Chapter Text
“I appreciate you both coming down here so quickly.” Mr. Farris addressed Ian and Mickey as they all took a seat. Mrs. Hyles seat was slightly cornered near the edge of the principal's desk, so she had a view of both Mr. Farris as well as Ian and Mickey. Mickey sat in the chair closest to her and Ian sat to his right.
“We appreciate you taking the time to see us.” Ian responded, giving Mr. Farris a gracious smile. He looked at Mickey to see that he was still glaring at the woman.
"You the teacher?” Mickey asked coldly. She was like a statue. She was sitting straight up, her hands, one cupped on top of the other, sat in her lap. She looked Mickey in the eyes.
“I’m Mrs. Hyles.” She answered, making her name known to him.
“Your name could be Mr. fucking Rogers for all I care. That doesn’t answer my question.” Mickey shot back, his voice annoyed, He shrugged and maintained eye contact with her. Ian rested his hand on Mickeys knee and gave it a squeeze.
“What he’s trying to ask,” Ian looked at Mr. Farris and spoke before things escalated any faster.
“, is this the teacher the kids called us about?” Ian simply nudged his head in her direction, keeping his focus on the principal.
Mr. Farris. Nodded his head and motioned his hand towards her.
“Yes. Mrs. Hyles was stepping in to cover the last two classes for Mrs. Jansen so she could deal with a family emergency.” He explained. It really didn’t matter to Ian and Mickey the reason behind her being in the classroom. Ian shook his head purely in acknowledgment of Mrs. Jansens emergency.
“How nice of her.” Mickey said dryly, throwing the substitute a fake smile. Mrs. Hyles simply raised her brows at Mickey. He shook his head at her cocky demeanor and turned his eyes to Mr. Farris.
“Why is she here? Is it just to sit there? Cause if her head gets any higher, she’s gonna turn into a damn giraffe.” Mickey asked him, pointing at her with his thumb. Ian looked at Mickey with slightly wide eyes. Signaling his husband to stop talking for a minute.
The woman let out a barely audible scoff and wiped something off of her skirt. Mr. Farris, clearly feeling the tension in the room, tried to move on.
“I asked her to come so that I could get her side of what took place this afternoon in the classroom.” He grabbed a pen and started to sift through some papers he had in front of him.
“I’m sorry. Her side?” Ian sat forward a bit. He furrowed his eyebrows.
“Yes. I need to hear from all parties so that we can further discuss how to handle this.” The words slipped out of the man's mouth like it was part of a pre-written speech. Treating this situation like it was a normal everyday problem. Ian cleared his throat in an effort to push down the feeling that was starting to grow inside of him.
“The kids already told you what happened. What else is there to really discuss?” Ian asked seriously. He truly wanted to see where this was going.
Mr. Farris laid his hands on the desk and gave the parents a sympathetic smile.
“Mr. Gallagher. Please understand that this is a… unique situation.” the hand motions used when the word “unique” came out of the principals' mouth just rubbed Mickey the wrong way.
“Unique situation, my ass!” Mickeys voice raised as well as his hands.
“Mickey.” Ian closed his eyes and took a breath. He knew one of them needed to be a calm parent. The chances of Mickey being that were slim to none.
“I can see where your son gets his vocabulary from.” Mrs. Hyles commented, side eyeing Mickey.
Ian and Mickey both looked at her confused. Mr. Farris opened his mouth to speak, but quickly realized that he wasn’t sure how to address this. Or if he even wanted to get in the middle.
“My son? CJ isn’t my kid.” Mickey looked at her like she was nuts.
For the first time since they entered the office, Mrs. Hyles had an actual expression on her face. She was confused since she clearly heard Mr. Farris address the red headed paramedic as Mr. Gallagher. She looked over at Mr. Farris for an explanation.
“Lina is OUR daughter.” Ian pointed between him and Mickey. Mickey waved his hand showing her his wedding ring. Her eyes grew just a bit, enough to notice and her eyes shifted toward Mickey's lap, where Ian's hand was rubbing his thigh.
