Shameless / Chicago Med – When A Gallagher Walks In
Will was having a perfectly normal day when Fiona Gallagher waltzed into his ER
Dr. Will Halstead was having a fine day.
He had lost one car crash patient right when he arrived to work, but the rest of the day was filled with dramatic moments, tears and blood, however no more lives were lost. To add to that, he was back in his dear friend Dr. Natalie Manning's good graces after fucking up again with her a few days prior, and he had yet to have it out with Dr. Connor Rhodes, which was unusual and welcomed.
Naturally, he knew it was too much to ask for his day to continue as it had.
"Incoming" – Maggie warned, and Will rushed to attend to his patient.
"What do we got?" – he asked the paramedics.
"Caucasian male, nineteen years old, got stabbed with a glass shard by his professor"
"Geez" – April commented as she went in to assist – "What happened?"
"Something out of a Gossip Girl episode, and I'll leave it at that" – the paramedic said, wigging his eyebrows a little.
"He was sleeping with his professor?" – Will asked, eyeing the bloodied patient – "Damn, kid" – no more was said on the circumstances of the injury as they worked on him.
Eventually, he was taken up to surgery by Dr. Rhodes, who just nodded at Will as he wheeled the kid out.
"Kids these days have all the fun" – Maggie commented lightly.
"I don't know, I seem to recall having some fun in my days too" – April said with a wink.
"Hi, hello, can someone help me, please?" – a young woman said urgently, and Will turned to look. He started as he instantly recognized her, and suddenly, he also realized why his recent patient had looked so familiar.
"Fiona?" – he asked, and she turned to him with wide eyes.
"Will!" – she came around the corner and hugged him – "You fucking asshole, I haven't seen you in forever!"
"You're telling me! But knowing you, you're here because of something serious?" – her face morphed and she frowned deeply.
"It's Lip. I was working and I got a call, they said he got stabbed? Or something?"
"Yeah. He, hum, yeah. I actually worked on him, but, hey, c'mon, let's get over here and talk about this, yeah?" – she nodded and followed him a more private setting.
"Well, well" – Maggie tsked in interest at their retreating back – "Now that's interesting"
"She's pretty" – April commented – "Ex, maybe?"
"Ex what?" – Dr. Manning questioned without much interest as she slowly made her way over.
"Will had this patient, and his next of kin just arrived" – she motioned to the corner where the duo had gone to speak – "Seems they know each other, so we're just wondering how"
"Oh" – Natalie said softly, staring at the way the very pretty woman put a hand on her mouth and Will embraced her and kissed the top of her head – "Ex" – she repeated.
"Er, maybe, I mean, who knows. Will has girl friends too" – April said quickly, trading a look with Maggie.
"Yes, of course. I, hum, I need to... I need to go see a patient, excuse me" – as much as her belly allowed her, she dashed out of there.
"I sure hope she's NOT an ex" – but given the pair's closeness and how gently Will seemed to be speaking to the woman, they had their doubts.
Some minutes later, Will returned with a more composed Fiona by his side. He grinned at Maggie and April.
"Hey, this is my old friend Fiona, we kind of grew up together. That hum, my stabbing patient? Her little brother, Phillip Gallagher, but he goes by Lip"
"Lip?" – April questioned.
"Yeah. Hum, anyway, she's gonna stick around, wait for news and stuff, I'll put her in the family room, okay?"
"Sure, sure"
"I think I need to get a cup of coffee or something" – Fiona shook her head a little – "God, Lip got stabbed by his psycho ex"
"We heard something about that, his professor" – she winced.
"You know us Gallaghers, we've never met an inappropriate relationship we didn't jump right into"
"Too true, Fi. Okay, c'mon, there's coffee in the family room, I'll take you there" – April and Maggie took note of the hand he put on the small of her back as they walked.
"I guess that answers that" – Maggie hummed in agreement.
Several hours later, one Phillip 'Lip' Gallagher was out of surgery and in recovery, and Fiona was now accompanied by her brothers, sister, boyfriend and close friends, all crowding the small space in front of Lip's room. Will came up on the rear and cleared his throat.
"Hey, guys" – Fiona threw herself in his arms and sniffed – "Hey, it's okay, I told you, everything went great, Lip's gonna be fine, I swear"
"Thank you" – Sean, Fiona's much older boyfriend, nodded at him – "Can you tell, how long he's gonna stay in here for?"
