Settled For Now

"April! We brought home pizza." Bob announced, walking in the apartment later one night with Punk and a pizza box, "C'mon, I know you're hungry." He smiled as Punk chuckled.

"She has literally been eating everything." Punk nodded.

"I heard that." AJ announced, walking out of her and Punk's bedroom, six months pregnant with a petite bump, glowing in Punk's eyes, "But you're right, I am hungry." She smiled excitedly, wandering into the kitchen and sitting down at the table, kissing Punk hello.

"Just because you're pregnant doesn't mean you can wear my clothes all the time." Punk said as AJ shrugged.

"Your clothes are comfy." She shrugged. It was true, she normally spent her time around the apartment in his t-shirts and a pair of shorts. She wasn't huge by any means, but their baby was growing, and it was becoming that little bit more real every day.

"Here are some plates." Bob said, putting down some plates for them.

Although he had agreed with them both that he wouldn't be their parents, cleaning up after them. He wanted them to do their own laundry, their own dishes, cook and clean their own stuff… he'd somehow found himself wanting to take care of them both.

"Thank you so much." AJ smiled. If there was one thing Bob did know, it was that they were both incredibly grateful for what he was doing for them, and he could see how much stress he'd lifted from their shoulders. That was worth it.

"What'd you get up to today?" Bob asked her.

"I went to school, came home and took a nap, made a big ass sandwich. I read some of the book you'd gave me." She nodded to Bob, "And then I done some homework."

"How is school going for you?" Bob asked.

"Yeah, good. People actually aren't being as mean as I thought they would be. I officially can't fit into my cheer costume anymore." She frowned, "But it's not like I'm on the team anymore." She shrugged.

"You still sit in on practise, right?" Punk asked her.

"Sometimes. Or I use that time to catch up on work." She shrugged. She was surprised to admit that things were actually working, even whilst being pregnant, the only thing that she hated was that her boyfriend had left school, and she felt like it was her fault. He seemed to genuinely not mind, but she still thought about it.

"What's on your schedule for tomorrow?" Bob asked her, watching her reach over for a second slice of pizza.

"I got school and then one of those baby classes." AJ said, "Sounds absolutely ridiculous saying that out loud." She rolled her eyes as Punk smiled.

"No it doesn't." He shrugged as she smiled to him. She loved him for everything he was doing. For his dedication, for somehow finding them a place to stay, for making her feel like she could actually have a baby and not lose out on other opportunities. She didn't know what she'd do without him.

"God, I think I'm giving myself indigestion." AJ groaned, putting her slice of pizza down.

"Take your time." Bob tutted as AJ groaned a little. Apart from constant indigestion, her pregnancy was going pretty well. Her doctor was so lovely and was keeping a check on her every few weeks. She felt more supported now than she did when she first found out.

"Eve was trying to convince me to let her throw me a baby shower." AJ rolled her eyes.

"Of course she was." Punk shook his head, "But… not a bad idea if we get some gifts out of it." He nodded.

"Our friends aren't middle aged workers with money. We'll get a few pacifiers and a teddy bear."

"Every little helps." Punk shrugged. Money still was an issue of course, even though Bob was taking care of them. Punk was saving money that he was making, but he knew there'd be no way he'd make enough by the time the baby came. He knew the baby was gonna have to come home to this place, and he was sure Bob had figured that out for himself too.

"Don't you two worry about that." Bob nodded to them as AJ smiled to herself. She felt lucky to know him and to have him helping them out.

"Hey, are you tired?" AJ asked, playing with Punk's hair as she sat up against the headboard whilst he rested his head on her lap.

"Yeah, it was a long day today." Punk nodded as she traced her fingertips over his forehead.

"I hope you never resent me for this." AJ sighed.

"What?" Punk shook his head, sitting up and turning to her.

"Making you drop out of school like this." AJ shook her head, "It just… it doesn't seem fair."

"Hey, you didn't make me do anything. This was my choice. I never wanted to go to college anyway. I'm not just saying that. I really had no interest in it. You do and you need school for that." He said, "I would have just left and found a job somewhere anyway so… it makes no difference." Punk nodded.

"I feel like you're just saying that." AJ sighed.

"I'm not, I promise." Punk shook his head, "It makes no difference to me." He said. And he was telling the truth. He didn't want to go to college so it made sense for him to drop out of school and pick up a job somewhere. He really didn't mind.

"I just wish I could help contribute. I could get a part-time job." AJ said.

"No." Punk scoffed, "You go to school and then you come home and do homework, and you got baby classes and everything else… no, you're not getting a job." Punk said.

"Don't you feel bad that Bob is practically taking care of us?" AJ asked him.

