Chapter 46.

This chapter turned out a lot longer than I thought it would be.

Disclaimer: I do not own Shameless.


Daniela stood on the curb of Simon's house watching as he and his family packed up the car. To the left of her was Mandy and Ian, the latter of which had come to join her in seeing the couple and his family off.

"Are you worried about meeting the family?" Asked Daniela, her eyes remaining on Simon carrying a bag.

"A little," admitted Mandy, appearing uncharacteristically nervous. "I mean, it's taken this long for his mom to warm up to me. Who knows what the rest of them will think."

"All they're going to see is Simon's amazing girlfriend."

"Yeah," agreed Ian. "They don't know anything about you or your old life. It's the perfect scenario."

Mandy didn't seem so sure. "Yeah, until they start asking questions."

"Don't worry too much about it. Everything will be fine," assured Daniela with a small comforting smile.

At that moment, Simon made his way over, wearing an excited grin. He wasted no time slinging an arm around Mandy's waist and pressed a kiss to the side of her head. The girl smiled; her nerves ebbing away slightly.

"The car's loaded and ready to go when you are," he told her to which she nodded.

"I'm ready now."

Sighing, Daniela's arms fell to her sides as Simon stepped towards her. She smiled at him and welcomed his warm hug.

"Have a safe trip."

"We will. Don't miss me too much," he joked in her ear before pulling away.

"Unlikely," she replied with an eye roll. "I'll miss Mandy more. Do you know how boring work is gonna be now?"

Mandy grinned as the other girl pulled her in for a hug that felt entirely normal.

She had softened around the edges since dating Simon to the point where she was a lot happier in general. Both Ian and Daniela were just glad that she had found someone to take care of her properly.

"Keep an eye on him for me, okay?" Said Mandy, jutting her chin in the direction of Ian who was saying goodbye to Simon.

Daniela nodded back. "Of course. You two have a good time."

"Alright, kids!" Called out Simon's father. He waved to them from the driver's door. "Let's hit the road!"

With one last smile, the pair made their way to the car and hopped in. Ian and Daniela remained on the side of the street and waved at the car as it drove off. Once they had disappeared from sight, Ian slung an arm around her shoulders before they made their way home.

/

"Happy father's day," grinned Daniela a few days later.

Across from her behind a wall of glass, Lawrence smiled back. "Thank you, baby girl. How've you been?"

"Good. I'm off school for the Summer so I'll probably be able to visit you a bit more," she announced happily. Living on campus, and college life in general, had kept her busy, meaning that she was often only able to make phone calls to the prison. "Jake mentioned that you have a parole hearing coming up."

Lawrence nodded but kept his face neutral. "Yeah, but it's not until October. I've still got a while to go."

"But you've been on your best behavior. You don't get mad at the inmates or yell at the officers," reasoned Daniela, her voice growing more impassioned and hurried as she continued. "And I talked to my friend Mandy- you know, as in Milkovich. Her dad got caught shiving one of the other inmates so it doesn't look like he's getting out anytime soon so I doubt the Commissioner will be able to say no."

"It's happened before," responded Lawrence evenly causing his daughter to sigh.

"This is different. You've changed. That much is obvious to anyone who knew you before this," she stressed. "Just…don't give up, okay? You're all I have left."

At that, her father inhaled sharply. For a second Daniela regretted what she had said but seeing the reaction it caused, she was glad. Lawrence, understanding what she was insinuating, leaned back in his chair and stared through the glass at her sad expression.

"Okay," he relented with a determined nod. "For you and your brother."

Slowly, a small grin broke out onto Daniela's face. "Thank you. I love you, dad."

"I love you too, Dani. Now put your brother on," he requested with a chuckle. More than happy to, the girl rose from her seat and handed the phone over to Jakob.

/

They were walking out of the prison when her phone started ringing. Whipping it out, Daniela felt the worry build in her chest when she saw who it was.

"Mickey, what's wrong?" She asked instantly, fearing the worst. "Is it Ian?"

"He's gone postal," answered Mickey bluntly. "You need to get your ass down here."

"Wha-? Okay, it's gonna take me a little while but just, keep him contained for now."

"I'm fuckin' trying."

"Shit," cursed Daniela. Hanging up, she wiped a piece of hair behind her ear.

Jakob, picking up on her stress, frowned as he turned the ignition. "Everything alright?"

Daniela shook her head. "Could you drop me off at Mickey's house?"

"Sure thing. Something wrong with Ian?"

