Chapter 57.
Sorry for the delay, I had some assignments to do…but welcome to season six!
Disclaimer: I do not own Shameless
Four months later
"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit."
Daniela pressed the home button of her phone, seeing the "9:22" flash on the screen. She was late. Huffing, she picked up the pace as her legs carried her swiftly across campus.
She had made the decision to stay at Lip's dorm for the night, sold on the fact that her various alarms would ensure she arrived on time. Clearly, she was wrong. It had taken her longer than usual to get to sleep - a common occurrence recently, and not one she was fond of - and so by the time she had, it was going to take a lot to wake her up.
Thankfully for her, Lip had been kind enough to realize her mistake and got her up and out of bed leaving her with barely enough time to dash back to her campus.
She had an assessment and it was a very, very important assessment- one she had been studying and practicing for all week. If she happened to be late (which was looking more and more like a possibility) she would get an instant fail.
Her chest tightened as her lungs demanded she stop running so that they could perform their necessary actions. Luckily for them, she was getting closer to her destination. She eyed the doors of her building in relief and a small smile broke out on her face at the thought that she might actually make it with four minutes to spare.
Then her stomach turned.
Suddenly possessed by the new sensation, Daniela's eyes widened and she made a hasty detour to the side of the nearest building where she spotted a bin. She didn't think twice before craning over and throwing up.
Grimacing, she took a step back and wiped her mouth.
"Gross."
Running clearly wasn't for her.
She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and, with one last look of disgust, hightailed it out and towards her building. Crashing through the doors, Daniela came to a breathless stop. Around her, classmates eyed her oddly and she resisted the urge to glare back.
She checked her phone to see she had one golden minute left and, with a smile and quick fix of her hair, walked in.
/
Five hours later, Daniela finished her last class of the day and got on a train. She eventually found herself staring up at an auto-repair shop and headed inside. Her eyes flicked around the place seeing half-a-dozen guys fixing up bikes and engines. Spotting one man in particular, she smiled and headed over.
He was loading on a front-wheel when he spotted her. His chin lifted in greeting.
"Hey, Daniela."
"Hey, Brad," she replied warmly, watching him work. "How's Cami?"
"She's doing good." Brad nodded, tearing his eyes away from the bike long enough to look at her. "How'd your test go?"
"Aced it." Daniela's wide grin was quickly reciprocated.
"Nice!" Brad jutted his head to the storage area. "Your dad's in the back looking for a part."
"Okay, thanks."
Nodding one last time, he went back to his work leaving Daniela to go and look for her dad. It didn't take her very long as he was where Brad had told her he would be. A small grin appeared when she saw him. She was still getting used to the feeling of having him at arm's length whenever she wanted.
Hearing footsteps, Lawrence's head turned to take in his daughter standing there.
"Dani!" Needing no further words, she rushed forward to hug him. He returned it fully, placing a kiss on the top of her head. "I didn't know you were coming over today."
Daniela shrugged, looking up at him. "My class was let out early so I thought I'd come by and have a late lunch with you."
Her dad nodded and wiped the grease off of his hands with a rag.
"Well good. I was gettin a little hungry." Taking notice of the bag in her hands, he nodded towards it. "What'd you bring me?"
Daniela's smile widened and she pulled out two meatball subs. Her dad's eyes lit up before they eagerly made their way outside to the back of the shop. They settled down on the two seats and dove into their meal.
Before she did, however, Daniela's eyes caught onto a dog hanging nearby. "Whose dog is that?"
Lawrence looked out and shrugged. "No idea. He's been hanging around the shop these last few days."
Frowning, Daniela let out a low whistle causing the dog to come towards her. There was no sign of a collar so she couldn't get an idea about who his possible owner could be. Picking out a meatball, she tossed it to him, watching his tongue lick at his nose to get the sauce.
"Have you heard from Jake?" She asked, finally taking a bite of her sub. Across from her, her dad ate with much more ferocity, no doubt starved from his long day at work.
He nodded, taking a moment to swallow his bite before speaking. "Yeah, he stopped by with Katherine the other day."
Her brother had made the complete move to his longtime girlfriend's house a few weeks prior. The move had been delayed somewhat with the appearance of their grandmother and - later - the news that their dad's parole had been approved. Jakob hadn't wanted to leave him to be in the house by himself and so had put off moving for a little while until Lawrence eventually kicked him out.
