Faces Of The Past

Punk was laying on the couch with Larry at his feet and a pillow propping up his shoulder. He didn't feel much pain, he wasn't unable to do for himself but AJ taking care of him kept her busy and sane. Jack from across the hall picked up on a lot of walking Larry duties to help out and Peyton was working at AJ's office vetting clients upon her return.

"Hot off the stove." AJ smiled walking over with a tray.

"Soup?" He frowned.

"Chicken noddle soup. My mom used to make it for me when I wasn't feeling good." She said placing the try over his lap.

"Ape, it's been a day I'm ok." Punk laughed.

"Please let me do this." She sighed.

"I'm not complaining. I like being spoiled." Punk shrugged taking the spoon and trying the soup. "This is amazing."

"Good." She said placing her hands on her hips. "I did the laundry, cooked, paid the bills-"

"Ape it's one day." Punk reminded her with a laugh.

"Again this keeps me sane." AJ reminded him.

"Right." Punk said to her.

"So I was thinking since you're laid up on the couch we can start really discussing wedding dates." She suggested.

"Whenever you want." He said keeping his eyes on the hockey game. "Give me a date and time and I'll be there you can handle the rest."

"I can't plan a whole wedding alone." She said to him.

"I thought we were going to do the roof?" He asked.

"We are but we'll still have a few guests we need to consider food and music." She reminded him.

"We'll cater it get a bunch of shit sent over and play a boombox." He shrugged.

"A boombox? How old are you?" AJ asked seriously.

"Whatever you want." He said to her.

"I don't want to wait forever." She said sitting next to him.

"I don't want to wait forever either." He agreed.

"If the other night taught me anything it's that wasting time is stupid." She told him.

"I'll marry you this very second. In our sweats." He told her and she smiled a bit.

"Well not that fast. I want a pretty dress and I want people to do my hair and makeup because I've never had my hair or makeup done." She told him.

"You don't need it but you deserve it if you want it." He told her.

"Any update on Jason?" AJ asked.

"The guy is going to prison for a long time." Punk confirmed. "He can't even fight it. He shot a cop there's no way out for him."

"Good." She said relieved.

"You know, I didn't want to bring it up because I know this is all still so traumatizing for you." Punk began. "But this could have ended very badly."

"I know! You could have died." She agreed.

"I mean for you if I wasn't here." Punk corrected. "You really have to be so careful before you go running out after people."

"I can't turn it off. I see someone who needs help I feel it's my duty to help." She shrugged.

"Call the police first." Punk insisted. "If I wasn't here he would have executed you, you get that right?"

"I don't think he would have." AJ said with a wave of her hand.

"He shot me, he would have shot you." Punk argued. "What are we going to do about that?"

"What do you mean?" She asked confused.

"We need to discuss threats and risks." He said to her. "Starting with maybe where we're living."

"What?" She asked caught off guard.

"I'd like to live in a place where not anyone can walk up to the door with a gun." Punk said to her.

"Anyone can walk up to a house if we lived in one with a gun." AJ pointed out. "We just got settled together here. We're getting married here."

"I know but there's roofs anywhere." Punk said to her.

"We don't have enough for a house." AJ said to him. "I was hoping our next move would be our last move and we'd have a house we need a few more years before that."

"We don't need a few years." Punk corrected. "I have money."

"I know how much you make." She said to him cutely. "We need a few more years to afford a good home in a good neighborhood around here."

"Ape, I have a savings account." Punk pointed out. "We really should go over financial stuff since we're getting married."

"How much could you possibly have?" AJ asked as Punk showed her his bank statement online and her eyes widened. "Why do you have so much money?"

"It's not millions or anything but I used to rob banks." He lied with ease and she glared at him. "My birth grandparents on my mom's side had money and left me money when they passed away. I didn't need it I make good money contrary to what you think."

"Well I don't want you buying me a house." AJ said passing him back his phone. "I want to contribute. A few more high end cases I'll have a good amount."

"I don't like living here when anyone can come in here." Punk said to her. "I want a place with a security system."

"A house isn't anymore safe." AJ insisted. "Anyone can break in."

"Did you hear my whole sentence before about a security system?" He asked amused. "My ultimate goal in life is to keep you safe." he told her seriously. "I can't do that in here obviously."

"I really don't want to move yet." AJ said to him simply. "I have a great view here." She said gesturing to the window. "And we're all in one room here-"

"So, we get married and then have a baby. Where is the baby going?" He asked casually as he sipped his soup. AJ looked around the loft and pointed after a moment. "We'll get rid of that table and the crib will go there."

