Disclaimer: I don't own Shameless

A/N: Once again there's medical jargon in this chapter. Sorry if it's not completely accurate. I tried my best.

Self Preservation-Chapter 11

Mickey half heartedly looks though a magazine at the counter of the Kash and Grab. Linda said that he only had to stay until she came back from picking the kids up at school. He believes that knows Linda's about him and Ian, and has a sinking suspicion that's why Linda said that he can take off when as soon she gets back.

Still even with that small conciliation, time is barely moving. When he's not checking his phone to see what time it is, he's checking it to see if he missed a call or a text. The last update he got about firecrotch's condition was via a text from Fiona that said Ian's temperature is hovering around 104.5.

Fiona hasn't left Ian's hospital room since she returned from telling Debs and Carl about what's going on with their brother. Because apparently all Gallagher's have the incessant need to talk, she told him about how Debs cried when she heard about her brother and that Carl got really quiet. The ex-con wasn't too surprised to hear how Debs reacted, but he is a little scared about the little sociopath's reaction. He has a feeling that a quiet sociopath is not a good thing.

The unlikely pair talked as they watched over a delirious Ian. Stopping their polite chatter intermittently to calm Ian down when his delirious mumblings got to be too much. Well, Mickey really didn't really talk, he just listened. But, for his credit he didn't tell Ian's sister to shut the fuck up. Not when she talked about how she hopes that Carl doesn't destroy any of Liam's toys because he's upset about his brother. Nor did he tell her to shove it when she told him that she did tell Frank about Ian being sick. He didn't tell her to shut up, but he didn't say anything either.

One of the few times that Mickey actually said anything to Fiona was when she invited him over their house for Debs' birthday dinner. She said it was going to be nothing big, just pizza and cake. When he asked her why she would invite him she motioned to her sick brother, "For everything you've done. And I know that it would mean a lot to Debs."

Much to his own surprise he agreed that he would go. And that is when the shit truly hit the fan. For most of the time that he and Fiona were there, Ian stayed mostly calm, just mumbling nonsense about ROTC exercises and geometry theorems. He was getting increasingly restless with his arms moving, but when Mickey gently held his arm down and threatened to put him back in the restraint the redhead complied.

But just as Mickey agreed to go to Debs' birthday dinner, Ian's mumbling turned into yelling, his legs kicked away his covers, and the monitors went crazy. Ian tried to roll out of bed and if not for Mickey and Fiona's quick reflexes he would have fallen onto the floor. Nurses rushed in, and with a lot of effort on all their parts and cursing on Mickey's, Ian was once again put in restraints. The ex-con was then threatened by Rachel not to under any circumstances remove the restraints. With all of his energy spent on his attempted escape, Ian collapsed back into his pillows in an exhausted, fever induced sleep.

The ding over the door brings Mickey back to the present. He looks up and sees Debs standing there.

"Hey, kid." Mickey greets.

Debs walk up to the counter, "Hi, Mickey. I brought you something," she says as she places a container of jello in front of him. Not a jello cup, but a container filled with the stuff. She must have made it.

Between the fact that she actually made him jello and that he can never remember Ian's kid sister coming into the Kash and Grab, he comes to a quick conclusion. "What do you want?"

"I don't want…Never mind. It's not worth denying." She bites her lip nervously. "I want to see Ian."

Mickey immediately shakes his head no. It was different sneaking her in when Gallagher was hocked up on pain meds. It's completely different with him delirious, mumbling nonsense and tied to a fucking bed for his own safety. He can't stand seeing him like that, and he's not a fucking kid. "I can't, Debs. It was different before, he's really sick. I'm sorry."

"No!" she yells. "You can't do that. Fiona's not even home. Jimmy's on Carl duty to make sure that he doesn't do anything to any neighborhood strays. I know things are bad. Really bad."

Mickey remains quiet, looking anywhere but at Debs tear-filled eyes.

"I'm not dumb, Mickey. I hear what people are saying when they don't know I'm around. I heard Lip tell Vee that the anti-biotic that the doctors had Ian on, isn't working. That they switched it and they're afraid that the infection is going to turn into septikimiaosis or something." Debs confesses

"Septicemia," Mickey corrects her quietly. The ex-con was in the room when the doctor told Fiona that they were switching medications because he was afraid that the infection was going to turn into septicemia, and that would be a whole different ballgame. Damn Lip for not knowing that the kid was around when he was running his mouth about his brother's condition!

"I just want to see him. I read up on septicemia. It has a fatality rate of 50%. I just want to see him." She says quietly.

Mickey knows that there's a damn good reason why neither Fiona nor Lip will let her go see him. If Ian doesn't fucking make it, the last image of your older brother you want to see is him mumbling about inventory and crying for his mother. Mickey was witness to this last night, and it still has him unnerved.

Fuck, he has to stop thinking that way. Ian's gonna get better. He's not gonna fucking die. He's not gonna leave Mickey. Not after they finally got to where they are now. Where they're both…happy. That's right. He might not tell him, but Ian does make him happy. And now that he has finally experienced what happiness is, he's not gonna give that up without a fight. So, Gallagher's gonna get fucking better.

"And tomorrow's my birthday," Debs adds as she breaks down crying.

Mickey closes his eyes. The one thing that he can't deal with is crying. He can't handle it when his sister cries, and he can't deal with Ian's kid sister doing it either. He thinks about how he would feel if he was told that he couldn't visit Mandy if she was sick in the hospital.

