Loose Ends

"This is all the footage you have?" AJ asked, sitting in the back room of a hotel, the hotel where Punk stayed at during his time there, looking through the CCTV cameras with Dean as she realised there was a lack of footage over the few days Punk had stayed with the hotel.

"Uh… yeah, that seems to be it." The manager, Bill said, "I'll leave you to play around with it." He said as AJ nodded, watching him leave the room as Dean sat beside her and looked on.

"Is there stuff missing?" Dean asked.

"Yeah there's a frame. About two hours before the cops arrested Punk." AJ nodded.

"Could have been when the pants were planted in his room." Dean said as AJ nodded.

"How could someone have gotten in here to erase that, though?" She asked, "And why wouldn't the cops have picked up on the fact there is a tme-frame missing just hours before the bodies were found." She said, "Isn't that suspicious."

"Maybe they think that Punk deleted it because it showed him wiping blood off his pants or something?" Dean shrugged as AJ nodded.

"I guess." AJ said, scrolling through the previous frames, pausing for a second as there was a shot of Punk walking down the corridor which his room was at, and it looked like he was rubbing his hands on his jeans, as if trying to get something off of them.

"What is he doing?" Dean asked, trying to look closer to the blurry frame.

"He's… he's wiping something off his hands." AJ said, turning to Dean who just shook his head, "Can we get a shot up of the reception area at this time?" She wondered to herself, scrolling around as she found an angle from the camera in the reception, rewinding it back to where Punk had walked in, watching closely as he had bumped into someone who looked like they had spilled something over him.

"Wait a minute…" Dean pointed as AJ looked closely.

"Someone done that on purpose so they could get a clear shot of him wiping his hands on his jeans." AJ turned to Dean who raised his eyebrows, "But wouldn't the cops have saw this?"

"Look up there at the settings." Dean pointed as AJ looked up on the screen, "This was deleted." He said,

"Why bring it back then?" AJ shook her head.

"Because there." Dean pointed to the screen where it looked like a woman at reception had leaned over the desk and taken something, "It was obviously deleted for the cops and then brought back."

"And Phil had disappeared at this point where this woman takes something so… it wouldn't even matter." AJ said as Dean nodded, "We need to know who has been in here to look at this CCTV besides the cops." AJ nodded.

"Can you zoom in on the guy that spilled something over Punk." Dean pointed as AJ nodded, zooming in on the still image as the pixels tried to form. It was still incredibly blurry and they couldn't make out the face at all.

"Punk probably hasn't even thought about this. I could go ask him about that guy that bumped into him. He could give us a description." AJ nodded hopefully whilst the manager came back through, "Hey, could you tell us who else has had access to this footage beside the cops?" AJ wondered.

"Uh… no one." Bill shook his head, "Just you two since the cops, and they hardly looked at anything. They saw what they needed and left."

"What about before the cops? Just before." AJ said.

"No. No one." Bill said.

"But you have a frame missing, you know that?" AJ asked, "Someone would need to have deleted it. This technology doesn't just fail from time to time." She said.

"Sometimes certain cameras in the hallways lose their signal." Bill nodded, "Uh… see here." He showed, going back to months ago to give an example, "See…. There's a missing frame here." He explained, showing a few more as AJ sighed.

"I know but it's a little convenient that it happens hours before one of your guests supposedly had blood found on their pants." Dean looked up at him.

"It was dried blood. Could have been there for a while. He's guilty as sin, everyone knows it." He said as Dean stood up, the chair collapsing back behind him as he eyed the smaller man, intimidating him.

"Dean." AJ sighed.

"He's not guilty." Dean spat as Bill just put his hands up.

"I think you should leave now." Bill nodded as AJ sighed, closing down the footage and grabbing her bag.

"Thank you for… letting us take a look." AJ nodded, shoving Dean forward out of the room as they headed out of the hotel, "Hey!" AJ spat angrily whilst catching up to Dean who was power walking ahead angrily, "Hey!" She called again, tugging on his wrist and pulling him around to look at her.

"What?" Dean said.

"If you're doing this with me you have to keep a cool head. I have connections and I have power to look into this more closely but those luxuries will be taken from me if you're acting like a lunatic." She said, "Newsflash, people think he's guilty. It's easy to think he is." She reminded him, "There's a hell of a lot thrown against him." She said.

"But he's not guilty." Dean hissed.

