Going In
"Open your mouth."
AJ sat in a dreary, grey office with two men in white coats holding her at either side whilst an older woman stood in front of her. She kept her mouth closed, looking up at the woman. She'd been man handled all the way to what she could only describe as a terrifying, ghostly looking asylum, in the middle of nowhere.
"I said, open your mouth." The woman hissed, grabbing AJ by the jaw and forcing her mouth open as AJ tried to fight it but couldn't, letting her take a look in her mouth, no doubt searching for drugs.
She had been introduced to the woman, whose name was Linda, and was informed that she was the head of the institute. AJ knew that she obviously had dealings with Teresa, and even just getting a glimpse of the place, she knew it wasn't ran properly.
She was an older woman, wearing a long grey skirt and shirt. Even AJ was scared of her and that took a whole lot.
"Now your hair." Linda said, pulling AJ's head down and pulling at her hair as AJ winced a little, feeling the woman separate her hair and look closely.
"You think I'm dirty?" AJ spat, taking offense to the almost prison like inspection, which she wasn't unfamiliar with.
"It's standard procedure." Linda assured her.
"What next then? You gonna stick a finger up my ass?" AJ questioned as Linda slapped her across the face hard.
"You do not speak like that in here." Linda spat as AJ turned back around to her, "You two may go." She nodded to the two men who let go of AJ's arms and left the office whilst AJ looked at the woman closely.
"You can't justify me being here." AJ spat. Although this was part of her and Punk's plan, she still had to make it look believable. All she could think about were her daughters, and how much she missed them already.
"I think we can." Linda nodded, "You have quite the traumatic past, April. We here at Saint Jude's can help you." She said, "We can help you with everything." She smiled as AJ looked across at her.
"You work for Teresa." AJ said, "Why has she put me in here?" AJ questioned her.
"I don't discuss business with my patients." Linda said.
"Patient?" AJ shook her head.
"Here are your clothes. You'll change into them and then I will show you your room." Linda said, extending over some grey sweat pants and a white t-shirt to AJ who took it from her.
"Where can I change?" AJ questioned.
"Right here." Linda said as AJ rolled her eyes, stripping out of her clothes as Linda watched her, "Where did you get that scar?" She questioned, looking on at the slight scarring along AJ's stomach.
"That's not your business." AJ spat, quickly putting the sweats and the t-shirt on as Linda just tutted.
"Oh, April. You'll have to get used to opening up. It's all you'll be doing here." Linda nodded as AJ looked across at her, "Come with me." She said, leaving the office as AJ eventually followed behind her, "Hand and leg ties will only be used if you need to be restrained. There is a time out area in isolation if you happen to step out of line." She explained whilst AJ walked behind her, going down the long eerie corridors.
"I've seen better looking prisons." AJ mumbled truthfully. She hadn't saw anything like it, and to make it even worse, there were actual people in rooms, some who sounded like they really were going crazy, "You keep them in their room all day?" AJ questioned.
"No. There's therapy hour, group therapy, outdoor time-"
"Did they forget to knock down this institute in the 70's?" AJ asked, "This set-up does not help people with mental health conditions. But I'm assuming you're aware of that, because… there's something else going on here, right?" AJ nodded as Linda turned around to her, pausing AJ in her tracks.
"Sounds to me like your crazy is talking." Linda smiled as AJ looked at her, "You'll come to learn very quickly, Mrs Brooks, how we deal with things here. It might be… old-fashioned, but it's definitely effective." She smiled, opening up the door beside her as AJ looked in.
The room was just as small as a prison cell with barely anything in it. Nothing but a bed and a toilet pan, with no window or colour.
"How long am I in here for?" AJ questioned. She knew she had to suck it up. She was here to do a job, to get information. For that, she had to get into her past frame of mind.
AJ walked into the room, turning around when she didn't hear Linda reply, watching as two men in white coats appeared again as she watched.
"What?" AJ shook her head.
