Uncovered


Punk and AJ were back in New Jersey packing up what they could.

"Are you sure you want to sell this house?" He asked her.

"Yea. I didn't have the best memories here. I mean me and my mom did but my dad left and my mom never came home. Besides I think Chicago is my true home." She said taping up a box.

"Yea and we won't be visiting Dean's place." Punk added.

"He was so crabby the rest of the night." AJ shrugged and he laughed.

"I can't imagine why." Punk mocked.

"That's because I slept with his cousin and I let it slip it out." AJ said to him and Punk froze. "What? Was he your cousin too?"

"It's just we never discussed your history." Punk noted.

"What about your history?" She asked amused.

"It's long." He told her honestly.

"We probably should have had this discussion before we had unprotected sex countless times." She said to him. "For a special investigator Detective that's reckless."

"You're right." He said to her. "I assume you're clean."

"I am." She confirmed. "Why do you want to know my sleeping history?"

"I'm just curious." He admitted. "I assumed you were only with Elliot to be honest."

"Elliot and I broke up a lot." AJ informed him. "I've been with four men. Think less of me now?"

"Never." He said to her. "So, Elliot and Dean's cousin…."

"You want to like run their names?" AJ asked with a laugh packing up another box. "What's your number."

"It's past 4." He told her.

"I figured that." She snorted.

"Probably in the high 40s." He told her and she nodded.

"So when you get me a list of every woman you have ever slept with I'll give you the list of men I've slept with." She shrugged.

"Fair." He sighed. "So, what's with Dean's cousin?"

"Really? I didn't take you as insecure." She noted moving around her room.

"I'm not." He laughed nervously.

"I did it because Elliot and I broke up and I thought it was because I wasn't good sexually." She told him honestly.

"So you were practicing?" He asked unsurely.

"He was teaching me." She shrugged and he nearly died. "You asked. I'm an open book. I'm honest and free I'm not ashamed of my past."

"I'm not saying you should be." He said to her. "And you never told Dean?"

"Dean would have killed him." AJ smirked. "He still might."

"Why? I mean he's family." Punk shrugged.

"You have 3 sisters that aren't biologically your sister if they slept with someone you knew-" She began.

"I get it." Punk said cutting her off. "You still talk to him?"

"Like how you talk to every women you ever slept with? No." She said to him.

"I don't talk to EVERY woman I've ever slept with." He corrected.

"You never made a bad decision when it came to sex?" She asked him.

"Of course I have." He said to her.

"Seth was the worst decision I could have made. It wasn't fair to Dean or Elliot and I knew better." She told him.

"I slept with a married woman once." He confided.

"Well, Detective Punk." AJ scolded.

"It was dumb and I've always regretted it." Punk told her.

"How long ago?" She asked.

"A couple of years now." He said thinking about it. "Her husband was a suspect in a case I was working and we stayed in touch."

"Was he your guy?" AJ asked.

"Nope." Punk said to her.

"What was it about her?" She asked him.

"I don't know." He said thinking about it. "It's a lonely job. It's hard to find someone who understands my job and respects it. I didn't date often because keeping a girlfriend was really difficult for me."

"Think you'll be able to keep me?" She asked.

"I hope." He said to her. "Relationships are give and take and I don't think I gave as much as I wanted given to me. I've learned."

"Good." AJ said packing up another box. "I don't judge you for your past and I hope you don't judge me."

"You're perfect." He said with such a serious voice and she was in awe of him. "I have to live up to your expectations you've already shattered mine."

"I'm not perfect." She warned him. "I'm going to make mistakes."

"You're with it." Punk responded quickly. "I didn't come to New Jersey all the way back expecting to find you."

"And what am I to you?" She asked.

"You are…." He trailed off with a laugh. "….I think you're the love of my life. And that's saying a lot since I don't believe in love or that kind of stuff."

"You love me?" She asked coyly.

"You've made it hard not to." He said to her. "Before I met you I didn't take a personal day from work which is why I have all these days to fly out and be with you. I would stay at work to avoid the women I'm with but I'm watching the clock waiting to get a free minute to see you or even talk to you on the phone. I gave up Cubs tickets to fly out here two weeks ago when you were attacked. If that's not love then I don't know what it is."

