Safe House

"Ok, Bruno. This is it." April, a short brunette paced up and down the bedroom, "There's no looking back. I have to do it." She nodded, "What do you think of the plan?" She asked, turning to the beagle which was sprawled across her bed, "Hey, are you listening to me?" She asked the dog who sat up and looked across at her tiredly, resting his chin on his paw, "Whatever." She waved her hand.

She wandered over to the window in her room, sliding it up to open it and gulping as she looked down, "Ok… no cameras." She assured herself, looking out the window and nodding.

She extended her leg out, putting her foot on the window edge, slowly extending her other leg out as Bruno, the beagle, sat up and watched her.

"Don't you dare bark." She warned him as Bruno rested his head back down, "Ok, April. You can… you can do this." She nodded, "Just don't look down." She spoke to herself, slowly shimmying along the window edge, "You worked it out, it's just… it's a few steps." She spoke to herself.

She reached the end of the edge, stepping her foot over onto the other part of the house, making sure it was steady before shimmying herself down.

She hadn't ever made it this far before and was impressed with herself with her perseverance. She hated heights and it was a huge drop down to the ground, but she'd pretty much faced all her fears in life anyway.

She stepped down onto another window edge, gripping a pipe beside her to steady herself as she slowly moved along, making sure she avoided the cameras each corner.

She eventually found herself the pipe which she could shimmy down, slowly sliding her way down like a fireman, eventually feeling her feet hit the ground and sighing with relief.

"Oh my God." She sighed happily, jumping up and down happily, beginning to run around the corner when she ran into someone, looking up.

"Going somewhere?"

"No." AJ moaned and whined, "No." She said angrily as the police officer looked at her, rolling his eyes, "Please tell me this was not Bruno."

"Bruno, the beagle who is trained to alert someone when you're trying to escape? Yeah, it was him." He nodded, "You're also not the quietest person in the world." He said as AJ shook her head and slid down the wall to sit down, "Come on, you need to get back inside."

"I'm not going." AJ shook her head, "I mean it, Phil." She looked up at him as Phil or Punk to most of his close friends looked down at her with his hands on his hips.

"You have to be the most annoying person I know." Punk nodded.

"You're not the one stuck here." AJ shook her head.

"Actually, I am stuck here. I'm stuck here babysitting you most days because you're so damn escape happy." He said as AJ shook her head.

"You don't get it." AJ said.

"Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Seriously." Punk said, "I don't got time for this." He shook his head as AJ glared up at him, standing up and shoving him over as Punk just nodded. It happened almost every day.

"Do you want me to get you a punching bag. Would that help?" Punk asked her with a smile.

"No, let me just hang you from the ceiling so I can kick you in the face." AJ said, walking around the house as Punk followed.

"Sounds kinky." Punk smirked as AJ rolled her eyes.

"I don't know what I hate most… you or this house." AJ admitted tiredly as Punk looked across at her.

"You love me, April Mendez." Punk nodded, opening up the door to the house as AJ walked in.

"No. I hate you. Like real hatred." AJ nodded.

"You're here for-"

"My own safety. Yeah, I know. I hear it every day." AJ shook her head.

"Well then when is it gonna sink into your thick skull?" He asked her as she glared at him, "Quit trying to escape. You escape, you're dead. You don't escape, you're alive." He said, "It's literally that simple." He nodded.

"I've been here for a month." AJ said, "I don't even know what the sun feels like anymore." She said dramatically.

"Oh, give me a break." Punk shook his head, beginning to play with Bruno, his beagle who he'd given to AJ whilst she was at the house, "Hey, buddy. Is her whining hurting your big cute ears? Huh?" Punk crouched down, scratching the dogs ears.

"Bruno is the only one who gets it." AJ shook her head.

"Really? Because he just ratted you out." Punk smirked up at her.

"Whatever." AJ shook her head, walking over to the couch and collapsing down as Punk looked over.

"What do you want me to say, April?" Punk asked, walking over to the couch where she was sitting. She was in some sweats and a hoodie. She lived in yoga pants and sweats.

"I want to go home." AJ said as Punk folded his arms, "I want to go home. I want to go back to my work. I want to see my friends for more than an hour. I just want my life back."

"You go back to your home and your job, you're gonna get killed." Punk said.

"You don't know that." AJ said.

"But do you want to risk it?" Punk asked her, "I've known you since you were a kid-"

"And yet you've still not gained one good quality through the years." AJ said as Punk just smiled and nodded, "Like seriously, isn't there any other cops who can check on me? Why does it have to be you?"

"Because Seth wants me to." Punk shrugged, "Little brother wants, little brother gets."

"Yeah, well sometimes your brother can be just as irritating as you." AJ told him as Punk sighed.

"I know you're frustrated but… you're safe here. You're not safe at home." Punk said, "Just… please make it easier for yourself and for me, stop trying to escape." He nodded as she folded her arms, "My mom sends her love." He shrugged.

"Just leave me alone." AJ shook her head, laying down on the couch and pulling the blanket over her as Punk watched her.

"I just gotta take a look around." Punk said, leaving her in the living room as he walked into the kitchen, taking a look around, noticing more pictures stuck to the fridge, pulling some of them down and looking at them with a smile.

