Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. This is a normal thing for me.

A/N: So I imagine this takes place about two years after the end of the war. My Internet has been down, so decided to work on some of the one-shots on my list. Hope you like.

Warm summer air brought the flowers of Ba Sing Se to life; the plants sending their sweet aroma through out the street. The smells mingled with the enticing scents that sprang from the Jasmine Dragon as it opened it's doors to the waiting public. Faces, both familiar and new, made their way through the doors, quickly filling the empty seats; servers rushed out into the filling shop in preparations of their day at work. Iroh stood proud in the doorway leading into the kitchen, watching the customers smile and great each other as if they were all good friends catching up over a pot of tea at a local shop. Many of the customers were friends who had bonded over their shared love of the Jasmine Dragon's tea.

The Dragon of the West's smile grew as he turned to check in on the kitchen's supply of tea. He made fresh batches every day, but during that early morning rush whenever everyone was getting a quick pick up before the long day of work, the tea tended to run out quickly. This causing Iroh to have to make many batches, seeing as only he knew the 'secret ingredient' that he added to his tea, him and his assistant manager that was. In truth, there was no secret ingredient, but when the rumor spread that there was some secret to how Iroh made his tea, well he didn't stop the rumors from spreading.

But today the Dragon of the West would reunite with a face from his path that would change not only his world, but that of his nephew on the other side of the world.

-oOo-

"Iroh there's somebody here who says she has to talk to you," the young voice called as his assistant manager entered the kitchen. She dropped off a large order to the server pouring the pots before skidding over to the firebender. "She's says it's really important and that she has to see you."

"Did you get a name Jin?" Iroh asked the girl as she picked up the tea pots and placed them on her tray. Iroh had personally hired the girl after she had wandered into the tea shop shortly after the Inner Walls of Ba Sing Se had been torn down. Iroh liked the girl, and after working there a little more than a year, he had bumped her up to assistant manager and had never thought twice about it.

"She's got black hair, brown or golden eyes. What was her name?" Jin was moving her free hand beside her head as if the action would bring the missing name back into her mind. "It was something like Urma... Urso... it started with U..."

"Ursa?" Iroh asked with raised eyebrows.

"Ya," Jin pointed to him, "how did I forget a name like that? But she's at table seven and says she really needs to talk to you." With that Jin steadied her tray full of tea pots and headed through the swinging doors back into the dinning area.

Iroh was left frozen watching the door swinging shut. Could this be the Ursa he had not seen in years? His sister-in-law gone missing, finally come back? Was is possible? He had been certain that Ozai had not let her live whenever she had vanished. He himself had not been in the Fire Nation when the events of his father's death and Lady Ursa's banishment took place, but he had heard enough to get an idea of what the Fire Nation noble had done, and why she had done it. He had gathered enough to believe that Ozai had made sure she had 'vanished' as so many had during his time. Was it possible that she had survived all these years?

What did this mean for Zuko? The young Fire Lord was eager to find his mother and bring her home. Did Ursa's clear appearance here mean that she was willing to go back home in order to see her children again. Well see her son at least; seeing as how her daughter was in a metal ward. Zuko himself wasn't ready to confront his insane sister, he was doing everything in his power to try and help her, but he was not ready to talk to, or be too close to her just yet; Azula was most definitely not ready to see the brother she thought a traitor and the mother she thought abandoned them, abandoned her.

The Dragon of the West found himself setting the tea on the counter, not completely made, and walking out into the tea shop. His eyes quickly found the head of long black hair, Ursa's back to him. Iroh would have known his sister-in-law anywhere. His footsteps towards her were self-conscious; he wasn't fully aware of what he was doing until he was sitting in the seat opposite the woman.

Ursa smiled at him in perfect beauty; her smile bringing a familiar and unlost gleam to her golden eyes. Zuko may look so much like his father, but he definitely had his mother's soft eyes and smile. Over the years the ex-general had begun to forget just where those eyes had come from. Seeing Ursa sitting before him, in perfect health and clothed in Earth Kingdom green, he couldn't help but be overjoyed by the reunion.

"It has been too long Prince Iroh," Ursa inclined her head slightly in a polite bow.

"It's just Iroh," the Dragon grinned, "it's been just Iroh for at least eight-nine years."

"Has it been that long?" The corners of Ursa's mouth dropped suddenly as she adverted her eyes away from him. "The days have blurred together so much I guess I forgot how to keep track of where one ended and the other began."

