It was supposed to be a good evening. They had plans for god's sake. Victor took a day off, or rather a night off, they bought wine and cheese and put on The Untouchables, snuggling on a couch with an unspoken promise of the night turning out wild. It quickly did – they didn't make it half through the movie (but hey, it was a long movie, okay) before Vic was hovering over her, bordering her head with his freaking muscular arms, watching her with what only could be lust, embolden by alcohol. They never got to a single kiss. Sudden dark in front of her eyes and sting in her chest made her gasp, hands shooting to the source of her pain blindly.
Her vision slightly cleared, revealing Matt Murdock with his mouth open in a mute scream of terror, horrified unfocused eyes glaring right into hers, making his way to her. He didn't get far before someone grabbed him from behind; he made an incredible spin, kicking an old man in his face, falling to the ground in the process. Darkness danced on the edges of her vision again as her gaze slowly lowered, revealing something very sharp and very bloody sticking from her chest, her hands instinctively reaching for it, immediately colouring in crimson. When she looked up again, she saw Matt fighting – fighting like a freaking ninja, yet somehow weary, not being superior to the old-timer, turning his head to her every possible moment. The sting burnt more intense for few seconds and she fell to her knees, perspective changing. Matt was losing, letting his opponent clasp him in a bizarre vice, jerking violently with no effect. She tried to breathe in but she gaged, coughing, her chest squeezed in agony. She fell to her side, seeing Matt gradually limping, his attempts weakening with each try. Then it stopped completely. One beckoning from the older man and her body uselessly gasping for air was lifted, blue and crimson appearing in front of her eyes, cold biting her skin and she was lying again. Blurry figures raised their pray and headed to the window, leaving her behind.
"TERRI!" loud yell reached her ears and she gasped for air once more, pleasantly surprised she actually breathed in. She wasn't lying – she was sitting, bended forward, hand supporting her chest from the front, another gently placed on her back. She blinked furiously, realizing she was in her apartment. They had a date with Victor. Wine, cheese and movie.
What the hell?!
"Terri, can you hear me?" the voice demanded and she snapped her head to him, greeted by anxious expression. She took another breath in. What the hell just happened? And why there was a cold hand clenching her heart painfully, fear suffocating her from inside like a residue form her- what, a nightmare? No, it couldn't be. She fucking didn't fell asleep. A shiver ran down her spine. It wasn't a dream. It wasn't just a feeling or a hunch like she sometimes had – lately escalating into something else. It was a fucking vision. And what she saw was an image of horror.
She jerked to her feet, surprised by the world spinning around her wildly – strong arms caught her before she met the floor. She turned to face her saviour. "We gotta go," she blurted out, already freeing herself from his embrace, heading to her door, not giving a shit about her outfit, grabbing her handbag on the way.
It looked like Vera's apartment, right? The walls, the couch? And the simple fact Murdock was there, no matter what crazy shit was he doing, could only mean she was right.
Firm grip on her forearm stopped her search for the right shoes for running. "Terri, what the hell are you doing? Where are you going?" Vic demanded, startled, probably still taken aback by whatever was happening to her earlier. Yeah, tell me about it. I did not see that coming.
She had no time to explain. "I need to get to Vera's apartment. Fast."
He let her hand go, convinced by her hysterical voice. "Alright, alright. I'll take you there. Just calm down."
"I fucking can't!" she snapped at him and finally found her shoes, putting them on harshly.
Victor, bless him, didn't hesitate to take his car keys and wallet, following her example, running after her as she fled out of the door, taking two steps at time. Fuck, fuck, fuck. What did that even meant? Was it something what was about to happen? Something what was happening now? Or the worst possibility – something that already happened? She appeared on the street, slightly disoriented, looking for the right car.
"This way, Ter." He pulled her the right direction and she obeyed, grateful he didn't ask any questions. Not until they reached the car. "You know the road? Or give me the address-"
"I can navigate," she whispered, feeling weak in her knees, throat tight, the picture of bloody hands enclosing a freaking sword swimming in her mind. Breathe, Theresa. Breathe. You're no help if you pass out. Should she call an ambulance? She couldn't give them anything – breathing, conscious? Bleeding? Absolutely fine at the moment? Shit.
