Weekend Away
"Phil, can I speak to you in my office?" Paul, the commissioner of the police station, their boss said as he approached Punk and Dean at the desk.
"Uh… yeah, sure." Punk nodded, walking through the station and heading into the office, "Everything ok?" He asked.
"Well… yes and no." Paul said, sitting down behind his desk whilst Punk sat down across from him, "I heard you… moved out of your house."
"You heard?" Punk laughed a little, "From who?"
"Just talk around the station." Paul said.
"Yeah, I did." Punk said, "Why?"
"How is your divorce coming along?" He asked.
"It's not coming along." Punk corrected, "Janine is in the burbs with her family. I don't know when she'll come back to settle a divorce." He said, "I thought this conversation was going to be about work." He said.
"It is but I just wanted to make sure you're doing ok." Paul said, "I've been through a divorce. It sucks. You're lucky you don't got kids involved in it cause it can get real ugly."
"It's already real ugly, believe me." Punk nodded, "Can we get on to the work thing?" He asked.
"Yeah, sure." Paul nodded, "There's a conference in New York this weekend. I want you and Dean to go along. You guys have been here a long time and I think you'll find it interesting." He said.
"The whole weekend?" Punk asked unenthusiastically as Paul folded his arms, "I mean… the whole weekend?" He asked cheerily, "It should be more." He said dramatically.
"Don't be a dick." Paul said, "I see you boys being sergeants and captains one day. This is what you gotta do to move up the ranks."
"Really? Sit in conferences drinking coffee all weekend?" Punk questioned.
"Yeah, doesn't make sense, does it?" Paul nodded, "Your flights and accommodation are paid for so you don't need to spend any money." He said as Punk nodded.
"Ok." Punk nodded, "How is the trial for the murder suicide coming along?" He asked.
"Slow but going in the right direction as expected." Paul nodded, "You did good on that case." He assured him.
"Took longer than I would have liked." Punk said. He was very proud in his job and always strived to do his best, but lately with everything that had been going on in his personal life, he had been struggling to focus.
"Look, I know it sucks right now but once you get the divorce out of the way it'll get better." Paul said as Punk nodded.
"No, I don't want you to go." AJ whined, hugging Punk in the centre of their kitchen as he chuckled, "I'll be lonely." She frowned as he hugged her back and kissed her head.
"It's only the weekend." Punk said, "Dean is going too so maybe you and Renee could do something. Girls night in." He suggested.
"Oh, maybe." AJ thought to herself, "That's a good idea." She nodded.
"Yeah she could come check the apartment out." Punk nodded.
"You just want someone to be with me so I'm not alone." AJ figured.
"No, I'm sure you'll be fine." Punk smiled, "What you making?" He asked her, "Smells good." He leaned over her shoulder.
"It's just something my mom always made." AJ nodded, "She usually made it with just vegetables but I added chicken too." She said, stirring the stew type casserole on the stove.
"Well it smells amazing." He said, kissing her cheek as she smiled.
"So what is this conference about?" AJ asked him, turning the stove down and watching as he grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.
"I don't really know to be honest." Punk chuckled, "Sometimes it's crash courses on the fundamentals of being a cop. Most often than not it's boring but when your name is there, you get more recognition and since me and Dean have been with the station for a long time, Paul is sending us." He said.
"Well that's good he trusts you like that." AJ nodded.
"Yeah he said that we're probably working our way to sergeants and captains, which is a big deal." Punk nodded, "And a big pay rise might I add." He raised his eyebrows as she smiled.
"Sometimes I wish I was just done with college. That I could just graduate already." She shook her head impatiently.
"Hey enjoy this part whilst you can. Once you get a full-time job you'll be wishing you were back at college." He said as AJ nodded.
"Yeah, it's annoying how life works like that." AJ shook her head as he nodded, "Is being captain or sergeant something you'd be interested in? What's different about it?" She asked.
"Well it's a lot more authority. A lot more high profile investigations and cases." Punk nodded, "Plus I guess it's a respect thing too. I respect all my captains and sergeants. It'd be cool to be one of them one day." He nodded as she smiled.
"Well I don't doubt you'll get there." AJ smiled as Punk looked across at her.
Just getting to chat with her freely about work, and realising she was actually interested and supporting him, learning about what he did and asking questions… to him that meant the world because he'd never really had that in his marriage.
"What about you? How far can you take your career?" Punk wondered, "I know you said you wanna be a chemist but is there anything else you'd wanna do?" He asked her.
"Oh, there's a whole range of things I can do. I just like the idea of being a chemist. It sounds fun but who knows? Maybe by the end of my degree I'll have changed my mind." AJ shrugged.
"What are the other options?" Punk asked her.
"Uh… well I could be a nurse or a doctor but I'd have to do another year at college and then complete a few years of residency which… it's an awful lot." AJ said, "I could be a midwife but I don't really fancy spending my entire working life looking at vaginas." She shook her head.
"What? Sounds like fun to me." Punk said as she shoved him.
"Idiot." AJ scoffed, "God, there's a ton of things I could do, and it's good that I have options but… I don't know, I love the idea of being a chemist." She shrugged, "I remember I used to get our medicine tub in the kitchen and I'd unbox all the medication and line it all up. I'd learn the names of them and stuff-"
"So you spent your childhood playing with prescriptions?" Punk nodded to himself, "It makes sense." He teased as she smiled.
