Fandom: The Punisher

Pairing: a little bit of Joan/Frank, but mainly friendship.

Setting: Movieverse (A scene from out ‘The Punisher’ movie (2004))

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters. I just try to be good so that I don't get to see The Punisher instead of Santa :p

Summary: After his fight with The Russian (A hired assassin by the Saint Family), Frank Castle is pretty fucked up. His neighbours Joan, Dave and Bumpo try to help him when the Saint goons arrive, looking for him. Frank’s POV.

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Damn Assassins. I hate them.

First there was Harry Heck. Who has a name like that anyway? Well a name suitable for some idiot with a guitar who thought I was a dumbass for bringing a knife to a gunfight - Well who's the dumbass now? Yeah.. big mistake Harry.

And then some Russian guy showed up at my door. The moment I saw him I knew I would be in for one hell of a ride. He punched a hole in my door, just like that. I didn't even have time to give him a proper welcome. Well he got right to the point, just the way I liked it. He made it very clear that he came here to kill me.

Well, got to say I’m not easily impressed but now it was hard not to be. I managed to stab him with a knife but he just stood there grinning at me, actually grinning at me with a knife in his chest. This wasn’t a guitar playing idiot. It didn't take long before I got thrown through pretty much every wall of my shabby apartment and soon what's to be left of it. This was only seconds before I got nearly blown up by my own fucking handgranate. This wasn't the way I had planned it. But I guess I hadn't expected someone like him to show up at my door either. Although another part of me wasn't very surprised. Saint would hire anyone to kill me. But after ending up in Bumpo's place it was time to turn the tables. I had to do something and fast. That guy was a real pain in the ass and I hate to admit it but I was the one getting in some good blows. For a moment there I really thought I was going to die but when I looked to my right.. It seemed that my over friendly neighbours were God for Bumpo's soup, which I quickly grabbed and threw into his face. I didn't think he was that goodlooking to begin with and that hot soup didn't do it for him either. He screamed in agony as his face got heavily burned. It bought me some time and distraction so I tackled him with all I had left and we both stumbled of the stairs. Way down. Heavy shit. Heavy guy too. We both landed hard. That did hurt. But I survived, the Russian didn't, he broke his neck. Served him right, trying to mess with Frank Castle.

I cough and a little dazed from the fight, I stand up. Yeah, i'm still standing. I hear a woman calling out to me. "Are you alright?" The woman asked. I look up to see Joan, Dave and Bumpo standing there, shocked of what just happened. They aren't the most social gang and thanks to me they are getting a lot of unwanted action. Why did I have to go to this shithole in the first place? I sigh deeply. "I'm fine." Before I could walk upstairs, the world before my eyes turned black.

I woke up to the sound of some familiar voices. I try to get up from the chair but I am too damn tired from the fight. God I hate this. It makes me feel so..so helpless. I look at my shirt or what's left of it. It's all torn up and i'm bleeding from several cuts. Joan is standing next to me. I look up at her to meet her eyes. She has this sweet, warm smile plastered on her face. It reminds me of my Maria. No, got to shake that off. Now is not the right time, first I have to take care off some unfinished business, named Howard Saint. Just his name fills my body with unknown rage. He makes my blood boil. I can't even describe the hatred I feel towards that man. Joan talking to me brings me out of my thoughts. I look at my chest. She is trying to stitch up some wounds. "I'm not good at much but for some reason I'm good with a needle." I give her a questioning look. "Don't ask." Don't worry.. I won't.

