Watching You, Watching Me

Punk was woken up by moisture running over his face and he grinned. He opened his eyes expecting to see his girlfriend instead he came face to face with Larry.

"That's not who I was hoping would wake me up by licking." Punk groaned sitting up and cleaning his face with his hand. He looked around and saw AJ was gone. He knew she'd be out early to follow up on her case.

He got out of bed and stretched his arms and Larry jumped off the bed and began to bark.

"I know, I know you want a walk, can I take a piss first myself?" Punk asked petting the dog and that's when he heard a knock at the door.

Punk groaned and opened the door and was surprised to see Dean and ADA Young.

"Dude." Dean remarked. "Put on some fucking pants." He said walking inside and Renee followed him and Punk reached for his sweats and slid them on.

"If I knew the ADA would be coming by I would have been dressed. I apologize." He said to Renee.

"It's fine." Renee said brushing it off. "I'm here to meet April."

"Yea, I figured I'd introduce AJ to her before she tracks her down and corners her." Dean said peering around.

"She left early to follow up on her case." Punk told him and Renee bent down to pet Larry.

"What a cute dog!" Renee squealed.

"He's ugly." Dean corrected.

"Hey." Punk and Renee scolded at the same time.

"I know AJ has been feeling down and lonely so I thought I would push Renee to meet her." Dean told him and Renee eyed him.

"I've been begging to meet her for weeks." Renee corrected standing up straight. "He finally relented today."

"But she's not here." Dean shrugged. "Guess we'll come back in a few months."

"What's the rush?" Renee asked. "This place is so cute." she said looking around.

"Yea, this is Punk's new digs." Dean told her mockingly and Renee looked at him.

"Good for you." Renee said seriously to Punk. "It's nice to see you've found a woman with taste and brains for a change."

"Ouch." Punk remarked turning on the coffee pot. "Coffee?"

"Please." Renee grinned.

"Why not." Dean remarked removing his jacket. "She have a lead on her case?"

"She thinks she does." Punk said to him.

"What about that other case she was working?" Dean asked subtly.

"I think she's scared of McCall and wants to find him." Punk told him simply.

"Can't say I blame her." Renee told him. "Richard McCall has a long and scary wrap sheet. I'd be scared myself."

"She doesn't have to be scared." Dean insisted. "She has people watching her back."

"It's so much easier to say it then to feel it." Renee said to him. "I was mugged years ago North Milwaukee and guess what? I don't walk that street alone anymore. It's hard to relate too. I mean this man took something from her piece of mind and took her mother. That's a lot for you both to understand."

"We get paid to understand." Punk corrected.

"No, you two push your emotions aside to focus on the facts. If you didn't you'd never solve anything and that's understandable." Renee corrected back. "And when she speaks of her fears don't jump in and shout you'll protect her, that makes her feel belittled. You men know nothing."

"Clearly." Dean scoffed as Punk poured the coffees. "None of your shit is going to fit in here." he said to Punk.

"My sister is moving and needs stuff I'm giving her most of the furniture." Punk shrugged. "I don't need a big place. I need my girl and my dog."

"Whatever." Dean remarked.

"I think that's sweet." Renee said glaring at him.

"Oh, yea totally." Dean said and when she turned around he rolled his eyes.

"I saw that." Renee warned.

"Full house." AJ remarked walking inside to the now crowded apartment.

"Thank god we can get this over with." Dean said walking over to her. "AJ, Renee, Renee, AJ." he introduced.

"I'm honored." AJ remarked shaking her hand.

After an hour of coffee and Punk picking up donuts Dean and Renee were on their way and AJ and Renee hit it off which made Punk happy. Maybe now she'd have a new friend to confide in.

"So, how was the case?" Punk asked sipping his coffee at the counter.

"You tell me." She said sliding a check over to him and he picked it up.

"Holy shit." Punk gasped.

"They were at the cabin." AJ told him. "Just doing the police's job, no biggie." she teased.

"Seven thousand dollars?" He asked looking at the check still.

"Her parents were very pleased." AJ told him.

"How much do you charge?" He asked her seriously as he handed her back the check.

"Depends how rich my client is." AJ told him honestly. "I also charge by the hour."

"You worked this case for two days." He said to her and she shrugged. "I'm in the wrong line of work."