"I kind of love you too if that makes you feel better." She teased stepping to him.

"I mean, that does make me feel good." He said laughing. "I kind of figured you did since you're picking up to move to Chicago."

"That's not ALL about you." She lied. "Like 50 percent you."

"50?" He asked amused.

"80." She corrected and he raised a brow. "Ok 95 percent you and 5 percent view." She smiled.

"I accept that." Punk laughed.

AJ wrapped her arms around him and was kissing his jawline.

"You know what I really want to do?" He asked.

"I think I know." She grinned.

"Go to your mother's storage facility." He answered and she froze and looked up at him. "I'd like to go before it's dark out."

"Not what I was expecting but ok." AJ said to him pulling away. "Let's bring some boxes with us."

"These over here?" He asked pointing to one corner.

"Yea that's her stuff." AJ nodded and Punk began grabbing boxes.


AJ looked around the nearly empty home and let out a breath. She was going to miss this home, it's the only home she had ever known but she felt deep down her mother wouldn't have wanted her to stay here. She'd be haunted by the memories of the past and even though her and her mother had great times here it was in fact her mothers home and her mother was no longer here. She was torn between being sad and excited for this new chapter.

"You alright?" Punk asked holding a box.

"Yea." She said with a faint smile.

Punk and AJ were in the storage unit and while AJ was distracted by all her baby things Punk was looking for anything that could help him.

"Look at this." AJ smiled holding up her doll and Punk cringed.

"What did you do to that doll?" Punk asked concerned.

"I like cutting her hair." AJ said looking at the doll missing an eye and most of it's hair.

"What's this, Ape?" He asked holding up a picture.

"Looks like my mother and Bret Daniels." She said taking the picture from him. "From a long time ago."

"Says 1980." He said to her. "Long before you were born."

"My mom worked for his family before he was Mayor, my grandmother worked for the family." AJ said to him.

"I just didn't think they were close." Punk said to her.

"He implied he slept with my mother to me." AJ reminded him looking through more stuff." She reminded him.

"What do you think?" Punk asked.

"I don't remember my mother ever really liking him. She got along well with Eliza until I started dating Elliot." She said him.

"How was his dad towards you?" Punk asked curiously. "He ever make a pass at you or-"

"My mother would have murdered him." She said seriously. "He never spoke to me. Never made me feel welcomed and I always thought it was because of my parents."

"Your dad seem bothered you even spoke to Bret." Punk said to him.

"My dad has hated that family forever and that much I can remember but again he always got along with Eliza too." AJ said thinking about it.

"What?" Punk asked.

"I mean I know Eliza doesn't like me. She hates me because she feels I tainted her son but maybe she'd talk to me." She said looking at him.

"I don't want you in the house with Bret Daniel and their stellar security staff." Punk said.

"Yea, ok." AJ snorted a laugh. "This is what I do. Take it or leave it."

"I take it. But this isn't some small PI case you're working these are potentially dangerous people." Punk reminded her. "Leave the policing to the police."

"Have you met the police out here?" She asked him seriously. "I can handle the Daniels family."

"I know you have this deep feeling that Elliot would never hurt you and protect you from his family but that's not the vibe I get from him either." Punk said looking around some things in the storage unit. "He's a psychopath too."

"He's testy." AJ argued.

"He's possessive, controlling and easily manipulated." Punk corrected.

"My dad won't tell me what-" she began but stopped when she dropped a box.

"-what what?" He asked looking at some things.

AJ leaned down and picked up some photos.

"What is it?" He asked.

"My dad." She said. "With Eliza Daniels." She said to him showing him the picture.

"That doesn't look old." Punk said examining the picture.

"It's not. This was after middle school graduation." AJ noted. "Eliza wore that awful orange dress and it embarrassed Elliot."

She starting looking through more pictures and saw a trend.

"Oh my god." AJ muttered and showed Punk the next picture.

"Your dad and Eliza had an affair." Punk said seeing the picture of them kissing. "They also didn't take these pictures. These are surveillance photos." He said looking at the pictures she passed him one by one.

"Wow." AJ said eyeing them in shock. "This went on for years. I can tell."

"That would explain the family hatred." Punk remarked.

"And my dad being run out of town." She said holding back anger. "That son of a bitch."

"AJ-" Punk began.

