A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks for the reviews! I agree on the killer case being rushed but I didn't want to have the entire story revolve around just one case. With Punk being a Detective and AJ being an investigator reporter there are going to be a lot of cases coming up. They'll be separate but of course they'll cross paths. I also wanted Punk to catch this guy to solidify him being as good as Detective as I have written him. Anyways, thanks for all the reviews again! :)

Big Steps

Two days later and the case was still front page news. Bret Walsh was the most talked about man not only in Chicago but the country. He was getting all that fame he longed for, along with his share of crazy female groupies. AJ was trying her best to move past it all. She would worry about this once the case went to trial. Right now she was taking a mental break and focusing on making Chicago her home.

"I don't know." AJ said looking at the couch that was in front of the window.

"Can you figure it out?" Punk asked holding one hand while Kofi held the other.

"Yea this is heavy." Kofi groaned.

"Against that wall." She pointed and they carried the couch to the wall and dropped it.

"That's perfect." She said to them happily.

"I need to get going now. Don't want to be late for dinner." Kofi said grabbing his jacket.

"Thank you." She smiled kissing his cheek.

"Anything for you." Kofi winked then waved at Punk as he walked out the door.

"You like it?" she asked him.

"I would have preferred you put a bed in here and not a couch." He admitted eyeing the small apartment.

"The couch pulls out." She shrugged. "What if I have company one night, you want me to entertain guests in bed?" She asked arching a brow.

"Excellent point." He agreed seriously. "I love this couch. And it's big! You never have to take the bed out."

"Yea." She laughed. "And thank you for painting the place for me." She said to him.

"I have some free time." he shrugged.

"So for Thanksgiving what are you doing?" She asked him.

"Nothing." He shrugged. "I was thinking you and I would figure something out."

"You're not going to see your parents?" She asked him.

"Nah, they're going to be in London visiting family." he told her.

"You have family in London?" She asked in awe.

"My aunt and uncle live out there." He said to her. "Are you going to see your parents?"

"They did invite me." She admitted sitting on the couch next to him. "They invited you too."

"Oh." He said nervously scratching the back of his head.

"I'm not going to go if you don't and I completely understand if you don't want to go." She assured him. "We haven't been dating long and you've been working a lot."

"I have to check with work." He said to her. "But if I can't go you should still go."

"I don't want to spend Thanksgiving away from you." She told him bluntly. "If you can't go or don't want to we'll just stay here and I'll attempt to cook something."

"I usually work but I'll see." He said to her. "I'll let you know by the end of the week."

"Great." She said standing up and kissing him.

"So you told your parents about me?" He asked curiously.

"I told my mom." She told him. "And I"m sure she told my dad, I don't really talk to him a lot on the phone. Did you not mention me to your parents? I know you and your mommy talk everyday." She teased.

"I am close to them, nothing wrong with that." He laughed. "But no I haven't."

"Really?" She asked surprised, she wasn't expecting that response.

"It's not personal it's just I don't discuss my private life with my parents." He shrugged.

"It's ok." She said simply. "I understand."

"It's really not a bad thing." He insisted. "I just didn't bring it up. We talk or like five minutes, she calls to make sure I'm still alive."

"We are together right?" She asked him.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"We're in a relationship together are we not? We're not seeing other people?" She asked.

"We're not seeing other people." Punk said to her. "If I tell my mom about you she will haunt me everyday asking me about you."

"What's wrong with that?" She asked.

"It'll be annoying." he said seriously.

"I just feel like I jumped the gun by inviting you to New Jersey for the holiday." She admitted.

"My parents are coming in for Christmas and I was hoping to convince you to spend it with me." He said to her. "But if you want to go to Jersey I understand that."

"No. One holiday a year is painful enough." She said simply then it hit her. Was she really ready for Punk to meet her parents? She knew how it would end. Her dad falling down drunk and her mom just smiling pretending it was completely normal.

"You alright?" He frowned.

"Yea totally." she said brushing it off.

"Alright well I was hoping tomorrow night you'd let me take you out to dinner?" He asked hopefully.

"Yea? Where to?" She asked happily.

