Uncomfortable

"What are you two girlies gossiping about in here?" Renee asked, getting home from the grocery store to find Dean and Punk in the kitchen.

"Nothing." Punk waved his hand.

"He thinks some guy at April's work is trying to woo her." Dean nodded to Renee who laughed.

"Why is that funny?" Punk asked.

"It's just funny that this is an actual dilemma you're having." Renee said, sitting the grocery bags on the kitchen table as Dean looked in them curiously, "I mean it's you and April. I think you guys are above that sort of drama." She said.

"It's not drama. Of course I've told her that it doesn't bother me." Punk said, "And… it doesn't, for the most part." He said, "It's just… knowing this guy was dating her and spending time with her… sleeping with her." He groaned, "Being around my kids." He shook his head, "And now he's back and chatting up a storm with her in her office. It's weird. Tell me it's not weird."

"It's not weird." Renee nodded.

"Oh, ok. So if Dean here comes home and tells you he's now working with a chick he used to date then you'd be fine with it?" Punk folded his arms.

"I actually never dated anyone before her." Dean raised his hand as Punk rolled his eyes.

"Ok… then a chick that he'd slept with." Punk rephrased as Renee thought about it.

"Aren't they either dead or in prison?" She clarified with her husband.

"Yeah." Dean nodded, "Well some of them might be out of prison." He thought to himself, "There was that chick who was like forty." He turned to Punk.

"She scared me." Punk nodded to Dean.

"She fucking scared me." Dean shook his head.

"Ok, back to the point." Punk said.

"I wouldn't be worried or mad about it, Phil. We're all adults. Pretty old adults-"

"I'm not old." Dean mumbled.

"I mean what do you think is actually gonna happen?" Renee shook her head.

"He might think he still has a shot." Punk shrugged.

"And you think April is gonna ditch you and go be with him then?" Renee asked, slightly amused.

"No." Punk shook his head, "No, I don't think that." He sighed, "It's just weird."

"Men are weird." Renee shook her head, unloading the groceries into the fridge, "Sometimes life throws you awkward curveballs. Sometimes you gotta cross paths with people that you'd rather not. It's just how it is." She said, "If you're this uncomfortable, talk to April about it."

"No, because it's not about her. She's… She's not doing anything wrong and I don't want her to feel like she is. This is just… my issue." He shook his head.

"Then you gotta learn how to deal with it." Renee nodded.

"You guys were around when he was with her, right?" Punk thought to himself, "What was he like?" He asked.

"He was… nice, as far as I can remember." Renee shrugged as Dean nodded.

"He was ok." Dean shrugged, a little more unconvinced.

"Great, thanks for all the details." Punk nodded sarcastically.

"Well he wasn't around for that long. A few months at best. I was only interested in April being safe and happy and… as far as I could tell, she was." Dean shrugged as Punk nodded, "I knew it wasn't gonna go anywhere, though. You can't force yourself to fall in love with someone, especially when you're already still in love with someone else." Dean said.

"I think you just need to get out of your head and don't overthink it." Renee nodded to Punk who sighed, running his hand over his hair and nodding.

"Yeah, I know." He said, "Just as long as she isn't uncomfortable then I can… I can work on my own feelings about it. Somehow." He nodded.

"That's the spirit." Dean nodded, "So how did New York go? How is Jude?"

"Oh, yeah. Did you give her our love?" Renee asked.

"I did." Punk nodded, "She's doing good. Better than we expected. It was nice to spend time with her and Sean and the girls." He said as Dean nodded.

"That's good." Dean nodded, "You been to see Thea since you got back?"

"No, we're going tonight." Punk said, "I'm meeting Ape there after she finishes work."

"We visited her last night. She's doing good." Renee smiled, "She's been out of the facility a couple times with Dominic and the kids. I think it's setting her up to finally leave soon." She nodded.

"Well she's been in there a while now." Punk nodded, "And she is doing good. Thankfully. She's had a shitty time with all of this." He shook his head as Dean nodded.

"Well she's on the right path." Dean said as Punk nodded.

"I'll get out of your hair." Punk said.

"Yeah, get out of my kitchen." She nodded as Punk smiled, wrapping his arm around her and kissing her head.

"Alright, I'm going." He announced before leaving the house.

"You want some coffee from the machine out there?" AJ asked, sitting down in Thea's room, visiting her for the night with Punk after not seeing her for a few days.

"Oh, no. I've had my caffeine for the day." Thea shook her head.

"What?" AJ laughed a little.

"I'm limiting myself to one cup of coffee a day. I have it in the morning with breakfast." Thea said, "You know, being here has really got me into a routine."

"Yeah?" Punk asked, "Like how?" He questioned.

