Denial


Later that night, Punk, AJ and the girls caught flights back to Chicago where they dispersed to their homes and crashed in their beds. Jude and Sean stayed at a hotel nearby. They all slept peacefully, the best sleep they'd had in months. Everyone, besides Cassie.

"Hey, you fancy some breakfast?" AJ asked, walking into Cassie's bedroom where she was sitting in bed watching TV.

"Uh… yeah, sure… I'll come down later." Cassie nodded.

"How'd you sleep?" AJ asked, walking over to the drapes and opening them up as Cassie screwed her eyes up.

"Mom, I don't want them open." Cassie complained.

"It's a nice day, though. Look at it. Take it in." AJ advised as Cassie rolled her eyes.

"I slept fine." Cassie lied.

"How are the stitches?" AJ asked, walking over and tilting her head to the side to look, "Looking fine." She nodded.

"Yeah? Up to your standards?" Cassie asked as AJ scoffed.

"We were thinking of having everybody over for a BBQ." AJ said.

"We just got home." Cassie groaned.

"Yeah, exactly. We just got home and we're all safe. It's a beautiful day." AJ said, "Whilst Jude's still here with Sean. I want all my girls in the one place again." She smiled as Cassie sighed.

"Fine, whatever. I'll eat a burger." Cassie waved her hand as AJ smiled.

"Why don't you invite Theo?" AJ asked as Cassie looked over at her.

"No." Cassie said simply as AJ nodded.

"Ok." AJ backed off from the subject, "Well come get some breakfast, yeah? I'm making French toast." She smiled, "I know you can't resist that." She pointed as Cassie smiled.

"Alright alright, just go, I'll come down." Cassie shook her head, watching her mother leave the room and head downstairs. In a way, it was nice to see her mother back to her normal loving self again. For the longest time she seemed so down, so quiet and sad. And of course no one blamed her, they all felt it, but it was nice to wake up differently this morning. Of course she still had a mountain of things running through her head.

AJ headed downstairs, walking into the kitchen where she spotted her husband siting on the step at the back door. She poured herself some coffee and joined him, sitting down on the step beside him.

"Morning." He smiled.

"You've met a friend." AJ noticed, looking on at the cat he was petting.

"Yeah, he lives a few doors down. I don't think his owners pet him enough." Punk said.

"Clearly." AJ smiled, "I think Cassie thinks I'm crazy."

"Why?" Punk asked her.

"Well it is strange, isn't it? Waking up and pretending like nothing happened." AJ nodded, "Trying to move on from it." She said as Punk nodded.

"It's strange but… things will start feeling normal again." He nodded, "I kinda feel like that whole part of our lives is truly locked up. And not that I want to forget about it and shame it… we did what we did, but… I don't know, I feel like I have closure." He said, of course referring to their younger days, where they did make mistakes of their own.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." AJ agreed, "There's nothing left from that life. I hate that we say it like that, too. As if we were different people back then." She realised, "I still feel the same." She turned to him as he nodded.

"I mean… I'd like to think I've matured a little more." He teased as AJ smiled.

"I'll be the judge of that." She nudged him as he smiled.

"You doing ok?" He asked her as she nodded.

"Yeah." AJ said, "I know that you're gonna keep asking me that, as if I'm about to have a nervous breakdown because I stabbed my own mother." She said.

"Well… not many people go through life doing that." He shrugged.

"Yeah, I know." AJ sighed, "But she was just another stranger who hurt our family. She never cared about me. The first time I felt someone take care of me was when I met you, and Dean. That was my first family." She nodded, "She's gone and I have no regret doing what I did." She said as Punk nodded.

"You shouldn't." Punk said, "I got a text back from Jude, they're gonna come for the BBQ."

"Oh, that's good. I can't wait to see Mirren." AJ said, desperate to see all her grandchildren.

"Still waiting on Thea but… you know how she is with her phone." He waved his hand as AJ nodded.

"I just want us all to be together." AJ nodded.

"Yeah, me too." Punk said. For the first time in a while, things felt clear, like they could see further ahead now. It had been a traumatic weekend, and whilst they knew that the highs and lows were still to come of that, there was nothing stopping them from spending time with their family on a nice day, with all the worries and stresses they had lifted from their shoulders, finally.


"Cass, did you get peppers from the store?" Punk asked, walking into the kitchen later that night where Cassie was making more lemonade in the kitchen.

"No, it wasn't on the list." Cassie said.

"Well… if you wanna play it that way, a twenty-four piece bar of chocolate wasn't on the list either." He looked across at her as she made a face at him.

"I need that chocolate." Cassie said.

