Visit


"Ok. I've got pizza. I've got chips and dips. I have one soda and one juice box." AJ said, walking into the living room, balancing everything she'd announced as best she could whilst sporting some pyjama shorts and one of her husband's band t-shirts.

"Ok, sit it all down here." Keala said, getting up from the couch, pointing to the coffee table as AJ sat the pizza box down with the other things around it, "Is this pizza from Gino's?" Keala wondered as she looked at the pizza whilst AJ collapsed down on the couch.

"No, baby. Gino's was closed. He's refurbishing." AJ told him as Keala gasped sadly.

"That's so sad." Keala sighed, "So where is this one from?" She wondered, picking a slice up and hopping back up onto the couch beside her mother, in her pyjamas of course, with a blanket and her glow bear beside her.

"Uh… Delfinos I think it's called. Just down the street." AJ told her, "Did you pick a movie?" She asked her.

"Yeah, well it's either between the princess and the frog." Keala said, "Or Tangled." She said, "You decide." She told her mother whilst biting into the pizza.

"I do like Tangled." AJ nodded.

"Let's watch that then." Keala said as AJ put the movie on and flung the remote away beside her, leaning forward and grabbing a slice of pizza, laying back into the couch, finally relaxing for the night after a few days of stressful work.

Frankie was peacefully in his bed and her husband was in New York with Dean and Anna on their visit to see Skyler. She really hoped it all went well, and they'd really been keeping their head down and working on the case as a team, finding new and different things to say which may favour them in court in just a few short weeks. She just hoped that the visit would go well. Punk promised he'd give her a call later on that night.

"This is daddy's favourite too." Keala told her mother.

"Is it?" AJ shook her head, "I thought his favourite was the jungle book." AJ turned to her.

"Oh, maybe." Keala said, "He does like that one too." She nodded, "Where is daddy right now?" She wondered, finishing off her slice of pizza whilst AJ was already moving on to her second.

"He is with Uncle Dean and Anna seeing the new baby." AJ said. She wasn't going to lie to her daughter.

"Oh, but I want to see the new baby." Keala sighed sadly, "Why can't I see her?"

"Well she's not around here, she needed to be somewhere else so Uncle Dean is away to visit her, and daddy has gone with him. But she'll be home soon." AJ nodded.

"Good, because I'd like to see her." Keala said.

"Me too." AJ smiled, "She's your first girl cousin." She said, "I wish I had a bunch of cousins." She admitted truthfully.

"Why?" Keala asked.

"I don't know just… to have more friends, someone to play with." AJ nodded.

"Like me and CJ?" Keala asked.

"Yeah, exactly. Well CJ is baby Skyler's big brother. Like you're Frankie's big sister." AJ explained as Keala made an O with her mouth as she figured it out.

"Oh." Keala nodded slowly, "But mommy why didn't you have any cousins then?" Keala asked

"Well… I just didn't really know any of my family. I didn't know my aunts and uncles. I didn't even have a dad." She said as Keala looked at her like she was insane.

"You didn't have a daddy?" Keala asked, "The way I have my daddy?"

"No, I didn't have that." AJ shook her head as Keala looked upset.

"But why? That's not nice." Keala said.

"It's ok. Some people don't have daddy's. Some people don't have mommy's. And some people like you have both." She smiled.

"I'm lucky then." Keala nodded to herself, "I can't imagine not having my daddy." Keala sighed dramatically as AJ smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, you and me both, kid." AJ nodded, watching as she reached for another slice of pizza, "Ok, we need to listen because I forgot what happened." She said, looking on at the TV as Keala nodded, snuggling up beside her on the couch as she ate her pizza.

It was rare that they had a night where it was just the two of them. It made AJ realise how much she appreciated being a mom. Even through the tough times of temper tantrums, trying to find something to cook for them, helping with homework, being on time for things… that all didn't matter, because they had a bond that couldn't be broken and she was thankful for that.

In the back of her mind, however, was Dean and Anna getting to see their baby. She hoped it went accordingly and nothing went down.


Meanwhile in New York, Dean, Anna and Punk were on their way to go see Skyler. They were going to a hotel to see her which of course Jean had set up, and Anna was waiting in anticipation to see if her mother had the balls to actually show up and be present during the visit.

She was still very tired and sluggish from giving birth, but she really couldn't wait another minute to go see their baby girl, and neither could Dean. It just felt so unfair that this was the only time they were allowed to see her.

"Just… whatever you do, if she is in there, ignore her." Punk nodded, "Don't pay her any attention." He said as Anna just nodded.

They made their way to the hotel room which of course was the biggest suite in the place, knocking on the door where a woman opened up right away, introducing herself as a social worker, which they expected anyway.

They walked into the large room and thankfully, Jean was nowhere to be seen.

They were asked a few questions before finally, they got taken over to the little crib in the room where Skyler was in fast asleep. It had been a week since her birth and yet, she seemed so much bigger than what they remembered her.

