Making A Choice

Punk woke up the next morning, opening his eyes as he seen a figure rushing around in his dimly lit room. Obviously he knew it was and opened his eyes wider whilst he watched her put her bra on, shimmying her jeans on up her legs as he smiled at the view.

"Where you going?" He asked sleepily, turning the clock as he seen it was 6am.

"I have work." AJ told him, which she did, she was rushing out on him.

"At 6am?" Punk raised his eyebrows.

"I open up at 7." AJ told him, "I assume you want to talk about last night." She said whilst picking up her t-shirt from the floor, looking over at him as he propped himself up on his elbow. She didn't regret what they done, but she did want to talk with him about it, about what went on. There was chemistry there between them that she didn't think they'd have… chemistry she never even had with Tommy.

"I start work at noon. Finish at 6." Punk told her as she nodded.

"I'll swing by just after then." AJ told him as he got out of bed and put his boxers on whilst she tied her laces on her converse, standing back up straight as he was suddenly in front of her.

"You regret it?" He had to ask as she looked down for a second, then looked back up at him.

"N-No." AJ whispered, "I think that's why I feel so bad." AJ admitted.

"You shouldn't feel bad." Punk told her.

"You don't feel just a tiny bit guilty?" AJ questioned with confusion. She knew he did have a heart now, so he must have felt something.

"No… I'm-I'm too distracted." Punk looked at her as she smiled, "Maybe it's… wrong, but it felt right, so it can't be." Punk debated.

"He'd be so hurt." AJ whispered as she looked down at the ground. She felt awful with herself. She knew that her and Tommy weren't exactly full on, it wasn't like they were married or had been together for quite some time, but to her it was still a shameful thing to do, even though it felt great.

"He isn't here." Punk said.

"How can you just say that? He's your brother."

"I know that… and I miss him every single day, and I'd cut my own throat to have him back here, but he isn't-he isn't coming back." Punk nodded, "And we have to accept that." He said, "I think he'd want us to be happy, don't you?" Punk said.

"I don't think he'd want us to be happy like this." AJ admitted truthfully, "I don't know where my head is at." She admitted, placing her hand on her forehead as he took it gently down, cupped her cheeks and leaned in to press a gentle kiss on her lips that she fell into. He didn't regret it. As cold as it may have sounded. He didn't. All night, all he could think about was how right it all felt, how much they fitted. She was beautiful and sweet, yet he seen part of his crazy self in her also, it just hadn't had a chance to come out yet with what happened.

Punk eventually pulled back from the kiss as she looked back up at him. She had loved ever part of last night. She truly had. His touch, his need to please, just him in general, the way their bodies felt against one another. It was passionate and nothing like she had felt before. Even just a gentle kiss sent her completely in a daze. He was so secretly charming, and she was really beginning to see the man he was deep inside.

"I don't want you to feel bad." He said, stroking the pad of his thumb back and forth on her cheek as he continued to cup her cheeks.

"I don't." AJ whispered as she looked up at him.

"We have to move on somehow… if this is where we've found ourselves then so be it." Punk said, "You can't tell me last night was nothing." He said, "Look at me… do I look like a guy who has meaningful sex every odd weekend?" He asked her as she looked up at him, "Something happened with us last night… something good… I know you felt it too." He said.

She understood now that he had to let people in. Tommy had always been very forward from the moment she met him, but Punk had taken his time to let her in, to really trust her, and to her that showed he was safe, but that he also had a guard that was very rarely taken down, and she knew it was now down for her.

"I just feel really guilty." AJ said.

"You shouldn't." Punk said.

"Well I do, Phil." AJ told him a little more forcefully, "What kind of woman do I look like right now? It's not even been two weeks since Tommy died and I'm jumping in bed with his brother." AJ whined as Punk sighed, "I'm not that type of person. I'm not a-"

"Not a what?" Punk shook his head, "What? You think that because you've slept with me that you're a whore? A slut?" He asked, "Is that what kind of girls you associate with me?" He asked angrily.

"No… no, that wasn't what I mean." She placed her hands on his arms, "Of course it wasn't. I'm meaning me… just… hopping into bed with you after being with your brother, and the fact that it felt good is even worse." She said. It was really affecting her. She wasn't this type of person but she was drawn to him.

"April you haven't killed anybody. You don't need to get all flustered about it." Punk calmed her, "It wasn't just us hopping into bed. It's not like it's just a one night thing… I like having you around, I like getting to know you. I like you, April." He said seriously. He couldn't pretend he didn't.

"You don't know that." AJ shook her head.

"No, trust me. I do. There's not many people than can come into my life and have an effect on it the way you have." He said truthfully.

"I just don't… I don't understand how… Tommy dying has made a difference between our relationship."

"You met him first." Punk shrugged, as cold as it sounded, he wasn't lying. Her eyes were fixed on Tommy first. He was just an outcast. He always was.

AJ just looked up at him, "I have to go to work." She told him as he nodded, "I'll-I'll be over later." She told him as he nodded.

