Chapter 4.
This chapter is a bit more focused on Daniela and her family than her and the Gallaghers. Mainly because I didn't think she would really have a big part in this episode.
I got a lot of great responses to the last chapter which I am very happy and thankful for.
Special thanks to Vanessa, RoseRedGurl, guest, alysegxx, gurl19, hrodenhaver, runawaycherry93, Mr. Kittles3, ericaannm and scarlettsoilder!
Disclaimer: I do not own Shameless.
It had been almost a week since Ian and Mandy had started 'dating' and things had gotten better. Mandy and Daniela were civil around Ian when they hung out but for the most part, they spent time with him when the other wasn't around.
Daniela's arm had healed right up and Veronica had given her the green light to take the sling off, much to the girl's delight. She had not enjoyed wearing it.
Daniela stared in concentration as her hand moved over the sketchpad in her lap, the low hum of her brother's truck filling the inside of the vehicle. The radio played quietly over it. Her right arm was propped up on the windowsill, holding her head up while her left hand controlled the pencil.
Jakob sat in the driver's seat, chewing on the inside of his mouth with both hands wrapped around the steering wheel.
Neither had said anything to each other throughout the whole journey. Daniela's jaw was tight as she shaded in a particular area.
"It won't be that bad," spoke Jakob as he threw her a quick glance. His sister's only reply was a scoff and roll of her eyes. She heard him sigh before speaking again.
"He's always asking about you- when you'll come and visit." Daniela looked up from her sketchbook to stare stoically out the window.
"Come on Dani, he's our Dad," pleaded Jakob. "You haven't seen him for nearly two years."
"I didn't really have anything to say to him," shrugged Daniela.
She knew she was being stubborn, but she had never had a close relationship with her father. It didn't really help that he had completely ruined her sixth birthday. Now that was a day she'd never forget.
/
Ten and a half years ago.
It was was a hot day when Daniela turned six. Summer was finishing up and the last of the heat was on full display that day.
Her olive skin soaked in the sun's rays appreciatively as she played outside. She heard a warm voice calling her name and turned to see her mother standing in the doorway watching her.
The woman stared at her daughter with love, the young girl looking so much like her. But if you looked close enough, there were traces of her husband in there too. She stared down into the warm brown eyes of her daughter lovingly.
"Yes, Mama?"
"It's time to open your presents." Daniela's eyes lit up in excitement as she ran inside, causing her mother to laugh.
Daniela made her way into the lounge where her brother sat alone. Jakob gave her a small smile as he stood up from his spot.
"Where's Dad?" Asked Daniela as she looked around for him. Her mom sighed and shook her head.
"He had to do some work today at the shop." The young girl pouted at his new information.
Her dad worked a lot and Daniela knew that it wasn't just cars that he fixed at the shop. Some nights he would come home with a bloody nose or fists.
Mom had told her that it was just part of her dad's job and that she didn't need to worry about it. One night she had asked her father what had happened. He had replied with 'just business'.
"Here you go little sis," grinned Jakob as he handed her his present in an attempt to take her mind off of their father's absence. Daniela eagerly opened it and grinned when she saw an art book.
Throwing her arms around her brother's neck, she thanked him. The teenage boy laughed before giving her a kiss on the cheek.
Daniela's mother was next. Her gift was a book of Spanish lullabies she could sing to Daniela and that the young girl could learn.
"Thank you, Mama."
"You're welcome, mija."
"I hope you didn't start without us!" Called a voice from the front door. Daniela ran to her grandmother who had just walked in closely followed by her father, Lawrence.
Wilda let out a jovial laugh as she wrapped her arms around the girl. Daniela pulled away to look up at her dad when she stopped.
His nose looked broken and there were blood stains on his shirt. Daniela's eyes were level with his hands where she saw that the skin on his knuckles was torn as dried blood clung to it. Camille rushed to her husband when she saw him.
Placing her hands on the side of his face, she glared. "What happened?"
Lawrence sucked on his teeth and pulled his face out of his wife's grasp.
"Nothing. Just business," he grunted turning away. Wilda scoffed from her place.
"Stupid boy." Her son's head swiveled around to glare at her, earning him a smack with her walking stick. Camille looked down at her daughter who stood still staring at her father's bloody fists.
"Come. Clean yourself up. It's your daughter's birthday for Christ's sake." Lawrence looked down at the girl as if finally realizing that she was watching before turning and following Camille up the stairs into the bathroom.
Daniela felt two hands fall gently onto her shoulders and looked up at her brother's face.
"How about we check out that art book?" He suggested.
