Two chapters in one night. Seeeeeee I've been a busy girl. Between farming, schooling, working and trying to get a healthy enough sleep while balancing my house chores and getting used to married life and having like three other big ass problems going on, I think I'm doin' pretty good lmao

And all night, I'm pretty sure, it did take. My phone buzzed in my back pocket a couple times – texts and ringing – but I was so engrossed in all the fuckin' shit that Frankie's been up to that I barely even felt it. After what felt like hours, Foggy stood up and slapped his manilla folder of choice back on the paper-covered tabletop, "It's worse than I thought."

I leaned back and pinched the bridge of my nose, "Fuckin' tell me about it." family gunned down on the day he gets back home because of a gang war. Shot in the fuckin' head. Four tours in the Marines and then the government basically fucks him over. Been there, done that. I hate the government, "Thirty-seven separate murder charges. Guy's a piece of work."

A good-natured, sweet-hearted piece of good-lookin' work that's been looking out for me and everyone else in Hell's Kitchen, who's been wronged by too many people and who's never given any slack.

At least I knew why Frankie went after all them gangs I could never get my paws on, "What about you, lady?" Foggy and I watched Karen, looking disparaged at her haphazard pile of information.

"Uh... ninety-eight lesser... felony assault–"

The gangs.

"--burglary–"

Busting into my house through the fire escape? Probably the gangs, too. Who knows what else, he won't tell me much.

"--criminal possession of a weapon–"

"I sell 'em." bull-fuckin'-shit he sells 'em. Jus' takin' advantage of my blind stupidity not knowing he's a wanted criminal. Asshole...

"--reckless endangerment–"

Hospital. Grotto. Had to be the major one. Dumb bastard, but I know why he did it, now.

Every time I closed my eyes I was imagining a montage of the horror that is Frank Castle's life. Jesus fuckin' Christ.

"--any number of criminal mischief charges." she finished off her bullet-point checklist with a sigh that felt as heavy as my heart.

So, TL;DR: Frankie's in deep trouble, "We're screwed," I lamented, "Y'all ready to go talk to him?"

"No." they both agreed, moving to stand up, "But considering the arraignment is in a couple hours, we don't have a choice," Foggy finished.

"I'll lead the way?" I offered it softly, questioning. I was indeed not the lead person here; Foggy is. He's the practicing attorney on the case, I'm just the added muscle and Karen's... here for moral support? They nodded at my suggestion and I did exactly that; I stood up, straightened my spine, and did my best to march my ass towards Frank's room.

But, the closer I got, the slower I moved, and soon Foggy was passing me with a silent, comforting hand on the small of my back. Karen, too, so I was the last one in the room after them, gently closing the door behind us. I took my sweet time turning around from the door, too, making sure my gnarly curtain of tangled hair was doing its best to shield my face.

Eventually, I bit the bullet and spun to the room, doing my best to keep my face blank when meeting Frank's eye. He scoffed, "Awe, shit. I'm in trouble."

"Yeah, Mr. Castle," I told him, trying to keep to professional formalities. I tucked my binder under my elbow and white-knuckled my staff, "You could say that."

"You didn't tell me you were workin' for these clowns, Kid."

"You never fucking asked," I seethed at him, my feet swiftly moving me to the edge of the red tape, "Watch your language when speaking about my practicing attorneys, Frank."

He broke into a laugh, and Karen's mouth closed itself to find words, "You know each other? That's bad, Foggy, that's really bad," she looked at Foggy, "You can't allow her to work on this case anymore, Foggy, I don't think that'd be a good idea–"

Foggy shook his head, "We need her, conflict or not."

Karen opened her mouth again but I rounded on her, "You don't have any foot to stand on, talking about conflict of interest, Page. I like you, I really do, but I am legally licensed to be present for any and all case happenings that the firm I'm employed at is involved in for any cases that I am involved in. You are a reporter that this firm picked up on a murder charge they represented you for and just allowed you to stick around as a glorified secretary because Matthew has a soft spot for strays.

"You," I continued, starting to feel bad about cornering her like this, "Are not a licensed legal assistant or law-practicing person of any sort and one call–" I turned back on Foggy, softening my posture by a good bit, "--can have your entire firm shut down because the whole place is knowingly breaking New York Code of Ethics, and ergo the law, by letting an unlicensed person look over case files and be involved in the case process when they have no legal right to do so.

