The Warm Up

AJ was meeting with Peyton and Dean in her office as they went over things.

"My attorney wants me to serve with custody papers." Peyton explained to them. "Now that we have his address it can be done."

"You're going to need more than that." Dean said to him. "The problem is the judge is going to want to talk to Jack directly and who knows how long the abuse has gone on for he could be brainwashed."

"You think so?" Peyton asked fearfully. "I just need to speak to him."

"How will he react to that?" AJ asked her. "You're a stranger to him he'll stick with Jason."

"I can't just leave him there!" Peyton yelled standing up.

"We just can't rush this." AJ insisted. "This is a tricky situation that we can't take lightly. Jack might not react like you're a savior. We have to consider the fact that he's been with Jason every day of his life for fifteen years and probably doesn't know better. And Dean is right, the judge will want Jack's input. He's not a little boy who can't make his own choices he's practically grown."

"I can't just do nothing." Peyton argued.

"I get it." Dean said to her. "But one misstep and Jason will Jack further probably out of state and then we really can't do anything."

"That's my son." Peyton reminded him. "I thought he was in good hands-"

"No one is blaming you." AJ assured her.

"I'm blaming me." Peyton said to her. "I should be blamed."

"Your lawyer told you last night as well that we have to consider our next move before making it because it's going to set the tone going forward." Dean reminded her.

"Right." Peyton scoffed shaking her head. "I have to get some air." she said then stormed out of the office.

"She's all torn up." Dean said to her.

"Yea." AJ frowned. "I can't imagine what she's feeling right now. Imagine it was your child and you knew he was being hurt and couldn't do anything about it, what would you do?"

"I don't know." Dean admitted.

"I know. I'd go down there and take my son back." AJ said to him seriously. "And so would you. I don't even know Jack and I want to go down there and throw him in my car and drive him away from there."

"I get it." Dean sighed and eyed her.

"What?" She asked him.

"You doing ok?" He asked her curiously.

"Yea." She laughed a bit and went back to typing at her computer. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I mean being here and you and Punk are in a good place?" Dean asked.

"Didn't we discuss all of this already?" AJ asked amused. "You need to know if me and Phil are happy before you move forward with Renee?"

"Sure." Dean lied with a shrug.

"We're very happy." AJ confirmed. "Happiest I've ever been. I didn't even know this level of happy existed before him."

"Good." Dean said standing up. "I have to meet Renee for lunch. I'll be back after, just try to keep her calm."

"Oh, yea sure." AJ scoffed and watched Dean leave. "Tell a woman she can't help her kid-" AJ stopped talking to herself and thought about it. "I'd go down there and take my son back." she said to herself repeating her earlier answer to his question and it hit her. "Oh crap." she said shooting out of her seat and looking out the window and saw Peyton's car wasn't in its parking spot on the street.

"Oh crap!" She repeated grabbing her jacket and purse and running out of the office.

AJ had to give Peyton credit. She saw her on the highway once but Peyton was a crazy driver and it was hard for AJ to keep up. It took a lot to shake AJ off as she tailed you but Peyton managed to. AJ drove by Jason's house once arriving in town but it looked like no one was home. She sighed and took off to the shop and that's where she saw Peyton's car parked outside. AJ parked a little ways down the street and climbed out of her car.

"He's my son too!" AJ could hear Peyton yelling as she approached the front of the shop.

"I know what's going on." Peyton told him growing angry.

"I will make you disappear if you even consider going near MY son!" Jason yelled.

"Is that a threat?" Peyton asked not amused. "I'm not afraid of you."

"You should be!" He yelled grabbing her arm.

"Hey!" AJ yelled walking into the shop.

"AJ." Jason stated surprised and let go of Peyton's arm.

"Let's go, Peyton." AJ said to her and Jason narrowed his eyes at her.

"I'm not leaving without seeing Jack. He's here, he's upstairs." Peyton told AJ.

"You two know each other?" Jason asked.

"She's my PI." Peyton told him smugly and his face fell. "You thought you were going to get laid? Give me a break." She scuffed.

"PI?" Jason asked looking between the two. "What the hell were you thinking?!" He shouted grabbing her arm and AJ tugged at his arm to release Peyton.

"Let go of her!" AJ yelled and he jerked his arm causing AJ to fall.

"Are you crazy?" Peyton asked pushing him.

The contents in AJ's purse went flying and she searched for her mace as Peyton and Jason got more physical.

"Oh no you don't." Jason hissed seeing AJ reach for her weapon and dragged her by her foot away from the item. "You are a sneaky bitch." He hissed and reached for her hair to pull her up.

"Get off of her!" Peyton yelled jumped on his back.

"Police!" two uniformed officers yelled rushing in with their guns out.

"They attacked me!" Jason defended out of breath.

"Right." The officer remarked. "April Mednez?" the officer asked the two women.

"That's me." AJ said to him.

"Good, call your friend Dean." The officer told her as he cuffed Jason.

"They attacked me!" Jason yelled.

"We saw you dragging the girls." The officer informed him.

