White Firebird here. Wow! The outpouring of feedback and response from the last chapter was amazing! We're both so glad that you all enjoy reading the story. It makes us feel great about the direction it's taking. And before I get into the story, make sure to check out the community created by Jean The Guardian, Punklee Nation! It's got all your favorite Punklee stories and is gonna be adding more soon. And on that note, enjoy the new chapter! =)


January, 2010...

"So who is the brave, fortunate one tonight, that wants to be saved? Who is the lucky individual that I will touch, and make their life complete?"

AJ watched in relative silence on a monitor backstage as Phil went to work, espousing about the values of being straight edge, looking for all the world like he was the wrestling equivalent of the Lord and Savior himself, Jesus Christ, with his long, greasy looking black hair and his scraggly, unkempt beard, his tattoos signifying his purity, as she would hear him say during his promos. It had been a couple of months since they had been reunited down in Florida, after thirteen long, agonizing years apart. But due to their radically different schedules, with him being on the road almost five days a week, and her being down in FCW and rarely leaving the state, it was hard setting up a meeting where they could finally just talk.

It was a couple of weeks ago when she got the call from Mr. Laurinaitis at the apartment she shared with Kaitlyn that she was being invited to SmackDown as a special guest of Phil. It took all she could to not burst into screams of utter joy after she hung up, and Kaitlyn damn near lost hearing in both of her ears after listening to her rant and rave about how it was going to be so nice to be able to actually see him. She still couldn't believe that they had run into each other they way they did. It was as if fate simply intervened.

"Serena, I'm going to ask you a question that these cowards can't ask themselves. Serena...are you an addict?"

She watched Serena go through the motions of being inducted into the Straight Edge Society. She had always been friendly to her, but she had an underlying feeling that the newest member of the group didn't feel the same way towards her, for whatever reasons she had. When she let it slip that she had known Phil from her childhood, that he was her babysitter for a while, Serena was one of the first to laugh off the claim and act like it held no weight. But that was besides the point right now; she was happy for the fact that the now clean shaven girl was getting her chance on the big stage. Had Phil come to her with the proposition of shaving her hair off, she'd probably have done what every other girl had done, and said no. She valued her career very much, but she also valued hair quite a bit as well.

The show had gone to commercial when the segment wrapped up, Phil, Serena and Luke now coming through the curtain, where Phil immediately turned and walked straight over to where she was standing, scooping her up into a huge bear hug, lifting her off the ground and spinning her around in a circle to the sound of her giggles, while Luke and Serena watched on in amazement.

"Put me down, you big lug!", she squealed, unable to hide the huge smile that had spread across her lips as she held onto him for dear life, much like when they were reunited, never wanting to let him go again. "Phil! I mean it!"

A few seconds later, he acquiesced to her request, placing her back down on her feet, but not letting go of her, instead grabbing a gentle hold of her arms, so he could just look at her and marvel at how much she had grown since he last saw her thirteen years ago. "Oh, how you've changed, my little AJ", he whispered loud enough for her to hear. "My my my."

"I could say the same about you too, Phil", she whispered back, her hand absent-mindedly stroking his scruffy beard. "You look like...like..."

"Jesus? Yeah, I know. My Cubs hat is my crown of thorns and the x's on my hand are my nails. I'm such a sucker for religion, aren't I?", he said with a smirk, letting the grip go on her arms, only to have her hug him to the point where he damn near couldn't breathe. "AJ...sweetheart...I know it's been a long time...but you gotta...let me...breathe", he panted out as she let go, a bashful smile on her lips, her cheeks reddening.

"Sorry...it's just...I can't...I can't believe it", she whispered truthfully. Ever since that day when she was forced to move and left him behind, she had dreamt of a day where she could see him again, but as she grew older and watched as his career took off, she had that inkling of doubt within her mind and her heart that it wouldn't happen. But here they were, both of them thirteen years older and thirteen years wiser. Reaching to touch him, her fingers traced along one of the many tattoos on his right arm. "I remember when you had maybe, what, three tattoos?"

