Disclaimers: None of this is mine
"Daddy, are my ribbons even?"
Michael Holden smiled down at his six year old daughter. The tip of her tongue stuck out of the corner of her mouth slightly as she concentrated on trying to tie a bow around one of her pigtails. She'd already finished with the other one before he'd come in the room and Michael struggled to hold back a chuckle at the sight of her handiwork.
"Daddy?"
"Dad?"
Michael blinked and the image of his little girl was replaced by one of a young woman, all grown up.
"Dad, is my hair okay?"
Michael smiled down at Emmalin with just a touch of sadness. He watched her pluck nervously at her curls as she looked at him through the mirror of the vanity table she was sitting in front of.
"You look beautiful sweetheart. Jeremy is a very lucky guy."
At his words, her smile lit up her whole face.
Once again Michael got a glimpse of her six year old self. Normally his little girl could be found with her hair pulled up in a ponytail or tucked into a baseball cap, her knees and elbows scrapped up from playing ball with the boys down the street. But this particular memory came from their first Daddy-Daughter Tea. She'd insisted on doing her hair herself but she'd spent so much time trying to get it to look 'extra specially perfect' that they'd gotten there too late. Something that had upset her a lot, if he remembered correctly, because of how much she'd been looking forward to doing that with him.
She had always been his little buddy, the one who'd go to games with him, no matter what sport it was or who was playing. He'd always secretly believed it had been his interest in hockey that had led her to get involved in that sport in the first place. When her college team had won the national championship, he was the first one she called with the news.
And today she was getting married.
"I don't know that I can do this." He said into the silence. "I don't know that I can give you away."
Emmalin stood up and walked over to him. She wrapped her arms around him and he returned the embrace, being careful not to smash anything on her dress in the process.
"I'll always be your little girl, Dad." She whispered in his ear. "But I'm all grown up now and you have to let me go."
"I know." He said finally. "I'm just going to miss you sweetheart. Germany's too far away for them to be sending Jeremy."
"I'll miss you too Dad." Emmalin said as she pulled back from him.
Before either of them could say anything else, they heard the opening notes to the wedding march. Emmalin ran her hands nervously down the sides of her white dress.
"Does my dress look okay?"
"You look perfect."
He pressed a kiss to her cheek before lowering her veil. They stepped out into the hallway as her bride's maids started walking towards the altar. Standing at the end of the aisle next to the chaplain, Jeremy Sherwood stood in his Army Greens. The freshly polished bars of a newly commissioned second lieutenant gleamed on his shoulders. He glanced towards the back of the church, and catching a glimpse of Emmalin, his face lit up, much as hers had earlier.
Michael turned to Emmalin as the music changed and held out his arm to her. She took it and, as everyone stood up and turned towards them, they started their walk down the aisle.
