Days Later

Day 98

98 days. It had been 98 days since Punk came home to find AJ gone. He had called the police and told them all about his brother and the threats to AJ. It wasn't easy to get them to look into but they eventually agreed to call AJ a 'missing person'. It took two and a half weeks but the police had gotten back to him to inform him that AJ had called them and told them she was ok and left of her own freewill. They verified her personal information and that was that.

AJ never told the police she was fine but not where she was. She never used her credit cards or bankcard so Punk had no idea what she was doing for money but it never sat right with him. Punk flew to New York after hearing from the police enlisting Dean to help him track down his brother who was in fact in New York but there was no sign of AJ anywhere and he swore he had nothing to do with her leaving.

Punk never bought it and moved back to New York and began stalking his brother. He knew AJ wasn't in New York and for al he knew AJ was dead in a ditch somewhere but that wouldn't stop him from punishing the person he knew deep down was responsible for her leaving. They had planned to marry just days before she left and he still carried her note around with him. If he wouldn't find AJ, he'd catch Mike in the fact of something and send him right back to prison.

"Morning!" a cheerful voice greeted from the kitchen.

Punk slowly opened his sleepy eyes and looked at his alarm clock to see it was 9 sharp. He closed his eyes again ignoring the cheerful voice but his bedroom door swung open.

"I got you coffee!" Renee smiled. "And a bagel."

"I'm not hungry." Punk groaned.

"You need to eat." Renee said opening his curtains. The bright sunlight caused him to fall right out of his bed. "And I thought you were going into work today. Dean said you were."

"Fuck it." Punk mumbled crawling back into his bed and pulling a pillow over his head.

"You can't lay in bed! You need to make a living. I know Paul has been understanding but he can't keep covering for you." Renee reminded him. "And you won't be able to afford your place here."

"I can afford it if I never worked again." Punk grunted. "I was out late I need to sleep."

"Hiding behind a trashcan following your brother?" Renee asked.

"He's the way to AJ." Punk said finally sitting up. His beard was now grown out, his hair was getting longer and messier and even Renee cringed as she passed him his cup of coffee.

"Have you ever concerned that AJ just wanted to leave?" Renee asked.

"No." Punk said sipping his coffee.

"She contacted the police." Renee reminded him. "She just got scared."

"She would never leave me behind." Punk said to her.

"She's done it before Punk." Renee reminded him sadly. "Dean said she freaked out when she was with Primo."

"No she freaked out because her brother died. We were good, we were getting married in a few days we had just gotten our license." Punk argued.

"Let her go." Renee said to him. "When she wants to be found she will."

"What if she's hurt? Or in trouble? Or what if my brother has locked in his basement?" Punk asked. "I can't- I have to know for myself."

"You've been following your brother for months. You know she's not with him or in New York in general." Renee pointed out. "Get up, shave, take a shower and get to work. She wouldn't want you waste your life like this." Renee reminded him then walked out of his bedroom.

Day 135

Punk was in his office in the New York office finally back in the swing of things over the last few months.

"It's really good to see you here." Paul boomed as he entered Punk's office. "You're right back in the swing of things."

"I've been back in the swing of things for a while." Punk reminded him.

"Not completely. Renee and Dean tell me you're still sneaking out at night." Paul said to him.

"I'm an adult, I live by myself so I don't have to sneak out of anywhere." Punk reminded him coldly.

"Still tracking Mike who is still spending his nights in rowdy bars and fucking any woman who wants him or doesn't want him for that matter?" Paul questioned. "It's been about five months now."

"I'm over it." Punk shrugged.

"You're not." Paul frowned. "Eric played me the message she left him. She just wanted to leave and she got overwhelmed. It happens a lot."

"How is she living off of no money?" Punk asked him. "She never touched her accounts, she never used her cell phone again. She never called Dean or her parents- nothing."

"What do you think happened?" Paul asked taking a seat.

"I think he did something to her." Punk said to him.

"And if he did?" Paul asked. "It's very possible but it's been five months Phillip. If she was dead like I assume is what you're thinking why are you doing this?"

"Because I don't know." Punk said bluntly. "I don't know what happened to her but I have to know."

"It might be for the best that you leave it alone." Paul said to him. "If she is alive then she doesn't want to speak to you and again that's something you should leave alone."

"If she's alive and not using anything to live off it means she's being kept somewhere against her will." Punk hissed. "All I can think about is AJ being locked away somewhere and taken out when my brother gets bored and it makes me fucking sick."

"You've looked everywhere in New York." Paul reminded him. "She's not here, you broke into your brothers place and she wasn't there."

"I'll find her." Punk said to him. "I have people looking into it."

"PI?" Paul asked.

"Three actually." Punk said to him. "They'll find something if she's alive and out there. If she doesn't want to be with me that's fine I just need to know she's ok."

"You're wasting your time." Paul insisted.

"I wish people would stop telling me that." Punk grunted. "If you're not going to offer me support or help you can get the fuck out."

