Quick Note: Due to a duet in the chapter. Aladdin singing. Jasmine singing. Both singing.

Chapter Thirty-two: Third Time's the Charm

"Jasmine."

Jasmine turned to Baba with a smile.

"Come, sit with me, my child," he said.

She nodded, passing Jafar—no, her adopted son to his adoptive father. They would have to choose a new name for him as soon as possible. Aladdin's smile almost melted her before he turned to Khaleel. She joined Baba as he led them from the balcony for a seat on the fountain. She sat at his feet, like she had done so many times as a little girl.

"I'm sorry," he said.

She shook her head. "Baba, why are you-?"

"Please, let me finish," he admonished gently. Tears gathered in his eyes. "I fear losing you, like I lost your mother. All I saw was my little girl, not the woman you have become."

Tears stung her eyes, but she couldn't tell what brought them on. Remembering Mother. The love she could hear in Baba's voice and see in his face. She didn't know.

"You've shown me," Baba continued, "courage and strength. You are the future of Agrabah." He bowed his head as he pulled a ring off his finger.

Jasmine's throat stopped up, hardly daring to hope.

Baba held up the ancestral ring of office. "You shall be the next sultan," he said. He pressed the ring into her hand before kissing it with all the airs of fealty.

Jasmine slowly rose to her feet, barely containing her grateful tears. "Thank you, Baba," she said.

"I wish you to understand, daughter," he added, "that I do not say this to keep you from exploring the world with your prince. I believe that any journey with him by your side will bring you safely home. But, this is a promise that you will indeed rule the people you love."

She softly kissed his forehead, her heart too full for words. Her dream, her deepest desire would come true.

"So, she's proposed twice. What now?"

Aladdin looked over to Jasmine a moment before focusing on Khaleel again. "Well, I'd like to have my chance," he admitted with a shrug. He released a silent chuckle. "And I can think of one more tradition that we haven't covered. Shehrabad."

"She enjoys indulging herself with roses and jasmine," Dalia said. "Admittedly she has never told me a favorite flower, but she prefers those scents over any others."

Aladdin nodded. "So, we'll need a trellis room," he thought aloud. He smiled as the setting solidified in his mind. "Rounded like my home here. A few candles. Mother's lute."

"How soon are you hoping this to be ready?" Khaleel asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Tomorrow evening at the latest," Aladdin answered.

"It's a good thing that you are friends with wizards," Mozenrath said. "This may very well take some magic to pull off in that amount of time."

"And he should be thinking about when he needs to return to his city for a time," Khaleel said pointedly.

"Uncle Iroh still have things under control?" Aladdin asked, lightly bouncing the baby as he started to fuss.

"At the moment at least," Khaleel said. "But you know that there is only so much the council will speak to him about."

"Wait, wait," Mozenrath said. "Did you say 'Iroh'?"

"Yes, he's been acting regent for the past couple years," Khaleel answered.

"And who is this Iroh?" Jasmine asked, rejoining them.

Aladdin could see Mozenrath panicking.

"He's a—"

"Good friend of a couple former genies," Khaleel smoothly interrupted. "He wanted to see the world outside his own country and neighboring realms, and we provided him a good place to stay. Nothing permanent, but he is the best regent we've had in years."

"General Iroh," Mozenrath ground out, "is a—"

"Uncle Iroh is an excellent peacekeeper and knows how to keep those overstuffed peacocks in line," Khaleel retorted.

Aladdin exchanged looks with Jasmine and Dalia. Apparently, Mozenrath knew something about Iroh that Khaleel was trying to keep quiet.

"Now," Khaleel said, catching the arm of a fuming Mozenrath and leading him away, "Moz and I better go see about some needed plans. Oh, and, Ali better consider how he's going to handle the councilors' degrading of Dhandi and how to explain yet another ward."

"Thanks for the reminder, Khaleel," Aladdin said.

"Anytime," Khaleel said.

"First, we need to decide on the baby's name," Jasmine said. "Though I'll quickly say that I want to be with you when you talk to your nobles about Dhandi."

"I think that can be arranged," Aladdin said. "So, about you," he addressed the baby, propping him up in front of him. "What new name shall we give you?"

"Something to look up to or a family name," Jasmine said. "What was your father's name?"

"Cassim," Aladdin answered.

"That sounds like a good name," she said.

"And if he ever does come back?" he asked. Maybe it was influenced by his mother, but they had never heard word of his death.

"We'll figure it out when that time comes," Jasmine answered. "And if he complains, we can always point out why he couldn't share his opinion."

Aladdin hesitated. He wanted Jafar's new name to be something that he could grow into, strive to become. Like Saladyne. Whenever he heard "Cassim" it always reminded him of the man who abandoned him and his mother for no reason. A man who before Aladdin was born was with someone other than Aladdin's mother. A man who simply disappeared with no word of whether he still lived or if he had died. He couldn't imagine naming a son, even an adoptive one after his father.

