Chapter 22.
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Disclaimer: I do not own Shameless.
"So what do people in jail do on Thanksgiving?" Questioned Daniela, laying on her bed. She held her phone to her ear, hearing her father snort.
"The food's a little less crappy and the guys are quieter." Lawrence paused for a beat. "They usually stick to themselves, just thinking about their families."
Daniela chewed on her lip. "Is that what you do?"
"Yeah."
"Well, that's just sad. What about saying what you're thankful for?"
"Dani, it's prison. These aren't exactly the men you sit down and talk about your emotions with." Daniela huffed and sat up.
"Fine. Tell me what you're thankful for." She could picture her father standing by the prison phone, quirking an eyebrow. She rolled her eyes. "I'll go first." Lawrence's deep chuckle rang in her left ear.
"I'm thankful for having so many great people in my life," said Daniela, smiling to herself. She had her mother, Jakob, her grandma, Simon and the Gallaghers. "Your turn."
Lawrence hummed in thought. "I'm grateful for the meals and bed I get every day, the clothes on my back and that I got to repair my relationship with my children." Daniela's smile widens, tears pricking at her eyes. "Hey Dani, my times running out."
"Okay," she nodded, her tone becoming somber. "Love you." Lawrence went quiet on the other side of the line. When he spoke, his voice was thick.
"Love you too, baby girl." He hung up after that, leaving Daniela to wipe away a few stray tears. Rising from her bed, she got ready before walking to the Gallagher's to see Ian before he went to work.
He had told her about Monica taking him to enlist but that none of them would accept him. Ian had been pretty cut up about it ever since. On top of that, Monica had gotten worse, not even getting up to go to the bathroom. The kids tried to persuade her to eat but she wasn't having any of it.
"Hey, Fi," greeted Daniela as she entered the kitchen. The woman smiled back at her. "Ian here?"
Fiona shook her head. "He just left. You comin' to Thanksgiving lunch tomorrow?"
Daniela shrugged with a nod. "Sure. I can stop by for a bit before I head over to the hospital."
"Great," smiled Fiona. "What's your opinion on Spam?"
"I kind of like it. Why?"
"I'm carving some into the shape of a turkey. Figured it's the closest thing we'll get to a real one."
"Spam turkey sounds delicious," laughed Daniela as she turned to leave. "See you later, Fi."
"Hey El, wait." The teen turned to look at Fiona who rested against the sink, her hands playing with a dishcloth. "I wanted to thank you for going down to the station to be with Carl. Lip told me and I just wanted to say I really appreciate you being there for him."
Daniela shrugged it off. "It was no problem." They shared a final smile before the teen made her way home.
/
Daniela tapped her pencil against the textbook splayed out in front of her. It was barely 12 in the afternoon and she already felt like collapsing in her bed.
There was a big finals exam for Physics coming up and Daniela found herself actually wanting to pass. She had been cramming as much knowledge as possible into her head, hoping it would stick. She even entertained the idea of calling Lip to ask if he could help her out.
Blowing out a long sigh, Daniela unceremoniously dropped her pencil and shut her textbook. Her eyes flicked to the oven where her pie was baking for tomorrow's lunch. She didn't want to show up empty-handed; her mother would chastise her if she did.
Daniela rubbed her eyes and leaned back in her chair. Her brain was in haywire from all of the studying.
Remembering that her piece for the art competition was only half finished and needed to be submitted by the end of the week, she opted to spend some time working on it to ease her mind.
Making her way up the stairs, she prepared her paints and brushes, setting her canvas up. Daniela had already drawn an outline in pencil of what the piece would look like and only needed to fill it in with her paints. She decided to stick to the warm colors she had used when she was brainstorming.
Daniela carried on with her painting for a few more hours, her enthusiasm growing as she watched her vision come to light on the canvas piece-by-piece.
Simultaneously, she flicked her attention to her Physics book. The painting helped clear her mind enough where she could absorb the words in the book better.
For the rest of the day, Daniela dedicated her time to working on her art piece and studying; a rare occurrence though she found she enjoyed it. It wasn't until Jakob came home late that night that Daniela realized how long she had been going for.
"You're still up?" He questioned, popping his head into her bedroom. Daniela looked at the alarm clock beside her bed to see it was just past midnight.
"I didn't realize how late it had gotten."
"You working on your piece?" Daniela nodded as Jakob stepped into the room to get a better look at it. "This is great, sis."
She beamed, feeling pretty proud herself. "Thanks."
The canvas was medium sized as she didn't want it to take even longer. She chose to base her piece off of the Gustav Klimt painting she liked the most.
It featured a couple in an embrace that could be taken as friendly or something more. While the male silhouette was painted in warm oranges and reds, Daniela had chosen to make the feminine silhouette elicit a cold feeling, opting for different shades of blue, green and purple.
