ghosts from the past.

It was never easy for Frank Castle to admit that he needed help doing something. He had always been self-sufficient, never needing or wanting to reach out to someone to help him do something he should have been able to do himself. But Frank was at a stand-still. The CIA agent who was on his ass, Madani, was getting closer and closer to him. Every corner Frank turned, every he thought he had slipped back into the shadows, there she fucking was. Lurking, watching, trying to figure out if he really was still alive.

No matter how many times Micro tried to wipe the city’s security cams, there was still someone still keeping tabs on Frank. Frank knew what he needed to do, but he wasn’t quite sure how he was going to go about doing it. Frank Castle needed Madalyn Evans on his side. Madalyn was his best friends sister and also happened to be quite smitten for Frank back in the day. Just the thought of how the then young sixteen year old girl would look at him, doe eyed and obsessed, brought a smirk to Frank’s face.

“Yeah, Madalyn—” Frank confirmed, sitting next to Micro who was tap-tap-tapping away at the keyboard. “M-a-d-a-l-y-n, Evans.” Frank was getting annoyed. “Need me to spell the last name, too? Echo Victor Alpha November Sierra. Fucking Evans. Is she in that CIA Roster or not, Liberman?”

Frank’s patience was wearing quite thin, he needed to get the confirmation he needed in order to make a game plan. As much as he would rather, it wasn’t like the ex-Marine was just going to be able to call the girl up and ask for her help; he had to sneak around and be as discreet and invisible as possible, even if that meant he was going to scare the shit out of her. Which he knew was going to happen, regardless. Everyone thought he was dead.

“Yeah,” Micro said breathlessly. “Yeah, she’s in there. Looks like she is in this district, too. Not too much traveling you are going to have to do.”

“Perfect.”

Madalyn had known that she was head over heels in love with Frank even from a young age when she didn't really understand what love was. When Frank had asked her out shortly after she had turned sixteen, Madalyn had never been more ecstatic as she had been in that moment. She had felt like the world was her oyster and that she could have just about anything she wanted in that moment because she finally had Frank, what else could she possibly want?

What she had never expected was for Frank to break to break up with her simply because he was enlisting in the Marine Corps. She had spent the better part of a year trying to mentally prepare herself for what was ahead of them. Madalyn was ready to be with a Marine or as ready as she could be, she thought. As ready as someone who had no clue what they were getting into could be. But then Frank had broken up with her less than a week before he went off to boot and she didn't see him for years after that. Whenever Frank was home, she made herself sparse because the pain was still raw, too much for her to handle.

Madalyn had thrown herself into her work simply because that was all she had had and before she really knew what the hell was happening, she found herself employed by the CIA. She worked hard, did what she needed to do because she wanted to prove herself. To who, Madalyn didn't have a single clue but at least it was a distraction from the turmoil going on in her mind. Just as she had set out to do, Madalyn had proved herself and she was sent off to a school for the technologically gifted where she learned more and more about what everything the CIA was involved in.

Some of it churned her stomach but she was employed here and they did do a lot of good in the world. So Madalyn went to work every day, did her job well, and went home to sleep just to repeat it all over again the next day.

Madalyn was exhausted from her day at work and she had to all but drag her ass up the stairs of her apartment complex. She had just pulled a eighteen hour day, trying to sort out a massive headache that her team had been dealing with for the past few days. She was a bit closer than she had been from the start of the day today.

Her eyes burned from staring at a computer screen all day, the only knowledge that she hadn't left it even once was the long, continuous growl that her stomach emitted as she reached her apartment. Madalyn was paying no attention as she stepped through the threshold, still half trying to decide whether she should prep some sort of food or just head straight to bed and worry about breakfast in the morning.

Frank decided that his best tactic was going to be to enter her apartment. Miraculously, Micro was able to stay logged into the database long enough to see when exactly it was that Madalyn had left for the day. Frank and Micro were able to calculate how long it was going to take for Madalyn to leave work and get to her apartment. If Frank was going to do this, he only had about forty-five minutes to get his ass in gear.

It was still daylight and the sun was just barely starting to creep its way towards the horizon. With his baseball cap tucked low on his face, Frank exited the van. He told Micro to stay put and not interfere for exactly an hour. If Micro hadn’t heard from Frank with in that time frame, it was Micro’s job to get the hell into that apartment no matter what the circumstance.