"I think this is a violation of a court order." AJ chimed in and Jason went to lunge at her only to be pulled back.

"Bitch." He spat as he struggled with the officers. "You'll never get my son!" he shouted. "Do you hear me? EVER! You'll pay for this!"

"Are you ok?" AJ asked Peyton.

"He was so crazy. I don't remember him being like that." Peyton confided shaking her head. "Are you alright?"

"My ass took the fall." AJ shrugged. "I guess Dean called the local police when I told him I was following you out here."

"How did you know?" Peyton questioned.

"It's what I do." AJ shrugged. "I don't know if this made things any better for you."

"It couldn't have been made worse." Peyton said to her. "He's my son. I have to fight for him I couldn't leave him with that man a day longer."

"I get it." AJ sighed. "What a mess."

"It is. And I'm sorry you got involved." Peyton said to her. "I'm not normally this reckless."

"It's your son, I understand. I would have done the same thing." AJ assured her.

"We need to speak to both of you." The officer told them and AJ just nodded.

Punk was sitting at a diner with his mother as they finally had a long awaited lunch time.

"You're so busy these days I feel like I haven't seen you in a year." Pamela remarked.

"Yea, I'm sorry." Punk said to her. "Today is my first day where I didn't have to be in work or court in a while."

"And you're spending the day with me and not AJ?" Pam asked amused. "I'm honored."

"Well, she's working." Punk said to her and Pam glared at him. "Not that you were second choice." he added with a nervous laugh.

"So, what bought this on? You seemed anxious on the phone." Pam noted pouring milk into her coffee.

"It's about AJ." Punk told her and she froze.

"She's pregnant!" Pam announced.

"She's not pregnant." Punk groaned.

"You're breaking up with her? Why?" Pam asked him annoyed. "She's lovely, I LOVE her!"

"I'm not breaking up with her." Punk said annoyed. "Just let me spit it out."

"Alright." Pam said to him. "I'm all ears."

"I'm going to propose." Punk confided and Pam clapped her hands together happily.

"Really?" She asked in awe with glassy eyes.

"Yea, she's amazing." Punk said simply. "I can't envision life without her."

"That's great." Pam squealed. "She really is lovely. Myself and your sisters love her."

"Everyone loves her." Punk forced out.

"So, you bought me to lunch to tell me?" Pam asked him.

"Well, we've been together almost a year is it too soon? Will I scare her off?" Punk asked her.

"She picked up and moved across the country for you." Pam scoffed. "Commitment won't scare her she's probably waiting for it."

"I just don't want to blow it." Punk insisted.

"You two live together, you're happy together, marriage is the next step then grandchildren for me." Pam added.

"One step at a time." Punk warned. "I've never even considered doing this before I don't know how to do it."

"If you never thought about it why are you doing it?" Pam asked him curiously.

"Because I love her. And the other night she was laying down next to me talking about her day and our dog was at the foot of our bed and I decided in that moment I wanted to hear about her day everyday. I can't imagine her not being there." Punk said to her and Pam's face lit up.

"That's the reason to propose for sure." Pam confirmed. "Also, to answer your question you get down on one knee and ask." She teased.

"Yea I know that but I need a ring." Punk said to her.

"You didn't look at rings?" Pam asked.

"I don't know her ring size or taste. She doesn't wear much jewelry." Punk told her.

"She looks to be about 6 in size but if that doesn't fit you just have the ring sized." Pam explained. "Did you look at shops?"

"No." Punk said to her.

"We'll look after lunch." Pam said to him. "How much are you looking to spend?"

"I'm not worried about the money aspect." Punk confided. "You know I'm a saver."

"You don't want to blow all your savings on that though. You'll have a wedding to pay for. I mean of course I'll help out with that-" Pam began.

"Ma, I'm not worried about that shit. I'm just worried about her not saying yes." Punk said to her and his phone pinged and he looked down.

"What's wrong?" Pam asked seeing he frowned.

"It's from Ape. She said 'don't believe what Dean says to you, I was smart and safe. Be home soon'." Punk groaned typing back.

"What does that mean?" Pam asked.

"It means she got into trouble working her case." Punk said then decided to call her but she sent him to voicemail. "Pain in my ass."

"Hurry and eat I want to look at rings before you change your mind." Pam told him eagerly.

"I have to call Dean first and make sure she's really alright." Punk said calling Dean.

AJ walked into the apartment quietly, with speaking to the police and being there to support Peyton she was gone until well after ten.

"This was our day off together." Punk said from the couch as he kept his eyes on the TV.

"I know and I'm sorry I didn't plan on going to Union but it was your girlfriend I was trying to protect!" She defended and he glared at her. "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry." She said rushing next to him on the couch. "I have such a good reason and I'll tell you the story."

"I spoke to Dean." Punk informed her. "I know what happened, you're….." He trailed off looking at her and she became nervous. "….one of the most selfless and brave people I know." he said with a light smile and she felt relief. "I heard you were a hero."

