Chapter 1

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"And so it began, the long streak of helpful rebellions leaving the nest of meat slicing for better. One became a successful lawyer, and one became a workaholic nurse."

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Holly had always been a helper. 

Ever since she was young, a child saint as her father liked to call her, She would help her mother with cooking dinner, cleaning up the neighbors homes, or really anything she could do to be of service to others.

She had always been a very giving person, expecting nothing back besides a cherry tart here and there for her good deeds that her mother would reward her for. Other then that, she did it all for the sake of others. 

She was told that if she ever saw someone in need of help-help them. So that's what Holly had done. She made it her profession to help people. 

"Good evening, Mr. James." Holly said in a sing-song tone, her voice echoing throughout the hospital room like a breath of fresh air. "Who's winning the game?" She questioned as she made her way over to him, taking her stethoscope out as she placed it against his chest. 

She already knew who won the game, but considering the man she was caring for had dementia, every time he watched the game was like the first. She knew Red Sox would make it up by seven before The Braves stole the lead after Red Sox struck out with each one of their batters. 

But Mr. James didn't have to know that. 

He composed his breath. "Red Sox are up by three." He said irritated, looking up at Holly. Mr. James was always a fan of Holly, as she was one of the very few nurses who considered him anything other then an absentminded old man. 

 Mr. James was an elderly patient that was in and out of the hospital for heart issues-most likely for stressing himself out about the Braves making it to game seven. "I'm telling ya if I was there, Red Sox wouldn't even have a chance against the Braves." 

"Well soon you'll be able to root for the Braves in person." She smiled, taking her stethoscope back as she placed it in the pocket of her scrubs. "Just a couple more days and then you'll be out by left field." 

He gave a disappointed noise. "My wife hates baseball. Says I should waste my money on something important like taking her to Paris." He groaned. "Say, you should go with me to a Braves game. You would probably be more fun then my wife would." 

Holly lifted Mr. James arm, holding the needle up to a vein as she poked through his skin. "Oh come on. We already spend enough time together, I think you should spend time with your actual wife." 

"Nonsense. your like my hospital wife." He said as Holly drew blood from his vein. 

"Your hospital wife, huh?" She questioned, taking the needle out as she patted the spot down with a cotton pad before placing a band-aid over the area. "Last I checked I never agreed to this marriage." 

"It's a secret marriage." He winked, making Holly chuckle. 

"Well sadly your hospital wife is officially off duty for the night." She said, looking down at her watch as she stood from the side of his bed. 

"Aren't you gonna stay a bit longer?" He questioned, his face forming to a small pout. "I just got my jello and 'I Love Lucy' is on after the game."

"Hard for me to say this, but I'm gonna have to pass." She gave an upside down smile. "I told my brother I would meet him at the bar tonight." 

Mr. James fell back into his hospital bed, giving Holly a disappointed look. "Alright, I get it. You just don't want to spend time with your husband." 

Holly chuckled. "I'm calling your wife." 

"Don't!" He put his hand up. "She'll get on me for eating Jello again. Just let me keep my joy for the rest of the night." 

"Fine, I'll let you keep your joy." She laughed as she cleaned up her area before she headed for the door. "Nurse Claire is gonna take care of you for the night so if you need anything, you know the drill." 

Mr. James waved his hand up. "Merry Christmas, Holly. From me and Mrs. James." 

Holly smiled as she gave a small wave. 'Merry Christmas!"

Holly changes in the locker room into something less...germ filled. Tossing a white turtle neck over her torso and throwing on a pair of jeans, she takes her hair out of the braid she wore before heading downstairs and out the building as she tossed her arms into her coat.

Winter was always Holly's favorite time. Being named after the Holly plant, her mother and father had a thing for Christmas ever since they where young. Decorating the shop in bright colored lights was one of Holly's favorite memories growing up-along with eating endless amounts of Christmas brittle her Grandma would make.

In walking in Hell's Kitchen, she made note of the people she saw walking by. Mothers lugging their children behind them,  others arguing about last minute Christmas gifts while some couples debated if a new TV was the best idea. 

Stopping at the sidewalk, while waiting for the cross walk light to blink white, she looked down and checked her phone. She saw a text message from her mom wishing her a 'Merry Christmas-eve.'  Sending a quick reply back, she places her phone in her pocket as she shoots across the street and towards the bar. 

