Hostage
"Miss Mendez." An officer and detective walked through the door of AJ's hospital room where Punk was still sitting with her. The doctor had just gave AJ a scan and whilst things looked healthy for their baby, there was still no word on their other baby up in the children's unit, and they couldn't really comprehend that just yet.
"Yes?" AJ said tiredly, rolling her head back on the pillow.
"We'd like to ask you a few questions. I'm Detective Jenny Michaels." She smiled, "Actually, I'd like to ask you both questions." She nodded to Punk, "I understand you're in a great deal of shock and pain right now so we'll be as brief and quick as we can be." She said.
"Ok." AJ mumbled, trying to sit up a little better as Punk helped her.
"Well, I guess it's as simple as… what do you remember?" Jenny asked.
"Nothing about the fire." AJ said, "I… I put my daughter to bed." She said, swallowing the lump in her throat, "And then I went to bed. From then on I just saw flashes. I remember being pulled out of the fire and then waking up here." AJ said, "They told us there was a dead body… can you tell us who it was?" She asked.
"Yeah it was Doug Keating. I believe you work for him." She turned to Punk who shook his head.
"Why was he the house?" Punk shook his head, "Oh my God." He sighed, running his hand through his hair.
"We've spoken to his wife. She said he was coming to find you, to talk about the rota, we can only assume that he saw the fire and tried to… help." Jenny said as Punk sighed and shook his head.
"Why did it start?" AJ asked her.
"There was a broken window in the kitchen and… gasoline on the carpets downstairs. The house is still being looked at but we're treating it as arson." She nodded, "Actually we… already have a suspect in custody."
"Who?" Punk shook his head.
"Anna, your brother's girlfriend." Jenny said as Punk and AJ just stared at her like she was insane, "An eye witness called, said they saw her entering her apartment with tanks of gasoline, so we searched the apartment and we found them, the lab is running tests on them to see if her fingerprints are on it." She said.
"You're all idiots." AJ grumbled, sinking back down into bed and turning around so she didn't have to look at them.
"April, we're doing our best right now." Jenny said.
"I don't care." AJ said, staring out the hospital window, ignoring everyone in the room, "Get out." She mumbled as Jenny sighed and turned to Punk who just sat with his hands over his face.
"We'll be in touch." Jenny nodded, walking out of the hospital room as Punk sighed, following them out and catching up after them.
"Hey." Punk said as Jenny turned around, "This… this wasn't Anna. We know Anna. She'd never do this." He said, "This was Ben. I'd literally just came back from the station, complaining about harassment from him, and why I came back my house was in flames. This was him. One person has died. An innocent guy, my daughter isn't in a good way." Punk said, "Don't waste your time blaming Anna, look for Ben." Punk said.
"We're trying to locate him." Jenny nodded, "We understand he is a potential suspect-"
"No, he did this." Punk said, "I spoke to someone at the station, I told him about the harassment and the threats he made against my girlfriend." He said, "Anna didn't do this, alright?"
"Once we've spoken to her we'll know more." Jenny said, "For now just let us do the work, we'll keep you updated." She said as Punk just nodded and sighed, rubbing his hand through his hair and walking back into AJ's room.
"They think Anna burned our house down?" AJ asked once hearing Punk come back in, turning around on her back.
"They're treating her as a suspect." Punk nodded, "Someone obviously planted those gasoline tanks in their place." He said.
"Someone." AJ repeated and looked up at him, "This was him, wasn't it?" She said as Punk nodded.
"I think it's likely." Punk nodded.
"Your boss." AJ sighed to herself and shook her head as Punk nodded and sighed, running his hand through his hair, "We have no home anymore." She whispered as Punk looked at her.
"Don't worry about that. It's just a house." Punk said, "It can be replaced." He said, just as Doctor Carr rushed through the door as they both looked up.
"What?" AJ trembled, every time she saw the doctor her stomach sank to the ground.