Now he and Katherine lived a few neighborhoods over but Daniela had been assured by him that they made regular visits to their father to make sure he was adjusting okay. They knew it wouldn't be easy, not only in the sense that he would be returning to his home without his wife to greet him but also in the societal sense. A lot had changed since Lawrence entered prison more than a decade ago. The technology was completely different and so was their neighborhood.
The first week of his release had been dedicated to Daniela getting her father up to speed on why his favorite family-run deli was now a trendy coffee shop for hipsters and why everyone was suddenly glued to their phones. Her father had chided her throughout, stating that he hadn't been living in a cave for thirteen years.
She had brushed it off, still ecstatic that he was really there with her. Finally, she could reach out and touch him or call him whenever she wanted to for however long she needed to. She knew that her father felt the same way which was the only reason he let her tutor him for the week. The hardest part, however, was when she had to hang up or go back to school at the end of the weekend. It broke her every time she would leave him at the house alone and she didn't relish the idea of him stewing too deep in any dark thoughts it may have caused.
"Are you okay though?" She asked after a minute of silence. Her fingers picked at the lettuce in her sub. "I mean…being at the house alone."
Lawrence shrugged. "It's not the greatest but it could be a hell of a lot worse."
Nodding, she looked at her father. "You know, I could come by more and stay there? College is only a half-hour on the train…"
"Dani, no." The man shook his head. "No, you don't have to do that. I'm okay. I'm home and thanks to Brad and my PO, I've got a job." He gestured to the bike shop where had been working for almost two months. "I'm happy."
Daniela didn't quite believe him but knew not to push the subject. Their relationship was a thousand times better than what it had ever been but she knew things could sour if she was too pushy. Luckily for the two of them, the feeling of her phone vibrating against her thigh drew her attention away.
"Sorry, it's Lip," she said, reading it.
"Go ahead."
Her eyes skimmed over the text and Lawrence watched her brow raise in (what he assumed to be) shock.
"Everything good?" He asked.
Daniela glanced up from her phone. "Oh, yeah. Lip's little brother got let out of juvie early so they're having a welcome back party for him." Suddenly getting an idea, she tilted her head. "You know, I don't have class until the afternoon tomorrow, I could swing by the house afterward if you want-"
"Dani, Dani, it's okay." The man laughed and shook his head. "I told you I'm okay." Having finished his sub, he crumpled up the paper and pushed himself out of his chair. "Thank you for lunch but I gotta get back to work."
Daniela also rose from her seat, accepting his hug.
"You have a good night," he said to which she nodded.
"You too." Pulling away, she grabbed her bag off the ground and watched her dad head back in. "Love you!"
Her dad lifted a hand into the air. "Love you too!"
/
Daniela was stood in the kitchen at the Gallagher's house later that evening. After visiting her dad, she had stopped off at her house to shower and change her clothes before walking to Carl's "Welcome Back" party. Ian and Liam were the only ones there when she arrived along with the man of the hour.
At the sight of him, her eyes had widened and she had to take a step back to take in his new look. Carl was happy to see her, not hesitating to give her a hug. She had visited him once with Lip while he was still in juvie but that had been months ago. He had grown a foot taller and his voice had dropped ten octaves.
After getting over her initial shock at his new cornrows, she had headed into the kitchen where Ian was hanging out. He had brought her up to date on work - which she knew he absolutely hated - as well as Svetlana paying him to go see Mickey.
"How was it?" She asked, sipping on a beer.
Ian shrugged from his seat at the table. "It was fine. He tattooed my name on his chest."
Daniela's brow raised. "He did?"
"He got the spelling wrong but yeah."
She couldn't help her amused smile at the thought of it and took another drink. After Ian had come back from his trip with Monica, she had been shocked to learn that he had ended things with Mickey. For some reason, she had the idea that they were actually going to last.
Mickey getting arrested directly after said break up hadn't been great and she knew that he was a sensitive subject around Ian. Her best friend had made tremendous progress since his last mental break but she could see he was unhappy. Still, the words he had uttered to her as they sat out the front of his house lingered in her mind and she resisted the urge to coddle him.
Pushing away from the counter, she crossed the short distance to the fridge. Lip and Fiona had yet to return from the supermarket and she was feeling peckish. Seeing a plastic container, she reached for it.
Peeling back the lid, she gave it a curious sniff before gagging.
"Jesus, when was the last time you cleaned out this fridge?" She asked, sealing it up again.
Ian looked at the container in her hand and frowned. "I got that today, what are you talking about?"
"Well, whoever gave it to you is trying to poison you."
