Breaking The News
One week after meeting Daniel, Dani was on lockdown. Normally she would rebel and avoid all the new 'rules' Punk and AJ had enforced on her but clearly they were just looking out for her. As she walked out of school she saw Elliot waiting by his car for her and she smiled and ran to give him a hug. When Punk or AJ couldn't personally take or pick Dani up from school someone else was always there. Two days ago it was Dean, Devon was there Monday and now Elliot. She also didn't mind the new rules because she truly liked spending time with the family.
"Hey Elliot" Dani smiled
"Hey sweetheart" Elliot grinned opening the door for her
"Where's AJ and Punk today?" Dani asked him
"They had to meet with someone" Elliot told her "So it's just us today I was thinking we could go for ice cream?"
"I'm down for that" Dani smiled happily
"So Christmas is coming up and you haven't told Jennifer what you want yet" Elliot noted pulling away from the school.
"I don't need anything" Dani shrugged
"Every kid wants something on Christmas" Elliot smirked at her "Isn't there like a doll or something?"
"A doll?" Dani laughed "Do I look like the type of girl who likes playing with dolls?"
"That is true" Elliot laughed
"I really wanted to get something for Punk and AJ though" Dani said to him "But obviously I don't have money for that and to ask them for money which I know they would give me would be silly if it just went back to them"
"I'm in" Elliot said to her "Only if you tell me what you want as well"
"Every year when we went to see Santa I used to ask him for a family" Dani admitted "Even long after I realized Santa was fake I still used to play along for the other kids sake and I still asked for the same thing. And I got what I wished for, at least I think I did"
"Why would you just think it?" Elliot asked her
"I've been with them for a little while now and I know there's a lot going on but they haven't mentioned making it official. I'm afraid they're sick of me already" Dani confided
"That's not the case" Elliot assured her "They're crazy about you"
"I hope so" Dani sighed "Because I don't think I could go back after having a taste of what a real family is like"
"You wont be going back" Elliot promised her "Trust me"
"Elliot is taking her for ice cream" Punk said reading his text to AJ.
"No Daniel?" AJ asked
"No Daniel" He confirmed as they sat in a swanky office together.
"Could you imagine if she would have gotten into his car?" AJ asked him
"I'd like to not even think about it actually" Punk said shifting uncomfortably in his seat
"She was so smart to not buy into it" AJ said to him "Have you heard from Steve yet?"
"Nothing" Punk said to her "He hasn't seen or heard anything Daniel related."
"I'm so scared for Dani" AJ admitted "It's taking away from everything we're doing"
"Don't let it because nothing is going to happen to her" Punk promised her "She's safe. She's with Elliot and even with that Roman is tailing them"
"My stomach has been knots since it happened" AJ said to him
"Yea I've noticed" Punk said to her "You need to relax because we don't want to scare her. We want her to know we can provide a safe home for her"
"I know, I know" AJ sighed "I'm just scared. It's been great having Dani with us but then you realize you're in charge of keeping her safe and protecting her from the world but sometimes you cant"
"We can and we will" he promised her.
"Sorry to keep you waiting" the man said entering the office and sitting at his large desk "I've got all of the paper work here for you" he said passing the contract over to Punk who looked it over
"And this is fully binding and legal?" AJ asked him
"Of course Mrs. Brooks" The man smiled "Have you spoken to Dani about legally adopting her?"
