It was a little after six in the evening.
The sun was fighting its last stand before setting, casting long shadows across the South Side.
Carl came home in a decent mood and called out for his grandma like always.
No answer.
A little confused, Carl called out again and started looking around.
He searched the whole house, upstairs and down. No sign of Peg. Getting more puzzled, he used what little brainpower he had and decided to check the backyard.
The second he stepped out the back door, Carl spotted her right away—Peg sitting in her wheelchair in the backyard, slumped over to one side, completely still.
Carl's IQ was limited, and he was still just a kid. He didn't immediately connect that pose with death. He just figured she was sleeping out there and felt relieved he'd found her.
"Grandma," Carl called as he hurried down the steps and ran over to her.
He got right up next to her and looked closely.
Even with his limited intelligence, Carl's body jolted the second he really saw her face.
Peg's old, mean face was deathly pale. So were her eyes.
"Grandma..." Carl stared at her, not wanting to believe it, and called out again weakly.
No response.
Finally, the realization that Peg was dead hit him.
Instantly, grief overwhelmed him. His eyes turned red, tears welling up. "Grandma, say something..."
Carl started crying.
The time since Peg had come back had been the happiest period in Carl's eleven years of life.
He really loved his grandma and didn't want to accept she was gone.
"Grandma..." Carl cried out again, then took a deep breath and reached out to poke her old face.
The cold, stiff feeling shot through his finger and spread through his whole body.
Real death, right there in front of him.
And it was different from Bob's death... Bob had been shot. Carl could understand that.
Getting hit with that many bullets, of course you're dead.
But Peg wasn't shot. So why was she dead?
Tears streamed down his cheeks nonstop. Carl pulled his hand back, sobbing hard, completely lost. "Grandma..."
Minutes ticked by.
In the backyard of 2114 North Wallace, Peg sat motionless in her wheelchair while Carl stood beside her, tears pouring down his face. Neither moved an inch. The scene looked frozen, as if the whole world had narrowed down to just the two of them.
The frozen moment lasted five or six minutes.
Carl finally snapped out of it enough to realize he needed help.
Right then, Dexter's face popped into his head.
Carl sniffed hard, pulled himself together as best he could, took out his phone, and called Dexter.
Dex Restaurant.
Dexter had actually been waiting for this call, so the second it came in he answered right away. "Carl."
"Dexter..." Hearing Dexter's voice, Carl somehow got even sadder. His voice was thick with tears. "Grandma... she looks like she's dead. What do I do?"
"What?" Dexter sounded surprised. "What do you mean dead? Stop crying and tell me properly."
Carl took a shaky breath and explained as best he could. "I'm in the backyard... Grandma's all stiff..."
He told the whole story, piece by piece.
When he finished.
"Stay right there. I'm coming now," Dexter said immediately.
"Okay..." Carl replied.
Dexter hung up without wasting time and quickly left the kitchen.
He walked out front and saw Veronica.
Having Fiona run into Veronica again would probably be quite the shitshow.
Thinking that, Dexter stopped and spoke to her. "Veronica, Carl just called. Peg's dead. Want to come check it out with me?"
Veronica was busy working. She looked up, eyes wide. "What? How'd she die?"
"Don't know," Dexter shook his head.
"I'll come with you. We'll grab Kev too—he can help!" Veronica didn't have any interest in dealing with that bitch Fiona anymore, but she didn't hate the Gallagher kids. She answered right away and started heading out while calling Kev.
Kev was at the Alibi, flirting with a couple of girls, when he got the call. He was stunned. "Alright, I'll wait for you guys out front!"
Not long after.
Dexter drove Veronica and Kev straight to 2114 North Wallace.
At the same time.
Inside Dex Restaurant, Mandy hesitated for a second before calling Mickey. "Mickey, Carl's grandma Peg is dead. You know?"
Mickey was wandering around outside with nothing to do. He was surprised. "No way. I just dropped Carl off not that long ago."
"She probably is. Boss just left with Veronica to head over. You should probably go help out too," Mandy suggested.
Mickey didn't know Peg at all, but he'd gotten pretty close to Carl these past few days, and right now he really had nothing better to do. "Okay. I'm heading over now."