Punk stood back a little to give Dean and Anna their own space and time, and he found it upsetting to watch. To see what it meant to them, yet this was all they had. An hour's visit with their own daughter. It just didn't seem fair.

"Hey, there." Anna smiled tearfully, picking up Skyler from the little crib, "Hey, you." She smiled, looking down at her as the baby girl opened her eyes, making soft little baby noises as Dean and Anna looked over her.

"Hey." Dean smiled, stroking her cheek softly. It seemed like everything had suddenly just disappeared when he was looking at her. All the drama and the sadness. It had disappeared when he saw her.

"She's so gorgeous." Anna whispered as Dean nodded, "Here, hold her." She insisted, passing her over to Dean who took her in his arms and smiled down at her. Not that they were being rude, but they were ignoring everything and everyone in the room. They couldn't help it. All they wanted was to care for their daughter. They hadn't even been given the slightest chance.

Punk smiled as he watched Dean and Anna spend time with Skyler. They sat down with her, spoke to her, spoke with each other about how gorgeous she was, and it made him smile because they deserved to see their own daughter. They deserved to take her home too, and look after her, but that was beside the point.

Just as he was about to approach them to say hello to his niece after giving them some time, the hotel door opened up where Jean walked through, of course dressed in her finest clothing from head to toe, her heels clicking on the wooden floor as she slowly walked into the room.

Punk watched her closely, trying to contain himself as she stood at one end of the room whilst Dean and Anna were at the opposite side.

"How long do they have left?" Jean asked the social worker.

"About fifteen minutes." The worker replied whilst Anna looked over at her mother, staring at one another for a few minutes before she stood up whilst Dean kept a hold of Skyler.

"You have some nerve showing your face." Anna shook her head as Jean rolled her eyes and folded her arms.

"Anna, don't act so surprised." Jean said, "Skyler is safer and let's face it, better off here." She nodded.

"She is not yours." Anna spat, getting closer to her as Punk began to get nervous, walking over to Anna to make sure she didn't do anything he thought she was going to do, "You don't get to just take her." She shook her head.

"Well I did." Jean shrugged, "And you can come back here. You can live here with us, be her mother, leave Chicago." She nodded, "But if you insist on living in that dump then… I have no choice but to fight for my granddaughters safety."

"She's safest with us." Anna said, "How can you do this to me?" She asked, "I'm your own daughter… I-I don't care if you hate Dean, but I love him, and he is Skyler's father. You can't change that and you can't change my mind either." She said as Dean stood over by the crib holding Skyler. He was glad he was because he knew he would just be tempted to get in Jean's face.

"You will not win at court, Anna. You know that?" Jean questioned.

"You're wrong." Anna shook her head, "I will win. And I will take my daughter to her home, where she'll be loved, not with money or success or materials… but by actual physical love. Something you never, ever understood." She said, "No wonder you pushed every single person away from you. Including Vanessa." She hissed as Jean raised her eyebrows, turning to Punk who just nodded.

"You and her best friends?" Punk asked, "How'd you think she'd feel if she knew this was what you were doing?"

"Vanessa is dead." Jean hissed, "So I don't care what she would have thought. She was just as stupid as all three of you standing here. Raised two sons, one who ended up on death row, one who ended up a drunk like his dad." Jean spat as Dean looked over at her, "This is what I am protecting my granddaughter from." She nodded as Punk shook his head.

"No." Punk shook his head, "You're filling that guilty conscience." He said, "That guilt you have for not taking care of your actual daughter properly." He said, "You think Skyler can replace her and you make up for all the horrible things you said and did." He nodded, "Well it's not gonna happen."

"And what? Your bipolar wife is gonna win the case over my very highly paid and skilled lawyers?" Jean laughed as Punk nodded.

"Yeah, she is. I'd be scared if I was you." Punk said as Jean just shook her head.

"I can't believe you're actually doing this to me." Anna shook her head, "That's my daughter. And you're taking her from me. What… What kind of mother does that?"

"One who wants to protect her granddaughter." Jean said.

"From what? She is safe with us." Anna said as Jean shook her head.

"No one is safe in that place." Jean shook her head as Punk watched her closely, "I am doing this for her own good. She should be here, with her real family, where she can be properly looked after."

"No." Anna shook her head, "She should be with her mom and dad." She spat, "I will never… ever forgive you for this." She made clear, "And when I take my baby home, after we get custody in court, you are dead to me." Anna nodded, tears in her eyes as Jean just looked at her.

"You have ten minutes left now." Jean told her smugly, "Make it count." She hissed, backing up and leaving the hotel room as Punk shook his head, wrapping his arm around Anna as she cried a little but quickly got herself together after a reassuring hug from Punk.

They made their way back to Dean and Skyler to finish off the visit whilst Punk thought about how glorious it was going to be when they got custody over Skyler. He knew Jean had just come into the room to show face and perhaps provoke Dean and Anna to say something that she could use against them in court, but they had kept their cool. Dean completely blanked her out and just focused on his daughter and Anna said as little as possible. They weren't going to tolerate her behaviour. They were going to do what they to do to get their daughter back. She meant so much.