He then looked into the baby's eyes, the eyes that still resembled the child Jafar. He was asking so much of Jasmine in the raising of this boy. He was asking her to love the man who had threatened her family and her people, her mother's people. He was essentially asking her to forgive the unforgiveable. A slow smile touched his lips. If Jasmine was willing to try for his sake, he could learn to love his father's name, grant it to someone who, Allah willing, would make it a good name.

"Aladdin?" Jasmine called, touching his arm. "If it troubles you—"

"No," he said, shaking his head. "Cassim will be a good name." In private, he would share his reasoning. For now he would merely bask in the start of his new family.

"Is everything ready?" Aladdin asked.

"Considering you barely gave us little more than twenty-four hours to pull it together, yes," Khaleel answered. "And as soon as you are settled inside, I'll go fetch your princess."

Aladdin fidgeted. He was wearing casual robes, reminiscent of his street rat disguise while still being "royalty appropriate." He and Jasmine had shared a less than restful night with Cassim. The royal medicine man had determined he was roughly three months old, which meant feedings in the middle of the night.

Thankfully Jephtha had been able to share the new circumstances with the other freed and former genies in Ababwa, and they had all sent appropriate formulas to keep Cassim satisfied. But that still meant that Aladdin and Jasmine had traded off who saw to the wailing baby throughout the night. It actually led to some late night brainstorming of how they would manage ruling their kingdoms until Cassim could sleep through the night as well as their hoped for future children.

And thanks to the lack of sleep during the night, it had led to some embarrassing, even if everyone else declared them sweet, napping moments during the late morning and early afternoon hours. Admittedly, if it wasn't for the fact that others had caught them at it, Aladdin would have actually enjoyed waking up to Jasmine leaning against him and his arm around her. She just fit to his side so perfectly like they were two pieces of an intricate mosaic.

"Yo." Khaleel snapped his fingers in front of Aladdin's face, causing him to jump. "Save the dreams for sleep time." He shook his head. "Maybe Dalia and I should have watched Cassim last night."

"I'll be fine," Aladdin assured him. He shook himself before entering the beflowered trellis room. "Thank you for helping to pull this off."

"Hey, this is true love," Khaleel said. "I'll be lucky to witness it outside our circle of friends again in my shortened lifetime. A genie would be lucky to see it every couple centuries."

Aladdin smiled. "Well, hopefully nothing should interrupt the acceptance of the proposals this time."

"Mozenrath has already taken care of that, so no worries," Khaleel said. "Now, go get comfortable while I collect your princess."

Aladdin fully entered the room. He made sure all the candles were lit, and that everything was just so. Then he picked up Mother's lute as he sat down. He slowly started playing, allowing the mellow notes to soothe his racing heart and dancing nerves.

"Where are we going?" Jasmine asked. She had been with Dalia, feeding Cassim another bottle when Khaleel had come up, saying her "presence was requested." It had to be Aladdin. Baba wouldn't have sent Khaleel for her. But she couldn't imagine what this was about.

"You'll see in a moment," Khaleel assured her.

Jasmine shook her head in slight amusement. Just before a yawn slipped through. Oh, she was not used to the sort of nights that she had last night. One bright point was when both she and Aladdin had come in at the same time. Talk of plans for the future helped to secure her hope that he would accept her proposals, even if she wasn't sure how one accepted an Ababwan proposal. It had also been when Aladdin returned her hair clasp and she had returned his parents' rings to him. He said that he hoped to use them for their wedding bands in future.

She had actually been sharing tentative plans for her wedding and helping Dalia plan hers. It was mostly color schemes and where it should be held at the moment. The intensive planning would come later. This was actually a slow day as they recovered from what Jafar had put them through.

Hakim had withdrawn Jafar's guards from Agrabah's streets, replacing a number with his own. He promised that as Agrabah's peace and safety was assured the soldiers would lessen. He was also looking at security measures for Baba to possibly make a formal public appearance outside the palace walls.

Baba said that he intended to share his decision for Jasmine to take his place one day. She suspected that he also hoped to include a betrothal announcement.

Mozenrath had studied Carpet all day, trying to unlock the secrets of the animate rug. Apparently both Carpet and Abu were taking advantage of this to their own amusement. If Mozenrath's grumbles and mutterings were anything to judge.

Baba had spent the much of the day sorting through papers, trying to find evidence of Jafar's work that needed undone. One such thing had been sending a missive to Shehrabad, just to be assured of the kingdom's standing with Agrabah and to ask if there was anything amiss. Baba and Jasmine had worked on the wording of the letter together before they sent it out.

Jasmine would have helped more, but Baba insisted that she spend much of the day with Aladdin and Cassim. She wouldn't deny that staying close to Aladdin was comforting. Their unplanned naps, were pleasant even if a touch embarrassing when they were found out. Aladdin made her feel safe, assured her that despite everything that had happened yesterday, things had turned out alright.