Dexter pulled the car right up to the backyard at 2114 North Wallace.
Since dusk hadn't fully settled yet and there was still some light, the three of them could clearly see Carl and Peg—and more importantly, that Peg was dead.
The second the car stopped, they all jumped out without hesitation and rushed toward Carl.
Carl, who'd been standing there stunned, saw Dexter and the others and immediately broke down. The strength he'd barely been holding onto alone crumbled in an instant.
Dexter, Veronica, and Kev reached him in seconds.
Dexter looked at Carl first while Kev and Veronica instinctively checked on Peg.
There was no question Peg was dead. No need to check.
In fact, they didn't even need to guess the cause—there was still powder around her mouth.
"Holy fuck!" Kev stared for two seconds, then wiped his face hard, shocked.
Veronica had worked in a nursing home for a while and had seen plenty of elderly deaths up close, so she stayed relatively calm. But her face was serious.
Naturally, Dexter—who had basically orchestrated this—was the calmest of all.
Dexter put an arm around Carl's shoulders, pulling him close, then spoke to Veronica. "Veronica, call the police."
Veronica nodded and quickly pulled out her phone. "I need to report a death. Backyard of 2114 North Wallace. An old woman is dead..."
Right then.
Mickey, who was a little late, came jogging in from the front of the house. He saw Peg and cursed. "Shit!"
Dexter didn't care why Mickey showed up. He thought for a second and told him, "Call Ian. Tell him what happened."
Mickey and Ian were pretty sweet together.
Though, to put it bluntly, they were both too young. They needed some storms, some breakups and makeups, before they could really end up together.
Mickey heard him and instinctively didn't want to call, but after a moment he did it anyway.
Unfortunately, Ian didn't pick up.
"He's not answering," Mickey said, annoyed, to Dexter.
Dexter didn't reply right away. He looked down at Carl. "Carl, give me your phone."
Carl immediately handed it over, unlocked.
Dexter passed it to Mickey. "Call again."
Mickey looked reluctant but did it.
This time Ian answered.
"Ian, it's me. Peg's dead. In the backyard. Get over here and tell the rest of your family," Mickey said straight to the point, no bullshit.
Ian was wandering aimlessly downtown, waiting for Ned. Hearing this suddenly, he froze. "What?"
"Your grandma's dead. Carl found her. I'm here right now too!" Mickey repeated.
Ian didn't actually have much feeling for Peg. To be honest, she was basically a stranger to him...
So in that moment, love-brain Ian hesitated. He thought about Ned and seriously considered not going back right away.
But a few seconds later, knowing he had to go, Ian gritted his teeth and decided to head back. "Okay. I'm coming right now."
He hung up before Mickey could say anything else and immediately called Fiona.
Fiona was drunk again, zoning out on the couch in the Gallagher living room.
Her phone rang for a while. Not wanting to be bothered and just wanting to stay like this, Fiona finally moved irritably, grabbed the phone, and answered. "What?"
Ian could tell from her tone that Fiona was wasted again. He got annoyed instantly. "Fiona, Peg's dead. In the backyard at 2114. Are you coming over?"
Hearing this.
Thump!
Fiona's body jolted. She sobered up a bit. "What? Peg's dead?"
"Yeah. Carl found her," Ian replied.
Fiona's heart clenched. She couldn't imagine how scared Carl must have been finding Peg dead. "Ah? I'm coming right now!"
"Call Lip. If he doesn't answer, keep calling. I'll try him too," Ian added.
"Okay!" Fiona didn't waste time. She stood up shakily and started heading toward Peg's house while urgently calling Lip.
Lip had already made it back to Chicago and was close to the South Side. His head was full of Karen. Seeing the call, he rejected it without hesitation.
Fiona was desperate and called again.
At the same time, Ian, who was also heading to Peg's, tried Lip too.
In the car.
Faced with the nonstop calls from Fiona and Ian, Lip finally realized something was wrong. He frowned, hesitated for a second, and answered Ian's call. "What's up?"
Ian was seriously fed up with Lip.
Fucking hell, it took this many calls to get through!
That asshole Lip was really something.
