Cadence ( Part 2 of Rhythm ) Completed*

Chp 21: Ricochet

Ian thinks Mickey's a really good father. It's both surprising and not. Mickey takes time to warm up to things, but once he's in, he's all in. So, Mickey is going to parent the hell out of their daughters. Problem is, he's putting his own wellbeing on the back burner; Ian knows first hand how detrimental that can be.

They've both been there.

And they've both fallen hard for Mikayla and Ava.

So there isn't any blame. But Ian's trying to keep them both in check. Right now, he's on Ava duty while Mickey rests, or rests as much as Mikayla will let him. It's bittersweet; Ian's glad his oldest daughter can have some one-on-one time with Mickey, but he also wishes the four of them could be doing the same.

Ian's tapering down his work schedule in preparation for taking a full two weeks of before opening up the store. Despite the hardships it brought, Ava's early arrival lets them all slowly transition and Mickey's able to heal and sleep through nights without a screaming newborn.

Ava is doing fantastic.

All the doctors and nurses say so, making it easier for Ian to believe.

She's definitely coming home soon, but the next five days are going to feel like weeks. He and Mickey have struggled with fitting in all they have to do in a day, but they've been doing it. It's been harder on Mickey, though, considering he's still trying to do everything he usually does while healing. And because Ian knows Mickey's stubborn, he's been playing watchdog to make sure he can pull Mickey back before his boyfriend takes on more than he can handle.

Now, however, is when he gets to wind down. After working a majority of the day, he gets some quality time with his newest favorite person. Walking into NICU, he's happy to see Cara is working. When the woman is scheduled to work, Ava is always assigned to Cara's care. Ian thinks she has taken a liking to the Gallagher-Milkovich family. He sees amusement instead of frustration on her face when Mickey is being Mickey . And for all the griping about how difficult Ava is, Cara's clearly taking it as a challenge instead of holding it against her.

"Look who's here, Ava?" Cara says as Ian approaches.

Ian gives her a wave and smiles down at his daughter. She's not wearing more than a diaper at the moment. "You happy to see daddy, Ava?" he asks with a goofy grin.

"She's always happy to see daddy," Cara elaborates. "And she's definitely happy that her bilirubin levels look great. So, no more nudist on our hands. You want me to dress her or are you good?"

"I think we're good, right angel face?" Ian tiptoes his fingers up her body and she manages to latch onto them with both fists. "Been looking forward to spending time with her all day."

"Yeah, your husband..." Cara catches herself and squints her eyes in conflict. "Or whatever you two are, sorry for always messing that up...Your partner was here earlier. But I think she's been waiting especially for you."

"Oh, really? And how can you tell that?" Ian gives Cara a skeptical smirk.

"I mean, just look at her. She never shuts up. Girl's been talking about you all day." The lightheartedness of her tone is infectious and they both share a laugh at her silliness. "Not that she doesn't love your partner or whatever you are."

"Fiancés actually. I mean, I think so. He's gonna marry me and everything, so, yeah..." Ian shrugs after tripping over figuring out an easy way to explain to Cara exactly what he and Mickey mean to each other.

"You think so?" Cara shakes her head kindly at Ian. "Well, whatever the two of you are is definitely none of my business. Hope it didn't come off as such. And it doesn't matter what you two are as long as you're happy. You happy?"