Needing Help

"Why has he been arrested? What the hell has he done?" Punk shook his head, standing up from the chair. He wasn't sure what to expect. Had the kid got into a fight? Was it something to do with his car? His mind was working overtime trying to prepare.

"Lyla." AJ said, noticing her friend was a funny colour. A shade of green. Something bad had definitely happened. She could tell.

"Lyla, say something." Punk begged as Lyla swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Uh… the guy." Lyla nodded, "He… He shot the guy."

"What?" Punk shook his head, "What guy?"

"He shot someone?" AJ shook her head.

"In your house. He shot that guy. Craig. The one doing all the stalking and harassing." Lyla said, "They've taken him here, to the hospital, but it wasn't looking good and… and Shiv was there with him, and she won't say anything." Lyla said, feeling her hands shaking by her side, "There were so many cops. From other districts. The sheriff must have called them in."

"Daryl shot Craig? In our house?" Punk clarified.

"Yeah." Lyla whispered, "I think he must have been getting the diapers for you and… I heard the sirens and left my apartment to see what was up and… there he was, getting took out in handcuffs."

"Phil." AJ said with a shaky voice, feeling her stomach drop.

"Ok, come sit down." Punk walked over to Lyla, guiding her by the arm over to the chair.

"Is Shiv ok?" AJ asked Lyla who nodded.

"I think so. I don't know." Lyla said.

"Here, have a drink." Punk said, pouring water into a cup for Lyla and handing it to her, noticing how much her hand was shaking as she held the small cup.

"Why was he in our house?" AJ shook her head, "And why would Daryl have a gun?" She said, her head spinning with all kinds of thoughts and fears whilst Punk ran his hands over his face, trying to think of what he could possibly do to make this situation better.

With that, Rudy began to cry from her bassinet, which ultimately woke Thomas up who had been sleeping in AJ's arms.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to ruin this day for you but… I didn't know what to do and… what if he doesn't make it and Daryl is responsible for killing him?" Lyla questioned whilst Punk tended to Rudy, picking her up from the bassinet and cradling her in his arms whilst AJ tried to soothe Thomas.

"We don't know anything yet. We don't know the details." Punk nodded, even though his legs felt like jelly at the thought of the kid he'd grown to love like a son, going to prison, "Craig was a wanted man."

"That doesn't mean he's fair game for killing." AJ said.

"Daryl wouldn't have just outright killed him. There was obviously a struggle. A fight. Maybe the gun went off accidentally." Punk nodded to himself.

"You're thinking like a lawyer." AJ sighed nervously.

"He'll need a lawyer." Punk realised.

"Can you?" Lyla turned to him with hope, "Can you be his lawyer?" She asked childishly.

"I'm disbarred." Punk reminded her, "I could make some phone calls to the firm I worked for." He said, swaying Rudy in his arms gently, "Shh, baby. It's ok." He said quietly.

"Do you think Craig thought we'd be home? Was he… was he coming to hurt me?" AJ wondered, "He's been out there all this time. Lurking." She said, feeling sick to her stomach.

"Was anyone else hurt?" Punk asked Lyla.

"I don't think so. It was just Craig who got loaded into the ambulance." Lyla said.

"You think he'll be here right now?" Punk wondered, looking towards the door.

"Probably." Lyla nodded.

"Can you take her?" Punk asked, passing Rudy to Lyla.

"What are you doing?" AJ asked worriedly.

"I'm going to see if I can get an update on him. Maybe he'll pull through surgery." Punk nodded hopefully, heading for the door and leaving the room which had been such a happy place not so long ago.

He headed along the corridor, taking the elevator down to the first floor, trying to scout out any cops or doctors who could tell him anything. He walked along to the main entrance area where he saw Sheriff Peterson talking to a doctor.

He stood and waited for their conversation to finish before he headed over to Peterson.

"Hey. What the hell is going on?" Punk asked as Sheriff Peterson jumped at Punk's sudden appearance.

"Jesus, what are you doing here?" Peterson asked, placing his hand on his chest.

"April had the babies this afternoon. We're up in the maternity ward." Punk said.

"Congratulations. All healthy?" Peterson asked.

"All healthy." Punk confirmed, "And it was a great day until Lyla came here telling us Craig was shot in our house… by Daryl?" He shook his head, "Help me make sense of this."

"He's dead." Sheriff Peterson said bluntly as Punk sighed, running his hand through his messy hair, "Bled out on the table."

"Fuck." Punk shook his head. He wasn't so much angry that Craig was dead, more concerned for what this meant for Daryl.

"We had reports come in of gunshots. From your house." Peterson explained, "I called some backup from the other districts in the area. Had a bad feeling about it."

"And?" Punk waited.

"Headed into your house and… the kid was holding a gun. Had blood splashes all over his face. Siobhan was sitting over behind the couch. Frozen. Craig was on the floor. Two shots. One on the leg and one on the shoulder. Both hit arteries." He said as Punk shook his head.

"I… Daryl was going to our place to pick up diapers. Shiv must have went with him. Craig had to have broken in or was already there when they got there." Punk said, "It was self-defence. Clearly."

"The guy is still dead, Phil." Peterson made clear, "And neither Daryl nor Shiv are talking to us."