A grin crossed his lips as he chuckled. "Four. My knuckles, stomach, and both my deltoids", he murmured, flashing them all for her, not noticing how her cheeks flared up even more than before when he lifted his shirt to reveal his stomach. "I've obviously got a bit of work done everywhere else though, as you can see", he said, beginning to remove his wrist tape, looking behind him. "Hey Luke, come here for a second, I want you to meet someone."

Waving the tall, hulking man over, AJ couldn't help but stare as he lumbered over to them. She had seen him on TV many times and thought that he was a serious bad ass both in and out of the ring, but the smile he wore on his lips immediately put her at ease as he came to a stop next to Phil, placing his huge hand on Phil's shoulder.

"Luke, I want you to meet AJ. I used to babysit this little firecracker back when she was this tall", he said, bringing his hand down right next to his thigh.

"She's the one you were gushing about all this time?", Luke asked, taking in the sight of the tiny brunette. He hid his smile when he saw how she was looking at Phil; like she had stars in her eyes, like he was the only person here besides her. "Knew her when she was eight years old, huh?"

"Yep. And now look at her. It's funny how kids grow up these days", he said, grinning while she stuck her tongue out at him and gave him a light shove.

"It's nice to meet you, sweetheart. Phil here hasn't been able to shut up about you the last two weeks. When it's not about what town we're in or what we've got to do in the ring, it's been AJ this, AJ that...nearly had to throw him in a ditch a couple of days ago", he said, smirking, while Phil merely shrugged his shoulders.

AJ took Luke's massive hand in her tiny one and shook it, her heart soaring after hearing the big man's comments. 'Now I know how Kait felt these past two weeks', she thought to herself as she shyly looked at the two men in front of her. "I hope it was all good things he was saying about me", she said, rocking back and forth on her heels. "If he was trash talking me, I might have to whoop his butt like I did when I was a kid."

Luke began to laugh while Phil scowled, grabbing her by her wrist and pulling her into him so he could ruffle her hair and mess it up a bit, eliciting a laugh from her as well. Turning to face the big man, he motioned over to Serena, who was waiting on the two of them over by the curtain still. "You and Serena can head out. I've got a lot of catching up to do with shorty over here. I'll talk to you later, kay?", he said to his enforcer, who nodded his head.

Taking off his skull cap to reveal his bald head, he bowed and extended his hand to her once more for her to shake, which she did. "Nice meeting you, AJ. Don't kick his ass too hard, alright? We need him in one piece for San Fran tomorrow."

She smiled up at the friendly giant. "I can't make any promises."

Watching Phil and AJ walk away and Luke walk towards her, Serena rolled her eyes at the whole thing. "I assume they're off to go play dolls and have a tea party?", she asked Luke sarcastically as he stood next to her. "To think, I thought the little runt was making the whole damn thing up."

All Luke could do was roll his eyes at her comments. The jealousy that was laced throughout them was as plain as the sky was blue. "Let them go and catch up. They've been apart for thirteen years, I think that's what he told me. They deserve a little time to talk and see how they've been."

"Yeah, whatever", she commented crudely, as they began to walk back to the locker room. "I don't see what he sees in her. She's a child."

"Whatever, Serena. Just let it be."


AJ sat silently in Phil's dressing room, the sounds of the shower running filling the air. He had told her he wouldn't be long, but after glancing at her phone, he had been in there for a good fifteen minutes, she mused to herself, grinning. He must've really liked taking care of his hair and his beard, because no other guy she had known before went longer than five minutes in the shower, tops. But Phil...he was different than most people. She knew this for a fact.

Hearing the water shut off, she lifted her head and immediately caught the sight of Phil walking around with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist, the water dripping from every facet of his toned, muscular and tattooed body. Her eyes damn near bugged out of her head as he flashed her a smile, bending over to grab a shirt from his bag. "Sorry for the peep show, I'll be decent enough for your virgin eyes in a moment", he said, grinning from ear to ear, this time noticing the blush that spread across your cheeks. "Make yourself at home."

