Offer


"What's going on? What's happening?" Lia asked, rushing to the hospital after Punk had called her.

He took Dean straight to the hospital. The only reason Dean went along with it was because he was in so much pain that resisting wasn't an option. He got taken away relatively quickly and Punk was waiting for news on him in the waiting room.

"Uh… I found him he was… he was choking on his own vomit." Punk said, shaken up of course. This man was like his brother and so seeing him in this state, which had to have been worse than the last time, was really hard to watch.

"Oh my God." Lia shook her head, placing her hand over her mouth as tears welled in her eyes.

"I… I turned him on his side and he threw up. But... he was in a lot of pain and throwing up blood so I just drove him here myself, I knew I'd get him there quicker." He nodded, "They just took him right away, said they'd do tests, screening, they have all his records so they'll know about the poisoning before." He nodded.

"How did we let it get to this again?" Lia shook her head as Punk sighed.

"It can take a turn for the worst at any time. He had acute alcohol poisoning. It can be one drink, two or three hundred. He's not been the easiest to talk to lately and… we tried the rehab, we tried things." Punk sighed. The last thing he wanted to feel was guilty.

"I know." Lia sighed, "What if… what if this is really bad?" Lia asked. She hadn't been around the last time when he was hospitalised. It was all extremely hard to see someone she loved, someone she shared a life with, had a child with and loved so very much, in such emotional and physical distress. It broke her heart.

"He's in the best place." Punk nodded, "He was conscious and breathing so… that's a plus." He shook his head.

"But you said he was in pain." Lia said.

"He was in a lot of pain the last time. He's torturing his body." Punk said, "His insides must be screaming." He shook his head Lia sighed and ran her hand through her hair, "Where is Eva?"

"She's with Dean's mom. I've to call her as soon as we get an update, she wanted to come but I… I had no one else to watch Eva." She shook her head as Punk nodded just as a doctor approached them both.

"Are you the family of Mr Ambrose?" He asked, his name tag reading Lenny.

"Yeah, we are." Lia said, "Uh I'm his wife." She nodded, just to be sure to get an update even though they weren't married.

"I'm Doctor Conway, just call me Lenny." He smiled, "I'm treating your husband and it… it appears that he, well to be blunt, he needs a liver transplant." He nodded as Lia's face dropped, "It's a daunting thing to hear, I know. But Mr Ambrose's liver is… barely functioning, and while you can live on a small portion of the liver, you can't live without it." He said, "I read his files, says he had acute alcohol poisoning a few years ago." He said.

"Uh yeah." Punk nodded, taking over as he noticed Lia standing in shock, "He did. He's been sober for… six years coming up for seven." He said, "But he's been drinking again, hard." Punk said.

"He's operating in a dangerous area now." Lenny said.

"If he needs a transplant then… then it needs to happen then, right?" Lia nodded, "That can happen now?" She wondered as Lenny looked down at his clipboard and sighed.

"Unfortunately there is a process." Lenny said as Lia shook her head, "First we need probably do an assessment on him which could take a day, maybe two, and then he'll get put on a waiting list-"

"A waiting list?" Lia shook her head, "You said that he's… his liver is failing, that means something needs to happen now." She said.

"He can't have a transplant if there's no one to give him one." Lenny pointed out, "He'll be put on a waiting list."

"How long is this waiting list?" Punk was scared to ask as Lenny groaned a little.

"About… 5 to 7 months." Lenny said as Lia shook her head and placed her hand on her forehead.

"He will be dead by then." Lia said bluntly, "If it's failing, how can he go on for five to seven months?" She shook her head, feeling like she was going crazy.

"There's nothing I can do about that. A lot of people are on the list and not enough are donors." He said, "If we keep Mr Ambrose here, stabilised, healthy as we can, there's a good chance he can survive this-"

"I don't want a good chance." Lia spat, "I want him fixed now. I want the transplant done now. He has a daughter. You're gonna just let him die because of a damn waiting list?"

"Ok, calm down." Punk nodded to Lia, placing his hand on her back.

