Space
"You ok?" Dean asked, walking down the street with Thea.
"Yeah, I think so." Thea nodded to him, "Thank you for being the best uncle." She smiled as he chuckled a little.
"Uncle? Come on, you've always been like the little sister I never had." Dean smiled.
"That is true." Thea nodded, looking on as she watched her father and Dominic appearing down the street.
"T, you not know how to work a phone anymore?" Dominic called, putting his hands out as he walked towards her whilst Punk followed, "Where the hell were you last night?" He asked, immediately wrapping his arms around her as she hugged him back tightly.
In the midst of her own misery and feeling helpless, she'd somehow shut off the one person who she knew would always stand by her side, no matter what. She was wrong for that and she knew it.
"I'm sorry." Thea hugged him, "I just stayed at a hotel. I… I just wanted to be on my own." She explained.
"Ok, but call me or text me… don't just… step off the face of the earth like that." Dominic sighed with stress.
"I'm sorry." Thea nodded.
"It's ok." Dominic sighed, pulling her in for a hug again.
"Where the hell were you?" Punk asked, catching up.
"I was… I was just-" Thea began, not wanting to say she was at a bar.
"She was at a coffee shop." Dean chimed in, "Saw her through the window and I joined her for a coffee." He turned to Thea who smiled softly and nodded, "We had a good talk." He said, turning back to Punk who nodded.
"Since when do you drink coffee?" Punk shook his head.
"I'm coming around to it." Dean nodded, "How's everyone doing?" He asked Punk.
"Yeah, we're… we're ok." Punk nodded briefly as Dean turned back to Thea.
"I'll swing by and see you guys tomorrow or something. I better get home before Renee grounds me." Dean nodded.
"Thanks, man." Punk nodded to him, patting him on the back as he headed off down the street.
"Are you ok?" Dominic asked Thea, "Your dad… told me what happened with Cassie." He said, "She's just upset. She doesn't mean anything she said. You're her sister. She loves you." He assured her, "I don't know a bunch of sisters who love each other more or do as much as you all do for one another." He said truthfully as Punk nodded to himself. That was very true, "They probably just need a bit of time." He nodded.
"He's right." Punk added in.
"I know." Thea said, "But you guys gotta let me feel what I wanna feel. Telling me it's not my fault repeatedly doesn't change what I feel." She emphasised.
"I know that." Punk said, "We just don't want you to feel any guilt." He said as Dominic nodded.
"Well I do." Thea said, "And you gotta let me feel that so I can… do something about it. Talk to Cassie and Jude." She said as Punk looked across at her.
"Babe, I don't think they want to talk right now." Dominic said, "I think everyone just needs their space. Time to cool off." He said as Punk nodded.
"Yeah, I think cooler heads will prevail after a couple of days." Punk nodded.
"So what do I do? Sit around and let my sisters hate me?" Thea asked them.
"No, you let them calm down." Dominic said, "And then you guys talk, and make up, and… be sisters again." He said.
"I have a suggestion." Punk thought to himself as Thea looked over at him, "Why don't me and your mom keep the kids for a couple of days and you guys… take some time on your own?" He asked.
"No, it's ok, dad." Thea shook her head.
"We don't mind. We could use the little angels to cheer us up a bit." Punk nodded, "You two can have time to yourselves. Everyone can just take a couple days to… chill out and rejuvenate." He said.
"Doesn't sound so bad." Dominic looked at Thea.
"No… No, I want to go talk to my sisters. I'm not going off on a getaway." Thea scoffed.
"It's not a getaway." Dominic said, "It's taking a couple days to ourselves."
"I think it'd be good for you." Punk nodded to her as she folded her arms, looking from her husband to her father indecisively, not knowing what to say or do.
"Papa." Sofia whispered, standing at Punk's bedside, her furby tucked into her arm, Scooby-Doo pyjamas on with bed hair, "Punk." She said, tapping his arm nervously, hoping he'd wake up, noticing one of his eyes opening, giggling quietly to herself as he smiled sleepily.
"Morning." Punk chuckled a little, turning around in bed to see what his wife was up to, smiling as he saw her fast asleep.
