Coffee Shops Unite?

A/N: Hey guys! Thank you all for the reviews as always. They mean so much. Really makes my heart full to see how you've embraced the original characters. Lots of love and more to come.

"Your nose doesn't look too bad." Shiv said, back at work the next morning, standing in the kitchen with Finn who was rolling dough.

"Yeah, it's fine." Finn said, unbothered, "You feeling better?"

"Yeah. Just felt run down." Shiv said.

"Yeah, it was a wild couple of days." Finn said.

"What's with the display board outside? Open-mic night?" She asked.

"Yeah, me and Phil thought it'd be a good idea. Little bit of buzz for the town. They have limited options on Saturday nights." Finn reminded her.

"Yeah, but there's not been one of those in years. Why now?" Shiv asked.

"Why not? You'll come, right?" He asked her.

"I won't have a babysitter." Shiv said.

"Brianna can come. The twins are." Finn said, "The girls across the road are coming. It'll be fun."

"My idea of fun is having a long bath, getting into fresh pjs and lying on the sofa all night with my book and ice-cream." Shiv said, "Not listening to people who think they can sing. I preferred the quiz night."

"Yeah, because you're annoyingly competitive. And way too smart." Finn said, "C'mon. I want you there. It'll be fun to laugh at people, and Brianna will have fun with the twins."

"Maybe." Shiv nodded, "I assume Daryl is going?" She asked calmly.

"He's invited but… I don't know if he'll come." Finn said, "Did he… stop by last night? He mentioned he was going to-"

"Yeah. He apologised for the past few days." Shiv nodded, "Seemed sincere."

"He's been doing better. I know it's only been two days but… I can see the difference. He's talking to someone. He knows he needs some help and avoiding it all will just make it ten times harder." Finn said as Shiv nodded.

"He's not seeing Christina anymore." Shiv added.

"To your relief?" Finn smiled.

"No." Shiv scoffed, "Well… I think we can both agree she's bad news." She said.

"You didn't think there was actually feelings involved, did you?" Finn asked her.

"I don't know." Shiv shrugged, "I don't know what he's thinking or feeling. That's the problem."

"Is he seeing Brianna soon?" Finn asked.

"Yeah. Carol is picking her up from pre-k tomorrow and Daryl is gonna get off work a few hours early to go see her." Shiv said.

"Good." Finn nodded, "Hey, I got a question, if you don't mind me asking?" He said, using a rolling pin to roll his dough out more.

"Go on." Shiv said.

"When did you two actually start hooking up? You know… before, in high school." He said.

"God, I don't know. When we were fifteen, I think." Shiv said, "We were just always with one another. It just… kinda happened." She shrugged.

"Why did you guys never just date?" He asked, "I mean… no one ever knew you guys were together. You never acted like a couple in public." He said.

"I don't know. It just… felt better." Shiv shrugged, "It was nice not letting anyone into our own little world. Even before we hooked up, we were always at each other's house. I guess he didn't have to be the hot shot top footballer when he was with me. And I was never invisible to him like I was to majority of our high school." She shrugged.

"You weren't invisible." Finn scoffed.

"I took part in spelling B's." Shiv raised a brow.

"Ok, that was lame." Finn nodded, "I guess high school can be a weird time."

"Yeah, for sure." Shiv said, "Why are you asking?"

"Just curious." Finn said.

"I'm not seeing a lot of work getting done in here." Punk announced, walking into the kitchen, "You've been rolling that dough for half an hour." He told Finn.

"Perfection takes time." Finn said.

"And what are you doing?" Punk asked Shiv.

"I was… helping him." Shiv shrugged.

"Ok, well he doesn't need help. And there's no coffee beans out front. How we gonna open a coffee shop with no coffee beans, Shiv?" Punk asked her.

"Jesus, what's wrong with you this morning?" Finn scoffed, "Those kids pissing you off?"

"No, of course not." Punk said, "Thomas keeps having nightmares. I was up most of the night with him." He said.

"Oh, no." Finn frowned.

"Poor baby. Is he ok?" Shiv asked.

"Yeah, he's fine. Just takes a while for him to go back to sleep. And he had an accident so… I had to change his bed at 3am." Punk said.

"Poor little guy." Finn said.

"Yeah, I know." Punk said.

"Shiv is coming to open-mic night, by the way." Finn said.

"I didn't say for definite." Shiv scolded him.

"Good. I'm glad you're coming." Punk smiled to her teasingly.

"I never said I was. I don't know." Shiv said, "And if this is some game you're all playing to get me and Daryl in the same room, I won't be happy." She made clear.

"Siobhan. I don't play games." Punk put his hands up in defence.

