So I got a lot of reviews and as good as last chapter was it was unanimous that no one liked the ending haha I figured that would be the case and just bear with me...

This chapter might get me some forgiveness, not in the beginning, but towards the end...maybe...it's long though :) Working on more, so I can possibly update again at some point this weekend...I'd say enjoy, but I don't want to push it :) Apologies in advance that it does jump around going from right after Vegas to a month after, hopefully it's not hard to follow...

Punk sulked as he sat on his couch in Chicago unable to stop thinking about the events of Saturday night. He should've held back, things never should have gone to that level, but now that they had there was nothing that could be done. He'd realized Saturday night that he very much wanted to reconnect with Mel and try out a relationship, but she made it clear she didn't want the same thing. With the exception of a few meaningless texts, he hadn't talked to her since; he let out a sigh as he stretched out wishing he knew what was going on in that pretty little head of hers.

He let his eyes drift closed for a minute as he tried to banish his thoughts only to be brought out of his relaxation attempt by the sound of his phone. Deciding whoever was calling could wait, he ignored the call putting his phone on the do not disturb setting and trying again to get a few winks in while he could. After all he knew it was just a matter of time before Colt or one of his sisters would arrive and wreck his peace and quiet time. Sure enough a knock at the door sounded and he let out a sigh forcing himself up off the couch feeling annoyed that either Colt or Cassie had forgotten their key…again; opening the door he found something completely unexpected.

"Amy, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Punk leaned in the door frame wondering just what his ex-girlfriend was doing showing up at his house out of the blue. It had been almost two months since they last spoke, Amy choosing to storm out upon hearing the news that he had a daughter.

"I'm sorry to just show up like this, but I tried to call first…can I come in?" Punk shrugged his shoulders moving aside allowing her to walk through the door. He grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge as he watched her pace back and forth, something very out of the ordinary for her seeing she was usually calm and collected.

"You feeling okay; you seem a bit frantic…" Amy stopped pacing taking a deep breath before looking Punk in the eye.

"Look I owe you an apology…"

"No you don't…"

"Just please let me talk!" Punk noticed the urgency in her voice and nodded allowing her to go on. "I overreacted when you told me about your daughter and I've had some time to think about things. I had no right to feel betrayed really because it's not like you knew for ten years, you just recently found out right?" He nodded opening his mouth to speak, but she held up her hand, a sign she wasn't done. "I want to fix us, we've been friends for so long and I don't want this to ruin everything; especially since I talked to Chez and she said she's a pretty rockin kid, a lot like you."

"That she is…" Before he could say anything else, Amy pressed her lips to his and he felt himself kissing back as he cupped her cheek. He'd been so distracted by the drama with Mel that he hadn't really thought about Amy, but now that she was there, in front of him, he realized how much he missed her.

Amy pulled back needing to get something off of her chest before anything went further. "There's one more thing that I need from you…" Punk raised his eyebrow bewildered about what it could be. "Unless it involves your daughter, stay away from Melissa. I know there's a lot of history between the two of you and I also know she's the mother of your child so you can't just shut her out completely, but if there's any chance of fixing this, I need you to cut the ties to her emotionally."

Punk swallowed the lump in his throat unsure of what to say; a week ago he would've sent Amy packing, but after everything that happened Saturday and how she'd shut him out since, he was beginning to think maybe cutting those ties was just what he needed.

Taking a deep breath he nodded, "Okay, it's done…"

Melissa let out a sigh wishing for once she had a girlfriend to talk to; she was so messed up emotionally that she couldn't focus. One minute she found herself feeling angry and the next she was crying over nothing, which made her even angrier. The only upside was that she'd avoided seeing Punk since her birthday, but with a weekend trip to New York, coincidentally the same weekend as Wrestlemania, she knew she couldn't avoid him much longer.

Melissa sorted through her closet trying to figure out what suit to take for her presentation Saturday when her phone interrupted, glancing at it she sighed seeing it was the person that had been the center of her emotional turmoil as of late. Taking a deep breath, she mentally prepared herself to talk to him.

"Hey…"

"Yeah, hi, what's up?" Melissa sat on the edge of the bed feeling a sudden weakness in her legs.

"I was just calling to see if everything was still on for this weekend…"

"Uh yeah, packing as we speak; Brooke will be ready Friday night. Are you still okay with picking her up in the hotel lobby?"

"Yeah that'll work; I have a question to ask you, something I've been meaning to ask for a few weeks." Melissa braced herself for the unknown biting on her lip to the point where she thought she may draw blood.

"Okay…"

"Well I was planning on taking Brooke out to dinner, but Amy is free that night too. Is it cool if I introduce Brooke to Amy? I know you held off with the whole David thing for a while and Amy and I just got back together a few weeks ago, but I figure there's no point in waiting, or should I hold off? This is the part of fatherhood I'm kind of clueless on…" Melissa let out a light laugh when in actuality she could feel a lone tear drip from her chin as she struggled to keep it together.

