Sessions

"So Phil, how are we doing today?" An older woman with glasses perched on the tip of her nose asked him.

"I've been coming here to see you for two months and every session you ask me the same thing." Punk said to her.

"And you always say the same thing." The therapist noted. "Fine."

"Because I am." He said to her.

"What is your definition of fine?" The therapist questioned.

"I still have fears and anxiety over what happened and that's very new to me." He confided. "I'm just trying to adapt to it."

"And how are you trying to adapt?" The therapist asked him curiously.

"Seeing you for one." Punk reasoned.

"When we started this eight weeks ago you told me you were here because your wife wanted you to come here." She noted. "How is April?"

"She's….amazing." Punk said with a light smile. "She's almost twenty weeks pregnant and the baby is healthy and growing. She's doing a great job."

"How is her job?" She asked Punk. "You mentioned in previous weeks that her profession a source of contention."

"We have good and bad days with it." He admitted.

AJ was back at work for two weeks now and all was going smoothly. Kevin Scott had hired AJ for some work and she was pulling in decent money. But she was still seeing other clients and that's what worried Punk. Punk wouldn't sleep until AJ was home and she was usually good about it, if she had to work late she'd call him a lot but tonight he barely heard from her and she wasn't answering her phone. He didn't want to be THAT guy but he had seen too much and was too scared.

"Hey, Peyton it's Phil." Punk greeted into the phone. "No, no I'm good." He said to her. "Did you work with Ape today? Oh! You were off? No it's ok I just didn't hear from her as much as I normally do so I'm paranoid." He said to her. "I don't want to ask you to do that." He said to her. "Alright just call me when you get to the office and let me know."

Peyton went to the office and AJ wasn't there but her cellphone was and Punk had snooped her client files to figure out where she'd be that night and since her car was gone and her phone was at work she probably just forgot her phone and couldn't call.

Punk pulled into a motel parking lot and felt relief when he saw her car parked and her figure in the drivers seat. Punk slowly climbed out of his own car and walked over to hers and his heart dropped when she was slumped over the steering wheel. Punk reached for his keys and his hands were so shaky he dropped them and he quickly picked them up and unlocked the door and her head shot up.

"I'm up!" She yelled with drool around her mouth and he glared at her. "Phil?" She asked confused.

"You were SLEEPING?" He hissed.

"Oh, no I couldn't have been sleeping." She said looking for her phone. "Where is my phone?"

"In my car since you left it at the office." He told her.

"What time is it?" AJ asked him.

"Almost one in the morning." He told her and her face dropped.

"Oh my god." She nearly cried. "I blew it! I was waiting for someone at eleven, how could I let this happen? I just blew this case!"

"You'll get it another night." He told her.

"No I won't tonight was my only night." She said shaking her head. "Damn it!"

"Are you alright?" He asked her. "This isn't like you."

"Of course it's not like me." AJ said getting out of the car to stretch. "Your daughter makes me so tired and I usually don't eat while I'm on a stake out but your daughter also starves me! So I ate and I guess I shut my eyes for a moment. Fuck! I can't do this."

"Do what?" He asked. "Be a human? Because I'm sure you're exhausted. When you're home you clean and take care of me then in down time you're in your office working then when you're at work you're working and you barely have time to eat or sleep and it's understandable. You're not just you anymore you can't do what you did last year you're carrying a baby and that is tiring from what I've read."

"From what you read?" She asked arching a brow.

"I've been home for a while now I've been reading baby books." He told her simply. "You're carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders. But tonight? Tonight can't ever happen again." He informed her. "You can not forget your phone and you can't sleep in your car for hours."

"At least we know Dickie isn't following me around because he could have killed me easily." She offered and he glared at her. "I'm sorry." She said wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her face against his chest.

"You're superwoman already, stop pushing it." He told her and she didn't respond and he looked down and saw her eyes were closed. "Come on, I'm taking you home." He said nudging her.

"My car." She yawned as he walked her to the car.

"I'll drive you back tomorrow." He promised.

"And how is the baby doing?" The doctor questioned and Punk's face lit up.

"Really good. We found out the gender for sure last week." Punk told her. "It's like AJ thought, it's a girl."

"That must be very exciting." The doctor told him with a smile. "Is that what you wanted? Did you imagine yourself with a son or daughter when you were younger?"

"I never imagined kids in general when I was a kid. Never when I was dating either." He told her honestly.

"Yet you seem very excited over April's pregnancy." The doctor noted.