"Yeah, sure." Shiv shook her head.

"Does anyone want to go see Charli XCX with me?" Becca asked, later on in the afternoon, scrolling on her phone behind the counter whilst Daryl made coffee for a table and Lyla brought in fresh cakes. AJ was at the register after taking a cheque from a few customers who had just left.

"Who is that?" AJ asked curiously.

"God, you're such a mom." Becca shook her head, "You know how Shiv is with Taylor Swift?"

"Yeah." AJ said.

"Charli is my Taylor." Becca explained.

"Ok well I don't know who she is, so I won't be going." AJ said.

"I'll go. She's hot." Lyla nodded.

"Two flat whites for that table over there." Daryl said, sitting the coffee mugs on a tray and pointing to the waiting table.

"Thank you." Becca said, putting her phone down and taking the coffees over.

"How is the new house getting on, by the way?" Lyla asked AJ whilst Daryl cleaned the coffee machine before making another order of coffees.

"I don't know. I leave it all to Phil." AJ shrugged, "He doesn't talk about it much, though. So it's either going really well or really bad."

"What's wrong with the house you're in, anyway?" Daryl asked. He felt himself getting immersed in the girl's conversations, and in a way, it was good. It was distracting, and occasionally they did make him laugh. Knowing AJ was close by was almost like a safety blanket, too. Given the conversation they'd had a few days ago. It definitely felt like a safe space.

"There's nothing wrong with it. We just want something a little bigger. And without a spiral staircase." AJ said.

"We should drive Shiv's parents out of town, and you should move there. Bomb ass house." Daryl nodded.

"Shitty ass people." Lyla said, "I'd be down for that."

"I still can't believe they just ignore Shiv if they see her on the street." AJ shook her head, "As a mother it just… it baffles me." She said.

"They've always been weird." Lyla shook her head, "And to ignore their own grandchild. They're sick."

"Stop talking about it." Daryl told them, "Or I'll want to go back over to their house and yell at them."

"What did you say to them exactly?" Lyla asked curiously.

"Say to who?" Becca asked, returning from serving coffees.

"Shiv's parents, when he showed up at their house drunk." Lyla caught her up to speed.

"I'm not sure. I can't really remember. Definitely called them assholes. Poured a bottle of beer in one of their plant pots. Think I took a piss against their car, too." Daryl tried to think.

"Love it." Becca nodded with pride.

"Hey, did Shiv get to see Taylor Swift? I remember you all surprised her with tickets." Daryl said, the mention of the popstar bringing back memories. He was sure he'd asked her in one of the letters he wrote, but he never got a reply obviously.

"No. Me and Becca went." Lyla said, "We couldn't get a hold of her. She'd gone off the grid. And she was probably seven or eight months pregnant." She said, "Not that we knew at the time."

"She was real excited about that." Daryl said.

"Maybe she'll come see Charli with me." Becca said, "She needs a brat Summer, don't you think?" She asked them as AJ looked at her with confusion.

"A what?" Daryl shook his head.

"It astonishes me every day that you married a farmer." Lyla told her best friend as AJ chuckled.

"And what does that mean?" Becca asked.

"Well he's so… sweet and kind. And you're so… insane." Lyla shrugged.

"Oh, will you be coming to the open-mic night?" AJ asked Becca, "Isn't it Patrick's birthday?"

"Yeah. We're going to go and just celebrate his birthday the next weekend. I think we're taking a trip to the city." She told them.

"Sweet." AJ smiled, "Are you coming?" She asked Daryl.

"I'm not sure." Daryl said, "Maybe."

"Come! It'll be fun." Becca said, "It'll be like old times. Coffee shops unite." She smiled.

"I forgot to say." Daryl turned to AJ, "Is it ok if I leave here a few hours early tomorrow? My mom is picking Brianna up from pre-k and I was gonna stop by and see her. Cook her dinner and stuff." He said.

"Yeah, of course." AJ nodded, "What you gonna make her?" She smiled curiously.

"I don't know. She loves grilled cheese but… I suppose that's not really dinner." Daryl said.

"The twins go crazy for tacos. It's their new obsession." AJ told them, "And they love my quesitos. I'm such a proud mama." She smiled happily.

"How is my little Tom Tom?" Becca frowned.

"Oh, he had another nightmare last night." AJ said, "Phil got up with him this time."

"He has nightmares?" Daryl asked.

"Yeah, recently. Phil had them bad as a kid." AJ said, "It just sucks cause we can't do anything to help him. Apparently it can just be a phase for some kids."

"The poor little man." Lyla frowned.

"Maybe he's watching too many scary movies." Becca said, "Doesn't Phil watch weird scary movies?"

