"JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!" A twenty one year old with dark black hair and blue eyes shouted, slamming his beer onto the table counter. "Can someone tell me where the fuck Gallagher is? I swear if I have to listen to you for one more fucking-"
"You're looking at Gallagher." Fiona snapped, her eyes narrowing at the delinquent. Mickey Milkovich flipped off the pissed off sister.
"You know damn well who the fuck I'm talking about." He grumbled, leaning against the kitchen counter.
"I can call the cops." Fiona sneered, her annoyance and dislike for the man clear on her face. "You're a grown ass man dating a teenage boy-"
"None of that." A redhead shook his head as he walked in, placing a kiss on Mickey's stubble covered cheek. "You said you wouldn't as long as I took my meds." He pointed a finger at his sister, who groaned and left the house, on her way to work. He turned and wrapped his arms around his older boyfriend, a smile on his lips.
"Where the fuck were you?" Mickey glared, taking a drink from his beer. "I had to listen to your fucking sister screeching at the top of her lungs-"
"I was singing you asshole." Debbie glared, running a hand through her hair. She gave a smile to her fellow ginger, and grabbed her bag. She made her way up the stairs. "I'm off to Shelia's soon."
"Have fun." Ian waved, cutting off anything Mickey had planned to say. "Oh, tell Shelia that-"
"Shit! Someone get V" Everyone in the room's head turned quickly to be meet with Lip rushing into the room, a limping Carl in his arms.
"What the hell happened?!" Ian cried, moving away from his boyfriend to help his brother place the injured Gallagher onto the counter. His eyes instantly drawn to the blood soaked through the younger boy's jeans and the blood and bruising on both his brothers' faces.
"Who would have guess jumping from the overpass onto a truck could be so hard." Carl laughed, a grin etched on his face. A hiss left him when Lip hit his injured leg.
"The idiot jumped onto this group of guys truck, and dented the roof." Lip glared, grabbing a beer from the fridge while Ian rolled up Carl's jeans. Only to see a bloody mess, and what he was pretty sure was a stab wound. "Got into a rumble with the assholes and we didn't know one of them had a knife. It's just a scrape." Lip finished. A knock rang through out the house, Ian groaned.
"Fuck, Debbie can you get the door." Lip called out, before turning to Ian. "I'll go get V" Ian nodded, grabbing a dish towel and wrapping it around his little brother's leg. Mickey stayed in his spot, drinking from the beer he stole from the fridge earlier. Ian shoot him an unimpressive look, annoyed he didn't make a move to help. A knock sounded once more, causing the redhead to jump.
"DEBBIE GET THE DOOR!" Ian yelled out, pressing his hand tightly to Carl's leg, causing the teen to wince. Carl glared at the man.
"Jesus fucking Christ Ian!" Carl grounded out, his hands gripping the counter.
"I'M IN THE BATHROOM! CAN'T CARL GET IT?" Ian sighed, getting up from him position in front of Carl.
"Can you make sure Carl doesn't do anything else that's stupid?" Ian questioned, well more like stated before making his way to the door. Mickey looked at the sociopath sprawled on the counter, said sociopath only gave him a blank look. Ian tried to wipe whatever blood was laced on his hands. Annoyance was clear on his freckled features. He really wasn't in the mood today.
"What!" Ian snapped as he pulled the door open, right after another knock sounded. He paused when he's eyes landed on a slightly distressed looking woman in a suit. When the door open she stood up straighter, tugging on the hem of her shirt.
"Hi, I'm Jessica Anderson. I'm with DFS." Ian froze, his eyes instantly glancing into the house. Worry building in him
"Shit, sorry. Um..." Ian stumbled, he could hear Carl complaining and the others trying to shut him up. He needed to get rid of her. "Now isn't a good time, Fiona's at work."
"Can I come in?" Jessica questioned, tucking a piece of blonde hair behind her ear. Her pink lips straining into a tight smile. "Just to survey the house, I'll stop by another day to see Fiona."
