One Little Problem

"What did you just say?" Janine shook her head, her shoulders tightening as she stared across at him.

"We haven't been the same for months. This part year even." He said, "And I feel like we've tried pretty much everything."

"I've tried everything. You haven't done anything." Janine immediately said.

"You're kidding, right?" Punk looked across at her, "I've not stopped trying to make this work. Like you said, you're the one who would up and leave to your mom's all the time." He said.

"Because I couldn't bear to fight with you anymore." Janine said, "I came back so that we could talk about it more-"

"All we do is talk about it." Punk said, "And then we fight, and then that fight turns into another fight." He said, "It shouldn't be this difficult. It should be easy, like it was at the start." He said.

"Marriage isn't easy, Phil. It's something you work at." Janine said.

"Yeah and we have worked at it and… and it's not working out. Come on, you have to agree with me here." Punk said.

"I agree that these past few months have been difficult, but that doesn't mean it's always going to be difficult. I love you I love you more than anything in the world. If I didn't think this would work out, do you honestly think I would have married you?" She questioned, "We're made for each other." She said, "Soulmates." She smiled.

"Things have changed." Punk nodded, "It's not like how it used to be."

"Things have changed? Meaning you?" Janine assumed.

"No, meaning us." Punk said.

"Aren't we the same people we've always been?" Janine asked.

"Do you believe that?" Punk asked, "Honestly? Do you really think that time hasn't changed us? And that maybe… maybe we won't different things now?"

"No, Phil. I think that this is our marriage you're talking about giving up on. That's not us. We don't do that." She said as Punk sighed to himself, "I think things have gotten difficult and maybe we've both not handled things very well, but there's time… we have time to fix it." She smiled, "That's the beauty of marriage, right?"

"We've tried, Janine. We've did the weekend getaways. We've did the date nights every week. Talking about things when we're upset… nothing changes." Punk shook his head.

"My mom was talking to me about couples therapy." Janine nodded, "She said that her and my dad went one time, when he was still alive. They were going through a rough patch and it really helped them. It saved their marriage." Janine said, "And I'm willing to do anything."

"You literally haven't spoken to me in like a month." Punk shook his head, confused. It was typical Janine. Acting like the peacemaker, when she was the one disturbing the peace.

"I needed space." Janine said.

"For what? What did I even do? You blew up on me and stormed out." Punk said.

"No I didn't." Janine said, "You were being unreasonable, I sensed a big fight coming and I got out-"

"Oh, sure. Of course that's what happened." Punk nodded to himself.

"Don't you think it could work?" Janine asked.

"What?" Punk shook his head.

"Couples therapy." Janine nodded, "It's surprisingly common."

"Maybe it would if we did it months ago, or maybe that wouldn't have mattered. I don't see us getting past this. It's built up too much." Punk shook his head, "And I'd rather both of us just… be happy, move on-"

"Move on?" Janine questioned, starting to panic as she heard him saying these things, "Who the hell are you? You want me to move on from our marriage?" She laughed a little at the thought.

"I don't mean it like that." Punk said, "I want to see you happy and… we aren't making each other happy anymore. Don't you think that tells us something?" He questioned, "I've tried and I've tried. We… We both have. But what else can we do now?"

"Keep trying, Phil." Janine shook her head.

"You tell me, with a straight face, seriously, that you think we can save this." Punk said.

"I think we can save this." Janine said seriously, looking across at him, "Was that serious enough for you?" She questioned as Punk ran his hand through his hair, "You don't want to fight for us, do you?" She figured, starting to worry by his reactions and words.

"Babe, I've been fighting for us for a while. How long does it have to go on until we just admit that… it's not working?"

"You're giving up on us." Janine realised, "Do you… Do you not love me anymore?" She raised her eyebrows as Punk looked across at her.

"Janine, look at me." He said as she looked across at him, "I care about you. I want better for you-"

"You can't even answer my question." She said worriedly. She wasn't an idiot. She knew their marriage was struggling, but never did she think he had fallen out of love with her.

