Words For My Tata (Lubyish)

[FicWriter]

(a fic written for the community Artistic License on Live Journal.)

by JD

"Would it have been so hard for you to have waited for me to come back?" The anger in his words surprised him, almost as much as the fact that he was standing in front of his father's grave in the middle of the night.

"Did you know when Niko and I were making the plans to go that you wouldn't have much longer?" The questions were only two of far too many that had been swirling around in his head since the call had come, telling them that Josip Kovac was gone.

"I'm sorry, Tata." Luka sank to his knees at the graveside, his anger fading almost as quickly as it had surfaced.

"We should have been here." Should have, but, weren't. He should have known there wasn't enough time for them to go to Chicago and make it back before something happened, why hadn't he seen the signs?

"I'm sorry, Tata. When I think back on all those times when you tried to tell me that I'd find someone else who would make me feel what Danijela made me feel. We missed so much because I wasn't ready to move on. You tried to tell me that it wasn't too late for me to be a father again, and because I didn't want to hear it I stayed away." As he spoke, Luka brushed his fingers across the top of the headstone before leaning a copy of his and Abby's wedding photo against it.

"I see so much of Marko in Joe, I wish you could have seen it for yourself. If only I had gone back for him sooner, you could have seen for yourself. I'm sorry, Tata, I wanted you to see you were right, and I was too late." His tears were falling freely now and he rested his forehead against his arm as he whispered the prayers he'd turned his back on for so many years. Once done he crossed himself before standing.

"Watch over Danijela and my children, Tata, tell them I love them, and how much I miss them, make sure they know that not a day goes by that I don't think of them. I'm going to miss you so much, Tata, but, I promise you this, even though Joe will never have the chance to meet you, he will know you, I'll make sure of that, I promise."

The End

[-SAN.]

This was very good, very moving. I can clearly picture this scene in my head when I read it; and I think it's very true to Luka's character that he would do something like this to ease his heart over not being with his father when he died, and losing the chance to have him meet Abby and Joe.