Final Piece


"Is she still not coming in?" AJ asked, sitting dinner down at the table.

"No." Punk shook his head as he walked back in from the garden where Jo had refused to leave from in her tree house all day, "She'll come in eventually." He nodded.

"But is she ok?" AJ asked with worry, looking out the kitchen window where she just saw part of Jo's head as she sat in her tree house.

"Yeah, she's ok." Punk nodded, "Is Robyn down?" He asked her.

"Yeah, she's in her basket in the living room." AJ said, "Jess, you want a juice box?" She asked Jessica who was sitting at the table quietly.

"Yeah." Jessica nodded as AJ took one from the fridge and sat down at the table, "Thanks." Jessica took the juice box from AJ, "Why isn't she coming in?" Jessica asked, "Is she still crying over the spider?" She rolled her eyes.

"Hey, give her a break." Punk said, sitting down at the table, "You know she's sensitive, and she's only three years old." Punk shook his head.

"You always take her side." Jessica said.

"There's no sides in this. You're both wrong for fighting with one another. But you being older, I thought you'd be a little more responsible." Punk said.

"If she pushes me I'm gonna push her back." Jessica said, "I don't care what age she is." She made clear as Punk just nodded, "You just take her side cause you like her more."

"Now you're just being childish." Punk said.

"Why don't you go make up with Jo after you have your dinner?" AJ asked, "Dad is right, she's only little, you acted the same way when you were three." AJ nodded, "You're supposed to look out for her. Her and Robyn." AJ nodded.

"Why do I have to look out for them?" Jessica shook her head.

"Because you're the oldest. They're gonna learn from you." Punk said, "And that's not a bad thing. You just gotta be a little more patient with her. She's only little."

"She's crazy." Jessica shook her head.

"Stop calling her that." AJ warned as she looked over at Punk, "She's not crazy."

"Well she's weird." Jessica said, "That spider was huge. You would have stepped on it too if it came running at you." She told her mother, "I'm always the one you guys blame for everything." She said.

"That's not true." Punk said, "This isn't us picking sides, we know Jo is in the wrong too but… you're supposed to be best friends." He said, "I know you're not always gonna get along but… she looks up to you and loves you." He said.

"She has to say sorry first." Jessica said stubbornly, "She pushed me first."

"And she's wrong for that." AJ nodded, "And she'll apologise." She said, "But you also hurt her feelings when you said you wanted her to disappear forever." She said as Jessica just twirled her spaghetti around on her fork.

"I didn't mean it obviously." Jessica said, feeling bad.

"Yeah and that's the whole point." Punk said, "We know you didn't mean it, and you know you didn't mean it, but Jo doesn't. She believes that. In a few years she won't, obviously but she's still really little and trying to understand things." He said, "You gotta remember that."

Sometimes they were all guilty of forgetting just how little Jo still was. She was still only three, and sometimes with Jessica being almost ten, and now with the new baby, they forgot that Jo was still practically a baby herself.

"You know you'd be lost without her." AJ said as Jessica just nodded, "We're not mad at you anymore than we are at her, so don't think that." She rubbed Jessica's back, "You both need to just… treat each other a little more kindly." She nodded, "Be a little more patient." She said as Jessica just nodded.

They had dinner and AJ cleared the plates whilst Punk sat round with Jessica to help her with her homework. AJ dumped the dishes in the sink and looked out the window, suddenly letting the dishes slip away into the water.

"Ph-Phil." AJ trembled a little as Punk turned to her.

"What?" Punk asked, immediately concerned as he stood up from the chair.

"There's… there's someone else in the tree house." AJ gulped, seeing a very visible second figure which was framed like an adult.

Punk immediately ran out of the kitchen and outside into the garden sprinting down to the end of the garden where the tree house was. AJ watched and suddenly noticed that the man in the tree house, crouched down and trying to fit in beside Jo was Jason.

"Oh my God." AJ gulped whilst Jessica stood up from the table.

"Mom, what is it?" Jessica asked.

"Jessica go… go upstairs and… and bring me your father's jeans down." AJ nodded as Jessica made a face of confusion but ran away upstairs to find her father's jeans.

Meanwhile Punk had ran out to the tree house and was standing in front of it where he saw Jo sitting with her legs dangling off the edge, frightened and considering jumping down as Jason sat behind her.

"Daddy, I don't know this man." Jo cried once she saw her father.

"It's ok, baby. I won't hurt you." Jason smirked, touching Jo's shoulder as Punk began to feel rage.

"Don't fucking touch her!" Punk yelled, "Let her come down." Punk spat.

"No, I think I'll keep her up here." Jason smiled, "It's nice and… cosy." He nodded as Punk looked around to see how he could get up without he or Jo getting hurt, more importantly Jo. He could see Jason was drunk, but drunk or sober, the man was evil and Punk didn't want his daughter breathing the same air as him, never mind being anywhere near him.

"Daddy." Jo cried, scared upon the man who had just appeared in her tree house.

"Why are you crying?" Jason slurred, stroking her hair as Punk climbed up the wooden stairs at the side, not being able to stand and do nothing anymore, he knew he had to take action carefully.

He got to the top of the steps but was met by a kick to the face from Jason, almost knocking him out as his lip and nose immediately began to gush with blood, frightening Jo even more as she sat at the edge of the pretty tall tree house.

