Thinking

"How's Chrissy?" Punk asked, sitting on his lunch break with Dean the following day after court.

"She's ok. Holding up, I guess. She's still staying with Sarah." Dean said as Punk nodded.

"You still kept away from Brandon?" Punk asked him.

"Oh, yeah. I've been forbidden by all of them to stay away from him. Including myself." Dean nodded, "I'd just lose it if I saw him."

"Yeah, I get it." Punk nodded.

"Renee saw him. I don't know how she did it but she went and spoke to him a couple weeks ago." Dean said, "I just don't trust myself."

"Yeah don't put yourself in that situation. Just keep doing what you're doing and be there for Chrissy. She needs your attention right now, not him. Never him." Punk shook his head as Dean nodded.

"How's Jude doing?" Dean asked him.

"She's doing ok." Punk nodded.

"She's brave. What she said in court. I mean not many people would even be able to go to court and see their attacker. One of, in her case." Dean shook his head.

"Well she said that if it this happened at the time she was attacked, she wouldn't have been able to do it." Punk said, "She even spoke about one day hoping to forgive him." He shook his head.

"Yeah I won't be doing that." Dean shook his head unapologetically.

"Me neither." Punk said, "I guess it comes from a place of just… trying to heal." Punk nodded.

"Sure." Dean nodded, "She still in Chicago?"

"Yeah they don't leave until Friday." Punk said, "She said she'd stay for Sam's anniversary tomorrow."

"What are we supposed to do for that?" Dean asked him.

"I don't know. Nothing?" Punk questioned, "I guess we can go to the grave or whatever."

"Yeah, Renee bought a bunch of flowers to take down." Dean said.

"April did the same." Punk said.

"How useless are we?" Dean scoffed, peeling his orange as Punk nodded.

"I can't believe it's been a whole year." Punk shook his head.

"A shitty year." Dean shook his head, "I can't wait to see the end of it."

"Yeah I'm with you on that one." Punk said, "Hey at least we both got a grandkid on the way. That's something good." He nudged him as Dean nodded.

"Yeah that is good." Dean smiled, "So is that pretty much Jude's court stuff wrapped up?" He asked him.

"Yeah, that's it. If he didn't plead guilty it could have taken months." Punk shook his head.

"Why'd you think he pleaded guilty?" Dean wondered.

"I have no idea. Cause he got caught out? And Cass and Theo pretty much proved he was in Chicago when Jude was attacked. Would have been hard for him to worm his way out of it." He said as Dean nodded.

"I know what you're probably think and just… don't do it." Dean shook his head.

"What am I thinking?" Punk questioned.

"About going to see him in prison." Dean said as Punk scoffed dramatically, "Come on, I know you. You don't gotta torture yourself anymore."

"I just… I just wanna know why." Punk shook his head.

"Well you're not gonna get a straight answer from him. Clearly he's sick and twisted." Dean said, "You don't need to put yourself through that."

"He was supposed to be our friend." Punk said.

"Nobody was our friend. We were… all just money making machines. That was all it was." Dean shook his head as Punk nodded.

"Yeah, you're right." Punk nodded, "I know it was him who was really behind it, though."

"Rio?" Dean asked.

"Yeah." Punk said, "He was obviously in Vincent's ear through prison visits, and hell, Jackson was in prison with him and the first thing he does when he gets out is go for Jude? It had him all written over it."

"Yeah and now he's dead." Dean nodded bluntly, "He got so alone, so mentally fucked up, deluded that he killed himself. That soothes me to sleep at night." Dean said as Punk nodded.

"Yeah and he's left my daughter with this memory and trauma that she had to carry with her." Punk said.

"Your daughter is one of the strongest people we will ever know, and I have every confidence that she's gonna be just fine." Dean nodded confidently.

"Yeah, she will." Punk nodded positively, "They're shopping today." He told him.

"Women." Dean rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, Ape, Jude and Cassie. I think Thea is working." Punk nodded.

"I feel kinda bad for leaving Sean with the girls to go shopping." Jude admitted, browsing through a rack in a clothing store with her mother beside whilst Cassie was in the changing room trying on some things.

"Don't." AJ laughed, "Retail therapy is a necessity." She said as Jude nodded.

"Shame Thea had to work." Jude said, "Although I figured she wouldn't be up to walking around different shops for a couple hours. She told me her feet were really sore."

"Pregnant joys." AJ nodded.

"How's dad?" Jude asked her.

"What do you mean?" AJ questioned.

"Well, I know you'll tell me how he really is." Jude said.

