Just a little something I worked on over the weekend when the kitty was not attacking my laptop...

Thanks for all the adds and reviews :) Enjoy!

Monday afternoon Gabby stood at the foot of her bed staring at the clothes she had laid out on it, her suitcase open and waiting to be filled for her impending trip to Chicago. She chewed her lower lip still contemplating if she was making the right decision or not. Granted Gabby knew there was no doubt that she wanted to be with Punk, but she was worried. They had both been through so much, there was no possible way for them to pick up where they had left off and she worried Punk wasn't on the same page. He was genuinely happy when she said she'd go to Chicago with him, but she wasn't sure what he was thinking.

Gabby saw the next two weeks as an opportunity for both of them to talk, figure out where they stood and what they wanted out of a relationship. From there was the fun task of starting all over again, something she wasn't looking forward to. A big test in rebuilding their relationship was going to be abstaining from the physical side of it, especially since that was a big part of their relationship. Granted it wasn't built on sex, but something as simple as sleeping in the same bed could not happen if this was going to work; in fact Gabby was already debating finding her own apartment in Chicago if she and Punk did decide to give it another go because living together wasn't an option this time.

Once everything was packed, Gabby wheeled her suitcase into the hallway. As soon as she put it by the door, she heard a knock and knew who it was before opening it. She couldn't resist smiling as she opened the door and came face to face with Punk. Instantly the butterflies started and she wanted to forget every thought she was previously thinking while packing, but managed to stay level headed, which was incredibly hard when she noticed his signature smirk gracing his lips. The fitted T-shirt and low hanging jeans didn't help matters either, but Gabby managed to hold it together.

"Hey, um I'm almost ready just come in and make yourself comfortable." Punk did as she asked choosing to look around as Gabby retreated to her room again. Punk found Gabby's condo to be a very humble abode, one that he didn't see her leaving behind easily. He'd already figured it would take some convincing to get her to move back to Chicago, but he had some ideas laid out and hoped that one of them would work in his favor. His thoughts were interrupted when Gabby reappeared and he realized once again how simply beautiful and breath taking she was. Even in jeans, a t-shirt and a pair of converse, he was just as turned on as he'd been seeing her all dolled up at the hall of fame. It was just one more reassurance that she was worth the sleepless nights and frustrations, in his mind she was it and he just hoped she felt the same way.

"You ready to go?"

"Yeah I think I have everything I need, if not then I suppose I'll just have to frequent some of my favorite boutiques."

"The last thing you need is new clothes; any more clothes or shoes and I'll have to build a new closet to accommodate everything." Punk let out a light laugh, but noticed her smile had faltered and mentally kicked himself. "Anyway, let's get to the airport so we don't miss the flight…" Punk moved to open the door for her, but noticed Gabby stayed put. He hoped she wasn't having a change of heart because of what he said, but knew something was off. "You okay Gabby?" She shook her head and his heart sank as he figured this was the beginning of the end.

"Do we have time to talk about a few things?" Punk nodded and followed her into the living room. They both sat on the couch avoiding eye contact as the silence began to seem never ending. "Here's the thing, I want to be with you, I really do, but I hope you understand that we can't just pick up where we left off. It might not seem like it, but we've both changed over the last few months, plus the last time we tried this it didn't end well…" Punk let out a sigh as he interrupted Gabby.

"Gabby I'm sorry for what I did and I honestly don't know how many times you want me to apologize. I realize now that I should have respected your decision and shouldn't have forced you to come here…" Gabby held up her hand to stop him; he debated ignoring her and continuing his apology, but thought it would be better to hear her out.

"It took me a while, but I understand why you did what you did. I also understand that it hurt you as much as it hurt me, but here's the thing I struggled with losing you the first time and I don't want to be put in that situation again." Once Gabby finished explaining, Punk took her silence as his turn to talk. He understood what she was saying, how they couldn't just go back to the way things were, but the last thing he wanted was to start from square one. He knew so much about her, physically, mentally, emotionally, had finally gotten the acceptance of her brother and even had the respect of her mother, yet here he was preparing to start all over again. Taking a deep breath and biting his tongue to keep from saying how he truly felt, he agreed with her.

"You're right, a lot has happened since we were last together and it would be best if we just start over. It's not my favorite option, but I want to show you that I respect you and care about what you think and if taking things slow is what you want, then that's what I'll do. I'll win you over in time…" Gabby couldn't help but to smile as she rolled her eyes at his arrogance and over confidence.

"Someone is so sure of himself…"

"I did it once, I'll do it again. You always used to say that I underestimated you, clearly the shoe is on the other foot this time around." Punk sent her a wink, which made Gabby forget to breathe momentarily, as he got up from the couch and grabbed her bag. "Are you coming Miss Copeland? Chicago awaits and I'm pretty sure it's missed you more then I have…"

The flight was pretty uneventful, but once they arrived at O'Hare, Gabby grabbed her luggage and went to tell Punk goodnight. It was late, she was exhausted and hoped she hadn't missed her check-in.

"Hey, I just wanted to say goodnight. It's later then I thought it would be, so I think I'm just going to head to the hotel and call it a night, but I'll give you a call when I get up tomorrow." Punk was taken by surprise with Gabby's talk of staying at a hotel. She hadn't said anything previously and he just figured she'd stay at the house, in her room, well the guest room, but her change of plans put a damper on his mood and he immediately went into his bag of tricks to keep her from leaving him.

