Night fell.
Karen had spent the day living her best life—shopping in downtown Chicago, buying whatever she wanted, enjoying gourmet food, and capping it off with a spa treatment. Feeling physically and mentally rejuvenated, she drove back to the house she tentatively called home with Lip.
Lip hadn't been back long and was busy around the house. When he saw Karen, he offered a smile.
At this point, having already screwed Mandy to get back at Mickey (and by extension, Karen), Lip had pretty much moved past the whole Karen-and-Mickey drama. Lip's logic was twisted like that.
Karen smiled back. The two settled into a harmonious dinner as if nothing bad had ever happened between them. After eating, they sat together on the couch, chatting and letting their food digest. Eventually, Karen initiated things, and Lip didn't object.
By the time they were done, it was past nine o'clock.
Karen had originally planned to go back to her own place, but after some hesitation, she changed her mind and stayed the night. Lip was happy about it; he felt like things were finally trending in a good direction.
Then, Fiona called. Again. It was practically the hundredth time she'd tried to reach him.
Because he was in a good mood, Lip thought about it for a second and actually picked up.
"Lip!" Fiona sounded overjoyed that he finally answered. Her voice was syrupy sweet. "Debbie is coming home tomorrow morning! We're throwing a party. Can you come back?"
Lip currently hated Fiona's guts and didn't want to waste a single breath on her, but he still had a soft spot for Debbie. He was genuinely surprised. "Debbie got released?"
"Temporary release," Fiona explained hurriedly, terrified he would hang up. "Just for one day..." She rambled on, desperate to keep him on the line, explaining the whole situation.
Listening to her, Lip's sharp mind connected the dots immediately. Fiona didn't have a car, so she couldn't make two trips to the juvenile detention center. That meant one thing: Jimmy helped.
The joy of Debbie's return was instantly replaced by a surge of hatred for Jimmy.
Lip's expression darkened. He let out a cold laugh. "Heh. Jimmy's been a big help, huh? You're a real piece of work."
Fiona's smile froze. She had been dreading this topic. "Lip, I know you hate Jimmy..."
"I don't give a shit about your life, and I have no interest in managing it," Lip cut her off sharply. "I'll come to see Debbie tomorrow. But I'm telling you right now—if Jimmy is there, I will kill him."
Click. Lip hung up decisively.
The dial tone echoed in Fiona's ear. She froze, her face crumbling into a look of utter misery and frustration.
Lip tossed his phone aside, grabbed a cigarette, lit it, and took a drag like he was trying to inhale the whole thing at once.
Karen, having overheard the gist of the conversation, asked curiously, "What happened?"
Lip glanced at her and filled her in.
Karen listened, a sly smile forming internally. She decided immediately to report this to Dexter. She played along with Lip for a few more minutes, then made an excuse to go to the bathroom and fired off a text to Dexter .
---
The Gallagher House
Fiona rubbed her face aggressively and took a deep breath. She looked over at Jimmy, who had been helping with party decorations all day. Her feelings were a complicated mess.
She knew Lip and Jimmy couldn't be in the same room. God knows what would happen. But knowing that and actually telling Jimmy to get lost were two different things.
Fiona was distressed. She grabbed a cigarette off the coffee table, lit it, and smoked furiously while trying to figure out the best way to break it to him.
She had already made her choice. If it came down to Lip or Jimmy... she had to choose Lip. He was family.
She finished the cigarette. The only solution she could come up with was to compensate Jimmy tonight before kicking him out. She crushed the butt in the ashtray and stood up. "Jimmy, upstairs."
Jimmy blinked, confused. "??? Huh?"
Fiona gave him a flirtatious wink. Jimmy got the message immediately, dropped what he was holding, and happily followed her up the stairs.
Fiona pulled out all the stops. She used every trick she'd learned over the years, putting on a performance worthy of an award. Jimmy was very happy.
After about forty minutes of activity and a brief rest, Fiona finally dropped the bomb. "Lip is coming back tomorrow for Debbie's party. You shouldn't come over tomorrow."
Jimmy wasn't stupid. He immediately realized the motivation behind her enthusiastic performance earlier.
Truth be told, Jimmy had already guessed Lip would show up for Debbie and hadn't planned on being there anyway. But seeing Fiona's guilt, his mind raced. He grinned slyly. "Okay. But you owe me for this."