Depicted off in the top corner of the canvas was another womanly figure, this one colored the same as the man. She made it look like the man was staring past the woman he was embracing to the third silhouette off in the distance.
Daniela took her feelings and amped them up a bit more, showcasing them on canvas. In her mind, it fit the criteria of 'torture'. She liked the finished product, not minding whether it was enough to get her through to the second round.
/
Thanksgiving arrived the next morning as Daniela got ready for lunch at the Gallaghers before she went to see her mom. The house was quiet as she walked downstairs, surprising her. She noticed a piece of ripped paper with her brother's chicken scratch on it placed on the kitchen table.
Went to see a friend, I'll be back to pick you up later.
Jakob had ended the note with what she assumed was a poorly drawn turkey.
Daniela dropped the note and grabbed her pie before leaving for the Gallagher house. Her forehead creased when she saw Steve sleeping on the couch. Carrying on into the kitchen, she flashed a bright smile at everyone.
"Happy Thanksgiving!" Cheered Veronica and Fiona, each of them coming to hug her. She chuckled at Fiona and Debbie's matching turkey hats. Daniela grunted as she felt herself be pulled into a bear hug from Kev. Laughing, she pulled away and moved to kiss Debbie on the cheek.
"I brought pie," she announced, brandishing the dish. "Homemade. It just needs to be warmed up a little." They all let out whoops and Kev quickly took it off her hands.
"Man I can't wait to dig into this," he said already licking his lips.
Veronica slapped him in the arm, telling him he had to wait for lunch. Kev looked like a child who had his toy taken from him as his wife took the pie from him.
Daniela's eyes peered into the lounge where Steve was still slumbering. "What's Steve doing on your couch?" Fiona scoffed a laugh, shooting a glance at the man before returning to her chopping.
"He finally kicked Lip out yesterday."
"Which means he's back in Fiona's pants," interrupted Veronica in a hushed whisper. Her friend made a noise of disapproval, shaking her head.
"No, it doesn't. I just let him stay the night." Everyone else in the kitchen shared knowing smirks; even Debbie knew her sister was lying.
"So does this mean Lip is coming back home?" Asked Daniela, moving on from the topic of Steve. She knew Fiona was getting more and more flustered about it.
The woman shrugged, clueless. "Who knows. I don't even know where he stayed last night."
Debbie sighed and rested her head on her propped-up elbow. "I miss Lip." Daniela nodded, clapping her hands together to break the silence that had taken over.
"You guys need any help?" Veronica nodded, giving her instructions to prepare some mashed potatoes. They all fell into an easy rhythm, with the adults chattering and laughing away. As the time ticked on, Daniela noticed the absence of her best friend.
"Is Ian still sleeping?"
Fiona shook her head, seeming worried. "He didn't come home last night." The girl frowned, reminding herself to shoot him a text once she was done with the potatoes.
The kitchen door opened, revealing Carl holding what looked to be a gun and a dead bird. He wore a proud smirk as he held it up to his family.
"Is that a gun?" Fumed his older sister, wiping her hands on her jeans. Veronica followed closely behind, snatching it away from him.
"Where did you get this?"
"I found it," shrugged Carl as if it wasn't a big deal. "But look what I shot!"
"Holy," breathed Kev as he stepped forward to further inspect the bird. "Is that a bald eagle?"
"Is that illegal?" Wondered Daniela aloud, cringing at the animal. Kev took it from the boy and held it up to his face, grinning like mad at the others.
"I know what we're having for Thanksgiving."
Debbie also grossed out, grabbed her laptop. "I'll look it up." Kev placed the eagle down on the bench and began to pluck it.
When she finished up with her potatoes, Daniela stepped outside for a little break. She had messaged Ian who assured her he was on his way home for lunch. Her hand toyed with her phone in debate and she chewed on her lip, eyeing the name in her contacts list.
"Fuck it," she muttered, hitting the button. It took a few rings before Lip finally picked up.
"Hello?" Her stomach flipped at the roughness to his voice indicating he had just woken up.
"Hey, Happy Thanksgiving." She heard some hurried shuffling on the other side of the line and raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, Happy Thanksgiving."
"You coming to lunch today?" Asked Daniela, still chewing on her lip.
"Uh, I don't think so."
"Debs really misses you, Lip. We all do. You should be here with your family."
Lip's sigh rang in her ear along with his hushed whispering. "Maybe I'll come around later."
Daniela's mouth formed a small smile. "Why are you whispering?"
"Uh..." Lip stumbled for an excuse, leaving her frowning in wait. Her jaw tightened at the sound of another voice filter through on his end of the line.
