"You are kidding me... right?" AJ sat up, no longer tired, but emotionally exhausted, looking down at Punk as he rolled his eyes, putting his hand on his forehead and sitting up, turning his back to her as she stared across at him.

"No." He said, "Why don't you trust me?" He asked her in a quiet voice.

"I do trust you." AJ spat, "I don't know why, but some random one night stand you had, coming to New York out of all the states in America, coming into our store and asking for a job. That doesn't seem right to me." AJ told him, standing up and grabbing her sweater from the bottom of the bed as Coal squirmed off and ran out of the door.

"She wants a job, AJ. That's it." Punk stood up, turning around and facing her, "She's a good worker, she knows a lot about comics, just... let this one go, yeah?" Punk asked her as she folded her arms and looked across at him.

"Let this one go?" AJ looked at him, "This isn't some sort of slip up, Phil. This is you, working with a girl you've screwed in the past. Do you know what goes on in women's brains half the time? You pay one tiny bit of attention to her and she is going to think you want her." AJ explained.

"Well I don't." Punk made himself clear.

"I really... really want to hit you right now." AJ clenched her fists by her side, not believing him and his behaviour towards this situation. She made it rather clear before that she didn't want her working in the shop. But he went ahead and gave her the job anyway.

"It's not my fault you're being so paranoid and sensitive. She was just a stupid one night stand, I can barely even remember it." Punk shrugged to her as she scowled.

"Just go sleep on the couch, Phil." AJ shook her head, "I can't... I don't want to deal with this right now. We're meant to be celebrating Piper being home. Why couldn't you just say no to her?" AJ shook her head.

"Because there is no reason for me to say no? Just drop the whole... protective, paranoid girlfriend act, you don't suit it." He scowled.

"Just get out." AJ pointed to the door, "Get out the fucking room." AJ shook her head, too tired to keep this up, not spending the first night of her daughter being home, arguing with him.

Punk grabbed a pillow from the bed and stormed out of the room, banging the room door shut and walking downstairs, getting halfway when Piper started crying from her room. He paused and turned back upstairs, approaching his daughters room to which AJ bet him.

"Don't bother." She spat, walking into Piper's room and shutting the door over behind her. She didn't want him near her when he was angry.

Punk sighed with deep sadness, walking back downstairs and throwing the pillow on the couch, sitting down on it and looking at all the congratulations cards on the mantel,some pink balloons still scattered across the room. He knew he wasn't being unreasonable. AJ was blowing this whole situation out of purportion. He gave the girl a job, that was it. Why couldn't she see it the way he did?

He plumped the pillow up on the arm of the chair and lay down, freezing cold from having nothing on but his boxers. He closed his eyes with a sigh, still hearing Piper's cries upstairs that were trying to be controlled by AJ.

AJ was upstairs in Piper's room, indeed trying to soothe her back to sleep, awoken by her father banging the room door behind him.

"I'm sorry, baby." AJ stroked the baby girls cheek, "Go back to sleep, mommy's sorry. Daddy is being a jerk, isn't he?" She spoke to her, "Things will be better in the morning... that's it... close your little eyes." AJ smiled, watching as Piper closed her eyes over at her mothers touch and soothing words.

The next morning...

AJ woke up the next morning, sleeping in the centre of their double bed, the covers all over the place as well as her hair. She only ever woke up in such a messy position when she had had a restless nights sleep, which she had. She kept wakening at least every hour.

She stood up, pushing the covers back behind her and walking into her and Punks bathroom in the corner of their room, opening up the cabinets and taking her medication out, popping two pills out of the foiled container, filling a glass up that she kept in the bathroom with tap water, swallowing the two pills over quickly. Doing it as soon as she woke up was the only way she could remember to take them.

She walked out of the bathroom and out of their room all together, walking into Piper's room and seeing her little crib empty, knowing he had probably got Piper up himself and changed her.

She walked down the stairs, peeking through the gap in the door to the living room and smiling at Punk standing in the middle of the living room, Piper in his arms in a pink baby grow, too little to smile or laugh, but listening to her father speaking all kinds of ridiculous stuff.

She walked into the room, looking across at Punk noticing her come into the room, staring back at her.

"Morning." He said as AJ just nodded, "I think she's hungry." Punk said as AJ nodded to him, he didn't have to state the obvious.

"Ok." AJ nodded, extending her arms and taking Piper from him, walking away out of the living room, heading back upstairs to feed her daughter with privacy and no awkward staring from Punk.

Punk sank down on the couch with a sigh. He wished she just let it go. It was so frustrating from his point of view. But then again... if it didn't bother him, why wasn't he just firing Violet. Did part of him want her there?

A few weeks later...

Throughout the next few weeks a lot had occured for Punk and his family. First and foremost, the comic book shop was officially opened and was talk of the strip that the shop was set in. They had so many customers, ranging from all ages to both genders, Punk was blown away by how busy the place really was.

No more conversation had evolved about Violet working in the shop. AJ figured Punk was going to do what he wanted to do anyway, it wouldn't matter how she felt or what she said, and that hurt her feelings, but she tried to believe that he was meaning well, and was only trying to give the girl a job.

However, that being said... she had began taking some shifts at the shop with how busy it was. She didn't plan to, but she decided to, and also, she wanted peace of mind on what went on with Punk and Violet.

She couldn't bare it. The way they laughed together, talked about different comics, the way she put her hand on his chest when he made her laugh, the way she could see he felt good about making her laugh. She felt invisible.

But then, back at home, Punk would act like she was some godess, making her dinner, running her baths, buying her presents from all the money they were making. She was so confused with these mixed signals and played her mood off by how he was treating her. She tried to act like she didn't care around him and Violet, to look like she was tough and the bigger person, but it was killing her inside. She feared to question Punk about it from the fear of him snapping at her for being 'paranoid' as he liked to say.

She sat with Max in the back room where none of the customers could see one day, baby Piper sleeping in her travel crib, the sound of Violet's laughter ringing in her ears.

"You ok?" Max asked her. He had seen himself that his brother was acting extremely out of line with the new employee. It was indeed, like AJ was invisible to him when Violet was around.

AJ just shook her head, watching Max push over the other half of his sandwich to her, "Do you see it?" AJ asked him, picking at the sandwich that Max had kindly shared with her.

"Yeah." Max nodded, "I'm sure it doesn't mean anything." Max tried to make AJ feel better.

AJ turned around and looked through the open door at Punk pushing Violet playfully behind the counter while customers looked around.

"I'm sure it doesn't." AJ sighed, turning around and giving a small smile to Max, looking over at Piper fast asleep in her crib.

Max walked over to the opened door, shutting it over and sitting back down, shuffling towards AJ, wrapping his arm around her as she leaned into him, a tear rolling down her cheek as she rested her head on his shoulder. A sixteen year old boy was making her feel more wanted than her own boyfriend.

"It'll be ok." Max said, patting AJ's back in a friendly way. His brother really had to stop, before AJ snapped and gave up every calm and niave bone in her body.

10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.