Author's note: Not beta'd, therefore all grammatical and spelling errors are mine alone.

"Okay," the nurse said pressing the heels of her hands to her eyes, "So basically what you're saying is you don't know."

Foggy nodded, "Well, when you put it like that…"

Claire pressed harder against her eyes.

Foggy shifted from one foot to another and gestured, "I mean this wasn't the first time we got into it about his…extracurricular activities."

Claire nodded with her eyes still covered. She sighed and dropped her hands from her face. She pulled the small backpack higher onto her shoulder.

"Listen, I'll let you know if I hear from him," she said.

She squinted at the rapidly lightening sky, "But you know him better than I do."

Foggy eyed her and said, "I don't know about that."

When she looked back at him with raised eyebrows, he continued, "But yeah, once he's determined to do something, he'll do it regardless of the consequences to himself."

Claire gave a shrug with her hands out palms facing up.

"Yeah, I knew it was a long shot," Foggy said, "I just thought the more eyes looking out for him…"

"Yeah, yeah, I understand," Claire said.

Foggy ran a hand through his disheveled hair, "Well, I'll let you get home."

Claire gave him a small smile, "Take care of yourself."

Claire let out a breath when she finally reached her apartment door. She was digging around in her backpack looking for her keys and had just closed her fingers on them when she heard a muffled thud come from within the apartment. She froze then cocked her head listening to another sound. When she heard none, she considered pulling out her mace to have in hand as she entered the apartment. However, Claire didn't feel confident that she would be able to unlock the door and accurately use the mace with her non-dominant hand. She nibbled her lip and pulled out the keys then zipped the backpack shut. She pulled the backpack onto her shoulders.

As Claire unlocked the apartment door, her heart was thudding in her chest. When the deadbolt clicked open, she quickly pulled the key from the lock. She moved one of the keys between her index and middle fingers as well as another between her middle finger and ring fingers, clutching the bulk of the rest of the key chain. A defensive move Matt had demonstrated and called a 'prying key.' She grasped the doorknob with her free hand and pushed the door open.

The living room was dark save for a few beams of sunlight between the slates of the blinds. She slipped into the apartment and softly closed the door behind her. She pressed her body against the wall and slid the couple of feet to the right to the light switch. Claire reached and ran her free hand along the wall until she found the switch and flicked it on. She narrowed her eyes against the light as the two standing lamps in the corners of the room lit up.

Claire's eyes quickly darted around looking for anything out of the ordinary. When she saw no immediate danger, she inched forward towards the small kitchenette. She then heard a loud groan in the small hallway where her bedroom was located. She froze the bolted to the kitchenette. She slipped off her backpack, keeping the entrance of the room in her peripheral view. She grabbed a large knife from a drawer and sat her keys onto the counter. A feeble groan rung through the small apartment.

Taking a deep breath, Claire soundlessly crept towards the hallway. When she reached the end of the wall where the entrance of the hall began, she licked her lips then slowly peered around the corner. In the poorly illuminated hall, she saw a large black lump on the floor and her heart jumped into her throat.

Generally, Claire Temple wasn't easy to scare nor easily stressed. She adapted well, even thrived in fast-paced and challenging situations. She was able to think on her feet, she could roll with the punches. Hence, her employment as a nurse in the emergency department of Metro-General Hospital.

To keep from being constantly on edge either due to her job, her relationship with the devil of Hell's Kitchen, or anything else, Claire liked to do many things to unwind. Sometimes she would light some unscented candles, because there was a time and place for scented candles, and run a nice hot bath. Sometimes it was a bubble bath but more often than not it was just a regular bath. During this time, she would either read a trashy romance novel or relax with a warm, damp rag over her face. Occasionally, this soothing experience was accompanied by music. She made a point of doing yoga most days when she woke up for the day after a shift. She also occasionally meditated if life had been particularly testing her.

As the lump rolled and Claire let out a curse under her breath. She swiftly moved down the hall, kneeled beside the lump, and placed the knife on the floor beside her. She pulled up the black cloth mask revealing the face of Daredevil, aka Matthew Murdock. It looked like bubble baths and meditation were on her schedule for the next few days.

After quickly examining the man, Claire had managed to get a semi-conscious Matt to the couch. She had patched him up to the best of her ability, during which the man had gone completely unconscious, then contacted Foggy. She assured him that his "thick-headed friend" was fine and she would have the vigilante contact him as soon as he was able to. After the adrenaline of possibly having an intruder then finding Matt in her hallway beaten and battered, she had felt her irritation begin to rise. Irritation had escalated to anger and she spent some time sitting in a nearby chair glaring at the prone figure on her couch. She was running through all the things she planned on saying to him. She had every intention to go off once he woke up. As the hours ticked away with Matt remaining unconscious, she felt her anger dwindle back down to irritation.

The nurse now sat in a nearby chair sipping her fourth cup of coffee and reading one of her romance novels as she waited for the masked vigilante to wake up. A small groan came from the couch and she looked up to see a half-naked Matt shoving the thin blanket off to the floor. Claire sat her book down on the side table and exclaimed, "He awakens!"

Matt pulled himself into a sitting position and turned to face the sound of her voice. He frowned pressing a hand to his bruised jaw and replied, "Claire?"

Claire pushed herself out of the chair and walked over to the man. She stood in front of him with her arms crossed.

"Well?" the nurse asked.

Matt leaned back against the couch wincing and said nothing.

"Do you feel accomplished now?" Claire said.

Matt pressed his lips together then spoke, "I don't know what you want me to say. It needed to be done."

"That's it? It needed to be done?" she asked indignantly.

"That's all you have to say for scaring the shit out of me?" she asked.

"And keeping me from sleeping all morning? I work again tonight, Matt," the nurse said getting increasingly angry.

Matt remained silent and leaned his head against the back of the couch.

"And once again you're bleeding on my-" she continued when Matt cut her off by lifting his head and struggling to rise to his feet.

Exasperated, Claire asked "What do you think you're doing?"

"Leaving. You're mad at me and I don't want to do this right now…" Matt said.

Claire put her hands on his shoulders and not too gently pushed him back down saying, "Too bad."

Once he was sitting again, Claire ran a hand through her hair.

"Yes, I'm mad at you," Claire said, "In fact, livid is probably closer to what I'm feeling right now."

"Claire-" Matt started.

"I'm mad that not only did you scare me and bleed on my couch," she interrupted him, "But also because of your continued lack of self-regard."

Matt was silent.

"People worry about you, Matt. People care about you," Claire said.

"You understand that, right?" she asked.

When he didn't answer, she kneeled and gently cupped his face, "Right?"

"I-"Matt started.

"Eventually, I'm gonna get that through your thick skull," Claire stated interrupting him.

"Now lay back down," she said.

"I'll go grab you some water and something for the pain you're undoubtedly feeling," she continued.

"And just FYI," the nurse said standing up.

"Te amo, Dumbdevil," Claire said, expressing the extent of her affection for the vigilante for the first time.

Matt smiled in her direction. As she turned to leave the room, he replied, "Te amo, uh…"

"Too?" he said hesitantly.

Turning back to face him, Claire gave a surprised laugh and said, "Close enough."

She turned and left the room smiling.