“Oh… I see.” She did her best to mask it, but her voice dripped with disgust. Her eyes scanned them up and down in pure judgment. This was the first time Ian actually looked at her and he could immediately feel his jaw clench and the bubbling feeling in the pit of his stomach rise. He felt his lip twitch and tried to shake it off. Ian shifted his body back toward the principal and squeezed Mickey's thigh to do the same.
“Mr. Farris. Our daughter was put in a position that made her feel extremely uncomfortable. She has special accommodations, which were approved and put in place by yourself and the school board, that allows her to use her headphones and quiet sensory toys when she needs them.” Ian was doing a great job at maintaining a calm and diplomatic approach, Mickey couldn’t help but notice it. They both knew that he was just as angry as Mickey was.
“You are absolutely correct, Mr. Gallagher. What makes this a unique situation is that Mrs. Hyles says that she was unaware of Linas accommodations.”
There it was. That’s what was dragging this on. It explained the confidence that was rolling off of her. She was the teacher who cried clueless! Lina was great at masking her autism when she wanted to. Her school is meant to be a safe and comfortable space where she doesn't have to put on an act. So, she doesn’t. The two dads knew this was a charade, because there is no way a trained child professional couldn’t read the signs that she was speaking with an autistic student.
“That’s such bullshit!” Mickey yelled, throwing his arms in the air and standing up.
“Mr. Milkovich, if you could–” Mr. Farris stood as well, and tried to motion Mickey back into the seat. Ian raised one hand up toward Mr. Farris and used his other to grab the bottom of Mickey's shirt and pulled him, so he was standing behind the chair rather than towards Mrs. Hyles.
“No, Mickey’s right. The moment she asked her to remove the headphones, Lina or CJ would have said something.” Ian knew this was a fact. If Lina was too anxious to speak then CJ would have spoken up for her. No fucking way he wouldn’t.
Mrs. Hyles cleared her throat loudly, gaining all three men's attention. She started to speak.
“I told the class that it was to be an independent workday for them and to do their assignments quietly. When your child put on her headphones, I thought she was listening to music. Potentially taking advantage of both the independent workday and her teacher's absence to get out of working on her assignment when asked.”
Mickey rolled his eyes and huffed. Ian reached behind him and grabbed Mickey's wrist. Both of them were trying so hard to not go off. Ian kept his eyes on the floor and concentrated on his breathing and on the feeling of Mickey's pulse against his palm. This small gesture was helping both of them to remain calm.
She continued to speak her “truth”.
“When I asked her to remove the headphones and focus on her assignment, she said nothing at all about any accommodations. When she didn’t respond or listen to my instruction I went to see if there were any notes left by her teacher. Before I knew it, both of them were about to leave the classroom and the young man started yelling at me. I had no clue what was going on until I was called in here today.” Mrs. Hyles ended her story looking at Mr. Farris innocently. It was when she turned and gave Mickey and Ian the same look that lit the fuse.
“Oh, come one!” Ian yelled standing up.
“No fucking way that’s what happened!” Mickey pointed aggressively and took a step closer to her.
She didn’t budge. She just looked at them like they were zoo animals.
“Gentlemen, please!” Mr. Farris raised his voice. Ian and Mickey took their seats again and let the man speak.
“I understand your frustration. Now, I did talk with both Lina and CJ. Their account of what happened, and Mrs. Hyles accounts are both different. I’m sure you were made aware that there is a video going around of that?” He asked them as he opened up his laptop.
Mickey shook his head no. He had no clue. Ian grabbed his hand and informed him.
“CJ was about to show it to me when he called us in.” He explained to his husband.
“I’d like to play it for you now if I may.”
Mr. Farris turned the laptop, so the screen faced the dads. Ian pressed play and the video started. You could easily hear that the video started being recorded as CJ was mid-sentence. Mickeys eyes softened and Ian's grew sad. They saw that Lina was avoiding all eye contact and was looking at the ground. She was pushed up against CJs like she was trying to hide from everyone. Ian felt Mickey squeeze his hand. Ian squeezed back.
