A/N: I apologize for the long wait...but here it is, next chapter is up :)
Part XIV: Making Up
After spending the next day with Punk, AJ finally got a flight back home to Tampa while Punk went back home to Chicago. AJ had been spending so much time with Punk in Chicago and on the road she couldn't even remember the last time she had been home. Thankfully for her Nacho was staying with her sister and as much as AJ wanted to go to her sisters and pick up her dog it was nearly one in the morning and she just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep until the next show.
She opted on taking a cab back home from the airport. As soon as she paid the driver she grabbed her bag and headed towards her door. As soon as she climbed the steps she groaned feeling around for her keys.
"Come on" she muttered searching her pockets and then her bag. She did glance at her phone and saw she had a message from Punk. His flight took off before hers so he was probably long home and waiting to hear from her. "Ugh" she groaned searching deeper into her bag for her keys
"Locked out?" a voice asked behind her. She slowly raised her head and turned it to see Dean Ambrose standing not far behind her
"What the hell are you doing here?" she asked stunned to see him
"I said we had to talk" Dean reminded her "Can't find your keys"
"You need to get out of here" AJ warned as he her hand still wandered her bag for her keys
"So when is it ok for us to talk?" Dean probed "I can't do it at work because your boyfriend and now all of his little buddies are watching me like hawks, I can't do it on a plane because obviously you can't stand to even sit next to me anymore-"
"-I've never been able to stand being around you" AJ corrected as she successfully found her keys "Now get out of here before I call the police"
"You won't do that" Dean smirked "You want more attention on us?"
"I have nothing to say to you" AJ said placing her key in the door and opening it "We can talk at the next show" she told him as she stepped in her house and went to slam the door but Dean's hand caught the door before it shut and pushed it open
"Ow" AJ muttered. "You twisted my wrist!" she yelled as he slammed the door behind him
"No, no you twisted your wrist" Dean corrected locking the door "I didn't put my hands on you"
"Seriously Dean you're scaring me" She told him but he just smiled "I will call the police"
"Why did you do that?" Dean asked "You picked him over me"
"You upset me" AJ told him honestly "The things you were saying during the match, the way you acted-"
"-I was in character!" Dean shouted as AJ lightly rubbed her wrist. He headed into her kitchen as if he owned the place and put on the light as he continued to rant "I thought you of all people would understand that. The way you've been acting since he's been back is disappointing and everyone is talking about it" he said as she watched him open her freezer. "You're not CM Punk AJ. You don't get to act like a prissy pre-madonna and get away with it" he entered the living room again with an ice pack and handed it to her "For your wrist" he said as she hesitantly accepted it and placed it on her throbbing wrist
"Like I said you scared me" AJ told him "I don't want to be around you, I don't want to work with you"
"I have done nothing to you" Dean reminded her removing his jacket and taking a seat on a chair "I told you I didn't care when you started to date Punk that it didn't bother me as long as it didn't effect our relationship"
"We've never had any kind of relationship" AJ told him bitterly "Working with you and seeing you everyday isn't good for me"
"Is that what he tells you?" Dean questioned with a chuckle "He doesn't like me AJ he's jealous of me and he's tainted you into believing I'm so kind of wacko"
"Well you are making yourself awfully comfortable for someone who wasn't invited in" AJ noted "And what does he have to be jealous of you for?"
"While he took off on his little summer vacation I picked up his slack" Dean reminded her bitterly "I was the one people paid to see, people stopped cheering for him and started cheering for me"
"They never stopped cheering for him" AJ told him coldly "And they never will. He's on a different level than you"
"You're as arrogant as he is" Dean shot back "You're brainwashed too"
"I'm not brainwashed" AJ defended "And I want you out of my apartment right now, I'm done talking to you and don't you ever come back here"
"Wow" Dean smirked not moving from his spot "Are you going to make me?" he challenged
"I-" AJ started but stopped when her phone started to go off again.
"I'm assuming that's him" Dean said to her with a grin "Since you've alienated whatever friends you had I'm sure he's all you have left. Go ahead pick up the phone and tell big bad Punk that I say hello" he said casually as she reached for the phone "You do know he's going to dump you right? Or cheat on you until he finds someone better" Dean offered as she starred at the phone thinking about what to do "That's just who he is AJ" He said standing up walking towards her "You were good friends with him before you started dating, how many different women was he with during that time?" AJ couldn't defend Punk's dating history to Dean and he knew that. "I'm sure even you are wondering how true that Maria story really is" he laughed lightly as he took the phone from AJ's hands and placed it on the table.