Even though he knows he shouldn't, he gives in. "Fine, I'll take you. I have to wait until Linda gets here, then we can go."

Debs nod her head and wipes her nose with the back of her sleeve.

Not knowing where to go from here, Mickey walks over to the donut case and takes out one with sprinkles. "Here, eat this."

She gratefully takes the donut and eats it when Linda finally walks in with the boys.

"Mickey. I trust nothing's missing." She greets.

The ex-con gives her a smirk and his boss turns to Debs. "Hi Debs," She says. "How's Ian?"

The girl just stares down at her feet, and doesn't respond. To her credit Linda takes the silence as a cue to not ask any more questions.

"Is it okay for me to go now?" Mickey asks.

Linda nods her head and as Mickey and Debs head to the door, she calls out "Give your brother my best, Debbie. I'm pulling for him."

Mickey can't help but notice the now visible slump in the young girl's shoulders. "Thank you," she says politely as they leave and the store door closes.

XXXXX

"Mickey! What the hell are you thinking?!" Fiona yells as she stands up from her chair when she sees Mickey walking into her brother's hospital room with her sister.

"Don't be mad at Mickey!" Debs pleads. "I bribed him with jello."

"Jello? That's all it took for you to give into her?" Fiona asks.

"Please, Fi. Don't be mad at Mickey." Her sister repeats. You cans see that she's trying not to cry.

"Does Lip or Vee even know where you are?" Fiona shakes he head. "I'll deal with you in a second. Just-"

Their conversation stops when Lauren walks in. "You guys have to quiet down. Ian needs his rest."

All three nod their heads, and the nurse walks over to check on Ian.

"Stay here, Debs. And don't touch anything." Fiona says.

Debs takes the seat by Ian's bed obediently and Fiona motions Mickey towards the hallway.

As soon as they're out in the hallway, Fiona turns to the ex-con. "Jello? That's all it took for you to give into her. I really thought that it would take more than that for the neighborhood hardass to give into a twelve year old girl."

"She also cried and used the birthday card," Mickey says as he tries to defend himself.

Fiona rolls her eyes and huffs in annoyance. "There's a reason why I didn't want her to see him. You were here when he almost climbed out of bed. Crying for fucking Monica and yelling at Frank to stop hating him." He can hear the emotion in her voice. "I didn't want her to see that."

"I can understand that. But, she overheard Vee and Lip talking about the infection turning into septicemia. She looked it up online and saw that like 50% of people who get it die. She's afraid that she's never going to see him again. What was I supposed to do?" Mickey asks. And he means it. He's not trying to be a smart ass. What was he supposed to do when Debbie showed up crying at the Kash and Grab?

Fiona wipes her eyes. "I'm sorry, Mickey. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. I know how manipulative Debs can be when she wants something."

She's just like her fucking brother, Mickey thinks to himself. Instead he just shrugs his shoulders. "What are the docs saying?"

Fiona seems to have regained her composure. "The new anti-biotic isn't working as fast as they hoped it would. But, so far there's no septicemia. But, it's still a concern. His fever is still way too high for their liking."

"So basically, he's in the same shape he was in when I left here.'

Fiona nods her head and the two walk back into the hospital room as Lauren walks out giving the pair a small, shy smile. Debs look up with tears in her eyes. "He's not making a lot of sense. He's talking about that ROTC camping trip in Wisconsin. That was almost two years ago."

Mickey stands back a little as Fiona tries to comfort her sister. "I know, Debs. It's the fever," She says as she bends down and gives her a hug.

"When is he going to get better?" Debs asks.

That's the fucking million dollar question.

"The doctors are working on it. But, Ian's fighting. He's fighting hard," Fiona answers.

Mickey knows that firecrotch is fighting. He's a born fighter. You have to be to live in the neighborhood they do. Especially when you have Frank Gallagher as a father and your mom is a crazy bitch. The ex-con's been watching him fight this fucking fever for over a day now. He just hopes that there's something left in Gallagher to keep fighting.

Mickey walks over to the other side of Ian and hears the now ever present delirious ramblings leaving Ian's lips. He's now mumbling something about DNA tests.

"Shhh, Gallagher. Jesus, don't you ever shut up?" Mickey asks with a roll of his eyes.

Fiona looks over her brother's form and gives Mickey a hard glare. Screw her. This is the way he and Gallagher are. Harsh words. Bruising kisses. Rough sex. To the naked eye it seems fucked up. But to Ian and him, it's just the way they are with each other.

For a second Ian makes eye contact with him, and looks like he's about to say something. But then Ian's head rolls back and his body stiffens, and then he starts to shake. Mickey's so transfixed on watching the violent shaking of Gallagher's body that he doesn't hear Fiona's frantic call for help or the sound of Debs' sobs. It takes a handful of nurses pushing him out of the way to bring Mickey out of the daze he's in.

The next thing he knows is he's standing outside Ian's hospital room with a sobbing Debbie and a teary-eyed Fiona, waiting to hear what the hell's going on. For once in his life he doesn't know what to do. A baseball bat is not gonna fix this.

I'm going to be away for the weekend, so I wanted to get this up before I left. I hope you guys don't think that I rushed through it.

Chapter Twelve Sneak Peak; Despite everything going on Debs' birthday dinner is still on.