"Papa Punk, I've woke up." She cared to tell him as he nodded.
"You have." Punk nodded, sitting up in bed and wiping the sleep from his eyes, "Your brother up?"
"Umm no, he's sleeping." She explained as Punk nodded.
"You wanna help me make some pancakes for everyone?" Punk asked her.
"Yeah." Sofia nodded excitedly, "Come on, come on." She jumped up and down impatiently.
"Ok." Punk chuckled, getting out of bed and putting on some shorts and t-shirt, "Ok, you go downstairs and let me do the toilet." He shooed her away as she ran away downstairs.
She ran through the hall and into the kitchen excitedly. She loved staying with her grandparents. It was a different type of fun. It was like a second home, and she'd missed them a whole lot since their move to Milwaukee.
She got into the kitchen, spotting her aunt Cassie sitting at the table with a coffee.
"We're making pancakes." Sofia told her aunt, climbing up onto the chair beside her.
"None for me, thanks." Cassie nodded as Sofia frowned.
"Why not?" Sofia asked, her shoulders deflating. How could anyone not want pancakes?
"I'm not that hungry, babe." Cassie said, fixing Sofia's bed hair.
"But it's Papa Punk's pancakes." Sofia explained.
"I'll just watch." Cassie nodded.
"Boring." Sofia said sassily, jumping back off the chair as Punk came into the kitchen, "Papa Punk, Cassie doesn't want pancakes."
"Why not?" Punk asked, looking over at Cassie.
"Not hungry." Cassie said briefly, taking a sip of her coffee.
"Well… that's her loss then." Punk nodded to Sofia who was rolling her pyjama top sleeves up, "Ok, we need some flour, some eggs…" He spoke to himself whilst Sofia pushed one of the kitchen chairs over to the counter so she could stand on it to reach.
"Be careful you don't fall." Cassie watched Sofia.
"I am careful." Sofia made clear.
"Ok, here we go." Punk walked over, grabbing a big bowl out from the cupboard, helping Sofia put the ingredients in, letting her mix it all up, "Ok, use those muscles, let me see." Punk nodded, watching Sofia doing her best to mix up the pancake mix.
Cassie smiled as she watched. Sofia was definitely a character. She was a lot like Thea in the attitude department. It was clear to see that.
"I'm mixing it." Sofia nodded, encouraging her own self as Punk smiled.
"Hell yeah." Punk nodded, "Ok, keep going until all the flour is mixed in." He said, turning around to Cassie who was sitting watching.
"Shame you and I never got to do that when I was that age." Cassie nodded to him as he looked across at her.
"Why you taking your anger out on me and mom?" Punk asked her, walking over to the table, sitting down at the table, "Your mom was real upset after what you said to her. You don't get to talk to her like that. Not her." He made clear as Cassie looked at him. She knew he was mad with her.
"I'm not mad at you guys." Cassie assured him, "Mom's the one who isn't talking to me-"
"Yeah, well she's upset." Punk nodded, "Don't come at her like that. Not after what she's done for this family. For you and your sisters-"
"When you weren't here?" Cassie took another dig.
"Yeah, exactly. When I wasn't here. She raised all three of you. On her own." Punk said, "You don't get to be mad or angry at her." He shook his head.
"Well I'll apologise then." Cassie shrugged, noticing her father was legitimately mad with her about the way she was acting.
"Yeah, you will." Punk nodded.
"Theo's funeral is on Friday." Cassie said as Punk nodded.
"I'll come with you." He said.
"You don't have to." Cassie shook her head.
"I'll come." Punk nodded, watching as she nodded and looked down, "I know you're hurting right now. You've lost someone you cared about. I… I feel lucky that I've never been in that position before. But judging by what I've heard, he'd be making fun of you for sitting around sulking over him, right?" He figured as Cassie smiled a little and nodded.
"Yeah, he would actually." Cassie thought to herself, "He'd definitely be making fun of me right now." She said as Punk smiled.
"You can be upset. You can feel whatever you wanna feel, but we're your family, Cassie. We're here to help you and support you. You don't have to tear us all down." He said as she nodded to herself.
"Maybe I've not… dealt with this very well." She figured.