"Somewhere nice. Real menus, waiters, the whole package." He told her and she blushed. "I love making you blush."

"What time?" she asked shyly.

"6 sharp?" he asked.

"Ok." She smiled and he kissed her.

"I have to head into work and finish my reports. I'll see you tomorrow." He said to her.

"Bye." She waved shyly as he walked out the door. He still gave her butterflys.

The next day Punk took the opportunity to dress for his date at work since he was there later than he thought.

"I'm going to be fucking late." he muttered pulling his blazer on over his dress shirt. He left the top few buttons opened, just enough so you can get a glimpse of his chest tattoo.

"Nice." Kofi remarked.

"Why are you always here?" Punk asked annoyed as he adjusted his sleeves.

"Hot date?" Kofi asked.

"Yea you could say that." Punk grinned. "Taking April to Gino's."

"How did you get reservations there?" Kofi asked stunned.

"Walked in a hold up there when I was beat cop, Gino guaranteed me a table there anytime I wanted." Punk told him.

"So things are getting serious?" Kofi asked.

"It's been a few weeks." Punk said to him. "Like I said before, I'm just trying to do this right."

"Keep it up, happiness looks good on you." Kofi told him.

"She invited me to New Jersey for Thanksgiving." Punk confided.

"Are you going?" Kofi asked.

"I told her I might be working." Punk told him.

"We worked it last year, we're not doing it this year." Kofi reminded him. "But of course you remembered that."

"It seems like a big step." Punk admitted.

"What else do you have to do?" Kofi asked. "You should go."

"It's just weird. I've never flew out of town to meet my girlfriends parents." Punk said to him.

"You like April?" He asked Punk.

"She's amazing." Punk remarked fondly.

"Then you should go. Get it out of the way early on." Kofi said to him. "Is she close to her parents? I'm surprised they didn't fly down after she was kidnapped."

"I don't think they're all that close. I know she's not close to her dad." Punk said to him.

"So going back home might not be easy for her, she might need the moral support." Kofi said to him. "Especially since it's her first holiday without her best friend."

"You're good at the guilt trip." Punk said to him.

"I'm not trying to guilt you, I'm just saying it won't be an easy holiday for her." Kofi suggested. "And I'm sure you've piled up a few personal days. But hey, April is a smart brave girl- I'm sure she doesn't need you to support her. I get you're afraid of commitment but she didn't ask to marry you she asked you to hold her hand during probably a really bad time."

"When you put it that way." He muttered. "I have to go."

"Have fun!" Kofi yelled after him.

At dinner Punk couldn't keep his eyes off of AJ. A tight black cocktail dress, her hair down straight, light makeup and a pair of converse- that was his favorite part.

"I want to eat it all." AJ said as her eyes took in the menu.

"Have it all." he told her. He didn't pick up his menu once. "So uh- I'm free Thanksgiving."

"Really?" She asked stunned.

"Yea. I can take a few days." he told her.

"Well we can do something here because it turns out I can't take the time." she said quickly. "How is their veal parm?"

"What do you mean you can't take the time? You can send it your work from your computer." He said to her. "You seemed dead set on going."

"I'd love to go, but I have to work." She said to him. "Oh! I wonder how the-"

"Ape." He smirked and she looked over her menu to him. "Hi."

"Hi." She smiled.

"What do I do for a living?" he asked her.

"You're a detective." She responded nervously, she knew where this was going.

"And I'm detecting that you're lying to me." He said to her. "Is this about me not telling my parents about you? Because I am-"

"No." She said closing her menu. "It sounded like a good idea at the time I was asked because unlike you- I'm proud of you."

"I am proud of you." he said a little annoyed. "Don't turn this into something it's not. Why don't you want me to go with you now?"

"My family is different." She told him. "I just don't want you to think different of me."

"That's not possible." He smirked. "I plan on being with you Ape so I'd like to meet your family at some point. Your dad isn't going to scare me away."

"How did you know he was the reason?" She asked.

"I'm a Detective." He again reminded her. "Let's go and get it over with it. This is a big step for me too and I want to take it."

"Ok." She said to him. "But you've been warned."

"I get it." he smirked.

"I don't know if I want a dinner or just to skip to the dessert." She admitted looking at the menu again.

