Disclaimer: I own nothing :)

A/N: So here's a new story for you all! I really appreciate everyone who commented on Promo and Politics and I'm glad you all enjoyed the ending! I wasn't going to rush into a new story but you all motivated me. I'm also a known Twitter lurker and saw all the kind things some of you were saying about my stories there so for that I thank you very much.

This story starts the night of Payback when Punk returned. Somethings are the same, some are different and if you read carefully you'll see what I mean. Let me know what you all think :)

Part I- Welcome Back

Punk wasn't quit sure what to expect upon his return to the WWE after taking a few much deserved months off. He knew better than anyone that the entire place can change over night. He hadn't bothered to keep in touch much with company officials and although he had a number of friends backstage he didn't bother to make an effort into checking in. By the time Wrestlemania wrapped up he was done, physically and emotionally. Vince McMahon himself had promised him that he would be breaking the Undertaker's streak and the Undertaker himself was completely onboard with it as well. Who had made the final call to change the outcome was still a mystery (he would have assumed it was the COO himself Triple H because deep down Hunter himself wanted to break that record when the time was right). He was getting the time off anyway but he wanted to make it clear to his bosses that he wasn't happy. He hadn't been happy during his entire heel run which was odd because working with Paul and playing the role of the 'bad guy' was something he always loved doing.

When he got the call that he'd be reporting back just in time to work 'Payback' he was tempted to tell Vince to shove it and hang up the phone but the fact that it was taking place in Chicago caused him to sing a different a tune. He couldn't let his personal feelings let down his hometown crowd. He also didn't mind his opponent either. He and Chris Jericho had worked together the last few years and he considered him a friend and knew they would be able to put on a good show. But his time away just didn't seem long enough. After the first few weeks of being away he called it off with his on again and off again girlfriend Amy. After spending all that time together he remembered why they didn't work out the first time. After that he was able to completely enjoy himself without any fears of repercussions. He went to baseball games and hockey games, stopped by some UFC events and even worked with the Gracie foundation to master his jiu-jitsu craft. He would by lying if he said he spent all those nights alone on occasion he would hook up with a friend or sometimes a friend of a friend and enjoy a no-strings attached evening which he could get used to. So giving up all of this free time just to come back to the company that aggravated him so much caused him to drag his feet a bit. They had asked him to film at least two promos from his home in Chicago to promote the match and he refused both times. He just wasn't feeling it. And what was going to happen after his match with Chris? He knew Chris's contract was expiring and was set to go on tour with his band, so where did that leave him? Of course no one offered him any answers.

As he wandered the back area of the arena the vibe was defiantly different. It was hard to describe but if he had to pick a work it would be 'cold'. He hadn't bothered to watch any shows or read into what was going on. The only stuff he knew would be whatever his fans directly tweeted to him. He entered the men's locker room and tossed his bag down. He was way early for the show most guys didn't show up until five and it was only 3:30 but he supposed catching up with the writers and producers and running through his match with Chris was a necessary time consumer.

"Hey champ!" Paul Heyman boomed entering the locker room. Punk looked over and saw his mentor and close friend with a large smile plastered on his face. "Are you ready to make magic tonight?"

"Make magic?" Punk snorted "I'm here to put on a show and there's no mystery to that"

"That's why you're the best in the world" Paul smiled

"So what have I missed?" Punk asked taking a seat on the bench and going threw his own bag, pulling out his gear.

"Not much" Paul shrugged "It's only been a couple of months" he reminded him.

"Yea but things change here over night" Punk reminded him "I don't even know who the champ is right now"

"Still John" Paul informed him. Punk nodded, he had assumed that John would still be fresh in his title run off the Rock. "Ziggler has a match against Del Rio tonight for the Heavyweight title"

"Good for him" Punk said to him. Nick or as the WWE universe knew him as 'Dolph Ziggler' was one of the hardest working guys in this company and deserved a nice push.

"The two guys from The Shield have the tag belts" Paul continued "Seth and Roman and the third one Dean has the US belt"

"Nice" Punk said to him. He hadn't known the members of The Shield all that well but he wasn't surprised to see them doing so well, they were the talk of the company and there match at Wrestlemania was solid as far as Punk was concerned.

"And if you have absolutely any interest in the Diva's division Kaitlyn is defending tonight against Tamina Snuka" Paul told him and that surprisingly caught his attention.

