Checking Up

"Dean?" AJ called, walking through the apartment door of Dean's place with Keala in her stroller, "Dean, you in?" She asked.

"Hey." Dean appeared from his bedroom as AJ smiled, taking her scarf off, "What are you doing here? How'd you get up all the stairs with the stroller? You should have called, I would have come help you." He said, walking over to her, giving her a hug and then looking into the stroller where Keala was fast asleep.

"Oh, Mrs Hale from upstairs helped me." AJ waved her hand, "We were just out on a walk, thought I'd stop by." She smiled to him as Dean nodded.

"And where's the third member of the new family?" Dean asked her.

"He's running errands." AJ said, "You'd be surprised how much you neglect when you have a baby. Our fridge has been empty for like… a whole week." She shook her head, "He's just gone to the store, bank, boring stuff that I wanted no part in." She smiled, taking her coat off and wheeling he stroller over to the living room as Dean followed.

"How you been feeling?" Dean asked her, continuing to look over into the stroller at Keala. She was such a little angel.

"Better." AJ nodded, "My therapist said I shouldn't trap myself in the house just because I have the baby, so I thought we'd come out for a walk and see her favourite uncle." She said, sitting down on the couch as Dean laughed.

"Yeah, she looks real fucking excited to see me." Dean laughed, "She good in there?" He asked.

"Oh, yeah, she'll sleep in there fine." AJ waved her hand as Dean nodded and sat down on the couch. For Dean, it was strange trying to get used to the fact AJ and his brother now had a baby. He was so used to it just being the three of them, since they were just teens, and to now see them putting all their attention into Keala, it was hard to get used to but it was nice.

"I'm glad you're feeling a little better." Dean nodded as AJ smiled.

She too was glad she was feeling better. She still didn't feel one hundred percent, but the balance of her meds, therapy and advice she'd been getting from the home doctor, she did feel herself getting through the tough little bump, and she had the most adorable baby and the best boyfriend to help her too.

"I am too." AJ said, "Anna working?" She asked.

"Yeah." Dean nodded, "She's really enjoying her job. She was worried it wasn't gonna be for her but she's liking it. She's good with IT stuff, and I think she thought she was just gonna be pouring coffee for people." He said as AJ smiled, "I think the most important thing is that she's away from her mom. I feel like we're actually getting to know each other better."

"Good." AJ smiled, "It's good you guys are taking it slow." She nodded, "I uh… I do wanna talk to you, though." She said as he looked over at her, "You… the other night, why were you hiding your drink and why was it in a hip flask?" She asked as Dean went silent, "I'm not here to tell you off or anything but… I've been around lately, just because I've been pregnant or up to my eyes in diapers doesn't mean that I haven't noticed that… you're drinking a lot more than you normally do." AJ said, "Phil told me about you in the hospital-"

"Yeah and I told him that I had a few beers to celebrate my niece being born." Dean said, "And yeah, I've been having a few beers here and there, it's not a crime."

"Don't get defensive with me." AJ shook her head, reminding him that she wasn't just his brother's girlfriend. She was like a sister to him, "I'm only worried about you. I mean… is everything ok?" She asked him.

"Everything is fine." Dean shrugged, "Seriously." He nodded.

"Work is ok? You and Anna are ok?" AJ asked.

"April, I'm fine. If I wasn't you'd be the first to know." Dean said, "Stop worrying about everyone else. Put yourself first for now." He nodded, "I've talked with Phil."

"But why were you hiding it and why was it in a hip flask?" AJ asked, "Why didn't you just bring some beers over with you? You know we don't mind." She said.

"I didn't know if you'd let me drink around her." Dean said.

"Dean." AJ scoffed, "C'mon, we're not angels, and we'd never tell you what to do." AJ shook her head, "I just don't want you to… have it become a habit and end up finding yourself in a situation you don't wanna be in."

"Like what?" Dean asked her.