"Who are you talking to?"
"Is that Mandy?" Accused Daniela, her temper rising. Lip went quiet and she figured it was because of guilt. She scoffed. "I don't even know why I even bother with you."
"Daniela wai-"
"Lunch is at 3." Lip was soundly cut off by her hanging up on him. Wiping a hand over her face, she wondered why she did this to herself. Knowing she should've seen it coming, Daniela let her anger ebb away before she went back inside.
/
"Wow, where did the giant turkey come from?" She asked, eyeing it in the oven. Fiona laughed and nodded her head to Steve.
"He went and bought it."
Daniela tsked, shaking her head. "That's a shame, I was really looking forward to the spam turkey and bald eagle."
"There's always Christmas," smirked Fiona as they grabbed plates to set the table. Daniela's attention turned to Ian walking through the door. She didn't miss the hickey on his neck.
"Where were you?"
"Out," he answered simply, continuing up the stairs.
"Did you come home last night?" Asked Fiona, placing a hand on her hip. Her brother shook his head. "Didn't think to call?"
Ian shrugged with a small smile. "I'm here now. I wasn't gonna miss a family holiday."
"Come here." He moved towards his sister's open arms and Daniela heard her whisper about his hickey before pushing him up the stairs. The woman smirked at Daniela in exasperation before going to grab some cups.
Ian emerged from upstairs, freshly showered and took a seat at the table they had moved into the lounge. The kids had also managed to get Monica to join them for lunch. Daniela took a seat beside her friend, throwing him a coy look.
"Who gave you the hickey?" She asked bluntly, taking a drink of her grape soda.
Ian snorted lightly. "Some guy I met at the club last night."
"The club Monica took us to?"
"Yeah," he nodded with a smile. Daniela narrowed her eyes at him, her grin widening.
"Did you go home with him?" Ian looked down at his hands, the smile still plastered on his face. Daniela laughed quietly. "How was he?" He was about to answer their question when Kev walked in holding the huge turkey proudly.
They all cheered as he rubbed his hands together in anticipation. Veronica smacked away Carl's hand as he reached for a piece, claiming they hadn't said grace yet.
"I'll say grace," offered Frank who was placed at the head of the table. Everyone eyed each other warily but went along with it nonetheless. "Everybody hold hands." Daniela took Ian and Fiona's hand in hers and bowed her head.
"Dear Lord, thank you for this food we are about to eat. Thank you for bringing my Monica back to me. And please make my brother Clayton burn in hell." Daniela popped an eye open to stare at Frank. "For all eternity when the time comes. Amen."
A chuckled bubbled up in her throat as they all said echoed 'amen'.
Immediately they all began passing around the food to fill their plates. Frank stood from his seat to carve the turkey that they all were looking forward to eating.
"Fiona, is Lip coming?" Debbie asked from the other side of the table. Her sister shrugged off the question.
"He knows what time we're eating."
Daniela twisted her mouth, moving her mashed potatoes around on her plate. Ian looked at her plate.
"You alright?"
"Mhm," she nodded putting on a smile.
"Who likes dark meat?" Frank held up a piece of turkey that was quickly taken by Carl.
"Me too," Kev held his hand up with a sly grin. "And in my turkey also." The table erupted into laughs and whoops as Veronica stared at him unimpressed with his corny joke. Daniela's head turned to the kitchen when she heard cluttering.
"What was that?" Frowned Fiona, already out of her chair. The teen watched as everyone froze once they saw what it was.
"Holy fuck," breathed Kev. Daniela came to stand beside him, her mouth falling open in horror. Her hand flew up to cover it as she stared at Monica slumped up against the kitchen counters, her wrists practically spraying blood.
The woman was convulsing from the blood loss and Daniela couldn't tear her eyes away from all of the blood decorating the section of the kitchen.
Steve rushed forward to help her as Fiona told someone to ring an ambulance. Daniela found herself rooted to the spot, her body feeling like it was in binds. Around her, she heard Veronica taking the kids away as Kev and Ian helped Steve.
Still, Daniela's eyes never left Monica. She felt her breathing pick up, flashes of Samson Milkovich laid out on her own kitchen floor in a puddle of blood resurfacing in her brain. Blood was something she could deal with in small amounts, but this was different.
This was a gross reminder of the time she witnessed death with her own eyes.
Fiona whipped her head around frantically, her eyes catching onto Daniela's frozen state. She hadn't even noticed the girl still standing there. Her face was pale and it looked like she was about to be sick.
"Ian," she called to her brother. "Take El outside with the others." He looked at his friend and saw the faraway look in her eyes.
"El," he said gently, placing a hand on her elbow. Her eyes snapped to him as she took a sharp intake of breath. They placed their arms around the other and slowly made their way out front, using each other as support.