"I wouldn't call me a hero. The police who showed up thanks to Dean are the heroes. I just bought Peyton some time." AJ said to him.

"You alright?" He asked her tucking her hair behind her ear.

"I am." AJ assured him. "No lecture? No bitching?"

"You told Dean where you were going, you protected yourself and someone else. How can I bitch about that?" He asked her.

"I was really scared to come home and now I see it was for nothing." She said relieved and he frowned.

"I never want you to be afraid to come home to me." He told her seriously. "I know I'm a pain in the ass when it comes to your safety but I'm working on it."

"Don't feel bad about caring about me." AJ said to him.

"I want to know about your day and what went on. Tell me everything." He encouraged.

"Seriously?" She asked.

"I'm invested in you." Punk told her simply. "Start from the beginning."

AJ spent twenty minutes going over everything with Punk from start to finish and unlike Elliot, Punk was fully engaging and interested in her story.

"So what is going to happen with Jack?" Punk asked her.

"Right now he'll be with Jason's parents until they work something out with Peyton." AJ told him. "His parents are older and don't want to raise a kid I think they'll come to an agreement with Peyton."

"Jason probably won't do time for this." Punk warned her.

"Yea but he's had so many marks on his record he won't get custody of Jack no matter what." AJ told him. "Jason turned into like a monster. He was so charming to me for two days then today he would have knocked me out."

"Yea, men will usually charm you like that to get you into bed. They don't take to rejection well." Punk informed her. "I see it all of the time. You were lucky Dean called the local PD."

"I should have done it." AJ admitted.

"You should." Punk agreed. "But now next time you know. I'm sure having a man push you around wasn't a good feeling and I'm also sure it bought back bad memories."

"It didn't." AJ admitted. "I know I froze up the other day but today all I could think about was making sure he didn't hurt Peyton, is that weird?"

"No." He said to her. "You're a hero."

"Please all I did was grab him to get pushed down." She scoffed.

"You put yourself in harms way for another person." Punk corrected.

"She's really good around the office." AJ teased and he smiled a bit.

"You're brave." He informed her. "You don't even see how amazing you are and it's frustrating."

"I wouldn't say that." She said to him. "What did you do today?" She asked him. "Your first day off and no me to entertain you."

"I had lunch with my mom." He told her. "We went shopping and then I came home and waited for you. I wanted to drive down to Union but I also wanted you to have space to do your job."

"Well I appreciate that." AJ said to him. "What were you shopping for? Was it a present for me?" She teased.

"Maybe." He smirked.

"Can I have it?" She asked anxiously.

"No." He laughed. "It was new bowls and a bed for Larry." He pointed to the new items.

"Oh, lame." She frowned.

"I think you owe me a present for making me worry all day." He argued lightly.

"I didn't want you to worry that's why I texted you." She reminded him.

"Oh yea that was very comforting when you turned your phone off right after." He mocked.

"You have a far more dangerous job than I have." AJ argued.

"I don't know." He laughed. "You seem to be living more dangerously than I do."

"Nah." She said to him. "Today was a fluke."

"Sure." He scoffed. "Did you eat at all today?"

"I did." She told him. "I had lunch."

"No dinner?" He frowned.

"Nope." She shrugged. "It's ok-"

"I'll make you pancakes." He offered.

"Pancakes for late night dinner?" She asked intrigued.

"Yup." He said standing up.

"So, I got paid today by Peyton's parents." AJ told him following him over to the kitchen and sitting on a stool at the counter.

"Good." Punk teased.

"It was a good check and I got a bonus." She informed him. "So I've put money aside for paying Peyton to help me out, rent for the office and the apartment and I still have a decent amount left over."

"Are you rubbing it in?" He asked curiously.

"No! I was just thinking we could go away." She suggested. "My treat."

Going away with AJ sounded amazing, but it would spoil the plans he put into place to propose which he was planning on doing this weekend.

"I know you're only off this weekend and I can move some things around-" She began.

"No." He said to her quickly and she frowned. "I have to go in Saturday night now."

"Saturday night?" She asked.

"Yea." He shrugged. "Dean needed the night and I have to meet a CI. It's important."

"Oh, ok." She said to him. "No big deal." She said trying to brush it off.

"But we'll have dinner Saturday night." He clarified quickly and she eyed him.

"You just said you had to work." She pointed out.

"Yea but that's earlier in the evening so don't rush off and take a case." He warned. "It's an important dinner."

"Did we discuss the dinner?" She asked confused.

"No it's just dinner with my mom." He told her making it up as he went. He was finding it very difficult to lie to her.

"Dinner with Pam?" AJ asked then smiled. "Cool, I love her." she said to him. "Is everything ok?"

"Yea." Punk said grabbing supplies to cook.

AJ grabbed the mail on the counter and froze when she heard a knock on their door.

"Who is coming by at this time?" She asked Punk who dropped what he was doing and walked over to the door and peeked through the peephole. "Who is it?"

"Two people I'd rather not see." Punk groaned opening the door to reveal Finn Balor and Mayor Bret Daniels.