Disconnect

"Oh, look. It's my favourite son and daughter-in-law." Sam smiled, opening up the door to her house where AJ and Punk stood, "Don't get it confused, though. I say that to Dean and Renee when I see them too." She said, walking off into her house.

"I don't know why we're bothering with this." Punk shook his head, following AJ into the house.

"Because I'd like to know what happened." AJ said, walking on through to the kitchen as Punk closed the door behind him.

"Mom, it stinks of weed in here." Punk placed his t-shirt up over his nose. Going into his childhood home really wasn't his favourite thing. It brought back a lot of terrible memories he didn't enjoy thinking about.

"Well then why are you here?" Sam asked, lighting up a cigarette.

"Well we know about Thea." AJ said, "You taking her for an abortion." She nodded as Sam looked across at them.

"Shit… did I blab to someone?" Sam asked them.

"Yeah, Cassie." Punk said, "That… doesn't matter, though." He said.

"I want to know why Thea didn't come to me." AJ said, "Why did she come to you?" She asked as Sam looked across at her. It did bother her. Her pride as a mother was hurting her more than anything. She wanted to have been there for her daughter, and was sad that she chose to go to Sam instead of her.

"Oh, April. She was a little girl. She didn't know what to do or who to go to." Sam said, "She was actually planning to go herself, until the… clinic told her that a parent or carer had to come collect her." She said as AJ sighed to herself.

"Well what happened? What did she say to you?" AJ asked.

"She showed up here one night. Told me she had stolen a pregnancy test from a store and it was positive. I sat her down, told her what she could do about it." Sam nodded, "She said she wasn't gonna have it and I said… ok, abortion it is." She shrugged.

"You're the most insensitive person I've ever known in my life." Punk nodded to her.

"Yeah well it made you and Dean strong kids so… I don't worry about it too much." Sam said as Punk shook his head.

"That's what you said? Abortion it is?" AJ asked.

"Oh, April don't pretend you're pro-life." Sam chuckled, "You were gonna have Thea aborted if this idiot stayed around dealing drugs."

"Please tell me you didn't tell her that." AJ said.

"I did." Sam shrugged as AJ placed her hands over face.

"This isn't about the actual abortion. I… I don't care about that. It's not something anyone should be shamed for. Hell, we… we didn't even need to know she had one but… I'm just upset she never told me, that's all." AJ made clear as Sam nodded.

"She didn't want to tell you because she thought you'd be disappointed, and she also thought you would have made her go tell him in prison." She nodded to Punk.

"Why am I always the big bad wolf in these situations?" Punk folded his arms.

"Why would she think I'd be disappointed?" AJ shook her head.

"I don't know, April. Because she's your daughter and cares what you think." Sam nodded, "She was in a right mess. She didn't even know who the father was." She emphasised as Punk shook his head.

"Ok, I feel uncomfortable now." Punk nodded, "So I'm gonna go wait in the car." He said, walking out of the kitchen and leaving the house.

"Was she ok? Did everything go ok?" AJ asked. All she was interested in was her daughter's safety and her health. Nothing about her choices or decision was the issue here.

"I mean… she was a seventeen year old having an abortion. It went ok as it could have went." Sam said, "I waited in the waiting room at the clinic, it didn't take long, then I took her home with me." She said.

"Did I make it hard for her?" AJ questioned, "Was I not approachable."

"I think it had more to do with her than it did with you." Sam said, "Unlike you or I, she has a good mom, she was just scared of letting you down-"

"She could never let me down. Certainly not because of something like this." AJ shook her head.

"I didn't tell her what to do but I did… give her some advice." Sam nodded, "I know… shocker. Me giving advice?" She shook her head, "I told her how difficult it was for me. For you." She said, "I know you remember what it was like. In that apartment on your own with a baby. Feeling alone and… lost." She said, "If there was someone I had close to me that could have guided me and told me my options when I was pregnant at sixteen… maybe my life would be different."

"Glad Phil isn't here to hear that." AJ scoffed.

"Phil knows how I feel." Sam nodded, "He's used to it by now." She said, "I just couldn't handle being a mom. You could." She said.

"I didn't want my kids to have the life I did… And you know what, it's all starting to come pretty close." She shook her head as Sam folded her arms.

"You're a good mom, April." Sam shook her head, "You've been doing it for thirty plus years." She smiled.

"And I think it's getting harder." AJ sighed to herself as Sam looked across at her.

"Thea did what she had to do. She made her decision. It's no one's business. Not mine. Not yours." Sam nodded, "She wasn't in a good place back then."

"Yeah, I know." AJ assured her, "I just… didn't know this."

"You didn't have to." Sam said, "It doesn't change anything. I think she came to me because I'm… such a mess too, if that makes you feel any better." She said.

"It doesn't really." AJ shrugged, "You know for… being such a mess, you've always been there for her." She said.

"Yeah well… she's my pal." Sam teased as AJ smiled a little, "How is everyone doing? I heard about what happened."

"It's not great but… we'll get through it. We always do." AJ nodded, "Somehow." She sighed to herself.

"How's Phil doing? He's… strangely quiet." Sam noticed.

"He's just worried about the girls." AJ said as Sam nodded, "They're all suffering in their own ways." She said as Sam nodded.

"Yeah but there's good to come after it. There always is." Sam nodded.

"Hard to see it like that right now." AJ said, "I should get going." She nodded, looking over at Sam, "Thank you for being there for her." She nodded.

"No need to thank me." Sam said, "She's a brave girl." She nodded.

"She is." AJ knew that.

"What are you doing here?" Sam asked, on the way out of her house as she saw seventeen year old Thea appearing, "I'm going out. I need a drink, desperately."

