Back At It

"Hello, April." Eliza greeted with a sly smile. "It's a bit early before the trial."

"I'm here to pack up some of my mom's things. You remember her, don't you?" AJ asked coldly.

"April, I didn't kill your mother. Richard McCall did." Eliza said brushing it off. "I've physically done nothing."

"You may not have pulled the trigger but you loaded the gun." AJ snapped coldly. "And what about all that physical activity you had with my father?"

"That's a conversation you should really have with him." She said standing up and walking over to her and spotted the ring on her hand. "Do not tell me my son married you."

"I see you two have remained close." AJ remarked. "My personal life isn't your business. Your personal life got my mom killed and almost me."

"I didn't touch you, April." She reminded AJ.

"Where is Dickie McCall?" AJ asked her.

"I don't know." Eliza stated with a shrug.

"Why my mom?" AJ asked her. "She never hurt you. You could have had my father."

"Your mother wasn't as perfect as you have painted in your mind." Eliza remarked. "She was awful to me."

"You were sleeping with her husband!" AJ yelled.

"Your mother and father had a terrible marriage if they didn't then I wouldn't have been in the middle of it." Eliza reminded her. "I didn't hurt your mother, that will be clear at the trial."

"Stop lying." AJ warned her. "I'm so sick of you." she spat. "You don't look like you even give a shit that I lost her."

"Look where I am and what I've lost." Eliza remarked and AJ narrowed her eyes at her.

"How dare you." AJ stated disgusted.

"Why are you here, April?" Eliza asked. "You want sympathy? I think the whole country has given you that including my husband and son. You get to live your life."

"I got married yesterday and my mom wasn't there." AJ informed her. "And it made me sick to stomach to even invite my father."

"Your father loves you." Eliza assured her and AJ glared at her. "Not as much as he loves me, but he does love you."

"You are mentally ill." AJ stated.

"He came to see me when I was first arrested." Eliza pointed out.

"To kill you." AJ snapped.

"Do you think he didn't know?" Eliza asked her. "Do you think him and I didn't discuss almost nightly how wonderful life would be if your mother wasn't in the picture?" She asked AJ. "The things he would tell me about her and how he wanted to be part of your life but she wouldn't let him. She was terrible and your father wanted her gone. So however much involvement you think you had in this just remember your father had just the same yet I don't see him here."

AJ was speechless and was not expecting that.

"He wanted her to leave him alone. She was hateful and angry and couldn't let him be in peace even when he left town. I wouldn't do anything to her without your father encouraging it." Eliza said to her. "Not that I had anything to do with anything."

"You did." AJ said to her trying to catch her breath from what she said but she didn't want Eliza to see how it got to her.

"I spoke hypothetically to Mr. McCall is he acted on that that's on him and not him. He clearly wasn't stable." Eliza told her. "The jury will see it that way as well."

AJ spit directly through the bars and Eliza gasped.

"You're an animal….just like your mother." Eliza spat cleaning off her face.

"I promise you that you will go to prison for the rest of your life and I will be there every day at the trial and I will cry to that jury and I will milk it." AJ warned. "You're going to burn in hell." she told her then stormed off.

AJ made it upstairs and stormed right out of the station and Punk chased her out.

"Ape!" He yelled chasing after her but she didn't stop. "Ape, wait!" He yelled louder and he caught her arm finally.

"Phil." She sobbed.

"I heard what she said." Punk said to her and she felt her knees go out but he caught her. "She's a liar, Ape." He reminded her holding her. "She's a killer. She'll say or do anything to get out of this."

"She didn't tell the police she told him." She cried. "If she thought it would help her she would have!"

"She only told you that to get under your skin like I warned you she would." He reminded her.

"She's so hateful." AJ seethed. "She doesn't even feel bad."

"Most killers don't feel bad." He reminded her. "That's how they're able to do what they do."

"I believe her." AJ told him and he frowned. "I told you something isn't right with my father. I believe he would have had a part in this."

"April…" He sighed.

"Phil, I know how I feel and I've felt it for a long time and I just needed to hear someone stay it out loud." She cried.

"I'll contact Agent Creed if that's what you want." He offered.

"I want to talk to him myself." She insisted.

"No." He told her quickly shaking his head. "This isn't some argument with your father you're accusing him of murder and I can't let you do that alone."

"Come with me." She told him.

"If he admits to anything it will mean nothing." He told her.

