Outfits Link:

https://urstyle.fashion/collections/205012

Montage (What happened since 1.12)

Day - Chicago Hospital - Zia's Room

Zia could barely move, not speaking again, eyes glassed over, as she seemed to be trapped but screaming to be let out.

She heard the doctor in the hallway explaining to Lip and Fiona, but she couldn't react to the words.

A doctor was explaining to Fiona and Lip. "I can assume a couple possible diagnoses. First... presentation of depression and PTSD, versus postictal psychosis, or bipolar. Now, she is clearly psychotic, but the question is, where is this psychotic behavior coming from? I'm gonna prescribe Haloperidol. It should sedate her enough so that we can do some further testing, but if her behavior doesn't improve, I think we should look at hospitals that are better equipped to deal with her problems."

Lip shook his head. "No, she's not going into a psych ward."

"Why don't you do that further testing before you threaten us with psychiatric hospitals?" Fiona asked.

The doctor sighed.

⫷⑅⫸

Waiting Room

Fiona and Lip walked into the waiting room.

Kimberly and Ian were sitting outside of Zia's room.

"Well?" Ian asked.

"They have nothing," Fiona told them.

"They have nothing?" Kimberly repeated. "She's been here over a week. They have to have something."

"They don't know," Lip admitted. "Each is giving a different diagnosis. One is saying bipolar, the next one is saying schizophrenic, then they're saying psychotic, or just depression and PTSD. I don't know."

"What the fuck does that even mean?" Ian asked.

"Means nobody knows what the hell is going on," Fiona answered. "That's what it means. She is not psychotic. Whatever it is, it's not that."

"Obviously," Lip agreed. "I think it's just the most... convenient explanation for them, so we need to continue putting pressure on them, so they continue to investigate."

"Yeah, that's important," Fiona stated. "Pressure."

"Shouldn't be like this, you know?" Kimberly asked, desperately confused and worried for their sister, just like the rest were. "I know she's still in there. She's just trapped. When I look in her eyes, I can see her screaming to get out."

⫷⑅⫸

Meeting Room

Fiona and Lip were talking to three doctors.

"So, her symptoms began with depressive episodes, black out states where she remembers nothing," Doctor 1 listed. "Sleepwalking, almost. Lashing out at things around her, or herself. She felt only sadness, numbness, hopelessly, paranoia, but had erratic outbursts. For a while, she stopped speaking. Her condition continues to regress, every day, where she can barely move on her own. Her physical exams were normal. Her neurological exams were normal. Infection workup negative, autoimmune test negative, toxic metabolic workup negative. All of it was negative. Before she went into a complete shutdown, according to Dr. Rhodes, she said that she didn't feel that things were real. That it was strange to even exist. Like everything felt like a dream, or like a movie to her. That everything was playing out automatically, like it was script, instead of reality."

"So what does all of this mean?" Fiona asked.

"We believe that this may not be the right hospital to treat her," Doctor 2 told them. "Perhaps Zia should be transferred to a psychiatric hospital."

"Okay, look," Doctor 3 told them. "We're gonna continue to monitor Zia on a daily basis for the time being. Let's just hope that something shows up and we can figure out a way of solving this and getting your sister better."

"Something?" Lip repeated incredulously. "I don't understand this. She's dying in there."

"Our tests prove that she is not dying," Doctor 1 told them. "The tests say that she is a healthy child, physically. But mentally, she is suffering."

"We want answers," Lip told them angrily. "It is your job to give us answers. This ain't some kid's club where you get to play doctor. This our sister's life. Her life is in your hands, and we want answers. Tell us what is wrong with our sister!"

Fiona put a hand on Lip's arm to calm him down.

"The truth, Mr. Gallagher, is that we don't know what is wrong with Zia," Doctor 2 admitted. "We work and make decisions based on facts, and at this point, we don't have any."

"We're sorry that there's nothing more that we can do," Doctor 3 told them. "We already have a bed on standby, and we're just waiting for your decision."

⫷⑅⫸

Another day

Morning - Chicago Hospital - Zia's Room

Zia was in her hospital bed, completely in a stupor.

Dr. Rhodes walked in to speak to Zia. "I'm sorry that I've been gone a while. I just got back to town when I heard what happened with you. Zia? I will do my best to help you. I will not hurt you and I will never lie to you. Okay? Okay. Let's begin. What is your name?" Zia didn't respond. "What is the year?" Zia didn't respond, closing her eyes. "Can you touch your nose?" Rhodes touched Zia's right hand. "With this hand?" Zia was struggling to move at all, completely shut down, but she managed to raise her hand to be able to touch her nose with her fist. Rhodes lowered her hand. "Very good." Rhodes moved Zia to where she sat on the edge of her bed. "Now would you walk for me? Get out of the bed." Rhodes helped Zia to her feet. "I need you to walk for me in a straight line. One foot in front of the other." Zia groaned, straining to do just that, taking just two steps before almost falling. Rhodes steadied her. "Okay, okay."

Zia had to sink back to her bed, a tear falling down her cheek.

While in Zia's mind, she could still see Micah. "You're going to stay here. With me. And you can't leave. There's nothing you can do about it. We can play, Zia. Isn't that what you want? Forever and ever and ever. Please, Zia. I don't want to be alone anymore."

⫷⑅⫸

High School - Embry's Office

JJ sat with Embry.

"How are things?" Embry asked.

JJ shrugged. "Just your average teenage melodrama."

Embry gave him a look. "Come on, you gotta give me more than that."

JJ sighed. "I'm here. I'm doing work. To get better, I mean. I don't know what else you want from me."

Embry crossed his arms. "What about your other classmates?"

"They're always telling me what I am," JJ admitted. "That I'm a freak. I get it. Doesn't mean that it doesn't piss me off sometimes."

Embry nodded. "Well, that must be hard. Come on, man. Come on, help me out here. Help me out."

JJ shrugged, looking around. "Maybe if you got a fainting couch, you could put it right over there. It would really give me the mise en scene that I was looking for. Tie the whole room together."

Embry sighed, frustrated with JJ's deflection, walking around his desk to sit down in his chair. "Did you look into that support group I told you to check out?"

"I might've lost the info on that one," JJ replied.

Embry sighed. "Come on, Jeremiah. It's a small ask, man." He sighed, writing the info down on a Post-It note. "All right. It's Mondays after school at First Congregational. It's called Fresh Approach."

"Ooh!" JJ said sarcastically.

Embry gave him a look. "And it is confidential, so you can say whatever you want about anything that's bothering you. It is a safe space, JJ." He handed over the note with the info. "I want you to think about it." JJ picked up the note, twisting it around. "What now? Now what are we doing? What? What's happening?"

"Is this a knock off?" JJ asked.

Embry raised an eyebrow. "The Post-It?"

JJ stood, shrugging. "This is off brand."

Embry shook his head, unamused. "Please leave now."

JJ gave a sarcastic smile and a thumbs up, walking out of the office.

⫷⑅⫸

Chicago Hospital - Waiting Room

Kimberly, Fiona, Lip and Ian were waiting for news, all of them worried.

Rhodes walked into the room, looking at the four of them in concern.

The four of them instantly stood when they saw the doctor.

"Hi," Ian told her.

"Please tell me you know what's going on," Kimberly told her. "We can't do this guessing game anymore."

Rhodes nodded in assurance. "I am quite sure I know what's wrong with Zia. And it is something that we can treat. The lockdown itself was a trauma response to what happened that day on the river."

"Yeah, that's what they kept telling us," Fiona agreed. "And I get that part, but what about the other stuff?"

"It's a disorder," Rhodes answered. "Rare, but not unheard of. After all the tests we've ran, this is the only thing that makes sense."

"What is it?" Lip asked.

Fiona, Lip, Kimberly and Ian couldn't express how relieved they were just to get answers and any closer to trying to help Zia.

"Depersonalization and derealization disorder, added with depression and anxiety and PTSD," Rhodes answered. "This is a dissociative disorder and is usually triggered by severe stress, particularly emotional abuse or neglect during childhood, or other major stresses, such as experiencing or witnessing physical abuse. Happens when in life-threatening danger, taking certain drugs, becoming very tired, deprived of sleep or sensory stimulation, as may occur when they're in the ICU, which is why since entering the ICU after that day, symptoms grew worse and worse instead of getting better. Feelings of detachment from self or the surroundings may occur periodically or continuously. Paralyzing paranoia is also a symptom. This disorder can last for years, decades, even a lifetime. Episodes can last for hours, days, weeks or years. They may feel detached from one's body, mind, feelings and or sensations, like a glass wall or veil separates them from the world. Feeling as if they're in a dream, or a fog, feeling unreal or like an automaton, with no control over what they do or say, like a robot. They may feel emotionally or physically numb, unable to describe their feelings. Describe themselves as an outside observer of their own life or the 'walking dead'. You said that she could feel very little to no pain, and this disorder would be the reason why. Memory issues as well. The world seems lifeless, colorless, artificial, appearing distorted. In Zia's case, she said that sometimes objects appeared blurry or unusually clear or seemed flat, or smaller or larger than they are, to her. Sounds seem louder or softer than they are. Time may seem to be going too slow or too fast."

The four siblings were stunned because this described exactly what they had been seeing in Zia since the drive by.

"And the zone outs?" Ian asked. "The sleepwalking? Seeing Micah and other stuff in her head that's not real?"

"All side effects of the symptoms with the trauma she's endured," Rhodes answered. "The 'zone outs' as you call them, are dissociative stupors, where she shuts down like this and doesn't react to anything on the outside, because she's trapped in her own mind, like a cage. She can't hear, can't speak, can't move. That is what is happening to her right now. She could barely hear me in order to show me what she could do just now. This is the worst stage that it could get to, while the ones that you've experienced are less powerful. Where she was harming herself without realizing, until a touch woke her from her state. The 'sleepwalking', as you called it, is a dissociated state, that, as you said, she's not aware of what she's doing, and she can't recall what she was doing after. This disorder is also what is slowing down her recovery from these traumatic events. She can't move past them as many others would be able to, because it is preventing her from doing so. Living with this disorder is a daily battle. It takes so much energy, thinking and adrenaline to do anything. It can make the simplest of things difficult. Dissociation in itself is a brain's way of avoiding traumatic, stressing situations, like the purest form of denial saying, 'this isn't happening to me'. It's not her choice and she can't control it without help, especially for someone so young and traumatized. People who dissociate during trauma are more likely to develop a pattern of dissociation as a coping strategy. But I know of treatments that can help her over time. Even if it takes a long while."

Fiona, Lip, Kimberly and Ian let out shaky breaths, horrified but not shocked by the information because of what they had witnessed Zia going through since this all started, but relieved that Rhodes knew what was wrong and how to deal with it.

"What are the treatments?" Kimberly asked.

"Psychodynamic psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, antianxiety and antidepressants," Rhodes answered. "Some other forms of medication for PTSD. However, antianxiety drugs may also increase depersonalization or derealization, so we have to carefully monitor use of these drugs."

"So that's why her zone outs got worse after taking meds," Lip stated. "Great."

"I wish there was another way to treat these, but there's nothing that's remotely effective," Rhodes admitted. "But as I said, monitor and we'll see where we go from there to balance out these medications and try to make sense of what works for Zia herself. Since what works for others might not work for her. I'd like to keep her a little while longer, hopefully to get her out of her dissociative shut down, and we'll make plans to bring her home soon. I promise."

Fiona, Kimberly, Lip and Ian nodded in agreement.

"Thank you, Dr. Rhodes," Fiona told her.

"Thank you so much," Ian agreed.

Dr. Rhodes nodded.

⫷⑅⫸

Outside

Kimberly walked outside, to where JJ was waiting.

"Did they finally figure out what's wrong?" JJ asked.

"Rhodes did," Kimberly answered. "Uh, PTSD, anxiety and depression disorders amped to eleven. But, uh... on top of that, is derealization and depersonalization. That's where the zone outs, or the stupors as the doctors call it, come from. But the most recent, is when she went under the ice. That was the most obvious reason why she shut down. Froze. Literally. It wasn't... like she was willingly shutting down again. It was something she couldn't control. But, uh, they're definitely trying to get her back. We think that we can get her back."

"What does it all mean?" JJ asked.

Kimberly swallowed. "It means what she's been telling us all along. She doesn't know what's real. She can't feel anything. Nothing feels like reality for her. She feels as if she doesn't exist. Detached from life and her surroundings. She has to learn how to do everything from scratch again. How to talk, how to smile, how to feel, how to exist. And... there's so much more. God. I don't know how to help her."

JJ wrapped Kimberly in his arms, as the two had tears in their eyes, holding her comfortingly and protectively, just utterly there for her, just like she always was for him.

⫷⑅⫸

Over the Summer

Over the summer, Kimberly and JJ had built up quite the clientele, selling to people in discrete supermarkets, alleys, motels, even businessmen in parking lots, never once being caught, always on the down low.

JJ was laundering money, taking all of the cash out of the bin.

Sadly, of course, most of the money they were making were paying of Tristan's debts to keep their families safe, but what they could keep, they were using to take care of their families.

Malcolm had kept quiet about his diagnosis with lung cancer; he didn't want to put anyone else in more pain after everything that happened. He had gotten out of the hospital shortly before Zia could, and instantly started to get back to work with Natalia and JJ to sell their fake IDs to make more money for everyone.

⫷⑅⫸

First Congregational - Fresh Approach Support Group

JJ was at the support group.

A girl spoke up. "Uh, I'm Lindsey. I'm OCD and just got diagnosed with a social anxiety disorder, so being here with everyone is not intimidating at all." There were scattered chuckles. "Last year, I started cutting myself. I still deal with it, but I'm here.

A boy spoke up. "I'm Bradley. Uh, I am ADHD, OCD, BPD, DID, and bipolar. Yeah. Um, you'd think some of those would cancel the others out, but... yeah, my week's been okay. I've been watching a lot of basketball lately, and that's been helping a lot, so..."

A girl spoke up. "I'm Amanda. I'm bulimic. I've tried to kill myself twice. I think about it almost every day."

JJ knew that it was his turn. "Um... I'm JJ. Jeremiah Jordan Fisher. I was diagnosed with BPD. I got into this fight at school. It was like... I was there, but I wasn't there. I was watching myself, and... the same thing happened a while ago, during a drive by. And I got shot. Almost died at the swimming hole. So, there's that. I just get a little lost sometimes. I run... a lot. Sometimes that helps. Kind of. I don't know. I feel like I keep messing things up, and I'm not sure I know how to not do that. It's always been the harmless stuff that hurts the most. Whereas the thing so horrible you can't even imagine it is usually a lot easier than you think. You never really know until you're the one standing there. Is that enough?"

The group leader nodded. "Sure. Thanks. Glad you're here."

⫷⑅⫸

Now

Day One

Morning - Street

(Song:) Right Hand On My Heart - The Whigs

A missing persons flyer was hung up on a tree, for Eddie.

Malcolm covered Eddie's poster with a "Vicious Victorious" fight night, at the Lamplight, tickets for eight bucks each person, 18 or older to compete.

Malcolm coughed into his elbow, hating that he was starting to get weaker because of his cancer, but he would rather suffer with it in silence than put his next-door neighbors, who were beginning to feel like family after all of the family that he already lost, through more agony. He walked away down the street.

In the opposite direction, Sheila was walking down the sidewalk, counting her steps. "77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82."

Frank was standing outside the Jackson house down the street, watching Sheila, taking a drink of beer.

Karen walked outside; she looked back to normal, no longer in her goth faze. She noticed what Frank was doing. "Won't be long now, Frank. In a few days, she's gonna make it to the store, the hair salon, Alibi Room, gonna meet your friends." She patted Frank on the shoulder mockingly. "Hear all those heartwarming, scumbag, freeloading Frank stories."

Karen walked up to the street.

A man named Jody pulled up on his motorcycle.

"Who the hell is that?" Frank asked

Karen got on the back of the bike. "Friend from group."

"Group?" Frank repeated.

Karen nodded. "Sex Addicts Anonymous. Gig's almost up, Daddy Frank. Time to make other plans."

Karen patted Jody on the hip, kissing his head. They rode off down the street on the bike.

Frank looked worried that Karen was right.

Sheila spun around and threw her arms up in celebration. "100!"

Frank raised his beer bottle, nodding, taking a drink, incredibly nervous.

⫷⑅⫸

Gallagher House - Outside

Debbie was getting a man to pour water into the pool stationed outside of the Gallagher house to open up the swimming pool for the summer, smiling. "Thanks, lieutenant."

The man nodded, taking the baby Debbie was holding back from her, as it was his daughter. "Hey, you mind if we drop Cami off early tomorrow? Teresa's got inventory at Costco."

Debbie smiled. "No problem. And tell Teresa thanks for the case of dented soup."

Cami reached for Debbie, babbling.

Debbie smiled, blowing a kiss.

The man walked away, taking Cami with him.

Carson walked up to the pool with Ethan and Liam in either arm, putting them into a playpen nearby the pool, shouting at everyone nearby. "Pool's open!"

Carl immediately jumped up from the edge of the pool. "Cannonball!"

Carl fell into the water with a huge splash.

Several kids from all around the neighborhood started to jump into the pool.

Carson and Debbie were watching all of the kids as babysitters, including Ethan and Liam.

Ethan and Liam were happily playing around in the playpen.

Debbie, Carson and Carl looked around, knowing that the only thing missing to make it perfect was Zia, all of them saddened for a moment.

Carson bit her lip. "Zia comes home tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah," Carl answered. "Dr. Rhodes finally got her mostly back to normal but said that Zia could backslide if we're not careful after what happened with her and Malcolm. So, Fiona said that we can't upset Zia when she gets back or anything, and Kimberly, Lip and Ian said to blow off any steam we have tonight before she comes home. That's what they're doing with JJ, Natalia, Malcolm and Mandy tonight."

Carson nodded in understanding. "Good idea."

"Yeah," Debbie agreed.

Carson sighed, worried for her friend, knowing they were worried about their sister. "Carl? Debbie?" They both looked at her. "She's gonna be okay."

Carl and Debbie nodded slightly.

(Song Ends)

⫷⑅⫸

Malcolm/Milkovich House - Outside

Natalia walked outside, down the porch steps of her house.

Grey Boivin got out of his car, looking over to see Natalia. "Natalia, hey."

"Grey," Natalia replied. "Looking for Fiona? She's got a job today, and then she's working at the club tonight with V, so you might see her there."

"Great, thanks," Grey told her. "You think any more about the job offer I gave you?"

"About working at your family estate with your rich ass family?" Natalia asked skeptically. "I mean, yeah, since I need the money and it's probably better than working at a diner where guys hit on me all day, every day, but I never thought about working at a mansion, or vineyard, or whatever the hell you were talking about."

"Actually, both," Grey answered, amused. "My family owns the vineyard just off our estate, but that's beside the point. And before you ask, no, I'm not just offering the job because of you living next door to Fiona. If I have to remind you, I offered Malcolm and Mandy a job there, too, but..."

"Right, yeah," Natalia agreed. "Mandy won't do it, and Malcolm's got something else going on. But my brother Mickey gets out soon, but he'll say no too."

In the distance, a man, a street thug hired to spy on Grey and see who he was getting close, was watching Natalia and Grey. His street name was Baby.

"Just think about it, okay?" Grey asked. "There's a job lined up for tomorrow, if you think you're up for it."

Natalia bit her lip in thought, tilting her head, smirking, amused. "You just asking because you saw my good waitress and serving skills at the diner?"

Grey shrugged. "Like you said, it would be better, and safer, than working there."

"True," Natalia agreed. "I'll think about it. Let you know in the morning."

Grey nodded in agreement. "I'll see you then, Natalia."

"See ya, Grey," Natalia replied.

Malcolm walked up to the house, seeing the rich new hookup of Fiona's. "Hey, Grey."

"Malcolm," Grey replied. "On the way out, but nice to see you."

"You too," Malcolm replied. Grey walked away to his car, getting in, driving away. Malcolm looked at Natalia in amusement. "About the job offer?"

"Yeah, I might take it," Natalia answered. "Better than having to sell drugs or fake IDs to make quick cash for hospital bills and Tristan's debts to keep us safe."

Malcolm shrugged in acknowledgement. "True."

"Fight night?" Natalia asked.

"Tonight at the Lamplight," Malcolm answered. "Expecting quite the turnout and some more cash flowing it, so it'll help."

Natalia nodded in agreement. "All right then. Zia comes home tomorrow, so let's blow this shit out of our system."

"Let's," Malcolm agreed.

"I gotta head to the Alibi real quick, but I'll be right back," Natalia told him.

Malcolm nodded.

Natalia walked away down the street.

Baby had stuck around to follow Natalia, being as discreet as he could.

Natalia glanced over her shoulder when she felt as if she was being watched, noticing Baby, but he played it off well like he wasn't following her, turning down the street.

⫷⑅⫸

The Alibi Room

Kevin was behind the bar.

Natalia walked up to the bar. "Hey, Kev, can I get that 50 for helping Carson with Ethan the other night?"

"Yeah, sure," Kevin answered. Baby walked into the bar after having followed Natalia there, sitting down at a table nearby, acting like he was just getting something to drink to play it off. Kevin handed the cash to Natalia. "Thanks, Natalia."

"No problem," Natalia replied.

Frank was sitting at the bar, drinking. "Hi to you too, Natalia."

"Fuck off, Frank," Natalia replied.

Frank was not surprised by her response. "Eddie goes to the corner for a pack of Luckies, never heard from again." Kevin was behind the bar. "Goddamn city couldn't wait to stop paying him. Wasn't two weeks before the checks stopped coming." Frank finished his glass, so Kevin handed him another beer. "And now what are we supposed to live off of? Sheila's single disability check?"

Frank scoffed.

"Zia might get one, apparently," Kevin explained. "With her disorder and everything that happened, but they won't know until she gets home tomorrow."

"Get home from where?" Frank asked.

Natalia was not surprised, rolling her eyes. "The hospital, you dipshit, or did you forget that your daughter hasn't been home in three months?"

Kevin nodded. "She's been in the hospital since Tristan almost killed her and Malcolm."

Frank's face fell as he remembered the news. "Oh, right. Fuck. Zia's a survivor, that one."

Kevin shook his head.

Natalia rolled her eyes, turning her head when she felt she was being watched again, seeing Baby at a table.

Baby started to gloat to a group of people to act like he wasn't spying on Natalia. "Then they go and pat me down. He's gonna try to Tase me."

Natalia rolled her eyes. "I'm out of here."

"Bye, Natalia," Kevin told her.

"Later, Kevin," Natalia returned, walking out of the bar.

Baby watched Natalia walk out of the bar, but stayed in the Alibi, knowing that Natalia was suspicious with him following her, needing some time to let that die down before he tried again.

"If Sheila does go to work, what's she gonna make?" Frank asked. "Minimum wage at best."

"Nobody's heard from Eddie?" Kevin asked.

Frank shook his head, looking over at Baby, listening to his conversation. "Not a word. Man's got no sense of responsibility. Leaving a family of three to fend for themselves."

"He Tases me," Baby continued. "Yeah, I got Tasered twice, man."

"Bullshit," Frank said.

Kevin's eyes went wide as he looked at Frank.

Baby turned to face him. "What'd you say?"

"Uh, I said bullshit," Frank answered. "I got Tasered for, like, a second, I crapped myself. There's no way you got Tasered twice, fought off three cops, ran away. Pfft."

Baby stepped up in confrontation. "What, you calling me a liar?"

Frank looked Baby up and down skeptically. "At the very least, an exaggerator."

Baby glared. "A grand says I did."

Frank looked at Baby critically for a moment, before standing. "Kev, you still got that Taser back there? I'll see your grand and add nine more. Ten thousand in American legal tender says you cannot get Tasered twice and not soil your tighty whities, much less keep standing."

Baby accepted the challenge, knowing he would win, taking off his shirt, bracing himself. "All right, shithead." Kevin walked out from behind the bar with the Taser. Frank chuckled, spinning around in excitement, sitting down. Baby held out his arms, looking at Kevin. "Do it." Kevin set the Taser up, aiming at Baby. "Do it!" Kevin shot Baby in the chest with the Taser, the two prongs poking him in the chest, shaking his body slightly. Baby took it in stride, still standing. "Again!" Kevin tased Baby once again, having the same effect, as Baby just shook a bit, but still stayed standing, ripping the prongs out of his chest. "Fuck! What?" Kevin and Frank looked at him in disbelief, as did the rest of the bar, all impressed. Baby went to take a shot, before turning his head to glare at Frank. "Where's my ten grand, motherfucker?"

Frank didn't answer, looking away nervously.

⫷⑅⫸

Gallagher House - The Girls' Room

Kimberly was texting back and forth with JJ, as they were using Virginia Woolf quotes given summer reading, which Kimberly actually did enjoy a bit.

JJ: I feel we can't go through another of those terrible times.

Kimberly: Why are women so much more interesting to men then men are to women?

JJ: My own brain is, to me, the most unaccountable of machinery. Always buzzing, humming, soaring, roaring, diving, and then buried in mud. And why? What's this passion for?

Kimberly: If you do not tell the truth about yourself, you cannot tell it about other people.

JJ walked out of the Fisher-Ball house, around to the Gallagher house.

In her room, Kimberly was waiting for JJ to answer back, only to hear stones hitting her window. She stood, walking to the window, looking outside.

JJ stood outside the house, waving up to Kimberly.

Kimberly smiled, waving.

JJ waved for Kimberly to come down.

Kimberly shrugged, like saying 'Why?'

JJ picked up another rock and tossed it at the window.

Kimberly laughed at the clacking sound the rock made against the window, before making her way down.

⫷⑅⫸

Outside

Kimberly walked outside toward JJ, smiling. "That time already?"

"Almost," JJ answered. "Come on."

Kimberly grinned.

⫷⑅⫸

Night - Club

(Song:) Ooh, I Like it - Ultra Violet Sound

The club was jam packed with all kinds of people, all dancing, drinking and having fun.

Fiona walked through the crowd, holding a tray with a beer bottle on it.

A businessman who sat with three ladies raised his hand. "Hey, gorgeous, more diablos."

Fiona walked closer, looking at the ladies. "Think these Boy Scouts can handle that kind of heat, girls?"

A girl laughed. "No way. Not a chance."

Fiona picked up their glasses, walking away with the tray, toward the bar.

Veronica was standing behind the bar as a bartender, wearing the same outfit as Fiona for their uniforms, laughing.

Their uniforms were white tank tops with sparkly silver linings and black jeans.

Fiona moved the beer and the glasses off of her tray and onto the bar. "Six more diablos, a J.B. back, Ketel One up with a lime wedge, Maker's seven, and four Stellas."

Veronica nodded, going to get the drinks.

Fiona looked over her shoulder toward the DJ.

"Haven't given up on that yet?" Veronica asked.

Fiona looked at Veronica, shrugging. "Every summer needs a challenge."

"Man's in love with his own fabulous self," Veronica told her. "Probably masturbates while he licks his reflection in the mirror." Fiona grinned, laughing. "You'd be better off with Grey."

"Grey and I are no strings, as we agreed," Fiona replied. "I'm not having a repeat of you-know-who."

Veronica nodded skeptically. "Uh-huh. Well, I don't think you have to worry about that with Grey. He doesn't get involved into your family business or try to buy you off in a relationship."

Fiona shrugged in agreement.

Across the bar, Jasmine called over, waving. "Fiona!"

Fiona smiled, waving. "Hey, hi!"

Veronica noticed a man standing next to Jasmine. "Who's that, slutty's husband?"

"No, Hal's rounder," Fiona answered.

Veronica and the rounder walked up to them.

Jasmine put an arm around Fiona in greeting. "Hi!"

"Hey," Fiona replied.

Jasmine gave Fiona a kiss on the lips. "Fi, V, this is my friend, David."

David looked at Fiona. "Jasmine's told me a lot about you."

Fiona looked at Jasmine, raising her eyebrows.

Jasmine grinned. "Only that you're fabulous, smart and unbelievably sexy." She hit Fiona's ass. "And that you're home for the summer from Princeton."

Fiona gave her a look.

David kissed Jasmine's shoulder. "I'll get us a table."

"Okay," Jasmine agreed.

David walked away.

Fiona raised her eyebrows at Jasmine. "Princeton?"

Jasmine danced in place. "We're going out later, you wanna come?"

"What about Hal?" Fiona asked.

"Annual Michigan fishing trip with his softball buddies," Jasmine answered. "Mosquitoes, bratwurst and gallons of Budweiser."

Veronica nodded, finishing getting the drinks that Fiona ordered. "Sounds pretty Brokeback to me."

Jasmine grinned, looking at Fiona. "Come later. Live a little."

Jasmine walked away.

Veronica looked at Fiona. "That a regular thing?"

Fiona shrugged. "First time I've seen him."

"She probably did his taxes, then did him," Veronica remarked.

They both laughed.

Fiona walked away to go hand out the drinks.

(Song Ends)

⫷⑅⫸

Lamplight - Vicious Victorious Fight Night

(Song:) Dawn - The Chesterfield Kings

Malcolm, given that he lost his entire family, he was nearly killed by Tristan, and now he knew that he had cancer and was suffering in silence, was blowing off much of his anger and frustration at the world and at everything, by fighting against a guy.

Kimberly, JJ, Lip, Ian, Natalia and Mandy were all here, watching the fight, cheering Malcolm on.

Everyone else in the building was cheering and raging as well.

Malcolm was slightly cut up and bleeding already, but didn't hesitate to continue the fight, recklessly lashing out.

"Get your guard up, Malcolm," Ian called. Malcolm was not up to full strength given his health, as he was punched and kicked and thrown back toward his friends. JJ, Ian and Lip caught Malcolm from falling. Ian looked at Malcolm. "Kick him back. You're punching like a fag."

"Weird thing for you to say, Ian," Malcolm replied.

JJ and Lip chuckled, as the three boys pushed Malcolm back toward the fight.

"You got this, Malcolm," JJ told him.

The guy punched toward Malcolm. Malcolm ducked, grabbing the guy around the waist, flipping him over his shoulder and to the ground, slamming him down, kicking him in the side, punching him.

"Yeah!" Lip cheered. "Get him!"

Mandy cupped her hands around her lips, cheering supportively. "Yeah! Malcolm!"

Malcolm won the first round, as everyone erupted into cheers.

Kimberly, working as the ref, rung the bell. "First round, Malcolm! Back to your corners!"

Natalia turned to the crowd. "Let's place some bets!"

A group of guys walked over to place some bets with Kimberly and Natalia.

JJ, Lip and Ian were handling other bets with some other groups.

Malcolm walked over to Mandy, sitting down, breathing heavily. "Hey, Mandy."

Mandy put a towel to Malcolm's head. "You working out some anger, huh? Never seen you so mad."

"Yeah," Malcolm agreed. "Well, I have a shit ton of reasons to be angry." Mandy nodded in agreement. "Had to let it out before I exploded."

"Got it," Mandy agreed. "He was kicking your ass, but at least you're giving as good as you get."

Malcolm shrugged. "That kid hits hard."

Mandy dabbed at the blood on Malcolm's head. "What did you think this was going to be?"

"I didn't think he could punch me with his foot," Malcolm replied. "He kicked the top of my goddamn head."

Malcolm coughed violently, spitting out some blood to the floor.

Mandy looked at him in concern. "Are you okay?"

Malcolm wiped the blood from his lips, swallowing, nodding. "Yeah. I'll be good to go. In a minute, anyway."

Kimberly and Natalia walked away from their group of guys with the bet money.

Kimberly smirked. "That guy was checking you out."

"I thought you were rooting for me and Lip," Natalia replied mockingly. "You keep calling us husband and wife."

"Of course I am, because I do," Kimberly answered. "But you should get laid in the meantime."

Natalia laughed lightly. "I'm not talking about my sex life with you, Kimberly."

"Good, because there's nothing to talk about," Kimberly replied. Natalia scoffed, but since she knew that Kimberly was right, she couldn't help a smirk, amused. "I thought you being pansexual would broaden your horizons."

Natalia flipped Kimberly off teasingly in return for Kimberly's teasing. "Bitch."

"Slut," Kimberly replied with their usual name-calling banter.

Natalia threw her arm around Kimberly's shoulder, as the two laughed and walked toward Mandy and Malcolm.

JJ, Lip and Ian walked over from the other side.

JJ pointed over to a guy studded in leather and sparkles. "Glitter rock vampire over there just gave me the biggest sum of cash out of everybody here. I think he thought I was gay. Sucks for him." The others smirked in amusement. "Think you might have a next hookup option, though, Ian."

Ian snorted. "No, thanks, JJ."

The others smiled.

"Getting a bunch of fucking money out of this, huh?" Malcolm asked.

"Yeah, your best idea for cash so far," Lip answered. "Can't believe we didn't think of this sooner."

Mandy patted Malcolm's shoulders. "Well, credit here for the master."

Malcolm chuckled, which soon turned into coughing, causing his friends to look at him in surprise and concern.

"You wanna throw in the towel?" Natalia asked.

Malcolm gave a dazed smile. "I would if I was smart. Ring the bell, Kimberly."

"You sure?" Kimberly asked.

Malcolm nodded. "Ring it."

Kimberly walked over to the bell, ringing it.

Malcolm stood to go back into the ring but was instantly punched in the face and fell to the floor.

(Song Ends)

⫷⑅⫸

Club

(Song:) Born to Party - Julia Michaels

Fiona walked up to the DJ to give him a beer.

The DJ took the beer, but didn't even look at Fiona, not giving her the time of day.

Fiona shrugged, walking away toward the bar.

Veronica had noticed, teasing. "He's crazy about you."