"Bret Daniels played god with my life." AJ nearly cried. "My dad packed up and left while I was at school and my mom was at work. He didn't leave a note."

"Maybe your mom figured out what was happening. I mean obviously she did since these photos are with his stuff and she asked him to leave-" Punk began.

"No." AJ said shaking her head. "I knew my mom better than anyone. I remember coming home that day and my dad being gone and she had no idea."

"I have to talk to Bret Daniels." AJ said and Punk stood in front of her. "I'm going and you can come with me or not it's up to you."

"All I was going to say was that I'm driving." Punk said to her.


AJ directed Punk to Bret's office but he wasn't there and was at a fundraiser out of town with the the rest of his family.

"He's going to be in Chicago in three days." Punk told AJ as they were parked outside her house. "I just got their schedule."

"How did you get that?" AJ asked.

"I'm a cop. People tell me things when I ask." Punk said to her.

"I knew they were somehow involved." AJ said to her.

"Why would they kill your mom after so much time?" Punk asked her. "Your father was gone for years before your mother went missing. Why after so much time? And why your mother? Wouldn't your father have been the one Bret would want gone for good?"

"Maybe they kept up the affair?" AJ guessed and she felt herself growing so angry as tears streamed down her face. "He left our family for another woman. A woman he could never have. We meant nothing to him."

"You don't know the whole story, Ape." He sighed feeling bad for her.

"It makes sense Phil." She said to him. "The hatred between our families, my dad leaving, my mom never talking about him- how could he do this to us?" she asked him seriously and he wasn't sure what to say.

"You don't know everything." Punk reminded her again.

"The woman you slept with who was married-" She began and he groaned.

"I always knew telling you that would get it thrown up in my face I just didn't think it would be this soon." He said resting the back of his head against the head rest of the car.

"Did she have a family with her husband?" She asked.

"No." He told her honestly. "I don't think I'd be able to do that. Also I was with her a few times clearly your dad was with Eliza for years."

"How did I not pick up on it?" AJ asked more herself. "Did Elliot know?" She asked Punk.

"I have no idea." He said to her.

"My mom was ten times the woman Eliza Daniels was." AJ told Punk. "I was worth staying for too."

"The only bright side of all of this is that maybe not just the Daniels but your father will talk." Punk said to her.

"My father is going to talk to me." AJ told him sternly. "I can't believe my mom never told me."

"It's probably not something she wanted to broadcast." Punk guessed.

"And I thought it was maybe my mom and Bret." AJ said shaking her head. "What kind of PI am I?"

"You're a great one. You were real young when this all happened." Punk reminded her. "You weren't a PI when this happened."

"When I was in 7th grade I was failing math so I spied on my teacher and found she was scamming vacation money and blackmailed her into passing me." AJ informed him seriously. "I should have picked up on this."

"Wow." He said. "I'm a bit scared of you now."

"You should be." She remarked. "I'll know if you ever cheat."

"I'm not cheating on you." He laughed.

"I'm just saying." She said looking back down at the pictures in her hands. "I'll cut your-"

"I get it." He said cutting her off. "Let's get back to your house. Unless you want to go back to the crack house? I said I'd take you."

"No. You have a lot more to pack." She said to him and he eyed her.

"Me? What about you?" He asked.

"This has been exhausting for me I need a hot bath." She informed him. "And since you love me and are a big strong man-"

"You're packing." He said starting up the car and she groaned. "But I do love you. And I told you I'd help you through this to the end."

"So you'll make sure we get in to see Eliza and Bret Daniels when they're in Chicago?" She asked.

"Yes." He said to her. "I'm already working on it."

"Thank you." She said giving him a kiss.

"It's a fundraiser for a local Chicago politician so we'll have to dress up." He warned.

"I clean up nicely." She told him smugly.

"I don't want to brag but I do too." He said to her.

"I bet." She grinned.


Another two days of packing and another two driving back to Chicago AJ was finally in her new apartment.

"It's perfect." She said gesturing around the apartment filled with boxes.

"Sorry I'm late." Dean said letting himself in. "Someone has to work." he said glaring at Punk as he put down two boxes of pizza.

"Paid vacation." Punk shrugged.

"Dean, did you know my dad and Eliza Daniels were having an affair?" She asked him.