"I love you. Of course I do." Punk said, "I think that's why we need to face facts here. I want you to be happy-"

"And you can't make me happy?" Janine questioned, "Why are you talking like this?" She asked worriedly, "We're just… we're just struggling right now." She said, walking over to him and placing her hands on his arms, "Phil, I'm not gonna give up on us."

"What else are we supposed to do, Janine?" Punk asked, "We're not happy in this relationship, and I don't wanna stick at too long to see us… hate each other." He said, "Come on, you have to feel it too. The distance." He said.

"It's nothing we can't fix." Janine cupped his cheeks, "Don't you remember how good it was? At the beginning?" She whispered.

"We're not at the beginning anymore." Punk said, placing his hands over hers on his cheeks, "I'm sorry." He nodded. Of course this was horrible and painful. He'd spent five years with Janine. He thought she was his one. It wasn't supposed to end this way.

"No… we can get back to the way we were." Janine said, "What about the therapy? It might fix everything."

"Do you really believe that?" Punk asked her. He was slightly taken back by her almost desperate attempt to avoid the conversation of divorce. It was like she never thought he would consider it. He knew it was right for them.

"Yes. Yes, of course I believe it." Janine said, ripping her hands away from him, "Phil, we can fix this, baby. I know we can. We're not perfect. No couple is." She laughed nervously. Never did she think he'd have the guts to bring up divorce. She was shocked. Frightened.

"It's a little more than that and you know it." He said as she looked at him nervously, "Come on, you can't act like I'm insane for saying this."

"You're not but… you're insane for thinking that I'll just give up on us. You're the one I want to spend my life with." She shook her head as Punk looked across at her.

"So do you ever think about that when we're fighting?" Punk asked her.

"Tell me what to do to make this work and I will do it." Janine nodded as Punk looked across at her. He was truly taken back by her almost desperate reaction. He knew she was a woman with a lot pride and dignity, so to hear her almost beg was slightly difficult for him.

"It's not just about you and me anymore." Punk sighed to himself. He figured he had to bring it up eventually. It wasn't fair to her, "We've both been miserable for months, almost the past year. You know that." He said, "Sometimes you've not even been here-"

"I'm pregnant." Janine said desperately as Punk looked across at her, pausing, "I'm pregnant." She nodded quickly as he stared at her with raising eyebrows.

"What?" Punk shook his head.

"Y-Yeah." Janine nodded, fidgeting with her hands, "That's why I came back." She nodded to herself, "To tell you. To work it out." She said as Punk just stared at her in awe and shock.

"What… how can you be pregnant?" Punk questioned.

"That weekend away." Janine nodded, "I uh… I reckon it happened then." She said, "You're gonna be a dad." She smiled as he looked across at her in disbelief, "Phil, we're gonna have a baby." She nodded, taking his hands in hers as he gulped.

"Are… Are you sure?" He gulped, feeling like his legs were about to give up on him.

"Yes, I'm sure." Janine smiled, "Look I know that this has been tough but I think… I believe this is a sign. It has to be." She said as Punk stood in shock, not knowing what to say or think, "And I know this won't fix everything but… this is so much more to fight for, right? This is our family." She nodded as he looked down at her.

"You're… You're pregnant." He whispered to himself. Just in a second, his whole world and life had changed and he had no idea what to do about it. It had just became so much bigger than what he wanted. So much harder.

"Yeah." Janine smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck, "When I found out I knew it was a sign that… we're gonna be ok. Me and you. And this baby is gonna be so loved." She said, "And I can't wait to see you with him or her."

"I uh… yeah…" Punk mumbled, not knowing what to say. He wasn't able to get a sentence together.

"I know I was… I was just as shocked." Janine chuckled, "And then I felt amazing. And nervous. And excited." She smiled as he looked down at her, "And there's no one else I could ever imagine doing this with." She said, hugging into him, resting her head against his chest as he hesitantly wrapped his arms around her, "Everything is going to be ok." She said, relaxing as she felt his arms around her.

"Y-Yeah." Punk said quietly.