"I'll see you then." Punk said as she nodded, walking by him and out of the bedroom, leaving the apartment as Punk collapsed back down on the bed, placing his hands in his hair and sighing. Things did seem complicated yet they were so clear at the same time. She had a good heart, that's why she was finding this so hard. She cared.

"What you doing, Mal?" Rachel asked as she walked into the kitchen in her apartment, looking over at Malia who was kneeling up on the chair at the kitchen table.

"Drawing a picture." Malia told her mom.

"Yeah? What are you drawing?" Rachel asked.

"A picture of me and daddy." Malia said, "Because he's sad and I want to cheer him up." She smiled, "I'm giving him it tomorrow." She implied as Rachel smiled.

"I think that'll definitely cheer him up." Rachel smiled, folding her arms.

"I drawed Marie too." She said as she reached for a different colour of pencil, concentrating very hard on her drawing as Rachel smiled.

"He'll love it." Rachel smiled just as there was a knock at the door, "You stay here." Rachel said, walking out of the kitchen and down the hallway to the door, opening it up and immediately tried to close it over.

"Not so fast." Hank laughed, placing his foot in the door as Rachel had no choice but to keep it opened.

"Why are you here?" Rachel hissed.

"You know why I'm here, Rachel." Hank said.

"You promised me you wouldn't tell Phil that you came to see me." Rachel spat, "I had to lie to him, so that he wouldn't do anything."

"Why would he do anything anyway? You two aren't a thing anymore. You aren't his to protect." Hank shrugged, "Regardless, sweetheart. You owe me money."

"Phil doesn't know it's you that I owe money to you." Rachel said, "And we agreed to keep it that way. If he-If he found out… he would take Malia from me."

"Well then I'll make sure he doesn't find out then." Hank said, "But I need you to start coughing up everything you owe me, or else there's gonna be consequences." He spat.

"You know I don't have that kind of money… and you… you're upping the price every week for me."

"I told you I'd charge you excess if you didn't get it to me. It goes up every week that you fail to pay it. That's the way it works." Hank said.

"I don't have that kind of money. I have a daughter to look after. Don't you-Don't you have a heart?" Rachel spat.

"No, I don't." Hank said, "I need my money. You have three choices. One, you get it to me next week and it's all done and dusted. Two, you go back out on the street for me and pay if off that way-"

"I'm not doing that again, you bastard." Rachel spat.

"Three, I break both your legs, and double the price." Hank continued, ignoring her as Rachel looked across at him with fear, "You have three choices. I know what choice I would make." He nodded.

"Please… I just need some time, I need time to get the money, and I need you stop putting the price up every week." Rachel begged, "I have a three year old daughter. I have to make sure that any money I get, goes to her."

"She has her dad." Hank shrugged.

"I need to be there for her too." Rachel said, "I came to you at a time of need. I was messed up. I had one moment of weakness and you took advantage of that."

"I need the money, Rachel. Everything else you say to me is irrelevant." Hank said, "You know your three choices. I just hope you make the right one."

"You aren't giving me a choice." Rachel shook her head.

"I am. I'm giving you three choices, actually." Hank said, "Unless… maybe I give you a fourth choice." He smirked, "If you can get Phil to do a quick job for me-I need him to pick up two cars, one in Milwaukee, one in Cincinnati. He gets me those cars, drops them off to me… that's your debt paid."

"So my debt is worth Phil going to pick up two cars?" Rachel shook her head.

"Exactly." Hank smiled.

"I won't involve Phil. I know how he feels about you."

"He's terrified of me." Hank chuckled.

"He's terrified of what you do. Not you. He knows you're a small, pathetic excuse for a man just like everyone else." Rachel spat.

"Don't try me, sweetheart. Not when you owe me so much." Hank said, "But hey, you can always go with the other choices. You were good at working the streets for me the last time. I got a lot of requests for you." He nodded as Rachel just turned away, "Or do you want two broken legs?"

"I want you to leave me alone."

"I will, once you give me what I'm owed." Hank said.

"If Phil does those two jobs for you… will you leave him alone after it too?" Rachel asked curiously.

"You bet." Hank nodded.

"I don't believe you." Rachel shook her head, "I'm not risking you getting him sent back to prison. Malia needs him."

"You think I intended for him to go to prison? He's my nephew."

"You love to see him suffer." Rachel spat, "Why was it always him? Why was it never Tommy?"

"Because Tommy could never handle this kind of stuff. Phil knows the streets. He knows prison. He knows things, he knows how they work. Tommy just wore a uniform and killed the bad guys." Hank spat, "We are the bad guys. Personally, I never had time for a hero."

"You should show some respect." Rachel hissed angrily, "And I don't want you involving Phil." She said.

"So then it's option one, two or three." Hank nodded, "I know you won't get that kind of money just out of thin air by next week. So it's option two or three. A few weeks out on the street, or two broken legs. Your choice. I'll leave it with you." He smirked, walking out of the apartment as Rachel slammed it over behind him, taking a deep breath as she began to realise how much trouble she was really in.