As soon as she made it onto the front step, she felt the small amount of food she had eaten come back up. Ian looked about ready to do the same as he steadied himself against the railing. Once her stomach emptied itself, Daniela stood upright, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.
Sending a last look of disgust at her vomit, she turned to Ian. He had slid down on the steps, his elbows resting on his knees pulled to his chest. She saw the tear tracks on his cheeks.
She stumbled over to him, dropping down next to him. She could deal with her feelings later on when things had settled down, right now Daniela wanted to be there for her best friend who had just seen his mother with her wrists slit open.
Placing an arm around his shoulders, she pulled him to her, feeling his body begin to shake with sobs. They stayed that way, waiting for the ambulance to arrive.
When they did come, Fiona rode in the back with Monica while Steve drove the kids in his car. Kev and Veronica followed in their truck. Frank had unsurprisingly taken off.
/
Daniela sat with them at the hospital while she waited for her brother to arrive; she had messaged him saying she was already there. When she had checked her phone, she saw that she had a missed call from Lip. Steve had been trying to contact him but he hadn't been answering his phone either.
Ian's grip on her hand was tight, his knee bopping up and down nervously. None of them had said much, they were still waiting for the doctor to come and speak with them.
At the sound of footsteps coming their way, they all looked up but their shoulders slumped when they saw it was just Jakob. He spoke for a moment with Fiona, most likely giving her his sympathy before he waited for Daniela. She sighed, looking to a drained Ian.
"I'll come back later if you're still here." Ian nodded and with a final squeeze of his hand, she stood and followed her brother to the elevator.
"How you feeling?" Asked Jakob after he pushed the button for their mother's level. Daniela shrugged, her body pushing itself into the corner of the enclosed space. Her brother eyed her worriedly. "You look a little pale."
Daniela was silent, her interest in her fingernails growing. "It was just a shock." Jakob nodded in understanding as the doors opened.
The girl put a smile on her face when her mother came into view. Camille beamed up at her children, opening her arms for a hug. The sickly woman had been continuing to learn some basic sign language and whenever Daniela visited, she would try and learn as well.
A nurse came in soon after with her dinner that Daniela thought looked less than appetizing. Due to the fact that Camille couldn't swallow solid foods, her meals had been puréed into a gloopy mess. Her mother didn't seem to mind though as she ate spoonfuls of the hot slop.
Daniela felt the gloominess lift from her shoulders as she spent time with her mother and Jakob. She felt a little guilty considering Ian was downstairs with his family waiting on news about Monica.
"Who's this friend you went to see this morning?" Jakob looked at her at the sound of her question.
"Oh, uh. It was just someone I've been talking to recently."
Daniela raised a curious eyebrow. "A female someone?" Her brother nodded, almost wriggling under the looks he was getting from his family. "Is it serious?"
"We've only known each other for a few weeks, Dani."
"But you like her?"
"She's nice, yeah." Daniela shared a grin with her mother making Jakob roll his eyes. "That reminds me. She gave me some soup but I forgot to bring it up." He pulled his keys out of his pocket and dangled them in Daniela's direction. "Can you go get it?"
This time, she rolled her eyes. "You're so lazy." She grabbed the keys and her coat, knowing it was going to be chilly outside.
She made her way out to the front of the hospital, her narrowed eyes trying to work out where her brother had parked when a loud bang startled the girl.
Walking around the corner, Daniela frowned at the sight of Lip tearing off what looked to be scrubs before angrily shoving them into a bin.
"Lip?" She called, her hands stuffed in her pockets. He looked to the side, catching her stare. Daniela was taken aback by the mix of anger and sadness on his face. Her eyes caught onto the scrubs he had ripped off. "Did Karen have her baby?"
Lip simply nodded, too pissed off to speak. Daniela noticed and tilted her head, her teeth chewing on her lip. He looked like he needed to cool off.
"You wanna go for a walk?" Lip exhaled deeply, nodding again. She offered him a small, comforting smile. They walked around nearby in a comfortable silence. Daniela didn't pressure him with questions, knowing that she would find out the details eventually.
She was still angry about the Mandy situation but knew that it wasn't the time to bring it up. Lip seemed to appreciate the lack of questions, settling into the silence.
Sorry for the abrupt ending, it's really more of a build up to the next one- which is the finale. There will be more Daniela and Lip moments next time, guaranteed!
Special thanks to darkoni66, Ashley H, gossamermouse101, blue Wren, Rara-Binks, January Raines, funwithstark, x NikiSt x, Firebloom, kelsey112, khamilton16, Miku007, , dagee, Similar Hues, Rory Alice, emorris5, Charlee D, littledoodle and Rae.
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