―

"How many slaves you think George Washington had sex with?" Carl asked Hannah and Ian as Fiona exited the downstairs bathroom.

"Carl, eat. Now." Fiona told him.

"More than Lincoln, less than Jefferson." Ian guessed.

"Probably the same as Madison." Hannah shrugged.

"Ian, that bruise is looking better." Fiona noted.

"Who beat you up again?" Carl asked with a shit-eating grin.

"No one," Ian lied, making Hannah let out a hum as she drank her coffee, "It's ROTC, practicing hand-to-hand."

Carl's eyebrows scrunched together, "Marines still fight with their fists?"

"In certain situations, yes." Ian nodded.

"What's the point of building nukes if we ain't nuking anybody?" Carl asked.

"Gross National Product." Fiona told him.

"Just wait until you punch somebody for the first time. Then you'll get it." Hannah said, making Fiona her over the head.

"Can I use last night's chicken bones to make soup?" Debbie asked as she came into the kitchen.

"As long as they're not in the trash," Fiona nodded, "Lip hear anything new about Karen?"

"Still asleep." Debbie answered.

Fiona raised an eyebrow as she shrugged on her coat, "Karen or Lip?"

"Both."

"Up and at 'em, yet again," Jimmy said as he came downstairs, in his hoodie and underwear, Liam in his arms, "Impressive."

"Having a job does that to me," Fiona said, "You good with Liam duty again today?"

"Me and Liam are deeply bonded bros." Jimmy nodded, fist bumping the boy before he followed Fiona into the living room.

"Want some help making the soup?" Hannah asked Debbie.

Debbie glanced up at the clock, "Shouldn't you have left for school, like, ten minutes ago?"

The older redhead shook her head as she rolled up the sleeves of her school shirt and tucked her tie into it, "School's finishing up some construction that was supposed to be finished ages ago. Gave us the morning off as they unveil the new sports hall," She rolled her eyes, before her hands rested on her hips, "Right, where do we start?"

―

"Our ideas of helping are very different." Debbie commented as she eyed Hannah sat at the dining table, doing the crossword in the day's newspaper.

"Hey, I cut up loads of stuff, all you've gotta do now is pour it in the thermos." Hannah shrugged as loud footsteps made their way downstairs, Mandy making her way to the backdoor.

"Morning, Mandy." Debbie greeted her as she moved the soup to the thermos.

Mandy paused before she left, turning to the Gallagher sisters, "Why does Lip give a fuck whether that bitch Karen is alive or dead?"

"Beats me," Hannah shrugged, drinking her coffee, "Wish I could give my thanks to my hero that hit the cunt."

Debbie sent her older sister a look before she also shrugged, "It's a mystery."

Lip then appeared in the stairway and the couple stared at each other for a few seconds before Mandy rolled her eyes, picked up her stuff and stormed out of the house.

"What was all that about?" Lip asked, making Hannah roll her eyes.

"You, Karen, the unfathomable male soul." Hannah listed.

"Why aren't you two in school?" Lip asked.

"Don't wanna be around pretentious old people until classes actually start." Hannah hummed.

"And I'm skipping."

Lip sighed as he got himself coffee, "Debs, we need at least one person in this family to not turn cynical, and my money's been on you."

"I made soup for Sheila." Debbie said.

"We made soup for Sheila." The older sister corrected.

"I made soup for Sheila," Debbie repeated with a hard look at Hannah, "You cut up one stick of celery and then got bored."

"But it's the celery that brings the whole thing together." Hannah said with a grin.

"That's nice," Lip said, picking up the thermos, "I'm gonna drop by the hospital. I'll take it for you."

"And take the credit for doing something nice when you actually did nothing?" Debbie asked with a raised eyebrow as she tried to grab the soup from him.

"Well, to be fair, at that point, I will have carried it all the way over there, so." Lip chuckled as the girl failed to take the soup again.

"You're taking Mandy for granted." Debbie told him.

Lip raised an eyebrow, "Why? What'd she tell you?"

"She's kind, she's devoted, she's not someone whose feelings you can ignore, so stop being a dope, and put her feelings first every once in a while." Debbie told him before taking the soup and leaving the kitchen.

"Damn," Hannah murmured from behind her coffee cup, "You want some aloe vera for that burn you received from a middle schooler who's skipping class?"

Lip only gave his sister a sarcastic smile as he held his middle finger up at her.

―

Hannah lay on Ian's bed, drinking a beer whilst Lip was perched at the window, staring down at his phone, the girl rolling her eyes as she knew they were pictures of him and Karen. Though, he was snapped out of his thoughts when a backpack collided with the blinds on the window next to him, the two turning to see a frustrated and hurt Ian pacing across from them.

"That whore that Mickey's marrying is an actual whore that works at Garden Springs Spa." Ian told them, leaning his head against Carl's bed.

"Oh fuck." Hannah whispered as she sat up on the bed.

"Friends and family discounts on handy-Js." Lip shrugged.

