Stay Away


The next morning Punk had to make sure he was woke up for Malia waking. He didn't fancy her running into his room and finding him and AJ naked in bed. He gave himself plenty time to get up and shower before her waking up, leaving AJ fast asleep the entire time.

When he was just about to leave the bedroom to leave her sleep, he couldn't help get lost in staring at her. She was beautiful. She was just this innocent, beautiful, good thing in his life right now, and it was so unexpected, which made it all the more better. She lay on her back, sheets just about covering her to her chest, hair sprawled out on the pillow behind, angelic like. It was crazy how perspective changed.

He shut the door over and left the bedroom, walking into the kitchen where he found Malia already sitting at the kitchen table.

"Hey, Mal… what you doing up this early?" He questioned.

"I was putting picture up." Malia pointed to the fridge where she had stuffed the drawing she had made into the fridge handle so it would stay up, "I made it for you because your sad."

"I'm not sad, baby." Punk frowned.

"Mommy said because Uncle Tommy is gone you're sad." Malia frowned, "Do you miss him?" She asked, folding her arms on the table and resting her chin on them.

"Yeah. Yeah, I miss him." Punk nodded, "But I got you. And I got… friends." Punk nodded.

"And you have mommy. She gave you a hug before." Malia smiled as Punk nodded.

"Yeah, she did." Punk nodded, "Listen, baby. About mommy-" He started, walking over and sitting across from her at the table, "Mommy is gonna be gone for a little while. She's doing some work in a different place and she can't be here for you, so you're gonna stay here for a bit, with me… and Marie." Punk smiled across to her.

"Why don't I get to see mommy?" Malia asked with confusion.

"Because she's busy doing other things right now." Punk said, "You'll see her soon enough but… for the time being, you're gonna stay here." Punk nodded as Malia just nodded slowly, "It means you get to see Marie every day, and she can sleep in beside you every night." Punk smiled, "Huh?" He tried to get her to smile.

"I guess." Malia nodded solemnly.

"I know you're gonna miss your mom, baby. But she has to do other things right now." Punk said. A part of him would never forgive Rachel for this. The look on Malia's face right now was heartbreaking. Yet, he wasn't sure Rachel had much of a choice at this point.

"She never said bye." Malia frowned sadly.

"She did last night. You were just… sleeping. And she didn't want to upset you. That's all." Punk nodded to her, looking over at the picture on the fridge, "What is this? Is this supposed to be me?" Punk asked, standing up and taking the picture from the fridge to have a proper look at it.

"Me and you. And Marie." Malia said.

"What's on my head?" Punk looked at the picture in more depth.

"Your hat." Malia said, resting her chin on her hand as she looked up at him.

"My Cubs hat?" Punk asked her as she nodded, "Well hey, you really put in the detail. I'll stick it up properly." Punk smiled to her.

"When is mommy coming back?" Malia asked with a sigh as Punk grabbed two magnets from a drawer in the kitchen and stuck the picture up on the fridge with them.

"I don't know, sweetheart." Punk told her truthfully.

"Tomorrow?" Malia asked.

"No." Punk shook his head.

"The day after that?" Malia asked.

"Baby, I don't know when she's coming home." Punk told her, "She'll be home when she's finished what she has to do."

"I want her to come home now!" Malia shouted, jumping down from the chair, "I don't wanna live here with you I want mommy." She said, running away out of the living room as Punk sighed, running his hand through his hair just as AJ came out from the bedroom and walked into the kitchen.

"Is she ok?" AJ asked, having saw Malia run past her when she came out of the bedroom.

"Oh, yeah. Great. My daughter hates me." Punk nodded.

"What happened?" AJ questioned with concern. She wondered how a three year old could know anything about hating anyone, especially one as sweet as Malia.

"I told her she had to live here for a while, until Rachel got back." Punk said, "She doesn't wanna live with me."

"I'm sure that's not true." AJ sighed, "She just isn't used to it, that's all. She's always been with her mom. It'll just take some time for her to get used to." AJ nodded, "She'll come round."

