Harry groaned as he saw the queue of traffic ahead of them, after picking up Erin from her appointment he was planning on dropping her off home and then going back to Nikki, which was the plan until they hit the massive traffic jam halting the roads to a standstill
"Looks like we're in it for the long haul" he said to Erin who rested her head back on the seat and sighed "Are okay?" he said noticing the reaction from her
"I'm just a bit tired" she said giving him a weak smile "Those sessions take a lot out of me"
Harry nodded understandingly "How are they going?"
Erin gave a shrug "Alright I think, apparently I'm making progress but it doesn't always feel that way"
"Well it will take time" Harry said gently "You'll get there eventually" and Erin nodded
They were silent for a moment both listening to the gentle hum of the engine
"Can I ask you something?" Erin said finally and Harry nodded. She opened her mouth but shut it again just as quickly and shook her head "It doesn't matter"
"Clearly it does" Harry said intrigued by the situation "You can talk to me you know, we're good friends aren't we?"
Erin nodded and closed her eyes. Harry could hear her counting from one to ten under her breath before she opened them again "Do you know about my Dad?" she blurted out
Harry nodded "He died when you were a year old, he…"
"…Committed suicide" Erin finished for him
"Why are you asking me this?" he said looking a little confused
"I keep dreaming about him, well not exactly him but what I think he is…was" she corrected herself
"I see…" Harry said now understanding the look he had seen in Erin's eyes earlier
"Why?" Erin said
"Why what?" Harry said knowing full well what she meant but he was still a little uneasy to push her on such a sensitive subject
"Why did he kill himself?"
"From what I understand he was depressed and things just got a bit much for him probably and so he took his life because he thought it was a way out all the problems"
"Did he not care about me?" Erin said and he could hear the building emotion in her voice
"He did Erin" Harry sighed "It's just very complicated and I didn't know your dad so I can't really explain…"
"That's what everyone says and nobody understands" Erin said turning her head away but not before Harry spotted the tears building in her eyes
"I never said that" Harry said as he gazed ahead at the reams of traffic "I do understand what you're going through…my own dad killed himself…"
"What?" Erin whirled back around to look at Harry who confirmed what he had just told her
"I was a little younger than you, he was ill too and things got a little much for him"
"Do you miss him?" Erin asked and Harry nodded
"But I had to move on because life still went on. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do and it was a very difficult thing to get my head around. My own dad loved me, in his own way, I'm sure of that. What he did is difficult to comprehend but he had his reasons just like your dad did…"
"He left me with her though" Erin said and Harry bit his lip
"I know, he probably thought it was for the best"
"But it wasn't…" Erin said darkly using the tone she always used when talking about her past
"Erin, look at me…." Harry said suddenly and Erin turned her head towards him "I know this is very hard for you but you have to try and move on, I know I sound very insensitive but believe me, you cannot let the past consume you. Hold your head high and just concentrate on the present. You have to take this one step at a time" he looked at the young girl and saw a stray tear roll down her face
She sniffed and brushed it away but another one soon filled its place "It's just the dreams"
"I know" Harry said sympathetically "I used to dream about my dad all the time after he died, some were good and some were bad. But that's all they were dreams and they couldn't hurt me…"
"Dan says that too" Erin said
"Well you should listen to him"
"I do but half the stuff he tells me is cryptic" and Harry laughed and Erin managed a weak smile in return
He pulled out of tissue from his pocket "It's clean" he gave it to the young girl so she could wipe her eyes "Erin, I'm not making any promises but if you'd like I'll see what I can find out about your Dad, he would have had a post-mortem done and it should be on file somewhere"
"Thank you" she whispered
"You know you can come and talk to me about this any time you want" Harry said as the car slowly inched forward and Erin nodded
"It's just hard that's all"
"I know" He said with a great understanding "You've been through more than most people have in their entire lives. You have every right to feel sorry for yourself"
"You have too" she protested
"But not as much as you" and Harry snorted with laughter "What?" she said looking confused
"We're arguing about who has had the worst life" He chuckled and Erin let out a small laugh
"How about we agree that we've both had a rubbish time" she said and Harry nodded
"And now we're both having a better time?" he asked and she agreed "Now it's my turn to ask you a question?" he said turning serious again
"Okay…" Erin said with a slight apprehension
"Do you really think I have the legs to pull off a wedding dress?" he said and Erin burst out laughing "Don't laugh. I'm serious!" he protested" but this just seemed to make Erin laugh harder
"I think you'd better leave the dress for Nikki to wear, you don't want to scar your guests for life" she said wiping the tears of laughter away from her face
Harry grinned at the young girl and when he turned back to the traffic he saw it was eventually starting to move. He paused for a moment in thought,; he wasn't a particularly religious man nor did he believe in fate but it seemed that the traffic jam had been a godsend. A weight seemed to have been lifted from Erin's shoulders and there was an unexpected kinship formed between the two of them as they bonded over their lost fathers. A white feather floated down and stuck on the windscreen
"A sign of the guardian angel" Erin said ominously
"Really, Mystic Meg?" Harry smirked "Do you think you can predict the end of this traffic jam?"
"Ha, Ha" Erin said sarcastically
The car jolted foreword and as the traffic cleared they began to move faster, Harry didn't believe in guardian angels or any protective sprits but he was sure this traffic jam had been of some use to them, whether it was sent by a guardian angel or just the useless people who were meant to sort out the congestion problems on this road and had failed miserably was an issue up for debate. Either the strong bond formed between the pair of them was turns for the better, helping both of them make something out of the tragedies of their lost parents. Harry smiled to himself; he was getting good at sorting out people's problems and wondered whether or not he should start charging for his services
Author's note: Sorry I took so long about the update;I tried to put this up yesterday but the site wouldn't let me upload any documents!