"Keala… needs a blood transfusion." Doctor Carr said, "And… she's B negative which is… a rare blood type." She said, "We don't… have enough."
"I'm B negative." Punk said as Doctor Carr looked at him, "Just give me the needle and tell me when you've got enough." Punk nodded.
"Have you consumed alcohol in the past 48 hours?"
"I don't drink or smoke." Punk said.
"Ok, come with me." Doctor Carr nodded as Punk turned to AJ who looked worried.
"It's ok." Punk nodded, "I'll be back." He said, giving her a soft kiss before leaving the room and following the doctor, "How much does she need?" Punk asked.
"Enough for a transfusion." Carr nodded, "She's in here." She said, opening up the hospital room door as Punk walked in, pausing for a second as he looked over at Keala. She was lying in bed and had tubed taped to her mouth and around her nose. There was the sound of machinery all around the room and he'd never felt so much pain like he did right now.
He walked over to the bedside, holding back his tears as he reached out and took her small hand. She was small and innocent and his heart couldn't take it seeing her this way.
The doctor prepped Punk, doing some tests to make sure he was fit to give blood, and then eventually gave him a seat, put the needle in his arm and watched as the blood ran through the tube.
"After this, will she be ok?" Punk asked desperately.
"She's doing good." Doctor Carr nodded, "Oxygen problems is normal for the severity of the fire. We just need to keep her hydrated and her blood flowing." She nodded.
"What about her burns?" Punk asked, "Are they… Are they bad?" He asked. He couldn't bear to see his daughter so small and weak, it broke him.
"She's got a bad one on her tummy but it's been treated. She's got a few other minor burns on her wrists, her shoulder, but I'd say she's doing ok."
"She doesn't look ok." Punk said truthfully.
"She'll get there." Carr nodded, "Hopefully by tonight she'll be breathing without the ventilator and she'll wake up." She nodded.
"What if I wasn't B negative?" Punk asked her as she shook her head.
"I don't know." Carr said, "That's why we really need people to donate their blood every now and then." She nodded, "Saves lives." She sighed as Punk nodded, turning to his daughter and watching her, listening to the oxygen tubes in her mouth.
"Just tell me she'll be ok." Punk nodded, "Please."
"I can tell you she's in the best place, and she's getting the best care." Carr said as Punk just nodded. He knew he couldn't expect a definite answer right now, which scared him, but he was doing all he could to help his daughter, feeling himself get a little weak and tired as he noticed how much blood he had already given away, not caring, not caring if they had to use all his blood to help her.
"Are you in charge?" Dean asked, standing in the police station once he saw a woman walk in from the street.
"Of what?" Jenny asked.
"Arresting my girlfriend and thinking she burnt down my brother's house." Dean spat, "Release her. Right now."
"Mr Ambrose, you're not in a position to tell anyone what to do." Jenny said, "This is an investigation, that includes a number of suspects."
"We were just here minutes before the fire, filing a harassment complaint over a man who has just been released from prison and wants to hurt AJ and her family. So you tell me why there has to be investigation when we both know that it's him." Dean said.
"Those gasoline cartons were found in your apartment. An eyewitness said they saw your girlfriend carry them home. Therefore I need to arrest her and speak to her." Jenny said, "I know this is hard-"
"Don't say that, because you don't." Dean warned, "An innocent man died, there's a five year old little girl who isn't breathing properly… don't waste your time harassing my girlfriend." Dean warned.
"You are the one wasting my time right now." Jenny said as Dean looked at her, "Once I've spoken to her and we get the results back from the lab on those gasoline cartons, then I'll let you know what's going to happen." She said, "For now, don't tell me how to do my job, Dean." She said, looking him personally in the eye as Dean shook his head, watching her walk off as he sighed to himself and placed his hands on his hips, turning around where he saw Paige walking in through the door.
"Hey." Paige shook her head, "What the hell is going on?"