"I don't know." Punk shrugged sadly, "You want breakfast?" He asked, trying his best to change the subject.

"Put the kettle on. Give me a minute." AJ nodded as she walked of the kitchen and into the living room where Malia sat on the couch in her pyjamas, Marie curled on her lap as she watched TV with a permanent resting bitch face that caused AJ to laugh. She liked that she had attitude as well as being sweet and cute. It showed her confidence and capability to stick up for herself already, and that was a good thing.

"Hey." AJ smiled, "What are you watching?" She asked, sitting down beside Malia who was watching the TV.

"I don't know." Malia admitted truthfully. She'd just switched the TV on and sat more concentrated in Marie than the TV.

"Are you sad you're going to have to stay with your daddy for a while?" AJ asked her.

"No." Malia said, "But I want to see my mommy." Malia sighed.

"I know you do. I miss my mom every day." AJ nodded.

"Where's your mommy?" Malia asked curiously whilst she continued to pet Marie.

"She's in another city too, just like your mommy. Only… my dad is in a different city too." AJ said, "But your dad is here."

"So you have no mommy or daddy here?" Malia gasped.

"No. It's just me." AJ said, "You're lucky to have your daddy here. He's much cooler than my dad was too. You're a lucky girl." AJ nodded.

"I am." Malia nodded in agreement, "Is your daddy not cool?"

"Not really." AJ laughed to herself, "Your dad is way cooler than any dad I know." AJ nodded, "That's why it's gonna be great staying with him for a while until your mom gets back." AJ said.

"Really?" Malia smiled as AJ hyped her up.

"Totally." AJ nodded, "You can watch whatever Disney movies you want, have pizza at the weekends, be here for Marie all of the time, go to the park whenever you want to… it'll be fun." AJ nodded.

"Woah, really?" Malia smiled.

"Really." AJ nodded.

"And will you be here?" Malia asked, "I like you." She said bluntly as AJ smiled.

"I'll be around." AJ nodded with a small smile, "So what do you say? Can you come into the kitchen and give your daddy a big smile? Because when you smile, he smiles." She said as Malia nodded.

"Ok." Malia nodded, "C'mon Marie, go down." She told the kitten as she lifted it off her lap and placed her down on the floor as she stood up and headed off into the kitchen with AJ following behind.

"Daddy, I'm excited to stay here." Malia exclaimed as she burst into the kitchen where Punk turned around, "AJ said we can have lots of fun, and that you're the coolest." Malia said as AJ stood behind her with a smile.

"She did?" Punk laughed as he looked across at AJ.

"Yeah!" Malia nodded.

"Well, I am pretty cool." Punk nodded playfully as AJ smiled.

"Can we make pancakes?" Malia asked, jumping on the balls of her feet as Punk laughed and nodded.

"Yeah, of course we can." Punk smiled, "Go get the mixing bowl out from the cupboard under the sink." He told her as she walked over whilst he made his way over to AJ, "How did you-"

"Ah, we had a little girly talk." AJ smiled, "It's no big deal." She waved her hand as Punk pulled her into him.

"You want pancakes?" He asked her with a small smile.

"I love pancakes." AJ nodded.

"Good." Punk smiled, leaning in and pressing a kiss on her lips softly, pulling back and walking over to the kitchen counter where Malia was waiting, "Alright, who wants to do the mixing?" Punk asked as he lifted up Malia to sit on the kitchen counter.

"Me! Me! I wanna mix." Malia put her hand up.

"Well obviously since I'm chief flipper, that means AJ has to weigh out the ingredients." Punk turned to AJ with a smirk as AJ laughed.

"Alrighty." AJ smiled happily, watching as Punk pulled down the flour along with other ingredients, placing her hand in the flour bag and taking a clump, throwing it in his face as Malia gasped and made an O shape with her mouth, but then proceeded to laugh, "Bad idea leaving me in charge of weighing." AJ laughed as Punk just nodded with a smirk.

