A:N/ Here's the next installment. Please let me know what you all think! The reviews were starting off so well you guys! 20, 13, but then there were only 8 for the last chapter. If it surpasses 10 reviews you get the chapter early. Otherwise, Wednesday of every week (unless otherwise noted). But I know this one came two weeks after the last chapter, which I apologize for. I had a ton of stuff going on with my niece.
Tessa walked into the Gallagher house without knocking. She walked into the kitchen where everyone was getting ready for the day.
Lip looked up and gave her a weird look. "What are you doing here?" He asked.
"I'm here to bring Debbie and Carl to school." She placed a bag on the table in front of Debbie.
"Yum! Thanks Tessa." Debbie pulled out her egg and cheese sandwich Tessa had picked up for her and she tossed one that had extra bacon on it to Carl.
"Sweet," Carl said, ripping into his sandwich.
"Here, Lip." Debbie placed a sandwich in front of Lip.
Lip opened his mouth to say something but Tessa cut him off. "Eat it or throw it away. I really don't care. I'm not arguing with you."
She pursed her lips and looked over at Debbie. "You guys can eat that in the car," she said.
"What's that smell?" Debbie asked, scrunching up her nose.
"Oh, guess. Frank! Stop smoking weed!" He huffed in annoyance.
Debbie rushed over to Liam. "Carl, get Liam away from the stairs."
Her younger brother listened and pushed Liam in his highchair towards Lip, who was packing school lunches for his siblings.
"Look, I'll take Liam to school today. I'll grab us some dinner while I'm there," Lip said.
Tessa internally rolled her eyes. She didn't see how Lip was going to be able to attend classes and watch Liam at the same time. Not to mention he had his work-study. She would have offered to take Liam but she knew he would only shoot her down.
"What about co-co van? Sheila made it once," Carl suggested.
"Yeah, well, I hope you remember what it tasted like. It's probably the last time you're gonna have it in your life." Lip continued to try to get things together.
Tessa stood off to the side with her arms folded across her chest as she leaned against a wall. She couldn't help but to wonder if Lip would ever really accept her help.
"We could order pizza," Carl tried. "Fiona used to let us do that when she's working late."
"No, it's too expensive," Lip quickly answered.
"Tessa, will you get us pizza for dinner?" Carl asked, hoping she would cave.
"No, Carl! We aren't getting pizza for dinner. All right? We're back to generics from food four less and dumpster diving," he snapped before Tessa could give Carl an answer.
Tessa looked over to see their new sibling and her child walk into the kitchen. "I could buy a few groceries," she offered.
Debbie glared at Sammi. "Yeah, that'd be nice since we have two extra mouths to feed," Debbie snapped.
Lip pulled Liam closer to him and away from the new Gallagher. "Yeah, well, why don't you just tell Frank to lay off the weed?"
Sammi frowned. "He's very sick," she insisted. "Worse than ever."
"Yeah, well, we're very out on our asses if the social worker makes a surprise visit and the place smells like Snoop Dogg," Lip pointed out.
"Yeah," Debbie added. "The only reason we're letting you stay here is to take care of Frank."
"I don't think you guys understand," Sammi tried.
"Oh? Understand?" Debbie asked.
Tessa had to bite her lip to keep from smirking. Sammi was not going to win this battle, especially against Lip.
"We've lived with that narcissistic asshole our whole lives."
"Now you're trying to play big sis?" Debbie asked.
"You're lucky we don't bounce you to the curb," Lip snapped.
"Yeah," Carl piped up.
"So if we say no more weed," Lip started.
"We mean no more weed," Debbie finished.
Tessa saw Sammi purse her lips in frustration. "Okay," she said nodding her head. "Fine."
"Good. Now listen, everybody, remember that when the social worker does show up – "
"And this includes you too, Chuckie, so listen up," Debbie cut him off.
Lip made a pointed look at his nephew. "You text me immediately. Okay? I'll hop on the L."
"What about Fiona?" Carl asked.
"I've got her covered, all right? I just need you to stall the social worker till I can get back."
"Are we understood?" Debbie asked, glaring at her new sister and nephew.
"Yeah," Carl agreed.
Lip looked around at everyone, except Tessa, to make sure they all understood what he had been saying.
"Yes," Sammi agreed, nodding her head.
"Oh, that's my ride!" Debbie perked up.
Tessa furrowed her eyebrows and stood up from leaning against the wall. "What happened to needing me to bring you?" Tessa asked.
"Oh uh, sorry. I have to stop by Sheila's to water her plants…while she's out of town." Debbie was trying to rush away and she knew that she was lying. No doubt it was Matt outside.
"Deb," Lip tried to get his sister's attention.
"Oh! And I won't be home for dinner."
"Why? Where are you going?" Lip asked.
"Friends!" She yelled over her shoulder before disappearing out the door.
"Come on Carl," Tessa said, ruffling his hair as he grabbed his winter coat and followed his sister outside. "I'll meet you by the car. I'll be out in a minute."
