The night started great, they both had a day off and decided to make a date night of it. Mickey even finally folded and put on the dorky button up that Ian had picked out for him, it even had a collar all fancy and shit. Ian had been talking about going to this fancy steak house for months, and though Mickey would honestly rather have a root canal, he'd do just about anything for Ian. They enjoyed dinner, they were both pretty sure that they'd never actually had steaks that were actually made for them. It was a warm summer night and after a few drinks they decided to walk the couple blocks home, arm in arm laughing carelessly.
By the time Mickey recognized the prickly feeling on the back of his neck, it was to late to do much more then try to edge in front of Ian and brace for impact. They were both on the ground before fighting back was an option, in between the punches Mickey vaguely recognized his brothers voices, slurred saying something about "fucking fairies". The last thing before everything went black, was Ian's hand grasping his in a weak attempt at comfort.
Ian woke up to the sound of glass breaking, and an odd warmth beside him. At first he rolled towards it instinctively, that warmth is normally Mickey. That was until the smell of gasoline hit him like a train and the fog of the concussion was immediately cut by absolute terror. That's about when Kev flew out of the alibi with a fire extinguisher, screaming at V to call 911.
For what felt like an eternity, Ian lay frozen on the ground covered in fire extinguisher foam, bleeding from damn near everywhere and grasping onto Mickey for dear life. The second the EMTs got to the scene, Mickey came up swinging in a full panic and as the paramedics were talking about restraints, Ian finally found the strength to get up and talk them out of it. He knew the second they tried to tie Mickey down he was going to start trying to kill them and would probably do some damage.
"Sir you need to be transported to the hospital too, you have a head injury" the man said trying to block him from following the gurney Mickey was just barley staying on "I have a concussion, broken ribs, a couple barely 2nd degree burns and probably a couple broken teeth. I'm a fucking paramedic and that's my husband." "Ian is that you?" Sandy who worked with Ian awhile back yelled jumping from behind the wheel of the ambulance, that seemed to be enough to make them reluctantly part and let him through. This was the first time he really looked at Mickey, and his dinner welled in his throat promptly painting the pavement beside the ambulance. They loaded the gurney into the rig, and without asking Ian took the jump seat that was directly behind Mickeys head, his venomous expression letting the man know to not even think of asking him to move.
The medics were attempting to restrain him but Mickey was out of his mind in between the panic and pain at this point. "STOP TOUCHING HIM" Ian yelled above Mickeys screaming, causing everyone to jump. "He has a bad past, just give me a second" they nodded in understanding backing off.
It took Ian pressing his face against his to get him to stop the violent thrashing. "Mick, look at me, the paramedics are just trying to help you." "Fuck that, can't you….fix me up?….Please….babe….hurts….." taken aback by the pet name Ian began to tear up "I can't….this is….Mick it's to bad" that's when Sandy spoke up "Ian we gotta get a line in him somewhere, do you think he'll let me look?" "I'm not sure, here can I use your shears? I'll look" Sandy hesitated but handed over her trauma shears, remembering what little Ian had told her about Mickeys past. "Mick look at me, I'm gunna cut your clothes so we can work on getting you meds, it's just me touching you" "m'kay….get me naked" this made everyone laugh even in the current circumstances.
Ian quickly and carefully cut away his clothes, trying to choke back sobs at the burns and bruises underneath the fabric. Struggling to switch his brain into professional mode he scanned his husbands body for some kind of vascular access, and shook his head at the burns covering the inside of his arms. That rules out the ACs, and he knew better then to think anything in Mickeys neck would last…. "Sandy got an IO drill?" "Oh Ian…yeah we do… but I don't think" "I can do it!…let me do it" Sandy looked like she was going to throw up, but handed the kit over. Ian pressed his face right up to his husbands again "Mick this is going to hurt like a bitch, but it's the only way to get meds in you. Okay?" "Trust…you…" Ian knew he needed to hurry, the teeth chattering is a sign of shock. "Okay Sandy I want you to draw up lido and a solid dose of fent" as she got to work he drilled into his husbands leg, they were all expecting him to thrash or kick, but it was somehow worse when the only reaction was a whimper. Ian handed off things to Sandy, retaking his place by Mickey's head as she pushed the meds eliciting another heartbreaking whimper "I know it burns, but you'll feel better soon" taking his hand Ian finally allowed a couple terrified tears to fall along with his husbands.