Stepping around the customers with Santa hats and beers outside the bar, Holly takes in the flickering red neon sign as she walks towards the direction of the bar entrance.  

Taking hold of the door handle, Holly opens it and welcomes the rush of warm air, inviting her in to get away from the cold. Stepping inside, she brushes her brown hair away from her eyes and searches for her brother. The dirty blonde man spoke with his friend, along with the woman behind the bar counter. A smile getting swept across Holly's face, she walks towards the bar. 

"Add it to my tab, Josie!" The man exclaims, the same smile Holly wore being swept across his face. 

Holly watches as Josie rolls her eyes as she moves away from the boys, and onto a new set of people who are sitting down at the bar. 

Foggy turns his head at the sound of footsteps echoing behind him. Quickly a large smile beams across his face as he stands from the barstool. 

"Took you long enough!" He says excitedly, wrapping his arms around Holly as he brings her into a large bear hug. His brows furrowed as he pulled back. "You smell like a sanitizing wipe." 

"Thanks?" Holly questions, making Foggy give a small laugh. She moves her head over, seeing a man with brown fluffy hair and red frames on his face flashing a smile in her direction. "Who's this?" She questioned, still wearing a small smile.

Starting at his face, now getting a better view, she took in his dark brown hair – which Holly noted looked very soft – sat neatly on his head. Though she couldn't see his eyes behind his deep red glasses, she noticed the crow's feet by the corner of his eyes.

The stubble speckled across his jaw had her mesmerized as it then took her eyes to his lips. They were pink and set in a grin, something Holly guessed was something he did a lot.

Then Holly felt her eyes wander down to his neck.

She noticed the subtle detail when he swallowed and how his simple black tie was wrapped around him, tucked under the collar of his shirt. Not stopping there, her eyes then traced down to his broad shoulders, his chest, and as her eyes went lower, her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Foggy's voice.

"Oh right!" Foggy palmed his head with his hand. "Matt, this is my sister Holly." He pointed his hand at Holly. "And Holly this is my friend and partner in business, Matt Murdock." He patted his friend as he introduced him by his full name. 

"Nice to meet you, Holly." Matt said with a flashing smile-one of which Foggy had warned him to keep off his face in front of his younger sister. "I've heard a lot about you." 

Despite hearing her name a million times, even to the point of growing tired of it, something about Matt saying it made her swoon. Pulling her head back to reality, Holly reached out her hand and shook it in Matt's palm. 

"Nice to meet you too." Her eyes bright again. "I hope you've only heard the good stuff." 

Oh Foggy please tell me you kept out of the conversation the time I threw up on the Ferris wheel at Coney Island. 

"Only good things." Matt grinned.

Thank God. 

"Besides the story about Coney Island. That one left quite the impression." He joked. 

Fuck. 

"I thought I told you that stays between us." Holly nudged Foggy, wearing a closed smile as he let out a pathetic 'Ouch'

"Oh come on, It's just Matt." Foggy loosely shrugged as he faced Matt again. "Besides the night is young, and I have a long list of embarrassing stories about Matt." 

Holly laughed as she made way between Matt and Foggy, sitting down between the pair as everyone sat back down again. 

"I'm not sure she needs to hear those stories, Foggy." Matt pleaded with a smile as he wiped his hands over his face. 

"Oh she does." Foggy turned to Josie and raised his hand. "I need an old fashioned and a beer stat, m'lady." He turned back to the group. "We have a long Christmas eve ahead of us." 

Josie rolled her eyes and looked to Holly. "Your with them, Holly?"

"I'm his sister." She gave a smile to Josie. 

Josie nodded slowly, raising her eyebrows. "Hard to believe." She looked to Foggy. "I actually enjoy her company." 

"Oh come on, Josie-" Foggy debated with Josie as Holly chuckled to herself, turning in the direction of Matt as he spoke. 

"So, Holly." Matt lifted his bottle to his lips, taking a large swig. "Foggy tells me your a nurse. Hard to believe someone else in the family made it out of the butcher business." He joked. "I hear it's like a cult." 