"Apparently," she sighed, blowing out a long breath.

"I'll try and beat the traffic."

Daniela nodded and leaned her back against the headrest. Closing her eyes, she prayed that it was nothing too difficult to handle.

/

"Through here," said Mickey as soon as he opened the door. Daniela wasted no time following behind him into the lounge where Ian was pacing around.

His fists were clenched so tight that even from where she stood, she could see his knuckles turning white. His flaming hair was tousled like he had been raking his hands through it nonsensically and the look of pure rage on his face was enough to alert Daniela that she should take things easy.

"Ian," she said calmly enough to gain his attention. His wild eyes snapped to hers causing her to pause for a brief second. "What happened?"

"Fucking assholes. I'm gonna burn their fucking church to the ground with all the fucking homophobic trash inside," he hissed whilst making gestures with his hands.

Wide-eyed, Daniela chanced a glance at Mickey who was simply biting his nail. "How long has he been like this?"

The Milkovich shrugged. "We went to this service for one of his army buddies when these religious freaks turned up with picket signs yelling about how fags should burn in hell."

"Jesus." Covering her eyes for a moment, Daniela heaved a sigh. "We need to calm him down before he actually hurts someone."

"No shit, what do you think I've been trying to do for the past hour?"

Daniela rolled her eyes and watched as Ian began rounding up Mickey's brothers to join him in his mission to take down the religious zealots. She watched in thinly-veiled horror as Ian went straight over to the cabinet she knew hosted all of the guns.

"We need fully automatic weapons, grenades," listed Ian before coming to a stop in front of Mickey. His face was deathly serious as he leaned in closer. "You got any armor piercing ammo?"

"Does it look like I have any fucking armor piercing ammo?" Quipped Mickey.

Shaking his head, Ian returned to the cabinet and began strapping weapons onto his body.

"What the fuck is wrong with him?" Asked Mickey.

Daniela quirked an eyebrow back at him. "You're really asking that question?" She watched Mickey shake his head and began chewing on her nails. "Should we call Fiona?"

"You really think she can help?"

"She's his sister. She's dealt with this before," reasoned Daniela, knowing that it would be the wisest thing to do. Still, Mickey seemed unconvinced - or simply just unwilling to let Ian out of his sight in fear that he might be shipped off to the psych ward.

"No. We take care of this ourselves." Turning his head, he called out to Ian. "Yo, Private Ryan! I got a plan. Normally I would get Mandy to do it but since she's fucked off to Denver with her boyfriend, it's gonna have to be you," he said, resting his attention onto Daniela.

She shifted uncomfortably. "What is it?"

"You need to go down to their church and loosen the Pastor up enough so that he'll leave with you."

"You want me to whore myself out?" Fumed Daniela, clearly not loving the plan.

Mickey waved his hands around to calm her down. "It's not like you're doing anything. All you have to do is dress like a good little Christian girl and get him back here. We'll take care of the rest."

Daniela tapped her foot; her hands placed on her hips as she weighed out her options. The thought of even pretending to be interested in a waste-of-space Pastor was disgusting in itself but on the other hand, it seemed marginally better than Ian's plan.

"And you think it'll help him?" She questioned in a hushed voice.

"Well, it's better than his idea to burn down a fucking church and commit mass murder," answered Mickey, effectively selling her on the idea.

"Alright," she nodded. "I have to go through Mandy's clothes. She should have something."

Leaving the couple behind, she made her way into Mandy's room to begin rifling through some of her more conservative looks. By the end of it, she managed to pull together a look that she thought would work. She had even managed to find a necklace with a small cross to help seal the deal.

"You think this'll work?" She asked, stepping back into the lounge where Mickey had managed to finally get Ian to sit down.

The Milkovich passed a quick look over her outfit before nodding. "Looks good enough." Reaching for something on the coffee table, he handed out a small baggie of crushed powder. "Here, take this."

"What is it?" She frowned, her mouth curling slightly as she gave it a small shake.

"Relax, it's Diazepam." At her raised brow, Mickey rolled his eyes. "Just get him a drink and tip this in there. When his mind starts getting all foggy, you bring him back here."

Daniela narrowed her eyes at the thought of how long the journey would be. "I have to lug him all the way back?"

"Fine," said Mickey with another eye roll. "Text me when you're ready and I'll send Iggy to pick you up. We good?"

"Yeah, we're good."

Slipping on her white headband, Daniela fixed her hair and stepped out of the house to go and seduce a Pastor.

