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It was a cold late winter evening in Hell’s Kitchen. It was just past six and starting to get dark. Karen was flitting about her kitchen making dinner for herself, Foggy and Matt for their weekly family dinner night that had become a good new habit upon renewing their work partnership and friendship after all that had happened.
Foggy busied himself on his laptop in the living room, claiming he was working but Karen was more likely to believe watching Netflix or playing games.
Karen checked the clock. “Foggy, you did tell Matt that we were meeting here this week instead of your place? Right?”
“Yes, I told him just like you did…twice,” Foggy deadpanned.
“Did you text him?” Karen asked again, letting the worry that was driving her in the kitchen slip through her voice.
“I did. He hasn’t responded,” Foggy called back. “He told me he was going to the gym. He does zone out a bit there. He probably hasn’t checked his phone.”
Karen sighed. “I had expected him to be here by now. What’s taking him so long?”
“Would you rather him be at the gym getting whatever pent-up rage was built up in him over the last few days or would you rather the alternative?” Foggy pointed out.
Karen paused. Both she and Foggy had noticed that Matt was a bit more on edge lately and doing his level best not to lose his temper. Both she and Foggy worried about him when he went Daredeviling, especially after all they had been through between Midland Circle, Fisk and then the Blip. It wasn’t long after the Blip that the three of them had sat down and really discussed Daredevil. Karen and Foggy both knew that Matt wouldn’t stop being Daredevil but they had begged him to be more careful. They made him agree to only go out when absolutely necessary and to tell them when he does and when he comes home, even if he just texts the devil emoji.
“You know what my answer is. Daredevil has saved both of us more times than I can count and I, along with many others, will always be eternally grateful to Matt for what he has done. To watch him in action is a magnificent site to behold,” Karen replied. “It’s just that we haven’t heard anything for hours and I don’t like seeing him come back bruised up, broken and covered in blood – either his or someone else’s.”
“We are just going to have to trust him this time and I know how that sounds when I say it,” Foggy sighs. “He hasn’t given us reason otherwise lately. He may not always be punctual, but he hasn’t let us down.”
It wasn’t long before there was a soft knock on the door. Foggy moved from the couch to get it but Karen intercepted him. She opened the door to reveal a slightly sweaty Matt with his gym bag in one hand and his folded-up cane in the other sporting a new split lip and bruised cheek. “Where the hell have you been?”
Matt held up his hands in defense as Karen lobbed her verbal assault on him. “I met a friend at the gym and we sparred and worked out for a bit and then Maggie called me to help with a situation at St. Agnes’ that couldn’t wait.”
“Where did the bruise and split lip come from?” Karen pointed out. “Did this friend do that to you?”
Matt licked the spot on his lip that was still bleeding slightly. “No, it wasn’t him. He pulls his punches when we spar. If he didn’t, I’d look a lot worse especially if I get nailed by his left,” Matt admitted. “This came from an angry fifteen year old with a wicked combo that I didn’t get the chance to duck from,” he sheepishly admitted. Matt slowly lowed his hands as he heard Karen’s heartbeat start to calm down, so he proceeded with caution. “Now, I literally just admitted that I slightly got my ass handed to me by a teenager, which is embarrassing enough, so does the prosecution rest so I can come in, put this stuff down, use the bathroom and hopefully get to eat whatever smells so good?”
Karen stepped back and opened the door more to let him in. “Yes, you get to come in. I’m sorry. I just got in my own head and I just took it out on you.”
Matt walked in and set his gym bag down by the door. “I still say…in a good way…you are scarier than anything I face around here.”
“And don’t either of you forget it,” Karen reminded both Matt and Foggy as she got a bottle of water and an ice pack out for Matt as he excused himself.
“I don’t remember you saying who you have been meeting at the gym,” Foggy called out. “I thought we weren’t keeping secrets.”
“It wasn’t my choice. It was his,” Matt called from the bathroom. “He tries to keep a low profile. You know him though. We worked on his federal pardon.”