"Peg just died. Thought you should know," Ian said, too lazy to waste words, getting straight to the point.
Lip was slightly surprised at first, then laughed. "Haha, that old bitch finally kicked it. Good."
"..." Ian was speechless for a second. "From that reaction, I guess you're not coming?"
"Nope," Lip answered decisively. "None of my fucking business."
"Fine," Ian replied and hung up without another word, then called Fiona back to tell her what Lip said.
Fiona, already drunk and with a pounding headache, felt her head hurt even worse after hearing that. Her emotions were too complicated to describe.
"Peg was our grandma after all. How can Lip be so cold-blooded..." Fiona stopped walking and said.
Ian found that comment laughable. "I don't know. Anyway, see you later."
Beep beep beep...
Fiona, who still had more to say, listened to the dial tone, stared blankly for two seconds, then could only shake her head bitterly. She tried to steady herself as much as possible and continued toward Peg's house, even though she was still pretty unsteady.
Not long after.
It wasn't far. Fiona reached Peg's backyard. She shot a hateful look at Kev, Veronica, and Dexter, then quickly looked Peg over before moving to Carl's other side. She gently touched his head. "Carl, you must be scared."
Carl had straightened up when he saw Fiona earlier, moving away from Dexter. Hearing her, he nodded at Fiona. "A little."
"It's okay. Don't be scared. Old people die," Fiona forced a small smile, trying to comfort him.
Kev, Veronica, Dexter, and Mickey were all watching Fiona.
The smell of alcohol coming off her was overpowering. She'd clearly had a lot to drink.
And it wasn't even fully dark yet?
Seeing her old best friend in this state, Veronica unconsciously frowned, her eyes full of complicated emotions.
Kev wasn't that deep. He just thought Fiona was probably completely done for.
Dexter was thoroughly entertained watching.
Alcohol, self-destruction... If Fiona kept going like this, she'd end up even worse than Frank.
How interesting.
Right then.
Sirens approached quickly.
A minute later.
The police car stopped outside the backyard.
Tony and his partner got out.
Tony's eyes instinctively landed on Fiona first. His body tensed, his expression and gaze turning vicious.
Interestingly, seeing Tony triggered almost the exact same reaction in Fiona.
Seeing this.
Dexter nearly lost it laughing.
He couldn't help it. This shit was just too funny.
Fiona acting like the whole world was her enemy, glaring and hating everyone she saw... it was pure entertainment.
Facing Fiona's vicious stare, Tony didn't back down. He stared right back, just as hard, while he and his partner walked over to Peg.
They took a quick look at Peg. Tony pulled out his notebook, smiled professionally at Veronica and Kev, and started the official questions. "Who called it in?"
Veronica was sharp. She'd already noticed the tension between Tony and Fiona and was confused about what was going on.
"I called it in," Veronica answered.
"Tell me exactly what happened," Tony said.
Veronica explained.
A few minutes later.
Tony finished taking notes and radioed the station, then called the morgue.
Peg had clearly been dead for a while. No need for an ambulance.
Time passed.
Everything proceeded by the book.
Dexter, Mickey, Veronica, and Kev sat casually on the ground nearby, waiting quietly.
Fiona and Carl stood a short distance from Peg, not saying anything.
Time passed.
The hearse from the Cook County morgue arrived. Soon, under everyone's gaze, Peg was loaded onto a stretcher.
Seeing this, Dexter figured it was time for him to speak. He stood up, walked over to Tony. "Tony, when can I pick up Peg's body? She asked me before to handle her funeral arrangements."
Hearing this.
Tony was genuinely surprised. "???"
Fiona, Veronica, and Kev had the same reaction. "????"
Seeing Tony's surprise, Dexter smiled faintly. "I arranged her funeral a few days ago. Picked out the cemetery plot too."
Tony instinctively glanced at Fiona, then back at Dexter. After a moment he said, "Looks like an overdose. After a quick autopsy, you can pick her up. Should be tomorrow afternoon. I'll have the morgue call you. What's your number?"
Dexter gave it. "Thanks."
"No problem," Tony smiled back, then added with some feeling, "Mr. Dexter, you're a good man. Not like some people."
Dexter: "..."
Haha.
