He stands to the side of the room, unobtrusive as her attendants carefully lift the gauzy veil over her brunette hair. One pulls out a set of thin, silver pins and carefully anchors the piece in place. She turns her head sideways and smiles at him, her blue eyes alight with the happiness she is feeling for the day, and inside, a tiny piece of his heart breaks.

It's her wedding day; one of the happiest she'll have in her life he hopes, and yet a part of him is sad.

Sad for all the lost years, of missed moments, and misconceptions that have been between them for so much of their relationship. He feels the door beside him open, the sudden dip in temperature filtering in from the crowded vestibule. Before he can turn his head, a hand gently touches his side, sliding under his tux jacket to rest against the thin white cotton of his shirt. From that simple touch, he knows it's his wife, and now he does turn his head, a forced smile on his face.

"She's only getting married Harry, not moving to Istanbul."

"It feels like it," he says softly, knowing he can't hide anything from Ruth. "I feel like I'm losing her all over again, only this time, it's much worse."

"You're not losing her," she says just as softly, stepping forward to carefully wrap the bereft man in a tender hug, her lips pressing against his gently.

"When Jane died, and Graham angrily reached out, I realized I was given a second chance with my children, to while not make amends for my past mistakes, we could form a new relationship. And we did. Eventually. It took a lot of hard work, some swearing on both sides, and for almost a year, my son ignoring my very presence when we were in the same room, but we managed. I never thought one of them would be taken from me again."

"She's not being taken Harry. She'll still live in London. You'll still see her just as frequently as you did, talk to her just as much."

Sighing, he turns to pull his wife in his arms, admitting somewhere inside that she's right. Before he can say as much, Catherine is before them, her smile wide as she holds out a hand, asking if he's ready.


AN: This song for some reason kept making me think of Harry giving away his little girl, even though the song really has nothing to do with a father and a daughter. Yet it's the one scene that stuck in my head and refused to go away. Thank you all for reading and to those who have taken the time to review, thank you much. I do hope you enjoyed this little piece. Only one more song to go – 'Incomplete' and then I will bid you adu.