Chapter 56.
I'll be honest I haven't proof-read this properly so just ignore any mistakes.
Disclaimer: I do not own Shameless.
Daniela stood outside her house watching as her brother helped Uncle Eric put their bags into the trunk of their car. Her grandmother was beside her doing the same. When the men were done, Jakob signaled to them with a simple thumbs up.
Turning to her grandmother, Daniela eyed her sadly.
"Are you sure you have to leave?" She asked causing the woman to smile.
"So now you want me to stay, huh?" Teresa's sarcasm was evident but they both laughed nevertheless. She made a small noise before pulling Daniela into her arms; her hand stroking the back of her head. "Don't you worry, cariño…I'll be back. Or maybe you could come to see me."
Daniela pulled back with a small frown. "In Miami?"
Teresa nodded as if it were the obvious solution. "Si…You have a whole family out there who can't wait to meet you."
The realization that what her grandmother was saying was true felt crazy to Daniela. Up until then, her whole family had consisted of her parents, her brother and her grandmother. Plus the Gallaghers of course. But now dozens of new faces and names were waiting to be added.
"Hopefully it won't be this difficult," she joked causing her grandmother to smile.
Taking her hands, she squeezed them tightly.
"You really are your mother's daughter," she said as a sheen of tears coated her eyes. "And I am so proud of you. Even if you speak before you think." Teresa eyed her granddaughter knowingly causing their grins to widen simultaneously.
The presence of her uncle caused the pair to pull apart. He smiled warmly at Daniela as she moved forward to hug him goodbye. It was clear that he understood her reasoning for how she had acted but held none of it against her. She was glad.
Once the goodbyes were finished and Teresa kissed the two of them on the cheek, they got into their car. Daniela watched sadly as her uncle double-checked that they had everything and started up the engine. Feeling an arm go over her shoulder, she turned to look at her brother.
"Don't forget what we talked about," said Teresa, her eyes on her granddaughter. "Next summer, you come to Miami, si?"
Smiling, Daniela nodded. "Okay."
The woman's grin widened and she nodded too. With a few more waves and Teresa blowing kisses at the pair of them, the car pulled away from the curb leaving Daniela and Jakob to watch.
/
As sad as she was to see her family leave for Miami, Daniela wasted no time making her way to her next destination. Getting through security had been a little difficult given that she wasn't technically related to him but after a few minutes of clearance- and an appearance from Lip- she was allowed through.
Despite his assurances, Daniela had wanted to see Ian for herself. She had to.
There had been hold-ups with his medical tests and so he had been kept in the facility for another day. This angered his family who had already supplied the doctors with his files from his voluntary hospitalization. The sheer reminder of the night caused a cold shudder to run down Daniela's spine.
As they entered the visitation room, she took a moment to take it all in. There weren't many people there, in fact, it almost seemed dead. Lip remained at the door while she made her way along the row of seats before finally reaching Ian.
At the sight of her, his eyes brightened somewhat and she smiled.
"Hey," she said softly.
"Hey…" replied Ian. He didn't think she'd come and see him. He had quietly hoped she wouldn't. He didn't want her to see him like this, in that place. His eyes flicked towards the door before he cleared his throat, suddenly timid. "You didn't have to come."
Daniela took note of the fact that he didn't maintain eye contact for long.
"I wanted to." Resting her forearm on the bench, she tilted her head and kept the phone pressed to her ear. "How're you holdin' up?"
Ian shrugged. "I'm okay." There was a long pause and he chanced a glance at his friend. "Have you heard from Mickey?"
Daniela sighed. She knew this question was gonna come up.
"Yeah," she nodded. "Yeah, I have."
Ian chewed on the skin around his nail. "Is he gonna come see me?"
She didn't know.
"I think so." Her feeble answer made Ian's eyes drop to the bench again. Daniela shifted forward in her seat. "I think it's just hard for him right now, you know - seeing you in here." She tried to soften the blow. "But he'll come around soon. We all will."
Taking in her words, Ian nodded slightly. On the other side of the glass, Daniela heaved a long breath and leaned forward again.
"Ian." She waited until he was looking at her. "We're gonna get you out of here. Fiona said that the results from your tests will be in tomorrow morning. You'll be home soon, okay?" He nodded but it was clear that he wasn't completely convinced. "Okay. I have to go now but I'll be here when you get out."
