhere safe. Somewhere away from the mess. She wanted someone to tell her it was okay. So she made the mistake of calling her dad. Deep down she knew, she knew he would turn her away again, but she wanted to believe that things were different.
They weren't. She asked if she could go home for a few days and he said no, not that she wasn't expecting it but it still hurt to hear. After hanging up she sat in her car and cried. Her heart hurt and she felt like she couldn't breathe. She always messed up, she tried her best and it always ended up the same, with someone dead. Kevin, Ben Urich, Daniel Fisher, Matt (Even though he's back now.) Father Lanthom, sometimes even James Wesley crosses her mind. She had hit an all time low. The only thing she had to compare the feeling to was when Kevin died. She wanted to give up, to let Fisk kill her and get it over with. What was the point in fighting if she just ended back up in the same place, scared and alone.
Eventually, she found the strength to get out of the car and dragged herself into her apartment. She was tempted to start the car up again and just drive, or go straight to Fisk, but she couldn't leave Matt and Foggy to deal with the fallout like that.
She sunk down into her sofa without bothering to turn the lights on or take her shoes off. She just sat, stared, and waited. For what she didn't know but she didn't have the energy to deal with reality, she wanted to just rest for a while. Karen was quickly reaching breaking point and she didn't know how much more she could handle. There was only so much a person could take, no matter how strong.
She wasn't sure how long she had been sat there, but after a while, she started to become aware of a tapping noise, then footsteps. She should have been scared, should have reacted and reached for her gun, but she didn't.
"Karen?" The voice asked quietly, worried. She knew that voice, her heart clenched. She hadn't seen or heard from him in months.
She didn't reply, but her shoulders dropped and a few more tears made their way down her cheeks. Her visitor hurried into her line of vision and tucked his gun away in his pants before kneeling down and looking over her, panicked eyes searching for injuries.
Frank. He looked good, no bruises, no blood, but he did have his hipster hair and beard back.
He grabbed hold of her arms then gently held her face in both hands as he looked her in the eye. Whatever he saw made him frown in concern and it could have been a trick of the light but his eyes seemed to become glassy as if filled with tears.
"Karen?" He asked again his voice shaky.
She still couldn't find her voice, she stared at him as more tears followed the others. She had to be imagining things. How was he here? The last time she had seen him was as he climbed his way out of an elevator shaft. She had wondered for days what had happened to him, even tried to track him down herself. Wondering turned into worrying and after a while, she tried to come to terms with the possibility that he was gone and she would never see him again. She let out a shaky breath as she reached out and gripped his arms.
He wiped away her tears with his thumbs and she closed her eyes. She felt like she was drowning and he was the only one stopping her from drifting. Her nails dug into the skin on his forearms and she was sure that it was going to leave a mark, but he didn't complain or make a sound he let her hold on to him.
"Karen, we gotta go," He said voice a little more stable. "Fisk knows where you are, he's sent Poindexter after you again. We need to go."
Karen flinched and looked up at him again, she knew Fisk wouldn't give up, but she didn't think he'd be after her again so soon. It's only been a few hours since the attack at the church.
"Why-" Bother. She whispered brokenly unable to finish what she was saying.
"Just go," She sighed trying to push him away. "You'll get hurt too. I'm not worth it. I don't want anyone else getting hurt because of me."
"Bullshit and you know it," He hissed shaking her slightly and holding her a little tighter. "No way in hell am I leaving you."
"Frank..."
"Don't," He snapped after he saw the exhaustion and the defeat in her eyes. "Don't you dare give up, Karen. I won't let you. So help me, I will toss you over my shoulder and carry you out if I have to."
He was mad. She'd never seen him look this mad before, not directed at her anyway.
"If I'm not allowed to give up, you can't either. I-I need you, okay?" He stressed. "I can't lose you too, so If not for you, then for me, yeah?"
He looked so scared. She'd never seen him look like that before, maybe for a few seconds when lewis had her in the kitchen of the Roosevelt a bomb at her back, but this was different. He pleaded with his eyes and his fingers twitched in her hair as he brought their foreheads together just like in the elevator all those months ago. She never wanted to hurt Frank or upset him. He's the only person she can rely on to be there to save her when she can't save herself. To tell her how it is, she trusts him with her life.
"For me, Please." He begged.
If anyone had told her a year ago that one day she would have the big bad Punisher begging on his knees she would have laughed in their faces, but now all it did was break her heart.
She nodded slowly and Frank let out a sigh of relief. "Okay."
"Then let's get out of here." He said while pulling her to her feet not giving her a chance to change her mind.
For him, she'd fight. She was exhausted and tired of running, of being chased but with him, she felt safe. She was scared but not of anyone coming after her, she was scared Frank would leave her too. He's stronger than most but he's not invincible.
He grabbed hold of her hand, fingers tangling with hers as he led her towards the door. She held on just as tight with both hands.