A/N – I had this idea about half way through chapter ten of Second Chances. I wanted to put it in, but I knew it wouldn't work since the whole thing was through Riya's POV. So I just wrote it as a one-shot separately. Tell me what you think!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shamanic Princess. But Riya is MINE!!! ^ ^

~*~

~Tiara's POV~

My life was shattered with the reappearance of Graham, my long dead partner. I believe it was Fate's little joke that, because I didn't do well enough, Graham was given to my daughter. It tore my heart to see the expression on her face as she left the Summoning room and walked toward us, the hand of Graham in hers. She was looking at us with eyes that said all too clearly she believed she had failed us, by bringing the past back to life.

I won't ever tell her, but in a way I am angry with her.

After returning from his first mission with Riya, I saw Graham, under my daughter's care, blossom in a way I had never seen imagined possible. He smiles now, no longer nervous, but wide and full of joy. He shares long paragraphs of conversation with Riya, sitting under the same tree whose shade Sarah and I once shared, playing games and gazing with bright and adoring eyes (a/n – I know that Graham only has one open eye, but it didn't sound right when I changed it to "bright adoring eye"; it sounded like Graham was a Cyclops ^ ^;) at someone who looks so much like me.

Sometimes I will see them and imagine it is myself sitting with him, coaxing him out of his curled petals to open his face to the sun. A partner is like a flower, needing tender, constant care in order for it to bloom, and watching him flower so willingly under Riya makes me feel as though I failed as a gardener.

I supposes this is because I was a bit afraid of him. Afraid of his affection for me. He once came on to me, tried to kiss me. In my fear I injured both his body and his spirit, by pushing him away forcefully and never going back and saying I forgave him.

That night, when Riya asked Kagetsu and me if it was possible to make a partner into a true, free being of the Guardian World, I found it hard to breath. She was talking about Graham, I was sure. She cared about him so much that she would take it upon herself to make him her equal, to give him the power of choice.

After she left the table with her plate of food for Graham, I followed her to her room. I watched, through the crack she left in the door, as she set the plate on a table so it would be there for him when he awoke. I saw her kneel at his side, and lay her head on the cushion he lay on and gaze fondly at his face. Her fingers came up, brushing a stray hair from his eyes.

I bore witness to the kiss she placed on his forehead before leaving to visit the Guardian about the task that would set Graham free of his partnership contract.

The affection and love he searched for in me he has found in my daughter. I have shed many tears since his return, and I fear I always shall. I hope that someday, when Riya enters his eternal care for good, I may look Graham in the face and say honestly, "I am glad you came back."

And so I watch, from afar, as my mistakes are made right by my own flesh and blood. Yes, I am angry that I failed, but I cannot stay that way after seeing him so happy. Second chances are rare, and second chances that are met with success even more so. I am glad that, despite his difficult beginning, Graham's life now has the opportunity to end in happiness. He put my soul to rest, and given Riya someone to trust, put faith in, and, yes, even love.

And so, deep inside,

I guess…

I really am glad he is back.

~*~

A/N – You likes? Me likes very much! This was just a quick little one-shot, it won't be continued into anything else. Hope you enjoyed it!!