The Exes

"Phil, can you help me with my homework?" Amelia asked, sitting at breakfast the next morning whilst AJ was in the shower. Dean was still snoring in the living room so Punk had brought Amelia into the kitchen and made her some breakfast before he had to leave for work.

"What you got?" Punk asked, leaning over and looking at her little notebook, "What's this? Math?" He questioned.

"Yeah." Amelia said, "I suck at it."

"I doubt that." Punk said, pulling the chair out beside her and sitting down, "You got all of these right." He noticed to the questions she'd already done.

"Even this one?" She pointed as Punk looked on.

"Yeah. Looks like you don't suck at all." Punk nodded.

"Maybe not." Amelia hummed, "Ok, let me do another one so you can check. Don't go anywhere." She told him as he nodded with a smile, watching her do the math sum as he nodded, "Is it right?" She asked him as he nodded.

"Spot on." Punk nodded, "Little wizard in the making." He smiled, standing back up as she smiled to herself and scribbled down more answers.

"Hey, baby. I don't think we'll have time to make you lunch I'll need to give you money." AJ rushed into the kitchen as Punk turned around.

"Phil made my lunch, mommy." Amelia nodded.

"Oh." AJ paused, looking over to Punk who just smiled, "Ok and have you done all your homework? I don't want you getting in trouble."

"Phil helped me. It's all done." Amelia smiled, shutting over her books as AJ looked over to Punk with a smile.

"So… we're ready to go?" AJ wondered. It really wasn't like them to be on time, but it was normally because she had no help. She had Tom but he'd normally escape the morning rush or he would just sit and work through it without helping her. Knowing Punk had the kindness and awareness to help her was everything she truly loved about him.

"I just need to get my shoes on." Amelia nodded, jumping off the chair.

"Wait, have you ate breakfast?" AJ aksed.

"Phil gave me it!" Amelia exclaimed whilst running off out of the kitchen to go put her shoes on.

AJ smiled, folding her arms as she looked over to Punk.

"Here, something before you go. Don't leave on an empty stomach." Punk told AJ as he sat down breakfast for her.

"I… I can't remember the last time I had time for breakfast in the morning." AJ admitted honestly. It was such a weird feeling to be… helped.

"Most important meal of the day." Punk nodded.

"Of course." AJ said, "Thank you for this. I mean you… you don't have to do that for her, help her and take care of her-"

"I don't mind." Punk nodded, "I mean I'm not gonna ignore her." He laughed a little as AJ smiled.

"Well I really appreciate the help." She smiled as he just nodded.

"You ready to go back to work?" He asked her.

"And tell people about my upcoming divorce? Not really." AJ nodded, "But I… I gotta do it." She said as he nodded.

"Maybe later we can chat about… last night." He smiled as AJ nodded.

"Yeah." AJ smiled. Last night. All she was thinking about was last night and how wonderful it was. But a part of her wasn't sure where they were really going to take this. Did they really want to go back down that road again? Was it something to consider? Was it too soon? There was a lot going through her head.

"Hi, sugar." Chrissy folded her arms, standing at the front of a car in the garage as Punk looked up from behind, coming out from behind the car and wiping his hands from the engine oil, "Miss me?" She smiled.

"Am I allowed to say no?" Punk questioned, walking towards her, "Dean told me you were looking for me."

"Yeah he was… pretty drunk last night." Chrissy nodded, "Nothing changed there."

"Well what do you want? I got work to do." Punk shrugged as Chrissy looked across at him.

"I saw you with April. You guys back together?" She asked.

"Not that it's any of your business… but no, we're not." Punk said. He wasn't going to put a label on anything when he and AJ hadn't really talked yet, "What's it to you?"

"Just wondering when you're gonna start visiting your daughter again." Chrissy shrugged, "You know… the one we have?" She questioned as Punk looked across at her, "You need me to remind you of her name or… or do you still remember?"

"Shut up." Punk shook his head, "You left with her. You didn't give me any choice." Punk said, "You didn't want me near her. How am I supposed to compete with that?" Punk questioned, "Now suddenly you want answers as to why I haven't been around?"

"You don't want her because you don't want me. That's why I left." Chrissy nodded.

"That's not true at all. I love Lily. You were the one who took her away from me and didn't give me the chance to… to be her dad." Punk shook his head as Chrissy just shook her head.

"I took her because you didn't want to make things work." Chrissy said.

"Yeah, with us. That didn't mean I didn't want my daughter. Our marriage fell apart and you got pregnant at the same time. It was wrong for me to pretend that it was going to fix things." He said, "So I told you how I felt and you took that as though I didn't want to be a dad."

"Well can you blame me?" Chrissy asked.

"So now you're storming back into my life and painting me the bad guy when it was you who took that chance away from me?" Punk asked, "Or are you storming back into my life because you've saw me with April a few times and you're getting a little bit angry?"

"Bit of both maybe." Chrissy shrugged, "Lily is four this weekend. I think you should come to her party-"

"I'd rather see her on my own, without your family barking down my neck." Punk rolled his eyes, "Of course, if you'll allow that." He shook his head.

"Fine." Chrissy nodded, "I'll call you."