"What?" Dean asked amused. "You're reading too much into things." then AJ passed him the photos. "Well damn." he whistled.

"These were in mom's storage unit." AJ explained. "So she knew."

"I don't anything about who your father was seeing." Dean told her and she glared at him.

"You're lying." She noted and Punk looked over to them.

"I didn't know anything BUT I was a little older when your dad left town and the rumor was that he was cheating but I never knew with who and I asked Daria about it and she never said a thing." He said to her.

"You never told me." She frowned.

"I didn't hear any truth to the rumors." Dean explained. "There was no reason to upset you without knowing the whole story."

"Right." She forced out and heard a knock at her door and walked over to open it.

AJ's new landlord was checking in and Punk made his way over to Dean.

"I didn't think it was true." Dean reasoned.

"She's just having a hard time with all of this." Punk said to him. "The Daniels are going to be here this week I'm setting up a meeting."

"A meeting?" Dean asked with a laugh.

"Am ambush." He corrected quietly.

"Listen to me, Bret Daniels will irk the shit out of you don't let him get under your skin." Dean warned him.

"I'm more interested in what his wife has to say." Punk admitted.

"How could this tie in with Daria's death?" Dean asked.

"It's all we have to go on." Punk said to him and looked over to AJ talking to his buddy. "How's work?"

"You picked a quiet week to be out I'll give you that." Dean said to him. "Nothing too crazy."

"I think AJ is going to try to see her dad." Punk confided.

"It'll be like talking the wall." Dean said opening a box of pizza. "But she's gluten for punishment. She'll be fine. She's not the type to keep her anger in she let's it out immediately. She doesn't like to walk around angry."

"I suppose." Punk said looking back at her then rolled his eyes and walked over.

"Hey, man." The landlord greeted.

"Thanks again." She said to the landlord and decided to give Punk and his friend a moment.

"Visiting?" Punk asked.

"Giving my number." The landlord told him.

"She's with me." Punk told him.

"Well you didn't tell me that man." He laughed nervously.

"Go sniff around elsewhere." Punk smiled at him. "And look out for her."

"Of course." he said shaking Punks hand.

"Come on you guys have a lot to unpack." AJ said to Punk.

"Why am I doing the unpacking?" Punk asked closing her door and looking at her.

"I said you guys, Dean is going to help." She pointed out seriously.

"And what are you going to be doing?" Dean asked her.

"The bathroom is filthy I have to scrub that whole room." She said to them. "Unless you guys want to clean the toilet."

"Unpacking sounds good." Dean said quickly.

"I'm a quick unpacker." Punk added.

"You two leave on your own you do clean your own bathrooms, right?" She asked.

"Yea but this place is a dump." Dean pointed out honestly.

"It's not a dump." AJ corrected. "Its home." She said happily.


A couple of hours later after eating pizza Punk and Dean worked on unpacking her boxes and AJ headed into the bathroom.

Punk pushed the bathroom door opened and saw AJ laying in a tub surrounded by candles. Her eyes were closed but she smiled when she heard the door open.

"What's this?" He asked sitting on the edge of the tub.

"I'm cleaning the tub." She grinned opening one eye to look at him. "I did clean the bathroom first in my defense."

"Dean just left." Punk said to her.

"How's the unpacking?" She asked.

"Most of it is done." He said to her. "You didn't bring much."

"Yea I know." She said to him. "Don't need much. I do need to start looking at buildings for my business."

"There's no rush." He reminded her.

"I know." She said to him with a relaxed sigh. "I feel good."

"Good." He said with a light smile.

"Will you stay tonight?" She asked hopefully.

"Yea I can do that." He said to her. "I'll make up the bed."

"You're really good to me." She said to him with a smile closing her eyes again.

"So good to you that after I make YOUR bed I'm going to run to the store and get you some essentials like trash bags and milk." He said to her.

"And coffee for the morning?" She asked hopefully.

"Yea." He said kissing her head and leaving.


AJ was in just her short silk robe and now lighting candles around the bed that Punk had made up. She planned on thanking him for all the hard work he had done to help her move. Her hair was down and she had time to apply a bit of makeup when she heard him knocking at the door. She loosened her robe just a bit and skipped over to the door and opened it.

"For me?" Elliot asked with a grin.