A/N - It's a bit shorter than the last few chapters, but the next one should be longer.

Chapter 7

Parent Talk

As soon as the car stopped moving, Ginger was out and running. Marcia took her time following her friend, knowing exactly where she was heading. During a break from scraping wallpaper, the girls had discovered a way to get onto the roof of the café.

It had then become their secret hangout; it was where they disappeared to when they needed a break. Not even Ginger's mom knew how to get up there.

It would be hard to spot them up there, too, since nobody thinks to look on the roof of a building.

Several minutes later, Marcia climbed up and over the edge of the roof. Jumping down from the ledge, she spotted Ginger pacing angrily. She calmly walked over, and took a seat.

"Who does she think she is, telling my dad he has no right to see me? I'm mean, he's my dad. Anyone with eyes could see that."

Marcia spoke calmly, "I'm sure your mom has her reasons, even if they aren't obvious to you."

Ginger stopped pacing. "It's just…swear you won't tell anyone what I'm about to say."

"Ging-" She interrupted her friend, "Swear!"

"All right, all right, I swear I won't tell anyone what you're about to say."

Ginger smiled. "Good. I've always kinda wished I had a dad. And now I've found him, and I can't see him or talk to him. Man, I hate this! No one understands how I think, they all just think I'm lazy, a slacker who doesn't care, blah blah blah. What if he actually understood? I mean, I have to get my thought process from somewhere, right?"

By this point, Marcia just nodded her head, pretending to listen. Sometimes it was best to just let her babble for a while.

But not too far into Ginger's long, mainly pointless speech, they were interrupted by the sound of a motorcycle.

The two girls, being the teenagers they are, ran to the ledge at the front of the shop, and looked down. According to Ginger, they saw a 2005 Honda CBR1000RR Repsol Replica pull up to the curb in front of the café.

The man riding it took off his helmet, got off, and pulled out his cane, and hobbled into the place. Ginger, with her eyes wide, ran to the other side of the roof, hurled herself over the ledge, and climbed down as fast as she could (okay, so she slid down most of the way).

Marcia followed her as fast as she could, which would never be close to Ginger. The girl in question ran through the storage room, through the kitchen, and hurled herself through the doors into the main area before skidding to a stop.

"Nice entrance, kid. I'd give it a nine out of ten," the man told her, smiling.

Ariel, who was in the kitchen, saw the girls run through, and walked into the main room.

"Greg," was all she said (which sounded more like a statement than a question).

House looked over at Ariel and his face dropped. He said, quite seriously, "We need to talk."

Ariel, who had enough time to think about what she said, nodded before replying, "Not here. Let's go to my office."

She led him through a door on the opposite side of the wall than the door to the kitchen. Ginger made to follow them, to eavesdrop obviously, when Marcia put her hand on her friend's arm, as if to say leave them alone.

Although she wanted to protest and eavesdrop anyway, she had seen the look on her mom's face. And she knew that if she was caught listening in, she'd be in humongous trouble.

So instead, she allowed herself to be led back to their hangout.

Ariel sat down behind her desk while House took one of the two seats in front of it. She opened her mouth to speak, but he held up his hand.

"No, Ariel. It's my turn to talk. You took what I said earlier the wrong way. I was only joking. I really do want to be a part of Ginger's life. When I think back about my father, I can't come up with anything good.

I don't want her to think of me and remember that I wasn't there for her at all. I know I've missed out on almost sixteen years of her life, but I refuse to miss out anymore. If I have to take this to court to be able to see my child, then damn it I will."

There was a moment's silence before Ariel spoke. "I realize I was harsh before. It wasn't until later that I realized you were joking. You don't need to take this to court, you can see her. It might even do her some good.

I never could get through to her; she's so much like you, Greg. Maybe you'll be able to. I was going to call you later to apologize."

She handed him a piece of paper. "This is our home address, home phone, and cell phone numbers. You can take her out some days after school; maybe even take her for the weekend sometimes. Lord knows I could use a break from her once in a while."

They both smiled softly. House spoke up, "So, when's her birthday?"

"In a week and a half."

He looked thoughtful. "What does she want for her birthday?"

Ariel replied, "Apparently, a video camera, a new drum set, and a new hockey stick."

"Field hockey or ice hockey?" House asked curiously.

"Ice hockey. I'm so afraid she'll break something."

House grinned while asking what she got her. Ariel told him she got Ginger several books, since she loves to read, a new game for her gameboy, and a jean jacket.

House nodded before standing up and moving to the door. "Bye, Greg," he heard her say. "Bye," he replied before leaving.

As he picked up his helmet, he looked up at the roof and shouted, "Bye Ginger!"

Eyes wide, Ginger whipped her head over the ledge to see her father staring back up at her. House chuckled, put his helmet on, and left.

Deciding that he was already out, he may as well do a little shopping. So he drove to the mall. He ended up buying three gifts for his daughter, and he knew she would love them. He told the stores that he would pick them up another time, when he had a car.

Glancing at his watch, he decided to just go home. His team would call if they needed him.

Ginger was shocked that her father, who she had known for less than two hours, knew where she was. Nobody, nobody could think to look up at the roof. So how come he can?