"Oh, a few days at least. I mean, he's pretty much out of the woods now, but it's still very delicate" – Ian and Carl, Fiona's next brothers after Lip, looked at each other quietly.
"That bitch better be on her way to fucking Canada or something" – Veronica, the Gallaghers' long time neighbor and Fiona's very best friend – "otherwise, we're gonna show 'er what happens to someone who hurts one of ours"
"It's okay, baby, it's gonna be okay" – her husband, Kevin, said soothingly, kissing and hugging her – "They'll get 'er"
"She's just a rich, white cunt" – Will started at Carl's language even as Fiona tried to chide him – "But she'll get hers"
"Carl" – Fiona hissed.
"Relax" – Ian said, putting his hands in his pockets – "Carl is not going back to Juvie any time soon, and I definitely don't want to go join Mickey"
"Juvie?" – Will asked, raising his eyebrows.
"I wanted a real kind of education" – Carl explained with a slight smirk.
"That aside" – Fiona hastily interrupted – "Do you know when he's waking up? I'd like to be here"
"A few hours still, I'm sorry"
"In that case everyone, up you go. No reason for everyone to stick around. You two look after Liam" – she kissed the cute kid's forehead lovingly – "I'll call if anything happens"
"Any time, okay? Any time, and we'll come right over" – Veronica said vehemently, and the friends hugged tightly.
"I'll stay at the house tonight, is that okay?" – Debbie, whom Will remembered as being very chatty and definitely not old enough to be pregnant, asked her sister, who nodded.
"Of course" – they hesitated but also hugged, and Fiona waved them goodbye.
"So..." – Will began – "Juvie, teen pregnancy, and a college student Lip who had an affair with a homicidal professor who may or may not be on her way to a shallow grave via the rest of your family?"
Fiona just sighed.
The next day, Lip was awake, if very groggy, and two detectives were questioning him. He'd taken one look at Fiona's ragged appearance and told her to go take a walk, grab something to eat, or he was going to get up and make her do it, so she left and ended up wandering to the ER, where she found Will speaking to Dr. Rhodes. The moment he spotted her, the red head smiled and waved.
"Fi! No more injured family members, I hope?" – he greeted her after he quickly wrapped up his talk with a lightly curious Dr. Rhodes.
"Well, who knows, maybe Frank'll walk through the doors" – she paused – "He had cancer a while back, but of course he bounced back"
"He's a Gallagher! Can't keep you guys down for long. Speaking of, did the detectives catch up with Lip?"
"They're there right now"
"Hey, now, they'll get her, she'll do her time"
"Yeah, well, like Carl said. Rich, white lady who stabbed her dirt poor, if also white, and barely legal boyfriend? I doubt she'll see the inside of a cell, Will"
"I can ask my brother to look into it"
"No, it's okay. The legal system is a bust, but as long as she can't hurt Lip anymore, it's fine"
"Tell that to your brothers, they looked 'bout ready to cut a bitch last night"
"Well, they're little shits, but it's family, you don't mess with family" – she paused – "I almost wish Mickey was out"
"Who's Mickey?"
"Milkovich" – he coughed in shock.
"Milkovich? Get out, why would you want a Milkovich on your side?"
"He 'n Ian kinda had a thing for a while"
"Ian? Your brother Ian? Jesus, why"
"Who knows. We like 'em difficult and dirty, though Mickey is actually a nice kid. Got a mouth on him, and he has done some shitty stuff, but who hasn't"
"I think you guys probably have done more stuff than the average person"
"Counting yourself among them, huh, Halsted? I could tell people something about your wild days" – she smirked at him as he groaned.
"Please don't. I'm a well respected doctor now, thank you very much"
"I'll always know, though"
"That's a scary thought. Oh, hey. Fi, this is Dr. Natalie Manning. Nat, this is one of my oldest, dearest friends, Fiona Gallagher" – the women shook heads even as Fiona's eyes moved from Natalie's very obviously pregnant belly to Will – "NOT mine, Fi, geez"
"Hey, unless it was an immaculate conception, how was I supposed to know?"
"It's lovely to meet you" – Natalie said gently – "So, you've known Will long?"
"Yeap, we grew up together, went to high school together, 'til I had to drop out to look after my little brothers and sister"
"Oh. That's so nice, not many people would do that"
"It's Fi, she can't help herself" – Will interjected, smiling just so at Natalie. Fiona blinked at them and snorted.