She waited for Lip to finish talking to Sammi before she spoke up. "What can I do to help today? And before you start your bullshit, I told you last night that I am not going anywhere. So you can just tell me what you need done, or I can come up with my own ideas. But I will definitely buy Carl his pizza if that's the way you want to approach this," she said to Lip, hoping a little humor might help the situation.
It didn't.
"God, you are relentless, aren't you? I told you, we don't need help," he responded.
"And I told you that just because you are stubborn as fuck doesn't mean you have things handled. What is Liam going to do during your classes? During your work study? Who is going to make sure that Debs does her homework after school? Check that Carl doesn't burn the house to the ground. Frank is even more useless than usual, and I don't expect your newest family additions are going to be much help after how this morning went. I have the day off from work, and I am here to help, Lip. Just accept that." Tessa was starting to feel like a broken record with these tirades.
"Fine," he snapped. "You know what, Tessa? Be here when they get home from school. Keep an eye out for the social worker. I can't stop you," Lip said, grabbing Liam as he headed towards the door to leave for school. He paused for a moment before leaving, seemingly running things over in his mind.
"But don't buy Carl a fucking pizza," he said before leaving the house.
Tessa smiled to herself in triumph. She knew that in his own way, Lip just thanked her for being willing to help. She knew that this was a sign that things might start working out without her having to beg to help.
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After dropping Carl off at school, Tessa went home and did some cleaning around her apartment before she headed back to the Gallagher house. She tried her best to clean up the house while Lip was out and Fiona was at her hearing.
She knew that if she tried cleaning while Lip was there, he wouldn't let her get anything done.
Tessa was just finishing up the kitchen when she heard someone walk through the door. She poked her head out to see who it was, and smiled softly when she saw it was Fiona.
She couldn't say she wasn't disappointed in Fiona; she was. She had agreed with Lip one hundred percent and was having a hard time accepting the excuse that it was an accident. Tessa just couldn't accept that, especially after Liam almost dying.
"What are you doing here?" Fiona asked.
"Oh uh. I'm trying to clean up for when the social worker comes by. No idea when it will be but, I figured it would be best to try to keep the house in order," she said. "I didn't know what was going to happen at your hearing today, so I wasn't sure if you would be home."
The Judge could have revoked Fiona's bail, but it appeared that hadn't happened.
"The Prosecutor wants five years minimum," Fiona whispered.
Tessa walked forward and hugged Fiona. She felt like she hadn't seen her friend in forever. She had no idea what Fiona had been doing with coke in the first place, and she knew she had to ask what had happened.
"I can't go to jail," Fiona sobbed into Tessa's shoulder.
Tessa rubbed Fiona's back in a soothing manner and just allowed Fiona to cry. When Fiona finally pulled away and wiped at her eyes. "My lawyer said I might be able to get three years probation. But I could also be looking at two to three months of jail time."
"That's a lot better than five years, Fi." Tessa shrugged her shoulders, not really sure what else she could say.
"I know," she said. "But it was an accident," Fiona insisted.
Tessa didn't agree or say anything. She didn't know what she could say.
"How about you try to focus on making sure everything is perfect for when the social worker shows up. You know, get your mind off of things?" Tessa suggested.
Fiona nodded. "I'm gonna take a shower first," she said.
Nodding her head, Tessa watched Fiona disappear upstairs. Sighing, she turned back to her previous task and continued to finish it.
She spent the next few hours cleaning the house and after her shower, Fiona had come down to help her. But Tessa had gotten a lot accomplished since she had shown up after spending a little time at home.
She just didn't want Lip to have to worry about the house.
Carl came home from school and she sensed that he wasn't in a great mood. "What's up?" Tessa asked, sitting down on the couch next to him.
"Is Liam retarded now?" Carl asked.
Tessa scoffed and shook her head. "No. Why would you ask that?"
He shrugged. "That's what some kids were saying today at school."
Tessa reached over and brushed her fingers across Carl's forehead. "So I'm guessing this is where this bruise is from?" She asked.
Carl started to smile. "I broke some kid's nose."
Tessa laughed even though she shouldn't have. "Well I'll deny this if you tell anyone, but good job." She grinned and Carl returned the gesture.
"Do some homework and I'll make you something to eat," she said. "Have you heard from Debbie?"
The redhead hadn't shown up after school and while Tessa wasn't terribly worried, she knew Lip would be concerned when he came home.
"Not coming home for dinner, remember?" Carl asked. He pulled a worksheet out of his backpack and began to work on his homework, much to Tessa's delight.
"Right." She pulled out her phone and texted Debbie, asking how her day had went and telling her that if she needed her to pick her up later, to just text or call her. Tucking her phone back into her back pocket she walked into the kitchen and began making a PB&J for Carl.
A few hours later, Tessa heard the front door open and she heard Lip's voice. She walked out of the kitchen and saw that Carl was asking Lip the same question about Liam being retarded.
Rolling her eyes, she crossed her arms across her chest and leaned against the door frame that led into the living room.
"Kids at school said he's retarded," Carl said.
Lip furrowed his eyebrows. "Oh, fuck them. He's not retarded." Lip handed Liam to Carl. "Go clean up," he said. Carl didn't move and Lip sighed. "Clean up."
Carl took Liam upstairs and Lip grabbed the black trash bag and walked past Tessa and into the kitchen.