"And Mr and Mrs Richy Rich are going to recommend me to all their other rich friends." She told him proudly.

"Good, maybe you can get someone in the office with you." Punk told her sipping his coffee again.

"Why do you want me to buy friends?" She asked him with a grin.

"No, I just don't want you sitting in that office all day and night alone." He told her simply. "It's also a lot of work, you're very busy out here."

"I am but I have to make sure these cases are steady before I start employing people." She said to him.

"They seem to be." Punk reasoned.

"If I keep getting paid like this we'll be in a house before you know it." She informed and he laughed.

"Babe, do you have any idea how much a house out here costs? It's a lot different from Hillsborough." Punk asked amused.

"I'm a dreamer." AJ shrugged cutely.

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

"Are you off today?" She asked curiously.

"I am. I was hoping you were too." He said to her.

"I'm not but do you want to come to work with me?" She offered. "I have to meet a few potential clients but I also have to file some things and I can't do both."

"Oh!" Punk laughed. "You want me to go to work with you to actually work."

"And it's spending time together." She added hopefully.

"This is why you need someone else." Punk groaned. "But sure." he said and she kissed him.

"You're the best. I'll buy you lunch." She told him happily.

"Lunch? I saw that check, you're buying lunch, dinner and snacks." He told her.

"Deal." She smiled and watched him head off into the bathroom.

Punk and AJ approached her office door but she stopped before putting her key in the lock.

"What?" He asked.

"The door is open." She whispered noticing it on a crack. "We closed it last night, right?"

"Here." He said passing her his coffee and pulled his gun out. "Stay out here."

AJ waited as Punk searched the area and it only took a few minutes and he nodded for her to come in.

"What's going on?" She asked peering around. The office seemed to be mostly in place.

"No one is here but your filing cabinet is open." He pointed and she opened the cabinets up.

"I have to check my computer but nothing seems out of place." She said to him.

"Any issues with clients?" He asked her and she shook her head.

"No. I've had happy clients." She told him.

"What about the reason they're happy? Maybe someone you were tracking?" He asked.

"No nothing like that. I don't work very exciting cases." AJ remarked. "That's so strange."

"Well don't touch anything else." He said pulling out his phone.

"You're not going to have this placed finger printed, are you?" She asked in disbelief. "Nothing was stolen."

"How do I know this wasn't Dickie? Maybe looking for his file." He said typing into his phone. "Anything involving you gets top priority."

"Well I don't keep my Dickie case file here." She said to him.

"You keep it home?" He asked.

"I keep it on my laptop so it goes where I go and I have copies." She told him. "But I don't keep paper here on him."

"Good." He said to her.

"This just doesn't feel like him. He wouldn't tiptoe around." She said to him. "And why would he care about my file on him? He'd want to kill me." She shrugged. "This is different."

"Still haven't the place dusted." He told her.

"I have clients coming to meet me." She argued.

"Interview them in the other room." He shrugged.

"I can't hide a CSU team." She said folding her arms.

"Babe, please." He pleaded. "Just let me do this, for my piece of mind."

"Fine." She said annoyed. "I'll meet them at the coffee shop downstairs. Today is supposed to be your day off."

"I said I'd file and I'm going to go through every single one of your files and see if anything is missing so technically I'm still filling." He reasoned and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Right." She remarked.

"I thought this would freak you out." Punk said to her.

"It would if I thought it was Dickie but this isn't Dickie. Dickie beats people any interaction I've had with him he was physical. At the Mayors party, the diner and our last encounter. He wouldn't wait for me to leave he'd beat me until I gave him what he wanted." She pointed out. "I also assume he wouldn't leave the door opened."

"We'll see about that." Punk said to her.

"We will." She agreed smugly.

Dean was at the office now with a few crime scene officers as they dusted the cabinets and locks.

"She's still downstairs." Dean told him. "I passed by the shop on my way up."

"Good." Punk said reading through her files. "She's very thorough." he remarked closing one file.

"Yea, what do we have, we think this is McCall or what?" Dean asked.

"Ape doesn't." Punk said to him. "And she might not be wrong. He would have killed her. And he would have been spotted. His face is posted everywhere with a sizeable reward."

"So, what are you thinking?" Dean asked.