“- Call the principal, our parents, and write your notes. I really don’t give a shit. We’re leaving this classroom because I’m not gonna let you put her through hell because you have an urge to judge a student to make yourself feel like a superior bitch!”
The video ended as Mrs. Hyles tried to quiet the class back down from their eruption of cheers as the teens left the room. Ian closed the laptop and slid it back toward Mr. Farris.
“He’s not mine, but I’m sure as shit proud of the kid.” Mickey said quietly to Ian with a smile.
But Mickey was not met with one back, instead he felt Ian squeeze his hand tighter. Mickey took a moment to inspect his husband's body language. Ians right hand was in a fist resting on his knee, his freckled knuckles turning white. Mickey could tell that his entire body was tense. Ian's jaw was clenched, his brows furrowed above his narrow eyes and his lips were pressed tight.
“So you’re ultimately believing what she says, because there is a video of CJ ripping her a new one, instead of our kid? Good grades, never gets in trouble, sweet as can be even to people who don’t deserve it.” Ian asked as calmly as possible. His voice was shaking in anger, but he was still trying to contain it.
Mr. Farris could sense this sudden shift in demeanor and proceeded calmly.
“What I’m saying, Mr. Gallagher, is that this video supports what Mrs. Hyles has said happened. That does not mean I’m disregarding what your daughter and CJ have said. I’m just making sure that you have all the information that I have so that we can figure out the best way to resolve this.” He tried to explain with some kind of rationalism.
Ian took a breath and looked at him calmly.
“She insulted and discriminated against my daughter in front of her entire class. Nothing to figure out. She should be fired.” Ian spoke in a calm tone. To anyone else this would have been a perfectly normal tone for a levelheaded person to have. But Mickey knew his lover much better than that. He knew the fuse was lit and it was close to the end.
“Oh, this is ridiculous!” Mrs. Hyles scoffed loudly.
“Don’t you have to go and swing a kid over a fence by her pigtails or something?” Mickey remarked and motioned toward the door.
She gave a small chuckle in response to his comment. She looked past Mickey and over to Ian.
“Even if you wanted to take this incident to the school board, which would be a waste of everyone's time frankly, your child is clearly able bodied and isn’t assigned to a classroom intended for special accommodations. Your cry of discrimination wouldn't get you far.”
And just like that. Boom. The fuse reached its end.
____________________________________________________________________________
Lina had been pacing near the door of the office when she could hear Mrs. Hyles yell about something being ridiculous. Lina started hitting her wrists together and walked back over to where CJ was sitting. She sat next to him and bounced her legs slightly. She heard his voice coming from his phone and looked over.
“Why are you watching that again?” Lina asked him with a sad sigh. She didn’t want to hear or think about it anymore. She just wanted to go home.
“I’m not. I mean, I am. But look. It’s not the same video.” CJ handed her the phone and showed her some of the video. Lina watched for a minute and realized that he was right. She looked at him with a sense of urgency.
“You have to send that to my dad's.” She grabbed his wrist, shaking it.
“I’ve got a better idea.” CJ winked at her and started to type away on his phone. Lina stood back up and continued to pace again.
____________________________________________________________________________
Back in the office, both Ian and Mrs. Hyles were out of their seats. While she remained near her seat Ian was now standing behind Mickeys.
“Are you kidding me?! Just because my child isn’t in a wheelchair and doesn’t take special ed doesn’t mean that she isn’t in some way disabled!” Ian was practically screaming. He wasn’t moving toward her, so Mickey just let Ian loose.
“Mr. Gallagher, please calm down.” Mr. Farris, who was also standing behind his desk, pleaded with redhead.
Mickey felt his phone buzz in his pocket and Ian's buzzed on the desk in front of him. Mickey reached for his phone and saw a text from CJ. Mickey opened it and clicked on the video. Mickey could barely hear the audio over his husband's voice.