Fiona smirked, giving her a look, placing the empty glasses on the bar. "Long Island, two Landsharks, three mojitos, margarita no salt, Chivas neat and a Jack rocks."

Veronica started to get the drinks, spotting Jasmine dancing provocatively with David on the dance floor. "All the woman needs is a pole."

"Why don't you come out with us?" Fiona asked. "Kev won't mind. He's got Eliana, JJ, Carson and Ethan keeping him company."

Veronica shook her head. "Can't. I got a shift at the nursing home in the morning, got to pick up my check for the adoption appointment on Monday."

Fiona smiled excitedly. "Oh, my God. That's right. Six months is up. You and Kev can finally adopt JJ. Can't believe how cool Eliana is with that."

"Yeah, well, I can, given her Alzheimer's," Veronica replied. "Besides, Eliana wants JJ to be taken care of, and she's helping him and Kimberly out whenever they need help with Tristan's debts. She already saved Zia and Malcolm from Tristan before, so not a surprise she would help protect Zia, Kim and Natalia from the threat of the sex trade."

Fiona nodded in agreement. "Right."

"Plus, she helped renovate the basement so that Carson could set up her nice ass room with Ethan's playroom," Veronica added. "And renovated the attic to make her own room so she's not on the couch anymore. Eliana's rich, and flipping our house. If we ever move, at least this house will be worth something in the long run."

Fiona chuckled. "Right. Yeah, Kimberly's set up her room with Zia and Debbie kinda nice after all the drug money too, left over of course."

"Yeah, and Natalia, Malcolm and Mandy definitely set up their place nice while Mickey's in juvie," Veronica agreed. "Plus, the kids finished the fort over the summer while Zia's in the hospital. How the hell did they get money for that?"

"Debbie says Steve before he left," Fiona answered. "I don't fucking know. But Kimberly wanted the girls' room finished, and the kids wanted the fort finished, before Zia comes home tomorrow."

"Nice present," Veronica remarked.

Fiona nodded.

Grey walked up behind Fiona, placing a hand over her ass.

Fiona already knew who it was but was teasing. "Oh, this better be somebody who's about to give me a gigantic tip."

Fiona tilted her head, turning around to face Grey.

Grey smirked. "Oh, God, I'm so sorry. I thought your ass was my drink."

Fiona grinned.

Veronica smiled at the two of them, shaking her head, making a joke about Grey's hair. "Hey, Justin Bieber."

"My hair's not that bad, Veronica," Grey told her.

Fiona and Veronica exchanged an amused look, nodding.

"It sorta is," Fiona teased.

Grey chuckled, tilting his head, shaking it.

"How's things at Boivin Vineyards?" Veronica asked.

"Not great, but well enough for me to afford getting ripped off here," Grey answered.

"Natalia finally accept your job offer?" Veronica asked.

Grey shrugged. "We'll see in the morning. I can tell Natalia's already gonna get along with my little sister Shari too. Devil may care types."

Fiona chuckled lightly. "And you said your brother Dominic is coming back to town tomorrow?"

"Yeah, after a while of being gone," Grey answered. "Belle will still remain in charge though. Jameson and Alize kicked Dominic out of the company before he left."

"Rich people family drama sounds like it could be just as bad as our family drama," Veronica remarked.

Grey shrugged. "You have no idea, V." He looked at Fiona. "Are we on for later?"

Fiona tilted her head, shrugging coyly, cutely. "I haven't decided if I still like you."

Grey smirked, a hand to Fiona's cheek as they kissed briefly, pulling away, both smiling slightly.

Grey backed away, nodding in goodbye to Veronica. "See you later, Mama Bear."

Veronica was mixing a drink. "Hey, Junior. School night. In bed with lights out by 10."

"I'm 20, V," Grey replied, turning to walk away.

"Still a kid," Veronica replied.

Fiona smiled, turning to the bar, unable to stop grinning.

Veronica gave Fiona a look, smirking, amused.

Fiona looked up, giving Veronica an innocent look. "What?"

"Order's up," Veronica told her, handing her the drinks.

Fiona took the tray with the drinks, turning around, walking through the crowd.

⫷⑅⫸

On the Road

David was driving his convertible down the road, with Jasmine in the passenger seat.

Fiona and Grey were in the backseat, sitting up on the edge of the car, feeling the wind whipping around them, whooping and laughing, just generally blowing off steam and having fun.

Fiona threw her arms into the air, cheering, dancing a bit in her seat.

Grey picked up a champagne bottle, drinking, before handing the bottle to Fiona, smiling.

Fiona grinned in return, taking the bottle, drinking deep.

Fiona and Grey slid down into their seats, smiling and laughing away, the most carefree they could be, the only chance they could be.

(Song Ends)

⫷⑅⫸

Street

(Song:) Get Your Hustle On - Beyond Music Library

Natalia, Lip, Malcolm, Mandy, Kimberly, JJ and Ian walked down the street together.

"How the hell did that little guy kick Kurt fucking Landis' ass?" Mandy asked.

"We make anything on my fight?" Malcolm asked.

Ian shook his head. "Nah, nobody wanted the odds."

"Yeah, you kinda looked half dead out there, even with some badass moves," JJ pointed out.

Malcolm shrugged in acknowledgement, looking down because that was technically true. "What'd you put down?"

"What, on the fight you lost?" Lip asked. "Nada."

"Yeah, friend loyalty doesn't extend to stupidity, bud," Kimberly told him in amusement.

"You work out your anger, though?" Natalia asked. Malcolm nodded. "Good, then that's all that matters."

"Plus, we did make a shit ton more just based off all the people there and the other bets," Malcolm added. He looked at JJ and Natalia. "And I presold 200 IDs at the usual price, $150 a pop."

The others looked at him in surprise.

"You presold 200?" Natalia repeated, stunned.

"Well, we still gotta make them and collect the money, but preordered, I should say," Malcolm answered.

"Okay, I thought we were gonna do low numbers at a time to make sure that we couldn't get caught," JJ pointed out. "Since, you know, this is still a felony."

"Yeah, well, we're all strapped for cash and need the money," Malcolm replied. "You've got Tristan's debts, and we all got bills of our own, so... at least we'll be looking at 30K coming in."

Kimberly, Lip, Ian and Mandy exchanged a look, whistling at the high price.

"What do you need that kind of cash for?" Lip asked.

Malcolm shook his head. "Don't worry about it. This helps all of us, okay? Just leave it at that."

"All right, I guess," Mandy agreed.

Ian looked at JJ and Kimberly. "And the drugs?"

"Necessary evil, as we know," Kimberly answered. "We need to pay off millions of Tristan's debts to keep us safe, to multiple people, which Eliana is figuring out the amount and how many people, so that we can start to pay them all off ourselves, instead of going through Rod and Vlad."

"That way we can get through it quicker," JJ agreed. "Plus, Eliana's helping with the adoption, hospital bills for me, and Kimberly's using her cut of what we have left for Zia's hospital bills, all that shit."

"But at least I got the room set up for me, Debbie and Zia, and the fort is finished, before tomorrow," Kimberly pointed out.

Natalia, JJ, Malcolm, Lip and Ian nodded, as all the kids had spent the summer getting it finished before Zia came home.

"Right," Mandy agreed. "Zia comes home tomorrow."

"Yeah," Lip answered. "And she could backslide if we're not careful, so we just have to make sure that everybody's careful with her, and make sure that doesn't happen."

"No stress or worry or anything like that," Ian added. "But Zia might just instantly pass out when she gets home, since Rhodes said that she would be pretty tired with them trying to balance out her meds and everything."

"Understood," Natalia agreed. "So, we just keep an eye on Zia and make sure that things go smoothly when she gets home."

Malcolm nodded, looking down. "Yeah. Nothing upsetting, right?"

"Right," Kimberly agreed. "I still can't thank you enough for the way that you and Eliana saved her, Malcolm."

Malcolm shook his head. "You don't have to keep thanking me."

"You saved our sister's life," Lip replied. Malcolm gave them a slight smile. Lip looked at Natalia and Mandy. "Speaking of siblings coming home, Mickey's out soon, right?"

"In about a week or so, if he doesn't stab anybody else," Mandy answered. "Plastic fork, barely broke the kid's skin, but it bought him 30 days."

Kimberly glanced between Natalia, Mandy and Ian. "You gotta be looking forward to having Mickey home again too."

Lip took out a cigarette, lighting it, taking a hit.

Natalia looked at Ian knowingly with a smirk. "Some of us more than others."

Ian gave Natalia a push. "Shut up, Natalia."

The others smirked in amusement.

JJ looked between the Gallagher siblings to Natalia and Mandy. "At least you all have a sibling coming home soon."

They nodded.

Malcolm looked down, changing the subject. "Hey, I wanna stage another fight night next week. Go around to the dojos, round up some more scrappers."

"Sure, yeah," Kimberly agreed.

"Yeah, knowing with all the shit we got to deal with, 30K's not gonna last long, so good idea," JJ stated.

Lip nodded. "All right, cool, you guys handle that."

Lip started to walk away.

"Where you going?" Ian asked.

"Karen's," Lip answered.

Natalia and Kimberly rolled their eyes.

"Thought you gave up on that bitch," Natalia told him.

Lip chuckled, walking away. "See you."

"Yeah," Malcolm agreed.

Mandy made a face. "Karen Jackson? After that thing with your dad?"

Ian shrugged. "I'm sneaking antibiotics into his toothpaste, just in case."

Kimberly, Natalia and JJ laughed.

"Good thinking, bro," Kimberly told him.

"You're telling me," Natalia agreed. "That skanky meow mix bitch."

Mandy and Malcolm smirked slightly.

JJ turned toward Kimberly. "You still good to go for us tonight?"

Kimberly smiled, taking JJ's hand. "You know I am."

Ian smiled. "Kimberly, JJ, you two have fun. You earned it after working your asses off."

JJ waved. "See you guys later."

"See you," Malcolm agreed.

Kimbelry and JJ walked away down the street.

Ian turned to Malcolm and Mandy, slightly awkward, smiling. "I should get going too."

"Don't worry, Ian," Malcolm told him, teasing. "You won't be a third wheel much longer with Mickey getting out soon."

Mandy laughed.

Ian nodded sarcastically. "Fuck off, Malcolm."

Malcolm chuckled. "See you tomorrow for Zia's welcome home party."

Ian nodded in agreement, patting Malcolm on the shoulder, saluting Mandy, turning around, walking away.

Mandy and Malcolm started to walk down the street.

"You sure you're okay after tonight?" Mandy asked.

"Yeah, fine," Malcolm replied. "Besides my pounding head."

Mandy chuckled, but didn't buy that he was fine, reaching over to nudge him in the side, cheering him slightly. Malcolm nudged Mandy back, tickling her side a bit.

Mandy laughed, walking ahead, grabbing Malcolm's hands to stop him from doing that again. "No!"

Malcolm couldn't help but smile when Mandy smiled at him like that, both of them holding each other's arms to keep them from tickling or nudging each other, continuing to walk down the street.

(Song Ends)

⫷⑅⫸

Park

JJ and Kimberly walked down the street, until they reached a park.

JJ led Kimberly to a wall where a "Before I Die" writing board was.

JJ picked up a piece of chalk, writing on one of the empty lines beneath Before I Die, and wrote "Be free"

Kimberly took the chalk, writing in the line above JJ's line, writing "Be alive" before blowing the chalk dust off the wall. They looked at each other with a smile, and kissed softly, happily, cupping each other's heads as they continued to kiss.

⫷⑅⫸

Street

On the way back home, Kimberly jumped onto JJ's back, and JJ caught her, wrapping her legs around her waist, as Kimberly wrapped her arms around his neck, so that JJ could carry her on his back on the way home, both of them smiling contently. Kimberly leaned her head on JJ's shoulder as they went back home together.

JJ looked at Kimberly. "So, we got the court date. I'm getting adopted Monday."

Kimberly smiled excitedly for JJ. "Oh, my God. Monday. It's finally here."

"Six months waiting," JJ agreed. "Finally here."

"And Zia's about to come home," Kimberly added. "It's gonna be a good couple of days. Finally."

JJ nodded in agreement. "Finally."

Kimberly cupped the back of his neck, her other hand on his shoulder, kissing JJ with such sweet, tender but fierce passion. JJ, surprised just a bit, cupped the back of Kimberly's neck and her head, kissing her just as much so, the kiss becoming more heated, passionate and desirable.

⫷⑅⫸

Jackson House - Outside

Lip was walking down the street, on the way to Karen's house.

A black car drove up behind Lip quickly, almost running Lip over in the process.

Lip jumped to the side into safety.

The car pulled over, and Baby threw Frank out to the ground outside. "Tomorrow, fuckhead."

The car sped away down the road.

Frank stood, holding his arm in pain. "Jesus Christ. Fuck." Lip looked at Frank in confusion. Frank turned to see Lip, acting like nothing was wrong. "Friend dropped me off."

Lip nodded skeptically. "Right."

They walked toward the Jackson house.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Frank asked.

"Came to see Karen," Lip answered.

"She went with a guy to her group," Frank explained.

"What group?" Lip asked.

Frank walked up the porch steps. "Sex Addicts Anonymous."

Frank turned to look at Lip, as neither of them knew what to say to each other.

Frank opened the door, walking inside.

Lip walked up the steps. "Well, can I come in and wait?"

"No," Frank replied, closing and locking the door.

Lip sighed, turning away, sitting down on the steps of the porch.

The porch light was turned off.

⫷⑅⫸

Fisher-Ball House - JJ's Room

Kimberly knocked on JJ's door. "JJ?"

"Come on in, Kimberly," JJ called.

Kimberly pushed it open, revealing JJ shirtless, but still in his jeans from the day. "Can I sleep here tonight?"

JJ nodded. "Of course. I'm just going to shower but feel free to get comfy."

Kimberly nodded, taking off her hoodie, climbing into JJ's bed, pulling his bedsheets around her as she snuggled into them, while JJ went to shower.

After his shower, JJ pulled his gray sweatpants over his body unaware (or maybe completely aware) of the effect they would have on Kimberly.

Kimberly watched as JJ walked out of the bathroom. JJ ruffled his wet hair before looking at Kimberly. Both their gazes locked with a completely new look that neither of them knew that they both had had for quite some time now, causing their hearts to flutter at the way they looked at each other. Kimberly moved the sheets aside, a clear invitation.

JJ moved over to the bed, positioning himself on top of Kimberly. "Fuck. I've been waiting to be able to kiss you in my bed."

Kimberly giggled, tilting her head up to softly kiss JJ. The kiss deepened as Kimberly slid her hands down JJ's bareback, digging her nails into his collar bone, making him groan. JJ ran his hand down her body until he gripped onto her hips.

Kimberly moved back to end their heated kiss. "JJ." JJ looked down at her with soft, caring eyes. "I'm a virgin."

JJ softly brushed some fallen hair out of her face, leaning down to kiss her lips. "We don't have to do anything. I'm sorry if I moved too quickly."

Kimberly shook her head. "No, please. It just never felt right before. But it does with you."

JJ smiled softly to hear this, whispering. "Okay, baby."

Gently, JJ placed his lips on Kimberly's, kissing her softly until he moved down to her neck, softly biting and leaving hickey marks on her neck, all the while Kimberly was enjoying this, her eyes closed in pure pleasure. He knew that she was shy about having sex for the first time; although he had never expected her to have been a virgin, he wouldn't have treated her any different if she wasn't. He wanted to show her how much she meant to him and just how long he'd wanted her.

Kimberly sighed heavenly. "JJ..."

JJ was gentle but eager as he carefully took Kimberly's clothes off, leaving her naked, looking her up and down, adoring her body. "Fuck, you're breathtaking." JJ kissed Kimberly passionately before pushing her legs open. JJ lowered his head down. Kimberly let out a moan at the touch of his tongue at her core, gripping the bedsheets, panting softly as he pushed two fingers inside of her, moving her hands to his hair, tangling them, grabbing harshly as he moved his fingers at a steady pace, circling her most sensitive pot straight on. Waves of pleasure washed over her. JJ groaned between her legs. "Fuck, Kimberly. You look so hot."

Kimberly was more turned on by the words, licking her lips, reaching up, hooking her arm around his neck, smirking as he touched her lip with his thumb. "What are you waiting for?"

"I wanna remember this," JJ answered. "I want you to remember this night. I want us to remember. We are together now."

"Together," Kimberly repeated.

JJ reached down, slamming his lips down onto Kimberly's, fingers still moving, making her let out a gasp, grabbing her waist, moving forward, pushing her further into the bed, observing Kimberly as she laid in his bed with her eyes closed, leaning forward, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead, positioned over her. "You sure?"

Kimberly nodded, opening her eyes to look up at JJ, reaching up to place a hand on his cheek. "Abso-fucking-lutely."

JJ chuckled, reaching down, pulling his sweatpants off, kicking them to the side, between her legs. Kimberly started to feel the pressure, whimpering as she felt him push into her slowly.

"Are you okay?" JJ asked softly. Kimberly nodded slowly. JJ leaned down into her as he continued pushing, panting as he held himself up. "Fuck, Kim."

Kimberly scratched one hand along JJ's chest, the other on his bed, pulling him into her as he pushed deeper inside her, causing Kimberly to throw her head back as he thrusted. "Fuck." JJ picked up his pace, the pleasure driving her mad. "God, don't stop."

Both of them loved every moment of this, thrusting in sync, the pleasure overtaking both of them. JJ bit Kimberly's neck lightly, kissing it, thrusting, going deeper each time, speeding up faster, faster, faster, a hand on her chest. Kimberly kept pulling him into her, one of her hands gripping the bed spread, holding on for dear life as they reached the climax. JJ turned Kimberly's head into his shoulder that if either of them made any noise, it would mostly be drowned out by each other's shoulders and necks, so that the rest of the house didn't hear.

When they were finished, Kimberly and JJ were both breathing heavily in ecstasy, looking at each other with small smiles, breathless.

JJ kissed Kimberly's cheek, brushing back her hair, taking in her scent, as both of them were coming down from their highs. "That was..."

"Perfect," Kimberly finished.

JJ smiled, using her words from just before. "Abso-fucking-lutely."

⫷⑅⫸

Riverside

On the beach-like riverside, Fiona and Grey were in Grey's car, with the top down.

Grey turned his head just in time so that her lips were mere inches from his own, parting her lips, hand coming up to her face to caress her cheek over so gently, their eyes fluttering shut, their lips meeting in a slow, sultry kiss, focused on quality, not quantity. They went for another, and another after that. Fiona gracefully climbed over the console and into his lap, kissing him, cupping his face between her hands, breaking apart from his lips just enough so she could look in his eyes, kissing him again, becoming very hot and heavy, quick and hungry, until his hands found their way to the area of her hips where her dress bunched up. Fiona placed her hands over his, which were gingerly grazing the folds of her dress, awaiting permission, egging him to push her dress up higher by moving his hands with hers, inching her dress up higher and higher, until Grey lifted it up off of her, savoring every touch, marveling at her. Fiona ghosted her hands down his stomach, peeling his shirt up his body, and Grey lifted his arms so she could take it off, tossing it into the seat beside them, along with her dress. Grey kissed her, holding her waist. Fiona pinned one of his hands to the console, the other to his door, kissing him, grounding her hips up and down and in circles over his pants, causing him to groan into her mouth, moving her lips along the curve of his jaw, trickling down his neck, across his collar bones, releasing one of his hands, running it through his hair. Fiona leaned to the left and pulled the lever at the side of his seat that made it recline, straddling his lap, pushing up on his chest, shifting back slightly, leaning in to kiss the length of his torso down to the waist of the pants he had on, tracing the outline of his growing erection with her mouth. Her hands fiddled with the button and zipper as her back lightly pushed up against the steering wheel. She pulled down his pants and he kicked them off, along with his shoes. Their eyes met, no lust present, just love, and Fiona unclasped her bra, letting it fall, shifting back up his body, kissing him, kneeling over him with her knees on either side of his hips, reaching behind her, taking hold of his cock, positioning it at his core. Grey helped by pushing the satin material that covered her entrance to the side so he could enter her. Fiona lowered herself onto his length, as both whimpered and moaned. His hands lightly grasped her hips as the soft skin of her inner thighs finally touched his pelvis. Grey grasped her neck gently and pulled her down to kiss her again as they moved in sync. Just after they broke their kiss, she swiped her tongue over her lips to taste him again, moving her hips up and down, her hands gripping onto his biceps, digging her nails into his skin. Grey's hands made their way up her waist and to her chest, grazing his thumbs over her nipples before leaning forward and sucking on both of them, making her shiver, wrapping his arms around her body, bringing her back down with him so she was lying on him with him holding her to his chest, impaling her again, gradually picking up the speed, their foreheads pressed together as her body jerked up against him with every thrust, driving her harder and harder at an even pace, faster, harder, kissing her hard to remind her of who was making her come undone. Fiona's spine arched, grinding her hip bones into his. Grey pushed into her as far as he could, holding himself there while her body shook with every wave of ecstasy that rolled through her. Her trembling body slumped into his. He stroked her hair, pressing kisses to her temple and cheek. Fiona went to her seat, and Grey followed, on top of her now, holding her face while he kissed her, his other hand tracing circles into her thigh, leaving goosebumps in his finger's wake. Fiona intertwined their hands as he leaned between her legs, and they kissed. Grey tugged her bottom lip between his teeth. He slid his head upon her slit, before pushing into her, moving, keeping a steady rhythm, leaning down, burying his face in the crook of her neck, licking her skin, blowing, moving faster, plowing into her harder, making her cry out. Fiona dragged her hand down his back, nails scratching, pushing him over.

They finally pulled apart when they both finished, pulling their clothes back on, breathing heavily, getting out of the car.

Grey placed out his jacket and a blanket over the ground so they could lay down on the ground. "Jesus."

Fiona smiled. "Couldn't have said it better myself, Romeo."

"Glad we ditched Jasmine and Old Man Dave?" Grey asked sarcastically. "Saw him pop four blue pills for their night."

Fiona chuckled. "Four? Wow. Yeah, that'll take a while."

They laid down on their sides, smirking slightly as they looked at each other.

"Sun's gonna come up soon," Grey pointed out. "I have to be back home for work on the vineyard."

"Right, and Dominic coming home for Shari's birthday," Fiona agreed. "Haven't actually met your siblings yet, but Belle seems like a bit of a bitch."

"Yeah, but she's not completely bad," Grey replied.

"I'd hope not, for her daughter's sake," Fiona replied. "Brielle, right?"

"Yep," Grey answered. "And Brielle's got a worse parent to worry about with her dad Ben. And you're the one that wanted to go slow and without strings. I just barely got to meet Kimberly, Lip, Ian, Carl, Debbie and Liam. And the extended family with JJ, Veronica, Kevin, Carson and Ethan, and Natalia, Malcolm and Mandy."

"Trust me when I tell you that that's not even all of them," Fiona told him.

Grey chuckled. "I know, Natalia and Mandy told me about Mickey. Zia comes home today too, doesn't she?"

"Yeah," Fiona answered. "So I gotta go home and change and pick her up soon."

Grey nodded in agreement. "Well, I'd like to meet her too, once she's settled back home, if you'd let me."

Fiona shrugged, slightly teasing. "We'll see. And yeah, you were right. Keeping this without strings is probably best right now. Guess I'm just not entirely ready for meeting a rich as hell family like yours."

Grey chuckled. "Trust me, I get it. I wouldn't wanna do that to you anyway."

"Jameson and Alize really that bad?" Fiona asked.

"Well, my stepmother is an evil bitch who blames my father for cheating on her and having me with another woman, and takes that out on me, yeah, I think so," Grey answered with honest sarcasm.

Fiona nodded. "Thank you for letting me dodge that bullet then."

Grey smirked. "No problem. I should probably get a run in before heading to work, though."

"I could run with you," Fiona offered. "I ran track in high school." Grey raised an eyebrow. "What? Don't look so surprised. I ran distance. I was gonna make state."

Grey sat up slightly, intrigued. "Yeah? What happened?"

"Life," Fiona answered, starting to get up. "Come on. I'm fast."

Grey pushed himself up with a slight smirk. "Oh, really?"

Fiona nodded. "I could beat your ass."

"You're on," Grey replied, darting off for the river edge on the sand.

Fiona had to fix her bra and dress before she could follow, giggling. "Wait!" She squealed, running up to Grey on the sand. "Okay, ready?"

Grey stood in the water, kicking up some water at Fiona. "Give a kick."

Fiona squealed at being splashed like that, smiling, laughing, kicking water back at Grey, both of them bursting into laughter.

They got out of the water, standing on the sand.

(Song:) Riff Raff - Oslo

Fiona dragged her foot in the sand, making a start line in front of them. "On your mark."

"Yeah," Grey agreed.

They both got into running form.

"Get set," Fiona continued, pushing Grey slightly in the shoulder to distract him. "Go!"

Fiona took off running.

Grey chuckled at that, before taking off after her, easily catching up with her.

For a while, they kept up with each other, evenly matched, until Grey had to stop because of soreness in his muscles over his body, breathing heavily as he had to stop, putting his hands on his knees, catching his breath.

Fiona laughed victoriously, still running.

Grey just smiled, watching her, shaking his head.

⫷⑅⫸

Gallagher House - Outside

As the sun was about to rise, Grey drove his convertible up to the Gallagher house to drop Fiona off.

Fiona got out of the car, walking around toward the driver's side to face Grey on the other side of the door.

"What are you doing?" Grey asked. Fiona smiled, leaning in to kiss Grey. Grey pushed himself up to meet her halfway, the kiss intense, passionate, until they finally pulled away. "See you tonight?"

Fiona smiled slyly, walking away. "Maybe."

Grey chuckled. "Maybe. See you, Fiona."

"Bye, Grey," Fiona replied.

Grey drove away.

(Song Ends)

Tony walked out of his house from across the street, seeing Fiona. "Hey."

"Tony," Fiona replied.

"How's work?" Tony asked.

Fiona nodded. "It's good." She pointed to his house. "How's your remodel coming?"

"Really wanna know, or being neighborly?" Tony asked.

Fiona gave an awkward smile and chuckle. "Neighborly."

Tony nodded. "Cast iron plumbing's out, replacing it with copper. Guy on my shift moonlights as an electrician. He's gonna help me rewire."

Fiona frowned. "Gonna flip it or live in it?"

Tony gave a thin, nervous smile. "Waiting to see what happens."

Fiona nodded awkwardly, knowing what he meant, but she just didn't feel that way toward him. "I gotta get the kids going and pick up Zia."

Tony nodded in understanding, concerned. "She doing okay?"

"We'll see when she gets home," Fiona answered. "Any word about Tristan?"

"No," Tony answered. "Sorry. He's in the wind. And anyone who might know where he is are too scared to say anything. He's a dangerous man."

Fiona nodded in agreement, hating that he was still free, but they couldn't do anything about it. "Yeah. That much I know."

Fiona walked away into her house to go get changed.

⫷⑅⫸

Day Two

Morning - Fisher-Ball House - JJ's Room

Kimberly woke in JJ's arms, and she couldn't be happier or more content, holding onto him as well. "Morning."

JJ chuckled. "Morning. I love you."

JJ placed a soft kiss on the top of her head.

Kimberly grinned, snuggling in closer to his warm body. "I love you."

She left out the 'too'. She wanted him to know that she said it on her terms, not because she felt obligated. JJ knew that she loved him. He wished he had noticed the love sooner, but he had her in his arms now and that was all that mattered.

JJ looked at the time. "Fiona must be home now. She's picking Zia up at 10:00, right?"

"Yeah," Kimberly answered. "What time is it?"

"8:00," JJ answered. "She'll be home in two hours."

Kimberly sighed shakily in relief, looking at JJ hopefully. JJ felt guilty because of what Tristan did, holding Kimberly comfortingly.

⫷⑅⫸

Hospital - Outside

Fiona was waiting nervously.

Zia was released, walking outside, tired, numb and out of it, but much better than she was before. She saw Fiona, letting out a shaky breath. "Fiona."

Fiona let out a soft gasp, smiling in relief to see her doing better, even if she was nowhere near good. "Hey. Hi!" Zia moved slowly, but surely, meeting Fiona halfway, as she immediately embraced Fiona. Fiona lifted Zia up in her arms, holding her close, both of them close to crying. "It's okay. I got you. I got you."

Zia buried her head against Fiona's shoulder, her voice small and pleading. "Can I go home now?"

Fiona nodded instantly, a tear or two falling. "Yeah. Yeah, we're going home. Everyone missed you so much."

Zia's grip instantly tightened on Fiona at the words. Fiona carried Zia over to the car, as neither looked ready to let go yet.

⫷⑅⫸

Gallagher House - Living Room

(Song:) Mountain to Move - Nick Mulvey

Kimberly, Lip, Ian, Natalia and JJ were setting up the living room with simple but cute party decorations for Zia's welcome home party.

Carson and Carl were sitting with Ethan and Liam, looking over at them.

Debbie walked over. "After the party, Carson and I can still do the day care, right?"

"Yeah, since Zia's probably gonna pass out when she gets home, given her meds and stuff," Lip answered.

"Okay," Carson agreed, looking concerned for her friend.

Carl sighed, tilting his head back. "I'm just glad Zia's finally coming home."

The older teens smiled in agreement.

Eliana, Kevin, Veronica, Malcolm and Mandy walked in with food and drinks for the party.

"Not late, I hope," Veronica told them.

"Just in time," Ian answered. "Fiona's gonna be here with Zia any second."

"Always had perfect timing," Kevin told them.

JJ looked at his mother. "Eliana, thanks for coming too."

"Of course," Eliana agreed. "I was here when Malcolm got out of the hospital. Of course I would be for Zia too."

"Yeah, once again thanking you for saving our lives, Eliana," Malcolm told her.

Eliana gave Malcolm a thin smile.

Kimberly looked at Eliana curiously. "You doing okay?"

"Yeah," Eliana answered. "With Veronica and JJ's help, I'm not having quite so many episodes as before. For now, anyway. Thank you for checking in and helping too, Kimberly. And the rest of you, actually."

"After what you did for us, the least we could do," Natalia replied.

Carson noticed Malcolm's face and how bad it was from the night before. "Whoa, what the hell happened to you?"

"One of my fighters pussied out on me," Malcolm answered. "I had to fill in."

Carson scoffed a chuckle. "Looks like the pussy had the right idea."

The others smirked in amusement.

"That's what I said," Mandy agreed.

Debbie checked her clipboard, turning to Carson. "We're out of mac and cheese. We can make PB&Js instead, but I'm gonna need more bread."

"How many signed up for today?" Ian asked, walking over to Debbie and Carson.

"Nine," Carson answered. "Romano twins, Cami, Mangis. The Ulin kid with the big head."

JJ ruffled Debbie and Carson's hair. "Look at even you two, bringing in some big bucks."

Debbie and Carson smiled.

Eliana, Kevin, Veronica, Malcolm and Mandy were setting out the food and drinks, while the teens were finishing up with the decorations.

Debbie sighed. "Exhausted. Liam had me up half the night banging his head. Speaking of, Kimberly, where were you?"

Kimberly exchanged a look with JJ, both of them awkwardly amused.

"Um..." Kimberly trailed off.

Lip, Ian, Natalia, Malcolm and Mandy realized what that meant, smirking.

"Yeah, nope, don't answer that," Lip told them.

In the mood to tease JJ, Veronica turned to Eliana. "Do you wanna give him the talk, or should I?"

Eliana smirked, shaking her head. "I don't know, V."

JJ gave them a look, embarrassed. "Neither of you. My God."

"Aw, what's the matter, JJ?" Natalia asked teasingly. "Didn't think that it would take months for you and Kimberly to do the deed after getting together, but hey, you do you." She turned to Kimberly. "And you were saying about my sex life?"

"At least I have one," Kimberly replied.

"Yeah, now," Natalia replied.

Kevin gave them an amused look. "Kimberly, Natalia, knock it off, you two. There are kids."

Carl snorted. "We've heard worse."

Debbie and Carson gestured to Carl in agreement.

Kevin nodded. "Not the point, but okay."

Malcolm and Mandy smirked.

"Zia, Kimberly and I need our own room," Debbie told them.

Ian chuckled. "And I want a pony for Christmas."

Debbie turned to Kimberly. "He's a boy, Kim. He should be with the boys, not the girls."

"No way, there's three of us in that room," Carl told them.

Kimberly and Debbie gave the boys a look.

"In case you've forgotten, there's three of us girls in that room too," Kimberly replied. "We've learned to deal with it, so could you."

"No fucking way," Ian replied.

"Thank you, Kimberly," Debbie told her. "You got to go through your transformation before Liam was born, right? I'm gonna be a woman soon, too. I need privacy to undergo the upcoming traumatic transformation."

JJ raised an eyebrow. "Traumatic transformation?"

Lip chuckled. "It's not that traumatic."

"How would you know?" Mandy replied.

"Video in 5th grade," Lip retorted.

Natalia nodded sarcastically. "Oh, I guess that makes you an expert, huh, Phillip? Sorry you can't know everything, genius."

Lip smiled sarcastically.

"Well, unless you actually go through it, you don't get to say shit about it," Veronica told the boys.

Malcolm looked at Lip in amusement. "You done pissed them off."

The girls smirked, while the boys chuckled.

Carl sighed. "I bet Zia can't wait to be home."

They suddenly heard Zia's voice. "You'd win that bet, Carl." They all turned toward the front door, seeing Zia and Fiona walk in, as Fiona smiled while leading Zia inside. Zia looked around at everyone. "Party for me?"

They all smiled.

"Yeah, party for you," Mandy answered.

Carl and Debbie instantly ran to embrace Zia. Zia wrapped her arms around them in return.

Fiona, Kimberly, Lip and Ian smiled emotionally at their younger siblings, eyes glistening.