Soon they were being ushered into the ER and doctors crowded around barking orders, though as soon as they asked his name over half of the room cleared out leaving two nurses, a very young doctor and a horrified Ian to look after Mickey. From the hall came the annoyed voice of a woman "I'm not trying to scan a fucking Milkovitch, you're going to have to just go off the portable and maybe the ultrasound" "Sarah he's just a kid…" "I said no, last one went psycho and tried to kill me, not doing it again" "fine, where's the fucking portable" the doctor from before wheeled in the portable xray and knowing better then to ask Ian to leave just tossed him a lead apron. "Looks like this is all we got so I'm just gunna cover as much ground as I can and go from there" after what seemed like forever the doctor left with the machine, leaving the young men alone. "They…don't wanna help…cuz of my family?" "Yeah Mick they're being assholes, but the doc we have seems nice, and I'll claim homophobia if they don't get their asses in gear" this brought a small but painful laugh.
"Looks like broken ribs, broken cheek bone, fractured femur, fractured pelvis and 40% deep second degree burns…and you are?" "I'm his husband" "We need to take him to surgery, ex-lap and probably stabilize the pelvis, plus we can do the first round of debridement for while he's under, do you consent?" Mickey opened the eye that wasn't swollen shut, and Ian could see the absolute fear in his blue eye. "Sur…gery?" "Yeah Mick, surgery, gotta let them fix you up" "stay with me?" "I can't…but I'll be right here when you get back" "Ian…d…don't…don't let them take me…" Ian took a deep breath, trying to stamp down the urge to cry he shot a pleading look at the doctor who returned a similar look eyeing the tattoos in his knuckles. "We gotta get a central line in his subclavian vein, and from what I'm told he's a rather….reactive individual…. The paramedic said you're a medical professional, think you could lend us a hand?" "I…uh…" "please…m'scared Ian" "okay, what do you want me to do?" "Can you get the area disinfected and then try to keep him still…and from hurting us" "one condition…I want you to put him out here before you take him" "we can't do…" "not all the way, just enough he's not conscious" nervously eyeing the tattoos again, and weighing his options the doctor relented "yeah, just enough he's not with it though. Then we get you checked out"
Ian was able to get Mickey cleaned up, wiping the blood and grime away with a million of those little alcohol wipes. He was doing okay until the batadine scrub, which sparked the panic and earned Ian a thankfully feeble knock to the jaw. "Fuck! Mick, it's okay, just trying to get you cleaned up so they can put a line in your neck." "Hurt?" Ian had to swallow twice before he could force his voice to work "Yeah, it's gunna hurt but then you get to take a good nap, and I'll hold you while you fall asleep, okay?" Mickey looked more terrified then he'd ever seen, but closed his eyes as tears escaped "M….Kay" suddenly the doctor noticed how small, and how unbelievably young his patient looked lying on the stretcher and softened. "Can you get his arm above his head, and keep it steady? Along with….the rest of him" "I can try, work fast" that lasted less then 30 seconds, but the second the other man got close to his throat he was thrashing to much to risk. "Ian….you do it" "Mick, I can't…." The doctor cut off the explanation "You're a paramedic right?" "Yeah?" "You know how to put in a subclavian line?" "Uh in theory…." "Look kid, I don't want a broken jaw, if you think he will let you do it, then I'm willing to look the other way" "Ian…please?" A massive concussion, no qualifications beyond paramedic, and working on his husband this was such a bad idea and he knew it, but the terror is his husbands voice somehow overrode it all. "God…I…okay…don't move whatever you do." Ian found the landmarks, said a prayer to a God he wasn't real sure was real, steadied his hands and stabbed the terrifyingly large needle into his husband trying not to vomit. Mickey cussed and whimpered while white knuckling the bed rails but didnt move as Ian worked.
Letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding, he smoothed down the last bit of tape, and laid down beside the shockingly vulnerable love of his life. "You guys set?" The young doctors voice startled them both, and the weight of what's about to happen hit Mickey like a truck. "Ian…." He grabbed onto him, trembling hard enough to rattle the bed rails. "Mick I've got you, it's going to be okay, just let the meds work and go to sleep okay?" "I….I love you" "I love you too, just relax and go to sleep" Mickey was crying as he drifted off, and Ian had underestimated how hard it would be to feel his husband go limp in his arms, the doctor had to practically pry Ian off him to take him to surgery.
