Surprise


"Are you ok, baby?" Punk asked, walking out of the hospital with Jo where he had taken her straight away once he collected her from their neighbours house. Turned out she had just a mild concussion. He knew the tree house was built high and given that she'd fell upside down also, he was surprised she hadn't broken anything.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Jo sighed tiredly. She'd gotten a fright more than anything and she also didn't enjoy the hospital with doctors and nurses touching her head and fussing over her. She just wanted to go home.

"Let me see your cool band-aid." Punk said as Jo turned her wrist around and showed him the band-aid which had the Simpsons on it, "That's cool." He nodded as Jo nodded in agreement.

His main concern was Jo and getting her to the hospital to get checked out. His next concern was to then figure out where the hell his sister had disappeared to. He thought she would be ok for an hour. She had convinced him well enough. But he supposed that's what addicts did to get their own way. He was just hurt that she hadn't thought about Jo's safety when she left her in the house herself.

"I want mommy." Jo sighed as Punk strapped Jo into the back of his car. She loved her father and took a lot of comfort in him, but there was something about a mother's hug that made everything so much better. She'd gotten a fright when she fell more than anything.

"Mommy will be home soon." Punk nodded. Which he was dreading. He knew AJ wouldn't hold back, especially if the girls' safety had been risked. But first he had to find out where Cami had even gone off to. She didn't know the area and he was worried she was doing something out of desperation.

"I want to see her now." Jo sighed, picking up Franklin and squishing him beside her in her car seat.

"I think… you need a nap." Punk nodded, noticing how tired she looked. She'd clearly had a traumatic day. It wasn't the first time one of the girls had to go a trip to the hospital. They were prone to having accidents, but it didn't get any easier.

"Oh, no. I don't nap." Jo said. She was under the illusion that only little girls napped, and she didn't want to be a little girl.

"I think you should." Punk said, "You've had a long day, sweetness." He said, kissing her head softly, watching as she picked up her monkey and raised it to his face, "Mhm." He nodded, kissing the monkey's head as Jo put him back beside her whilst Punk closed the door over and got into the front.


It only took the drive home for Jo to fall asleep. Punk got out of the car, lifting her from the back and heading inside, opening up the door and walking on in. He lay Jo down on the couch and threw a blanket over her before heading through to the kitchen, picking up his phone and trying to call Cami, but of course she wasn't answering.

He sat for the next hour calling Cami, sitting at the kitchen table. He would have gone out looking for her if it wasn't for Jo. He needed to be there for his daughter. Luckily enough, AJ and Jessica got home soon after, which meant he had to tell AJ.

"Hi dad." Jessica threw her bag into the corner of the kitchen, giving her dad a hug.

"Hi, baby." Punk smiled, "How was school?" He asked.

"Fine. Mom got into trouble again from my teacher." Jessica said as Punk looked over at AJ who had come into the kitchen.

"Mom's always getting into trouble." Punk smiled over to AJ.

"Jo's not normally sleeping this late." AJ said after sticking her head into the living room and noticing Jo was fast asleep.

"Yeah, well she's had a bit of a day." Punk said as AJ took her coat off and shook her head, "There was a bit of an accident."

"What?" AJ looked at him.

"Don't freak out. She's perfectly fine-"

He couldn't say much more as AJ had left the kitchen and travelled into the living room.

"Did something bad happen?" Jessica asked her father.

"No, no it's fine." Punk said, "You-you stay here, get your homework out. I'm sure you have plenty." He said as she rolled her eyes whilst he walked out of the kitchen and into the living room.

"What happened to her?" AJ asked him, crouched down by the couch, cupping Jo's cheek as she watched her sleep peacefully.

"She fell off her tree house." Punk said as AJ shut her eyes and shook her head, "But she's fine. Mild concussion and a little scrape on her wrist. She's lucky." Punk nodded as AJ sighed, placing her hand on her chest and looking on at Jo.

"She could have broken her neck." AJ shook her head in a groan, "How many times have we told her?"

"It's not her fault." Punk shook his head as AJ looked up at him, "Actually, it's mine." He said, "I left her with Cami." He said as AJ stood up back to her normal height, "I left her with Cami and it was Marie next door who… who found Jo. Cami had taken off and I can't get a hold of her."

"She left Jo here herself?" AJ shook her head, "You left Cami with her?"

"I thought it'd be ok. I was going out for… an hour at the most. I had to hand in things for work. Cami… seemed better, she convinced me it'd be fine." Punk said.

"She is a drug addict." AJ shook her head, "They don't get better after one day." She said, "Phil." She said angrily, "I'm so mad at you right now." She let him know.

"I'm mad at me too. I should have just stayed in the house, I know. I just thought it'd be ok for an hour." Punk said, "But Marie called me, her husband climbed over the fence, Jo was crying, they took her over to their house and I… I came back and took her to the hospital. I don't know where Cami is." He shrugged as AJ shook her head.

"I'm not doing this." AJ said, "She's not disrupting our lives, the girls lives like this." She said, "And you should have damn well known better."

"Ok, I said it was my fault, can we move on? She's fine." Punk pointed down to Jo.