"Yeah well… there wasn't much else to do." AJ shrugged, turning back around and checking on dinner, "And it was the one decision I made on my own." She said, "I spent my whole life being told what to do and having decisions made for me. This was one thing I wanted to do for me and I… I got to do it." She said, "So I wanna get to the end and get that job." She nodded to herself as he smiled.
"And you will." He smiled, "Do I have time to shower?" He wondered.
"Yeah, but be quick cause this will be ready pretty soon." She smiled.
"Ok." He smiled, leaving the kitchen whilst she kept a check on dinner.
Coming home to her was a calm he'd never really experienced. This felt like a home. A proper home. Full of love and support. He just felt content when he was with her, and extremely happy.
"I hate airports." Dean huffed, walking into Punk's hotel room after they had both checked in next to each other.
"Are you still going on about the airport?" Punk rolled his eyes.
"How hard is it to follow the one way system?" Dean asked, "Huh? You walk on one side, the people coming the opposite direction walk on the other. It's really not that hard." He shook his head as Punk just chuckled to himself.
"You should file a complaint." Punk nodded.
"I might." Dean said, sitting down on the chair by the window, "Also I've got a non-smoking room. Bullshit."
"Most hotels have non-smoking rooms. It's not the 80s." Punk shook his head.
"Means I gotta trail all the way down the stairs just to have a cigarette, and you know I smoke a pack a day." He said as Punk shook his head.
"You should really try and quit." Punk suggested.
"No, I'm too far gone. I have accepted this is who I am." Dean nodded, "You wanna go grab some food?" He asked.
"Yeah, just let me call AJ real quick." Punk said.
"You are turning to mush, kid." Dean shook his head as Punk picked his phone up to call AJ.
AJ had just gotten out of the shower, noticing her phone lighting up on the bed as she picked it up and answered.
"Hey." AJ smiled, glad he was calling.
"Hey, how are you?" Punk smiled, sitting down on the hotel bed, putting his legs up comfortably as Dean rolled his eyes.
"I'm just out the shower." AJ said, holding a towel around her as she picked out some shorts and t-shirt, "How was your flight?"
"Yeah, it was good." Punk said, "Apart from Dean almost having three breakdowns. We made it eventually."
"How hard is it to follow the system?!" Dean called as Punk rolled his eyes.
"Is he having another one?" AJ laughed a little, hearing Dean in the background, "Are you in your hotel?"
"Yeah, we've not long checked in. Gonna go grab something to eat and meet up with a few guys leading the conference." He told her.
"When is the conference? Tomorrow?" AJ asked, putting her shorts and t-shirt on whilst balancing the phone between her hands.
"Yeah, tomorrow afternoon." Punk said, "How was college?" He asked her, playing with the cushion on the bed.
"Dude, come on. I'm hungry." Dean whined like a child as Punk threw the cushion at him.
"College was good. I have a lot of work to do over the weekend. And I heard back from the shoe store. My first shift is on Tuesday." She said, "I'm getting nervous the closer it gets."
"Hey, you'll be great." Punk said, "It's normal to be nervous." He nodded.
"Yeah, of course." AJ said.
"So when is Renee coming over?" Punk asked her.
"Ask her if they're gonna have a pillow fight." Dean nodded eagerly.
"Shut up." Punk hissed.
"Excuse me?" AJ said.
"Sorry, babe. I was talking to Dean." Punk assured her.
"Oh." AJ laughed a little, "She's coming over tomorrow night. We're gonna get take-out and watch some trashy movies." She said as Punk smiled, "I've never had a girl sleepover before." She said excitedly as Punk smiled.
"Well I hope you have fun." Punk said, "I'm missing you."
"Oh, I miss you too." AJ frowned, "Keep your phone close by you tonight. I might show you how much I miss you." She said deviously as Punk raised his eyebrows.
"Yeah?" He questioned.
"Mhm." AJ smiled, "Pictures… maybe a video." She hummed as Punk smirked to himself.
"My phone will be glued to my hand." Punk vowed, hearing her chuckle through the phone as he smiled, looking over Dean who was looking at him impatiently, "Ok, babe. I better go, Dean is getting hangry."
"Ok." AJ laughed, "I love you."
"I love you too." Punk smiled, hanging up on the call.
"Finally." Dean stood up.
"Come on then, let's go." Punk shook his head, getting off the bed and leaving the hotel room.
Meanwhile AJ had dumped all her college books on the bed, sitting in the centre as she tried to focus on some work she had to do for over the weekend, but all she could think about was sending her boyfriend those pictures she'd promised.
She shoved her books to the side, laying down on the bed and taking several pictures of herself, pulling her t-shirt above her breasts just to give him a little peak. She then took a video of herself touching herself inside her shorts and panties, sure that he would put it to good use later when he got back to his hotel room.
She didn't know if it was the fact she had been so reserved her entire life up until now, that this burst of provocativeness had come out. She felt like she was still learning about her body and everything it could do, and how good it could feel. And she had the trust in her relationship to help her with that.
She rolled around on the bed, taking pictures and videos to send to him, coming out of her little daze when she heard a knock at the door.
She got off the bed, fixing her hair and pulling her t-shirt back down, leaving the bedroom and walking down the hall.
She opened up the door and paused when she never saw anyone there. She stepped outside into the outside hallway, shaking her head with confusion and shrugging it off as she stepped back into the apartment, locking the door over behind her.