"I have to know, do you understand that?" She asked.

"I do." He nodded. "We'll figure something out."

"I feel like I can't breathe." She wept.

"Come on." He said leading her over to the bench. "We'll look into it." He said rubbing her back to sooth her and she reached over and threw up in the garbage pale next to the bench. "And now you're making yourself sick."

"She makes me sick." AJ said cleaning off around her mouth. "Can we just go? I can't be here a minute longer."

"Alright." He said to her.

"Celeste said we could stay with her but I want to get the hell out of this town." She told him standing up.

"Yea we can sleep at a motel out of town." He said standing up. "But I want to show you something first."

"Alright." She said taking his hand and letting him lead her towards the car.

Punk was parked outside of the house where Daria's body was discovered.

"What is this?" AJ asked.

"You had said you wanted to come back." Punk said to her and she looked to the 'crack' house and it was long gone. There was no building there at all. It was a garden.

"Wow." AJ said getting out of the car as did Punk.

"The town didn't want to keep the building standing and local schools volunteered and planted. It's actually nice." Punk said as they crossed the street together.

"It really is." AJ said in awe of it all. "It's so big."

"Yea." Punk agreed.

"I love that this happened." AJ said to him.

"Another woman who was found the same day as your mother, Janet Kaden, her parents helped fund the project." Punk informed her.

"How many people were found that day besides my mother?" AJ asked looking at the flowers.

"Eight." He told her. "All women."

"Were they all Dickie?" AJ asked him.

"No." Punk told her. "Most of the victims were young girls who ran away and got caught up in the house."

"It's awful." AJ said shaking her head. "All this time I thought about my mom but there were other people here that day. Seven other people lost someone."

"Yea. Not all the cases are solved either. But they're getting there." Punk assured her.

"This was the right thing to do." AJ said admiring the small garden.

"I thought you'd like it." He said to her.

"Thank you for taking me here." She said to him.

"Are you sure you don't want to go back to town?" He asked her.

"I'm sure." She said shaking her head. "I'll be spending enough time there as it is."

"About what Eliza said-" Punk began.

"I believe her, Phil." AJ told him calmly. "A part of me always felt it. Whether he knew she would do what she would do is one thing. But even in jest he said something he should have told the police when my mom went missing."

"You're right." Punk agreed.

"I know we're both too tired to drive let's just get a nice hotel room not a shitty motel room, order room service, have lots of wedding sex and then we can go home tomorrow." She suggested and he smiled a bit.

"You had me at food." He teased.

Back in Illinois AJ was at their new house waiting on a furniture delivery. It was boring work but Punk had to actually work and she was able to work in the empty house if she had to. She heard a noise while she was upstairs looking around her soon to be office. She went to reach for her phone but realized it was downstairs charging. The house was bare so she didn't have a weapon. She poked her head out of the door and heard more noise and froze. She was going to be killed in her empty home. She tiptoed out of the office and crept down the stairs so she could at least make it out the front door. As she reached the front door she heard another crash. She quickly reached for the front door when she felt someone pull on her shoulder.

"What the fuck, Dean!" AJ yelled placing her hand over her chest. "You scared me!"

"I'm sorry I wanted to test the security. It sucks." Dean informed her. "I also called your phone and you didn't answer and you didn't answer when I rang the bell."

"The bell?" She asked opening the door and pushing the button. "That's weird." She frowned. "It was working."

"I can take a look at it." Dean said to her.

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

"I can't just visit my sister?" Dean asked offended.

"Phil sent you to check in on me." AJ scoffed.

"No." Dean laughed nervously. "Why would he do that?"

"He thinks I'm crazy to believe Eliza." AJ said to him.

"He thinks you've been under so much pressure." Dean corrected. "You got married, you saw Eliza, you're moving, you're working like crazy. He's just worried."

"So he sent you here to give me a heart attack?" AJ asked.

"No. I told you that was accident." Dean said to her. "House is sweet though." He said looking around.

"Oh yea this is the first time you're seeing it." AJ smiled.

"It's very modern, I thought you would have wanted something farty." He shrugged.

"The outside is more rustic, inside is modern and it's perfect." AJ told him.

"This house is bigger than my old house and your old house combined." Dean noted. "Renee keeps going on and on about how this would be a perfect house for us."

"Are you ready for that?" AJ asked.