Day 212

Punk was spending AJ's birthday in his large empty apartment. Most nights Punk was strong but the longer he went without word the longer he believed AJ was dead and gone. He felt like he had this heavy anchor on his heart and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't make it go away. Tonight was one of those rare rough nights where he sat on his couch in the dark holding onto one of AJ's sweatshirts.

"Hey." Renee said softly knocking on the door as she walked inside. Renee and Dean had made it a habit of checking in on Punk since they still occupied AJ's old apartment a few floors down. Renee was a lot more sincere about it and had bonded with Punk over the past 7 months.

"Not tonight." Punk said sniffling slightly.

"I bought you up some pizza." She said putting a dish on the counter before working further into the apartment.

"I'm not hungry." Punk said to her.

"You always say that." Renee giggled taking the empty seat next to him. "You have to go out and live a little."

"I have been but tonight-" he started.

"Would have been her birthday." Renee finished.

"No is her birthday." Punk corrected. "She's not dead."

"She's not here either." Renee added and Punk glared at her. "You need to hear this."

"I hear it all of the time." Punk said annoyed. "I don't need to hear it anymore. I don't need to feel it anymore. I wish I never met her." He admitted. "I wish I never invited her to dinner the first day I met her, I wish never touched her, I wish she never existed."

"You don't mean that." Renee frowned.

"I do mean it." Punk said almost coldly. "I've never felt pain like this before and I don't think it will ever go away."

"It will get better." Renee promised and Punk shook his head. "You just need to take a break."

"I can't take a break from her." Punk admitted honestly. "I have tried. Believe me I have gone out and tried to get her out of my head but I see her everywhere. Every night when I close my eyes there she is. Going to sleep is the best part of the day for me because I'm with her again every night."

"It's ok." Renee said holding back her own tears and pulled Punk into a hug.

Renee let Punk openly cry against her shoulder for twenty minutes and just soothingly ran her hands up and down his back. Maybe he needed this full break down, he needed to hit rock bottom to pick himself back up. Punk pulled away and Renee wiped his eyes for him. She had seen his sensitive side more and more as the weeks passed.

"It's ok." Renee whispered with a soft smile and Punk leaned in and kissed her.

Punk kissed her because he needed to feel something with someone else- anyone else. It could have been Maria, Amy or the woman from Starbucks it wouldn't have changed what he just did. He just needed to feel connected to somebody.

Renee never pulled back but returned the tongue filled kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck. Punk had lifted her up by the ass so she could wrap her legs around waist and carried her into his messy bedroom and laid her across the bed.

They didn't say a word as they stripped each other of their clothes and had sex. It wasn't rough but it wasn't gentle either. Punk was seeking solace and Renee was letting him use her to do it. She loved Dean but he never crossed her mind while Punk fucked her like no other man ever had. They exchanged kissed but for the most part it was what it was- just plain sex.

Renee fell asleep next to Punk and it was Dean who found them the following morning in bed. He had not only lost AJ, he lost his girlfriend and a man he considered his friend. He pushed Punk's naked body off of the bed and punched him until his hand got sore. Punk never fought back and accepted the punishment knowing he deserved it. For not only sleeping with Dean's girlfriend but for betraying AJ even if she wasn't there.

Day 230

"You need to get back in." Mike said to Renee who was staying at his place.

"I can't Dean won't look at me, Punk won't look at me." Renee said sadly.

"You just had to fuck him." Mike said disgusted. "Now how am I going to know when he's lurking about? Or what the fuck he's up to?"

"I've done my part Mike." Renee argued. "I got Ryan into AJ's place, I let you know when they were moving, I got you their LA address and I've kept you up to date on everything Punk was doing to find her."

"You loved your fake life." Mike said annoyed. "You weren't just a stripper I paid off you thought you really were Renee Young. You loved being in that lunatics bed every night but because a whore is always a whore you fucked my brother."

"He was sad!" Renee cried out. "He looked so broken-"

"Jesus Christ." Mike said with a roll of his eyes. "Try to get back in there. I don't care if its with Dean or Punk!"

"I told you Dean is done." Renee said folding her arms. "I loved him." She whispered to herself.

"Yea you loved him so much you fucked another guy." Mike laughed. "What about Punk?"

"Changed his locks and won't see me. I've gone to his office and I've been escorted out every time. I think he's doing it out of solidarity to Dean." Renee said to him. "They may hate each other but they're both still looking for her."

"Good luck." Mike remarked.

"Is she really ok?" Renee asked.

"What's it to you?" Mike asked her.

"It's been a long time and-" Renee started.

"It's not your fucking business Renee." Mike spat.

"What do we do?" Randy asked Mike.

"They won't find her." Mike said to him. "But maybe you stop in and check on her." He suggested.

"I'll make the arrangements." Randy said walking out of the room.

"So she is alive?" Renee asked almost hopefully.

"What do you think?" Mike asked with a smile.

Day 281

Punk was in his office but he wasn't working he had gotten a call from his PI saying he had new information that Punk would want to see as soon as possible. Dean walked into Punk's office and the two were barely on speaking terms but Dean still did work at Marvel.

"What?" Punk asked.

"Your PI is on his way up I want to hear what he has to say." Dean said refusing to even look at him.