Look at me, all beaten up. And then there is Joan, former alcoholic and the same woman I brushed off the other night. And she's actually helping me. "I'm not what you're looking for." I can still hear myself saying those exact words. But I meant it, still do. How can I ever be that guy? Be reasonable. At the moment I wasn't only mentally fucked up but also physically. I just lost everything dear to me. Give me a break. And to top it off I have a whole gang of criminals after me. That doesn't sound much like 'mister right'. What does she want with me anyway? Me of all people. The sharp sting of the needle brings me back to reality, once again. I give her a small smile. She is nice, though maybe a little too nice. I reach out and briefly touch her cheek. "Thanks." I mutter. I get another smile in return. That's more than enough for me. In spite of my behaviour lately, I am grateful for her help. I turn my attention to the others. Bumpo and Dave are just standing there looking at me and Joan. They are all taken aback a little by recent events. Who wouldn't be? This isn't just a normal set of events on a regular day. The moment I stepped into their lives everything changed. For the worse. Besides I ruined Bumpo's soup. The thought of it almost makes me want to smile before I feel pain ripping through my body. I close my eyes for a second, trying to forget. How I want to forget all this. How I want to stop the pain. The pain from my broken body but mostly the pain I feel inside my heart. I have tried to ignore it for the past weeks but it’s still there, it will always be. I still wished it would end. Maybe I don’t want to live anymore. Maybe I want that to end as well. But not before I get Howard Saint. Not before he gets what he deserves.

"Someone is coming." Dave says and I immediately open my eyes. I listen carefully and I can only confirm what he just said. Probably Saint’s men looking for me. I would love a confrontation but not like this. Not when i'm like this. That wouldn't be right. That would be too easy for them. I can't let that happen. I won’t.

But what to do? That's momentarily the only question that pops into my mind. Fuck. This is not good. Think Frank. Think. I look around the room but I can't think of anything. Damn this is definitely not looking good. Joan kneels down beside me, apparently she doesn’t want to leave my side. Brave but foolish. Bumpo takes a seat beside me, panic written all over his face as he grips the armrests firmly and Dave leans back against a desk, trying to act cool, but I can see his fear, yet there‘s also a certain determination in his eyes. Hmm.. That desk.. The elevator.. That’s it! But I don't even have to say it. Dave accidentally pushes the hidden button underneath it which opens up the floor and reveals the small elevator. Too bad it isn't big enough for all of us. Before I can do or say anything Joan drags me towards it. The elevator lowers again and the lid is closed with a small thud.

I open my mouth to protest, this is not her fight nor Bumpo or Dave's, but quickly swallow the words back down when I hear the voice of Quentin Glass. He's in my apartment and he is talking to someone. Wait a minute. He's talking to Dave. What the hell is he doing? He should have run and hide. This isn’t the time for stupidity. He's going to get himself killed. You don't want to mess around with Quentin. And for what? Just to save me? Some guy he doesn't even know that well. That's insane. But I have to admit, the boy has guts. But still it's stupid. Very stupid. I can only hear pieces of the conversation which annoyes me to no end. Dave shouldn't be even in this position. If Dave's still up there than Bumpo must be too. He wouldn't leave Dave alone. I haven’t spend a lot of time with them but I know they are friends.

Every muscle in my body is aching. I bite down hard on my lip, trying to prevent myself from making any noises. I don't want to give us away but it’s hard to stay quiet being cramped up in such a small space when your body clearly isn‘t ready for it. If they find me, they would probably kill me right away. But I don't want other people to pay for it as well. I look up at Joan who looks pretty calm. She looks back at me and gives me a small smile. Very hard to do in a situation like this but she manages it. I still don't understand how someone so nice and sweet always ended up with such an asshole. How does she do it? I don’t know but maybe if we had met under other circumstances.. A sudden flash of pain catches me off guard. Damn, this is it. The end. Now we're all going to die because of me. But no real sound comes from my mouth as I feel lips on mine.. Joan's lips. I stare into her eyes. For a moment i'm frozen by her actions. She opens her mouth a little and before I know what i'm doing I have my tongue in her mouth to meet hers. I slowly put a hand on her neck to pull her closer. My mind takes me back on the beach at Puerto Rico. Me and Maria. Together. Happy. As soon as she comes to my mind realization kicks in.. What the fuck? What am I doing? I shouldn’t be doing this. With that conclusion I push her away, gentle but still firm. Damn. What's wrong with me? Just great. I slowly look up at her, afraid to see her disappointment. Joan just stares at me. I don't want to mess up her life too. Besides it's too soon. Much too soon. I just got carried away. That's it. I got carried away. Joan's a beautiful woman after all. She seems to feel my distress. Placing a hand on my shoulder she nods. The kiss left me very uncomfortable. I don't do this shit or at least not anymore. I've got other priorities. Somehow I know she'll understand. She'll find someone. I know she will. She deserves much better than one of those pathetic assholes.