Fiona let out a silent sigh of relief. It was easier than she thought. "No problem."
Jimmy smiled, feeling pretty good about himself. 'Perfect. Tomorrow I can hang out with Estefania,' he thought.
They went back downstairs and finished the decorations. Fiona was putting a lot of effort into this, making it look like a grand celebration. Jimmy found it kind of laughable. The Gallaghers and their parties.
By 10:00 PM, the decorations were done. Jimmy left and drove back to the Ritz.
Estefania, who still barely spoke English, was bored out of her mind in the hotel room. As soon as she saw Jimmy, she pounced on him. "Jimmy! Where have you been? I was so..."
Estefania was a sex addict. Naturally, they started fooling around immediately. Jimmy felt like he was going to break. Two marathons in one day was pushing his limits.
---
The Gallagher House
For Fiona, Debbie coming home was huge. She was buzzing with anticipation. She couldn't sit still, so she started cleaning the living room, picking up every piece of trash. Then she cleaned the second floor. She even scrubbed Debbie's room until it sparkled, acting like Debbie was coming back for good.
Before she knew it, it was past midnight.
Satisfied, Fiona called Ian to confirm he'd be there in the morning, then finally collapsed onto her bed and passed out.
The night flew by. The sun rose. A new day began.
6:00 AM.
The alarm went off. Fiona jolted awake, sat up, and immediately sprang into action. She got dressed, made breakfast, and fed Liam. She was moving with the manic energy of someone on speed.
Within thirty minutes, everything was ready. Fiona grabbed Liam and power-walked to the train station, heading to the juvenile detention center to get her sister.
On the roof of the Gallagher house, Little Black—Dexter's crow—blinked its beady eyes and telepathically relayed the scene to its master.
2118 North Wallace Street
At 7:00 AM, Dexter was woken up by Bianca, who was wearing an apron. He rubbed his eyes and gave her a thumbs up. "Ms. Green, you are a very competent housewife."
Bianca raised an eyebrow and held up a fist. "I'll beat your ass."
Dexter laughed. After they joked around for a bit, he went to the bathroom to wash up. He received the mental image from the crow and grinned.
Debbie was coming back today. So were Lip and Ian. Carl would probably go back too. After a long separation, the original six Gallaghers were reuniting.
'What a great day for a party,' Dexter thought silently.
And since it's a Gallagher party, how could it be complete without drugs?
After receiving Karen's text last night, Dexter had hatched a plan. Fiona wants to throw a party? Let's send over a housewarming gift to really spice things up.
He finished washing up and went downstairs to eat breakfast with Bianca. He dropped her off at work as usual, but instead of going to the restaurant, he drove straight back home.
He had to get to the funeral home soon, so he didn't waste time. He dug out the stash of "flour" (cocaine) he had bought for Peg a while back—the stuff he'd kept in reserve. He summoned Little Black.
"Take this," he commanded mentally.
The crow grabbed the small bag of white powder in its beak, flew over to the Gallagher house, and dropped it right on the coffee table.
Since it was hot out, the Gallagher windows were wide open. The bird was back in two minutes. Dexter gave it a second bag. The bird flew off again and dropped this one on the dining table.
Done.
"Go play," Dexter told the bird with a smile. The crow flew off.
Dexter got in his car to pick up Carl.
What would happen to those two bags of powder? Would Fiona throw them away? Probably not. Would she use them? Dexter wasn't sure, but he was excited to find out.
2114 North Wallace Street
Carl was already in his suit, looking like a miniature adult. He opened the door as soon as Dexter knocked.
"I'm ready," Carl said with a faint smile.
"Let's go then."
They got in the car and headed for the funeral home.
---
8:40 AM
On the train, Frank and Monica were practically having sex in their seats, oblivious to everyone else. The scene was disgusting enough on its own, but combined with Frank's stench, it was nauseating. Passengers frowned and looked away. Frank and Monica didn't care.
Ten minutes later, they got off at the station and walked toward North Wallace.
Around the same time, Fiona and Debbie (who was wearing an ankle monitor) got off their train. Fiona was talking a mile a minute, excited to be back with her sister. Debbie was happy too, looking at the familiar, messy neighborhood, but she was calmer than Fiona.
Fiona called Ian. "Ian, we just got off the train. Are you back yet?"