Momentarily forgetting about the state of her father, the young girl nodded eagerly and headed to the coffee table where the book laid. Wilda moved over to sit with her grandchildren, smiling as she observed their excited interactions.
/
Daniela stirred awake when she felt someone shake her shoulder gently. With bleary eyes, she looked at her brother and then out the window to see that they had arrived and were now parked.
"We're here," announced Jakob with a smile. Unclicking his seatbelt, he hopped out of the car and waited for her to do the same.
Daniela reluctantly got out and wrapped a scarf around her neck when the biting cold hit her.
Together the siblings made their way through the security check and inside to the front desk. The woman behind the desk instructed them to sign in while she informed another guard over her monitor that there were visitors for Lawrence Kaufman.
When she was finished and Jakob and Daniela were done signing in, she provided them with two visitors badges, telling the siblings to wear them at all times.
"Thanks," nodded Jakob clipping his on to the breast pocket of his shirt. Daniela clipped hers to the waistline of her jeans.
A guard then led them through doors and down a few corridors until they came to the visiting room. Daniela sighed deeply as she mentally prepared herself.
She had never had a close relationship with her dad. He wasn't abusive or anything, just... absent. Jakob and him were much closer.
"Ready?" Asked her brother, raising his eyebrow. The girl nodded surely before walking in.
They found an empty stall and sat waiting for their father to enter on the other side of the glass. Since there was only one seat in front of the glass, Daniela opted to sit on one behind Jakob.
She watched as the other prisoners talked to their partners, children, and families. Then her dad stepped into the room. Daniela noticed the air of superiority surrounding him as he sat down across from them.
His eyes widened slightly when he spotted Daniela.
Picking up the phone he began talking to Jakob with Daniela only getting half of the conversation. She picked at her fingernails, a habit she had when she was in an unfamiliar place. The last time she had been here was almost two years ago when Jakob and herself had to tell their dad about their mom's cancer.
Daniela felt her father's eyes on her numerous times, flicking between Jakob and her.
"Dani," called her brother and she looked up to see him holding the phone out slightly.
Swallowing, the girl stood up and switched positions with him. Her hand clenched around the phone as she looked into the green eyes of her father. His voice was soft when he spoke.
"Daniela."
"Hey dad," replied the girl, awkward and disconnected. Lawrence noticed this and inhaled deeply.
"God, Dani. You've grown so much." Her father's eyes shone with something akin to sorrow as the girl coughed uncomfortably at her father's use of the nickname her family had given her when she was a child.
Jakob had wanted a little brother so naturally, he was disappointed when Daniela was born. For the first few years of her life, the boy would treat her like the little brother he never had, only addressing her by the nickname, 'Dani'.
The rest of her family caught on quickly and it had been that way ever since. To hear her father address her so personally felt strange.
"Yeah," she smiled sadly. She wasn't really sure what to say. What could she say to a man that she barely knew?
"You're so beautiful. Just like your mother." At the mention of her mother, both father and daughter went silent. Lawrence's head dropped down, staring at the bench where one of his hands was curled into a tight fist. His jaw was clenched tightly.
"How is she?" He asked, his voice hoarse.
"She's stable, I guess. Gets taken care of at the hospital." The man nodded quickly.
"Good. That's good." He looked up from his uncurling fist and into his daughter's eyes.
"Look, I'm really glad you came. I know this can't be easy for you," sighed Lawrence as he gave her an earnest look.
"Yeah well, I kind of promised Grandma that I would come down." Daniela watched as her father nodded, a look of disappointment flitting across his face before quickly disappearing.
"And how have you been? How's school?" The girl found herself rolling her eyes in annoyance at her father's tedious question.
"Is this how it's gonna be?" Asked Daniela, her voice darkening with quiet anger. "You and me, talking. Acting like this is normal? Like this isn't completely strange and uncomfortable for us?"
Lawrence raised one hand in defense. "I'm sorry. I just don't know you as well as I should."
"Yeah, well who's fault is that?" Scoffed Daniela as she felt tears building in her eyes, but she wouldn't allow them to fall.
"I really want to get to know you better, Dani," stressed Lawrence, his figure leaning forward. "I know I wasn't around much, what with running the whole business and the... well. And I've still got another 5 years max for what I did. But I've already missed out on so much of your life. Do you think-"
The man's jaw clenched and Daniela knew that this was hard for him. Wearing his heart on his sleeve was not something Lawrence had the luxury of doing; especially in prison.
"Do you think, that you could allow me to get to know you better?" Daniela stared into her father's hopeful eyes. She wasn't going to lie; she was hesitant. Memories came to the surface that still haunted her if she lingered on them too long and Daniela wasn't sure if she was ready for it just yet.
