Cinnamon.

That was what Karen’s apartment smelled like when she walked into it just a couple days before Christmas. She had been working overtime the last couple of months. Not really knowing what she was hiding from? Her empty apartment or her need to fuel down the silence with a bottle of tequila. Either way she had almost forgot about Christmas until Foggy had given her a call. After much persuasion she agreed to spend it with just the two of them. This marked the first holiday without Matt and both of them were clearly not in the right mind spot to spend it alone.

Sh*t! Karen mumbled under her breath when she set her coat and keys down on the table by her door. She had spaced when she realized it was indeed tonight she was supposed to send with Foggy. With a deep breath she walked into the living room of her small apartment with her best smile on her face.

“There you are sunshine,” Foggy grinned, as he dumped what she expected was little takeout boxes of chinese on plates. Neither of them had the best talent to cook. Though in her mind it was the thought that counted. “I managed to order us an amazing Christmas feast. Thai food combined with the best bourbon a upscale fancy lawyer can buy. The semi cheap stuff!” Karen couldn’t help but laugh when he showcased the bottle of bourbon. He clearly was enjoying the aspects of his new job.

The two of them had thrown themselves into work after what happened to Matt. Foggy was more so dealing with it on his own time. While Karen immersed herself in her articles. At least trying to find some symbolism of a normal life. Not hanging on the fact of how she left things with Matt or even what her last words were to him. Those haunted her every single day. She had a lot of different distractions during this time. The whole mess with the bomber who ended up taking her as a hostage and Frank Castle. She would never admit to Foggy that it was the most she had felt alive in the past couple of months. He would never understand nor was she in the mood to hear the commentary on Frank. It was a wasted effort in her opinion.

The strong smell of the cinnamon was keeping her mind elsewhere. It reminded her of her times at home with her family. One time in particular was just before she graduated high school. It was a normal family affair. Her mother was the type who went all out with decorations and food. While her father spent most of it putting up Christmas lights and supervising. Karen and her brother didn’t grow up very wealthy but this year? Her parents decided to give them each a gift. However, before those gifts were even passed out. Karen and her brother got into some kind of fight. She couldn’t remember what about. Not that it mattered at this point. Her father scolding them both for ruining the holiday with their nonsense. The feeling of not being over it coursed through her veins. She spent most of her time that day being upset with her brother. It was one of the biggest regrets of her life. If only she had apologized to him that day? Maybe things would have been different? In just two short weeks her brother would be dead after getting into a car accident.

“Earth to Page? Hello Karen?” She heard Foggy’s voice raise a little bit. A forced smile forming across her features. She must have gone down memory lane for a little longer than she had anticipated. “I thought I lost you there for a minute. It seems like you need this more than I do.” He spoke, flashing a small grin as he passed her a cup of bourbon.

Breathing in deeply the blonde wrapped her small fingers around the tiny glass before, she raised her hand up in the air. “Foggy how about a toast?” She spoke, waiting for him to raise his. “For new beginnings. No more heartache or life and death situations. Less hate and more love and sex for you. Let’s no longer live in the past!” She finished the glass right above her lips and she downed the liquid in one swoop.