Tony had changed a lot. He was even throwing shade now.
Perfectly on point. Fiona got even angrier and almost couldn't stop herself from cursing Tony out.
Tony left.
As the police car drove away, the backyard at 2114 North Wallace grew quiet again.
Dexter pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and took a hard drag. "It's getting dark. Let's head inside."
As he spoke, Dexter turned to Fiona and Carl. "Fiona, Carl, Peg left a will. I'm the executor. Now that she's gone, come inside. I'll go over the will with you."
A will?
Money?
Fiona's eyes lit up instantly.
Being a Gallagher, Fiona was very sensitive to money. She got excited.
Everyone started moving inside the house.
"You guys wait here a second. I'm going home to get the will," Dexter said. Then he turned to Kev, Veronica, and Mickey. "Kev, you three don't leave yet. Stay as witnesses."
The three had no objections.
Dexter left.
Not long after.
Ian arrived at Peg's house. Seeing Mickey, he deliberately looked away, pretending Mickey didn't exist, and calmly sat down next to Fiona. "Where's Peg?"
"They took her to the morgue," Fiona replied.
"How'd she die?" Ian asked.
"Looked like a powder overdose," Fiona said with almost no emotion.
Ian didn't do drugs, so he didn't know what to say about that. He stayed quiet, just subconsciously sniffing the strong alcohol smell coming off Fiona. He didn't comment on it. Instead he turned to Carl. "Carl, you okay?"
Carl's eyes were red. He'd been sitting silently in the corner of the couch for a while now. Hearing this, he looked at Ian, shook his head, and didn't speak.
Carl was too young and his intelligence limited. He'd never experienced a family member's death before. His current state was hard to describe.
Even Carl didn't know how he felt. He just felt incredibly sad, like a huge part of his world had suddenly been taken away.
Seeing Carl stay quiet, Ian hesitated for a second and didn't press. He gave Carl space to grieve. At that moment, Fiona's eyes darted around. She leaned close to Ian's ear and quietly gave him the short version about the will.
Ian listened and got a little excited too.
Money was a good thing.
What was funny was that neither Fiona nor Ian had considered that Peg might have left them nothing. They both naturally assumed they'd get a share.
It was pretty entertaining.
A little while later.
Dexter came back with Peg's will.
Seeing Ian was there, Dexter instinctively glanced at Mickey with a smile.
These two were pretty entertaining.
Dexter smiled, then spoke to Fiona and the others. "Peg's will is simple. She didn't have much in assets besides a few tens of thousands of dollars."
Thump.
A few tens of thousands of dollars?
The Gallaghers had never had that kind of money!
That was enough to do so many things!
Instantly, Fiona straightened up, her eyes shining even brighter. The money-hungry look was obvious.
Ian reacted strongly too, though not quite as obviously as Fiona.
After spending the last few nights eating well, living well, and fucking well with Ned, Ian had gotten a real taste of the good life and wanted to keep enjoying it.
And the good life required money.
Ian wanted money.
Only Carl had no reaction at all. He stayed in his corner, looking lost and sad, like the world had abandoned him.
Dexter saw all their reactions clearly and got even more excited about what was coming next.
"So I'll keep it short and give you the overview," Dexter continued. "Before she died, Peg used all her money to buy one thing. She bought a house."
"Specifically, the one being built at 2120 North Wallace."
"And Peg left that house to Carl, with one condition: it won't officially transfer to his name until he turns eighteen."
"Of course, once the house is finished, Carl can move in right away. He just won't officially own it yet. It'll stay in my name until then."
"That's it. There's nothing else in the will."
Dexter said it all in one breath.
Just as he expected, Fiona and Ian's reactions were spectacular.
Fiona was stunned, her face full of shock. Then slowly, anger started to show.
Ian was the same.
Carl finally reacted a little and looked at Dexter, but he just looked confused.
Since it involved money—a lot of money—Fiona recovered quickly.
She blinked, came back to reality, and spoke, questioning Dexter. "That's it? We get nothing?"
Dexter smiled and shook his head. "Nothing."
"Give me the will!" Fiona got anxious and reached out sharply.
