Rating: PG
Pairing: None
Characters: Clare Rivers
Summary: Clare learns to forgive. Maybe.
You know, I really don't think I'll ever love. There's a little bit I can offer maybe. A very little bit. Thinking back on it, it might not have been the best idea. But you know, when you're young, and you think there's things in the world that you just know so much about...
I hadn't seen him since I was really little. And... Well, I guess that's important, because I never actually say him again. And I didn't go to his funeral, and I didn't meet his wife or kids. They had their own things to worry about. I thought I'd visit the place where he was buried, though, just so I could talk to him a bit. No one ever really told me he'd died... I just found out. There are ways.
The stone, I guess, was what really got to me. Maybe if I'd made some effort to contact him again... It would have been different. But he knew I'd see this. He just knew I'd come. I guess he knew me better than I thought. So I cried for a long time sitting there on top of the grave, just leaning back on the stone and talking about everything. I guess he finally had to listen, because he certainly wasn't going anywhere.
Before I left, I looked over the stone again. It had the usual stuff you'd expect. Beloved father. Devoted husband.
And then at the bottom... I guess he had to reach me somehow. It was a message. Just for me. Not for his other family. It was for me. "I love you, Clare," it said. And as I walked away... Well. I still don't think I'll ever love. But now, maybe, there's a bit of a chance. There wasn't anything left to say, except...
"I love you, too, Daddy."