"Let me see." She handed it over with a grimace and watched him sniff it. There was no sudden change on Ian's face except for a look of confusion. "It smells fine."
"You're crazy." Wanting to prove it to him, she took another whiff; the pungent smell of the stewed beef causing her to recoil in disgust. She closed the lid and placed it back in the fridge, wanting it nowhere near her.
Ian, meanwhile, sipped on his beer- his first for the night. Daniela had been keeping count. Her friend's eyes watched as she yawned and stretched her arms out.
"Tired?" He asked to which she nodded.
"I haven't been getting much sleep lately."
"Lip?"
Daniela's eyes narrowed at his joke. She shook her head in amusement.
"No…I don't know what it is," she said. Her mouth pinched. "I've just been restless."
"I could sneak you one of my downers," he suggested with a grin. "They'll put you right to sleep."
"Ha-ha," smiled Daniela. "No thanks."
Ian shrugged, his grin remaining as the back door opened behind him. The pair watched as Fiona stepped inside followed by Lip. The latter was carrying a box that she assumed housed the cake for the evening. Dropping it down on the counter, he made his way towards her.
"Hey," he said before greeting her with a kiss. She smiled against his mouth before he pulled away.
"How did it go?" She asked, referring to the cake.
"They were sold out of their 'congratulations' cakes so we had to settle for a quinceanera one instead."
At that, Daniela laughed, leaning her head forward to get a better look at it. As she did, Carl came down the stairs to greet his brother.
"Jesus, what the fuck happened to your head?" Asked Lip, his brow raising at the sight of cornrows. Daniela snorted, having wondered the same thing when she saw him.
Carl swatted Lip's hands away and raised his chin proudly. "My boys hooked me up 'fore I got out the pen."
Behind him, Fiona, Ian, and Daniela all shared a look.
"Alright, Slim. Go head in the lounge while we get this setup," said Fiona, a small laugh bubbling out of her throat. She shook her head at his back and moved to unbox the cake and set the candles up.
As she did, Ian left to go and sit in the lounge leaving her with Lip. He grinned at the sight of her and reached around her waist to pull her body into his. She let him and accepted his kiss.
"How was your day?" He asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
Daniela was glad that he was holding her or she was sure her legs would've given out.
"Good. I passed my test." At that, Lip's brow raised proudly.
"That's my girl."
Daniela's smile lingered. "And then I went to see my dad."
"How is he?"
Lip had met her father a grand total of three times since he got out. Daniela had panicked during all of them but thankfully, things had gone off without a hitch. Of course, her father was incredibly protective and put up the tough guy front but Lip had taken it in stride. When they were alone afterward, however, he had admitted that he had been silently shitting himself the whole time much to Daniela's delight.
"He's good. Me and Jake are still worried about him being by himself at the house."
"Your dad's one of the scariest fuckers I've ever met," said Lip causing her to laugh. "Seriously. But if you think about it, he might actually enjoy the silence after being surrounded by tons of dudes for years."
Daniela hadn't thought of it that way. Her dad had never been a man of words and didn't enjoy crowded spaces, preferring instead to be by himself if he could.
"Yeah, I guess." Sighing, she tilted her head. "How was your day?"
"It was okay," shrugged Lip. "Youens was drunk again so I ended up teaching for the first half of the lesson. Then some kid complained about the grade I gave him on his clearly plagiarised work. I gave him an extension and now Youens thinks I should consider teaching."
Daniela's brow raised. "Now there's an idea."
Lip shook his head anyway, adjusting his hold on her. "It's not for me."
At the sound of the door opening again, the couple looked to see Kev and V come in. The man carried a case of beer and some cheap wine to help celebrate.
"Hey!" Said V, giving them all a quick embrace. "Where's Carl?"
"Watching soft porn with Frank," answered Fiona, gesturing her head to the sofa. V's face contorted to one of suspicion and she side-eyed the living room. Her attention returned to her best friend who finished lighting the candles and carefully picked up the cake.
The others let her go ahead first before following.
"For he's a jolly good fellow, for he's a jolly good fellow, for he's a jolly good fellow..." the group's voices trailed off awkwardly at the fact that none of them knew the next line.
"Which nobody can deny," said Frank, waving them along. The others repeated him, their cheery smiles still plastered on their faces.
Fiona set the cake down on the table and watched her brother's reaction to it before he quickly blew out the candles. They all clapped at that and his sister got to work serving it up.
