Partied Out

April ventured around the packed Mendez house as it was filled with family and friends in search of Punk. She found him in the kitchen eating literally everything in sight.

"What are you doing?" April asked with a laugh.

"All of this food is delicious." Punk said seriously as he ate something. "I don't even know what half of it is but I do know I like it."

"We're not going to be able to fit you on the plane seat home." She warned. "Are you having a good time?"

"I am. I got to hear a bunch of embarrassing stories about you from your childhood. And all of your aunts have flirted with me. Plus I'm eating like a King." He grinned.

"Good." She smiled kissing his cheek. "It's nice you got a chance to meet them before we got married."

"Well, they'll be at the wedding." Punk said to her.

"No." She smirked sitting down next to him. "I've been thinking about our wedding a lot and you were right, it's just a party-"

"It's not. I want what you want so if you want a big party we'll have a big party." He told her. "Don't worry about the money."

"It's not that, it's just being around so many family members at once reminded me I like to do this once every ten years." She smirked.

"Whatever you want." Punk told her as he ate something else.

"Hey, AJ." a male greeted and Punk looked up. He wasn't Hispanic so he wasn't a relative and actually he looked like her boyfriend from the photos he saw yesterday.

"Henry." April smiled standing up and giving him a hug.

"Henry." Punk mouthed to himself and rolled his eyes and stood up.

"You look absolutely fantastic." Henry smiled pulling away.

"Thank you, so do you." April smiled back.

"Hi." Punk greeted himself and stuck his hand out as he stepped in front of April. "I'm Phil, the armed future husband."

"Phil." She laughed nervously. "He's not really armed." she assured Henry.

"It's fine. I don't blame him for being territorial." Henry said to her. "It's nice to meet you, AJ's parents have told me a lot about you."

"They've told me nothing about you." Punk smiled back forcefully. "Or that they were inviting you, this is your boyfriend from high school?"

"Yes it is." April said to him. "But-"

"It's nice. I can hear some stories." Punk forced out.

"Phil." April tried to warn.

"I have lots of stories about AJ." Henry told him fondly. "But I really want to introduce you both to my date."

"Great." April said as he walked out of the room. "Stop it." she said kicking Punk's calf.

"Ouch!" He yelled rubbing the spot. "What is he doing here? Why would your parents invite him?"

"Because you don't understand-" She began.

"Did you lose your virginity to him?" Punk asked and her eyes widened.

"Phil." She scolded. "That's very personal."

"We're getting married." He pointed out.

"You said you didn't care-" She began.

"I changed my mind." Punk said to her. "Women always have this connection to the men who stole their innocence."

"It really isn't like that." She insisted.

"So you didn't sleep with him?" Punk asked.

"Well, yea-" She began.

"And now he's here at your family engagement party." Punk pointed out. "I know how men think."

"For someone who never gets jealous and didn't have any interest in my past-" She began.

"I've changed my mind." Punk shrugged.

"AJ, Phil." Henry greeted walking into the kitchen with another male. "This is my husband, Jake."

"Husband." Punk smiled with relief and stuck his hand out and April had to roll her eyes at him. "It's wonderful to meet you."

"Hi, Jake." April smiled shaking his hand next. "Henry has told me a lot about you. Sorry I missed the wedding."

"I heard you had quite in adventure in Chicago." Jake smiled politely.

"Can I get you two drinks?" Punk offered happily.

"I'll help." Jake smiled walking away with Punk.

"He's very handsome." Henry said to April. "Covered in tattoos and a protective nature."

"He's normally not like that. He saw I had a box of our old stuff last night." April explained.

"You didn't mention I was gay?" Henry laughed.

"No. It's fun to make him squirm a bit." April smirked.

"How are you?" Henry asked. "I've been worried."

"I'm fine." She said to him.

"I don't believe you." Henry said to her.

"It's just my nerves have been a tad jumpy." She confessed.

"I can't say I blame you." Henry frowned. "Maybe the City life isn't for you."

"I love Chicago and Phil. They go hand in hand. We're moving into this beautiful home." She told him. "And he's getting me a dog."

"What a dreamboat." Henry teased. "Seriously, I'm glad you're happy with him but I'm worried about your safety."

"Me too." She admitted. "But Phil has been working night and day to make sure that any threat to me is in jail or far, far away. I've just- it's not a life I ever prepared for. I never thought I'd walk in on a murder and my life would change forever."