"That's it, you're getting it." Punk said as he suddenly dug his hand into the flour bag, throwing some back at her in her face as she tried to escape him in a fit of laughter, running round the kitchen as Punk caught her, messing the flour through her hair as she laughed contagiously, all the while Malia sat on the kitchen counter smiling and laughing as she watched.

Neither Punk or AJ had ever been this happy before.


Punk and AJ wound up spending the full day together since they were both off work for the day. It was nice spending time together with Malia, and getting to know each other more at the same time.

It was late on and Malia had fell asleep against AJ on the couch. He could see AJ was almost falling asleep too and it brought him peace. Neither him nor AJ had experienced this sort of calm before. The sense of warmth and having someone to depend on. It felt great and he didn't want it to leave him. He was becoming more and more intrigued in her as the days went by.

He came out of daze from both of them now curled on the couch sleeping together when there was a knock at the apartment door. Thankfully neither woke and he was able to slip out of the living room to go answer it, only wishing he hadn't when he opened the door.

"I told you to stop bothering me." Punk spat angrily as he looked across at his uncle.

"Where is Rachel?" Hank asked.

"What?" Punk shook his head.

"Rachel? Where is she?" Hank asked angrily.

"I don't know… she left last night to go somewhere. Why? What do you want Rachel for?" Punk shook his head.

"I told you she owed me." Hank spat.

"She told me you were lying… that she hadn't even seen you in years." Punk shook his head.

"Well she's a good fucking liar. She owes me, and I gave her some very reasonable choices. Running wasn't one of them." Hank spat.

"Wait a minute… it's you who she owes money to? It's you who is threatening her?"

"You know how it works, Philip." Hank smiled, "If you can't pay, the debt goes up, and it goes up, and it keeps going until I have to then give out three choices. She could either find me the money, she could pay it off on the streets for me, or I'd break both of her legs-"

"You listen here." Punk spat as he grabbed Hank by the collar and slammed him up against the door, "You just leave her be. You lay a finger on her and I will crack your jaw and make you swallow your own teeth." Punk spat, "I'll get you whatever money it is she owes you, and you'll leave us all alone." Punk spat.

"Is that so?" Hank chuckled, "I tell you what… first of all, take your hand off me." Hank asked calmly as Punk slowly withdrew his hands from around his neck, letting him go, "I'll make you an offer."

"Fuck off." Punk spat.

"Listen to me." Hank pleaded, "You do two runs for me. Get me two cars, one in Cincinnati, one in Milwaukee. You go get them, bring them to me, and that's Rachel's debt paid off. Done and dusted. Forgotten." Hank said.

"Don't act as if it's so easy." Punk spat, "Once you're in, you're in. You'd never let me back out again. The only way I ever get out is when I get sent to prison, and that isn't happening. I promised my daughter I'd be here." Punk spat, "Screw your fucking jobs. Just leave Rachel and me alone. I'll get you the money."

"You couldn't get that much money in a lifetime, Phil." Hank chuckled, "Unless… you have that pretty little girl you have in there with Malia to go out and work the streets for me." He smirked as Punk glared at him, grabbing him by the neck again and throwing him back against the door.

"You leave her out of this." Punk spat angrily, "You don't go near her or I will end you." Punk said.

"I won't lay a finger on her, don't you worry." Hank smiled, "Don't you feel a tad guilty though? I mean… fucking your brothers girlfriend is one thing… fucking your dead brothers girlfriend." He raised his eyebrows, "I always knew you were cold but… not THAT cold." Hank chuckled as Punk released him from his grip, shoving him out of the door.

"You fucking stay away from me." Punk spat, "You stay away from Rachel, from Malia, and from April. Do you hear me?" Punk said.

"I'll do my best." Hank smiled, insincerely as he walked off, fixing his jacket that had been crumpled from Punk grabbing him whilst Punk shut the apartment door over immediately.


A/N: Let me know what you think!