"Right near the window with the fire escape so any child abductor can sneak in?" Punk asked her calmly. "Not where I'd want to put my kid but whatever."

"I like it here." She sighed. "It's so pretty."

"We can make anywhere pretty." He reminded her. "We have the funds to move and with the cases you work it's best we're in a safer place."

"I feel safe here." She insisted.

"You feel safe here?" He asked and she nodded. "I got gunned down twenty feet from this couch and you feel safe?"

"Can we not talk about this right now?" She asked getting up.

"Why not? When is the time to discuss it?" He asked her and on cue there was a knock at the door.

"Now isn't the time clearly." She said annoying him. She looked through the peephole and groaned. "Crap."

"What? Who is it?" He asked her concerned about to reach for his gun.

"No need for your gun." AJ assured him opening the door to reveal her father. "Robert."

"Dad." He corrected. "Hi, sweetheart."

"What are you doing here?" AJ asked him.

"I heard about Phil on the news. I wanted to see if you were ok." Robert told her.

AJ looked back at Punk who was watching from the door and let out a sigh.

"Why don't you come in." AJ offered stepping aside and Robert was surprised but delighted and stepped in.

"Phil, how are you?" Robert asked walking over to him.

"I'm doing well, I'm in good hands." Punk smirked shaking his hand with his one good hand.

"The news made it sound very grime." Robert explained. "I started driving down right away but my car kept acting up. I just got into town."

"He's fine." AJ said to him. "You could have called."

"And say what?" Robert asked with a sad smile. "I also don't think you would have answered."

"That is true." AJ agreed folding her arms and that's when Robert saw the ring.

"That's new." Robert nodded at her hand.

"Oh, yea." AJ smiled looking at the ring.

"Congratulations." Robert told her. "Both of you." He added looking at Punk.

"Thank you." Punk answered when AJ wouldn't.

"Your mother is smiling down I'm sure." Robert told her.

"Maybe. I guess I'll never know." AJ remarked with bitter in her voice.

"Are you in town for long?" Punk asked from the couch.

"A couple of days at least. It took me so long to get here and my car is getting fixed up." Robert explained.

AJ looked at Punk unsure of what to say and Punk just nodded.

"Do you want soup?" AJ forced out. "It's mom's recipe." She wouldn't even make eye contact with her father.

"I'd love some." Robert said accepting the offer.

An hour later Robert and Punk were watching the game and AJ was glaring at the two while she cleaned. Her father didn't get a pass as far as she was concerned but she also didn't want to cause a scene as Punk rested. She did find it nice her father would drive all the way to Chicago to check in on her, it was the most fatherly thing he's ever done for her. It was mildly comforting that her father still cared but she still had a lot of anger.

"If you don't mind me asking, was you getting shot a fluke or was it potentially this McCall guy?" Robert questioned Punk.

"Oh, no this had nothing to do with me." Punk told him loudly. "It's why I want to move."

"It's not why you want to move." AJ scoffed cleaning down the counter.

"It was an angry client of AJ's." Punk told Robert. "He actually was pointing his gun at her."

"April?" Robert questioned hoping this wasn't true.

"My client was the woman across the hall and it as her ex." AJ corrected. "But you sleep easy it had nothing to do with McCall or the Daniels or your girlfriend for that matter."

"She's not my girlfriend." Robert groaned. "Why are you working cases with people who have guns?"

"Most people have guns. This is America." She remarked sarcastically. "I don't want to talk about it." she said annoyed.

"Alright." Robert said to her. "So, when is the big day?"

"We don't know. Phil is too busy to pick a day." AJ said to Robert but glared at Punk..

"I'd rather pick a date when I'm living in a bigger place." Punk said back to Robert but also looking at AJ.

"What does where we live have to do with the wedding?" AJ asked.

"We can't get married on the roof here if we're not living here. That would be awkward." Punk defended lightly.

"We're not moving. I love this place." AJ argued.

"It's not safe." Punk argued back and Robert remained silent.

"Then I guess we're not getting married." AJ said simply and began to walk off then stopped.

"If we had a bigger place there would be a room for you to storm into and slam the door." Punk teased and AJ glared at him as she stomped into the bathroom and slammed the door.

"I didn't mean to upset her." Robert said to Punk with a frown.

"You didn't." Punk assured him. "She's mad at me because I'm right. She's also still shook up from seeing me get shot. It looked a lot worse than it felt."

"Why does she want to stay here?" Robert asked. "I'd assume even with Dickie McCall out there she'd want to move around."