He stuck them back up and headed upstairs, checking in the rooms and closing the windows. He made up her bed, sitting her teddy bear in the centre of the pillows, picking some of her clothes up from the floor and taking them down for the wash.

He done the dishes that were sitting and took the trash out before heading back into the living room where she lay with her eyes wide open. Bruno lay beside her letting her pet him.

"I'll be back later." Punk told her as she ignored him, "Just… keep it together, kid." Punk nodded as she sighed, lost in her trance.

"How is she?" Seth asked, a long black haired man approached his older brother.

"You shouldn't be here." Punk told him, walking through the police station in the city of Chicago which they were both brought up in.

"I don't care. How is she?" Seth asked him.

"How do you think? She's been there a month." Punk said, "She wants out."

"Is she taking her meds?" Seth nodded.

"I don't know. I'm not her mother." Punk shook his head, "I'm already doing her washings and dishes." He said as Seth sighed.

"How much longer is this gonna take, man?" Seth sighed.

"To track down a murderer who we have no clue where he went? Quite long." Punk nodded, "She's still traumatised from what happened."

"Yeah and you stuck her in isolation to deal with it. She needs to be around people." Seth said.

"I didn't do shit, Seth. I'm following orders. Your ass is just lucky that I can push this whole thing forward, otherwise no one would give a shit." Punk said as Seth shook his head.

"You're a cop. Can't you… find this guy with new technology or something?" Seth shook his head.

"Don't you think we're doing all we can?" Punk asked, "I still gotta take care of the five other girls that he killed. Think about what their families are going through right now. You're lucky April is in a safe house and not a damn coffin." Punk reminded him as Seth ran his hand through his hair.

"Just… just keep doing whatever you can." Seth sighed.

"Yeah, I am." Punk nodded, "You can't keep coming here." Punk reminded him.

"Well what am I supposed to do? I'm going out of my damn mind." Seth shook his head.

"Just trust that things will be ok and that we'll catch him. She's safer where she is than anywhere else in the world right now. I promise." Punk nodded as Seth sighed.

"I know." Seth sighed.

"Just get out of here." Punk said, "You know I'll call you if we get anything." He said.

"Yeah, you better." Seth warned, leaving the station as Punk shook his head.

"Little brother missing his best friend?" Dean, a blonde haired man approached Punk. He was Punk's longest and best friend who also worked as a cop.

"He's almost annoying as she is." Punk shook his head.

"Give him a break. He's just worried." Dean said, "Be a little more sensitive."

"No, he keeps coming here and telling me how to do my job." Punk said, "It's getting on my last nerve. I'm doing everything I can to find this guy. We're doing everything we can. I should have known something like this would happen to April." He said.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked.

"Well she's been friends with Seth like… all her life. I've been around her since she was a little kid and she's always got into trouble everywhere she's went. I literally had to arrest her one time." Punk shook his head as Dean laughed.

"Oh, yeah I remember that." Dean laughed, "She's always hated you."

"Yeah." Punk nodded.

"But… she also is in a lot of danger." Dean reminded him, "And your little brother has been through enough. She's his best friend."

"I know. The safest place for her right now is in that house." Punk said, "As soon as we get our hands on this guy, she can go."

"What have you told her work?" Dean asked.

"The hospital? I told them the truth. She was in a location that we couldn't say. They just said that her job would be there for when she came back." Punk nodded, "She was scared they would just let her go."

"I thought they would." Dean admitted.

"Yeah, me too actually." Punk nodded.

"Anymore leads on this guy since Milwaukee?" Dean asked.

"Nothing." Punk shook his head, "And no more letters either." He nodded, walking over to the coffee machine, "I'm gonna sit and dismantle the last letter he sent with a coffee and then I gotta go check on April." He said, stirring his coffee.

"You sure do check on her a lot." Dean nodded.

"Trust me. If I don't she'd be long gone." Punk said, "She's getting cranky. I'm getting cranky. We're all getting cranky!" Punk exclaimed as a few other cops looked over in the station.

"You need to get laid, my dude." Dean nodded.

"I do." Punk huffed sadly, "I haven't had a dry spell like this in a long time."

"How long has it been?" Dean laughed.

"Like… two weeks." Punk said, horrified.

"You're a sex addict." Dean nodded. He was expecting Punk to say weeks or months.

"Better sex than drugs." Punk winked.

"Oh, the low blow." Dean whistled as Punk nodded, "You can't come up with something better?"

"I'm working on it." Punk nodded, taking a drink of his coffee and spitting it out immediately as Dean chuckled as well as some other cops, "Alright, who did that?" Punk turned around to the police station, "Who put vinegar in the machine again?" He asked, dumping his coffee in the trash, "Assholes! Every single one of you." He nodded, backing up, "Assholes!" He exclaimed, suddenly feeling his back hit someone, turning around to see his boss standing with his arms folded.

Everyone immediately stopped laughing and went back to work. Dean quickly ran around the corner as Punk looked at Tony, his boss.

"You finished?" Tony asked.

"Mhm." Punk nodded, "Just… got some work." He held out a folder.

"I see." Tony nodded, "Better get to it then, huh?" Tony said.

"Yeah, just… need to get by." Punk nodded nervously, trying to squeeze by Tony who made it uncomfortable for Punk to get through, staring him in the eye as Punk briskly left the scene and headed to his office.

A/N: Let me know what you think! More to come!