Shameless

5

We were all done eating my the time Frank gets back and I motion to the left overs in the kitchen. "Saved you some" I said not caring about the blood on him. Knowing him he probably deserved it. 

"Hey is that my shirt?" Ian asks as he gets up and walks over to him "Yeah." I stand up once Frank starts taking slow steps towards Ian. The red headed teen walks backwards "Uh, I'm just asking." Before I could move Frank throws his head forward and Head buts Ian. "Guy in the bar says to pass it on!" Frank yells over us as Ian fell backwards onto the table blood flowing from his nose. I quickly check on Carl since Ian had tripped over him but after seeing he was fine I pass him to V before taking a bunch of napkins and holding them under Ian nose to catch the blood.

"What the fuck is wrong with you Frank!" Steve yells as he pushes Frank away in order to put more space between to two. "Lip can you get some ice from the freezer." I ask not taking my eyes away from Ian. 

"V. Take the kids upstairs." I say to her as I see Lips grab a frying pan out of her hands. She rushes Carl and Debs upstairs as she grabs Liam without a word. She knew ag times like this to take them to my room and lock the door. Lip comes back with a random back of frozen veg and I press it gently to the bridge of Ian's nose. "Hey, I'm going to take Karen home, She doesn't have to see this." 

"That's fine. No sex in the car." He rolls his eyes but nods anyway and takes his latest fling out of the house. "Let me see" I pull his hands away from his face and tilt his head back a little to get a better look. "Bathroom" I put the tissue back and guide him to the upstairs bathroom while Fi gets Steve of the house. 

"Sit" I point to the closed toilet seat he does as I say. I grab a wash rag and run it under hot water. After wiping his face clean I press along his nose to see if it was broken he winces at one point and yells out at another. "I don't think its broken, might be fractures though." I take a numbing antiseptic cream and, using and q-tip, I spread it on the inside of his nose.

"Keep it iced, 5 minutes on 5 minutes off, for an hour. Don't worry if the veg defrost I'll just cook them tonight and give some to V." I joke and he chuckles. I place a kiss on the bridge of his nose making him smile before I clean up. "Get showered and changed. I'll see what I can do about your shirt."

He takes his shirt off and passes it to me. I leave and knock twice on my bedroom door. The lock clicks not long after and V opens the door. Two sets of arms wrap around me. I place my hands on their heads and V takes the shirt from me. "Ian's fine his nose it a little banged up." I crouch down and hug them both. "go  to your rooms and relax for a bit." I tap both of their noses and they walk away. "Thanks V" She smooths my hair down with a smile before leaving. I go down stairs and pour some hydrogen peroxide on Lips shirt before leaving it in the washing machine. Fiona leave the kitchen just as Frank was about to walk out. I grab a paper plate and put some food on it. I also grab a water bottle and the first aid kit from under the sink. 

"Frank!" I call as I walk out the back door. I wave him over and sit down on the steps. "Sit down." He does and I quickly clean up his nose and clean it. "Drink" I pass him the water and he takes a sip. 

"All of it." He rolls his eyes but drinks it anyway. "You're an arsehole you know that."

"Yeah. I know. Tell Ian I'm sorry. And thanks for taking care of me. I do love you all you know. I'm just not always the greatest at showing it" He sighs heavily and I pass him the plate along with a $10 bill. "I know." I kiss his cheek and leave taking the kit with me. Once back inside I grab one of his shirts from the clean pile and throw it over his head. After I close the back door and lock it. 

The next morning I get showered, changed and get Liam dressed for the day while Fi gets breakfast started with breakfast. Ian had gone out with V to steal some milk and butter from the dairy guy for V and Kev. 

I come down to find everyone already at the table and sit Liam in his high chair. "Morning buddy." My twin greets Liam as he pull the tray into place for me. "Morning munchkins. Bubs stop licking your eggs" I say as I grab some grapes from the fridge and into a bowl. I put my bowl on the table and cut up some grapes for Liam and put it on his tray along with some cry cereal. I pass Lip the orange sippy cup with milk in for Liam so he can feed him today. 