Holly smiled, "It's hard to believe but I escaped the meat slicing business." She gave a small nod as a thanks to Josie as she passed her an old fashioned while Matt chuckled. "I work at Metro-General."

"She works her ass off for that damn place." Foggy chimed in, making Holly interrupt him with 'No I do not-' as Matt chuckled at their interaction. 

"It's a job. I work as well as anyone should at a job." She defended herself with Foggy as she turned back to Matt. "I just enjoy what I do. I've formed connections with people, I consider them more like friends then patients." 

Matt picked up on the happiness in her voice, and God he loved it. She was like one big ray of sunshine. She was sweet. When Foggy told Matt that he had a sister he thought of her to either be as Brash as Theo, or a burnt out nurse like most he knew. Holly on the other hand, was a happy nurse with a purpose. She truly wanted to help people, and to say Matt was intrigued was an understatement. 

"I think your just a workaholic." Foggy agued as he took a sip from his bottle. "At least tell me you have tomorrow off." 

Holly shrugged. "I offered to work tomorrow." Foggy let out a groan. "There are other nurses who have children, I want to make sure they have a good Christmas. I said I would cover an extra shift tomorrow for a girl who works on my floor." 

Foggy shook his head as he looked over to Matt. "This my friend, is why being nice has it's downfalls." He raised a finger. "Y'know, my mom wanted me to be a butcher."

"She wanted all of us to be butchers, Fog." Holly chimed in as she sipped from her drink, making Matt chuckle. 

"And you know what I said to that?" Foggy questioned. 

"You never remember." Matt said. 

"I said no mom, I want to be a lawyer." He patted Holly's back. "And so it began, the long streak of helpful rebellions leaving the nest of meat slicing for better. One became a successful lawyer, and one became a workaholic nurse." 

Holly chuckled, "You forgot about Theo." 

Foggy's face scrunched as he waved a hand. "He stayed in the business, he didn't join the rebellion." 

The group laughed all together, before continuing on their conversations. 

Matt would ask Holly the occasional question, letting her answer on her own terms, but listening to every word intently. He liked the way she would stutter over her words when getting excited about something, or the way she would snort a laugh when she was telling funny stories about patents she has worked with, and most of all, she loved how she had a spark inside of her. One that was strong for her beliefs, and one that kept her out of the dark depressing hole New York typically sent people down. 

By the end of the evening, everyone was rather tipsy, except for Matt. He had to walk back home and his tolerance wasn't bothered much by the two beers he had downed. At one point, Foggy had gotten so drunk that he decided starting a karaoke club at Josie's would be a good idea. 

It wasn't. 

"Josie come on-" Foggy argued as Josie pushed him out the front door of the bar, edging him straight to the concrete floors that where being covered with small snow flurries. 

"Next time you come in, keep your singing voice outside." She rolled her eyes, closing the door behind her as both Matt and Holly bursted out with laughter. 

Foggy stood up as Matt gave him a hand, wiping the snow off his trousers as he looked straight across at Holly. Cabs whizzed by, racing with the drunk parties swaying on the sidewalks. The sounds of sirens filling the cool air outside. 

"Well that was an eventful night." Foggy laughed, tossing his work bag over his shoulder. "Say, wanna hit a few more bars before heading home?"

With hesitation, Holly shook her head. "As much as I appreciate the offer, I should be getting home." Foggy gave her a complaining look, making Holly defend herself. "I have a red-eye shift tomorrow morning and it's already getting late. Besides, I need to prepare myself to work with a hangover." 

Foggy rolled his eyes, "Workaholic." 

Holly snarked before being pulled into a hug by Foggy. "You sure your okay walking home?" He questioned Holly. "I can call you a cab." 

Shaking her head, Holly pulled back. "I'll be fine. I only live a couple minutes from here anyways." 

Matt spoke up. "Which direction you heading?"

Holly turned to face him. "West. What about you?"

"Same way." He gave a small smile, which went anything but unnoticed by Foggy. "I can walk you home."

"Oh no, really it's okay." Holly tried to persuade him out of it, as she waved her hands in protest. Matt instantly gave her a stern look that made her mouth shut, nodding for him to walk her home. 

Foggy looked between the pair. "Well I'm heading North so it seems our paths are differing." He looked over at Holly. "Text me when you get home so I know your not dead." He gushed. 

