Chapter 30.
Here's another chapter for all you lovely people! I've also noticed that we're creeping up on that 200 review mark which is always exciting.
Disclaimer: I do not own Shameless.
Daniela had never spent a lot of time in hospital cafeterias. Whenever she had been to visit her mother, she would typically just keep to the hospital room.
For some reason, they had always elicited a somber feeling; as if they were a place solely used for people that needed to escape the confines of their sick loved one's bedrooms.
In amongst the light foot traffic of the cafeteria sat Daniela, slouched in a plastic chair with a now tepid cup of coffee placed in front of her. Her eyes were cloudy and distant, almost as if she were in a completely different world by herself.
That's certainly how she felt.
The chatter of a few nurses at a nearby table blended into the background as the news the teen had received a few hours previous rang in her mind.
We found a tumor in her brain, it chimed. The cancer is rapidly spreading.
Her organs are shutting down. That one rang out the loudest, pounding against the barriers of her brain.
Before she had even gotten off the phone with her brother the day before, Daniela was on her way to the hospital. When she arrived, her mother wasn't in her room and she had suspected the worst.
On the brink of breaking down, Jakob had been by her side, quick to reassure her that they had simply taken her away to run some tests. The relief Daniela had felt nearly caused her knees to give out.
But it had been short lived.
For the rest of the night, the teen had stuck by her mother's side, holding tightly onto her hand like it was a lifeline- and it was. For her at least. Her mother had yet to wake up after her stroke, leaving Daniela incredibly restless.
After hearing the bad news, Jakob had all but forced his little sister down to the cafeteria while he spoke with the doctors. She hadn't gone easily but she saw the situation wearing on her brother and knew being stubborn would help no one.
As if on auto-pilot- which she was dangerously nearing given the lack of sleep she had had- Daniela raised her cup to her lips before promptly smacking her lips together in a grimace at the cold coffee.
Softly placing it back down, Daniela rested her palms flat against the cool surface of the table, her eyes drifting closed with a tired sigh.
Her ears tuned back into the conversation of a few nurses who were nearing the end of their night-shift.
"-heart attack, elderly. Poor guy," lamented one of them and Daniela quickly glanced over to see the woman eyeing her coffee cup sadly. "He just lost his wife nearly a year ago. No kids, no other family."
"That's awful."
"Yeah. I'd say he doesn't have much longer either."
"I guess we just have to make things as painless as possible," chimed in a third nurse with a resigned shrug. As if on cue, they all finished their coffees before heading back to work.
Daniela swallowed, her index finger tracing the outside of her lid thoughtfully. Whatever thought that sparked in her mind was quickly pushed to the side by the buzzing in her pocket.
Clearing her throat, she reached into her pocket and whipped out her phone.
2 new messages
One, she read, was from Ian and had actually been sent a while ago but she had clearly missed it. The other was from Lip, both asking how her mother was doing.
Texting back a quick reply, Daniela slipped her phone back into her jeans and stood, tossing her half-empty coffee cup in the bin before taking the elevator back to her mother's floor.
Much like when Daniela had left, Camille was asleep when she entered the room. The girl sighed sadly, hoping that there would've been some sort of change. She shuffled to her mother's bedside, dropping unceremoniously into a chair.
Carefully, Daniela took hold of her mother's hand, the woman's low body temperature scaring her. Flicking her eyes up to the monitors, she sighed in relief, seeing that her mother's stats were still somewhat steady.
She squeezed her mother's hand one more time and leaned forward, resting her chin in the crook of her elbow. Her eyes suddenly grew heavy, the effects of little to no sleep finally taking its toll on her body and soon, Daniela drifted asleep.
/
When she finally woke, it was to the sound of voices pouring into the room. Blinking her eyes open, Daniela blearily took in her brother wheeling in her grandmother. Her spine- which was horribly misaligned from her hunched over position- straightened instantly.
"Grandma," she said softly. The older woman eyed her with warm but sad eyes before gesturing for her to come forward.
Daniela did, rising from her chair and crossing the room to bend down and hug her grandmother. Wilda sighed into her ear, her hands rubbing up and down her granddaughter's back soothingly.
