A/N: Thank you all so much for reading "The Greatest Gift." It pleases me to no end that you guys loved it! So after much encouragement, I decided to go ahead with my plans to write a follow up to it. This fic is going to be a series of one-shots that take place during random stages of Jasmine's pregnancy and after their child is born. They'll be in no specific order so I'll be hoping around all over the place with the timeline.
If you guys have anything specific you would like to see for this fic, then feel free to send it in the form of a review or in a private message. I already have a couple prompts that I plan on working on first, but I'll get to everything as soon as I can.
"Baba, come look at this!" A 5-year-old Aladdin stood on his tiptoes to peer at the fine silk laid out at the vendor's stall. His mother's birthday was coming up soon and he was sure they could save up enough to get her something nice. They weren't the richest people in Agrabah, but they certainly weren't out on the streets begging for food. They made enough to get by.
"Baba?" Aladdin turned around, expecting his father to be close. He frowned when he couldn't find him nearby. "Baba, where are you?" He wandered the marketplace, going from stall to stall in hopes of spotting his father.
"Baba?" With each passing minute, Aladdin could feel panic setting in.
"Baba?"
Where was he?
"Baba?!"
He wouldn't just leave him there, right?"
"Baba?!"
It felt like invisible walls were closing in around him. His eyes searched the crowd frantically, but nowhere could he find a familiar face.
"Baba?!"
Aladdin sat up with a gasp, his chest heaving. His heart was racing a mile a minute as his sweat-soaked night shirt clung to him. Taking a deep breath, he looked down at his sleeping wife, extremely grateful that his nightmare hadn't woken her.
She'd been exhausted as of late. With a country still to run and a baby well on its way, moments of peace and relaxation were a rare occasion nowadays. By the palace healer's estimation, Jasmine was due to give birth in just a couple short months. Not nearly long enough, in Aladdin's opinion.
When Jasmine had first told him she was pregnant, he'd been utterly shocked. Then shock quickly morphed into glee. He was going to be a father. But as the weeks passed by, doubt began to creep into his mind. Was he ready for this? Was he ready to take responsibility for someone's life other than his own?
The only thing that had stopped him from having a full-blown panic attack several times was the knowledge that Jasmine would be right there with him. Obviously, this would be her first child too, but he'd seen the way she handled herself when dealing with diplomats, delegates, and court officials. They thought her a sheep when really, she was one of the wolves. If she could rule a country, then he didn't doubt that she'd easily navigate the struggles of motherhood.
But him?
He'd spent nearly his entire life running through the streets of Agrabah and stealing to get what he needed. His father wasn't there and his mother had passed away soon after his sixth birthday. How could he be the father his child needed if he had no idea what a father was supposed to do?
Slipping out of bed, he quietly padded across the room to the grand double doors that led outside to the balcony. More and more he'd found his sleep disturbed by his terrible dreams and so he would come out here to clear his head.
He didn't know how long he'd been leaning against the railing when a voice startled him back to reality.
"Aladdin?" Jasmine walked over to him and put her hand on his arm. "Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, yeah, of course," he said, plastering a fake smile on his face.
But Jasmine saw right through him. She always did.
"Something's bothering you. I've noticed it these past few weeks. Tell me the truth." She rarely used her Sultana voice on him, but when she did, he was helpless to do anything but obey.
"It's just…." He sighed. "I never told you what happened to my parents, did I?"
She shook her head. "All you've ever said is that you lost them both when you were very young. I never wanted to pry any further because I didn't want to dredge up potentially painful memories."
"In a way, yes, I lost them both. But technically the only one I truly lost was mother." He blinked back the tears that were suddenly threatening to form. "She died shortly after I turned six. It was some disease. It ate away at her until there was almost nothing left."
"I'm sorry, Aladdin," Jasmine said, stepping close to wrap her arm around his waist.
He laid his cheek on the top of her head, her long, flowing hair tickling his face. He could practically hear the hesitation in her voice when she asked him, "What about your father?"
Aladdin was silent for a long moment, content to hold his wife and not disturb the peacefulness surrounding them. Finally, he spoke.
"He and I were at the marketplace just looking around. I was looking for a gift for my mother. One second he was there and then when I turned around to get his attention…He was gone.
"I searched everywhere for him; yelled his name up and down the street a thousand times…But he wasn't there. Eventually I went home to tell my mother. We waited for days to see if he would come back. But he never did."