"Not yet" AJ said nervously "We kind of wanted to surprise her"
"She's a very lucky little girl" The lawyer smiled
"What if her birth father shows up?" Punk asked
"He lost parental rights and hasn't even attempted to contact family court to plead his case. Once she's legally adopted she's yours and there's nothing he can do" he said to him "He hasn't even visited her at the foster home"
"And so what happens after we all sign off on this?" AJ asked him
"You'll appear in court and the judge will make it official" the lawyer told them
"Is there any reason to believe he'll rule against us?" AJ asked
"No" The lawyer scoffed shaking his head "Mr. Brooks is a very well respected Chicago resident, the Klein name doesn't hurt and the foster care director has giving you both a glowing recommendation. All you two have to do is sign"
"We want to talk to her first" Punk said to him "We don't want her to be blindsided"
"If she said 'no' would you really be willing to give her up?" The lawyer questioned
"No" Punk admitted
"Of course not but again we just want to sit down with her" AJ told him "We're going to do it tonight as a matter of fact"
"Call me when you sign off and I'll rush it to the judge" he told them "And congratulations" he smiled
When Punk and AJ got home Elliot was sitting on the couch while Dani was sitting on the floor working on her homework with Elliot's help.
"You're back sooner then I expected" Elliot said to them
"Yea it didn't take as long as we thought" Punk said removing his jacket
"How was school Dani?" AJ asked her
"Lame. Joey didn't talk to me at all today because he's friends with Kelly now" Dani said annoyed
"Well thanks for the 6th grade daily gossip" Punk mocked "But did you learn anything new?"
"I learned Kelly is a bitch" Dani said bluntly and Elliot let out a loud laugh while AJ looks mortified and Punk was amused
"Well at least you're learning something in public school" Punk muttered
"Language Dani" AJ reminded her
"Oh yea, sorry" she said with a sheepish smile
"I'm going to head out" Elliot said standing up and gave Dani a kiss on the head then gave one to AJ on the cheek "I'll see you three at the fundraiser this weekend" he said to them
"Thanks" He said to Elliot and walked him to the door.
"Hey Dani" AJ said sitting on the couch "Can you come sit up here for a second, Phil and I want to talk to you"
"I didn't do it" Dani responded nervously taking a seat on the couch
"Why do I feel like you probably did?" Punk smirked sitting in his chair
"You didn't do anything" AJ assured her "But we do have to discuss something important"
"You're sending me back aren't you?" Dani asked them "I knew this would happen, it's ok I totally get it-" she started to get up but AJ pulled her back onto the couch
"That's not it either" AJ said to her
"It's the opposite of that actually" Punk said to her
"We want to legally adopt you" AJ informed her and her eyes lit up
"For real?" Dani asked them
"For very real or whatever it is you kids say today" Punk said to her
"You're not messing with me?" Dani asked them
"No and we have all of the paperwork but before we signed anything we wanted to make sure you wanted to be here as much as we want you here" AJ said to her
"If I said no that I wanted to go back what would you do?" Dani asked them and clearly she was testing them. Punk had learned she liked to do that a lot.
"We'd talk you into saying" Punk smiled "We'd fight for you"
"That's all I wanted to hear" Dani said happily "Yes I want to stay" she jumped into AJ's arm and gave her a hug then ran over to Punk and did the same. "I have to call Karen!" -who was the foster care advisor "She's going to flip!"
"That was easy" AJ said happily to him and he nodded in agreement "Can we sign the papers now?"
"Yea and I'll bring them back to the office tonight" Punk told her
"Oh one thing" Dani said walking back in the room "What do I call you?"
"What do you mean?" Punk asked
"I mean I'm officially here now" Dani said nervously
"You can call us whatever you'd like" AJ smiled at her
"Can I try the mom and dad thing?" she asked them and AJ could feel her heart swell with joy
"Of course" AJ beamed then Dani ran out "This is the best I've felt in such a long time" she said to her husband
"It's pretty awesome I must admit" Punk smirked
"You were right about this adopting thing" AJ said to him "I'm so glad I listened to you"
"I'm grateful for Dani and she's our daughter now but are you really ok with not having a baby of your own?" he asked her
"Yea" AJ said to him "I feel like this void has been filled with her it doesn't matter that I didn't carry her or raise her for the first eleven years of her life she is ours in everywhere that counts"
"I couldn't agree more" Punk smirked
Dani was listening at the top of the steps and smiled at the fact that they truly considered her to be their daughter. Nothing was going to spoil this for her.