"Maybe you should come back home for a bit, with Phil of course, until things settle." He suggested.

"No. Chicago is home." She said firmly. "It's fine."

"You look tired." He noted.

"I have a lot going on including planning a wedding." she reminded him.

"Just be careful and remember to take some time for yourself." Henry urged. "I never thought I'd see the day you'd risk your life and sanity for some man." he said and April peered over to Punk who chatting with Jake and smiled.

"He's more than some man." she told him but looking at Punk.

Later that night Punk was already in April's cramped bed when she crawled into it.

"Thank you for being so good with my family." April said to him as they were nose to nose.

"I had fun." He said to her. "You come from a good family."

"Do you think we'll have normal stuff like this?" She asked and he eyed her.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"You know, fun family parties." She shrugged.

"Why wouldn't we have that?" he asked.

"It's just...someone is always out there lurking." She said to him. "What if we have kids and then someone watches them-"

"Like they watch you?" he asked and she rolled her eyes.

"I'm not crazy." She insisted.

"I'm not saying you are." he assured her.

"You're thinking it." She told him.

"I'm not. And we'll have the normal life, don't worry." He promised her. "You're very lucky to have such a big family that loves you so much."

"Do you wish you had a big family?" She asked.

"Sometimes." he said thinking about it.

"We'll have a big family." She told him and he laughed.

"Yea? How big?" he asked.

"We'll have a bunch of kids and they'll have a bunch of kids so we'll have a ton of grandchildren. Our house will always be filled with kids." She grinned. "And dogs!"

"You're cute." he laughed kissing the tip of her nose. "Get some sleep, we have an early flight."

"You know what I was thinking?" she asked and he inwardly groaned. He was never getting to sleep tonight and he rolled onto his back.

"I have no idea what you were thinking." He sighed.

"Let's get married at your house." She suggested. "We can have our parents and a few friends, I can still wear my pretty dress but it won't be over the top."

"I told you if you want the big wedding we'll have the big wedding." He told her.

"I don't want a big one. I just want to be married." She confessed. "Would you be ok with that?"

"I'm ok with whatever you want." he told her. "But I hope you don't want to rush into this because you're fearful of something."

"Obviously recent incidents have changed my outlook on life." She admitted.

"You're going to live a long and beautiful life." He promised her. "With me. Stop being morbid. Stop being scared. It's all going to be fine. Hey, why didn't you tell me Henry was gay?"

"I like you to be a little jealous." She shrugged. "It means you really love me."

"First of all, jealousy doesn't prove love." He informed her. "I'd lay my life down for yours, no questions asked. That's love. Not getting your ex-boyfriend beaten up."

"Would you have beaten him up if he wasn't gay?" She asked.

"I don't know, I was a little thrown he was at your party." He admitted. "I find it hard to believe anyone would let you go so I just assumed he wanted you back and then I'd have to fight and I'd win."

"He works out." April pointed out.

"I work out." he scoffed.

"You go for runs." She laughed.

"That's all the working out I need." he told her. "I don't let a lot of people into my life so the lucky few I hold onto. You're number one."

"It reminds me of Adam." she frowned.

"What?" he asked.

"He was one of the lucky few." She pointed out. "Do you miss him at all?"

"Nope." He said honestly. "How could I miss anyone that cold and calculating?"

"I don't know. He was your friend." She shrugged.

"No friend of mine would do what he did, what he tried to do." he said to her. "Forget that fact that he got countless witnesses killed but then he tried to kill you and that's a double stab in the back."

"Where is he moving to?" she asked.

"I don't know and I don't care." Punk told her. "But I know he's already gone because I had Corey look on his place and it's empty. You don't have to look at him ever again."

"What if he was the person outside our loft window?" She asked.

"He wasn't." Punk told her. "Adam doesn't have a vendetta against you."

"But James Sawyer does." She pointed out.

"Yea, I've notice." Punk remarked. "He's still in hiding."

"Maybe he's hiding in plain sight." She suggested.

"Maybe you should let me worry about James Sawyer." He teased. "That's my job."

"What's my job?" she asked.

"You job is to plan the wedding, big or small and pick out the dress you want to wear and not let either of our mothers talk you into something you don't want." He told her.

"What if James Sawyer reappears? Do I go on the run again?" she asked. "I mean will this continue after we're married?"