Meanwhile Jessica had ran to her mother with her father's jeans for some unknown reason, passing them to her as AJ continued to watch with worry at the window, taking the card out of Punk's jeans with a shaking hand, the card which the two agents had given Punk on his release.

"Is something wrong?" Jessica asked.

"I-I need to phone this number." AJ said, grabbing her phone and punching in the number on the card, raising her phone to her ear as she watched Jessica begin to run out of the kitchen door, "Jessica!" AJ ran after her. She was just a few days off of giving birth and couldn't match Jessica's running speed whether she was fit and healthy or not.

Punk was still trying to get to Jason, not giving up as he climbed into the tree house. There was such a small space for them, and he was cautious of Jo getting bumped and falling off onto the ground, like she had done many months ago where she got a concussion.

"What? You don't like this?" Jason asked, "You don't want me touching her?" He slurred as Punk grabbed him by the face, sticking his thumbs in his eyes as Jason yelled out, kicking Punk in the stomach as Punk let go and doubled over.

Meanwhile Jessica had ran to the tree house and stood in front where she saw Jo crying and sitting at the edge. She also saw her father fighting with another man, and as the oldest, like her mother and father had just been discussing with her about, she thought it was best to apologise to Jo by helping her.

"Jump and I'll catch you." Jessica nodded, holding her arms out and looking up at Jo.

"I can't." Jo cried.

"You can. It's fine." Jessica nodded, "Come on." She said as Jo shook her head, too frightened to make such a big jump. She also remembered when she had fallen off the treehouse the first time.

Meanwhile Punk and Jason were still brawling as much as they could, "I told Jamie if there's anything I can do before they lock me up, it's take you down with me, choke you out, the way we should have done from the very beginning, then we'd all have what we wanted." He smirked, choking Punk around the neck on top, "This is what I'm gonna do to your kids. They're gonna look up and see me. Especially that oldest one. I'd love to choke her-" Punk kicked him as hard as he could before he started turning purple, losing his cool as he pushed Jason, kicking him in the gut as he fell back.

However, he fell back so hard that he fell into Jo who fell off the edge.

"Jo!" Punk yelled, his voice crumbling underneath him with worry as he crawled further round, looking down from the tree house where he thankfully saw Jessica holding Jo, both unharmed as they then ran back to their mother.

Punk was so distracted looking down to make sure the girls were safe, that he didn't see Jason coming at him, spearing him into the wood as Punk yelled loudly in pain.

Meanwhile Jessica and Jo had ran back to their mother who was on the phone to the agents, "Just get here as soon as you can, please." AJ begged, hanging up as she caressed the girls cheeks and told them to go inside.

"If I'm joining Jamie in prison I wanna deliver the news that-that I managed to kill you anyway. And then once I leave you dead here, I'm gonna go into your house and I'm gonna get to know that lovely girl of yours." He nodded as Punk tried to get himself together, "And then I'm gonna tuck your kids into bed, read them a story and maybe stay for… a little cuddle or a little kiss." He smirked as Punk punched him hard and tackled him through the space where the steps were, causing both of them to fall out of the tree house and land hard on the grass as AJ jumped in horror.

"Phil." AJ ran over, kneeling down beside Punk whilst Jason rolled around in pain beside.

"Go inside." Punk groaned.

"No, I'm not leaving you with him." AJ shook her head.

"Don't worry, April. You-You're next." Jason smirked, "Why don't you go put on something pretty for me." He said, spitting out blood as AJ glared over at him.

Punk kicked Jason who countered by grabbing his leg and kicked Punk in the face as Punk fell back over, letting Jason get to his feet as AJ immediately got to hers and began to step back.

"You still have that… that natural pregnant glow, April." Jason smiled, "I love it." He nodded as AJ slapped him across the face, knocking the blood out of his mouth as she watched him turn back around to her.

"Stay away from me." AJ spat.

"You let me take care of Phil and then… then I'll take care of all of you, baby." Jason smirked as Punk came up behind him. As soon as he saw Jason backing AJ into a corner he lost it and he was about to grab his neck and twist it, with all the pain and the anger this man and his friends had caused them, when he paused, remembering the trouble that such an action like that had got him into last time. This time he was smarter.

He pushed Jason back onto the ground, standing in front of AJ just as the gate was kicked open by the feds with the two agents leading the way.

"Alright, alright." Jason slurred as he was sat on his knees whilst Punk placed his arm around AJ.

Punk then watched as Jason pulled out a small handgun from his back pocket, which caused him to stand straight back in front of AJ, only Jason didn't point the gun at them, he pointed it to himself.

"Sir, put the gun down." Agent Matthews said, "Put the gun down and put your hands behind your head." He directed whilst some feds went into the house to check everything there and to make sure the girls were ok, all three of them, which they were.

"Put the gun down!" Agent Kelvin yelled, holding their own guns in the case of Jason using it elsewhere.

"I guess… I guess you got me." Jason nodded, pulling the trigger on himself to the head as some of the feds turned away.

AJ immediately turned into Punk's chest to turn away from the sight as Punk just stared at Jason's now dead body, barely flinching through the whole thing as he wrapped his arm around AJ.

"Let's… let's get this whole place taped." Agent Matthews sighed, putting his gun back in his pocket, looking across to Punk who just looked back at them.