Peeling away from her, Daniela took the time to rub the back of her stiff neck, sending a quick glance at a nearby clock to see that she had been asleep for nearly 5 hours and that it was now mid-afternoon.
"How are you?" She finally asked, turning her attention back to the elderly woman.
Wilda smiled grimly. "While I'm glad to be out of that place for a few hours, I hate that it had to be for something so terrible."
Daniela nodded in understanding as her hand was gently taken hold of by the woman. No doubt she could see the troubling look in the teen's eyes.
Jakob, who had been standing by quietly the whole time, finally made his presence known by taking the handles of Wilda's wheelchair and moving her to where Daniela's chair had been beside Camille's hospital bed.
A few silent minutes passed where the two siblings watch their grandmother take hold of Camille's hand, her mouth pinched. They knew that the two women were close and that it would no doubt hurt Wilda to see her daughter-in-law in such a fragile state.
Daniela felt the same. She felt utterly helpless standing idly by, silently praying that her mother would make it through another night.
After patting her daughter-in-law's hand, Wilda fixed her glassy eyes on her grandchildren.
"Does your father know?"
Daniela looked to Jakob who stood with his arms crossed beside her. He shook his head.
"We didn't think it would be smart to tell him over the phone."
Humming in agreement, Wilda nodded. "Good point. You'll need to drive down and see him as soon as you can. It would be best to not delay this news any further."
"Yeah, we'll make a trip down this Sunday." Jakob shared a quick look with his sister who simply nodded back before turning to look at her fingernails.
Scraping off the already chipped nail polish, Daniela thought about how happy she was at the idea of seeing her father again. It had been over a month since she had actually seen him but the two continued to talk on the phone whenever they had the chance.
She couldn't help but feel, however, that it was incredibly bittersweet.
The sharp noise of her phone ringing was enough to rip Daniela out of her thoughts and she was quick to answer her phone after spying that it was Lip.
"Hey," she started as she moved out into the hallway, not bothering to hide the underlying current of sorrow in her voice.
She heard Lip's sharp intake of breath, no doubt picking up on it."How are you?"
"I'm coping," answered Daniela with a snort. "Barely."
"You sure you don't want me to come by?" Asked Lip tentatively and it made her smile.
"No, it's okay. You guys have to get everything ready for tomorrow," she reminded him. "Don't worry about me."
"Kind of hard not to."
"I'll be okay." She could practically see his raised eyebrow on the other side and sighed. "Seriously."
Lip was silent for a moment before determinedly saying, "I'm coming by tomorrow after the court hearing."
"Lip-"
"No discussion about it. And Ian's gonna come too."
On cue, Daniela heard her best friend in the background. "Hell yeah, we are."
Laughing, the teen nodded to herself, her teeth chewing on her lip.
"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow."
With their goodbyes said, Daniela hung up, unable to stop the smile that had plastered itself on her face.
Taking a deep breath, she readied herself before walking back into her mother's room, a lot happier than when she left.
/
The next time Daniela woke up it was the morning, judging by the birds chirping on the tree branch outside the hospital window.
Grumbling under her breath, her hand swatted at the one shaking her leg in an attempt to rouse her awake.
"Go away," she moaned, sending a tired glare at her brother.
"Come on."
"What?" Instantly, she was alert, the blanket her brother had draped across her in the middle of the night falling away to the floor. "What's going on?"
"I'm taking you home," spoke Jakob, not leaving any room for argument or discussion. This elicited another groan from Daniela who huddled herself further into the uncomfortable chair.
"No! Why?"
He quirked an eyebrow at her. "Because you haven't showered in two days." Daniela patted down her mussed up hair, eyes narrowing at her brother who was now scrutinizing her disheveled appearance.
"You also haven't left this place in two days."
"I don't want to."
"Well, you're going to," ordered the young man, even going as far as putting his hands on his hips. "And you're going to actually brush your hair."
Daniela rolled her eyes but knew she had no other choice. She also secretly relished at the thought of a hot shower.
"Okay, okay. No need to go all Officer on me."
With a satisfied smirk, Jakob helped his sister stand, ignoring her further grumbles before ushering her out the door once she had pressed a kiss to their mother's forehead. Daniela looked reluctant to leave their mother but nevertheless headed out in front of her brother.