/

Daniela was passing under one of the bridges when she noticed a familiar figure rinsing his head under a water tap. Slowing to a stop, she tilted her head to get a better look at him.

"Lip?"

Hearing his name, he switched the tap off and shook the soaked hair out of his eyes so that he could see her standing there watching him curiously. His eyes were instantly drawn to her new look.

"Oh, hey."

"You look wrecked," she observed though secretly she didn't mind the wet shirt and toned arms on display. "Did you just get off work?"

"Yeah," he nodded while wiping his forehead with the back of his hand. "Day one of just lugging huge chunks of debris around."

Daniela tutted and placed her hands on her hips. "That sucks."

Finding his eyes drawn to her, Lip silently looked her over from head to toe, taking in the new look appreciatively.

"Nice outfit," he commented after a long moment. His eyes returned to her face to see Daniela smile back.

"Thanks," she curtsied mockingly. "I borrowed it from Mandy. You think it says 'good Christian girl' enough to seduce a creepy old Pastor?"

"I think it'd work on anyone who isn't blind," answered Lip as he rubbed a hand over the back of his neck, unable to stop looking at her.

Daniela laughed, a small blush filling her cheeks. "Perfect."

"You have a thing for geriatrics now?"

"What can I say? The dentures and receding hairlines really get me going nowadays," she joked causing Lip to chuckle under his breath. "I'm just helping Ian out with something."

"Right. How's he doing?"

"He's good - for the most part. But Mickey and I are handling things," she assured. "As a matter of fact, I better get going."

Lip nodded and raked his hand through his wet hair. "Okay, well uh, if you ever need anything just let me know."

"Will do," she said, already walking away.

"Hey, El!" Called out Lip. He waited until she spun around, a brow raised in silent question. He grinned back. "You look really pretty."

A smile broke out onto Daniela's face as she shook her head at him. Turning around, she continued to grin down at her feet.

Behind her, Lip continued to watch her for a few more moments before turning in the other direction and heading home.

/

At last, Daniela came to stand outside the front door of where the church was congregating. She peeped through the glass window for a moment to help gather her courage before stepping inside.

Her eyes scoured the room in search of the guy Ian had described. It didn't take her long to pick him out and even the sight of him caused her skin to crawl once she thought about what she was about to do.

She knew how this was going to end. She just needed to find a way in. As her eyes traveled lower, she saw that he was holding a plastic cup of punch.

Bingo.

Taking one final second to make sure her outfit was barely passable, she casually made her way towards the Pastor who was leaning by the podium reading over some notes. Ducking her head, she pretended not to see the man before bumping into him.

"You've got to be kidding me!" He fumed, catching the attention of a few nearby people. The remnants of his punch were splashed all over his crisp shirt leaving his face almost as red as the stain forming.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" As she talked, she grabbed a bunch of nearby napkins and began wiping him down."

"You ought to be more careful," sniped the Pastor.

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Daniela dropped her hand closer to his belt to wipe at the two drops that had made it that far. She felt him stiffen under her touch as his angry little stammers began to die down while she apologized profusely.

"I'm so sorry, Pastor. Truly. It's just that I'm such a mess these days."

"It's okay my child," he responded calmly. "The shirt can be washed."

"Oh but I feel terrible." Daniela looked up at him through hooded eyelashes, making sure to lather on the charm. "Please, let me get you another drink. I won't be too long."

She made sure to let her hand linger on his chest for just a second too long before turning to get him another beverage.

At the refreshments table, Daniela got to work pouring the Pastor another cup. She glanced around then pulled out the baggie Mickey had given her. Quickly, she tipped the powder in before stirring it with her finger.

Putting on a sheepish smile, Daniela headed back over to the man who had now taken a seat.

"Here you go."

"Thank you," accepted the Pastor as she moved to sit beside him. She waited for him to take a drink but instead he held it to the side. "I don't remember your face. Are you a new member to our convent?"

"Oh yes," nodded Daniela feverishly.

"Interesting. And what made you think that this would be the best place for you?"

"Well, if I'm being honest, it all started with a ton of mistakes and poor choices made by myself and those around me."

Intrigued, the Pastor shifted in his chair to better face her. "Would you care to divulge?"

"The people that I keep around me are not the best," she admitted timidly. "The boy who I thought to be my best friend enjoys the company of other men while another is a known harlot." By the look on his face, Daniela knew that she had him.