As Punk drove to work he passed by Tonic and decided to drop in on Seth. There had been something nagging at him and even though he was enjoying the peace he had with Seth he did have to confront him, he just had to ask Seth what was burning in his brain.
"I was wondering when I was going to see you again" Seth said as Punk strolled into the empty and not yet open Tonic "What did I do now? Are you going to blame me for AJ's meltdown a while back? Or global warming?"
"No not tonight anyway but I'm sure that massive amount of hair gel you use isn't helping the environment" He retorted
"I've been playing nice but don't push me" Seth warned him
"I'll make it quick then. I want to know if you're helping Daniel" Punk said bluntly
"Daniel who?" Seth asked him
"Bryan" Punk clarified and Seth looked confused then it hit him
"You think I would help out a psychopath who murdered one woman and almost another?" Seth asked "That would kill my reputation and business"
"That would be the only reason you wouldn't" Punk said to him
"I didn't even know Daniel was around. Last I read in the papers he was fleeing the country" Seth said to him
"He's in Chicago" Punk said to him "Or he was a week ago"
"Haven't seen or heard from him" Seth told him honestly "And if I did see him I would call the police and not you"
"You call me" Punk informed him
"You're the police now Punk?" Seth mocked
"I just need to get some answers from him before he's hauled over to prison" Punk shrugged
"Maybe I will call you" Seth said smiling at the thought "I'd like to see you get locked away for murder. I'll give AJ a call then" he teased
"I'm trying to be decent with you but another crack like that about my wife is going to make me punch you in the face" Punk threatened
"Relax Romeo" Seth laughed "But back to Daniel how do you even know he's in town?"
"He approached my daughter" Punk said to him
"Daughter?" Seth asked warily "Since when do you have a kid"
"It's not really your business. But he was lurking outside of her school and spoke to her" Punk told him
"So not only do you have a kid but she's old enough to walk, talk and go to school?" Seth asked then laughed "Oh I knew your whore ways would catch up to you eventually, a one-night stand that won't go away? Is that why AJ was so upset?"
"Again not that it's your business but we adopted" Punk said to him
"Good for AJ she'll make a good mother" Seth said nodding
"What is your infatuation with my wife?" Punk asked him
"It's nothing physical it's all business" Seth said to him "I'd love to have her here working with me."
"That's never going to happen" Punk said to him
"We'll see about that" Seth smiled "Have a good night dad" he teased
AJ was already at The Cellar long before Punk after dropping Dani off at Elliot and Jennifer's for the night. They were so great with watching her when she had to be at work and with the adoptions papers officially in Dani was there's and AJ was thrilled but she wasn't expecting this. This was the last thing she had ever expected and she didn't see it coming at all. She looked at the three positive pregnancy tests on her desk and still had trouble processing it. Punk was actually right they did beat the odds but they already had Dani and they were still learning how to be good parents and focusing all of their time and energy into making this transition smooth for her.
How would Dani react to the news? Would she think they were trying to replace her? How would Punk react? It was hard enough to get him to commit to one child but two? She hadn't been feeling for the last few weeks but chalked it up to stress but when she realized her period was long past she took a pregnancy test and when it came out positive she took two more and all the tests had the same result. She was biting her nails and staring at the tests as if the result was going to change.
"Hey" Punk said walking into the office "I thought you were staying with Dani tonight?" he asked her
"She wanted to spend the night with your parents" AJ said to him and watched as he walked over to her and greeted her with a kiss. His eyes opened during the kiss and looked in the direction her eyes were.
"What's this AJ?" Punk asked her
"I guess we fall in that 5% bracket" AJ shrugged with a nervous smile
"You're pregnant?" Punk asked looking at the tests that all read 'pregnant' on the small window.