"She loves the building." Punk shrugged. "It's just not an ideal building to get married in and start a family. I want something safer. Somewhere that someone can't climb fire escape and knock on our window or you know walk up to AJ and point their gun at her."

"She won't move until she has money." Robert warned him. "I'm sure you have good intentions but she won't take a handout even if it's from her future husband. She's been like that since she was a kid. She wouldn't take anything from anybody. It's probably why her and the Elliot kid didn't work out."

"Why?" Punk asked. "It's not charity she's going to be my wife."

"She was raised to be independent." Robert said to her. "Daria was very big on that especially when she got serious with Elliot. She didn't want AJ to think she needed to accept anything. My mother would give AJ a birthday card for her birthday and AJ would sneak the money back in her purse."

"She's cute." Punk had to laugh a bit.

"She'll come around." Robert told him. "Let her just absorb everything first."

"I'm just trying to do right by her." Punk told him quietly knowing AJ was probably listening.

"Like I said she just need a little time." Robert said quietly back and stood up. "Thank you for the hospitality it was more than what I was expecting. I'm glad to see you're on the mend."

"Thanks." Punk said shaking his hand.

"April, I'm going to leave." Robert said knocking on the bathroom door.

"Bye!" She yelled through the door.

"I'll be in town a few days I think I'll come by again." Robert warned the both of them then left.

"Are you going to stay in there all night?" Punk asked finally getting up and knocking on the door.

"If I want to." AJ replied back.

"I'm not trying to take anything away from you." Punk said to the door and she remained silent. "I want to invest in our future. It's all I look forward to." He said and again was met with silence. "When I was hanging on to dear life after being mortally wounded all I could think of was us getting a house."

"Please, you weren't mortally wounded you didn't even realize you were shot since you hit your head." She scoffed.

"Fine." Punk agreed. "Ape, I'm not Elliot." He assured her. "I'm not looking to take away from you, I'm not looking to have something and throw it in your face like I assume he used to do. And from what little I know of your mother I'm sure she raised you to be independent and not take but you're not taking, you're giving."

AJ opened the door on a crack and made eye contact with him.

"I want to find something a bit bigger and somewhere where I'm not afraid you're going to get jumped in the elevator or shot walking down the hall. I've come to far to be with you to lose you over a view." He said to her.

"I want to contribute." AJ said to him. "I don't want to be with a man who thinks he's in charge of the relationship because he has more money. I make good money."

"I know you do." He laughed. "But we're getting married. What's mine is yours. And trust me there is no way I feel I'm in charge of you or this relationship."

"Can we hold it?" She asked him. "I want to save a little more."

"Ape our money is going to be in one place soon." Punk laughed. "I want to start married life with you fresh. I want to have not a house with you but a home." he told her and her face softened. "I want to paint rooms and pick furniture, I want to feel safe with you working late, I want to step into a hallway I wasn't shot in."

And that's when it hit AJ. She was so worried about her feelings over this she never considered how scary this was for him. AJ opened the door fully and looked at him.

"I didn't think about that." AJ said to him. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry." He said to her. "But yea seeing where I could have died over something so silly and almost losing it all is something I don't want to look at every morning."

"I get it." AJ sighed. "You have to take my savings."

"I'm not taking your savings." He laughed. "You're keeping that. You have a business to run, you have an employee and this isn't the only thing we're ever going to buy."

"Ok." AJ said to him and let out a breath. "I'm paying for the wedding."

"What?" He laughed. "It's my wedding too."

"So? This is going to be my house too. I'll pay for the wedding or we have no deal." She threatened.

"Deal." He agreed.

"Want to shake on it?" She asked sticking her hand out.

"I want to do more than shake." He said licking his lips.

"Please." She laughed walking by him. "No physical activity for one week." She reminded him.

"Right." He frowned.

The next morning Punk was up before AJ and made sure she was still slipping when he slipped out of bed and grabbed Larry's leash to walk him. This was his only chance of freedom since AJ was keeping a close eye on him. He grabbed Larry and the leash and opened the apartment door.

"We need to be quiet." Punk told Larry as he attached his leash.

"Hey, that's my job." Teenage Jack said to Punk.

"And it is. I just need to get out for like ten minutes or AJ is going to make me jump out the window." Punk informed him.

"I'm sorry my dad hurt you." Jack said to him as Punk stood up holding onto Jack's leash.

"You have nothing to apologize for." Punk said to him with ease. "It's not up to you to apologize for him. You're your own person."

"Still." Jack shrugged.

"Look, I had a shitty dad." Punk confided. "If I went around apologizing to everything my father did I'd have no time to have a life." He teased lightly but Jack didn't crack a smile.