"I think Brooke would be okay with that; you and Amy have a better relationship then I ever had with David, so that'll be great." Melissa bit her cheek as more tears came knowing she had to get off the phone quickly before she lost it all together. "Anyway I'll text you when we land Friday and we can discuss times and such; I'll see you then Phil, bye…"

She didn't even wait for him to respond instead hanging up the phone and collapsing on the bed holding a pillow close to her chest to try to muffle her sobs. She had no right to feel this way and it frustrated her beyond belief that Punk moving on bothered her at all. The sound of his voice as he drifted off to sleep saying he loved her haunted her as she realized she'd have to learn to live with the decision she'd made. Melissa had convinced herself everything was a mistake as a way to keep from getting hurt again, but deep down the thought of Punk moving on and introducing their daughter to the new woman in his life cut deeper then any heartache.

Punk looked over the texts from Brooke that he'd gotten over the past week and let out a sigh torn on what to do. He'd promised Amy he wouldn't get involved with Melissa in any way unless it had something to do with Brooke, but rereading the messages from Brooke he was worried.

I'm okay dad, but I'm worried about mom…she hasn't been herself lately.-Brooke

He'd noticed the same thing from their brief conversation about picking up Brooke and introducing her to Amy; part of him thought maybe it was too soon to bring up the topic with Mel, to her it probably seemed like he'd moved on quickly, but Punk didn't know what else to do. Melissa rarely spoke to him and on the rare chance that she did, she refused to discuss what happened that night in Vegas. It had become the elephant in the room and he knew every interaction he had with her was going to be awkward until everything was out in the open; seeing Brooke was only ten, they had a lifetime of dealing with each other.

Punk pulled his cap down low as he walked towards the Hilton hotel; he was fifteen minutes early and figured it would give him some time to talk to Melissa one on one while Brooke finished getting ready for their weekend visit. He took a deep breath before knocking on the door, surprised when Brooke answered it.

"You're early…" He smirked leaning forward to kiss her on top of her head.

"Hello to you too; I know I'm early, but I figured I could talk to your mom for a few minutes while you finished getting ready. Is that okay with you?" Brooke's smile faded as she let out a sigh.

"I don't know if that's a good idea, she isn't feeling very well." Punk pursed his lips upset that whatever was going on with Mel was now affecting Brooke.

"Just tell her I'm here, I won't be long I promise. In fact we have a reservation in thirty minutes and we still have to pick up a friend along the way, so go ahead and finish gathering your stuff." He ruffled the hair on her head before she turned away skipping towards the bedroom to get her things. Punk made himself comfortable on the couch sending a quick text to Amy before coming face to face with a sickly looking Mel.

"Brooke said you wanted to talk to me, but honestly now isn't a good time."

"You look like hell…" Punk took in her frail frame noticing the dark circles under her eyes were possibly worse then his. "How long have you been sick?"

"A few days…it comes and goes, but I'm fine, it's none of your concern."

"It is my concern when it starts affecting my kid and she's extremely worried about you and I can see why. What's going on Mel, you need to talk to me…" Melissa rolled her eyes sitting in a chair across from him and covering her face in hopes that blocking the light would stop the light headed feeling.

"It's nothing Phil, just a case of the flu…I'll be fine…" Melissa took a deep breath feeling her stomach churn again though she doubted there was anything left for her to throw up. The feeling began to subside as she felt a wet wash cloth drape across the back of her neck; she moved her hand to the side coming face to face with Punk's dark hazel eyes.

"Thanks…"

"It's not a problem; do you need me to get you anything? Soup, ginger ale, crackers…" The churning returned at the mention of food.

"I'm fine Phil, really…I'm a big girl, and I don't need anyone to take care of me. Besides that didn't I hear something about you having a reservation, you should probably go." Punk glanced at his phone seeing a 'where are you' text from Amy; he took a deep breath feeling guilty that he was leaving her in the state she was in.

"Please call me if you need anything; I understand you can take care of yourself, but…" He stopped mid-sentence realizing he was over stepping boundaries, but unable to stop himself from caring.

"I will…"

"Promise?" She couldn't help but smile a little when she saw his lips firm that smirk.

"I promise…"

Punk was happy to see Brooke and Amy hitting it off talking about everything from wrestling to Batman, but found himself distracted. As much as it pained him to break his promise to Amy, he realized there was no way for him to break ties with Mel emotionally. He cared about her, worried about her, hell he even caught himself thinking about her at random times during the day; they had too much history together for him to just stop caring.

The girls finished dinner and Punk requested the check already deciding that even though Mel had swore that she could take care of herself and get anything she needed, he was determined to be her friend and help anyway. He drove back to the hotel listening to Brooke and Amy sing along to the radio, but rather then going in, he stopped out front.

"Is everything okay?" Amy asked.

"Yeah, it's all good, there's just something I have to take care of, but I'll make it quick. I figured you girls could bond without me." Amy smiled leaning across the seat to kiss him on the cheek.

"Don't be too late; remember you promised Brooke and I a movie and ice cream!"

"Alright well you two go start the movie and I'll be back with your ice cream, is that okay with you kiddo?" Punk turned to look at Brooke who had been sitting quietly in the back seat.