Later on that night, after a day at work where AJ had just constantly thought about what was going on with her and Punk, she headed home, showered and headed back out to go see him. She didn't know what to really say to him, all she knew was that she felt good last night, she felt right, and she wasn't going to push him away. She'd pushed people away her entire life, good people, and she wouldn't do it anymore.

"Do you want anything?" Punk asked AJ as he walked into the living room after her.

"No, I'm ok for just now." AJ smiled sweetly. There was a difference in him when he began to trust someone she could see. At first he just seemed like a dick. Someone she didn't want to associate with or talk to, ever. But then they got to know each other, and she seen this knew side to him. It was like he was a different person.

"You ok?" Punk asked her, taking a seat beside her on the couch as she nodded.

"Yeah. I uh… I done a lot of thinking today." She nodded to him, "I don't think we should… feel bad for what we done." AJ said, "We can't tiptoe around everything that… involves Tommy." She said, "I don't know what happened last night but it was different… good different." She smiled, "It was like… we'd been doing it the entire time." She said as he nodded, "And you're right… he would want us to be happy. Maybe… not entirely like this, but he'd still want us to be happy." AJ said.

"He would." Punk nodded, "I wanna get to know you. For you. You're right about last night. Something did go on. I'm not entirely sure what. But it was different." He nodded, "And we can't beat ourselves up about it."

"I just don't wanna spend the entire time feeling guilty."

"You shouldn't."Punk said, "Everything happens for a reason. Sometimes they aren't clear at first, but I'm-I'm beginning to see it clearly." He said as AJ smiled. She never thought she could be so intrigued in someone she started off despising. She did see a lot of herself in him. They had the same good qualities, and with given time, she knew they'd get to trust each other significantly.

"I just don't want it to seem like… because I lost Tommy I'm just moving onto you now."

"That's not how it seems, April." Punk said, "I know you aren't like that." He said truthfully, "You shouldn't feel that way." He said, "You have to get on with your life somehow." He said as she nodded.

He wasn't one to express feelings and get all sentimental, but this girl had gone from zero to one hundred straight away. She always seemed beautiful, it just took him a while to get her, and trust her, to figure her out. Now he had, he was beginning to realise something good was definitely on the horizon, and normally nothing good was set up for him.

"We do." AJ agreed, "Let's just… whatever we're doing-take it slow." She said. Although seeming sure of her feelings, there was still uncertainty that she was aware of.

"Ok." Punk nodded with a small smile as she smiled back, leaning in and pressing her lips against his as they were quickly parted by a loud knock at the apartment door, "Give me a minute." Punk rolled his eyes, standing up and walking out of the living room to go answer the door, confused when he seen Rachel with a sleeping Malia in her arms, "What are you doing here? I thought I was picking her up tomorrow." Punk said as Rachel quickly stepped into the apartment.

"I need you to take her." Rachel said, passing the three year old over to Punk who took her and held her sleeping in his arms, "I need to get out of here."

"Wait, what?" Punk shook his head, "What do you mean?"

"I have to go, Phil. Tonight." Rachel said, "Or else I'm in trouble. Big trouble."

"With who? Wait a minute, Rachel." Punk said, trying not to be too loud as he pulled her back with his free hand from leaving, "You're just gonna fucking leave through the night?"

"I don't have a choice." Rachel shook her head, "I need you to take care of her."

"No, no… no, you aren't walking out of her life because you owe some people some money." Punk said, "Are you kidding me right now?"

"I can't pay it back, and I can't ask you to help me either."

"Why not?" Punk asked, "I can give you the money. I can-I can save up my wages and give you the money."

"I need it by next week and… it's too much. I could never ask you to pay it." Rachel said, "I need to go, tonight."

"And what? You're just not coming back?" Punk shook his head.

"Not any time soon." Rachel said.

"How can you do this? How can you walk out on her?"

"I'm not… I just… I have no other choice. I have to get out of here. I know you'll keep her safe." Rachel nodded, "But I have to go."

"Rachel, I'm not gonna let you-" Punk pulled her back as she pushed him away.

"No!" Rachel shouted, "Don't make me feel bad about it. I know I fucked up. But I have to go, before I get hurt, before Malia or you get hurt."

"Who is threatening you?" Punk asked.

"You don't need to know." Rachel said.

"If they're threatening my daughter, I do need to fucking know." Punk spat.

"It's no one you know. Just some dealers." Rachel lied, "Just please, keep her safe, I'm doing this for her-"

"You're walking out, for her?" Punk asked.

"I'm not walking out." Rachel said as AJ slowly crept out of the living room and looked down the hall.

"I can't take care of her on my own." Punk said desperately whilst clutching Malia in his arms as the little girl continued to sleep.

"Yes, you can. Better than I ever could." Rachel said, "I have to go." She backed away, staring at Malia with deep regret, "I have to go." She said frantically, turning around and running out of the apartment as Punk stood with confusion, fear, uncertainty, turning around as he seen AJ standing outside the living room.

"She's just… left."

A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Keep them coming. Let me know what you think.