It was fairly easy for Frank to get in, a simple pick of the lock and he was in. He crept inside of the apartment, guard raised high and waiting for any potential intruders. When he found himself alone, he relaxed just a bit. He took a few moments to look around her apartment; it was fairly cleaned and well organized, just the same as Maddy always had kept her things. He wasn’t surprised in the slightest. Frank didn’t know why, but he eventually found himself wandering around her room, mindlessly opening her bedside table. Low and behold, there was a decade old Polaroid and a folded-up note. Frank could just barely recognize his handwriting that had scrawled her name across it. It was just like Madalyn to keep a hold of old shit. But it just might help his case.

When he heard the key in the lock, Frank sprinted soundlessly to behind the door, shoving himself as close to the wall as he could possibly get. He waited for her to break through the door way; she was being completely oblivious to her surroundings. It was until she was half way across the room that he stepped away from the wall and called out, “Hey Maddy,”

Madalyn had just decided that she would toss something quick together. She didn't really know what, she had just known that it was likely to be about as delicious as boxed mac and cheese could be. It wasn't until a voice called out to her that Madalyn was awake in an instant. Her head snapped up, her hand reaching for the pistol at her waist. She spun around, the gun raised and her finger on the trigger. Madalyn knew her training like the back of her hand, if there was an intruder in her apartment then she needed to be vigilant. "Hands up!" She all but shouted.

Blinking slowly, the realization dawned on her features. Madalyn's lips parted as her shoulders sagged, slowly lowering her gun. She stared at Frank, trying to figure out what the hell she was seeing. Logically, Madalyn knew that she was staring at Frank Castle but he was supposed to be dead. She had known all too quickly about his death and it had hit hard but that was life. He was in the military, there was no hiding from the potential threat, right?

Moving her finger from the trigger, Madalyn still stood tense as she swallowed. She needed to say something but shit, she was still trying to figure out what the hell to say to a man that was supposed to be dead. She had only seen him a few times after they had broken up but she had kept tabs on him. She had hurt when Frank got married but she had been happy for him. At least he was happy, he was healthy and that was all she could really ask for. Until he wasn't, until his family was ripped away from him.

"You're alive," Madalyn finally breathed, tilting her head to the side as she finally holstered her pistol. "but," she paused long enough to wet her lips. "Why're you here? And how the hell did oyu find me?" She knew she should have been on the phone to her boss immediately, that she should have tried to kick him out but old loyalties were hard to break. Madalyn knew that if Frank was here, he was desperate and she couldn't stand to see him in trouble.

Frank smirked at her as she pulled a gun on him. Immediately, Frank’s mind began to think of all the ways he could take her down faster than she would be able to pull that trigger. He didn’t give a flying fuck if she was a trained CIA agent, Frank was a marine. When she finally lowered the gun, Frank shoved his hands in his pockets, head sheepishly bobbing as he heard her breath out that he was alive. Looking at her face, old memories flooded to him like it had just happened yesterday. But it hadn’t. Frank wasn’t here to catch up. He was here on business.

“Yeah, I’m alive,” Frank mumbled, his hand rubbing the back of his neck. “Put that damn gun down, sweetheart. Don’t need anybody getting hurt. I just need you to trust me, and I need you to listen to what I am about to tell you. And shit, you best not tell anyone you saw me,” Frank’s throat went dry with the realization of what he was about to have to say to his first love, “I don’t need to add any more bodies to my count.” Frank’s voice was soft through out the whole thing, almost carefree like he used to talk to her. But there was a sternness behind the gravel of his voice, a harsh reminder of the man he had become.

Frank began to explain to Madalyn everything that had happened, from his days on the field, to coming back home, to his wife and children being murdered, all leading up to him escaping prison and faking his death. But now, one of her newfound coworkers has a hunch that his is alive… Well, a little more than a hunch. Frank spared her some of the gory details; mainly, what he really did overseas that landed him in the position that he was in now. Shit, she was CIA, she probably already knew.

“So…” Frank sighed out, “I need your help getting’ this gal off my fuckin’ back for a while so I can finish what needs to be done.”

Frank looked up at her, hoping that somewhere deep down, Maddy was still in love with him. That she was still willing to do whatever it was that Frank needed, to go to the ends of the earth and back for him. It sure as shit would make getting her to help him a whole hell of a lot easier.