"He's never shot anyone before." Jack told him and Punk nodded.

"Look, like I said what your dad did isn't on you." Punk told him. "I'm fine."

"You're a cop, do you think I'll ever see him again?" Jack asked.

"I don't know. That's up to your mom and you. There's no rush." Punk told him. "Just listen to your mom she's going to have your best interests at heart."

"I don't really know her." Jack confided.

"I've known her for a long time." Punk informed him. "She's really nice and kind you're very lucky."

"She seems cool." Jack shrugged.

"Give her a chance." Punk insisted.

"I will." Jack agreed. "So do I get to walk Larry later?"

"Yea, lunch and dinner but morning is me. AJ won't let me out of the house." Punk told him honestly.

"Aren't you a grown up?" Jack asked with a scuff.

"Wait a few years when you have a girlfriend. You'll realize you're no longer the bus." Punk warned him then hurried down the hall with Larry.

When Punk made it back up to the apartment he saw a man outside of his apartment door hesitating to knock. Punk narrowed his eyes as he got closer and realized who it was.

"You lost?" Punk asked startling the man who jumped.

"I just wanted to check on AJ. I'm in town on business and wanted to stop by." Elliot told him.

"You heard I was shot and wanted to swoop in." Punk corrected fishing for his keys in his pocket.

"Don't be ridiculous." Elliot remarked.

"Am I?" Punk asked. "The news painted it like I was on my deathbed. I'm sure you couldn't wait for the full story before you borrowed some of daddy's money and flew out here."

"I was worried about AJ. I wanted to make sure it wasn't Richard McCall." Elliot said to him.

"Dickie McCall doesn't strike me on being a bad shot." Punk said to him. "Why would you think Dickie? Why would your mind go there first?"

"Why wouldn't it?" Elliot asked back.

"My shooting and McCall have nothing to do with each other." Punk informed him. "Sorry to let you down by being alive."

"It's not a let down." Elliot said to him. "I don't want AJ to hurt."

"Who are you talking to?" AJ asked swinging the door open and seeing Punk and Elliot. "Ugh." She groaned.

"I'm in town on business." Elliot defended.

"Aren't you always." AJ remarked. "Were you walking Larry?" She asked Punk now.

"No." Punk laughed walking past her into the apartment.

"I was sorry to hear about Detective Brooks." Elliot told her.

"Me too." AJ agreed. "He took a bullet for me."

"How romantic." Elliot remarked sarcastically then saw her left hand. "You're engaged?"

"I am." AJ confirmed proudly.

"How is that possible?" Elliot asked her.

"He asked and I said yes." AJ shrugged.

"April." Elliot frowned. "What are you doing?"

"I'm living my best life." AJ informed him.

"You wouldn't even discuss engagements with me." Elliot said to her.

"It's different. You and I were never going to work." AJ told him. "Did you see us living happily ever after?"

"I did." Elliot agreed.

"I didn't. I saw you running for Mayor, putting me under pressure to be perfect and stay home so I can work your campaign and show up to fancy events." AJ said to him.

"What's so wrong with that?" Elliot asked with a light smile.

"The fact that I wouldn't be living your life but yours and I resent you for it." AJ told him. "Phil supports my work. My work is what got him shot actually."

"Sounds dangerous." Elliot frowned. "That's what I always feared."

"Phil wants me to work and be happy." AJ told him. "You would come down here to Chicago and you couldn't wait to get away from me for a bit and you can't deny it." She said to him. "I know you loved me but we were just comfortable together. I know you were with other women when you came to Chicago and it didn't bother me in the slightest." She laughed a bit. "I wasn't jealous or angry I just didn't care. You wanted me to be your picture perfect wife, that's not who I am."

"You don't think he's not expecting the same?" Elliot asked.

"He knows I'm far from it." AJ laughed a bit. "I'm lucky he tolerates me."

"He's lucky to have you." Elliot corrected. "I really do wish you the best. I still think we could have worked out."

"I think your mom having my mom killed kind of axed that." AJ teased lightly. "I'll be back in New Jersey for your mothers trial." She warned.

"I know." Elliot said to her. "I was hoping the next time you came to New Jersey you'd be staying for good."

"The next time she comes to New Jersey she won't be a Mendez." Punk said walking up behind AJ.

"So I've been told." Elliot forced out. "You're a very lucky man."

"I know." Punk agreed.

"Goodbye, Elliot." AJ said with a sad smile and closed the door.

A/N: Thank you for the reviews! It's always appreciated :)