This is one of my favorite chapters! It's what every dad fears. Hope you enjoy it. And ya'll know about the disclaimer so I'm not gonna repeat it.

Chapter Sixteen: The Talk

"Now remember, it'll only be for the rest of the day and half of the next day. I will come home as quickly as I can. Listen to your father, don't stay up late, go to school, eat something other than fast food, and be good." Cuddy told her daughter just two days later. She was at House's apartment, dropping Kara off for the rest of the day. She turned her gaze diffidently to House. "If my parents show, I told them if I'm not at home, check the hospital, and if I'm not there, check your apartment. Now, take good care of her and if you really need me call me and I'll come down."

It had been two days since Cuddy's and House's parents were informed of Kara. Neither of them had arrived yet but they were sure it was going to be any day now. To make matters worse, Cuddy had to go to a meeting out of town for tomorrow and she needed to be there tonight. Since Kara had school the next day, Cuddy had no choice but to leave Kara in the hands of House. As scary as that sounded, Cuddy gave him the benefit of the doubt, which meant she trusted him to not be stupid with his child in his care.

Cuddy sighed. "I love you so much and I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" She told Kara, bending down slightly and hugging Kara tightly. She kissed her daughter before standing up again. She bent down to pick up her suitcase.

"What about me, Cuddles?" House asked disconsolately, his arms open wide. Cuddy rolled her eyes and entered House's arms, hugging him awkwardly. House smirked and wrapped his arms around her, his hand quickly slapping her on the ass.

Kara's nose wrinkled in disgust. Cuddy pushed herself away from House, giving him a look that screamed that she expected him to act better than that instead of rage. "Goodbye." She said, picking up her suitcase and exiting the apartment. Kara watched through the open window as her mother entered the taxi waiting for her. She looked back at her dad.

He frowned. "What?" He asked her.

"I'm bored." She answered, crossing her arms. She was wearing her favorite red sweater that she had found in her closet and dark denim jeans.

"You've been here for four minutes and you're already bored?" He asked her. She nodded. "I can help you with that. My bathroom needs to be cleaned." He watched as Kara pulled the 'That's not fair!' look that every thirteen year old could pull. "I'm kidding. Go get your jacket. I'm going to take you somewhere."

"Will I like it?" Kara asked uncertainly.

House frowned. "Get it and you'll see."

&

House and Kara walked through the carnival that surrounded the Monster Truck rally. Even though Kara had received most of House's appearance and other things, she did not inherit his joy for Monster Trucks. "How can you not like it?" House asked her as they headed towards the parking lot.

"I said I was sorry. I just don't find the same enthusiasm as you do in a big truck with really big wheels." She answered. She felt bad that her father had taken her to a place that he liked and she didn't like it back. She appreciated the thought though. Wasn't that what mattered?

"It's fine. I'm not mad." He assured her, giving his helmet to her. Kara had finally picked up how to make the helmet fit her. He watched her quietly for a moment or two before getting on his motorcycle. Kara sat behind him, wrapping her arms around him.

"But I did like the cotton candy." Kara pointed out.

House grinned. "Of course you did. It's pure sugar." He told her, heading towards home.

When they finally arrived, House realized that it was almost eleven. "You've got school tomorrow." House told her. "I'll get the couch ready while you get ready for bed, okay."

Kara smiled up at him. "Thanks, Dad." She told him, picking up her own suitcase and heading into the bathroom. House smiled. He had never thought of himself being a father in all his life. But now that it was happening, he realized that it wasn't that bad. He actually enjoyed it. House said his goodnight to his daughter before heading to bed himself.

&

House was awakened early that morning by the rough shaking of his daughter trying to get him up. "I'm up, I'm up." He moaned loudly, placing his hands over his face and letting them slid off his face. He opened his eyes resignedly and yawned. He glanced over at the clock and noticed that it was six thirty so Kara wasn't waking him up to take her to school. He sat up slowly in bed, turning to gaze at his daughter. She looked pale and frightened. She was still in her pajamas and her blanket was wrapped tightly around her waist. "What's the matter?"