"Dessert is back at my place." He told her and she grinned.

"What do you have in mind?" She asked innocently.

"I have plenty of good food there. Whip cream." he began. "Strawberries, cherries..."

"Yea sounds better at your place." She agreed.

After they ordered their food they chatted a bit more about going to New Jersey and the few cases Punk was working. It was the perfect opportunity to drop a bomb on him.

"Anything new on the Bret Walsh case?" She asked.

"He plead guilty. He's being sentenced. There's nothing new." He said to her simply. "Why?" he asked.

"It's funny because you remember Alan Taylor?" She asked and he rolled his eyes.

"What are you getting at Ape?" he asked. "You know I remember him."

"Well he's been trying to get in to interview Bret." She told him.

"Why would he want to?" Punk snorted as he ate his pasta dish.

"Everyone is trying to get in to interview him." She informed him.

"The only reason he's agreeing to any interview is because he loves fame, anyone who agrees to it just giving him exactly what he wants." Punk told her.

"Yea." She said playing with the food on her dish. "His lawyer called my editor actually."

"Why?" he asked genuinely confused.

"He wants to sit down with me." She told him and he laughed. "Why are you laughing?"

"Of course he wants to sit down with you." Punk remarked. "Just another way to torture you since he didn't get a chance to do it physically."

"He likes the way I write." She said to him and Punk licked his lips as he smiled.

"You don't truly believe that a man who watched you and abducted you wants to sit down with you because he likes how you write? Guys like him want to be on TV, they want Katie Couric or Oprah to interview them, not a small time journalist." Punk said to her.

"I know that." She laughed with a wave of her hand.

"You told his attorney no, didn't you?" He asked starting to get worried.

"No. I didn't respond at all." She told him. "My boss wants me to do it."

"Tell your boss to find somebody else." Punk said to her. "This guy murdered your friend, there's no reason for you to have sit across from him and give him something he wants."

"My boss really wants me to do it." AJ said to him.

"Do you want to do it?" He asked her. "You built your career out here but fighting against the media machine and not giving him any mention. Do you want to turn your back on that?"

"Do you not want me to do it?" She asked.

"We made a deal at the start of this to not interfere with each others careers and I'm keeping my word." He told her. "If you want my opinion? No I wouldn't do it but you have to do what's best for you."

"I don't want to but my job can be on the line." She said to him.

"If you get fired for not wanting to sit down with your abductor then fuck your boss." he said bluntly.

"He said I'd be on TV too, they'd want to film it but I don't want to be on TV." She said to him.

"You're beautiful and would look amazing on TV." He said to her. "Just not in a jail interviewing some monster."

"I'd rather just write." she admitted.

"So just write. You're the most talked about journalist in Chicago right now, if your boss lets you go you'll get another job in five minutes." He assured her. "You need to do what makes you comfortable."

"I just kind of regret not asking him about Tiffany." She admitted.

"What would you want to know?" Punk asked. "What do you think he would tell you about her? Her last words? How much she cried?"

"Yea." She whispered looking down at her food.

"He would have tortured you with stories." He said reaching across the table and grabbing her hand. "You have all the good memories with her don't taint them with the story of her death."

"You're right." She said to him.

"I'm always right." He replied seriously.

"I won't get any answers from him." She said to him.

"I don't know why you thought you would. The man thrives on mind games." He reminded her. "You don't need to put yourself through anymore. You can move on now. Your closure for Tiffany will come the day he's sentenced."
"The day he dies is more like it." She replied coldly.

"That day will come when he's in prison because he will never see the light of day again." he assured her.

Later that evening it was only nine and AJ was passed out cold in his bed. They had dessert back at his place just like he promised and they went on for two hours until both were spent. He looked at the woman sleeping next to him and realized he was in love with her already. When she mentioned going to see Bret Walsh his stomach dropped. He didn't want her to be that close to such a cold and calculating man again. He didn't want to have to pry her off of the shower floor again or listen to her cry. He kissed her bare shoulder before carefully getting out of the bed and getting dressed. He grabbed his cellphone and closed the bedroom door behind him.

