So Soon

"Can I talk to you out back for a few minutes?" Finn asked Punk.

They'd just got finished with the busy morning rush and Finn was itching to talk to someone about his morning. He could barely concentrate on making his breakfast sandwiches.

"Uh… yeah, ok." Punk said, sticking his head through the front to see Shiv serving some coffee to some customers.

"Quickly." Finn snapped, walking out of the back exit as Punk rolled his eyes.

"Jesus, alright. I'm coming." Punk said, walking outside with him as Finn closed the door over behind him, "What is up with you this morning?"

"Christina came out of Daryl's room this morning." Finn said quietly.

"Who is Christina?" Punk shook his head.

"She went to school with us. She was the popular mean girl. Real bitch. She always had a thing for Daryl but he was never interested." Finn explained, "She's trouble, man." He shook his head unhappily.

"Well unfortunately, we can't control what Daryl does in his personal time." Punk said, "It was bound to happen at some point. He's been lonely for four years. Bit of human connection is probably necessary." Punk said.

"You're encouraging this?" Finn questioned, "Human connection? What the fuck?" Finn shook is head.

"I'm not encouraging it, I'm just saying there's nothing we can do. And I'm not entirely surprised." Punk shrugged, "Imagine not having sex for four years. I think I'd lose my mind." Punk thought about it as Finn rolled his eyes.

"Ok, then what about when Shiv finds out? How do you think she's going to feel?" Finn asked.

"I think her and Daryl have both made it pretty clear that they're not getting back together. They can barely be in the same room as one another." Punk said.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean they don't care about each other. And they're always gonna be tied to each other now, with Brianna." Finn said, "I'm just saying, I don't think any good will come of this."

"What is he supposed to do? Put his life on hold? If him and Shiv aren't a thing, they can see other people. It's not a crime." Punk said, "I know you've gotten closer to her these past couple years with her working here. I have too. But it's out of our control." Punk said.

"Christina is bad news. I'm telling you. He's not thinking straight, and she will flaunt this in Shiv's face. That's the type of girl she is." Finn nodded.

"Maybe they just hooked up for one night? I don't think it's that deep." Punk said, "He's dealing with a lot just now. Just go easy on him." He suggested.

He figured it was bound to happen at some point. Daryl getting with someone else, whether it was for a one-night stand or something else. He was only human after all. He knew it would probably cut Shiv up to know, but she couldn't have the best of both worlds.

"I don't like it, man." Finn shook his head.

"You guys are coming over to my place on Saturday, right?" Punk asked him.

"Yeah, Daryl said something about it." Finn nodded.

"Ok, so we'll chat to him. Make sure he's getting everything off his chest. We have no idea what he went through in prison. His head is gonna be scrambled." Punk said as Finn nodded.

"Yeah, I know. I am worried about him." Finn said, "But I also don't want to see Shiv upset." He sighed, "Why do they hate each other so much? I just don't get it."

"I don't think any of us do." Punk assured him.

"Hey." Shiv opened up the door as they both turned to her, "What are you two girls gossiping about out here?" She smiled, "We got a queue developing."

"He uh… he's yelling about stale baguettes again." Punk waved his hand as Shiv chuckled.

"Ok, well I need some help." She said.

"Yeah, we're coming." Punk nodded, following her back into the kitchen as Finn followed after.

"Ok, one flat white, one cappuccino and one black coffee with just a splash of milk." Daryl said, serving a table their coffee at The Brewberry as they all gratefully accepted, "And this is on the house." He placed down a plate with a few slices of cake.

"Oh, how lovely. What is it?" The older woman asked.

"Our baker is trying out a cherry and almond cake. You've to let us know what you think." Daryl smiled.

"Oh, we will." The lady smiled as Daryl nodded, walking off back to the front counter and sitting his tray down.

"So you give free cake out often? Seems like a poor business move." Daryl said, "Phil would never." He told AJ who was standing cleaning the milk warming jug at the coffee machine whilst Becca and Lyla were in the kitchen slicing up more cakes for the front counter.

"Every now and then I like to serve something new and see what people think." AJ nodded, "And it's a nice gesture." She added.

"Don't you ever get sick of it? Baking all the time? You ever thought of doing food?" He asked her.

"Yeah, I've thought about it, but I don't think this place need it. People come for cake and coffee. So that's what we do." AJ nodded, "And no, I never get sick of it. Baking really helped me at a bad time in my life. I owe it a lot." She told him vaguely.

"How long did you take off after you had the twins?" He asked her.