"We should talk about Renee." Punk said wanting to put this behind them.

"I'm not talking to you about anything unless it's about AJ." Dean said coldly. "I love and miss her too much to let you fucking my girlfriend keep me from helping her."

"Mr. Brooks." The man said walking inside.

"Shawn." Punk needed. "This is Dean he's a friend."

"Shawn Michaels." The PI greeted shaking his hand.

"I'm not his friend. He has no friends. I'm AJ's friend." Dean said to the PI and Punk rolled his eyes.

"Well it's a good day to be AJ's friend." Shawn informed them.

"You found her?" Punk asked feeling his face go pale.

"I found this." He said sliding a surveillance over to him. Dean crowded Punk at his desk to look at it to.

"Is that-" Dean started.

"It's AJ." Punk said slowly. He had been waiting on this for months.

"How can you be sure she looks different." Dean said to him not taking his eyes off of the picture.

"Her hair is shoulder length, she's lost weight but I know her eyes and that ring." Punk said. "She still wears my ring."

"Where was this?" Dean demanded.

"That picture is from Harrisburg Pennsylvania." Shawn told them. "It's from a check cashing surveillance camera."

"How did you find it?" Punk asked.

"Because she wasn't alone. You were dead set on thinking your brother had played a part in this so I spent all of my energy on him." Shawn told them.

"Mike hasn't left New York." Punk said to him.

"No he hasn't but this guy has." Shawn said sliding another photo over to them.

"Randy." Punk said through gritted teeth.

"This was from a few weeks ago, she wasn't alone he was with her." Shawn told them.

"I need to get there." Punk said without thought.

"I went there and I spoke to the manager and he said AJ only goes in like once every two months and Randy is always with her. It's a small town and he's never seen her otherwise. He's not even sure she's living in town."

"What about an ID? What is she cashing?" Punk asked.

"She's cashing small checks that are made out to Jeanette Colon." Shawn told them. "Her married name to Primo. She hadn't used her married her name in years so we never bothered to check and using her middle name was clever as well."

"Can't you track more information on the name?" Dean asked anxiously.

"There's nothing. And those checks are coming from Ryan Reeves." Shawn said to them.

"He's in jail." Punk informed him.

"I know and that means someone is doing this illegally and this is your opening to get the police involved." Shawn said to them. "She's alive." He said to a still stunned Punk. "It's a good day for you."

"She looks sad." Punk said looking at the photo again.

"Maybe because your fucking family is torturing her!" Dean shouted. "Or maybe she heard about you fucking Renee."

"Is that what you're really thinking about right now?" Punk snapped. "She's alive! She's a few hours away! She's only been a few hours away!"

"I'm going to PA." Dean said walking towards the door.

"I would suggest the police." Shawn added nervously.

"I'm going to PA too." Punk said standing up. "You should stay here."

"No you should stay here and talk to your brother!" Dean said pointing at him. "Since he's the one who caused all of this."

"Maybe you should talk to him." Punk said to him. "Because I'm going to PA and I don't care if I have to knock down every single door in that town or the next one but I'm bringing her home."

"The police could probably help." Shawn added with a laugh.

"Fine." Dean said to him. "You're a big pussy anyway, I'll go talk to your brother but I won't promise I won't kill him."

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that." Shawn chuckled scratching the back of his head.

"Kill him." Punk said coldly. "Because if you don't I will."

Day 282

AJ was sitting in her small closet sized apartment and looking out the small bolted down window. She was on the 12th floor living an attic of a family friend of Randy's. She didn't get to leave unless she was being used to cash checks and she ate once every two days if she was lucky. Food would be left outside her door but she did get water everyday thankfully.

She wasn't sure what she even looked like anymore but she knew she was getting thinner because her clothes were getting bigger and she did have a freak out one night when she cut her hair with a small scissors she had found in the bathroom. There were no mirrors; no TV, no radio, no phone and Punk never came to find her.

Thinking of Punk literally kept her alive. She'd look down at her ring everyday and think about him. Sure she wanted him to find her but she also hoped that he was alive and well. She also didn't want him suffering like she was. AJ will say this about her captivity she was never hurt physically except on the few occasions she tried to escape. She had made piece with the fact she would meet the same fate as Maria and many of other Mike's victim met but she really lucked out.

Sometimes the younger boy that lived there, he couldn't be older than 15 would sneak her some comics or a candy bar, which she was grateful for. Those were the highlights of her life now. AJ would spend her entire day looking out the window imagining different scenarios. One was the police rushing the property, most where Punk running and kicking in this very door and pulling her out. But knowing Punk he had probably already moved on just like she told him to in her note. Those thoughts didn't stop her from imagining him saving her though.

She knew it had been 282 days but she still felt that connection with Punk, she knew deep down he was looking for her and she knew in her heart she would see him again. But again AJ felt like she was staring to lose her mind. Some days she would scream and hit things, other days she would sob most days she was a mute. AJ's only friend was a small little mouse that lived in the attic with her and AJ would actually share her limited food with him.

AJ had absolutely no idea who close Punk really was…..