In The Dark


"Uh, baby. I don't think that's your homework." AJ looked over at Keala in the kitchen where she was playing her favourite game on the tablet.

"Uh, mommy. I've finished my homework." Keala replied in the same tone as AJ scoffed. It scared her how much Keala really was like her and Phil. Her little snarky comments and attitude, her zero tolerance for bullshit even at such a young age.

"Let me see." AJ folded her arms, walking over to her as she handed her the notebook as AJ looked through the spelling homework, "You're getting good at this." AJ smiled. She was a bright little girl, and unlike her own mother, she vowed to encourage Keala with the right motivation for education, to follow her dreams and be what she wanted to be.

"Thanks." Keala said, "So can I play my game?" She asked.

"Yeah, ok." AJ smiled, flicking her chin playfully as Keala went back to playing her game as AJ wandered over to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

"When is daddy home?" Keala asked her.

"Few hours." AJ said, "It's his late night tonight." She said as Keala groaned.

"Oh, why?" Keala sighed, "I don't like his late nights." She tutted.

"I don't either, baby." AJ smiled to her, "You'll see him before bed, though." She assured her, "And I'm pretty sure he's off tomorrow so he'll take you to school and pick you up."

"Well that's better." Keala nodded as AJ smiled. She had a great relationship with her daughter, of course she did, but there was just no one like Punk to Keala. He was her best friend. It'd been that way since the very start. She loved seeing how much Keala loved her father. He was a pretty damn good one so it made sense.

Just as AJ was starting dinner, there was a knock at the door which she headed on out of the kitchen to answer, walking down the hallway and opening up the front door where a florist stood with a bunch of flowers in his hands.

"Uh… Miss Mendez?" He read the address name on his book as AJ raised an eyebrow.

"Yes?" AJ shook her head.

"These are for you." He told her, passing them over to him, "There's a card attached inside." He said.

"Thanks." AJ nodded, signing for them and closing the door over as she walked back into the kitchen with the flowers, staring at them with confusion as she sat them down on the kitchen counter, looking around for the card.

"Oh, they're nice." Keala noticed, pausing her game and jumping off of the chair, wandering over to look at the flowers more closely, "Are they yours?"

"Apparently." AJ nodded as Keala looked at them.

"They're pretty." Keala said, "Did someone buy you them?"

"I uh… I don't know." AJ said, finding the small card attached to the flowers and opening it up, but it was blank which aggravated her at the fact she had no idea who the flowers were from. It wasn't even like it was her birthday or a special occasion for someone to send flowers, which scared her even more, "Don't… don't touch them." AJ shook her head as she noticed Keala was touching them.

"Why not?" Keala frowned.

"Not until I know who they're from." She said, "Go, go back and play your game." She said, patting her little back as Keala skipped back over to the table as AJ glared at the flowers.


"Phil?" Doug exclaimed through the garage, "Phil?" He called again as Punk looked up from having his head stuck in the hood of a car, looking around the corner.

"What?" Punk shook his head, wiping his hands from the oil.

"There's a woman out front, here to see you." Doug shrugged.

"Well I'm busy." Punk screwed his face up.

"Oh, just go see her." Doug scoffed as Punk shook his head, wiping his hands as best he could, wandering through the cars and out to the front of the garage where he saw a woman standing, watching as she turned around as he shook his head.

"Holy shit." Punk shook his head, "What are you doing here?" He asked the black haired woman, noticing the little kid standing beside her.

"I uh… I had to come see you." Paige nodded, "It's been long enough."

"See me about what?" Punk asked, "No offence, but when I see you I… I think about that time I was almost killed, legally." Punk said as Paige shook her head, "Is this your kid?" He asked, looking down at the little boy who looked up at him.

"Yeah." Paige gulped, "Sorry to be the ghost of Christmas past." She rolled her eyes, "It was me who saved your life." She said as Punk tutted.

"Yeah, ok." Punk nodded, "I'm at work. What-What can I possibly do for you? If it's fixing a car then hit me with it, other than that… I don't see why you and me have to be in the same room." He admitted.

"I need your help." Paige said as Punk shook his head.

"With what?" Punk asked her, watching as the little boy jumped up and down beside his mother, stomping in the puddles as Punk raised a brow, he was like a little angry demon.

"I can't explain here. I just needed to come find you to let you know." She said, "Come to my house tonight, after you finish here." She said, telling him her address as Punk tilted his head.

