Part 3

'Mr. Noel Gallagher and Bowie?' a nurse opened the door of the secluded waiting area 'please follow me', why was he nervous when he actually knew the results more or less already, he found himself looking at Caro who gave him a encouraging nod, he put his hand lightly on the kid's shoulder and walked off with her.

Caro just sat there staring ahead, a million thoughts rolling through her head, she needed a break from it all, a holiday..but with a new High Flying Birds album in the making..it just wasn't going to happen soon. On the other hand, there was no way she was going on a holiday by herself..ok for being alone with your thoughts at night, but day and night on your own with them, oh nooooonoono!

'Miss! Miss! Look! I got a lollypop' Bowie came walking up to her, with a grinning Noel right behind her, 'oh lucky you' Caro smiled at Bowie 'come on then, let's get out of here' and stood up to join Noel. 'Did they say when you will get the results?' she softly asked, 'a couple of days they said, come on, I just want to get out of here' he shrugged, 'home?' she asked, hoping he would offer to go get a coffee somewhere. 'Yes, quick as you can, I don't want any gossip to start, if someone sees me with her..you know what the tabloids are like, it's hard enough as it is on my family' he was right, you'll talk to him some other day..or not. 'alright, home it is then' she gave him a weary smile and hopped behind the wheel. Noel sat beside her, one part of him feeling all warm and comfortable in this woman's presence, the other part was out of his mind with worry and dread for the return of Sara and the boys..tonight, if all went well..

Caroline was finishing a phone call as they walked in, and he immediately told Martha to show Bowie some of his son's toys, he needed some time alone with his assistant. 'Yeah, ok I'll tell him..I don't know, that's my boss' decision to take..I'll let you know, ok bye' by the way she kept staring at her phone for a few seconds after she disconnected he could tell she once again seemed to be caught up in her own thoughts. 'What decision do I need to take?' he walked inside his massive kitchen 'tea, coffee? Something else?' already flicking on the kettle 'coffee would be nice' she sat down at his equally massive kitchen table 'and that call..it was Liam's manager asking to set up a meeting between the two brothers..apparantly Liam is willing to smoke the peace pipe with you'.

Noel's hairs on the back of his head stood right up, not him, not now, not ever again, stupid fucker! 'oh really? Well tell them, if he wants to talk to me, that he calls me, my number hasn't changed, and yes he will pay me for all rights if he's gonna sing Oasis songs! It's been how many years, 14-15? And now out of the blue he wants to play happy families, nope, no way' he growled as he took out a mug for their coffees.

Caro didn't say anything, she just let him rant and sat there like she had ran out of things to say, and maybe she had, this stupid feud between these two had gone on for way too long but no, it was none of her business 'don't sit there all judgemental' he was so worked up he forgot his manners. 'I'm not judgemental, I'm not' she softly tried to calm him down without success 'why are you sitting there then like you have an opinion on all of it, come on, let's hear it then, say it, come on' he barked.

She took a deep breath 'right, you obviously need a victim to unleash all your frustrations upon, I'm sorry, but I just don't get paid enough to allow you to humiliate me, I've got a lot to do still, so if you don't mind, I'll go, Sara will be home soon and that's all you want so she'll confirm and validate you in this stupid fight with your brother, I can only say you're lucky to have a sibling, and you're even luckier to be able to surround yourself with all these people who want to be around you, who love you. I would never take any of that for granted' her cheeks were all flushed and nervously she grabbed her handbag and stood up.

Noel bit his lip watching her stand up, the anger scribbled all over her face, 'Caro..' his voice sounded remorseful but she was done and walked out of the kitchen, hearing him follow her she wanted to turn around but the door opened and she was nearly knocked over by Donovan storming in 'Daddyyyy'. Sara followed him and completely ignored Caroline's greeting 'Martha, can you come down here please?' she just yelled walking up to her husband to kiss him. Blegghhh, she simply couldn't stand all this fakery any longer, so she quickly shot out of the door, and nearly ran to her car, out of here now!

'Did you miss me?' Sara's eyes met his as their lips unlocked 'of course I missed you' he did miss her but then again he didn't miss her, he was in some weird kind of limbo, right now he had too much to deal with, Bowie, and his boys, how were they gonna take it? Sara was calm and all lovey dovey now, but he knew that she was saving the worst for last..he just wasn't sure how she would really react to his intentions of keeping Bowie with him, and as if that wasn't enough to handle, he needed to talk to her about his brother as well...