"Where is CJ?" Dean asked worriedly.
"He was staying with a friend from school." Paige said, "How is everyone?" She asked.
"AJ is ok. Keala is… she's got some problems breathing but… we're hopeful." Dean nodded, "And they've arrested Anna."
"What? Why?" Paige shook her head.
"Someone put gasoline tanks in our bedroom, and someone, I'm assuming an anonymous eye witness said they saw her walk home with them." Dean shook his head, "It's Ben. We all know it is." He said.
"Ok, come take a seat." Paige nodded, guiding him over to the chair area, "They'll realise that Anna has nothing to do with this, they'll just want to ask her a few questions. Don't think of the worst." She shook her head as Dean sighed.
"My head is pounding." Dean sighed, rubbing his hands over his face, "Their whole house is… black." He said, "My… My boss is dead because he tried to help. I don't know how Keala is gonna be…" He groaned, wiping his eyes as Paige frowned, "And I can't do anything about any of it." He said with frustration as Paige rubbed his back and nodded.
"You just need to be there for him. The house is just a house. Ok. It can be replaced." Paige assured him, "You just have to be there for your family, ok?" She said as Dean nodded and sighed.
"I'm not leaving here until they let her go." Dean said.
Later that night, after Punk had given all the blood that the hospital allowed him to, he was advised and almost told to go home due to how much blood he'd given. AJ was passed out anyway due to the high pain relief medication she was on. She needed her rest and Keala still hadn't woken up.
The upsetting thing was, Punk didn't have a home to go back to, and since he couldn't get a hold of Dean who he assumed was at the police station, he drove to a motel and checked in for the night.
Meanwhile, the hospital was pretty quiet and in Keala's room, she had a visitor. The man walked on in, holding a teddy bear in his hand. It wasn't a newly bought teddy bear. More like a hand me down, but it was something.
He walked over to the bed side, looking on at the little girl, staring at the tubes around her nose and in her mouth and sighing to himself, "Poor soul." The man whispered, sitting the teddy bear on the stand beside all the monitors, shaking his head as he watched her little chest rise and fall.
He leaned forward, pressing a kiss on her head softly and backing out of the room, leaving the children's unit and heading towards the next room he wanted to visit, opening up the door and looking over at AJ who was fast asleep.
He stood watching her for a few minutes, not for any intention other than internally apologising for not managing to help her or Keala like he had tried to. His heart jumped however when he saw AJ's eyes flutter open.
"Ph-Phil?" AJ grumbled, feeling drowsy and sore but seeing a man in her room standing.
The man backed out of the room quickly, closing the door over behind him as AJ rested her head back on the pillow with confusion, quickly drifting back to sleep whilst the man rushed out of the hospital, bumping by a doctor who recognised him, just like she had recognised Dean and Punk earlier.
"Hey." She called on him, but he kept running until he had disappeared out of the hospital.
"Was that just-" Another older woman shook her head.
"Yeah." The doctor folded her arms, "I haven't saw him since before Vanessa died." She shook her head, "Buzz Carr, tell her to check on AJ and Keala." She said as the woman nodded and wandered off.
JC ran all the way back to his apartment, finding it tough as he had his own burns on his skin, running up the stairs of his apartment block and walking on in, locking the door behind him and peeling his jacket off, throwing it over on the floor and walking around the messy place.
He walked over to the fridge and grabbed out two beers, wandering over to the living room and sighing to himself, cracking the beers opened and switching the TV on, listening to the noises coming from the bathroom as he shook his head.
He stood up and walked over to the bathroom, opening it up and looking on at Ben tied up in the bath, bleeding, beaten up with tape around his mouth.
"What?" JC grumbled, taking a sip of his beer, "I hear anymore from you, I'll drown you in the toilet." He warned as Ben looked up at him with fear, "Shut it." He warned, slamming the bathroom door shut and walking back over to the couch.
A/N: Let me know what you think!