"Uh… I… I need to talk to you." Thea nodded to her.

"Babe, can it wait? I'm gasping here." Sam chuckled, walking past Thea.

"I'm pregnant." Thea said as Sam stopped in her tracks, slowly turning around, "I uh… I don't really know who to go to." She admitted truthfully.

"I never knew teenage pregnancy was genetic." Sam shook her head, walking past Thea and back into her house as Thea followed anxiously, "Get in." She nodded as Thea walked into the house, "Go through to the kitchen." Sam nodded as Thea walked on through to the kitchen.

"Sit down." Sam nodded as Thea sat down nervously, not saying much of anything, "Why are you not on the pill?" She questioned.

"I uh… I had to come off it. I was getting headaches." She explained.

"Really? You sure it wasn't just the hangovers?" Sam raised a brow.

"Are you really gonna lecture me?" Thea asked, "You? Who spends her entire days drinking."

"Yeah, I am gonna lecture you, Thea. You're seventeen. You're bright and you have a whole future ahead of you and look what you're doing-"

"Well I didn't mean it obviously." Thea rolled her eyes.

"Your mom should know about this. And what about Jackson? Does he know?" Sam asked her, sitting down at the kitchen table.

"N-No… I… I don't know if it's his." Thea mumbled as Sam looked across at her, "I've been with… a couple guys-"

"Thea." Sam looked at her with concern, "What the hell are you doing? What's gotten into you?"

"I'm just… I was having fun. Everyone does it." Thea said.

"And now look what happened." Sam said, "Your mom should know about this."

"No… no, please. I don't wanna tell her. She… She's dealing with enough right now. She doesn't need this in her life."

"You're her daughter. She should know about this." Sam said.

"Well… maybe there isn't anything to know about." Thea said as Sam looked across at her, "I don't want this baby." She said, horrified at the thought of it.

"Can you imagine? Your dad gets out of prison in a couple years and he has a grandchild?" Sam gasped with wonder, "I'd enjoy seeing his face." She thought to herself.

"Sam." Thea put her hands up, "Hello." She shook her head.

"Hi." Sam smiled as Thea sighed to herself, "Ok, babe what are you feeling? What do you want to do?"

"I'm not having this baby." Thea made clear. She just knew she wasn't. She wasn't going to make herself feel bad and pressure herself into having it. She knew what was best for her, despite her age and lack of maturity.

"So… abortion?" Sam nodded as Thea looked across at her, "Look… I know what it's like to have a baby when you shouldn't have. In fact, I know what it's like to have two babies when you shouldn't have." She said, "It can change you, not for the good. And hey, maybe I'm just a terrible mom and it had nothing to do with age but if… if I had someone with me when I got pregnant, to tell me my options and to let me know that it was ok if I couldn't go through with it… maybe my life would be different." She said as Thea looked across at her, "There shouldn't be pressure. Only your choice and your decision." She nodded.

"I just want it to go away." Thea looked at her as Sam nodded, "And I don't want anyone to know about it." She said, "Not my mom or… my dad." She rolled her eyes, "Or Uncle Dean."

"Ok." Sam nodded, "Ok." She said calmly, looking across at Thea.

"I would have just gone myself but I already looked into it on my way here and I need an adult with me." Thea said.

"Baby, you are not going in there on your own." Sam assured her, "I'll be there." She nodded, looking across at Thea who was looking down, "You don't have to feel bad-"

"I feel disgusting, actually." Thea nodded truthfully as Sam looked across at her.

"Well you shouldn't." Sam said, standing up and walking around, sitting down on the chair beside her, "You do what's best for you. That's all that matters right now. You got… plenty of time to have a baby." She said, wrapping her arms around her as Thea hugged into her.

"Please don't tell my mom." Thea said.

"This isn't my business to tell anyone." Sam said, stroking Thea's hair, "No woman should ever have to explain to anyone why she chose to take control of her own body."

"Phil, can you get the door!" AJ called from upstairs, hearing a knock at their front door, "I told you, you're going deaf!" She yelled downstairs.

"Yeah, ok ok!" Punk called upstairs, coming out of the kitchen and walking towards the door, opening it up where he was surprised to see Dominic, "Oh… hey." Punk smiled at the surprise.

"Hey, man." Dominic nodded, embracing Punk who patted him on the back

"You ok?" Punk asked him, "The kids with you?" He wondered, looking out into the car, not being able to see much.

"Yeah they're asleep." Dominic smiled, "Crashed the second I started driving." He nodded, "I'm sorry I couldn't get here sooner, I was at work and then Thea called to tell me what had happened and she went on ahead. Then I got a call from her last night telling me to just stay. But then she never came home." He said as Punk folded his arms, "So I've been calling her all day, leaving messages but… she's never picked up." He said, "It'd help my heart rate if she was here right now."

"She's… she's not here." Punk shook his head, "Uh… we saw her last night but, we haven't heard from her. I-I thought she was going back to Milwaukee." He said, "Well that's what she said."

"No, she never… she never came back." Dominic shook his head, looking across at him, "I'd be lying to you if I said I wasn't a little worried right now. She's not been in the best place lately with all of this stuff." He said as Punk looked at him.

"Let me… let me call Jude and see if she maybe crashed there." Punk nodded, starting to feel a nervous energy in his stomach, pulling his phone out and calling Jude whilst Dominic stood at the door anxiously.

"Hey, it's just me." Punk said, "Hey… did Thea happen to crash at yours last night? You seen her?" He asked, looking over at Dominic who was watching hopefully, "Ok… ok, I'll call you later." Punk said, hanging up on the call.

"She there?" Dominic nodded.

"No." Punk said fearfully, "Jude hasn't spoken to her since last night either." He said as Dominic looked at him worriedly.