Irreplaceable

"I don't understand how he could ever say that Clyde isn't right for Rani, especially to his face."

"He's protective of her." Sarah smiled as Harry laughed, enjoying the sound even more than the warm sun shining down on them as they lounged on their back lawn. "Okay, overprotective. He's her father, that often comes with the territory, at least with good dads."

"Yeah, I understand protective, but so long as he doesn't hurt her, only she can decide if he's right; it's unfair for him to even try. I'm glad no one ever said that about me."

Sarah turned her face out of the bright light, opening her eyes to look at his concerned face. "They did."

His brow twitched. "I didn't know that."

"Because I didn't want you to doubt yourself. They thought you were too old fashioned; so did I until I got to know you, a lot of them never really did that."

"For whatever it's worth, I'm still right behind you with the feminism and fight for equality and-"

Sarah cupped his face and cut him off with a kiss, beaming at him. "I love you for that."

"I only work so hard to protect you because you mean so much to me; I can't live without you."

Caressing his cheek, she stared at him with tears in her eyes. "Harry, it is the most breathtaking, incredible feeling to know that to you I'm irreplaceable."

"And our children." He smirked as she smiled.

"But I didn't know what that felt like, what that was, until I knew you, until you loved me."

He exhaled with a smile. "Come here." As she turned onto her side, he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close, waited for her to rest her head on his chest, then kissed her forehead. "You've been irreplaceable for every second that you've lived, old thing, but I'm glad you feel it."

"Thank you."

He gave her a squeeze. "No need, but I want to thank you."

"For?"

"For whatever it was you did that pulled me home."

"I didn't do anything, I couldn't; it was all you."

"No." Harry brushed his lips against her forehead once more. "It can't have been because every day I feared I would never make it back, but every time it crossed my mind something pulled me on, made me take another step, said, 'yes you will, Sarah loves you, Sarah needs you'."

"That's because you're irreplaceable too."