Moving Forward
AJ was standing in a studio apartment in Chicago with Punk and Dean. The apartment was all brick and literally just one big room, the kitchen was in one corner, the bed area would be in another and she assumed the living room in the middle. Dean looked at Punk as if this was an awful idea. Punk didn't seem pleased either this was the space his friend picked out for AJ.
"Could you have picked a slightly bigger dump?" Punk asked his buddy.
"It's in her price range and it's in a good building." His friend defended.
"A good building?" Punk laughed.
"Weren't we called here last week on an rape?" Dean asked Punk.
"That was across the street." The building owner defended.
Punk watched as AJ walked over to the window that lead to the fire escape and he could tell she was looking at the view.
"Ape?" Punk asked and she turned her head and grinned.
"I'll take it!" She cheered and Dean and Punk's faces fell.
"Why don't you stay with me for a bit?" Dean offered.
"This place has the most amazing view! And look at this brick!" She said touching the wall. "Where do I sign?" She asked the landlord.
"Let me get the paperwork." He said just as happily and ran out of the studio.
"I can put my bed here." She told the guys. "And a little kitchen table over there." she said running to the other corner. "I have room for my couch." She said clapping her hands together.
"Are you sure about this?" Punk asked her and she nodded happily and he just wanted her to always be this happy.
"My own place." She said more to herself with a smile.
"Your own place? Don't you have a big house in New Jersey?" He teased.
"I mean, yea but my mom decorated that. This is mine. I'm going to string lights." She said pointing over the other window. "And I'm going to have a coffee table here." She said moving to the middle of the room. "But they're going to be covered in candles. Candles and string lights no lamps. And it's brick so I don't have to paint. And look at this view." She said grabbing his hand and dragging him to her window. "It's not as nice as yours but I'm on the highest floor so I can see more."
"I love it." He said genuinely.
"I don't." Dean said bluntly. "But it's not far from station so I can swing by and check on you every single night."
"That won't be necessary." AJ said with a nervous laugh.
"I know. But I'm going to anyway." Dean smiled and she glared at him.
"I have enough to pay the first five months of rent so I don't have to rush for some lame waitressing job maybe I can work out of here." She suggested.
"Please for the love of god do not invite potential clients into your apartment." Dean pleaded. "You don't need people to know where you live."
"I agree." Punk said to her and she rolled her eyes. "Meet them somewhere for now."
"Likely brightly lit coffee shop or a crowded restaurant." Dean added.
"I got a buddy who has a truck I can borrow and we can fit your couch and bed in it." Punk told her.
"Amazing." She grinned.
"I've got the paperwork." The owner said walking back in and AJ clapped her hands together.
That night Punk took AJ to a nice restaurant so she had a reason to dress up and it wasn't for work. It was just to have a nice time which was long overdue for her.
"This place is so nice." AJ whispered to Punk as they waited for their food.
"I'm sure Elliot took you to nice place." Punk forced out.
"Not like this." She said admiring the decor.
"Are you having second thoughts?" He asked her.
"Not at all." She said sipping he water. "This is where I belong I can feel it."
"I think you belong here too." He agreed and his phone went off and he groaned as he looked.
"Work?" She asked and he nodded.
"I have to go." He told her regrettably.
"It's ok." She said to him and he could tell she truly meant that. Any other date he had to leave for work would cause a scene. Not AJ though. "Your work is important." She said to him.
"Well dinner is on me." Punk said standing up. "Go back to my place after dinner." He said taking his house key off his ring.
"Are you sure? My stuff is at Deans." She said to him.
"I want to spend some time with you." He told her. "I'm really sorry I wanted to have a date with you-"
"Phil, I get it." She assured him. "And believe me I'm not too proud to sit here and eat."
He leaned over and kissed her before leaving.
"You know my address right?" He asked.
"Of course I do and it's three blocks over I'll find my way." She smiled. "Be careful."
"Always am." Punk assured her.
AJ was pacing back and forth in Punk's living room when he walked in six hours after leaving dinner. It was nearly three in the morning when the front door opened and she looked at Punk and sighed.
"What are you doing up?" He asked and she grabbing his face and saw the red mark on his face.
"I was talking to Dean he said you were attacked! How can I sleep when you're attacked!" She exclaimed.
"I wasn't attacked." He said removing his jacket and that's when AJ saw the bandage. "He said you were in the hospital." she said looking at his arm.
"A few stitches." He said to her and glared at him.
"I tried calling you." She said looking up at him.
"Lost my phone during the chase. It's fine." Punk said and he laughed at her concerned face.
"Why are you laughing at me?" She asked annoyed.
"It's just a real turn around." Punk said sitting on the couch. "Normally it's me worrying about you and being mad."