She didn't call. She was giving instructions to Vic, pretending she didn't notice his worried glares. He was an incredible human being. Anyone else would tell her to go screw herself or at least made her to sit tight, breathe and drink a glass of water. Not him. But to be fair, she once did call him like ten minutes after he got a glass bottle shattered against his shoulder to ask about his well-being – he needed several stitches back then.
He understood she got a feeling of something bad, he didn't question her and drove her to her desired location. Drunk. Once this would be over, she would kiss him senseless.
She jumped out of the car, running to the apartment building, pressing to Vera's bell. Once, twice. She tried for the third time and changed her tactics – she rung The Larkins instead. By the time a voice came from the speaker, Vic was behind her, car parked.
"Who is this?" a sleepy, but thank god positively female voice asked.
"Hey, Nina. It's Terri. Vera's friend. Rememb-" The buzzing opened the door for her before she could even finish. That woman was a treasure. Victor followed her as she sprinted to the first floor, raising her hand to knock on Nina's door. She was faster, already standing at her doorstep. She was wearing a hoodie and pants that was definitely a pyjama. She squinted at Terri, her eyes going wide as she saw her companion.
"Is he a cop?" she asked in panic, already turning around and reaching for some keys – to Vera's apartment, most likely. "Please tell me he's not a cop and you're not going to Vera's apartment because she disappeared again."
"Hey, Nina. He's not. I'm really sorry. Actually I got a very, very weird phone call and..." she was making this up as she went and had no idea what to say next. She could feel Vic's gaze burning through her – he knew there was no phone call. But what else was she supposed to say?
Nina slipped to her scuffs and walked with them. Terri was almost jumping as she wanted to run again. "I swear if there's another blood on the wall..." she muttered under her breath and Terri felt dizziness wrapping her mind like a blanket, the picture haunting her. She didn't think there was blood on a wall. But it might be on the floor.
Nina locked out the door and Terri stumbled in. The small lights were on. Was it a good sign or a bad sign? They were on when she saw what she saw. She passed to the living room, stopping dead in her tracks, breath knocked out of her chest.
Vera was there. Lying on the floor, curled in a loose ball, no top on. In a fucking puddle of blood. And she wasn't moving. At all. Terri gasped, reaching out to steady herself onto something, but there was nothing to hold on.
It was too late. She had the privilege to watch her best friend getting murdered, unable to do anything about it. She couldn't breathe- and she fucking didn't care.
"Jesus Christ." It wasn't Terri's voice, but she was glad someone said that out loud.
"Ter, call an ambulance," Victor ordered, appearing in her field of vision which was focused on the body on the floor. Why? What was the point? She was too slow. He rolled the body over on its back, bending her head backwards, ear on her mouth. Checking for breathing?
"Theresa!" he hissed and she obediently reached for her phone, dialling 911, watching the horror scene in front of her.
Nina joined Victor, pressing against Vera's wound – well, one side of it. Only against one end of the hole in her torso. Terri felt the wave of nausea rising in her stomach.
"What's your emergency?" the polite voice asked and Terri wanted to scream. My friend is dead, that's what! Victor said something to Nina and started pressing Vera's chest. Terri squeezed her eyes shut – vainly. The picture was burned to her retina.
"My... Theresa Gratton speaking. My friend, she's- she's been stabbed or something, in her chest. She's not... she's out and not-" Terri observed her boyfriend breathing to her best friend's mouth, bloody handkerchief in his palm as he had wiped the blood from her lips, then returning to the periodical compressions. "-not breathing. Bleeding a lot."
The woman probably tried to comfort her, but Terri couldn't understand a word she was saying, tears appearing in her eyes. Was it just her, or was the puddle growing with each compression? She mumbled the address dully, not sure the woman asked her to.
"Can you hear me? We already sent an ambulance. Is there someone else with you? Tell me if you're trying to help her somehow, please."