"You had me at ice cream." She gave him a goofy grin that he happily returned before getting out of the car and grabbing Brooke's over night bag. After watching them both enter the lobby, he got back in the car and set out on his errands.

Melissa leaned against the shower wall feeling weaker by the minute. She'd thought that taking a shower would help her feel better, wash away some of the grossness she'd been feeling all day, but as she closed her eyes the dizziness returned. After turning off the water, she reached for the shower railing to regain her balance, but blacked out fainting onto the cold bathroom tile.

Punk stopped at a convenience store grabbing the flu essentials: Gatorade, ginger ale, crackers and some pepto bismol; after picking up a to go order of some of the best chicken noodle soup in the city, he headed back to the Hilton hoping something he'd bought would help Mel feel better.

He knocked on the door a few times trying to juggle everything in his hands, but when she didn't answer he let himself in using the spare key she'd given him earlier in the evening. After putting everything on a table, he headed toward the bedroom assuming she was sleeping, but found it empty. He noticed the light on in the bathroom and knocked listening to see if he could hear anything, but after a minute, he decided to walk in finding Mel sprawled out on the tile.

Pure fear quickly converted to adrenaline as he kneeled down beside her finding relief that she was still breathing and had a pulse, though it was weak. Her body was cold to the touch and he wondered how long she'd been out as he began to shake her, yelling her name.

"Melissa…can you hear me?" She slowly came to struggling to sit up, quickly taken back as Punk pushed her back down towards the floor not wanting to risk her passing out again if she sat up too quickly.

"What happened?" Her voice was weak as she began to shiver; Punk noticed grabbing a robe from the back of the door and wrapping it around her running his hands up and down her arms to warm her up.

"You fainted; I'm not sure how long you were out. Do you remember anything?" She nodded as she tried to piece together the events some appearing hazier then others.

"I thought getting a shower would help, but I got dizzy again…" Punk nodded still feeling his heart beat out of his chest glad that he'd decided to come back to check on her.

"Let's get you up and into bed. I know you don't really want to eat anything, but you need to try; at least drink something." Melissa slowly got to her feet, but didn't get far before stumbling. Punk took matters into his own hands choosing to pick her up and carry her; as much as she wanted to fight his help, she knew she was in no shape to.

Once she was laid in bed, he grabbed the supplies from the other room and poured her a glass of Gatorade before sitting beside her on the bed.

"Maybe you should go to the hospital…" She shook her head taking another sip before setting the cup on the night stand beside her.

"Absolutely not! Brooke is already worried enough about me, she doesn't need that; this weekend is supposed to be fun for her. As for you, you've done enough for me. Thanks for not listening and coming back."

"That's what friends do for each other. I know we're not together like that, but I'm always going to care and worry about you. With that being said if you ever scare me like you did tonight I swear that fainting will be the least of your worries!" Even though it wasn't funny, Melissa couldn't help bet let out a little laugh at the overly concerned serious expression on his face.

"I'm sorry about that and I promise it won't happen again. I just hope I feel better tomorrow because my career depends on it. This flu is terrible, the last time I was anywhere close to being sick like this I was pregnant." Punk rubbed the back of his neck unable to ignore the last part of what she'd said.

"You don't think that's what this is, do you?" Melissa laughed at the scared look on his face, something Punk didn't find very funny.

"Calm down Phil, I'm not pregnant. I told you that night I was protected and I am; I'm on the pill and I take it at the same time every day. Hell I actually have an alarm on my phone set so I can never forget." As much as Punk wanted to take her word as reassurance, he knew no method was 100%.

"Isn't it still possible though? No method is fool proof…"

"That's true, but I promise you it's just the flu. My assistant was out with similar symptoms last week; it's been going around the office and at Brooke's school. That being said you should get out of here before you catch it."

"Are you sure you're okay now? If I leave and you pass out again…"

"That's not going to happen, so please just calm down. I'm going to go to sleep actually, so don't worry about me; go have fun with Brooke." Punk glanced at his phone realizing he'd already been gone for an hour, much longer then he anticipated.

"Thanks for the reminder, I have ice cream in the car…it might be more like soup now though." Melissa laughed again sinking down into the bed and adjusting the pillow beneath her head. Punk pulled the blanket around her shoulders and kissed her temple before turning to leave.

"Thanks for everything Phil, you're the best…" He smiled listening as her breathing evened out; he clicked off the light and quietly closed the door behind him letting out the breath he'd been holding for the last few minutes.

Punk made his way across the room stalling as he put his hand on the door handle feeling torn about leaving Mel alone. As much as he wanted to hold her close to him and take care of her, he thought of Brooke waiting for her ice cream and was quickly reminded that no matter what the situation was or who it involved, Brooke would always come first.

Preview Chap 22:

-Amy questions Punk about his "errands"

-Brooke's first Wrestlemania and Punk's co-workers learning he has a daughter

-Melissa gets some life changing news

Toss some reviews my way please...hopefully Punk going against his promise to Amy and caring for Melissa made up for their night in Vegas...