After a- admittedly relaxing- shower, Daniela changed into some fresh clothes and brushed her hair just like she promised her brother she would do. It felt good to be clean again and the shower also helped wash away any residual heaviness from her mind.
Glancing at the alarm clock on her bedside table, Daniela saw that she still had enough time to get to the courthouse for the hearing. After everything with her mom, she hadn't planned on making it, but after yesterday's phone call with Lip, she found herself wanting to be beside him.
It didn't take long for Daniela to whip herself into action. Jakob was more than happy to drop her off, glad to see that she was taking advantage of this opportunity to spend her time away from the hospital.
When they pulled up at the courthouse, Daniela knew she was running a little late and hoped that it wouldn't deter her from getting inside.
"You want me to pick you up after you're done?" Asked Jakob, smiling warmly at her.
Daniela shook her head. "I'll text you."
"Okay, I'll see you later."
With one final wave to her brother, Daniela watched him pull away from the curb before hurrying inside. It was just her luck that the first person her eyes caught onto was Lip.
"Lip!"
His head whipped around at the sound of his name being called before he finally spotted her, the papers in his hands going limp. Not wanting to waste any time, Daniela made her way towards him.
"Hey," she greeted and watched his lips turn up in the corner.
"Hey, I thought you weren't coming."
Daniela shrugged. "I changed my mind."
Lip chuckled but frowned at her. "You know you didn't have to. Especially with your mom and all."
"It's okay," waved off the girl before eyeing her shoes nervously. "Besides, I wanted to be here with you guys."
Her response was enough for Lip whose grin simply widened before he showed her the papers he was holding.
"Okay, I just gotta file Ginger's will and then we'll head in."
"Okay."
Daniela took a few steps but was soon halted by Lip's hand gently grabbing her forearm, tugging her back to him.
Her eyebrows pinched together as she looked up at him. Lip didn't say anything but she could see that there was something unspoken in his blue eyes.
Reaching up to brush a piece of loose hair behind her ear, Lip pulled an already stunned Daniela into his arms. The feel of his arms wrapping around her body was nearly enough to turn the girl into a sobbing mess.
"I'm sorry about your mom," he muttered quietly as he held her head fixed itself beneath his chin.
They stayed like that for a few moments before Daniela eventually pulled away, her eyes glassy as she smiled at Lip. In her chest, she felt a tug.
"Let's go file this will." Tilting her head, Daniela took hold of Lip's hand and tugged him in the direction of the filing station.
"Hey, um. Cleopatra," greeted Lip as they made their way to a vacant window. Cleopatra, who looked like her job was slowly sucking the life out her, waited for the boy to continue while she fanned herself.
"I'm here to file a will, please. If you could just-" he slid the papers over to the woman who picked them up immediately.
Reading over the name, she frowned. "Ginger Gallagher?"
"Mhm."
"Second one today." Both Lip and Daniela's eyebrows hiked.
"What?"
"Had another will filed earlier," droned Cleopatra.
"How is that possible?" Asked Daniela, leaning her elbows on the desk. The woman simply shrugged at her before reaching for the other will to hold up.
"Here it is," her eyes read over it. "It's dated last year so it supersedes yours."
"Who the hell filed it?" Frowned Ian before the woman pushed it up against the glass for the two of them to see.
"Patrick Gallagher," read Daniela, her head tilting at Lip who was now looking a lot more annoyed. "Who's that?"
"Cousin Patrick."
"Did she leave the house to him?" Her question had Lip chewing on the inside of his mouth.
"I'm not sure." Tapping his knuckles on the desk- something Daniela noticed he did whenever he was frustrated- Lip thanked Cleopatra before turning and walking away.
Daniela was quickly at his side, her hand slipping into his own once again. Seeing the troubled look on his face, she rubbed her thumb over his knuckles. His hard frown softened a little as they quietly slipped into the courtroom.
"Your brother, Ian testified about your father's months-long absence," recited the judge as he read over his notes before looking to Carl. "Did his disappearance make you sad?"
Daniela and Lip slipped into the row behind Ian who spotted them as they made their way past, his eyes doing a double-take when he saw his best friend sit down. Lip clapped a hand on his brother's shoulder and took a seat beside her.