Holly scoffed. "I'll be fine, but I'll still text you." 

A cab pulled up to the side of them, leaving Matt and Holly waving goodbye at Foggy who was getting into the yellow car. "Oh! And Merry Christmas, Holly." He pointed as she waved goodbye. 

"Merry Christmas, Fog!" She said just before the door shut, and Foggy drove away. 

When she spun around, Matt was waiting behind her with the same smile he wore before. He put his arm out, "You ready?" 

She moved towards him, placing her hand on his bicep as they prepared to walk. "All ready." She said, and with that Matt starting tapping his stick on the ground as they walked towards Holly's apartment. 

"I uh," Holly looked over at Matt. "Can I ask you a question?"

"I haven't always been blind." He said, turning to Holly as she let out a breath she had been holding in that almost sounded like a laugh. 

"I'm guessing you get that question a lot?" She felt bad for bringing the topic up. As someone who has worked with patients who where blind and deaf, she knew those topics where sensitive to bring up. Still, the many old fashions she had consumed in the past three hours had made those worries drift away, curiosity outweighing her manors. 

Matt's lips formed into something between a pout and a smirk. "That and how I brush my hair." 

Holly's smile appeared again. "How do you brush your hair?"

"Honestly." Matt barked a scoff. "You just kinda hope for the best ." 

Holly looked down and laughed as they continued walking through the almost empty streets of Hell's Kitchen. Snow flurries fell faster as time went on, and Christmas lights blinked in the windows of apartments above. 

She couldn't help the smile that formed on her face and the glint in her eyes. She can't help but mentally note how comfortable they both are with each other. Maybe Matt was just like this with everyone because of he's so charismatic?

"So, what made you become a nurse?" Matt questioned, turning his head in the direction of Holly. "Or was it the mere fact you didn't want to slice meat for the rest of your life?"

Holly smiled. "I've always been a helper." She loosely shrugged. "Nursing just kind of seemed like that profession that would work best for me." She nodded her head a bit. "That and slicing my own turkey didn't seem that appealing." 

Matt chuckled. "With how many times I used to stitch my dad up when I was young, I should have become a nurse." 

Holly's brows furrowed. "Wait a minute- your last name's Murdock?" Her eyes widened as she pointed to Matt. "Your Battlin' Jack Murdock's kid!" 

Matt's interest was instantly peaked. "You watch boxing?"

"Kind of." Holly explained. "My dad used to watch it growing up so I would watch it with him. My mom would get mad at him saying it would put ideas in my head so after a while I had to sneak into the living room after school to watch old recordings." 

Matt laughed. "That's crazy. I would never take you for someone who watches boxing." He turned to her. "You just seem-"

"Divertingly nice?"

"Yes, divertingly nice." Matt nodded as he laughed. "I just would never see that." He shrugged. "Not that I'm seeing much these days." 

Holly laughed harder then she had the entire night as they came to a stop in front of her place. she expects him to release her arm but he doesn't. His soft and gentle hand is still grasping her and she can't help but appreciate the warmth from him radiating onto her. How she's able to feel it through her clothes? She doesn't know but she can feel it and she likes it.

"So, I guess I'll see you around? Well obviously not see you in a literal sense but you know." Matt jokes. 

"Yeah, I guess I'll see you around." Holly says, wrapping her jacket further over her body. She gave a quick smile before walking up the steps to her building. 

With a newfound confidence, most likely from the drinks she had consumed that night, she turns back to Matt as he was about to start walking off. 

Hey uh- Matt." She turned back to him as his head turned in her direction again. "I'm not doing anything tomorrow night after work. So if you want you can come over and watch Elf with me." She offered. "I'm gonna make cookies and sit in my pajamas, nothing really busy. Just in case you get bored, the offers open." 

Matt tried to hold a smile back at bay, but failed miserably. "That sounds nice." He says quietly. "I'll uh- I'll get your number from Foggy and If I can make it I'll text you."

"Great." Holly said with a high pitched voice. "Merry Christmas, Matt." 

Holly pulled the handle open to her apartment building, embarrassing the warmth the heater brought her cheeks the second she walked inside. 

"Merry Christmas, Holly." Matt said quietly to himself as he placed his hands in his pockets, walking back in the direction of the bar so he could head home.