"I already fed Carl dinner. But I'm sure he'll eat again," Tessa said with a small chuckle.
Lip looked over at Tessa. "What did you feed him?" He asked, knowing there wasn't much of anything for food in the house.
"I took him to the diner. I had to pick up some tips anyway."
He nodded. "I might have killed you if you had taken him for pizza," he said.
Tessa chuckled and was glad to see that Lip had a small smile on his face as well.
"Not gonna lie…I considered it." She nodded her head as she attempted to hide the smirk on her face.
There was an empty silence between the two, until Tessa decided to speak up. "If you want to go clean up I'll put all this food away."
He nodded and pursed his lips. "Uh, yeah. Thanks. Just leave the burgers and buns out."
He disappeared up the stairs and Tessa began to dig through the garbage bag. She put things away in the fridge and cabinets, but left the burgers and buns out like Lip had asked.
A few minutes later, Lip came downstairs. She took the large garbage bag and folded it up (as neatly as a garbage bag could be folded). "Do you want to keep this for anything?" Tessa asked.
"Did anything spill inside it?" He asked.
She shook her head. "No it's clean. I got any crumbs out."
He shrugged. "I guess so. Just leave it over there." He gestured towards the area that held their laundry baskets.
Tessa put the bag in the corner and she turned to look at him. "Well, I guess I'll get going. You've got Fiona back so she can help with the other kids." Tessa didn't really want to leave but she didn't want to over-stay her welcome. Besides, there was really no valid reason as to why she should still be there. She knew Lip wouldn't let Fiona take care of Liam, but she could at least do things to help Carl and Debbie.
Lip didn't say anything for a moment. He wanted her to stay, but he didn't know how to make that happen without him verbally asking for help. "Okay," he said once he had pulled himself out of his thoughts.
"I know you won't, but let me know if you need anything." She offered him a small smile before she put her coat on to leave the house.
He nodded but she didn't see it since her back was turned.
Tessa left the house and went home. She wanted to take a hot shower and crawl into bed. She had no idea what was in store for the Gallagher family, but she knew she would do whatever it was she could do in order to help.
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Several hours later, Tessa had taken a hot shower, dried her hair, and gotten into a super comfy hoodie that almost hit her knees. She walked into the kitchen to grab herself a glass of water before she planned on crawling into bed.
She managed to take one sip of her water before she heard someone knocking at her door. Furrowing her eyebrows, she glanced at the clock to see how late it was. She had no idea who it could be. Maybe it was Ian, finally coming home. Or Debbie. She would have even guessed Sam but she hadn't spoken to her friend in a few days because of everything that had been going on.
Tessa walked over to the door and looked through the peephole to see whom it was. She frowned when she saw it was Lip holding Liam. She had not expected to see him on the other side of her door.
Before opening the door she tugged her hoodie down further, trying to cover up where the piece of clothing would allow it. She had underwear on underneath, but she still felt a little weird considering it was Lip and how they had been towards one another the past few days.
"I uh…got into a fight with Fiona and I can't stay there until I cool down. Do you mind if we crash here tonight?" He asked. "We'll be out in the morning since I have classes."
Unable to say anything, Tessa merely nodded and stood back so that Lip could enter her apartment.
Lip dropped his backpack and a small bag on the floor near her couch. He put Liam on the ground and began to take off his coat and hat, then proceeded to take off his own coat and gloves.
"I'll grab some blankets," she mumbled before she turned and went down the hallway to grab some blankets. She opened her closet and pulled out some blankets and a spare pillow she had.
She walked back into the living room and let the blankets fall on the ground. She began to take the cushions off the couch so she could unfold the bed hidden beneath.
"Can you move the table?" She asked, motioning towards the coffee table that was only a foot or two away from the couch.
"Yeah," he said before walking around the couch and pushing the table as close to the TV as he could. It was enough room for the bed to unfold, but left no room to walk in front of it.
She began to unfold the bed and Lip walked to the other side and helped her finish the task. There was already a clean fitted sheet on the bed, which Tessa tried to keep there in case something like this were to happen.
Lip reached down and grabbed the blankets and pillow, tossing them on the bed but not moving to spread the blankets out.
"Help yourself to whatever. You know where everything is," she said. She really wanted to ask about the fight he had with Fiona, but knew it was too late to get into something like that. Besides, he had left the house to escape Fiona and the fight, not show up at Tessa's just to relive it.
"Night," she said before she turned to go down the hallway to her room.
"Uh, thanks," Lip added, sounding unsure about his words. "For, you know."
Tessa turned and offered him a small smile, nodding her head. "Don't worry about it."
She walked into her room, closed the door, and got into her bed. She ran a hand through her hair and stared at the ceiling. Her mind was far too crazy to settle down so she could sleep. She could feel the exhaustion creeping into her body, making her eyelids heavy. Caving into her needs, she closed her eyes and tried to let sleep overcome her.
A:N/ Don't forget to leave amazing reviews! Remember – I love knowing what you guys think or want to see happen. But please note, I DO have something planned for Lip finding out about the abortion. Unfortunately, it will not happen in season four.