"It's the best thing to happen to me since I met April." Punk told her honestly. "I didn't imagine children before her but the moment I met her I thought I'd like to have a nice home and children with her. I want everything with her."

"Is there more to want now that you have a child on the way?" The doctor questioned.

"Yes. I want more kids, I want grandkids, I want days off, I want sunsets and sunrises with her." He told her. "I want it all with April."

"Your marriage seems very happy." The doctor noted.

"It is." Punk told her honestly. "We talk about our feelings, we talk about work-""

"When your daughter is born are you still ok with April working?" The doctor questioned.

"Of course." He said to her. "I fell in love with how strong and independent she is. We'll make it work with her working after the baby is born. She's joked around that she'll bring the baby on cases with her." Punk laughed a little and the doctor smiled.

"From all you've told me about April I believe she would take her." The doctor laughed.

"Yea…" Punk trailed off then his face dropped. "…she wasn't kidding, was she?"

"I would doubt it." The doctor said to him amused. "When are you back to work?"

"Next week." Punk told her.

"Are you ready for that?" The doctor questioned.

"You tell me, you signed off on it." Punk said to her.

"I think you are." The doctor said to him.

"I'm still afraid." Punk confided.

"If you weren't I wouldn't have signed off on it." The doctor told him. "Fear is natural feeling. If you didn't feel it you would be numb and you wouldn't be ready for work. But I meant physically, are you ready?"

"Physically? Yea." Punk said to her. "I get strong every day."

"How's your work out routine going?" She asked him.

"I had a physical therapist and she would come to the house and help me." Punk told her.

"Past tense." The doctor noted.

"Yea." Punk smiled a bit.

After four weeks of being home Punk was ready to kick up his physical therapy. Thankfully they had a big enough space in their home so the physically therapist would come to the house and the empty basement downstairs turned into a makeshift gym. He would spend four hours a day with his physical therapist and AJ was NOT a fan.

Her whole life AJ was a secure and confident woman but Punk's physical therapist was like an amazon and AJ felt so tiny in comparison. AJ was still carrying so small but she knew and felt her body changing each day and this woman had six pack abs, only wore a sports bra and tight workout pants, long blond hair that was pulled back into a perfect bun. AJ HATED her.

One of the day's AJ knew the therapist was going to be over she decided to come home for lunch. She did not think Punk would cheat on her but it didn't hurt to show up and remind him he had a wife. She watched from the top of the gym steps as Lizette would massage his calf and thighs that kept tighten up and would glare at her.

"Is it lunch time?" AJ asked walking down the stairs.

"Ape, what are you doing here?" Punk asked laying on the floor as Lizette continued to work his muscles.

"I missed my baby daddy and decided to come home for lunch, hope you don't mind." She said with a light smile.

"Of course I don't." He said in almost a moan as he closed his eyes. "Right there, that's the spot." He told the therapist. "But I won't eat until after and I still have another hour."

"I can take a long lunch." She shrugged sitting in the corner of the room.

"You're going to watch?" Punk asked opening one eye.

"Yea, I mean I'm sure she has other clients I can help out just as much." AJ offered. "I mean I wouldn't mind getting paid to touch you." She grinned.

"It's massage therapy." LIzette corrected.

"Looks more like just a massage." AJ said to her annoyed.

"Ape." Punk warned.

"I'm going to take a 15." Lizette told Punk and let him up and headed up the stairs.

"What are you doing?" Punk asked his wife as he sat up.

"What do you mean?" She asked innocently. "She's very pretty."

"Ape." He warned.

"She's all pretty and fit and I'm all rolly and pudgy." She pouted walking over to him.

"You're beautiful." He corrected. "And I still barely see your belly if that's what bothering you."

"That's because I'm wearing a dress and it's flowy." She said folding her arms. "I just don't like her she seems snotty."

"April." He laughed running his hand over his face. "I really need this."

"But I can massage you." She offered crawling over his lap on the floor.

"You can't exactly help me lift weights." Punk teased.

"And I can do anything else she can do." She said to him.

"She's a professional." Punk pointed out.

"It's a massage!" She laughed.

"It's more than that you just came in at a bad time." He told her as she adjusted herself over him. "Don't." He warned.

"Don't what?" She asked innocently.

"You're trying to get me hard." He said amused.

"You're cleared for sex and you won't have it." She told him. "Is it because I don't look like her?"

"No it's because I want to last longer than four minutes." He told her.