The next hour was a blur as a crying Ian was looked over, they took X-rays and a CT scan of his head. "So Mr…." "Gallagher but call me Ian" "okay, Ian, looks like you've got 4 broken ribs, a concussion and some shallow 2nd degree burns" "yeah I know" the doctor was slightly taken back but decided to just roll with it "looks like your husband protected you" "yeah and once he's okay I'm going to fucking kill him for it, should've been me" this made the doctor chuckle under his breath "I'm going to go check on him, are you up to speaking to the police about what happened?" "I uh…can I get officer Gallagher…please? He's my brother" "that's exactly who's here, along with half of the department…and a cuffed Sargent with a broken nose in treatment two…. His intake note says…well I'll paraphrase it to "only I can can call him that" Your brother loves you"
"Carl!" Ian didn't even stop to contemplate the iorny of running to hug a cop, who also happened to be the annoying little brother everyone always assumed would become some kind of serial killer. "It was…" "so…as an officer we don't know who did it" "it was" "but as a south sider, it's taken care of" "who?" "Iggs and Mandy, they didn't take to kindy to Jamie and Joey bragging about what they did…they're not dead, but they're sure as shit never seeing the light of day" Ian collapsed back onto the exam table in relief but then jerked back up, causing a pained yelp to slip out before he could stop it "but will Mandy get…." "No worries, Mandy and Iggy were helping me remodel Liam's room all day, got timestamped pics and everything" that's when they heard footsteps approaching and Carl cleared his throat to speak loudly "I'm so sorry we don't know who did it man, but we're gunna do everything we can to find out I promise"
"How is he?!" "He's headed to the ICU, he's stable but this is going to be a long hard road" "is he awake? Can I see him?…please?" Ian basically begged openly crying, scared to death they'd say no. "He's still heavily sedated and intubated, we thought it would be best to keep him out for tonight so he can rest. We also wanted you there when we bring him out of it, considering his….history with coming out of surgery" Ian vaugely remembered something about breaking a guys arm when he was coming out of surgery after Kash shot him, must've been noted in his chart. "Yeah of course, Carl can you get my meds and a change of clothes, I'm not leaving until he does" "uh sir, that's going to be weeks…and we don't recommend family being present for burn debridement it can be…intense" "Doc with all due respect; do you really wanna deal with him by yourself? Considering you seem to be the only doc willing to see him?" "I…uh… appreciate your help. I'll have a nurse bring you to his room as soon as he's settled" "what happens when you leave?" "I'm a resident, I don't leave. Plus unlike the jaded pricks in this place, I believe everyone deserves good care. I will take the best care of your husband I possibly can, I promise you that" Ian's face turned hard even with the tears streaming down his cheeks "you better, I love him, and I'm just as south side as he is" with a nervous nod of understanding the young doctor turned on his heel and left the exam room, leaving carl and Ian alone in a comfortable silence.
After another 15 minutes of anxious waiting the nurse came to get Ian, and Carl left to do paperwork on the Sargent who'd called them slurs. Ian was torn between the excitement of finally getting to see Mickey, and the dread of what he was about to see. As he walked through the white sterile halls, he was trying to not think back to his time in the psych wards white halls and rooms. He was about to lose his fight against the panic when he finally spotted Mickey and a whole new kind of panic swelled in his chest. He looked dead. He was so pale, covered in bandages with wires and tubes all over his body. He looked so small, so vulnerable and young. "Oh God, Mick" was all Ian could get out before he was crying to hard to talk. Nurses came in a couple times to fiddle with the tubes sticking out of Mickey, pushing meds and switching bags out. Eventually he cried himself to sleep, laying with his face on their interlocked fingers.
"Ian? Hey, wake up docs gunna be here soon. Might be able to start waking him up" a blonde nurse called from the doorway, apparently having been warned not to startle him. "Wh…what time is it?" "It's 8am" she chuckled noticing the hand Ian had pressed to his face said FUCK across the knuckles, not exactly the type you'd expect to have such a doting husband. "Oh shit, it's been like 12 hours" "it's okay honey, you needed the rest, he's just been asleep or I would've woken you. Wanna go freshen up before the doc gets here? I'll stay with him" Ian made a run for the bathroom realizing just how badly he had to pee.
After taking the longest piss of his life and splashing water on his face Ian made his way back to Mickeys room about two steps before the doctor. "Good morning, so I hear Mr Milkovitch has been a model patient?" "Yeah, the combination of sedatives and paralytics make him pretty agreeable" Ian said rather dryly in response to the reference of his husband's violent tendencies "oh, I…I meant that he's been stable without any problems all night" the doctor stammered in a hurry under the glare of the younger man. "Oh" "so what do you think about getting that breathing tube out?" Ian was to choked up with relief to do more then nod. "Okay so we are gunna back off the meds, I highly recommend we restrain him until the tube is out" "NO" "Ian I understand his past, but if he dislodges the chest tube or pulls out that central line he could bleed out, please?" "God…I…he…okay but I'm not leaving him" "of course not, nobody will try to make you" "let me put them on please?" "I uh…yeah okay… you know how?" "Yep, unfortunately a lot of experience with them in my teens" the doctor opted to just leave that one alone and walked out thinking this keeps getting weirder.