"Um, can we maybe-"
"OW! STOP THAT HURTS!" Ian cursed under his breath when he noticed the social worker instantly tensing, trying to get an eye on the kids inside.
"What was that?" Jessica grounded out, the worry and fear clear on her face.
"Carl tripped, a friend is checking if his ankle is just sprained or broken." Ian rushed out, eyes flicking between behind him and to the woman before him. "She's a nurse so..."
"Can I come in?" She repeated herself, holding her clipboard tighter to her chest. Ian shook his head, making a move to speak when another yell drew his attention.
"FRANK GET OUT!" The call was followed with the sound of shattering glass. The mention of Frank had Ian rushing into the house. When he reached the kitchen he saw a broken beer bottle strewn on the floor, Carl was no longer on the counter but the floor. Veronica and Kevin stood in front of Debbie, Liam, and Carl. Kevin had his hand held out to the evidently drunken, or high or both, man.
"What did you take?" Kevin questioned. Frank's eyes were bloodshot, sweat was soaking through his shirt even in the cool air, and his skin seemed to be greying. Ian felt his heart stop when he heard heels clicking behind him. Another curse escaped him, his anxiety quickly being replace with anger. Frank was going to be the reason they got split up yet again.
"Frank, out." Ian bit out to the man heavily leaning against the wall. His head turning to the largest man in the room. " Where's lip?"
"He's in our house, keeping the-"
"Where's Fiona?" Frank slurred, his words were loud enough to cause everyone in the room to wince. "She owes me money"
"No one ever owes you money." Ian growled, running a hand through his hair he turned to the worried looking woman. Who looked like she got off the phone, something Ian didn't notice, a frown laced the teen's lips. "Can you come back later, this is-"
"DO you have money?" Frank stumbled forward, almost trampling the worried worker. Ian swiftly put himself between the woman and the drunk.
"Get the fuck out Frank, you're completely hammered." Ian moved, keeping his hand hovering over the man to guide him towards the door. Frank Gallagher wasn't having any of it. Before Ian could realize what happened the teen felt a burst of pain underneath his right eye, from the sudden force he fell into the shattered glass, feeling the glass cutting into his arm. Frank had just headbutted him in front of a social worker... Ian tried to clear his head, pulling himself up, wincing at the shards stabbing into his arm and palm.
"Jesus Christ!" Kevin yelled, Mickey had Frank on the floor right after the redhead had made contact to the floor. Lip came rushing in from the back door, Debbie pulled Carl and Liam away from the violence. Veronica rushed her way next to the daze redhead. The panic running through the Gallaghers and friends increased ten folds when they heard sirens approaching the house.
Just as quickly as that happened, all hell broke loose...
Ian held the ice pack against his bruising cheek, a scowl painting his lips. The teen weaseled his way into the white van, sitting himself next to Liam. From the open door, Ian could see the strained look on his older brother's face.
"Don't worry guys, I'll figure something out." Lip promised, placing a reassuring hand on Debbie's knee. "Ian, keep an eye on everyone."
"Of course. " Ian nodded, the door to the van slammed with a shut, causing a flinch from the redheaded male. "You all have my number, right? Call me the moment you have access to a phone."
"Okay, do you guys want to know how we'll place you?" Jessica questioned from the front of the van. The group of teens sighed, the toddler only grumbled. Liam's eyes dropped, the yelling had exhausted the young boy.
"We've been through this enough times." Debbie answered. "You'll place Carl, Liam, and I in one home."
"And I'll probably be placed in a boys home." Ian continued, foster families don't really aim to foster people over sixteen. Going through his book bag, he wanted to make sure his meds were packed. Luckily for him all three were in a plastic bag in the front.
"Not this time." Jessica looked down at her clipboard. "Debbie and Liam will be placed in one home, and Ian and Carl you'll actually be in a home. Normally they deny teens sixteen or over but this one was open to it." Ian's eyes widened, his eyes staring holes into the back of her head.
"Where?"
