Matt woke up feeling... off. He turned his head toward Karen, and made sure that she was alright. She seemed fine; sleeping with the occasional snore. But something was different. Her temperature was normal, and she wasn’t having a nightmare... But something still didn’t feel right. He couldn't put his finger on it.
Karen woke up to him sitting up and staring at her, with the biggest smile she'd ever seen and what looked like tears in his eyes.
"Morning sunshine." He said, kissing her on the lips. She stretched. He didn't stop staring in her direction. He was fidgeting, rubbing his hands together. He pulled her into a hug, hoping she didn’t notice.
"Matt, you are acting really weird."
"I just love waking up next to you,” he kissed her cheek and smelled her hair, a normal occurrence in their relationship, but combined with everything else, it was... strange.
"Okay…"
He got up quickly, putting sweatpants on. "I'm going to make breakfast. You hungry?"
"Breakfast would be great." She smiled, but it was clear she was confused. She was too tired to read into it.
He kissed her nose and opened the door. Even his walk seemed different. Like he was rushing to get away from her.
What in the actual hell, she thought. It wasn't abnormal for him to make breakfast, and he always acted like he was happy to have her over. But she was almost positive he had tears in his eyes... Maybe it was her imagination.
She found him in the kitchen, chopping the components for an omelet. He didn’t turn toward her like he usually did, but she let it go. "I think I'm going to take a quick shower."
"Sounds good."
She turned the water on and stepped inside, trying to figure out what his deal was. He had been happier lately, and they were doing incredibly well. She stayed at his apartment most nights and was there waiting for him once he was done prowling the city streets. He made as much time for her as possible and had made an effort to make her feel at home. Two weeks after they had started dating, she found her exact shampoo, conditioner, and soap in his shower. It always caught her off guard when he knew things without being told.
Matt had told her he loved her after a month, and she’d noticed him slip up a week before that, but she acted like she hadn’t heard. She knew he wasn’t used to being in a relationship, and he was trying not to scare her away. As if that was even possible. The last four months had been the best months of her life.
She massaged her hair and pictured the face that she had woken up to. What was running through his head? Maybe he had just woken up from a dream. Or he was going over their relationship in his head like she frequently did, and it just made him happy. But he was giddy.
She rinsed her hair and ran through more scenarios in her head. She couldn’t come up with anything that made sense. Your boyfriend is happy, she told herself. Quit questioning it.
Then it hit her. Super happy Matt… Eyes watering… Was he… Going to propose? She dropped the bar of soap, and it took a minute for her to pick it up. She was smiling, but still freaked out. Were they there yet? Did she want to marry Matt Murdock? The answer came into her head immediately. Hell yes. But right now? She didn't know. She thought they had more time. And she knew him pretty well, she was pretty sure he'd want to wait until after they'd moved in together. Or until they’d been together a year. She shook it off. That couldn't be it.
Maybe he wanted her to move in with him. She liked that idea better than getting engaged that fast. She liked it a lot better than telling him that they should wait - that made her feel sick. Moving in together made more sense. Her lease was almost up, and she wasn't the biggest fan of her apartment. Plus she stayed there nearly every night… She shrugged that off too.
Her heart felt like it was bursting with love. He was just being Matt. Her stomach growled and she rinsed off. She wrapped herself in a towel and saw that the table had been set, yawning. "Can you start some coffee?" She asked him.
"Yeah, sure…" He said, flipping the omelet.
She went to his bedroom and opened her drawer, grabbing a pair of yoga pants, underwear, and a t-shirt. She got dressed and towel dried her hair for a minute, then walked back out to the table and took a swig of orange juice. He was still smiling. Matt sat the plates on the table and scooted his chair right next to hers.
“Pancakes and omelets?” She said, impressed. “Going a little overboard today?”
“I just thought you might like options,” he said rubbing her hand.
“I always like what you make me, Matt.” She kissed him as she got up and walked back toward the kitchen.
"Did I forget something?"
"Just the coffee," she said, opening the cabinet and seeing that the coffee was missing. That's weird. She thought there was a bag there yesterday... She saw a half-full cup that hadn't been in the sink the night before and wondered if he'd been holding out on her. But why would he do that?
"I used the last of it yesterday." He lied. He knew she thought he was acting weird. They started eating and he used his left hand so that he could hold her leg. "I'm sorry, beautiful."
