You Make Me Better


"Thank you." AJ smiled accepting the hot cup of coffee from her boyfriend.

They were in the UK doing a long and agonizing tour, it was only bearable because they were with each other. Originally AJ was scheduled for a different tour but with a few words to Vince, AJ was moved to his and he was at ease.

"Someone is taking our picture." Punk said to AJ as he gripped her hand and they began to walk faster.

"I think the cat has been out of the bag for a while." AJ pointed out.

"I just don't think it's necessary to follow us and take pictures like some kind of zoo animals." He insisted.

"Did you see there was a picture of us backstage?" She asked and he froze.

"After my match when..." he trailed off nervously and she laughed.

"No! Of us eating with Paul." She giggled and he was relieved.

"Good. I don't need the world to see us unwinding after a show." He said as they headed to their hotel, still hand in hand. "Speaking of eating, want me to pick you up something from the restaurant before the show?"

"I'm not hungry." She said to him and he narrowed his eyes at her.

"You know what's funny? I haven't seen you eat once in the last two days." He noted.

"Really?" She asked innocently.

"Yea. You didn't eat with us last night at the show, you didn't eat breakfast with me this morning." He noted. "Have you eaten?"

"I have." She told him.

"What have you ate?" He asked seriously. "Besides inhaling coffee this trip what solids have you consumed?"

"My stomach hurts." She sighed and he shook his head. "I think I have an ulcer or something."

"An ulcer? Then you should go see doc." He told her. "You can't not eat."

"I'm eating protein bars and meal bars I just can't stomach a big meal." She frowned.

"It's not healthy Ape." He told her. "You need to eat real food. At least have a salad."

"I'll have one tonight before my match at the arena." She promised.

"Will you go see doc?" Punk asked as well.

"Yes I'll do that too." She told him.

"If I miss one meal I'm cranky." Punk said to her.

"I've noticed." She remarked sarcastically.

"I don't know how you can go almost two days without eating." He scolded.

"When you're in as much pain as I am in, you wouldn't be eating either." She told him.

"You should have seen the doctor when it first started." He told her.

"I thought it would go away." She sighed leaning against his arm.

"Maybe you can sit out your match tonight?" he suggested.

"No I need to wrestle. People have paid to see me." She told him.

"Yea but if you're not-" he began.

"How many times have you worked sick? You did and you were fine and nobody could convince you not to." She told him cutting him off.

"Fine." He mumbled. "But you're going to see doc."

"I will." She promised.


Later that night AJ found Punk in a room signing a stack of photos to be sold and took a seat next to him.

"Hey, see doc?" Punk asked.

"Yea he said I was fine." She told him and he frowned.

"Are you still in pain?" He asked.

"Not much." She shrugged.

"Then you're not fine." He told her slowly.

"He said if it keeps up I should go to the hospital." She told him and he shook his head in disbelief.

"Worst doctor ever." he said to her. "Maybe you should stay tagged out most of the match tonight."

"I told you it's ok." She told him. "It really is a little better. How many more do you have to sign?"

"Just a thousand." He mocked. "My hand is killing me."

"Poor baby." She mocked. "You could be using that hand for other things..."

"Don't get me all worked up." He groaned. "We have hours before we can leave and all I want to do is take you back to the hotel room and-"

"Uh-huh." A voice said and Punk realized John Cena was sitting next to him signing his own pictures. "Don't let me sitting here interrupt."

"I should get going." She said and kissed his cheek. "I'll see you after your match."


AJ didn't make it far in her match before she hit the ground. One second she was tagging out and the next thing she remembered was a security guard and doc leaning over her trying to get her to wake up. She was a little nervous having no idea what was happening.

"What-" AJ began.

"Can you walk?" Doc asked her.

"I can walk." She nodded and the guard and Doc helped her to her feet and Tamina stood behind her.

"What happened?" Tamina asked her. "Did you hit your head?"

"No." AJ said keeping her head down as the fans applauded her. "My stomach really hurts."

"AJ we need to get you right into the trainers office." Doc told her. "Your heart rate is really low."

"I don't know it's really hot." She said to Doc.

"It's ok." Doc assured her keeping her steady with an arm wrapped around her waist.

The second they were behind the curtain there were a ton of concerned faces, first face she saw was her boyfriends.

"Ape." He announced rushing to her.

"Give her some space." Doc told him.

"Fuck you." Punk snapped. "She told you she was feeling sick and you still cleared her to wrestle."

"Phil it's ok." AJ sighed holding her stomach.

"No it really isn't." Punk said glaring at the doc and he took AJ from him and decided to help her into the office himself.

"Did you eat today?" Doc asked her.

"A little but my stomach-" She trailed off.

"Her stomach fucking hurts." Punk snapped at him and AJ tried not to laugh. "She told you this hours ago."

"I think we're going to send you to the hospital." Doc told her.

"Right now? It's four hours too late." Punk said to him.

"Phil." AJ pleaded.

"I'm going with you." Punk told her.

"You have a match." James, aka Road Dogg and now producer announced.

"Fuck that." Punk laughed.

"I can wait for your match to be over." AJ told him.

"No. You're going to the hospital immediately." James ordered her.

"She's in a foreign country, I'm not sending her off to the hospital by herself." Punk told them.

"I'm sending security with her." James told him and Punk shook his head.

"I'll be ok." She told Punk. "Just go and have your match."

"I'll have a car take you to the hospital right after." James promised.

"I really don't think I even need the hospital." AJ told them but she went ignored.

The three men argued with each other while AJ sat in a chair and watched.

"I'm not going to the hospital." AJ told them standing up and almost fell right back down but Punk gabbed her quickly.

