Back to Hospital


"So… how was the baby shower?" Punk smiled, sitting down on the couch beside AJ later that night, watching her tucking into a blue frosted cupcake.

"I had so much fun." She nodded, "I was not expecting it at all. And all the gifts everyone brought." She shook her head, still a little overwhelmed by the day and how wonderfully different it had turned out to be.

"What's your favourite gift?" He asked, looking over at all the gifts sitting in the centre of the living room.

"Renee and Dean bought us a stroller. I was not expecting that." AJ nodded, "And Shauna? She bought us a baby carrier. She must like me deep down." She thought to herself as Punk smiled, "All this stuff I was panicking about buying that we hadn't gotten yet… now we have it." She laughed a little, sitting her half eaten cupcake down. She'd lost count of how many she'd ate today.

"Renee did a good job with decorating." Punk nodded as AJ smiled.

"She did do a good job." She nodded in agreement, looking at him as he looked back at her.

"What?" He smiled.

"Thank you." She said quietly, "For not making me say it out loud but… knowing how I felt anyway, and doing this for me." She nodded. She knew he clearly could tell she was feeling a little low about the lack of people she felt around her at this time, and so seeing so many people here who did care about her and who did wish her well with her journey to motherhood, that really meant a lot to her.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Punk shrugged innocently as she smiled.

"Well… if you did have anything to do with it, I appreciate it." She nodded to him as he smiled, "I had a really good day." She smiled.

"Well I'm glad." He smiled, wrapping his arm around her and kissing her head.

"Kinda overwhelmed seeing all of this stuff, though." She admitted as he nodded.

"It is all just sitting staring at us to be unboxed." Punk nodded, "That's gonna overwhelm anyone." He said as AJ smiled.

"You know what I've been thinking about lately?" She asked him.

"What?" He said.

"What if I actually did get married to Jason." She shook her head, "I mean… what if I went through with that." She said. It was hard to imagine.

"You'd still be here with me." Punk assured her, "Just… with a divorce in your history." He teased as she smiled.

"I knew what I wanted, and it wasn't him." She nodded, "I just convinced myself it was what I was supposed to do. But I never saw a future with him. I just saw one with you." She said as he smiled.

"You ever hear about him?" Punk asked curiously.

"No." AJ shook her head, "I haven't seen him since the wedding. I always thought I'd talk to him sometime later and just straighten everything out but it never happened and… I don't think it needed to." She shrugged.

"Maybe he left Chicago." Punk shrugged, "Cause he's in real estate, right? I'm sure we would have seen him around at some point. He's probably moved." He said as AJ nodded.

"I don't actually think about it that often. Just the past few days." AJ nodded.

"Good. I don't want you thinking about him often." He scoffed, kissing her cheek and down to her neck as she chuckled.

"We have to move all of this stuff upstairs." She giggled as he pushed her down onto the couch.

"Not right now we don't." He shook his head, leaning over and kissing her passionately, lacing his fingers through her hair as she grabbed him tight, not needing any more convincing.


"Phil!" AJ called from the bathroom as Punk lifted his head from his pillow sleepily, feeling around the bed with half shut eyes.

"Ape?" Punk questioned, slightly disorientated and half asleep.

"I need your help!" AJ called as Punk got out of bed, rushing towards the bathroom, bumping into one of the dressers on his way there as he burst through the door.

"What's wrong?" He asked worriedly, opening the shower door where AJ was, holding a razor.

"I can't get the bottom of my legs." She frowned as Punk raised his eyebrows, "Look." She showed him, trying to bend over, squat, lean forward, do anything to get there, but it was incredibly awkward and she was struggling, "And I have no balance anymore." She scoffed as Punk folded his arms.

"April, I got home at 5am this morning. It's 7." He looked at her unhappily.

"What?" AJ shook her head, "I have to get to work." She insisted.

"So what do you want me to do?" He shook his head.

"I need you to shave the bottoms of my legs." She nodded, handing him the razor.

"You're kidding me, right?" He looked at her with a slight smile.

"Come on, I don't have time. I'm already running late." She told him, "Just take it." She handed him the razor as he rolled his eyes and crouched down.

"Ok, they look fine. You don't need me to do this." He shook his head.

"No, just do it. And don't cut me, I'm a bleeder and I'll bleed all day." She shook her head as Punk groaned, shaving her legs as carefully as he could.

"You need anything else done whilst I'm down here?" He looked up as she smiled.

"Hey, when I'm nine months pregnant, you bet your ass you're gonna be taking care of all of it." She assured him as he groaned a little, "Unless you're into hair."

"I could not care less." Punk said truthfully, concentrating on shaving her legs carefully.

"You could unbox all those gifts we got today." AJ nodded.

"April, I'm going back to sleep when I'm… free of your duties." He said, "I got home at 5." He reminded her.

"I know, I mean later, obviously." AJ said, "I don't like when you do nights. I miss you in bed. You're my baby bump cushion." She frowned.

"That's the only reason you miss me? Cause I'm a good sleeping position for you?" He looked up at her.

"No, not just that." She smiled.

"Ok, I think I'm done. If you find a hair later do not call me, I want nothing to do with it." He stood back up straight, handing her the razor as she smiled.

"You'll got to heaven." She nodded.

"I'd rather not." He scoffed as she chuckled, "Can I go back to sleep now?"

"Yeah you can go." She smiled, "Thank you." She said cheerfully as he waved his hand and found his way back into bed.


"Morning. I got you coffee." AJ said, joining Renee at the nurses station, sitting the coffee cup down.

"Oh… thanks." Renee smiled, "You're bright this morning."