"I love him and he loves me" AJ told Dean as he inched closer to her face
"I'm sure that's what he tells you" Dean said in a low voice, she could feel his hot breath against her lips "But you and I both know you are a rebound and putting all your eggs into his basket isn't going to do you any favors. But I think we could help each other out" as he leaned into kiss her she turned her head quickly and caught her cheek with his lips. She reached over to where he placed her phone and dialed a few digits
"I'm calling the police" she warned holding up the phone seeing she had 9-1-1 already in her phone and all she had to do was hit the send button
"You're a stupid girl" Dean said sadly grabbing his jacket and headed towards the door as he opened it he turned slightly to look at her one more time
"I'll see you soon AJ" he said then walked out the door.
As soon as he stepped out the door AJ raced over to the door and locked it quickly and put the chain on the door. She wouldn't let Dean see that he terrified her. She turned her back to the door and rested her head against as tears escaped from her eyes. That's when she felt her phone vibrate and saw it was Punk again and decided to answer it.
"Hey" she said masking her voice into a cheerful one "Yea I know I'm sorry I just stepped in the door….no I'm fine I'm just tired" she promised "…yea I'm going to go to sleep…I love you too" she promised before hanging up
She would tell Punk about Dean but not now over the phone. She knew part of what Dean was saying was true but for right now in this moment Punk loved her and she knew it. She also knew if she told Punk about Dean barging into her house he'd be furious and want to fly out to find Dean but she didn't want Dean to think all she did was hide behind her boyfriend, she always took care of herself and she wouldn't let Dean or anyone else make her feel like a victim.
Two days later AJ was set for a house show. Original plans called for her to work with The Shield but since the story change she wasn't sure what was going to happen. Were the writers going to ignore what happened on Monday? Was she going to get back in the ring and actually get to wrestle again? The one thing she was hoping for was to not be stuck working with Dean. She also knew she was going to have to answer to the higher ups about her actions on Monday and with Punk not being here she was slightly nervous. She approached the schedule and saw her name was left off of it completely.
"AJ" Hunter said walking up behind her "I need to see you in my office"
"Ok" she said quickly following her boss into his makeshift office
"You know why you're here right?" Hunter asked taking a seat
"Yea last Monday" AJ nodded "I'm sorry"
"When you spoke to Stephanie you told her you could handle this" Hunter told her "What changed? Was Punk whispering in your ear?"
"No" she said a little more coldly then she would have liked "Dean was"
"Dean?" Hunter asked and just by his facial reactions he could tell he was already not buying this "Look-"
"No you look" she said cutting him off "I know you have your reservations about me and you don't believe me and that's just fine but I want you to look back at all my time here and pick at one time I had ever acted up or didn't do what I was told to do" she told him in a strong voice "Dean said some things during his match to egg on Phil and myself and after that I didn't feel comfortable being around him"
"What did he say AJ?" Hunter asked
"Why would I tell you?" she asked back "You don't like me and again that's fine you don't have to but you don't believe me either. It's just very surprising that you a father of three daughters and a seemingly devoted husband can't possibly see how one of the male's back here aren't trustworthy"
"How can you expect me to just take your work AJ?" Hunter asked honestly "You've never spoken to me about your issues with him"
"I tried" AJ reminded him "And I would think you of all people would understand my hesitance. You know what it's like when people think you're just sleeping your way to the top" she bit back but instantly regretted her words, he was still her boss "I'm sorry that was out of line"
"It was" Hunter replied coolly "But I understand"
"I just wanted to prove I didn't need to run behind Phil or the McMahon family" AJ told him "But now I know I need help"
"I'd like to help you" Hunter told her seriously
"He showed up at my apartment two nights ago" AJ told him "He's never physically hurt me but his mind games-"
"I get it" he said cutting her off
"I also don't want to lose my spot here" AJ told him "I want to continue working and if you think the only way I can is with him"
"Your job isn't in jeopardy" Hunter assured her with a faint smile
"Then why was I left off tonight's card?" AJ asked
"Dean said you hurt your wrist" Hunter said nodding towards her slightly swollen wrist "What happened?"
"What did he tell you?" AJ asked
"If Dean put his hands on you AJ I have to know" Hunter said in a low voice
"He didn't" AJ told him "He pushed my door open and my wrist got twisted when he came in"
"He broke into your apartment?" Hunter asked
"He left eventually" AJ told him quietly
"What can I do?" Hunter asked "Obviously this story is over and I'll talk to Stephanie and Vince and see where to put you next but how can I make this easier for you?"