"Well, Ian and Carl your going North side to an actual family. Debbie and Liam, you'll both be staying south side."
"Wait, North Side people want a south side foster kid?Let alone two?" Ian looked at the woman like she had just grown two more heads. Never would he think that would happen, not for the Gallagher's at least.
"They have a history of taking in troubled teens."
"Hey" A hyper looking Hispanic girl gleamed at Ian and Carl while Jessica talked to the couple in charge. "I'm Mariana, this is my brother Jesus." Her brown, curly hair bounced around her as she pointed towards a disinterested teen that looked much like her.
"I'm Ian, and this is Carl." Ian spoke up, pointing towards Carl. "Don't trust shit that comes out of his mouth." This got a confused look from the female and an intrigued look from the male.
"Why not?" A girl came out, causing Ian to jump. How many fucking kids do they have? Ian thought.
"He's a psycho-killer in the making." Ian gave Carl a soft shove when the teen tried to speak up. "Just fair warning... How many kids are they fostering?"
"I'm Callie." The girl introduced herself, something in Ian told him not to trust or like her. "Aside from the twins and me, there is my brother Jude and their bio son Brandon." She motioned to the other two males, pointing as she told them their names.
"What happened to you?" Brandon asked, his eyes shifting from the bruise forming on his face to the bandages wrapped around his arm and hands. Ian's face hardened, his glare fell on the boy. Ian didn't like him, and the way Carl was looking at the boy told him Carl disliked him as well.
"None of your fucking business." Ian spat out, Mariana gave Brandon a look, turning to speak before Brandon continued.
"I'm sorry if I wanted to know if you got them dealing drugs or from your dad."
"Carl, no." Ian shifted his eyes to his little brother who was inching his hand towards his bag. "And to answer your ass, just because I'm from the south side doesn't mean I do or deal drugs. If you want to know how I got these, pull that stick out of your ass first."
"Hey, hey, hey" The tensed group turned to be meet with the two woman walking into the seating area. The blonde glared at her kids. "None of this. Everyone sit, we're going to have proper introductions."
"I'm Lena, and this is Stef." The other woman spoke, her features and stance were much more relaxed and welcoming than the blond, Stef. Ian gave her a smile, he could deal with her. " Before we continue, Jessica told us about you have to take medication. Do you have those on you?"
"Uh, yea." Ian nodded, patting the front of his bag from its place on the floor in front of him. "I also have alarms to keep me on track, so you won't have to worry."
"Meds? For what?" Jesus jumped in, curiosity clear on his face. Ian noted that it was innocent curiosity, he didn't mean any harm.
"Bipolar." Ian cut off Stef before she could scold the Hispanic teen. "I have to take three pills, three times a day."
"Oh wow, that must suck." Jesus sympathized. "Luckily I only have to take it once a morning, I have ADHD. Makes me violent."
"Is there anything else we need to know?" Lena cut the conversation short, keeping her eyes trained on the two new additions. She wasn't completely oblivious to the tense that was clear between Ian and Brandon.
"Nope, everything should be good." Ian answered, his eyes shifting to the bio son as he paused. "As long as he doesn't accuse me of being a fucking criminal, than all is good."
"Language. We try to keep things clean." Stef instantly corrected the use of the curse word.
"Shit, sorry." Ian shook his head. "Sorry, I'll probably slip up a lot"
"Learned it from his boyfriend."
"Can it Carl." Ian glared at his younger brother. "You know damn well that's not true."
"Boyfriend?" Callie questioned, her eyes glancing over to Jude who looked kind of relieved.
"Yea, figure it wouldn't be a problem." Ian shifted his head toward to the lesbian couple. "I also work at a grocery story in the day and in boys town at night."
"You're a prostitute?!" Mariana gasped, quickly covering her mouth when an apologetic look afterwards. "I'm sorry, it's just-"
"I'm not a prostitute." Ian sighed. "I work as a waiter, I just serve drinks at a bar."
"He might as well be one" Carl snickered earning him a slap to the back of his head.
