Happy Anniversary

"Big red folder." Punk smiled, sitting down the folder on the kitchen table as AJ smiled.

"Thank you." AJ rubbed his arm sweetly.

"What the hell you got in it? Bricks?" Punk scoffed, "It's heavy as hell."

"Normally everything is done electronically but I like paper copies just to be sure." AJ smiled.

"You're such an organised little thing." Punk patted her head as she smiled, watching him grab a bottle of water and down it by the fridge.

"Anal retentive." AJ nodded as Punk choked, spitting some water out and choking over the sink as AJ watched him with a raised brow.

"Anal what?" Punk coughed, placing his hand on his chest.

"Retentive. You know… pay attention to details. Neat and organised." She stroked the spine of her folder as Punk looked at her.

"I just… heard anal and panicked." Punk shook his head as AJ chuckled a little.

"You don't normally." She mumbled, opening up her folder, "How was work?" She asked him.

"Fine. Usual." Punk nodded, "We did get a new boat in today. She's pretty cool." He said.

"Some rich fellow's birthday?" AJ scoffed.

"Probably." Punk shook his head, "How was your day with Chase?" He asked her.

"It was fun. We baked cookies." AJ nodded.

"I can see that." Punk nodded, taking the lid from the cookies and picking one up, "Nothing better." He said, taking a bite and sitting down at the table.

"He watched a movie whilst I did some work this morning and then we baked them." AJ nodded, "Cass picked him up around 4pm." She said.

"How'd the funeral go?" Punk asked.

"Well… how does any funeral go?" AJ shrugged, "As good as it could have went."

"Sucks when you hear someone so young has died." Punk said as AJ nodded.

"She was telling me Theo wants another baby." AJ nodded, "And she doesn't."

"Is that really our business?" Punk scoffed.

"Well she talked to me about it so… yeah." AJ shrugged, "They're not fighting over it or anything. I guess they're just in two different places. She'd rather focus on her career right now. Maybe rethink it in a couple years once Chase is at school." She nodded.

"Well as long as they can come to a civil agreement about it." Punk said.

"I think they'll be fine." AJ nodded, "We were in disagreement at times when we had kids." She said.

"Two out of three of our kids were accidents." Punk rolled his eyes.

"Oh, stop. Don't say it like that." AJ scolded with a small smile.

"A missed pill." Punk nodded as AJ gasped.

"Phillip Brooks, that's your flesh and blood." AJ shook her head as he shrugged teasingly.

"Well it's true. We had zero discussion about having Thea or Jude." He said as AJ nodded.

"Yeah but we talked a lot before having Cassie. You were fine with two kids and I wanted another one. Then we completely changed our minds. You wanted three and I was fine with two." AJ said, "Then I got pregnant."

"Yeah that was in the middle of some crazy stuff." Punk remembered, "Whilst dealing with the wicked witch of the west."

"Can you turn that thing off and get to sleep." Punk nodded, standing outside his thirteen year old daughter's bedroom where he saw her sitting on her new cell phone.

"I'm just playing games." Thea rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, so you tell me." Punk said, "It's way past your bed time."

"Bed time? I'm not a baby." Thea shook her head.

"Hey, we all got bed times. Mine is fast approaching which means you're way over yours." Punk said, "I don't wanna be the weird, strict parent who takes your phone from you during the night."

"Oh, don't do that." Thea whined.

"Then switch it off and please get to sleep. You got school in the morning." Punk nodded.

"You know I can just turn it back on when you leave." Thea said cockily as Punk looked at her. It was like staring at a mirror at times.

"Just go to sleep, yeah?" Punk scoffed, "Or I'll come kiss you goodnight." He smiled.

"Ok, I'm going." Thea raised her eyebrows, sitting her phone by her bedside. As a new teenager, she wanted no part in a kiss goodnight from her father. She thought she was an adult now.

"Good." Punk smiled, "Goodnight." He nodded to her.

"Night." Thea called back, sinking down into bed, grabbing her phone the second Punk closed the door over.

Punk wandered down the hallway, opening Jude's room door just a little, smiling as he saw her fast asleep in bed, some colouring books lying on her room floor which he normally wound up stepping on in the morning when waking her up.

He closed the door back over, walking into the bedroom he shared with his wife, not seeing her anywhere.

"Ape?" Punk said.

"Yeah?" AJ called from the bathroom in their room.

"Oh, I'm just making sure you're somewhere around here." Punk smiled, sitting down on the edge of the bed. He knew he wasn't done for the night. He wasn't getting ready to settle down to a peaceful night's sleep with his wife.

"No, I'm in here." AJ laughed a little as he smiled.

"What are you doing?" He asked her, rubbing his neck tiredly as she walked out of the bathroom, holding something in her hand which he couldn't quite see.

"I'm pregnant." She said as his hand slipped from his neck, looking across at her.

"Seriously?" Punk raised his eyebrows as she nodded.

