Breaking The News

"I can't believe how much bigger it's gotten." AJ smiled, looking on at the sonogram picture a few weeks later after their twelve week scan at the hospital, sitting in the passenger's side of the car whilst Punk drove home, or more so drove to Dean's apartment as they just couldn't wait any longer to tell him. They'd finally got the go ahead that the baby really was perfectly healthy and growing right on track.

"I know. And did you hear the heartbeat?" Punk asked, keeping his eyes on the road as AJ nodded and smiled to herself, "It's so fast. I thought that wasn't normal at first but she said that's healthy, right?" He asked.

"Really healthy." AJ nodded, "I can't wait to find out what we're having." She smiled to herself.

After her first little hurdle with her mental health, she'd bounced back after a few days and with her boyfriend's help, was feeling back to her usual self. She knew there would be doubts, of course there would be, Punk had them too, but they were in it together and she felt so blessed to know their baby was healthy and happy. She was making it a regular occurrence to go to therapy again as she'd forgotten how much it really helped her in her everyday life, and Nicole, her therapist, was glad to see her coming more frequently.

"I think it's a girl." Punk nodded.

"You think or you want?" AJ smiled to him as he kept his eyes on the road and laughed.

"I want? Are you crazy? Imagine having a miniature version of you. Torture." He teased as she smiled.

"And having a miniature version of you would be easier?" She laughed as he nodded.

"Fair point." Punk nodded, "I don't know, I just gotta feeling it's a girl. I'm not that bothered either way." He said honestly. He just wanted the baby to be healthy.

"Yeah, me too." AJ nodded, "As long as it's healthy." She said, "But we are finding out what it is, right?" She asked.

"Yeah." Punk nodded, "I'm not that patient." He said, "And plus, you'll wanna decorate the nursery up and it'll be a bit hard to do it neutral." He said as AJ nodded.

"What do you think he's gonna say?" AJ asked.

"Dean? He probably won't believe us." Punk nodded, pulling up to the apartment in a space outside on the sidewalk.

"I hope he's excited." AJ said, getting out of the car as Punk got out too, locking it behind him and joining AJ as they walked into the apartment block, placing his hand at the small of her back as they climbed the stairs and knocked on the apartment door. It felt weird knocking on the door where they used to live for so long.

"Come in!" Dean yelled from inside as Punk and AJ walked on in, "Why are you knocking, idiots?" Dean rolled his eyes.

"Because it's not our place anymore." Punk laughed, "Is Anna not here?" He asked.

Dean had filled AJ and Punk in on what happened when he confronted Anna. They thought it was sad that she felt ashamed of being unemployed, and figured it was a valid reason to lie. Her and Dean were right back on track and things were going well for them as they had been. Only Dean didn't know the real truth yet, which was killing Anna slowly but surely.

"No, she's visiting her mom." Dean nodded, walking over to the couch as Punk and AJ followed, "Why the sudden need to visit?" He asked them casually, taking a seat back on the couch as he reached for his soda, looking over to the TV where the cubs game was playing, which attracted Punk's attention also as he sat down on the couch.

AJ nudged Punk, getting his attention as she sat down beside him.

"Oh, right." Punk nodded, turning away from the TV, "Uh… we have some news." Punk said as Dean turned to them.

"What news?" Dean asked, taking another swig of his soda as he looked on at them curiously.

"You're gonna be an uncle." AJ smiled cheerfully as Dean looked at them both, looking from Punk to AJ.

"You're pregnant?" Dean asked AJ who nodded, "And it's yours?" He turned to Punk who rolled his eyes.

"Yes, we're pretty sure it's mine." Punk nodded sarcastically.

"You're having a baby?" He asked them as they nodded.

"Here." AJ smiled, sliding over the scan picture on the coffee table as Dean looked over and picked it up, "I'm already three months gone." She said as Dean looked at the black and white picture and smiled.

"Oh my God." Dean laughed to himself as he looked at the baby in the picture, "Oh my God." He turned to them, shaking his head and standing up, "Come here." He said to them both, embracing them both tightly, kissing AJ on the head and messing with Punk's hair as he went back to looking at the picture, shocked but equally as excited, "Was this planned?" He wondered.

"Well not exactly." AJ said, "But we're happy." She smiled, nodding to Punk who smiled to her and nodded.

"I'm gonna be an uncle." He smiled happily to himself as Punk smiled, "Can it like… stay with me sometimes?" He asked them as AJ and Punk smiled.

"Yeah." Punk laughed, "As long as you don't drop it or anything." He teased as Dean rolled his eyes.

"I can't believe it." Dean shook his head. He always thought that his brother and AJ would go on and get married and have a family. Even when they had broken up, he always saw it happening, but he was still shocked and surprised, but so happy for them and excited. It was nice to expand on their small family, "So how many more months do you have to go?" He asked, handing AJ back the picture.

"Six. Well, five and two weeks I think." She said as Punk nodded, "We get to find out what it is next month." She nodded.

"If it's a boy, you gotta call him Dean." Dean nodded.

"Uh no we don't." Punk said, "We haven't even talked about names." He shook his head.

"Man, are you guys nervous?" He asked them. He was so excited for them, but even he felt nervous for them becoming parents. It wasn't something he would have been prepared for at any time in his life, and he figured it was the same for them, especially since they hadn't planned it.

"Yeah, of course we are." AJ nodded, "But… we'll manage." She said, turning to Punk and smiling as he nodded.