Watching him disappear back into the bathroom, AJ looked around at the room, amazed at how huge it was. It was easily the size of half of hers and Kaitlyn's apartment, and leaps and bounds bigger than the small locker room (she used those two words very loosely) they afforded the girls down in FCW. 'Must be nice to be a top guy', she whispered, though there was no malice or jealousy behind her words. She was genuinely happy at the fact that Phil was living his dream on the big, bright stage of the WWE. She, on the other hand, was just lucky enough that she was at least given a shot to try and make it here. It's what she had been working for her whole life.

She looked and saw him exiting the bathroom again, this time fully clothed in a pair of basketball shorts and a Misfits shirt. He had a goofy looking grin on his lips as he stared at her, sitting down across from her, his hand stroking his beard. She noticed this and tried her best to hide the school girl-like smile that she was wearing now. He used to do this when he would babysit her, just look at her like this. "Penny for your thoughts, Phil?", she asked.

"I'm just...still having a bit of a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that, you've changed...you've grown so much. The last time I saw you, you know, before October..."

"I was waving goodbye to you from the back of my mom's car, with tears streaming down my face", she said, solemnly. She couldn't look him in the face when she said the words, it was still too hard for her to relive and think about. "I thought I had lost you forever on that day", she whispered, her eyes looking at a spot on the floor, swallowing the lump that was beginning to form in her throat.

"I thought I lost you too, shorty", he said, also not managing to look at her as the words came out. But he then raised his gaze to her, and a smile crept across his lips. "But I guess we were both wrong on that one, weren't we?"

Looking up at him, she matched his smile with one of her own while nodding her head. "Gosh...you keep saying over and over how much I've changed...but look at you! You were so scrawny and you had such a baby face, and your hair was blonde and you had no tattoos..."

"We've both changed a whole lot, that much we know", he said, standing up and bringing his chair closer to where she was sitting. He placed his hand on her knee, and she suddenly felt her entire body tingle at his mere touch, her insides swelling with giddiness. It felt good to be so close to him after being so far apart for so long. "You know, not a day went by these last thirteen years that I didn't think about what you were up to, what you were doing with yourself, where you were, what your mom was doing..."

"You did not", she commented, flicking his hand away, grinning. "There's no way you spent every day for the last thirteen years wondering about all of those things", she said, knowing damn well that she had done that exact thing all this time. But he didn't need to know that...at least not yet.

"I was a complete mess the first three, four months you were gone. I felt like a broken hearted peacock who had just lost his best friend, the way I fluttered around during those few months. My sisters were ready to kill me, but they knew how hard it was on me", he commented, his sleep-deprived eyes blinking rapidly, like he was trying to force back a tear. "Colt was there when he could be, too."

The mention of his best friend's name caused her to perk up a little bit. "Oh, Colt! How is he? I know I didn't really get the chance to talk to him before..."

"He's doing great! I actually talked to him the other day, he says he can't wait to talk to you again soon. He wrestled here for a while last year...but he couldn't stand it, so he asked for his release, and now he's back on the indies. But yeah, he's doing great. I'm sure he'd love to hear from you."

"Well if you talk to him again soon, tell him I miss him and his ability to always make me laugh", she said, flicking away a strand of her dark brown hair. Remembering his previous words, a sympathetic look graced her features. "What you said before though...", she started off slowly, trying to find words best suited for a touchy subject like this. "Were you really that broken up over me moving?"

Rubbing her knee, he lowered his head so that his hair concealed his face, nodding in response. "Yeah, I really was. It was hard, you know? You spend nearly two years of your life watching over someone, getting to know them, letting them in and showing them the real you...and then it all just gets ripped away from you in the blink of an eye. It took me a long, long time to get over it."

