Chapter Seven: That Little Girl

Two weeks pass and John is still thinking about what Harriet said in the taxi back to the orphanage that day.

' Thank you, Daddy!'

"John, if you don't mind me saying, you seem to be getting more and more restless." Kate says softly as John taps his fingers on his knee.

"Sorry. God, it can't be good for the kids, can it? Me being so on edge like this."

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah. I was just thinking about what Harriet said. What she called me." John whispers, looking down at the floor.

"Yes, she is very fond of you, that girl. There's obviously something very special about you, John. Have you considered what I said?"

"I'd love to, Kate, but … my life is just a mess at the minute. I don't want her to get hurt."

"Maybe it would help you both heal your wounds and fight your demons. Unfortunately, she's just as a mess as you are. I can see it when you look at her, John. You want that girl, but you're afraid."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

"I know I am."

John doesn't respond to that, he just sits and lets the conversation replay in his mind, trying to come to an appropriate decision.

"I tell you what, why not take her for a weekend. Just as a trial run. Then, if you still don't feel like you can be of much use to her, we'll see if we can find her a more stable home elsewhere."

"Alright, I guess I could try that."

Kate smiles softly and pours some tea, they still have time before dinner ends anyway.

x..x

"So you're going to take me home for a week to see if we can really work?" Harriet asks softly, looking up at John with big eyes.

"No, I'm going to take you home for a week to see if I can manage being a father. I don't know about you, but I think we get on really well." John smiles, ruffling Harriet's hair.

"Yes, we do." Harriet smiles back, grabbing John's hand tightly.

The Next Morning

"What do you want for breakfast, Harry?" John asks with a smile, as the sleepy-eyed little girl walks in from the bedroom.

"Mm, cereal … please." Harriet yawns, rubbing her eyes as she sits down.

"Alright, then. I didn't know what you liked so I bought a few. Do you like coco-pops?"

"Coco-pops!" Harriet exclaims, suddenly wide awake.

"Coco-pops it is then. Duly noted." John smiles, pouring out two bowls of cereal for them.

"Thank you." Harriet grins, digging into her cereal enthusiastically.

"You're welcome, sweetheart."

"So, what do you want to do today? I've taken the week off work so, we have the day to ourselves."

"Please can we go to the park? And the cinema? And the museum?"

"Course we can. But you have to get dressed first." John chuckles, tapping Harriet's nose lightly.

"Yay!" Harriet exclaims, jumping down from her chair and running back to the bedroom.

John chuckles as he clears away the plates and sits down with his brew.

Harriet comes walking back in around ten minutes later and flops down on the couch next to John.

"What's up, Harry?" John asks, wrapping an arm around the little girl's shoulders.

"I wanted something nice to wear but nothing I have is good enough." Harriet sighs, looking at her feet.

"Come on." John says, putting his brew down and grabbing Harriet's hand. "Come on. Let's see what we've got. Well, this looks alright. And these. And this. We are going to the park, Harry. You don't want anything too nice that could get ruined. Jeans, t-shirt and a jacket will be fine, love. Honest."

"Okay." Harriet replies, giving a half smile.

"Now, let's find your shoes. Oh, well, what happened here then?" John asks curiously, holding up the little girl's trainers; one of which is practically falling apart.

"Governess Kate wanted to throw them out but they're the only shoes I have to play football in. My slip-ons wouldn't survive the mud."

"I tell you what, why don't we … go to the park for a bit, then the museum. And then, we'll go do a bit of shopping before the cinema. How's that sound?"

"You mean, shopping for me? You want to buy me clothes?" Harriet asks in an astonished tone.

"Well, you need some new trainers. And you're obviously wanting some more girlier clothes, so why not? And I know I've not really got good taste in clothes but I'm sure you do." John replies with a bright smile, causing Harriet to giggle.

"That sounds like fun, Daddy." Harriet agrees, wrapping her arms around John's waist.

John feels his stomach do that little flip again and rests his hand on Harriet's head, smiling softly to himself.

"Come on then, love. You get dressed and then we'll leave, alright."

Harriet nods happily as John leaves the room to give the little girl some privacy.

x..x

They go to the park where John pushes Harriet on the swings, and catches her as she comes down the slide a few times, until she decides that she'd like to see the museum.

So they spend another couple of hours in the museum before they take a nice, long walk to the shops.

"Hello, what can I do for you today, sir?" A young shop assistant asks with a bright smile.

"Hi, well, my daughter wants some new clothes but I'm not exactly good at shopping. I don't suppose you could help, could you?" John asks sheepishly, resting his hand on Harriet's head.

"Oh, of course, sir. What kinds of clothes do you like, sweetie? Are you jeans and trainers or dresses?"

"Um, I'm not sure." Harriet replies awkwardly, looking down at her feet.

"Well, that's okay. Let's go have a look, shall we? Just come this way."

"What's your name? I'm Harriet."

"That's a lovely name, Harriet. I'm Gemma."