"Yea" AJ confirmed "At least that's what these tests read"
"Wow" he said stunned and almost felt faint "This is for real?" he asked her and she glared at him "Ok it's real" then he smiled "Why aren't you jumping for joy right now? Why do you look like you got the worst news ever?"
"Because we just adopted Dani" AJ reminded him "Two children?" she asked him "And Dani is still so fragile-"
"You're pregnant" Punk informed her "That's all that matters"
"There's so many factors Phil" She said standing up and beginning to pace "Daniel is still out there, we're still getting used to Dani-"
"It's going to be fine" Punk said grabbing her shoulders
"You're ok with this?" AJ asked
"Of course and even if I wasn't what choice do I have?" Punk asked "We went from never having children to having two" he said to her "It's an insane turn of events"
"We can do this" She said trying to convince herself
"We can totally do this" he confirmed and kissed her forehead. AJ wrapped her arms around him and he held her tightly. "Why are you crying AJ?" he asked feeling her tears moisten his shirt.
"Because we did it" AJ said happily "We made this happen"
"A few months ago we thought we'd never have this" Punk reminded her "You were convinced we'd end up dying without having children and now look at us. And having two is easy because Dani isn't a baby" he reminded her
"She's going to be a teenager soon" AJ reminded him pulling away "It's going to be difficult and we can't shift attention off of her because we're having a baby"
"I agree" Punk said to her
"We need to sit down and explain this all to all and make sure she knows this doesn't change a thing" AJ told him
"Why would she think that?" Punk scoffed "She knows we love her"
"She told me when I first met her that her foster parents would keep her until they had a baby of their own" She told him
"We're not her foster parents" Punk said seriously "We are her parents. We're not just going to send her away"
"I know that but she needs to know that" AJ said to him
"Ok but before we do anything let's get you to the doctor so he could confirm what I already know- I knocked you up on an airplane and then we'll talk to Dani" Punk said to her
"You did do this" AJ said to him
"I had a feeling it would work" Punk said innocently
Two nights later AJ wandered down the stairs and found Punk sitting on the couch looking at a magazine but when she got closer he saw she was looking at her sonogram photo. The doctor had confirmed she was about seven weeks along which did confirm that Punk had in-fact gotten her pregnant a thousand feet in the air.
"You've been looking at that all night" AJ smiled wrapping her arms around him from behind the couch and resting her chin on his shoulder
"I'm trying to decide who it looks like" He said looking at it
"You can't tell from that" she laughed
"Sure I can I'm the father I can tell" Punk said smugly "I think it's me"
"I think it looks like a peanut" AJ said to him
"Don't call my son a peanut" he scolded "Or daughter" he added quickly
"When are we going to tell Dani?" AJ asked him breaking the silence on that topic, neither had realized Dani was at the top of steps listening to them.
"Whenever you want" Punk said closing the magazine
"She's not going to like it" AJ warned
"She's a tough kid" Punk defended "We're having a baby regardless" he said to her and Dani didn't need to hear anymore she ran off into her room after that. "And she's going to be a great big sister" he added "You were right about the attention thing" He said to her "We just need to tell her to understand we're going to love her the same way we'll love the new baby. She'll get it"
"I hope you're right" AJ said standing straight now. "It's just been going so well with her I hate to ruin it"
"We're a family and we're going to have bumps in the road" he reminded her "Dani is going to be just as excited as we are" he told her
"Your mom is going to faint when she finds out" AJ teased
"Oh my god she's going to be excited. Giving her two grandchildren in a year is like a dream come true" he laughed
"I just don't want to say anything yet because it's still early and we should wait" AJ said to him "Just me, you and Dani need to know"
"I agree" Punk said to her "And you mentioned the Daniel thing- I'm taking care of it" he assured her
"How Phil?" She asked
"That's for me to worry about" he said to her
"Not if you're planning on killing a man" AJ warned him "We have way too much at stake now Phil. We have a daughter who adores you and another child on the way"
"That's all I'm thinking about" Punk said to her "I'm thinking of how Daniel approached my daughter and called her pretty and tried to talk her into his fucking car, I'm thinking about what he did to you- I need to make this right"
"You can do that by calling the police if you find him. I know you've been sending Roman all over the country looking for him and following leads" AJ said to him "It was one thing when we were just the two of us and you were running around with a gun but there's going to be four of us now" she reminded him "You can not lose your cool"
"He's baiting me AJ" Punk said to her "He wants this reaction. He never would have approached Dani if that wasn't the case"
"So why are you going to give him exactly what he wants?" AJ asked him
"I just want to know what his fucking endgame is? What was he thinking when he took you? Why did he kill the rabbit- what is his fucking plan?" Punk shouted annoyed
"I'd rather never find out" AJ said to him and that's when the doorbell rang. AJ walked over and opened the door for Mia.