"Well… sometimes one turns into two and then two turns into eight or nine." AJ said, "I just don't want you to depend on that all the time. It worries me. And Phil." AJ nodded, "You'd tell us if something was wrong, wouldn't you?" She asked him.

"Yeah." Dean nodded, "I would." He said as AJ just nodded, "Does Phil know about the flask?"

"No. I thought I'd come talk to you first." AJ said, "And if it's nothing to worry about then I won't bother telling him." She said as he nodded.

"Look, you guys have got your own lives now, you don't need to babysit me anymore. Focus on yourself, each other, and Keala." He nodded.

"We never babysat you." AJ said, "Phil just likes to look out for you. I do too."

"I know you do." Dean nodded, "And I appreciate it." He said, "But I'm fine." He said as AJ nodded. She would always take his word for it, and she never wanted to come off as telling him off, she really was just worried and didn't want him to pick up a habit which eventually would give him problems.

"Ok." AJ smiled.

"You want some lunch? I was just about to make something." Dean said as AJ smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, I'll take whatever you're making. Keala is due a feed just now anyway so I have time." She smiled as he nodded and stood up as she watched him head through to the kitchen.

"I don't think our fridge has ever been this full." Punk shook his head whilst AJ sat over at the kitchen table with Keala in her arms, smiling and talking to her as the baby girl just stared up at her with those big brown eyes.

"It better not be filled with rubbish." AJ said, "Whenever I left you and Dean to do the grocery shopping, I'd come home to boxed food and every quick cook noodles under the sun." She said.

"I forgot you want five star quality every night." Punk nodded.

"Yeah I do." AJ nodded.

"Well I got a mixture of things." He waved his hand as she smiled over at him. She liked teasing him.

"You got more formula right?" She asked him.

"Yeah, and diapers, because you ever know how things are gonna go." Punk said as AJ nodded, "What'd you get up to when I was gone? I was away for quite a while." He realised, switching the kettle on and grabbing two mugs out to make them both coffee.

"We went for a walk." AJ smiled, "I got to try out that new blanket that Liz got her." She cared to let him know, "And we went and visited uncle Dean, didn't we?" AJ smiled, looking down at Keala, "And he gave you your bottle, and he almost choked you, didn't he?" She said in a soft, sweet voice as Punk scoffed.

"Why am I not surprised?" Punk shook his head.

"To be fair she does gulp pretty badly." AJ said, "But he was happy to see us." She nodded as Punk smiled walking over to the table and sitting her coffee down, "Thank you." She smiled as he nodded and sat across from her, "I've realised I'm one of those mothers." She said.

"What mothers?" Punk asked.

"The ones that are always paranoid about their child's temperature." AJ said, "I had her wrapped up in blankets and hats and more blankets going out today." She said, "Poor thing was probably melting." She shook her head, "But it's freezing outside and I wanted her to be warm."

"So you mean one of those caring mothers? I see." Punk nodded.

"Well." AJ smiled modestly, "She's just so perfect. I could literally just hold her all day." She sighed, looking down at Keala. She was such a precious little thing, still so tiny but so gorgeous. Her little brown eyes and her soft caramel skin made AJ so proud and she really felt like she had her own little mini me. She just wanted to be the best mom she possibly could be.

"You gonna teach her Spanish?" Punk asked her.

"Only for when we wanna talk about you." AJ nodded as Punk gasped.

"April." Punk said, "Mean."

"Well you're gonna piss her off way more than I will, probably." She nodded, teasing him of course as he just smiled, "I'm kidding. I don't know. For me I sort of grew up with it cause mom always spoke it for the most part." She said, "She might wanna learn a few things, and I'll teach her if she wants." She said, "As long as it's easier than teaching Dean and trying to get him to pass Spanish class." She shook her head as Dean laughed.

"The only word he actually learnt was putas." Punk said.

"It's more like… putas." She repeated in a Spanish accent as Punk raised his eyebrows.