"I need Mom." She told him urgently. Her eyes were wide with fright which really made House worry.

"Honey, if something's wrong you can tell me. I'm your father and a doctor." He assured her quickly, reaching out and touching her on the shoulder.

"I know, I know, but I really need Mom!" She said desperately.

"I can't tell your mother that you need her if I don't know what's wrong with you." He informed her firmly. His hands were already under her neck, checking for any signs of a swollen lymphnode. Kara groaned and gave a helpless look at her dad. He gave her a very demanding look.

Crimson began to surface on her cheeks. "I'm hemorrhaging." She said quickly, hearing that word used often in the hospital.

House frowned. She wasn't bleeding from the eyes, nose, mouth, or ears. What could she possibly be worried about? "Honey, I don't see any blood. I think maybe you just had a bad dream." He told her with a sigh of relief.

"No, Dad! I know I'm hemorrhaging! It's…it's..." She couldn't tell her dad! This was so uncomfortable. She looked down then back up at her father to see if he gotten the clue.

"Kara," He began, seeing her look down. His gaze reached the blanket and finally everything snapped into place. His daughter was thirteen. "Oh! That hemorrhaging." He said nervously. How could this happen with Cuddy gone? "You're...You're...not going to die, that's for sure." He told her. How was he suppose to explain to his daughter that she was having her first period? He didn't have any of her necessities that she needed to get through this. "I'm going to call your mother. You just sit on the toilet, okay?"

Kara frowned. "Dad, what's happening?" She asked him nervously.

"All will be explained soon." He answered quickly, reaching for his phone. Kara walked off and he quickly dialed Cuddy's phone number.

It rang three times before Cuddy finally answered it. "This had better be good, House." She told him groggily.

"Trust me, it is." House assured her. "It's about Kara. It's...her time."

"Time for what? House, if something is wrong with our daughter; don't try to make silly jokes. Just tell me." Cuddy snapped a hint of worry in her voice.

"I told you it. What can happen to a thirteen year old?" He asked rolling his eyes and glancing at the doorway.

"Anything. You're not making sense. Her time? What's...are you talking about her period?" Excitement seemed to now jump into Cuddy's voice. House couldn't believe it. What was there to be happy about? His daughter's body could now handle a baby! That was a bad thing!

"Yes. I need you to come down here." House told her seriously.

Cuddy sighed. "House, you're a doctor and you're...well you. You can spend five minutes of your time buying her a pack of pads and educating her on what's happening to her body. I'm not going down there just to do that. Now, goodbye." Cuddy said.

"No, don't..." House began but the other line went dead. House sighed and closed his cell phone, getting out of bed and limping towards the closed bathroom door. "Kara, honey, err, Daddy has to go out for a few minutes to get you something after I change. Will you be alright?" He asked unhappily.

"Do I look like I'm five to you? I'll be fine." Kara told him tiredly through the door. House kept his mouth shut to keep in a particular nasty comment about what Kara had just said. Instead, he turned around and quickly changed. He couldn't believe he had to do this! Buy pads?

&

House walked down the aisle for the seventh time, glancing apprehensively at the pads before continuing past them. Why did Cuddy send him to do this particular thing? He would have done anything else but this. He glanced at his watch. It read seven forty-five. He had wasted too much time already. Kara would be late to school. He had to do this now. Slowly, he headed back down the aisle and grabbed the first thing of pads his hand reached before quickly going to the check-out. House refused to meet the cashier's gaze as he bought the stupid thing. "Have a great day, sir." The cashier said, handing him the bag and his change.

"Yeah, yeah." House muttered, grabbing the bag and his change quickly before exiting the shop as quickly as he could.

He arrived back at his apartment around eight fifteen. The bathroom door was still closed. "Kara, I'm going to hand you something so beware." He told her uncomfortably, turning his head away from the door as he opened up and practically chunked the pads in the bathroom before slamming the door closed.