"Terry made Mickey fuck her to fuck the gay out of him."

Hannah stared at her redheaded brother, "What?"

"When?" Lip asked.

"After he caught us together." Ian cringed at the memory, turning to look at them.

"Dude, how did we not know this shit?" Lip asked as he sat on the end of Ian's bed.

"I didn't tell you."

"Well, did it work?" Lip wondered.

Hannah rolled her eyes, "You can't literally fuck the gay out of someone."

Ian frowned, crossing his arms as he thought for a few moments, "I mean, he might've faked it once or twice, but he wants to be with me. I know what he felt with me. You can't fake that," He shook his head, sitting between his two siblings, "And now, this chick is pregnant."

Hannah frowned, hugging Ian's arm and resting her head against it as Lip wrapped an arm around his shoulders, "Ian, my brother, you need to get out there and fuck someone new, okay? And someone in his early twenties, not some old dude like Kash or Ned."

"Fuck you." Ian said with a small chuckles.

"Hey, the man's got a point." Hannah said.

"All right, seriously, go into a gay bar, make your need known, and have at it." Lip patted his brother's arm.

"Mandy's upset you're upset about Karen." Ian told Lip after a few moments.

Lip rolled his eyes with a sigh, "Jesus. How many people is Mandy talking to?"

"She cares about you, Dipshit." Hannah rolled her eyes.

"Why... we don't know," Ian added, "You can be a real shithead."

Lip looked at his brother with a slight chuckle, "How did we get this mixed up with two people from the Milkovich family?"

Ian thought, "Um... Bad parenting."

"Yeah." Lip nodded.

"Dude, that's not even the tip of the iceberg." Hannah muttered before downing the rest of her beer.

―

"Is it possible that my teeth will spontaneously straighten out on their own?" Debbie called from the kitchen as she stared into a metal spatula at her mouth.

"Uh, Jimmy's going back to medical school. We can ask him to help." Fiona called back to her as Hannah fed Liam.

The backdoor then opened and Veronica entered the kitchen, making a beeline for the fridge, "I need alcohol."

"Is your mom not pregnant again?" Fiona guessed.

"Can't find her," Veronica said, "Went to her house, her work. She's avoiding me. Must be bad news."

"Think positive." Fiona suggested, making Hannah snort out a small laughter.

"I've done that for the past two months," Veronica rolled her eyes, pouring herself a cup of white wine and downing it, "And every time she pees on the stick, it's bad news, and then I get depressed thinking about my husband banging my mom, 'cause we selfishly want to have a baby with some of our DNA- and maybe my mom can't get pregnant anymore, and we've crossed this line for no reason, and every time I'm reminded it's not me banging my husband, and it's not me peeing on the stick, and it's not me that gets to have the baby!"

"Oh, V." Hannah whispered with a frown at the sight of the woman.

"V, your mom wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't for you. Kev's only doing this because he loves you. There'd be no baby without you. They all love you so much. This is all about you," Fiona told her, leaning against the counter, "So you're gonna get some wine, get the stick, get your mom in the bathroom, and if you get bad news, get drunk."

"Really fucking drunk." Hannah nodded.

"And we'll figure out what comes next." Fiona said, making Veronica grin.

"Who needs root beer float coffee?" Jimmy called as he entered the house.

"All of us," Veronica told him, the two women and Hannah each grabbing one. Veronica kissed Fiona's cheek, "I love you."

"Call me with the news." Fiona told her.

Veronica nodded as she left, "Thank you."

"Hey, V!" Hannah called out, following the woman outside, standing on the back porch, Veronica halfway down the stairs, "If there's anyone in this world who deserve to have a baby more than anything, it's you and Kev. It's gonna happen. I promise."

Veronica smiled up at the girl, wiping away a stray tear, "Thanks, Han. Love you."

"Love you, too, V."

―

"No boyfriend tonight, then?" Elodie asked as she and Hannah sat at a table in the Alibi, empty shot glasses scattering their table.

Hannah rolled her eyes, "He's not my boyfriend."

"No, a boyfriend would actually give a shit about you." Elodie said.

"Xavier gives a shit."

"Does he even know your middle name?" Elodie asked, making the redhead look down, "And when was the last time he called you that wasn't for sex."

Hannah let out a sigh, "Look, E. I'm happy and he makes me feel wanted. That all I want right now."

Elodie raised an eyebrow, "Is it?"

The door to the bar then flew open, an out of breath and grinning Veronica entering the building, "Attention, people!" The ecstatic woman cried, holding up a pregnancy stick, "Kevin is gonna be a daddy!"

The bar was filled with whoops and cheers, Hannah and Elodie hugging each other in excitement. Veronica glanced over at Hannah, sending her a wide smile, the girl blowing her a kiss back.

"Be aware, for the rest of the night, I am stirring cocktails with this stick!" Kevin grinned, one arm wrapped around his wife, another holding up the pregnancy test.

"Glad we decided on only shots when we first came in here." Elodie muttered.

"Hey, I know what I'm doing."