"Yeah, but not with Thomas." AJ scoffed.

"Nightmares are not fun." Daryl nodded as they all went quiet, "What? Shocker, the ex-prisoner has nightmares." He said.

"We all have nightmares." Becca assured him, not wanting him to feel alone, "It's just sadder when it's a little kid. Does he say what the nightmares are?" She asked.

"No, sometimes he doesn't remember. Other times it's about monsters." AJ shrugged.

"And Rudy? I bet he has plenty nightmares about her." Becca said.

"Oh, stop." Lyla scoffed.

"Phil is really great with him. Better than me. I just want to cry and weep when I see him all scared and upset. Phil makes him some warm milk and reads him a story in his bed. He fell asleep there last night." AJ nodded.

"He's a good dad." Daryl nodded, "I saw Brianna last night." He told them, "Latte and a hazelnut mocha. Table over there." He told Becca as he sat the coffees down on a tray for her to serve.

"Where did you see her?" AJ asked curiously.

"I went to Shiv's last night. I just wanted to apologise for the past couple days." Daryl said, "She was in her pjs, brushing her teeth." Daryl smiled as he thought back to Brianna's adorable little face.

"She's a sweet little thing." Lyla smiled, "Not shocking that you and Shiv made a cute kid. Very predictable thing for you guys, actually."

"Yeah, she's cute." Daryl smiled to himself as AJ watched him. She could see, even in just two days, a difference in Daryl's attitude and nature. He was staying busy at work, and he was willingly inserting himself into conversation with them instead of holding back like before.

"So… what you gonna make her for dinner?" AJ asked.

"Kids love chicken nuggets. I'd go for that." Lyla nodded.

"Yeah?" Daryl asked.

"And potato waffles." Lyla added, "It's still my go to comfort food."

"Or you could show up with a pizza." AJ said, "That'll win you lots of points."

"So you spoke to Shiv last night?" Becca returned from serving the coffees, "Far right table wants a scone, by the way." She added as Lyla nodded and headed into the kitchen.

"Yeah, we spoke." Daryl said, "Wasn't a particularly long conversation but… it was civil and I think she accepted my apology. Maybe. I couldn't tell." He said.

"I'm sure she did. And I'm sure it meant a lot that you apologised." AJ nodded.

"If she's going to the open-mic night, I don't want to show up and make her uncomfortable or anything." Daryl told him truthfully.

"She wouldn't be uncomfortable." Becca said, "Might be a little awkward but… you guys gotta get used to being in the same room. Especially if you're gonna co-parent. You can't do it through your mom forever."

"I know." Daryl nodded, "I just don't want to cause her any pain or anything." He said.

"You'll probably be sitting goofing around with Phil and Finn, anyway. It's not like you and Shiv will be sat at a table by yourself." Becca said.

"Please, I know what you guys are like. You'll be scheming something." Daryl rolled his eyes.

"No, we won't." AJ assured him seriously.

"I'll think about it." Daryl shrugged.

"Heated scone with cherry marmalade and cream." Lyla smiled, handing the plate with the scone and condiments to Becca.

"Sex on a plate." Becca groaned, wandering over to serve the customer who'd requested the treat.

"I will say…" Daryl said, "The cakes in here are ridiculously good. It's not surprising people travel far just to come here."

"Kiss ass." Lyla scoffed but with a smile.

"Like I've said… baking means a lot to me." AJ smiled to Daryl who nodded to her with understanding, "And if you ever have any ideas, I'm all ears."

"You think it'd be mean if we busted out a chocolate fountain?" Daryl asked, "Does Phil still bring it out on Friday's?" He asked.

"He does." AJ nodded.

"Let's be mean." Lyla smiled deviously.

"What are we doing?" Becca returned to the counter excitedly, "I heard we're being mean?"

"Should we do a chocolate fountain?" AJ asked Becca, "Daryl's idea."

"Isn't that Phil's thing?" Becca shook her head as they all looked at her with an obvious stare, "Oh… Oh, yes let's do it." She nodded deviously.

"I don't want to get you in trouble." Daryl told AJ.

"Please. Things have been harmonious between our shops for far too long. I think it's about time we cranked up the competition again. Besides, he's doing open-mic night." AJ shrugged.

"And if he gets real mad, I'm sure you can just make it up to him under the sheets." Becca shrugged as Daryl scoffed, "Brat summer? No. Brewberry summer incoming." She nodded as Lyla chuckled.

"I don't understand what you're saying." AJ whined as Becca chuckled, dancing around happily with her tray as Daryl chuckled.

"You guys are mad." Daryl concluded.