Bust Up

"Brianna with Carol tonight?" Punk asked, closing up his shop with Shiv and Finn later on after a busy day. They had a surprise tour bus pass through the city, which meant their shop had been packed all afternoon with people desperate for a coffee break and some food. He noticed The Brewberry was also the same. It was good for business, but not so great for their tired feet.

"Yeah. She picked her up from pre-k and was giving her dinner." Shiv nodded, "Thank God. I don't think I have the energy to do anything else after today." She laughed a little.

"Yeah, it was a busy one." Punk nodded, "But we smashed it."

"Yeah!" Finn cheered from back in the kitchen as Punk chuckled.

"Tourist season is almost here. And the Summer Fair will be real soon. You got any big plans?" She asked whilst stacking up chairs onto the tables so they could sweep and mop whilst Finn was in the back cleaning down the kitchen.

"What do you think about smoothies?" He asked her curiously.

"I like smoothies." Shiv nodded, "They take more time to make than coffee, though."

"Not if we get all the fruit chopped in advance. All we gotta do is throw shit in a blender." Punk shrugged.

"That's a good way to sell it." Shiv nodded, "I mean… who doesn't love a smoothie on a hot Summer's Day? I think it's a good idea."

"Obviously we'll do our usual stuff. Sandwiches. Iced coffees." Punk waved his hand, "I'm leaving the food decisions up to the chef in the back."

"I have some ideas I'll have you know." Finn came out from the kitchen with yellow rubber gloves on.

"Nice." Shiv nodded to him.

"What? I don't want bleach on my hands, do I?" Finn made a face at her.

"What's your ideas, kid? Hit us." Punk nodded.

"Burgers and hot-dogs." Finn said as Punk raised a brow, "With a little finesse of course."

"I don't know if this place screams burgers and hot-dogs." Punk said.

"What do you think of when you think about Carnivals and Fair's? I think of hotdogs and burgers. We should give the people what they want." Finn nodded.

"I don't know if that's what the people want." Shiv said.

"I think it could work." Finn shrugged, "Kids will flock to us. It'll be like the chocolate fountain part two." He said as Punk smiled, remembering his first ever Fair in town with fondness when Daryl busted out a chocolate fountain and made them an overnight success.

"You're probably right." Shiv nodded, "Brianna loves a hot-dog."

"See." Finn looked at Punk, "I can't do a pot of soup in Summer. That shit ain't right. Sandwiches are boring and redundant now. We gotta spice it up." He said with enthusiasm as Punk chuckled.

"Ok, fine. You can make some burgers and hot-dogs tomorrow and me and Shiv will give our verdict." Punk said, "Deal?"

"You're on." Finn pointed to him.

"Go finish you're cleaning. I want to go home." Punk told him as Finn nodded, rushing back into the kitchen as Shiv chuckled.

"You're lucky to have him." Shiv nodded to Punk.

"Yeah, I know." Punk nodded, "Seems like all the kids who didn't know what to do with their lives just flocked to me."

"Me included?" She smiled.

"It's not a bad thing." Punk assured her as she smiled.

They cleaned up the shop and headed their respective ways to get home. Shiv offered to lock-up, pulling the shutters down and locking the padlock shut. It was the most satisfying part of every day, and she couldn't wait to pick up her baby and have a cuddle on the sofa when they got home.

She turned around to head down the street when she noticed Daryl leaving The Brewberry with Christina approaching him just like the night before.

She'd gone through all the emotions. Hurt. Sadness. Confusion. But now she was just seeing red, finding it questionable how they seemed to meet at the exact time she was leaving. She never imagined he would do something like this deliberately to hurt her, but now she was starting to question his intentions.

"What the hell is your problem?" She called over to them as they both turned around. She couldn't bite her tongue this time.

"What?" Daryl screwed his face up at her.

"You can't save that shit until you get home?" Shiv asked, walking across the road to their sidewalk, "Are you checking to see what time I leave Phil's just to make sure I see you both?" She shook her head.

"You're crazy." Daryl scoffed, shaking his head.

"Yeah, seems like you're the one with the problem." Christina added.

"I wasn't talking to you." Shiv turned to Christina.

"Go home, Shiv." Daryl shook his head, locking up AJ's shop.

"Fuck you." Shiv said as Daryl turned to her slowly, looking down at her as she folded her arms, standing tall and glaring at him.

"Christina go to my place. I'll meet you there." Daryl said, taking his keys out and handing them to Christina.

"Ok." Christina smiled, "Bye, Siobhan." She whispered to Shiv as she walked past.

"Oh, fuck off." Shiv shook her head, "Acting like the thirteen-year-old bitch you've always been." She spat.

"Excuse me?" Christina turned back around.

"You heard me." Shiv nodded.

"Don't you have a kid to be looking after? I mean… where the hell is she?" Christina laughed as Shiv immediately threw a fist in her face, getting her hard square on the nose as Christina went falling to the ground.

"Jesus." Daryl said with surprise. He'd never known Shiv to swat a fly. Her violence was a complete shock.

"Oh my God, my nose." Christina whined, feeling around her bloody nose as Shiv stared down at her.

"Are you ok?" Daryl asked, crouching down beside her as Shiv laughed, "The hell is wrong with you?" He looked up at Shiv.