"Making sure he's not on my flights would be nice" AJ said with a slight smirk
"I can do better than that" Hunter assured her "I'll move you and Phil to opposite house shows so you won't have to see Dean. I don't really want him around Dean either"
"I didn't want this to happen" AJ told him
"I know" Hunter sighed "We'll work this all out. For tonight go back to the hotel and ice that wrist, we'll talk more tomorrow at Raw"
"Thanks" She muttered standing up
"For what it's worth AJ I believe you" Hunter said before she could leave
"Thank you" she whispered then left his office
AJ was lying in her hotel room playing on her phone. She had her wrist wrapped and knew she should be sleeping since she was going to be driving to Raw in the next morning. It would only be an hour drive but driving tired wouldn't help anything. A knock at her door startled her. She placed her phone on the bed and quietly walked over to the door praying it wouldn't be Dean. When she looked threw the peephole she smiled and unlocked the door.
"What are you doing here?" she asked letting Punk into her room, he was holding his band and tossed it to the side of the room and shut the door
"How about 'hi, I've missed you so much'?" he teased his girlfriend who stepped over to him and wrapped her arms around his torso
"Hi I've missed you so much" she smiled as he leaned down and kissed her
"Hi" he said pulling away
"What are you doing here?" she asked again
"Thought I'd get a head start on the week" he shrugged slightly "What's that?" he asked pointing to her wrapped wrist
"Oh" she smiled nervously "It's fine, just twisted"
"Yea?" he asked gently lifting her arm to look examine it himself "What happened?"
"Um" AJ started as lightly tugged her arm away
"AJ?" he asked in a serious tone "What aren't you telling me?"
"The other night after my flight back from Tampa Dean was waiting for me" AJ told him casually
"What?" Punk asked sharply
"I tried to close the door on him but he pushed his way in" AJ told him honestly "He didn't realize my wrist was hurt and gave me ice for it-"
"What the hell was he doing at your place AJ?" he demanded in a more harsh tone
"He wanted to talk about why I picked you on Monday" AJ told him as if it wasn't a big deal "He just-"
"-why didn't you call me?" he asked feeling himself getting red
"What would you have done? You were a thousand miles away" AJ said with a laugh "I took care of it and he left"
"I don't get you AJ" Punk said to her harshly "I thought we had discussed this-"
"-we have but I can take care of myself Phil" AJ bit back "The last thing I need is to look like some damsel in distress"
"You wanted to continue this story with him, you don't report his attempted rap and now you just let him waltz in and out of your house?" Punk questioned "Are you enjoying this little game he's playing?"
"What?" she asked stunned "How could you even ask me that? Of course not!"
"Could have fooled me" Punk shot back. All of the sudden Dean's words about Punk started replaying in her head
"I think you should go" AJ told him quietly folding her arms
"That's fine" he said grabbing his bag and storming out of the room. As soon as he closed the door behind him he instantly mentally kicked himself. On the other side of the door AJ had her hand on the handle and was about to follow him and beg him to come back but she pulled away and decided to wait for him to return.
Downstairs in the lobby Punk was at the desk trying to get a room.
"I'm sorry but we're all booked up" the receptionist told him "There's a motel a few blocks over you could try there"
"Great thanks" he muttered turning around and bumped right into Big E
"Hey man" he smiled "what are you doing here?"
"Making a mistake" Punk muttered
"What?" E asked not hearing fully what he said
"Nothing" Punk said quickly
"AJ is in the room next to mine if you're looking for her" E offered
"Yea I found her" Punk told him with a smirk
"I know that look" E laughed "She throw you out?"
"Something like that" he admitted
"You can crash with me I've got an extra bed" E offered "And you'll be close enough to AJ to give yourself time to think of how you want to apologize" he told him
"Thanks" Punk said following E to the elevator
AJ was sitting in her room tossing and turning. She kept checking her phone to see if Phil had sent her a text or tried to call but he never did. She wondered where he would be staying and wanted to just cave and call him. When someone knocked softly at her door she sprung out of bed knowing that was Phil on the other side. She opened the door and groaned at the sight of Dean.
"What?" She asked not moving to let him in
"You told Hunter I showed up at your place?" Dean seethed in a whisper "What the hell is wrong with you?" he asked keeping his voice low
"He asked what happened to my wrist and I told him" AJ shrugged innocently
"I told him you hurt your wrist and I gave him a story now he thinks I'm a liar" Dean shot back
"Well you are" AJ smiled "I'm sorry Dean but I think it's time you realize that I'm not falling into your trap"
"My trap?" Dean mocked
"Your mind games, the way you twist the truth to suit you" AJ listed off "I'm smarter than you"
"No AJ you think you're better than me and there's a difference" Dean said to her "What's the matter? You upset because I gave you some truth about your boy?"