"May I ask where you have been Lady Ursa," Iroh asked leaning a bit closer to her. The two had been talking in slightly more than a whisper, not loud enough for passing strangers to hear, but loud enough for the two to talk.

"It's just Ursa. I guess I dropped the whole 'Lady' thing eight or nine years ago." The woman smiled slightly. "I'm not here to talk about me, old friend. I came for one reason."

"Zuko..." Iroh filled in quickly.

"And Azula," Ursa finished. "I need to know what has happened to my children. How have they been? Were they alright without me? Where are they now?"

"They have been..." Iroh shifted his eyes away from her. Taking a deep breath he continued, slowly bringing his eyes back to met hers. "They have had a rough few years, especially Zuko. The last five years have been a it of a struggle, you have heard about the banishment and the Avatar. Am I correct?"

"Only bits and pieces," Ursa conformed. "Only that he had been banished; than news of him becoming Fire Lord and the war ending. But none of it fit together. I was hoping you could fill in the blanks."

"I can't tell you everything," Iroh sighed, "Zuko will have to tell you the details, as it is his story to share. Azula's story is a lot shorter, and has a much sadder ending I am afraid."

"What has happened over the last few years?" Ursa heard the pleading tone in her own voice. Iroh quickly indulged her in the tale of her two children; from her Zuko's struggles to find his place and Azula's young growing talent, to her daughter ending up in a mental ward and her son now left to bring the world back to a state of peace, the woman was left listening intently, hanging off every word her brother-in-law said. Ursa was frozen as Iroh skimmed over the details of the passed nine years.

The mother knew one thing was certain as Iroh spoke. She had to return home. If for no other reason than to make sure and see her children alive for her own eyes.

-oOo-

Ursa followed the sound of joyful laughter as Iroh lead her through the palace halls, towards what she could only imagine as being the courtyard. It was impossible for the woman to slow her pace, only staying with Iroh's careless strides because he was the one leading her to her son. If her old friend had just told her where to go, Ursa would have already been there and embracing her son. Turning one last corner the light from outside lay waiting at the end of the hall. She picked up her pace slightly; freezing in her tracks as the warm air rushed back over her. She stood in the doorway staring in awe at the set of teens sitting around the open field of the courtyard; her own body hidden in the shadows from their views.

"Why are you sitting on me?"

Her eyes were immediately drawn to the speaker, his long shaggy hair falling over the sides of his face. Ursa instantly recognized her son; even though she could only see the right side of his face, as his hair fell in a way that she couldn't see the other half. He looked so much like Ozai had at that age; it almost broke her heart to imagine that her sweet son would grow up to look just like his twisted father. The shine in Zuko's eyes brought a smile back to her face though. His eyes were narrowed at the tan boy in blue; who was sitting cross legged on top of him spinning what appeared to be a red shirt around over his head; but the gleam of joy that was sparkling in Zuko's eyes told her how much fun he was having at that moment.

"You need to have more fun Zuko," the tan boy responded smacking her son lightly on the back of the head with the shirt. Ursa quickly connected that the shirt belonged to her son, as he was laying pinned on the ground without a shirt.

"Sitting on me is your idea of fun," Zuko questioned, now resting his head on his hand for support.

"Sokka's questionable humor aside," Ursa's eyes were drawn now towards the young Water Tribe girl sitting on one of the benches, "how did he get your shirt off?"

Ursa looked curiously at the young beauty; beside her sat a shorter black haired girl, (Ursa would have though she was Fire Nation had it not been for her pale green eyes); beside her was a bald boy with blue arrows running over his head and arms, Ursa quickly realized that he was the Avatar she had been hearing so much about.

"I don't know how he managed to get his shirt off," a new, slightly flat, voice answered, "but I am not going to argue about the shirtless Zuko." Ursa quickly found her eyes moving to the set of three girls who sat on a separate bench. Ursa instantly recognized Mai, the young girl having grown into a beautiful woman; beside her was none other than Ty Lee, the older woman being able to make out the girl even with her green and black clothing on; beside Ty Lee was a face Ursa was not familiar with, her short reddish hair bobbing around her face.

"Why did you take his shirt?" The young Avatar asked scratching his head in confusion.

"Well Aang, it started when Zuko told me that he could kick my butt in a fight," the tan boy, who Ursa had found out was named Sokka, pointed from the young tattooed boy to the fire bender under him. "I had to regain my dignity and honor when he said this, and kicked my butt across the floor with his swords. So I stole his shirt as payback."

