―

Hannah let out a puff of her cigarette as she lay on Carl's bed, Ian drinking a can of beer on his as Lip came in.

"Liam is officially asleep." The eldest sibling told them.

"That was fast." Ian noted.

"Yeah, well, three pages from Deb's Eat, Pray, Love and he's out." Lip chuckled, placing the book on the dresser, sitting next to Ian and taking the lit spliff from his hand.

"Well, if James Franco wasn't in the movie, I would've nodded off, too." Ian smirked, sharing a high-five with his sister.

"Have either you got any cash you can float me?" Lip wondered, "Florence & the Machine are playing down at the Chicago Theatre. I really want to take Karen for her birthday." He said, making Hannah roll her eyes at the mention of the blonde girl.

"Pricey gift." Ian hummed, "You think it's getting serious?"

"Fuck off. She's my best friend," Lip denied, making Hannah roll her eyes once again, "Okay? You know I'd never spend that kind of cash on a girl, anyway."

"All right, well, I got a Hamilton, and it's yours." Ian nodded, taking a crumpled up bill out of his pocket and handing it over to his brother.

"Thanks, man."

Hannah sighed, reaching into her pocket and chucking a few notes over at Lip, "There's thirty. And that's all you're getting. And it's for your ticket by the way, not hers."

"Thanks, Han."

The sound of Liam crying made them all sigh, the boys looking over at their sister.

"I was on Liam duty all of last night." The girl shook her head.

The boys nodded, before having a game of rock, paper, scissors, "One, two, three."

"Have fun." Hannah smirked as Lip left the room.

―

Adam and Hannah sat at the computers in the school library, the boy showing Hannah different travel websites.

"And look, we can get super cheap tickets and spend the rest of the money on an average hotel and all the stuff that we wanna do." Adam said, flicking scrolling down the websites.

The girl looked over at him with a small smirk, "We?"

"Yeah," Adam nodded, turning to look at her, a blush spreading across his face, "You and me."

"You and me?"

"A-And Ellie, of course." Adam quickly added.

"Yeah, of course." Hannah nodded, turning her head away so he didn't see her face flushing red, the pair only just remembering the brunette girl who was at home sick today.

"So, what're you up to tonight?" Adam wondered.

"TV night," Hannah told him, "You wanna come?"

"Yeah," The boy nodded quickly, "Yeah, of course."

"Great," Hannah smiled, looking back at the computer screen, "Ooh! Skiing in France!"

―

"Don't, don't don't." Veronica laughed as the Gallagher brothers were chucking around empty plastic bottles, a few of them hitting the woman.

"Cosmos time!" Hannah grinned, her and Adam coming down the stairs, seeing Ethel and her baby, Jonah, "Hey, Ethel. This your kid?"

"Yes," The brunette grinned, "Jonah."

"He's adorable." Adam told the girl as the pair sat on the floor by the couch.

"Thank you," Ethel beamed, "When will you two start trying?"

The teenagers stared at her with wide eyes.

"What?" Hannah spluttered out, her siblings laughing as they both turned red.

Thankfully, Fiona entered the living room with burnt popcorn in her hands, saving them of any more awkwardness, "Hell hath no fury like popcorn burned."

"Is Steve coming?" Veronica asked.

"Hope so." Fiona said, as she and Carl set up the snacks on the coffee table.

"Are you guys going to make a baby while we watch Cosmos?" The boy asked, "'Cause that's going to make me throw up."

Fiona chuckled, mimicking the TV, "Billions and billions of sperm."

"Ew!" Carl cried, running over to his seat.

"Can you please turn it on already." Lip said, handing out the beer, before taking his seat.

"You want one?" Hannah asked the boy next to her.

Adam shook his head, "School night."

Hannah rolled her eyes, "Prude."

"Yeah, hurry up," Ian nodded, sitting down, "I gotta get back to work."

Fiona complied, switching the television on as the door opened and Steve walked through.

"Hey." The man greeted everyone.

Fiona's face lit up as she lifted Liam onto her lap, "Missed you, stranger."

"You too." Steve smiled, leaning over and kissing his girlfriend.

Carl's face scrunched up, "Get a room."

"Get your tickets?" Steve asked Lip as he sat down on the couch, nestled between Fiona and Veronica.

"Oh, yeah. Thanks." Lip smiled, showing him the tickets.

"Glad I could help."

"Glad you're glad," Lip nodded, leaning over to pass him a beer, "Steve."

"Does that mean I can get my thirty bucks back?" Hannah asked the boy.

"No chance." Lip smirked, making his sister laugh.

Taking a piece of popcorn from the bowl, Steve made a face, "Oh, this popcorn's burnt."

"Our microwave sucks," Fiona shrugged, before seeing the look on his face, "That doesn't mean I want you to buy us a new one."

"I wouldn't be opposed to it." Hannah muttered, taking a swig of her beer.