"It's time for your first dose of medication." Linda smiled, holding a cup with a pill in it as AJ shook her head.
"N-No… wait." AJ tried to back away as the two men grabbed her. She immediately began to fight them, punching one across the face, kicking the other one, trying to get away. Being drugged wasn't any part of the plan, and it was enough to give her the fright of her life.
She tried to get out of the room but the two men grabbed her, forcing her down onto the ground as she began breathing rapidly with fear.
"Please don't." AJ begged, "I don't need it." She shook her head as Linda walked over to her, opening up her mouth and pouring the pill down her throat as AJ tried not to swallow it, but had no choice.
The uncertainty and unknown of what she'd actually been given was terrifying. It wasn't the first time she had been drugged but when she knew she couldn't afford to be drugged out and unable to work, it began to panic her. The plan was for her to be fully able to get information, to pass it on to Punk, to shut this place down and take Teresa down with it. But she couldn't do anything if she was out of her face the entire time.
"Good girl." Linda smiled, "These two nice men are gonna stay with you until you fall asleep. Ok?" She said, "Mostly to make sure you don't stick your fingers down your throat and throw anything up." She said as AJ looked up at her, already starting to feel lightheaded.
She watched as Linda turned around and left the room whilst the two men let her go, walking over and standing by the door and she stayed sitting on the floor, looking at them.
"If you… if you put your hands on me…" AJ pointed to them, getting to her feet, "I will… I will kill you." AJ promised them, but it appeared they weren't interested. They stood just like security guards at her door, barely paying attention to her.
So she took her chance, running over to the toilet and sticking her fingers down her throat, trying quickly to throw up the pill if she could, but she was immediately grabbed back and punched across the face. She punched back but the other man stepped in and hit her. But her problem was, she refused to stay down, which wasn't helping in this situation.
"Daddy." Vivian whispered, opening up her parents' bedroom door, holding her glowing Elmo tightly, "Daddy." She said again, walking over to him as Punk woke up. He appeared to have crashed out in bed. He still had his clothes on and was on top of the covers.
Once he'd gotten home, he explained to the girls that AJ was gone for business reasons, like he was, but that they would see her soon, which was the plan. It was difficult. The girls hadn't really been without AJ before.
"W-What? What is it?" Punk asked her, reaching over and turning the bedside light on, rubbing his eyes as he saw her standing by the bed.
"Miss mommy." She frowned as Punk looked at her and nodded.
He lifted her up under the arms and placed her onto the bed beside him as she got herself under the covers.
"I do too." Punk nodded to her, watching as she put Elmo in between her legs, looking up at her father.
"When will I see her?" Vivian whispered. She always whispered if she had woken up in the middle of the night. She was adorable.
"Soon." Punk nodded, "I promise we'll see her soon. She's not far away." He said. He couldn't stop thinking about AJ. He knew she was one of the strongest people he'd ever known, and if anyone was going to pull off something like this, it would be her, but he just didn't like the idea of her being in any sort of danger, whether she could protect herself or not. At first he really wasn't agreeing to the plan, but he figured if they pulled it off, it could really help them out. He was planning on seeing AJ in the morning, and he just hoped everything was going ok.
"Can you sing to me like mommy does." Vivian whispered, lying down beside him as Punk looked at her.
"What do you want me to sing?" Punk asked her, "What does mommy normally sing?" He asked her.
"All different ones." Vivian said, "The little star one." She nodded.
"Ok." Punk nodded, "But I'm not much of a singer." He told her.
"That's ok." Vivian patted him, assuring him as Punk smiled.
He sang to her a few classic children's songs, doing his best to sing softly which wasn't really a strength of his, but eventually Vivian fell asleep beside him, holding onto her glowing bear, curled in beside him as he smiled, kissing her head softly.
He could be wonder dad, and his girls could be attached to his hip, but nothing could beat the love they got from their mother. The love they were already missing.