"You're going on." Punk told her helping her back into her chair. "I'm going on in a few minutes can you just wait? I really don't want here there alone."

"Fine." James bit out.

"I'll be fast, just sit here and wait for me." Punk said to AJ and kissed the top of her head.


Punk finished as fast as he could and before AJ knew it she was in the hospital. She was given an extensive look over and Punk waited next to her in the ER as they waited for her results.

"Look at this, WWE said you fainted due to dehydration." Punk scoffed. "They don't even know for sure."

"Dehydration is part of the problem." The doctor announced walking over to them.

"She hasn't been eating because her stomach hurts." Punk defended and AJ had to smile, he would just defend her for anything against anybody- even a doctor who knew better.

"Yes and she does have an ulcer." The doctor told him. "I'm going to give you some antibiotics and if that doesn't help please see your personal physician. And eat!" he ordered.

"How can she eat when she's still in pain?" Punk asked annoyed.

"It's fine, I'll force it down." AJ told the doctor kindly. "Thank you so much."

"Someone will be around with the paperwork to sign you out." He told her. "Take care."

"Fucking useless." Punk groaned.

"Keep snapping and my ulcer will get worse." She warned him.

"It's just pointless." Punk argued. "I need you not to be in pain."

"I got medicine, I'll be ok." She told him and he just shook his head. "You were right tonight, I shouldn't have wrestled tonight."

"You can take a night off once in a while." Punk encouraged.

"You don't know what it's like to be a woman here." AJ insisted. "All it takes is a few missed shows to be old news."

"That's not true and definitely not in your case." He said to her. "You need to put yourself first. If you're feeling sick you tell somebody."

"I did." She reminded him.

"Somebody who isn't a fucking idiot." He clarified.

"I'll be fine." She said to him with ease. "One more show and then we'll be traveling back home. Thank you for coming with me tonight."

"I have to make sure you're in proper hands." He said to her with a smile.


"Feeling better?" Punk asked as AJ he walked into their bedroom with a hot bowl of soup in his hands.

"I ate something bad." She sighed.

"Are you sure it's not an ulcer?" He asked her.

"No this is food poisoning or something." she said to him.

"Here, try to eat this." He said passing her the soup.

"Thank you." She said gratefully accepting it. "Smells good."

"It's your favorite." he told her and felt her head. "You're warm. It's probably the flu."

"You always take care of me when I'm sick." She said blowing on the hot soup.

"You do the same." He noted.

"I don't have much of a choice." She almost laughed. "You're such a baby when you're hurt or sick."

"I am." He agreed honestly.

"I want to get better quick before our road trip." She said to him.

"We have all of the time in the world, will hold it off a few more days until I'm positive you won't get sick in the car." He said to her. "I don't want to clean up after you and Larry."

"Fair." She agreed.


"Are you ready?" AJ asked leaning over Punk who was laying in a hospital bed.

"Yea, guess I don't really have a choice." he muttered child like.

"Just remember as soon as this is over you can get back to training." AJ reminded him hopefully as he waited to be bought in for his back surgery.

"If it goes ok." He said to her. "I just got an opponent-"

"And if you have any chance in winning you need this surgery." She reminded him. "After training sometimes you can't even drive home. You need this."

"I may need it but I don't want it." Punk told her.

"You're going to feel better and that's the most important. This just pushes things back some, it doesn't end it." She told him. "And I'm going to take care of you."

"Yea?" He asked arching a curious brow.

"Sponge baths." She told him and he nodded.

"I like the sound of that. I probably won't be able to stand in the shower, sponge bath is definitely in order." Punk agreed fully.

"I'll cook your favorite food. Including those cookies you love." She told him.

"I'll need all the energy I can get so the cookies are must." he had to agree again.

"I'll help you in and out of bed and massage your back." She told him.

"That's definitely going to help me." He agreed. "I'll need to lay around for at least the first week especially since we're going to Tennessee a week after and I'll need you laying around with me."

"Why is that?" She asked trying not to laugh.

"It will keep me there." He said as if she was stupid. "Duh. I'm not getting up if you're laying next to me or on me."

"Not on you." She warned him and he rolled his eyes. "But I can see us having some movie marathons. Larry is going to be just devastated though, he loves you on the floor playing with him."

"You'll have to take over that duty." Punk said to her.

"I think I can handle it. Walking him too." She told him.

"You're going to have to not let him walk you." Punk warned her. "But that's only for the first couple of days."

"It's for the first week." She remarked. "Unless you're still not feeling good, if so I'll take over for good."

"You ok?" He asked noticing how pale she was.

"Yea of course. I'm just anxious for you to get this over with." She told him.

"It's going to be fine. It's simple surgery." He reminded her. "Don't worry about me to the point where you make yourself sick."

"I won't but if I do at least I'm already in a hospital." She teased. "I'm thinking of coming back tonight and sleeping here."

"You will not." he told her and she frowned. "You're not sleeping in a small chair all night. You'll go home and sleep in our bed with Larry."

"I don't like being home without you." She pouted.

"It'll be fine." He said to her. "Even though you packed up enough stuff for yourself to camp out here for a month."

"Trying to occupy my mind." She said to him and he smiled.

"We're to take him." A nurse announced.

"I love you." she whispered and leaned over and kissed his lips.

"I'll keep you updated." The doctor assured AJ who just nodded.

"Take care of him." AJ warned the doctor.

"Don't mess with her." Punk warned the doctor as they wheeled his bed out of the room. "She's fucking crazy."

"I am." AJ agreed and the Doctor tried not to laugh.

"Don't worry Mrs. Brooks." He said to her kindly.