"You don't know him Dean but I know you wish you did" AJ shot back "He's everything you're not"
"Oh really?" Dean asked
"Yea he's attractive, polite, tough and he has the respect of everybody whether they love him or hate him" AJ told him "Now get away from my door or this time I will scream and wake up every other superstar on this floor"
"I want you to talk to Hunter tomorrow and clear this entire mess up" Dean warned
"I'm an honest person Dean I'm not going to lie for you" AJ told him "You came to my place uninvited and refused to leave"
"AJ" Dean warned "This is my career and I'm not going to let some little tart screw that up for me"
"Then start acting like you give a damn about this job and focus on that instead of me and my boyfriend" AJ warned back in a mocking tone
"How about you just do what I told you to do" Dean said in a louder voice
"How about you back away from the door" Punk said standing behind Dean. Dean just smiled at AJ before he turned around to face Punk
"Didn't realize you were here" Dean said to Punk
"Obviously" Punk said to him "AJ could you give us a minute?"
"Sure" she said hesitantly closing the door
"I'm sure when you showed up at AJ's place the other night you also knew I wasn't there" Punk said to him
"I did know you weren't there" Dean confirmed "She doesn't speak to me anymore when you're around"
"Maybe she just doesn't want to speak to you in general" Punk offered
"I think she does" Dean smirked "AJ and I have an odd relationship"
"No you and AJ don't have any kind of relationship" Punk clarified "I have a relationship with AJ and I'm getting sick and tired of you sticking your nose in it and more importantly from what I picked up on this conversation you had with her she doesn't want you around her" he said to the blonde man
"She will once you disappoint her" Dean smirked
"Excuse me?" Punk asked tilting her head
"This stuff with Maria…come on man be real with me, how long until you finally have enough of being AJ's babysitter and move onto a real woman?" Dean asked with a smirk but Punk wasn't amused "Just give me a time frame because-" Punk shoved Dean up against the wall before he could finish his sentence
"I'm not going anywhere" Punk seethed through clenched teeth "The only one leaving is you because whether you like it or not I'm with AJ and that's not going to change anytime soon so either you move on from your sick obsession with her or you move on from the company"
"And are you going to make me?" Dean asked that's when AJ's door opened again and she stepped out
"It's enough" she warned both of them but Punk didn't loosen his grip "Phil" she said lightly grabbing his arm "Just let him go"
"I bet you won't be reporting this to the COO tomorrow night" Dean mocked to AJ
"Shut up" Punk warned shaking Dean so his head would hit the wall again
"Phil let's go inside" she said giving him a smile "I've missed you" she soothed causing Dean to glare at her. Punk let go of Dean who huffed and headed down towards the elevator. Punk didn't leave his spot though until he saw Dean get onto the elevator.
"Come inside" AJ said waving for Punk to go into her room
"I hate that guy!" Punk shouted as AJ shut the door
"I know" AJ sighed "I'm sorry about earlier" she said as she walked over to him "I should have told you-"
"No I'm sorry" Punk said running his hand threw his hair "I shouldn't have snapped like that you didn't deserve it and you've been through enough as it is"
"Thank you" she said giving him a faint smile "I didn't think you were still here"
"Big E offered up his room to me" Punk told her "I was going to call you but I didn't know what to say" he told her "I've never fought with you before"
"Yea I didn't like it" AJ smirked
"What did he mean when he said you wouldn't report me to the COO?" Punk asked
"I had a talk with Hunter today" AJ told him "I told him about Dean stopping by my place when he asked about my wrist and I think we came to some kind of an understanding"
"What a guy" Punk remarked sarcastically "Can I take a look at you wrist?"
"Yea" She said as he grabbed it and started to remove the wrapping "The swelling went down and the doctor said it will be fine by tomorrow"
"A black eye and now a swollen wrist" Punk remarked running his hand over it "I hope you told Hunter you don't want to work with him"
"I did" she told him and Punk let out a breath "He also told me he'd move me so I wouldn't be working house shows with him anymore"
"Good" Punk said to him
"He implied I'd be working the same shows as you actually" AJ smiled slyly "If you're ok with that?"
"Of course" he smiled tugging on her uninjured wrist and wrapping his arms around her "I'm proud of you kiddo" he said as he felt her arms wrap around him
"I'm really sorry for asking you to leave" she said looking up at him
"It's fine" Punk assured her leaning down and giving her a kiss "I came back and believe me I've never come back. You're special to me"
"Can we make now?" AJ asked kissing the pulse point on his neck
"I thought we already did" Punk smirked knowing what AJ was hinting at
"Are you going to make me beg?" she whispered in his ear as she dragged him over to the bed
"Maybe" he smirked as he fell on top of her