Foggy nearly choked on his beer. “How did you meet up with Sergeant James Barnes again? I last saw him on TV with the new Captain America with that Flag Smasher GRC incident.”
“James Barnes? Like in the Winter Soldier?” Karen confirmed.
“He prefers Bucky,” Matt commented as he came out of the bathroom and thanked Karen for the water and the ice. He flopped down on one of Karen’s recliners tiredly, taking a long sip from the water and putting the ice on his face. “I ran into him one day a little while ago. He was coming out of an appointment with his therapist. He profusely thanked us for all our hard work on his pardon and offered to take me out to lunch to show his gratitude.
“He wasn’t that talkative when we first met him,” Foggy interrupted.
“He’s been working on that. There’s been a few visits to Sam Wilson’s family,” Matt added. “So, we got to talking and I found out that way back in the day he used to box. Claimed he had a pretty decent amateur record back in the day. I mentioned that I still go to the gym that my dad used to train in, he asked if I ever wanted a sparring partner. He said he gets pretty bored in between missions and wouldn’t mind doing something other than getting pissed off at the news on tv. It sounded appealing so we started meeting up. He’s worse than me in returning phone calls sometimes but he says he’s trying to fix that. I didn’t bring him up because unfortunately a lot of people automatically jump to the Winter Soldier versus knowing Bucky Barnes.”
“Now I know why you make sure you duck from his left,” Karen laughed. “Now, more about the bruise and split lip.”
Matt looked in Foggy’s direction. “A little help here?”
“Only if you don’t keep with the honesty, buddy,” Foggy laughed.
Matt sighed. “Maggie called me as Bucky and I were finishing up. You know that I have been visiting there and spending time with the kids…trying to help out. Some of the teenage boys have a lot of repressed anger, which I totally understand. Maggie found that some of them are more inclined to open up to me rather than some of the nuns. I get them to spar with me and usually when they are distracted, they start letting out what is bothering them. Sometimes, they just have a charge of gunpowder that needs to go off and fighting with me gives them an outlet. Other times, there’s bigger issues. Maggie had been making note of this one boy. He had words with someone at school and he was looking to escalate it. He was trying to sneak out and find this other kid. She had managed to stop him but now he was just simmering in her office. I go in and I didn’t anticipate him to start out swinging as soon as I open the door and he nailed me. He truly felt awful after that and filled me in why he was pissed off while he was apologizing.”
“Why was he so angry?” Karen asked as she set the beef stew she made on the table.
“He was scared,” Matt answered simply. “Being in the child services system isn’t kind to teenagers. There’s not a lot of hope. It’s very rare that a teenager gets adopted. Fostering is usually the closest they get and that is still a lucky few. You age out at eighteen and you are cast back into the world with a high school diploma if you are lucky and not much else. Someone decided to throw in his face that he was ‘unwanted’ and he rightfully got pissed off at them.”
“But what about you? You managed to get an Ivy League education,” Karen asked as she set the plates down.
“I’m the exception, not the rule. I busted my ass and worked at least three times harder than everyone else to earn the scholarships that I did to give me that opportunity. I was a whole lot different when I was a teenager. I didn’t exactly hold back my anger and got in a lot of fights. Father Lantom called me out on it quite a few times.”
“Okay, this may be out of left field but what did you do during the summers in college?” Karen asked.
“Father Lantom and Maggie let me come back to St. Agnes – at least during undergrad. That basement has been my room more than once.”
“And then?”
Matt pointed in Foggy’s general direction.
“He became an honorary Nelson. My parents practically adopted him. I think they were trying to find a way to legally do so,” Foggy laughed. “He became the favorite child among all of us. Seriously, if I go home without him I have major consequences to face.”
Matt shrugged as he sat down at the table and oriented himself. “I can’t help that they love me.”
“Is this one of your grandmother’s recipes?” Foggy asked as they were sitting down and started to serve himself and Matt.
Karen nodded. “Only the best. I have to take care of my boys, right?”