"I don't know, dad. What you did- I'm still getting over it."
"It's been nearly eleven years, Dani!" Argued Lawrence, feeling his frustration mount.
"Eleven years isn't nearly enough time to get over the image of your own dad murdering someone!" Tears were furiously pushing their way out now, angering Daniela. The girl wiped at them furiously with one hand.
Her words had silenced Lawrence.
The man sat hunched over with his head down. His hand weakly held onto the phone but he didn't bother talking. He knew he had hurt her, and that killed him.
"Time's almost up," stated Jakob, tapping Daniela gently on her shoulder. She nodded at her brother before turning back around.
"Bye, dad." Daniela gave her father one final look before hanging up the phone and collecting her scarf and jacket that she had left on the seat behind her.
As they made their way back to the front desk, Jakob wrapped an arm around her shoulder and squeezed her. Neither said anything, but Daniela was thankful for her brother's comfort.
The girl had settled herself back into the seat in her brother's truck, her mind filled with thoughts about her dad and how the visit had gone. To help take her mind off of it, she pulled out her sketchbook and a pencil.
Once again the car was silent, and neither sibling felt like talking. Daniela became alerted when a news report came over the radio.
Police are still investigating the disappearance and possible kidnapping of three-year-old Casey Casden. The boy disappeared from a birthday party at his house earlier today. His parents and the community are desperate to find Casey. He was last seen wearing a Superman costume.
The family and police would appreciate any information possible on the whereabouts of young Casey Casden.
Daniela's eyes widened when the report was finished.
"Casey Casden? I babysit for the Casdens!"
"Poor parents," murmured Jakob. Daniela nodded in agreement.
"Hopefully he wasn't kidnapped. What kind of sicko would steal a three-year-old? Hey, do you mind dropping me off there? I just wanna go and talk to his parents. You know, offer my help."
Jakob nodded with a smile. "Sure thing."
When they pulled into the street where the Casdens lived, it was full of people. Nearly the whole community was there. Police, reporters and news vans also littered the area. Daniela hopped out of the truck with a quick thank you to her brother.
Making her way over to the house she spotted Casey's parents amongst all of the people.
"Linda, Michael," she greeted as they both turned to look at her. Daniela's heart clenched at the utter sorrow on their faces and offered each of them a hug.
"I'm so sorry to hear about what happened," said Daniela pulling back.
"Thank you, Daniela," sniffled Linda. A woman who had been standing beside them tapped Linda on the shoulder before pointing down the street to two approaching figures.
"I don't believe it," said the woman in shock and awe. Both Daniela and the parents turned to see Debbie walking towards them, holding the hand of little Casey.
"Debs?" Questioned Daniela to herself. Linda and Michael immediately made their way to the girl and Casey with the teen following closely.
"My baby, my baby," breathed Linda as she bent down to pick him up. "Where have you been, we've been worried sick!" Daniela moved towards Debbie who stood watching with a happy smile.
The teen turned when she heard Fiona running towards them and then frowned when she saw the woman stuff what looked to be a red cape in Debbie's hands. Daniela's eyes widened as her mind processed everything.
"Where did you find him?" Questioned Linda thankfully.
"He was walking all by himself. I didn't know where he lived," answered Debbie, offering out the red cape.
Michael took it and stuttered some type of thanks. When he couldn't express his gratitude in words, he pulled out his wallet and started throwing money at her.
"Take it, take all of it!" He cried and soon everybody else followed his lead. Daniela stood beside Debbie in awe as money rained down to the ground around them.
When things had quieted down, Daniela turned to raise an eyebrow at the young girl.
"Debbie?" She asked expectantly. The girl nodded her head and rolled her eyes.
"It's a long story." The teen laughed and looked up to see that Ian and his brothers were stood collecting the money for Debbie. Her friend smiled at her when she came up to them.
"Oh, hey, El," greeted Ian casually as he stood on one of Frank's hands. The sight made the girl's lips twitch up into a smirk as the man on the ground protested against such actions.
"Alright, I am your father," protested Frank. Ian and Lip applied more pressure to his hands causing him to eventually let go of the money and surrender. The man stood up and waved a disapproving finger at his children before marching back into Sheila's house.
"That was entertaining," mused Daniela with her hands on her hips. "What did I miss?"
Daniela and the three brothers made their way over to a truck parked on the side of the road, Ian filling her in on the day's events as they walked. They stood and watched as Fiona hesitantly let Debbie leave with Tony to give a statement.