"I don't know." He told her honestly. "But we're a team and if one of us runs, we both run. No more doing it alone."

"Good." She said relieved.

"I'm close to getting him, Ape." he said as she curled against his chest. "I'm going to get him."

The next day they arrived back home and April insisted he drop her off at the Tribune, which he did and he went back home. He carried both their luggage up to the loft and peered around the place. It was freezing inside and he looked to the window by the fire escape and saw it was open. He shook his head and slammed it shut and locked it. He was sure he checked everything before he left. Not five minutes to being home there was a knock on his door.

"Fucking starts already." he groaned opened the door and Corey walked in.

"Glad you're back." Corey told him.

"Were you watching my place?" Punk asked annoyed.

"Of course not. But I was passing by when I saw you get out of a cab. How was the trip?" Corey asked.

"It was nice." Punk said to him. "What's going on with Sawyer?"

"He's in the wind." Corey told him. "No one knows where he went. Rumors are that he's trying to get over the boarder to Mexico."

"Someone was in here while I was gone. My window was open." Punk told him pointing.

"I'll call someone and dust it for prints." Corey said simply pulling out his phone.

"Yea, good idea." Punk said to him.

"Any ideas?" Corey asked.

"Yea I have one." Punk remarked sarcastically. "James Sawyer."

"You think he's ballsy enough for that?" Corey asked.

"I thought it was in April's head but I'm not too sure anymore." Punk admitted eyeing the window. "She's dealing with a lot of PTSD."

"I'm sure she is but April seems very well rounded and intelligent." Corey said thinking about it. "I don't see her being so upset by what happened that's she's making things up."

"Yea?" Punk asked.

"I'm mean she may be a tad jumpy but who could blame her?" Corey asked. "I saw that piece in the Tribune."

"Ugh she's upset about that too." Punk groaned. "I just want to deliver good news to her for a change."

"She seems happy to me." Corey shrugged as he texted on his phone. "They're coming to dust."

"Good." Punk said to him. "We're not staying here anyway."

"Moving to the big house finally?" Corey asked.

"Yea I think it's time." Punk told him.

"You've had that house for years. Why the sudden urge to move there?" Corey asked curiously.

"I bought that home in hopes of sharing it with someone. April is that someone." He shrugged. "Why hold off?"

"Good point." Corey agreed.

"The house and wedding are distracting her but before I marry her- I want to be able to tell her James Sawyer is gone." Punk told him.

"I get that." Corey said to him. "But like I said, she's smart, she knows you're doing the best you can."

"I know but I want to be able to do this much for her. Why is this James Sawyer so fucking difficult to get?" Punk asked annoyed.

"We don't know if that was him at your window." Corey told him.

"If his prints are on that window that means he's been watching my place." Punk told him. "I can't have this psycho lurking outside my window even though he's had his opportunity to get to her."

"He watches his prey, you know this about him." Corey told him. "They said he had been watching Ms. Paulson for weeks before he killed her."

"He's been watching Ape for a hell of a lot longer." Punk told him.

"Where is she?" Corey asked looking around.

"She went to the Tribune to discuss her article." Punk told him. "I offered to go with her but she wants to do it on her own. She said it requires finesse and a calm voice and apparently I'm not calm."

"Not when it comes to her." Corey smirked then Punk's phone rang.

"Yea?" Punk asked answering and he frowned. "I'll be right there."

"What's that about?" Corey asked.

"I have to get April, can you wait here for the window?" Punk asked.

"Yea go ahead." Corey urged and Punk left.

Punk walked into the Tribune and was taken to the security office where an angry April was sitting in-between two security guards.

"That's my fiance." April said standing up.

"What happened?" Punk asked.

"I was talking to the editor and they grabbed me!" She yelled pointing at the guards. "They could have pulled my arm out of the socket." She pouted walking over to him.

"What?" Punk asked glaring at the security guards.

"Ms. Mendez here burst into a meeting after she was told the Editor wouldn't see her." The guard explained. She also tossed a glass of water on the editor. We had to remove her." The guard told him and now Punk glared at her.

"I thought this required finesse and calmness?" He asked her and she shrugged.

"I was calm until he refused to see me." April defended.

"Is he pressing charges?" Punk asked the guard.

"No." He told him. "He just wants her to leave quietly."

"Can I talk to him?" Punk asked.