'Hey that's my stuff, leave my stuff alone, what are you doing in my room? Go away!' and so his new reality began, he let go of Sara, who followed him up the stairs only to find his eldest son almost choking Bowie and hitting her on the head 'Donovan! Let her go!' he rushed over to the pair but the closer he got, the more Donovan wanted to defend his territory and his toys 'Let go, you're hurting her' Noel yanked his son's arm off the little girl who had started crying from the shock and the pain.

'But she is touching my stuff, look what she did to my favorite toy' Donovan protested but let go in fear of being punished himself, 'I don't care if it's your favorite toy or not, you can't just go around hitting people' Noel wagged his finger at him while his younger brother came walking in as well 'who is that? She is ugly, and she's got holes in her clothes'.

Noel felt a wave of huge disappointment in these 2 kids of his, they were just spoiled rotten 'just shut up Sonny! Not another word, I'm warning you both' he snapped at the 2 boys who seemed the least bit impressed by their father's anger. 'This is Bowie.. she is a guest at our house, and I told her she could play with your toys because you have more than enough, now Donovan, I want you to say sorry to Bowie for hurting her and you Sonny for making that ugly remark' the boys just stood there, looking at her with that same look of disgust on their faces, 'now!' he said it a little more forceful which they both picked up on and mumbled a barely audible 'sorry' before they ran out of the room all giggling and throwing a few more insults at her 'Bowie, that's a name as stupid and as ugly as you are, with your cheap and old clothes on'.

His heart broke for the little girl whose lip started to quiver and a big tear started to roll down her cheek 'don't listen to them, Bowie, I'm sorry that my sons said all that, I'm really sorry' he put her on the bed and sat down next to her putting his arm around her little shoulders.

Sara knew at that exact moment, that this kid was his and it was going nowhere, she only knew that she didn't want this kid in her household, she couldn't take care of someone else's child, especially if that child reminded her of a time her marriage was nearly in shambles, each time they called he said he only wanted her and nobody else..right, so far for his unkept promises and his lies.

'Noel, can I talk to you for a second?' she instantly had his attention and he slowly let go of Bowie, reassuring her that he was just outside the door. 'I won't have you belittling my kids, Noel, not for..for that unkempt child, she is the guest in this house and she needs to follow the rules, and she should be grateful she can have a roof over her head for a few days' Sara hissed at him.

'Your kids, Sara? they're our kids! And I won't have them behave like spoilt brats, Bowie is a vulnerable child who's been through more than most people had to go through in their lives' he hissed back, 'the results of the test will be in soon enough, so until that time whether she's mine or not, I will not have that kid tormented any longer'. Sara stood there huffing, and squinting her eyes 'oh well, at least now we know that you are willing to cuss and curse at your own children while you stand here prioritizing some strange kid who might not even be yours, way to go Gallagher, way to go' she looked him right in the eyes and stomped out of the room.

'I'm sorry, Sir..' Bowie came sitting next to him on the bed 'Is she angry at you, because of me? can you call my Mum and ask her if she can come and get me, maybe your wife will be happier again, I think she is so beautiful' that last part came out of nowhere, she had heard all the abuse that his kids and then Sara had given her, and yet she was still able to say such nice things about her, he was growing fonder and fonder of her by the second.

'You have nothing to be sorry for, it's me who should be apologizing to you, my boys and my wife were really horrible to you, but that's because they don't know you yet..I'll have Caro check again on your Mum later, ok? Because it seems that she is mad at me too just like my family right now, everyone seems to have a bone to pick with me lately' he put his hands in his lap. 'I'm not mad at you, I think you are really nice to me' the little girl came sliding closer to him and a bit awkwardly he put his arm around her shoulders, avoiding to show his appreciation, still feeling a little awkward over the kid being his or not, 'you're welcome'.

Caroline had been working well into the evening to keep her mind off things, she had even switched off her phone to give her mind some rest, she was working for him and yes his name popped up as subject in every e-mail she send out, but not being around him or not hearing him brought her peace or at least that's what she had told herself all of this time.