"Okay."
"I love you."
Daniela watched patiently as Ian adjusted his hold on the phone. She hated seeing him in this position. He looked so different. He was different. But as she saw the emotion flood in her best friend's face at her words, a part of her thought that maybe her Ian was still in there.
"I love you too."
Wiping her wet cheek, Daniela rose from her chair and with one last meaningful at Ian, headed out of the room. She saw Lip waiting for her as soon as she turned the corner. Also spotting her, he pushed off of the wall; his jacket folded over his arms.
"You okay?" He asked, regarding her face carefully.
Daniela simply nodded and accepted the arm that wrapped itself around her side. Lip drew her closer into his body and welcomed it completely. Her fingers laced with his as they headed out of the military facility. It had only been a day but she was already glad to have him back.
Thinking the same, Lip pressed his mouth to her temple. She looked up at him, a small smile growing on her face.
/
The next day, Daniela was heading out of her shift at the diner when she got a call from Lip. The sight of his name on her phone screen had caused a warm shiver up her spine and she answered eagerly. Her mood changed, however, when he told her what had happened.
"Monica?" She fumed, pacing the Gallagher lounge. She was pissed. No, more than pissed.
She was livid.
The Gallaghers had gotten the all-clear to take Ian home only to find that he had already been released by none other than Monica. How she even knew he was arrested was beyond her.
Lip eyed her carefully and when he realized she wasn't going to calm down without some intervention, reached out for her hand. Feeling his touch, she stopped her pacing immediately. Her anger dissipated the moment she locked eyes with him and she released a long breath.
Wordlessly, she collapsed into the cushion beside him. Their hands remained together and Lip traced his thumb across her knuckles; their go-to move when it came to calming each other down.
Across the room, Debbie's eyes narrowed.
"Did I miss something?" She asked, diverting off course for a moment.
Daniela tracked her eyeline to see it rest on their hands. Her eyes shut for a moment. "Oh, right. I forgot."
"You're back together?" The girl did little to hide the pure joy in her voice.
The couple looked at each other, identical smiles on their face.
Lip turned back to his sister. "Uh, yeah… surprise."
Fiona, who had been eavesdropping from the kitchen, made her way to the adjacent armchair.
"About time," she muttered as she fell into it. Popping open her beer bottle, she took a long sip as Debbie continued to berate the pair.
"I can't believe you didn't tell me!"
"In our defense, it's only been two days," said Daniela, hoping that would soften the blow. It seemed to work as the young girl raised her chin. While she tried to maintain a strong front, it was clear to all of them that she was trying not to jump around in excitement.
"Well, I'm glad."
Lip grinned, his arm draping over Daniela's shoulder. "Thanks, Debs."
/
Given that it was still the weekend, Daniela decided that she would stay the night. She was currently upstairs helping to get Liam dressed for bed.
"Arms up," she said, smiling when he did so without question. She made quick work of pulling his shirt over his head and over his stomach. "Okay, time to brush your teeth."
"No!"
"Oh, yes." Not giving him a chance to turn her down again, she rushed forward and scooped him up into her arms. The action caused him to erupt in peals of laughter. Daniela grinned, blowing a raspberry on his cheek as she carried him into the bathroom.
They were finishing up when she spied Lip in the mirror. His face held an inscrutable expression as he watched them. Locking eyes with her, he smiled slightly before collecting Liam and taking him to his bed.
While he put him to sleep, Daniela returned to Lip's room. She collapsed onto the mattress, a wave of exhaustion overtaking her. She wasn't sure how long she laid there for looking up at the ceiling but the feeling of the bed sinking caused her to turn her head.
Lip laid down beside her, mirroring her actions. He could see the knot in her brow and knew what was troubling her.
"You still thinking about Ian?"
Daniela's lips pursed. "I know we've been through this before but I can't help but worry about him."
"It's okay," said Lip, propping himself up on his side. "It's normal."
"How did Monica even know where he was?" Asked Daniela causing him to shrug.
"I don't know. They must've been in contact."
Sighing, the girl dragged a hand over her face and looked at Lip. He was already watching her. Her eyes narrowed back at him.
"What?"
Lip looked her over. "I love you."
Daniela's resounding laugh was instant and she shook her head. He had said it so effortlessly that it still took it by her surprise.