"Of course we had to return him so Lip came up with this whole elaborate plan that ended up actually working," finished Ian, placing his hands into the pockets of his jacket.
"You sound surprised," smirked the older boy as he placed a cigarette between his lips.
"Wow. Who knew you had a brain up there?" She drawled making Lip flip her off with a dark look. "What are you going to do about the water heater?"
"Probably just go through the obituaries for our next target."
The girl laughed before looking over to where Linda and Michael stood, grasping desperately onto Casey.
"Lip!" Yelled a voice from behind them and all three teenagers turned to see Karen approaching. She gave Lip a flirty smile before turning and saying hello to Ian and Daniela.
"Wanna go for a walk? It's so overcrowded here," Lip nodded eagerly and followed after her as they took off down the street.
"Wanna head back to your house?" Asked Daniela turning to face her red-headed friend.
"Sure."
/
Daniela sat adjacent to the Gallaghers on an armchair in the living room. They were all currently in the middle of watching the news about the finding of Casey.
"You did good, Debs," smiled Daniela warmly before second guessing herself. "Although, I would refrain from stealing any more toddlers from birthday parties. Or just stealing toddlers in general."
The young girl giggled and nodded her head. "I promise I won't."
As they settled back in a voice from the kitchen caught their attention. Daniela relaxed back into her chair when she realized it was just Steve.
A minute later, both of them returned, with Steve pushing a toy stroller and baby, thrilling Debbie.
"Oh my god!" She cried out in joy. "For me?"
"Absolutely. For doing such a good job today," grinned Steve. Daniela smiled at the young girl as she named her new baby Gin-Gin- after Aunt Ginger- and ran upstairs. Ian sighed and stood up from the couch.
"Want a beer?" He asked to which Daniela nodded. Carl perked up from his spot.
"Can I have one?" He eagerly asked.
"No," replied both teenagers firmly causing the young boy to slump and head upstairs muttering about how lame they were. Daniela laughed quietly before heading into the kitchen and taking the beer from Ian's extended arm.
"Oh, how did it go with your dad?"
Daniela bit her lip at the question and her hands fumbled with the beer bottle. "It wasn't awful but it certainly wasn't amazing."
Ian nodded and tilted his head.
"Sometimes I wish Frank was in prison. Just so we wouldn't have to deal with him for awhile."
Daniela smirked and took a swig from her bottle. Suddenly, the back door flew open and in stepped Veronica carrying a pack of beers and practically beaming.
"Wow...what's the special occasion?" Asked Daniela. She wasn't expecting Veronica to then grab both sides of her face and kiss each cheek.
"I'm getting married!" She announced gleefully. The teens' eyes widened as they both offered their congratulations.
"Come! Come!" Waved Veronica as she headed out the door again. "I have more drinks." Ian and Daniela went to help her and soon Lip showed up with Karen.
As they came back inside, Fiona and Steve came down the stairs, curious as to what all the commotion was.
"What the hell? Champagne?"
"I'm getting married," announced Veronica once again and everyone erupted into cheers.
"Let's get this party started!" Ian flipped on the stereo and soon the kitchen turned into party central.
"Care to dance, milady?" Smirked Ian holding out a hand. Daniela laughed and took it.
"Why of course, fair sir!"
Ian snorted and led her to where Veronica was currently dancing. Daniela danced with both of them, letting the positive vibes wash over her. As she danced, she felt a pair of eyes on her but was too occupied to care who it was.
They continued on that way until Daniela grew tired and out of breath.
Grabbing another drink, she sculled it back eagerly. Soon everyone else settled down, also tired and thirsty.
The teen gushed over wedding dresses with Veronica along with the bachelorette party and everything else. Soon, the woman's mother came and began talking to her daughter so Daniela left to talk to Ian.
Everyone headed outside when they heard a weird beeping noise. Fiona scoffed in astonishment when she saw Debbie signing some papers for a delivery.
"What's all this?" Asked Daniela.
"It's our new water heater," informed Debbie brightly. "I got it on sale."
"All right, Debs!" Laughed Lip. Debbie grinned before giving out instructions about where to install it.
Daniela headed home soon after that. It was Monday the next day and she couldn't afford to go to school hungover.
Climbing the stairs, she headed into her room and sluggishly crawled into her bed, pulling the pillow close to her. She sighed as she thought of how eventful her day had been.
As she let herself drift asleep, a memory came to mind, one that had started off entirely promising before plummeting in a matter of moments.
/
Ten and a half years ago.
"Okay, mija. Make a wish!" Clapped Camille happily.
Daniela grinned, leaned forward and blew out the candles. Her family clapped for her as her dad pulled out a knife and began cutting the cake.