"Okay baby, I'm putting these on your hands so we can wake you up" Ian kissed each hand as he tightened the soft restraints on his wrists, before he reluctantly fastened the cuffs to his ankles. He was hoping Mickey wasn't going to hate him…for to long… when he came to. "So we are stopping the paralytics, and backing off the sedative. He's going to cough and gag on the tube, that's normal" Ian chuckled briefly forgetting where he was "I mean…we're gay he's kinda used to…oh my god I'm sorry, I understand" his face turning just as red as his hair "I, uh, I'll be at the nurses station, hit the call light when he starts to come around" the poor doctor practically ran out of the room which made Ian giggle into the pillow beside Mickey.
He must have fallen asleep shortly after that, because the next thing he knew there was a sound coming from Mickey that sounded like a cross between a cough and a gag. "It's okay Mick, I'm right here and the doctor is gunna get that tube out of your throat in just a second" that was the moment that Mickey's eyes snapped open (as open as they could be) showing nothing but unadulterated fear. By the time the doctor made his way into the room Mickey was attempting to thrash, openly crying and pulling on all the restraints. That's when Ian realized the doctor was right, the restraints were a good call. Even if it was ripping his heart to shreds. The doctor deflated the balloon quickly "okay Mickey, blow out" Ian said trying to make it easier but he didn't think it got past the fear as he coughed and gagged around the tube as it was pulled from his throat. The gasp that followed had to be the best thing Ian has ever heard, but that joy was short lived by the words that followed "Dad….pl…ease…stop….i….w…won't do…it again" "uh, here can you get this on him" the confused and horrified doctor pushed the high flow cannula and suction into Ian's hands and he left to offer the men some privacy. Ian noticed Mickey's mouth filling with saliva and tried to push the suction into his mouth "No…no please…I won't…" his panicked words were cut off by choking. Ian took a deep breath, carefully but forcefully grabbed his husbands chin and forced the suction into his mouth trying desperately to ignore the pained whimpers coming between coughs. "Please…gah…d…ont…" "mick…babe…it's Ian…just let me put this on your face" "I…I'm…s..sorry" that's when a nurse came in holding up a syringe "hey, I heard we're having a hard time in here, I brought some Valium so we can get oxygen and an NG in him" "he's not going to like that" she gave him a knowing look as she pushed it into his IV hub "I know baby, that's why I brought drugs" "uhmmph…" Mickey lulled into a restless sleep.
After the nurse taped down the feeding tube Ian positioned the bulky high flow cannula under Mickeys nose. Mickey jerked his wrists and Ian found himself again having pangs of guilt for feeling grateful for the restraints. "I'll leave you guys alone, his heart rate goes down when you talk to him, keep it up. I'll be right out side if you need me" with that she patted his shoulder and pulled the door closed behind her. "Hey, they're done messing with you for now, it's just us, just you and me you're okay" "Ian…you're…h…hurt" and that's when he tried to reach for Ian's face and he noticed the restraints.
"FUCK, WHY THE….OH FUCK…OW FUCK…." "Mickey try and stay calm, you're okay, you're not going to jail it's just to keep you safe. You've been put out of it" "IAN UN….AHH WHAT THE…MOTHERFUC…" "Mick, you gotta breath okay?" Ian let go of his hand and started stroking the less battered side of his face, which seemed to pull him back to reality, he pushed his tear streaked cheek into Ian's hand as a strangled sob wracked his body "Fuck…Ian…it…hurts…" "I know, do you want me to call the nurse for more meds?" "I'm not a pu….AHHHH…Shit…oww….okay" Ian hit the call light and the nurse instantly came in already holding meds for Mickey, Ian's guessing she heard the commotion and was waiting at the door. After pushing the meds into his IV line with a reassuring pat to his shoulder. "Thanks uh…" "oh we haven't had a proper introduction, I'm Patty" "so uh, Patty, think we could uncuff me? I don't even got a shiv I promise" this made the older woman laugh nervously "it's just for your safety" "the fuck am I gunna do, run away?" "No…pull on things" she vaguely gestured to the NG tube, oxygen, central line, chest tube, surgical drains and Foley catheter. Ian couldn't help but giggle at the horror in Mickey's face. "Did you people really have to put a tube in my fucking dick again?!" "Unfortunately, it's a necessary evil, trust me you don't wanna be up and walking to the bathroom for while" "I promise I won't fucking pull on shit" "I'm not sure Dr Collin's will like if I…." Mickey looked on the verge of panic, and Ian decided to step in "Please? I'll watch him…I'll put them back on the second he's an asshole" "I'll look the other way, let's just pretend I didn't have part in this" Ian nodded quickly and waited for her to leave before unhooking the restraints.