"Me? She deserved it." Shiv said, feeling zero guilt.

"Go to my place and get cleaned up." Daryl told Christina, helping her to her feet.

"You're insane!" Christina yelled at Shiv before rushing down the street.

"You have no idea how good that felt." Shiv nodded to Daryl who turned his full attention to her, standing only footsteps away from one another.

"You proud of yourself?" Daryl shook his head, "You're asking me what my problem is when I think it's you who clearly has the problem here."

"She's horrible and you know she is." Shiv said.

"It doesn't concern you who I see." Daryl said bluntly.

"It does, you stupid fuck." Shiv said, "We have a child. And I know that is all new to you and it's still sinking in. But whoever is in your life, means they will be in Brianna's life." She said.

"Jesus, Siobhan. We're hooking up. Not getting married." Daryl shook his head stressfully, "And yeah, you're right. It is all new to me since you kept it from me."

"I did it for your own good." Shiv said.

"Oh." Daryl said with a sarcastic tone of surprise, "Oh, you did it for my own good, did you? Like you killed Craig for my own good? No… wait, I ended up going to prison for that." He spat harshly, stepping closer to her.

"He was going to kill you." Shiv spat back, "What choice did I have?"

"Yeah well maybe you should have just let him kill me. Would have saved me four years of fucking misery and torture." He shook his head.

"And what? I've been living the dream these past four years?" She laughed, "You have no idea what it's been like for me. I told my parents I was pregnant, and you know what they did? They threw me out. They didn't even let me pack a bag. They changed the locks and threatened to call the cops if I tried to break in." She said.

"We have friends. You could have gone to them." Daryl said, trying to ignore the harshness of her parents. He wanted to slap them both for treating Shiv that way.

"I was embarrassed and messed up. I couldn't sleep on someone's sofa. I was going to have a baby." She said, "I dropped out of college. I gave birth, terrified and alone. I lived in sheltered housing living off food stamps for a year. I starved myself just so I could buy formula and diapers. Even now, I have to go between working every day and taking care of a little girl." She said, "So don't act like you're the only one who has had a shitty time."

"I didn't realise it was a competition." Daryl said, "You don't think I would have been there if I could? You're the reason I was gone."

"So, I was supposed to let him kill you? And then what? He probably would have killed me next and waited for April and Phil to get home." Shiv said, "You told me that night that you would say it was you. So don't… don't throw it in my face now."

"Look, I've had a long day. Clearly you have too." He shook his head.

"Yeah, well now I have to go home and bath our daughter, read her a story before bed and tuck her in. And what are you doing? Screwing some bimbo with a broken nose." She nodded.

"I don't even recognise you." Daryl shook his head, "I really don't. All this anger you got. You're saying Christina is mean? Maybe you should take a look in the mirror."

"Yeah, well I'm not a little kid anymore. I had to grow up." Shiv spat.

"Shiv, I'm trying to take it one day at a time here." He said, running his hand through his hair, "I-I feel like I'm being watched. Just like in prison. I feel like I'm still in my cell. What is everyone expecting me to do? Go back to cracking jokes and pouring coffee like nothing has happened?"

"No one is expecting that." Shiv assured him.

"Well it feels like that." He said, "I still have to remind myself I have a daughter every few hours, just to let it sink in. You know her. You know every little thing about her. You held her when she took her first breath. You have no idea what it feels like for me to just… see her and know she's mine but not… not know anything about her." He shook his head with frustration and a lump in his throat as Shiv's face softened, looking up at him, not realising how close they'd gotten to one another during their screaming match.

"You'll know everything about her eventually." Shiv said.

"If you had just told me… maybe it'd be different. I wanted to see you. I wanted you to visit me and you never came." He shook his head.

"I didn't think you'd want to see me." She said.

"Why would I not?" He screwed his face up with confusion and anger, "You were the only one I wanted to see. I spent four years, walking into that visitation room, hoping and praying it was you, and every single time it wasn't."

"It was easier." Shiv shook her head.

"Yeah. For you." Daryl nodded, "I wrote to you. I assume you didn't get them. I sent them to your parents house. Probably hundreds." He said as she swallowed the lump in her throat, not enjoying the image conjured up in her head of him sitting in his cell writing letters to her that she never got to read.

"I didn't get them." Shiv said, "You could have asked April or Phil where I was if you were that concerned."

"I did. They told me you were at college. So I assumed you were just ignoring my letters." Daryl said, "They obviously didn't want to frighten me by telling me you'd disappeared. And so I stopped asking about you. Figured you'd moved on."

"Well, I didn't. I have been stuck in the same place for four years. Just like you." She said, "You can resent me all you like. Blame me for your years in prison. Hate me for not telling you about Brianna. But you were the one who decided to take the blame."

"Yeah, and I hate you for leaving me with no choice." He nodded as she glared up at him, "I'm going home."

"She goes nowhere near Brianna." Shiv said.

"We're just having sex. It's really not a big deal." He said, stepping closer to her, "You should try it. Looks like you haven't got laid in a long time." He said quietly as she raised her hand to slap him across the face, but he expected it and took a hold of her wrist before her hand could connect.

"Asshole." She spat, ripping her hand away from him as he smiled at her with amusement, walking past her and heading down the street as Shiv shook her head, running her hands over her face and groaning loudly.