A loud crash stopped him and soon three men came bounding in brandishing guns and knives. Daniela's eyes widened and she felt a pair of arms wrap around her, pulling her away from the table. At first, she screamed but stopped when she noticed it was just Jakob.
"Kaufman!" Bellowed one of the men; the leader.
Daniela's father glared at the man, his fist tightening around the knife he still held. Lawrence's eyes quickly flicked around to his family who stood, wide-eyed and watching. Camille had her hands raised as she stood rooted in front of the kitchen counter.
Wilda glared at the three men, eager to tear into them and show them what she was made of, but she wasn't stupid. She knew she would lose the fight and most likely her life.
Jakob stood protectively in front of Daniela who was huddled in a corner with tears streaming down her face. She didn't know who these men were. All she knew was that she wanted them to get the fuck out of her house.
"What do you want, Milkovich?" Drawled Lawrence, his jaw clenched tightly. The man, Samson Milkovich, grinned and walked slowly towards him.
"You know what I want. Why I'm here. You fucked us over, Kaufman! And Terry's not happy. Where's our money?" He demanded, shoving Lawrence with his gun.
"Tell your brother I'll get him his money as soon as I get mine."
Samson scoffed at Lawrence. "What fucking money?"
"The money that you owe me for those guns you've got there. And all the other shit I get for you," answered Lawrence coolly. The man in front of him spat.
"This ain't a fucking negotiation!" He pressed the barrel of the gun into Lawrence's forehead.
"Lawrence!" Yelled Camille from her position but soon found that the gun was now pointed at her.
"Keep your mouth shut, whore. Before I do it for you."
"Asshole," spat Wilda, her narrowed eyes burning into the invaders.
"You wanna be next, Granny?" Threatened Samson angrily.
"Hey!" Interjected Lawrence, bringing the man's focus back to him. "How about we settle this later? Can't you see we're trying to celebrate here," the man gestured to the birthday cake that no longer seemed to emit any happiness.
Samson's eyes switched to Jakob and Daniela, the girl cowering frightfully behind her brother.
Sucking on his teeth, the big brute of a man nodded and flicked his head at the other men, signaling for them to leave.
"This ain't over, Kaufman," warned Samson pointing a finger at the other man who simply fixed him with a cool stare.
"Bastard," hissed Camille as the last of the men filtered out, causing Samson to halt in his steps. Turning slowly, he stared murderously at her.
"What did you just say, bitch?" Camille stood her ground, showing no fear. This caused Samson to turn an ugly shade of red. His hand wrapped around her forearm in a vice-like grip.
Shaking her, he demanded her to tell him what she said. The woman's only response was a wad of spit in the man's face.
Samson growled and went to smack her head against the kitchen counter when he suddenly halted.
With a choked sound, both he and Camille looked down to see blood dripping onto the ground. Lawrence stood behind the man, an arm on Samson's shoulder and the other holding a knife in his back.
Lawrence twisted the knife back and forth, causing the large man in his arms to cry out. Pulling out the knife, he watched as Samson fell to the ground, blood beginning to pool around him. Lawrence wiped a piece of blonde hair out of his eyes with the back of his bloodied hand.
Looking up to his wife, he saw that she stood there shocked, her eyes focused on the dying body of Samson Milkovich.
"Jakob," called Wilda, drawing everyone's attention after a lengthy silence. The woman pulled some money from her pocket and handed it out in his direction. The thirteen-year-old boy stood frozen. "Take your sister and get some ice-cream."
It was then that Lawrence realized Daniela, his daughter, had been there the whole time. And that she had just witnessed him kill a man. He felt his heart tug at the sight of the clearly distraught girl. She was crouched in the corner, tears streaming down her face with her eyes fixated on the pool of blood.
"Jakob," said Wilda again, this time more firmly.
Her sharp tone seemed to shock the boy out of his frozen state and slowly he turned and picked up his sister, pushing her face into the crook of his neck before walking past the dead body and taking the money from his grandmother's hand.
When the pair finally got out the door, Wilda turned and stared agitated at her son and daughter-in-law.
"Do you have any idea what you've just done, boy?"
It wasn't long till the police were beating down and their door and Lawrence was arrested, sentenced to a maximum of 17 years behind bars. Traumatized, Daniela made a habit of never seeing or talking to her father after that.
It took me a long time to finish up this chapter, I was trying to write the flashbacks as best, and quickly, as I could. This was more of a background chapter like I said at the beginning. I'm not 100% happy with the finished product but I really wanted to get this out.
Thanks for reading!
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