"Fair warning don't believe most of the shit he say, his a fucking pathological liar." The sentence gathered a sigh from Stef, she should have figured the cursing wouldn't reduce much.
"Is there anything else that we need to know-" The ring of a cellphone cut Lena off, confusion cloud most of their faces, no one knowing that ringtone. Aside from Ian who rushed to answer it.
"Hey?" Ian instantly answered when he saw the number and not a caller ID. It had to be Debs. Who else could it be.
"Ian? Ian?" Debbie's voice carried into his ear. Running a hand through his hair, he sighed. He flashed Carl a relieved smile, causing the other teen to relax.
"Hey, yea Debs. How's the family? Are they good? If anyone gives you shit you know I can get Mickey to-"
"Everything's fine." Debbie cut in, Ian smiled when he heard Liam babble in the background. "The man, Issac, He's chill. Lets us do whatever we want, doesn't plan on adopting anyone either."
"How many are there? He isn't sketchy right? I don't have to worry about his ass crawling into your bed and-"
"Ian no! It's all fine." Debbie groaned. "Literally there is eight other kids. I'll be fine." Ian glanced at all the other people in the room, making note to keep a filter on what he says.
"Okay, good." Ian nodded. "They feeding you right? Not like the last bitch?"
"No, we have full free range of the kitchen and he even gives us fifty out of the checks he gets for us."
"Damn Debs, that's good." Ian released a sigh of breath he didn't realize he was holding. "Fiona said she'll call me when she has news so I'll call this number later to check in and update you. Okay?"
"Yea that's fine. I need to take Liam a bath anyways." Debbie's voice had a little bit of excitement with her next words. "Can you believe that they have hot water that can last a whole thirty minutes!"
"Wow, hot water for that long?" Ian smiled. "I'm glad that it's all good. I'll call you later Debs, still in the middle of meeting my temporary family."
"Tell all about the dicks later?"
"Yea Debs, love ya."
"Love you, bye"
"Hey, why couldn't I talk to her?!" Carl whined once Ian hanged up the phone.
"Because you never want to talk to her, but if it really matters, I'll let you talk later." Ian addressed his disgruntled brother. Turning to the couple, apology written clear as day on him. "Sorry about that, I told my sister to call me the moment she got a phone. Just wanted to make sure they didn't get place with any abusive dicks or pedophiles."
"Wait, they let you with your brother but not your sister?" Mariana gasped like it was the worse thing in the world.
"My sister and baby bro got placed in a different house." Ian sighed, placing a hand on Carl's shoulder. "I got stuck with the psychotic brother."
"Hey-"
"Is it fine if my sister came to visit?" Ian cut off the pouting brother. "She usually wants to know how we're doing."
"Uh, I mean sure." Stef answered sharing a look with her wife.
"As long as she calls in advance." Lena added on.
"yea, okay" Ian nodded, sending a look at Carl when he began to open his mouth. The teen promptly closed his mouth.
"Who were you talking about?" Callie broken the silence, her gaze piercing through the redhead. "When you were talking to your sister you mentioned someone who housed her."
"It was just some asshole my sister got sent to stay with" Anger about that situation was clear on the teen. "She forced the kids she took in to make earrings and bracelets just so that they could have a meal. My sister had been starving when she finally got free to find food for everyone."
"Oh"
"Holy"
"Yea, not many nice homes." Ian nodded at the looks everyone was giving. "Been to enough to know I'd rather be home."
"Where your parents beat you?" Jesus asked, confusion clear in his face and the doubting look he was giving him. Ian took a deep breath, his face hardening once again.
"My parents don't raise or run the house. My sister does. She's getting full custody." Ian bit out. He placed a hand on his little brother's arm to keep him from attack the guy. Even if Carl never admitted that it did affect him when people bad mouth his family. "We'll be here for max a month, then we'll be back home... That is if you don't send us away for the first few weeks."
"That won't be happening." Lena assured, which only got a laugh from Ian and a smirk from Carl.
"You have no clue what you are getting yourself into."