"I know that, but you can't let it get to you or else we're gonna lose out on gaining access to things." She said, "Ok?" She said as Dean just nodded and sighed.

"Well that was a waste of time." Dean shrugged.

"Not really." AJ shook her head, "Maybe they do lose signal in the corridors but… that frame was deleted. I know it was. And if we can prove that was deleted, and show how someone spilled something over Phil, and that's why he was rubbing his jeans with his hands, then maybe we can spark something." AJ nodded.

"You heard the guy, no one has looked at the CCTV." Dean said.

"No one that he saw." AJ reminded him, "So whoever it is must have come in and done it without anybody noticing." She said as Dean nodded.

"We should find out who that guy was who bumped into Punk." Dean said as AJ nodded.

"Yeah, I'll uh… I'll go visit him just now. Meanwhile you could try and find me out names and addresses of those girls parents."

"You really wanna talk to them?" Dean asked as AJ nodded.

"Yeah." AJ nodded, "I'll text you when I'm out." She told him as he nodded, watching her walk off.

Punk was sitting in his cell on the floor. His cell was located in a completely different area of the prison with a few other prisoners who were also labelled as dangerous, evil and inhumane. He was in complete isolation for most of the day besides when he got yard time which was still segregated from everyone else.

His cell was barely a cell. It had what appeared to be a bed and a toilet. He spent the majority of his days picking the paint from the wall, having created huge patches around the tiny squared area that he was locked up in.

He was done with asking himself, why him? He was too tired to feel sorry for himself. At first he was in shock, complete and utter shock that not only would he be imprisoned for such a brutal and unforgiven crime, which did not commit, but he was also on death row, and he wasn't sure how to deal with that yet.

But after the shock had subsided, he figured that of course this happened. He felt like his whole entire life had just been one big fuck up, ever since their mom died. He lost his bearings. The only time he remembered feeling good about life and what was to come, was when he was with AJ. But just like everything else, that fell apart too.

"Brooks!" Punk heard a knock at his cell door as he watched the latch which they gave him his trays of food through, open up, "Got some docs for you." One of the wardens said as Punk groaned, getting to his feet and walking over, "They uh… they got a date for you." He said as Punk just nodded.

"Thanks, boss." Punk said, taking the envelope from him as the shutter was slammed down.

Punk sat over on his bed and opened up the envelope, reading through the work as he saw the date which he was to be executed via lethal injection or the chair. It was his choice, which was awful good of them to let him decide, he thought.

He sighed to himself as he realised that in three months time, his life was possibly going to be over. That was all he had. Three months.

"Brooks!" He heard again.

"Yeah?" Punk said.

"Visit from your attorney." The warden said, slowly opening up the door as Punk sighed and nodded. He didn't like the way the wardens acted like he was going to lash out on them. He was easy to cooperate and he didn't blame them for looking at him the way they did. Some were nicer than others. They were only doing their job, he understood that, "Ok, let's get the chains on. No funny business." The warden said as Punk just nodded, standing up and staying still as he was cuffed around his ankles and wrists, leaving his cell and heading to the visitation room where he saw AJ was already sitting.

He couldn't believe she was really here. Seeing her face was one thing that kept him going throughout all of this. Although he really didn't want to bring her down with him in whatever it was he was apart of covering up. He still aimed to protect her, even if she was married and moved on.

"Hey." Punk nodded to her, taking a seat behind the cage as AJ smiled and nodded.

"Hey." She replied, "Uh we found some things this morning… at the hotel you were staying at. Some weird stuff with the CCTV." She nodded, "There's a frame missing from a few hours before the body was found… we reckon that's when whoever it was put blood on your pants." She nodded, "And we figured out that the cops got footage of you wiping your hands on your jeans a few hours before that." She said, "But what they didn't see was the frame from a different angle where you bumped into a guy-"

"He spilled hot coffee over me." Punk remembered immediately as AJ nodded, "So the cops thought that was me rubbing the blood on my jeans?" He asked her as AJ nodded.

"Yeah because the frame that showed that guy bumping into you was deleted but brought back, there must be a setting to erase and bring things back." She said, "But the frame before the bodies were found is definitely deleted.' She nodded as Punk sighed, 'Do you remember anything about that guy you bumped into?" She asked him.

"Not really." Punk shook his head, he bumped into me and then kept walking. I didn't get a good look at him." He said as AJ nodded and sighed, "I got three months." He told her as she looked across at him, "That's when they… you know." He said as AJ nodded.