Ian, who had spent another night with Ned, was on the train. "I'm about ten minutes out."
"Okay, hurry." Fiona hung up and called Lip. "Lip, we're almost home. When are you coming?"
Lip was finishing up some inventory at the store. "I'll be there soon."
"Okay, we'll wait for you," Fiona chirped.
"Yeah," Lip replied, his tone complicated, and hung up.
Next, Fiona called Carl. "Carl, I have Debbie. We're almost home. Can you come over?"
Carl, sitting in Dexter's car, didn't hesitate. "I'm on the way to the funeral home with Dexter. Can't make it."
He wasn't trying to be mean; he just didn't care if the others went to the funeral or not.
Fiona was disappointed. The funeral didn't start until ten. Her plan was to bring everyone home first so Debbie could feel the family warmth. "You already left? But... look, Debbie really wants to see you. Can you just come back for ten minutes? Then we can all go to the funeral home together."
Carl opened his mouth to refuse.
Dexter, hearing the conversation, tapped Carl on the shoulder. Carl turned to him.
"Why don't we go back first?" Dexter suggested with a smile. "It won't take long. You should see Debbie; she is your sister, after all."
Carl frowned slightly. "Won't we be late?"
"No, it's still early."
"Okay." Carl trusted Dexter. He spoke into the phone. "Fine. I'm coming back."
Fiona beamed. "Great! See you at home."
Dexter whipped the car around and headed back to North Wallace Street.
Meanwhile, Lip was driving a beat-up van with Karen. Frank and Monica were stumbling down the street. Ian was sitting on the train, thinking calmly about the impending reunion.
The powder keg was set.
---
2119 North Wallace Street
Lip and Karen arrived first. Lip knocked, but no one answered. He had a key, but he decided to wait outside. He lit a cigarette. "Let's wait here."
Karen nodded obediently.
A few minutes later, Dexter pulled up. He glanced at Lip and Karen sitting on the stoop, smirked, and told Carl, "Make it quick, then come get me at my place."
"Okay." Carl got out, expressionless.
Dexter parked in his own driveway and went inside.
Back at the Gallagher stoop, Lip blew out a cloud of smoke and looked at Carl. "Carl. Congrats. You own a house now."
Carl instinctively looked at the empty lot next door. Tommy and a crew of undocumented workers were toiling under the sun. The foundation was poured; the house was officially under construction.
"I don't care about that," Carl said flatly.
Lip chuckled. He liked the kid, but Carl could be so dumb sometimes.
Carl sat down on the stairs with them.
Inside his house, Dexter summoned Little Black again to act as a surveillance drone inside the Gallagher house. He wasn't going to miss this show.
One minute, two minutes...
Frank and Monica arrived at the back of the house. They entered through the back door.
"Nobody's here. Frank, where's your mother?" Monica asked, looking around.
"How the hell should I know?"
"Let's ask the kids. They must know. I miss them anyway."
"Why miss those little bastards?" Frank grumbled, but followed her.
They walked around to the front and saw Carl, Lip, and Karen sitting on the porch.
Monica broke into a run. "Oh! Carl! Lip! I missed you so much!"
Carl was surprised. "Mom? You got released?"
Lip's face twisted in disgust. "Monica, what are you doing here?"
"I brought your mother back. She's part of this family," Frank announced pompously, stepping up beside her.
Lip glared at him. "And which cesspool did you crawl out of?"
Frank puffed out his chest. "What is your problem? I'm your father! Is that how you talk to me?"
"Heh," Lip sneered. "Fk off!!"
"You little bastard!" Frank raised his hand to strike.
"Frank! Frank, stop it!" Monica grabbed him. She turned to Lip, trying to smooth things over. "Lip, is this your girlfriend? She's beautiful."
Karen smiled sweetly. Lip ignored Monica completely.
"Why are you sitting out here?" Monica asked. "Why don't you go inside?"
"Waiting for Debbie," Carl answered.
"Debbie's coming back today?! Oh, that's wonderful! Where is she?" Monica squealed.
Just then, Fiona and Debbie came into view, Fiona carrying Liam.
"Debbie's back," Karen nudged Lip.
They all turned. Lip stood up.
Monica sprinted toward them, screaming, "Debbie! I missed you so much!"
Debbie froze. She hadn't expected Monica. Fiona stopped too, her face instantly darkening. She glared at her mother.