"Really?" Punk asked causing Paul to let out a laugh

"That was the most interesting piece of information I had given you?" Paul mocked "Really?"

"I had just heard that AJ was going to get a shot at the title and her and Dolph were going to be the new 'Edge and Lita' of the PG era" Punk shrugged simply.

"Haven't you been in touch with AJ?" Paul questioned. It was no secret that AJ and Punk considered themselves good friends. They had bonded long before their story last year. As soon as she arrived in NXT Punk swept her up and took her under his wing. When she wasn't traveling with Kaitlyn she was with Punk and usually Kofi.

"No I've kind of been out of touch with everyone" Punk admitted "She didn't get hurt did she?" now he would he have felt terrible if AJ had been sidelined due to an injury and he was now just hearing about it.

"No, no she'll be here tonight actually" Paul told him quickly to put Punk's mind at ease. "They just had a sudden change in her story"

"Really?" Punk asked. "And what is she doing now?"

"She works with The Shield" Paul told him surprising Punk. "Actually she's mostly with Dean Ambrose. They are dynamite together I must admit"

"Oh well that's good" Punk said not giving it much thought "Sucks she didn't get that title run she was really looking forward to it"

"You know how it is here" Paul said "I like AJ too and I thought she'd really bring the division up but once Vince gets an idea in that stubborn head of his it's impossible to change it"

"Tell me about it" Punk muttered

AJ had purposely arrived early to the arena on the day of Payback. She knew her good friend Punk was back tonight and she was dying to see how he was doing. She understood his need to leave and take some time for himself but she wasn't prepared for how much she missed him. And it wasn't just the fact that she missed having a traveling a buddy or a coworker (even though most house shows Dolph and Punk teamed together so she was working with him a lot) but it was the fact that she missed having her friend. When something was going on here and she wasn't sure what to do or how to handle it Punk was always her first thought and he always gave her amazing advice. She knew once he left that arena after his segment on Raw that he wouldn't be answering her calls or offering up advice to her the minute she asked she just didn't realize how badly she needed it. She may or may not have made some of the best decisions during his time away but she wouldn't bore him with any of that when she was saw him. She would simply hug him and welcome him back.

After ten minutes of casually looking for her friend she saw him exiting in the men's locker room and when he looked up his eyes locked with hers. She wasn't sure what to say but when he offered her a smile she walked the ten feet towards him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She didn't have a chance to admire his new look but she defiantly liked it. He squeezed her tight causing her to let out a sigh, he had missed her too.

"Welcome back" AJ smiled slowly pulling away "I love the Hugh Jackman thing you have going on" she smirked folding arms lightly

"You look good" Punk said eyeing her from head to toe. His flirtlyness was relentless and harmless. He had done it since the day they met. "I'm liking the new shirt"

"I hope so because I got you one for your Birthday" she teased with a grin

"I have to wait until my Birthday?" Punk mocked lightly "How are you doing kiddo?"

"I'm ok" AJ said with a bit of hesitation that Punk had immediately caught on to. "How was your time away? Did you bring me back any presents?"

"Yes I bought you a ton of stuff but you're going to have to wait until your Birthday" He teased lightly causing her to snap her finger in defeat

"Seriously what's going on with you? I heard you're working with The Shield that's a pretty big deal"

"I'm working with Dean" AJ said to him quickly "Sometimes I'm with the three of them but usually just Dean"

"And how is that?" Punk questioned carefully eyeing her.

"He's no Nick" AJ admitted "I really liked my time with him and Big E" Punk chuckled a bit before unscrewing his water bottle and taking a sip

"So you don't like working with Dean?" Punk asked still smiling

"I just don't like Dean" AJ admitted with a slight grin "The other two guys are amazing and they are such hard workers"

"Dean is the party-boy of the group, huh?" Punk asked trying to figure out what AJ's problem with Ambrose was.

"Not really….well I guess" AJ wasn't sure hot put it "He's just different that's all. Maybe it's because I always have to travel with him, I don't know" she clearly didn't want to talk about it and Punk wasn't going to push her.

