Happier


"What is this?" JC asked, walking into his girlfriend's bedroom, picking up the book from her bed as she looked over.

"Give me that." Vanessa said nervously, walking over to snatch it when JC side stepped around the bed with it.

"What is it? Is it a diary?" JC smirked, "Is this where you write how much my eyes make you wanna marry me?" He fluttered his eyelashes.

"Get over yourself, please." Vanessa scoffed, "But it's private and you should give me it." She said.

"What if I just… wanna read a page or two?" He smiled, starting to open up the book as Vanessa jumped onto her bed to get to the other side, jumping on his back trying to get the book as he laughed a little.

"Please give me it." Vanessa groaned, trying to choke him as he walked around the room with her on his back.

"What are you afraid I'm gonna see?" JC laughed, trying to open up the book as she kept shutting it, trying to snatch it from him.

"Nothing, it's just private and you should respect that." Vanessa whined, "Please." She begged.

"Oh, alright." JC nodded, sensing her getting angry, handing it to her as she grabbed it and jumped down onto the ground, "I'll read it eventually."

"No you won't." Vanessa laughed to herself, throwing the journal in the drawer and locking it over without him noticing. Sometimes she regretted writing things down, but she felt it was her only way to cope with the things in her mind.

"So what are we doing tonight then?" JC asked, collapsing down on her bed.

"I thought we were going to the movies?" Vanessa asked him.

"If that's what you want to do." JC nodded, looking over as the bedroom door opened, sitting up as he looked across at who he assumed was Vanessa's mom.

"Mom. I thought you were working." Vanessa said.

"I got away early." Kelly said, watching as JC stood up from the bed and stood behind Vanessa, "Shouldn't you be at school?" Kelly asked.

"Free periods." Vanessa smiled, "Uh… this is… this is Jack. JC." She nodded.

"Hey." JC nodded politely.

"Hello." Kelly nodded, "You're the boy my daughter has been wearing short skirts for then?"

"Mom." Vanessa shook her head.

"I like her skirts." JC smiled and nodded as Vanessa just rolled her eyes and looked down.

"Yeah I bet." Kelly said, "I suppose you won't be having dinner here?"

"We're going to the movies." Vanessa said, "But thanks anyway." She said as Kelly just nodded, walking off out of the bedroom as Vanessa groaned.

"Why do people look like they wanna kill me when they first see me?" JC asked Vanessa, grabbing his jacket from her bed.

"No, that's just my mom's face." Vanessa shook her head, "I could marry royalty and she'd still find something to be unhappy about it." She said as JC just nodded.

"Yeah, makes me glad I don't got a mom or dad." JC scoffed, putting his jacket on as Vanessa looked across at him and sighed.

"How… How did they die?" Vanessa wondered. She wondered what side of the story he had gotten. She felt disgusted that she knew what really happened, yet she couldn't bring herself to tell him.

"I… don't know." JC shrugged, "There's not much files on them. I think they were poor and… hung with the wrong people. I don't… to be honest I don't care." He told her as she just nodded.

"Sorry, I just… I didn't know if you knew."

"It's ok." JC nodded, "But we should go if we wanna get the movie." He said as she nodded and smiled, kissing his cheek and walking out of the bedroom to leave the house.


"Build them up some more. Go on." Punk nodded, sitting on the floor in the living room of their house, watching as his son went around collecting all the blocks, trying to build them up and then knock them over, "One more go on." He said as Frankie placed another block on to the tower, "Ok, you can knock them over now." He said, watching as Frankie pushed the blocks away as they fell down, laughing to himself as Punk chuckled, "You're amused pretty easily, kid." He shook his head.

"Is that all he knows how to do?" Keala asked, sitting on the couch watching the TV.

"It's what he likes doing." Punk shrugged, "You done it when you were his age."

"No I didn't." Keala said.

"You did." Punk said.