"So," I turned back to Karen, not quite caring any more that I sounded like a total bitch at this point, "You can either – and I mean this as politely as possible – shut the fuck up about any conflict of interest I might have involving Frank Castle, or I can pick up my cell right now and have myself, Matt and Foggy disbarred and you probably arrested. Don't act like I won't either, Karen. I love having a legal license and I love my work but if anyone tries to stand in the way of what I need to do to do my job that this firm hired me for then my own license be damned. I can get another line of work in a fuckin' heartbeat. I'll get another investigator license in another state and practice in another state; disbarment in one doesn't mean disbarment in fifty. Are we clear?"

Karen's mouth opened and closed for a couple seconds like a fish out of water, and she swallowed heavily, "Uh... yeah. Crystal clear."

I sighed heavily, "Thank you," I smiled, turning back to Foggy, "Sorry for turning into a bitch just now. Continue with your case, Mr. Nelson."

"Damn, Kid," Frank chuckled quietly, "Remind me not to get on your bad side."

I was fighting a smile. I couldn't fuckin' help it when Frank spoke to me, but I bit into my lip and hardened my glare, "Quiet, Castle."

Foggy looked even more uncomfortable than he did before we came in here. I feel bad, I really do, and I'm not even sure where that outburst just came from. Foggy cleared his throat and looked at the paperwork in his hands, "Uh... I've reviewed the charges you're facing," he stepped up to where I was toeing the line at the foot of Frank's bed. I backed to the other end of the room to give Foggy more space to breathe, "It's my understanding that... you wish to plead guilty to all of them?"

What?! No! Frankie?! My eyebrows scrunched together, eyes flitting between the three other people in this dim-ass room while I waited for Frankie's grumbly baritone to clear up my confusion and say No. Karen waited in her chair with a pen and her paperwork – that's where I was in back, with a pen and my binder. Foggy made a noise, "I'm... going to need a verbal confirmation, Mr. Castle, if we're to continue." still nothing from Frankie, where he was sitting and staring at Karen, of all people? Do they know each other? Gonna look into that... Foggy made another noise, caught halfway between a chuckle and a groan, "You asked us to represent you, we can't do our–"

"I'm guilty."

There it is. I scribbled that confession in the margin of the case file I had on the top of my binder. Foggy stammered, "Great, um..."

"I'm not talkin' to you."

Still making eyes at Karen. The least licensed person to be in this room right now. I grit my teeth and scribbled more notes down, which really just ended up being me scribbling the word guilty so many times on my case file that my pen was pressing through the paper and ripping holes.

I need a vacation.

"I need to talk to her alone."

"Miss Hall?" Foggy asked.

"Foggy, does it look like Castle is looking anywhere near me?" I spit, slapping my binder shut. I gently grabbed Foggy's bicep, "C'mon. Karen needs to talk to him alone."

Once out in the hall, Foggy turned to me, "Please don't get me disbarred."

"I was bluffing, I would never," I reassured him, dropping my voice to a quiet whisper so none of the cops out here could hear me, "I'd just kill Karen."

"What?" his eyes bugged, "Please don't!"

"That was a bluff, too," I pressed my back to the wall, "Kind of."

"Kind of?" he pressed to the wall beside me, too, and slid down to sit on the floor.

I mirrored him, laying my bamboo over our legs like a seatbelt, "Kind of, Foggy. She's really starting to piss me off."

"What's going on between you and Castle?" he whispered.

I snorted, "Nothing, apparently." I'm not saying there was something going on, but I did make the mistake of getting a bit too attached to the boy. That was a bad move, apparently, because there's always someone better.

(Cue the eye roll)

"Let's head down to the shitty hospital cafeteria," I groaned like I was dying, trying to get my ass back up to my own two feet – fuckin' knee, "I'll explain a bit more over some nasty vending machine foods. Gotta promise not to tell anyone, though, Foggy. Not even Matt." No, I can't remember if Matt knows I've been harboring a hardcore criminal in my apartment. Let's just assume he doesn't.

"Vending machine?" I pulled him to his feet, and he looked at me weird, "You said cafeteria. And I promise, I won't tell anyone."

"Thank you. And, Foggy–" I tugged him closer by the wrist I was holding and laughed, "It's two-thirty in the morning. You really think the kitchens are open?"