"What happened? Dean wouldn't tell me." She said to him. "Is he not watching your back?" she asked seriously and he laughed.
"Ape, we got called on an child endangerment issue from a family we have gotten calls from before. It's a father who roughs up his wife and kids. We got to the house and he went to hit the wife, I made sure he didn't." Punk told her. "I need to know you understand this happens. I'll get called from dates and-"
"I don't give a shit about the dinner." She argued. "You got hurt and that's what scared me. I know it's your job I just have to get used to it and I will."
"I don't get hurt often." Punk assured her. "I don't want to brag but I'm really good at my job so getting hurt is rare."
"I don't like this feeling." She said to him. "It's new to me. I never really worried about Elliot going off to work I never used to worry about my mom going to work." She said thinking about it.
"Can you accept this? Because I will have late nights and once in a while I'll get a cut or a bruise." Punk asked her.
"Yea I can." She said. "As long as you promise to be more careful."
"Do you see how you drove me crazy now?" He asked her and she glared at him.
"It's not the same." She said to him. "Next time you get hurt though get in touch with me. Because that's not fair. I knew you were hurt and I couldn't talk to you to make sure you were alright."
"I promise. You know, it's not just new to you." He said to her. "I'm not used to having a girlfriend who cares or waits up for me."
"How can that be possible?" AJ asked stunned. "You have one of the hardest most heroic jobs of anyone I know. How can the women you were with not respect that?"
"It's not easy to date me." He warned. "Women just-"
"I'm not like most women." She reminded him. "I guess we both have difficult jobs and we both have a lot to learn about each other and I'm excited to learn."
"Me too." He said to her.
"I should buy a first aid kit." She said to herself and he eyed her. "What if you need first aid."
"You're something else." Punk laughed "The good news with getting stitches means I get the day off tomorrow."
"That is good." She grinned. "But what happened to the guy?"
"The guy I got into a fight with?" She asked and she nodded eagerly. "Tell me about the case."
"Seriously?" He asked astonished.
"I'm sorry is that weird?" She asked.
"No it's just no one has ever asked me about one of my cases." He said to her. "Aren't you tired?"
"No I was anxious so I drank like a whole things of coffee." She said to him.
"Alright." He said getting comfortable and began to tell her about his case and night.
The next morning Punk woke up and saw his sleeping partner was gone but he was used to that. She was always off and working and had a bad habit of not saying goodbye. He wandered down the stairs and heard noise in the kitchen and there was AJ in just his Cubs t-shirt that met just at the bottom of her thighs moving around the stove.
"I thought you ditched me." He said startling her.
"No I'm making up for dinner last night." She said putting eggs on a dish as toast popped out of the toaster. "I made coffee too." She said nodding at it.
"Don't spoil me." He warned her. "Or I'll make you stay here every night."
"I'm going to be working too." She reminded him. "We'll both busy but I think it's important we keep at least two nights with each other."
"I'm hoping for more but you're right I don't know how realistic that sounds." Punk said to her. "We can do two nights for sure." He said sitting at the counter.
"So I know you said you'd come back to New Jersey with me to help me pack and I appreciate it." She said to him.
"You need someone to drive the truck while you drive your car." He pointed out.
"I want to go to that house before I move out here for good." She said to him. "I've given it a lot of thought like you asked me to and I don't want to sneak out over there I want to be honest."
"Ok." Punk said to her without argument. "But I'm coming with you obviously."
"I just need to see it." She said to him.
"I understand that. I've got your back." He promised her.
"I know you do." She said to him.
"How have you been handling all of this?" He asked her. "You haven't mentioned your mom much."
"She's been gone for almost a year but it's weird." She began and he gave her his full attention. "When I was freaking out about you last night I called her."
"What?" Punk asked.
"I grabbed my phone and called her. I wanted to bitch about you and have her reassure me you were alright but obviously when I called the number was disconnected and then it hit me. I've never done that before. It's like I forgot." She confided. "I never did the last year but the first few days after I buried her I called her."
"It'll happen again." He warned her. "It's common. I am offended you wanted to bitch about me."
"She would have taken your side." She scoffed. "She really would have loved you."
"I'm sorry I never got to meet her." He told her genuinely. "And did you see all the space I have downstairs? I can hold onto as much of her stuff as you need to me."
"It's funny you mention that, after her funeral I got a call from her lawyer who has a key to her storage unit maybe I'll store it there." She told him.
"Storage unit?" Punk questioned.
"Yea I forgot she even had it. She kept all of my baby stuff she didn't want to part with it." AJ shrugged.
"The police look at the storage unit when she went missing?" He asked.
"Of course they did." She said.
"I'd like to look around it." He said to her.
"Don't you have enough cases of your own to worry about?" She asked.
"I do. But I also made a promise to you I plan on keeping." He told her.
