The barbecue ended up being a lot of fun. Debbie arrived shortly after they'd all gone outside and Ian was truly amazed at how tall she'd gotten since he had last seen her. And, as weird as it was to say about his sister, she was really beautiful now. But still the same Deb really. She turned up in jean shorts, her red hair in pigtails and she still just looked like his little sister. Her sense of humour was completely unchanged too. She was as deadpan as ever. Everyone had clubbed together to pay for plane tickets to New York for her birthday gift and they'd all laughed when Deb opened them and said "what, no iPhone?".

They all had plenty to drink and a ton of food. Layla and Alicia did a little dance show for Deb, apparently to the strains of Justin Bieber's "Boyfriend" - V was mortified. "I cannot believe I had to help my girls choreograph that damn routine to that Justin Timberlake wannabe. What is he, eight?"

Ian didn't have a clue who Justin Bieber was, so he just nodded and laughed at V's outrage, but he wasn't laughing so hard when the twins made him jump rope and insisted that they turned the rope for him. Obviously they couldn't get it anywhere near high enough to go over him and he had had a bit too much to drink to be bothered to duck so he kept getting hit in the face with the rope, and then it was Kev and V's turn to laugh.

"That'll teach you!" Kev grinned at him.

There was cake which Fiona had made. Red velvet -Deb's favourite - decorated with white icing. Everyone sang happy birthday and Deb blew out candles but wouldn't tell anyone what she'd wished for, although she smiled knowingly around at everyone as if her wish had already come true having them all there.

They laughed and talked and shared memories, and nobody seemed to question why Lip wasn't there, even though it didn't seem right without him. It wasn't weird that Frank hadn't turned up, it was almost normal in fact, but without Lip, the party wasn't a party. But it seemed that only Ian was missing him. He guessed this was because everyone else saw Lip every day, but this was Deb's birthday. He should be here.

After one too many beers, when Ian realised he was far too drunk to go home, he resolved to go and see Lip in the morning. Well maybe in the afternoon. Whenever he woke up.

When he woke up was 7.30am. Almost on the dot. Far too early after a night on the booze. At first he thought it was just his internal clock messing him about for some reason, then he realised that Liam was messing about with something, taking it apart right in front of where he was sleeping on the couch and the banging and knocking sounds had penetrated his shallow, drunken sleep.

"Liam, what are you doing, man? It's so early." Ian spoke through his teeth as he tried to make his brain function.

His youngest brother didn't even look up as he replied, "Homework. Got to get this project finished for wood shop and I didn't get anything done yesterday so I'm doing it now. Not my fault you crashed out on the couch."

Ian raised his eyebrows. Wow, he really was like Lip.

"Okay, okay, I get the message. I'm getting up. But for the record, I hate you." he said, smiling, and heaved himself into a sitting position.

He regretted moving so quickly almost immediately, as his head got vertical and his brain rattled around inside his head, trying to right itself and leaving pain behind. He squeezed the heels of his hands into his eyes, clenching them shut, then stood up - slowly - and made his way to the kitchen.

The kitchen was empty, not a big surprise after a Gallagher party, but it was definitely different not having to step over Frank to pass between rooms. He searched around for a pack of cigarettes and finally found some behind the jars on the windowsill. No sign of a lighter though, so he had to light one using the stove that was an upgrade since he had last been here.

He sat down at the dining room table, pulling a half-drained can of beer towards him to use as a makeshift ashtray, and looked around as he slowly inhaled, the nicotine making him feel a little bit better. There had been a lot of memories in this house, some good, some bad, quite a lot of painful... even this dining table had witnessed some interesting times.

Unbidden, one of those memories suddenly nudged its way into Ian's pounding head, one of him pushing Mickey forcefully forward over the table - when the whole family had been out and they'd risked being in the Gallagher household just once - one hand holding the dark-haired boy's hip, the other on his shoulder, thrusting and grunting, Mickey's arms trying to find something to grab hold of, the table not giving the support he needed... a moan...

"Morning sunshine."

Ian dropped his cigarette guiltily as Fiona's voice popped into his consciousness, as if she could read his mind. "Shit!" He snatched it back up quickly, taking another drag in an attempt to steady himself.