"We were desperate, yeah." Punk nodded, "But he's agreed to let us stay until as long as we need. You don't get many nice people like that, and it's nice actually getting to live here and not have to worry or stress, isn't it?" He asked her, tucking her hair behind her ear as she smiled and nodded.

"It is nice." AJ nodded, "He's so nice to us." She whispered, "Do you think he has kids?" She asked him.

"I don't know. I… I don't actually know much about him which sounds ridiculous." Punk said, "Why so curious?"

"I don't know, he just seems like he knows what he's doing. He's good with advice." She shrugged as Punk nodded.

"Yeah, he is." Punk agreed, "I promise when we're older, we'll be able to pay him back for all of this." He nodded as AJ smiled.

"Yeah, that'd be nice." AJ nodded, "I actually feel more at home here than I ever did at my actual house." She shook her head.

"Yeah, tell me about it." Punk said.

"Has Dean still been staying with his buddy?" AJ asked him.

"Yeah." Punk nodded, "He's not been home in weeks." Punk said, "Dad's probably gonna overdose or… drink himself to death." He said, "But I'm… I'm done with it. I tried to help him and all I got was a criminal record out of it. Not again." He promised as AJ smiled.

"Well you don't owe them anything." AJ nodded.

"I know." Punk said, "I'm gonna be a good dad, I promise." He looked at her as she smiled.

"You don't need to tell me. I know you will." AJ smiled. It was still very daunting to speak it all into existence. To realise that in a few months, there really was going to be a baby, they were going to be parents, "I feel like we've really gone from being… childish teenagers who are on the cheerleading team and who have dates on the beach to… parents with jobs and responsibilities… literally overnight." AJ said.

"Well… we sort of have." Punk laughed a little as she nodded, "We're gonna be fine." He said, leaning forward and kissing her head.

"Mmm, you're not too tired, are you?" She smirked, straddling herself over him as he smiled.

"Never for you." He smiled, kissing her sweetly.

He thought at the beginning, this was starting to make them distant from one another, but once they figured things out, they really became closer than ever. They were trying and they were dedicated. It really showed that they just needed that little bit of support to get behind them, and everything fell into place.

AJ couldn't sleep through the night, jealous as she watched her boyfriend snoring peacefully beside her. It was also a nice thing getting to sleep beside him every night, getting to wake him up at 4am to touch her belly when the baby kicked. Moments like that made her extremely happy. She knew what she was sharing with him was extremely special.

She got up out of bed, putting on some clothes and leaving the bedroom, jumping a little when she saw Bob sitting on the couch watching some quiet TV.

"It's 3am." AJ shook her head, "What are you doing up?" AJ asked him.

"Oh, I couldn't sleep." Bob told her as she walked over and sat down on the couch beside him, "And at this time you get all the repeats from the shows I miss earlier on." He shrugged.

"I see." AJ smiled.

"And why are you up?" Bob asked her.

"The baby is up so… that means I'm up. It's sort of selfish that way." She poked her tummy lightly as Bob smiled.

"I take it Phil is unconscious in there?" Bob smiled.

"Oh, yeah. He's out like a light." AJ nodded, "I get jealous when I see him all peaceful and comfy so I come out here and sit." She said as Bob said.

"He has great intentions that kid. You mean a lot to him, and that baby." Bob assured her. He felt like he was witnessing something really special, kids who were doing their best, who were determined.

"He means a lot to me." AJ smiled as Bob nodded, "Hey, Bob… don't mind me asking but… is this your wife in this picture?" AJ asked, pointing to the frame on the coffee table.

"Yeah." Bob smiled, "She died of cancer. Six years ago."

"Oh, I'm… I'm so sorry." AJ shook her head, "I never knew."

"Oh, I don't talk about it." Bob assured her.

"She's beautiful." AJ smiled.

"Yeah." Bob agreed, looking at the picture, "I started working more at the store when she died, to take my mind off of things. It's when I started to notice things at Phil's house. The cops always being there. His dad always came over every morning to buy a six pack and a carton of cigarettes. Every morning. Then he'd try and send Phil over." Bob said, "I was worried about him and his brother." He admitted.

"Yeah, I don't think his father is the nicest." AJ nodded.

"No, definitely not. Don't you ever go there." Bob warned her.

"I won't. Phil has already decided he's not gonna see them again." AJ said as Bob nodded, "Do you have kids?" She asked him.

"Oh, no." Bob shook his head, "We never really got the chance." He admitted, "She was sick for a long time, took a lot of years before I lost her." He said as AJ sighed.

"What was her name?" AJ asked.

"Mariana." Bob smiled.

"That's a beautiful name." AJ nodded as Bob smiled, patting her on the arm sweetly.

"Here, you pick something to watch. The pregnant woman is the superior in this apartment." He teased as AJ smiled to herself, taking the remote from him and flicking throught he channels.