"He just…vanished?" Jasmine asked, voice incredulous.
"He didn't just vanish. He left us," Aladdin said. His jaw was clenched in anger as all of the memories came flooding back to him. "He abandoned us. His wife and son. His family."
"…Does this have anything to do with your ever-increasing nightmares?"
Aladdin stiffened. "How do you know about those?"
Jasmine rolled her eyes. "You try to hide it well, but we do share a bed. And I'm seven months pregnant. I'm not getting much sleep. Sometimes I catch the end of your dream and then you wake up terrified. I've wanted to talk to you about it, but I was waiting for you to say something first."
Aladdin looked down sheepishly. "I'm sorry, Jasmine. I wanted to talk to you, but I just…I just didn't know what to say. Or how to say it."
"It's okay." She led them over to a divan that was sitting nearby. Now, why are you having nightmares about your father all of sudden?" When he didn't respond, she continued to push. "Is it because you're about to become a father yourself?"
Aladdin could've cried at how easily Jasmine had figured him out. They had only been married just a little over a year yet she knew him practically better than he knew himself. Instead, he let out a quiet laugh and shook his head. "How do you do that?"
"Do what?"
"You know, how do you seem to immediately know what's wrong?"
Jasmine smirked and held her head high with mock arrogance. "It's just one of my many talents."
Aladdin chuckled, knowing full well that she was joking, and yet he also knew that there was quite a bit of truth her statement. His wife was far too humble to ever outright admit it, but he had no problem in doing so.
"Aladdin." Jasmine's tone indicated that she was waiting for him to say something.
He sighed. "I'm just…I'm scared."
"Of what?"
"I don't know. Everything," he sighed. "It's just, I don't have many memories of my father. And the ones I do have…Well it's mostly just him being distant and pulling away from us. I guess he was getting ready to leave then. How can I be a good father to our child when I don't even know what a good father is supposed to be like? My own clearly isn't the greatest example."
"Aladdin," Jasmine began, taking his hand and rubbing soothing circles with her thumb. "We're not our parents. Your father abandoning you when you were so young doesn't dictate your future now. Do you want to know how I know that you'll be a great father? Because I. Know. You.
"You're the kind of man who uses his last wish with a magical genie to set him free. Instead of using it for your own gain, you chose to help a friend. When you were living on the streets, scrounging for food, you would give what you had to little boys and girls who maybe needed it more. You have a heart of gold, Aladdin. And you should never doubt the kind of man you are. After all, I wouldn't have married someone who wasn't smart, caring, and genuine.
"This baby," she continued," is beyond lucky to have you. As am I. You will never make the mistakes your father did. It's not who you are."
There were times when Aladdin didn't think he could possibly love Jasmine any more than he already did. Yet somehow, she kept proving him wrong.
He leaned over and captured her mouth in a slow but fierce kiss, his free hand coming up to tangle in her hair.
"I love you," he murmured against her lips.
"I love you too," she replied once they had parted. She cradled his jaw in one of her hands and stared deep into his eyes. "Listen to me, Aladdin. There is no such thing as the 'perfect parent.' We're going to mess up. A lot. And there are going to be times where neither of us have any clue what we should be doing. But we'll get through it. Because we have each other. There's nothing we can't face as long as we do it together."
Aladdin pressed his forehead against hers, closing his eyes to take in the moment of peace and relief that washed over him. As usual, Jasmine was right. There was still a part of him that was beyond nervous and scared about becoming a father. But no longer was it screaming at him.
Jasmine stood up and, wordlessly, Aladdin followed suit, trailing right behind her into their bedroom. He laid on the bed as Jasmine immediately snuggled up to his side, her large belly preventing her from completely draping herself over him. He wrapped an arm around her and felt something tap his side.
Glancing down, he smiled softly as he realized it was the baby kicking. He laid his free hand across Jasmine's stomach and waited while the kicking gradually died down.
I don't know if I'll be the best father in the world, he mentally told the baby. But I know that I'll be the best father I can be for you. I promise.
A/N: I already know what I want the sex of their baby to be, but I'd like to see what the rest of you think Aladdin and Jasmine would have first. Boy or girl? Also, I need some help on names, so if you guys have any suggestions, please don't hesitate to throw them at me because I got nothing so far.