"No." Dean laughed. "But she gave me a drawer at her place so that's a step."

"Small steps." AJ nodded.

"This is a good house you got here." Dean noted. "Minus the shitty security."

"Phil had a state of the alarm system put in." AJ corrected.

"And it sucks I got in here." Dean said to her. "Back kitchen door which you left unlocked."

"No I didn't." She argued.

"Then how did I get in?" He asked.

"Weird." AJ frowned.

"Let me take a look around, you just wait here." Dean instructed her and she just nodded.

After checking the entire house inside and then going outside to check the rest of the property everything was normal.

"All good?" AJ asked and he nodded. "Can you fix the doorbell?"

"Right now?" Dean groaned.

"Yes because if Phil thinks its broke and his alarm system sucks he's going to get paranoid." AJ warned him. "There's a tool kit in the basement." She said with a hopeful smile.

"Fine, but you're buying me lunch." He said to her.

"Sure anything." She said to him. "But chicken." She warned. "I can't eat chicken it makes me sick lately."

"Right." Dean said eyeing her. "You said in the basement?"

"Yea." She pointed to the basement door.

Soon the furniture she was waiting on arrived along with a pizza she ordered for herself and Dean.

"So, are you still going to see Robert?" Dean asked.

"I am." She confirmed. "I would have gone already but he's out of town visiting his sister."

"Right." Dean said taking a bite out of the pizza. "You know Eliza is a cold calculating bitch, right?"

"Dean, I know." She insisted. "But I believe her for some reason so I have to look into it."

"I saw your mom's desk upstairs." Dean said to her.

"Fits perfect here, doesn't it?" AJ asked and he nodded.

"She'd love that you have it." Dean said to her.

"Did I tell you how mom's like a celebrity?" AJ asked him with a laugh.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked.

"Dean, there's hundreds of people that come to town and go to her grave and stuff. She's like this famous murder case that people have latched onto. People go on like a tour of her final hours it's wild." She told him. "And her grave is covered in flowers."

"That's creepy." Dean said seriously.

"But sweet." AJ said to him. "So when the trial comes around you're best staying with Celeste. Motels are already all booked."

"Wild." Dean remarked taking another bite of his pizza. "How is Celeste?"

"She's good." AJ nodded along. "Trying to talk her into visiting for a long weekend or something."

"She'd like it here." Dean said to her. "So how is married life?"

"We've been so busy we've barely been able to enjoy any of it." AJ admitted. "But after Eliza's trial it will be quieter."

"Will it?" Dean asked with a knowing smile.

"Yes…" She trailed off and eyed him with confusion. "Why not?"

"I mean, come on." Dean insisted. "You're pregnant."

"What?" She laughed.

"You can't eat chicken, Punk said you threw up in Jersey, you don't remember leaving the doors unlocked. Come on, you can tell me." Dean said to her.

"I'm not pregnant." AJ insisted. "Does Phil think I'm pregnant?"

"No he hasn't said a thing I just assumed it was because you wanted to tell me I'd be a uncle." Dean shrugged.

"I'm not pregnant." She said to him with a roll of her eyes. "I got my period a week before our wedding, sorry to crush your dreams."

"Damn." Dean said shaking his head. "I could have sworn you were."

"Is Renee pregnant?" She asked and he froze.

"Why? Did she say she was?" Dean asked standing up. "We are SO careful!"

"No I'm just assuming like you are." AJ said to him. "My stomach is weak because I had to look that woman in the eye."

"The Daniels family makes me sick too." Dean agreed. "Have you heard from Elliot?"

"Nope." AJ said to him.

"I'm surprised he didn't run in and try to object to your wedding." Dean admitted.

"I think we've both moved on." AJ said to him. "I have bigger things to worry about."

"For what it's worth I don't think your dad had anything to do with your mom." Dean said to her and she looked back at him.

"I think you and Phil are really amazing men. And you couldn't imagine doing something like Robert did, I think he's very charming to you and Phil and you both refuse to believe it. I choose to." AJ told him.

"I think you have a lot of resentment towards him and I get that." Dean said to her. "I think you're looking to paint him as a bad guy."

"He is though." AJ insisted. "You're telling me that he was with Eliza Daniels for so many years and he didn't once suspect she was a monster? I've been with Phil for over a year and I know him. I'd know if I was laying down next to a monster."

"He's a guy." Dean reminded her.