"Not the point." AJ said, "What if Marie wasn't in? Huh? What if Jo was bleeding? And no one was here." AJ said, "You can't trust her when she's like this." AJ shook her head, "And you certainly can't trust her with our children." AJ sighed.

"Ok, I get it." Punk said.

"I don't want her here." AJ said, "I've done nothing but help her when she gets like this and every time something bad happens. My kid gets taken off me or… my kid almost dies." She pointed to Jo.

"Ok, don't be dramatic." Punk said.

"Look how tiny she is." AJ said, "And look how high she fell from." She said, "I'm surprised she didn't break something."

"Well she's ok now. That's the important thing, right?" Punk said.

"You go find her and you make yourself clear that she's not welcomed here. We check her into rehab, or a detox centre, somewhere." AJ threw her hands up, "But I'm not doing this." She said as Punk sighed and nodded. All points she was making were valid and he agreed with her, "Was she upset?" AJ asked, crouching back down beside Jo, cupping her cheek softly.

"She was ok." Punk nodded, "She was just exhausted, fell asleep in the car home from the hospital." He said as AJ nodded, "I'm sorry. I-I shouldn't have left her with Cami." He said as AJ looked up at him.

"No, you don't have to apologise." AJ sighed, trying to calm herself down, "You're trying to do a good thing and… she's just taking advantage of it." AJ said, "It's not your fault." She sighed as Punk nodded, "You should go look for her." She nodded.

"Yeah, I'm gonna go." Punk said, "You be ok here?"

"Yeah." AJ nodded.

"Ok." Punk said, heading on out of the living room, pausing and turning back as he watched AJ kiss Jo on the head, sighing to himself. He knew if anything had happened to Jo, AJ would have been ready to fight, literally.


Punk spent the rest of the night out looking for Cami. He searched pubs near them, different streets and hot spots, until he finally found her at a bus shelter with no jacket on. He pulled in and got out of the car, taking off his zipper.

"Cami." Punk got her attention as she looked over.

"Go away." Cami shook her head with frustration.

"Put this on." Punk said, putting the zipper over her shoulders, "Get in the car." He said.

"No." Cami said, "No, please just go away. Please leave me alone." She nodded.

"Jo fell off her tree house." Punk said, "When you were supposed to be watching her. The neighbours found her." He said as Cami looked up at him.

"F-Found her?" Cami shook her head.

"Yeah, crying." Punk said, "She's alright. Mild concussion. Little cut on her arm. She's lucky. And so are you, because AJ would have been ready to fight." He nodded as Cami placed her hand on her forehead. Her head wasn't in the right place. She could barely remember an hour ago never mind earlier in the morning, "So this is what we're gonna do, we're gonna check you into rehab, some place here." Punk nodded as Cami began shaking her head.

"No… no no, please don't put me in there again." Cami said, "No, please." She begged, grabbing his arm desperately, "I don't want to go there."

"You need help, Cami. Professional help. I can't help you like this. I thought I could but… you… you need more than me." He nodded as Cami looked up at him.

"This is your fault." Cami whispered, "This is all your fault." She pushed him as Punk shook his head.

"What's my fault?" Punk asked.

"This. All of it." Cami said, "I was fine." She said, speaking to herself in riddles as Punk just shook his head.

"Cami, you just need some help. You're gonna get better. You're strong." Punk nodded.

"No." Cami shook her head as Punk wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into him as she cried.

"It's gonna be ok." Punk nodded, sighing to himself. He could see she was beyond his help. She needed medical treatment, professional help. He couldn't help her in this state and that was very clear to see. But he'd never saw her so aggressive and angry towards him, like something really was his fault. He just wanted to help her.


AJ was sitting on the couch with the girls later on. Jo had woke up and enjoyed a long cuddle from her mother after her long and traumatising day. Jessica had made her a get well soon card whilst she had been napping too. She felt the love for sure.

AJ was trying to stay calm, and understand that Cami was just in a difficult place, but when her daughter's safety was on the line, it became so much harder to stay calm. She was just so thankful that Jo was ok.

"Where's daddy?" Jo asked, curled into her mother, feeling a little clingier than usual due to the accident, barely letting AJ leave her side.

"He's gone out. He'll be back soon." AJ said, playing with Jo's hair. They were both in their pyjamas, more or less ready for bed, but she knew they'd want to see Punk before they went.

"Can we change the movie? I don't want to watch Trolls." Jessica said.

"I do." Jo said quietly, leaning into AJ.

"We always watch it." Jessica said.

"I bumped my head, I get to choose." Jo told her sister whilst AJ sat between them.

"You can't use that." Jessica said.

"Why don't we watch something we all like?" AJ asked them, "Huh?" She looked from Jo to Jessica.

"Ok." Jo nodded.

"You guys want some hot chocolate?" She asked them as they both nodded, "Ok." She smiled, "You both decide nicely, on a movie to watch." She said, standing up, about to head into the kitchen when there was a knock on the door.

She back-tracked and headed down the hallway to the door, opening it up and blinking her eyes a few times, taking a step back and shaking her head with confusion.

"Matthew?" AJ shook her head.

"Hey, April." Matthew nodded.