“Hey, Ian.” Mickey called to him.
“I know people like you. I see them all the time. Making jokes about others' disabilities, accusing people of faking them or using them to seek special treatment. Looking and treating them like they’re lesser beings!” The words were seething through Ian's teeth and his hands clenched at his sides.
“Ian! Get over here and look at this.” Mickey yelled, pulling on his arm.
Ian looked at him confused and looked over Mickeys shoulder. Mrs. Hyles stood there confused at what was happening.
“I’d check your email there, Farris.” Mickey advised the principal.
Mr. Farris shared a look with Mrs. Hyles before grabbing his laptop. It only took a few moments before Mrs. Hyles' voice could be heard through the laptop speakers.
“Ms. Gallagher, can you explain to me how those headphones are an accommodation for you?”
The color drained from her face. Mickey gave her a smirk knowing how fucked she was.
“Well, Mr. Bower. Ms. Gallagher. I do indeed see that accommodations are described here in great detail. However, I simply see this as an excuse to break school rules put in place for all the students. From what I can see, there are no physical limitations for Ms. Gallagher that would require the need for headphone use. And seeing that she is enrolled in this class and not a “specially” assigned English class, she is mentally capable of doing her work just as the rest of her classmates, who don't require the use of headphones to complete their assignments.”
Mr. Farris closed his laptop, clearly having seen enough. Ian stood up and looked at the teacher, fire in his eyes as red as his hair. Mickey continued to smirk in her direction.
“Mrs. Hyles. This doesn’t quite match how you described. This sounds more like what the kids said happened.” Mr. Farris said a bit condescendingly.
Mrs. Hyles stood there, her mouth agape and unsure what to say. Her brain was frantically thinking of something to say that may help. She sighed and threw her arms out.
“I was doing my duty as a teacher. The other students in the class were expected to do their work in silence as instructed. It is unfair and, I believe, unnecessary, for this student to be allowed headphones simply because she can't handle it.” She stated her opinion boldly.
Mr. Farris ignored her statement and turned to Ian and Mickey.
“I sincerely apologize for this entire incident, Mr. Gallagher and Mr. Milkovich. Please know that this will be reported to the school board and Mrs. Hyles abilities as an educator will be investigated.” His voice was full of sincerity and not scripted like in the beginning of this meeting.
“You can’t be serious?! You cannot fire me for believing that their child is capable of doing something without hiding behind her so-called disability!” Mrs. Hyles yelled at Mr. Farris as she pointed toward the closed door, emphasizing that she was talking about Lina.
Before anyone in the room had a chance to react. Ian was directly in front of the woman. He was much taller than her, so he towered over her. While this sudden movement startled her, she didn’t cower or back down. She stared Ian right in the eyes. Mickey stood up slowly.
“Ian.” Mickey said softly.
Mickey got an immediate flashback to when Ian held a knife up to Mandys abusive boyfriend. That was when Ian first started showing signs of Bipolar and before the meds. Ian had the same body language and the same look in his eyes then as he did now. Mickey knew that Ian wouldn’t lay his hands on a woman, but his proximity to the teacher was definitely unnerving for Mickey.
“My daughter doesn’t hide behind her autism. She struggles with it every day and says nothing. Her headphones aren’t an excuse for her. When there is complete silence the smallest sounds make her skin crawl, which would have caused her heart to pound and her chest to get heavy. Have you ever had that feeling?” Ian's voice was low and growly. He took a step closer to her. He wanted her to feel what he was describing. Mrs. Hyles took a step back and almost stumbled into the chair behind her.
“Whoa! Ian, step down.” Mickey, now directly behind Ian, put his hand on his shoulder and tried to bring him back down. Mr. Farris went to step in but was quickly stopped by Mickey.
Ian glanced quickly at the hand on his shoulder, but focused back on Mrs. Hyles just as fast.
