Six Months


"Hey." Renee said sadly, sitting down onto the couch and hugging into Punk, "I just want you to know I'm on your side and I like you much better than Jason." Renee said, hugging into him tightly as Punk sat, not being able to move because of how tight the hug was.

"As a doctor you should be concerned about the lack of feeling in my arms right now." Punk nodded as Renee pulled back and frowned.

"Sorry." Renee said, "I just think it's shit."

"It is what it is." Punk shrugged, "And you don't have to be on my side. There is no sides. She's your friend and you should be there for her."

"She is my friend. My friend who has lost her mind." Renee shook her head, "She was fine until her mom spoke with her." She sighed, "She's got a history of getting into her head."

"So I see." Punk nodded.

"She was happy with you. Happier than I've ever saw her." Renee said, "Don't believe for a second she wasn't."

"I know but what can I do?" Punk shrugged. He had hit a point of deflation where he felt loss of all hope. AJ had made her decision and all he could do was sit on it, "She doesn't even love him." He shook his head.

"Yeah I know." Renee said, "Do you want me to cook you something?" She nodded as he looked at her.

"Not really." He shook his head.

"Oh, ok." Renee nodded.

"How did you get in here?" Punk asked curiously.

"Oh, Dean is here too. He went straight to the kitchen." Renee said as he nodded, "Do you think she'll really marry him?" She asked.

"I don't know. I hope not. Despite her throwing all of this back in my face… I don't want her to do something she's gonna regret. I don't want her to be unhappy." He shook his head as Renee nodded.

"You know you made her happy." Renee said, "She just… can't stand up to her mom. It's kinda sad actually. And Jason is just a fool for taking her back. I mean… he has to know she's in love with someone else." She shook her head.

"Maybe he just doesn't want to let her go." Punk shrugged, "I don't blame him for that." He said.

He'd done a lot of thinking. He'd been angry. He'd been upset. He'd tried to look at it from different point of views but he just couldn't understand why she was doing this when they had something so special.

"What are you gonna do?" Renee asked.

"Noting." Punk shrugged, "I mean… what can I do? We were having fun. She was here every night. She even told me she wanted to meet my mom." He shook his head as Renee frowned.

"I don't care how confused she is, she should never have done this to you." Renee said, hugging him again as Punk groaned uncomfortably.

"Ok, we actually don't each other well enough for you to keep doing this." Punk said uncomfortably.

"Oh, sorry." Renee pulled back, laughing a little as he smiled.

"She probably needs a friend right now. Don't punish her for what's going on with me." He said.

"I won't but… I can't lie to her about how I feel about all of this. It's just not fair. It's not fair on you and it's not fair on her. She's lying to herself and then… then she's gonna get married and be stuck in that? I don't want that for her." Renee shook his head.

"Hey, man." Dean walked into the living room as Punk nodded over, "Heard things sort of went tits up with you and April." He nodded.

"Yeah." Punk nodded.

"Do you want a hug?" Dean nodded.

"No… you know, I'm good. I don't need hugs or people cooking for me." He assured them both, "I appreciate it but… I'll be alright." He laughed a little.

"But you loved her." Renee said, "How you can be alright about this?"

"Well I'm not obviously but… like I said, what am I supposed to do? Kidnap her and make sure she doesn't marry him?" Punk shrugged as Dean nodded.

"That could work." Dean nodded.

"I'll get her legs, you take her arms." Renee pointed to Dean who nodded as Punk smiled. He knew what they were doing, and it was working, he appreciated them.

"I don't think that would be the best solution." Punk shook his head, "If she marries him then… she marries him. And I just gotta move on." He nodded. He was trying to tell himself that but it was impossible to think about moving on.

"If her mom is the problem we could just kidnap her?" Dean suggested as Renee smiled.

"Her mom is the problem." Renee said seriously, "She's a bully. And April believes everything she says. She almost convinced her not to do the residency program, even though it's everything AJ wanted to do." She said, "She's toxic as all hell."

"I don't get it, though… she's not timid or shy. She's got a voice." Punk nodded, "Why can't she just tell her mom to… fuck off?" Punk shook his head.

"I don't know." Renee shook her head, "I really don't. It's like an approval thing or something."