Monica reached them and crouched down in front of Debbie. "Oh, Debbie, you're so thin! Did they not feed you well?"
Debbie bit her lip, silent, just staring at Monica.
Monica rambled for a bit, then stood up and smiled at Fiona. "Fiona, Liam, how are you?"
"We were fine," Fiona snapped through gritted teeth. "Get out of the way!"
Monica looked hurt but stepped aside.
The group moved to the porch. Lip glared at Fiona, then turned a 180-degree smile toward Debbie. "Debbie. Long time no see. You okay?"
Debbie smiled for real. "I'm good. Juvie has everything. But your leg... still not healed?"
"Nah, gonna take a while. But I can walk," Lip said gently.
"Be careful," Debbie said. She looked at Carl. "Carl, you look like you grew up."
"So did you," Carl said, not knowing what else to say.
"I'm sorry about before," Debbie said softly.
Carl frowned. "About what?"
He genuinely didn't remember. Carl didn't waste brain space on grudges. Debbie laughed, realizing he was serious. "Never mind. Let's go inside."
They all filed into the house. Frank and Monica entered last. Fiona didn't stop them.
They walked into the living room. The party decorations were everywhere. But Frank's eyes? Frank's eyes locked onto the coffee table like a heat-seeking missile.
"Jesus!" Frank gasped. "Fiona! You really are my daughter! I'm so proud of you!"
He lunged for the bag of white powder.
Fiona was confused until she followed his gaze.
Buzz.
Her brain short-circuited. Why was that there?
She sprinted forward and snatched the bag before Frank could grab it.
By now, everyone—Lip, Carl, Debbie, Karen, Monica—saw the bag of white powder.
"Fiona! You have to learn to share!" Frank yelled, desperate. "You can't use all that yourself! There are so many people here, we should all enjoy it! I didn't raise you to be so selfish!"
"You didn't raise me at all! Shut up! Fk off!" Fiona screamed. She turned to Debbie, forcing a smile. "Debbie, welcome home."
Debbie stared at the bag in Fiona's hand. "Coke? Fiona, you're doing that stuff?"
"It's not mine! I don't know how it got here, I swear!" Fiona pleaded, feeling incredibly wronged.
Lip let out a cold laugh. "Right. So some drug dealer just had a change of heart and delivered a bag of blow to your doorstep for free? Without collecting money?"
Lip's sarcasm cut deep. Fiona looked at him with pure hatred. "I said I don't know!"
"Heh," Lip scoffed again.
"Okay, okay!" Monica intervened, waving her hands. "Don't fight! Debbie just got home. Fiona, doing a little powder now and then is fine, it's okay."
"I said it's not mine!" Fiona shrieked.
Debbie watched them quietly. She suddenly wanted to laugh. This was the Gallagher house. Nothing ever changed. Her therapist was right: this family was a sinkhole.
'I really need to stay away from them,' she thought. She looked at Carl and realized he was the smartest one for moving out.
Debbie walked past them into the kitchen. Juvie didn't have soda, and she was craving it.
Carl stood there, frowning. The powder... Grandma Peg died because of that stuff. He looked at Fiona with disgust.
Debbie opened the fridge, grabbed a soda, and chugged it.
Gulp. Gulp.
Then, she saw the dining table.
Cough! Cough!
Debbie choked on her soda.
There was another bag.
And Liam lived here! If Liam had grabbed that...
Debbie snapped. "FIONA! GET IN HERE!!"
Everyone in the living room rushed to the kitchen.
"Fiona! What the hell is this?" Debbie pointed a shaking finger at the bag on the dining table. "It's one thing if you want to use, but why are you leaving it around? What if Liam touched it?!"
Fiona looked at the second bag and felt her reality crumbling. "??????"
She was completely bewildered. Her brain was ringing.
Frank, however, had reflexes like a cat. He dove in, snatched the second bag, and stuffed it into his pocket, giggling like a schoolgirl.
Lip smirked at Fiona, waiting for her excuse. Monica looked panicked. Carl narrowed his eyes, thinking. The drugs that killed Peg... where did they come from? Could it have been Fiona?
Everyone stared at Fiona. She felt like her skin was crawling.
Just then, the front door opened.
Ian walked in. He came into the kitchen, saw the bizarre standoff, and paused.
"What's going on?"