Dave screaming brings me back to what is happening above us. From the sound of it very unpleasant things. I still can't believe all the trouble they are going through. For me. I'm going to survive this. Oh yes I will. It reminds me of something someone said to me long ago: For peace we must go to war. And war it shall be. I declare war to the Saints. If they think they can just kill me like they killed my family and hurt innocent people along the way. Well then they are dead wrong. A few moments later, I feel the elevator moving again. Quentin and the rest of the gang must have left. It's only a few seconds before we're back up in my apartment. I try to stand and this time I manage to do it. I'm feeling a little better now. I look around the room and I spot Dave sitting in a corner. He's not looking good. Not at all. Joan leaves my side and runs up to him. A part of me feels sorry for him. Bumpo moves over to me and puts a finger to his lips and motiones for the door. I understand. Apparently they have left someone behind to guard the place in case I would show up. I think it's time for me to crash this little party. I slowly walk over to Dave. I notice that his face is bleeding hard. That son of a bitch has ripped every single piercing from the young man’s face. Quentin, of course. He's a sadist. The man enjoys bringing pain to other people. Dave looks up at me, shaking a little. "I didn't tell them anything." He says, his voice filled with pain. The sight of him and his face covered in blood makes me angry. Dammit! This wasn't supposed to happen. They shouldn't have gotten involved. Why protect me? I sigh and shake my head. "Why are you willing to die for me?" I ask for I can't understand it. It was beyond all logic. I hadn‘t even been nice to them. Maybe it's because of who I am. They know that my family got murdered by the Saints. Maybe they feel sorry for me. But I don't need that. It was my family, not theirs. This is my business, nobody elses. "Because we're family." Dave interrupts my silent reasoning.

I stare at him. Was he serious? I hadn’t expected him to say that. For some reason I want to shout at him that my family was murdered. My wife and son rundown by a car. There's nothing left for me. And that's all because of some kid. A kid named Bobby Saint who got killed at an undercover operation. He wasn't even supposed to be there! It was an accident. Nobody was supposed to get killed! And because of that my whole family got murdered. I look from Dave to Bumpo to Joan and suddenly understanding dawns upon me. In a way we are family. Just look at us four. We all got our problems and we live in this rundown building, away from the big city, looking out for each other. An odd family but a family nevertheless. I look back at Dave. I nod at him and place my hand on his shoulder giving it a light squeeze. Then I turn to look at Joan. "Take him to the hospital. He needs treatment." Joan nods at me. "Will you be alright?" Giving her a half smile I say "Yea. Just go." Then, she and Bumpo carry Dave out of the room.

I run a hand through my hair while looking around the battered place and I spot an old paper cutter. I smile mischievously as I move over to the machine. This will do nicely. I remove the huge blade and put it on my shoulder. Doesn’t weigh too much. I keep a firm hold on it as I stalk over to the sound of the footsteps. As I round the corner I see the man pacing around in the hallway, awaiting my appearance. Well, he won't know what hit him. "Mind if I cut in?" I say in a low voice, almost unable to control my anger, but I have to stay focused. The sudden sound startles him and he quickly turns around. I take one more step forward and swing the blade down, determined to end this and all that's yet to come.

End.

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A/N: This is purely based on the Punisher movie (2004) and has nothing to do with the Comic versions. This is also my first attempt at Punisher fanfic. I saw the movie and read a little about it and I really wanted to write something. So I tried and this is it, so don't be too hard on me will you? I’m also sorry if I made some spelling or grammar mistakes. English isn’t my native language but I really try hard not to make many. Thanks.

"Not revenge.. But Punishment." - Frank Castle aka The Punisher