“You mentioned my “cry” of discrimination. You have no idea, lady! I’m a gay, bipolar from the southside so I’ve had more than my fair share to know what it looks like. Like the way you looked at us when I told you Lina was our daughter.” Ian explained through his teeth.
“My feelings toward your lifestyle is not the issue here. Mr. Gallagher.” She said in a low voice, attempting to match Ian's.
She turned her face to look at Mr. Farris, who was watching this exchange with wide eyes.
“The issue is all these accommodations and changes in school policies and curriculum to serve the needs of certain students. These kids need to all be treated the same! So, if that child needs headphones, speech therapy or whatever then she should be in a classroom with kids like her and not with regular students.” She had turned toward Ian's once again and delivered that last sentence as she looked him in the eyes.
“Allright. That is enough, Mrs. Hyles!” Mr. Farris exclaimed.
She didn’t bat an eye. She kept her focus on Ian. Neither one of them wanted to back down.
“I suppose that you’ll be informing the school board of your disorder and use it as your reason for your aggressive behavior towards me?” She asked him as if she was bored of this whole conversation.
Ian broke the stare and looked at Mickey, who was still holding onto his shoulder. Mickey's eyes were calm and filled with concern. Ian stood up and patted Mickey's hand. He looked into his blue eyes and nodded.
“You’re wrong.” Ian said, still looking at Mickey.
Before Mickey knew it Ian looked back at the woman but didn’t get closer.
“My excuse for getting in your face is that I’m a pissed off Dad who isn’t gonna let an ABLEIST CUNT, like you, put my daughter in a position where she doesn’t feel safe.” Ian yelled, causing the woman to gasp loudly.
“Mr. Gallagher!” Mr. Farris yelled, now stepping between the two.
“That’s enough, Ian!” Mickey also stood between them and pushed Ian back.
Mr. Farris turned his attention to the teacher while Mickey dealt with his husband.
“Mrs. Hyles. I may not be able to fire you based on your so-called beliefs. But I can fire you for blatantly ignoring a student's accommodations, for going against school policy regarding those accommodations and for lying about a serious incident only to protect yourself.” He addressed her, his voice filled with authority.
Mr. Farris made his way to the door and opened it. Mrs. Hyles could do nothing but just stand and stare. She was in disbelief that this was happening.
“You may collect your things and leave the property. The school board will reach out to you soon.” He motioned her to leave the office. She took another look back at the couple before lifting out an aggravated huff and making her way out of the office.
Lina must have heard the screaming from the office and triggered an anxiety attack. When the office door opened, CJ was crouched in front of her and urging her to take slow breaths and focus on him.
The sound of the door got CJs attention. He looked to see Mrs. Hyles walk out of the office. She stopped and locked eyes with him and looked past his shoulder at Lina. CJ stood up and placed himself in front of his girlfriend, blocking the teacher from looking at her. He glared at her. It was like an angry puppy having a stare down with a wild dog. She said nothing and continued to make her way out of the office.
“Hey. Hey! Sit down and calm down.” Mickey could be heard giving Ian instructions.
Mr. Farris stepped out of the office and called the kids over.
“Lina. CJ. You two can come in now.” He offered a smile as they came through the door.
As soon as they walked in, they saw Ian sitting in a chair with his head in his hands and Mickey standing next to him rubbing his neck. The teens' presence in the room caught their attention. Mickey stepped away from Ian and Ian looked up at the kids. Lina looked at them both and waited for a sign that it was okay to go over to one of them.
Knowing his daughter very well, Ian stood up and opened up his arms to her. Lina immediately walked into him and hugged him from the side. Ian wrapped his arms around her shoulders and just held her. Mickey went to stand by CJ, who was still by the door.
“Everything has been taken care of. Mrs. Hyles won’t be causing any more trouble for you.” Mr. Farris addressed CJ first, before turning to look at Lina.
“Thank you.” Lina said softly, looking at her principal quickly.
“Lina, you are welcome to go home with your parents if you want.” He gave her the option, but they all knew she wanted to leave.
