girl crush, Carl Gallagher

forty-three

Tess was in the kitchen when her phone started to ring. she picked it up and it was a collect call from the prison Ian was in. assuming it was Ian she answered. "TJ?" the voice on the line asked. "Mickey?" Tessa asked, as her eyes went wide.

"yeah, TJ." Mickey replied, with a smile. "Mickey. oh my god. i thought you died or the police found you. did they find you?" she asked, as she started pacing the kitchen. "no, no. when i heard Ian was getting locked up i ratted out the cartel i was working for and they let me choose where i wanted to serve. i'm gettin to share a cell with the idiot and everything. " Mickey explained in a hushed voice.

"you snitched on my dads guys?" Tessa questioned, stopping in her tracks. "no. wait how did you know about that?" Mickey asked. "my dad told me." Tessa confessed, as she continued pacing. "no. it was different guys. i did a one time drop for your dad." Mickey explained to the blonde.

"oh okay." Tessa nodded. "how's everything at home?" Mickey asked his sister. "good. me and Carl moved into my house. we got a dog. Cora's gonna be two soon. everything is good." Tessa smiled. "that's great, TJ." Mickey smiled on the other end.

Tess heard someone on the other end and then Mickey say 'okay'. "okay, TJ. i gotta go. i love you." Mickey said. "i love you, Mick. stay safe." Tessa frowned. "i will. give my niece kisses for me." Mickey grinned. "okay, bye." Tessa nodded, before the other end hung up.

"who was that?" Carl asked, walking into the kitchen. Tess just burst into tears. "hey. it's okay." Carl said, walking over and wrapping his arms around his girl. "what's wrong?" Carl asked, pulling away after about 2 minutes.

"Mickeys okay." Tessa sniffled. "he's okay?" Carl asked, looking down at the girl. "he's okay." Tessa nodded, with a smile. "that's great." Carl smiled.

"he's a prison with Ian. they get to share a cell. they're okay, Carl. they're gonna be okay." Tessa wiped her tears. "he's with Ian?" Carl asked the blonde, who nodded.

Tess and Carl talked some more before Cora woke up. Tess took Nova out to go to the bathroom and went back in to find Carl feeding Cora.

"i'm kind of jealous of Ian." Tessa stated, as she poured Nova's food into her bowl. "why?" Carl asked, looking over to Tess. "he gets to see Mickey. he gets to hug him. also Ian got to meet Cora, and he was practically there when she was born. Mickey hasn't gotten to meet her. i haven't hugged Mickey in over a year." Tessa told her boyfriend, hopping up on the counter.

"Tess, you can." Carl pointed out. "what?" she questioned. "he's in prison. he's not in Mexico anymore. if we can visit Ian, we can visit Mickey." Carl smiled as he watched the girls face lite up. "oh my fuckin' god. your right." she exclaimed, jumping off the counter.

Carl finished feeding Cora, while Tess went and showered and changed. once Tess was done, she got Cora dressed while Carl got ready. after they were all ready they loaded up into the car, and Carl drove them to the prison.

they got checked in, and were escorted out to the courtyard. Carl carried Cora, and Tess walked in front of them. as soon as she locked eyes with Mickey she went running. Tess jumped into Mickeys arms and started crying.

"Mickey." she grinned, as the boy kissed her head. "oh TJ." he smiled, putting the girl down, "your grown. your a mom." "yeah." she nodded, as Mickey wiped her tears. Mickey took a minute and just looked at Tess. he soaked up every single one of her features.

"speaking of being a mom, i brought you someone to meet." Tessa smiled, stepping to the side revealing Carl holding CJ. Mickey's jaw dropped. "holy shit." Mickey muttered, walking over to the little blonde.

"CJ, look. it's Uncle Mickey." Tess said to the girl, pointing at her brother. Cora looked between her mom and Mickey. she took a minute before reaching out to him. "can i?" Mickey asked, looking to Carl. "take your niece, Mickey." Carl smiled, handing Cora to him.