"Hi sorry if it's too late to stop by" Mia smiled walking in with a bag
"It's nine at night how old do you think we are?" Punk asked her
"I got Dani the perfect dress for the fundraiser on Saturday" Mia cheered
"Oh let me see" AJ smiled as Mia pulled out the small black dress. It was an almost exact replica to one of AJ's dresses. "It's beautiful" AJ smiled
"Why is it short like that?" Punk asked scrunching his nose as he stood behind AJ
"When Dani and I were at the mall she picked this out and said it looked just like one you had in the closet" Mia said ignoring Punk "I went back to the store and had them order it in her size"
"I think she's going to love it" AJ smiled
"AJ's an adult" Punk pointed out to the two who finally acknowledged he was standing there
"Well that's very observant" Mia said mockingly
"I mean her wearing this dress makes sense but Dani is a little girl" Punk pointed out
"There's nothing wrong with the dress Phil" AJ told him calmly
"She should wear a long gown" Punk said to her
"She hates gowns" AJ reminded him
"I don't want her wearing a fucking cocktail dress ok!" Punk yelled and AJ rolled her eyes at the outburst "She's eleven!"
"Exactly and she's going to a family fundraiser not a pervert parade" Mia remarked
"If we say it's ok to this dress now when she's older she's going to think it's ok to wear things like this" Punk pointed out
"What's wrong with dresses like this?" AJ shot at him "This is a smaller version of a dress I wore to the first fundraiser I had gone to with you. Are you saying I looked inappropriate"
"No because you're not my daughter" Punk said seriously
"Could you imagine how he's going to be when she's seventeen going to prom?" Mia asked AJ
"She has a 6th grade winter formal in February" AJ gushed
"What?" Punk asked her
"Maybe she can wear this?" Mia asked happily "No she can't repeat we'll have to take her for a new dress entirely"
"Are you two even listening to me?" Punk demanded
"I'm going to go up and show Dani her dress" Mia smiled skipping up the stairs.
"AJ" Punk said looking at her
"She's going to a party with your family" AJ reminded him
"And a bunch of other people we barely know, I don't fucking like it" Punk informed her
"The dress is long enough I wouldn't dress my daughter in anything I didn't think was appropriate just relax crazy" AJ huffed
"She's not up there" Mia said causing both to look at her
"She was just in her room" AJ said walking up the stairs and passing Mia
AJ searched the rather large room but Dani wasn't there.
"Phil she's not here" AJ said to him
"Impossible" Punk said to her "She was just fucking here"
"What if Daniel-" AJ started
"AJ we were in front of the front door" Punk reminded her "No one came in or left she has to be here"
"Her book bag is gone" AJ frowned "And her jacket"
"What's this?" Punk asked walking over to her desk and picking up a piece of paper. "Thank you for everything, I understand and won't be a problem for you both" he read out loud and it was in her hand writing
"She heard us" AJ said whispered to him
"Heard what?" Mia asked
"I knew this was going to happen" AJ said to him "She probably went out thru the garage"
"I'll find her" Punk said walking out of the room "She couldn't have gotten far"
"I'll go look around too" AJ said to him following him down the stairs
"No it's fine" Punk said to her grabbing his jacket "She's a kid running away from home I've done it a hundred times"
"Daniel could be out there" AJ said fearfully "What if he-"
"Sit and relax I'll be back in ten minutes max" Punk promised her "Can you stay with her?" he asked his sister
"Of course" Mia said to him "But do you want me to call anyone?"
