Vorkosigan Saga/Tear Jerker

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• The epilogue of Shards of Honor, which deals with medtechs retrieving the bodies of the dead from the Escobar War. One of the bodies the medtech finds is her daughter.

Yes, he thought, the good face pain. But the great - they embrace it.

• The part in Barrayar when Cordelia nearly dies giving birth to Miles, and Aral admits he hasn't been so scared since he was eleven years old: which was when the old Emperor murdered his mother and brother in front of him.
• This part in Barrayar, where Aral and Cordelia confront Vorhalas, who's just tried to murder them with poison gas:

"You missed me, Evon." Vorhalas spat in his face, spittle bloody from his injured mouth. Vorkosigan made no move to wipe it away. "You missed my wife," he went on in a soft slow cadence. "But you got my son. Did you dream of sweet revenge? You have it. Look at her eyes. A man could drown in those sea-grey eyes. I'll be looking at them every day for the rest of my life. So eat vengeance, Evon. Drink it. Fondle it. Wrap it round you in the night watch. It's all yours. I will it all to you. For myself, I've gorged to the gagging point and lost my stomach for it."

• On the next page, Evon is indeed forced to confront Coredelia directly.

"It wasn't the result I intended. I meant to kill him. I didn't even know for sure that you shared the same room at night." He was looking everywhere, now, except her face. "I never thought about killing your..." "Look at me," she croaked, "and say the word out loud." "Baby," he whispered, and burst into sudden, shocking sobs.

• Really, most of the plot of Barrayar is potentially tear-jerky. There are so many babies and children in peril. This troper loves the book, but read it for the first time while pregnant with her firstborn son. Not recommended unless you like weeping openly on public transit.
• After an assassination attempt, when Aral and Koudelka are stunned and can't hear very well, Aral reassures the perturbed Kou that it's only temporary. However, logically, the temporary deafness must recall Aral's traumatic childhood injury after his family's massacre. I can't recall now whether it was explicitly discussed in the text, but it was all I could think about.
• The part from The Warrior's Apprentice where Miles says he wants to make his life "an offering fit to lay at my father's feet":

Aral: Clay, boy. Only clay. Not fit to receive so golden a sacrifice.

• The death of Sergeant Bothari and the final remembering at the end of the book.
• Dr Vaagen's re-telling of Henry's death.
• The ending of two stories from the Borders of Infinity compilation: "The Mountains of Mourning" and "Borders of Infinity".
• The parts of Mirror Dance where Miles' family and friends are mourning his death, at the same time as they are welcoming Mark to the family. The scene where Mark sees Ivan crying breaks this troper's heart every time.
• The Turn in Your Badge scene in Memory, as well as Miles and Ivan's first visit to Simon in the medical ward.
  • Just to twist the knife, Miles later finds that up until he lied to him, Simon wanted him to be his successor. This turns out to be what drove the saboteur in the first place, when he realized that Miles would be getting the job he wanted.
• Miles' letter to Ekaterin in A Civil Campaign, which doubles at a Crowning Moment of Heartwarming.
• Rosso Gupta's pained, tearful story of the fate of his former crewmembers in Diplomatic Immunity.
• Taura's offscreen death of old age at thirty in Cryoburn, even if she died as dignified as she could.
• The last three words of Cryoburn (minus the epilogues): "Count Vorkosigan, sir?"
• And from the epilogue to Cryoburn, when people object to Emperor Gregor being a pallbearer for Aral's casket, his response is, "The man has carried me since I was five years old. It's my turn."
  • And bear in mind that this is one of Miles' worst case scenarios - that he would not be there for his father's death. "He dreaded the day that some stiff faced messenger would begin by addressing him as "Count Vorkosigan, sir?"" And then along comes Colonel Edwin Vorventa... Excuse me, I gotta go compose myself.
• The murderer in "The Mountains of Mourning" is a thoroughly unpleasant old woman. But while interrogated under fast-penta, she bursts into tears at one point, saying to Miles, "Damn you! What use is your justice to me now? I needed it then ... where were you then?" The implication that back when this nasty harridan was a young mother, she, too, would've been overjoyed to be told she didn't have to kill three of her babies....