"So she just told you that she was going back to him and… that was it?" Dean asked.

"Pretty much." Punk nodded, "It's like she's doing it only because he forgave her. It's like this is her thanks to him for forgiving her." He shook his head, "And I know what he'll do… I mean, any time they have a fight or disagreement he'll bring up her cheating, he'll hang that over her head forever." He nodded, "I don't want that for her." He sighed.

"Well she's a big girl and she's the one who is making these decisions." Dean said, "She could easily just accept his forgiveness and tell him she's moving on with you. Which I'm sure is what she actually wants."

"Well no one can force her." Punk shrugged.

"I'll talk to her tomorrow." Renee nodded to him.

"Be a friend. Don't preach on behalf of me." Punk suggested, "Seriously."

"Ok." Renee nodded.


"What the hell are you thinking?" Renee shook her head, standing with AJ at the front desk, filling in charts after they did their rounds.

"Please not here." AJ shook her head.

"Yes here." Renee said, "You love Phil. I know you do. How can you throw that away with him for… for a guy you don't even love anymore?"

"I do love Jason." AJ turned to her, "You don't know how I'm feeling. You don't get it."

"I do. You pay your mom a visit and suddenly everything changes. It happens all the time." Renee said, "Nobody wants to see you make a mistake with this. I'm telling you that as a friend."

"As a friend, can't you just accept what I'm deciding?" AJ shook her head, "Me and Jason are going to work hard at our relationship because I want us to, and so does he." She nodded, "We… we were meant to be together. I know it."

"Nonsense." Renee said, "You were meant to be with Phil. He was put in your way to make you realise you didn't really wanna marry Jason." She said, "And you fell in love with him."

"Yeah… I did, and I told him that. But he doesn't even know me. Jason knows me. I… I feel safe with him." AJ nodded.

"You don't feel safe with Phil?" Renee questioned as AJ sighed. Of course she did.

"I do but it's different." AJ shook her head.

"Oh… by safe you mean convenience?" Renee nodded as AJ looked at her.

"You know what… if you're going to be this way then I'm walking away from you right now." AJ nodded.

"I just don't want to see you unhappy." Renee said, "Just because Jason forgave you doesn't mean you gotta go back to him."

"I know that but I want to. I made the decision and I… I stand by it." AJ nodded to herself, "We've set a date."

"You're joking me." Renee scoffed, "When?"

"In six months." AJ nodded as Renee put her hand on her hip.

"Are you on drugs? Is that what it is?" Renee asked.

"Stop." AJ rolled her eyes.

"So you're marrying this guy six months after you slept with someone else?" Renee asked.

"Don't put it like that and… don't call him this guy. You know Jason." AJ said.

"Does he know about all the time you've spent with Phil?" Renee asked, "Does he know how in love you are with him?"

"I didn't go into detail, no. But he does know I've been with him multiple times after we broke up. I told him that. I still didn't mention that it was Phil, though." She said.

"And he doesn't know you're in love with him?" Renee asked.

"I am not…" AJ raised her voice a little, getting agitated as Renee looked at her, "Yes, I love Phil but I'm moving on. And so should he. It was wrong of me to do what I did with him, and I apologised to him. But I'm supposed to be with Jason-"

"Cause mommy said so?" Renee asked.

"Because I said so." AJ said, "I gotta take responsibility for all of this and… make it right with the man I love." She nodded.

"So you're gonna go make it right with Phil?" Renee nodded.

"Stop." AJ said, "I know you think I'm making the worst decision of my life but it's my decision and it doesn't affect you so just… drop all of this."

"It affects me when I see my best friend denying herself of what she really wants." Renee said, "You can't marry Jason. You just can't." She shook her head.

"Well I'm going to." AJ said, "I have work to do." She told her, walking off down the corridor as Renee sighed to herself.

"Young, you better have a good explanation as to why I don't have the labs for room forty eight on my desk yet." Shauna crept up behind Renee, "And what's up with Mendez? She having trouble deciding between her husband and her mistress?" She questioned as Renee scoffed.

"Now who's the gossip." Renee scolded, "I'll get the labs to you." She nodded.

"Move it." Shauna advised as Renee headed off down the corridor.