Natalia and JJ both had small, emotional smiles, utterly relieved.

Carson, Veronica, Kevin, Mandy, Malcolm and Eliana smiled.

Zia, Debbie and Carl pulled away.

Kimberly instantly knelt in front of Zia, as the two threw their arms around each other, holding each other tightly. Kimberly cupped the back of Zia's head, tears falling in relief from having her little sister back home and in her arms. They finally pulled away, as Kimberly moved aside to let Zia get to Lip and Ian.

Zia walked up to Lip, who immediately scooped Zia up in his arms, holding her tightly and comfortingly. Zia returned the embrace tightly.

When their embrace was done, Lip passed Zia over to Ian, who held her up and embraced her softly, carefully as if he was worried about hurting her or startling her, but with just as much happiness and relief as the other siblings. Zia laid her head on Ian's shoulder as she returned the hug.

Ian put Zia down.

Carson and Zia embraced each other, the two having missed their friend that they had just gotten who helped each other through their different traumas and got close so quickly.

Natalia and JJ embraced Zia one at a time, as Zia held them both tightly as they were just as much her family as anyone else.

Kevin and Veronica ruffled Zia's hair and smiled at her as they hugged her.

When Zia saw Malcolm, the tiny bit of relief to be home that she felt was becoming even more, after what happened that day at the river, seeing that Malcolm was okay after they both almost died. "Hi."

"Hi," Malcolm replied softly, concerned, just as overwhelmed as she was after what happened.

The others watched knowingly in understanding, somber.

All the emotions they felt didn't have to be spoken to be understood, as Zia wrapped her arms around Malcolm, nearly crying. Malcolm returned the embrace, taking a shaky breath.

Mandy rubbed Malcolm's shoulder, ruffling Zia's hair as the two pulled away.

Zia turned to Eliana. "Thank you... Eliana."

Eliana nodded, giving her a sad smile. "Of course."

Zia had to sit down, clearly very tired, but wanting to spend time with her family after being gone for so long.

Ian handed Zia her art stuff. "Figured you'd want these back."

Zia instantly took her art stuff to begin drawing, causing the others to smile.

"And we got your fort done, if you want to see it outside in the backyard," Lip added. "It's really big and cool."

"After party, and sleep," Zia said.

They nodded in agreement.

"We figured you'd say that," Kimberly told her. "I also got the room reorganized. A new bed set for us. You're gonna love it."

Zia continued drawing. "New room and fort's done? Happy late birthday to me."

They all smiled.

JJ looked at Zia's drawing. "Is that a bear?"

Zia shook her head. "It's not a bear."

"It looks like a bear," JJ pointed out.

Zia looked up at JJ. "Shut up."

JJ smiled, clearly trying to get Zia to cheer up by teasing her. "It's a bear to me."

The others smiled.

Kimberly covered Zia's eyes, as Veronica and Kevin brought over a cake from in the kitchen.

When Veronica and Kevin placed the cake on the table, Kimberly uncovered Zia's eyes.

Zia brightened a bit when she saw the cake, causing the others to smile slightly.

Fiona started to cut the cake and hand out the pieces, all chatting away and being happy for the first time in so long, laughing.

Carl reached over to tickle Zia to try and get her to smile.

Zia managed to smile, just slightly, squirming a little. "Stop it, stop it."

"No," Carl replied. "You've been gone for too long, so making up for lost time, Zia."

Zia gave Carl a slight push.

Fiona smiled. "Go ahead, blow out your candles. Make a wish."

Zia blew out the candles, making everyone smile, laugh and cheer.

"What'd you wish for?" Veronica asked.

"That we all get to be happy," Zia answered.

The others smiled, touched, unsurprised.

"Of course you did," Mandy said.

"That's sweet," Kevin told her.

Kimberly popped a cherry into JJ's mouth. "Here. Taste."

JJ smiled. "Hmm."

Carson and Debbie picked up Ethan and Liam from their playpen.

Debbie placed Liam on the floor. "Go get Zia."

Zia lit up a little more at seeing Liam. "Liam."

Liam toddled over as fast as he could to get to Zia. Zia instantly wrapped her arms around her little brother, and Liam giggled, burying his head in Zia's shoulder.

The others smiled emotionally, knowing how close Zia and Liam were, and Liam was constantly a help to make sure that Zia didn't go into her states, seeing how excited Liam was to have his big sister back.

Carson smiled, walking over with Ethan in her arms, sitting down with Carl, Zia and Liam on the couch. "Say hi to Zia, Ethan."

Zia reached over to poke Ethan lightly in the nose. "Hi, Ethan."

Ethan smiled, giggling, his cute baby laugh ringing out through the room, managing to make everyone smile.

As they continued to laugh and spend time together, Eliana put a hand over her lips, smiling. "Oh, God."

"You'll get used to it soon, Eliana," Lip told her.

Ian laughed. "Yeah."

There was more indistinct chatter and laughter, smiles.

"Seriously?" Natalia asked.

Zia was overwhelmed to be thrown back in with everyone, but still more at ease than she had been in forever, looking exhausted even more with all the chatter, laughter and bonding.

Malcolm nodded to Zia. "It's okay."

Zia nodded tiredly. "Yeah."

Carl tossed some popcorn at Zia playfully to cheer her up more. "Want some popcorn?"

Zia swatted at the popcorn, causing more laughter.

Carl tossed some popcorn at Carson.

Carson smiled and moved her head to catch the popcorn in her mouth. She looked around at everyone, their happiness and relief skyrocketing her own, as she seemed to be affected by everyone else's as well, only adding to her feeling.  She smiled, tilting her head. "Oh, my God."

Kimberly laughed. "Right?"

JJ smiled. "Ah, sorry."

Natalia nudged JJ. "I'll show you sorry."

Ian laughed, covering his mouth. "Oh!"

Carl and Debbie pushed each other playfully.

"Knock it off, Carl," Debbie complained after a moment.

"You started it," Carl replied.

"Wait, wait, wait," Lip told them.

"Stop it," Fiona warned.

Veronica smirked. "Are we all having fun?"

Kevin laughed. "I'd say so."

Malcolm looked around at everyone, a small smile gracing his lips, hating the thought of even losing them, or his sickness making them lose someone else they loved. "Yeah."

Eliana raised her cup. "To Zia."

Everyone else followed suit, clinking their glasses together, drinking.

Zia's smile became bigger and more convincing, but still timid and restrained. She turned to Carson. "Carson?" Carson looked up. "Can you play a song?"

Carson nodded instantly. "Natalia already said that she wanted to do a song for you when you got home."

Zia looked at Natalia. "You did?"

"Of course I did," Natalia answered, wrapping an arm around Zia.

Zia leaned her head on Natalia's shoulder.

(Song Ends)

Carson went over to the piano, starting to play 'Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better'.

Zia gave a weak, tired smile at the song, recognizing it instantly. "Is this..."

"The song you loved from that play," Natalia answered. "I managed to con Lip to sing it with me, since you know that that this song is true in every way for both of us. Obviously with the girl winning in every single way."

"Screw you, Natalia," Lip replied.

Natalia smirked, winking. "In your dreams, Phillip."

Everyone laughed lightly.

Carson continued playing. "Go on, Lip."

"Yeah, yeah," Lip said, starting out, not really singing, but giving the most he could just for Zia to cheer her up and make her happy after everything. "And now little lady, if you'll kindly step up to the parapet, I'll give you a lesson in marksmanship."

"You couldn't give me a lesson in long distance spitting," Natalia replied, singing. "Anything you can do, I can do better / I can do anything better than you."

"No, you can't," Lip replied.

"Yes, I can," Natalia returned.

Lip chuckled. "No, you can't."

Natalia tilted her head. "Yes, I can."

"No, you can't," Lip repeated.

"Yes, I can, yes, I can," Natalia sang.

They were clearly having fun with this, making the others smile and laugh.

Zia's smile slowly got bigger and more convincing the more the song went on, seeing Lip so invested in this with Natalia, just for her.

Lip raised an eyebrow at Natalia. "Anything you can be, I can be greater / Sooner or later, I'm greater than you."

Natalia shook her head passively. "No, you're not."

"Yes, I am," Lip replied.

"No, you're not," Natalia repeated.

"Yes, I am," Lip repeated.

"No, you're not," Natalia sung.

Lip gave a dramatic flare to it. "Yes, I am, yes, I am." Zia gave a genuine smile, despite still feeling numb. Carl and Debbie were smiling and laughing. Liam and Ethan giggled. The teens and adults smiled at the kids having so much fun with this. "I can shoot a partridge with a single cartridge."

Natalia shrugged. "I can get a sparrow with a bow and arrow."

Lip tapped to the beat Carson played on his lap. "I can live on bread and cheese."

"And only on that?" Natalia asked.

"Yes," Lip said.

Natalia smirked. "So can a rat."

Lip spoke in a hilariously high voice to make the kids laugh again. "Any note you can reach, I can higher."

Natalia sang a good high note. "I can sing anything higher than you."

Lip and Natalia went back and forth with the "No, you can't", "Yes, I can" again.

Lip raised his glass to prove his point. "I can drink my liquor faster than a flicker."

Natalia raised her glass. "I can do it quicker and get even sicker."

Lip shrugged. "I can open any safe."

"Without being caught?" Natalia went on with the song.

"Sure," Lip answered.

Natalia smiled. "That's what I thought, you crook." They all laughed. Natalia stood, walking over to Lip, hands on his shoulders as she looked at the kids with a smile. "Anything you can wear, I can wear better / In what you wear, I'd look better than you."

"In my coat," Lip said.

Natalia pulled at Lip's hoodie teasingly. "In your vest."

"In my shoes," Lip said.

Natalia ran a hand over Lip's head through his hair. "In your hat."

Lip couldn't help a smile, looking up at Natalia. Natalia smiled in return.

Zia, already exhausted, was starting to fall asleep to the sound of Carson playing the piano and Natalia and Lip singing like this.

Fiona noticed this and spoke up. "Shh, shh."

Natalia, Lip and Carson stopped and looked at Zia as she was slowly starting to sink into sleep, smiling softly that their plan worked to help her feel better and help her sleep.

Kimberly, JJ and Ian smiled softly.

"That's one way to end a party," Veronica said softly.

"Told you she'd fall asleep once she got home," Fiona told them, looking at Natalia, Lip and Carson. "Thanks, guys."

Natalia, Lip and Carson nodded.

Ian gently picked Zia up without waking her up. "I'll get her upstairs."

"Thanks, Ian," Lip told him.

Ian nodded, walking away to the stairs.

The others all looked at each other, sighing in relief, just happy to have Zia home, and that all of them got to be happy for the day.

⫷⑅⫸

The Girls' Room

Ian walked into the room, placing Zia carefully on her bed, which was the bottom bunk on the left side.

Kimberly stood behind Ian at the door, watching Zia, exchanging a look with Ian.

"She's gonna be okay, Kim," Ian told her, his voice soft so he didn't wake up Zia.

Kimberly nodded in agreement, but still couldn't help but worry. "Come on. Let's let her sleep."

Ian and Kimberly walked out of the room.

⫷⑅⫸

Fisher-Ball House - Outside

Carson went back home with Ethan to get his bottle. "Knew I forgot something for daycare, huh, Ethan?"

Ethan babbled, smiling.

Eliana, JJ, Veronica and Kevin walked home as well.

"Heading back for daycare?" Veronica asked.

"Yeah," Carson answered.

Eliana looked at Veronica. "Nursing home?"

"Yeah, running a bit late, but wanted to be here for when Zia got home," Veronica answered. "See you guys later."

"Bye, V," Carson told her.

"See you," JJ agreed.

Veronica walked toward Kevin's car, getting in, driving away.

Eliana looked a little lightheaded.

"You okay, Eliana?" Kevin asked.

"Yeah," Eliana answered. "I think I just need to lay down."

"Good idea," JJ told her. "We'll see you later."

Eliana nodded, cupping JJ's cheek for a moment. "Soon, you'll be adopted, and the nightmare might finally end."

"Might," JJ agreed. "Thanks for helping us with the cost though, Eliana. Of the adoption and court date."

Eliana gave a slight smile. "It's the least I could do, Jeremiah Jordan." JJ gave her a smile. "Carson, I think it was a really nice thing you did for Zia, with Natalia and Lip."

"Thanks," Carson said.

Eliana smiled slightly, waving at the baby. "Bye, Ethan."

Eliana walked inside, nodding to Kevin as she did.

Kevin looked at JJ and Carson. "You two okay?'

"Better now that Zia's home," Carson answered. "I should go to daycare. Let me know if you need any help with the stuff at the Alibi Room, though. Or the ice cream truck. I can come right over."

"Yeah, we will," JJ agreed, patting Carson on the shoulder.

Lip walked over to the house, seeing the garden that Carson had set up outside the house. "Wow. Carson, the garden looks great."

"Thanks, Lip," Carson told him.

"And thank you, for helping me and Natalia out in there," Lip told her.

Carson nodded in agreement, walking away with Ethan to the Gallagher house.

Kimberly walked outside, past Carson on the way over to the Fisher-Ball house. "Hey, Carson."

"Kimberly," Carson replied. "They're ready to go if you wanna go."

Kimberly nodded. "Yeah, thanks. You kids be safe but have fun in there, all right?"

Carson nodded. "I'll try to keep the noise down so Zia doesn't wake up. Fiona too."

"Good luck with that," Kimberly replied teasingly, ruffling Carson's hair, giving her a slight hug, causing Carson to smile. "But thank you."

Kimberly walked away toward the Fisher-Ball house, standing with Lip, Kevin and JJ.

"We still on for today?" Lip asked.

Kevin nodded.

They looked toward the ice cream truck behind the house.

"Think it still runs?" Lip asked.

"Probably not," JJ answered. "But I can fix anything. Cars are a specialty of mine."

Kimberly chuckled. "Sure is."

Lip looked around the garden, impressed. "And Carson did all this herself?"

"Yeah," Kevin answered. "She says it helps distract her. One of the skills she picked up from foster care."

Lip nodded. "She's a keeper."

"Yep," JJ agreed. "Where're Malcolm, Mandy and Natalia?"

"Malcolm and Mandy headed to their jobs, and Natalia got Grey's phone number from Fiona and headed inside to call and see about that job Grey offered to Natalia again," Kimberly answered. "I say, why the hell not? It's not like she doesn't need the money. And for Fiona's love interests, I like Grey more than any of them."

Lip chuckled. "Same here, ironically. He doesn't get involved where he doesn't belong or try to buy her off, and he's not a pussy like you-know-who. For rich guys, Grey's not bad."

Lip walked over to the Malcolm/Milkovich house, picking up a rock, throwing it up at Natalia's window.

Natalia pulled the blinds, seeing that it was Lip, rolling her eyes, opening the window, leaning out of it as she spoke. "I have a door, you know."

Lip shrugged. "Didn't feel like walking that far."

Natalia tilted her head. "Fair. What do you want?"

"Kev, JJ, Kimberly and I are gonna attempt to get the ice cream truck up and running again this year," Lip explained. "Carson actually wants to help out to make some money to take care of Ethan, in case we need her away from the daycare. You down to join?"

"Can't," Natalia replied. "Just got off the phone with Grey and might actually get the job."

"Come on," Lip groaned. "Grey can handle a day without you. Ditch that pricey ass vineyard and sell ice cream with us."

Natalia snorted. "It's a good job, Lip."

"Well, start tomorrow," Lip stated. "You haven't started yet, so you can have the first day tomorrow." Natalia knew that he had a point, shrugging. Lip grinned. "Meet us in 15."

⫷⑅⫸

The Continental - Hallway

Alize and Jameson Boivin were running late, walking into the office.

"The meeting's already started," a woman told them.

"We had to set up arrangements for Dominic's return today," Alize explained.

"What meeting?" Jameson asked.

The woman nodded to the boardroom doors next to them.

Jameson and Alize walked into the boardroom.

A mysterious girl, Eva Olivar, also known as Blair Williams, was passing papers out among the board members.

Alize and Jameson were both confused.

Alize tilted her head curiously. "Blair Williams." Eva looked up at her alias. "I seem to remember denying that you would get a job here."

"Because you two were clearly threatened by me and my family money that could rival your own," Eva replied. "Yet I still wanted to make a name for myself, away from just being a Williams. You two were of no help with that, but don't worry. I got the job." She smirked smugly. "Yours."

Alize and Jameson both processed this in shock, walking closer.

"On who's authority?" Jameson asked angrily.

A man by the name of Saint Blackthorne walked in, taking a seat in the chairman's chair. "That would be mine. Miss Blair Willias over here took your job, Alize. I took Jameson's."

The shock on Alize and Jameson's faces only grew, causing Saint and Eva to smirk smugly in amusement.

"Saint?" Alize asked in shock. "When did you get back?"

"Does it matter?" Saint replied.

"What makes you think you can decide who's running The Continental?" Jameson asked.

Saint smiled. "Well, the fact that I'm the owner."

"What are you talking about?" Alize asked. "The company went public a week ago."

Saint nodded in agreement. "And I bought most of the shares through various charitable foundations and trusts and so forth. Look, it's all a bit technical, but the important thing is that my company's future is secure. Right, Miss Williams?"

"Right you are, Mr. Blackthorne," Eva replied. Alize and Jameson were stunned speechless, humiliated in front of the entire board, causing more victory and amusement for Eva and Saint. Eva smirked, shrugging slightly. "Didn't you get the memo?"

Saint tapped his chin mockingly. "And I'm pretty sure those aren't the only shares up for grabs concerning my family companies."

Alize and Jameson became even more worried, but instantly turned around, walking out of the office, completely driven out of the Continental business, and now they had to worry about the vineyard.

Saint smirked smugly.

Eva chuckled, tilting her head, biting her lip, enjoying the little taste of victory.

⫷⑅⫸

Jackson House - Kitchen

Sheila was cleaning and singing to herself. "Every mountain / Climb every stream." She walked over to a map of the street that was keeping track of her progress. "Climb all the rainbows." She found the Alibi Room on the map, which was circled with red marker, and Frank's name in big letters. "Till you find your dream." She smiled, turning around, calling up. "Frank, Karen. Lunch."

⫷⑅⫸

Sheila's Room

Frank was sitting on the bed, going through Sheila's jewelry box.

Karen stood in the doorway. "I moved it."

Frank turned toward her, standing. "Hey. Good morning. I can't find my watch. I have looked everywhere."

"It's on your wrist," Karen told him. Frank scoffed, chuckling. "I had Mom move her rainy-day fund after what happened last time."

Sheila called from downstairs. "Karen, the omelets are ready."

Frank got defensive. "I had nothing to do with that."

Karen crossed her arms skeptically. "I hid her ATM card too, so don't even try taking that again."

Karen turned around, walking out of the room.

(Song:) She's a Backstabber - Baby Strange

Frank was silently freaking out as he tried to figure out what to do now that he owed Baby 10,000 dollars and had none to give.

⫷⑅⫸

Boivin Estate - Outside

Jameson and his daughter Belle Boivin walked along the grounds of their vineyard, watching the people around them work away.

Brielle Boivin, Belle's daughter, was running through the fields and playing around in the garden, looking extremely bored and lonely.

Belle watched Brielle.

"I opened the Zin this morning," Jameson explained, getting Belle's attention.

Belle nodded, impressed. "That's two weeks early."

"I had a feeling," Jameson admitted.

"Oh, and?" Belle asked.

"I was right," Jameson answered. "I want to ship as soon as possible. Get it on shelves for Memorial Day."

Belle gave him a look. "Memorial Day's coming up. The bottler's gonna freak."

Jameson shrugged. "Ah, I bought the bottler."

"Memorial Day means I have to be shipping in 36 hours," Belle told him. "I have to loop transpo in and get the print shop going."

"You signed up for this, Belle," Jameson pointed out. "What do you think it's going to be like when I hand you the reigns? Sometimes I wonder, how bad do you want this?"

Belle considered, tilting her head, crossing her arms. "I'll make you a deal. I'll get the Zin out and you stop asking stupid questions." Jameson smirked, proud of that answer. "And that conversation that you keep promising we're gonna have about when you're gonna hand over the reins, we're having it. You have no idea how many other labels call me."

Jameson chuckled. "Oh. Show me something."

Belle nodded in understanding. "Yes, sir." She looked around, seeing that her daughter was not around anymore. "Now where did Brielle go?"

Jameson shook his head in amusement.

Belle walked away.

⫷⑅⫸

Elsewhere

Alize was walking with Grey.

"I'll have to find the trucks and the drivers," Grey pointed out. "You really should've told me you were opening the Zin, Alize."

"Before you go off on how I treat you different from my other kids, I didn't tell Belle, Shari or Dominic, either," Alize told him. "Neither did Jameson, not until this morning."

Grey took off his hat. "I can be more than a plant manager, Alize. I have that degree in viticulture from Fresno State. It's not Stanford like Belle's."

Alize put a hand on his shoulder. "Can I give you some advice, Grey?"

Grey nodded. "Yeah, I'd love that."

"You are the best GM in the country," Alize told him, looking as if just saying these words were torture for her. "This place couldn't run without you. You're just not a wine maker."

Alize walked away.

Grey scoffed softly, knowing that it was torture for Alize to just say that. "Right."

Alize walked up to Jameson. "Your son Grey wants me to make him a wine maker. You put him up to it?"

Jameson shrugged. "Well, he can do that job, Alize. Grey respects the family so much." He poured them both a glass of champagne. "He's been trying so hard."

Alize sighed. "Jameson, you know that I love Grey like my own. I do. But every time I look at him, all I can picture is your betrayal. But he's still family. Even mine. Even if he's not my son."

Jameson sighed. "How long are you going to keep punishing me for a single mistake?"

"I don't mean to punish you," Alize replied. "I'm just being honest. Maybe it's time you step back, hand the reigns to Belle. And you could..."

"What, play tennis?" Jameson asked. "Plan parties?"

Alize gave him a look. "Think about where you started, what you built."

Jameson put his arm around Alize. "Hey. What we built." Alize smiled slightly. Jameson kissed her on the head. "40 years together."

They kissed.

Alize smirked slightly. "I'll drink to that."

Jameson handed Alize her glass. "Cheers, my love."

"Cheers, my love," Alize returned.

They clinked their glasses, drinking.

⫷⑅⫸

Poolside

Shari Boivin, the teenage girl of the family, was lounging by the pool in a bathing suit.

Brielle ran up to her. "Aunt Shari!"

Shari smiled, reaching for her. "Hey, Brielle. You ready to go?"

"Yeah," Brielle answered. Brielle and Shari hugged bye. "I wanted to go to the tasting house though to use the art and music studio. I've been getting really good at guitar."

"Oh, I know," Shari agreed. "And I can't wait to hear you play at my birthday party."

"You're still gonna sing, right?" Brielle asked.

"You know it," Shari answered. "Can't wait."

Brielle grinned. "And I can't wait for Uncle Dominic to come home. I miss him!"

Shari chuckled, ruffling Brielle's hair. "So do I, Bri. So do I."

Belle walked up to them. "Hey, Bri, can I talk to your aunt Shari real quick?"

"Sure," Brielle answered, running off. "Uncle Grey!"

Grey saw Brielle coming, smiling, catching Brielle as she ran into his arms, lifting her up. "Hey, Brielle. I'll see you in a few hours."

"I know," Brielle agreed. "But still."

Grey smiled as the two hugged.

Belle and Shari watched them with a small smile.

Belle looked at Shari. "How'd you like to lounge by my pool this weekend?"

Shari lowered her sunglasses. "Let me guess. Dad said, 'Jump', you said, 'How high?' And now you need me to watch Brielle for a couple hours so that Benjamin can..." She sat up, faking a gasp. "I don't even know what Ben does."

Shari laid back down.

Belle ignored the teasing taunt from her little sister. "You know Ben's a detective."

"Shady more like it," Shari replied. "Like when you're not gunning for CEO of Boivin Vineyards, you're working half-time as a criminal defense lawyer for the good or bad people of Chicago. So why do you need me at your house for a week?"

Belle tilted her head. "I mean, it's actually more like a couple of days."

Shari took off her sunglasses, giving Belle a look. "Seriously?"

"Oh, come on," Belle said. "I'm sleeping in the office tonight. Ben's always gone, Shari. Brielle can't stay home alone all weekend. Plus, she's really lonely."

Shari bit her lip in consideration, tilting her head. "Fine, but you need to do something for me, Belle."

"Of course," Belle agreed.

Shari smiled, sitting up again. "I have an idea for the business." Belle sat down in the lounge chair next to her. "A whole new label for people in their 20s. A whole new look for the Boivin brand."

Shari passed a paper to Belle.

Belle looked at the paper, seeing that it was a design for a bottle label. "Wow. It's actually good, Shari." Shari raised an eyebrow with a smirk. "But people in their 20s are beer and liquor drinkers. Plenty of companies have tried to sell that demo before, and none have worked."

"They're not us," Shari replied.

Belle took out her phone to check the time. "Let's talk to Dad at Dominic's welcome back dinner."

Shari grinned. "When does Dominic get back?"

"His plane will land in a few hours, so he'll be here by tonight," Belle answered. "Not a lunch, like we planned, but a dinner. Brielle and I will be back before then, with Ben. Come on, please."

Shari nodded in understanding. "Fine, but you have to promise to be nice to Dominic when he gets here. You, Dad and Mom shut him out, Belle."

"I know," Belle agreed. "But he's our brother. He'll forgive and it'll be like nothing happened." Shari rolled her eyes. "At least he had you and Grey in his corner."

"Yeah, unlike most people in this family, Grey, Dominic and I stick together," Shari remarked. "Hope Brielle learns that skill from us."

Belle was stunned speechless by that but knowing that it was deserved.

Shari stood, putting her sunglasses on, walking away.

⫷⑅⫸

Diner

Malcolm was working, coughing lightly, his head buzzing with a high-pitched ringing.

His boss, with a unibrow, walked closer. "Malcolm, I need you to cover the extra shift." Malcolm looked up. "Did you hear me? If you keep missing work, I'll have to fire you."

Malcolm rolled his eyes. "Fuck you, Ross."

"What?" Ross asked.

Malcolm pulled off his apron, tossing it down. "I said 'fuck you'. And your unibrow. I quit."

Malcolm pushed over a table and knocked everything over, making plates shatter, turning around, walking away, storming out of the diner, holding up his hand to flip Ross off as he left.

(Song Ends)

⫷⑅⫸

Outside

Malcolm walked outside, when he started to cough violently, nearly passing out, catching himself against a wall, just barely managing to stay awake, breathing heavily.

⫷⑅⫸

Gallagher House - Living Room

As parents were dropping off their kids for the daycare, Fiona was pretending to be in charge, looking exhausted.

"Her nose has been running, but I think it's the glue that Jeff's been using on the new kitchen linoleum," a mother explained, handing her daughter to Fiona, giving her daughter a kiss. "Bye, baby." She tore off a note to hand it to Fiona. "Oh, and please, no gluten."

Debbie walked up to Fiona. "Gluten?"

Fiona shook her head. "Who knows?" She put the daughter down. "Okay, there you go. There's Cinderella." She walked through the living room on the way to the kitchen, looking from Debbie to Carson. "You two all set?"

"Yeah," Carson answered. "Playtime, one hour."

Debbie nodded. "TV or Bambi, skip the dead-mom part."

⫷⑅⫸

Kitchen

Carson, Debbie and Fiona walked into the kitchen.

"Arts and crafts," Carson continued. "Cheetos and carrot sticks. Story time, nothing scary. Free play, lunch, nap."

Debbie nodded. "Pool, Dr. Oz, twinkies and milk. Parent pick up. Oh, don't wake you unless there's blood or exposed bone."

Fiona turned to face Carson and Debbie, nodding. "Lots of blood."

Fiona gave Debbie a kiss on the head, messing with Carson's hair, walking upstairs.

⫷⑅⫸

Living Room

(Song:) Death Is the Only Real Thing - The Chesterfield Kings

Carson and Debbie returned to the living room.

Debbie grinned. "Who's ready for TV, guys?"

The kids all cheered.

Carson put her finger over her lips. "Shh, shh. Zia and Fiona are sleeping."

⫷⑅⫸

Upstairs Hallway

Fiona walked down the hallway, pulling her white dress over her head, exposing her purple bra and pink underwear.

⫷⑅⫸

Fiona's Room

Fiona walked into her room, closing the door, taking off her bra, tossing it down, pulling on her pajamas, putting in ear plugs, laying down to go to sleep, wearing a "FUCK OFF" sleep mask over her eyes.

⫷⑅⫸

The Girls' Room

Zia was not sleeping restfully, tossing and turning because of her nightmares.

In her nightmares, she saw Micah's death, and JJ shot and bleeding in 1.02. She saw Barry's torment on her and Zia stabbing him and herself in 1.06. She saw Barry's revenge against her with the help of other bullies, as they nearly set her hair on fire, carved into her arm and made her break the other in 1.07. She saw nearly getting run over and killed because one of her dissociation episodes in 1.09. She saw being followed by the men onto the train, nearly being killed and drowned by Tristan who also almost killed Malcolm in front of her in 1.12.

Zia suddenly woke up with a gasp, sitting up. She looked around her room, but reality felt no different than her dreams, providing zero comfort.

Though Zia was impressed with the new appearance of the room, liking it, but otherwise showing little to no reaction to reality around her, still absolutely numb.

Especially when a vision of Micah appeared beside Zia on her bed. "You didn't think that it would be that easy to get rid of me, did you, Zia?"

Zia tried to ignore him, looking down. "Go away, Micah."

(Song Ends)

⫷⑅⫸

Kash and Grab

Ian walked up to the store, heading inside for work.

Heavily pregnant by now, Linda walked across the store with a box in her hands. "It's about time. You see Kash last night?"

Ian took the box from Linda, carrying it away. "No."

"He didn't come home again," Linda explained. "Had to open the shop by myself." She walked behind the counter. "Homeless winos 10-deep at the door, trying to trade stolen recycling for 40s and Mad Dog."

A teen boy walked up to the counter with some cash. "Pack of Marlboros."

"How old are you, eight?" Linda asked. "Get the hell out of here." The boy walked out. Linda looked at Ian. "You handle the store by yourself? I gotta get upstairs. The twins are gonna be late for swim team at the mosque." She grabbed a donut, walking toward the stairs at the back of the store. "And no free food. You come to work hungry, you pay like everybody else."

Ian waited until Linda was gone before he went to grab a donut, eating.

Kash walked in. "Linda gone?"

Ian turned to face him from behind the counter. "Mm-hmm."

Kash walked behind the counter. "I've been waiting across the street for an hour."

Ian nodded. "Late night?"

"What do you care?" Kash asked.

Linda's voice came over the intercom. "Where the hell have you been? Kash, I waited up until after midnight. You know the doctor wants me in bed by--"

Kash turned off the intercom so they didn't have to hear her anymore.

Ian raised an eyebrow at Kash.

"What are you looking at?" Kash asked. "Microwave me a burrito and stock the cooler."

Ian walked away.

Since Linda was gone, the boy from before came back to try again. "Pack of Marlboros?"

Kash got the pack of cigarettes for the boy.

Ian smirked slightly as he walked past.

⫷⑅⫸

Fisher-Ball House - Outside

(Song:) Get On Board - Third Grade Haters

Out behind the Fisher-Ball house, JJ, Kevin and Lip took the tarp off the ice cream truck.

Kimberly and Natalia watched, both laughing lightly.

Kevin threw out his arms, smiling. "What?"

"You try starting this since last summer?" Lip asked.

"No," JJ answered.

"How's the crop coming?" Natalia asked.

"It's almost harvest time," JJ answered, walking over to the hood of the ice cream truck, opening it.

"I'm worried though," Kevin admitted. "There seems like there's more cops in the park this summer."

Lip nodded. "Yeah, I'm working on it."

Natalia smirked, crossing her arms. "Oh." She picked up a crowbar. "I'll go chase the rats out of the coolers."

"Have fun with that," Kevin told her.

Natalia walked into the truck.

JJ started to get to work on the engine of the truck.

Kimberly leaned against the truck, smirking. "The cure to loneliness? Cake. And ice cream. And weed, apparently."

The others smirked in agreement.

(Song Ends)

⫷⑅⫸

Fitting Store - Outside

Shari was inside of a fitting store for her party dress.

Grey was leaning against his car, arms crossed, tilting his head in boredom as he looked around.

Shari took her dress out of the store in the garment bag. "My fitting went swimmingly. You know that Mom has the nerve to try and tell me to wear the dress that she chose for me for my sweet 16?"

Grey chuckled. "Why do you think I brought you out here? So you can pick your own goddamn dress. Alize doesn't get to choose everything when it comes to you, or us."

"Yeah, well, she thinks she does," Shari replied, placing her dress bag in the backseat of Grey's car. "Thanks, Grey."

Grey nodded in agreement. "Mm-hmm. You get something you like?"

"Oh, yeah," Shari answered. "My dress is kind of epic, even for me."

Grey chuckled, walking toward the driver's seat.

Before he could get there, Shari hopped over the car door and into the driver's seat, grinning at Grey.

Grey gave her a look, amused. "Are we playing musical chairs?"

Shari shrugged. "I figured I'd drive us home."

Grey chuckled. "You're not 16 yet, Shari. You don't have a driver's license, or even a permit."

"Yeah, because of Mom and Dad refusing the DMV to give me one because they think I'll take off, but I've been practicing," Shari replied.

"There's only one Boivin allowed behind the wheel," Grey told her.

Shari tilted her head. "Look, if you want me to embrace my new adult life, then maybe you should embrace some new rules." Grey couldn't help a scoff/chuckle. "Hop in."

Grey gave in with a head tilt, turning around, walking around the car.

Shari smiled smugly, victoriously.

