Late Night, Past 3 AM.
The heat of the day had vanished, leaving a chill in the air.
Outside 2114 North Wallace.
Faced with Ian's explanation, Fiona was speechless, not knowing what to say.
"Ian, I promise you, this is the last time..." after a few seconds of silence, Fiona said, her face full of pain.
Ian smiled faintly, shook his head decisively, and remained calm. "Fiona, don't lie to yourself. You know exactly what kind of person Lip is."
"It won't be the last time."
"Besides, you said before we'd just skip the medical bill. Less than a day later, you agreed to Lip's smuggling plan. That's twice already."
"Let's leave it at that. I'm going to live here for a while. It's close anyway. Don't try to persuade me. Let's both try to live our lives well."
Fiona had no answer.
What could she say?
Ian was stating facts...
Skipping the bill, smuggling—that was twice.
More importantly, deep down, Fiona knew there would be a next time. Lip was that kind of person. Arrogant as he was, he would definitely keep committing crimes...
"Ian, don't do this..." Fiona couldn't refute him, so she begged. "Let's talk this out. We can work this out."
Ian still shook his head. "Fiona, don't. I've made my decision. If things get better later, I'll go back."
Fiona bit her lip hard, heartbroken beyond measure.
Time passed slowly.
Seeing she couldn't persuade him no matter what, Fiona, eyes red, had to give up. Holding back tears, she said, "I'll take Liam back."
Ian nodded, didn't insist, and silently turned back into the house. Soon, he brought out the sleeping Liam and handed him to Fiona.
Fiona held Liam, hesitated for a moment, but ultimately said nothing more to Ian. She turned and walked home.
Ian watched Fiona's back for a few seconds, sighed silently, went back inside, lay on the bed, took a deep breath forcing himself not to think about how much Fiona was hurting, closed his eyes, and slept.
The Gallagher House.
"Home, sweet home!" Walking into the living room, looking at everything so painfully familiar, Fiona muttered sarcastically. Then, the dam broke, and tears poured down like rain.
A few minutes later.
Mustering her strength, she first moved the crib into her room, then gently placed Liam inside. Done, Fiona instantly lost all strength and collapsed onto her bed.
Hitting the mattress, exhaustion and sleepiness overwhelmed her like a tidal wave.
Within a minute.
Fiona passed out, sleeping like the dead.
Unknowingly, day broke.
Sunlight poured in.
This morning, the Gallagher house lacked its usual noise. It was very quiet.
Fiona was still fast asleep.
Liam, however, was awake. Standing in his crib, making noise.
Fiona slept too deeply and didn't hear him. She slept on until Liam started wailing.
The wailing grew louder and louder. Fiona finally woke up, opening her eyes groggily. It took a few seconds to register. Then, realizing what was happening, she dragged her heavy body up to change Liam's diaper and make him breakfast.
2114 North Wallace.
Peg, Ian, and Carl were eating breakfast.
"So, now only Fiona and Liam live in that house?" Carl asked suddenly while eating.
Ian's brain was a bit scrambled. Hearing this, he paused slightly. "Maybe Frank too."
"Then that house is really empty," Carl said matter-of-factly, with no hidden meaning.
Ian knew Carl's words never had any deeper meaning and just needed to be taken literally. He smiled faintly. "Yeah."
"If it had been empty sooner, that would've been great," Carl said. "I could have had my own room years ago."
"Yeah," Ian replied with a hint of emotion.
The truth was, growing up, Ian hadn't had his own room until last night either.
Carl said no more, focusing on his breakfast.
Peg smiled at Carl, then shifted her gaze to Ian. She asked cheerfully, "Ian, any plans for what's next? College, or?"
Ian shook his head. "My grades aren't good. Definitely can't get into a good college. Forget it."
Peg didn't care whether kids went to college or not. "Then after you graduate high school, you can officially work. Any skills you're good at?"
That question stung a bit.
What was Ian good at?
Having stayed in ROTC so long, he was good at being a soldier, good at rushing to the battlefield to be cannon fodder for America.
But Ian stubbornly, unrealistically wanted to be an officer.
So what other skills did he have?
"Seems like none..." Ian replied with a somewhat bitter expression.
Peg thought for a moment. "Still have some time. You can explore."
"Yeah," Ian responded, though in reality, he had zero interest.
Current Ian was in a very lost phase, not even knowing what he wanted to do.
Although, that was normal. At this age, the future was still a distant thing.
Peg didn't say more.
The three finished breakfast quickly.