"Hi mom." He greeted as soon as she answered.

"Hi honey." She greeted enthusiastically. "I haven't heard from you today I was worried."

"I'm good." He said to her. "I'm actually really good." he told her.

"That's good to hear." She said happily. "I read the most amazing article about you online. You didn't mention you were the arresting officer of that awful man."

"Yea." Punk said to her. "What article did you read?"

"It was in the Sentinel." She told him. "They've gotten some good journalists lately."

"The article you're referring to was written by the woman who was kidnapped by Bret Walsh." he told her.

"Oh, is she alright?" His mother asked concerned.

"She's great. Actually she was a little biased when writing that article." He told her.

"You saved her life." His mother laughed. "Of course she was a bit biased."

"No it's more than that and actually she's really smart. She lead me right to him." He told her. "She signed on her computer and kept herself alive long enough for me to get to her."

"You seem fond of her." his mother noted.

"We've been dating." He told her. "Before she was kidnapped actually."

"You're dating?" His mother gasped. "You never talk about your girlfriends."

"This one is different, she's special." he confirmed. "I think she was a little hurt I didn't mention her to you."

"Why wouldn't you?" She asked.

"I don't know, I guess I didn't want to jinx it but I'm not worried about that anymore." he said to her.

"What is she like?" His mother asked anxiously. "Is she a blonde?" she almost cringed.

"No." Punk laughed. "She has dark long beautiful hair."

"And she's clearly very smart, I love the way she writes- she's passionate." His mother noted.

"That she is." Punk agreed. "She's a bit of pain in the pass." He laughed.

"I like her already." His mother told him seriously.

"You'll really like her when you meet her." Punk told her.

"I even get to meet her?" she asked stunned.

"I know you and dad are coming for Christmas and I invited her. I hope you don't mind." he said to her.

"No! And if we weren't going to London for Thanksgiving we'd fly out then." She told him.

"I'm going to meet her family in New Jersey on Thanksgiving actually." He told her.

"You're meeting the family?" She asked slowly. "Where is my son and what have you done with him?"

"It's still me." He told her.

"I'm so glad you met someone." She said to him. "Is she funny?"

"She thinks she is. She laughs at her own jokes a lot." He said and his mom laughed. "She's a real good girl."

"I can tell. You wouldn't settle for anything less than the best." His mom told him. "Your father is going to faint when he hears about this."

"I can't stay on long but I just wanted you to know." he told her.

"It makes me very happy to know you have someone with you there and you're not alone." She said to him. "And to hear you happy makes me ecstatic. I don't know if I can wait until Christmas to meet her."

"You're going to have to." He said to her. "I'll talk to you soon."

"Yes you will. I love you." she said.

"Love you too." He told her then hung up.

"I wasn't eavesdropping." AJ said and he looked behind him and saw her standing by the door. "But I was going to the bathroom. You don't think my jokes are funny?" she asked sweetly and he laughed. "You didn't have to call your mom I didn't mean to pressure you."

"You didn't. I should have told her a while ago." He said to her. "I've just been selfishly keeping you to myself."

"I don't mind." She teased walking over to him.

"You were just passed out cold." He laughed as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"I'm a light sleeper." She shrugged.

"That it? Are you sure you're just not thinking of other things?" He asked her.

"I had no idea that dating a Detective meant I'd never have a single private thought." She remarked.

"I could say the same thing about dating an investigator reporter." He shot back.

"I had a message from my boss. He wants my answer in the morning." She told him.

"It's up to you, but you already know how I feel about it." He said to her. "You're a smart girl, you'll make the choice that's right for you."

"I don't want to do it." She told him. "But my boss really made it clear to me in that message that he wants me to do it."

"Don't let anyone pressure you into anything. Any paper out here would snatch you up." He reminded her.

"I don't want to think about that anymore." She said grabbing his hands and walking backwards toward the bedroom. "It's still really early..."

"That it is." he agreed.

"And I want to thank you for that amazing dinner...again." She said biting on her bottom lip teasingly.

"I'll take you to dinner every night if you thank me twice like this." He said to her.

"It's so early you might get a third thank you." She said and he playfully tackles her onto the bed causing her to laugh.