"So, how are you going to make up last night to me today?" She asked with a sly smile.
Punk ended up taking AJ to a Cubs game and although the baseball didn't interest her, the snacks did. She had nachos, pretzels, hot dogs- it was the best date she was ever on. She can't remember the last time she laughed so much.
"I still say you should stay at my place." Punk said walking her to Dean's apartment door.
"I want to spend a little time with Dean." AJ said using the key Dean gave her to open the door. "He's not home yet."
"Probably still working." Punk reasoned. "You probably have a solid hour before he gets home."
"An hour." She said stepping aside to let him in.
Dean walked into the house fifteen minutes later and saw AJ's shoes and purse and by the door. He frowned when he heard noise and made his way through the apartment to her guest room and pushed the door open slowly but it was empty.
Dean heard noise coming from his room and reached for his gun as he noticed his bedroom door opened on a crack. It sounded like AJ was gasping and he kicked the door in and nearly passed out.
"Holy shit- sorry!" He yelled running out of his room and putting his gun away.
A few minutes later Punk stepped out of his bedroom buckling his belt back up.
"Sorry." Punk said to him.
"My room?" Dean asked disgusted. "She's like my sister, man." He groaned.
"It was the nearest flat surface." Punk reasoned. "That or the kitchen table."
"What about the guest room I told AJ to use or here's a wild idea your own house?" Dean snapped.
"She wanted to spend time with you." Punk shrugged and AJ came out of the bedroom next dressed.
"Disgusting." Dean scolded. "You have to wash my sheets."
"We didn't go under the comforter and we're usually really clean." She told him and Dean glared at her. "Well, I am." She added with blushing cheeks and now Dean glared at Punk.
"Have it dry cleaned and I'll pay." Punk offered.
"What about having my fucking eyes dry cleaned?" Dean asked angrily.
"You were barely in there." AJ said washing her hands at the kitchen sink.
"It was enough. Saw you fully." He said to AJ. "Saw more of you than I ever wanted to see." he said to Punk now. "How do you even bend that way?" He asked AJ looking back at her.
"Sorry. It was her fault." Punk said to Dean.
"It was." AJ grinned. "And I'm very bendy."
"He gets it, Ape." Punk said glaring at him. "I have to get going." he said walking over to AJ and kissing her deeply. "I'll call you later."
"Night." She blushed and watched him leave.
"My bed." Dean said glaring at her. "I haven't even had sex in my bed yet."
"And now I broke it in." AJ offered to reassure him. "I actually had sex in your bed in New Jersey too so what's the big deal?"
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Dean asked her.
"Your cousin." She clarified and he eyed her like she was crazy. "Remember when Seth came to town?"
"He came like once or twice." Dean remarked and AJ blushed.
"I wouldn't say that." AJ said pouring herself a cup of coffee.
"I fucking hate you." Dean groaned running his hand over his face. "Seth? When?"
"Right after Elliot and I broke up." AJ told him.
"That happened every weekend." Dean said to her.
"You remember, he came in to help you clean up your parents stuff." AJ said to him.
"I told him not to sniff around you." Dean said annoyed. "I specifically said I'd cut his dick off. You were a baby."
"I was 18." She clarified and looked away quickly.
"He was 25." Dean reminded her. "Now I have to go beat the shit out of him."
"It was a long time ago." AJ smirked.
"I don't give a shit." Dean said to her. "I told him no. I hate all of you."
"Like you never slept with any of my friends." AJ snorted. "Celeste, Katie who I went to high school with, Maria from the diner, my mom's friend Brenda-"
"I get it." Dean said cutting her off. "It's just different. You're you."
"Sexist." AJ shot at him.
"So be it." Dean said standing up. "You're taking me to dinner to make up for this image that is burned into my head."
"You're thinking of your partner naked? Weird." She teased.
"I'm thinking of you and my cousin naked." Dean said to her. "He's got issues, you know that right?"
"He was fine with me." She said to him with a shrug. "I wasn't thinking, Dean. I was made at Elliot."
"You were a teenager I get that." Dean said to her. "He's the perv."
"Can we just go and not talk about this anymore?" She asked.
"Yes." he said to her. "And I don't want fucking pizza. I want a burger." He said grabbing his jacket.
"Me too." She agreed and followed him out.
Punk was home that night and with AJ out he decided this was the time to loo further into her mom's case. He didn't want to keep bringing it up to her but he also didn't want to let it go. He wanted her to have her closure and he was going to work on it. He had files on computer for Dickie McCall, Elliot, Bret and now her father. He still felt deep down his case in Chicago was connected to Daria's as well. He was was waiting to hear from Jersey PD about the other bodies they had found in the yard too. He was actually anxious to get back to New Jersey but it wasn't just to pack AJ up, it was to continue his hunt for a killer.