“You wanna head out, kiddo?” Mickey asked, already reaching his hand out for her to come and grab. Lina nodded and left Ian's embrace to go to Mickey. She grabbed his hand, and he led her out of the office.
Ian, now standing where Mickey was next to CJ, reached a handout to Mr. Farris. He gladly shook Ian's hand.
“Thank you and I’m sorry, Mr. Farris.” Ian apologized for his eruption. Mr. Farris waved his hand swifty in the air.
“No need to apologize. I wouldn’t have been calm either if it was my child.” He sympathized with Ian.
Ian nodded.
He put his hand on CJs shoulder and the two started to leave the room, before Mr. Farris called out once more.
“Oh, CJ.” he called. CJ stopped and turned back, Ian stopping just a step ahead of him.
“While I admire you taking a stand for Lina, I can’t let the way you spoke to Mrs. Hyle slide.” Mr. Farris said, regret in his voice.
“I figured as much.” CJ sighed, knowing this was coming.
“So, it’ll be detention today and Monday after school. Your mother will also need to be notified.” Mr. Farris explained.
CJ straightened up. His shoulders rolled back slightly. He nodded quickly and put his hands in his pockets.
“Understood. Could you just uh– could you just tell her I yelled at a teacher for bullying a classmate. Don’t mention the specifics…” CJ spoke meekly.
Mr. Farris looked confused for a moment, until the realization hit him.
“Your mom doesn’t know you have a girlfriend, huh?” He smirked at the boy.
CJ let out a small chuckle and tilted his head to the side.
“Something like that.” was his only response.
Mr. Farris gave him a thumbs up and let him on his way.
____________________________________________________________________________
The four of them stood at the front steps of the school. Ian and Mickey were at the bottom, waiting for Lina and CJ to say their goodbyes.
Lina pulled away from the hug they were in and looked up at him.
“I’m sorry you got detention.” She apologized.
“Mm-mm.” CJ shook his head and cupped her face in his hands. He gave her a quick peck on the forehead.
“It was worth it.” He gave her a smile and sent her towards her dads.
“I’ll text you later.” He called out as she reached the bottom of the steps.
“Thanks again for being there for her today.” Ian said as Mickey gave him a silent wave. CJ returned the wave and walked back into the school.
The three made their way over to the ambulance that Ian drove to the school. Ian gave Lina another hug before getting into the driver's seat. Lina draped her hands over the open window and looked at Ian.
“Are you okay, Dad?” She asked him sweetly.
Ian knew she had heard everything that happened and that she was concerned. He reached out and tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear.
“Yeah. I’m good, baby.” He assured her. Lina nodded.
“Just checking.” She tapped her hands on the edge of the door and stepped back. Mickey pulled out a set of keys from his pocket and handed them to her.
“Go wait for me, gorgeous. We’ll head out to Lucky’s and get some grub. Then we’ll take the truck back to Kev before he realizes it’s gone.”
Lina smiled and shuffled her way to the truck. Mickey went over to the driver's side window of the ambulance and draped them over just as his daughter did. He looked into Ians eyes.
“You sure you’re okay to go back to work?” Mickey pressed. Ian looked straight in front of him and thought about it for a minute.
His reaction wasn’t because of his bipolar. His meds weren’t out of balance. He was just angry. He was upset for his daughter. He was fine.
“Yeah, Mick. I’m fine.” Ian looked at him confidently and grabbed Mickeys hand for a kiss.
“If you say so, tough guy.” Mickey pushed his face away with his free hand and turned toward the borrowed truck.
Ian was just about to drive off when he heard Mickey call.
“Hey!” Ian turned to look at his partner.
“Ableist cunt, huh?” Mickey yelled with a giant grin.
Ian laughed and flipped off his husband before driving out of the school parking lot. Hopefully he didn’t have any more run ins with any more people like Mrs. Hyles. If he did, they better watch out.
“Ableists beware.”