Steve then comes in with coffee and donuts. He passes me mine. "Coffee, milk, sugar and a pump of chocolate syrup?" 

"Thanks. And don't worry. My only dietary restriction is that I'm Vegetarian" I tell him so he doesn't have to worry about it in the future.

"I'll be sure to remember that."  He smiles and I grab a glazed donut to eat along side my grapes. "Has anyone seen dad?" Fi questions holding a brown envelop. "He's asleep behind the armchair." Fi groans at Debs words before going off into the living room, the others following behind. "It's a tent. Why is there a tent in the living room?"

"Uh, I'm drying it out ROTC training next week in Wisconsin." I hear Ian say. 

"I thought it was dad. I left him a cup of coffee this morning. I thought I heard him say thanks." I hear Deb say before she comes in with a superman mug. Deb go get showered and dressed please." I say and she nods before running upstairs. I grab the laundry and put a load on before cleaning up the table leaving out Carl's food so he can finish eating. "Carl, Food" He comes and eats without complaint. "Make sure you brush you teeth after okay?"

"Pheebs, Have you seen Dad?" Fi asks as she comes to stand next to me at the sink while I wash up. "Not since I patched him up last night. Why?" 

"I think he's missing. I can't find him and is disability check day."

"Get V and start calling around. If no ones seen him we will go to all the usual spots." I say before drying my hands and start calling people on my cell. "Did you buy the cell too?"

"Yeah, Contract. $20 dollars a month... Hey, Katie. You seen Frank?" I say as I walk away. Not long after the living room in is chaos as we all call around to see if we can find Frank.

V was on a landline from hers calling the hospital when it suddenly gets yanked out of her hand. I chuckle knowing it was probably Kev. Once she's gone. I give my cell to Lip and take Kev's one off him. I walk out to find Kev leaving there house so I meet him half way.

"Here. Can you ask around to Alibi and see if anyone has seen Frank?"

"Yeah sure." He ruffles my hair in a brotherly way and I smack his hands away he chuckles and runs off as I fake a leap towards him. "Bye bitch!"

"Jerk!" I call after. Kev really was an annoying older brother. I go back inside and Lip hands my cell back to me. "No ones heard from anybody since last night."

"Alright. Get your shoes on. We're going to split up and check all the usual places. Dress warm and meet up here in an hour." I say and everyone splits to get ready. I pull on my black boots over my socks and tuck my jeans in so the ends don't get wet from the snow. I strap on Liam's harness before pulling on and oversized jack over the top. I go back down stairs and grab Liam from the high chair. "Come on little one. Adventure time." I pick him up and put him in the harness. The jacket was big enough that I could zip it up with Liam inside to keep him warm.

I hand Carl his gloves and leave with the others. None of us take the car since it would be easier to check on foot from all the small places Frank seems to weasel his way into. I took Carl with me while Ian and Lip went together and Deb and Fiona paired up. 

"You okay Bubs?" I ask putting my arm around his shoulders with the other supports Liam's weight. "I don't know."

"Well what is it you are feeling?"

"Scared. Worried but I'm not surprised. Dad's never around anymore and when he is he isn't always nice." I pull him closer to my side. 

"I know Bubs. But you will always have me. I don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon."

"You can't say that. You will be leaving soon to go to college." He says, clearly upset as he pushed me away a little. "Oh, Bubs. Can you keep a secret?" I say, making up my mind. He nods and looks at the ground, not meeting my eyes. I lift his chin up "I plan to do online college so I will be here."

"Really?!" He yells and I ruffle his short hair. "Yeah. How can I leave my baby boys behind." I motion to him and Liam. His face almost splits in two with his smile and hugs me tightly. I crouch in front of him and he jumps onto my back. We laugh as we continue our search for Frank.