“Because I distinctly remember a lasagna that was off the charts that you had to promise to only serve to your future husband.”
“But you never told us which is the future husband and which is the best man,” Matt added with a smirk.
“Because one of us would obviously need to buy a ring.” Foggy paused. “Actually, I would have to pick out the ring no matter what because not like Matt can see it.”
“You’d be amazed how helpful saleswomen can be in jewelry stores.”
“Of course, you pull your handsome wounded duck act and they trip over themselves to see who can get to you first.”
“You said it. Not me,” Matt laughed. “I have been told I do look pretty awesome in a tuxedo.”
“There’s no way that you top all of this,” Foggy stated as he wildly gestured to himself. “So, which is it? Devilishly handsome or full of fun and more to love?”
Karen laughed as she shoved a piece of bread in both of their mouths to shut them up.
After the dishes had been placed in the dish washer, Karen watched as Foggy claimed the couch and started scrolling through her Netflix for a movie for them to watch and Matt was nearly dozing off in her recliner as his phone started going off in his gym bag.
“Karen, would you mind grabbing that for me? It’s Maggie,” Matt asked.
“No problem,” Karen replied as she rummaged through his gym bag to find his phone. “Hi Maggie,” she said warmly as she answered the phone so it didn’t go to voice mail.
“Karen? I thought I called Matthew.”
“Oh, you did. He just asked me to grab it for him since he has crashed in my recliner,” Karen laughed as she handed the phone to Matt.
“Twice in one day? This is unusual,” Matt commented as he took the phone.
“I found something after you left and I felt you needed to know right away,” Maggie replied with a sigh.
This got Matt’s attention as he straightened up in the chair. “What is it?”
“I have been trying to go through Father Lantom’s old files to clear out what was no longer necessary, and I found an unsealed envelope with your name on it. I opened in and found a contract and a key for a storage unit.”
“He’s been gone for some time now and this just came up now?” Matt questioned because something just didn’t sit right.
“With all that happened with everything there were other priorities, Matthew,” Maggie admonished him. “I’m bringing this up because the date on the contract is well over twenty years old. I called the office number and found out that the church has been paying the bill on it all these years”
Matt had to take a moment to push his anger back down. “You know how I feel about all of this. This is another of a long list of things that I should have been told sooner.”
“Had I known about this, I would have encouraged Paul to do so,” Maggie countered.
“Just like neither one of you cared to mention…”
“Matthew, I did not call to fight. I have apologized and I know I can’t make up for the past but I am trying to move forward.”
Matt sighed as he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose against the blooming headache. “I know. I’m sorry. There’s just still somethings that get to me a little.”
“This is why I am suggesting that we meet tomorrow at St. Agnes’ and go together to this storage unit and see what is in there. Does ten o’clock work?”
“I’ll be there.”
“I’ll see you then. Good night, Matthew.”
“Good night.”
Foggy was watching the whole exchange of the phone call on Matt’s face and saw his good mood go south really quick. He watched his best friend struggle to try to keep hold of his emotions after he hung up. “What can we do to help, buddy?” Foggy asked.
Matt let out a shuddering breath before turning his head in Foggy’s direction. “Come with me?”
“Matty, the only way we wouldn’t be there is if you asked us not to be,” Foggy confirmed.
The storage unit wasn’t far from the church. It was a large, enclosed building that was surprisingly climate controlled which help some hope for the condition of what was contained inside for more than twenty years.
“Which one is it?” Foggy asked as they entered the building.
“A126. It’s one the first floor on the corner according to the contract,” Maggie explained as she pressed the key into Matt’s hand.
It was a short walk to the unit, one of the smallest on the row. Foggy took Matt’s hand and placed it on the side. “Lock’s on the floor at your seven o’clock. It’s a padlock.”