"A client?" Punk asked more himself. "But most of her cases are petty shit. Nothing worth breaking into here for."

"We lifts some prints on the filing cabinet and in the bathroom, the seat was up we assume it wasn't like that last night when Ms. Mendez left." An officer told Punk.

"Yea I doubt that." Punk agreed. "She was here alone yesterday except for me coming by and I didn't use the restroom."

"We'll run every print we lift." The officer assured him and he nodded.

"Craziness follows her." Dean remarked.

"I wish it wouldn't." Punk groaned. "I just want her to have a normal calm life."

"Eh, that's overrated and boring." Dean said sitting in one of her chairs.

"Whatever it is the person was looking for they didn't get because it's all here the only file she keeps on herself is the Dickie one." Punk told him.

"Maybe someone other than her is looking for Dickie." Dean reasoned. "If I was looking for him I would look to AJ for answers. She's done better police work than the police."

"That's a fact." Punk had to agree. "Maybe another PI?"

"Or maybe Dickie sent someone to see what she has? She was nosing around in Nashville." Dean pointed out.

"That is also true." Punk nodded.

"Are you guys done in here yet?" AJ asked walking into her office.

"Soon, dear." Punk told her mockingly.

"Good. I think the barista downstairs thinks I'm a drug dealer." AJ told them.

"Awesome." Dean laughed.

"Everything is here." Punk told her. "Was there a man in here yesterday? Maybe using the restroom?"

"Just the man I sleep with on the side." She joked in a serious voice.

"You know I hate those jokes." Punk remarked.

"Nope. Just me. And you later on. Were you pawing through my things?" She asked cutely.

"Nope. But your toilet seat was up." He told her.

"A thief and sloppy." AJ cringed. "I used the bathroom before I left and the seat was down."

"Good to know." Dean joked.

"The building has camera footage at the entrance. I want you to watch it and see if anyone pops out as suspicious." Punk told her.

"If I saw someone suspicious I would have noticed." She said to him. "Give me a little more credit."

"The door's locked weren't tampered with." Punk added. "So whoever it was either has a key or was in here when you were here."

"You got here before me yesterday, did you sense anything off?" She asked.

"Of course not." He said to her. "I was only here a few minutes before you but I didn't search your bathroom."

"I didn't either." She said. "So someone was in here while we were both here?"

"Wow. You two both suck." Dean mocked as AJ phone began to ring.

"I have to take this." AJ said stepping out of the room.

"I wouldn't get all worked up." Dean told him. "I'm sure if it was Dickie he would have hurt her."

"Maybe that was his plan but I was here." Punk said to him.

"He would have waited for her this morning." Dean reasoned. "It's someone fishing for information."

"It's just hard to narrow down now since she has all these cases and potential suspects." Punk groaned.

"Well hopefully the prints come back." Dean said to him. "Don't sweat it, this is the least of your troubles."

"I don't like the idea of some guy hiding in my girlfriends bathroom." Punk remarked. "Why couldn't she be like a librarian or something."

"Boring." Dean repeated.

"What was that all about?" Punk asked her.

"It was a doctor in Wisconsin." AJ informed him. "My dad had a heart attack."

"I'm sorry, Ape." Punk frowned standing up as did Dean. "I'll grab the car-"

"He wouldn't want me there." AJ said shaking her head.

"April." Dean said to her as if she was crazy.

"The doctor said he was stable." AJ said simply.

"Ape." Punk sighed. "Let's just take the trip. It's not that long of a ride we'll be there and back before you know it."

"We have to walk Larry." She reminded him.

"It would be honor to walk that nasty dog." Dean smirked.

"Come on." Punk said putting on his jacket.

"I have cases and this craziness here." She argued.

"You won't forgive yourself if you don't drop by." Punk said to her. "Come on, I'll drive."

"Be good to my dog." AJ warned Dean.

"Relax, Renee loves him I'll bring her with me." Dean told her.

After a couple of hours of driving AJ and Punk arrived at the hospital and received an update on her father's health that seemed fine. With a little pushing from Punk she walked into his room and he was awake and agitated.

"I told them not to call you." Robert sighed.

"Well, they did." She said stepping a little further into the room. "So, what bought this on?" She asked. "You seem to be in good shape."