Grey got into the passenger seat, as they both did their seat belts.

Shari started the car.

Before they could even pull out of the parking space, suddenly, a car rammed into the back of their car, jostling them forward a bit.

Grey looked at Shari. "What the fuck?"

Shari shrugged, not knowing what to tell him, but held up her hands innocently. "At least you know it wasn't me."

They both sighed, unbuckling their seat belts, getting out of the car.

Eva got out of the car behind them. "I am so sorry. I'm not used to driving this car."

Shari shook her head. "Unreal. Oh, this is just fanta--"

Grey held out a hand to calm Shari down, relatively calm, looking at Eva. "It's okay. You know what? Just... just give me your insurance."

Eva shook her head. "Oh, we don't need to hassle with that. I'll just cover it."

"You sure you can?" Shari asked.

"As much as either of you," Eva replied. "Come on, please? It'll be my gift. Making up for the less-than-stellar driving." Shari and Grey exchanged a look, shrugging. "Just bring me the estimate. I can get the money tomorrow and get it to you this week."

Shari looked from Eva to Grey, tilting her head. "Well, I actually have a major party this week and I'm under lockdown by Alize and Jameson."

Eva raised her eyebrows. "Boivin? I actually work at the Continental with Saint Blackthorne. Alize and Jameson just lost their positions in the company which we got." Shari and Grey processed this, smirking. "I see that they haven't told your family that yet. Oh, well. That must make you Shari and Grey, right? Been listening to my friends yapping about the big party all week. Uh, sweet 16, yes?"

"Yeah," Shari answered.

"Well, why don't you come?" Grey asked. Shari raised an eyebrow at Grey. "Bring the money then, and you'll see we're way more than just Alize and Jameson's kids."

Eva chuckled. "Yeah, all right."

"Perfect," Shari replied. "We'll see you then."

"Yeah," Eva agreed. "And, again, I'm sorry."

"Yeah," Grey returned. Eva walked away to her car, looking more at ease than she had been a moment before, no longer looking apologetic, getting into the car, driving away. "Shit, probably should've gotten her name."

"We'll get it at the party," Shari replied. "Or I could just ask Alize and Jameson who the girl is that helped Saint Blackthorne replace them at the Continental, piss them off some more, and get her name in the process."

Grey smirked. "Yeah, bringing up Saint Blackthorne and whoever that girl was replacing them would get the job done. Come on, let's get home."

⫷⑅⫸

On the Road

Eva was still driving, having gotten what she needed.

⫷⑅⫸

Flashback 1

Day - Crack House - Living Room

Eva slowly made her way inside. She was strung out, out of it, clearly going through withdrawal and fiending for a hit. "Ronnie? Ronnie." She walked into the other room, where Ronnie was with two of his men. "I got it."

Ronnie tsked his tongue, shaking his head teasingly. "Eva, Eva, Eva. Always strung out. Always late."

"I got it," Eva repeated, handing him 50 dollar bill. "Where is it? Where is it?"

Ronnie looked at the cash, before exchanging a vicious look with the two other men in the room. "Where's the rest of my money?"

"I gave you a 50," Eva told him.

Ronnie smirked, raising an eyebrow. "You calling me a liar?"

"Stop playing, Ronnie," Eva told him, in no mood for games. "I just need a hit." Ronnie shrugged, punching Eva in the face, making her cry out in shock and pain, as she fell to the floor. "No!"

The two men instantly pounced on Eva, grabbing her, pulling her to the bed nearby, as if they had planned this, pinning her down. "You bitch!"

Eva screamed, struggling. "Stop!"

Ronnie took off his jacket. "You make us feel good, we'll make you feel good."

Eva couldn't break free no matter how hard she tried. "No!"

Ronnie stepped closer with an evil laugh. "Oh, yeah. Yeah."

"Do this piece, Ronnie," Man 1 told him.

Saint walked into the room. "Let the girl go."

Man 1 let Eva go to turn to face Saint, aiming his gun at him. Saint had seen that coming, instantly swiping Man 1's arms down to make his gun aim at the wall when it went off, making everyone jump in shock. Saint punched Man 1 in the face furiously in disgust, grabbing him, spinning around to flip him through the air and make him land on the floor badly, kicking him in the head to knock him out.

Ronnie looked at Saint in shock. "Who the hell are you?"

Saint shrugged. "Her fairy godfather apparently."

Saint instantly punched Saint in the face with either fist viciously, spinning around to kick him in the head hard enough to knock him out, making him fall to the ground.

Man 2 drew his gun to try and aim at Saint. Saint caught his wrist to stop him from aiming the gun, punching him in chest, kicking him in the face.

Eva, drugged out of her mind and having no idea what was going on but knowing the danger of what had almost happened, picked up Man 1's gun from the floor.

Saint kicked Man 2 in the head hard enough to knock him out, letting him fall.

Eva fired the gun.

Saint ducked his head out of instinct, turning toward Eva.

Eva was crying, sobbing.

Saint knew that she was acting in overdrive because of trauma and danger, added with the fact that she was high and withdrawing. "Whoa. It's okay, it's okay." Eva tried to fire the gun again, but Saint punched her in the face, knocking her out. "Hi, I'm Saint. Nice to meet you."

Saint picked up Eva to get her out of there.

⫷⑅⫸

Now

Day - Gallagher House - Outside

Zia couldn't sleep because of her nightmares, visions of Micah, and the daycare now running wild, so she went outside to sit down on the porch, just wanting to be alone away from most of the noise.

In her mind, Micah sat next to Zia. "Had to get away from everybody treating you with kiddie gloves, huh? Like the broken thing you are now. They're never gonna trust that you can take care of yourself now."

Zia closed her eyes. "Please just leave me the hell alone, Micah."

Frank walked up to the house, startled to see Zia sitting on the porch, before remembering that Kevin and Natalia told him she would be coming home that morning. "Zia!" Zia jumped, startled, looking up at Frank. "Been locked up in the loony bin for too long, huh? They finally let you out?"

Zia frowned. "If that's your 'welcome back', it fucking sucks."

Frank laughed lightly. "There's the Gallagher in you."

Zia sighed, not in the mood for his games, distantly numb. "What do you want, Frank?"

Frank even seemed sympathetic for Zia after everything that happened. "Come on. I'm taking Liam on a mission, and you can come too."

Frank walked up the porch steps to head inside.

Zia frowned. "Uh, what?"

Zia stood, turning to follow Frank.

⫷⑅⫸

Inside - Living Room

The kids at the daycare were watching TV.

Carson picked up Ethan. "Looks like someone needs their diaper changed, huh, Ethan?"

"Bathroom," Carl told her. "Nobody wants to see Ethan's shit, Carson."

"I know, Carl," Carson replied, walking away to take Ethan to the bathroom and change him, walking past a kid who was locked in a kennel labeled 'Time out' in the process as she left the room.

Zia and Frank walked in.

Frank picked up Liam.

Liam whimpered.

Debbie walked closer. "What are you doing?"

"Borrowing Zia and Liam," Frank answered. "Where's that backpack thingy?"

"Borrowing them for what?" Debbie asked.

With Liam in one arm, Frank wrapped his other around Zia, shaking her slightly. "Gonna take them to the aquarium."

Zia frowned, shrugging Frank's arm off of her. "Liar. Costs too much."

Frank walked away to grab a backpack. "Okay, then, a zoo."

"Just to be clear, I'm only going with you to make sure Liam's okay," Zia told him.

Frank let out a laugh. "Like I'm gonna put either of you in danger?" Zia, Debbie and Carl gave him a look. "Don't answer that."

"When are you bringing them back?" Debbie asked.

"I'll bring them back when I'm damn ready," Frank replied. "I'm their father. We need time together."

Zia rolled her eyes, looking at Carl and Debbie. "Tell Fiona."

Zia followed Frank and Liam, leaving the house.

Carl looked at Debbie. "Should we wake Fiona?"

"See any exposed bone?" Debbie replied. "They'll be fine."

"What about Carson?" Carl asked.

"She'll overreact and tell Fiona," Debbie answered. "Best not to tell."

Carl frowned but shrugged.

⫷⑅⫸

The Alibi Room - Outside

Kevin, JJ, Lip, Kimberly and Natalia pulled up to the bar in the ice cream truck, getting out.

Kevin smiled. "Nice job fixing, JJ."

JJ smirked, shrugging. "Told you, my specialty."

"Along with a lot of shit, apparently," Kimberly teased.

JJ chuckled.

Kimberly, JJ and Kevin walked inside.

Natalia and Lip waited for a moment outside.

"So you really gonna start working at Grey's house/" Lip asked.

Natalia shrugged. "I'd much rather serve ice cream and weed with my best friends in a van than serve a rich ass family, even if it is Grey's family, but you know that I need the money, Lip."

"True," Lip agreed. "I can't believe Grey actually got you a job at that place, though."

"Yeah, well, me neither," Natalia replied. "He promises that I'll like his sister Shari, who's turning 16 in a few days. And his brother Dominic is coming home today. Grey says they're the best out of the Boivins." Lip chuckled. "And that Belle's a bit of a bitch, and Ben, Jameson and Alize are like evil incarnates."

"Sounds like it," Lip agreed.

"But there's Brielle too, who's Zia's age," Natalia pointed out. "She sounds cute."

Lip chuckled. "Come on. Let's get to work."

Natalia nodded in agreement.

They walked inside.

⫷⑅⫸

Inside

Natalia walked up to Kimberly, as a younger group of guys were checking them out, bragging to each other.

"So many catches on offer," Natalia remarked sarcastically.

Kimberly wrapped her arms around Natalia, making both of them smile. "Too much. Like when did guys become so narcissistic? Honestly, stop obsessing over yourself."

Natalia put her hand to her chest mockingly. "'Oh, baby, uh, my new tattoo is scabbing. Can you rub some ointment on it while I tell you my life's story?'"

They both laughed.

Kimberly leaned her head on Natalia's. "We gotta stick together, yeah?"

"Always," Natalia agreed. Kimberly gave Natalia a teasing kiss on the cheek, causing them both to burst into laughter. Natalia pushed Kimberly off jokingly. "Stop it."

Lip and JJ smirked at them.

Kevin walked up to the co-bartender behind the bar, Kate.

Kate was pouring a drink. "Stan's yelling again, so loud you can hear him through the floor."

Kevin rolled his eyes, walking past. "Yesterday it was Nixon and Jimmy Carter. What's it today?"

Kevin pulled his hair up.

Kate shrugged. "I turned the TV up after 'fucking colored people'." Kevin shook his head. "He keeps going downhill like this, you're gonna have to call Becky."

Kevin got some pickles. "He has his good and bad days."

"Bad days?" Kate repeated skeptically. "That's what you call trying to take out the trash naked?"

Kevin shrugged. "He forgot his pants. It happens, all right?"

Kate chuckled. "I know you love the old racist bastard, but if it were my dad, I'd wanna know he was going south. It's probably time to put him in a home."

Kevin started to walk upstairs. "I can't hear you.'

Kimberly, Natalia, Lip and JJ waited downstairs, chatting and ordering a few drinks.

⫷⑅⫸

Loft Above Bar

The old man Stan was on the phone. "No. No, I don't want to watch my language." Kevin walked in. "I've been speaking this language for the last 50 goddamn years." Kevin brought over Stan's food. "Now, you listen to me, you fucking daughter of a chink-whore." Stan realized he had been hung up on. "Hello? Goddamn it. Cunt. Cunt, cunt." He put the phone back in its cradle, looking at Kevin as Kevin sat down across from him. "She hung up on me. The bitch didn't speak one word of English. she's probably in the basement of some whorehouse in Calcutta." He showed Kevin receipts in his hand. "And would you believe this shit?"

"What shit?" Kevin asked.

"My electric bill," Stan answered. "8700 bucks for electricity. You know, I've been running this bar for 40 years, and I never get a bill that was even close to a grand. All I want is for them to send one of their taco-eating, wetback meter readers to come here and check out the fucking thing." He stood. "That's it. Get me my shotgun. I'm gonna go down there and blow the cunt's head off."

Kevin stood, stopping him. "Can I see it? The bill?"

"Yeah, yeah," Stan answered, handing the bill to Kevin.

Kevin looked over the bill. "They must've made some mistake."

"The only mistake they made was fucking with me," Stan retorted.

"Stan, would you please sit down?" Kevin asked. "Sit before you blow another ventricle."

Stan sat down. "Blow, blow."

Kevin showed him the bill. "I'm gonna take care of this."

Stan pointed at him. "Arizona's got the right idea, boy. Take them down to the border and throw them over the goddamn fence. That's it."

Kevin didn't respond, walking away.

⫷⑅⫸

Kash and Grab

Ian was stacking inventory.

Kash was behind the counter

A man wearing a black Al-Amira and Dishdasha walked in, heading to the back without a word.

Kash followed him. "Ian, cover the register."

Ian watched them walk into the back room, shrugging, walking behind the counter to stand beside the register.

⫷⑅⫸

Old Olivar House - Outside

Eva was in her car, across the road from the old Olivar mansion where her family used to live. She was watching the house with yearning, longing, wanting that house back more than anything, and determined to get it.

An added bonus was that it was so close to Boivin Vineyards, that it would give her the perfect chance to keep an eye on the Boivins for everything that she needed to do, and everything that was to come.

⫷⑅⫸

Flashback 2

Day - The Penthouse - Sauna Room

Eva woke up in a burning hot sauna, gasping, remembering what had happened, and stood, beating on the window to try and get out, but unable to. "Help! Help!"

Saint walked closer. "Just relax, Eva. Breathe in and out."

"Let me out of here!" Eva demanded.

"I will, I promise," Saint told her. "For now, just breathe."

"Who are you?" Eva asked desperately. "Where am I?"

"You're at my place," Saint answered. "I'm a friend."

Eva was only more confused. "But if you're a friend, then you'd let me out of this closet."

"It's not a closet," Saint replied. "I mean, it was, but I rebuilt it myself into a sauna. It's gonna help you get clean."

"Why are you doing this?" Eva asked meekly; in her mind, she had been kidnapped and was being held hostage, and in a way, that was true, but Saint only had the best intentions.

Saint knew that Eva couldn't trust him yet after all she had been through, and what this looked like to her right now, trying to reassure. "Let's call it a gift."

Eva swallowed. "I know how to get clean, okay? I know how. I just need to come down easy, okay?"

"There is no easy way down," Saint pointed out.

Eva let out a shaky breath. "I don't need a sauna! I need a hit!"

Saint made a joke to try and break the tension. "Very rude to question a gift, you know."

Eva sobbed, leaning her head against the glass. "Please. I'm gonna die in here."

Saint leaned against the door of sauna, speaking softly to try and help her through it. "Look, I know it hurts, okay? Your nose won't stop running. Stomach's cramping. You feel like your head's gonna fall off. Believe me, I know." Emotional from his own history and looking back at it, Saint wiped a tear away before it could fall, turning to look at Eva. "I can only promise you one thing. It's going to get worse before it gets better. As long as you're here, you're safe."

Saint gave Eva a sad look, turning around, walking away.

Eva was still scared, desperate and angry, just wanting to be let out. "No! No! No!"

⫷⑅⫸

Now

Day - The Alibi Room

(Song:) Don't Stop Rocking - The Diner Music Library

Kimberly, Natalia, JJ and Lip were sitting together, drinking, smiling, laughing lightly.

Kevin walked down to join them, speaking softly so no one else could hear. "We have a problem. We may need to sell some pot."

"Isn't that what we always do?" Lip asked.

"A lot of pot," Kevin explained.

"How much pot we talking about?" Kimberly asked.

Kevin looked at JJ, nodding to the back.

JJ nodded in understanding, standing. "Follow us and see."

JJ and Kevin walked toward the backroom.

Natalia, Kimberly and Lip exchanged a confused look, standing to follow.

Kevin led the way. "So, Carson's been helping us out. You know how she kicks ass about gardening and farming shit?"

"Yeah," Natalia answered.

Kevin unlocked the backroom door, opening it, waking downstairs.

JJ, Kimberly, Natalia and Lip followed.

"Well, it works so good, we decided to use it on this year's crop," JJ explained. "You know how we usually grow a couple plants to get us through the summer?"

They nodded.

Kevin opened the door in front of them, revealing a fridge with a ton of lights shining on a roomful of huge weed plants.

Kimberly, Natalia and Lip were in shock. "Holy shit."

JJ nodded in agreement. "Exactly."

"Wait, so, what's the problem?" Lip asked.

"I forgot about the electric bill," Kevin answered. "We need 9 grand or they're gonna shut the power off to the building."

The kids exchanged a look, their work cut out for them.

(Song Ends)

⫷⑅⫸

Street

Frank was wearing the backpack to appear homeless and on the move, holding a cup for money.

Zia was standing next to Frank and holding Liam.

Frank walked through the slow-going traffic with a sign to show people in their cars, pulling Zia and Liam along.

The sign read: Disabled homeless man needs to feed his surviving kids. Please help!

A man in the car ahead of them put money in the cup. "That is all I got, man."

"God bless you," Frank told him, walking along to the next car, who also put some money in. "Jesus loves you."

The next driver flipped Frank off and rolled up his window. "Fuck you."

Zia flipped the man off in return. "Fuck you, you asshole."

Frank smirked, showing the man the back of the sign, which also said "Fuck you", as he patted Zia on the shoulder. "Good girl."

Zia pushed Frank's hand off of her. "Stop that."

A black car pulled up next to them.

Frank walked up to the car. "Jesus--" He dropped his act when he saw that Baby was the driver. "Oh, shit."

"Where's my money?" Baby asked.

Frank backed away toward Zia and Liam.

Zia frowned. "What's going on?" Two men got out of the car and grabbed Liam, taking him away from Zia. Zia, realizing the danger, started to panic. "No! Liam! Give him back!" The other man grabbed Zia, making her scream as she was picked up from the ground. Zia struggled desperately, crying. "Dad!"

Frank stepped closer, but he was grabbed by Baby, who dragged him into the car, making him drop his sign in the process.

The two other men hauled Zia and Liam into the car, closing the doors and leaving them trapped inside with them, as the car took off down the street.

The only thing that Zia could think about was that day on the river with Tristan, Malcolm and Eliana, how scary and traumatizing it was, and now all of this making it rush back.

⫷⑅⫸

Kash and Grab

Ian was behind the counter.

The man that Kash had just hooked up with walked past Ian on the way to the door, leaving.

Kash walked behind the counter. "Back to work."

Ian glanced at Kash's jeans. "Your fly is down."

Kash hurriedly pulled his zipper up.

⫷⑅⫸

Alibi Room - Weed Room

JJ, Kimberly, Natalia, Lip and Kevin were still in the weed room.

"So how much you think you've got growing down here?" Lip asked.

Kevin shrugged. "I don't know, couple hundred pounds or so. Gonna start drying what I can, but that won't fetch more than a couple grand or so by Friday."

Kimberly nodded in understanding. "That's why you brought JJ in again and brought us down here. You know that me and him could help you move it."

"Yeah, hopefully without raising too much speculation or suspicion," Kevin answered.

JJ shrugged. "Well, we're already fucking meth dealers, so weed wouldn't be too much of a problem. Just the problem is distribution."

Natalia pointed at JJ. "So let me get this straight. You're the meth maker, and Carson's the green grower? Hell of a sibling duo you got going on." Kevin and JJ smiled. "I mean, look at this place. Fuck selling joints out of a truck. I'm gonna have to strip down to my underwear for you to pay that shit off."

Kevin pointed a finger at Natalia. "There will be no stripping. I will send you to a Christian camp, you little hooker."

Natalia threw her hands up dramatically. "Fine, Dad."

Kimberly, JJ and Lip smirked.

Lip pointed around. "We could unload some of the plants off the truck."

"Yeah, how many would we have to sell?" Kevin asked.

"Five, maybe," Lip answered. "Six?"

"Lip, who the hell around here has two grand for a plant?" Kevin asked.

Kimberly, JJ, Natalia and Lip exchanged a look, shrugging.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Lip asked.

Kimberly nodded. "Grey. Simple business exchange."

"Grey as in the new guy your sister's hooking up with?" Kevin asked.

JJ shrugged. "Yeah, we smoked with Grey once. He's cool. For a rich dude. A lot tougher than Stevie-boy."

Kimberly and Natalia smirked.

Lip chuckled.

Kevin tilted his head slightly. "V's gonna kill me. She's gonna fucking kill me. I promised her I wouldn't sell more than three or four this year. Normally I throw a bunch of seeds around, see which ones are best. Thin out the rest." He looked at the plants in awe. "But this year, I couldn't. They're all so beautiful. I just... I just couldn't do it."

Kevin took a hit of a joint.

Lip nodded slightly. "Yeah, looks like Carson's best at making weed, and JJ's a master at meth. Like Lia said, quite the pair of foster siblings."

Natalia smirked, tilting her head, shrugging. "Not like we're ones to judge."

Kimberly and JJ chuckled.

JJ got a call, so he took his phone out to answer. "Yeah?"

A man's voice was on the other line. "Yo, man, you still got your batch?"

"No," JJ answered. "And I'm done with freebies. You want charity, hit up Salvation Army."

Kimberly smirked.

"No, JJ, not charity," the man told him. "I got some rich cousins in town, and they're in town, looking to party. And your stash is like so sweet. So what do you say? You up for making some fat stacks? 'Cause they'll buy everything you got. Out of meth, I mean. I can hook you and Kimberly up with a distributor to help you guys with the cash. All you gotta do is give me the word."

JJ looked at Kimberly, sighing, hating that they had to go down this road, but knowing they didn't have a choice.

⫷⑅⫸

Baby's Warehouse

Baby and three men were standing around the kidnapped Zia, Liam and Frank.

Zia and Frank both had Dorito bags over their heads, which were pulled off.

Baby glared at Frank. "Where's my fucking money?"

Frank put on a nervous smile. "That was a great last night. You were having fun. I was having fun."

"Where's my money?" Baby repeated, taking whatever money Frank had on him.

"You were serious about that?" Frank asked.

Baby counted the cash that he pulled from Frank's pocket. "Give me your goddamn tin snips."

Frank stammered nervously. "If I had won, I wouldn't expect you to pay me."

Zia was trying to stay calm and not dissociate, which was getting harder and harder by the second as she struggled not to go into one of her episodes.

Baby took some scissors from one of his men. "Take off his shoes."

Zia, becoming more scared about where this was going, stood. "No."

Baby waved a hand at one of the other men. "Grab her."

The man grabbed Zia, holding her back.

Zia struggled, tense and trying not to shut down again. "Stop!"

The other men took off Frank's shoes.

"What?" Frank asked. "It's a turn of phrase like, 'I bet it's gonna rain today'."

Baby walked up to Frank. "Yeah, let me tell you something. If I don't get my fucking money, I'm cutting toes off and cauterizing them with a blow torch."

Zia closed her eyes; in her mind, she could already see that exact scenario happening, with Frank losing his toes and screaming in pain as they were burned. She desperately tried to remind herself that that wasn't real, but that nightmare/daydream in her head felt just as real as what was happening right now.

Frank looked at Baby. "You've got my panhandling cash."

"Sixty bucks, man?" Baby asked skeptically.

"I was only out there for 45 minutes," Frank replied.

Zia's breath was shaky and broken as she struggled not to have a panic attack.

Baby looked at Zia, as she was held back by the man, and over at Liam on the table behind him. "We'll keep the kids." Zia's gaze snapped up in shock and horror. "Yeah. As collateral."

The man picked Zia up, dragging her away to a small cage set up.

Zia screamed and struggled and thrashed all the while but could not break free. "No! No! Stop it! Let me go!"

The man pushed Zia into the cage and locked it.

Zia hit at the cage, trying and failing to get out.

Frank watched in shock, horrified, but not knowing what to do or how to stop this.

Baby looked at Frank. "Come back with my fucking money, you get the kids."

Frank shook his head. "I'll bring you your money, you can't keep the kids. You can't keep Zia and Liam. I'll get your money. We can work this out."

Baby spun the tin snips in his hand. "We just did."

Frank's voice cracked with a rare show of worry and concern for his children. "No, no, no. Absolutely not."

Zia was still trying to get out, shaking. "Let me out!" The man in front of her slammed his hand over the cage, making Zia jump back in fear. "Dad!"

Frank stood, stepping forward. "You can't--"

Baby held Frank back from getting any closer to Zia or Liam, punching him in the stomach, making him double over in pain.

The three other men beat Frank down, pulling him back into the chair.

Zia cried out at seeing Frank beaten down like that. "Dad! Let him go! Please."

Baby gestured to the man in front of Zia. "Light it up."

The man picked up the blow torch, lighting it, waving it in front of Zia in the cage to get her to stop trying to get out or scream.

Zia backed away further into the cage to get away from the flame. "Please."

Baby gestured to the other men. "Get him up."

The other men lifted Frank's feet up, as his toys were almost cut off.

Zia's breath caught in horror, thinking that her hallucination/nightmare from before would come true.

Frank instantly spoke up to make it stop. "Okay, okay, okay. Keep Zia and Liam."

Zia's face fell even more from heartbreak and betrayal.

The men let Frank go and turned the blow torch off. 

Baby cut Frank's hands free. "Get up out of here."

Frank stood, grabbing his shoes.

Liam whimpered from his seat on the table next to the cage, crawling closer to Zia to try and get to her.

Zia just looked at Frank desperately. "Dad. Please."

"I'll be back, Zia," Frank told her. "I promise you."

Frank turned around, walking out.

Zia started to cry, shaking from silent sobs. In her eyes, she seemed to break more, her gaze fading even more as if she was even further away, no longer mentally right there, shutting down, dissociating from the stress and trauma of the situation once again. While she was in this daze, she couldn't move, barely even breathe or speak, and remained unblinking, all of her traumas flashing through her mind again in short, violent bursts, fracturing, causing her to see the memories through different planes of the broken imagery in her mind. All she could think that this wasn't real, as she was completely in a daze, her vision blurring.

In her mind Micah appeared next to Zia in the cage. "See? Can't even trust your father. It didn't take him long to abandon you. Do you think he's ever going to tell the rest of your family what happened to you and Liam? He's not, Zia. He's going to let you two die here. Like you let me die. Maybe we'll be together soon again after all."

Zia couldn't answer him even in her own dream, completely shut down.

⫷⑅⫸

Street

Grey pulled up in his car, pulling over, getting out, walking over to Kimberly, JJ, Natalia and Lip. "Hey. You guys called?"

"Yeah, thanks for coming," Lip answered. "Any interest in purchasing a 6-foot-tall pot plant? Chicks love a dude with a good weed stash."

Grey chuckled. "Cutting right to the chase. I respect that. How much?"

"Couple grand," JJ answered.

Grey shrugged. "Pricey."

"It's primo stuff," Natalia assured.

Grey gestured to the device in Lip's hand. "What the hell is that anyway?"

"It's a cop locator," Lip answered. "Rigging up a GPS system that uses police frequencies for coordinates. Shows me where all the cops are in a given area at any time."

Grey nodded sarcastically, amused. "Yeah, sure, that sounds legal."

"Trying to make sure our community is receiving its fair share of law enforcement resources," Kimberly replied. "There, you have plausible deniability."

Grey chuckled. "Yeah, thanks for that. Listen, I've got a dinner tonight, but we can talk about this after."

"Dinner with who, David Petraeus?" Lip asked sarcastically.

"No, my brother Dominic's coming home, and gotta be there," Grey answered. "I wanna be there. Natalia, still wanna go with the job offer?"

"Hell yeah," Natalia answered. "Could use the money."

Grey nodded in understanding. "Cool. We could head there now and show you the ropes, if you want."

Natalia exchanged a look with Lip, Kimberly and JJ, who all shrugged and nodded. "Yeah, sure, thanks, Grey."

Grey and Natalia walked away toward his car.

"Seriously, thank you, Grey," Kimberly agreed. "We'll finish this business deal later."

"Yes, we will," Grey agreed, getting into his car.

Natalia got into the passenger seat, waving to Kimberly, JJ and Lip as they drove away.

⫷⑅⫸

Gallagher House - Kitchen

Frank was trying to make a concoction.

Carson and Debbie walked in from the living room, seeing Frank.

"What are you doing?" Carson asked.

"Making a little easy summer moola the Gallagher way," Frank answered.

Carson rolled her eyes, walking away to the bathroom to get towels, heading back to the living room.

Debbie made sure that Carson was gone, looking at Frank. "Where's Zia and Liam?"

"In the car," Frank replied.

"You don't have a car," Debbie replied.

Frank was trying to focus. "A friend's car."

"You crack a window?" Debbie asked. "Zia's asthma."

Frank turned to give Debbie a look. "Left the engine running for the AC."

Debbie gave him a look. "You left a toddler and a seven-year-old in a running car in this neighborhood?"

Frank mumbled at Debbie to get her to stop. He frowned. "When did Zia turn seven?"

"When she was in the hospital," Debbie answered. "We tried to go see her, but they wouldn't let us have a party, so today made up for it."

Carl walked in, looking at Frank's mixture. "That baby laxative?"

"This, my young progeny, is Dr. Frank's magic money making fun dust," Frank answered.

"Oregano?" Carl asked.

Frank put everything he made into his bag. "Fool's gold. My 'I've never seen it fail' summer solstice ATM."

Frank walked out through the back door.

Carl and Debbie exchanged a confused look.

⫷⑅⫸

Boivin Estate - Kitchen

Natalia was starting her first day, standing with some of the other estate's workers.

Alize walked through the kitchen, noticing Natalia. "You're new, aren't you?"

"Yes, ma'am," Natalia answered.

Grey walked closer. "This is the girl I was telling you and Dad about. The new hire."

Alize nodded in understanding. "It's nice to meet you..."

"Natalia," Natalia answered.

Alize nodded, walking away.

Natalia looked at Grey. "So that was your mother, huh?"

"Stepmother," Grey answered.

"The wicked kind?" Natalia asked.

"Is there any other kind?" Grey replied. The two smirked. "Hope your first day is going well."

"Well, it just started," Natalia pointed out. "I'll let you know."

Grey nodded in agreement. "I'll let you get to it then. I'm glad you took the offer, Natalia. You will be too."

"Yeah, maybe," Natalia replied.

Shari walked through the kitchen, stopping when she saw Grey with Natalia. "Oh, this the new girl?"

"That'd be me," Natalia answered. "Shari, right?"

Shari smiled slightly. "Yeah. Hi. Grey said you'd be coming today. Working Dominic's first meal home? That should be fun."

Grey looked between Natalia and Shari, amused. "I'm sure you two will get along fine. Excuse me." He patted Shari on the shoulder. "Be nice, Shari."

"I will be nice," Shari replied. Grey walked away. Natalia and Shari both chuckled. Shari walked with Natalia. "Well, welcome to Boivin Vineyards, Natalia. Fair warning so you know what you're up against. Grey's cool, and an amazing brother, but a bit of a rebel when it comes to the family, like me and Dominic. And Belle completely follows the lead of our evil parents. In the beginning, it's all sunshine and giggles and stickers, and then the second that you want the same thing as her, a dark cloud comes over her whiskery little chin and she'll chew you up and spit you out like Hillary fucking Clinton."

Natalia chuckled. "I imagined. I'm starting to see why Grey already said that we would get along, Shari."

Shari smirked. "You too, Natalia. But Brielle, our niece, is the sweetest thing. Lonely as hell as a seven-year-old with workaholic parents, but she's an angel, and it makes me wonder how the hell she was born from this family, since this is a family of devils."

Natalia chuckled. "Grey said that Brielle's a bit of a guitar prodigy?"

"Yeah, it helps with her loneliness," Shari answered. "It was actually my idea to get Bri into lessons because she fell in love with music early on, but now she won't stop practicing and it pisses her dad off, but whatever."

Natalia nodded in understanding. "So Dominic's coming home for your birthday, right? Sweet 16?"

"Yeah," Shari answered. "Just a few days away. I wanted the entire family together for my birthday, so now they will be."

Natalia nodded in understanding. "I get that."

A Boivin assistant, Andrea Dragoi, walked through the kitchen to get things ready. "Miss Shari. The kitchen workers will have dinner ready soon."

"Thanks, Andrea," Shari replied. She leaned toward Natalia. "And be careful with that one. She can be a sneaky, manipulative little bitch."

Natalia smirked, chuckling. "All right. Thanks for the warnings."

Shari gestured around with a wave of her hand, tilting her head. "Everyone deserves a 'How to Survive the Boivins' handbook."

Natalia couldn't help but smile. "Also, love the hair."

Shari ran a hand over her blue and black dyed hair, the top half of which was in a braided half-updo. "Thanks. It really pisses Alize off, so all the more reason to do it."

Natalia nodded with a light laugh. "All the more reason."

Shari smirked, winking, turning around, waking out of the kitchen.

Natalia couldn't deny the fact that Grey was right about her and Shari getting along instantly.

⫷⑅⫸

Malcolm/Milkovich House - Malcolm's Room

Malcolm was lying in bed, exhausted and weakened.

Mandy walked by the open door when she glanced in and saw Malcolm's state, knocking. "Malcolm?"

Malcolm looked over at Mandy. "Hey."

"Hey," Mandy replied. "You okay?"

Malcolm sighed, sitting up slightly. "As okay as I can be."

Mandy walked in, sitting across from him on the bed. "You sure?"

Malcolm shrugged. "Not really." He looked at Mandy intensely for a moment, knowing that if he didn't have a lot of time left, he wanted to be honest and say what he had to say before he ran out of time. "I know that you like me, Mandy. And you know that I like you." Mandy was surprised by the blunt words, and also by how sincere and caring they sounded. "But losing Micah and then almost being killed by the guy that killed him..."

"And losing Micah because of my father," Mandy added.