"Well I'm back now so if you need a traveling buddy my bus is open to you like always" Punk told her sincerely "Kofi's out getting surgery and the bus could get really quiet with just me and my thoughts on it"

"That's sweet" AJ said with a smile "I'd love that but I'd have to talk to Dean first"

"Is Dean your boyfriend?" Punk asked arching a brow. He wasn't sure why the thought of her dating Dean agitated him so much but it did.

"No" she said while almost laughing in his face "It's just he likes when we travel together that's all" Punk let out a snort in response.

"I don't give a crap what Dean Amrbose likes and neither should you" Punk told her seriously "I'm doing Raw tomorrow same as you we'll leave right after the main event"

"You don't mind?" AJ asked him seriously. She didn't want to remind him of how much his current girlfriend hated when AJ traveled with him and Kofi.

"It's not a problem" Punk assured her kneeling down slightly to be eye-level with the petite Diva "Trust me"

"Ok I'm in" AJ told him and as she spoke she couldn't contain the huge smile that she was now sporting.

"I really want to take the proper time to catch up with you anyway and this really isn't the venue" Punk said to her and she nodded in agreement.

"Great so I'll see you later" she beamed "And I'll be watching your match tonight"

"I should hope so" Punk smirked "Are you working tonight?"

"Yea Dean has a match with Kane" AJ told him and again her voice would change and to anyone else they wouldn't notice the slight tone change but Punk picked up on it. "And then I'm going out with him while Seth and Roman have their match"

"I'll be watching you as well than" Punk said giving her a wink causing her to blush slightly

"I'll see you after the show" she said then turned and headed down towards the Diva's locker room

"I'll defiantly be watching" Punk muttered to himself

"Watching what?" Paul Heyman asked coming up behind Punk scaring him slightly

"Jeez Paul" Punk muttered "Lurk much?"

"Sorry champ" Paul smirked "I saw you catching up with AJ and didn't want to interrupt" Paul had always liked AJ and more importantly he had always liked the idea of AJ and Punk whether in storyline or real life. "Everything ok?"

"I don't know you tell me" Punk said to him surprising Paul "What's going on with her and Ambrose?"

"Not much" Paul shrugged slightly "I know they don't get along all that well outside of the ring. I don't think he was fond of idea of having AJ paired
with him to be completely honest"

"That's not her fault" Punk said to him as Paul nodded in agreement

"I thought they were doing better" Paul told him "Hunter told the two of them to start making an effort and traveling together so they could get to know each other"

"How could he not like her?" Punk asked mostly himself "She's great to work with"

"You don't have to convince me of that" Paul snorted "You know I like AJ"

"I should really introduce myself to him, don't you think?" Punk asked Paul who instantly sported a worried face

"I don't know about that" Paul said nervously "Look AJ is a big girl and like I said I think they're doing well. I don't know if she'd really appreciate you trying to fight her battles for her. She needs to learn that she has to work with people she doesn't like from time to time"

"Doesn't mean I can't look out for her" Punk shot back rather defensively

"How's Amy?" Paul asked briskly causing Punk to glare at his friend "Just a question. I'm surprised she's not here"

"We're done" Punk told him "I ended it not long after I left"

"I'm sorry" Paul told him sincerely

"It's fine" Punk told his friend "I've been having the time of my life"

"Good" Paul smiled "So let's go meet with Chris and discuss how you two are going to steal the entire show tonight"

Before his match Punk was stretching by the entrance ramp. While he had his headphones in he watched the monitor and kept a close eye on the Dean Ambrose/Kane fight. Dean and AJ both traveled threw the crowd and Punk watched as Dean extended his hand to help AJ over the barricade. Once the match started AJ did a phenomenal job of playing the 'concerned girlfriend' role but he never had any doubt. Clearly the writers were going for an HBK/Sherri story where both were heels but there was one who was worse than the other and that was clearly Dean. He would shout orders to AJ from the ring such as passing him the title or a chair and she would throw on her crazy face and obey his orders. Punk watched as AJ climbed on to the ring and started shouting at Kane who in turn turned around and grabbed AJ by her throat in an attempt to choke-slam her into the ring but luckily Dean was able to hit Kane from behind causing AJ to drop from the ring while clutching her throat. The chants could be heard loud through out the arena 'AJ's crazy!' and Punk was sure Dean couldn't stand that. Not many mainstream stars would like the idea of their manager or sidekick getting a stronger reaction then you're supposed to be. But there was always something about AJ that drew people in and that's why she was attached to so many big names on screen and whoever thought of her pairing with Dean was genius because she was making him famous every second.