"But why did you have to," the red head raised an eyebrow, but was unable to continue what she was trying to say as Mai place a hand on her shoulder and grinned.

"Shut up Suki," the dark haired teen smirked, "I am enjoying shirtless Zuko. Do not ruin this. If you could kindly get your boyfriend off mine, I could enjoy the sight more."

"Way to ruin my fun Mai. You can have your shirt back now," the tan boy leap off of Zuko quickly after that comment. The fire bender moved to sit up, but as he turned his face in Ursa's direction, the shirt was thrown into his face making the mother unable to see her son's face fully. "Shouldn't you be doing Fire Lordy stuff? Like running a country, and doing important mature junk."

Ursa was able to get a clear image of the dark scar that sat at the center of her son's chest. It was impossible to miss. The dark red against his pale white skin; Ursa's mind could not fathom who had done this to her son. Who would want to hurt her kind heart Zuko? Actually she knew a few people who had wanted to see Zuko hurt and dead through the years, the boys own father at the top of that list; but for one of them to have actually had the nerve to lay their hands on her son was an outrage.

All of her thoughts were placed on hold when her eyes landed on the scar that ran the left side on his face as he slipped his shirt back on. She had heard the rumors; Iroh had told her the outline of what had happened over the years, but when he said that Zuko had been burnt, she never would have imagined that he meant this. Half of her son's face was burnt for Agni's sake! Shouldn't Iroh have told the woman this little fact before she saw it for herself. The scar on his face did not change her she saw the boy, he was her son and no matter what had happened Ursa still loved him. But the rage that built inside of her at the thought of her son being hurt not only once, but twice, and Agni knew how many other times, was too much. She had to keep herself from stomping out, demanding who had hurt him, and going all homicidal mother on them. Zuko, no matter how much he grew or changed, was her baby. He was her little turtleduck. Nobody hurt her little turtleduck.

"Its my day off," Zuko answered, brushing the dirt off of his pants as he stood. "One of the perks about this job, I get to set up my own work schedule." The boy smirked before making a grab for Sokka, the two boys falling back onto the ground, both in the others head lock.

"Aren't you going to let him know you're here?" Iroh's voice sounded beside Ursa as the two of them stood in the shadows watching her son wrestle the tan boy in an attempt to give him what appeared to be an ill planned noggie. The older pair couldn't help but smirk as that plan backfired at Zuko found himself in a head lock once more, his already messed up hair being messed up worst as they continued to roll around and struggle with the other. The rest of the group seemed unconcerned by the act, as if they had witnessed the inelegant struggle before and where meanwhile cheering the two on.

"Iroh!"

The booming voice overshadowed Ursa's response, the two turning to see the small barefoot girl waving them over with a large grin on her small face. Iroh seemed to chuckle to himself before exiting out of the shadows. He threw a quick glance at the waiting woman behind him, but Ursa found that she could not take that step into the sunlight. She wasn't sure if it was the fact that her son was only feet away, or the fear that he might reject her appearance. She had left him alone, even if it had been to save his life, she still left her son. Ursa knew Azula would most likely despise her, she didn't want her son to hat her as well.

She found herself taking that step into the courtyard. Iroh offered her his arm and she took it, the general leading her towards her son who still being caught in a head lock had not seen them advancing.

-oOo-

Zuko couldn't figure out why Sokka's arms had suddenly gone limp around him and why the others cheers and yells has quieted. He had heard Toph yell his Uncle's name, and he realized that his Uncle had indeed dropped by, but why would Sokka have suddenly stopped wrestling with him because of it. The two boys beat each other up all the time, Uncle present or not. It wasn't until Zuko stood up that he realized why everything had grown quiet. His eyes landed on his mother, her eyes staring back at him.

"Zuko," she whispered almost afraid to speak.

"How is this possible," the young Fire Lord asked, taking a step closer towards the woman. He bit his lip trying to figure out if it was really his mother before him, or if it was just his mind playing tricks on him. "How did you find her?"

"She found me," Iroh chuckled before stepping away from the woman beside him, hoping that one of them would make the first move, as both just stood their staring at the other like they had seen a ghost. Considering that neither has seen the other is years, it was perfectly understandable for them to be lost on the next move. Thankfully, Zuko was the one to break the silence.

He stepped closer to her, the distance down to slightly more than a foot. "You don't know how much I've missed you. I was about to start this huge search party to find you." Zuko felt the single tear drop trailing down his face, but he didn't care to whip it away. The two stood staring at each other forgetting about the others in the room. Ursa took a step closer to her son, and used the back of her sleeve to whip the single tear from his check. Without waiting for anyone to say anything, Zuko wrapped his arms around his mother. She placed her arms around him, the two locked in a tight hug.

