Raegan Gallagher-Milkovich

3-Cupcakes

It was only a week after parents evening and Raegan seemed to be doing well. Ian and Mickey were proud, already thinking they were doing better than what their own parents were like anyway. Things were going smoothly at the moment, but things never really ran smoothly for too long in a Gallagher or a Milkovich house.

Mickey was asleep in bed, it was black outside, the only light being street lamps. The only noise was distant sirens, sometimes loud voices shouting, the couple were used to sleeping through all this though.

What Mickey couldn't sleep through was hearing dishes bashing and loud footsteps coming from downstairs. He woke up, and realised what he was hearing from downstairs. He stretched and yawned, looking at the digital clock next to his bed and saw it read 3:07am. "Shit," he whispered to himself.

Realising what was going on, Mickey sat up quickly, grabbed the bat that he kept next to his bed. (There was three in total kept in their house). He crept out of the bed, holding the bat, not even realising Ian was no longer even lying next to him. He was distracted by the noises downstairs.

     He passed Reagan's room and peered in, making sure she was safe. He saw his little girl still fast asleep in bed, wrapped up in all her blankets.

He tiptoed down the stairs in the pitch black, not turning on any lights, and in the kitchen, things were still being moved around loudly. "What the fuck," he said to himself, listening to pots and pans just bashing around. Mickey was going to kill whatever scumbag that thought they could steal from him.

He creeped through the living room cautiously. Once he was in the kitchen, he switched on the light quickly and screamed "FREEZE FUCKER!" Holding the bat out in front of him.

     Only to realise Ian was leaning against kitchen counter, mixing ingredients in a huge bowl. He stopped when he saw Mickey holding the bat, and started laughing at him. "You okay Mick?" He teased laughing at his reaction.

"Jesus. You little bitch, you scared the life outta me," said Mickey lowering his bat. "The fuck are you doing?" He asked him looking around at the countertops and seeing flour, eggs, sugar and pots and pans scattered all over the kitchen.

"Making cupcakes," he replied, he had flour on her face and nose too. Mickey looked confused at him.

"Why? It's three in the damn morning, get your ass back upstairs."

     "I can't sleep, I have too much energy," he replied.
"Jesus," Mickey said. "Look turn off the oven, put that down. We'll clean this up in the morning you need to get to bed now."

"No Mick, I can't sleep. Let me finish these and then I'll go to bed," he said. Mickey rolled his eyes and scratched his eyebrow.

"Fine, fine," he said eventually, going to the fridge for a beer. "But I'll stay up for a while with you," he said sitting down at the kitchen table, and popping the top off his beer on the table.

He watched his husband baking and observed what he was doing. He didn't like how familiar this looked. Ian carried on baking, happy in himself, dancing and singing, full of energy. He kept talking about random things, blabbering on about everything he could think of.

"How come you got so much energy," he asked him after watching him for about an hour and listening to him talking shit, just sipping his beer.

"I dunno, I just felt like being up," said Ian walking over to the table and taking a sip of Mickeys beer. Mickey just looked at him, trying to analyse him still. He then walked back over and continued baking. He was acting strange.

     Suddenly they heard footsteps coming lightly down the stairs. Raegan came down the steps in a pink night gown and pyjamas, rubbing her eyes. "Daddy? What are you doing?" She asked.

     "Hey princess, come here, what're you doing up," said Mickey, beckoning her over. "You two are so loud, what are you doing?"she said, walking over to Mickey and crawling onto his lap, leaning her head on his chest.

     "Making cupcakes princess, want one?" Said Ian.

"Why in the middle of the night," she asked Ian, still cuddling into Mickey, tracing her finger over the letters of her dads tattoo on his chest that read "Ian Gallagher." Then the one underneath that, that read "Raegan Gallagher Milkovich." Mickey had gotten Reagan's name tattooed below Ian's name shortly after Raegan was born.

     "I just couldn't sleep baby, here, try one, they're good," Ian said placing a cupcake in front of her on the table, placing a kiss on her head.

     Raegan reached over to her dads beer instead and took a drink out of it, then leaning back into Mickey. They sat up for a little longer while Ian was still busy around the kitchen. Raegan was falling asleep though. Before they knew it, it was 5am.

     "Okay I think we should get back to bed." He stood up holding Raegan in his arms still as she had her head leaning on his shoulder and she wrapped her arms around his neck, pretty much fast asleep.

"You coming up to bed now?" He asked Ian. "Sure, I'll be up in a sec," he said, icing his second batch of cupcakes. "Okay firecrotch," he said, pausing to look at him again, before turning around and heading back up to bed.

The next morning

Mickey and Raegan both came downstairs at the same time, Mickey wearing boxers, a tank top and a dressing gown. It was a Sunday morning so no one had no work. It was bright outside now.

They both walked into the kitchen to see Ian  still awake, writing into a little book on the counter. Raegan looked around confused at the mess and about 24 cupcakes on the table.

"What the fuck," said Mickey. "You still didn't go to sleep?"
"I told you I wasn't tired," said Ian.

"Mr Ramsey here up all night baking, what the fuck Ian, you haven't had a wink of sleep," said Mickey.
Raegan looked concerned at her daddy Ian, then back at the mess on the counters, and the cupcakes he had made.

"You got no sleep at all daddy? How come you have so much energy"Raegan asked.
"I dunno I just have energy, I'm feeling good," he said, still writing.

Mickey and Raegan looked at each other. Mickey was all too familiar with this behaviour. Raegan knew her dad was bipolar, but had never experienced it first hand, so she didn't know what it looked like, but she could tell by Mickeys expression something was wrong.

"Okay, let's just start breakfast," said Mickey walking over to the cupboard and pulling out a pan. He decided to ignore Ian's behaviour, he knew sometimes his meds could go out of balance, he'd be back to normal soon, nothing to worry about he reassured himself.

     "Eggs and toast sound good?"