Lobetta was a truck driver, and the pay was actually pretty decent. There wasn't a ton of valuable stuff in his house, but there was definitely enough to make it worth the effort.
Fiona and the other four swept through the place and came away loaded, then headed back to the Gallagher house.
By then, it was already after three in the morning.
In just a few hours, the sun would be coming up.
Even so, in that cramped little room, Fiona and Steve were still tangled up together.
Time flew by.
A new day began.
At the storefront that was about to become a fruit shop, Svetlana woke up early. No dragging her feet—she jumped out of bed and got her day started.
Her plan was to buy all the display racks for the fruit, the cash register, and everything else a proper fruit shop needed.
That meant running all over the place, so she had to move fast.
But before she went out shopping, there was one thing she absolutely had to do: contact Dexter to get some cash.
Buying that much equipment wasn't cheap.
She didn't have anywhere near enough money herself, so even though it was still early, she went ahead and called Dexter.
Dexter was sound asleep and got jolted awake by the phone.
"Boss, I'm sorry to bother you," Svetlana apologized right away.
Dexter didn't have much morning crankiness. After a few seconds, he was a bit more awake. "It's fine. What's up?"
Svetlana didn't waste time. She briefly explained her plan for the day and why she was calling.
After listening, Dexter checked the time. It was just after seven—way too early to go out to eat. He thought for a moment, then said, "Alright, here's the deal. I'm at the XX Hotel, room 508. Come over and pick up the money."
"Okay, I'll be right there," Svetlana replied without hesitation.
The call ended.
Dexter closed his eyes and went right back to sleep.
About ten minutes later—
Knock, knock, knock.
The sound of knocking pulled him up again. He got out of bed, threw on a robe, and opened the door.
As soon as the door opened, Svetlana quickly sized Dexter up—lingering especially below his waist—then smiled. "Good morning, boss."
Dexter was still a little groggy. He yawned. "Morning. Come in. How much do you need?"
Svetlana stepped inside and casually pushed the door shut. "I estimate five thousand dollars should be enough. I'll bring you all the receipts and whatever's left tonight."
"Alright," Dexter replied casually. He walked over to the coat rack, reached into the inside pocket of his jacket, counted out five thousand dollars, and handed it to her.
Svetlana took the cash and slipped it into her jacket pocket. Then she smiled at him. "Boss, I'll give you a BJ—on the house."
Dexter: "…"
Well.
Straight to the point. No beating around the bush.
Alright then.
Svetlana wasn't the type to get clingy or make things complicated afterward.
A little stress relief now and then was necessary.
Dexter smiled and lay back on the bed. "Go ahead."
Turns out, a pro really is a pro.
Dexter thoroughly enjoyed himself. After Svetlana left, he slept even better.
Once she left the hotel, Svetlana didn't waste any time and dove straight into a busy day.
At the same time—
Feeling guilty about not going to the hospital the night before, Veronica showed up with two cups of coffee, while Kevin carried a bag of freshly made breakfast food as they headed to the Gallagher house.
Even though Veronica had only been working at Dex restaurant for a few days, she'd already made quite a bit of money. Their quality of life at home had jumped noticeably—breakfast included.
Life at the Gallagher house went on as usual.
What had happened the night before—the shooting of Lobetta and Monica—had already faded a lot after a night's sleep.
The Gallaghers weren't the type to obsess over one thing for too long. In a way, they were impressively laid-back.
Knock, knock, knock.
It had been a few days since they'd really talked. Veronica hesitated for a moment and, unlike before, chose to knock instead of just barging in.
Fiona was busy making breakfast. When she heard the knock, she immediately called out, "Carl, open the door."
Carl, half-asleep, reluctantly went to answer it.
Seeing Veronica and Kevin, Carl didn't react at all—just turned around and went back to the couch.
Veronica walked in, heard the noise from the kitchen, and knew Fiona was in there. As she headed that way, she called out, "Fiona, I brought breakfast. You don't need to cook."
Fiona had already guessed it was Veronica.
At this hour, the only person who'd come to the Gallagher house was Veronica.
After a brief pause, Fiona answered, "That's great."
A few days had passed, and even though she still felt a little uncomfortable, Fiona didn't want to lose Veronica—her only best friend… or at least, she wanted to see if they could still be best friends.
After all, they'd been close for a long time. And having Veronica around really did make life easier sometimes.
Hearing Fiona's response, Veronica silently let out a breath of relief and quickened her pace into the kitchen. She immediately handed Fiona the coffee she'd brought and explained apologetically, "I'm really sorry about last night. We planned to go to the hospital to see you, but the news made everything sound so scary. It just didn't feel safe to go out…"
Did Fiona care that Veronica hadn't gone to the hospital?
Yes.
Could she understand it?
Also yes.
But understanding didn't magically erase the hurt.
Still, hearing the explanation did make her feel a bit better. Fiona took the coffee and smiled. "It's okay. I saw the news too. I get it."
"That's good. Alright, call Lip and the others to eat. I just made all this—best while it's hot," Veronica said.
Kevin was already pulling food out of the bags and setting it on the table.
Fiona saw it.
Honestly, it didn't feel great.
"V, congrats," Fiona said with a slightly bitter smile. "You've officially made it into the middle class overnight."
Veronica had expected something like this and didn't want to dwell on it. "No, no. Come eat. We can talk while we do."
Fiona knew she was being a little passive-aggressive and stopped herself, nodding. "Okay."
Before long, everyone was seated at the table.
Seeing the spread, Carl was thrilled. "Nice!"
Lip and Ian didn't say much—just ate and drank as usual.
Debbie, on the other hand, thanked Veronica and Kevin.
After Fiona had eaten a bit, Veronica finally brought up Monica and asked how she was doing.
Fiona didn't really want to talk about it, but she also wanted to confide in Veronica like she used to. After hesitating for a few seconds, she finally said, "The doctor says her right leg might be permanently disabled…"
Once she started, Fiona couldn't stop. She even talked about the medical bills.
Money was a huge issue for the Gallaghers.
After hearing everything, Veronica struggled for a bit before saying, "I could lend you some money…"
"No need," Fiona cut her off and shook her head. "I'm not paying that medical bill. That's Monica's problem, not mine. You should save your money. Haven't you always wanted to buy a house of your own? You'll need it."
At that point—
"Can't really save anymore. Stan gave the Alibi to me, and we have to renovate it right away. That's going to cost a lot," Kevin spoke up.
The words landed.
Fiona: "?????"