Dinner

"Looks like things are going well." Liz smiled, unpacking the groceries in the kitchen where AJ stood making coffee and watching Punk out on the balcony with Breea.

"He's not even been here twenty four hours." AJ rolled.

"Try and be a little more optimistic, honey." Liz nodded, "If he didn't care, he wouldn't be here and you know that. Sounds like he's really dropped all this stuff with his sister… he did the right thing, I mean it took him longer than it should have but-"

"He shouldn't have done it in the first place. That's the point. There shouldn't have been any divorcing me and quitting his job. That's why I'm mad." AJ said, "I just… I feel like I can't trust him anymore. What if one day he does it again?" AJ asked.

"Don't you think he's learned from his mistakes?" Liz asked as AJ shrugged.

"I don't know anything. I don't know what he's thinking." AJ said honestly.

"He's good with Breea. Hasn't missed a beat." Liz said as AJ nodded, looking on at Breea sitting on Punk's lap as she played with her animals.

"Well… he's a good dad when he's actually here." AJ nodded, "That was never the problem." She reminded her mother, "I just don't want to be played like a fool. I can't just get over the fact that he completely abandoned me and Breea… so freely." AJ shook her head, "Like it wasn't even a hard decision."

"I think the sting went to his head." Liz nodded, "Look what it did to your father. It pushed him away completely. Turned him into a completely different person." She said, "But Phil turned it around, he… he did the right thing and he wants a second chance. You believe in second chances, don't you?" Liz questioned.

"Yes." AJ nodded. She did believe in second chances, but it was so hard when it was her emotions on the line, "I'm just… I'm looking out for myself. I'm allowed to do that."

"Of course you are." Liz nodded, "But you also have to remember the man you fell in love with… he's still there. Deep down you know that." She said as AJ nodded.

"I never said I stopped loving him. This isn't a case of me having to fall in love with him again. I just… I need to learn to trust him again and try and see sense in everything that he did." AJ said as Liz nodded.

"You will… in time." Liz said, "I'm meeting a friend for dinner tonight so, maybe once Breea is in bed you can have a chat on your own."

"And I'm sure you were the one who arranged this dinner with your friend?" AJ rolled her eyes, "I didn't even know you had friends."

"Don't be mean, April." Liz scoffed as AJ just ignored her.

Meanwhile Punk had made his way back into the house, sitting Breea over on her play mat with her toys as he walked through to the kitchen.

"Hey, I was thinking I could maybe make us dinner tonight?" He asked them. He figured he would do something nice. He knew dinner didn't make up for anything he'd done, but he was just trying his best to do anything he could, "I can go to the store and pick up a couple things."

"Well I'm not here tonight. I'm meeting with an old friend for dinner." Liz said, "You should cook for you and April." Liz smiled as Punk nodded slowly, turning to AJ who stood quietly with her coffee.

"I mean I'm… I'm pretty busy." AJ shrugged as Punk raised a brow.

"Too busy to… eat dinner?" He questioned with a slight tilt in his head.

"Busy doing what?" Liz scoffed, "You don't work."

"Busy… doing… mom things." AJ stuttered as Punk nodded slowly, "I mean there's washings and ironing to do."

"Just cook her dinner. She's being difficult, in typical April fashion." Liz nodded.

"Don't you have friends to meet?" AJ spat to her mother as Punk smiled a little. He'd missed watching them bicker, it was truly better than TV.

"I do. But I'm gonna see Breea first before I get ready." Liz said, walking on out of the kitchen as Punk laughed to himself.

"What?" AJ shook her head.

"Just… you two. Nothing has really changed." Punk smiled a little.

"I'm glad you find it amusing." AJ nodded, "It's difficult having a mom like her, you know."

"I'd take her over my mom any day." Punk said truthfully as AJ nodded.

"Yeah, your mom is a bitch." AJ agreed.

"Yeah." Punk nodded, "Come on, let me cook dinner for you. It can be as friendly as you want. Not like… hey, I'm your ex-husband trying to cook you apology dinner." Punk said as AJ looked across at him.

"Yeah, ok. Fine." AJ shrugged, "But no desert." She warned, "And no, I don't mean that like… sex, I mean literally no desert… I'm trying to diet." She nodded.

"Why? You're perfect the way you are." He shook his head with confusion as she looked over at him and smiled a little. She smiled because she knew he was sincere when he said such a thing. He never went a day without reminding her of her beauty, for ten long years, to not have that in her life for even just a few months had been sad.

"Well, it's still good to be healthy." AJ defended as Punk nodded.

"I guess so." Punk said, "Fine. No desert. Translation… no cake, no sex-"

"Definitely." AJ said loudly, "No sex." She finished with a tut as Punk nodded slowly, looking across at her, realising she was thinking about them having sex, which amused him and made him smile a little. He couldn't deny he wasn't thinking about it either.

"Ok, well… I'm gonna jump to the store and get some things. Any requests?" Punk asked.

"No, just whatever you think." AJ nodded.

"Sure thing." Punk said, walking out of the kitchen.

Later that night after AJ had put Breea down to sleep, Punk cooked dinner like he planned. The real reason she was so reluctant was because she knew that when she sat down, when she looked in his eyes, when they casual conversation began, he had the power to make her feel like nothing was even wrong, and she was too stubborn to let that happen.

"I know you said no desert, but I did get ice-cream for after." Punk told her, sitting at the table across from her as she shook her head.

