Chapter 42.
It's not much but it's an update. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Shameless.
"So, uh. I heard Ian was back home."
"Yeah," shrugged Mandy carelessly. They were currently at work getting the place ready before service started. It had been a week since Ian had come home and Daniela had yet to go see him. "He was with Mickey but then Svetlana sent him packing."
Daniela nodded, her mouth twisting. "So you've talked to him?"
"He brought by some clothes this morning for the baby." Mandy then paused to snort and quirked an eyebrow. "Wish Mickey would give as much of a shit. Asshole's been hiding out over at Ian's ever since Svet had her kid."
Daniela had to agree. Despite the shitty circumstances of their marriage, the kid didn't deserve to not be acknowledged by his father.
"How was Ian when you saw him?"
"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Asked Mandy in exasperation before righting herself so that she could place a hand on her hip.
Daniela toyed with the damp cloth in her hand. "I'm still trying to figure out what to say."
"Well, don't figure, just do," said Mandy before moving onto the next table. "The sooner you two sort your shit out, the sooner things can go back to normal."
"Yeah, I guess," she agreed half-heartedly.
At the chiming of her cell phone, Daniela groaned slightly, her eyes falling shut. Mandy eyed her with bored curiosity as Daniela stared down at the screen before slipping it back into her apron pocket.
"Who's that?"
"No-one," answered Daniela plainly.
"Uh-huh." Mandy nodded, unconvinced leaving the other girl to hesitate for a second before spilling.
"It's just this guy."
"A guy?" Questioned Mandy. "Since when have you had a guy?"
"I haven't had a 'guy'," refuted Daniela before releasing a long breath. "Besides, it's not like it's serious. It's just sex."
"That's what I said about Simon and now look at me," pointed out Mandy thought she looked pretty happy with how things had turned out. Despite individual appearances, the pair's relationship seemed about as stable as you could hope.
"First of all," began Daniela, raising a finger. "This is very different, okay?"
"Well then if it's just sex why do you keep dodging his calls?"
"Ugh," groaned Daniela, a hand raking through her hair. "Because we had a teeny-tiny moment that he is determined to not let me forget." She finished by collapsing into one of the booths.
Mandy stared down at her, unimpressed. "Wow, is he that much of a douchebag?"
"No! He's- he's not a douchebag, it's just- I don't know," she said in resignation. "I don't know what to say to him."
"Well, did you like it?" Asked Mandy bluntly.
Daniela shrugged, her hands wringing the damp cloth. Had she? She certainly had at the time but by the time the next morning had rolled around and she was forced to rethink her actions, she wasn't so sure.
It wasn't like there was anything wrong with Chris- far from it. It was simply that the whole thing had left her feeling strange and she wasn't sure what to think of the kiss.
"Yeah, I guess I did," she admitted after a moment of contemplation.
"Then you wanna know what I think?" Daniela nodded, desperate for some advice. "I think it's high time you moved the fuck on from Lip," stated Mandy.
Having finished with her tables, she handed the spray bottle over before walking away, leaving Daniela even more conflicted than before.
/
Night had fallen by the time Daniela arrived outside the Gallagher house. She wiped a knuckle over her nose and sucked in a long, heavy breath as she eyed the place. The whole journey there she had been mentally preparing herself for this moment; going over what she would say and what she would do. Yet, now that she was finally there, none of it seemed like enough.
After what seemed like forever, Daniela shook her shoulders before walking up the steps and through the door.
The house was relatively quiet though she could hear the sounds of shuffling feet upstairs as well as things moving around in the kitchen. Seeing it as a good place to start, she walked through the lounge until she was stood under the arch. However, instead of seeing Ian, she found Lip.
"Oh," she said to herself.
Hearing a voice, he twisted his neck around before spotting her. The tray in his hands lowered slightly as he turned to face her fully.
"Hey," he said, voice softening.
"Hi," replied Daniela before averting her eyes to glance around the room. "Uh, is Ian here?"
Lip shook his head and went back to getting dinner ready. "Nah, he's at work."
Daniela cursed internally at the reminder. "Right, I forgot about that." Debbie had mentioned that Ian had a job at some strip club.
Swallowing, her hands fidgeted with the sleeve of her sweater while Lip slipped a few trays of food into the oven. Twisting her mouth, Daniela rocked back and forth on her heels, unsure of what to say or do. Luckily, Lip beat her to it.
"I'm surprised it took you so long to come by."
Daniela glanced sideways at him and took a few steps forward. "What do you mean?"