"If I blamed you, I wouldn't have let you, Natalia or Mickey move in," Malcolm pointed out. "I don't blame any of you, Mandy. Or JJ. Because you guys are not your fathers. Seriously."

Mandy took a deep breath. "Well, I know you're working through all that. So I'm more than willing to give you some time to work through that before risking starting anything. Since you said that whatever could happen between us, it wouldn't risk my staying here. Or Natalia and Mickey."

"It wouldn't," Malcolm answered, sighing heavily, whispering more to himself. "Just wish I had more."

"More what?" Mandy asked.

Malcolm looked up, sighing. "Time."

⫷⑅⫸

Basketball Court

A bunch of guys were playing basketball.

Kevin was driving the ice cream truck.

JJ, Kimberly and Lip were in the truck.

"Hey, maybe we can talk the electric company into taking a down payment, a payment plan kind of deal," Lip suggested.

JJ pointed ahead. "Oh, watch. Customers." He walked over to the back window as a kid walked up to the truck. "Hey, what's going on? What can I get you?"

"Can I get a Watermelon Bob-Pop, Bubblegum snow cone and a Chocolate Crunch?" the boy asked. JJ got the requested items. "You still selling loosies?"

"Yeah, Marlboro Lights, buck apiece," Kimberly answered, getting the cigarettes, handing them to the boy, as JJ handed the boy his ice cream. The boy walked away. Kimberly looked at the next boy in line. "What can I get you?"

The boy looked at the menu. "Lemon-like Shot, Chocolate Chip Cookie Bar, Molson's."

"Molson's?" Kevin repeated. "We sell American beer here to children of age. Come back for a Bud Light when you're 16."

Lip got the requested ice cream and handed it to the boy outside, as JJ took his cash.

The second boy walked away.

A third boy walked up, putting cash on the truck counter. "Two frozen Snickers, a bag of Beer Nuts and a couple of joints."

"You 14?" Lip asked. "Got ID?" The boy didn't answer. "What's your birthday?"

JJ and Kimberly were getting his ice cream, handing it to the boy.

"June 3rd, 1997," the boy answered.

Lip grabbed a couple joints, handing them to the boy. "Okay, there you go."

The boy ran off.

A man walked up to the truck. "Taking little league book like last year?"

"Absolutely," JJ answered. "What do you want?"

"Marlins," the man answered.

Lip took out a booklet. "U10 or U12?"

"U10 for 15," the man answered.

"You're not worried about Ratkovich?" JJ asked. "Kid 72 threw pitches yesterday."

The man shook his head, placing money out. "No, he's Dominican."

Kimberly rolled her eyes, taking the cash. "Okay."

Kevin was sitting back in the driver's seat, watching the cop alarm. "Hey, Lip, anything on this radar?"

Lip walked over to Kevin to check. "Nope, closest unit is a foot patrol over by the play structure."

JJ pointed to the cop radar. "Any way you can make another like this for our other, more dangerous business?"

"Yeah, sure thing," Lip answered. "That was kinda why I started doing it in the first place, to make sure that you two don't get caught for doing what you have to do to protect yourselves and the rest of us."

Kimberly smiled slightly at Lip, putting an arm around his shoulders. "Always looking out for us, Lip."

Lip smiled. "Always."

Karen walked up to the truck, looking at Lip through the window. "Hey, my mom said that you came by last night?"

Kimberly and JJ rolled their eyes, not happy.

"Yeah, you weren't around," Lip answered.

Karen shrugged. "Well, I didn't get in until 4 AM."'

"New guy?" Lip asked.

Karen smiled a bit. "Jody. He's nice. I don't know, we got to talking about music yesterday. He showed me a bunch of bands I've never heard of. My favorite was called Guns N' Roses."

Kevin looked up. "Guns N' Roses? How old is Jody?"

"37, I think," Karen answered. JJ, Kimberly, Lip and Kevin exchanged a weird look. "You know, he laid out a blanket in the park and we listened to his iPod and fell asleep in each other's arms."

"How romantic," Kimberly said blandly, not caring.

JJ smirked at her reaction.

Lip sighed. "Wow. Sex any good?"

Kevin scoffed. "No sex. It's a part of this whole Sex Addicts Anonymous thing."

"Right, but you're a teenager," Lip pointed out. "I mean, all teenagers are sex addicts."

Karen chuckled. "Yeah, but I've been having sex since I was 11." Kevin's eyes widened as he looked over to give her a weird look, much to the amusement of Kimberly and JJ, as they were just trying to ignore Karen. "Jody and I don't want the physical to complicate things for us."

"Yeah, but we can still get complicated, right?" Lip asked.

Karen shrugged. "Sure, I guess."

The cop alarm started to go off.

"Oh, shit," Lip and Kimberly both said.

JJ checked the radar. "Foot patrol, 9 o'clock, 200 yards and closing."

Lip, JJ and Kimberly all sat down.

Karen got into the truck.

"Oh, hell no," Kimberly said.

"Let it go," Lip told her.

"Won't be here long anyway," Karen stated.

Kimberly sighed, tilting her head, not amused in the least.

Lip looked at Karen skeptically. "You never heard of Guns N' Roses? 'Welcome to the Jungle'?"

Kevin started to drive them away.

⫷⑅⫸

Street

Frank was walking, looking for customers, walking up to a kid. "Hey, kid."

The kid turned to face him. "Not a fucking chance, Frank. Still owe you a beating from last year."

Frank walked up to another group of kids but stopped when he saw a mother walking closer and glaring at him, continuing on. He walked up to a group of girls. "Hey, ladies. Hey, anybody interested in a little primo bud? Maybe a little snow for this hot summer scorcher?" He glanced down the sidewalk, seeing a security guard watching him like a hawk, quickly moving on, hoping not to get caught, but knowing it was already too late. "Oh, shit."

Frank started running.

The guard ran after him. "Hey, hey!"

⫷⑅⫸

Street

(Song:) Lie - The Learning Eaves

Frank stopped by a car to see if they would buy. "Grass, yeah. What kind of money do you want to spend on it?"

A group of street thugs saw Frank trying to sell on their turf.

One of them took out his gun in warning. "Hey! Get off our corner."

Frank took off running.

The thug fired his gun a few times, but didn't hit Frank, as Frank ducked down an alley and escaped.

(Song Ends)

⫷⑅⫸

Boivin Estate - Kitchen

Natalia was taking the first day in stride for the most part, mixing a drink together well that would help set the mood for the night's upcoming family reunion with Dominic.

Andrea watched Natalia with a narrowed gaze.

Alize walked in. "Andrea, does the kitchen staff have dinner ready? Dominic should be home soon."

"Soon, Miss Boivin," Andrea answered, picking up a glass, one of the drinks that Natalia made, and handed it to Alize. "Perhaps you'd like to try one of my drinks to see if it's fitting for the night?"

Natalia looked at Andrea in disbelief for her taking credit for her drink like that.

Alize took the glass, sipping to test the taste, and instantly loved it. "Marvelous. What's in this?"

Andrea was speechless, given that she wouldn't have known what Natalia used.

Natalia spoke up. "It's bourbon. Cherry syrup, infused with real cherries, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, frozen cherries, lemon juice and orange juice. Sweet but not too sweet, yes?"

Alize looked at Natalia, impressed, knowing that she was the one that really made it after this. "Yes. Nicely done, Natalia." Andrea tilted her head. Natalia nodded slightly. "Andrea, is there anything you'd like to say?"

Andrea shrugged. "Sorry, ma'am."

"With a rivalry like this starting, can only imagine what the two of you could do," Alize told them. "Keep it to yourselves, please. But please, Andrea, since you are higher than any other of the staff in our home, please try to keep yourself from torturing the rest of the staff like usual. Natalia's new, after all."

Natalia and Andrea nodded slightly.

Alize turned around, walking out of the room.

Natalia turned to Andrea, annoyed. "Trying to steal my drinks on my first day?"

Andrea rolled her eyes. "I was just playing a game. It's kill or be killed around here, okay? You'll learn that soon enough. All's fair in love and war."

"I really don't want to make an enemy on my first day, so can we just be on civil terms?" Natalia asked.

Andrea shrugged. "Maybe. Persuade me. Go on, impress me."

"What am I supposed to say, please?" Natalia asked sarcastically.

Andrea smirked. "Surely you can do better than that."

Natalia rolled her eyes. "Can we please not make this a competition? Because I'm sure I'll win anyway."

Andrea scoffed. "Really? That's all you've got?"

"What, you want me to beg?" Natalia asked skeptically.

Andrea smiled mischievously. "If you're any good at it, I wouldn't mind if you did."

Natalia scoffed. "You're a bitch."

"Look who's talking," Andrea replied. "But honey, at least I'm a bitch that can get anything I want. You'd do good to take tips from me in the future. Who knows? Might get to my level one day. If ever."

Natalia rolled her eyes, walking away.

Andrea smirked, loving getting under her skin.

⫷⑅⫸

Dining Room

The Boivins were gathered for Dominic's arrival, including Belle's husband Ben Craw.

Shari and Alize made it a point to steer clear of each other, the daughter and mother clearly not having a good relationship at all.

Natalia walked in.

Brielle was practicing on her guitar, anxiously waiting for the return of her uncle.

Ben was annoyed. "Brielle, please, stop with the noise already."

Brielle looked up, frowning. "It keeps me calm, Dad."

"I don't care," Ben replied. "I've had a long day today at the precinct, so..."

Belle gave Ben a look. "That's enough."

Shari and Grey both glared at Ben.

Natalia scoffed, exchanging a look with Shari since Shari had just told her before that Brielle's love for guitar pissed Ben off, grabbing some glasses.

Alize noticed. "Those are red wine glasses. We do white with reunions like these." Natalia nodded slightly, confused, walking away. "But be sure to bring those drinks you made for after wine."

Natalia nodded in agreement, looking around, confused on which glasses to get.

Grey caught Natalia's eye, nodding to the glasses behind her to subtly tell her which ones.

Natalia gave Grey a small smile in thanks, turning to grab the glasses.

Shari noticed Grey helping Natalia out, smirking slightly.

Brielle looked at Natalia curiously, tilting her head.

Natalia gave Brielle a small smile in return.

Brielle looked down shyly and went back to practicing with her guitar.

Ben, even more annoyed, took the guitar from Brielle and placed it aside.

Brielle looked up in complaint. "Dad."

"Enough," Ben warned. "I've got to focus on case files, and I can't with that racket going on."

"You probably shouldn't be trying to focus on anything since we're about to have a family reunion, and Brielle just wants to play guitar for when her uncle gets back," Grey replied.

Ben glared at him. "Stay out of it, Grey."

Belle placed a hand on Ben's shoulder. "Stop. They're just looking out for Brielle."

"She's our daughter, not theirs," Ben retorted.

"Maybe start treating Brielle like a daughter and we'll stop," Shari replied.

"Enough, all of you," Jameson warned.

Brielle gave Grey and Shari a thankful smile.

Natalia looked at Brielle sympathetically, but impressed Grey and Shari cared enough about their niece to speak up for her without hesitation, repeatedly.

Ben ignored Grey and Shari, looking at Belle. "I have a new partner coming in at the station tomorrow. I've gotta handle the new guy. Some Cory Keen that just moved to town with his son and wife."

"Yeah, that's why I asked Shari to help with Brielle," Belle told him. "So you can deal with whatever you have to deal with for Cory Keen, and we'll go from there."

Ben nodded sarcastically. "Oh, great, so now I have three people to babysit."

Shari turned to face Ben in annoyance. "I'm standing right here, you know. Asshole."

"Shari," Jameson warned.

Shari rolled her eyes, turning toward Natalia, shaking her head.

Natalia gave Shari a sympathetic smile.

Belle gave Ben a look. "Look, you know how it is with a family business. Sometimes the line between family and business can get a little blurry."

"Oh, there's a line?" Ben asked. "I wasn't aware there's a line."

Belle gave him a glare.

Brielle looked out of the window, smiling excitedly. "His car's pulling up. You guys, he's here!"

Brielle instantly ran out of the room, causing the others to chuckle.

Grey smiled. "Let's go."

Grey, Shari and Belle walked out of the room, followed by Ben.

Jameson and Alize exchanged a look.

"It's going to be all right," Alize assured.

Jameson let out a seething breath.

Natalia watched them in curiosity.

⫷⑅⫸

Foyer

Dominic Boivin walked in through the front door, looking around. "Anyone home?"

Shari opened the double doors and walked in with a wicked grin. "Surprise!" Belle and Grey followed with big smiles. Dominic broke out into a smile. Brielle ran into the room with a grin. Everyone laughed and cheered. Shari instantly embraced her big brother. "Dominic!"

Grey gave him a hug. "Big brother."

"Little brother," Dominic replied. "Sisters."

Belle embraced Dominic. "So good to have you home."

Brielle ran up to her uncle. "Uncle Dom!"

Dominic gasped with a smile as he caught his niece in his arms and lifted her up, spinning her around, making her laugh as they embraced tightly. "My God, Brielle, you've gotten so big."

Brielle giggled lightly. "I missed you!"

"I missed you too, Bri," Dominic told her.

Shari, Grey and Belle smiled.

Dominic placed Brielle down.

Alize walked outside with a smile. "Dominic, my dear."

Dominic could only manage a real smile with Shari, Brielle and Grey, but his smile was forced with Belle and his parents, as if he couldn't believe how they acted like their actions in the past when he left never happened.

"Killing it in New York clearly agrees with you," Shari told him teasingly.

"Right?" Dominic asked. "Shari, Grey, did you do all this?"

"Of course, we did," Grey answered. "You're our older brother."

Dominic tickled Shari's sides teasingly, making her smile and laugh. "Well, I came all this way for your birthday, and you throw me one like this?"

Shari shrugged, smiling. "What are little siblings for?"

"Bri helped," Grey added.

Dominic smiled at his niece. "That right, Bri?"

Brielle grinned. "I tried. But Aunt Shari and Uncle Grey did most of it. But I got my guitar and I wanna play you a song."

Dominic tickled Brielle's sides teasingly, making her giggle. "I would love to hear."

Shari wrapped an arm around Brielle, ruffling her hair. "Plus, she's gonna do a song with me at my party. Aren't you, Bri?"

Brielle grinned. "Yep!"

Dominic, Grey and Belle smiled.

Ben, standing behind everyone, rolled his eyes.

Shari poked Dominic in the head, making him smile and shake his head. "I'm just glad that you're here. I wanted the whole family to be together for my birthday."

Grey glanced inside toward where Natalia was working, looking away.

Jameson walked outside, giving a tense smile, but could not hide the glare that he gave Dominic, struggling to even put on a guise of welcomeness or happiness, or civility. "Welcome home, son." Dominic's smile faltered slightly. "How's, uh... I'm sorry. I forgot his name."

"Uh, Sion," Dominic answered. "We broke up, but thanks for asking."

Jameson nodded.

Natalia noticed the shift in the mood, from cheerful and happy, to slightly strained awkwardness, frowning slightly.

Shari spoke up to break the tension. "Let's eat."

"Yes, let's eat," Grey agreed.

Belle cupped Dominic's cheeks. "Our little New Yorker."

Dominic, Shari and Grey were messing with Brielle to get her to smile and laugh as the family all made their way to the table. Brielle was giggling the entire way, while Belle smiled at the sound, however, Ben, Jameson and Alize were unimpressed by the sight in front of them.

⫷⑅⫸

Gallagher House - Fiona's Room

Fiona was still sleeping.

Debbie walked in. "Fiona? Fiona."

Debbie tickled Fiona's feet to make her wake up.

Fiona jumped from her sleep. "Oh!"

Fiona took off her sleeping mask and took out her ear buds.

"Parent pick up time," Debbie explained.

Fiona was still waking up. "Thanks, Debs. You have any trouble today?"

Debbie handed Fiona a cup of coffee. "Little Charlie had a major diaper malfunction. Ellie ate a bunch of carpet. Normal, normal. Carson took care of it." Fiona nodded, drinking. "Oh, and Frank took Zia and Liam."

Fiona looked up in surprise. "What?"

"Said he was taking them to the zoo," Debbie explained, walking out of the room.

Fiona sighed, not thinking much about this, standing, going to get dressed.

⫷⑅⫸

Manhole

(Song:) Drinking Time - 5 Alarm Music

Frank, dressed relatively nicely, walked into the Manhole dive bar, walking up to the bartender. "Hugo, how's it going?"

"Go away, Frank," Hugo told him.

"Is Mr. Todd here today?" Frank asked.

Hugo looked up. "I said out."

"I'm in trouble," Frank admitted.

"You're always in trouble," Hugo replied.

Frank gave him a look "Come on, Hugo. You know me. I wouldn't be here unless I was desperate. It's my kids. I need money."

"Which kids?" Hugo asked.

"Zia and Liam," Frank answered.

"The blonde and the mulatto?" Hugo asked.

"Yes," Frank answered.

Hugo gave him a look. "No bullshit this time?"

Frank shook his head. "No bullshit."

Hugo pointed to a man across the bar.

Frank nodded in thanks, walking toward the man, leaning against his table with a tense, nervous smile

The man tilted his head, smiling.

⫷⑅⫸

Bathroom

The man was in the bathroom stall.

Frank walked into the stall, getting undressed, prepared to have sex with the man to try and build money to get Zia and Liam back.

⫷⑅⫸

Main Room

Frank walked out of the bathroom.

"Hey, Frank, hold on," Hugo told him. "You got more takers."

Frank looked at a line of three older men, startled.

One of the men took Frank back to the bathroom.

(Song Ends)

⫷⑅⫸

Park

Kimberly and JJ were walking on their own, making some sells with meth in secret, having Lip's cop radar to make sure they were in the clear.

"So glad that Lip thought to make this thing," JJ told her.

Kimberly smiled. "Yeah, me too."

"I wanted to give you something," JJ admitted.

"You didn't have to get me anything," Kimberly told him.

"Well, think of it as us getting closer and closer to paying off Tristan's debt," JJ told her. "Even though that itself will take years."

"Okay," Kimberly agreed. JJ took out a small box, handing it to her. "What is it?"

"Go ahead," JJ told her. "Open it."

Kimberly looked down at the box, opening it, revealing a multiple-colored jewel bracelet. She smiled with shock, looking up at JJ.

JJ smiled at her reaction, taking the bracelet from the box, clasping it around her wrist.

Kimberly smiled, looking down. She pressed her lips together, looking up at JJ. "I love it."

"I hoped you would," JJ admitted. "With everything that's gone on, I just wanted something nice for us, you know?" Kimberly nodded. "Like a promise that things can get better."

"Yeah, me too," Kimberly agreed. "Where'd you get this? There's no way that you could afford to buy it with everything we have to do."

"Eliana gave it to me, since it's a family heirloom, apparently," JJ answered. "And I only wanted to give it to you." Kimberly smiled, touched and awed by this. "One of these days, I'm gonna show you the world, if you want. Take you where you want to be, show you what you want to see. But... I don't think that I have to tell you that I'm completely crazy."

They both laughed lightly.

"I can handle it," Kimberly replied. "I'm sure I don't have to tell you that though. Since, if you haven't noticed, my family's pretty crazy too." JJ shrugged in acknowledgement. "I can handle the crazy and the pain. Just like you can."

JJ nodded, looking down. "I guess... I was just scared... that we'd be trapped in the darkness. Without finding something good at the end of it all. Or even in the middle of it."

Kimberly looked at JJ. "I just... I wouldn't think you would be afraid of anything. Other than what we've already gone through."

"No one in this world is truly fearless, Kimberly," JJ told her. "Not even me."

JJ barely brushed his fingertips against her arm when he went to place his hand on the table next to them.

Kimberly looked down at the touch.

JJ put his hand on the table next to hers, grazing his fingertips with hers.

Kimberly looked up at JJ, biting her lip slightly. "I find that hard to believe."

"Whatever's happened between you and me, with all of us, Kimberly Gallagher..." JJ trailed off. "You've always been the better part of me."

Kimberly looked at JJ, incredibly moved by this. They looked at each other for a long moment. JJ put a hand to her cheek, kissing her deeply. Kimberly returned the favor in kind, deepening the kiss. JJ stood, pushing Kimberly back into the wall as they were kissing deeply.

⫷⑅⫸

Gallagher House - Kitchen

Fiona walked downstairs, seeing Debbie sitting at the table. "Zia, Liam and Frank aren't at Sheila's."

Jasmine knocked on the back door before walking in. "Knock knock. Hey, Debs."

"Hi, Jasmine," Debbie replied. Jasmine walked past Debbie, messing with her ponytail as she did. Debbie looked at Fiona. "Want me to start calling around?"

Fiona shook her head, not thinking anything of it. "No, I'll swing by the Alibi before work, see what he's up to."

"What who's up to?" Jasmine asked.

Fiona started a load of laundry. "Frank took Zia and Liam. Probably have them out panhandling again."

Jasmine paced around the kitchen. "David has a friend coming from New York. I thought maybe I could hook you two up."

"Who's David?" Debbie asked.

"Bye, Debbie," Jasmine told her rudely.

Debbie smiled sarcastically, turning around, walking upstairs.

Fiona looked at Jasmine. "Friend?"

Jasmine nodded. "Yeah. Since I know you and Grey don't have any strings, what could be the harm?"

Fiona shrugged in agreement, walking into the living room to clean up some dishes, while Jasmine stayed in the kitchen.

"I met him," Jasmine explained. "40s, handsome."

"Oh, you mean twice Grey's age?" Fiona asked sarcastically. "My age?"

"Don't judge," Jasmine told her. "He's just your type."

"Oh, yeah?" Fiona asked. "What's my type?"

Jasmine smiled. "Cute and easily manipulated."

Fiona walked into the kitchen, putting the dishes in the sink. "You take money from David?"

Jasmine turned to give Fiona an offended look. "You mean am I turning tricks? No, he takes me out, he buys me nice things sometimes. That's what rich people like to do, they like to spend money. Rich guys like a pretty girl on their arm. So why not let them spoil us?"

Fiona chuckled, shaking her head.

⫷⑅⫸

Kash and Grab

Ian was still working, standing behind the counter.

Another one of Kash's hookups, dressed the same as the one before, walked out of the store.

Kash walked behind the counter.

Ian put his magazine down. "Done at 7. Cool if I split?" He picked up his bag. "Kash, I'm off. Can I go?" Kash started crying, causing Ian to stop. "You okay?"

Kash shook his head. "I can't do this anymore, live this lie. Linda, our marriage, this life of a lie. What am I gonna do?"

Ian had no answer for him, sighing.

Kash turned away.

Ian didn't know what to do either.

⫷⑅⫸

Boivin Estate - Terrace

The Boivins were eating dinner around the table.

Brielle was finishing playing the song that she had wanted to play for Dominic on her guitar.

The entire time, Shari, Grey and Belle listened with smiles, and Dominic was in awe by how well Brielle played, smiling.

While working, Natalia listened to Brielle play, in awe that a seven-year-old could play so well, which she had clearly been relying on a lot in her young life.

Ben, Alize and Jameson were unimpressed, of course, but let them have this moment, no matter how bored they seemed.

Brielle knew that they didn't care, and they were bored, swallowing slightly at the thought that no matter how well she did, she couldn't make her father and grandparents proud, like nothing she did would ever be enough.

Shari, Grey and Dominic noticed Brielle's look and knew what it was about, glaring at Ben, Alize and Jameson, trying to cheer Brielle up.

"Oh, my God," Shari said. "That was so amazing, Bri."

"It really was," Grey agreed.

Belle gave Ben a look. "Wasn't it, Ben?"

Ben looked up, looking like he was just now tuning back in. "What?"

"Brielle," Dominic answered. "Her playing was amazing."

Ben nodded, looking away. "Right, yeah, whatever."

Brielle looked down sadly, placing her guitar down.

Belle glared at Ben, giving Jameson and Alize a look, who both were completely silent. She reached out to take Brielle's hand. "Bri." Brielle looked up. "You were amazing. Okay?"

Brielle nodded, thankful that even one of her parents approved and that she cared. "Thanks, Mom."

Belle gave her a small smile.

"That really for me?" Dominic asked, distracting Brielle from Ben, Alize and Jameson and their reactions.

Brielle looked at Dominic, managing a small smile. "You know it."

Dominic chuckled. "Thank you, Bri. You've gotten so good in the time I've been gone. It's super impressive." Shari, Grey and Belle nodded in agreement. Brielle managed a bigger smile at this. Changing the subject to ease tensions, Dominic reached over to ruffle Shari and Brielle's hair teasingly. "So how's school?"

Shari pushed his hand off with a smirk. "Knock it off. And we're on summer break."

"Brielle's going to Bennett Day, heading into 2nd grade," Alize stated. "And Shari's going to Lake Forest Academy. A much better fit than North Shore. And I have her enrolled in a summer program." Shari rolled her eyes, not liking the last part at all. "She's doing really well."

Shari looked from Alize to Dominic, clearly not happy with her mother speaking for her. "Yeah, whatever she said. I'm more focused on designs than school though."

"You need to fix that, Shari," Jameson scolded.

"I know, Dad," Shari said, annoyed.

Dominic patted Shari on the shoulder comfortingly in support. "I'd love to see your designs."

Shari smiled, tilting her head. "Thanks, Dominic. You've always had faith in me."

Shari looked at Belle pointedly.

Belle shrugged. "All I'm saying is, if you want my help, you got to put in the work. Like a real business plan, not just a cute sketch for a wine label."

Grey and Dominic exchanged a knowing look, smirking, taking a drink of their wine.

Shari nodded sarcastically. "Right, because no one picks their wine based on the label, right?"

While working, Natalia smirked and tilted her head in acknowledgement, bringing over a tray of the drinks she made for after dinner. "Here you go."

"Thank you, Natalia," Shari replied, reaching for a drink.

Dominic took the drink before Shari could get it. "I don't think so, Shari."

"Hey," Shari complained, causing Brielle, Grey, Dominic and Belle to smile.

Natalia smirked.

Ben, Alize and Jameson shook their heads.

Dominic glanced at Natalia. "Natalia, huh? You new?"

Natalia nodded. "First day."

"Welcome to the jungle," Grey told her. They chuckled. "Belle, we got to go. I'll hit the storehouse?"

"Before you go..." Jameson trailed off.

Belle looked at Grey. "Yeah, I'll loop in transpo."

Jameson raised his glass. "It's been a long time since we all sat around this table. Too long. I remember the first time we shared a meal here, as a home. Dominic was two. Belle, you were in a highchair screaming your head off."

Grey smirked teasingly. "Some things never change, right, Belle?"

"Bite me, Grey," Belle replied.

The exchange caused the others to laugh.

"Remember, Alize?" Jameson asked. Alize nodded. "It wasn't easy, but we made it work. And then Grey came and..."

"It all went to hell," Belle quipped.

They all knew that Belle was teasing, but it was also very close to the truth, causing slight tension as Grey looked down.

Belle put an arm around Grey and kissed him on the cheek.

Jameson went on. "And then Shari. Belle and Ben had Brielle. Our family was complete." He raised his glass. "To family."

The others all raised their glasses. "To family. Cheers."

They all drank.

Belle stood, looking at Grey. "You ready?"

Grey nodded, finishing his wine glass.

"You guys mind if I come with?" Dominic asked.

"Not all," Grey answered, standing. "Come on."

Dominic finished his glass, standing.

Grey and Dominic both walked past Brielle on their way out, ruffling her hair or tickling her slightly, getting a smile out of her.

Dominic, Belle and Grey walked away to leave.

Ben stood. "I should head to the station too, fill out my partner paperwork for Cory Keen. Shari, you got watching Brielle?"

Shari looked up. "Excuse me?"

Ben walked away without waiting for an answer.

Brielle looked down sadly, as neither parent had had time to even give her a hug or kiss before leaving.

Jameson stood. "Now that dinner is over, I have other things to tend to."

Jameson walked away.

Andrea walked closer with the home phone, showing Alize. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Boivin. The man said it's important."

Alize nodded, finishing her glass. "Coming." She stood, walking away from the table. Andrea handed Alize the phone. Alize walked away to speak on the phone. "Hello?"

"Hi, Mrs. Boivin. This is Principal Collins from Shari's school, involving issues with her summer program."

Alize already knew that she would hate where this was going, turning to glare at Shari.

Shari reached over to take a drink from one of the drinks that Natalia made, enjoying the taste. "Jesus. These are so good, Natalia."

Natalia smiled.

Andrea glared at Natalia, which Natalia returned with a smug smirk.

Alize hung up the phone. "Shari, you and I need to head your school."

Shari realized that she was busted and in trouble, sighing, trying to get out of it. "I've got to watch Brielle."

"Natalia or Andrea can watch her," Alize replied, causing Natalia and Andrea both to look at her in surprise. "That would be okay with Brielle, wouldn't it, Bri?"

Brielle was uneasy around Andrea, and didn't even know Natalia, but knew that she didn't have a choice. "I guess."

"Good," Alize replied coldly, giving Shari a glare. "In the car. Now."

Shari sighed, standing, kissing Brielle on the head. "I'll be right back, okay, Bri?"

"Okay," Brielle whispered.

Shari and Alize walked away.

Andrea glanced at Brielle before turning to Natalia. "You deal with the brat. I've got better things to do."

Andrea walked away.

Natalia watched Andrea go incredulously. "The fuck?"

Brielle was not surprised in the least, like this reaction was why she didn't like Andrea watching her, as if it happened before. "Andrea's a bitch."

Natalia raised an eyebrow as she turned to Brielle in slight surprise, managing a slight chuckle. "That she is." She really felt for Brielle with how Ben, Alize and Jameson treated her and the rest of the family, just based off of what she had seen in the short amount of time on her first day, walking closer, sitting in front of Brielle. "Hey. I'm sorry about the way your dad and grandparent acted. You were really good, Brielle. I would really love to hear again, if you wanna play again."

Brielle managed a small smile. "I do, yeah." Natalia picked up Brielle's guitar from nearby, handing it to her. "Thanks. Natalia, right?"

"That's right," Natalia answered.

Brielle held out her hand. "Nice to meet you, Natalia."

Natalia shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, Brielle." They smiled slightly at each other. Natalia nodded to the guitar. "Show me what you got."

Brielle smiled more convincingly, starting to play, really well.

Natalia listened contently, smiling.

⫷⑅⫸

Lake Forest Academy

Alize and Shari were walking with the principal, Collins.

"Yesterday, we found Shari and a male student in the auditorium," Collins explained. "We suspended them, but today, we discovered something even more troubling. I was gathering your daughter's books so she wouldn't fall behind during her suspension, which was why you enrolled her in the summer program in the first place." He took out a bottle of pills, shaking it. "Found this in her desk."

Shari sighed. "Mom, are you going to tell Dad?"

Alize refused to look at her. "Wait for me in the car."

Shari tilted her head. "They're not even--"

Alize gave her a glare. "In the car. I will handle this."

Shari rolled her eyes, turning around, walking away.

⫷⑅⫸

Outside

Shari was walking away from Alize in anger.

Alize stormed up to her, grabbing Shari by the arm. "Shari, you will tell me exactly what the hell you were thinking."

Shari ripped her arm from Alize. "I was thinking that you normally don't give a fuck about what I go through or deal with, or that you're the main cause of everything that happens. I just wanted the pain to end, okay? I just wanted it to go away, just for a split second. And I didn't know how else to do that. Grey did it when he was my age."

Alize nodded sarcastically. "Right, and Grey should always be a role model? No. I don't care about your condition, Shari." Shari nodded since this proved her point exactly. "That does not excuse you from taking pills just like he did."

"Yeah, well, you sure as hell weren't fucking helping with the pain," Shari replied. "Or emotionally either. Dad and Belle turning their backs on Dominic when he left just to do his own thing away from the family. You treating me like an unwanted child all of my life, like Ben treats Brielle. You treating Grey like he's the devil's son just because Dad had an affair with another woman and had him. You two refuse to even tell us who his mother was because you hate the mere thought of imperfection or scandal or anything remotely human or tainted or dark. Very fucking ironic when you ask me when you take both of your toxic personalities into account."

"That's funny coming from you, when the only good feature you have isn't your personality either, sweetheart," Alize replied. "The only good thing you have is your hair, and you destroy that too with dyeing it to look like a freak." Shari looked away, tilting her head. "We will talk about this when we get home."

"Really?" Shari asked sarcastically. "I just thought that you would send me across the world to a boarding school away from my entire family all over again the minute that I lashed out. Like you did every single time I did before."

"Because you've always been a spoiled brat," Alize replied.

"I was a child, and you treated me like a problem because I wouldn't let your lies and hypocrisy go like literally everybody else," Shari retorted.

"With the rate that you were always causing problems, I'm surprised that you haven't succumbed to drug abuse before this," Alize sneered. Shari scoffed, shaking her head. "Or at the very least covered in tattoos of the names of the people you terrorize in your twisted goal in 'expose the truth'."

"Just your name, Mother, across my ass," Shari told her. "I tried to build a good relationship with you, but you never once wanted anything to do with me as your daughter." Alize couldn't deny that, looking away. "I'm sorry that not all of us can be the picture-perfect favorite like Belle. You'd rather leave the rest of us out to drown."

Alize shook her head. "Shari, I can't keep doing this with you. Going around and around. It's exhausting. It is so hard to be your mother."

Shari looked hurt, but not surprised by the words, nodding sarcastically. "Then don't be. Because you never bothered to be before now. Why would that change? But hear this. I'm back for good. I'm not going anywhere. You can't make me anymore. If you wanted a problem, you sure as hell have one."

Alize slapped Shari in the face, to absolutely no surprise, but Shari just glared at her, turning around, walking away.

⫷⑅⫸

Boivin Estate - Outside

Natalia had changed from the red and black uniform into her regular clothes, sitting with Brielle.