Terri did as the controller demanded and after few minutes that felt like eternity ran down the stairs, opening the door for the paramedics. The world became a blur, illuminated in orange and red lights, flickering, humming of shouting and sirens, chaos of arms and legs. She didn't register how she got to the hospital, but she was there, sitting on a squeaky chair, Nina at her side, Victor at the other. She leaned to his shoulder and he wrapped his arm around her, stroking her arms comfortingly. Terri didn't look at him. She watched the floor, people crossing it – slowly or in hurried pace, limping or riding in a wheelchair. It was a like a symphony of steps and squeaks.
Until one shoes stopped in front of her, surprised gasp sounding above her. She lifted her eyes with effort, feeling it was one of the hardest tasks in her life.
"Terri?" a woman addressed her and she blinked, focusing on the face. She knew her. They met before. And it was bloody too. Jesus, so much blood.
"Claire?" she breathed out weakly, not having the will to speak out loud. Or having strength to be surprised. She shouldn't be. Claire was a nurse after all.
"What are you doing here? What happened? Who are you waiting for?" she asked her kindly and Terri met the reality. So far muffled noise of hospital hit her ears, the unmistakable smell, the sharp lights, the chaos. A sob escaped her lips instead of an answer and she buried her face to Victor's chest. Wanna know what happened? Someone fucking run a sword through my best friend's chest.
Christ.
"We're waiting for Veronica Machackova. Any news on her?" It was Nina who spoke up. Terri sobbed again. Why the hell did she see her and why didn't she see her earlier? If she was a fucking psychic or whatever, her abilities sucked.
"Vera? Uhm... when did they brought her in? What was her injury? I can find out what her status is..."
"They brought her in about an hour ago. I think she went straight to surgery-"
"Holy shit, that was Vera they brought in?" Claire asked incredulously and then Terri couldn't hear her anymore and she didn't care.
What did she even see? Who was the old dude who somehow overpowered Murdock and what the fuck was that flip-kicking thing he did anyway? Was he secretly ninja or what? The moves were like from a freaking action mov- Terri snapped her eyes open as the realization struck her.
You gotta be fucking kidding me.
She would brush that ridiculous, bizarre thought aside if it wasn't making perfect sense and every cell in her body wasn't screaming at her that she was right. And oh my god, she was such an idiot. It was clear as day. Clearer even.
Terri couldn't believe herself. How could she not notice? Sometimes she just knew things only by looking at someone. Like when she met Vera for the first time and she knew she was going to be best friends with her. Examined her for few seconds and recognized the weird after-break-up state she was in. Or when she was on a first date with Victor and was sure of him becoming an important part of her life. She worked in a café for so long, saw so many faces, so many moods, so many strange and stereotypical characters. She learned how to read people. And she was getting these hunches lately.
But no. She couldn't realize Vera having a boyfriend while Terri was joking about her other boyfriend, the freaking Devil of Hell's Kitchen having a crush on her, was too much of a coincidence. And that she had feelings for him as well. Or that she fell in love with Murdock so fast. Of fucking course. They were the same person. How the hell she didn't notice? There were so many clues!
For one, Murdock was sometimes coming in with a split lip, a shadow of a bruise on his faice, sometimes even crouching and that was long before Vera showed up. That was one thing. But to be fair, he was blind, so he was entitled to walk into something from time to time. (And about the blindness, Terri was sure. Call it a hunch.)
Then there was the whole getting together with Vera thing. Vera met Matt for the first time in a café and he was leaving with a smile. Terri could only imagine whether he was smiling the same way when her brilliant friend tossed him a midnight snack while he was wearing a mask. A black mask covering his eyes, for god's sake. Stupid didn't cover Terri's state of mind. He couldn't be more obvious. Then Vera met Matt in Fogwell's, where he was coming after everyone got out. Sure. It would be hard to explain what he could do. Jesus. And then he saved her – or she saved him...? – during the robbery and few days after, she got kidnapped. And maybe there was a reason why Terri went to Matt Murdock at the time, she just didn't realize it. And oh my god, she actually said to the Devil of Hell's Kitchen Vera disappeared – judging by his expression, he hadn't known until then. He saved her. Terri wondered whether she played at least a small role in Vera's rescue. And whether the balloon in Vera's hospital room – the one she claimed she didn't know where came from – was from him. The great love story begun.