Dexter didn't care. He handed her the copy. Then he walked over and sat on the edge of the couch next to Carl. "Your grandma really loved you."
Carl was still confused. He stayed silent for a second before asking, "Grandma gave me a house? I have my own house now?"
Dexter smiled and nodded. "Yeah. The house should be finished around September. You can move right in. It's fully furnished."
Carl stared blankly at Dexter. There was no excitement on his face, only sadness.
After a few seconds of silence.
Carl spoke. "I want Grandma back."
Seeing this moment.
Both Veronica and Kev were genuinely shocked by Carl. They could hardly believe it. After just a short time away, the old antisocial, near-psychopathic destruction machine Carl had turned into... this.
Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable.
Kev was stunned, then couldn't help saying to Carl, "Carl, even though Peg isn't coming back, you can think of that house as her..."
Kev rambled a bit, trying to comfort him.
Carl didn't really understand and stayed quiet.
Meanwhile, Fiona and Ian, who had huddled together, finished reading the short will.
Fiona was genuinely pissed. She almost stood up and walked out right then.
She took a deep breath.
Fiona forced herself to calm down and started thinking.
This will... when you really thought about it, wasn't actually that bad.
By September, Carl would have a brand new house...
Carl's house was basically the Gallagher family's house.
They could all move in, stop living in that broken-down place, stop paying rent. The Gallaghers would finally be homeowners again.
They could even rent out the current house and make a little extra money every month...
It wasn't bad at all.
As for the fact that the new house was technically Carl's and wouldn't officially transfer until he was eighteen...
That wasn't a problem.
Fiona thought of a bunch of great things. As she thought, a lot of the anger that had flared up earlier started to fade.
But that was only Fiona's situation.
Ian had a different reaction.
Ian wasn't interested in the house. He just wanted cash so he could upgrade his lifestyle and keep enjoying the good life.
With that hope crushed...
Ian immediately lost interest in staying here. With a cold expression, he stood up. "Since this will has nothing to do with me, I'm leaving. My friend is waiting for me."
Yes. Ian changed his mind just like that and decided to head back downtown to Ned.
To Ian, the only reason he'd rushed back was because Peg was family after all. Now that Peg hadn't left him anything and clearly didn't see him as family, why stick around?
Ian meant what he said and started walking out.
"Ian..." Fiona could tell Ian was unhappy. She'd been planning to talk to Carl with Ian and get him to move back home tonight. She quickly stood up and called after him.
Dexter sat on the edge of the couch, smiling as he watched the scene. He pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and enjoyed the show.
Carl's house had a very high chance of causing wave after wave of drama in the Gallagher family in the future.
Fiona wouldn't be able to stupidly claim the house was hers just because it was in her name and then take out loans against it like she did in the original show...
Lip wouldn't have the right to go crazy trying to sell the house to go live with some woman whose status was still unknown.
As for Debbie...
Heh. She was definitely going to have a lot of conflicts with Carl over it.
One house like this wouldn't just change Carl's fate—it would change the entire Gallagher family's fate.
How entertaining.
Just a few tens of thousands of dollars, and he'd planted a massive bomb under the Gallagher family.
Dexter had to admit, toying with other people's fates was genuinely entertaining.
After thinking all that, Dexter came back to the present. He glanced at Carl, who was still sitting there stunned, then stood up on his own and walked to the fridge.
There were a few beers in the fridge. Dexter took them all out. He handed some to Kev, Veronica, and Mickey, then gave one to Carl.
"Carl, having a beer or two is fine. Just never touch drugs, got it?" Dexter said.
Carl took the beer, blinked dazedly, then nodded at Dexter. "Mm."
Mickey was irritable and angry. He'd already opened a beer and chugged several big gulps. He spoke to Carl too. "Carl, pull yourself together. After this, you're a man now."
Carl actually related to that and nodded. "Mm."
Mickey smiled and raised his bottle. "Come on, let's drink to that."
At the same time.
Outside the house.
Fiona was seriously explaining her thoughts about the will and about Carl to Ian.
"This is a really good thing for our Gallagher family. We can finally have our own house..." The more Fiona talked about it, the more excited she got.
Ian listened patiently until she finished, then checked his watch. "That house won't change our situation right now. Don't get your hopes up too high."