"Where are they now?" Punk asked.

"Daryl is in the cells at the station. Shiv went home with her parents but needs to come in for questioning in the morning." He said.

"You didn't think to send them to the hospital? What if they're hurt?" Punk questioned, his brain doing overtime as he tried to piece it all together.

"Daryl has some bruising over his eye. Shiv is fine. Don't look like there was much of a struggle." Sheriff Peterson said with suspicion.

"What are you implying? That a 19-year-old kid just shot someone in cold blood? In my house? I know Daryl. He wouldn't have done this unless he had to. And whose gun was it? Huh? It sure as hell wouldn't be Daryl's."

"Calm down." Sheriff Peterson said as some waiting patients began to look over at them.

"That kid is not going to prison." Punk made clear.

"Not really your decision." Peterson said, "He is going to prison. What crime he's charged with... that's to be determined."

"Can I see him?" Punk asked, feeling his heart racing like crazy.

"What do you think?" Sheriff Peterson scoffed, "He needs a lawyer. He's been offered a phone call but… doesn't want to take it."

"He's clearly in shock. This is a kid we're talking about. A kid who… bakes bread for me all week and loves cats. You really think this was anything but self-defence? Craig was trying to get to us. He was trying to hurt April and all this time he was out there, lurking, waiting for the right moment. You and your police friends didn't do shit. If this is on anyone, it's on you." Punk spat, getting in Peterson's face.

"Are you finished?" Sheriff Peterson asked as Punk paced back and forth, scratching the back of his head with agitation, "A man was murdered tonight. Regardless of what kind of man he was, he was still killed, and we need to investigate that. You were a lawyer. You know the ins and outs of criminal investigation."

"Yeah, and I know cops are good at anything but criminal investigation." Punk shook his head.

"I'm sorry this has ruined your night. You should go be with April and your kids." Peterson suggested.

"And whose gonna be with Daryl? Kid is probably shit scared right now." Punk shook his head worriedly.

"We can't do anything until he talks to us." Sheriff Peterson said, "Your house is a crime scene so… I'd give it two to three days before you can go back to it. We need to process the scene. Collect any evidence. Is there some place you can stay for the time being?"

"We can go to the apartment. AJ's aunt's apartment." Punk said as the sheriff nodded.

"I'm sure we'll be in touch." Peterson said, walking past Punk and leaving the hospital as Punk stood in disbelief, not quite believing this was actually happening, trying his best to figure out what he could do for Daryl.

He paced around at the main reception for a while, eventually heading outside for some fresh air, trying to put himself back into his lawyer shoes for a moment, to figure out what the next step was. He couldn't understand why Daryl wasn't talking. Why Shiv wasn't talking. The more he paced in thought, the more he realised how serious it all really was, and how dreadful it looked for Daryl.

He felt helpless, taking his phone out with desperation, and going through his contacts, clicking on a name, and putting the phone to his ear, listening to the ring before someone eventually picked up.

"Hey, Sophie. It's Phil." He said after she picked up, "I think I need your help."

2 Hours Earlier…

"Why do you even have a key to their house?" Shiv asked, standing outside AJ and Punk's place as Daryl put his spare key in the door to unlock it.

"In case of an emergency." Daryl shrugged, "Me and Lyla were the chosen ones. I've been coming over and spending some time with AJ whenever Phil has been at the coffee shop. Just keeping her company. We watched Baywatch last week." He nodded with fondness.

"You really are their adopted son, aren't you?" Shiv chuckled as Daryl just rolled his eyes at her.

"Weird. The door wasn't even locked." Daryl realised, turning the key back around and opening the door.

"They probably forgot. You know… too busy having the babies." Shiv said.

"They are cute little things." Daryl admitted, walking into the house with Shiv following behind.

"I'm so glad they waited to come until I was here. It's like they knew they needed to wait on Auntie Shiv coming back home." Shiv smiled, very grateful to have been able to see the twins right away, glad she had decided to come home this weekend from college.

"Oh, yeah. I'm sure they were hanging off until you got here." Daryl nodded along sarcastically as she shoved him hard.

"Asshole." She said as he smiled, pulling her close to him by the hand as she looked up at him.

"I'm glad I don't gotta travel for two hours to see you tonight." He said.

"I did the travelling for you. On a really weird bus trip." She nodded, "This town needs a train station."

"Such a princess." He teased.

"Hey, public transport is not for the faint hearted." She patted his shoulder.

"Are you staying at your house tonight?" He asked quietly, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear, looking on at the necklace which never parted from her.

"Maybe. Unless I get a better offer." She smiled, cupping the back of his head, and leaning up to press her lips against his, feeling him hold her waist, their bodies pressing further together as the kiss deepened.

"Ok, let's get these diapers." Daryl pulled back unhappily, wishing they could have stayed the way they were, wishing they could go to his house right now.

They headed for the stairs, both pausing at the same time when they heard some kind of movement from upstairs. Like the squeak of a door.

"What was that?" Shiv asked as Daryl looked at the spiral staircase.

"Probably just old floorboards. This house is like a thousand years old." Daryl shook his head, shaking the strange feeling he had in his gut off, "You know where they would keep the diapers?" He asked, beginning to head upstairs with Shiv following behind.