"Yeah. Look." AJ walked over to him, showing him the positive pregnancy test, "And that's not the only one. There's six other positives in there." She said as he looked at the test.

"Holy shit." Punk laughed a little with a smile, "For real?" He smiled as she nodded.

They'd had many discussions about having a third child off and on for months. They wanted it at different times, and then they decided together that they both wanted it. They wanted a third and final child. The only thing that ever deterred them from it was the situation they found themselves in, but they had been trying for a baby, because it was what they wanted for their family.

"I can't believe it happened this quick." AJ laughed.

"We've only been trying for a few weeks." Punk nodded in agreement, "I'm good." He thought to himself as AJ shoved his shoulder and smiled.

"You know who's gonna hate this?" AJ asked as he looked up at her, "Thea." She nodded.

"No she's not." Punk said, "They'll love it." He assured her as she smiled.

"I'm happy." She whispered as he looked at her. Due to the current stress they had been dealing with together, this was a breath of fresh air. It was exciting, and it warmed them to be having another baby.

"Me too." Punk smiled, standing up and kissing her as AJ stumbled back a little from the passion of the kiss, feeling him lift her up a little as she chuckled against his lips, wrapping her arms around his neck, "Come on, be a boy!" Punk exclaimed.

"Shh." AJ chuckled as he spun her around, "I can still help you." She said as he put her down on the ground.

"No, you can just stay put for now." Punk nodded to her.

"And let you deal with it all on your own? No." AJ said.

"You're pregnant. I don't want you near any of this shit that's going on." Punk said, "And we're not gonna argue about it either. You stay out of it. That's final." He said as AJ shook her head, "Yes."

"Or we get out." AJ said, "I mean what more could she possibly want from us? This wasn't supposed to be long-term."

"Yeah well… that's how it starts, isn't it?" Punk shook his head, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"Then we gotta find a way to get rid of her, or get us out of the situation." AJ said, "I mean we spoke about moving."

"With a baby on the way?" Punk questioned, "Plus we'd… we'd always be looking over our shoulder." He shook his head.

"Well we have to do something before it gets out of hand. It's already out of hand." AJ shook her head, "This baby is good for us. Maybe it's a sign that things are gonna work out ok."

"Yeah, maybe." Punk nodded.

"Never thought then that I'd be in prison in four month's time." He shook his head.

"Neither did I." AJ assured him, "You wanted a boy." She smiled a little.

"No, I just wanted another healthy kid. A boy would have just been different." Punk shrugged.

"Oh, shut up. You wanted a boy." AJ rolled her eyes as he smiled.

"Well I'm glad I didn't get one." Punk shrugged, "I got another amazing daughter. Nothing is better." He said as AJ smiled, "I bumped into your work buddy by the way. When I was picking the folder up." He said.

"Who?" AJ questioned.

"Joey." Punk said as AJ nodded slowly, "He's an annoying dude."

"What'd you say to him?" AJ worried.

"Nothing." Punk shrugged.

"Phil." AJ said sternly.

"I said nothing." Punk said, "Just… that I don't want him making you uncomfortable."

"You don't need to be getting involved." AJ shook her head, feeling a little embarrassed and childlike.

"Actually you're my wife, April, so yeah… I kinda do." Punk nodded.

"I can handle whatever this situation is on my own." AJ assured him.

"Yeah… whatever this situation is." Punk repeated and scoffed, "That's exactly the problem. You don't know what the hell is going on either. You gotta be straight with him-"

"I was straight with him." AJ narrowed her brows a little, "I was very straight with him."

"And he chose not to listen cause he's a persistent asshole? Enter the husband." He smiled.

"No… no, not enter the husband. I don't need you fighting my battles. This isn't even a battle. It's stupid. He's just friendly. If anything it's me who's making this a bigger situation that it is."

"No it's not." Punk scoffed, "All he has to do is stay away and clearly he isn't. If some chick I dated was being friendly with me, would you just sit back and do nothing?" Punk questioned.

"The two girls you dated before me are both dead, so… I don't need to imagine." AJ shrugged, "And so is Marina if we're counting her-"

"I didn't date her." Punk batted.

"No you just cheated on me with her." AJ nodded.

"It's shocking that you still haven't gotten over that yet." Punk shook his head, "At your big age."

"Don't subtly call me old." AJ screwed her eyes up at him.

"I'm trying to look out for you. This guy is weird. Thea and Jude knew he was weird when you dated him-"

"Oh, they two just didn't like him cause they were worried about you. Yes, even Thea was worried. I could have brought home a millionaire with the best humour and a great personality… they still would have hated him. They are their father's daughters-"

"Good, at least someone was thinking about my feelings during that time." Punk said as AJ looked across at him.

"That's so unfair." She said quietly but angrily, "Seriously. That's so unfair." She stood up.

"Wait, April…" Punk sighed as he watched her leave the kitchen, leaning back on the chair and running his hands through his hair with stress.