Then there was the transfusion thing. God, Terri was exhausted that night. And it fucking made so much more sense now – the fact Vera ran to save him, the fact he was so obviously into her, and Claire - Jesus, Claire knew – wanted them to talk, because she knew they were dating, because she knew Matt Murdock aka Mike was dating Vera. Guilt and hero complex. Be certain, Vera would totally fall for that guy. And she told Terri she loved Matt and of course she did – she had an undeniable crush on the vigilante and she was on a date (and holy shit, she probably already knew when she went out with him and that was the thing she was keeping from Terri!) with Matt, she practically had hots for two people and while having them for one.
And then of course, the rescue mission with the Avengers. Vera was freaking out for the Devil, because her actual boyfriend was missing and she had his fucking mask around her neck when she walked into the Avengers tower determined to do whatever it would take to help him. Terri would slap herself for not realizing it. Matt was on the photo Vera sent her and the Devil wasn't and Vera told her he was injured, lying in a different room and Terri was so distracted by the fact Vera took a selfie with the Avengers that she bought what she was selling and she ignored that she would swear she saw Matt wearing a black outfit on the photo for few seconds before she blinked and he was wearing a shirt as usual. Her psychic subconscious had been yelling at her for god knows how long – she graciously ignored it; even when he found her in the alley, asking her to spy on the freaky group of so called Devil Worshippers. He trusted her, not just because she helped the Devil before, not because she was a friend of a girl he was crushing at, but because he met her in her everyday life, went for double date with her, for god's sake, and he knew his girlfriend trusted her as well.
Apparently not enough to tell her she was in fact dating a blind ninja though. Jesus.
She fought the urge to slam her head against a wall. Dumb, dumb, dumb. She was so having a very long conversation with Vera about her life choices and self-preservation. And about the fact that a blind guy was ninjaing around. And they would, because Vera was going to be alright.
Terri snuggled closer to Victor, tears rolling down her face and soaking his t-shirt, accepting the comfort he was offering. God knew she needed a lot of comfort right now.
Claire didn't come back. But a doctor did – Terri had no idea how much time passed before he did. She vaguely remembered Nina bringing her and Victor coffee at some point. It tasted like crap.
"You're here for Veronica Machackova? Which one of you is Nina Larkin?" he eyed them suspiciously as Terri sat up straight and he settled at the most likely option – Nina herself. "You're her emergency contact. I can provide you information, but no one else."
Terri shot him a murderous look. "Look, doc-" Nina's hand on her forearm stopped her before she could chew him. Fucking idiot. Fucking-
"It's alright. They were both with me, trying to keep her alive. She's her best friend. Please. How is she?" Nina sounded calm, but her voice betrayed her and broke. She fixed it immediately.
The doctor sighed. Don't say it, don't say it- "She was lucky-" Terri released the breath she didn't realize she was holding, her world spinning. "Arriving few minutes later, she wouldn't make it. She's stable for now..."
Terri didn't listen further, even though the doc was talking and talking, sounding serious. She collapsed in Vic's arms, crying all over again, swallowing the giggles that were bubbling in her chest. Or was it sobs? Who cared. She sure didn't.
Apparently, they weren't allowed see her. Terri didn't give a shit. She knew her best friend was still living and that was enough for the moment. Vic drove Nina home and they headed back to Terri's apartment. They didn't talk much. They both needed time to process. But as they were falling asleep, he whispered doctor's words to her ear – uselessly, because they were already echoing in her head dully.
"Arriving few minutes later, she wouldn't make it, Ter. You saved her life, you know that, right?"
He didn't question how she did it. He didn't run away, screaming, neither he was afraid to touch her or disgusted. God, she loved him.
Her lips involuntarily formed an approximation of a smile. "So did you." She rolled over in his embrace, kissing him gratefully on his lips. "Thank you. For everything. I love you."
He kissed her back, smiling slightly by himself. "I love you too. Good night."
"Night."
-----Notes:
Maybe this chapter should be called Aka the F word, considering how often is in there.