She kissed him and thought about how lucky she was. Then she dropped her fork and it bounced off her plate and onto the ground.
"Oh. My. God."
"What Karen? Do you feel alright?"
"I feel fine, Matt!" That wasn't true, she felt sick.
He looked up at her, shocked. Trying not to say anything to make her more angry with him.
"Matt Murdock! You tell me right now. Am I pregnant?"
He knew he was a bad liar. He was planning on telling her, but he really didn’t know how she'd react. He didn't know if she'd be happy or freaked out. And since he only knew for the last hour, he wanted to have this good moment for as long as he could.
"Listen, Karen, I…."
"Murdock! out with it!"
He ripped off the band-aid. "I think so. Yes."
She closed her mouth and shook her head. She started going through the calendar in her mind, annoyed for missing the signs. It all made sense. And he was freaking giddy…
"Karen, please say something. I mean, take your time, but…"
She took a deep breath and gave him nothing.
He rubbed her leg, a pained expression spreading across his face.
"Listen, I know there are a million things at play here. You have been doing really well at your job, we've only been together for four months. I don't always have my shit together. We both don't have a ton of money. We don't live together. And…" This one stung as he said it… "I risk my life to go out and beat up criminals nightly…"
She hadn't even gone down the crazy spiral that he was going down. "Wow. That is some list you've got there."
"Karen, this is your choice. I'll stand behind whatever you want, and we'll be ok. I just heard the heartbeat today and I… I wanted to enjoy it for a minute." A tear fell down his face, but he wiped it away quickly as if it had never happened.
She took a drink of her orange juice and looked out his window at the bright billboard. She ran her hands over her stomach. He got up to pick her fork off the floor and went to the kitchen to get a new one. He sat down and handed it to her.
"I love you, Karen. I'm sorry you even have to make this kind of decision."
"I never even knew you wanted to have kids, Matt."
"I guess I didn’t either. I had an amazing dad, and I guess I've always wondered if I could be that to a little girl or boy. I miss him all the time."
"Of course you'd be an amazing dad."
He looked shocked.
"I think my job would be safe, but we'd have to find daycare. I love you, and 4 months is a very short period of time, but I've known for a while that.." She paused, not wanting to reveal how big a jump she was willing to make. "You would need to get your shit together, Matt, but you've been doing much better lately, especially since you've actually let me in. We'd find a way to survive, but it wouldn't be easy. Plenty of people do it every day."
"So, wait… Are you considering this?" He said, trying to hide his excitement.
"It is a big decision to risk your life when you have a child, Matt."
"I know. But I can be careful. I have been getting hurt much less, and my suit is bulletproof… But there will always be a risk."
"I knew that when I started dating you. I just can't imagine telling my child that their father is dead." Her throat stung at the thought.
He didn't know what to say. She was right. What would he do? He lost his father at a young age and he was reminded of it every day. Karen grabbed his hand and leaned against him. She never want him to stop altogether, but he’d definitely need to be more careful and more reliable. She knew he could do it.
“I take it from this entire morning that you are actually happy about having a baby?”
"Yes. But, I want you to do it because you are happy…”
“Then yes. I think we should do this. As long as we work out the Daredevil issue, and you understand that I will be going back to work. Whether we have money or not."
"Of course you will. But there's one more thing, Karen…."
"What else could there possibly be? You hear two heartbeats?"
"No." he laughed
"Thank God." She sighed in relief. "That kind of surprise is one I am not ready for.”
"I've actually been thinking about this for a little while, but if you aren't comfortable with it just yet, I'd understand."
"Yes…?"
"What do you think about moving in with me?"
She leaned forward and kissed him.
"I think that since I practically live here already, and we are going to have a baby, that'd be a pretty good idea."
He went back to smiling so wide it hurt. She said that they were going to have a baby. He couldn't help himself as he listened to the heartbeat again. "Can I?" he said reaching his hand out to her."
“Matt, there's barely anything in there…" But she brought his hand to her stomach. He bent down and leaned his head against her belly, listening to something only he could hear, hisbaby’s heartbeat. He lifted his head as he felt the tear hit the back of his neck. He kissed her stomach and lifted back up, pulling her into his arms in a kiss.
"Nothing could make me happier than to be a part of your family, Karen Page."