"Excuse me. You know what, I'mma grab something to eat outside, some coffee, we'll talk later, Will?"
"Sure, Fi. I'll go check on Lip later, okay?"
"I'll be there. Bye, Natalie, it was nice to meet you too" – she winked at Will before whirling around to the exit.
"Ignore her, she's just– Being Fiona" – Will begged Natalie, who chuckled.
"She seems nice, really"
"She is. One of the strongest people I've ever known, raised her brothers and sister pretty much by herself, considering what a flake her mom is and the least said about Frank Gallagher the better" – he shook his head – "Which reminds me, Maggie, April, if anyone with the last name 'Gallagher' comes around, I'm always available, unless it's a Frank, or a Monica, God, Monica, then, please call literally anyone else if you can"
"Gallagher. Frank, Monica, sure thing' – Maggie said with amusement.
"Seriously, you don't know Frank and Monica, they're– Suffice to say, YOU guys won't want 'em around any more than I would wanna treat 'em, though Frank would probably remember me and NOT want me to treat him anyway, so, whatever"
"You never said anything about what a colorful life you had before you came to work here, Dr. Halstead" – April teased.
"Eh, when you grow up with the likes of the Gallaghers, you tend to fall into secrecy is the best way to go"
"I am definitely sold now, so you better deliver later" – Maggie warned him.
"I'll try to rack my brains for some of the more savory stuff I can tell you guys"
"Now you've gotten me curious too" – Natalie said with a little smile. Will couldn't keep himself from grinning widely.
"I'm not forgetting about you yet, Dr. Manning, don't worry. Ah, incoming" – he glanced at the opening doors and the new arrivals.
Will went on with his day, and eventually made his way up to speak to Lip and see how he was doing, give Fiona a supportive hug and make sure the kid was being well taken cared of.
Maggie, April and Natalie (plus Dr. Rhodes, Dr. Choi and Dr. Charles, all of whom had been rounded up by the women with promises of Will's wild dealings with the seemingly very interesting Gallaghers) poked the red headed doctor into the bar after their shifts that night, and after a couple of drinks, he at last relented and told some stories of growing up in Canaryville, some of which featured Fiona, Frank, Monica and even a few with Lip and Ian.
There was much skepticism thrown around, though Natalie and Dr. Charles were easier to convince. The very next day when a certain Frank Gallagher burst into the ER, drunk as a skunk (and smelling pretty much like one too), wild eyed and shouting he demanded to see his son Lip. He was muscled out by security, and everyone who doubted Will's stories were a little more open to the truth in them.
Lip eventually go better and was released, and when he returned to speak to Will and thank him and Dr. Rhodes for saving his life, a very blushed Sarah Reese was in deadly danger of being seduced by the teen, though Will was quick to slap his head and ask for some degree of decorum. The blond just smirked in an all too Gallagher manner, then sobered up and asked about the medical bills. Will told him not to worry about, really, his family would not have to worry about that, and eventually the college student was reassured and on his way (before he could convince Sarah to have a quickie in the bathroom, if Will read him correctly).
"Thank you, by the way" – Will said to Dr. Rhodes afterwards – "It means a lot, honestly. They're like family to me, and they definitely would never be able to afford–"
"Hey, hey, it was my pleasure. Anything for family, right?" – the Drs. nodded in understanding and Will extended a hand.
"May our family members never cross this hospital's doors ever again"
"And if they do, at least they'll be well cared for"
"Too true"
"So..."
"What?"
"That friend of yours, Fiona?"
"No, no, no, no, no"
"She's very-"
"Oh God, I feel like an overprotective big brother now! No, man, no, you may NOT date her. She's already got a boyfriend anyway! Plus, I don't think I would be able to handle working with one of her exes"
"Just asking"
"Please, honestly, please don't"
"Relax, I was just teasing"
"... If you knew anything about them fucking Gallaghers, you wouldn't be so quick to joke about it. Believe you me"
I haven't watched a lot of Chicago Med, mostly because I didn't quite care for it, something just kinda bothers me about it, but regardless, when I got this idea, it made so much fucking sense, I just had to go with it.
That said, I don't know where in Chicago's Southside Shameless takes place, but from the way Will talks about it, Canaryville seems like a fine place for the Gallaghers to live in. I don't know how old Will is supposed to be (and the way Shameless goes, I have no clue how old anyone is supposed to be), but the actor is about as old as the actress who plays Fiona, so I went with that. =D