Fiona gave him a quizzical look, "You okay? You looked miles away just then."

Ian was trying to re-focus his mind so he just nodded. "I... yeah. Just tired. And hungover, I guess."

His sister laughed and the noise reverberated in Ian's head. "Well if you will try to beat your brother at shots! You want some coffee?" She asked getting mugs from the cupboard.

Ian murmured a yes as he recalled Carl and a bottle of tequila. What the hell had he been thinking?

Fiona handed him a mug of coffee, "So," she continued, "What's going on with you? How's Vicki?"

"She's good," Ian replied, swallowing a big gulp, which burned his throat, but made him feel better. "She's really busy at work though. She was sorry to miss this." He gestured around him at the aftermath of the party.

"You said that yesterday, a lot." Fiona said, raising an eyebrow at him. "It almost sounded like you were making excuses for her not being here. Is everything okay with you two?"

Ian felt himself get hot. There were no real problems to speak of between him and Vicki, but all this Mickey stuff resurfacing out of the blue was unsettling him and he was feeling like he'd been distancing himself from his wife the past week. He hoped none of it showed on his face, but he knew how intuitive his sister could be.

"It's all fine. Never better."

"You're sure?" she reached her arm out and placed it on his, her eyes questioning him.

For a brief moment, Ian had the urge to tell her everything, just like he always had, but he changed his mind. "Honestly Fi. Everything's great."

Fiona seemed satisfied. "Good. So we're gonna be hearing the pitter-patter of tiny Gallaghers soon then?" She winked at him.

Ian spluttered out a mouthful of coffee by way of an answer, and changed the topic. "Erm, I think I'm gonna go and see Lip today. I missed him yesterday."

Fiona didn't press the subject any further. "It was a little weird without him, but we had fun right?" She moved towards the fridge, took a piece of paper from underneath a Cubs magnet and handed it to Ian. "Here."

Ian looked at the paper, which had Lip and Reese's address on it. "Thanks." he said, putting it in his pocket, "When's a good time to go do you think?"

"Well not this early! But they usually go and see Reese's parents on a Sunday, or at least she does, so you might want to go before lunch."

Ian checked his watch. 8.15am. This morning was going so slowly.

"Okay," he said, "you go round up the troops and I'll get started on breakfast."

At around 10.30am, after what might have been the rowdiest meal Ian had sat through in a long time - not that it wasn't fun - he said his goodbyes and this time promised to be back much sooner. The twins were practically hanging off his legs right up until the moment he got into the car, and he laughed as they saluted him this time.

He checked the address on the piece of paper Fiona had given him once more, then set off. It was about a fifteen minute drive from the Gallagher household, in a slightly better neighbourhood, but one that he hadn't been to before.

On his way out of town, he couldn't stop himself passing by the Kash n Grab, or what was left of it. It was a burnt out shell of a building now, the shape of the interior still discernible but probably only because Ian knew it so well. He tried not to think about time spent in the back room, or in amongst the shelves or in the loading bay, or that one time when someone had gotten away with shoplifting because Mickey was under the counter giving him a blowjob. (Mickey'd just laughed about it, but Ian had insisted on putting the money in the till because he didn't want Mickey to get in trouble and lose his job)

He never allowed himself to think about these things, but right now he couldn't stop himself. The memories were all right there in front of him and someone had taken a petrol can to them. Not just someone, the sick fucking Nazi supremesist father of the boy he made the memories with. There had to be a reason.

He tried to put it out of his mind for now though, as he pulled into the street where Lip now lived. He was anxious to see his older brother, to reconnect with him, to meet his girlfriend and see what she was like. They'd been through so much together in the past and to have barely spoken in so long was not normal and it just didn't feel right.

He found the house and pulled up alongside it on the street. There was no car in the driveway, a fact that didn't register with Ian even as he got to the front door. He knocked once and waited.

Nobody answered, but he thought he could hear movement inside, so he knocked again, harder this time. A voice inside made Ian's heart leap into his throat.

"Alright, I'm coming. Hold your fuckin' horses."

And even though Ian knew that voice, would recognise it in the middle of a crowded room with his eyes closed, he still couldn't believe what he was seeing when the door finally opened.