Closing the oven door with his foot, Lip shrugged and moved to the fridge. "Well, it's just that he's been back for a week and you haven't been around since."
"Yeah…" Daniela trailed off hesitantly as she took a seat at the kitchen counter. "I guess I've just been trying to figure out what to say to him."
Lip nodded before shifting to stand across from her, his palms resting on the counter as he observed her with a nod of his chin. "This have something to do with what happened between you two?"
Daniela nodded, her gaze falling to her laced fingers. "I guess I can tell you now that he's back home," she said before pursing her lips. Glancing up at him, she saw that he was watching her intently. "A few months ago he turned up at my dorm and he stayed with me for a little while."
"And then?"
She shook her head slightly and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "He just got a little out of control and then I said some things- some, really bad things and he left, so," she finished with a shrug.
"Out of control?" Frowned Lip. "How?"
Daniela pursed her lips as she tried to find the right word to describe it. "Uh… He was just, always on all the time. It was like I couldn't get him to calm down before he was running around doing whatever he wanted."
Lip listened to her intently, bobbing his head along in silent agreement. He waited until she was finished before releasing a long breath.
"And, uh, when he was staying with you, did he have all these crazy hair-brained ideas?"
Daniela's brow creased when she noticed that he seemed to have already witnessed this behavior with Ian. "Yeah," she nodded. "That sounds like him."
Her eyes fell to her laced fingers one again, a feeling of sadness and guilt washing over her once more. She was exhausted. Not just from her cramming for the midterms- which were coming up within the week- but also from the drama with Ian. She didn't want to be at odds with him anymore. She just wanted to fix things and move on like she had been trying to do all year.
She released a sigh and leaned back in her chair, her fingers tapping against the counter. Lip had returned to getting dinner ready giving her a glimpse into how he had been since they had parted ways. Like he had told her, he seemed to be coping, even doing well considering the circumstances.
"Where's Fiona?" She found herself asking to help fill the silence.
Lip spared her a glance as he checked the temperature on the oven. "She's out job hunting but she should be home soon. Her curfew is almost up."
On cue, they heard the front door open followed by pained groans. Craning her neck, Daniela watched as a breathless Fiona collapsed on the couch clutching her bare feet. She winced slightly at seeing the snow and developing blisters.
Lip grabbed a beer from the fridge before going to speak with her leaving Daniela sitting at the counter. She blew out a long breath as her eyes flicked around the place, planning her exit. She didn't want to hang around for too long knowing that Ian wouldn't be home anytime soon.
As she contemplated heading out the back door, she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Turning her attention to them, a smile fell onto her face at the sight of Debbie.
"Hey, Debs," she greeted warmly, swiveling in her chair to return the girl's hug.
Stepping back, Debbie grinned at her. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"
"It was a last minute thing," waved off Daniela. "I came to see Ian but I forgot he had work."
Hearing voices in the kitchen, Fiona twisted her neck to see the two of them standing there.
"El!" She yelled, happy to see her after so long. "Hey!"
Daniela moved out into the lounge followed by Debbie who plopped down beside her sister on the sofa.
"Hey, Fi. How're things going?"
"I got a couple leads on jobs," announced Fiona with pride, her eyes looking over Daniela in appraisal. "God, I haven't seen you in so long. How's college?"
Daniela shrugged, shifting the coat on her arm. "It's all new but I'm enjoying it."
"Good," nodded Fiona, her brow raising in question. "Are you staying for dinner?"
"I was actually just about to head off," said Daniela, raising the coat slung over her arm for further indication.
"You don't have to go," she heard Lip say, forgetting he was even there. He sat watching her from his spot on the coffee table.
Debbie nodded in agreement. "Yeah, stay for dinner."
Daniela swayed on her heels, debating what to do. All eyes were on her, waiting. After what seemed like forever, she managed a small smile and nodded.
"Sure." She turned her attention to Lip. "Did you need some help?"
"Yeah, could you just grab these and put them on the table?" Asked Lip, heading back into the kitchen with the two girls following him.
Daniela located some tea towels before opening the oven and taking out a tray. She carried it over to the table while Lip grabbed the other one and Debbie got to work setting their places.
"Debs, could you get Liam?" Said Lip as they finished up. The girl nodded and headed upstairs to retrieve him.
As Daniela set some cups down on the table, Debbie returned with both of her brothers and slid the youngest into his highchair. Heading past, Daniela paused to kiss his soft cheek before tickling his neck, causing him to squeal with laughter.