"Is uncle Dean sad because he doesn't have his baby?" Keala asked, sitting further off the couch, swinging her legs back and forth as Punk looked over at her.

"W-What makes you say that?" Punk asked. He sometimes forgot she wasn't a small little kid anymore. She picked up on things, a lot of things.

"Well I still haven't saw the baby and uncle Dean looks upset, and Aunt Anna… why is the baby not there?" Keala frowned as Punk sighed, getting to his feet whilst Frankie continued to build his blocks.

"It's ok." Punk said first, sitting down beside her on the couch, "The baby is ok. She's… she's fine. Her name is Skyler. She's just had to go away for a little while but she's… she's gonna be here soon enough, and you're gonna get to see her." Punk nodded, "Uncle Dean is just upset because he misses her. The way I would miss you if you had to go away for a little while."

"Daddy I'm not gonna go away ever." Keala promised him as he smiled to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder as she leaned into him.

"That helps me out a lot, kid." Punk smiled, kissing her head.

"Unless I get a boyfriend." Keala teased as Punk loosened his grip on the hug and looked down at her, "Kidding." She smiled up at him as he just nodded, "I want to see Skyler soon." She nodded.

"You will." Punk nodded, "We all will. I promise." He smiled, kissing her head as Keala smiled.

"Frankie, why don't you play with something else?" Keala asked, getting off the couch and sitting down on the floor with her brother as the one year old watched his sister get more toys from the toy corner.

Punk smiled as he watched them. He felt blessed that he was able to watch them grow and be in their lives the way he always planned to be with his kids. Even though the war had been settled with him and his father, he still aspired to be so much better than him as a father, and be there for his children at all times. He couldn't even bear the thought of not being there for them when they needed him.

"Phil." AJ said, walking into the living room as Punk looked over at her, "Can I talk to you?" She asked him as he nodded, standing up, smiling on at the kids before following his wife out into the kitchen.

"What's up?" Punk asked her.

"So I was doing some thinking." AJ said as Punk looked over at the kitchen table where papers lay everywhere.

"Some?" Punk arched a brow, "I thought we were having a lazy day?" He asked her, "You're gonna make yourself sick."

"I'm fine." AJ assured him, "Do you know if your gran is still alive?" She asked him.

"My gran?" Punk shook his head.

"Yes, your mom's mom." AJ nodded.

"I… I don't know. I don't know the woman." Punk said truthfully, "Why?"

"Well, maybe your mom told her something about Jean. I don't know. I just have a feeling that your mom knew more than anyone let on to. Especially with how her and Jean's friendship ended." AJ said, "So… maybe if your gran is still alive, she might know something?"

"If my mom didn't tell my dad, she wouldn't have told anyone. She… she didn't get on with her mom."

"Doesn't mean her mom didn't find out something." AJ said, "I'm just thinking of all our options." She said, "If this is the route we wanna take, trying to go for Jean's company in order to get Skyler back, we have to start… making tracks someway." She nodded.

"I could ask my dad if she's still alive." Punk nodded.

"Yeah, do that." AJ said, "Anna text and said she got a list of all the investors in the business so… they're going through that just now." She nodded.

"Ok." Punk said, "I'll give my dad a call."


"Where to?" The cab driver asked as JC got into the back of the cab outside of prison which he had just been released from after serving time for helping his teenage sons.

"Uh…" JC paused, rubbing his hand up his tattooed arm, looking at the name weaved through the pattern and sighing, "Take me to Lockport cemetery." JC nodded, tracing is finger over the V and shaking his head, looking out the window at the prison, promising himself he would never be back in again.

The cab pulled away and eventually dropped him off at the cemetery. It was late at night, so the only thing up that lit up the dark cemetery was the street lights just outside. He didn't even know where to start looking, so he walked up and down the rows of headstones, his eyes skimming through all the names until finally he saw the name he wished he wasn't looking for, his breath stopping for a minute as he really couldn't believe this was where he was, looking on at a headstone with that name engraved in it.