"He's doing fine." AJ nodded, "Honestly, he just… he was more concerned about you and how you'd be getting through the day at court."

"It was a long day. I slept like a baby last night, though." Jude nodded, "Do you think he'll go visit him in prison?" She wondered.

"No, and I won't be entertaining it if he does." AJ said unhappily, "It's nothing he needs to seek out or put himself through."

"Yeah well he's no stranger to uncomfortable situations." Jude said, "I just figured maybe because he was supposed to be your friend-"

"Oh, he wasn't a friend." AJ shook her head.

"Ok, so you thought he was a decent person who was trying to help you then." Jude corrected, "It's like everything has been turned upside down."

"Yeah and he's getting everything he deserves." AJ nodded to her, "Look, baby, as long as you're ok we'll be ok. Please don't worry about your father." She assured her.

"I am ok." Jude nodded, "I thought it'd be a lot more terrifying or sickening to see him yesterday but I think I surprised myself." She admitted.

"You were great. So proud of you." AJ nodded to her, "And that judge was really listening to you."

"Please, like anything I said held any weight." Jude shook her head.

"Hey, it did." AJ nodded, "People were listening in that room. And you're right about it all, it has to get better." She said as Jude nodded.

"What are the plans for Sam's anniversary tomorrow?" Jude asked curiously, holding a pair of pants to her waist as she looked in the mirror behind her.

"I have no idea. I haven't spoken to your dad about it, yet. I've bought flowers to take to her grave so I assume we'll go there." AJ nodded.

"What do we think of these?" Cassie asked, coming out from the changing room, showing her floral pants to them.

"They're nice." AJ smiled as Jude looked on.

"I don't know, I don't understand the floral thing." Jude shook her head as Cassie looked over at her.

"What's there to understand?" Cassie shook her head, "They look my booty look cute, don't you think?" She turned around, trying to look in the mirror as AJ laughed a little.

"They do actually." Jude nodded.

"They're super cute. I like them." AJ nodded to her.

"Ok, I got some more to try on." Cassie nodded, rushing back into the changing room as Jude chuckled.

"Thea would have her strangled in the changing room drapes by now." Jude chuckled.

"Yeah that's why I don't go out shopping with them both together." AJ nodded, "They used to argue all the time when we were out, even when Cassie was four and Thea was what? Sixteen? The arguments would be ridiculous."

"Yeah, I remember." Jude laughed, "Thea used to always give her a dead leg if she was walking behind her. She was so mean." Jude chuckled to herself.

"Mommy!" Cassie yelled in the grocery store as AJ turned around with horror, watching as other people in the store looked over.

"What?" AJ shook her head, walking over to the cart with some cereal.

"Thea is annoying me." Four year old Cassie told her, running over to AJ and holding onto her coat as AJ looked over at Thea who shrugged.

"She's in the way." Thea shrugged.

"Behave yourself." AJ rolled her eyes, "Stay here. I need to get toilet roll." She told them, walking down the aisle whilst Cassie reached up for the shopping cart handle, pretending she was pushing it as Thea watched with folded arms. Meanwhile Jude was standing a little further ahead with headphones on, playing a game on her phone.

"You're going to fall." Thea watched Cassie swinging from the shopping cart.

"No I'm not." Cassie scolded. Jude was her favourite sister. Thea was her nemesis.

"You are. And then you'll fall and smack your head off the ground. And you'll cry like a baby. And blood will be everywhere." Thea nodded as Cassie shook her head.

"No." Cassie shook her head as Thea watched, walking behind her and tickling her armpits as Cassie let go of the shopping cart and fell onto the ground.

"Thea!" Cassie yelled angrily, so loud that Jude heard through her headphones, pushing them down and looking over to see what had happened.

"What?" Thea chuckled, watching as Cassie got to her feet, running over to her and pushing her hard as Thea lost her balance and fell into a display of cereal boxes, knocking them over as more people turned around.

"Oh my God." Jude laughed to herself, shaking her head.

Cassie took hold of the shopping cart on her tip toes, pushing it forward quickly to get away from Thea just as AJ came back down the aisle, looking over at Thea who was sat amongst cereal boxes on the ground. She just shook her head, extending her hand out and helping Thea up.

"Are you embarrassed right now?" AJ asked her.

"Yeah, a little." Thea mumbled.

"Yeah, you should be." AJ nodded to her, "I mean, look at her, she's tiny." AJ teased Thea who rolled her eyes.

"She's evil, that's what she is." Thea nodded as AJ just smiled, shoving Thea forward towards the cart, hoping to successfully get round the grocery store without any casualties.