"Thanks." He heard Kara mumble. "How do you put them on?"

"Just read the instructions!" House hissed.

"Okay, okay!" Kara told him quickly. After waiting for a few more seconds, Kara came out of the bathroom, staring up at him. "What's happening, Dad?"

House stared at her before glancing at his watch again. It was already eight thirty. He guessed that Kara could at least miss one day of school. "You might want to sit on the couch for this." He offered hesitantly giving her a weak smile.

She nodded and sat down, looking up at him fearfully. "Am I going to die of massive internal bleeding or something?" She asked tenderly.

"No, of course not. It's just...uh, are you in any sort of pain?" House couldn't bring himself to tell her anything. If she was any other kid, he would have told her in a heartbeat, but Kara wasn't any other kid. Heck, he had to face Cuddy after this.

She shrugged. "Yeah, a little."

"Go to the medicine cabinet and take two ibuprofen." He instructed her. She obeyed him quietly and soon was in front of him again with an expectant look on her face. House stared at her blankly for a few moments before finally sighing with defeat. He could have sworn that it was a woman's job to do this. "Well, uh, honey...do you know where...babies come from?" He asked cautiously.

Kara shrugged. "I think so. Something to do with your uterus?"

House blinked. Of course an orphanage wouldn't consider how to have a baby important enough! "Only women have uteruses, honey. Well, when two people love each other..." He stopped shortly almost saying 'and marries each other'. "And I mean, really love each other that they want a baby. Well, err, you know women have eggs right?
Kara nodded. "I'm not stupid. Women have eggs, men have sp..." She began but House covered her mouth.

"Okay. Well, the infected egg...uh...travels down the fallopian tube and gets stuck in the wall of the uterus where the baby gets developed. Well, when a girl reaches around her teens, she hits something called…" House cursed himself. Why was this so hard? "It's called puberty."

Kara raised an eyebrow. "That word sounds familiar, but keep going."

House sighed. "It's when you start menstruating and growing in...womanly places." He told her vaguely, now averting his gaze.

Kara frowned. "Menstruating? What's that?" She asked.

"It's what your bleeding is called. Or another familiar term of it is a period." He answered unhappily.

Kara nodded. "And growing in womanly places? Does that mean my anthills will grow as big as..." She asked beginning to get excited as she placed her hands on her flat chest.

House once again covered Kara's mouth with his hand. "Let's not go there, okay?" Kara nodded. "Now, a period lasts for about five to seven days normally. It usually happens once a month. It also means..." He trailed off. Should he really tell her that her body could now support a baby? "It also means that your body can now support a baby. But remember, no dating until after menopause."

Kara raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Menopause? What's that?"

House grinned. "When your body has no more eggs left. You stop having periods and you can't have a baby." He answered.

Kara nodded. "When does that happen?"

"When you're somewhere over the hill. Just ask your mother, she's almost there." House said, smirking.

"Dad, that's mean." Kara reprimanded, scowling at him.

House just shrugged it off. "What do you want for breakfast?"

&

Cuddy entered House's office slowly, offering a rare smile at him. "So, how did it go?" She asked him.

"Ask Kara." He told her cantankerously, pointing to the chair next to the door before going back to throwing his gray and red tennis ball.

Cuddy frowned. "House, it's one. Kara's at..." She began, turning around and seeing Kara napping peacefully in the chair. She turned around and glared at him. "You made her skip school?" She asked incredulously.

"Shh! Yeah, but don't get your thong in a wad. I picked up her homework." He assured her watching as Kara shifted in her sleep.

Cuddy scowled at him. "She could have gone to school. And why are you telling me to be quiet? You're the one who told me to wake her up and ask her."

"Because I can." He just said, chunking his ball at her. It hit Cuddy right on the head.

"You are such a child. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting with some potential donors to go to." She said before exiting the room quickly after that.

"You could've thrown me the ball!" House yelled after her, waking Kara from her sleep.

Yay! Hope you enjoyed it! Review please!