"So, Carl," began Kev, a sly smirk sliding onto his face. "Lot of kids in there having to take it up the ass to survive?"
At his question, Daniela snorted. The man's wife was quick to scold him but he figured he was just asking what they all had been thinking. Carl seemed unfazed by the question and got up at the sound of someone knocking on the door.
Lip's arm hung loosely around her waist and he pressed a kiss to the side of her head as Fiona handed her a slice of cake. She tucked into it eagerly but halted at the sight of Carl's friend. Everyone in the room fell silent as Carl introduced them to Nick, a friend from juvie.
"Holy shit," said Frank, mirroring all of their reactions.
"Aight, I'll show you around the crib later," said Carl, heading back to the door. "Let's hit up the boys first."
Fiona frowned. "Carl?"
Her brother stopped to look back at her. "Oh. Yeah, thanks for the party. Good seeing you all. Great to be home."
The room was silent as the door closed behind him.
"Well, I guess he won't mind if I eat his eggs," said Kev as he reached for the plate.
"That was...interesting," muttered Daniela under her breath.
Lip laughed behind her. "Somehow I'm not surprised."
She grinned, leaning her body back against his. His head fell into the crook of her neck and she felt him kiss her shoulder.
Sean managed to seize the opportunity to remind Fiona of the date they had originally planned for. The woman, still reeling from Carl's sudden departure, shrugged and left to grab her jacket.
"You know," began Lip quietly. "We could always get out of here too."
Daniela turned her head over her shoulder to meet his coy stare. Her head tilted and she felt herself smile.
"Sure," she nodded.
Suddenly motivated, Lip got to saying his farewells to everybody quickly. Daniela did the same, pausing to kiss Ian on the cheek and wish him a good day at work tomorrow.
/
They had barely made it through the door of his dorm room before he started to take her clothes off. Daniela had obliged willingly and pulled his body into hers. Their breathing was ragged as Lip collapsed into the sheets.
"I love you," he said breathless. His eyes lingered on the ceiling.
Beside him, Daniela turned her head, a tired smile falling over her features. Every time he said it, the words felt strange. They elicited a warm stir in her belly that she hadn't felt since, well, him.
"I love you too."
She curled her body against his, feeling the soft rise and fall of his bare chest against her cheek. Her eyes drifted shut as his arm pulled her closer. She felt his hand trail up her arm, the feeling sending a warm shiver down her spine, before coming to rest in her hair. Lip's fingers twirled through the strands, relaxing her even more.
She could feel herself drifting to sleep and succumbed to it peacefully.
.
Her sleep, like all the nights that week, was restless. She found herself waking up every two hours and cursed mentally at the idea that she was definitely going to be feeling it during the day.
When she woke again at seven, she knew she wouldn't be getting back to sleep and grudgingly decided to get up. This was not what she had planned for the day. Instead, she had hoped to sleep in till late in the morning to catch up on the hours she had lost tossing and turning over her assessment.
Sighing, Daniela carefully extracted herself from Lip whose arm had occupied its usual position around her waist. The feat wasn't as difficult as one would think given how heavy of a sleeper he was. She observed him for a moment; a small smile forming at the sight of him.
Sitting up, she pulled on her shorts and a loose shirt. Her hands came up to tie her hair into a messy bun and moved to stand up. However, when she did, she felt an uneasiness swirl in her stomach.
Daniela frowned, not used to the sensation, when her eyes widened suddenly. A hand shot up to cover her mouth as she headed out of the room and down the hall to the bathrooms.
She had barely managed to push the stall door open before collapsing to her knees. Vomit spilled from her mouth and into the toilet as her stomach contracted painfully. Her breathing was ragged and her eyes stung with tears as she emptied out whatever bile she had.
"What the fuck…" she breathed shakily.
Her head leaned back against the stall as she tried to regain control of the air in her lungs. The back of her hand swiped across her mouth, collecting any residual puke. She tried to think back to what she had eaten in the last 24 hours that would cause her to vomit but came up short.
Maybe it was the sub, she thought. She would have to text her dad about it later.
It was odd. She very rarely puked- a fact she held in high regard- and yet she had done so twice in the span of one day. Maybe she was sick? She had been feeling a little under the weather for the last week but had simply chalked it up to her period- wait.
Daniela's breath stilled.
She felt her heart begin to pound faster as she did the math in her head. Her eyes widened.
Oh shit.
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Lots to dissect there as well as a few familiar faces! I'm excited to hear your thoughts.
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