"He's been trying too hard." AJ said to Dean. "And I couldn't figure it out. Why would he show up when Phil was shot when he didn't even show up for mom? Why did he show up to give me a check? I could have used that money when mom first went missing and I struggled to keep the lights on. Why now? Why when I have a business and a partner who clearly makes decent money?"

"I don't know." Dean admitted. "You know him better than I do."

"I do." She agreed.

"Then I think you should call Agent Creed." Dean said to her.

"Did Phil send you here with a script?" AJ asked him unamused.

"April, Phil is worried about you but we think the same." Dean said to her. "I can't imagine Robert having anything to do with Daria."

"I can." AJ shrugged. "And I'll prove it."

"I don't want to fight with you on this." Dean said to her.

"Me either." AJ agreed.

"So, when is moving day?" He asked.

"Friday." AJ told him "And I know you're off and Renee is off and you're both helping."

"Crap." Dean muttered.

"I want this move to be perfect for Phil." AJ told him. "Please just help me?"

"Yea, yea whatever." He groaned. "You did well for yourself."

"I could never afford this house." AJ scoffed. "Phil did well for himself."

"I hate to break this news to you but most married couples couldn't afford a house like this on one salary." Dean told her seriously. "That's why you get married. You share things, like a house and toothbrushes."

"I don't share my toothbrush." She said disgusted. "That's not something married people do."

"Oh, damn." Dean shrugged.

"I was worried you were both kidnapped and dead." Punk said annoyed walking through the front door. "Neither of you can answer your phones?"

"I had mine off." Dean shrugged.

"Mine is charging." AJ shrugged like Dean.

"Your alarm system sucks." Dean told him and Punk frowned.

"Dean!" AJ hissed.

"And I fixed your doorbell but the wire was cut." Dean added.

"I asked you not to do that." AJ said to Dean.

"I'm a shitty liar." Dean shrugged. "Pizza?" He asked Punk.

"Tell me about my alarm system." Punk said and followed Dean through the kitchen.

"They're so annoying." AJ groaned and picked up a fifth slice of pizza for herself.

That night back at the loft AJ was finishing up packing and Punk was cleaning.

"Are we missing anything?" AJ asked him.

"If we are we can come back we're only twenty minutes away." Punk reminded her.

"I know you think I'm crazy." AJ said looking at the box she was labeling and he stopped what he was doing to look at her. "I'm sorry I'm looking for trouble by confronting my father and you don't think I'm right and it stresses you out but I have to do this, you understand that right?"

"I do." Punk agreed. "And I don't think you're crazy or looking for trouble. I think you're brave, too brave. You're not going to get the answers you want out of doing this and I feel like you're setting yourself up for disappointment and I hate seeing you sad."

"Something doesn't add up." AJ said looking towards him now. "I have to figure it out."

"I respect that about you." Punk said to her. "I don't' like it but I respect it."

"I'm a handful." She reminded him and he laughed.

"Yea I knew what I was signing up for." He teased. "I want to talk about the house. Someone shut off that alarm system and cut the doorbell."

"Ugh, I did not do that." She said to him.

"I do not think you did." He said to her.

"It's probably just kids in the area." AJ shrugged.

"Pretty smart kids to turn off an alarm system that's coded." Punk said to her.

"Maybe it was a mistake at the alarm company." AJ suggested.

"Oh, they'll be hearing from me first thing in the morning." Punk told her. "I looked into your dad's travel plans." He let out and she looked back at him again. "He'll be home Thursday."

"Good." AJ said nodding already starting to lose her nerve already.

"And I am going with you." Punk reminded her. "So don't try to run off without me." He warned.

"I wouldn't do that." She said to him. "Ok old single me would have but married me would never."

"Right." He remarked.

"Would you share your toothbrush with me?" She asked bluntly and he let out a loud laugh.

"Have you lost yours?"He asked amused.

"No. But I mentioned to Dean how married couples share everything and he drew the line at toothbrushes." She told him.

"If you needed my toothbrush I would share it." He told her and she smiled triumphantly.

"I consume all of your bodily fluids anyway." He shrugged.

"Want to consume now?" She asked anxiously. "That's my way of asking for sex."

"I got that." Punk said walking over to her and helping her up. "You don't have to ask by the way, whenever you're in the mood just pull my pants down."

"Noted." She giggled as he lifted her over his shoulder and dumped her in the middle of the bed.