"No." April said to him. "He's not worth your time." she said grabbing her purse. "Or mine for that matter."

April walked out of the office and Punk let out a breath and pulled his card out of his pocket and gave it to his guard.

"Give this to the editor and tell him I want to speak to him." Punk told the guard then followed April outside.

"Ape, wait up." Punk said catching up with her.

"I feel used." April said to Punk angrily. "He didn't care about my writing he just cared about the story and it wasn't even a truthful story."

"So, what are you going to do about it?" he asked her and she stopped walking.

"I'm going to write my own retraction." She told him.

"Good." Punk said to her. "Where?"

"Online. I mean the editor told my story received an overwhelming response so I'm going to write my truth and make sure the people of Chicago see it." She
told him. "Maybe the Chicago Times would be interested."

"I bet they would." He smiled taking her hand. "But, babe, you can't just break into places and throw drinks on people."

"I know but he had it coming." She sighed. "At least I didn't get arrested."

"That's a positive outlook." Punk forced out.

"If the Chicago Times doesn't want to hear my side then I'll just post it online." She said as she thought about it. "I move to Chicago to write and that's what I plan on doing."

"That's my girl." Punk said opening the passenger side door of his car for her.

Once they arrived back home Corey was still there and two tech people dusting the window.

"What's that all about it?" April asked.

"I told you I didn't think you were crazy. I'm having the window dusted for prints." He told her.

"It's been a week since I saw someone and it was raining." She reminded him removing her jacket.

"Just be precautions." He said and gave a Corey a look who just nodded.

"Hey, April." Corey smiled.

"Hi Corey." she said giving him a hug. "Do you want coffee?" She asked walking over to the coffee pot.

"Yes, please." Corey smiled.

"What happened to your arm?" Punk asked grabbing it as she walked by and saw the bruise.

"I told you! Those security guards nearly ripped my arm out of my socket." She told him. "They didn't have to be so rough." She said childishly.

"I agree." Punk said to her then grabbed his phone and began to type on it.

"I have to look up the number at the Chicago Times." April told Punk.

"Chicago Times?" Corey asked and April nodded.

"Yea, do you know anyone there?" She asked.

"Yea my girlfriend works there." Corey told her and April's face lit up.

"Really? I have a story for her if she's interested." April told him.

"I'm sure she will be." Corey smirked. "I'll give her a call later."

"Thank you." She said relieved. "Just give her my number."

"Ok." Corey nodded.

"We got some prints." The CSI said. "Can we take your girlfriends to eliminate her prints?"

"Uh, yea sure." April offered with a shrug.

"Follow me." He nodded and April followed the man.

"She got hauled out by security?" Corey smirked.

"My girl is trouble." Punk had to admit with a frustrated laugh. "She's under a lot of stress. She also doesn't want my help which is annoying."

"She's independent which is a rarity with women today." Corey told him.

"Doesn't mean I won't get those guards fired." Punk smirked typing away at his phone. "Make sure they put a rush on those prints." he instructed Corey who nodded. "If it's Sawyer I want to get a restraining order immediately. I don't want to arrest him after he hurts Ape, I want to be able to charge him with something before that so it doesn't get to that point."

"What if those prints aren't Sawyer's?" Corey asked.

"They are." Punk said already knowing.

Later that night Punk and April fell asleep on the couch watching a movie. When Punk's phone began to ring the credits of the movie were already playing.

"Yea?" Punk asked quietly, not wanting to wake April.

"The prints are James Sawyer." Corey told him. "April wasn't imagining anything. I want to come back with the team tomorrow and see if we can pick up his prints elsewhere in your place."

"Alright." Punk said to him. "Thanks for calling."

"You want to put a detail back on April?" Corey asked.

"I'm going to have to." he said with a sigh. "She's going to be so upset, I'll tell her in the morning."

"Alright." Corey said to him then hung up.

"Time for bed." Punk said leaning over and kissing her cheek.

"I'm really tired." She yawned and stretched as he stood up. "Carry me?" she asked dramatically and he let out a laugh.

"You are spoiled." He said amused.

Punk casually walked around to the windows and made sure they were locked and pulled down the shades before walking back over to her.

"Seriously?" He asked and she nodded tiredly.

Punk scooped her up in his arms and she wrapped her arms around his neck while he carried her up the small spiral stairs bridal style.