AJ felt a tear threatening to form on her eyelid, so she quickly swiped it away with her finger, but the sadness that was hanging over the two of them like a cloud wasn't going away anytime soon. Her heart went out to Phil, it really did; she could only begin to imagine what it must've been like for him. She too was a complete wreck after it happened...except unlike him, she never got over it. Even now, right now, with him right here in front of her, his hand on her knee, looking like Jesus Christ, she still wasn't over the fact that the only person that wasn't her mother that had paid attention to her, never forgot about her, and loved her was taken from her so cruelly, so harshly and so unbelievably. She would never get over it, despite the fact that he was now back in her life in some capacity. All those years lost had to be made up. She just didn't know how.

Lightly shaking her head, she put her best smile on as she placed her hand on top of his. "You were always such a softy at heart, Phil. I'm glad that hasn't changed about you."

He returned the smile, brushing his hair to the side to look her in the eye. "Not much has, whether you want to believe that or not. Other than how I look, I mean. I'm still the same on the inside."

"I'll be the judge of that", she said, tucking her hair behind her ear, grinning at him. "We've got a lot of catching up to do, that's for sure."

An unsure look spread across his face. "Our schedules are so drastically different, though. I mean...other than tonight, what chance will we really have to catch up on everything? Thirteen years is a long time, and that's a lot to catch up on..."

Grabbing a pen and paper out of her bag, she scribbled something down on it, then grabbed Phil's hand and thrust the paper into his palm. "That's the number of mine and Kaitlyn's apartment on top, and that's my cell on the bottom. This way, you can call me whenever you like", she said, rubbing his knee before standing up, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "Would you mind taking me back to my hotel room, Phil?"

He groaned, looking down at the numbers as he stood up and grabbed his bags. "You know, I never really liked speaking to anyone over the phone. But for you, short stuff, I'll make the exception", he murmured, extending his free arm out for her to take as they walked. "Shall we?"

She gladly accepted his arm, looping hers with his, as they walked down the halls and to the parking lot, where his rental awaited them. Ten minutes later, they pulled up to the hotel where the talent was staying at. Walking through the front doors and into the elevator, up to the floor with her room, he walked her down the hall and stopped right outside her door, releasing his arm from hers as they stared into each other's eyes one last time.

"Thank you so much for everything tonight, Phil. Taking care of my flights and my room, even though you didn't need to at all...I really appreciate the gesture", she said, sighing contentedly.

"AJ, girl, please, don't think anything of it. Anything to be able to see you again", he said, waving her off, his smile never fading.

"I know we didn't get the chance to talk much at all, but...still. You have no idea how much this meant to me. Call me when you can, and we'll talk all night if we have to. I..I missed you so much", she said, her voice breaking, brushing her eyes with the back of her hand to prevent tears from falling.

Putting his bags down, he pulled her into his chest and wrapped his arms around her in a warm embrace. Her arms were tied around his neck as she stood on her toes to match his height, and he had her head tucked under his chin as he rubbed her back. "I know. I missed you too, AJ. But we're together again. And nothing this time will keep us apart. I'll call you as soon as I land in San Fran tomorrow, alright?", he reassured her, releasing himself from her grip.

She nodded her head in understanding, then got on her toes once more to give him a peck on the cheek. "I'll talk to you tomorrow then. Thank you again for everything, Phil. Good night."

"Good night, my little AJ", he whispered, watching her enter her room, closing the door behind her.

Once on the other side of the door, AJ let out a sigh, as she reached under her shirt and pulled the necklace that had given her on her ninth birthday. Her Harley Quinn necklace. She had kept her word to him all those years ago, having never taken it off and never forgotten about it. An excited smile spread across her lips.

He was right. Nothing was going to keep her from her Phil this time. She was going to make sure of it.


And that's it. We love hearing from all of you. Now, I hand this sucker off to Red Foxy for chapter eight. Hope you all enjoy! =)