"Well sometimes I would just skip breakfast. My morning would be a coffee and a cigarette. My lunch would be pretty much the same. Now I get up and i'm actually motivated to make time for these things." She said, "I'm just scared that when I go home and get back to work that it'll all go back to the way it was before." She sighed.

"That's not gonna happen." AJ shook her head, "I thought you said you were gonna go back to work part-time at first?"

"I am." Thea said, "My counsellor thinks that's the best thing to do. It won't be as overwhelming." She said as Punk nodded.

"Yeah, it'll ease you back into things." Punk said, "I was at Dean and Renee's earlier and they said you've been going out sometimes."

"Yeah, I've been out a couple times with Dominic and the kids. Not for long. Just a few hours." Thea said, "It's been nice. Not as scary as I thought it'd be." She admitted.

"That's so good, baby." AJ smiled.

It filled her with legitimate happiness and joy to see her daughter progressing this way and getting healthy. She even looked healthier. Her hair was thick and shiny. She'd put on some much needed weight. She just looked fresh and happier.

"So I think I could possibly be out of here in two weeks time." Thea nodded, "I still got a lot to work on and I know that it doesn't stop when I go home. I gotta keep up with going to therapy and… making time for myself and all that stuff but… I do feel like I can get ready to go home soon." She nodded positively as AJ smiled.

"Well you know we're all here for you. With whatever you need." Punk reminded her as Thea nodded.

"I know that." Thea assured them, "How was New York? How is Jude?" She asked.

"She's… surprisingly doing good." AJ nodded, "I thought she'd take this really hard. Seeing those photographs." She said, "But she was doing ok, right?" She turned to Punk.

"Yeah she was better than what I expected." Punk said.

"Don't get me wrong, she was upset." AJ nodded, "And she said she had a rough couple days but she was just moving forward. Keeping up with her work schedule and spending time with the girls. I don't know, I think maybe we underestimate her sometimes." She thought as Punk nodded.

"Yeah, she's strong as hell." Punk said as AJ nodded.

"Well that's good she's dealing with it as best she can." Thea said, "I really miss her. I've not saw her in a couple weeks."

"She said she's gonna try and fly out next week to see you. She misses you too." AJ assured her as Thea nodded.

"I'm gonna go get a coffee, you want one?" Punk asked AJ.

"Yes please." AJ smiled as he nodded, leaving the room as Thea looked at her mother.

"What?" Thea shook her head, noticing something was on her mother's mind. They had a unique bond. She wasn't sure if it was a first born thing, or perhaps because her mother had her so young, but they could definitely spot different things in one another.

"What?" AJ questioned.

"You're being weird." Thea said, "Like you got something to say." She nodded.

"No I'm not." AJ laughed a little as Thea raised a brow, "What?" She laughed.

"What's going on?" Thea asked her as AJ looked across.

"Well I talked to Jude about it but… it's always good to get another perspective." AJ thought, "You remember Joey?"

"Joey as in Joey you dated for a little while?" Thea nodded.

"Yeah." AJ said, "Well he's working on my floor again and last week he came into my office and spoke to me for a little while. Then today he brought me a cup of coffee and my files from the copy room." She said as Thea narrowed her brows a little, "Ok, before you give me that face, I've told your dad and he knows."

"Well I mean… there shouldn't really be an issue, right? You're married and… happily married this time. I mean that was years ago." Thea shook her head.

"I know that and your father knows what happened and he's totally understanding about it. I just… I feel sort of awkward when he comes in and talks to me. It's like he's trying to flirt with me." AJ rolled her eyes.

"Uh… well say something to him then. You got a mouth, right?" Thea nodded.

"Yeah but I actually work in a pretty professional business, Thea. I don't wanna come across like a bitch."

"Why not?" Thea shrugged, "Look, you don't gotta be a bitch. Just tell him that you've moved on and that you're happily married. That everything worked out when dad got out." She said, "Mom, if he's making you uncomfortable then you should say something to him. This is how idiots get away with… inappropriate stuff in the workplace."

"It's nothing like that." AJ scoffed, "I just sense he's trying to be flirtatious and I just feel weird about it."

"Say something to him then. Or I will." Thea warned, "Or… I'll send Cassie. Either way." She warned as AJ sighed.

"Yeah… yeah, I can just politely tell him that I'm in a happy relationship." AJ nodded.

"Of course you can." Thea laughed a little, "This is the last issues I thought you and dad would have." She shook her head.

"If I told your dad that I was uncomfortable he'd go down to my office and throw the guy through a glass window." AJ shook her head, "You know how he is."

"So just handle it on your own. Don't pretend you're not the head bitch in charge." Thea said, "Put him in his place."

"I'll try." AJ nodded.