"I am so sorry Zuko," Ursa whispered into her son's ear, feeling the warm tears traveling down her face. "I am so sorry for leaving you."

"It wasn't your fault," Zuko let go of his mother. "You didn't have much of a choice."

"A mother still should never have to leave her children like that," Ursa brushed a section of Zuko's hair behind his ear, her palm brushing against the burnt scar on his face. Zuko cringed slightly at the touch, more out of reflex than anything, but the small moment of withdraw was not missed by Ursa. She let her hand fall back to her side, locking her eyes with her son.

"I guess I have a lot to catch you up on," Zuko smiled at the woman.

"It seems so," Ursa's smile brightened at her son's shinning eyes.

"Does this mean you're coming back home," the young teen heard the pleading tone in his comment, but was unable to cover it.

"I won't ever leave you alone again," Ursa answered.

"Can somebody please tell me who this is?" Sokka's voice interrupted the moment. All eyes turned to the Water Tribe boy just as his sister smacked the back of his head.

"Guys," Zuko turned his eyes at his friends behind him, Mai and Ty Lee giving them a knowing smile, "this is my mom."

"Your mom?" Katara raised her eyebrow, her eyes quickly shifting from the older woman to Zuko.

"You have a mom?" Sokka asked earning a glare from all present members.

"Way to ruin their happy moment, Snoozles," Toph snickered crossing her arms over her chest.

"It's a pleasure to met you Zuko's mom," Aang appeared from nowhere, bowed respectfully in a common Fire Nation style, and than wrapped his arms around her in a friendly hug.

"Call me Ursa, and It's a pleasure to met you too," Ursa answered awkwardly.

"Mom, this is Aang," Zuko answered shacking his head in complete belief about his young friends friendliness. The air bender let go of Ursa and stepped back from her.

"I already know Mai and Ty Lee," Ursa smiled at the two, Mai nodding politely, Ty Lee bouncing with joy, all but ready to give the woman a hug of her own, "And who are the others?"

"I'm Sokka," the tan boy pointed to himself, "Zuko's best friend."

"Unfortunately," Zuko muttered under his breath, receiving a glare from Sokka, and a chuckle from Toph. "That's Toph, Katara, Suki, you've already met Aang and Sokka, and you remember Mai and Ty Lee."

"Welcome back," Mai politely nodded, but was unable to hide the small smile creeping over her lips.

"It's good to have you back Ursa," Ty Lee gave up trying to contain herself and wrapped her arms around the woman as well. She gave her a quick, tight squeeze before letting go and stepping back.

"It's good to be back," Ursa smiled at her son as she took everything. Even without her, Zuko had managed to survive and find his way. He may of had gone through more struggles than anyone one person should have to go through, but he had done it. And Ursa was going to be there to help him with anything that she could.

They had nine years worth of time to catch up on. She wasn't going anywhere soon.

-oOo-

Short, useless Authors Note...

So this fic was pretty easy and wasn't much work to write, up until the end. I like how it ended (difficulty to write aside), with Zuko introducing his mom to all his friends. I think Ursa would have needed to see that her son was in good hands, before she relaxed a little.

Yes, Jin is working at the Jasmine Dragon. This is now canon in my head. I have decided that Jin just works there, as this is like the forth fic I have refereed to her working there. I like Jin. I will continue to use her in random moments.

I think Iroh would have stopped adding the Prince part to his name after awhile. He picks up General, and Dragon of the West, and Tea Pimp... I think the Prince title would have fallen away from him over the years. He still technically a Prince, I just don't think he'd think too much of the title anymore. He's happy as Tea Pimp, he isn't going to want to drop that title. Likewise, while Ursa was in banishment she wouldn't have been running around going, "I am Lady Ursa of the Fire Nation!" She could be a Lady of the Earth Kingdom, but I think she would have just stuck with Ursa to help lay low. Most likely she would have used a fake name, like Jin or Song, or some other unused name, but what names Ursa used to hide, doesn't matter. Because that's not the point.

The point is Zuko reuniting with his mommy! And the other way around too.

Just wait until Ursa gets to see her daughter... I have decided that this one-shot has turned into a two-shot. Possibly a three-shot, but I will most likely stop at just the two. I can't just leave it like this... there is too much that I can work with. So be prepared for part two soon...

To be continued...