without you | gallavich

Ch. 10

"I miss him."

"Yeah," Lip quietly stated, glancing over at his comatose brother before looking back at Mandy. "I kind of do, too." She was cradling her shattered phone in her hand, running her finger along the edge as if it'd make Mickey call her. No one had heard or seen him in ten days and nobody knew where he could possibly be. He was a kid who couldn't talk, barely walk, and couldn't communicate well without violence, which he was incapable of doing while in his condition. Lip reached forward and placed a hand on Mandy's thigh, rubbing it gently to calm her down.

"He'll be okay. He's a fucking Milkovich. Not to mention, he's death without that one." Mandy rolled her eyes as she watched Lip nod his head towards his brother, the ghost of a smile haunting his face. He was indicating that Mickey wasn't a pleasant person to be around when Ian wasn't any where to be found. It was odd to see how much they have grown with each other.

"Yeah, I hope you're right."  The room fell to silence, leaving the heavy weight of everything left unsaid on their shoulders. Everything about the situation had impaired them of the regular banter and snappy comments, making them almost impossible to say.

"You want a coffee?" Lip asked, his voice filling the room as Mandy stared down at her phone. She felt his hand move from her thigh to her shoulder, squeezing it gently. It was the gentle affection that terrified her yet made her feel like everything would eventually be okay. She looked up at him with wife eyes before smiling, letting out a soft 'yeah'. Lip stood up and pressed a kiss to Mandy's forehead, letting his hand linger on her shoulder a little longer than necessary before leaving the room.

Mandy sat on the chair, her eyes trained on her cell phone. She had Mickey's contact information pulled up labelled under 'Asshole'.  The photo she had used for his contact was one of him smiling down at his phone, his thumb caught on his lower lip. She could easily remember how he had chuckled, a pink blush rising up the back of his neck and how she felt so astonished. He had  shoved his phone back into his pocket and carried on with playing a video game but it didn't stop the twitching of the corners of his lips.

"God, Mickey," she muttered, clenching her eyes shut as she ran a hand over her face. She kept her eyes shut until a gentle groan interrupted her thoughts, making her look around quickly. Lip had not returned from his coffee run and no one else was in the room aside from her and Ian. Ian.

"Hey, Ian?" Mandy asked, slowly raising to her feet with a soft voice. Sue was worried that her own imagination was acting up because she wanted her best friend back. The room was silent as Mandy kept a stern gaze on Ian before another groaned filled the room, making her jump and almost squeal. Her hands covered her mouth, a wide grin growing her face as she watched Ian's hand twitch slightly. His eyes were still closed but his Adam's Apple bobbed as he took a deep breath, eyes clenching in pain. Mandy wanted to scream but she sat on the edge of the bed and grabbed his hand and began to run her fingers over his knuckles.

"You're okay. Things are okay." Her chest tightened with glee as she saw the familiar green eyes flutter open, squinted slightly due to the glare of the natural light from the windows. He seemed dazed, as if nothing could remind him of where he was or who he was until he spoke, his voice hoarse and faint.

"Mickey... Ice Cream...." His tone sounded so broken and Mandy couldn't help the sad smile that grew on her face as she tightened her grip on his hand. She could lie. She could say that Mickey didn't get hurt and he was at home. She could but she wouldn't.

"There was an accident but I'm sure you guys can get your ice cream soon." Ian closed his eyes once again, letting his body relax as the overwhelming ache of his body began to register. There was no intense pain to make him cry out or scream but it felt like he was suffocating; the ache spread from his toes to his throbbing head and hit every nerve's end.

"Mandy?" Lip asked, standing in the doorway with a frozen Fiona. He held two cups in his hands, his fingers twitching against the cardboard slip on as he watched his brother open his eyes slowly. Fiona screamed, pushing past Lip's stunned state to pull her redhead brother into a tight hug. Mandy stood up and took the coffees from Lip's wavering grasp and placed them on a table before pushing the boy towards the hospital bed. After a few moments, a smile grew on his face and he moved to wrap his arms around both Ian and Fiona. Mandy stood back and smiled softly, watching the older Gallaghers smile and coo over Ian being awake. She knew that they were tight-knit, their bonds only breakable by their self-destruction. Nothing else could come between them.

"Guys," Ian croaked quietly, wincing at the feeling of their arms squeezing his sore body. "Where is Mickey?" Lip's face dropped and he glanced at Mandy before moving over to the nightstand drawer. He pulled out a small notepad that had 'Mickey' scrawled across the one and wavered it in front of Ian.

"This is for you to read when you're feeling better. Now, we're going to call a nurse." Lip plopped the journal back down on the nightstand, looking at his brother with a satisfied look. Over a month of relentless fighting and he was back. He knew that Ian was strong enough - he knew.  Mandy stepped forward and cleared her throat before pointing at the door.

"I'll, uh, be out here." She stepped out of the room, immediately pulling her phone out and staring at her screen. Unchanged from before was Mickey's contact information. She quickly pressed the call button, keeping low eyes trained on the hospital bed as the rings filled her ears. Finally getting to voicemail, Mandy cleared her throat and began to talk in a stern, clear voice.

"Mickey, you need to come back. Ian's awake. He needs you. He wants you here. Please, just for once, please take other people into consideration and get your head out of your ass. Ian's awake and waiting for whenever you get this."