Madalyn's back straightened, a scowl forming on her features as she let out a dry laugh. "Nuhuh. Nope," she started, giving her head a hard shake. "You can start with telling me what the hell this visit is about, instead of threatening me, Castle," she snapped. Madalyn wasn't as soft as she had been years ago, she had hardened up and could spit back out whatever was given to her. If Frank thought that he was going to get away with threatening her to stay silent, he had another thing coming. "Shit. You should know better, I wouldn't run my mouth... if you're dead, there's a reason."

She drew in a deep breathe, turning around to start fixing the meal she had been planning but this time, she prepped two boxes and even went as far as to fry up smokies to chop up and mix into the food. It wasn't anything fancy but she was hungry and she was sure that Frank wouldn't turn down a free meal. While Madalyn didn't know the details, she couldn't imagine his past few years were particularly well off.

Madalyn softened as Frank told his story, scooping the food into two bowls before handing one off to Frank. She already knew most of his story, she had kept tabs on him after all but she wasn't about to admit that to him. He'd only end up using it to his advantage, Madalyn was unfortunately a little too sure about that.

Looking up from her food when Frank finally got to what he needed from her, Madalyn was quiet for a long moment. She studied his features and felt her walls breaking down, crumbling before her. Frank had always been it for her, had always been the one that she wanted to be with in the end and yet, she knew that it never would be like that. She didn't even think Frank could love again. Not that he had ever loved her.

Drawing in a shaky breathe, Madalyn gave a final nod of her head. "What's the plan then? You need me to wipe some cameras, change a few words in a file?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "Then you'll disappear in the wind and we pretend like this never happened, huh?" Madalyn's tone was harsh and she damn well knew it but shit, she didn't really care about the jab she had just made because she was still aching over the whole thing years late.r

Frank was almost offended at the tone she had taken with him at the end. She should have known better, she should have known that it wasn’t like that. Madalyn had barley graduated high school when Frank decided that he was going into the Marines. He had wanted more for her, not to be sitting around waiting on a serviceman and then following him around for the rest of her life. Madalyn had been far too smart, too willful to put up with something like that. Frank had done what he did all those years ago for her not to here. However, Frank wasn’t here to talk about the logistics of an old flame. He was here to get someone on his side, someone that was going to be a team player for him.

Frank was staring down at his food and his moth had settled into a hard line. He was pushing the contents of the bowl around with his fork, before scooping some up and taking a bite. Frank was really trying to mull over his thoughts and his words. It was obvious to him that Madalyn had some resonating feelings that hadn’t been worked passed yet. He had to be very careful about what he said.

“No, Maddy,” Frank said after he had swallowed. “I wouldn’t have showed up here to ask you for help and dip out. What kind of man do you take me for? Seriously?”

In the back of Frank’s mind, he knew that is exactly what he came here to do. But he couldn’t let her in on that just yet. He sighed, “I’ve missed you. I’ve always missed you… But I need you right now. I need you to take on my case with Madani or take it over completely—or I need for you to help me take her down. I can’t keep doin’ this shit with the fuckers in the CIA, they’re idiots.” Frank paused and then raised his eyebrows at the realization of the words that had just came out of his mouth, “Not you, not you thought. I mean, I don’t even know exactly what it is that you do…”

Frank took a few more bites as the silence veiled over them, “I don’t want to have to kill more people than I have already had’a kill, Maddy.”

"The kind of man that just came back from the dead," Madalyn answered bluntly, biting back a negative comment. She didn't mean to be so harsh to Frank but God, she was just so damn frustrated over the whole situation. Plus it wasn't like she'd had time to digest that Frank was alive, really. He was alive and sitting in her apartment like it was a normal part of life. She sighed, reaching back to undo the hair tie that kept her hair up in a tight bun. Dragging her fingers through her hair, Madalyn found herself nodding despite knowing she probably shouldn't agree to this. If she did, would she end up regretting it? "I'm not stupid, I am in the CIA. They don't exactly employ people who can't read others, Frank."

Madalyn sat back, grinding her teeth together before she let out a rough sigh. "Fine. Just give me a second," she muttered, moving to her feet. She dropped her empty bowl into the sink before grabbing the bag she had abandoned by the apartment door. Madalyn dropped back down in her chair, puling out a laptop. "S'work computer," she explained as she began typing.

