Chapter 7

At first, Wilson's visit had confused Casey. What was the man implying? Greg had been very nice to Tiffany. She herself had fun with him, both in and out of bed. But since she didn't expect it to be much more, she refused to let it bother her. She decided to just enjoy the situation as it was and hope for the best.

House tried to put Wilson's admonishments out of his head, but found it hard to do. He also found it hard to put Casey and Tiffany out of his head. And telling himself that it was the hot sex that was dominating his thoughts wasn't working either.

Because he certainly wasn't having sex with the child and he enjoyed being with her too. He tried to stay away from their house, but found himself there more often than not.

And on the nights when he deliberately stayed away, he was miserable and wished he was there.

By some luck, House and Casey were able to keep their liaisons a secret from Tiffany. They took advantage of the girl's involvement in new activities to squeeze in extra time together.

House would sometimes come to dinner on evenings that she had practice or Scouts and promise to wait for her to come home. Then he and Casey would use the time she was out to fool around, being careful of the time. By the time she arrived home, they were sitting apart from each other, watching television.

When she went away for the weekend or even for a sleepover, they spent the night together. Although Casey wouldn't sleep in it alone, when House was there, they slept in her brother's bed.

Of course, they still enjoyed their afternoon delights. House didn't think life could get much better.

Tiffany was at a sleepover party with her friends and House and Casey were enjoying the night alone. They went to bed and made love, then fell asleep in each other's arms.

It was just past midnight. Casey was asleep, but woke up when she heard a sound. Was that footsteps? She heard House snoring softly beside her, so she knew it wasn't him. She lay very still waiting to hear what was happening.

After a few quiet moments, she heard a scared voice say, "Daddy? Mom?"

Oh shit, Casey thought. She reached for the bedside lamp and after turning it on, looked up and saw Tiffany standing in the doorway. The girl's face was pale.

"Tiffany? What are you doing here? I thought you were at Judy's?"

The child's eyes grew wide as she saw her aunt in the bed. And when House lifted his head to see what was going on, the look on her face was heartbreaking. She ran from the room.

House let out a groan. "Well, this is going to be fun."

"I'll talk to her." Casey jumped out of bed and looked for her t-shirt on the floor. From the hall they could hear a door slamming.

"Yeah, that'll help." He buried his face back in the pillow, wondering if he was going to be getting any more sex in this house now.

She pulled on the t-shirt and quickly walked out to the hall. She approached her niece's room and knocked gently on the door.

"Tif? Can I come in, honey?"

"No!" was the response from behind the door.

Casey knew the door didn't lock, but she didn't want to barge in unless she had to.

"Tif, I really need to talk to you. To explain."

"Go away."

Casey sighed and turned the doorknob. She opened the door and peeked inside. Tiffany was curled up on her bed, clutching a stuffed lion.

"I see you still have Simba."

The child was silent.

"Remember when I bought that for you? You were four and you spent the weekend with me. I took you to your first show, The Lion King. And then afterwards, we went to FAO Schwartz and you wanted Simba. You used to sleep with him all the time."

Tiffany stared at the animal in her arms. From the moment she got the toy, she had slept with it every night. When she turned ten, she thought she was too big to sleep with a stuffed animal and had relegated him to her shelf. But then her family died and she had snatched him from the shelf.

In recent weeks, she had been able to put him back. Tonight she needed him again.

"Come on, Tif, talk to me, please." Casey pleaded.

"I don't want to talk to you."

"Look, just tell me what's bothering you the most."

Tiffany looked up at her, then quickly away. "Nothing."

"That's not true. And you have a right to be upset. For many reasons. I just want you to talk to me about it."

Tiffany held the animal even tighter. Casey waited while the girl got up the nerve to speak. Finally, she lifted her head and looked at her aunt.

"You were sleeping in Mom and Daddy's bed with Dr. Greg!"

Casey nodded. "Yes, I was. What do you think about that?"

"Are you having sex with him?"

Casey knew that her niece had been told the facts of life. She herself had made sure the girl understood that she was a single woman and might have a sexual relationship with a man. She knew the best thing right now was to be honest.

"Yes, I am. Is that okay?"

"Are you going to marry him?"

Casey had a feeling that question would pop up when Tiffany found out about them. To this child, that would be the ultimate dream come true. The man who had become an unlikely substitute father to her would become her uncle and guardian. But Casey didn't want to lead her on. Especially since she didn't think the man in question was willing to take on the role of father or even guardian.

"It's too early for that. But I wouldn't count on it. We're really just friends."

"Why were you having sex in Mom and Daddy's bed?"

"It's bigger than my bed." She said honestly.

Tiffany nodded and sat there some more.

Casey thought maybe changing the subject would help. "So, why are you home now anyway?"

"Judy's dad got sick and her mom had to take him to the hospital. She called Nicole's mom, 'cause they live next door and she drove the rest of us home."

"Oh, my, is Mr. Brennan okay?"

"Yeah, Mrs. Brennan called Nicole's mom before we got here. He was okay, but staying in the hospital for the night."

"Well, that's good." She watched her niece still sitting there silently. She asked her, "So how do you feel about all of this?"

She shrugged. "I don't know."

"It's a lot to take in, honey. I know that. You think about everything and when you're ready to talk, let me know."

Tiffany nodded, keeping her eyes averted from her aunt's and hugged the lion.

It took her awhile, but eventually she fell asleep, still clutching Simba.

When Tiffany woke up the next morning, it was earlier than usual. She wandered downstairs, averting her glance from the bedroom where she assumed her aunt and House were still sleeping.

She was wrong. Because when she went into the kitchen, she found House drinking coffee. He was surprised to see her. Casey had told him that Tiffany didn't get up that early and they had hoped that he would be gone by the time she did. He wasn't sure what to say to her. She was usually so happy to see him and full of things to say. Now she was quiet, not even meeting his eyes.

"Morning K Mart." He said, hoping to get a smile out of her as the name usually did.

She looked at him then, hurt in her eyes. "That's not my name."

"Okay." He was at a loss. What to say to this girl? He was totally out of his league here. It wasn't that he didn't like kids. For the most part, they weren't too bad. They were more honest than adults so you knew exactly where you stood with them.

Like now. He knew he was no longer her favorite. And he knew that he had to do something to ease that pain she was feeling. He didn't stop to analyze why.

"So, I guess you don't like me anymore."

She shrugged. "Why do you care if I like you? Aunt Casey likes you. And that's the only reason you were hanging around and going to my games and stuff."

Ah, he thought, now we're getting to it.

"Don't flatter yourself, kid. I've been with lots of women. And I've never needed a kid to help me get them."

Tiffany just glared at him. House sighed. "I thought we were buds."

She shrugged her shoulders.

"Ah, so maybe you've been using me. You wanted a devastatingly handsome guy to hang around and so you conned me into going to your games and watching football with you."

Tiffany tried not to smile.

House looked her in the eye. "I like you. And I don't like too many people."

Her eyes were wary, but there was a flicker of hope.

"Your aunt and I, that has nothing to do with me and you. We're friends. I want to stay your friend. But only if you want to be mine."

She nodded tentatively.

He held out his hand. She took it and they shook.

When Casey entered the kitchen, she was shocked to see Tiffany and House there laughing together. Her niece still seemed a bit wary around her, but she was dealing with the revelation. In truth, the girl had faced so many changes in her life during the last year, she was starting to become immune to them.

And for Tiffany, this latest change had started her mind going in a new direction. A direction that would end up with her in a real family again.

"You guys seem okay." Casey said.

"Tiffany and I got it all figured out." He said watching her reaction.

She smiled at him and said, "You can call me K Mart."