The first 7 minutes after Mandy arrived back home, she spent crying, crying until there was nothing left. Mickey had assumed she'd go right to the questions, which is why he was so shocked. It had been the first time since they were both little that they had actually been this close to each other. Mickeys arms wrapped tightly around his little sisters back. He was glad she cried, it meant that he didn't have to, he'd stay in control of his emotions. He had to.

"What happened?" Finally it began, he would finally share the details of that night with someone. He wasn't alone.

"It was me." Mickey said, expecting to have his head torn off, every limb slowly pushed through the mincer.

"I know." Mandy said, her eyes looking straight into her little brothers. She knew that it was him, otherwise Ian would be dead - body dumped somewhere, left to drain itself into the white snow. The fear and shame in Mickeys eyes showed that he was truly sorry for it. "I know, because you also saved him."

"What?" Mickey said wide eyed, was it possible he was still alive, did he tell her what had happened?

"He's alive, thanks to you and Svetlana. She gave me some bullshit about finding the blood when she woke up, but it was all over her dressing gown." After another breath, she continued. Mickey wasn't the only one with details to share. "He's alive, but he's not spoken. He's alive and not spoken because he's not woken up. He's not woken up because he's in a coma. Its best that he's in it at the moment."

Mickey couldn't look at his sister, just at the place on the wall where it happened, tears finally flowing, he couldn't hear anymore. There, just there, he noticed the broken table, Gallaghers back pack and the 4 dents in the wall...

"... Both arms broken, one leg, shoulder and 5 ribs. Signs of internal bleeding, which they've stopped." She knew she shouldn't keep going, but he had to face it. "And a head fracture."

Mandy looked into Mickeys eyes, and there it was. It was her that had to comfort him, as they both slumped down into sofa. After 15 minutes of silence, of cars driving past, of the sound of the world being alive, Mandy had to finish what she started.

"What happened Mick? I won't tell anyone else, I promise, but I need to know." Mandy said, Mickey looking back at that spot by the door.

What was said, was done. It had taken a while, because with every new detail came another wave of shame. Mickey got through it, with the silent ear of his sister. He didn't want to tell anyone else, not even Svetlana, though she had unconditionally helped him. She didn't need to know how many times he hit the wall, how many kicks, how many punches. None of them deserved, and all because of the names Gallagher had called him; the same names he'd called someone else with much less brutality.

"What's going to happen Mand?" Mickey plainly asked.

"Nothing, he'll stay like that until he wakes." How she wished listening wasn't so tiring.

"You said, head fracture. What does that mean?" This was the one question he had wanted to ask through all his answering.

"It means, well, it means we wait."

"What does that mean, will he be ok?" Mickey finally looked up.

"He could be fine, recover, get back to normal..." Mandy began, "He could wake up and have some memory loss, or not wake up at all." Mandy got up and walked into the kitchen to get a drink, as she did, she heard the front door close behind Mickey. He needed time, and so did she.

.

Ian's mind had woken up, his body still. He had no idea what day or time it was. He couldn't tell if it was light or dark, the one thing he knew was that he wasn't alone. He could feel someone holding it, he could feel it being stroked, the tears falling slowly on it. He could hear the voices, but couldn't reply. In many ways it reminded him of what his life had become. He couldn't stop anything, he could feel but not be felt, he heard what was being said without his response being heard.

"How's he been?"

"Stable." He heard being said blankly.

"Any changes today?"

"Nothing, did they all get some rest?"

"Some, not a lot. We got through to Mum though."

There was more silence, endless silence until the door opened again. His body was now aching, like sunshine on a cold day. He hadn't felt it before, he didn't know if it was because he couldn't feel, or because of the painkillers.

"What did she say? When you told her?"

"She just asked why. Why it had gotten to this. There's nothing we can really say to respond though."

"Is she coming?" A third voice said, Ian was having difficulty differentiating them, they all blurred into one monotonous drone.

"Yeah, she'll be here tonight, so you can get some rest Fi."

"I don't need rest. I need answers."

"You need to rest, so you can understand the answers WHEN he wakes up." Lip plainly said back, he had to be strong. He knew that Ian wouldn't want her knowing all the details, perhaps one day he would be able to tell her. Now wasn't the time.

"If..."

"When. You heard them, he's stable. It's just like waiting for the train, you never know when, but it'll happen." Lip said, as he heard Fi get up and his hand was empty. That small amount of warmth was gone. He hadn't felt it in a long time.

Fi had Jimmy, Lip had Mandy, Karen... Carl and Debbie had the family, Liam too young to know what was happening. He was forgotten, the middle child. Too old to be cared for, not young enough for people to ask how he was. Even if they'd asked he'd have given the usual lie. They'd never realised just how bad it had gotten, he'd not spoken to them about it. Lip - he knew that he was gutted about Mickey, but even he didn't know about Terry catching them, about his plans to run off, about his plans to disappear.

"Someone's come to see you Ian, you fucking cunt. Why did you have to get so involved with a piece of crap like Mickey Milkovich? This is what you get for it, it may not be life in Iraq or the Juvie though. I'll be outside, if you need anything." Lip let out a small laugh before it was broken with dead silence - pain.

"Hey." That's all that was said for the next 5 minutes. His hand was placed in another much colder hand, obviously just come in from outside. Then his lips met another, and he could feel again - and God, did it hurt.