"The fuck happened to my wrists?" "You were…kinda trying to fight us" "they've got tubes shoved every fucking where wouldn't you?!" That made Ian laugh, actually real laugh for the first time in nearly 24 hours. "Yeah, yeah I guess I would" an uncharacteristically concerned expression crossed Mickeys face "did I get anybody?" "Nah I held you til you were out, and you were tied down before they woke you up" "so which white coat asshole tied me down?" And there it was, the question Ian did not wanna answer "I…uh…" The raw betrayal across Mickeys face was enough to nearly kill Ian on the spot "It was you? WHAT THE FUCK GALLIGER" he looked at the ground tears filling his eyes "If I didn't….they would've; and I thought you'd rather it was me" looking at Ian squirm in the chair he'd undoubtedly been in this entire time, the anger and resentment burned away into a look of understanding "I….i understand. I don't fuckin like it, but I do…know what making that kinda decision is like" Ian was up and hugging him before he thought about the wounds covering his husband "OW FUCK" "Shit! Sorry" "oh get your tight ass back over here and hug me"
"Hi Mickey, nice to see you're with us. I'm Doctor Collin's do you remember me?" "You're the poor fuck who got stuck takin care of me" that broke the professionalism on the young doctors face into a smile "Well, that is the job after all" "Thanks for that" "Well don't thank me so fast, I'm here to do your first burn debridement" "The fuck is that?" Suddenly Mickey looked to Ian suddenly scared "He's gotta clean out the burns…it's gunna…this is gunna really suck"
That turned out to be the biggest understatement Ian had ever made. They hardly made it past getting the bandages off in the first round. "STOP!!! FUCKING STOP!!!" "Doc can you give him a second? I have an idea" "Ian make him fucking stop….Ian please make it fucking stop…" "Mick…I can't make him stop. He's gotta do this every day for awhile so you heal" "every fucking….If he comes in here again I'm gunna bash his fucking.." "no you fucking won't. You're going to let him get it over with, or I swear to God I will fucking tie you down myself so he can" "please….no more….it hurts…." "Look you can hate me as much as you want once you're out of here, fucking kill me if you want, but you're walking out of here not dying of infection" "don't you DARE" "look at me, I don't want to, now I can hold you, or I can tie you back down. It's your choice." "Fuck you Galliger" that's when Ian did something that honestly even he normally wouldn't dare to do and put his face an inch from Mickeys holding one of the soft restraints "MICKEY. Please don't make me do this" he was torn between crying and knocking the living hell out of his husband before finally relenting. "FUCK! Get your in this Goddamn bed with me…and keep me from killing doctor preppy" "deal" "and get me some more of those drugs" "he will" Mickey shot daggers at his husband but pushed the call button.
Ian thought Mickey fighting the restraints and begging Terry to stop whatever deranged shit he'd been flashing back to was the most heartbroken he'd been. With Mickey screaming and grasping onto him for dear life he realized he was wrong. He was on the verge of hyperventilating and sweating horribly but despite the blinding pain he was trying to stay still. "Almost done Mick, he's almost done" it wasn't a total lie, but it wasn't completely true either. There was still about a quarter of his side to go "Gah….God how much more?" Mickey was barely holding on and starting to go hoarse from screaming, not that Ian could blame him, he wanted to scream just looking at the large burn spanning from his husband's armpit to his pelvis. "Not much longer. He's done with the ribs, just gotta get your hip and it'll be over" "no more…I just,..no more please" "Mick we're gunna keep going and get this over" "babe pl…OW SHIT" Mickey started weakly struggling against Ian's hold on his hands and that's when Ian started crying again "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry but he's gotta keep going" Mickey tried to say something that was with no doubt hateful but another wave of agony pulled him into violent sobs instead. "It's okay, I'm right here, I'm right here" Ian just kept reassuring him, and restraining his hands, until after an eternity it was finally over. Mickey wiped his swollen face with the back of his hand "when did I turn into such a fucking bitch" "the fuck do you mean Milkovitch?! You did this for me, and as much as it makes me want to knock the shit out of you, it's the bravest thing I've ever seen" that actually make Mickey giggle "Does this fucking torture make us even?" "Yeah, yeah we're even….when you walk out of here" Ian kissed the top of his head and Mickey snuggled into his side attempting to ignore the pain and dread of tomorrows torture by listening to the steady heart beat of his husband.