"You've got a terrible habit these days of doing things that other people maybe… don't want you to do." AJ nodded as Punk paused and looked across at her, "Don't you think?"

"I'm… trying to work on that." Punk assured her as AJ nodded slowly, "So… I didn't know your mom had friends." He said.

"She doesn't. She's probably sitting in a bar on her own just so we could have the house to ourselves." AJ nodded, "She thinks I'm stupid."

"She means well." Punk nodded, "So are you really serious about… about moving here permanently?" He asked her as she took a drink and nodded.

"Mhm." She nodded, "Why? Afraid your tattoos might turn to scab in the heat if you stayed?" AJ smiled.

"Actually, I tan pretty well and you know that." Punk said as she nodded, "I just… I know you like the city life, the busy job, the chaos." He said, "This seems a little… I don't know-"

"Boring?" AJ nodded, "Yeah, I know." AJ said, "But it's quiet and no one is here to piss me off, which is nice." She said.

"Wouldn't you miss Chicago?" Punk shook his head.

"What's left for me there?" AJ asked, "I lost my job. John made it very clear that in my condition, bashed brain and all… I'm never getting back on the force." AJ shrugged.

"Yeah, I know… I know that's killing you." Punk said, "And hey, I… I'm sorry I wasn't there for you these past couple of months. It was a crucial time, for you and for Breea… I don't wanna keep repeating myself with all these apologies but it is really how I feel. I never wanted to hurt you like I did." He said as she nodded, playing with her food.

"I know you didn't but… you still did and I get to be mad at that." AJ said as he nodded, "Because we had it good. Even before my injury. Life was sweet as hell." She nodded.

"And… now it's not?" Punk asked.

"It's just different. I feel like I traded in my badge for… diapers." AJ shook her head, "I just wish it didn't have to be a trade." She said, "I always imagined us being those cop parents who are so cool." She smiled.

"Insinuating that you wanted us to be cool parents makes us… the least cool parents ever." He nodded as she smiled a little.

"I know but… it was cool in my head." AJ nodded, "Everything was normal and perfect." She said.

"Life isn't perfect, April." Punk said, "If only it was." He nodded to himself.

"Yeah, you made sure of that." AJ took a dig, "I spent so long thinking it was me. That I was the problem. Do you know how that feels?" She asked.

"April-"

"I felt like I watched you fall out of love with me." AJ said, "I asked myself… what did I do? Was it the fact I couldn't work at the force anymore? Was it Breea? Did you not want her? Did you find someone else who loved you better than I did?" She said, "That's the torture you put me through when you divorced me and left me. You left me staying awake every night, torturing myself with those questions… and then you claim that the entire time you were just trying to protect me, you were lost-"

"I was. That sting was the worst thing that happened to me. It changed me. It changed how I thought, how I acted and dealt with situations." He said, "And yeah, in the midst I ended up hurting you… I guarantee it hurt me more than it did you." He said.

"I don't know… it felt pretty shitty." AJ said quietly as Punk looked across at her, "I mean… you wanted to throw away ten years of amazing memories with me for your sister who… no offence, has probably grown up without you and doesn't give a shit." She said as Punk nodded.

"Go on, get it all out." He said, putting his fork down and folding his arms as she looked at him.

"Shut up." AJ whispered as Punk nodded.

"If I could go back, I would, April." Punk assured her, "I wouldn't make the mistakes I made, but I can't go back. I have to fix this now and I want to fix it. Why else would I be here?"

"Guilt." AJ shrugged, "It seems to make you do stupid things." She nodded.

"Yeah, it does and… and I'm sorry for that. I'm sorry for all of it. I'm sorry I was a shitty husband, a shitty father… I should have been better and I'm sorry I wasn't." Punk said, pausing as he watched blood start to run down her nose, "Uh… your nose is bleeding." He pointed as AJ quickly wiped it.

Punk stood up and grabbed a paper towel, handing it to her as he watched her wipe it.

"Your voice must be burning my brain." AJ teased as Punk smiled a little.

"You uh… you don't get nose bleeds." Punk said quietly as she nodded.

"Well, I do now." AJ said, "It's nothing."

"When was the last time you saw Doctor Jones, April?" Punk asked. The tone in their voices had softened a little.

"I uh… I don't know a couple… months." AJ nodded.

"Months?" Punk shook his head, noticing her nose was continuing to bleed as she wiped, "You go for a scan every few weeks-"

"Yeah, scans which show the same normal picture every single time." AJ shrugged, "It's just a nosebleed, it's common." She nodded as Punk looked across at her.

She watched as he stood up and wandered over to the trash, "What are you doing?" AJ shook her head, watching as he began to dig through the trash, "Have you lost your mind?" AJ stood up, suddenly watching him toss out the previously used paper towels with dried blood on them, "Phil." AJ sighed.

"How often is this happening, April?" Punk shook his head with concern.

"Not often. You're acting like a lunatic." AJ scoffed, clearing all the trash he'd threw around, "I was shot in the head, getting a nose bleed every now and then isn't the end of the world." She said as he watched her. She was only reminded by his excessive behaviour, that he really did care about her, truly.

"You should still be seeing Doctor Jones." Punk said.

"Yeah and I will… soon." AJ shrugged, listening as the monitor began to pick up Breea crying, "Can you get her?" She asked him.

"Yeah." Punk sighed, rubbing the back of his neck and leaving the kitchen as AJ sighed to herself, wiping her nose as it continued to bleed, grabbing more paper towels and leaning against the kitchen counter.