"A few months. Me and Phil started doing alternative shifts to each other so we could both work. Then when the twins turned one, I brought their little play pen here and they became our mascot. People love babies." AJ nodded.

"I wonder what Brianna looked like as a baby." Daryl thought to himself, something he'd been wondering about often.

He wondered what it was like when she was first born. Was Shiv alone? Did she have a healthy pregnancy? Was Brianna a good baby or did she cry all the time? He felt completely in the dark.

"You could ask your mom if she has pictures. I'm sure she does." AJ said, "When Shiv came back here, Brianna was just about to turn two. She looked a lot like you then and… she still does. Although I see some of Shiv in her, too." AJ nodded.

"Yeah, I see Shiv in her." Daryl nodded, thinking back to his meeting with Brianna, how her mannerisms and quirked matched Shiv's. The way she giggled and the little faces she made. It reminded him so much of Shiv.

"How has your leg been? Since you got out?" She asked, noticing he was moving it back and forth a little and wincing.

"Still plays up. Mostly it just gets stiff." Daryl nodded, "Honestly, I'm surprised it's still attached to my body at this point."

"You're indestructible." AJ smiled.

"I wouldn't say that." He said, watching as Christina walked into the shop, tensing a little and wishing he could disappear into the back, but she'd already spotted him.

"Hey." Christina smiled, walking up to the counter whilst AJ turned around and looked her up and down.

"Hi." Daryl said, "You ok?" He asked her as she nodded.

"Yeah, I'm good." Christina smiled, "Just… wondering when you finish?" She asked with a suggestive smirk, which didn't go unnoticed to AJ.

"Around 6." Daryl nodded.

"I get off at 5. Good timing." Christina said as AJ looked over.

"Are you going to order something?" She questioned as Christina turned to her with an unhappy glare.

"No." Christina said.

"I'll talk to you later." Daryl said quietly as AJ scoffed, shaking her head to herself as Christina leaned over and kissed Daryl before leaving the coffee shop.

"Is that wise?" AJ asked Daryl once Christina had left.

"It's not really your business." Daryl turned to her, "Anyway, nothing is going on." He shook his head, emptying some dirty mugs from a tray into the dishwasher.

"Didn't look like nothing." AJ said, "Didn't you go to school with her?"

"Yeah. So?" Daryl said, "Like I said, it's not your business."

"I say it out of concern." AJ assured him, "You must be feeling so many emotions right now. And I bet loneliness is definitely one of them."

"I've gotten used to being lonely." Daryl said, "It's not a big deal."

"I just don't want to see you get hurt." AJ told him, "And I don't know much, but I know that girl goes through a lot of boyfriends." She added.

"You mean you don't want to see Shiv hurt." Daryl said, "You know, she's not the innocent little victim everyone is making her out to be." He shook his head.

"None of us think that." AJ said, confused by his frustration and anger, "Honestly, we're all just a little confused as to why you two can't even be in the same room as one another." She said.

"Like I said… it's not your business." Daryl said, "I'm going to get more milk." He announced, walking off into the kitchen, finding himself something to do so they didn't need to continue the conversation.

"Are we going home now?" Brianna asked, holding Shiv's hand as they walked down the main street of the town. Shiv had just picked her up from pre-k and she was telling her all about her day.

"No, mommy has to go finish the rest of her shift. Just a few more hours and then we can go home." Shiv told her.

"Oh, ok." Brianna said, "I liked my lunch today." She told her mother.

"Yeah? I thought you might." Shiv smiled. She'd cut her daughter's sandwiches into star shapes with a shape cutter Finn had given her from the kitchen. She knew it would go down a treat with Brianna.

"No one else had star sandwiches." Brianna smiled, "I told everyone my mommy made them because she's the best."

"Oh, sweet girl." Shiv smiled, leaning down and kissing Brianna's head, suddenly stopping when someone walked out of the flower shop in front of where they were walking.

The woman turned around and Shiv swallowed the lump in her throat, tightening her grip on Brianna's hand, standing face to face with her mom.

"Hi, mom." Shiv said quietly, looking at her mom who continued to ignore her existence, even when they saw each other on the street.

Lisette looked at Shiv, then at Brianna, before walking past them and not saying a word. Only a disapproving stare.

"Who was that?" Brianna asked Shiv curiously, turning back and watching Lisette walk down the street.