Brielle finished another song on her guitar. "What do you think?"

"You're gonna be a star if you keep that up," Natalia answered. Brielle smiled. "You said earlier that music helps you calm down?" Brielle nodded. "Because of your dad?"

"Dad's bad," Brielle admitted in a whisper. Natalia nodded knowingly. "Mom tries to be good, but..."

"She's still gone," Natalia finished.

Brielle nodded. "All the time. Uncle Dominic's been gone for years. Uncle Grey is working a lot too, but he tries to be around. He's around more than Mom and Dad. And Aunt Shari..."

"She's around most?" Natalia asked.

"When she's home," Brielle answered. Natalia frowned. "Grandma and Grandpa keep sending Aunt Shari away. To places far away. Schools. When she gets into trouble. So she can't be here when they do that."

Natalia was not surprised, shaking her head. "Taking Shari from her family and taking her from you."

Brielle nodded, frowning. "I don't know why I'm telling you this."

Natalia shrugged. "I'm easy to talk to. And it sounds like you don't have a lot of people that you can actually talk to." Brielle shook her head. Natalia rubbed Brielle's shoulder. "It's all right, Brielle. But you know, that guitar, the music calming you down. Two girls I care about a lot, Zia and Carson, who are about your age, they use music to help them feel better and calm down too. Just like you."

Brielle frowned. "Zia and Carson?"

"Yeah," Natalia answered. "One is seven, like you, and the other is 11. They play piano and sing, and a lot of the time, me and my friends Kimberly and JJ sing with them to cheer them up. And my friend Lip even helped with that this morning."

"Shari does that with me," Brielle admitted. "That's why she wants us to do the song at her party together."

Natalia nodded in agreement, smiling. "Maybe whenever I have the time, we can do that too. If you want."

Brielle nodded. "I do. Thank you, Natalia."

"Any time, Brielle," Natalia replied. Brielle smiled a bit, and Natalia smiled at getting a real smile out of her. "I've got to head home, but your family should be home soon."

Brielle pointed across the way. "Uncle Grey's already back. I'll be fine."

Natalia nodded. "All right. I'll see you soon."

"See you," Brielle repeated sweetly.

Natalia smiled, standing, waving bye.

Brielle waved back with a grin.

Natalia turned around, walking away.

Brielle smiled at having made a friend, even one that was a teenager.

Andrea walked outside, walking alongside Natalia as they were both ready to go home.

"Sorry about today," Andrea apologized, clearly not all that much, but was slightly intrigued by Natalia. "What was your name, again?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Natalia replied.

"I would, actually," Andrea answered.

"Go fuck yourself," Natalia told her.

Andrea smirked. "Funny name. I know you've heard my name from others, but I'd like to formally introduce myself. I'm Andrea Dragoi."

"I don't care," Natalia replied. "I'm going home now."

Natalia walked away.

Andrea watched her go, chuckling.

Grey walked up to Natalia. "So, now that your first day's almost over, how was it?"

"Not bad," Natalia answered. "Got myself some free entertainment out of it too."

Grey smirked. "Trust me when I say you ain't seen nothing yet." He looked toward the table where Brielle was still sitting and playing her guitar. "How's Brielle? I saw you watching her. I'm guessing Alize strapped you with that."

"Yeah," Natalia answered. "And Brielle's fine, but sad and lonely. And I can tell you and Shari try to be there a lot for her, but she explained why you guys can't be there all the time."

"Shari going to boarding schools across the world every time Jameson and Alize don't want to deal with her, for one," Grey agreed. "Yeah, that fucked Shari and Brielle up a lot."

Natalia nodded. "I can tell that much. Brielle doesn't have any friends, does she?"

"No," Grey answered. "But I think that she just made one with you. I'm shocked. Bri doesn't open up that easily with most people."

Natalia smiled. "I just sat and listened to her play the entire time. I have some experience with dealing with lonely little girls that use music to escape their problems for a little while."

Grey nodded knowingly. "Zia and Carson, right? Fiona told me."

"Yeah," Natalia answered.

"Well, thanks, Natalia, really," Grey told her. "Brielle probably really needed that." Natalia nodded. "There is housekeepers' quarters if you want to stay here on work nights."

Natalia shook her head. "No, thanks. I'll be good going back to my place."

Grey nodded in agreement. "All right. Completely your choice. I respect it."

"Okay," Natalia said. "I don't know why you're doing so much for me. Getting me a job here, the housekeepers' quarters?"

Grey shrugged. "Can't I just be a nice guy?"

"Not used to guys doing things with no strings attached," Natalia replied. "Especially one of Fiona's boyfriends. But I'm in no mood for charity."

"Not charity," Grey replied.

Natalia nodded slightly. "All right. Then how do I pay you back?"

Grey shrugged. "Keep your head down, work hard. That's all the payback I need." Natalia looked at Grey curiously, tilting her head. "Also, let me know about the, uh, 'business deal' later."

Natalia remembered, nodding in amusement. "Right, yeah. How many do you want? Because we have, like, a lot."

Grey smirked. "How much is a lot?"

"Like a room full of them," Natalia answered. "Not a small room either."

Grey chuckled. "Well, I can afford to take a lot off your hands, since it's clear you guys need to get rid of most of it."

"Yep," Natalia agreed.

Grey considered, tilting his head. "Put me down for five and I'll get you guys the money tomorrow. We'll see about any more after that." Natalia smiled, nodding. "Have a nice night, Natalia."

"You too, Grey," Natalia returned.

They headed their separate ways.

⫷⑅⫸

Boivin Vineyards Storehouse

Belle was making sure all of the wine was finished for this order, taking a drink to test the taste, and ordering the workers to finish up quickly.

Dominic had dropped by to see how things were going.

Dominic and Belle walked along together.

"This is amazing, Belle," Dominic told her.

"What about you?" Belle asked. "Two million units for a small batch tequila? Dad was impressed."

"Well, he should be," Dominic replied. "Just like he should've made you CEO five years ago."

Belle smiled. "Agreed. It's been hard waiting, but I've learned a lot from him."

"Well, just be careful what you learn from our pops," Dominic told her. "He doesn't always care who he hurts. Neither does Mom."

Belle turned to face him. "Dominic, they regret pushing you away. And actually, so do I. Feel like I could've done a better job supporting you more."

Dominic was tense at first, but let it fade, chuckling, turning toward Belle. "Thanks to the wonders of therapy, I'm over it. I forgive everyone. Grey and Shari didn't push me away, but still." Belle nodded in agreement. Dominic stepped closer. "All I'm saying is that Mom and Dad don't let little things like right and wrong stand in their way. I'm glad you're not like that, Belle."

Belle smiled, linking her arm with Dominic's. "Stop. Come on. I'm sure Grey's already got the trucks and drivers ready to go and headed out."

"That's another thing," Dominic told her. "Mom and Dad shouldn't have Grey on just the yard work and the drivers. I know that's more on Mom than it is on Dad, but still. It's not his fault who his mother is. Or isn't. Or the fact that we don't even know who Grey's mother is because Mom and Dad won't tell us because apparently it was too painful of a betrayal.'

"True," Belle agreed. "But there's not much we can do about that. I shouldn't have made that crack at dinner."

"We know that you were just teasing, Belle," Dominic told her.

"I know," Belle agreed. "But still. That's almost what happened. Even if it wasn't Grey's fault."

Dominic nodded in agreement. "What about Brielle? She seemed sad."

"Bri missed you, a lot," Belle answered. "And she didn't understand what happened, because Shari, Grey and I didn't either." Dominic nodded slightly. "And Mom and Dad keep sending Shari off, and Grey still has to work. And I've put everything I have into this job to finally get to CEO, and you know that the hours after that won't be any better than now. Ben's just being..."

"A dick dad," Dominic finished. "I wanted to punch him so badly today."

Belle gave him a look. "Dominic, I already got Grey to agree not to start fight with Ben like that, especially in front of Brielle, so I'm gonna need to make that deal with you."

"In front of Brielle, no," Dominic answered. "Any other time, he better watch his back." Belle rolled her eyes. "So Bri's just lonely?"

Belle sighed, shrugging. "The music lessons help keep her busy and calm, but..."

Dominic sighed. "Belle, I know you want to give this company everything you got. That you want to make Mom and Dad proud and happy. But don't sacrifice your relationship with Brielle to do it. Don't do that to your daughter. Because that's exactly what our parents did to us."

Belle was stunned into silence but knowing that Dominic had a point about Belle's actions regarding her daughter.

⫷⑅⫸

Night - Club

(Song:) When the Saints - Dick & Harry

Fiona was working.

Veronica was bartending. "Frank wasn't at the Alibi?"

"No," Fiona answered. "Sheila hasn't seen him."

Veronica shook her head. "He won't keep Zia and Liam long. A traumatized, newly released seven-year-old and a toddler will interfere with getting hammered and passing out before 11. How was last night with Grey, Jasmine and Grandpa?"

"Grey was amazing, as usual," Fiona answered.

Veronica smirked. "No shocker."

"Guess Jasmine and Davvid have been together for years," Fiona added, shrugging. "He's married, she's married. Seems like it works out for everybody."

"Yeah?" Veronica asked skeptically. "You think it works out for his wife and her husband?" Grey walked into the club. Veronica noticed him first. "Hey, like clockwork. Guess his family day went well. How serious are you about this one?"

Fiona shook her head. "Not very."

"Tell that to your big grin that you can't get rid of every time he's around," Veronica replied.

Fiona tilted her head, chuckling. "Why are you asking?"

"'Cause Grey's a nice guy and I like him better than you-know-who," Veronica answered. "Even the kids do, and you know that's saying a lot."

Fiona shrugged in agreement.

Grey reached them, standing next to Fiona. "Hey, Fiona."

Fiona smiled. "Hey." She kissed Grey first, brief but sweet. "How was your family dinner?"

"Tense with forced pleasantries," Grey answered. "But at least they kept the bomb from going off just yet."

Fiona chuckled. "I'm sure you and Shari are thrilled to have Dominic back, though."

"Yeah, we are," Grey answered. "And Natalia started her first day on the job."

"Yeah, how'd she do?" Veronica asked.

"Seems well, even though another girl, Andrea, already started a rivalry with her," Grey answered. "Saw that, even for a second, Alize might like Natalia, and tried to ruin it."

"Oh, the lifestyles of the rich and dangerous and the people that work for them," Veronica said teasingly, but slightly mocking.

Grey chuckled. "Yeah, mock all you want. Trust me, I do too." Veronica and Fiona smiled. Grey looked at Fiona. "I got my running shoes in the car, and I want a rematch."

Fiona laughed.

Veronica smiled, giving Fiona like her smiles and laughs were proof to what she said just before. "Rematch?"

"We raced on the beach last night," Grey explained. "She smoked my ass."

Fiona grinned. "Wasn't that bad."

"She annihilated me," Grey admitted, not ashamed. "It wasn't a fair fight. She was a track star."

Fiona shrugged.

Veronica looked at Fiona in surprise. "You ran track?"

Fiona nodded. "Distance runner, 1600. Coach thought I might have been able to break some kind of state record."

"What's the time you were gonna break?" Grey asked.

Fiona looked bummed out, but reminiscent of the past. "Coach thought I might be able to break 5 minutes 25. Who knows? It was a long time ago."

Grey sensed that this was a sensitive topic, but that she did love this, not being too pushy, but supportive, ready to back off if she wanted. "You want to see if you can break it now?"

Fiona wasn't used to the support like this, kind of awkward about it, but kind of touched. "Sure."

"Yeah?" Grey asked.

Fiona nodded with a small smile. "Yeah. I got a table."

Fiona walked away.

Grey and Veronica exchanged a look.

Grey made a zipping motion as if to illustrate speed.

Veronica chuckled.

(Song Ends)

⫷⑅⫸

Saint's Restaurant (Nova)

The restaurant was extremely fancy, huge in size, classy.

Saint was sitting at a table.

Jameson walked through the restaurant toward Saint. "Wow, nice place you got here, Saint."

"We've been open a year," Saint said. "It's about time you came to see it."

Jameson sat across from him. "Well, I make it a habit to avoid coming to the restaurant openings of people who try to sabotage me and kick me out of my companies."

"You mean my company," Saint replied. "The Continental is my family company, if you had forgotten. And it's not the only family company of mine that you have."

Jameson smirked sarcastically. "Which is why I came to you. So, Shari's birthday is coming up, and Alize and I invited our work friends to her sweet 16, and wouldn't you know it, two of my shareholders canceled at the last minute. Tried to get them on the phone, but no luck. Then I remembered you're friends with these people. Maybe you have something to do with them going witness protection on me, just like you got me and Alize kicked off the board for the Continental and replaced by you and Blair Williams." Saint played innocent, smirking. "I happen to know they're thinking of selling their shares. Maybe you're thinking of buying them?" Saint just grinned. Jameson leaned forward against the table. "You and me, your family, we've had our battles. You think I wronged your family because I took the little vineyard your parents started and turned it into one of the largest wine producers in the country."

Saint tilted his head, nodding, sounding utterly bored. "Number three, if I'm not mistaken. Your point being?"

Jameson glared. "You already got the Continental back. Don't mess with my vineyard."

Saint just looked at him. "I think about my parents on the day they got onto that cruise ship and got lost at sea. I think about how I don't know if they're dead or alive. Realistically speaking, most likely dead, but you can't blame a kid for having hope his parents survived the impossible. But I never got the chance to say goodbye. Just like I never got the chance to say goodbye to Martina, either. She was my parents' best friend, and you and your bitch wife Alize drove her out when she was sick and dying and she needed both of you the most. She was like my aunt. That's what you do to your family. To the people that you claim to love. You two may be all too willing to forget the past, but I'm here to make sure you never forget. And that you definitely regret." Jameson looked down. "And I just think about how hard it must've been for Martina. Cast out by her own family for a mistake that both of you made, but she was the only one punished for it. After fate already cursed her to die. It takes some psycho sickos to do that to their family. She spiraled and fell down into darkness, self-destructed. She was half-dead long before the cancer killed her, and I blame you, Jameson. You did that to Martina. And you stole my family's vineyard. You took away everything my parents and Martina ever had. So, let's cut to the chase. I'm not thinking about buying those shares. I already bought them." Jameson's face went blank with shock. Saint had been waiting for that look, smirking smugly at the delicious sight of seeing Jameson squirm. "And I am going to buy your company right out from under you. Just like me and Blair already did with you and Alize at the Continental. The best part of it all? There's nothing you can do about it."

Jameson glared. "It's not my company, it's my family's." Saint scoffed. "If you take us on, you will lose."

"If you and Alize treat your kids anything like the way you two treated Martina, then I doubt that I'll be the one losing," Saint replied. "You already cast out Dominic, and I hear that he's back in town. And Grey and Shari aren't treated that much better, are they? Belle's the only one that you approve of, but you still can't trust her. You Boivins don't have a lot of leg left to stand on. You won't have any by the time I'm done. Bye now." Jameson stood, turning to go. Saint watched him with a smirk. "Tell Brielle hi and tell Shari happy birthday for me." Jameson turned to face him. "Can't believe you didn't invite me to the party. The big sweet 16. I'm sure it's going to be one you can't forget."

Jameson just gave another glare, before turning around, walking away.

Saint gave a wicked, smug smile as he watched Jameson go, linking his fingers and propping up his chin, already knowing the taste of victory.

⫷⑅⫸

Flashback 3

Day - The Penthouse - Living Room

Eva was sitting on the couch, still in the process of getting clean, but wearing a change of clothes. She was still desperate and confused and longing for the pain to be over, as she felt nothing but unending pain.

Saint walked closer. "Hey. How are you feeling? Did you eat yet?" He was not surprised that Eva wasn't answering the questions. "That's cool. I like it cold. Cold and spicy. Those clothes of yours I got from your old place look good, but I got you a few things." He pulled out a nice, expensive looking shirt, showing it to her. "I know it's not Prada, but cute, right?" Eva still didn't answer. "Come on, the first step to feeling good is looking good."

Eva finally broke her silence. "What are you gonna do to me?" Saint sighed. "You don't know me. You don't know anything about me. So, what do you want?"

"I know you like smack," Saint replied. "For me, it was ketamine. K all the way. What am I gonna do to you? I'm gonna do what I wish somebody had done for me."

Eva still didn't know what to believe. "You got me here, trapped. So why are you lying?"

Saint sighed, knowing it was fair that Eva didn't believe him given that he was telling her the full story since he knew that in her state, she wasn't ready to hear the real story, and how the situation appeared. "When I was high, I did something. Something I almost went to prison for. Something I'm gonna be paying for, for the rest of my life. When I saw you, I saw a chance to stop it from happening again."

"Where?" Eva asked.

"Where what?" Saint asked.

"Where did you see me?" Eva asked.

Saint bit his lip. "I saw you walk into that crack house."

"Why were you there?" Eva asked. "Somebody like you doesn't go by a place like that."

Saint tilted his head, trying to calm her down. "Eva."

"Were you following me?" Eva pressed.

"Eva," Saint repeated.

Eva was even more unnerved. "How do you know my name?"

"I heard your dealer say it," Saint replied.

Eva tilted her head skeptically, knowing there was more. "What's your name?"

Saint sighed, standing, but didn't answer, pacing.

Eva was not surprised that he didn't answer.

Saint turned to face her. "It's not a trap. When you're back to full health, you're free to go. Forget you ever met me."

⫷⑅⫸

Now

Night - Gallagher House - The Boys' Room

Ian took off his shirt.

Lip walked in. "Yo."

"Hey," Ian replied. Lip went to sit down. Ian took off his jeans. "Get the truck running?"

"Yep," Lip answered. "We are back in the ice cream business. How was work?"

"Weird," Ian answered. "Don't ask."

Ian walked out of the room to go to the bathroom.

"Hey, don't jerk off in there," Lip said.

Lip heard the shower start, turning his head toward Ian's bag, noticing some papers sticking out of the bag, curiously picking them up.

⫷⑅⫸

Bathroom 

Lip walked into the bathroom, opening the shower curtain. "What the hell is this?"

Ian frowned. "Fuck, Lip." Lip held up the packet of papers. "It's an admissions packet."

"For West Point?" Lip asked.

Done with his shower, Ian turned the water off. "Going through my stuff?"

Ian stepped down to the floor.

"Ian, you just graduated the 10th grade," Lip told him.

Ian grabbed his towel, wrapping it around his waist, turning away. "I wanted to see what it takes to get in."

Kimberly walked up to the bathroom after hearing them bickering, leaning against the wall in confusion. "What the hell are you two bickering about?"

"He's got an admissions packet to West Point," Lip answered. Kimberly knew that Lip was just being his overprotective self, even if it was in his annoying way, sighing. "You're kidding. You're serious about this shit?"

Ian turned to give Lip a look. "I was in ROTC for two years. What do you think, Lip?"

Lip shrugged. "I don't know. I thought it was some kind of stupid fucked up adolescent phase. I mean, you really wanna get your ass shot off in some 'Stan somewhere?"

Kimberly and Ian both gave Lip a weird look.

"'Stan?" Kimberly repeated.

Lip nodded. "Yeah, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraqistan."

Kimberly frowned. "Did you really say 'Iraqistan'?"

"You know what I mean, Kim," Lip told her. "Come on, you can't be happy with Ian going through with this either."

"Do not take Lip's side, Kimberly," Ian told her.

Kimberly held up her hands. "I'm not taking either of your sides." She pointed at Lip. "You, stop being pushy. I know you're overreacting because of your protectivism, but calm down."

Ian sighed in relief. "Thank you."

"And you," Kimberly added. Ian's face fell. "Look, I get why he's acting like this. I'm worried too. I don't think this family can handle another loss after everything, but it's your choice, and we can't make that for you."

Lip was not happy, but knew that she was right, sighing, trying to respect it and put aside his tendency for overprotectiveness. "Fuck."

Ian nodded in acknowledgement, sighing. "Well, neither of you have to worry. It was really discouraging." He sat down on the edge of the tub. 'I'd need, like, a 4.2 GPA, a massive SAT score, and a recommendation from the president or some shit. Only thing I know I can pass is the fitness test."

Lip frowned. "Oh, so, what, the Army requires straight A's now to get your leg blown off in Kabul?" Kimberly swatted Lip's shoulder, knowing how important this was to Ian. Lip sighed. "You really want this shit?"

Ian nodded. "Yes."

Kimberly and Lip exchanged a look, nodding.

"All right, then fuck it," Lip said. "Let's make this shit happen."

"Let's," Kimberly agreed.

Ian looked up in surprise, but relief. "Yeah?"

"Hell yeah," Lip answered.

"President's a local boy," Kimberly pointed out.

Lip nodded. "I can tutor you."

Kimberly nudged Ian teasingly. "You're a shoo-in."

Ian smiled.

Lip pointed at Ian. "Still think it's fucking stupid."

Ian stood to chase them out of the bathroom, as Lip and Kimberly ran off, all of them laughing.

Ian swatted a towel at them repeatedly. "Get off, get out of here. You better run."

They continued to laugh.

⫷⑅⫸

Fisher-Ball House - Living Room

(Song:) Style - Phil Ogden Bryan

Eliana and Veronica walked up to the house.

"Any luck finding out any more about Tristan's debts, how many people he owes?" Veronica asked. "And how much?"

"Little by little, on my good days," Eliana answered. "But, uh, the bad days where I can't even remember the littlest things make it hard to do."

"Yeah, well, at least we're taking care of that, Eliana," Veronica told her. "Glad you moved in yet?"

Eliana chuckled. "Ironically, yes, I am, Veronica. Thank you."

Eliana and Veronica walled into the house, stunned to see weed hanging from the ceiling everywhere, walking through the weed rows until they got to the back of the living room.

JJ, Kevin and Carson were drying out the weed plants.

"What the fuck?" Veronica asked.

"JJ?" Eliana asked. JJ, Carson and Kevin looked over, all busted. "What the fuck is going on?"

Carson glanced at JJ and Kevin. "We can explain."

(Song Ends)

⫷⑅⫸

The Alibi Room - Weed Room

(Song:) El Diablo - Kickstart

Kevin, JJ and Carson brought Veronica and Eliana in to show them that the room was still filled with weed.

Veronica was stunned. "Carson, you grew all this?"

"Kev asked me too," Carson answered.

Veronica slugged Kevin in the chest.

Kevin groaned slightly. "I know, baby. I know. I got carried away."

"Carried away would be an understatement, Kevin," Eliana told him. "Not that I'm judging. God knows my family's done worse. JJ and Kimberly have to do worse, but that's not their fault."

"Now what?" JJ asked. "What do you wanna do?"

"Can't sell it," Veronica told them. "Gotta get rid of it." JJ, Carson and Kevin frowned. "This isn't 'pulled over with a joint in an ashtray' pot. This is 'Mexican cartel, 60 years in the federal slammer' pot." Veronica glanced at Eliana. "No offense."

Eliana shook her head. "None taken. It's true."

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Carson asked. "Destroy it?"

"Carson, there's a couple tons of weed down here, and JJ and I are black," Veronica told her.

"Well, what about the electric bill?" Kevin asked.

Veronica shrugged. "Figure something out."

"I can help with that," Eliana offered.

"No, Eliana, your help is going to Tristan's debts to keep Zia, Kimberly and Natalia safe," Kevin pointed out. "Especially after what happened last time with Zia and Malcolm. Plus, you helped with JJ's adoption costs for Monday morning."

Veronica pointed to the weed. "But this? This shit's gotta be mulch by tomorrow. To-fucking-morrow."

Carson pouted. "Can we at least save five for Grey? Natalia said that he would have the money to us by tomorrow."

"Fine," Veronica answered.

JJ patted Carson's shoulders teasingly. "But what do you think you're gonna do with ten grand, huh, Carson?"

Carson looked up in surprise. "Me?"

"Yeah, you," Kevin answered. "You did all this." He looked at Veronica, hoping to garner some sympathy points so that this didn't go to waste. "Carson worked on this so hard."

"Kevin," Veronica warned.

Kevin sighed. "Fine. But seriously, Carson. You get that money. For the future, for Ethan."

"Yeah, babies cost a lot of money and you both need some new clothes and stuff," JJ agreed. "You could start a fund for Ethan in college, if you want. Or yourself, if you think you want to go."

"Oh, I don't," Carson answered. "But for Ethan, yeah."

Veronica nodded, pleased. "Good. At least you and Ethan will be taken care of them."

"But I could also use that to help you and Kimberly with Tristan's debts, JJ," Carson told him. "A little bit of it, at least."

"That's okay," JJ assured. "We got that covered, okay? You earned this. You deserve it."

Carson smiled softly. "Okay. I just don't want what happened to Zia and Malcolm to happen again."

"We know, Carson," Eliana told her. "But we'll handle that. Not you. You already have enough stress for an 11-year-old mother raising Ethan. Time for you two to feel a little more safe and secure."

Carson nodded in agreement, biting her lip with a slight smile, touched and relieved to have a foster family like this, causing Kevin, Veronica, JJ and Eliana to smile in return.

Carson gasped slightly. "I wonder if I can find a cheap piano. The one at the Gallagher house is falling apart."

The others laughed lightly at this.

"Yeah, you deserve a piano, you little pianist," JJ agreed.

"Those are really expensive, though," Eliana pointed out.

Carson shrugged. "I'd settle for a keyboard right now."

They all smiled.

(Song Ends)

⫷⑅⫸

Boivin Estate - Vinyard

Jameson and Dominic were walking through the vineyard vines.

Dominic found it hard to be around Jameson, even one on one, their history long and strained and toxic.

Jameson had a tough time to speaking to Dominic one on one like this but had to focus on what just went down with Saint that night. "When's the last time you talked to Saint?"

"I make it a mission of mine to avoid Saint as much as I can," Dominic replied. "Why?"

"He's about to launch a hostile takeover of this company," Jameson answered. "I learned a long time ago not to underestimate that man. We're about to be in a street fight, and Belle, for all her skills, is not a street fighter."

Dominic raised an eyebrow. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Well, I've been following your career," Jameson answered. "You've been in the trenches. You understand what's required. We can't let Saint take our company."

Dominic stopped walking, giving Jameson a skeptic look. "Our company?"

"Come on, Dominic," Jameson told him. "I need you."

Dominic nodded, smirking slightly. "You need me?"

"I made you feel unwelcome," Jameson admitted.

"Yeah, just a bit," Dominic answered, slightly bitter and sarcastic.

Jameson nodded. "I own that."

Dominic continued walking. "If I were to come back, and that's a big 'if'." Jameson followed. "I won't undermine my sister."

"And I would never ask you to," Jameson told him. "I would never set one of my children against the other." He placed a hand on Dominic's shoulder, looking his son in the eye. "What I want, what would make me truly happy, is for you to help her, teach her how to fight this fight."

Jameson held out his hand.

Dominic considered, tilting his head before shaking his hand.

⫷⑅⫸

Jackson House - Living Room

Sheila was watching TV, waiting worriedly. She heard the front door open, turning around. "Frank?" Frank walked into view. Sheila stood. "Frank, where have you been? I've been worried sick. You didn't come home for dinner."

Frank was clearly freaking out and on the verge of giving up. "I have done everything I can think of and I still didn't make enough money today."

Sheila sighed, turning toward her bag. "Well, I have $80 in my purse."

Frank sighed. "No, that's..." Sheila got the money, walking over to Frank. "That's not--Well, sure." Frank took the money, scratching his lip nervously. "I think I might have really screwed up this time."

⫷⑅⫸

Boivin Vineyards - Storehouse

Belle was sitting in her office, working over paperwork.

Jameson walked in. "I was just down at the bottler. Come here." Belle smiled, standing, walking toward Jameson. "I'm so proud of you, Belle."

They embraced.

Belle chuckled. "Thanks, Dad."

They pulled away.

Jameson cupped Belle's head in one hand for a second before letting her go. "This calls for a toast."

Jameson poured them some red wine.

Belle smirked. "Okay, easy there."

Jameson gave her a smile. "I remember your first day. You said, 'start me at the bottom'."

Belle nodded. "Yeah. Otherwise, they'd only know me as Alize and Jameson's daughter. I had to earn it."

They looked out through the window over the storehouse.

"I've put my whole life into this company," Jameson admitted. "I know you'll do whatever it takes to protect it." He raised his glass to Belle. "To the best lawyer in this damn city, and the new CEO of Boivin Vineyards."

Belle grinned, giggling, nodding, clinking her glass with Jameson's. "Damn straight."

They smirked, drinking.

"Now don't screw it up," Jameson told her, slightly teasing.

Belle pushed him teasingly in the shoulder. "Mm!"

⫷⑅⫸

Boivin Estate - Living Room

Alize stood alone in the living room, on the phone. "Andrea? Yes, I've noticed your little rivalry throughout the afternoon with Natalia, and I'm sure that you'd love this request. I need you to find out everything you can about her. Use Stefanie and Drake's contacts if you have to."

Andrea was on her way home. "You want me to use my divorced mafia parents' contacts in order to find out about Natalia?"

"Yes," Alize answered. "Thank you."

Andrea smirked slightly. "It's always a pleasure, Mrs. Boivin."

They both hung up.

⫷⑅⫸

Shari's Room

(Song:) Welcome to the Jungle - Guns N' Roses

Shari was drinking, getting slightly drunk, dancing around her room to the rock song, singing, very good. "Welcome to the jungle, we've got fun and games / We got everything you want honey, we know the names / We are the people that can find whatever you may need / If you got the money, honey, we got your disease / In the jungle, welcome to the jungle / Watch it bring you to your sha-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n knees, knees." She looked into the mirror, blowing a dramatic kiss at her reflection drunkenly, tilting her head. "Mwah, I, I wanna watch you bleed / Welcome to the jungle, we take it day by day / If you want it, you're gonna bleed but it's the price to pay / And you're a very sexy girl who's very hard to please / You can taste the bright lights, but you won't get there for free / In the jungle, welcome to the jungle / Feel my, my, my, my serpentine / Ooh, ah, I want to hear you scream / Welcome to the jungle, it gets worse here every day / You learn to live like an animal in the jungle where we play / If you got a hunger for what you see you'll take it eventually / You can have anything you want but you better not take it from me / In the jungle, welcome to the jungle / Watch it bring you to your sha-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-knees, knees." She blew another dramatic kiss, before looking vindictively at her own reflection "Mwah, I'm gonna watch you bleed / And when you're high, you never ever wanna come down / So down, so down, so down, yeah / You know where you are? / You're in the jungle, baby, you're gonna die."

Shari looked into her mirror, critiquing her appearance and body, wiping the lipstick from her lips and across her face, leaving a smear of red on her cheeks and fingers, looking at her hair, unable to stop thinking about the fight with her mother earlier that day, touching her hair, flashing back to Alize telling her that it was the only good feature about her.

Shari was overwhelmed with anger, hurt by her mother's actions, of a mother that clearly did not love her, and drunkenly reacted out of instinct and without thinking, picking up the lighter in front of her, striking a flame, putting it to the tip of her hair.

As soon as her hair touched the fire, the fire started to spread up Shari's long black and blue strands.

The smoke started to get out of hand, and as did the fire.

Shari hurriedly grabbed the water glass in front of her and poured it over her hair, putting out the fire.

The alarm started to go off as an alert to the fire and smoke.

Alize ran into the room. "Shari? What's going on?" She noticed Shari's hair, burned and charred on one side of her head, gasping in shock. "Oh, my God! Shari, are you okay?" Shari didn't answer, putting a towel to her hair, the blackened soot rubbing off on the towel. "Are you okay? What happened? Oh, my God. Are you all right? Shari?" When Shari didn't answer or look scared or hurt at all, Alize realized. "Did you do this on purpose?"

"Guess I don't have any good features anymore," Shari told her. "None that you approve of, anyway."

Alize was absolutely stunned.

(Song Ends)

⫷⑅⫸

Baby's Hideout

Zia was still locked in her cage, holding onto the chain link of the cage to reach out toward Liam, both of them whimpering as they couldn't be near each other, separated by a cage.

Zia was trying very hard not to shut down again, which Liam was helping with every time his hand touched hers to pull her out of a state.

Still, in her mind, she saw Micah. "You really think that believing that your family is gonna show up is going to change anything? You're still a victim, Zia. Broken. Useless. A burden. Always needing to be saved. To be taken care of. It's all about you, right?"

Zia scoffed, shaking her head, looking away, closing her eyes, trying to shut him out. "Shut up."

"Why?' Micah asked. "I know right now, you're scared about what could happen. You're so anxious. Like there's something deep inside of you and it's swelling up and it's making you crazy. At least if you backslide like everyone is so afraid of you doing, which, after this, how could you not? We'll see each other sooner rather than later. You'll do that yourself."

Zia held her head in her hands. "Shut up."

"You can't run from this, Zia," Micah told her. "I'm just trying to help. Our dreams and nightmares are kept apart by this thin line of sanity and reality. Some people are just fortunate that they only cross that line in their sleep too. You're not so lucky, are you?"

Zia whispered to herself. "Why can I never go back to bed? Who's the voice ringing in my head? Where is the sense in these desperate dreams? Why should I wake when I'm half past dead?"

"You can't handle it, Zia," Micah told her. "Then again, most people can't. I look around at this world you're so eager to be a part of again, and all I see is billions of lunatics looking for the fastest ride out." He smiled. "Who's not crazy? Look around. Everyone's drinking, smoking, shooting up... shooting each other, like Tristan shot me. Or just plain fucking their brains out 'cause they don't want them anymore." He turned his head to look at Zia, shrugging. "People say that we're crazy. That I was before I died. That you still are. But at least we admit the world makes us nuts. Name any person who can take it here. That's all I'm asking. Name one. Because you sure as hell can't. But who can fucking blame you after everything?"