“Thanks,” Matt replied as he slid his hand down the door frame to the lock, feeling with his fingers where the key slipped in. He turned the key and the lock popped open. He slid the lock out of the door and the door sprang open from the bottom and Matt was instantly hit with the smells of stale air and dust which were quite overwhelming. It took a moment for him to refocus through the sensory assault he just received. As he pushed the door up more and got past the stale air, Matt caught the familiar but almost forgotten scent of the apartment that he and his father used to live in. “Oh my God,” he whispered as his breath caught in his throat. “I thought all of this was lost. How could you not have known of this?” he asked Maggie desperately.
Maggie stared at the boxes and few pieces of furniture in front of her and she was quickly thrown back thirty years into the past when she left her husband and infant son in a state of despair. “I was told they took care of the apartment after you were brought to St. Agnes but I wasn’t told what had been done with everything,” she replied shakily.
Matt tried to get all the overwhelming emotions and sensations he was getting under control. “Foggy? Can you give me a lay out of what I’m looking at here?”
“Sure buddy. You’re not picking it up?”
Matt shook his head. “You know very well if I focus I can get silhouettes of things but everything is so close together that it is one big blur and everything is a little overwhelming at the moment.”
“Matty, don’t worry. I’ve got you,” Foggy agreed as he came up next to Matt. “Staring from the left here, we have a bunch of boxes labelled linens, dishes and drinkware, books, clothes…” Foggy paused for a moment, feeling the heaviness of what they were seeing. “Clothes, photos and toys. Moving right, there’s a TV, a bookshelf, a table with two chairs, some small kitchen appliances and another box with pots and pans. At the far right wall, we have an armchair, a couch, and a bedframe and mattress.”
Matt moved closer to the boxes, his fingers feeling along the tops as if he was searching for something. It didn’t take him long before he found what he was searching for – a well worn leather jacket. Matt picked it up and nearly hugged it and it undid whatever control he had on his emotions. “It’s still smells like him,” he sobbed before staggering backwards and falling to the ground.
Foggy and Karen were just about to go to Matt’s side when Maggie beat them to it. She knelt down next to him and gathered her distraught son in a tight hug. “I’m sorry, Matty,” she whispered, leaning her head against his.
“T-that’s t-he f-irst time you have ever called me Matty,” Matt stated, his voice breaking with the tears that were coming harder. “I miss him.”
Maggie’s hard shell was quickly cracking as tears welled up in her eyes. “I miss him too. Everyday.”
“Then why didn’t you come back?” Matt asked sadly, lifting his head and trying to focus his gaze in his mother’s direction. “All I ever needed was you. I didn’t need Sister Maggie. I needed Maggie Murdock. I needed my mother. I know you still loved Dad. Was I that horrible?”
Maggie’s heart broke at the tears streaming down Matt’s face as she pulled him close to hug him again. “It was never you, Matty. I was afraid and confused and I ran away from the two best gifts that I ever had in my life. I am sorry for that and I ask your father’s forgiveness every day in prayer and yours.”
Matt’s voice was lost at that moment as he sobbed in his mother’s embrace. He was able to return her hug a little tighter to let her know that he heard her and had forgiven her already.
It took a little while for Matt to calm down but Maggie did not let go this time. Once he had regained some control of his emotions, Maggie, Foggy and Karen helped him up off the ground and got him up to where he could sit on the couch. “Does anyone have a bottle of water or something to drink?” he asked quietly as Maggie sat down next to him, still rubbing his back in gentle circles.
“I’ll go grab a few. There’s a store just around the corner,” Karen said as she excused herself.
“What can I do to help? Tell me what you need,” Foggy asked.
“I don’t know, Foggy. I don’t know where to start,” Matt sighed.
“How about this? We grab a few things that you want to take today and plan out what to do with the rest later. Then we’ll go get something to eat. We’ll go to that diner you like. How’s that sound?” Thank you Foggy for having a clear head and a plan right now.
“Sounds like a good idea,” Matt agreed as he took one of the bottles of water from Karen and downed it quickly. He slipped his arms in the sleeves of the leather jacket and pulled it on, almost a little surprised at how well it fit him. “Can you find two things? A large Irish flag – actually two of them and a kangaroo.”
