Choosing Forgiveness

He skimmed the tips of his calloused fingers across the edges of the bar. He still sees her coming towards him in that Red Dress and telling him she would meet him at this very bar. He thought she was beautiful then. She still is.

"Daddy," Robin calls out, and Robert turns his attention away from her mother, now dancing with another man and still managing to astound him.

"My Baby," he says, and she walks into his open arms. There was a time when he wondered if he would ever get to feel this good again.

"Happy father's day, daddy, "she says, and they sit at the same table he once shared with her mother. Its days like today when he wonders if things could have been different if he had made a different choice.

"You're still in love with her aren't you," Robin asks.

"I don't know what you are talking about," he says but Robin knows him too well. Maybe as well as her mother.

"Don't play dumb with me daddy. You can't take your eyes off her."

"What does it matter anymore? She's happy and I…I really don't want to mess things up for her again."

Robin leans over the table and takes her father's hands in hers. "Everything you have ever done has been for mom…and for me. When do you get a chance to be happy? "

"I think my chance at happiness ended a long time ago," he says.

"So you are still in love with her?"

He takes a deep breath and smiles at his little girl. How did she get to be so smart and so grown up…It certainly was not because of him? For so long he was not a part of her life.

"I don't want to love her anymore Robin but we both know that I will until the end of time."

"Dance with me daddy," she asks, and Robert smiles. There was only one thing he loved as much as dancing with his daughter.

"I wanted to tell you that I forgive you for what you had to do when you were dead. I know that there are things you did that you hate yourself for…and I really wish that you would stop punishing yourself for being the greatest man I will ever know."

"Don't let your husband hear you say that?"

"It's true daddy. I love Patrick but you…You will always be my hero. You let yourself be tortured so Mom could live. You let them talk you into selling your soul so that I would be safe. You did things…you suffered through things that no man should ever have to suffer through…and you suffered alone. You are the most selfless person I know…and for once I want you to be selfish."

He laughed but only slightly and he looked over his daughters shoulder at his ex-wife…Oh dear God, she still stole his breath.

"You have spent your whole life taking care of everyone else…when is it time for you to take care of yourself…when is it time for you to go after what you want."

"Robin, your mother has moved on…she's with Finn now. The last thing I want to do is complicate her life."

"Because you are a good man…The best that I know…but don't you think mom deserves to know how you feel? How do you know she is not waiting for you to fight for her? Isn't that exactly why you lost her the last time?"

He hated to admit when she was right but he could not exactly deny it. The only reason he lost Anna to Duke was that he was too stubborn to forgive her and too proud to beg. When the next song started, Robin pushed him towards her mother.

"This is your song Daddy. Ask her to dance. For old time's sake at least."

Robin has never seen her fearless dad be so damn nervous so she took the first step. She could only hope her father would take the bait.

"You mind if I steal your date for a little bit," she asked her mom. Anna just smiled. For a few seconds Anna and Robert just stared at each other and the world disappeared. Finally, he held out his hand.

"I believe they are playing our song. Would you care to dance with an old flame just this once?"

She smiled almost infectiously as she took his hand. "I had this whole speech of what I wanted to say to you…but for some reason I can't think of a word," he said.

"Why are your hands shaking," she asks. "It's not like we haven't danced before."

"I think that's why they are shaking."

He moves his hand to the small of her back as they slowly move to the beat of the song. She fits so perfectly in his arms.

"Is there something you want to tell me Scorpio," she asks.

He looks over at his little girl dancing with Anna's suitor and sees her urge him forward. He takes his fingers and cups her face in his hands.

"God, you are beautiful. I've been watching you all night trying to find a way to tell you that…"

"Do you like me Robert?" She asks. "I can feel something pressing into my back. Something hard."

He feels his face flush with embarrassment but he pulls her closer. "I guess I didn't do a very good job hiding how I feel. I'm still in love with you luv. Damn it, I'm still in love with you."

He was expecting her to hit him or hell even egg him on…she did none of that.

"Well what took you so long," she finally asked, as she pulled him into her arms and kissed him feverishly. "In case you haven't figured it out, I'm in love with you too. "

"But what about…about Finn. "

"He was never you Robert."

No more words are spoken as they dance and kiss in the moonlight. Robin watches her parents from a distance and smiles. For all the times she said they scarred her for life, she was truly happy for them now.

"I'm sorry Finn but this was always going to happen. My mom and dad are the yin to each other's yang. They might be able to spend years apart but in the end, it comes down to what my dad said to my mom on their honeymoon…They never stopped loving each other…not for a second."

After Finn walked away, Robin joined her parents at the table. "Happy Father's day Daddy," she says, handing him a small box. Inside it was a key.

"Is this the key to your heart," he jokes. Anna smiles at him as she rests her head on his shoulder.

"You already have that daddy," she says. "This is the key to the honeymoon suite. I want you to enjoy this night. Lord knows you have earned it."

"Are you sure," Robert asks.

"I had a nice time with you tonight. I could never give you anything half as special as mom can. This is my father's day gift to you…helping you find each other again. I love you guys."

She gives them both hugs and tells them she will see them in the morning. Robert takes full advantage of the honeymoon suite as he carries her over the threshold.

"You never stopped being my wife in my heart," he says.

"You never stopped being my husband either. I love you Robert."

"And oh how I love you luv."

She smiles as he kisses her...this time with a hungry need neither of them has felt since the last time they were together. "Make love to me Robert," she says, as she pushes him down on the bed.

"With or without handcuffs," he jokes.

"Maybe I should use those black stockings again. You sure seemed to be turned on then."

"Not nearly as much as I am now," he says as his hands skim down her thighs and his lips claim hers again. They would make love throughout the night and Robert would forever remember father's day as the day he started living again...Anna and Robin were the air he needed to breathe. The thought of life without them again was something he never wanted to think about again. He was finally home where he belonged.

THE END