"Let's work out together." AJ said kissing his lips and thrusting over his thighs subtly and she could feel him hardening through his thin shorts.

"April." he warned through the kisses and ran his hands under her dress as her hand snaked into his shorts.

It took three minutes of foreplay for him to be buried inside of her. She was doing most of the physical work and he didn't want it to end but he looked at the clock and knew his therapist would be back.

"April." He warned her as she moved faster and faster.

"I'm trying, I just really like it." She grinned sucking on his earlobe.

Punk pushed her onto her back and she gasped as he pushed into her as hard as he could.

"Fuck!" AJ screamed in ecstasy.

Punk again looked up at the time and moved faster and faster and felt her cum around him and that set him off. It had been his first release in some time so it was powerful.

"That was so….." She trailed off.

"Worth the wait?" He asked.

"Yea. I don't know why you don't like quick sex." She said refusing to let him leave her body. "Short and sweet."

"I like it to last longer." He said to her and she wrapped her legs around his waist locking him in. "April" He warned.

"We can go again." She offered. " I know you have it in you."

"I'm in the middle of physical therapy." He reminded her kissing her.

"I don't like her. We can work out this way." She offered.

"Every day?" He asked.

"Every day for four hours." She offered and he laughed. "What?"

"You will never last." He warned her.

"I don't know. My hormones are making me very horny." She confided and his eyes widened in awe. "I can lay here like this for hours." She promised.

"Are we-" Lizette began and saw that even though their tops were still dressed their bottoms weren't and they were clearly 'connected'. "I'll see myself out." She said turning around and leaving.

"Too bad." AJ shrugged and Punk glared at her.

"You accuse me of being jealous." He remarked.

"Oh, I'm a very jealous woman." AJ informed him seriously as he moved his hand over her dress and began to unbutton the dress.

"I still had an hour left." He reminded her.

"I have an hour left in me." She grinned. "Don't rush it so much." she instructed and he laughed.

"I love the sex advice." He mocked. "Nothing sexier than hearing not to rush."

"I mean unless you're not back to normal which I get." She assured him and he glared at her as he now began to unclasp her bra. AJ went to reach for his shirt and he stopped her.

"What? I get to be all naked and not get to see you?" She asked. "I see you shirtless all of the time."

"The scars might not be as sexy during sex." He reminded her and she pulled the shirt up anyway and sat up and began to kiss over his scars gently…

"April wasn't a big fan of her. Jealous." Punk shrugged. "But I've been working out and I had my regular doctor give me a physical and I'm good."

"That's excellent. You've come back from an accident that should have killed you." The therapist noted.

"Don't call it an accident." Punk said to her. "Accidents aren't intentional."

"Where are the police and FBI on locating Mr. McCall?" The therapist questioned.

"He's in the wind. He's always in the wind." Punk said bitterly. "I don't think I'll ever be at peace until we get him. I'll never have a good nights sleep again."

"That's understandable." The therapist nodded. "The fear of what happened to you happening again is very scary-"

"Me? I don't care about it happening to me." Punk practically laughed. "I know what to look out for now. I know to be more careful. It's April that worries me. I want him gone and out of our lives for her sake. It's not just her physical safety I fear it's her mental state. This man murdered her mother and AJ will never be able to put her mother's death behind her if we don't get him."

"You truly believe in April's mother's case." The therapist stated.

"I promised her when I first met her I'd solve this case and I plan on keeping my promise." Punk told her. "The woman who was responsible for putting it all into action walked, Dickie doesn't get to walk."

"And she walked because?" The therapist questioned.

"April was the star witness." Punk explained. "She didn't testify because I was hurt. She claims it doesn't bother her but it has to. It bothers me. Eliza Daniels should be in prison and I hate she picked me over her mother."

"I think April understood what she was doing when she did it and made peace with it." The doctor smiled a bit. "I think April has seen the bigger picture. Would you have left her side if the roles were reversed?"

"No." Punk said without hesitation. "But I'm not as strong as she is."

"You believe that?" The doctor questioned. "You feel you're weak?"

"In comparison to my wife? Yes." He told her. "I think everyone is weak in comparison of her. She spent so much time fighting for her mother when no one else would. She finally could have had some peace and she didn't even give it a second thought. I don't know how she does it."

"She raised by a strong woman." The doctor noted.

"Clearly." Punk agreed. "I hope my daughter has half the strength she has."