"I'm not… whatever it is you want help with I don't want involved." Punk made himself clear, "I appreciate what you did for me and I'm sorry about what you went through with your ex but… I want nothing to do with the life you were involved in." He said.

"It's nothing seedy." Paige assured him, "Trust me." She nodded as Punk folded his arms, "You'll want to know this." She nodded as Punk looked at her and groaned to himself, watching as the kid beside her splashed the puddles up against his legs.

"Be careful." Paige nudged him. He had to have been around Keala's age, maybe a year or so older.

"It's alright." Punk brushed his legs down, looking at the kid who looked back at him.

"Please. I can't hold it off any longer." Paige said as Punk looked at her and nodded.

"Alright. Fine, I'll be there." Punk nodded, watching as she walked off with the kid as he sighed and headed back to work.


"Why is daddy not home?" Keala asked, folding her arms angrily as she lay in her bed.

"Sometimes he gets caught up, you know that." AJ sighed, "You'll see him in the morning, baby." AJ nodded.

"I wanted to see him tonight. I'm not happy." She said as AJ nodded.

"I'll tell him to make you a special breakfast to make it up to you in the morning, ok?" AJ said, "And when he picks you up from school he can take you for ice-cream." She said as Keala seemed to enjoy that compromise.

"He better." She said.

"He will." AJ smiled, "But it's already way past your bedtime so you need to go to sleep, ok?" She said as Keala nodded, "Have sweet dreams." She whispered, leaning forward and kissing her forehead softly, standing up straight as Keala switched her glow bear on and curled under the covers as AJ smiled, leaving the room and heading into her and Punk's bedroom.

She knew from time to time he got caught up even later at work, but normally he let her know by a text or a quick phone call, so she decided to phone him instead, but it just rang out to voicemail, so she figured she'd leave him a message before going for a bath.

"Hey, baby." AJ spoke into the phone, sitting down on the edge of the bed, "You have a daddy daughter ice-cream date tomorrow since you were late tonight and didn't say goodnight to Kee." She smiled, "I thought you would have called or text to say you'd be later. But I know you get busy." She said, "I'm just gonna go for a bath and hopefully I'll see you when I get out." She smiled to herself, "Oh and… you didn't perhaps send me some flowers today, did you? To be honest, I'm hoping you did." She laughed a little, "I guess I'll see you when you come in." She said, hanging up on the call and stripping off her clothes to head into the bathroom.


"How long have you been living here?" Punk asked, standing in the centre of Paige's living room. He was still dirty from a long day of work, and he really didn't like not knowing why he was summoned here. He didn't know Paige. What he did know of her was that she spent a lot of time with the man who set him up for murder. But he also knew that she was part of the reason he was exonerated, and he respected that.

"Uh… few years." Paige said casually, standing across from him as he looked around.

"So you've moved on?" Punk asked her, "Clearly." He said as Paige nodded.

"I'm still trying to." Paige nodded, "I know you did."

"Still trying to." Punk mirrored as she smiled and nodded, "Enough of the suspense, what is it I could possibly help you with? As far as I'm concerned, we-we don't need to cross paths with each other. The only reason we would have to cross paths is to do with all that shit that happened when I was set up for murder, and that scares me so please… put me out of my misery, tell me you've not got bad news for me." He said.

"No, it's-it's nothing to do with any of that." Paige assured him.

"Alright." Punk nodded, relaxing a little, "So then what is it?" Punk said.

"It's CJ." Paige said.

"Who?" Punk screwed his eyes up.

"My son." Paige looked across at him as Punk shook his head.

"What have I got to do with your son?" Punk asked her as Paige gulped, looking across at him, "What?"

"My son." Paige said, "He's your…" She paused as Punk looked across at her, raising his eyebrows, "This is harder than I thought." She admitted, wandering over to the couch, placing her hand on her forehead as Punk folded his arms, "I'm scared I've… I've left it too late." She sighed, burying her face into her hands.

"Left what too late?" Punk asked her, "You gotta pull me out of the dark here, or else I'm gonna go… my kid is gonna be pissed I didn't say goodnight to her." He looked at the clock, knowing that Keala was definitely in bed by now.

"CJ is six… almost seven." She nodded, "I would have said something sooner, I would have come to find you sooner but I… well like you said, I'm a reminder of a past you don't want to face." She said, "So I thought it'd be best if I left you all alone." She nodded.

"Said what sooner?" Punk asked her.

"CJ. He's your... he's-"

"My what?" Punk shook his head as she looked up at him.


A/N: Let me know what you think!