"It's unnatural," said the Pastor, shaking his head.

"Well, I agree! That's why I'm here. To connect with like-minded individuals."

The Pastor smiled and placed a hand over hers. Daniela's eyes were steel as she looked down at it but instead of shoving him off, she simply gave him an encouraging smile and continued with her story.

"My mother wasted herself away on smoking and pills while my murderous father rots away in jail where he belongs." She shook her head, feigning overwhelming emotion. "It just hurts so much, Pastor. Why couldn't he be there for me? Why weren't we enough for him?"

A choked sob ripped out of her throat as she bowed her head; fake tears making their way down her cheeks.

"You are more than enough," said the Pastor, using her chin to lift her head back up. In what he most likely thought was a touching sentiment but ultimately was just disgusting, he tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. Once again, Daniela had to fight with all that she had not to visibly cringe.

She wiped at the tears. "Thank you, Pastor. One silver lining from all of this is that it brought me to you," she professed impishly. Wanting to hurry things along, she raised her cup in a toast.

"To new beginnings."

The Pastor wore a smile as he clinked her cup against his. "To new beginnings."

Daniela watched over the rim of her cup as he took a long swig of his punch. She wasn't sure how concentrated Mickey had made the powder but she just hoped that it would kick in fast. The sooner she could get him back to the house and drop this creepy act, the better.

The two continued their conversation with Daniela revealing more and more 'shameful' acts that she was guilty of committing all the while wondering when the drugs were going to take effect. At last, after what felt like forever, she noticed the man visibly relax as well as the cloud coming over his vision.

Grateful, she sent a quick text to Mickey before placing a hand on his chest.

"Pastor," she began innocently. "Do you think we could take this conversation somewhere more...private?"

The man's head was swaying but he managed to nod, seemingly eager. She ignored the disgust brewing in her chest and instead rose from the seat to help him up. His arm hung low around her waist as she carried him out and Daniela prayed that they didn't go wandering.

She was only outside for a few minutes before she saw a car park right next to them with Iggy in the front seat.

"Did they work?" He asked as she struggled to get him into the back.

"Like a charm," she answered, grunting as she got the Pastor to lay down on the tattered backseat.

Shivering in disgust, she climbed into the front seat.

"Alright, let's get him back to the house," smirked Iggy as he pulled away from the curb.

/

"Just up the steps," said Daniela as she heaved the old man through the door. Iggy didn't join her, instead choosing to take off as soon as she had pulled him out of the car.

The house was dark when she entered. She chanced a quick glance down the hallway to see Mickey, Ian and a few of his friends peeking through the crack of the door.

Returning her attention to the Pastor, she maneuvered him over to the sofa. "Have a seat, Pastor."

"No, no, no. We shouldn't do this," he slurred, shaking his head.

Daniela continued to play coy as she slid down beside him. "But surely the Lord put me in front of you for a reason. Why deny it?"

"It's still a sin of the flesh." The man wiped sluggishly at his forehead where beads of sweat had begun to build up. Daniela leaned forward, trying her best to appear interested.

"What if you closed your eyes," she began, pushing his shoulders back against the sofa. The man grunted beneath her touch and stared at her with wide eyes. "And relaxed. That way you can't be held accountable for what I've been wanting to do all night."

The Pastor looked as if he were about to go into cardiac arrest as she flashed him a sly grin. He didn't get time to stutter out, and by that point, Daniela wasn't sure he would be able to.

"Close your eyes, Pastor," she muttered while brushing her fingers over his eyelids to shut them. "You and God shouldn't have to see this."

Taking her advice, the old man tilted his head back and let out a relaxed sigh. Having a lot less fun, Daniela got to work undoing his belt. She balked as she slipped it open and looked skyward.

"Dios me perdone."

Her lips curled and her head turned to the side at the sight of it laying there ready for her. Hurriedly, she gestured for Ian's friend to come over and take her place.

As soon as he was beside her on the ground, she shot off to a nearby armchair. Pulling out her phone, she half-cringed and half-smiled while watching him to go to work.

The Pastor was none the wiser to what was going on as he drew in sharp breaths.

"You have such soft hands," he moaned causing Daniela to have to bite her lip to stop herself from bursting into laughter. "Such soft lips."

Not long after, the rest of the group began trickling into the lounge where they all crowded around the scene with their phones and cameras at the ready. Ian grinned devilishly as he moved into a better position. They waited until the Pastor's muscles constricted in pleasure before the flashes went off.

