Chapter Text
Frank's phone beeped on the desk across the room… a very particular beep that could only mean one thing… one person. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his heart that was suddenly racing, and let it out shakily. It'd been a while, and he felt a nervous energy suddenly coursing through him. "Jesus," he muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes at the way his own body betrayed him in the moment.
He knocked back the last of the coffee he held and set the mug on the counter, a little harder than he meant to. Steady, Castle.
He picked up the phone.
One new text message. Sender: Her.
Karen. The only woman in his life these days. No confusion about which her it could be. He opened the message.
Call me, please.
His heart skipped a beat, just one, then it was back to its previous state… the one he thought of as keyed up. There was no hesitation. He called her right back.
"Hey, Frank," she answered halfway through the first ring. She sounded out of breath.
"Karen. Y'alright?" he clenched the hand that wasn't holding the phone, waiting for her response.
"I am, yeah. Listen… I'm driving to the airport. There's a flight in ninety-minutes I think I can just make. I-" she cut herself off, hesitating.
"You in trouble?" he asked, feeling an itch in his nerves at the thought.
"It's Matt."
Frank closed his eyes and took a deep breath in through his nose. Of course it was. The only times she ever called anymore were to ask him to check on Red.
"Karen, I-"
"It's Poindexter," she interrupted. "He escaped. Killed a doctor and a few guards. It's-" she stumbled, a shaky breath escaping as she tried to hold back her emotions. When she spoke again, her voice wasn't much more than a whisper he had to strain to hear. "He went for Fisk, but he got Matt instead."
"Jesus Christ," Frank bowed his head, mind jumping from one scenario to the next. He tried, but couldn't seem to make sense of Fisk and Red being in the same room together. How bad was it? He must've survived or she'd be inconsolable. "Karen, what do you need? What are you asking here?"
"I heard from Kirsten. There's a lot I don't know. She wasn't there, it was all second and third hand. Matt-" she stopped, and Castle could picture her biting her lip to hold back tears. "He stepped in front of Fisk. He… everyone said it must have been chance that Matt got in between Fisk and Poindexter, but-"
"No way he did that on accident," Frank finished her sentence. "Goddammit, Red. Why?" he said, more to himself than to her. He shook his head again, contemplating what he knew would come next. "And what does any of this have to do with me?" he asked, more than a little bitterness seeping out with the question.
He heard Karen's shaky intake of breath. "He's at Metro General. He's gonna be fine, but Frank, this is… This didn't happen by accident. I just know... he's gonna do something stupid. He's gonna get himself killed, and I can't-" she stopped speaking. Almost a minute went by before she said, "I can't lose him. Please… I know you care."
"About him? Shit, Karen. Not enough to get between him and that psycho."
"About me, Frank. I know you care about me, and I am asking… please. Please find him. Please keep him safe until I can get there."
Frank knew he'd do it. She could have asked anything of him and he'd have said yes.
He knew it. She knew it.
"Alright," he nodded once to the empty room. "Yeah… alright. I can do that for you."
Her relieved sigh on the other end of the line hurt, but he'd never admit that to anyone… let alone to himself.
After a few long moments of silence he asked, "Where will I find him?"
"At home. I'd bet everything I own he checks himself out of the hospital the minute he can stand. He'll go home. I'm sure of that."
Frank took the briefest moment to get into his head. She was right… Murdock would almost certainly do that, and of course, she knew him better than anyone...
"You know the address?" she asked, interrupting his thoughts.
"I know it."
There were a few more beats of silence, and then Frank could hear sirens on Karen's end of the line. He was about to ask, when she said, "I gotta go. There's an accident up ahead - traffic. I'll call you when I land."
He sighed, deeper than he meant to - she probably heard it. "When you land," he agreed, and then she was gone.
"Goddammit, Red," he muttered again, rubbing his face with his free hand. The feel of his beard under his fingers sent his mind down a different path, no longer dwelling on Matt Murdock and his inability to keep his shit together.
Frank stalked towards his small bathroom and stripped his shirt off, reaching for his electric trimmer. He looked at himself in the small mirror, really looked, for the first time in ages… and then he turned it on and went to work.