A lute pulled her out of her thoughts. It was light and soothing. Then Khaleel led her around a corner. She paused. A room and attached tunnel sat in the middle of the courtyard. But the entire structure was covered in deep pink roses. She approached, peeking into the tunnel. A soft glow flickered from within as the scent of roses and jasmine flowed over her. Jasmine looked between Khaleel and the arching tunnel.

The man gestured, urging her forward as his smile widened.

She stepped into it, following the lilting lute music. She smiled as she discovered her namesake peeping out from among the roses. A moment later she stepped into a rounded chamber lit by candles floating in water. A chandelier made from broken bits of colored glass hung from the highest point of the domed ceiling. She smiled as she recalled seeing something similar in Aladdin's rundown but cozy minaret.

"When the shadows unfold, When the sun hides its gold, When the wind and the cold come calling," Aladdin's voice coaxed her attention to where he had sat just out of sight. As he played and sang, he met her eyes. His eyes were like honey gold as his love shone forth. "When the path isn't clear, And the stars disappear, As an endless midnight's falling."

"At the edge of the sky," Jasmine sang back, "There's a moon hanging high. When you're lost, it'll try to remind you."

"On a dark desert night, You can look to the light, Cause it's shining there to find you."

"Desert moon, light the way, Til the dark turns to day. Like a lamp in the lonely night Bright and blue. Desert moon, wild and free, Will it burn just for me?

"Shine down."

"Shine down."

"Till I find my way to you."

Jasmine took a moment to simply relish the aftereffects of once again singing the song that had bound them on a dark, moonlit night. Somehow it was more fulfilling than ever. As Aladdin played out the last notes, she recalled the exchange in the minaret. An exchange that she had started by playing that song. She smiled. "My mother taught me that song."

"Mine too," he said smiling.

"Some of my best memories."

Aladdin stood, propping the lute against his chair. "Third time's the charm," he said. "You proposed twice and I didn't get opportunity to accept."

"So, how does one accept an Ababwan proposal?" Jasmine asked.

Aladdin gently took her in his arms. "With a kiss, or rather several. A kiss for what they love most about the person."

"I hope for a demonstration," she said.

Aladdin kissed her forehead. "Intelligence." He kissed her cheeks. "Beauty." Tickling kisses brushed her ears. "Understanding." The tip of her nose. "Your spirit." Her mouth. "Your voice and words." A kiss upon each eye. "Your heart and soul."

Jasmine blushed as her breath quickened the slightest bit. "You may have to accept my second proposal so I can properly accept yours."

Aladdin indulged her, spreading a warmth through her with each caress.

Jasmine then returned the favor. At the end, she reclaimed his lips, wrapping her hands round the back of his neck.

He wrapped his arms round the small of her back as the kiss deepened.

The heady aroma of the flowers mixed with the pleasure in her heart. She felt herself melt into him as her fingers tangled in his hair. She almost whimpered when he broke the kiss in favor of resting his forehead against hers.

"We—" he swallowed as they both breathed heavily. "We best let them know about the engagement. Khaleel would box my ears if we got ahead of ourselves."

Jasmine chuckled. "Baba would see your ears cut off."

"So, no objections to immediately being parents?" he asked for confirmation.

"I've been growing rather fond of Cassim," she answered. "I want him to have a happy, full life. A life he should have had the first time."

He caught her hands, anointing them with reverent kisses. "Thank you for being willing," he said. "I can only imagine how difficult a decision that was, put aside what he did to you even in part."

"Admittedly," she said, "it's better when I see that he now has more of you than Jafar in his face."

He sighed. "I also wish to confess that . . . I have never been fond of my father's name. I always associated his name with someone who abandoned his family, who didn't care to let his family know whether or not he was alive. But I knew, I couldn't allow you to be the only one who had to overcome past demons. And every time you say the name of our adoptive son with the growing love of a mother, I find it easier to love that name."

She rearranged his hands so that she could kiss them. "And now it's my turn to wonder how I manage to fall in love with you all over again."

"And may we never stop," Aladdin said.

Together, they sealed that hope with a kiss.

Author's Note: Proposals have been officially accepted. A small part of me is saying that something inspired the "where you're kissed means something." But I can't remember where if that is the case.

Jasmine is officially in line for the throne, and still the possibility of her joining Aladdin on some adventures before then.

Do you like Jafar's new name? I almost bulked at it, since I doubt Aladdin has fond feelings because of his father. But then, much like Aladdin, I acknowledged that Jasmine is being asked to do what some would consider the unthinkable. So, even if it may seem small in comparison, Aladdin needed something of his own to overcome.

I am also posting a one-shot today: Breaking the Fourth Wall. Basically it is something that I half considered slipping into this chapter after Khaleel dragged Mozenrath off. But it just didn't fit. If you decide to hop over there and read it, you'll understand why. And before reading: can you guess why Mozenrath was panicking about Uncle Iroh being a regent of Ababwa? Enjoy a cup of tea with him as you consider. ;-)

So any thoughts? Comments? There will be a slight time jump next chapter. So, if you wish to dress special, there is a wedding taking place. Guests of honor are welcome.