"No one." Shiv said, drying the tears from her cheeks quickly. Being a mother now, she couldn't understand or fathom why she had been treated the way she was treated by her parents. Since she'd come back to town, they did everything they could to ignore her and avoid her existence, even when they occasionally saw each other in the street. It was like she was dead to them, and that certainly hurt.

"She had nice flowers." Brianna observed as they began to walk on again.

"Come on. Let's go." Shiv said, patting her face a little and smiling down to Brianna before walking into Punk's coffee shop to finish the rest of her shift.

"Hey, the gang is all here." Punk smiled, pointing over to Rudy and Thomas who were sat at a table with their toys after being picked up and dropped off by Nico.

Brianna smiled as she ran over to the twins, hopping up onto a chair and showing Rudy her new Elsa doll which she had been carrying around everywhere.

"Poor kids will grow up hating coffee because of this." Shiv smiled as Punk chuckled.

"Yeah, you're probably right." Punk nodded.

"Just bumped into my lovely mother." She said, putting her apron back on and tying it around her waist.

"What did she say?" Punk cringed.

"Oh, nothing. She just stares at me like she's insane, and then she walked past me. Like she doesn't even know who I am." Shiv said.

"It's their loss. They'll regret it one day. Not being in your life, or Brianna's." Punk said, "And they'll be all alone."

"I don't think they will regret it." Shiv shook her head, "They never wanted me. This was probably their ideal situation." She nodded.

"I'm sure that's not true." Punk sighed, although he personally thought her parents were despicable people for how they had treated Shiv these past four years.

"I'm sure it is." Shiv said, looking over to the twins and Brianna as they played together. It brought a smile to her face and brightened her mood instantly, "I hope they grow up to be best friends." She said as Punk nodded.

"They already are." Punk assured her, "Well… Rudy and Brianna, I mean. Thomas just has to put up with them. Poor kid." He said, looking at Thomas who had his hands over his ears whilst Rudy and Brianna played with their dolls.

It eventually came to closing time and Shiv offered to stay behind and clean up whilst the boys headed home. She didn't mind, and they were always so great with letting her leave first most nights to get Brianna home.

"Is this your shop, mommy?" Brianna asked, sitting over at one of the tables whilst Shiv swept the floors, making sure to get under the tables. Thankfully, she didn't have to worry about going home and making them dinner, since Finn cooked for both of them.

"No. This is Uncle Phil's shop. I just help him out." Shiv told her.

"Daddy said he worked here too." Brianna said. It was a lot to get used to for Shiv, hearing Brianna refer to her father so much. It still didn't feel real.

"He did." Shiv nodded.

"Is that how you met daddy? Is that when the stork brought me to you?" She asked sweetly as Shiv smiled. Being a mother, she didn't realise just how much she'd have to lie to her sweet child and fabricate silly stories, but when Brianna had asked her last year how babies 'get here,' she had to think of something.

"No, I met daddy a long time ago. We went to school together." Shiv told her, "We were in the same class when we were little kids."

"Oh." Brianna said, "Was he your friend?"

"He was my best friend." Shiv nodded.

"But he's not your best friend now?" Brianna asked sadly as Shiv sighed, continuing to sweep the floor and concentrate hard on the crumbs, otherwise she knew she'd cry.

"It's just a little different now because we're grown-ups." She said as Brianna just frowned with confusion, "Ok, time to mop and then we can get out of here."

"Can I help?" Brianna asked.

"Sure, let's get the bucket." Shiv chuckled.

Once they mopped and locked up the shop, Shiv crouched down in front of Brianna to put her beanie on her and zip her jacket up.

"Don't zip it right up." Brianna complained, "I can't breathe."

"That's a little dramatic." Shiv said, "It's too cold not to zip it right up." She said, "And gloves on." She said, passing one glove to Brianna and then the other. Meanwhile her eyes averted over to The Brewberry across the street where she saw Daryl leaving.

She was about to be courageous and say hello when she noticed Christina walking down the street to meet him, greeting him by pressing her body against his and whispering something in his ear.

Her whole body went rigid, and she swore she could feel her heart stop. The whole reason why this had been so hard was because she knew she still was very much in love with him and seeing him with someone else made her feel ten times more worthless than what she'd already felt these past four years.

"C'mon, baby. Let's go." Shiv said with a shaky voice, feeling her heart breaking all over again as she took Shiv's hand and quickly walked down the street before Daryl could see her, or Brianna could spot him.

She knew she couldn't expect him to never date again, but this soon? And with a girl who had been so notoriously mean and horrid in high school? It hurt and it stirred up rage she didn't know she had.