Ian pressed his mouth in a small smile to which Daniela responded in kind before they both returned their attentions to the front.
"He got me into camp," said Carl, grinning over at Frank who grinned back.
"Camp?"
"My first time."
The judge smiled and nodded his head. "You have a good time at camp?"
Carl laughed, nodding quickly. "Yeah."
Daniela twisted her mouth to bite down on the inside of her cheek. She could see that things were already not swinging in Fiona's favor.
The bad feeling in her stomach worsened even more as Debbie told her own story about how Frank had helped her with her swimming over the summer.
Somehow Frank had managed to inject just enough happy memories into his children's minds so that it made him seem like an actual father. It unsettled Daniela who knew if it continued like this, Fiona would have no chance.
"Mr. Gallagher," began the judge in his authoritarian voice. "You have very special children."
Yes he does, thought Daniela snidely to herself. Children who are so deserving of a better, more loving father.
"That's why I had to leave, Your Honor," affirmed Frank and Daniela rolled her eyes at the pitying voice he took on. "I couldn't stand to see them live through my battle with addiction any longer."
She felt Lip's hand tighten in anger around hers, his narrowed eyes burning into the back of his father's head. Daniela didn't blame him.
"So you left?"
"To get help. Sometimes the hardest part is admitting you need it and I didn't want to come home until I was clean and sober. A father they could be proud of."
Daniela's jaw clenched, hating that his own children had to sit quietly and endure Frank spewing lies. The man didn't give a crap what his kids thought of him. All that mattered was that he had a bottomless supply of booze.
"It isn't easy but," he pulled up a blue AA chip, waving it proudly at the judge. In front of her, Ian tipped his head back in disbelief. "Every day I still have one of these is a good day."
Daniela had to hand it to the man. He really knew how to put on a show.
"You're not really buying this, are you?" Scoffed Fiona, voicing everyone's thoughts.
The judge attempted to settle her. "Miss Gallagher."
"Have you seen his record?"
The man nodded and looked down at it. "Have it right here."
As he recited Frank's very, very long list of crimes, Daniela turned to Lip.
"You'd think that would be enough for him to just hand you over to Fiona," she whispered, careful to not let her voice rise too much. Lip chuckled wryly in response as the judge finished up.
"-four DUIs and you don't even own a car." The judge peered down his spectacles at Frank who shrugged.
"Alcohol is a cruel mistress."
"He hasn't stopped drinking and he never will," piped in Fiona, sick of hearing Frank spout bullshit.
It confused them all why Frank was even fighting to keep his kids given the fact he had never shown any proper concern up until that moment.
"I'm not the perfect parent," admitted Frank to which both Ian and Lip snorted quietly.
That's an understatement.
"I like to have a good time and live life to the fullest. Sometimes, I go too far. But I love my kids." He sent a quick glance in their direction. "They mean the world to me." Frank continued his plea to keep his children, even faking tears at one point.
It was commendable. If Daniela didn't know any better, she would think what he was saying was true. Too bad she knew it wasn't.
"Miss Gallagher. You want to tell me why your father should be declared unfit?"
The woman in question looked at her younger siblings sitting beside her and something changed in here. A small smile crept onto Daniela's face as she saw that Fiona wasn't going to go down without a fight.
"We were living out a car once," she stated, her voice unsettlingly even. "Uncle Nick had kicked us out. We couldn't find anyone else who would take us in. Lip and Ian and me were sleeping in the backseat when Frank pulled over."
Daniela sucked in a breath and looked at Lip who had his other hand curled and resting on his mouth. She pulled their conjoined hands to rest on her thigh, her thumb trailing over his knuckles again.
"Middle of the night, think it was Halstead. He told me to take the boys and sit on the curb, and he'd be right back. I was six." Fiona twisted her mouth and shrugged casually.
In the background, Daniela clenched her eyes shut, sensing where this was going.
"A few hours later, we're still waiting on the sidewalk and Ian's head is burning up. He's hysterical, I don't know what to do. So I ran down the street. Lip under one arm, Ian on the other, trying to flag down help. Would've been easier scoring crack than a ride to the clinic."