After their match was over Jericho was making his way over to the curtain waiting for his music to start. While Y2J's music hit and he made his way out Punk watched as Dean, AJ and Kane made there way backstage.

"I didn't grab you too hard did I?" Kane asked concerned as he removed his mask

"It's fine" AJ assured her friend with a smile "I didn't feel a thing"

"You sold it well" Kane told her

"That's why she's the goldmine of this entire company basically" Dean muttered

"What was wrong tonight?" AJ asked letting out an annoyed breath folding her arms

"You were way to over the top with that neck grab" Dean told her annoyed "After that the crowd was more focused on you than the match that was going on"

"What was I supposed to do?" AJ shot back clearly not backing down. Punk smiled towards here even though he knew she didn't see him standing there. "Not sell the move? That's my job- that's actually my only job"

"Well maybe it's selfish moves like that, that cost you your title run" Dean shot back and instantly AJ's entire face fell causing Dean to groan "Look I'm sorry" he said quickly which was wise since Punk was just about ready to run over there and defend his good friend. "I'm just really tired and cranky let's get the hell out of here as soon as the tag match is over and head back to the hotel and I swear I'll sleep off some of this crankiness"

"You ready? Paul asked Punk who was so engrossed with AJ and Dean he didn't even hear his music go off.

"Yea" Punk said zipping up his jacket and throwing his hood on.

After his match Punk felt good. There was no place like home and Chicago certainly welcomed him back and made him feel great. He had a great match with Chris as far as he was concerned and for the first time since before Wrestlemania he really enjoyed himself. He grabbed his sweatshirt and zipped it up and headed towards the locker room to take a shower.

"Hey great match!" Kaitlyn smiled walking towards the returning former champion

"You too" Punk smirked politely "Congratulations on keeping the belt"

"Thanks" Kaitlyn smiled looking towards her butterfly belt. The truth was she and Punk weren't close friends and shared absolutely nothing in common except for AJ. The only times they spoke would be about AJ whether it was where to take her for her birthday or what gift to get her for Christmas.
"Have you seen AJ yet?"

"Yea, yea I caught up with her earlier" Punk told her grabbing a water bottle "I convinced her to ride with me to Raw"

"Good" Kaitlyn said with a sigh and a nervous laugh "I think all that time she's spending with Dean is driving her crazy"

"Yea she mentioned that" Punk said slowly sipping the bottle "What's his deal anyway?"

"I couldn't tell you" Kaitlyn told him truthfully "I was kind of hoping you could fill me in"

"She didn't mention much to me" Punk admitted with a slight shrug "She doesn't seem as peppy as she was"

"Well she really missed you" Kaitlyn confided. Punk instantly felt bad. "I mean we're best friends and all but there are just some things she doesn't like to discuss with me"

"I'll talk to her" Punk promised. Clearly Kaitlyn was worried about AJ as well. "So she missed me, huh?" he teased lightly

"Of course she did!" Kaitlyn laughed "I'm hoping now that you're back she'll get out of this funk a bit" Punk couldn't help but smirk at the comment "I'll see you tomorrow night" she said with a wave then walked off.

Once he had showered and watched the main-event Punk took off with his bag in search of AJ. He was hoping she hadn't changed her mind about riding with him to Raw she clearly had a lot to talk about it and honestly so did he. He didn't have to look long, outside the Diva's locker room AJ was sitting on her large rolling bag texting on her phone.

"You all set crazy chick?" Punk asked causing AJ to look up and smile towards him.

"Yes!" she said excitedly jumping off her luggage

"Is your warden ok with you traveling with me?" Punk asked as they headed towards the back exit.

"He was once I said I was traveling with you" She laughed lightly "I think he's a little afraid of pissing you off"

"Smart man" Punk said seriously as they headed towards his bus. They put there luggage away and took seats on the couch.

"So what exactly is going on AJ?" Punk asked her. She couldn't hide it from him and she knew she couldn't. He was always able to read her like a book, well her goes nothing she thought…..

A/N- Before I get lots of hate just know I love Dean and have really wanted him to be a big part of my last story but I went in another direction. Anyway are you all intrigued?