Zia whispered meekly. "Micah, stop. Please." Liam cried out, touching Zia's hand on the cage door again, snapping her out of it. Zia looked at Liam, breathing shakily, trying to be strong for her baby brother. "We're gonna get out of here, Liam. I promise."

⫷⑅⫸

Gallagher House - Living Room

Kimberly and Debbie were sitting downstairs on the couch.

Fiona walked in, just getting home from work, surprised to see them awake so late. "Kimberly? Debbie?"

"No Zia and Liam," Debbie explained.

Fiona was finally starting to get worried. "Frank didn't bring them back?"

Debbie shook her head.

Kimberly stood, giving them both a look. "When were you two gonna tell me that he took them in the first place? Or tell anyone else in the family? Because I had to find out when I tried to go to bed."

"I didn't think that it was a big deal," Fiona admitted. "I..."

Kimberly tilted her head skeptically. "Our little sister just got home from the hospital today, she's in the risk of serious backsliding if something bad happens, and you didn't think that our father taking them would be a big deal?"

Fiona knew that Kimberly was rightfully angry. "Fight later, find them now."

⫷⑅⫸

Outside

(Song:) Do-ers & Say-ers - The Sour Notes

Fiona, Lip, Kimberly, Carl, Debbie and Ian ran outside.

Natalia, Malcolm, Mandy, JJ and Carson were sitting on the Malcolm/Milkovich porch.

"Hey, guys," Natalia called over. "Grey said that he would buy five of the weed plants, and Carson will keep the money for herself and Ethan."

"Just gotta figure out about the rest," Malcolm told them.

Mandy shrugged. "Shouldn't be too hard."

"Yeah, tell us all about it later," Lip replied. "You guys seen Zia, Liam and Frank?"

"No," JJ answered, concerned. "Wait, why?"

Carson was confused because Debbie had told Carl not to tell her earlier so that she didn't 'overreact' and tell Fiona or someone else. "Why would Zia and Liam be with Frank?"

They all exchanged a heavily concerned look.

⫷⑅⫸

Jackson House - Living Room

Hearing a banging on the door, Sheila walked downstairs with a bat in her hand, going to the door, unlocking the deadbolt, opening the door as far as the chain link would allow to look outside, but still be protected by the door.

Fiona was right outside the door. "Where the hell are they?"

Sheila sighed heavily in relief when she realized that it was just the kids. "Oh!" She unlocked the door, opening it. "Children."

Fiona, Kimberly, Lip, Ian, Debbie and Carl stormed in, followed by JJ, Natalia, Malcolm and Carson.

"Frank!" Fiona yelled.

"Frank!" Kimberly shouted.

Fiona led the charge up the stairs, followed by her little siblings. "Frank!"

⫷⑅⫸

Sheila's Room

The Gallaghers stormed into the room.

Frank was hiding underneath the covers on the bed.

"Where're Zia and Liam?" Kimberly demanded.

Fiona snatched the blanket off of Frank, throwing it to the floor.

Frank sat up with a yawn, looking at his furious children in front of him with a nervous, guilty smile. "Hey."

Natalia, JJ, Malcolm and Carson walked up to the bedroom door, all furious and protective as well.

Out in the hallway, Karen looked at them in confusion, but Natalia, JJ, Malcolm and Carson ignored her completely, not caring about her presence.

Fiona looked at Frank. "Where are Zia and Liam?"

"They're at their first sleepover," Frank lied.

"He's 2, and she just got out of the fucking hospital," Lip told him.

"Where the hell are they?" Ian asked.

"I swear to God, if you make us ask again, you're not gonna like what happens to you," Kimberly told him.

Frank looked between all the kids and the glares they gave him nervously.

⫷⑅⫸

Baby's Hideout

The Gallagher kids, JJ, Natalia, Carson and Malcolm made their way up the stairs to the hideout.

Frank slowly, hesitantly followed.

JJ looked at Frank. "Which way?"

Frank pointed the way they needed to go, and all the kids took off in that direction.

Leading the charge down the hallway furiously, Fiona and Kimberly were flanked by Ian and Lip on either side. The rest of the group followed right behind, until they reached the place.

"This one?" Natalia asked.

Frank nodded.

Fiona knocked on the door.

When there was no answer, Kimberly banged on the door.

Baby opened the door, aiming a shotgun at them, cocking it. "Who the fuck are you?"

Frank was the most scared as he ducked down to the floor.

The kids were nervous, but more angry and protective than anything, barely even flinching or taking a step back.

Natalia frowned. "You were the guy following me earlier."

Baby was brought up short by that, shaking his head. "I don't know what you're talking about, girl."

Natalia shook it off, glaring. "We want Zia and Liam back."

"Zia and Liam stay," Baby replied. "They're collateral."

Fiona shook her head, taking hold of the barrel of the shotgun in her face, pushing it aside. "Then you better start shooting."

(Song Ends)

Without wasting a second, the kids all burst into the hideout.

Frank stayed on the floor, crawling on his way inside, looking up at Baby in fear.

Baby glared at him.

Embarrassed, Frank stood, inching past Baby inside. "Hey, good to see you again."

"Shut the fuck up," Baby replied.

Natalia, Malcolm and JJ dropped their usual 5,400 dollars from their fake ID business from their last run.

Malcolm also dropped the money they had made from the fight night the night before.

Fiona, Lip and Ian dropped their cash from their jobs recently but wasn't much given that they had to pay bills before this.

Debbie and Carson dropped some money from their daycare.

Carl dropped some change, about a couple dollars' worth.

Kimberly and JJ had dipped into what was left of their drug money until they could make more, which easily made up for the rest of the money that Frank owed, dropping it on the table.

Baby watched this all in shock, impressed that they could all have that together just like that. "How much is that?"

"Probably a little more than ten thousand," JJ answered. "We're good for it."

"We pay our debts," Natalia told him.

Malcolm gestured to Frank. "And we just paid that jackass'."

"Now where the hell are Zia and Liam?" Carson asked.

Baby rested his shotgun on his shoulder, sighing, nodding to one of his men.

⫷⑅⫸

Gallagher House - The Girls' Room

The kids just got back home to their houses, Zia and Liam with them.

Fiona put Liam in his crib. "Okay, home sweet home. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Lip repeated. "Love you."

The siblings all said, "Love you, Liam."

"You okay, Zia?" Carl asked worriedly.

Zia shook her head, turning around, walking out of the room.

"Where's she going?" Ian asked.

"I'll follow her to make sure she's okay," Kimberly told them.

Debbie knew that Kimberly was still mad, feeling guilty. "I'm sorry, Kimberly."

Kimberly's expression softened slightly as she cupped Debbie's cheeks. "It's not your fault, Debs. It's not your job to be the adult around here. Okay?"

Debbie nodded.

Kimberly kissed Debbie on the head, walking out of the room.

Lip, Ian and Carl followed.

Fiona hesitated, looking guilty, biting her lip, walking out of the room.

⫷⑅⫸

Kitchen

Zia walked downstairs, numb and slow, but needing to get out of there, to get fresh air, because she felt like she was suffocating. She froze when she saw Frank in the kitchen.

Frank was sitting at the kitchen table, a beer in hand, standing when he saw her, in the way of the backdoor. "Zia. I'm..." Zia just looked at Frank in hurt betrayal, running to the bathroom next to them, slamming the door in his face, locking the door. Frank tried to open the door. "Hey. Zia. I'm trying to apologize here."

Kimberly walked down the stairs to see what happened, glaring at Frank. "Or you could just leave her alone. Do you have any idea what this could've done to any progress she's made while she was in the hospital? On her first fucking day home. Are you serious?"

Frank was struggling for words. "Kimberly, I... I didn't mean for that to... it was a joke, you know? I was in the bar. I made this stupid--" Kimberly pushed past Frank to open the back door, gesturing for him to leave. Frank sighed, walking outside, turning back. "I tried to make enough that I--"

Kimberly slammed the door in his face, locking the door so he couldn't come back in.

⫷⑅⫸

Bathroom

Zia was having a panic attack, unable to breathe at all, locked in the bathroom.

Kimberly knocked on the door. "Z? Zia, it's me. Let me in. He's gone, he's not here anymore. Zia!"

Zia reached for the door, fumbling with the lock, but managing to get it open. "Kim... Kimberly..."

Kimberly instantly opened the door and walked in.

Zia hyperventilated, crying.

Kimberly wrapped her arms around Zia, pulling her into her chest, holding her comfortingly, protectively. "Okay, you're okay. You're okay." Zia fell to her knees, sobbing between breaths. Kimberly knelt down with Zia to hold her in her lap, cradling her. "Zia, think. We're gonna do the thing. The grounding thing that Rhodes taught us, remember?"

Zia nodded, sobbing. "Yeah."

Kimberly smoothed her thumbs in a stroking motion across Zia's eyelids. "Just relax both of your eyes. Relax your tongue. Relax your tongue." Zia struggled to follow instructions, unable to breathe, but she managed to do as told, just barely. Kimberly cupped Zia's head in both of her hands, brushing down her hair to help her calm down. "You're okay." Kimberly demonstrated the deep breaths that Zia needed to take so that Zia could copy her breathing. "Now we're gonna breathe, okay? Breathe in for three. One, two, three. Okay, out in five. One, two, three, four, five."

Zia's breathing, after following Kimberly's instructions, was much easier now, but still shaky and broken, as she cried, counting under her breath. "One, two, three, four, five."

Kimberly sighed in relief as Zia's panic attack started to subside, leaning her head against Zia's forehead. "Okay. We're okay. I got you." She wrapped her arms around Zia, as Zia's arms wrapped tightly around her, holding Kimberly tightly as an anchor, burying her head into Kimberly's shoulder. "I got you."

⫷⑅⫸

Kitchen

Fiona, Lip and Ian were revealed to be listening from the stairs, having just gotten there. All of them were heartbroken, wanting to do something, but knowing that crowding around Zia right now would just make her feel more overwhelmed and suffocated, not sure what they could do to help without making it worse.

Lip and Ian shook their heads at Fiona, clearly not happy with her after the way she handled, or didn't handle this, earlier in the day before it got to be so bad, just as angry as Kimberly was.

Fiona felt extremely guilty, not knowing what to do to make it right.

⫷⑅⫸

Malcolm/Milkovich House - Foyer

Natalia was about to walk upstairs when she heard a knock on the front door behind her. She turned around, walking toward the door.

Malcolm and Mandy were about to head up as well.

"Who's knocking so late?" Mandy asked.

Natalia opened the door.

Zia was the one outside, much to the surprise and concern of Natalia, Malcolm and Mandy.

"Hey, Zia," Natalia told her softly. "What are you doing here? You should be home."

Zia shook her head. "Debbie didn't tell Fiona when I told her too. And she made Carl not tell Carson so she couldn't tell. And Fi..." Natalia, Malcolm and Mandy knew the deal, and looked at Zia sadly in understanding. Zia's voice was small, shaky, broken. "Can I stay the night here, please?"

"Yeah," Malcolm answered. "Yeah, of course."

Zia stepped inside, a tear falling down her cheek.

Natalia knelt in front of Zia, wrapping her arms around her comfortingly, holding her protectively, letting her know it was okay to break down again if she had to. "Shh, shh. It's okay. You're gonna be okay, Z. I promise."

Zia held tightly onto Natalia, sniffling.

Malcolm and Mandy looked at them sadly, exchanging a look.

⫷⑅⫸

The Penthouse - Living Room

Saint walked into the penthouse that he owned.

Eva was laying on the couch, not sleeping well. She was clearly traumatized, having a nightmare. "Julietta? J, where are you?" She screamed in her sleep. "Laia!"

⫷⑅⫸

Eva's Nightmare / Flashback (in flashes)

Night - Olivar House - Living Room

In flashes, Eva remembered being nine years old, and held back by a couple of men, and forced to watch as a couple more started to beat her older sister Laia to the ground.

Laia cried out, trying to get away, but they kept her pinned down in place and kept punching, kicking and hitting her.

Young Eva screamed desperately. "No! Laia!"

Baby Julietta, the youngest sister, three years old, was in her playpen, crying and screaming.

Young Eva was thrown to the floor and kicked in the side, crying out. She looked across the floor toward her older sister.

Laia was no longer moving, and she didn't appear to be breathing, blood pouring from her head, which had been bashed against the floor, soaking the wood surface.

A man burst in. His name was Drake. He glared at the men. "What are you doing here? You were supposed to go for the parents, not the girls. Get the hell out of here."

Young Eva looked up, crying, barely able to see Drake through the blur of her tears and pain in her head.

Drake glanced at Young Eva, and Julietta in the crib, before looking at the body of Laia, and completely uncaring, turned around and walked out of the home, followed by the men.

Once they were gone, Young Eva pushed herself up and crawled toward Laia, trying to shake her awake. "Laia? Laia, please, wake up. Wake up." The traumatized nine-year-old screamed in fury and devastation. "Wake up!" The three-year-old Julietta cried, wailing in her crib. "Wake up, please, Laia." She gave up, laying her head on Laia's chest, crying, holding onto her tightly. "I'm sorry, Laia."

⫷⑅⫸

Now

Night - The Penthouse

Eva was crying in her sleep, screaming.

Saint walked closer, kneeling next to Eva, brushing back some of her hair, calming her down. "Shh. Eva, hey. You're safe now. You're safe. And we're going to find Julietta. I promise."

⫷⑅⫸

On the Road

On the way home, Belle was driving, checking a text on her phone.

On the phone, the text was from Shari, saying: "Just heard. Congrats, bitch!"

Belle smiled.

But suddenly with her not paying attention to the road, Belle's car hit a man, making him flip up and over the car and go flying out of sight.

Belle gasped in horror and fear, shock and denial, pulling over instantly. She slowly, shakily got out of the car, looking around for the man that she had hit on accident, but didn't see him on the road.

Though she could hear his pained, strangled gasps, sputtering breaths.

Belle followed the sound to the road rail, looking over it to the ground below.

The man was laying there weakly, half-dead, fighting for life, sputtering, gasping for breath that he clearly could barely breathe, so close to the end.

Belle gasped in shock and horror, backing away out of instinct. She started to cry, finding the man's phone on the road, which luckily wasn't broken, picking it up, and hurriedly dialed 911.

"911, what's your emergency?"

"Uh, hi," Belle said. "I'm--I'm on Route 9 by the Highlands. A man has just been hit by a car."

Belle became even more afraid when she saw a car driving closer in the distance.

"All right, ma'am, may I have your name, please? Ma'am, may I have your name, please?"

Belle wasn't thinking, throwing the phone, running back to her car, getting in, driving away.

⫷⑅⫸

Belle, Brielle and Ben's Mansion - Foyer

Belle made her way into the mansion, gasping from the trauma that had just happened, and the way she had just left.

Ben noticed her state from the kitchen, walking closer. "Hey, Belle. Belle, hey. What is it? What's wrong?"

"Am I a good person?" Belle asked.

Ben frowned in confusion. "What?" He gripped her cheek. "What's going on?"

Belle wrapped her arms around Ben tightly, just needing his embrace. "I love you." Ben held her close, confused. "I love you so much. Tell me that Brielle's sleeping."

"Brielle's sleeping," Ben answered. "What happened?"

Belle shook her head, unable to tell anyone, not even Ben, especially since he was a detective.

⫷⑅⫸

Day Three

Morning - The Penthouse - Living Room

Saint and Eva were getting ready for the day.

"You okay?" Saint asked.

"Yeah, fine," Eva answered. "Uh, Dominic?"

"Yeah," Saint answered. "Dominic can't know about you, not yet."

"I know," Eva agreed. "I'm gonna start making arrangements to get my family home back. At least that way, whenever we do find Julietta, I'll have it, and we'll have a home. If she doesn't have one already." Saint nodded in agreement. "And I'll be able to keep an eye on the Boivins. You've got something going with Dominic, and I've gotten and in with Shari and Grey. Belle would be a bit harder, but we'll figure it out."

"Yes, we will," Saint agreed. "Eva, is there something you wanna say?"

Eva took a deep breath, letting it out. "Yeah. There is. I just wanted to say thank you, Saint. For saving my life. And giving me this chance."

Saint nodded in agreement, fondly.

⫷⑅⫸

Flashback 4

Day - The Penthouse - Living Room

(Song:) I'm Here - Sia

It was the same day as Flashback 3.

Saint returned home to the penthouse, only to find Eva on the floor, out cold and nearly dead from an overdose. He ran closer, kneeling next to her. "Eva?"

Saint was incredibly worried but kicking himself since he should have seen this coming with her state. He found the pills nearby which Eva had used to overdose. Thinking fast on his feet and knowing that he didn't have much time, Saint stood and ran for the kitchen, getting a cup of water, pouring dish soap into the water, running back over to Eva, kneeling next to her, and pouring the soap water into her mouth, making her drink.

Of course, the soap going down Eva's throat instantly triggered her gagging reflex, and she started to cough up the water, waking up, trying to sit up.

Saint helped Eva turn on her side so that she vomited on the floor.

Eva looked devastated to still be alive. "No."

Saint rubbed her back. "Breathe. Just breathe."

Eva hit his arm away, crying. "No!"

Knowing that she was a danger to herself, Saint grabbed her arms. "Stop."

Eva hysterically tried to pull free. "No, let me go! Let me go!"

"Go where?" Saint asked.

Eva broke down into tears. "Just let me die!" She sobbed, holding her head in her hands. "I can't. I have nothing to live for. Nothing. They're all dead. Everyone I love is dead."

Saint knew that he had to tell her the truth, to give her some form of hope to keep her going on. "Not all." Eva looked up, confused. "I was following you, Eva. I've been searching for you, and your sister Julietta, for over two years. I know how you got here. Where you came from. I know who killed your parents. And your sister Laia." Eva looked completely stunned by all of this. "But Julietta... she's not dead. Julietta's alive. You were just led to believe that she wasn't."

Eva gazed off as she tried to process the words, that her little sister was alive, and still out there somewhere. She gasped softly, reluctant to hope because hope had hurt so much in the past, but she was desperate for any sort of news like that, hope finally starting to show in her eyes, a little bit of life. "Julietta's alive?"

"She is," Saint answered. "And I'm going to help you find Julietta. And get justice for Laia and your parents." He slowly stood. "Trust me, you have something to live for."

Saint offered Eva a hand.

Eva looked up at Saint with utter relief and hope but pain in her eyes, longing for Julietta and just for the rest of her family. After a moment, she took hold of Saint's hand.

⫷⑅⫸

Rooftop

Eva was standing on the rooftop, still reeling from the revelation her sister was alive, as she was looking over the city, conflicted.

Saint walked closer "Hey, there you are."

Eva turned to look at him, before looking back over the city. "I just needed to clear my head."

Saint stood next to her. "You know, you shouldn't be taking all this wind so soon."

Eva shook her head slightly. "It's okay. I'm feeling better now."

Saint nodded, turning to look over the city. "You know, looking out this way, it looks like a normal place. No one would think of the darkness that lays beneath."

"I haven't been here since I was a child," Eva admitted. "Somehow it still looks the same."

"Trust me, a lot has changed," Saint told her. "This city is a nest full of vipers, death and corruption."

"What place of the world isn't?" Eva pointed out.

Saint tilted his head in acknowledgement. "There's something I want to give to you."

Eva turned to look at him. "What? I already owe you enough. I'm not sure I can afford more."

Saint chuckled, holding out a box. "Trust me, you don't."

Eva took the box, opening it, seeing a file and two flash drives inside. "What is this?"

"On the file and in one of flash drives is what could be your new life," Saint answered. "A new identity, money to get to start over and property wherever you want it. You could start over, be a new person and have the life that you could have, had your tragedies had not occurred."

Eva processed this for a moment, not knowing what to say. "And on the other one?"

Saint took the second flash drive. "This is everything there is to know about you. Who you are, everything that could be holding you back. There's another copy that would be destroyed depending on what you decide, but it's your life, your birth to your death."

"My death?" Eva repeated, confused.

"While I was looking for you, I hit a rough patch," Saint admitted. "You see, people believed that you died in Rio when you were nine years old. There was a body, crime scene, everything. Somebody went through a lot of great trouble to let the world think you died, until I found you in Argentina and brought you here."

"So the entire world thinks I'm dead?" Eva asked, even more confused. "Who would do that?"

"That, I would like to know," Saint admitted. "And I'm guessing you weren't aware of this because you changed your last name years ago and didn't have to use your birth identity."

"I had to in order to survive," Eva answered. "I didn't want to look back. I had to keep going."

"I understand," Saint assured. "But the point remains, is that for the rest of the world, Eva Olivar died seven years ago. Which means going forward, you could be whoever you want."

"What about my sister?" Eva asked. "Julietta, you said she was alive."

"That's what I believe, yes," Saint answered. "But there was a body to her just like there was to you. But I promise you right here and right now, that I will do whatever it takes to find her and bring justice to our families."

Eva frowned. "But how?"

"It's better you not know," Saint told her.

"How could you say that?" Eva asked.

"I'm not trying to be a dick," Saint told her. "This life, Eva, it takes something from you. This path that I'm going on. It cost a lot, which is why I am alone in this, and you already lost so much."

"Yeah, I have lost a lot," Eva agreed. "And there's a chance that I could get justice for that. I can't just let that go."

Saint tilted his head. "Eva..."

"You said you would help me, right?" Eva asked. "Whatever I ask."

"Yeah," Saint answered.

"Then teach me," Eva told him. "Teach me this life, what you do. Help me be like you, and we get justice for our families. Besides, you saved my life. We're bound now. I won't leave you here alone."

"Eva..." Saint trailed off, trying again not to get her involved.

Eva had tears in her eyes. "Please. I have nothing else."

Saint took a deep breath, giving in. "All right then. But be ready. 'Cause it's not easy."

Eva nodded in understanding. "I will be."

Eva looked down at the box, putting it away, picking up the flash drive with the information of her old life.

"What are you gonna do with that?" Saint asked.

Eva let the flash drive fall from her hand onto the ground, stomping on it, destroying it, taking a deep breath, looking at Saint. "You said the world thinks I'm dead. Let's use that to our advantage."

Saint smirked, impressed. "You're more ready than I thought if you're already thinking like that. Let's get started, then. But one thing, just to be clear. I'm not looking for justice. I want revenge."

Eva was pleased with this, since clearly she wanted the same. "Even better." She held out her hand. "To revenge."

Saint shook Eva's hand, tilting his head. "To revenge."

And neither would stop until they got it.

(Song Ends)

⫷⑅⫸

Now

Day - Hair Salon

(Song:) The Master - East Coast

Alize had taken Shari to get her hair cut, not because she cared all that much, but because she didn't want the hair cut to look bad. "I just think that maybe we could do something with like layers, like Rachel from Friends."

"I was thinking Drew Barrymore, Mad Love," Shari explained. "Boys on the Side."

Alize gave Shari a look. "We can definitely have fun. We just have to take your bone structure into account."

Shari was not surprised by how controlling Alize was being, even over a haircut. "Drew Barrymore is fun. Coca-12, rehab at 14, flashing David letterman at 20."

Alize ignored her, looking at the stylist. "So I think we're thinking layers. Um, and short, but not too short." She looked at Shari. "It's gonna be great, honey."

Shari shook her head barely. "You're just gonna do whatever you wanna do anyway. Fine. About the haircut, at least. But I still get to color it how I want. That you can't stop me from doing."

Alize gave Shari a glare.

(Song Ends)

⫷⑅⫸

Nova (Restaurant)

At his table, Dominic was sitting at his laptop, typing. "Each of Jameson and Alize's kids owns 5% of the company. Belle will never sell. She's too loyal, even if Jameson and Alize don't trust her. Shari may be tempted, but she'll wait to see how hear idea for a new label plays out, plus her shares are held in a trust until she turns 21, but if she had the trust already, she would easily turn on our parents for the way they treat here, and me, and Grey. And then that leaves Grey. Looks like they didn't leave any shares to the half-sibling. Guessing that was Alize's idea. Jameson might not even know that Grey doesn't have his shares. Then there's yours truly. If you can get your stake up to 46%, my 5% will push you over the top and you'll take control over Boivin Vineyards." Saint placed a hand on Dominic's shoulder. "Since you're a frenemy of the family, I'll give you the friends and family."

Saint smirked, walking around the table. "Oh, Dominic, they are going to regret the day they turned their back on you."

Dominic smirked; hands clasped together. "It's good to be home."

Saint sat across from Dominic with a smirk. "I'm sure it is. It's good to take them down, together."

Dominic raised his wine glass, holding it toward Saint. "Together."

Saint picked up his wine glass, clinking it to Dominic's. Their eyes locked as they smirked and drank deep.

⫷⑅⫸

Kash and Grab

Ian walked into the store, getting donuts for breakfast.

Kash was working the counter as a few men came and went.

One of Kash's hookups, in all black, walked in.

Kash stood. "Ian."

"Yeah, yeah," Ian replied. Kash and his hookup walked into the back. A man walked up to Ian at the counter. "So, Freddie, what you got today, aluminum or glass?"

Freddie put his bag on the floor.

Linda's voice came over the intercom. "Ian, tell Kash to get his ass up here. I need him. Now, Ian."

Ian looked at Freddie. "Don't worry about it."

Freddie nodded in appreciation. "Ah, thank you."

Freddie left the store.

Ian walked toward the back, knocking. "Hey, Kash, Linda's looking for you." He knocked again. "Kash?"

The door opened, and Kash's hookup walked past Ian to the door to leave.

Kash walked out to face Ian, now dressed like his hookups. "Can you do me a favor, Ian? Can you give me a bit of a head start?"

Ian noticed the suitcase in Kash's hand. "You're leaving?"

Kash nodded. "Linda's got preeclampsia. The OB wants her in bed for the rest of her pregnancy. I can't do it. An hour? Two? Please."

Kash turned away.

Ian couldn't believe that he was once so into this coward who was abandoning his family. "What do I tell your kids?"

Kash turned to look at Ian, but couldn't answer, walking out of the store without looking back.

⫷⑅⫸

Gallagher House - Outside

Fiona was sitting on her back porch, overwhelmed. with guilt and anger about the night before.

Veronica walked up to Fiona, sitting down next to her. "Been to bed yet?"

Fiona shook her head. "You're not gonna believe the night I had."

"JJ and Carson told me," Veronica explained. "Zia and Liam okay?"

"Liam's fine," Fiona answered. "He's not gonna remember any of this, not that he even knew what any of it mean to begin with. But..."

"Zia did, and she's backsliding," Veronica finished.

Fiona nodded in agreement, shaking her head in disbelief. "Yeah, and she stayed the night over with Natalia at Malcolm's place. Like I needed another reason for Natalia to be a bad influence on my siblings."

Veronica gave Fiona a look. "Or Zia's upset and angry that you and Debbie didn't say anything to any of the other kids or realized that she and Liam were fucking kidnapped all damn day. Kimberly, Ian and Lip had an excuse because they didn't even know Zia and Liam left the house and they were MIA all day yesterday. Carl was just listening to what Debs told him to do." Fiona looked down, knowing that Veronica was right, but it still hurt. "So what if she went to stay over with Natalia, Malcolm and Mandy? Natalia adores that little girl and would protect her at any cost, already proven. Malcolm almost died saving her. Cut them some slack, Jesus."

Fiona sighed. "Fine."

"Are the kids up yet?" Veronica asked. "Think I may need some field hands."

"Isn't today Monday?" Fiona asked. "JJ's court date."

"Yeah, but it's in the afternoon," Veronica answered. "We've got plenty of time."

Fiona chuckled. "You excited?"

Veronica grinned. "We all are. Fucking finally. That's all I got to say."

Fiona laughed lightly.

⫷⑅⫸

The Alibi Room - Weed Room

Kimberly, Natalia, JJ, Lip, Carl, Debbie, Zia, Carson, Fiona and Veronica were cutting down the weed plants.

Fiona was ranting. "We handed over all the cash we made so far this summer." She glanced at Kimberly. "Legitimate money wise, from us siblings, but we still only came up with 4,000. If it wasn't for Natalia, JJ, Malcolm and Carson pitching in with the fake ID, fight night and babysitting jobs, and Kimberly and JJ's drug money, we wouldn't have been able to pay the six grand left."

Natalia tilted her head at Fiona. "That sounds vaguely like a thank you."

"Could do one better and actually thank us," JJ pointed out, half-sarcastic

"Thank you," Fiona replied. "I'm just mad because that's money we count on to get through the winter."

"Fi, I still have money left over from doing business with JJ," Kimberly told her. "Why don't you ever take what money we get to keep that's not going directly to hospital bills or Tristan's debts?"

"Because I'm not using drug money to pay the bills," Fiona answered.

JJ scoffed. "Yeah, well, you can't rely on us one moment and use our money to save your little siblings one moment, and then refuse our help and judge us the next."

"Especially when we're the only reasons we can afford to get Zia and JJ the help they need," Kimberly added.

Fiona was shamed into silence, knowing that she couldn't argue with that.

Veronica spoke up to ease the tensions. "What was this anyway, some kind off bet?"

"Yeah," Carson answered. "Ten grand. Can you believe that?"

Lip shook his head teasingly. "And just to think, Carson. You could've paid that full thing yourself today if it happened today instead of yesterday."

Kimberly, Natalia, JJ and Veronica nodded in agreement.

Fiona, Zia, Carl and Debbie looked at them in surprise.

"You're getting ten thousand dollars?" Zia asked.

"Yeah, Grey's buying five of these, and they're worth two grand each," Carson answered.

Carl grinned wickedly. "Awesome."

"And no, Carl, you can't have any," Carson told him.

Carl dropped the grin. "I wasn't gonna ask that." Carson snorted. "Okay, maybe I was, but..." Carson shook her head. "Come on, Carson."

"In your dreams," Carson replied.

The others smirked in amusement.

"Hang on, Grey is paying you 10 thousand for five of these things?" Fiona asked.

"Before you go on the charity schtick, two thousand a piece is actually the right price for weed like these," Natalia replied. "And yes, Grey said that he would buy some. Don't look too much into it."

"Yeah, it's a fair business deal," Lip agreed. "Hey, V, can we save some for the ice cream truck, keep it stocked all summer?"

"How much is that?" Veronica asked.

"A bag should do it," JJ answered.

"All right," Veronica gave in. "But less than an ounce on the truck at one time."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Kimberly agreed.

Fiona looked at Veronica with a pleading look.

Veronica chuckled. "Sure, take a bag. It's the least we can do to thank you for your hard work." Kevin peaked through the weed plants toward Veronica. "No, no, not you, Johnny Appleseed."

Zia looked around. "This could help with the debts. We shouldn't be getting rid of all of it."

"Well, we can't front all of it at once either, or we're just asking to get busted," Natalia pointed out.

Lip kissed the top of Zia's head in reassurance. "You don't need to worry about that stuff, Z. We got it handled."

"Hard not to worry about it knowing that it involves me and what could happen again," Zia replied. "Like last night."

The others knew that she had a point, all somber.

Lip wrapped an arm around Zia. "But you're gonna be okay, yeah?"

Zia looked up at them, nodding slightly, her eyes still slightly downcast. "I think so."

Ian sighed in relief, nodding. "Good, good. That's all any of us want."

Carl playfully poked Zia in the side to make her jump and try and cheer her up. "No way we're gonna lose you again so soon."

"Hell no," Kimberly agreed.

Zia gave her siblings a tight, tense, but slightly cheered up smile.

JJ, Natalia, Carson, Kevvin and Veronica looked at them sympathetically with small smiles.

Eliana called up from upstairs. "JJ, Grey is here."

"All right, we'll be right up," JJ called.

They started to bag up the weed and take it out.

⫷⑅⫸

Alley Behind the Alibi Room

Grey and Eliana stood outside next to a red truck that was already filled with bags.

Grey also had one of the vineyard's trucks with him to help out.

"They should be right out," Eliana told him. "And you'll get your share. You could also show up tonight on the Southside for this huge gathering I'm planning for a celebration after my son JJ's adoption to Veronica and Kevin. Your money would still go to Carson and Ethan, but I'm organizing something bigger for my family, and the Gallaghers, Natalia, Mandy and Malcolm."

Grey chuckled. "Great, yeah, count me in. I'll be there. With my sister Shari. We both have some chronic pain, and..."

"Which is why you were so willing to buy so much, besides wanting to help," Eliana realized.

"Yeah," Grey answered. "At least this way, we'll both be set for months, or a year at least."

Eliana chuckled. "That you will be."

"So, tonight is to raise all the money you guys can from all of that, but without the danger of distributing and getting caught," Grey stated. "I like it. Pretty smart, Eliana."

Eliana smiled, tilting her head. "Well, I have my genius moments. There's about a half million worth of weed in there. It'd be a shame to waste that when there's so much we can do with that money. But Veronica's right. We can't risk exposure over something simple like weed. This is the best solution to bot problems I could come up with short notice. And it's a hell of a celebration tactic."

Grey laughed. "Yeah, I'd say so. $20 per admission?"

"Sounds about right," Eliana answered.

Grey took out a 50-dollar bill, handing it to Eliana. "Consider this my and Shari's admission fee."

Eliana smirked, taking the cash. "Thank you, Grey."

Kevin walked outside, taking advantage of the fact that Eliana and Grey were distracted, and hid the two bags of weed in his hand in the dumpster at the back of the alley.

Everyone else walked outside, talking over each other, each one putting their bags in the back of the truck.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Veronica told them.

They all held up a thumbs up.

Grey saw the 11-year-old. "Carson, hey." Carson walked over. Grey took out an envelope. "I believe this belongs to you. That's what Natalia, Kimberly, Lip, JJ and Malcolm said, anyway."

Carson was stunned, like she still couldn't believe it. "In cash?"