"I understand this is a difficult time." Lenny said, "And we really are doing all we can to help Dean right now, but it's my job to tell you everything you should know." He nodded as Lia shook her head, trying to dry her tears as Punk scratched his forehead.

"Do the same rules apply if it's someone he knows that gives him the transplant?" Punk asked.

"Well no but… that person would have to be a match in blood type with him and also be assessed." Lenny said, "Free of any drugs or alcohol for a month."

"I don't drink and I don't do drugs." Punk said, "My blood type… I don't know what it is but… you can take my blood and find out, see if it matches."

"Phil." Lia shook her head, "You're not… you don't-"

"This is the reaction we get from a lot of families. There's no pressure to do this. Dean will be stabilised-"

"I'm not risking my friend dying because he was too far down on a damn waiting list." Punk said, "Someone come take my blood." He said as Lenny nodded.

"Come with me." Lenny said.

"Call April, tell her I'm here." Punk nodded to Lia who just shook her head, not believing the selflessness and courage of Punk as he walked off to go have his blood taken.


"What's Dean's blood type?" Punk asked, sitting in a room later on, holding a piece of cotton wool to the side of his arm where he had just given a blood sample.

"He's B positive. It's common but, not the most common." Lenny said whilst over at the counter, "If you're a match, you'll be assessed, you'll be told everything you need to know and then we can progress." He nodded.

"And if I'm not, he waits five months in pain and might not even make it that far?" Punk nodded as Lenny turned around.

"I don't agree with the system either but I can't prioritise Dean over someone else who has been waiting for a while. It's not how it works. I wish there was an easier solution, I do." Lenny said as Punk nodded. He understood it wasn't this man's fault.

"You're just doing your job." Punk waved his hand, "How is he doing right now?"

"We've got him set up in a room. He's on a drip. Pretty out of it." Lenny nodded.

"How long do I need to wait to know what my type is?" Punk asked him.

"Should just be a few minutes." Lenny said, testing the blood as Punk nodded and sighed a little whilst looking around the room. He hated hospitals, doctors, injections, even the smell of hospitals gave him a weird feeling in his stomach, but he couldn't sit by and watch his best friend wait and suffer at the bottom of a list.

"So… say we do this assessment thing tonight, could we do the transplant tomorrow?" Punk asked.

"It's gonna take a few days to go over everything, with you and with Dean, if you're a match." He said, "I assume you'll also have to inform your own family members." He said.

"Yeah." Punk nodded, rubbing the back of his neck, wondering what AJ would think. The last thing he wanted was to worry her right now, "What are the chances I'm even the same type." He shook his head as Lenny continued with the testing.

"In your favour." Lenny nodded, "It's a match." He turned to him as Punk raised his eyebrows.


"Phil, what the hell?" AJ shook her head, standing up from the waiting area where she sat with Lia who had explained everything to her once she arrived, "What are you thinking?" AJ clutched his arms.

"I'm a match." Punk nodded as Lia raised her eyebrows, "And I'm thinking I'm not spending every day for the next five months wondering if my best friend is gonna die or not." Punk shook his head.

"This is a huge thing." AJ said, "There can be so many complications for both of you."

"I know." Punk nodded, "I'm gonna go through an assessment, they're gonna tell us everything we need to know, same for Dean, and we can… we can get it done." He nodded to Lia.

"Phil, I don't expect this from you at all." Lia made clear, she didn't want him to feel pressured into doing this.

"I know you don't, but I want to. I need to." Punk said as AJ looked up at him worriedly, "And I don't want you to worry." He shook her head, looking on at AJ, tucking her hair behind her ear, "I'm gonna be fine." He smiled and nodded.

"How do you know that?" AJ shook her head, "This baby does not like stress." She made clear.

"I know, I know and I'm so sorry to you and to the baby, but… I've got a good doctor here." He turned back to Lenny who smiled and nodded to AJ, "He's gonna explain everything to us, and then Dean has to know about it. It'll be a few weeks at the most, right?" He turned to Lenny who nodded.

"What's the recovery time? Will you be in pain?" AJ asked him as Lenny looked on.