Foggy found the flags easily but turned towards Matt when he said a kangaroo. “What kind of kangaroo are we talking about?”
“A stuffed one,” Matt elaborated. “About this big,” he added holding his hands a little more than a foot apart. “With boxing gloves.”
Maggie smiled. “I remember that kangaroo. It was a gift from everyone at Fogwell’s when we brought Matty home from the hospital. He was so tiny next to it. I have no idea where they managed to find a boxing kangaroo. Jack loved it.”
“Did it have a name?” Karen asked curiously as she looked through one of the toy boxes.
Matt smiled but didn’t answer right away. This was a small part of his childhood that he hadn’t shared with anyone, not even Foggy. “Rocky,” Matt said softly. “Rocky the roo.”
“You know how much that doesn’t surprise me, Matt?” Foggy laughed.
Matt shrugged. “I’m the son of a boxer. I can probably recite every ‘Rocky’ movie word for word. I probably know it better than Stallone does by now.”
“What would it take to get your best ‘Yo Adrian’?” Karen laughed as she reached into a box of toys.
“Nothing on Earth could get me to do that,” Matt quickly affirmed.
Foggy laughed. “Don’t know about that, Matty. Get a few in ya and it might be a different story.”
“No. Just…no.”
“Jack liked to quote ‘Rocky’, even when he proposed,” Maggie added. “He even did it at the zoo.”
“That’s sweet,” Karen sighed as she felt something fuzzy. She pulled up a brown, love-worn, slightly floppy kangaroo. “And so is this. Matt, this is adorable.”
Matt’s cheeks flushed pink as he took the stuffed animal from Karen. “And no one hears another word about this.”
“Not one,” Karen said smiling. “We’re just going to discuss where our new office mascot is going to live over lunch.”
After lunch, Karen went with Maggie back to St. Agnes’ while Matt and Foggy headed home. Matt was quiet as they made the six flight climb up the apartment. Foggy didn’t push him this time, knowing full well how much was going through his best friend’s mind. Matt opened the door and left his glasses and folded up cane on the side table as he walked in while Foggy closed the door behind them.
“Have you thought about what you want to do with all of it?” Foggy asked as he sat down on the couch.
“I want to keep what I can. I just don’t know how yet,” Matt answered from behind the fridge door as he grabbed a bottle of water. “I’m just going to lay down for a bit. Hopefully my headache will go away.”
Foggy could easily see how much today took a toll on Matt as he walked past him towards his bedroom. “You need anything, buddy?”
Matt smiled as he shook his head. “You’ve already given me what I need. I just need to zone out for a bit. Thank you, Foggy.”
“Anytime Matty. I’ll keep it down out here for you,” Foggy replied as Matt disappeared into his room and Foggy set himself up with his earbuds, laptop and Netflix. It wasn’t long before he dozed off as well.
A few hours later, Foggy was awakened by his phone going off. “Hey Karen.”
“How’s Matt doing?” Karen asked.
Foggy sighed. “He’s definitely been worse but he’s been better. It was a lot for him today. He’s taking a nap right now, trying to sleep off the headache he had when we got home. How’s Maggie?”
“About the same as Matt. I don’t think she expected this to hit her as hard as it did. She was saying that she never stopped loving Jack, even now. But being thrown back thirty years so suddenly was a lot. Anyway, has he decided what he wants to do with everything?”
“He wants to keep what he can, but he doesn’t know where to start.”
“How about this? I’ll come over. Operation Snuggle Matt in full effect. We’ll do movie and game night with some good take out to take his mind off of the overwhelming part and maybe inspiration will strike,” Karen suggested.
“What would we do without you?”
“You two would be utterly lost without me. I don’t know how you both survived law school.”
“Objection. I‘ll have you know that we work better together than apart. We kept each other alive and managed to graduate with honors.”
“But I help when both of you get your heads stuck up your ass. I’ll see you in a bit Foggy.”
The apartment was still quiet when Karen arrived about an hour later. Foggy was playing on his phone while stretched out on the couch.
