The Little Street Girl (Book ONE)

Exploding Penguins

"Because I once had to baby sit a load of Brownies." I stared at him. "Not the edible type, those would have been eaten. Brownies as in Girl Guides. I was protecting them from a Silurian Hoard, and there was a whole load of things for their camping trip. So, they taught me some things, and I taught them how to make fires."

I frowned a little, sipping my hot chocolate. "What happened to their leaders?"

Dad shrugged. "Ran off screaming. I was in charge of 8 girls, and they taught me more than I taught them for the night. Good fun though, training for have you on my own, Callie."

Couldn't really argue with that, as it was awesome, and tasted really great. "Sweet. Can I go play my guitar now?"

"No, you're still a walking wounded." He replied, patting my shoulder. "So, how was it in the other universe, besides you constantly trying to break physics to get back?"

Lying back on my right side, the non holy one, I let my hair fall over my face, playing the piano softly with my fingers on the sofa cushions. "Don't. I don't want to talk about it, dad."

He moved in front of me, sitting on the floor as I just stared at the mug of hot chocolate on the table. "Callie, why don't you? What happened?" 

"Leave it." I told him harder. "Please, dad."

"Calliope, seriously?" His hand moved to my hair, brushing it off my face. "You need to listen to me, talking will help. Didn't it help you, last time, when you first opened up to me? Please, Callie, tell me."

Oh, I hated this... But he was right, telling him about what happened last time, it really helped. So, I had to tell him. "It felt like there was acid around me, for the first two years. The neon was something I wasn't used to, the pastel was something I loved about this universe, how soft the colours were, and how they felt on my skin, the sounds and the songs of the universe. And that one... Polar opposites."

Dad kept stroking my hair, pulling the duvet further around me, until only my hair and face were on show. "I see why you did all this." He said softly. "Why you became like this during the regeneration, Callie. Because like this, you're free, aren't you? Back before, when you were just Jace, you felt trapped, stuck as that little girl with people not taking you seriously, because you were small, you were blonde, you were broken, and you were thinking like that, that you were useless."

"You don't get to choose." I told him softly. "You told me that. You said, it's a risky process, you don't quite know what you're gonna get. I'm some gangly girl now, with a weird accent I can't place, and my hair is amazing, and I love my body now, it's finally proportionate."

"And the colours?" Dad asked, his hand pausing on my shoulder, his thumb rubbing absently, that small comfort that I'd always loved, and he'd always done, even when I first met him. "Do they still hurt, Callie? Like they did before, and with your regeneration?"

I shook my head, closing my eyes to just let the darkness wash over me for a moment, the absence of the colourful sounds letting my body rest for a moment. "No. No, it's good, so good to be back here, to be back in the warm bath instead of the boiling pan. It hurt so much there, and here is perfect, like I'm perfectly home."

He smiled at that, my eyes seeing the brightness in his own, the dark brown really brightening to a honey chocolate that I loved seeing, that told me I was with someone who really loved me, cared about me. "Good, Cal. Now, I missed 5 years of your life, I want to know if you, I don't know, met someone?"

Oh, God. Really? "Dad, guys suck, most girls are complete bitches, and most aliens do try to kill me." I sighed, rolling onto my back, wincing as I pulled my stitches a little. "Besides, I really don't ever see anyone as attractive, or appealing in any way shape or form. I just, I don't really like people all that much."

"Well, yeah." Dad laughed, leaning back against the table. "People do suck, but at some point there'll be someone who sucks less than someone else, be they male, female, both or alien."

"I guess." I muttered, rubbing my eyes, the comfortable weight of the blanket over me starting to make me drowsy. Except I normally only had a thin blanket. "Dad... Did you, did you... Hot Chocolate..."

"Sorry, but you weren't going to sleep, Love." He told me softly, as I then fell asleep.

DW

When I woke up, I was still on the sofa, and dad was asleep on the floor next to me, his coat over him instead of a blanket. "T, thanks, dad." I muttered, seeing that the colours of the TARDIS was now a dark green instead of the lavender it had been when I fell asleep. About 18 hours had passed. But at least my side felt a lot better, and now, there was a guitar in the corner of the room.

"Well, I didn't put it there." I laughed softly, getting up to grab it before dad groaned, sitting up. "Morning, sunshine."

"Is it? Morning, I mean." Dad muttered, sitting up. "I swear I only had the sleeping powder put in your hot chocolate."

I smiled, shaking my head as I strummed the guitar lightly. "Maybe the TARDIS prefers me, as I haven't been known to whack her with a mallet, dad. Give me a song, I'll see if I remember the chords."

Which made him frown slightly. "Remember? What do you mean, remember? Callie, you love playing guitar, why weren't you playing it in the other universe?"

Didn't we already go through all of this? I swear we did, before I went to sleep. "Uh, the sounds hurt, dad. Every note, it hurt like a searing hot poker was pushed through my bones, even on the piano, or violin. Especially the violin, my favourite instrument. It's, it's why pain tolerance is suddenly a lot higher with me, because I kept practicing the violin."

"You did that to yourself? Why?" Dad asked me softly, his eyes so warm and compassionate. "Because no one in their right minds would put themselves through that pain, Calliope. I mean, you're my daughter, you're going to be a bit crazy, but not even I'm that crazy."

"Well, we don't know how crazy my mum is, do we? But no, I, I needed it, to keep me fighting. Told me what I was trying to get away from, more than the rest of it. Now, give me a song."

Instead, he just took the guitar. "Bad Callie. No music until you heal. But, is it actually morning?"

Shaking my head, I pouted. "No, it's mid-afternoon, about 3. Why?"

"Wanted banana pancakes. But oh well. And no pouting, just pull up your shirt, and let me see how they're doing, its been nearly a day, the bandage needs changing."

I did as he said, wincing as he pulled back the sticky plaster, before cleaning his hands with an antibacterial hand wipe, and then wiping my stitches., making me hiss in pain. "Sorry, sorry, it feels like it's icy. Polar opposites of what it should, yeah, but oh well."

"Don't worry about it. So, um, yeah. They're almost dissolves, you're healing fast, just like before. You'll be right as rain in another day, Cal." He told me, and then wrapped his arms around me, kissing my long silky curls. "Even better than you are now. Callie, when we meet your mum, we'll get answers, OK? But for now, forget about it. There is nothing wrong with you, Calliope, and there would have been an amazing reason for you being put up for adoption."

Yeah, of course. Except that I was used to being abandoned. I wanted to know why my dad would give me up, when he loved me so much. Guess my mum wasn't ready to be a mum, though her Song created mine.