Lip's grip on her hand tightened ever so slightly and she pressed her mouth together, squeezing back. She didn't know if he remembered this story and quite frankly, she hoped he didn't.
Fiona continued to tell the judge her story, seeing that it was beginning to have an effect on the man. On the other side of the room, Frank dropped his head.
"My mother is bipolar," carried on Fiona, her voice growing thick with emotion. "And my father is an alcoholic and an addict. He takes what he pleases and he offers nothing." Raising her chin, the young woman stared up at the judge who was regarding her with something akin to respect.
"I'm not asking for your pity or your admiration. I just want to be able to give these kids everything they deserve because they're great kids and they deserve better."
The judge was silent before banging his gavel and ordering both Fiona and her lawyer to follow him to his chambers.
As the three filed out of the room, everyone released a breath. Daniela wiped a stray tear from her cheek before looking to Lip who looked even more affected than she did.
She leaned her head forward, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "You okay?"
His eyes met hers and he nodded stiffly. In front of them, Ian rose from his seat and walked around the chair to their row. Daniela stood and was quickly enveloped in her best friend's arms.
They embraced for three long moments before he pulled away, a sad smile on his face. "Thanks for coming."
Daniela smiled back, shrugging lightly. "Of course."
"How's your mom?" He asked, watching his friend's expression sober.
"Stable- for the most part. She still hasn't woken up yet."
Ian twisted his mouth, placing a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. It made a thin layer of tears prick at her eyes but she quickly pushed it back down. The two friends continued to chat while they waited for the judge, Fiona and her lawyer to return.
When they did, the courtroom fell silent but as Fiona made her way back to her seat, she spared a glance in her brothers' direction. They didn't miss the small upturn of her mouth and felt relief swell in their chest.
As the judge began to explain to Frank that he could keep his parental rights whilst also allowing Fiona to be their main guardian, Daniela felt that bright feeling grow. Frank, obviously, was more than willing to accept which caused a light scoff from the girl.
Ordering Fiona to stand, the judge continued on. "Do you agree to be the guardian of these children?"
"Yes, I do."
Daniela beamed at Lip who couldn't help his own grin; his hand squeezing hers.
"Well, that will be my order then," declared the judge, a hint of a smile tugging at his lips. "Take your children home."
As soon as the sound of his gavel rang out, everyone was on their feet, hugging and cheering their victory. Daniela couldn't help her wide smile as Fiona turned to look at her siblings, nearly about to burst into tears of happiness.
Lip found Daniela's waist easily, pulling her towards him to place a kiss on the side of her head.
/
"Are you gonna tell Fiona about the house?" Questioned Daniela later that night.
Her and Lip were cuddled up on his bed, the familiar sounds of his family moving around in the hallway eliciting a certain comfort for the two of them.
Lip nodded, sighing a little. "Tomorrow, once everything has settled down."
Daniela, who was pressed against his side, nodded back and peered up at Lip whose eyes were already fixed on her intently. It caused her to frown.
"What?"
His blue eyes settled on her warm hazel ones and he shook his head. "Thanks for coming today. It felt right having you there."
Daniela felt another tug in her chest along with an intense warmth filling her belly as she continued to stare up at him from her spot underneath his spread out arm.
"It felt right being there," she said back, her voice barely a whisper. A single finger tilted Daniela's face up so that Lip could place a soft kiss on her lips.
Snuggling further into his side, Daniela nestled her head into Lip's shoulder, feeling exhaustion creep up on her.
Underneath the tiredness, she also felt a safety around Lip that she had never experienced with anyone else; that wasn't including Ian who always made her feel safe.
But this was different. This was something she wasn't sure she completely understood.
Daniela didn't spend much time contemplating exactly what it was because her eyelids were soon drooping until she managed to drift asleep. Lip, who was still barely awake, watched her lips part in her sleep.
She shifted her face, nuzzling further into him and causing a piece of hair to fall into her eyes, stopping him from completely seeing her. Being careful not to wake her, Lip brushed it away, his hand resting on her cheek.
Brushing it with his thumb, he leaned in to press another kiss to her forehead before settling himself in for the night and soon, he was also asleep.