"This guy isn't Spanish." He pointed to himself as AJ waved her free hand whilst coorying Keala in with her other arm.

"Yeah you never got the hang of it either." AJ shrugged, taking a sip of her coffee, "I'll teach her if she's interested." She nodded, "Do you think she'll be like one of those people who is interested in their family background and where they came from?" She asked.

"Well my family background isn't all that exciting." Punk said.

"Where did your mom come from?" AJ asked him.

"Here." Punk said, "She had a younger sister who died young. She was hit by a car I think." Punk nodded.

"Oh, I didn't know that." AJ shook her head.

"Yeah, then her mom and dad divorced. She never got on with her dad anyway. Then her mom threw her out when she started hanging around my dad." Punk said, "I don't know anything about my dad's side." He shrugged.

"So you didn't meet your grandparents?" AJ asked him.

"I met my gran once." Punk nodded, "I think it was like my fifth birthday, maybe sixth, but that was the only time I remember seeing her, and even at that, I don't really remember much about her." Punk said, "Did you know yours?"

"My grandparents?" AJ asked as he nodded, "I knew my grandpa from Puerto Rico. Nana died when I was young. Don't know anything about my dad or his family." She shrugged.

"So she's not got that much to find out about her family." Punk said, "That conversation will be easy." He said as she smiled as AJ looked down watching as Keala yawned, her tiny little mouth making an O shape.

"Oh, baby are you tired?" AJ smiled, lifting her up against her chest, "Are you a tired girl?" She asked, kissing her head softly as Punk smiled. There was nothing he loved more than watching AJ with her. He really couldn't have saw himself having kids with another person. It was always AJ, "Do you wanna go to daddy?" She whispered, rubbing her back softly, standing up as Punk took her from her.

There was something so sweet about loving each other since they were teenagers, and seeing one another with their baby girl, having been through so many hurdles in their life together, at times they had both faced death and they always wound up back at each other's side. There was something special about that.

"She fall asleep in your arms quicker than she does in mine." AJ said, sitting back down and enjoying the rest of her coffee as Punk smiled.

"It's my muscles." Punk nodded as AJ laughed.

"Oh, get over yourself." AJ smiled to him as Punk nodded.

"It is." Punk said, "And I bet my tattoos soothe her. All the colours." He nodded.

"Can we agree that she gets no tattoos?" AJ asked him.

"Yeah, ok. Well maybe when she's like thirty. We agreed she can get married at forty, right?" He said as AJ smiled.

"You agreed with yourself on that one." AJ reminded him as Punk just rolled his eyes, "I'm going for lunch with Colette tomorrow, so you're off dad duty for a little while. We're gonna eat some burgers and talk about how sleep deprived we are." She smiled as Punk nodded.

"Sounds nice." Punk laughed a little, "I'm glad you've kept in touch with her. It's good you have a mom friend." He said as she nodded.

"Yeah, and I get the impression she's not got many people to talk to either." AJ said as Punk nodded, "Why don't you go see Dean when I'm out?" She asked.

"Yeah, maybe. He's been on night shifts, hasn't he?" He asked as AJ nodded, "Yeah, I'll probably go see him." He said as AJ nodded, "How you been feeling? I hate asking you that but you seem a lot better."

"Yeah, I'm getting there." AJ nodded with a smile, "Turns out I have an amazing boyfriend to help me." She smiled to him, "And the most perfect baby to keep smiling for."

"You hear that Kee?" Punk smiled, "You're already moving mountains." He said, looking down at her as she slept in his arms, in her little white onesie, "Good, I'm glad you're feeling better." Punk smiled, "I'm always here." He reminded her.

"I know you are." AJ smiled. She'd had a good combination of therapy, doctor advice, love from her boyfriend, the right medication again, and she was starting to feel like her normal self again. She knew her illness and she knew there was times where it got her down like so, but she had a pretty good support system within her little family. She was truly thankful for that.

A/N: Let me know what you think!