"What are you talking about?" Punk asked her, confused by her words.

"I'm not doing this, Phil." She said, "I'm not doing it anymore. We aren't… we aren't two idiots in love anymore. We have children. Who I want to be kept safe. I don't… I don't want them to suffer in any of this. I'd rather die myself." She said.

"I know that." Punk said, "And I'll keep them safe."

"How?" She shook her head, "You're the main problem in all of this."

"Excuse me." Punk said.

"You are." She said, "Because of you, I've had to endure the most painful year of my entire life. I've never felt so alone or cold, and hadn't it been for you, I wouldn't have felt that way. I mean… you were already putting me in danger way before I knew you even existed."

"Why you saying all of this?" Punk asked.

"It's all just too much now. I dreamed of this day, I dreamed that you would come home to me, and now that you have, I finally know what I have to do. To keep my children safe." She said, "I love you, but I can't do this anymore." She told him truthfully.

"You're talking crazy." He said, "C'mon, April. It's me and you. We can get through anything. You're just overwhelmed that I'm here. I sort of am too." He said, "We can fix this. I can fix this."

"Until the next set of enemies come after you?" She asked as he stared across at her, "My mom always told me that it was the living we had to fear, more than the dead." She said, taking his hands in hers, "And she was right… the most dangerous people on the planet, you deal with them, and you make them angry, and they want to hurt you and everything you love." She said, "And we're it. Me and the twins." She said.

"So you're just gonna shut me out?" He asked, "I know that what's happened this past year is going to be unforgettable for you. But you don't have to go making rational decisions so quickly." He said, "Just take your time to think about things. Coming back here tonight is obviously a shock to you. It's a shock to anyone around here. Just… take it easy." He asked of her. He thought that maybe she was just thinking out loud and was still completely starstruck by his return.

"No… no, I know what I want." She said, "And it's not you, Phil." She said quietly.

"What?"

"I'm more interested in a life, looking after our children, and protecting them. Getting close to you again can only bring more pain."

"I don't think there will be anymore pain, April. You've been told I was dead. You can deal with anything." He said.

"But I don't want to." She said, "Your job prevents security and stability for us. What… what happens if the twins somehow become in danger? What happens if you can't get to them in time." She said, "If anything happened to our babies because of you, I would never, ever look, speak or think about you again. You know that, right?" She said.

"Nothing would ever happen to them, AJ. I wouldn't let them get hurt." He vowed.

"Just like you didn't let those Albanians get their hands on me and set the house on fire whilst I was in it?" She asked, "Look, I'm not blaming you..."

"Yeah? Well it seems like it." He said, "I've been ripped away from you and our kids for a year, I come back and you apparently don't want me in your life anymore?" He asked, "What about sitting up all those nights, wishing I would come back?" He asked.

"Yeah. I did. And now you are, it's made me realise how much we have to protect. If anything were to happen to Caleb, or Harleen. I don't know what I'd do. They were the ones that stopped me from falling apart when I thought you were gone." She said, "I can't have them in danger. I won't." She said.

"Do you not believe me when I say I'll protect them? And you." He said, "And plus, who said we were needing protection from anything anyway. It's over. I'm out of Witness Protection now. We can try get back to normality." He said.

"Nothing is normal about your job." She pointed out, "If you aren't dying then someone else is." She said, "You're always going to have your enemies, Phil." She said, "And I understand now, that this was why you never wanted to go through with having the twins." She nodded as he shook his head.

"When did I ever say I didn't want to have them?" He asked her.

"You never had to." She whispered, "I knew from the minute I told you."

"I love my children. I love those twins more than you will ever know. Don't you dare..." He pointed to her, "It's easy for you to say. You've been here with them from the beginning. I've spent a year without them." He said.

"Yeah, because of your job." She pointed out, "What if that happens again? Only… when they're older, and I have to explain to them what's going on." She said, "It's just… easier this way, Phil. You can carry on with your job, you can be a father to the twins, I won't take them from you. We can get joint custody." She said.