"I do the hacking, the spy work that uncovers stuff that other people want to keep hidden. The people that don't to be found, I find them. I put the rest of the feds on their trail," Madalyn explained lowly, her fingers flying on the keyboard. She sat up a bit straighter as she worked, pulling up a file that Madani had recently opened on her own computer. "You know, you're lucky I rank above her," she stated out of the blue, looking over to Frank. "Madani seems determined..." she trailed off, tugging her bottom lip between her teeth.

"I don't know, Frank," Madalyn said, a knot forming in the pit of her stomach. "If I take it over with her, she still gets to work on it. If I take it over completely, she'll be suspicious and if she's as determined as she appears to be, she'll do research on her own." Madalyn would never admit what she was hinting at because she didn't want to betray a coworker or cause any undue harm to someone who was simply trying to do her job. "I can erase files and change information, make it seem like a malfunction but I can't promise that'll keep her off of your back forever."

Frank had begun to wonder if he had made the wrong decision. Sure, he knew who Madalyn was years ago, but what about the person she was today? The more he looked her over and took in the surroundings that were her apartment, he could tell that she was fiercely dedicated to her job. Why would she agree to help Frank? Why would she agree to help him scheme and snake and evade the LEO’s and the CIA that was after him? Part of him felt like she might agree to do it and then rat him out right away. Frank had learned the hard way that if your enemies weren’t willing to kill you, your teammates were.

Frank chewed on the inside of his cheek, thought buzzing around his head so fast he couldn’t even concentrate on just one. But he watched as she stood up and produced a laptop and quickly switched it on. He raised an eyebrow at her but then relaxed when she explained what she was doing. “You would rank over her,” Frank chuckled playfully, allowing his demeanor to soften just for the moment. “Always was just like you t’go and get what you want.”

Frank sighed heavily when she explained that he wasn’t going to be a permanent solution. Was there going to be a way he was going to be able to persuade her into staying on his side. “What happens if she catches my radar again? Will ya… I dunno, help me out more than once?”

Frank knew he was asking a lot of the girl. He was putting her job and her career and her livelihood in danger just by sitting here in her damn living room. Was he really willing to continue to drag her along? Frank thought about it for a moment and swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat. What if she got hurt. No. No! Frank wouldn’t have been so stupid to allow that to happen, he wasn’t going to lose anyone else that was valuable and close to his heart with all this bullshit.

“I…” Frank sighed, “I know I am asking a helluva lot from you, I just don’t have anyone else to turn to.”

Madalyn looked up when Frank chuckled, the left side of her mouth twitching upward into a halfway smile before she looked back down to the laptop placed in front of her. "Who wants to sit around and be mediocre? Sure as hell not me, Frank," she answered, trying her damnedest to keep her tone level. She was still so beyond frustrated with the whole situation but she knew that if roles had been reversed, Frank would have helped her out with no argument. He always had been loyal, had always been so ready to throw himself in front of a bullet for a friend. Metaphorically and quite literally.

She was already working on making a few important details disappear from a file, changing a few words here and a few more there. Nothing that would be detectable, not really, but the information was seemingly important enough to keep Madani off of Frank's trail. Grinding her teeth together when Frank started to speak again, Madalyn shrugged, not even really listening to what he was saying to her.

"Frank," Madalyn breathed his name slowly, her eyes slipping shut as she mulled over the idea. Her head was telling her it was the stupidest idea to agree to continue to help Frank but her heart and her gut, they were telling her to jump head first into the mess that was Frank Castle's world. Opening her eyes, Madalyn swallowed against the sudden dry feeling that developed in her mouth. She drew in a deep breathe, letting out a silent 'fuck' before she gave a final nod of her head.

"You were dead for a reason. You'd be a damn fool if you think I don't know the why, if I don't know the shit you left out of your story," Madalyn paused, her eyes finding Frank's. She couldn't help but smirk slightly before continuing, "What happened to you is so fucked up and I'm not going to even try to pretend it's not." Madalyn looked away, wondering briefly if Frank was simply using her and would she eventually become a victim to the Punisher? She thought not but her training still had her on edge, more than she wanted to admit. "I do what I do to catch the real bad guys," she admitted, her back straightening. "Which consequently means if that includes the same people you're after, you let me help you out. From the inside, I can be a lot more valuable than maybe you want to admit."

Frank could have jumped for fucking joy when he heard her all but agree to help his stupid ass out. But in the back of his mind the nagging thought of her getting hurt was weighing down on him. He was going to have to be careful, none of this should ever get traced back to her. Frank thought about just keeping her entirely out of the situation for a moment, but he thought better of it. As shitty as it was to say, Frank Castle had to use her in this game. But it wasn’t for a lost cause.