The door then opened and closed loudly, making everyone turn to see Debbie enter the room, seeming very cold and out of it.

"Debs?" Fiona asked, making the girl look around at everyone, "Honey, what happened?"

"What, Dad have one too many again?" Lip guessed.

"You just got to ignore him when he's like that, Debs." Ian sighed.

"Why do you always blame Dad first?" The girl asked.

Fiona raised an eyebrow, "Who else is there?"

"She's over at Sheila's." Debbie said, her voice raw with emotion.

"Who is, Debs?" Hannah asked her softly.

"Monica." Debbie frowned, making the Gallagher siblings all tense up, feeling their hearts drop.

Steve and Adam looked around confused, the man asking, "Who the hell is Monica?"

"Our mother." Lip muttered, in a state of shock.

Adam glanced over at Hannah's emotionless face as she stared straight ahead of her, reaching out and taking her hand in his, giving it a reassuring squeeze, to which she squeezed back with a vice-like grip.

"Debs," Fiona handed Liam to Steve, standing up and walking over to the girl, "What did you see-?"

"What do you care?!" Debbie shouted, pulling away from her eldest sister's reach, tears flowing down her face, "You'll be living with Steve in that house he bought next door!" She cried, before running past Fiona and upstairs.

Everyone looked over at Steve, who smiled meekly.

"Surprise."

Looking over at the stairs, Hannah frowned, "Debs." She whispered, before getting up and chasing after her little sister.

―

The Gallaghers and Veronica made their way over to Sheila's house, being able to hear their arguing down the street. Once they entered, Shelia noticed them all immediately, turning to the living room.

"Roberta!" She started, only for a woman to cut her off.

"Bob. Only Moni called me Roberta."

"All right, well Bob, we're just in the way here and we should make our exit and leave Monica for her apologies." Shelia tried to diffuse the situation.

"Apologies?" Monica scoffed, looking back at Frank, "For walking out on this piece of shit?"

"No, for walking out on them." Shelia said, gesturing to her children - who were all staring at their mother with uncertainty.

Monica's face dropped when she saw them, "Oh, my God." She whispered, looking at them all.

Veronica popped her head around the wall, "It's all right. I'm not one of yours. Just came to rubberneck."

―

After Sheila had convinced everyone to sit down, Monica was looking around at her children with a smile on her face.

"You're all so big," She marvelled as Sheila handed both Hannah and Lip a beer each, the redhead sat on the armrest fo the chair, "I missed you so much."

Debbie sat up straighter from where she was balled up on the couch, "Well, why didn't you take us with you?" She asked, making all of the Gallagher siblings perk up, wanting to know the answer to the question, as well.

"Because I knew you'd be fine with Fiona." The blonde woman said softly, making all heads turn to the eldest sibling.

―

Lip and Hannah sat outside on the steps of Sheila's house, a cigarette in the boy's hand, another bottle of beer in the girl's.

Lip studied his younger sister's face, "You look like you're gonna cry."

"I'm not," Hannah shook her head, swallowing thickly, "I'm not going to shed a tear over that woman. Didn't when she first left and I won't now that she's back."

Lip nodded, wrapping an arm around Hannah's small frame, making her lean her head on his shoulder, nuzzling into her brother's side for warmth as she had forgotten her coat and only had her blazer to keep her warm.

They sat there for a few minutes, before they spotted Ian running down the street and over to Sheila's house, a shocked look on his face.

"Thought you were at work." Lip said as the boy sat down on the bottom step.

"There was a shooting." Ian breathed out.

Hannah's head shot up off of Lip's shoulder, "What? Who?"

"Mickey and Kash." Ian said.

"Holy shit, Mickey shot Kash?" Lip's eyebrows raised as he handed Ian the cigarette.

Ian shook his head, "Kash shot Mickey."

"What?" Both Lip and Hannah asked.

"In the leg," Ian continued, "He's fine. I just wanted to get out of there before the cops got there. What'd I miss with Mom?"

"Well, you know how Dad's a total fucking asshole?" Lip hummed.

"Yeah." Ian rolled his eyes.

Hannah looked at her brother with a frown, "Turns out he's the good one. Turns out, she's also a lesbian now."

The sound of arguing only grew louder, making the siblings all share a sigh.

"Come on," Lip stood up, holding out his hand for his sister to take, "Let's get back in there."

Hannah took his hand with a frown, the brunette boy helping her stand up, "Into the belly of the beast." She muttered as Ian put the cigarette out in the snow and joined his siblings on their way inside.

"Oh, I can't believe you sucked me back in here for money!" Monica yelled, following Frank from the kitchen to the living room, making Hannah, Lip and Ian roll their eyes as they took their shoes off.

"I did no such thing," Frank cried, before turning back to face her, "But since you're in town, why don't you sign up for this little thing and I will cut you in..."