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe my ex-wife being murdered by the command by my girlfriend, my girlfriend ordering my daughter kidnapped and also murdered." Robert rambled on.

"Guilt." She noted.

"You can say that." He said letting out a breath. "You look good." He said to her.

"Yea, you can see me with out bruises and broken bones, lucky you." AJ remarked.

"How have you been?" Robert asked and AJ wasn't sure what to say. She didn't want to agitate him but she didn't want to share either. "You come along or is that fella around?"

"That fella is the reason I'm here. He thought it would be a good idea for me to see you and drove me. He's around here somewhere." She informed him. "He lives with me now." She blurted out. "And we got a really cute dog. It's like I have a family again."

"I'm glad." Robert smiled a bit. "Marriage? Kids?"

"No." AJ laughed a bit and looked out his window.

"You always loved a view." Robert smirked.

"I still do." AJ said to him. "This isn't much of a view though."

"It's not." Robert agreed. "Has there been any word on Dickie McCall?"

"Nope." AJ told him turning to face him. "So I get to still live in fear and looking over my shoulder."

"I'm sorry." Robert said genuinely. "I've picked up the phone to call you at least a dozen times."

"Yet you never hit send." AJ said to him. "But that's fine. We made it very clear where we both stood. I'm only here because Phil thinks its a good idea and I don't want him to think I'm a sociopath."

"You're not." Robert assured her. "He just seems to want what is best for you."

"Right." AJ said looking back over to him. "The doctor said it was a minor heart attack. You should watch your salt intake."

"Will do." Robert said to her. "I appreciate you coming to see me."

"Thank Phil." AJ shrugged. "I have to get going. Take care of yourself."

"Bye, April." Robert said sadly and watched her leave.

AJ found Punk standing in the waiting room looking at his phone.

"We got an ID off those prints." Punk told her and her eyes lit up.

"Not Dickie?" She asked.

"Nope." He said and showed her a picture of a well dressed man.

"Who the hell is that?" AJ asked scrunching her face and grabbing his phone to get a closer look.

"Jasper Deveraux." Punk informed her and she looked up at him. "Private Eye."

"No way." She laughed.

"A sloppy private eye." Punk remarked. "And you won't believe who is only client is at the moment."

"Don't keep me in suspense." AJ laughed.

"Elliot Daniels." Punk told her and AJ was not expecting that. "Is there a reason your ex boyfriend has a PI snooping around your office?"

"I haven't spoken to Elliot since the day in the hospital." AJ said taken aback. "But I guess I'm going to find out."

"Dean tried tracking him he was staying at hotel not far from our building but checked out." Punk told her.

"Then I'll just ask Elliot myself." AJ said simply.

"I had a feeling you'd say that." Punk remarked. "I have to be in court tomorrow through Friday."

"I know. I'll be ok." She said to him.

"You are so cute." Punk had to laugh. "Dean will meet you at the airport."

"Ugh." She groaned. "I'm an adult."

"When it comes to the Daniels or McCall I trust no one." Punk told her seriously. "He's just going to hang out, he won't question him this is your thing."

"Fine." AJ said to him. "It might be easier for me to track down Jasper Deveraux though." She said thinking about it.

"Ape, I ask you for very little." Punk said to her and she gave him her full attention. "I know you can take care of yourself but for MY piece of mind, bring Dean along and don't fight him the whole time."

"I'll bring him but I can't promise I won't fight him." She said to him. "I'll compromise. I'll give you the piece of mind."

"Thank you." He said relieved. "How was your dad?"

"He's fine." She shrugged. "He was looking for my 'fella'." She smirked. "I told him we were living in sin."

"What every father dreams to hear." Punk grinned. "Fathers love me."

"Well, mine does." AJ said to him. "I don't like him but he likes you."

"Wonderful." Punk smirked. "Want to say goodbye?"

"Nope." AJ said to him. "I want to get to New Jersey."

"You better come home." Punk warned her teasingly.

"A beautiful apartment in Chicago I share with my two guys, a booming business, a healthy relationship and I don't want to brag but I made a friend today." She told him. "I'll come home."

"Good." He said to her and took her hand. "I already booked you a flight."

"You're the best." She grinned as they waited for the elevator.

"I know." He agreed.