“Damn it, Maddy, thank you…” Frank breathed out, all wide eyed and dopey looking at the girl sitting in front of him. “I knew you were still one of the only damn people a fella like me could count on—I—I can’t thank you enough, Madalyn. But we are going to have to be careful about this shit, I know we are, I can’t afford to have you getting’ hurt or losin’ your job or some shit like that.”

Frank ran a hand over the short amount of hair that was on the top of his head and looked down at the floor. Not a single soul besides himself and Libreman was going to know about this. Madalyn was not to get involved with anything outside of that computer. She wouldn’t be seen sneaking around or being around anything remotely close to Frank Castle’s remaining buddies.

“You can’t go talking to Russo or Curtis. I mean, you can’t even talk to them, Maddy. Madani is tracking down every single person that has ever been tied to my name. Hell, she might even question you because of your brother—I ain’t gonna allow anything to happen to you, I just ain’t.”

Madalyn's heart broke as she looked over to Frank and he was thanking her. She knew it was sincere but it wasn't any sort of happy, nothing like what Frank had once been. He was a loving goofball once upon a time, now he was a stone of a man that was aching and had been that way since the moment that his family had been taken from him. His sense of love, of life had been drained through everything with the Cerberus Squad, sure, but what remaining shreds there were, they were ripped away with his family.

She let out a sigh when Frank mentioned Russo and Curtis. If Madalyn was going to go into a situation, she was going to go in wholeheartedly. She was going to do her own digging because that was what she did best, it always had been.

"I'm a grown ass woman, Frank. I'm not the same girl that you left going to boot. I'm fully capable of making my own damn decisions and I'm deciding that I want to help you. So fuckin' let me. Don't sugar coat shit, don't tell me you're afraid of losing me because if you were, shit would have turned out a lot different than it did," Madalyn paused, knowing that she was about to make a low blow but damn, it needed to be said.

"I grew up fast considering everything that happened. I'm trained and I know what I'm doing. I can keep myself safe, I can take care of myself. I've had people try to kill me before, you trying to keep me safe will do no good if I don't know what I'm up against," Madalyn spoke, crossing her arms as she leaned away from her computer. "If I know what I'm up against, then I can do some shit. I can make myself useful. If you let me."

Frank was taking aback by the way that Madalyn had spoken to him. The more he looked at her, the more he could tell that she was, in fact, not the same person he knew all those years ago. Some things were the same. Her eyes and the silly thing she did with her lips when she was deep in though. Frank would bet a million dollars if he could get her to laugh it would sound just the same. But in looking at her, he saw a hardened shell of what used to be Madalyn. Much like the hardened shell that had become of himself. The more he thought about it, the guiltier he felt. He should have stayed in contact with her more, asked more about how she was doing and what was going on in her life. But instead Frank had made the decision to just drop everything. He would send the occasional letter, but nothing you would have expected from someone who claimed they were in love with you.

Try as he might, sitting in front of her now made it hard as hell to forget the past. His heart and soul and body ached for Lisa, he ached for his kids. Somehow sitting in front of someone who had been so familiar and so connected with him before, it dulled the pain. Barely.

But Frank couldn’t think about any of that right now. “Listen,” he cleared his throat and spoke. “I know you know a lot of shit. You’re CIA, it comes with the territory. But I am telling you right here and right now, there is a lot of other shit goin’ down that you have no clue about, darlin’.”

Frank sucked his lips in, teeth biting down as he looked at her pleading. “I won’t give you anymore orders, I woun’t tell ya what to do. But you have to promise me, I mean really fucking promise me, that you ain’t gonna go to Russo and you ain’t gonna go to Curtis. It’s the only thing I need you not to do. You don’t want to get more caught up in this shit then I am already makin’ you. Please.”

Madalyn listened to what Frank had to say but it more or less went in one ear and the other. She wasn't going to tell Frank that though because if he was as stubborn as she remembered him to be, he wouldn't let her help if she was doing more than he thought was safe for her to do. She forced a smile to her face and gave a nod of her head. "I won't go to them, I won't do anything that's dangerous. I just want to help you wherever I can... so I guess, let me know if there's ever anything I can do, okay?" She said, raising an eyebrow.