"As for Carl moving back home, Peg's gone now. It's not realistic for him to live here alone. He definitely has to move back. You don't need me to help convince him."
"I really have something to do. I have to go."
Fiona heard him. The excitement on her face faded a lot.
Ian's attitude of not caring about the Gallagher family anymore pissed Fiona off. "Ian, what exactly do you have going on? You're out every night lately. What are you doing?"
Fiona pulled out the big-sister authority card.
Ian had never liked Fiona when she got like this. He liked it even less now. His brow furrowed immediately. "I'm a grown man. Do I really have to report everything I do to you? I'm leaving."
"..." Control freaks are funny. Hearing that, Fiona got even angrier. "Ian, you're not eighteen yet. I'm your sister. Of course you have to tell me what you're doing."
Ian laughed coldly. "Why don't you fix your own life first? How much did you drink today? Heh."
With that, Ian turned and walked away fast.
Fiona was so angry her body started trembling slightly. "Ian!"
Ian didn't look back. He kept walking.
Staring at Ian's back, Fiona's body shook harder and harder. It took her a long while to get it under control.
Then Fiona gritted her teeth hard, took a deep breath, forced herself to pull it together, and turned back toward the house.
She couldn't deal with Ian's situation right now. She still had to deal with Carl.
Back inside the house.
The second she saw Carl drinking beer...
"Carl!" Purely on instinct, Fiona glared and snapped at him.
Carl wasn't in the mood to deal with Fiona right now. He glanced at her, then completely ignored her and kept drinking.
"You can't drink!" Fiona got anxious. She walked over quickly and yelled.
Carl got impatient. He glared at Fiona viciously. "You reek of alcohol and you're telling me I can't drink?"
Fiona: "..."
Fuck, fuck, fuck!!!
One was like this, two were like this. None of them listened!
Fiona was so angry she felt like she was going to lose her mind. Her body started shaking uncontrollably again.
Seeing Fiona like this...
Veronica, who wasn't that hard-hearted, couldn't help feeling a little sorry for her. She stood up and walked toward Fiona, trying to calm things down. "Fiona, why don't you head back first? We'll talk to Carl some more. He just lost his grandma. This isn't the time for this..."
Veronica was genuinely kind.
Under Veronica's patient persuasion, Fiona—who was so angry she was barely holding onto her soul—finally left.
Inside the house.
"Carl, want another beer?" Dexter asked with a smile.
Carl smiled and nodded.
In the rundown house they'd rented just two days ago.
Lip, who had just arrived, lit a cigarette and took hard drags while calling Karen again.
Karen still didn't answer.
Lip was hurt. His heart ached. He took a deep breath and left an angry voice message, yelling, "Karen, this is my last fucking call! If you don't call me back, don't ever show your face in front of me again!"
In the apartment.
Karen listened to the voice message right away.
When it finished, Karen smiled brightly. She thought for a second and decided to wait five minutes before calling back.
Five minutes passed in a flash.
Karen called Lip.
The call connected instantly.
Lip, full of rage, didn't give Karen a chance to speak. He started yelling. "Karen, what the fuck! How many fucking calls did I make to you..."
Lip went off on a rant.
Karen listened quietly until he finished. Then she took a silent deep breath and yelled right back in an annoyed tone. "Lip, what the hell is wrong with you? Why are you cursing me out for no reason? Are you fucking crazy?"
"I lost my phone during the day! I just found it and called you right away!"
"Why the hell are you yelling at me?"
Karen yelled right back at him.
Lip heard her and froze. A lot of his anger faded, but because of the Mickey thing, he still had plenty left. "You lost your phone? Where?"
Karen had already prepared for this. She immediately pulled out the manipulative routine. "What do you mean by that? You don't trust me?"
Lip was still worked up. He laughed coldly. "Heh. Should I trust you? Mandy called me and told me she saw you fucking Mickey a few days ago, and you want me to trust you?"
Karen had her response ready. She went silent right away. "..."
Facing this reaction from Karen...
Lip was now completely convinced that Karen really had fucked Mickey. In an instant, he felt like he'd been dropped into an ice cave.