"I want to be with you, April. I love you… don't, don't shut me out. Please." He begged.

"I'm not doing it out of choice." She said, "I think it would be better for everyone." She said, "No more danger. No more fear." She said.

"The only fear I've ever had, in my entire life, was losing you." He said, "That is the only thing I've ever been scared of." He said, "Please… I don't want to lose you, April."

"I'm sorry." AJ shook her head, drying her rolling tears whilst slightly taking a step back, "It's for the best."

It'd taken her until now to realise that her life just couldn't go on with Punk in it. Their babies were at risk, and she wasn't having that. If it meant he had to be a weekend dad then he was just going to have to deal with it. Of course she still loved him. She would never stop loving him. But she knew this was for the best. Their relationship had never gone smooth. She should have known from the minute their relationship started as an affair, that it would never go to plan. She believed this was her punishment. The affair that had started their love off, had now turned into a crisis that only she had the power to stop.

"I was gonna propose." He looked across at her, "That night I was taken." He said, "I went out, not to buy diapers, but to get you flowers. I was gonna…. Get down on one knee, and ask you to marry me." He said as she nodded.

"When I… cleared your things out, I came across the ring." She said, "In a perfect world it would have been a dream come true." She smiled, "But it's a cruel world. If there's anyone who understands just how cruel, it's you." She said, "Had you asked me that night, I definitely would have said yes." She smiled, "But I guess this year, it's given me a chance to think about a lot." She said.

"You want me to just walk away from this?" He asked, "Walk away from you?"

"It would make it easier."

"Not for me." He shook his head, "I'm… I'm gonna go." He announced, "I think this has got to you, in a way I wasn't hoping for. I think you're overwhelmed, and you need to sleep on these decisions you're making." He said, "I thought I would come back, have you in my arms again, make love to you over, and over, and over, until I passed out." He said, "But instead, you want me far away as possible." He shook his head, in disbelief by what she was saying. It made sense on some level. She obviously wanted the twins to be safe, and their relationship had been topsy turvy from the very beginning, she was clearly scared, he didn't blame her after being through what she had this past year.

"My mind is made up, Phil." She told him, "I'll support you, I'll be there for you, I'll let you into the twins lives but..."

"Then what's the difference if me and you are together or not? You're still letting me be around." He said.

"Because I feel like things would be more stable if we kept our distance." She said, "We should have… we should have always just kept this as an affair." She shrugged as he backed away, shaking his head.

"You're unbelievable." He shook his head, "I don't believe the words that are coming out of your mouth." He said, "You… you need to go lie down, think about what you're saying. In the morning everything will seem much clearer." He said.

"It's clear to me now."

It may have seemed like she had gotten cold. It also may have seemed that she was a hypocrite. All those nights, wishing for him to be with her, to be in their bed with her, holding her, whispering his love for her in her ear. Now that he was back, still remarkably, she seen the light, and she realised that, even though it had been a horrible year, it had been a calm year. There was nothing going on. There was nothing she really had to be afraid of, apart from being a single mother. And it was because he wasn't here, bringing his work home with him and putting them in danger. She believed that it was time to go their separate ways.

"I'm gonna go." Punk said, "I'd like to see the twins. As soon as possible." He said, "I guess I'll need to find somewhere else to stay." He said.

"You can stay here if..."

"It's clear you don't want me here." He said.

"Phil, I never..."

"It's fine." He raised his hand up for her to not speak any further, "Just… call me or whatever." He shook his head lifelessly, walking away from her and out of the house as she stood in the middle of the living room, placing her hand on her head as she gasped, welcoming a bucket full of tears that ran down her cheeks.

He was really back. She never would have believed it. And now that he was, she oddly felt rejection to him. She felt like it was he who was to blame for all of her pain this past year, even though it was never his fault. He'd suffered just as much as her. But she couldn't just welcome him back and pretend everything that happened in the past year didn't. They had to have boundaries now. Or else… they'd find themselves in the same vicious circle, and she wouldn't feel pain again like she had this past year.