Grey smiled, holding it out to her. "And all yours."

Carl reached out. "If you don't take it, I will."

Carson slapped Carl's hand. "The hell you will." They all laughed. Carson took the cash. "Thanks, Grey."

"I should be the one thanking you," Grey pointed out. "I'm just a satisfied customer." The others smiled slightly. Zia looked at Grey curiously. Grey noticed her look. "You must be the famous Zia."

Zia nodded slightly. "You're Fiona's new guy. Grey."

Fiona blushed slightly.

Grey looked at Fiona with a slight smile, raising an eyebrow, not sure what she wanted him to say.

Fiona shrugged, smiling a bit.

Grey looked at Zia, shrugging. "We're whatever she wants us to be. No strings or pressure."

Fiona was relieved with the answer.

Kevin, Veronica, Eliana and the kids were impressed with the answer.

Fiona looked at the kids. "All right, well, we should get going, right?"

"Yeah," Carl answered.

Kimberly turned to JJ, smiling. "We'll see you at the courthouse for the adoption."

JJ smiled, shaking his head. "I can't believe it's finally here.'

Kimberly pointed her finger into JJ's chest. "Well, believe it. You deserve this."

"Absolutely," Eliana agreed.

JJ smiled in relief to hear Eliana agree with that.

Veronica, Kevin and Carson smiled.

Kimberly gave JJ a kiss, which he returned sweetly.

Everyone started to disperse.

"So, Eliana, what was your idea?" Kevin asked. "I heard you and Grey talking about it."

Eliana smiled. "It's a surprise for tonight, after the adoption. Trust me, all of you are gonna love it. It's a perfect compromise on the issue, and none of this, or the money profitable, goes to waste."

Veronica tilted her head. "All right, I'll bite."

They smiled.

Fiona walked up to Grey. "Five plants, huh? Ten thousand dollars?"

"It had nothing to do with you, so you don't have to chalk it up to charity or anything of the like," Grey stated.

"Then why'd you get ten thousand dollars' worth of weed for?" Fiona asked

"Fibromyalgia," Grey answered nonchalantly.

Fiona frowned, not sure if it was a joke or not with how carelessly he said it. "Seriously?"

"Seriously," Grey answered. "Shari and I both got it."

"But..." Fiona trailed off.

"You realize guys, and kids can get that too, right?" Grey asked.

Fiona was stunned, not sure what to say. "Huh. So, you and Shari are both prescribed with free medicinal weed this way."

"Yep," Grey answered. "We'd be set for a year."

Fiona frowned. "You didn't say anything about it before."

"Because of your reaction, it's the same as what I've always gotten," Grey explained. Fiona sighed, biting her lip, feeling guilty. "I used to take pills to stop the pain, so desperate for it to stop. And I know Shari got busted for pills that of course Alize busted her ass for, so I figured that me getting this for both of us would help us and keep Shari from going down the same road I did."

"I'm sorry," Fiona told him. "I didn't... I had no idea."

Grey shook his head. "You wouldn't. And it's not completely your fault. I mean, I barely give answers about myself unless someone asks me first."

Fiona realized that he was right; every time that Grey talked about his family, Fiona had asked him about it first, same with every answer he had ever given. "Huh. That's actually really true. You're not much of an overshare."

"Like you are?" Grey replied, smirking.

Fiona smiled, tilting her head. "Well, I can be, with the people around me. Family, friends. The occasional guy that I get serious with."

Grey chuckled. "That so?"

"Yeah," Fiona answered.

They smiled slightly.

"Look, before, about the track thing, I didn't mean to push or anything," Grey told her.

Fiona shook her head. "No, I know. It's just... I loved it. I really did. I just had to drop out and take care of my siblings before I could break that record, so... a painful reminder, you know?"

"Yeah," Grey answered. "I get it. Sorry."

"Yeah, you would get it," Fiona agreed. She thought for a moment. "I'll see you tonight after JJ's adoption? I heard Eliana invited you to her party or whatever that people are going to tonight. I'm guessing Shari's coming too, given your common... condition."

"Yeah," Grey answered. "We'll be here."

Fiona nodded. "Great. Dominic and Belle I'm guessing not though. Or Belle's daughter Brielle."

"Yeah, probably not," Grey answered.

"Natalia told me about watching Brielle last night and being there for her," Fiona explained. "She sounds pretty lonely."

"Yeah, she is," Grey answered. "Hopefully I can fix that, even if that can't necessarily start being fixed tonight, because Belle and Ben would never let Brielle come tonight."

Fiona nodded in understanding. "Uptight parents. Gotcha." Grey chuckled. "I'll see you then, Grey."

"See you then, Fiona," Grey returned.

Fiona gave Grey a sweet kiss, before pulling away. They both smiled slightly and headed their separate ways.

⫷⑅⫸

Malcolm/Milkovich House - Bathroom

Malcolm had coughed so hard that he ended up vomiting in the bathroom, sighing shakily, heavily. Once he stopped, he went to brush his teeth quickly to get the taste out of his mouth.

Mandy knocked on the door. "Hey, Malcolm? You okay? Natalia's wondering if you still wanna go to JJ's adoption."

"Yeah, I'll be out there in a minute, Mandy," Malcolm answered.

"Okay," Mandy agreed

Malcolm listened to the sound of Mandy's retreating footsteps, letting out a heavy sigh, leaning against the sink, hanging his head, looking up at his reflection in the mirror, glaring slightly.

He hated that all the money that he had been making, to build up to try and get some form of treatment, was easily wiped out in a night because of Frank's drama putting Zia and Liam in danger, but he didn't regret giving up the money to get them back for a second.

Malcolm had to focus on the fact that he still had a lot more money coming in from the 200 presold IDs, which he still needed to make the IDs for and collect the money for, with Natalia and JJ's partnership, nodding slightly, knowing there was still a chance.

⫷⑅⫸

Racetrack

Debbie and Fiona walked up to the track in running clothes.

Debbie held a stopwatch. "Five minutes, 23 seconds?"

Fiona nodded. "Happy with anything under six."

Fiona got into running form.

"On your mark, get set, go!" Debbie told her, starting the watch.

Fiona took off running down the track. She looked emotional and nostalgic, but like she was using running as an outlet for all of the guilt and anger she felt given everything that happened. She couldn't deny that she missed it and was relieved that Grey brought up how much she used to love it, to have this moment for herself.

⫷⑅⫸

Jackson House - Outside

Jody, wearing a black tank top wifebeater, was working on his motorcycle outside the Jackson house.

Lip, having his plaid shirt over his shoulder, was also revealed to be wearing a black tank top wifebeater, as he walked up to the Jackson house.

"You looking for Karen?" Jody asked.

Lip turned to face Jody, putting his cigarette between his lips. "Yeah, I am."

Jody walked closer. "She went to the store. You Lip?" Lip nodded. Jody held out his hand. "Jody." Lip shook his hand. "Nice shirt."

Lip nodded, slightly weirded out that they were wearing the same type and color of shirt, but kind of intimidated given that Jody was older, more muscular, and much bigger. He took a hit of his cigarette as they stood awkwardly in silence.

⫷⑅⫸

Inside - Living Room

Frank walked downstairs, going to the table.

Sheila was in the kitchen. "Well, good afternoon, sleepyhead."

Frank was confused by the empty table, sitting down. "Where's breakfast?"

Sheila checked her step progress on the fridge, purse over her shoulder. "Oh, it's way too late for breakfast. You even missed lunch. I'm not a short order cook, sweetie." She walked toward the door, smiling at Frank. "Well, I'm off for my walk. Hundred and eight steps today is the goal. I might even make it to the mailbox." Frank nervously gave her a thumbs up. Sheila put on a hat. "There's Lucky Charms in the pantry and milk in the fridge. Okay, bye."

Sheila walked out of the house, leaving Frank worried that this was going to be gone for him soon.

⫷⑅⫸

Fisher-Ball House - Outside

Kevin was behind Carson's garden, digging a sizable hole in the ground to bury his bags of weed.

Carson was walking back and forth through her garden, bouncing Ethan in her arms, smiling at him. "Yeah, Mama made a lot of money today for you, Ethan. We can get some clothes and put some money away for you when you get older. It'll be great, baby boy."

Ethan grinned, laughing.

Kevin looked over at them with a small smile.

JJ walked outside. "Kev, you might wanna hurry. V's taking a shower, and we gotta leave for the courthouse in like 20 minutes."

"I'll be done, showered and changed soon," Kevin replied. "Trust me. No way in hell we're missing this day, JJ."

Tony, in police uniform, walked right into their yard without so much of an announcement, causing their eyes to widen since Kevin was literally in the middle of burying bags full of weed.

Tony smiled at Carson. "Great looking tomatoes, Carson. Heirlooms?"

"Yep," Carson answered, trying to distract Tony from Kevin. "Cherokee purples."

JJ walked over to Kevin to kick one of the bags into the hole without Tony noticing, turning to face Tony, blocking his view of Kevin.

Kevin hurriedly put the other bag into the hole.

Tony chuckled. "Hope I can talk you out of a couple when they're ripe."

Carson nodded, still keeping Tony's attention on her so the boys had time to hide the bags. "Of course. It's all in the compost. I can give you some worms to get you started."

"Really?" Tony asked. "That'd be great. I should start a garden."

Carson chuckled, slightly nervous as she watched JJ and Kevin start to bury the bags behind Tony. "You should."

Tony smiled. "I'll go change, grab a shovel."

Tony started to walk away.

Kevin tried to act natural way too late. "Hey, Tony."

Tony smiled, waving. "Kevin, congratulations to you and Veronica. Heard that JJ's big day is finally here. Happy for you guys."

"Yeah," JJ agreed. "Thanks, Tony."

Tony walked away to his house.

Carson, JJ and Kevin exchanged a relieved look.

Kevin hurriedly shoveled the rest of the dirt into the hole like his life depended on it.

⫷⑅⫸

Courthouse

(Song:) I'll Stay - Isabela Moner/Merced

JJ, Carson, Eliana, Kevin and Veronica were at the courthouse.

Carson was holding Ethan.

The Gallaghers, Natalia, Malcolm and Mandy were all there for them.

"Oh, we're here," Carson celebrated. "This is so exciting."

"Very exciting," Debbie agreed.

Carl smiled. "It's awesome."

Zia nodded in agreement; even though she was still mostly numb, she definitely felt happy for the family before them. "Definitely."

The adults and teens smiled at the kids' enthusiasm and excitement for this.

"We're really happy for you, JJ," Fiona told him.

JJ smiled. "Thanks, guys. I can't believe this is really happening."

Veronica and Kevin smiled, both putting an arm around JJ.

"Well, believe it," Kevin told him.

"It's happening," Veronica agreed.

Carson watched them with a smile, bittersweet, holding Ethan close to her.

Eliana wrapped an arm around JJ, leaning her head against his. "You deserve this, Jeremiah Jordan. Don't ever think otherwise. This is what will make you happy. And this is what will make me happy too. Knowing that you'll always be taken care of."

JJ smiled emotionally. "Thank you, Eliana."

Eliana nodded, as the two embraced.

Everyone smiled.

"All right," Lip said. "Let's do this."

"And big party after to celebrate like crazy," Natalia agreed.

"Right, Eliana's weed party, apparently," Ian agreed.

"There's no better way to celebrate," Kimberly replied.

Malcolm and Mandy smiled. "Oh, hell yeah."

They all smiled and laughed.

⫷⑅⫸

Courtroom

The Gallaghers, Natalia, Carson, Ethan, Eliana, Malcolm and Mandy sat together in the seats.

JJ, Kevin and Veronica were standing up ahead at a table, signing the paperwork, as Veronica kept hugging JJ and Kevin rubbed his arm once or twice as if to prove that this was real for all of them, since it felt like a dream.

The judge tapped his gavel on the table. "You all may be seated. Good morning, folks. You know, Family Court is important work but it's difficult work. We spend day in and day out dealing with things that we feel that no family should have to go through. So on these rare days when we get to smile at work, these days mean a great deal to all of us. And I may not look it, but I'm a huge cornball and I live for this." There was laughter from people in the courtroom. "We are here today to officially create a new family. Veronica Fisher and Kevin Ball, do you wish to adopt Jeremiah Jordan Fisher as your son today?"

"Yes, your Honor," Kevin answered.

Veronica nodded in agreement. "Absolutely, your Honor."

JJ, Veronica and Kevin looked at each other, emotional but in a good way, glancing back at Carson, Ethan and Eliana, who all smiled.

"Jeremiah Jordan, would you like Veronica and Kevin to be your adoptive parents?" the judge asked.

"Definitely," JJ answered.

Everyone smiled.

The judge banged his gavel. "Well, then, by the authority invested in me, by the state of Illinois, I pronounce you a family."

The Gallaghers, Natalia, Carson, Malcolm and Mandy burst up from their seats, all cheering and laughing. JJ, Kevin and Veronica were cheering and laughing with them, everyone uplifted and absolutely thrilled, everyone going around and embraces happily in celebration.

(Song Ends)

⫷⑅⫸

Night - Southside Bonfire

(Song:) No Place I'd Rather Be - The Light Brigade

The Gallaghers, Fisher-Balls (including Carson and Eliana), Malcolm, Natalia and Mandy were all gathered and setting up all the bags in a bonfire bin in the middle of a huge open space.

Eliana had gotten out word about the weed bonfire and was collecting admission fees from everyone so that she could get enough, for what the weed was worth anyway.

Everyone smiled at Eliana doing this for all of them.

Grey and Shari arrived.

Shari's hair was short and colored cutely but wildly once again. "Natalia, hey."

Natalia looked over. "Shari, Grey, hi." She looked at Shari. "Nice hair. What happened?"

"I burned it all off," Shari answered. "Don't ask."

Grey shook his head. "Yeah, you really don't want to."

Natalia chuckled. "Come on." She led Shari over to everyone. "Guys, this is Grey's sister, Shari Boivin. The badass cool sister to him, Dominic and Belle. Shari, this is the Gallaghers, Kimberly, Lip, Ian, Zia, Debbie, Carl, Fiona. They have a little brother named Liam. The Fisher-Ball-Rodriguez-Måneskins over here, JJ, Veronica, Kevin, Eliana and Carson. There's also Ethan at home. There's Malcolm Maxfield, and my sister Mandy Milkovich. We have a lot of siblings and cousins, but the one we're closest to is Mickey and he'll be back home soon."

Shari waved, smiling slightly. "Hi, guys."

Natalia looked at Grey and Shari, placing her hands on Zia and Carson's shoulders. "Do you two think that you could talk Belle and Ben into letting Brielle meet these two right here?"

"Zia and Carson, the girls into music," Shari realized.

"Yep," Carson answered. "Who's Brielle?"

"Our niece, Zia's age," Grey answered. "She's pretty lonely but she loves music, like you guys."

"And she's killer at guitar, thanks to my idea of getting her into lessons a long while back," Shari added.

Natalia looked at Zia and Carson, smiling. "Yeah, I think you three can really hit it off. What do you say?"

Zia shrugged, nodding. "I'd like to meet Brielle."

"Me too," Carson agreed.

Natalia, Grey and Shari smiled.

The kids were smiling and chatting away, shaking hands with Shari in greeting, complimenting her hair which they knew signaled she was a rebel rich girl that would probably get along with most of them.

Grey and Fiona smiled at all of them.

Fiona walked over to Grey. "Well, it's nice to meet your sister, at least. Shari seems nice."

"When she wants to be," Grey answered. "That's a theme for everybody, though, I guess."

Fiona chuckled. "Glad you came, Grey."

"So am I," Grey agreed.

Shari turned to them. "So this is the famous Fiona, huh?"

Grey gave her a look, smirking. "Shari."

Fiona smiled, smug. "Oh, does he talk about me?"

"More than any other he's been 'strings-free' with," Shari answered. "Not that there have been many, right, Grey?"

Grey chuckled. "Pretty sure Fiona does not want to hear this.

"Sure I do," Fiona replied. "Nice to meet you, Shari."

Shari shook her hand. "You too. And totally don't blame you for dodging a bullet with not meeting the rest of the family. I think Dominic's the only other one you guys would like."

"Yeah, Grey said the same thing," Fiona agreed.

Eliana turned toward JJ once she was sure that she got money from everyone who showed up, and that she got enough. "All right, JJ, good to go."

JJ held out his arms dramatically. "Everybody ready?"

Everyone cheered.

Kimberly smiled, splashing gasoline all over the weed in front of everyone. "We can't hear you!"

Everyone cheered even louder.

JJ took out a joint, lighting it, taking a hit. He turned his back to the weed, finishing his hit, releasing the smoke, before throwing his lit joint over his shoulder onto the pile of gasoline-soaked weed behind him.

Instantly, the weed started to catch fire, burning, spreading. Everyone all cheered as they watched the flames and smoke spread, getting in close so that they could get high off of the burning bush.

Kimberly stood next to JJ, smiling. JJ put his arm around Kimberly, smiling, as the two shared a kiss.

Veronica and Kevin wrapped their arms around each other, smiling, as did Eliana, who was sitting next to them, to see JJ so happy and carefree, along with the rest of the kids.

Fiona and Grey wrapped an arm around each other, smiling and taking in the smoke.

Shari got close to the bonfire to take a big hit.

Shari and Grey started to relax as the high hit them and settled the pain in their bones.

Carl was excitedly getting a high, waving his arms around. Ian grabbed Carl from behind and lifted him up teasingly, causing the two to start to wrestle.

Carson and Debbie started to dance around the bonfire, both taking one of Zia's hands to get her to dance with them to cheer her up. Zia gave in, starting to dance with them.

Zia finally looked even a little bit content, happy, nostalgic, even if it was a faded, distant feeling compared to how it used to feel, but still better than the endless numb void she had already gotten too used to feeling. She felt so relieved when she felt something other than the dark, depressing feelings, lighting up just a bit, but enough to show a difference.

Lip and Natalia stood back and got a good high, looking at each other, smiling slightly.

Malcolm coughed slightly but was enjoying the bonfire just as much as anyone else. Mandy stood next to Malcolm, smiling at him, bumping him with her shoulder to cheer him up. Malcolm smiled, returning the bump with his own shoulder. As if by instinct, he put his arm around Mandy, which she definitely didn't mind, enjoying it, leaning her head on his shoulder.

Zia, given her asthma, coughed when the smoke got too close to her, but was otherwise fine and just able to push through, not letting her asthma hold her back from having one of the good times she had had in forever.

Frank even showed up to the bonfire.

Eliana walked over to Frank, holding out her hand. "Admission or get the hell out after last night."

Frank sighed but took out the money and handed it to Eliana. "So you're JJ's mother? Eliana, right?"

Frank smiled flirtatiously.

Eliana looked as if she would be sick. "Not in a million years."

Eliana walked away, leaving Frank looking dejected.

Kimberly and JJ saw Eliana reject Frank like that and burst into laughter.

Grey put his arm around Shari, smiling, kissing his little sister's head. Shari smiled, leaning her head on Grey's shoulder.

Everyone continued to party and have the best time they could possibly have despite everything they went through and all that happened, some of them even roasting marshmallows on sticks in the bonfire.

Everyone could agree that this was the best moment they could have had, and there wasn't a place they would rather be.

(Song Ends)

⫷⑅⫸

The Continental

Three men working on the board of the Continental were standing in a room, waiting.

"Hey, Hanson," Man 1 told him. "Hey, Bruce."

"Hey, Marty," Hanson replied. "Saint just has a few questions. That girl Blair's with him."

"Yeah?" Bruce asked. "What's going on?" An older man walked closer, standing beside Bruce. "Hey, Dad."

Saint walked in.

"Hey, Saint," Marty told him. "What's going on?"

"You look good, Marty," Saint told him.

"Yeah, thanks," Marty replied.

"Which one of you is the spy?" Saint asked.

The men startled.

"Your what?" Hanson asked. "Spies? What's he talking about?"

Saint pointed to the chairs. "Have a seat."

The men sat down.

Bruce gestured from himself to his father beside him. "Whatever's between you is your business. Got nothing to do with me and my dad."

"Shut up, son," Bruce's father advised. Saint sat down, checking his watch. "What are you doing?"

"Waiting," Saint answered.

Baby was suddenly thrown into the room and fell to the ground, busting the door down in the process.

Eva walked in, standing over Baby, glaring at him. "Stay the fuck down. I will kneecap you again."

The other men all jumped in shock and worry, becoming scared.

"Always on time with a dramatic entrance, Blair," Saint remarked.

Marty snorted slightly, but tried to keep his reaction hidden, though both Saint and Eva noticed.

Marty tried to cover with a question. "What's going on?"

"This man here, going by the codename Baby, was hired by Andrea Dragoi on the behalf of Alize Boivin to stalk Grey and the girl that he was getting closer to, Natalia, to see why he would invite her to work at the estate," Eva answered. She kicked Baby in the knee, which was already shot from before, making him scream. "Weren't you?"

"Yes," Baby answered.

"So then why go out of your way, disobeying the orders of your job, to collect money on a ten-thousand-dollar debt, and kidnap two innocent children in the pursuit of that goal?" Eva asked furiously.

Saint shook his head. "Yeah, you see, that is one thing that Blair will not stand for." He looked at the men. "And what I won't stand for? Spies keeping tabs on me and Blair for Alize. So fess up. Who the fuck was it?"

"Mr. Blackthorne, I swear, we are not spying on you, or... 'Blair'," Marty told him.

Eva and Saint both noticed his hesitation to say her fake name.

"Whatever you two have against this kidnapper, do whatever you have to do, but just keep us out of it," Hanson begged.

Saint and Eva didn't buy it for a second.

Saint sighed in thought. "When I was nine years old, I started working on my family's vineyard. It wasn't as big as it is now, but it fed me and my parents. We had four workers to help us with the vineyard. Three of them? Jameson, Alize... and her sister Martina. Martina was loyal. The kind of person you call 'aunt' when you're nine years old, because she was always there. Always with a smile. Always helping take care of me when my parents had to leave for business to do with the Continental. But then Aunt Martina got sick. Cancer. She started spiraling into darkness and drugs to take the pain away. She made a mistake by sleeping with Jameson during her spiral. He took advantage of her in a state where she was dying, and she had no one because not even her sister was there for her. And what happens after that? Even while sick and dying, Alize banishes her and sends her out to die, alone, without her family. Martina self-destructed and fell into the most toxic of relationships and had a daughter. The only saving grace that she had at that time. The last time I ever saw her was when she helped me get ready for a board meeting in this very building all those years ago. She had died that day. Cast out and abandoned and left for dead by the two people that should have looked out for her the most."

"If you think that any of you will end up any different, you're fucking idiots," Eva told them. "Because they kill or banish everyone that ever crosses them, unless they have the power to stop them. And we will get that power, but not if you three are here risking fucking everything up. So which one of you is it? Because we won't hesitate to put you down with this kidnapping scumbag if you don't fess the fuck up."

"I know what this is," Baby told them. "I know what you're doing. This is an intimidation thing."

"Yeah?" Saint asked.

"I mean, you think you can just rattle some cages, and someone's gonna admit to spying for the people that you're desperate to stop?" Baby asked. "I mean, you're fishing. The only thing you've done here is you've involved me, a kidnapper, out of moral outrage? All right? You know, to be honest, this, uh, ruse? I think that's beneath you. Come on, guys."

Saint tilted his head. "Ruse? Ruse. That's a good word. Blair."

Eva took out her gun and fired a couple of shots into Baby's legs and arms, making him scream in pain and start to bleed out over the plastic-covered floor.

Marty, Hanson, Bruce and his father all shot up from their chairs, yelling in shock and fear.

"What the fuck?" Marty demanded.

"Put it down!" Hanson insisted.

"Jesus Christ!" Bruce said. "What the fuck? Shit!"

"Whoa!" Bruce's father said. "Just slow down."

Saint looked at the men. "Ready to talk now?"

Bruce instantly started spilling after this display, knowing how serious this was. "Look, my dad had nothing to do with this."

"Bruce!" Marty warned.

"It was Marty's idea," Bruce explained.

Marty pushed Bruce. "Hey, shut the fuck up!"

"Alize called Marty to spy on you and he came to me and Bruce," Hanson agreed. "It was Marty. It was his idea."

Saint also took out his gun to aim at the three men.

Eva aimed her gun at them. "On your knees, now."

Marty, Hanson and Bruce instantly dropped to their knees in shock and horror, fear.

Baby was not yet dead, but bleeding out, crying out in pain and fear. "Goddamn it!"

"Please, listen, listen to me," Hanson begged. "You don't wanna do this. It--it was a terrible mistake."

"Eva, Saint, please," Marty begged.

Eva tilted her head at Marty, tilting her head. "What did you call me?"

"E--Eva," Marty answered. "I know that's who you really are. Eva Olivar. You're Mariana and Santiago's daughter. You lost them and Laia and Julietta and you want revenge. Don't you? Just like Saint does for Warren and Serena."

"Does Alize know about Blair Williams really being Eva Olivar?" Saint asked.

"No, no," Marty answered. "I didn't tell her. I didn't get the chance to. I just found out. And I'm not. I'm not going to tell. I can help you. Please, give me another chance."

"We won't tell them anything," Bruce told them. "We'll be spies for you to help you stop them. We'll do anything! Please, please, my dad had nothing to do with this."

"Please," Bruce's father begged. "Saint, Blair... Eva... They made a terrible mistake. I can make this right. I swear to God, I can make it right. I--I can make it right."

"The only issue with that is that they know my secret and will expose us the second we let them go," Eva replied. "And so will you."

Saint turned to face Bruce's father. "A father shouldn't have to see his child die."

Saint nodded to Eva.

Eva shot Bruce's father in the head to kill him, letting him fall.

"Dad!" Bruce screamed.

Saint didn't waste a second to shoot Bruce in the head, as he fell dead.

Eva walked over to Marty, kneeling in front of him. "You know all that about me... you were able to figure me out... because you're one of the people that helped kill my parents and let Saint's parents' name rot, Marty. Isn't that right?"

Marty let out a shaky breath. "You were always going to kill me. Weren't you?"

Eva shrugged. "Oh, we have a whole list of names of the people that are responsible for the deaths of our parents and why their reputations were destroyed."

"And yet we don't plan to kill any of them, unless we have to, for cases such as these," Saint agreed. "It's more satisfying to rip away everything they've ever loved like they've done to us. Like you've done to Eva."

"I'm surprised that someone realized who I was already," Eva admitted. "But then again, you'd have to be fucking stupid to not realize who I am. Or just too far up their own asses and in their own worlds to remember me. But not you though. Sad to say that you're one we will have to kill to keep my secret though, Bruce. And everyone else here you told. Just the two of you left anyway."

Marty was slowly accepting his fate, terrified, but trying to be strong, looking at Hanson, the only two left. "I need you to understand, I--I would've never done any of this if I thought it would hurt you." He looked at Eva. "And I am so sorry about your family, Eva. And your parents, Saint. I am--"

Eva rolled her eyes, tired of hearing his voice and not wanting an apology from someone who clearly was only saying it because he was begging for his life, shooting Bruce in the head mid-sentence, watching him fall to the ground.

A second later, Saint shot Hanson in the head, watching him fall dead.

Eva and Saint were breathing deeply, a little heavily, exchanging an intense look.

⫷⑅⫸

Street

Zia and Carson were walking home from the bonfire, standing on an awning over the a building, jumping down, sliding down a ramp to land in an alley behind the building, before moving along the street.

Carson saw a woman with groceries, walking past the woman, taking a pocket knife out of her pocket, using the pocket knife to slit the bag, making the contents of the bag spill out onto the street, making the woman gasp.

The woman and Carson both knelt to pick up the groceries.

Carson was clearly distracting the woman. "I'm so sorry, what happened?"

Provided with distraction, Zia stole a carton of milk from the woman, walking along without being noticed, tucking the milk carton into her jacket.

Carson stood to follow Zia.

Cory, Safiyah and Dylan Keen were walking out of a movie theater.

"That was fun," Dylan told them.

"You liked it?" Safiyah asked.

"It was badass!" Dylan answered. "The cops, the bombs, the chases, the kills!"

Cory smiled fondly, ruffling Dylan's hair. "I'm glad you liked it."

Safiyah smirked slightly. "Me too."

"Is that how it's like for you?" Dylan asked.

Cory chuckled. "The movie definitely overexaggerated a lot, but sometimes, a little. Gunshots are a lot louder, though."

Dylan nodded. "I wanna be a cop when I grow up, like you. I wanna be able to help people."

Cory tilted his head, chuckling. "Well, I'm glad to hear that, Dylan. Though you know that wasn't why I decided to become a cop at first."

"I know," Dylan agreed.

Safiyah chuckled. "Come on, let's get home."

Cory, Safiyah and Dylan were walking.

Zia and Carson brushed past.

Zia slipped her hand into Cory's pocket while he was distracted with Safiyah and Dylan, taking his cash, walking along with Carson, hoping not to get caught.

Cory however did notice. "Hey! You two!"

Zia and Carson looked back at Cory, Safiyah and Dylan, realizing they were busted, starting to run.

Cory ran after them to try and get his cash back.

Dylan ran after them, hoping to help.

"Wait," Safiyah told them before realizing it was useless. "Fuck."

Safiyah ran after them.

Carson jumped up to the ladder over her head, pulling herself up, reaching down for Zia's hand. Zia jumped up and caught Carson's hand so they could climb up the ladder quickly in order to get away from Cory, Safiyah and Dylan, never slowing down.

Cory stopped, sighing.

Dylan caught up to Cory. "You're just letting them go?"

Safiyah caught up to them.

"If they have to do this, they probably need it a lot more than we do," Cory pointed out.

Safiyah shrugged. "They're just kids, Dylan. Sometimes you have to know when to give people a break." Dylan considered this, nodding in agreement. Safiyah took Cory's arm, smiling at him. "I'm glad you know when to, Cory."

"Yeah, yeah," Cory replied.

They both chuckled.

Safiyah linked her arms with Cory and Dylan. "Come on. Let's go home."

The Keens turned around, walking back the way they came, heading home.

⫷⑅⫸

Alley

Zia and Carson walked down the alley after jumping down from the ladder.

"How much did we get?" Carson asked.

Zia handed the milk to Carson, taking out Cory's cash, counting it. "50 bucks."

"Not enough to feel better after a kidnapping, but..." Carson trailed off.

"I'm fine, Carson," Zia told her, but neither of them believed it.

Carson looked at Zia sadly, feeling her pain, before taking out a llittle container bowl, pouring some of the milk into it, calling out with kissing sounds. "Come on, kitty."

The cat that they stole the milk for walked out of the shadows to drink the milk, lapping it up happily, hungrily.

Zia pet the cat fondly, looking at her sadly.

Carson pet the cat gently, kissing it on the head.

The cat purred in delight, giving them kisses, which caused Zia and Carson to smile slightly.

Suddenly, they heard voices as a family walked into the alley on their way home.

The Grimaldi family, Cressida and Thomas Grimaldi and their adoptive daughter, Lu.

Cressida was laughing. "Oh, come on, Thomas. It wasn't that bad."

"Oh, no?" Thomas asked. "Childish drivel."

Before they could be seen, Zia and Carson stood and ran up the fire escape steps to hide on the landing above, out of sight.

Cressida smiled. "The acting was fine. The music was lovely. What about you, Lu?"

Lu chuckled. "Sorry, Mom, I agree with Dad. It was kinda lame."

"Kinda lame?" Thomas repeated skeptically. "There's no such word as 'kinda'. It was totally lame."

Lu laughed.

Cressida smiled. "You two, so judgment--"

The happy family was completely unaware of the man that was heading their direction, until the man, whose face was hidden by a black balacava, aimed a gun at them. "What's up, folks?"

Lu gasped, backing away. Cressida wrapped her arms around her tightly.

"Stay calm, Lu," Thomas told her.

"Give me your money," the man demanded.

"No problem," Thomas replied. "We're cooperating."

Thomas took out the cash that he had on him and handed it to the man.

Zia and Carson were watching from the fire escape above, both knowing to stay completely silent, worried about what could happen.

The man aimed his gun at Cressida. "The necklace."

Cressida slowly took off her necklace.

"It's okay," Thomas whispered. "Easy."

Up on the fire escape, in Zia's mind, Micah appeared next to her. "You know what's coming, Zia. You know you can't stop it. No one can."

The man ripped the pearl necklace from Cressida, making it break and the pearls rain down on the ground with clinking sounds.

Lu gasped, not knowing how that would set him off.

The man shot Thomas in the chest, making Lu and Cressida scream in shock and horror as they watched Thomas fall to the ground.

Zia and Carson watched in shock and horror from the fire escape.

Zia almost gasped aloud, but Carson put a hand over Zia's mouth, knowing that Zia couldn't help it after everything that happened to her recently, but knowing they had to stay silent so that they wouldn't get put in danger again.

In Zia's mind, Micah was still next to her as he seemed to be right next to Zia and Carson and watching the scene down below. "I told you so."

The man then shot Cressida in the chest, who groaned as she gripped Lu's shoulder and started to fall.

Lu watched in horror, completely shocked and unable to move. When she could move, she looked at the man, shuddering, shaking, breathing heavily in fear, expecting to be shot as well.

The man aimed his gun at Lu for a moment, but lowered his gun, and ran away.

Lu turned to her adoptive parents, desperately trying to keep them awake, shaking them, starting to cry as Cressida and Thomas bled out over the street, and there wasn't a thing she could do to stop it. "Mom? Mom! Dad? Dad!"

Lu looked at the blood on her hands, watching as her adoptive parents died in front of her, crying, holding her head in her hands, screaming in anger, devastation.

⫷⑅⫸ Worlds Colliding (Shameless) ⫷⑅⫸