“You are my sunshine” [ waves back @ you from hell ]
Frank dies in Karen’s arms
When she reaches the top of the stairway, she’s completely out of breath. her eyes are scanning the rooftop, as she’s panting, the cold air filling her lungs and the wind blowing through her hair. she’d heard gunfire, had seen him go down but Frank Castle survived an explosion, a bullet through the head and lord knows how many more incidents Karen doesn’t even know of. Still, he is probably injured, needs help. So she doesn’t hesitate, takes quick steps while she keeps calling out his name, over and over again. „Frank?“ She can’t see him. Where the hell is he? „Frank!“ Somewhere far, far in the distance, there’s the sound of sirens.
And then she sees him. It’s dark, but there is no doubt it’s Frank. He’s lying on the floor in a huge puddle and it takes her a moment to realize that this puddle is Frank’s blood, a lot of it. Too much of it. Her feet start running on their own accord and somehow, she manages to kick off her heels on the way. The sound she makes when she falls to her knees beside him is something between a gasp and a sob. Shaky hands reach out to grab his face, tilting his head to make him look at her.
The horror of seeing Frank Castle like that, nearly lifeless, no sign on his face that he even recognizes her, is something she hasn’t felt in a long time. She’s utterly terrified.
„Frank? Hey, hey Frank! Listen to me, look at me, okay? What.. what happened?“ But she gets the answer when she tilts his head further. There’s a gaping wound at his throat and she doesn’t need light to know it looks impossibly nasty. Flesh, blood, muscles. It nearly makes her want to throw up but she manages to get a hold on herself and focus. She fumbles with her scarf, presses the fabric against the open wound with as much pressure as she can manage.
„Shit. Holy shit. Shit. Frank!“
The scarf is already soaking wet with blood and she lets go of it, the bloody palm now moving over his chest, his stomach, up to his face again almost frantically. She is trembling and it has nothing to do with the cold.
„Get up, come on Frank, you need to get up! We need to get you to a hospital!“ They will arrest him, lock him up, yes, but at least they would help him. „Come on.“ She shakes him a little. He isn’t even looking at her. Is staring at the sky, his breathing raspy, his body jolting a few times as he keeps coughing blood. „Frank?“ There’s terror in her voice, a panic that she feels deep in her bones. He is dying.
She didn’t bring a phone. Why didn’t she bring her phone? She needs to help! She has to do something, anything. To pull him into her lap, she actually has to use both of her arms. That man sure is heavy. There’s blood everywhere, on her hands, her arms, her skirt, her blouse but she doesn’t give two shits about it.
Her right hand finds a resting place on his cheek, her left is moving through his hair. He is dying, she knows it. The amount of blood he has lost, the fact that she can’t call an ambulance- he won’t make it. It’s a fact. And she wants to break down and cry, wants to shake him an tell him to fight, wants to slap him and scream at him to keep going, that he owes her that, that he had to fight because he is Frank Castle and he will not die like this, not here, not on a rooftop with no one but her around. But this isn’t about her.
„Shhhh. Hey, Frank?“ She only realizes she is crying when she licks her lips and tastes the salt. „I’m sorry I..“ Her breath hitches. „I am sorry I said you were dead to me. I didn’t mean that. I… I didn’t.“ Slowly, she bends down, pressing her trembling lips against his forehead, fingers still running through his hair. It’s longer than it was the first time she’s met him. „I’m sorry.“ Her voice is shaky, she is sobbing but she just keeps talking. „You’re a good man, Frank. You are a- you are a good man.“ Squeezing her eyes shut, she kisses his forehead again and leans back, watching as the life leaves his eyes with each breath he takes. Her vision is blurry but there’s the smallest smile on her face. „You gonna see them again. You gonna see Lisa and Frank and Maria. You gonna see them again, Frank. They are waiting for you, they will be waiting for you okay? I… I am so sorry.“
Frank Castle is dying and Karen can’t help but think that the world will never know what she knows. That nobody will ever understand that Frank Castle was not a monster. That he was a loving father and husband, a brave soldier. And a good man.