She liked her boss, she liked his wit, she liked his craftmanship and dedication he put into his career and wherever he went on a professional level, she could go too, he depended on her and over the years she came to depend on him too, maybe a bit too much in the end.

Basically she was fooling herself, she was his friend but not the other way round, he never asked for any personal info from her, not how her days off had been, he kept it strictly work with her and she with him and it worked really well between them, he could always count on her and she had his trust, but ever since his marriage had come into choppier water, he had confided in her a bit more, telling her stuff that wasn't actually meant for her ears, to her he had been a dedicated and highly popular musician who was happily married and had the most adorable kids, and that was exactly the image she had wanted to keep of him.

The arrival of Bowie, and the troubles with his brother and the rocky marriage lately had tore down that image, he had become human almost and all those talks with him about that had made her a bit insecure: work had almost given her enough to think about and arrange so she didn't need to think about her lack of friends, about her horrible childhood and youth, she could forget about it all, and be too tired to think about it in her rare spare time. Sighing she closed her laptop, go to sleep, see what happens tomorrow.

'She's mine' once she had switched her phone back on in the morning, he had been calling non-stop, until she finally picked up. Wiping the sleep from her eyes, she didn't know what to say or how to react. 'Bowie's my daughter' he said again as there was no reaction from her 'the hospital just called me'.

Caroline pushed herself up in her bed 'why doesn't that surprise me?' was all she managed to say just now 'what do you mean? It's not a surprise..I'm a happily married man' he snapped at her, oh great, a pissed off boss, amazing work Caroline. 'I mean that you can clearly see the resemblance between Bowie and you' that and the fact that he went running to random women the minute that happy marriage touched rougher waters, more than once she had to go and pick up him up at unknown appartments and houses all around the city during that time. And that just wasn't her style, and if she was honest she didn't believe it was his either, but why was he doing it and what was he running from then? The obvious? Like him getting hit by his father? Or was she being stupid and was it nothing more than him being just like every other man in this world?

'So what now?' she continued, 'can you call Mel?' his voice twirling in her ear 'I can't reach her, she's not picking up, please Caro?' he knew he was overstepping borders here in asking her to help clean up his personal mess, but this needed to get sorted by any means necessary.

Her stomach dropped 'Ok fine, I'll call her but what am I going to ask her? Bowie needs a loving home, she deserves it, that child has been kicked and pushed around long enough with her mother..I'd hate to see her having to go through all that again..' basically she had just called her employer's ex an incompetent mother and him and his current wife as well, oh keep your trap shut, will you? you need this job! Noel heard the accusations but somehow he couldn't be angry at her, she was the only one who had nothing to do with this child and yet she was the one who actually had her best interest at heart.

'We'll find a way, tell her that we'll meet up with her somewhere in the city and that I want to talk child support, it's the least I can do as I'm the father, and unfortunately the only thing Mel respects is cold hard cash' he almost breathed in her ear, did he just say 'we'? wait, what? 'We? As in you and Sara, or we as in you, Sara and Bowie?' she had to ask but he just laughed 'no silly, we as in Melanie, me and you, I don't want to get Bowie all excited just yet'.

Caro's jaw dropped, she wanted to protest, but he only said 'I'll text you her number, send me the time and I'll be ready by the time you come and pick me up' a dry click followed and he was gone. His phone was a welcome distraction from the umpteenth screaming contest Sara wanted to involve him in, he opened Caro's text telling him to be ready in 15 minutes and that she was on her way.

'Where are you going?' Sara shouted at him from the top of the stairs as he put on his jacket, 'I need to sort out this situation with the kid' he deliberately didn't want to use any names when a little girl in his house had very big ears and he didn't want her to get her hopes up that her mother was gonna take her back.

Rolling his eyes he ignored the profanities and threats Sara was throwing at him and just shouted back 'Stop it Sara, just stop it! At least I'm trying to rectify my mistake' before he pulled the zip of his coat up and let the frontdoor slam behind him. To her worried 'are you ok?' he grunted back 'just drive, will ya' and yanked the safety belt across his body before he continued to stare out of the window.

Fantastic, another evening and probably night of being yelled at and bossed around, such fun! She took a deep breath while closing her eyes briefly and steered the big car into the London evening traffic. If this was for anyone else but Bowie, she had kicked him back out of the car, but this kid deserved a happier ending in any way, shape or form.