Grinning, she righted herself and absently glanced to the stove to find Lip watching her. She offered him a small smile and took her seat at the table. Debbie planted herself to her left while Lip took the other side with Carl across from her.
"Fiona's not eating?" She frowned at Lip and he simply shrugged. He then leaned back in his chair so that he could see into the lounge.
"Hey, Fi!" He called. "You eating?"
Fiona sat up on the sofa and shook her head. "I'm just going to lay here for a bit and rest my feet."
Shrugging once again, Lip turned back to Daniela who did the same before they began to dig in. Lip cut into his meatloaf and glanced at his brother to see that he hadn't made a move to eat yet.
"Everything alright, bud?"
"How do you know you're in love with someone?" Asked Carl, his shoulders sagging against the back of the chair. The older two frowned at him having not expected that.
"When you want to rip someone's heart out and stomp on it till it's soup," answered Debbie angrily causing Daniela's eyebrows to raise though a part of her found herself agreeing with the younger girl.
/
To say that dinner was a little awkward was an understatement. It seemed like Daniela and Lip couldn't decide on how friendly and open they were going to be around each other leading to strange fluctuations with most coming on Daniela's part any time things strayed too close to feeling familiar.
Thankfully, she had Debbie to keep the conversation flowing as she blathered on about her ex-boyfriend. Throughout her retelling, Daniela chanced a sideways look at Lip who was trying to figure out what to say to his sister.
"Ugh, I'm so done with him," spat Debbie in distaste. She folded her arms over her chest and pouted, not touching the food on her plate.
"Don't worry about it," said Daniela, trying her best to seem reassuring. "You'll find someone else."
The younger girl thought over her words for a moment and nodded to herself. "Speaking of," she began, picking up her cutlery. "How's Chris?"
The question caused Daniela to pause, a piece of meatloaf halfway to her mouth. To her right, she noticed Lip slow his eating. She pursed her lips as she addressed Debbie.
"Uh, he's good."
"Any more movie nights coming up?" Carried on Debbie, not sensing the awkward tension beginning to build. "That last one was really fun."
Daniela pushed a spring roll around her plate and shrugged lightly. "I'm not sure but I'll ask the next time I see him."
She could feel Lip's eyes watching her. She could even see them in her peripheral vision, yet she opted to ignore them as well as the churning in her belly. Instead, she cleared her throat and pushed the conversation along to what had Carl so down in the dumps.
/
After dinner was finished, Daniela stayed back to help clean up. The kids had been ushered upstairs by Lip, and Fiona had long since made her way to bed, having been too exhausted to eat with them.
Soap suds stuck to her hands as she washed the dishes, her mind wandering off so far that she didn't realize Lip had joined her until she heard his voice.
"Debbie and Carl are brushing their teeth and Liam is finally asleep," he announced proudly.
Daniela smiled back, her attention remaining on the sink. "You've really got this whole thing down, huh?"
Lip shrugged it off though she could tell just by glancing over at him that he appreciated her words. She was sure it was overwhelming- hell, she didn't think she'd even be able to handle it if she were in his position.
"How's Liam been?" She asked, glancing sideways at Lip as he picked up a dry dishcloth.
"It's hard to know for sure how majorly the coke affected him but so far he's good."
"And you've been taking him with you to college?" Debbie had mentioned it in passing, saying that Lip still didn't trust Fiona completely.
"Yeah," he nodded. "Amanda watches him during my classes. She's been a big help."
Daniela quirked an eyebrow at the foreign name before innocently asking, "Amanda?"
Out the corner of her eye, she saw him pause having noticed his slip. Placing the cloth down, he picked up the stack of plates and carried them over to the cupboard.
"Yeah. She's um-" he frowned to himself. "I don't really know what to call her." Daniela nodded, her lips pursed as he continued, trying to distance the conversation. "I mean, like I said, she's been looking after Liam when I have class."
"She sounds great," replied Daniela, her voice slightly hollow as she turned back to the dishes, hating the sting that surfaced in the pit of her stomach.
"Well, what about you?" Asked Lip, causing her to spare him a questioning glance. "That guy Debbie brought up."
"Oh." She placed a plate onto the rack and stared down at the cooling water. "He's uh…I don't really know," she said, mirroring his words.
Lip's mouth quirked upwards and he nodded. Pushing himself away from the counter, he grabbed his cloth again and continued drying the dishes. Instead of returning to his position, however, he stayed put beside Daniela. Shoulders brushed against one another causing a faint blush to appear on her cheeks though she tried to wish it away.
