AN: I didn't intend to ever write any more of this. It was originally meant to me a multi-chapter fic but after editing the first chapter I thought it was better as a one-shot. That should have been the end of it. It was finished. Unfortunately, the plot bunnies bit me and I had a bit of a eureka moment while I was in the shower. So here it is. The ending that wasn't meant to be (until it was).
The cool stillness of the dawn was barely stirred by the chirping of birds. There was little to disturb the dark haired pair sitting on the brow of the small hill. Chin resting on drawn up knees the man watched the reds and oranges of the rising sun sparkle across the surface of the clouds.
The quiet was broken by a question from the curly haired girl leaning on the man's shoulder.
"Are you alright?"
It was, he mused, an interesting question. It seemed to follow him wherever he went. It was asked again and again by anyone and everyone. Over the course of many years it had been there in most of his conversations, the answer slowly but surely evolving.
Once, fresh out of a war, that question had heralded the end of a relationship. It had prompted snapping, growling and cutting sarcasm in response. He'd driven an awful lot of people away like that. Their false understanding, their leading questions, their insistence on talking had grated. No one had been capable of a silent acceptance of his pain.
Perversely, the few who had accepted his empty assurances of emotional stability and happiness had only angered him further. Unable to let anyone in and yet unwilling to be left alone he had been a nightmare to live with. In the end she had been the only one capable of breaking down his walls. The only one who had been there with him through it all, who had seen everything that he had seen and felt the same pain that he had felt, was the only one who could reach him. She had stretched out a hand and picked him up. She told him that she saw through his empty words but that she'd let him talk in his own time.
With patient understanding and a listening ear from her he had healed over time. It had been a slow process and not without fresh pain as some relationships, thought to be forever, splintered beyond repair. Not all had fallen by the wayside. Some relationships were forged anew and some were tempered and strengthened by the struggles. In the end he learned to smile again and be thankful for the present.
The man looked down at his daughter, surprised as always by the perfect blend of himself and her mother reflected in her chocolate eyes and dark curls. He smiled.
"I'm fine, sweetheart."
Perhaps, it was not the answer that had changed but the sincerity behind the words.
AN This really is it this time. Reviews are always appreciated!