Cinderella, a taggart fanfic

A/N: I was in the mood to do another story where the children are older. This one stars Nerys and looks and her relationship with Michael. The song is "Cinderella" by Steven Curtis Chapman. The song "When You're Smiling" is by Dean Martin and I thought it would be a nice father/daughter song :) Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Cinderella

~*~
She spins and she sways
To whatever song plays
Without a care in the world
And I'm sitting here wearing
The weight of the world on my shoulders

It's been a long day
And there's still work to do
She's pulling at me saying, "Dad I need you
There's a ball at the castle and I've been invited
And I need to practice my dancing
Oh please, Daddy please"
~*~

No matter what happened in life, Nerys would always be his Princess.

Katrina was his tomboy, the one he would find up trees with Jimmy or making mud pies in the backyard. Ebony was his baby girl, the youngest and most trying of his daughters; she had become interested in clothes and boys much sooner than he had liked.

Nerys, however, was the most graceful of the three and the gentlest. He was never sure whether this was because she had helped Jackie with her younger siblings or not, but she was the sweetest of his girls and the one he worried about the most.

Worried about what would happen to his Princess when she went out into the real world and he could no longer be her knight, riding into her rescue.

~*~
So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
'cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh I will dance with Cinderella
I don't want to miss even one song
'cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone

She says he's a nice guy
And I'd be impressed
She wants to know if I approve of the dress
She says, "Dad the prom is just one week away
And I need to practice my dancing
Oh please, Daddy please"
~*~

Jackie often chided him for being silly, Nerys may be gentle and quiet but she certainly wasn't naive. But he couldn't help it, she was the eldest of his daughters, the one he'd have to let go of first.

And he wasn't sure he would be strong enough to do so.

Seeing her all dressed up for her first date had almost killed him. His sweet little girl was all grown up and going out with a boy, he was no longer the most important man in her life.

~*~
Oh I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
'cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh I will dance with Cinderella
I don't want to miss even one song
'cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone
She will be gone

She came home today
With a ring on her hand
Just glowing and telling us
All they had planned
She says, "Dad the wedding's still six months away
But I need to practice my dancing
Oh please, Daddy please"
~*~

When she came home with an engagement ring on her finger, grinning like a fool, Michael spent the night wide awake. Remembering all the times he'd had with his Princess, trying to say good bye, trying to let go.

In the end he hadn't been sure he'd be able to let her go.

That was until he'd seen her on her wedding day, how she glowed with happiness and love for the man she was about to marry. That was when he realised he had to let her go, she may have been his Princess but it was time she became someone's Queen.

To say it had then be easy to give her away would have been a lie, but knowing how happy she was had made it much easier.

"I'm proud of you," Jackie said, appearing at his elbow and startling Michael from his reverie.

"For what?" he asked, turning to look at her whilst still keeping half an eye on where Nerys was dancing with her new husband.

"For letting her go, I know it was hard for you," she said, slipping her arm through his, "but she'll still be your Princess, you know, she still loves you." She paused, "Besides, you still have Katie and Ebony, we can still lock them away until they're forty," she teased.

Michael laughed, giving Jackie his full attention for the first time since she appeared, "Why do you always know exactly what to say?" he asked with a smile.

Jackie smiled as well, "Pure talent," she said and pecked him on the lips before nodding towards Nerys. "She's waiting for you," Jackie said, Michael looked over to where Nerys was waiting, alone, in the middle of the floor. The song, When You're Smiling, started to play in the background, the Dean Martin tune that he used to twirl her around to when she was little.

Michael turned back to Jackie, "You set this up didn't you?" he asked.

Jackie smiled, "Well...maybe a little," she confessed, "but it was mostly Nerys' idea. She wanted to dance with her Daddy on her special day."

"I love you," he told her softly.

"I know you do, now get out there and dance with our baby," she commanded, giving him a shove in the direction of the dance floor.

Michael didn't need to be told twice. Nerys had never looked lovelier and he was touched that she wanted to dance with him, to 'their' song, on her special day.

"I love you Daddy," Nerys whispered in his ear as they began to dance.

Michael didn't say anything; he was just pleased to be dancing with Nerys.

His Princess.