"If you want, I can give the consultation to right now." Lenny said, "I can talk you through it before we actually do testing to make sure your fit enough." He said as AJ turned to Punk and nodded.

"Yeah, please." AJ nodded, feeling anxious and worried, of course she did. Not just because Dean was in a very seriously dangerous position, but because her boyfriend was willing to go through major surgery to help him.

"Could I see Dean?" Lia asked, "Will I get to know what's happening?" She wondered worriedly.

"I'll have a nurse come take you to his room. You'll be able to sit in on the consultation I have with Dean. I'll do it in the morning." He nodded to her, "Uh… Lisa." He called over to a nurse standing by, "Could you please take this lady to her husband's room, room 209." He said.

"Sure." Lisa smiled as Lia nodded and followed the nurse, just desperate to see Dean at this point. Although it was a worry that Punk was putting himself out there to give the transplant, it was also a relief in a way that they didn't have to wait so long.


Punk and AJ joined Lenny in his office for a consultation where he explained to them the process of what would happen. After hearing more about it AJ felt a little more ease, and then she would panic, and then she'd feel at ease again. It wasn't something she'd expected and she was just worried about her boyfriend's health, as well as Dean's.

"It's my job to also tell you about the complications that you could have. There's more for Dean than there are you but… you can still face some of these issues." Lenny nodded, "You could suffer a hernia, abdominal bleeding, bile leakage, intestinal problems and organ impairment." He said as AJ gulped and turned to Punk who just nodded.

"Anything else?" Punk said, trying to make light, turning to AJ who was glancing at him worriedly, "Ok."

"I've done a lot of these, ok? Rarely do we see such huge complications, once done it's a rather simple process." Lenny said, more specifically looking at AJ who looked more and more worried, "You'll be in hospital for about a week during the whole thing and then recovery time for you will be six to eight weeks."

"That's not so bad." Punk nodded.

"Phil, it's so important that you realise no one is pressuring you to do this. It's actually part of the assessment that we make sure you feel no pressure. A lot of people do and we see a lot of people change their minds." He nodded, "And that's ok if you do."

"I'm not gonna change my mind." Punk shook his head, "I want to help my friend. He'd do the same for me." He nodded as AJ sighed. It was true, they were more like brothers and she wasn't surprised at the selfless act he was carrying out, but she was just incredibly worried about both of them now, and shocked that he was going to go through this major operation.

"Ok." Lenny nodded, "Ok, well I've explained everything that's going to happen. Do you have any questions?" He wondered.

"Is this guaranteed going to help Dean?" AJ asked.

"There's a good chance. Sometimes the transplant is rejected and there are complications but he needs it so… it's a small risk that usually pays off." He nodded.

"Will he be in pain?" AJ asked.

"It's a big operation." Lenny nodded, "But you'll be well looked after here and plenty of medication to help." He said as Punk nodded.

"How long is the operation?" AJ asked, her mind was bursting with questions, still in shock that this was something her boyfriend was going to be going through.

"Eight hours." Lenny said as AJ nodded, rubbing her forehead tiredly as Punk could see her starting to look uncomfortable. The last thing he wanted was for her to feel scared.

"So I can come in to do the tests and stuff throughout the week?" Punk asked him.

"Yeah, so we'll just take some scans, we'll need a chest x-ray, liver biopsy, breathing and blood tests, lots of that and also a ton of legal questions as well as health and lifestyle questions. Dean will be taken through the same process, maybe a little slower due to his state, and hopefully we can then have a date to do it." He nodded.

"Ok." Punk nodded, "Thank you. I really appreciate your help." Punk stood up, noticing AJ had gone quiet, which he knew happened when she was worrying excessive amounts.

"Anything at all, call me, we'll have these tests scheduled for you." Lenny said, shaking his hand as Punk nodded, leaving the office with AJ who walked beside him, until she stopped in the middle of the hospital corridor and looked up at him.

"This is terrifying." AJ paused, looking up at him as he looked at her and nodded.

"I know." He sighed, wrapping his arms around her as she hugged him tightly, almost scared to let go, "It's gonna be ok." He kissed her head and nodded, "I promise."