"It's nice to meet you, Gemma."

"Aww, it's nice to meet you too, sweetie." Gemma replies with a bright smile. "Ah, here we are. Would you like to look around?"

"Okay." Harriet nods unsurely, walking around the children's section of the shop.

"You've got a very polite daughter, sir." Gemma comments, looking back at John.

"Call me John, please. And yeah I know." John smiles, holding a hand out for the young assistant to shake.

"John." Gemma nods, shaking his hand before continuing. "If you don't mind me asking, but are you a single parent?"

"Sort of. Um, Harriet is from the orphanage. The Governess there is giving us a trial week to see how well we bound."

"Oh, really? Well, from what I can see, you're doing a great job. She seems quite taken with you already, well, if her attitude towards you is anything to go by."

"Yeah, well, it's also to see if I can be a good father or not. Although, I'm not doing a very good job, am I? I can't even pick any clothes out for her."

"Aww, don't worry, many dads can't. Well, except the gay ones, they have great fashion sense." She whispers the last part like it's a conspiracy, before giggling softly.

"Yeah, I bet. It's just ... I dunno, I wonder if this is such a good idea, I mean she's a a great kid but … oh god, you don't need to hear this. Sorry, love, just ignore me."

"Oh, it's alright. Lots of new dads have come in here and been freaking out about it. You're not the only one, but you have a right to be more freaked out because you're doing this on your own. Don't worry about it." Gemma replies sweetly, giving John a sympathetic look.

"Thanks. Anyway, I think I should go find Harry. I get the feeling she's never been shopping before and being bankrupt before the day is out isn't going to help." John chuckles, going off to find the little girl.

"Daddy! What do you think? I didn't want to get too much so I picked up some jeans, a few t-shirts and a pair of trainers. Is that alright?"

John quickly goes a scan of the prices and realises that the little girl has picked up the cheapest of everything.

"Well, I'll tell you what, let's go look for another pair of trainers and maybe a couple of dresses, shall we?"

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I am, sweetheart. Let's go look."

x..x

In the end, Harriet has three new pairs of jeans, four t-shirts, two jumpers and a new dress as well as two pairs of trainers. John has three new jumpers and a pair of jeans for himself.

"Thank you for the lovely day out, Daddy. And all the new clothes are amazing." Harriet smiles, holding onto John's hand as they enter the flat.

"You're welcome, love. Now, we have just enough time to get changed and head to the cinema for the film. And after, we'll get a takeaway, yeah?"

"Sounds great." Harriet grins, taking her clothes from John and heading to the bedroom.

"Ready!" She exclaims, ten minutes later, her new jeans and purple jumper fitting her perfectly.

"Alright then, let's go."

x..x

The pair settle for Frozen as Harriet wants to see that one, and they sit down near the front with popcorn and sweets on their laps.

Harriet is completely engrossed in the film until the final twenty minutes when her head starts to drop and her eyes drift closed.

As the credits roll, John carefully picks her up in his arms and rests her head on his shoulder as he stuffs the remaining bags of sweets into his pocket.

He walks through the screen's doors and out into the lobby, hearing a young woman 'aww' to her friend over the sight of him, he throws them a quick smile before pulling his mobile out to ring a taxi.

"Hi, mate. Can we stop of at the chippy, please? I'll only be a few minutes."

The cabbie nods his agreement before replying, "You wanna leave the kid in the back then?"

"Yeah, if that's alright, mate. It's just that see hasn't eaten since dinner and we were gonna eat after the movie."

"Yeah, no worries, mate. Just to be quick about it, yeah."

"I will, mate. Cheers." John replies as he climbs out the cab and runs into to the takeaway shop.

He comes back around ten minutes later and they head off for home.

"You want a hand, mate?" The cabbie asks as he watches John struggle to carry Harriet and the takeaway.

"Cheers." John smiles gratefully as the cabbie grabs the takeaway off him.

"No worries."

"Here you go. Keep the change, okay." John smiles, handing the cabbie a twenty.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, call it a thank you for the help."

"Cheers, mate." The cabbie grins, climbing back into the cab.

John walks into the flat and lies Harriet down carefully on the couch, before going to dish out the two portions of chips.

"Harry, come on, sweetheart." John coaxes gently, holding a bowl of chips out for the little girl.

"Mmm. Where we?" She asks sleepily, sitting up and taking the chips.

"At home, sweetheart. Now, eat up and we'll get you to bed, yeah?"

"M'kay."

"Good girl."

Harriet eats her chips slowly, her head drooping the whole time until John says, "Come on then, bedtime, missy."

He picks the little girl up and carries her to his bedroom, gently lying her down on the bed.

"Stay?" Harriet mumbles, reaching out for John.

"Alright then, love."

He climbs into bed with the little girl and she snuggles into him, sighing softly.

John watches her sleep for a couple of hours before he starts to get drowsy and his head drops to the pillow, giving up on staying awake much longer.

'My little girl.' He thinks as he starts to drift off.