18th Floor Balcony (Frerard)

Chapter Four: More Than You Bargained For

"No, thank you. Just regular old black coffee, please,"

Rosalie handed Mikey the cup of steaming hot coffee. She then reached over for a hot pan of freshly baked coffee cake, slicing Mikey a piece of it.
"This might still be a bit hot, it is fresh out of the oven," she said, handing the desert to her guest.

"Oh, thank you," Mikey took the cake, setting it beside his coffee for it to cool down a bit.

"Thank you for...coming on short notice," Rosalie said hoarsely before coughing some more.

"Anytime. You sure you're okay?"

"Grandma, did you take your medicine?" Frank asked as he came around the corner, toweling off his hair. "You know what the doctor said about...Mikey?" He stopped, his eyes widening at the sight of the younger Way brother at the kitchen table.

"Frank," Mikey smiled a little. Frank looked at his grandmother. He sighed, he should have known better when she had his phone. She went through his contacts and called Mikey. He moved into the seat and she gave him his cake and coffee.
"Well, I think I will go and lie down for a bit. You two have fun," Rosalie sang as she kissed Frank on the cheek, before retiring to her bedroom.

"Frank...how have you been?" Mikey asked, making sure to start off this conversation on a good note.

"Alright, just you know...getting over stuff," Frank said reluctantly, shrugging his shoulders. He knew exactly why Mikey was here...and he really wanted no part of it at all.

"I see," Mikey nodded. "I know it's bad of me to pry into your personal business, but...we wanna know what happened that day you left,"

"Oh...I just...,"

Frank stopped. He didn't know what to say. He had behaved completely unprofessional and inappropriate in front of his client. He crossed the line. He fucking blew it.

"Don't worry, Frank. We're not mad at you," Mikey put a supporting hand on Frank's shoulder, smiling a bit. "We just wanna know what happened, that's all. Gerard said you took a phone call and you got mad, then you just lost it and broke your phone...am I right?"

"Yes, Mikey. You are," Frank sighed woefully, cursing in his head. "It was improper behavior. I'm sure my replacement will not make that mistake as well--"

"Actually, Frank...," Mikey cut him off, his eyes desperate. "We want you back. We miss you, and whatever happened...it's okay,"

Frank's eyes widened. He couldn't believe it. It wasn't okay! He acted out of line in front of his own patient! He let his feelings get the best of him! There's no way in hell Mikey should take him back. He doesn't deserve to have someone care for Gerard that's so unprofessional, so short-tempered, so lacking in proper work ethic!

"But Mikey...I was unprofessional, and--"

"You know what, Frank? Fuck professionalism," Mikey rebutted, raising his voice a bit in annoyance at Frank's stubbornness. "We. Need. You. Back. Now. We need you badly, especially Gerard. I'm scared for him, Frank. I'm scared for him because after you left, we had no choice but to up his other caregiver's hours and...well, let's just say I don't trust him,"

Frank had only met Marco a handful of times, but from what he's seen in him, he did get vibe from him...one that's not very good.

"Well, has he, like...done anything inappropriate towards Gerard? You could report him, y'know?"

"What other choice do I have, Frank? If we fire him, who will take care of Gerard? Getting hooked up with another agency or caregiver takes ages, and knowing Gerard...he needs constant, round the clock care. I don't like Marco at all, really. You treat Gerard with respect, and you go above and beyond with caring for him. Marco doesn't do that at all. In fact, he's far from that. He treats Gerard like a pig. He's all we've got, but if we can rehire you...we can have you work for him more and fire Marco. I feel a lot more comfortable with you caring for Gerard. Please, Frank...," Mikey paused, taking a deep breath as he grabbed Frank's shoulder again, giving it a good squeeze. "Please come back. Do it for Gerard,"