"Oh, fuck you, Frank!" Monica shouted, sitting down on the couch.

"Wait, you brought her back here?" Lip asked.

"What the fuck, Frank?" Hannah scoffed, making Monica turn to their direction, her face softening slightly at the sight of her third eldest.

"Oh, Ian."

"Wait, you knew where she was the whole time?" Lip continued in disbelief as Frank sat down on the armchair.

"Okay, look, this little reunion was bound to happen sooner or later anyway," Bob said, joining the family in the living room, "We were thinking about coming around to talk to you about something else." She said to Frank, as Kevin and Veronica moved to stand either side of Hannah.

"No, no... Bob not now." Monica desperately tried to stop Bob from talking.

"Yes, now. Yes, now," Bob told her, "Moni and I want to take Liam to live with us."

"What?!" Fiona cried, standing up from her chair.

"Over my dead body." Frank declared, standing up.

Hannah gripped Kevin's hand, hope filling her chest at the possibility of Frank standing up for his kids.

Bob turned to appeal to Frank, "How about Moni sign whatever the hell it is you need, we get Liam."

Frank paused, before nodding, "Done." He sat back down.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Hannah cried, going to launch at her father, only for Kevin to hold her back by wrapping his arms around her waist, the girl violently fighting back.

"No fucking way!" Fiona shook her head, as Hannah continued to struggle in Kevin's grip, "You can't have Liam."

"Why the hell not?" Monica asked, "He's not even Frank's."

"Fact is, Liam is black," Bob stated, "All you white folks scooping up black babies like fashion accessories have a rude awakening coming. There will be a backlash if people don't stop underestimating the cultural importance of a black parent raising a black baby. Liam needs me and he's coming with us."

"Out of the fucking question, Roberta." Lip spat.

"Roberta and I want to start a family of our own." Monica told them, her throat tightening.

Hearing her sentence, Hannah deflated in Kevin's arms, tears starting to collect in her eyes as the man cradled her.

"Well, how about you finish this one first." Fiona scoffed.

"They're taking Liam?" Debbie choked out, crying.

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No, nobody's taking anyone anywhere." Lip glared.

"You don't get to abandon your kids and then show up one day to take your pick of the litter." Fiona told Monica, walking around the back of the couch to stand in front of her mother.

"Oh, now that's not fair," Frank said, standing up, "Your mother's made mistakes, but she's here now. That's got to count for something."

"Shut up, Frank!" Fiona spat, her voice raw with emotion, "This isn't about you," Her glare moved onto her mother, "This is about you. This is about what you didn't do. It's about what I did. And you know what? I did a fucking great job," She then gestured to each of her siblings in turn, "Debbie is class president. She's on the debate team, going to nationals. And Lip, he's top of his class. He set the curve. Ian was promoted in ROTC and he tested out of English. Hannah goes to the top school in the state. She's smart and creative enough to be accepted on a freaking scholarship that only one kid gets every two years. And Carl made something blow up for his science fair. And you know what, they did it all, no thanks to you! Because you weren't here!" She yelled, starting to cry.

Monica was now on the verge of sobbing, "And I appreciate that, Fiona. But I'm here now. And Liam belongs with me."

"He doesn't even know who you are." Fiona stressed.

"I'm his mother!"

"You were my mother, too!" Fiona screamed, letting the tears now fall.

"Maybe I'll never be able to make things right with you," Monica sniffed, "But there's still time with Liam. And Debbie and Carl," She crouched down in front of the two on the couch, "I am so sorry if I hurt you. See, I love you so much. Please let me be your mommy again. Please?"

When the pair slowly wrapped their arms around the woman, Hannah went fully limp in Kevin's arms as she let out a sob, all the fight finally taken out of her. Her brothers both shared a look, wiping the tears off of their faces.

Fiona shook her head, grabbing her coat, "You know what? You're right. You are their mother. And you're here now. So I'm done. I'm done with the school and the bills and the clinics. I'm done," She put her coat on, taking out the house keys, "They're all yours now, Mom. Good luck." She softly put the house keys on the side table and leaving Sheila's house.

Monica tried to comfort the two crying kids on the couch, only for them to pull away.

Hannah shook her head, weakly standing up straight, unwrapping Kevin's arms from around her, "I-I can't do this." She muttered, making a beeline for the door, ignoring the people calling out her name as she ran out of the door and down the street, not even taking her shoes.

The redhead ran and ran until she reached a familiar, warm house, knocking rapidly on the door. It swung open and Sally Cuthbert looked down at the sobbing girl, her heart breaking.

"Hannah?" The blonde woman whispered.

Hannah only shook her head, choking on her tears as they continued to collect, falling into Sally's arms.

"Let's get you inside, honey," Sally muttered, gently stroking Hannah's hair and leading her into the warm house, "It's alright. You're safe. We'll take care of you."