"Sure you do." Punk scoffed, "You heard from Jake?" He asked curiously, grabbing out the meats from the fridge to put on the BBQ.

"No not yet. I imagine they got home today. I'm working tomorrow so I'll probably speak to him then." Cassie nodded.

"Ok." Punk nodded, "Come out and get some sun." He told her fatherly.

"Just go cook those burgers." Cassie waved him away as he smiled, leaving to go back into the garden where the rest of her family were.

"Squeezing lemons, huh?" Jude smiled, walking into the kitchen as Cassie threw out the lemon skins after squeezing them.

"Well you can't have a BBQ without homemade lemonade." Cassie said.

"You should set up a little stand outside. Like a little girl scout." Jude teased.

"Very funny." Cassie nodded as Jude smiled.

"How's the head?" Jude asked.

"The head is fine." Cassie nodded, pouring the lemonade into a jug with ice, "I've been ordered to come out and get some sun." She said, "Like a five year old." She said, taking the lemonade outside as Jude followed.

"You're the baby. They're always gonna talk to you like that." Jude chuckled as Cassie nodded, walking over to the table and taking a seat.

Stress aside, the atmosphere and setting couldn't have been any more perfect. To see her family all together in the one spot again was great. James and Sofia were playing on the grass with Punk and the boys, AJ was sitting with Renee and Thea, not parting ways with Mirren who was climbing all over her and having fun. It was beautiful and relaxing.

"Little bit psychotic isn't it?" Cassie turned to Jude who laughed a little.

"What do you mean?" Jude asked.

"We're all held hostage by night, having BBQ's by day. It's like something you'd see on TV." Cassie said.

"It was always coming." Jude said, "Mom and dad haven't looked this relaxed in months. And look, I know… I thought the same thing as you. I'm worried about mom and what's going on in her head but… that woman was just a stranger. A stranger who hurt us all so much. I don't doubt that we can all move on and… not think about it. It's what she deserved."

"Yeah, of course it was." Cassie agreed, turning to Jude, "Hey, I'm really glad you're here." She nodded as Jude smiled.

"Yeah, me too." Jude nodded. She'd missed this. She'd missed her family. Moving away was never about them. It was about the situation which had now been taken care of, which left a big question for her and Sean to think about.

"Hey, I got a bone to pick with you." Punk looked at his little brother who got up from the grass after messing around with the kids.

"What's that?" Dean asked.

"When I said, keep your eyes on the girls, make sure they don't do anything stupid… I meant it." Punk said, slapping the back of his head.

"Hey." Dean laughed a little, holding the back of his head as he followed Punk over to the BBQ, "Do you have any idea how much your three kids scare the shit out of me?" He said as Punk chuckled, "They'd beat me up in a second."

"They would." Punk agreed.

"I had no clue they were gonna do that. There's three of them. And they were gone before I could do anything." Dean said.

"It's ok, I'm just messing with you." Punk assured him.

"How you and April holding up?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, we're ok." Punk nodded, "I think the girls are expecting April to be a little off after everything but, she's doing good." He nodded, looking over at his wife who was fussing over Mirren, surrounded by her daughters, in her happy place. It made him smile so big.

"It's gotta be the biggest weight off your shoulders." Dean said as Punk nodded.

"Yeah, I'll say." Punk said.

"You need help with anything?" Dean asked.

"No, go have a seat." Punk encouraged as Dean nodded, patting his back brotherly and heading on over to the table.

"Papa Punk can I flip my burger yet?" Sofia ran over to him, in her little sun dress, adorable as hell.

"You know what… I think you can." Punk nodded, lifting her up and handing her the spatula, putting his hand over hers to help her flip the burger.

"I did it so good." Sofia smiled proudly after flipping her burger, "I should flip them all." She insisted as Punk chuckled.

"Ok, go for it." He smiled, helping her flip the entire contents of the BBQ. Nothing beat the smile on her little face.

Meanwhile Cassie had left the table unnoticed, heading back into the house and through the kitchen, walking upstairs and into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

She ripped open the cardboard box as she dropped her shorts and sat down on the toilet, awkwardly doing her best to stick the pregnancy test between and under her.

Denial was a thing. Even though she'd had it confirmed by the doctors at the hospital in Puerto Rico, she just couldn't believe it. It wasn't sinking in.

She did all the tests she could that the box had to offer, sitting them over by the sink as she washed her hands. She couldn't believe it. She'd tried blocking it out when the doctors told her, and seeing Theo made it even more difficult.

She waited in the bathroom, leaning over and looking at all the positive pregnancy tests lined up, running her hands through her hair and down over her mouth.

"Shit." Cassie gasped a little. Still finding it hard to believe.