"Yeah I woke up feeling good. Had to get my husband to shave my legs but… still good." She nodded as Renee chuckled.

"What? You're not that big." Renee shook her head.

"I'm not but I have no balance and it's hard to stay bent over for so long." AJ shook her head.

"And he actually did it?" Renee chuckled.

"Yeah." AJ nodded, "He'll be shaving more by the end of this pregnancy." She assured her as Renee chuckled.

"Did you unbox all your gifts last night?" Renee smiled.

"No, we went straight to bed." AJ nodded, "Phil might unbox some today but he'll be sleeping for the most part. He was on a night shift last night." She said, "I got the crib coming next week and Phil is going to start painting tomorrow."

"Getting close." Renee nodded.

"Well… closer." AJ said, "Any changes in my patients from yesterday?" She asked, picking up some charts to look at.

"Uh… you two." Shauna walked over to them both as they turned around, "You both need to come with me." She nodded to them.

They followed her down the corridor and into a patient's room where they saw Gerry lying with some oxygen tubes around her nose sleeping.

"Oh God." Renee sighed.

"What happened?" AJ shook her head, stepping outside the room with Shauna.

"She was brought in earlier this morning. Had another seizure. Lost some oxygen to the brain for some time so we're thinking there's gonna be a clot." Shauna nodded, treating the issue more sensitively as it was a matter of family.

"Has someone called Phil? And Dean?" AJ asked.

"They're on their way." Shauna nodded.

"She's gonna need surgery. Can we get her booked in today? I mean it's… it's an emergency." AJ shook her head worriedly.

"She's been bumped up to the top of the board. Doctor Wilson is in a surgery right now, once he's done he'll take her in." Shauna nodded, "When she came in she was… asking for you." She nodded to AJ.

"For me?" AJ asked as Shauna nodded.

"Yeah." Shauna said, "I can give you half an hour with her right now, sounds cruel but I need you both on the floor today-"

"Ok. Ok." AJ nodded to her, walking into the room where Gerry was, noticing she was awake now.

"Do you think she's had a stroke?" Renee asked.

"No… but if they don't operate she will." AJ said.

"I can hear you." Gerry mumbled as AJ smiled a little.

"Hey. You're gonna be ok. You're in the hospital but… we're gonna take care of you." AJ took her hand.

"I'm looking for AJ." Gerry insisted. She was a lot physically weaker than what she was when AJ first met her. Of course it had been almost two years of her struggling on. Surgery was not something she needed right now in her weak state, but it had to happen.

"I'm AJ." AJ nodded, "I'm right here." AJ said as Gerry looked at her.

"I need you to call my… my husband." Gerry nodded as AJ sighed, looking over to Renee.

"Ok, we will." AJ nodded.

"You're having a baby." Gerry noticed as AJ sighed a little. If only she knew who's baby she was having. If only she was mindful enough to know this was her own grandchild.

"I am." AJ smiled.

"That's good." Gerry mumbled.

"I'm gonna wait for the guys outside." Renee nodded to AJ.

"Ok." AJ said, watching Renee leave the room.

"You should sit." Gerry told AJ, "Rest yourself." She insisted.

"I'm ok. I'm used to staying on my feet." AJ assured her, "How are you feeling? Are you in any pain at all?"

"No… no, I think they have me on the strong drugs." Gerry suspected. Some things she was very conscious of. Some things just rolled off her tongue.

"Yeah I'd imagine so." AJ nodded, looking at the folder by the bed.

"You remind me of… the boy's mother." Gerry mumbled as AJ turned to her.

"W-What?" AJ shook her head.

"It's your eyes." Gerry nodded as AJ looked at her.

"You… You met her?" AJ asked as Gerry looked at her, not saying anything just as Punk and Dean arrived, walking into the room as AJ turned around.

"Hey." Punk said worriedly, looking over to AJ for immediate answers.

"I'll talk to you both outside." AJ told them, turning to Gerry who had disappeared into a world of her own, barely taking notice of her son's entrance.

"What's going on? She had one of those seizures?" Dean asked, "She hasn't had that for a while."

"She had a seizure and they've found a clot on her brain." AJ told them, standing outside the room, "So she's gonna have surgery soon, cause it's an emergency." She emphasised as Punk ran his hand through his hair.

"Is she in pain?" Dean asked.

"No, she's on pretty strong drugs." AJ said.

"Surgery? Can she… pull through surgery? Brain surgery?" Punk asked. It was a question he needed his wife's opinion on.

"I think she can." AJ nodded, "I know she's deteriorated in the past year but she's still physically able. She can still walk and move, and that'll help with her recovery." AJ said, "If they don't operate she could have a stroke. Very soon." She nodded as Dean sighed to himself.

"How is she? Is she… aware?" Punk asked.

"No, not really. She did ask for me but she must remember me from the last time she was here, which is a good thing. But she asked for us to call your dad." AJ said, "And she doesn't see me as AJ your wife, she sees me as AJ the doctor she's seen before." AJ nodded as Punk sighed to himself.

"When will she get the surgery?" Dean asked.

"Soon. She's been bumped up the board." AJ nodded, "You guys should go downstairs, I'll keep you posted." She said as they nodded.

"I'll take you guys down." Renee nodded, taking Dean's hand and walking off as Punk stood still, looking on at AJ with worry.

"Hey, she'll get through it." AJ nodded to him, squeezing his hand and wrapping her arms around him tightly as he kissed her cheek, "I'll be here with her. She's not gonna be alone."

"Ok." Punk nodded, pulling back from the hug and taking off down the corridor as AJ sighed to herself, looking back into Gerry's room where she was lying looking out the window.