At the sound of ensuing laughter, his eyes snapped open to see five faces staring back at him.

"That didn't take long," joked Mickey with a smirk.

"What is this?" Yelled the Pastor as his head whipped around to Ian who saddled up beside him behind the couch.

"That's a good one," said Ian while looking at his phone.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm tweeting, Facebook too." His fingers tapped the screen for another moment before leaning over to show the Pastor. "And done. So what are you gonna tell the press, Pastor? That you thought you were being blown by a teenage girl, or by God himself?"

Realizing the tough situation that he had managed to get himself into, the old man's eyes clenched shut. Across from him, Daniela rubbed her forearm, happy that she could finally drop the act.

/

After successfully blackmailing the Pastor, Daniela quickly took off. Her encounter had left her skin feeling dirty. A hot shower was needed as soon as possible to wash off the feel of his grimy hands all over her.

She had become unsettled by it all. It wasn't until she was halfway home that the disgust dawned on her. It was all so strange. Never before had she had to do something like that and never again would she.

It didn't take long for the first tear to fall, followed by an avalanche more. She wiped at them furiously, feeling her nose become blocked with mucus. She wanted nothing more than to go home, rip off her clothes before sending the rest of her night scrubbing herself clean.

The only silver lining that kept her from truly loathing herself was the reminder that she had managed to help Ian out and that, without the help of his family, her and Mickey had taken care of him. It might not have been the best option, but it had worked and that was enough for her.

The annoying hiccups and sniffles were still present as she walked by the Gallagher house. She paid no attention to it, instead choosing to continue on home. Unfortunately for her, a figure sitting on the steps caught onto the sounds and chased after her.

"Hey!"

Frowning, Daniela whirled around to see Lip making his way towards her. She cursed under her breath and spun her head back around so that he didn't see her crying.

"You okay?" He asked, now right behind her. Daniela wiped at her nose with the sleeve of Mandy's cardigan that was slung over her forearm. Lip saw this and instantly stepped around her, making sure to grab a hold of her shoulders so that she couldn't walk away.

"What's wrong?" He tried once more.

Daniela shrugged it off while keeping her eyes firmly on his chest. "Nothing."

She heard him sigh and the grip on her shoulders lessened as his hands slid down to the sides of her arms. "Come on, El. I can see that you're crying."

Sniffling, Daniela raised her eyes to meet his. "Let's just say that I have a newfound respect for Mandy."

"Does this have something to do with that guy?" She watched his face turn deadly serious. "Did he do something to you?"

Daniela shook her head, feeling more tears build. "No. It was just overwhelming, that's all." Lip's eyes roamed her face, his worry evident but Daniela just flashed him a small smile. "I'll be okay, Lip. Really."

He scrutinized her for a few more moments until he seemed somewhat satisfied. Dropping his hands from her arms, she noticed him flex one as well as the small hiss of pain.

"What's wrong with your hand?"

Much like her, he shrugged it off. "It's just the job."

She frowned before gently taking hold of his wrist to raise it. She twisted it to try and see better in the dimming light. At the sight of bloody cuts and bruising, she grimaced.

"Did you treat them?"

Lip shook his head, his eyes remaining on her.

"Hm, you need to get some antiseptic on that straight away. And some ointment," she added as an afterthought. "I think I have some at my place."

Keeping a hold of his wrist, Daniela lead him towards her house. Lip wore a small smile as she tugged him inside. She wasted no time tearing the braided white headband off and heading up the stairs.

She didn't relinquish her hold on him until they were in the bathroom and gestured for Lip to take a seat on the edge of the tub. He did as she said and watched as she dampened a clean towel to wash his hands. Once she was done, she reached for the bottle of antiseptic and pressed it against another section of the towel.

Before applying it, she paused briefly to give him a look of caution. "I won't lie. It's gonna hurt like a bitch."

Lip simply nodded for her to go ahead. She did so tentatively, dabbing the cut skin with the soaked towel. Every time Lip hissed under his breath, she would slow down even more.

She was cleaning a particularly deep wound when he let out a low groan and instinctively wrapped his free hand around her forearm causing Daniela to still.

"Sorry," she apologized with a wince.

Lip shook his head and tried to push down the pain. "It's fine. Keep going."

With a nod, Daniela continued, this time being extra careful. To keep his mind off of the pain, she decided to distract him with a bit of conversation.

"Are you really gonna work on the demo sites all Summer?" She asked causing Lip to shrug.

