Cadence ( Part 2 of Rhythm ) Completed*

Chp 19: Reception

"The two of you seriously don't know how to do things the easy way," Lip's voice comes from the other end of the line.

Ian laughs, using his shoulder to keep the phone to his ear so that his hands are free to fish through Mickey's clothing. What he'd been wearing when he was admitted is mostly clean, and definitely more comforting than being in a hospital gown. "Trust me, it wasn't our choice. Kinda just happened."

"You really delivered your kid, huh?" Lip asks, his laughter erring on disbelief.

"Hard to believe but yeah, I did." Ian finally returns his hand to the phone and switches it to the other ear. "Listen, thanks for coming to take care of Kayla. She'll be happy to see you and I'm sure she's fucking confused about what's going on."

"Don't worry about it. Anything for you guys."

Though he expected nothing less from Lip, Ian's relieved to hear it. "But, um, before you grab her at Jason's, could you swing by our place first and make sure it's okay? Katie said she was cleaning up but...she went into labor and I don't exactly know when that happened or how far she got..."

"Katie went into labor?" Lip snorts a laugh. "Shit, let me amend my first statement. You all don't know how to do things the easy way."

"Kinda feel like that's our fault." Ian shrugs. He's not going to waste his breath telling Katie any of this because he knows she'll deny it all. But Lip is a neutral party on the matter. "She was a day past her due date anyway. All that excitement and stress couldn't have been easy on her body. It was only a matter of time."

"And of course all this happened when Mandy was a way. Perfect storm."

"Perfect storm," Ian parrots. "Anyway, Ava was born in the shower so...I can't imagine it would be that hard to clean up if Katie didn't get to it. I mean, it's a lot of blood and..." He trips over his words.

"Ian. I can handle blood. It's okay. I'll figure it out. Can't have princess seeing all that blood and being scarred for life. I'm definitely not equipped to explain that to a two year old."

"Thank you," Ian breathes out. "It means a lot."

"So, yeah, swing by the house, make sure it's presentable, and then grab the rugrat."

"And Cody," Ian says quickly. Before Lip has a chance to react, he adds, "sorry, it's just...we promised Katie we would watch him. I know Jason doesn't mind, but Cody's probably scared too and he'd be more comfortable at our place. He and Mikayla have a good bond. I thought maybe the two of them..."

"Would be more comfortable together?" Lip finishes for his brother.

"Yeah. Cody's easy. He knows the house. I'm sure you remember where all Mikayla's stuff is, but if you forget, I guarantee that Cody knows. Umm, and Mikayla is probably going to try to sleep in the bed with you. That's okay, she doesn't have to sleep in her crib."

Lip laughs. "You keep making this sound even more fun," he teases, sarcasm thick but his tone is genuine when he tells Ian, "It's fine. Whatever makes Mikayla comfortable. Don't think she's even been away from both of you for this long. You let me know when you want me to bring the princess to visit."

Shaking his head, Ian realizes Lip is right. Only, it goes both ways. He and Mickey have never been away from Mikayla for more than a night either. "Maybe tomorrow? She can't see Ava right now because children aren't allowed in the NICU, but Mickey's missing her like a mother fucker, so that would be good."

"He's doing okay?" Lip's concern is thick enough that it comes across the phone line clearly.

"Yeah, a lot better. Finally going to let him see Ava for the first time since he's been in the hospital."