She wanted to reach out and hug the man, tell him just how sorry she was that he had gone through as much as he had. It wasn't fair and it hurt to think that someone she cared for so damn much hurt so damn bad. It killed her. But Madalyn didn't think that Frank would be receptive to her so she sat in the chair, silent for a long time. There was so much that she wanted to say but she couldn't bring herself to, thinking Frank would just think she was being ridiculous.

Clearing her throat, Madalyn finally pushed to her feet. "Do you have my number then or do you need it?" She asked, glancing toward him as she carried their dishes over to the sink. "It never leaves my side and it's not bugged. I check it every day when I get into the office when I get in and when I leave..." she trailed off, wanting Frank to know he could actually trust her to be what he needed her to be.

Madalyn might not be able to have Frank the way she wanted to be but she could help him, right? She leaned against her counter, frowning slightly. "I'll start getting acquainted with Madani so when she picks up your trail again, she'll trust me. Best way to go about it, so we know where her head is at whenever it happens. Chewing on her bottom lip, Madalyn glanced down to her feet. "I'm happy you're okay," she whispered, admitting it to Frank despite her reservations.

Frank sighed roughly. The man knew he was asking this woman before him to do dangerous, illegal stuff already—which she had agreed to. And now he was sitting here putting stipulations on everything else like it was a one-sided agreement. In the back of his mind he knew Madalyn was going to do what Madalyn thought needed to be done. Se had always been that way and it was something Frank admired. It wasn’t often that she allowed people to push and pull her around; but Frank knew he could get away with it. It was making him feel a little more than guilty at the point. He sighed once more and ran a hand over his face, tongue licking a small trail across his bottom lip.

“I know you’re going to do what you think you need too, Maddy.” Frank pointed out. “I just need to protect you and make sure your safe… Can’t have you endin’ up like the others.”

Frank smirked at her when she asked if he had her number. He had her fuckin’ address didn’t he? But Madalyn was smarted then that, they were only able to access the information that the CIA had on file for their employees. There was a big chance that this was a private number they didn’t have—but it wasn’t like Frank couldn’t get Micro to figure out what it was. Deciding on going about doing things the right way for once, Frank said, “I don’t have it. I only keep burner phones so your gonna have’ta write it down for me.”

“I’m happy I’m okay too,” Frank chuckled lightly, his face seeming boyish for the first time in a long time. “But it’s been really good to see you… Kind of makes me feel human again, ya know? Seems like you’re doin’ real good for yourself, Mads.”

It was true, sitting in her presence reminded Frank of a piece of him that had been long lost and forgotten, buried away many, many years ago. But it was dangerous to let himself relive those types of feelings now. He had to keep his head centered and focused on the objective: Killing every single one of those fuckers who so much as he thought had a part to play in the killing of his family and the defamation of what used to be Frank Castle.

Madalyn couldn't help but smirk when Frank told her that he knew she'd do what she thought necessary. She shrugged her shoulders, not exactly admitting or denying anything. She pushed off of the counter, moving over to her fridge where a little magnetized notepad hung. She grabbed the pen that sat on top of her fridge, scribbling down the number before she peeled the piece of paper off. Turning back to Frank, she held it out to him once she was close enough to him.

It's been really good to see you. Madalyn felt her heart burst at that, having to fight back the smile that was itching to be let go. She exhaled slowly, praying to God that her makeup was doing a good enough job of hiding the blush she knew had risen to her cheeks. "Well, I can't say the same. I mean, I thought I was seeing a ghost for a second but..." she trailed off, letting out a soft laugh as she took her seat across from him.

"Do they know you're alive then? Russo and Curtis? Who else knows?" Madalyn asked, wondering just how many people knew about Frank's status. She couldn't help but be curious, it was in her nature. Most people thought him dead and for good reason. She tilted her head to the side, placing her chin in her hand. Now that she had finished working on the files that Frank needed her to and she'd had time to digest her food, Madalyn's fatigue was catching up with her.Biting back a yawn, she nodded toward the rest of her apartment. "If you ever need a place to lay low or anything, you can let yourself in. Figure I don't need to get you a key," she joked. "Can always do my dishes if you're bored. I promise I won't mind. Not too much, anyway."

Frank took the piece of paper from her gently, almost as if had had just been awarded with a prize. He folded it up and pulled his wallet out of his back pocket to stash it in. Frank chuckled at her comment about him being a ghost. Hell, he might as well have been. No one but a handful of people, 4 now to be exact, knew for sure he was still alive. “Sorry bout that,” Frank smirked. “I know I didn’t go about comin’ in on ya in the best of ways.”

