Part 1

'get out!' her mother shouted at Bowie in the back of the car 'just get out and take your bag, your father will take care of you from now on', Bowie's 7 year old brain couldn't quite register what was happening, her mother was all she knew, even though she was mostly home alone, got up alone in the morning, put some food in the microwave at night by herself and got to bed by herself. She had seen so many men come and leave their house again, but she had never called anyone Dad ever before, 'but Mum..I don't know this house, can you come with me?' her lip started to quiver, why didn't her mother want her anymore? She hadn't done or said anything wrong? Had she?, this house looked so big and it was dark outside, if she got out of this car would she ever see her mother again? And what if nobody in the house was home? Where would she go or sleep then?

'Here' her mother pushed her a letter in her hand 'give this to the people there, and tell them your name loud and clear, your father will know who you are, now go!!' she heard her mother say as her tiny hand slowly pulled open the car door, it had started to rain and as she slid out of the backseat, there was a panic that rushed over her 'Mum' she called, but her words were drowned out by the revving of the motor and without another word, the world around the little girl fell silent in the dark, rainy street.

In panic she quickly ran to the majestic door, even standing on her tiptoes, she could barely reach the bell, but after a few attempts, she heard the cling-clonging bell resound behind the front door. She was already contemplating jumping for the doorbell again, when she suddenly heard a man say something about it being really late in a muffled voice.

If these were goddamn pranksters, then they better run, annoyed he opened the heavy door only to see a young girl standing there, shivering and shaking and on the verge of tears 'hello Sir, my Mum said that I have to ask for Noel' she swallowed hard. 'I'm Noel, who the fuck are you?' his anger about being disturbed in rehearsals made room for curiosity, 'I'm Bowie..Bowie Gallagher', hearing the little girl say her last name, made his heart skip a beat.

'No, you're not, I don't know you' he blurted out, he was in complete shock by now 'what are you doing at my door at 11 o' clock at night by yourself? How old are you? And where are your friends who've probably sent you to come and burgle my place? Is that what you come here for?  I'm calling the police'.

Noel stepped back and slammed the door shut, he could hear the little girl starting to cry 'please Sir, my Mum dropped me off here and said that you would take care of me, please Sir, will the Police take me back to my Mum? I don't think she will want me back, but I have nobody beside her, Sir please? She said I had to give you a letter' Bowie's voice was getting all croacky from being drenched and being scared and alone in the world, and it was dark and she had no place to go, her Mum lived so far away from here, before she realized that this man who her Mum had called her father didn't want her or even wanted to listen to her.

Slowly she had to admit defeat and sat down on the stairs, crying her heart out, what was happening, why didn't anyone want her? Why did her Mum lie to her? she had no money, she was hungry and tired and a long way from home.

Noel was pacing the hallway, he could hear the little girl cry outside, he glanced through the glass in the door and saw the little human sit there in the driving rain, her body shaking from crying, what the hell was going on here?

He took a deep breath and opened the door again 'hey, I don't know you and don't know or understand who left you here by yourself on my doorstep, but come inside for a bit'. Bowie slowly turned and stood up, hesitantly walking up to him 'thank you, Sir..', he gave her a little nod and let her walk in, a little girl looking all forlorn and red eyed from crying.

Scared of making a mess, dripping with water, she quickly jumped on the big mat next to the umbrellas as if not to mess up his floor. Without even opening her coat, she handed him an equally drenched letter, 'Mum said I had to give this to you and you would understand' Bowie said in a tiny voice as he frowned at her before turning around 'Martha!!!! Can you bring some towels please?' he yelled and turned back to her 'Take off your coat and shoes' and she immediately did as she was told, welcoming the towel that was thrown over her by a lady that appeared out of nowhere.

'Come on, let's try and get you warm, what was your name again?' Noel nodded at her, 'Bowie, Sir, Bowie Gallagher' hearing her say his last name again, had his heart sink in his shoes, a letter, a Gallagher child turning up at his doorstep, or this had to be Liam's or Paul's child..or his..anyway, he was already preparing how he was gonna tell this to Sara, their relationship was already in a rough patch, this child had already gotten under his skin, her eyes, her mouth..it was all so familiar somehow, this child was gonna get him into trouble.. no he wouldn't let that happen.

'Bowie Gallagher, I like your first name, it's a name I wouldn't exactly give to a girl, but ok, and Gallagher...are you sure that is really your last name?' Bowie just looked at him, not knowing what to say, so she just put the towel over her head, trying to pat her hair dry.

His nervous hands ripped open the enveloppe, the handwriting vaguely familiar to him, his eyes flew over the rather infantile words 'Noel, you must remember that drunken night when you and your wife were on a break about 7-8 years ago? She is the result of that night that never should have happened because just like that you disappeared from my life, you blocked my number and that was it..I never wanted a child and she has been a burden for almost 7 years now, she was the reason I couldn't have the life I deserved, so now it's your turn to step up and take care of her, consider it as pay back for all the child support you never paid. Take that paternity test, Noel, go on, even if I think you don't even need one, she's your spitting image. regards, Melanie.'

Oh my god, Melanie..oh he remembered her, those drunken nights in London..a daughter, why had she never told him she was pregnant? Oh right, those days he was too busy getting high..so he had a daughter..he had always wanted a girl but he had only sons..she was right about the paternity test, he would do it to be absolutely sure, but the eyes..it was like he was looking into his own..a child that was called a burden by her mother, that was unloved by her mother..it showed by the looks of the old, wornout clothes she was wearing..the hole in one of her shoes on the mat hadn't gone unnoticed...now what? he had another child...