"Your daughter will be raised by you and her, I have no doubt she'll be just as strong." The doctor told him. "Your wife must be getting there."

"Yea." Punk smiled. "I felt her kicking for the first time last week."

"That must have been special." The doctor smiled.

"It was." He smiled warmly. "It was like she was reaching out to me. AJ said I annoyed her because I was singing in the shower and that's why she was kicking." He told the doctor who laughed. "But it was really special."

"How is her room coming along? I know that's been your pet project." The doctor asked.

"It's coming along nicely. I had to get a lock for the door because April has no patience and wants to look." Punk told her. "I painted and I got the furniture I just have to put it together. But the small stuff, the rug, the chair, all that is in and ready to go. I can't wait to show April the finished project I can't wait to show the baby the finished room. I hope it suits her."

"I'm sure it well. You've put a lot of work and effort into it." The doctor told him.

"Of course I did. April gets to carry our daughter I want to do something, you know?" Punk said.

"Well, our time is up." The doctor said to him.

"Wow these hour sessions fly." Punk said to her.

"When you first came here you clearly didn't want to be here." The doctor reminded him. "And now you seem to look forward to these sessions. You've made great strides these few months. For that you should be very proud."

"I think I am." Punk said thinking about it and standing up.

"Two weeks?" The doctor asked.

"Two weeks." He confirmed.

Punk was enjoying going to therapy. He loved talking about everything and getting an opinion that wasn't biased. He decided therapy would be a part of his life going forward.

When Punk got home he was greeted by Larry at the door and smelled something in the air.

"That smells amazing." Punk said entering the kitchen.

"Taco Tuesday." AJ smiled working over the stove and he came up behind her and kissed the nape of her neck. "How was your session?"

"Good." He told her removing his jacket.

"She really thinks you're ready to go back to work?" AJ asked.

"Yes but more importantly I'm ready to go back." Punk told her and AJ looked back at him.

"I respect that." AJ said with a light smile. "I worry though."

"I know you do." He told her. "I do too. How's my daughter doing today?"

"She is kicking a lot." AJ said to him. "And she was the one who wanted tacos."

"She has good taste." Punk smirked. "And all that kicking is going to be great when she plays hockey."

"My little ballerina is playing hockey now?" She asked him arching a brow.

"Hell yea she is. Can't you feel it when she kicks?" He asked placing his hands over her growing bump. "And you don't like ballet."

"So? Maybe she will." AJ insisted. "Hockey is crazy."

"She's going to be great." Punk scoffed.

"That nursery better not be hockey themed." She warned.

"It's not." He promised.

"When do I get to see it?" AJ asked.

"We still have time. I have to put some more stuff together." He said to her.

"Are you really sure you want to go back to work?" AJ asked him.

"Ape, I have to. It's who I am." He said to her and she nodded.

"I was just making sure." She defended quietly. "But you still have a week, right?"

"I do." He nodded. "Want to take that honeymoon finally?" He teased.

"That would be lovely." She said to him. "But no. It's my moms birthday Friday-"

"Let's go see her." He suggested before she could finish.

"It's a long drive maybe we can fly?" She suggested.

"I want to drive." He said to her. "It'll be fun. One last road trip, just the two of us."

"The last time it will be just the two of us on a road trip." AJ smiled a bit. "We can make more stops and make it kind of like a honeymoon." She suggested.

"I'd love that." He said to her.

"And we can bring Larry." AJ grinned.

"He hates to not be included." Punk agreed. "Are you sure you're up for this trip?"

"I'm almost six months pregnant if I don't go now I'll be too big to fit in the car." AJ teased.

"Alright, we'll go." He said to her. "We'll leave tomorrow."

"We can just leave tomorrow?" She asked with a laugh.

"Babe we can only be spontaneous for three more months." He reminded her. "Do you have to work?"

"No I cleared the week just in case you agreed to go." She said to him.

"Haven't you learned by now that if you want it I'm all in for it?" He asked her with a smile.

"Yea you really do spoil me." AJ said thinking about it. "You need to work on that before the baby gets here because she's going to have you wrapped around her little finger."

"I already am." He said simply. "She kicks the most when I sing Elvis so who sings Elvis every night to her?"

"I think she hates it and wants you to stop." AJ said to him and he laughed.

"No she loves it." He insisted and kissed her. "Start packing and I'll finish the Tacos."

"Alright." She smiled. "We love you for spoiling us and giving in all of the time by the way."

"That's why I do it." He teased and watched her walk away with a smile.