"I can find something. There will be a crack somewhere I just need to find it." She nodded.

"I don't want you to waste your time and then when it comes you'll end up feeling guilty for not saving my life… I don't want that on you." He said, "That's why I didn't want Dean to call you." He said.

"Well tough, cause I'm here and I'm not going anywhere." She told him seriously as Punk just nodded.

"I've let him down again." Punk sighed, rubbing his hands over his face as AJ shook her head.

"You've not let anyone down, Phil. This wasn't your fault. You've been set up." She said.

"I wouldn't have had to come out here in the first place if I wasn't unemployed." He shook his head, "You had the right idea getting away from me when you could." He said.

"Don't say that." AJ hissed, "I never wanted to leave and you know that fine well." She said as he just looked across at her, "This is not down to you, ok?" She said, "We're gonna do everything we can to prove you're innocent. Everything." She said as he just nodded.

"Thank you." He said quietly. It was a reminder that she was always there for him when he needed her, and he was always there for her too. He felt like nothing had changed between them, and the feelings were still most definitely there, she was still the most beautiful woman ever to him, and he knew that it was bothering her a little that their feelings were there, especially when she constantly played with the wedding band on her finger whilst looking into his eyes, like nothing had ever changed.

"Hey." AJ smiled, stepping up onto the bleachers all the way to the top where she saw Punk sitting.

"Hey." Punk nodded.

"What are you doing here?" She asked him, taking her bag from around her body and sitting down beside him.

"Waiting for his stupid ass to get done training so we can split. I got a free period after lunch." He said as AJ looked out onto the field where Dean was at, on the football team. Not because he was a stud or a popular guy like most of them, he was just really good at it.

"So if you got a free period after lunch, where are you supposed to be right now?" AJ asked him.

"History." Punk shrugged, "I don't need history." He said as AJ just nodded, "What are you doing out here?" He asked.

"Well, this is really my free period." AJ said, "And I like the fresh air." She nodded to him, "New foster family again?" AJ asked him as Punk nodded.

"Just a dad." Punk said, "We uh… we don't get along. At all." Punk said as AJ frowned.

"My mom is away all weekend. She's visiting my aunt in Florida. She's leaving me alone so… you guys can come stay the full weekend if you want to." She smiled to him as he nodded immediately.

"Yeah, right on." Punk nodded, "He'll be thrilled about that." He nodded over to Dean who had just speared someone to the ground, causing Punk to laugh to himself.

"You uh… you've got…" She pointed to his bandana as Punk turned to her, "It's just a bit of hair sticking out." She said, tucking it in as he adjusted it properly, "Your roots need done."

"Tell me about it." Punk scoffed, watching her as she took out her book along with a brownie from her bag, "Do you just have an endless supply of brownies in your bag?" He laughed a little.

"Yeah, do you want one?" AJ smiled to him.

"Go on." Punk nodded as AJ took one out and handed it to him.

"So what's wrong with this foster father then?" AJ asked him.

"He drinks." Punk nodded, "Isn't exactly friendly." He shook his head.

"Why would his name be down on the system then if he doesn't want to take kids in?" AJ asked, shaking her head.

"I don't know." Punk shrugged, "I'm thinking I just get myself put in juvie again so we can get moved onto the next family." He nodded.

"No, don't be ridiculous." AJ said, "It's not gonna be long until you don't get convicted as a minor, so… just get out of the habit." She told him, "Whenever my mom isn't in you guys can come over. You know that." She said.

"Yeah, thanks." Punk smiled, "You've been good to us." He nodded.

"Well you're my best friends." AJ shrugged, "You'd do the same for me." She nodded to him, turning around and looking at him as he looked back and nodded. It was rare that they were ever alone just the two of them, but when they were it wasn't like two best friends talking. She was attracted to him and she was doing all she could to stop herself, but she couldn't help it.

"Yeah, we would." Punk smiled to her, "So what's this book about?" He asked her, noticing she was reading yet another book, no doubt finished the one she had just started yesterday.

She then sat and explained to him about the book she was now reading as he took interest in it. Whether he was faking it or not, he always showed her a great deal of attention and for someone who was used to it, she enjoyed it, especially from him. She knew she was younger than him, but not by much. She just didn't want anything to change between them, but it was safe to say, the feelings were there.

A/N: Let me know what you think! Thanks for the reviews, I love reading them.