Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender
Author's Note: I think this has been done, but I wanted to put my own spin on it, based on my experiences as a mother. It occurred to me how having a child might affect Zuko, and how he might want to do things differently from what he grew up with.
A New Beginning
Fire Lord Zuko paced the corridor, as he had been doing most of the day. Certainly, there was Fire Nation business to attend to, but he simply couldn't concentrate while his wife was giving birth to their first child.
If he had not been so worried, Zuko probably would have been seething with impatience. Did this baby thing have to take so blasted long? Early on in Song's labor, while the contractions were still mild and widely spaced, he'd been able to talk to her and walk up and down the hallways with her. For more hours than he'd been able to keep track of, though, she had been shut up in a room with the midwife and a few other women.
At last, the midwife opened the door and smiled reassuringly at her ruler.
"Congratulations, my lord," she greeted him. "You have a healthy baby boy. Everyone's fine."
A son! The relief and excitement he felt weakened him at the knees.
"Can I see them?" he asked eagerly, forgetting that he was the Fire Lord and shouldn't have to ask permission. After looking back over her shoulder, the middle-aged woman nodded and gestured for him to enter. Zuko hardly noticed as the other women filed out at his entrance.
Song sat there on the bed, propped up by many pillows and holding a small bundle in her arms. She looked up at her husband with a tired but happy smile. He thought she looked as beautiful as ever, even though damp tendrils of hair stuck to her forehead as evidence of the exertion she had recently completed.
Zuko kissed her on the forehead before leaning down to get his first look at their baby. He took in the golden eyes, red face, and slightly squashed forehead, and his heart melted. He'd thought he loved his mother and his wife, but this was another category entirely. He looked back to Song in awe.
"Would you like to hold him?" she asked.
"I'm not sure…" Zuko hesitated. The baby seemed so small and fragile that it made him nervous. Song gave him a reassuring smile, reading his mind as usual.
"It's all right. Just support his head." She handed the infant over and assisted Zuko to arrange him carefully in his arms, where he held the tiny bundle awkwardly, almost afraid to move. The boy regarded his father solemnly with wide, unblinking eyes.
"I can't believe you made this!" Zuko exclaimed after a moment. Song laughed lightly.
"You helped," she reminded him, her eyes dancing mischievously.
"You had the hard part," he insisted, mystified by the miracle in his arms. "I will never hurt you," he promised his son in a whisper, bending his head to kiss him softly before returning him to his mother, who began to feed him.
Zuko would have liked to promise that the infant who'd been given into his care would never be hurt at all, but he knew that was unrealistic. As the boy grew, he would doubtless get skinned knees, fall from high places he shouldn't have been, and bump into things from running too fast, along with a host of things Zuko couldn't predict. The young Fire Lord could control his own behavior, however, and he vowed that his son would never have cause to fear him.
Zuko reached up to touch his old scar, the constant reminder of his own father's disregard. Whatever happened, this child would know every day of his life that his father loved him. Just as he was making a new start with the Fire Nation, so Zuko also wanted to make a new beginning with his growing family.
"What should we name him?" Song broke into Zuko's thoughts. Zuko considered this. None of his ancestors' names seemed appropriate somehow, especially not in the last few generations. Suddenly, he smiled as the right choice came to him.
"Iroh," he answered, thinking of the one man who had stood by him through all of the hard times, who had tried his best to counsel and teach him, even when he wouldn't listen. The wise, old man who had died last year, as though seeing his nephew safely seated on the throne and married off had ended his mission in life. Uncle Iroh had joined his own son in the Spirit World, and for that reason, Zuko could not really regret his passing, though he sometimes missed him. This way, there would finally be an Iroh on the throne, someday.
"Perfect," Song agreed with shining eyes. She turned to the baby and said, "Welcome to the world, little Iroh." Zuko felt tears pricking his own eyelids as he kissed his wife again, this time on the mouth.
"I love you so much," he told her. "Both of you."
"I love you, too."
Zuko watched mother and baby until they both fell asleep, and for several minutes thereafter. At last, he summoned the nurse to take over, and she gently took the newborn and settled him in his bassinet. Zuko smiled at his family one last time as he shut the door quietly behind him.
Author's Note: I make no apologies for the general sappiness. In my experience, men do always hold babies like they're made out of glass. Some of the dialogue here is taken from what actually happened between my husband and me after our first son was born.
Proud member of the Boomeraang Squad: charleegirl, Jesus.Lives, Liselle129