"I don't really have any other options."

They both knew it was true. There were hardly any opportunities for jobs on the South Side that were free from back-breaking labor or broke a couple of laws.

"So, are you gonna tell me what really happened tonight?" He began, watching her expression shift.

Glancing up from his hands, Daniela's eyes locked with his until she felt her resolve wither.

"It was nothing," she answered before tilting her head in contradiction. "Or, at least I thought it was at the time. Like I told you before, I was dressed like this to help Ian with something. Basically, I had to seduce this Pastor that had pissed him off. And throughout it all, it just felt wrong. I thought I would be okay with it but the way that he leered at me and the way that his hand would run down my arm whenever he tried to comfort me...it just made me feel dirty."

Pausing, she licked the corner of her mouth. "It wasn't until I was making my way home that it dawned on me that this is something Mandy does - or did - all the time. And I couldn't fathom how she got through it. I mean, I always knew she was a strong person - even when her and I weren't on good terms - but to go through that and somehow manage to shrug it off at the end of the day; I don't understand it."

Having finished, Daniela reverted back into silence. All the while, Lip continued to eye her thoughtfully. She saw this and instantly pushed the subject along.

"Anyways, we managed to help Ian out which is all that matters at the end of the day."

"It's not all that matters," responded Lip. He frowned at her before going on. "You shouldn't feel the need to do something you're not comfortable with just to help someone else."

Daniela pursed her lips and grabbed the untreated hand on her forearm. Lip didn't waste any time using the other one to grab her left forearm. "Well, it was either that or Ian burn down an entire church."

"What?" Lip's eyes narrowed. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because Mickey and I thought we could handle it ourselves," said Daniela, lifting her chin defiantly. "And we did."

Lip didn't look ready to let it go so easily but the sudden sound of his phone going off effectively ended the conversation. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled it out, giving Daniela an excuse to return to work on his hands. As she did so, she peeked at the screen to see Amanda's name flashing at the top.

"Is that Amanda?" She asked lightly.

"Yeah." Lip typed out a quick response before sliding the phone back into his pocket. "She's back home in Miami."

"I didn't know she was from Miami."

"Yeah," he laughed a little. "Her parents have been driving her crazy so she's trying to convince me to go visit her for the weekend."

Finished with the antiseptic, Daniela grabbed the ointment that would help to speed up the healing process. "Well, why don't you?"

"I don't know." He shrugged and looked up at her only to have their eyes lock. "I already have commitments here."

Her eyes narrowed slightly, still never wavering from his. She didn't allow herself to ponder too long on what those commitments were as she cleared her throat.

"Change hands," she ordered.

Instead of simply pulling it away like he had done before, Lip let his hand slide down her forearm so that it rested on her own. Daniela ignored the warmth in her belly as she actually had to pick it up and flip it over.

She could feel his eyes drilling into her but she simply continued, trying her hardest not to let it distract her. She knew that he was just playing around.

As soon as she was done, her hands retreated from his. Lip closed them into a loose fist as she stood up to wash her hands and dry them with a towel.

"Here," she said while offering out the ointment and antiseptic. "Take these. It looks like you'll need them more than I do."

He eyed them for a moment before accepting them. "Thanks."

"No worries."

Daniela wrapped the used towel up into a messy ball and held it against her chest. She leaned against the sink and wiped some hair out of her eyes. Without her headband, the loose strands kept falling around her face.

"You know you really did look pretty today," said Lip with another silent appraisal of her appearance.

Daniela simply scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, okay. I think the heat's getting to you."

Lip grinned back at her as the two found themselves once again silently staring at each other. Catching herself, Daniela pushed off of the sink.

"I should probably have a shower," she began. "After today, I just want to curl up in bed and have a very long sleep."

Lip nodded and stood up. "Right, and I should get back home."

Daniela's head bobbed before she walked him down to the front door.

"Thanks again," he said, stepping out onto the porch.

"It was nothing," waved off Daniela. "Thank you for letting me vent."

"No problem," grinned Lip, his face turning more serious. "I'm always here if you need to."

Daniela smiled back and nodded once more. Closing the door behind him, she blew out a long breath and headed back upstairs for a shower.


Things are happening guys!

It was so much fun writing Daniela into a Mandy situation, even though it made my skin crawl. Let me know what you thought.

Special thanks to littlerosebudbroke, 13teen, RHatch89, SweetRiceball20, Naruhina1519, and angelicedg for reviewing!

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