"No like I said she's just being a kid" Punk said to her
Punk wasn't wrong. He headed in the direction he was sure Dani would travel in and a few minutes later he was a few feet behind her as she headed down the dark Chicago street. He didn't want to embarrass her or cause a scene so he just followed her until she got tired which she did as she passed the park. She took a seat on the bench and lifted her bag up next to her.
"I'm going to have to live off of this for a while" she said pulling out a Ziploc bag of pretzels.
"Need a ride?" a voice asked and Dani jumped slightly, she didn't even realize someone was sitting next to her bag. She was relieved to see it was only Punk.
"Yea actually I do" she said to him "Back to the foster house"
"Why do you want to go there?" He asked her
"Because you don't need me anymore" Dani said to him "You and mom- I mean AJ are having your own baby I heard you talking"
"Did you hear the entire conversation or just bits and pieces?" Punk asked her
"What does it even matter?" Dani asked "You get to have your own kid you don't need me and it's ok I get it. I'm used to this"
"You are our kid" Punk said simply "You're as much ours as the new baby"
"That's not true" Dani said shaking her head "You barely know me"
"I know you well enough" Punk said to her "I also know that we love you very much and want you to be as excited as we are. We're not like your other foster homes- we're not your foster home at all actually. You're our daughter and our home is your home"
"I'm going to crowd you" Dani said to him "You can't handle two kids"
"Why do you say that? I happen to think I'm doing ok don't you?" Punk asked
"You've been a great dad" Dani admitted with a soft smile
"And I'll continue to be" he said almost smugly "I'm also not worried because you're not a kid. You're a very smart young woman" he said to her and she smiled at the remark "You're going to help us or at least I thought you were going to" Punk said to him "I mean this baby would be lucky to have you as a big sister"
"I wouldn't really be their sister" Dani said sadly
"Yes you will be, in ever sense of the word" Punk assured her "You're not going back to the foster home and I'm not just saying that because I'm your dad by law now as well either and you don't have a choice. You can't just pick and leave anymore. This is permanent whether you're having second thoughts now or not" he warned her "And I really hope you're not because your mom and I really would hate it if you were unhappy with us because we do love you so much. She's freaking out at home right now"
"I didn't mean to worry her I thought I was helping her" Dani shrugged
"You scared us both" Punk said to her "We did have the talk about being out by yourself didn't we?" he asked her and she nodded "How important it is that you don't wander off especially at night and in a park"
"You're worried about that Daniel guy aren't you?" Dani asked him "I hear you and mom talking about him a lot"
"You're a little eavesdropper huh?" Punk asked with a smirk "I'll have to remember that"
"Why would he even bother me? He doesn't know me" She said to him
"No he doesn't but he knows you're very important to me" Punk told her honestly "It's been a crazy few weeks and things have moved very fast but just hang in there kid because I promise you that you're wanted and you're going to be such an important of not just our lives but the new baby's life as well"
"Alright" Dani said jumping off the bench "How mad do you think she is?" she asked passing her knapsack over to Punk who put it over his shoulder and grabbed her hand and began to walk her back home
"At first she'll be really happy that you're ok" Punk said to her
"How long will I have before that turns to anger?" she asked looking up at him
"I'd say fifteen minutes max" Punk reasoned "She'll probably take your comics away" he warned
"Oh no" Dani cried out "Anything but that!"
"You know I'll sneak them back to you" he said to her and she smiled
"You really are a good dad" Dani said squeezing his hand