"Don't play games with me, Chrissy. I'm warning you." Punk said, "Not with my kid."

"I'm not playing games. I'm the one who is taking care of her whilst you go about your normal life." Chrissy said, "Don't forget that."

"If you gave me the chance to see her all this time then I would." Punk said, "Don't act like I've had the choice. You were threatening me with restraining orders at the beginning of the year and now you're inviting me to her birthday party?" Punk questioned, "The hell is wrong with you?"

"Maybe you deserve a chance." Chrissy shrugged.

"Maybe? I never did anything wrong." Punk shook his head.

"Are you kidding?" Chrissy laughed, "Our marriage just consisted of me bailing you out of jail. I didn't want my kid around that."

"I told you I changed." Punk said.

"Yeah well forgive me for not believing you after all the times you would say that to me." Chrissy said, "And now I see you with April and you're… you're meeting your other daughter. I don't want Lily to feel like she wasn't good enough for you-"

"Well I'd make sure she never felt like that." Punk made clear, "If you let me see her that is."

"I will." Chrissy nodded, "I'll call you." She said as Punk stared at her. To think he did really love this woman at one point in his life, to think he thought she was his forever, he felt ridiculous for believing it. All she had done was taken his daughter away from him when she was two and refused to let her see him. He didn't talk about it, mostly because it hurt him. A lot.

"Hey, Chrissy." Punk called her back as she turned, "I find the timing of this highly convenient. April being back, you seeing me with her. I'm warning you right now, do not ever use my daughter as bait for anything. I will shut you down and you know I will." He warned her as Chrissy looked up at him and shrugged.

"No, I'm just giving you a chance." Chrissy said, "Don't fuck it up." She smiled, walking away from the garage as Punk shook his head, throwing the towel over and putting his hands on his hips.

The reason he hadn't told AJ about the fact he really did have another child, was because of how messy the situation was. He knew he looked like the typical dead beat dad but that wasn't the case. He never got the chance, the proper chance, to be a dad to his daughter. She was turning four and he'd missed so much in the past year and a half. She came along just as he and Chrissy's marriage was falling apart and he refused to pretend it was fine just because they were having a baby. He suggested to Chrissy that they co-parent after divorcing. It worked for a little while but Chrissy was a handful at the best of times. It had turned ugly with court orders and restraining orders that he had no choice but to stay away.

"April, Tom is… here to see you." AJ's assistant walked into her office as AJ stood up, watching her now ex, walk through the door to her office.

"What are you doing here?" AJ questioned.

"I came to see when I can see Amelia." Tom said, "I miss her." He nodded as AJ looked across at him.

"I told you I would call you." AJ said.

"Well there's no harm in talking face to face." Tom said, "I get it. I… I fucked it up with me and you. I mean we were… never great for a long time. Before we even had Amelia honestly." He said, "So… maybe divorcing, yeah maybe it's the right call." He nodded.

"Well it's what I want. I'm never gonna trust you again and I… I know I deserve better." She shrugged.

"You do." Tom agreed, "But I'm not letting my relationship suffer with Amelia just because we're splitting." He said, "So we need to come to some arrangement, when I can see her."

"We will. I told you we will." AJ said, "I'm out looking for places in the city right now. I'll be moved out by the end of the month and we'll have some sort of… routine sorted for Amelia." She nodded.

"Ok." Tom nodded, "I really miss her, you know." He said as AJ looked across at him.

"Why don't I believe you?" AJ wondered as Tom looked across at her, "You never spend time with her and now you miss her? You're always too busy for her. Too busy to play, to take her out, sometimes to even cook her dinner or put her to bed." She said, "I did that for six years, on my own." AJ reminded him, "You've just been in the background."

"Are you kidding me?" Tom spat, "She's my daughter."

"And you never make time for her." AJ called him out. It was things she just brushed by before, but now it was all coming out, she felt like she couldn't hold back, "I mean, I've been staying with Phil and he's been more of a dad to her in a week than you have in six years." She said as Tom looked at her.

"You've been staying with Phil?" Tom questioned, "Since when?"

"Since… that's where I went the night I found you in bed with someone else." AJ said, "He's been there for me. More than you ever have." She walked around from her desk, "And he's been there for Amelia."

"Shut up." Tom spat, "I don't want him near her, do you understand me? Or you." He said, "Who the hell does he think he is?"

"He's a real man who knows exactly what I need." AJ nodded. She figured why the hell not. Every time she saw him, all she could think about was how he spent months sleeping with another woman whilst coming home to her and their daughter. It angered her now. At first she was upset and now she was just angry.

"Excuse me?" Tom walked closer to her.

"Yeah, that's right." AJ smiled, "He gives me what I need. He's… been there for me." She smirked, "If you know what I mean." She folded her arms as Tom slapped her across the face, sending her stumbling back a little with shock as she held her cheek and turned around.

"Don't make this ugly." Tom warned, looking down on her as AJ gulped. It was one thing to be cheated on, but the fact he had raised his hand to her really made her feel like a fool to even have married this man.

"Get out." AJ whispered, holding her cheek and leaning back against her desk as Tom left the office and slammed the door shut behind him.