"We've got nanny Dean on standby anyway." Punk teased as Dean nodded

"Damn right you do." Dean said, "You guys should stay. Anna will be home soon. We can order some food. Have a toast. I'll have a beer for me and you to celebrate." He nodded to Punk as they both nodded.

"Yeah, ok." AJ smiled, taking her coat off. They had every reason to celebrate and enjoy this moment with their family, as small as it was.

Once Anna arrived home, she was told about the news and congratulated both Punk and AJ. She was close to them both and had grown to become a part of the small family, which she loved, which she didn't want to hurt or jeopardise, and which killed her to know that she was.

Whilst waiting on the take-out food to be delivered, AJ and Dean were sitting in the living room area, having a special heart-to-heart whilst Punk was getting drinks with Anna.

"Must be an exciting time." Anna smiled to him as he nodded and smiled.

"Yeah." Punk said, "It's pretty scary but… we've got a lot to look forward to." He assured her.

"Has it always been her?" Anna asked him, topping her wine up whilst opening Dean's beer.

"What do you mean?" Punk asked her.

"Well, you dated in high school… was it always her you envisioned yourself settling down with?" She asked him.

"Yeah." Punk nodded, "No doubt about it. It's the only thing that makes sense." He said.

"Aren't you worried that… one day your kids are gonna be grown up and realise their dad was on death row?" She asked boldly, turning to him as Punk was taken back a little by the question.

"Excuse me?" Punk shook his head.

"No, it's just a wonder." Anna said casually, "I mean, you were the face of one of the most notorious murders in America in the past twenty-five years." She said.

"Yeah, and I also didn't do anything. Why would I be worried?" Punk asked, feeling a little uneasy with her now that she had asked such a strange and intrusive question. They knew one another, but not well enough for her to ask something so bold like that.

"Just incase they get the wrong idea." Anna said.

"The truth is out there. All I am is the wrong guy that was put on death row. Who was innocent. My kid will know that and… it won't be an issue." Punk made clear.

"You still have nightmares about it?" Anna asked him as Punk looked at her, "I mean… they say you were seconds away… they had the needle right at you-"

"You know what… I don't really wanna talk about it. I'm here to celebrate my girlfriend being pregnant, not reminiscing on the time I was waiting to be killed." Punk said, mad that she had brought that horrifying past back up for him when he was so excited and happy about what was going on in his life at the minute.

"Sorry, I just… well I thought we were close enough to… talk about it. I didn't mean to upset you." She said.

"You didn't." Punk said, trying to find his calm, "We are close. You can talk to me about anything. Dean cares about you and I know you care about him, but… there's a time and there's a place." He told her as she just nodded, "It's not a part of my life I like looking back on, as you'd imagine. I'm trying to focus on the now, and the good things that are happening." He said.

"Of course." Anna nodded, "I understand, I'm sorry." She said as he just nodded.

"You're alright." Punk said, patting her on the back before taking he and AJ's drinks in as Anna leaned against the kitchen counter, sighing to herself and rubbing her hands over her face. She didn't know how long she could do this. How long she could hurt someone she'd grown to love, how long she could hurt his family when there was no need to hurt them. She just wished her career and her livelihood didn't depend on it, and the fact her crazy mother would take physical action if she didn't comply.

Later that night once AJ and Punk had taken off, and Dean was asleep in bed, Anna left the apartment, walking down the block stairs and out of the building, meeting her mother outside who was waiting in a black car with tinted windows.

"What is it?" Anna asked, sliding into the back seat where her mother sat.

"Did you get anything?" Jean asked her.

"Get what? The man is innocent and he's trying to move on with his life. Just leave him alone." Anna said with exhaustion.

"That sounds a lot to me like giving up, Anna." Jean hissed as Anna sighed, "We're gonna publish a story soon. I got his juvenile records. We all know the public loves a link between troubled youth and upbringing with killings later on in life." She said, "it'll have people talking. Is he really innocent or did he just get a quick escape?"

"Mom. He's innocent." Anna shook her head, "You know he is."

"Does it matter?" Jean asked, "I want headlines, I want eyes on our papers, I want people talking about our columns." She nodded.

"Your columns." Anna said, "You don't let me write anything. You just send me out to do your dirty work." She spat.

"Which I am thankful for." Jean said, "Look, baby… surely these people don't think they can go about living normal lives now? No one sits on death row, escapes it and doesn't hear from anyone again. People like to talk. Just because they've apparently got the real killers won't take the spotlight off of that man." Jean said, "We'll make sure of it. It's all for a good story, right?"

"You're desperate." Anna said, "And you're hurting people."

"I'm creative." Jean corrected, "And I don't care about those people. It comes with the job. You always found that part hard." She nodded as Anna shook her head.

"I can't keep doing this." Anna said, "I'm not hurting Dean like this anymore." She shook her head.

"Oh, don't tell me you have feelings for him?" Jean laughed as Anna turned away from her, "Oh, you do?" She asked genuinely.

"It's none of your business." Anna said, "They don't deserve this. They've been through enough." She shook her head, "And I'm not helping you destroy their lives." She shook her head, about to get back out the car when her mother grabbed her by the wrist, tightly.

"I broke your wrist once, Annabelle. Don't make me do it again." She warned as Anna winced a little and looked across at her, "You do what I tell you until I say otherwise." She said as Anna gulped, "Am I clear?" She said as Anna nodded slowly, feeling the grip on her wrist loosen, "Go on then." She said as Anna got back out of the car, closing the door over as she watched the car drive off, hugging her arms in the cold wind and placing her hand over her face.

A/N: Let me know what you think!