biological 》ian gallagher

four

Still, Fiona didn't even look like she had the energy to argue. She sat at the kitchen counter, as her fingernails tapped at the half empty beer bottle in front of her. Ian stood on the opposite side of the counter, to see her more clearly. She hardly glanced up at Ian when he looked down at her.

"I don't think I can keep working there -" Fiona began, but Ian cut her off. He knew that the both of them wanted to talk about one thing in specific, but Fiona was only dodging the conversation and stalling.

"What did you mean by figuring this out?" Ian asked, leaning against the counter, keeping a hard stare towards her. She looked up at Ian, almost in disbelief.

"Ian, we already have too many people here, she's gotta go back." Fiona said, in the soft, pre-argument tone she always used. Ian's look turned to a glare, knowing that he was able to argue back.

"Her mom has cancer." Ian stated, in a matter-of-factly tone, knowing that Fiona read the same note Ian did earlier that day. "We can't just send her back." Ian stated firmly, holding an arm up towards the door.

"Ian," Fiona's voice grew stronger, "I can't afford to take care of a four year old." Fiona pointed out, making Ian practically snap to a solution.

"Let me take care of her! I can do it, Fiona. I can. I - I'll get a job. Two jobs!" Ian started his way to defend Rosie, basically stating that he'd do anything to keep her.

"Ian, you don't even know if she's yours." Fiona looked at him with raised eyebrows. Her statement only upset Ian even more.

"Did you even look at her?!" Ian asked in a raised voice, glaring back at Fiona. Nobody could deny that Rosie looked - if not exactly - extremely like Ian.

"Well, do you mind explaining how it happened?" Fiona fired back, with furrowed eyebrows towards her red headed younger brother. "Last time I checked, you were gay." Her statement made Ian stop. His face fell from anger to slight defeat, as he looked down at the counter.

"Hayden and I hooked up a couple of times... she was the only one." Ian added the last part of reassurance. Ian, for a split second, looked back on the relationship Hayden and himself made together. They were friends. The best of friends. "And I'm not gonna be anything like Frank." Ian thought about the terrible human being that was supposed to be, not only the biggest role model in his life, but a dad, too.

Fiona noticed the defeated look he held, making her sigh and stand up. Before he could look at her again, she spoke.

"You have until the end of the week." She said, but not in a mean tone. She didn't want to make Ian give up Rosie. Fiona knew how important it already was for Ian to be around, even if he didn't know of Rosie's existence yesterday. He knew today, and that was enough for her to realize how much he wanted the world for Rosie. But, Fiona couldn't handle another child to look after.

Ian watched as Fiona, slowly, went up the stairs to go to bed. Ian stayed in the same spot until the entire house was silent. He needed to speak to Hayden, at least once more. He never got any answers, of why she left town, and why she hid Rosie's existence for so long. He grabbed the phone that the Gallagher's shared, quickly going to her contact, which has been saved into the phone for all of those years.

Ian tapped, endlessly, on the counter he leaned against with anticipation. Anxiety pulsed through every vein in his body, as he pulled himself into a heavy concentration on the phone he held in his other hand. He let out a long breath as he pressed the green, call button.

Slowly pulling the phone to his ear, he stopped tapping on the counter to put all of his attention towards the dial tone. His teeth dug into his lower lip, as he realized that he hadn't planned out what he was going to say - what he was going to ask. He debated on hanging up immediately, but decided against it. He knew that, if he didn't do it now, he never would. He wouldn't be able to bring himself to it ever again.

"We're sorry, this number is -" The monotone female voice spoke back at him. He, angrily, slammed the phone onto the counter once again.

"Fuck!" He screamed, piercing his own ears with the shriek. He immediately regret it, knowing he wasn't the only one in the house.

"Daddy?" A small, feminine, squeak of a voice grabbed his attention. He looked over at the stairs, seeing the red headed little girl once again. Every time, since she arrived, just hours ago, he couldn't help but see himself in her features. The iconic red hair that fell below her shoulders. Her green eyes that sparkled like his used to. He felt a strange feeling of nostalgia whenever he saw her face; like he was younger again, looking back in the mirror. His attitude changed quickly, from anger to guilt - wondering how much she had witnessed of that.

"I'll be upstairs in a minute." The words fell from his lips, as he noticed the slight worried face she expressed. He trembled on his speech, making his lower lip quiver, just a little bit. The little girl just nodded slightly, as she slowly turned back and raced up the stairs again.