They worked in a semi-comfortable silence for a few minutes with only the sound of dishes clunking around. On more than one occasion she felt his eyes flick to her, seeming to want to say something but each time deciding against it.
Once the dishes were done and the leftovers were wrapped and packed away, Daniela wiped everything down and grabbed her jacket.
"I better get going," she said while she pulled it on. Lip nodded as he watched from the counter as she headed to the kitchen door but paused to offer him a smile. "Thanks for dinner. It was nice seeing everyone again."
"Yeah, no problem," he said, slinging the cloth over his shoulder. "I'll let Ian know you stopped by."
"I'd appreciate that. Goodnight," she said with one last parting smile. Lip raised a hand in a wave before she closed the door behind her.
As she made her way home, she ignored the pounding in her chest whilst also trying not to dwell too much on the new person in Lip's life.
/
The next day, Daniela returned to the house. She stood in front of the gate and peered up at the window to Ian's room. Squinting, she typed out a message before hitting send.
Can you meet me outside?
Her foot tapped against the cold ground anxiously as she saw his fiery hair come into view. Ian stared out onto the ground where she stood nervously. Meeting his gaze, Daniela raised a hand in greeting; her lips pressed together. Ian observed her for another moment before disappearing and, not a minute later, stepped out onto the front porch.
"Hey," said Daniela lamely, her hands shoving into her pockets.
Ian nodded in greeting. "Hey."
Daniela's forehead creased in guilt as she took a step forward. "I'm sorry," she began earnestly. "Like, really sorry. I should have never said those things to you, especially after everything you did for me when my mom died." Her eyes stayed on his, analyzing his reaction.
He seemed relatively impassive about the whole thing and she wasn't sure if that was good or bad. For a drawn out moment, he didn't say anything and instead scuffed his socked-foot against the deck.
"What took you so long?" He asked, his voice low before meeting her eyes once again.
Daniela stuttered slightly, not expecting the humor in his voice. "I was afraid you hated me."
At her admission, Ian tsked before making his way towards her.
"I could never hate you," he said, now only a foot away. "Besides, I wasn't exactly the easiest person to deal with at the time and I know you were only trying to do what you thought was right."
"So you forgive me?" Asked Daniela hopefully.
A small smile formed on Ian's face as he nudged her shoulder gently. "Only if you forgive me."
"Of course I forgive you," she responded; her vision becoming bleary.
"Good." Not a second later did Daniela wait before the two of them flung themselves at the other.
"God, do you know how difficult it's been not talking to you for so long?" Joked Daniela against his neck, her voice thick with tears.
"I know right," he agreed; his hands coming to wipe at Daniela's remaining tears. She registered his excited expression as he tugged her over to the steps. "There's so much I have to tell you. I'm guessing Debbie told you about my new job."
Daniela tilted her head. "She mentioned a few things."
"I met so many great people there. People with all these great ideas and see, I've been writing all these thoughts down in a journal, you know? Even the littlest thing. I'm telling you, El, I'm on to bigger and better things."
She laughed lightly, a smile growing on her face. "I'm glad you're happy."
Ian's smile didn't lessen as he continued on. "Lip told me you stopped by last night."
"Yeah," confirmed Daniela, glancing at her hands for a second. "I came to see you but then Debbie talked me into staying for dinner."
Ian nodded but looked far from done with the conversation.
"Do you two talk?" He asked, surveying her closely.
"Who? Me and Debs?"
"No," he frowned. "You and Lip."
Daniela shrugged, unsure. "I don't know, sometimes." Noticing his look, she was quick to shut down whatever ideas were flying into his brain. "It's nothing. We would just talk about Liam and how he was doing."
"If you say so," said Ian, his eyebrow quirking.
"You sound like Simon," she groaned before rolling her eyes. "Nothing happened."
Ian chuckled before nudging his shoulder against hers."I know. I'm just kidding."
Grinning down at her, Ian wound his arm through hers as she leaned her head against his shoulder.
"I really did miss you," said Daniela. At last, things felt right again and she mentally promised herself that she would never allow the two of them to get into a similar situation ever again.
Ian grabbed her hand and laced their fingers together before giving it a comforting squeeze as his head shifted to rest against hers.
"I missed you too."
I had so much fun writing Lip and Daniela together again and I hope you liked it too. I'm halfway through writing the next two chapters so fingers crossed I can get them out to you soon.
Special thanks to Hapsgurl80, funwithstark, RHatch89, 13teen, LolaCat, and angelicedg for reviewing!
REVIEW!