He paused in front of the grave, crouching down and placing his hand over his mouth, tears welling in his eyes as he stared at the headstone name. Vanessa Ambrose.

"I am so… so sorry." JC shook his head, placing his hand on the grass in front of him, "I'm sorry." He shook his head, his voice breaking as he looked down. No matter what had happened, his love for her had never, ever changed, she knew that and he knew that. He was suddenly filled with regret. Regret of not being what she deserved. For not being there when she needed him. For not appreciating her for the amazing person she was, for seeing him in the different light that no one else saw him.

"You… You deserved so much better." He shook his head, drying his tears and standing up straight, turning his head as he saw a familiar face walk down the cemetery.

"Thought you'd be here." Kelly nodded as JC shook his head, "I… I asked for your release date when I visited you to let you know about Vanessa." She said, "And I assumed you'd come straight here." She said.

"Are my sons ok?" JC asked.

"I think they're on their… fourth or fifth foster home." She nodded to him as he shook his head, "Goes to show how much she done for them… how much they meant to her. Those little boys." Kelly said, "You remember them as kids?"

"Yes." JC said, "Of course I do."

"You remember how much she loved them?" Kelly asked her, "And this is what she gets? This is what she gets for being a good person?"

"This wasn't my fault." JC said, his voice shaky and weak, still not really believing this was the reality. They hadn't been together for a long time, besides the occasion they would see each other, and the rare occasion he would secretly stay the night, but they'd became strangers very quickly.

"I know it wasn't your fault." Kelly nodded, "It was a car accident. Could have been anyone. Five minutes later or earlier, could have been someone else's daughter." Kelly nodded, "But it was her."

"I don't know what to do." JC shook his head, "I-I can't believe she's really gone." He said.

"No, me neither." Kelly nodded, looking over at the headstone, "She just…" She paused, her eyes welling with tears as she quickly dried them away, "She just wanted to see the best in people." She nodded as JC sighed, "I never understood that until… it was too late." She said, "I hope you know that she… she never stopped loving you." She shook her head as JC looked down at her, "It was always gonna be you." She nodded, "She never cared what people thought about her, about her choices, her life… she just… found something and if she loved it enough she'd work hard at it." She nodded as JC gulped.

"I wish I could go back." JC shook his head.

"We all have regrets." Kelly nodded, "But she was happy. She loved her kids, her job… and seeing you every now and then… she loved that too."

"She deserved more." JC said.

"She did." Kelly nodded in agreement.

"Should be me instead." JC mumbled.

"You can't say that." Kelly said.

"I can. She… she was needed here. I'm not." JC said.

"You're needed here. You just don't know it. Those boys are like her. They're strong." Kelly said.

"They won't want anything to do with me if I show my face." JC said.

"Then just do what you've been doing this entire time. Keep your eye on them." Kelly said, "They have each other. They're stronger for it."

"They're just kids." JC shook his head.

"They're Vanessa's kids. They've got thick skin." Kelly nodded.

"I… I didn't even get to say a proper goodbye." JC said.

"Now is your chance." She said, placing a hand on his arm as JC looked at it. It was the first time he'd saw her show him some sort of comfort, it wasn't much, but it was something.

He nodded, watching as she walked off, crouching back down in front of the headstone and sighing.

"I…" He gulped, "I wish I could have been what you wanted." He whispered, "And I'm sorry that I… I wasn't there like you needed me to be." He said, "I promise you… I will… I'll protect those kids until I'm limping or… in a wheelchair or something." He laughed to himself, "I never… I never forgot about you or stopped loving you. I wish I could have told you that. But I trust you knew it anyway." He nodded, "I was so much happier with you." He said, swallowing the lump in his throat, standing up straight and drying his eyes, walking forward and rubbing the top of the headstone, backing away and walking off down the cemetery, throwing his hood up and drying his eyes.