“Is Matt still asleep?” she whispered as she put the drinks she brought in the refrigerator and set the games on the table.
Foggy nodded. “Last I checked he had the blankets pulled over his head but he was definitely still out. I haven’t even heard him move.
“Then it’s a good thing that I brought reinforcements,” Karen said smiling as she pulled a tin from her bag and opened it just enough for Foggy to get a small sniff of what was inside.
“Do I detect triple chocolate brownies in there? You know you just broke the seal, right? He’s going to pick them up with his super senses.”
“Imagine if I had time for the gingerbread cookies that I know he loves.”
“I probably would have known by the time you were on the third floor,” Matt interjected as he was coming out of his room, yawning and rubbing his eyes. “Do I smell brownies?”
Karen opened the tin again and pulled out a small one. “Open up and you tell me,”she instructed as she put the bite size brownie in his mouth and pulled him into a hug. “How are you feeling?” Karen asked as she ran her fingers through his hair gently.
Matt melted into the hug as any remaining tension left him. “Better.”
Foggy came up next to Matt and Karen and bear hugged both of them. “Good. Because we need ideas of which take out cuisine goes best with our movies of the evening.”
“That depends entirely on the movie,” Matt laughed. “What are we considering?”
“I am glad you asked that, Mr. Murdock,” Foggy said with over exaggerated flair. “First, escapes to the lands of dreams in the forms of ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and ‘Hook.’ Second, sports comedies like ‘Major League,’ ‘The Replacements,’ and the fine works of Adam Sandler. Third, the fine animated classics of ‘Shrek’ and ‘How to Train Your Dragon.’”
Matt paused for a moment, almost like he does before addressing a jury. “Well, you pose interesting suggestions, Mr. Nelson. If we are going to faraway lands, then the cuisine of the far East is most suitable. If fictional stadiums be our final destination, pub food would be best. If we dare to tangle with ogres like onions and a fish loving dragon, pizza seems best.”
“And has the jury reached a verdict?” Foggy asked as he was pulling out Matt’s take out menus.
“I believe it has, your Honor,” Matt laughed. “I know I’m feeling sports movies.”
“Then wings, nachos and deep fried yumminess it is!” Foggy declared as he called in the delivery order.
Karen called Matt back over to the couch as Foggy started hunting down their movie selections. “Have you thought about what you wanted to do with everything?” she asked almost cautiously.
“I told Foggy that I want to keep what I can but I don’t know where to start with all of it.”
“May we provide some ideas?” Karen asked, taking his hand in hers.
Matt nodded. “I’m open to ideas.”
“The space over by the roof access would probably be a great place for the couch and chair as well as the some of the boxing gear that was in there,” Foggy suggested. “Definite man-cave potential.”
“The couch is a pull out sleeper…a small one. It used to be my bed. We may need some help getting it up here,” Matt commented.
“I believe you mentioned knowing a certain former assassin now partner to Captain America who happens to be a super soldier,” Foggy replied, really not looking forward to hauling another couch up six flights.
Matt laughed. “I’ll ask him if he’s available.”
“Many of the photos were in frames. We can put them up for you,” Karen suggested.
Matt’s smile faded a bit. “It’s not like I can see them now,” he said sadly.
“We can make Braille labels for the frames and you can tell us about them,” Foggy added. “I know I want to hear more stories about your dad.”
“I can do that,” Matt said quietly, trying to rein in some of his emotions.
“No matter what you want to do, Foggy and I will be there to help. You say when and we will be there.”
“I really appreciate this. I know I don’t say this enough but I don’t know where I’d be without both of you,” Matt said sincerely.
“Bored and lonely,” Foggy said as he wrapped an arm around Matt’s shoulders and squeezed while handing him the remote. “Now, will you do the honors and start our entertainment?”
The next morning, a text message was left on Foggy’s and Karen’s phones when they woke up.
‘Bagels on counter. Went to early Mass. Meet me after lunch at storage.’