/
Daniela sat on the metal chair, her knee bouncing as she felt consumed with nervous energy. Her brother wasn't much better and he chewed on the inside of his cheek as he stood beside her.
Spotting a familiar figure step up on the other side of the glass, the siblings looked up at their father who took them in with a large smile.
He settled on his seat quickly, unhooking the phone from the wall.
Daniela also reached for hers before holding it to her ear, waiting for her dad to speak first.
"Hey, kiddo," greeted Lawrence warmly and Daniela allowed herself a soft smile.
"Hey, dad."
"How are things? I know your birthday is coming up in a few weeks. The big 18. You must be pretty excited, huh?"
Daniela cleared her throat, resting her other forearm along the cool metal of the bench. "Uh, yeah. It should be good."
Lawrence prided himself on being rather observant so as soon as he heard the distraction in his daughter's voice, he knew something was up. A look to his son didn't do much to quell his fear and his expression sobered quickly.
"What's happened?" He asked, his voice growing terse.
Daniela shared a pained look with her brother before rising from her seat, handing the phone to him. They figured it would be best if Jakob told their dad.
Lawrence's eyes followed their movements critically, sensing what- or more so who- this was about.
Clearing his throat, Jakob took a deep breath to ready himself. As he told Lawrence what happened, Daniela stood silently to the side, watching the muscles in her father's face change. Each emotion was intense but it was soon replaced with another.
Once Jakob was finished, they waited, hoping desperately that their father wouldn't lash out and earn himself, even more, jail time. That was the last thing any of them needed.
But Lawrence just continued to sit there like a statue with his vice-like grip on the phone. His eyes weren't settled on them but on the benchtop and they were narrowed in a mix of confusion and frustration.
Gulping, Jakob shared another wary look with his sister who simply pressed her lips together.
It felt like hours before Lawrence finally did anything.
Slowly, he hung up the phone and, looking eerily calm, rose from his seat before promptly walking out. The siblings' eyes stayed glued to their father's back as he disappeared.
Daniela felt tears prick at her eyeballs instantly and grabbed onto her forearms to try and steady her emotions. Jakob, seeing this, placed an arm around her shoulders causing her to finally let them fall. And with one came many, many more.
She stayed a blubbering mess the whole way back to the parking lot. As they reached her brother's truck, Jakob rubbed her shoulder comfortingly.
"It's gonna be okay," he soothed which just made her cry even more. Daniela sniffled and wiped at her nose. "He just feels helpless, that's all." She could hear the pain in his own voice as she settled into her seat.
The ride back home was mostly silent save for the radio playing lightly in the background. Halfway in, Daniela had managed to slow down her tears until it was just an annoying little hiccup every now and again.
She thought about what her brother had said, about how her father had felt helpless. She couldn't imagine how he felt. No matter how much her father wanted to, he couldn't see her mother- his wife- who could quite possibly be on her way out.
Daniela empathized with her father. There was nothing she could do about it either, no matter how much she hoped and prayed.
Out of the corner of her eye, Daniela spotted her brother shooting looks her way. Rotating her head, she saw how tightly his hands were clenching the wheel, showing that he was struggling to keep it together as well.
"It's gonna be okay." She repeated his own words as she stared at him with red, puffy eyes. Jakob's jaw clenched and his chest began to rise and fall quickly.
He tried to make a sound of agreement but inevitably choked on the end of it. Blowing out a ragged breath, he twisted his grip on the wheel and glanced at his sister, a sad smile on his face.
Neither of them knew if it what she said was true, but at that moment, they weren't willing to believe anything else.
Gah! Sometimes I can't deal with how cute Daniela and Lip are. I know a big scene is basically ripped out of the show but I tried to make it as painless to read as possible.
Also, sad times with Lawrence.
Let me know what you thought!
Special thanks to: xenocanaan, x NikiSt x, RHatch89, SweetRiceball20, hanna891, Isabeux3, Danielle C, Maddprincess, Emily, blue Wren, Winchestergirl123, KillerJuiceBox, AnImEfReAk4994, Naruhina1519, SmillyReaper, Raelyn95, 0Cloudless0, TWAHTT18, Queenylime21, brittany9901, Runninglover802, bellamysblake, DynaLover101, and Who Cares711!
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