"I'm never gonna get used to hearing you say that." She watched his smirk grow as he moved his face over hers.
"Good. Because you're gonna be hearing it a lot."
She laughed again as his mouth dipped to kiss her collarbone. "Oh really?"
Lip hummed against her skin.
"I love you," he said, moving from her collarbone to her neck. "I love you. I love you." He trailed his kisses across her jaw before coming to a halt above her mouth. Daniela stared up at him, waiting to see what he would do next. He leaned forward with a smile.
"I love you." He whispered the words right before their lips met.
Their bodies melded together as Daniela shifted beneath him. Raising a hand to rest under his jaw, she drew him in further.
/
"Dani…we've been over this a thousand times…"
"Come on, dad. Just once more."
Lawrence's sigh echoed in her ear. "I've already been overthinking this whole thing for the last three months. I know what I'm gonna do and what I'm not gonna do and I know what I'm gonna say. My parole officer has got me answering mock questions every week. I'm ready."
Daniela's teeth fiddled with her lower lip. It had been almost three days since Ian took off with Monica and since then, she had tried to keep her mind off of it. If she didn't, she just wound up angry all over again.
Her dad's phone call had helped. They never got a real chance to talk to each other during their last visitation so she never got to ask him about how things were going with his upcoming parole hearing.
She knew he was nervous. They all were but she wanted to make sure that he was prepared. She was happy that her father was taking it seriously given how hesitant he had been about it when it was set up. He hadn't wanted to get too invested on the off chance that he wouldn't be granted parole. But after the last few weeks and the resurgence of her mother's family into their lives, the man's motivation had increased tenfold.
"Just make sure you come home," she said, her throat tightening.
Lawrence was silent for a moment before his rough yet soothing voice filtered into her ear.
"I promise." Daniela smiled. "I gotta go but I'll call you again before the hearing, alright? I love you, Dani."
"Love you too, dad."
Hearing the line disconnect, Daniela put her phone down on the bed and laid down. She was back in her dorm room and had another hour to spare before her next class. Absently, she wondered what Lip was doing and, as if he could read her mind, she felt her phone vibrate through the covers.
She reached for it blindly and held it out in front of her face.
L: Ian's home
She shot up.
Completely disregarding her microbiology class, she wasted no time grabbing her coat and heading out the door.
.
She arrived outside the house, her lungs aching for air. For some reason, she thought it would be a good idea to run the last four blocks. However, when her eyes landed on Ian, she didn't care.
He was sitting on the front porch when she found him.
At the sound of her approaching footsteps, his head had raised and their eyes locked. He stood up and Daniela let out a meek sigh at the sight of him. He looked like he hadn't slept for days.
Stepping forward, her eyes looked him over to check for any serious signs of damage. The rims of his eyes were red and she wasn't sure if it was sleep deprivation or something else.
The pair hovered in front of each other for one long moment before Daniela flung herself at him. The momentum caused Ian to shift back slightly but he welcomed the hug nevertheless. She felt his head dip into her neck and his arms encircle her.
"How's Monica?" She asked once they finally separated.
Ian's brow rose in humor as he sat back down on the step. Daniela joined him, staying close.
"She's living in a trailer with Walter, her twenty-something meth-dealing shitbag boyfriend so…" he shrugged. "Still Monica."
Daniela's face grew more serious.
"But you're okay?"
Ian nodded, his mouth quirked. "Yeah." He felt her take hold of his hand and watched squeeze it; the action causing him to falter. "Daniela?"
"Yeah?" She responded softly.
"I'm still me," he said. The words felt like a knife in her chest and she watched his face flood with emotion. "Despite everything that's happened, despite…" He didn't finish his sentence. "So you don't have to look at me like something's missing o-or because you think I've changed." Finally, his eyes met hers and she took a moment to register the sheer determination behind them. "I'm still me."
Daniela inhaled sharply, feeling her eyes well up.
She could see it. She could feel that this was her Ian. Maybe not all of him but he was still there.
"I know you are," she nodded, barely managing to get the words out.
Ian let out a breath and his body moved to rest against hers. Daniela kept a tight hold on his hand as her head fell to his shoulder. There was a calm, comfortable silence between the pair where, for that moment, there was a chance that things were going to be okay.
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I wanted to end the season with the friendship that started it all since it's my favorite. Season six is next and it's a little wild.
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