Frank sighed at her questions, looking down and twisting his fingers about. He nodded solemnly at her assumptions. “The only people how know I’m alive is you, now, dumbass Liberman, Curtis, and Russo. That’s it. Just you four… Can’t have the whole damn world knowin’. Gotta keep it to people who ain’t going to say shit.” Frank paused and thought about it for a moment. “Well David’s wife and kids know, but they don’t really know it’s me, ya know? They think it’s Pete. But yeah.”

Frank smiled sincerely at her offer. It was just like her to do that. Let him back in like nothing had changed. Frank thought for a moment that maybe she should really think about who she was giving the green light to come and go from her apartment. He was a killer, a murder, a fucking felon… But Frank wasn’t going to do anything or let anything happen to her. He had always wished she was more careful and guarded herself more. But it moments like this, he couldn’t really chastise her about being so damn vulnerable. “Nah, I think I’ve proven Frank Castle don’t need a key to get into anything,” He laughed. “Appreciate it darlin’, but I’m not so sure if I’ll take ya up on that. But it’s noted.”

The smile that Frank gave it, it caused her heart to swell and a smile damn near broke out on her features. Coughing, she looked down to her feet and reached to cover her mouth with her hand. She wiped at her mouth, looking back up at the man opposite her. Her fingers ached to reach out and caress his cheek, to run her fingers through the nearly nonexistent hair. But of course, she remained in her spot as she listened to him speak. Madalyn chuckled as she nodded, picking at her fingernails. "I just mean... if you need to, of course. I don't know. I doubt you will but my couch is pretty damn comfortable so..."

Suddenly, Madalyn's demeanor changed and she looked quite a bit more concerned than she had moments ago. "Lieberman. Who's that? He can be trusted, right?" She asked, her concern only growing. She knew that it was probably a stupid decision but still, she had to ask. Even the most obvious of questions, didnt always have the expected answers.

Madalyn sighed as she studied Frank, trying to remind herself to keep this as professional as possible. This was likely nothing more than a job to Frank so it would be best if she kept it that way. But Madalyn tended to lead with her heart when it didn't relate to her job and this didn't. Not really, right? "Frank... for what it's worth. I'm sorry. I'm sorry the system fucked you over and I'm sorry about what happened to your family. I wish... I could have helped you," she paused, realizing that Frank had probably heard these words a million times over from various people in his life. "But I'll do what I can now," she said, giving him a lopsided grin.

Pushing to her feet, Madalyn started toward the cabinet where she stored her liquor. "Want a drink?" She asked, pouring herself a few ounces of bourbon. Whether Frank would stay for a bit or not, Madalyn had to be a good host.

Frank nearly died from keeping himself from laughing out lout when Madalyn asked if David could be trusted. David Liberman couldn’t hurt a fly. Well, he probably could annoy one to death, but he couldn’t intentional hurt someone. In the beginning, Frank question David’s loyalty at every turn. Why had he sought Frank out? What was he gaining out of this? Was he fucking stupid? Well, on the latter, yes. But Frank had come to know David, and there wasn’t going to be any harm done by that man that Frank could for see. “David’s fine, he’s trusted. You would probably knock shit outta him ‘cause he’s an annoyin’ little ass… But nah, David is good.”

The man nodded along as Madalyn launched into her apology. He knew she wasn’t just saying it to say it. You know, like when your friends grandma dies, you say sorry, my condolences. It wasn’t like that. Frank knew she meant that apology with every fiber in her being; Frank almost hated it. “It’s all good,” Frank mumbled. His heart had felt like the wond had been opened once more. Every time he thought he was making progress, every time he thought it was dulling, it would ignite on fire once more. “I’m workin’ on it, you ain’t gotta do anything but keep me hidden, darlin’. That’s all I need.”

Frank contemplated on staying for a drink, but he wasn’t sure if that was going to overstep any lines that potentially needed to be drawn. He didn’t want her getting wrapped up in his world, in him again. If she was anything still like the girl he knew before, she would be all willing to throw her heart back at him to have. He only hoped that she had grown stronger in that sense. Frank drew in a heavy sigh, “If you want me to, I can. But if you need’a get to bed or whatever, I can go ‘head and take off.”