The boys and Sara would be back tomorrow evening..first things first, he would worry about her reaction later 'did Mum say in the letter when she will be back for me?' the girl's question made his breath hitch in his throat 'Uhm, do you want a drink? Are you hungry? Do you want some hot milk?' he would have said anything to not have to tell the girl that her mother wasn't probably ever coming back for her, and that her stay here was probably temporary as well, Sara would never accept a child out of wedlock ever! 'Yes, please Sir! Thank you' Bowie shyly answered. 'Ok, good choice, I'll put the kettle on for my tea and get your milk sorted then, sit down', he gestured at her to take a seat, flicking the kettle on, he could see her taking another towel to put on the chair, as her clothes were still wet, if this was his child he would have said to go change into something dry but this was not his child..yes it was, wait, first tea..and milk.

He put down the steaming mug of milk in front of her and a plate of biscuits between them, 'my favorites' he took a bite of one of them and sat down opposite of her, something had changed in the girl's demeanor, it was subtle somehow, she still said 'thank you, Sir' but it was like she didn't dare touch her cup of milk, let alone the biscuits, she hung her head and wiped a wet strand of hair away a few times until he saw the tears rolling down her face. 'what's wrong?' he asked, if this had been one of his boys, he would have pulled them close, but this was not..this was different, it just was. 'nothing, Sir, I'm sorry, can you call my Mum and tell her to come and get me? I don't know how to walk to school from here..and it's dark outside and can I walk home after school, to my Mum's home? Where do I need to go? And I have a test tomorrow and I haven't been able to study for it, what is going on? I don't understand why I had to come here' every single one of the child's words was laced with worry.

He swallowed hard, he didn't have the heart to break her's 'you should get changed into something warm, you can stay here tonight, I'll tell Martha to make up the bed of one of the spare rooms, and to give you one of the boys' PJ's, your Mum did good to drop you off here, you don't need to worry about anything, I'll sort everything out with your Mum in the morning, ok?'

She hadn't said a word anymore after that, she had grabbed Martha's hand and had followed her upstairs, he just sat in his kitchen, not able to grasp the severity of the situation that Melanie had dumped upon him, she was gonna pay for this, for sure..right, what time was it? Past midnight, an hour earlier in Ibiza, here went nothing, he grabbed his phone, and called his wife.

'Let's get you out of those wet clothes' Martha helped pull the soaked jumper over her head, Bowie couldn't stop shivering 'here are some PJ's he said you could use, it's from one of his boys, don't matter if it's a bit too big, at least it's warm' Martha stepped back as if to admire her 'what is a pretty little thing like you doing, roaming the streets at night all by yourself?' without waiting for the answer, she guided Bowie towards the big bed 'in you go' she said as she tucked her in.

'Thank you Miss, do you know if my Mum will be back for me? Shouldn't I wait for her downstairs? Maybe she made a mistake or..' Bowie's eyes met hers and it broke her heart but she simply said 'you get a good night's sleep, and I'm sure Mr Gallagher will work something out for you'

The only light she saw was briefly that of the hall as the door opened and closed behind the woman, leaving her there all by herself in this big bed in a house she didn't know, she lay there still as if she tried to listen for her mother's voice like she would magically reappear, but all she heard was the creaking noises of the trees outside and the rain that clattered against the window.

'Leave it Noel.. just leave it..' he could hear the rage in her voice, 'Sara, you decided to leave me at the time, you walked out, Melanie was a drunken night's mistake,  I told you about all this before..come on, be reasonable..no I didn't have any clue that she was pregnant back then, and I don't even know if it's really mine..' he stood up and pulled a beer out of the fridge 'knowing you, I have no doubt that it will actually be yours..I will not be taking care of that child, just so you know..you sort a paternity test out first' she huffed, lately there was no talking to her, he was the cause of all her misery, that he knew for sure.

'See you tomorrow evening then?' he bit his lip, he missed his boys who had been in Ibiza for far too long already, Sara's favorite place of escape now their marriage seemed to crumble right in front of them.

He didn't want this to end, they had been together for what? 20 years, he loved her but somehow he no longer seemed enough for her, ok so he didn't like showing up at the big, extravagant parties she loved throwing for the highlife and her millions of friends any longer, a big old party absolutely nothing wrong with that, but those 'events' she hosted with all these empty heads that had nothing to talk about except their last plastic surgery, no thank you very much, but what did that matter? Stop stressing Gallagher, you have worked worse things out together before, it will be alright, no unknown kid was gonna mess that up. 'yeah sure' she snapped and disconnected the call.

She was gonna hate his guts, it was past midnight and a rainstorm seemed to be stuck over the city, didn't matter, she just needed to come over. 'Do you know what time it is?' even her grumpy voice made him smile, she was something else, a breath of fresh air in his life and the best personal assistant all rolled into one, 'I know it's late, so what? You were just waiting for my call so you can come and spend time here with me' he laughed out loud.

Caro sat up with a groan, that man was gonna be the death of her one day, but ok, whatever they did together, or whatever time it was, it was never...dull..musicians and their wacky schedules, come on get up, oh god, if only she didn't need to race around London again to go shop for something completely ridiculous for that wife of his..Sara, she was..uhm quite high maintenance..a pretty woman for sure, but every woman even looking at her husband, let alone working for him, was competition in her eyes and they were all met by her unbridled wrath of jealousy and hate. 'ok ok, I'll be there in half an hour or so' she sighed and ended the call, pulling her long, honey hair in a high ponytail, as she quickly entered her dressingroom to throw on some of her favorite tracksuits and rushed to her car to find out what the emergency was with her employer.