Ian checked the time, didn't delay, and stood up to leave. "I'm going back for a bit. To check on Fiona."
Hearing this, Carl hesitated slightly. "I'll go with you. Haven't seen Fiona in a while either."
"Okay," Ian agreed readily.
Moments later, they arrived at the Gallagher front door.
Ian thought for a moment and chose to knock.
Thump, thump, thump.
Fiona, looking dazed and extremely sleepy, was feeding Liam breakfast. Hearing the knock, she was surprised, unable to imagine who would knock this early nowadays.
Fiona walked over and opened the door.
Seeing Ian and Carl, especially Carl...
Instantly.
Fiona perked up. The daze on her face vanished completely. Then, she smiled, genuinely happy. "Ian! Carl!"
Ian nodded gently. "Why are you up so early? Liam woke you?"
Carl, as usual, just grinned and walked into the house.
Moments later.
Living Room.
Fiona happily fed Liam while chattering non-stop to Ian and Carl.
Fiona loved this feeling, even if Ian and Carl could barely get a word in.
"Carl, I'll figure out a room for you. Under the stairs on the first floor, or the basement. What do you think? I promise I'll make it nice..."
Seeing Carl again, talking to him like usual, Fiona felt much better and reignited her hope of persuading Carl to return.
Carl's IQ wasn't high enough to understand the weirdness behind these words.
Ian could.
So, Ian couldn't help but smile.
Debbie wouldn't be home for the next year. Despite that, Fiona didn't mention letting Carl take Debbie's room at all.
This was too interesting.
Carl wasn't interested. He shook his head nonchalantly, refusing. "No thanks. I live well over there. It's comfortable."
Fiona wouldn't give up and continued persuading.
Listening, Ian couldn't take it anymore. He interrupted Fiona. "Fiona, stop for a second. Look closely at Carl."
Fiona stopped mid-sentence, not understanding Ian. "?????"
Ian smiled and explained. "Look at what's changed about Carl."
Carl didn't think he had changed. He looked at Ian in confusion.
Fiona blinked, opened her mouth, but stayed silent. She obediently did as told and scrutinized Carl.
New clothes, new shoes...
Clean all over...
Rosy cheeks...
Seemed to have gained a little weight...
Noticing these changes one by one, boom, Fiona's mind exploded. She suddenly fully understood what Ian meant.
After leaving the Gallagher house, Carl was clearly living better, and looked much happier.
In this moment, Fiona's emotions were indescribably complex.
Persuade Carl to come back again?
Fiona knew she shouldn't, since Carl was better off now. But thinking of the family being separated...
That was family!
Watching the conflict on Fiona's face, Ian smiled and spoke. "Fiona, this is a good thing. Good for Carl, for me, even for you."
"Don't agonize over it. We just live next door."
"I can still take care of Liam at night."
Fiona heard clearly, but couldn't speak.
Yesterday, too much happened; she didn't have time to think about Liam.
Today...
The Liam problem manifested.
This summer, without Debbie; Ian worked days; she worked nights and needed to sleep during the day; Carl couldn't take care of Liam; Lip was gone, and even if he came back, he'd need a long recovery...
What about Liam?
Too many difficulties...
In this instant, Fiona truly wanted to give up. Fxxk it. Screw everything!
Unfortunately, the urge to give up only lasted a second.
Fiona sniffled, looked at Carl, thought again, and finally stopped persuading. She reached out, rubbed Carl's head, and forced a smile. "You have to come back and visit often."
Carl didn't really understand the situation, but nodded anyway. "Of course."
Hearing this, Fiona felt a little relieved. She turned to Ian.
Ian was different from Carl. He wasn't young; he'd be an adult in a few years...
Fiona really didn't know what to say. She thought and thought. "Sure you won't live here for now?"
Ian didn't answer, just nodded.
Fiona's heart twinged.
What could she do?
"You have to help take care of Liam. I can't do it alone," Fiona said.
"Okay. I can take care of him after work," Ian replied.
Could Ian take care of Liam during work?
Actually, yes.
But Ian didn't want to.
Liam held very little weight in Ian's life.
In terms of selfishness, Ian didn't lose to Fiona or Lip.
Fiona smiled helplessly, didn't argue, took a deep breath, and rallied. "You two still have a while before work. Help clean up a bit."
"This is our home, after all."
About twenty minutes later.
Ian and Carl left.
Fiona locked the door, took Liam upstairs, settled him down, lay back on the bed, and fell into a powerless sleep.