"Wait, you're staying at a hotel? You didn't mention this…I need someone to stay at the house and wake me up every hour…you know the whole concussion thing. I assumed you were staying, but I suppose I should know better then to assume by now. I guess I'll just call Cassie or Colt…"

"No, don't do that. It's late, I'll just stay in the guest room…well if that's okay with you…"

"Fine with me as long as you don't mind waking up every hour and dealing with my grouchiness…"

"I bet you I'll be grouchier…"

"I don't know about that, I was up all night last night thanks to Colt, so if I manage to fall asleep tonight I will not be thrilled about someone waking me up."

"Well remember that the next time you're in the ring and perhaps you'll be extra careful." Punk raised his eyebrow as she hailed a cab and they headed to his house.

Gabby walked into the house behind Punk and smiled to herself; it was exactly the same. Most people made drastic changes when a break-up happened, including herself completely changing her hair, but from the looks of things Punk had left everything the same color and in the same place. She was reminded that he'd maybe been home fifteen days in the three months since she'd been gone, but still she figured he'd do something different.

"Are you thirsty or hungry?" Gabby shook her head when she noticed Punk standing in the kitchen with the refrigerator open. "Good because it appears Hurricane Colt swooped through at some point and ate everything…I suppose a trip to the dreaded grocery store is planned for tomorrow." Gabby smiled remembering how much Punk hated the grocery store.

"If it's okay with you, I can go; I'll even cook if you'd like."

"If your cooking is still as good as it was then I will take you up on that offer."

"I guess you'll have to wait and see, but in the meantime I'm beat."

"Yeah, same here…umm the bed is already made up, should have fresh sheets and everything, but if you need an extra pillow…"

"I know where everything is, don't worry I'll settle in just fine. I'll make sure to set an alarm to wake you up too."

"Right…so I suppose I'll see you in an hour…" Gabby nodded giving him a small smile before grabbing her suitcase and heading up to her former bedroom. Punk ran his hand over his head as he sat on the couch. He felt guilty for lying about the whole wake-up thing, but he didn't want her in a hotel across town, he wanted her with him, where she was meant to be and where she would still be if he hadn't screwed up so many months ago. Punk rolled his eyes; he was tired of blaming himself for screwing everything up. Granted it was his fault, but still he wanted to move on from that. It was at this point he wished he had a DeLorean and could go back to three months earlier and do everything over again, but life wasn't a movie and unfortunately Doc Brown was not on his speed dial. If only I were Marty McFly then this whole mess would be solved by now…

Punk woke up to the sound of his phone alarm at 8AM and wondered where Gabby was. She'd woken him up every hour on the hour and as much as he liked opening his eyes and seeing her face, he wished he would have come up with a different plan because he desperately wanted to sleep. Pulling himself out of bed, he stretched and threw on a T-shirt and headed downstairs. He didn't have to look far for an explanation finding a note in the kitchen explaining that Gabby had gone out to run errands, which he assumed meant the grocery store. Deciding to kill time, he threw on his workout clothes and went for a run to try to clear his head and think of what to do next.

Gabby loaded the groceries into the trunk of the car and yawned for what seemed like the hundredth time that morning. She needed coffee and possibly a nap, but the latter was pointless to even try. Despite feeling exhausted the night before, she'd barely slept. Between waking up Punk every hour and her own thoughts, she'd been wide awake for most of the night. Even though her head was saying they needed to start from square one, her heart just wanted to pick up where they'd left off. Each time she went to wake him up through the night, she found it harder and harder to go back to the guest room. Her side was vacant and looked rather inviting, she could tell Punk missed her being there too seeing he kept her former pillow clutched to his side. Gabby took a deep breath shaking the thoughts from her head; they couldn't go back, things had changed and they were both different, but for some reason wishful thinking kept plaguing her.

Gabby managed to pull herself together on the drive back to Punk's and was surprised to find that Punk wasn't home. Her curiousity didn't last for long though as he came in the door just as she finished putting the groceries away.

"Oh sweet, coffee…" Gabby scowled as she watched Punk drink down half of her coffee, which he took notice of after the fact. "This was yours wasn't it?"

"It was, yes, but by all means drink away. Are you hungry?"

"Are you seriously asking me that? I have two weeks off, so I plan on binging this whole week and then juice fasting through next week to get back into shape."

"Sounds very unhealthy…"

"Not the way I do it, so don't worry I'll be fine. I was surprised you went out so early this morning."

"Yeah well I didn't sleep well, so I figured after I woke you up at 7 I might as well get something accomplished."

"I wish you would have told me, I would have come with you." Gabby smirked as she grabbed eggs and bacon from the fridge.

"You hate the grocery store…"

"True, but I like hanging out with you, so it would have all worked out in the end."

"I see…where have you been anyway?"

"I went for a run. I didn't sleep well for obvious reasons and figured I might as well get in some cardio because with you cooking I'll need it." Gabby smiled to herself as she started making scrambled eggs, she couldn't resist his charm, it was impossible. "Do you need help with anything? If not I'm going to go grab a shower…" Gabby turned to face him wiping her hands on a towel.

"Go ahead and do that, breakfast will be done by the time you're done." Punk smiled and moved to kiss her before reminding himself that they were taking things slow. Instead he gave her an awkward wave before heading upstairs to shower. Gabby was left standing in the kitchen wondering what had just happened. She noticed him take a step towards her, but then nothing. The thought that he'd reminded himself of what she'd said, taking things slow, entered her mind and made her kick the cabinet. Already she was regretting opening her mouth because she wanted him, all of him…

I haven't written Chapter 53 yet, but I have an idea in mind...big question is will Gabby continue to follow her head and take things slow, or go with her heart and throw herself back into a full on relationship with Punk? Gotta give the guy credit for respecting her wishes and taking things slow despite not really wanting that for the two of them...

Enjoy Raw tonight, I know I will :)