"Maybe not." Punk nodded in agreement, "But we can say things we don't mean when we're hurt." He said.
"I'm still mad with Thea." Cassie made clear, "But… I should never have told everyone about her having an abortion. I feel awful about that, actually." She said.
Having some time to think to herself made her realise the impact of her words on her family. She realised her sister was undeserving of such personal information being shouted out without her consent. She was mad at herself for that. So mad.
"It wasn't any of our business to know." Punk nodded.
"It wasn't." Cassie agreed, "I was just so upset." She shook her head, "I miss him." She nodded. She realised all her anger and sadness came from missing Theo. She missed talking to him. Working with him. Learning from him. She wasn't really sure how to deal with this loss.
"I know." Punk understood.
"He's gone but I still… I still feel like I'm falling for him." Cassie shook her head with confusion.
"You must have had a really good friendship." Punk nodded.
"We did." Cassie nodded, "She's gonna fall off that chair." She observed Sofia who was almost falling off her chair.
"Sofia, careful." Punk nodded.
"I am careful!" Sofia snapped as Punk chuckled to himself.
"She's literally just a small Thea." Cassie shook her head.
"Yeah, she is. There's two of them now." Punk teased as Cassie smiled, "You know she's… hating herself right now, so bad." He said, "She wanted to come talk to you and Jude but… I figured you all needed space."
"Yeah, I… I think I need some time before I speak to her." Cassie nodded.
Thea and Dominic had agreed to have a few days to themselves, letting James and Sofia stay with Punk and AJ. Punk felt content that all his daughters were getting the appropriate time on their own to heal and calm down. He hoped in a few days they'd be able to talk things out.
"Just know that she… she never wanted any of this. And at the same time, she also couldn't do anything to prevent it." Punk said, "It wasn't her fault."
"Yeah, I know." Cassie nodded. She knew.
"Papa Punk, I've mixed it all." Sofia said.
"Ok, let me see." Punk stood up from the table, walking over and checking out the pancake mix, "Damn, you had those muscles working." He nodded as Sofia smiled.
"Yes, look." Sofia said, flexing her muscles as Cassie chuckled, "Why are you laughing, aunt Cassie?" Sofia wondered suspiciously.
"Oh, I just can't believe you have such big muscles." Cassie nodded.
"Oh." Sofia smiled, "I know." She nodded proudly.
"Ok, let's start making these." Punk nodded, getting a pan out, beginning to scoop out the mix to cook the pancakes. Sofia observed this part as she wasn't allowed to go near the stove.
"Now that I smell them… maybe I am kinda hungry." Cassie nodded, standing up from the table and opening up the fridge, grabbing out some blueberries and whipped cream.
"Sofia you get the first batch since you made them." Punk nodded.
"Of course." Sofia nodded, walking over to the table, sitting up and getting ready for her pancakes which Punk eventually gave to her.
"You want a smiley face?" Cassie asked her, taking the whipped cream and drawing up a face for her, "Use the blueberries for the eyes and nose." She said.
"Oh." Sofia smiled excitedly, reaching over for some of the blueberries, putting some eyes on the face, "But now I don't wanna eat him." She sighed stressfully as Punk chuckled to himself, hearing footsteps coming downstairs and watching James appear.
"Hey, buddy." Punk smiled, "You smell the pancakes?" He chuckled, messing his hair up.
"James, look at my face!" Sofia exclaimed excitedly as Cassie chuckled.
James climbed up onto the chair beside his sister and looked at the pancake face.
"Oh, I want a face too." James nodded.
"Coming up." Punk nodded, putting a pancake on a plate, handing it over to Cassie, "Aunt Cassie is the face maker." He said as Cassie chuckled, squishing some whipped cream onto James' pancake to make a face.
"Here you go." Cassie smiled, handing the plate over to James.
"And use the blueberries for eyes." Sofia ordered her brother as James smiled, grabbing some blueberries, "Papa Punk, save a face for A." She ordered, sweetly.
"Ok, we'll keep one for A. Maybe this could be an apology face?" He hummed, looking over at Cassie who smiled a little and nodded.
"Yeah, I think so." Cassie nodded.