-3 Years Later...-
"Can I get you anything else, my lady?" asked the servant girl. Jin looked up from her finished desert and shook her head.
"No, thank you," she said kindly, and her plate was taken from her. "Oh wait, there is one thing. That thing I asked for..."
"I have it here," said the servant with a smile, hurrying into the kitchen. There was a few moments and scurrying around and then she emerged with something small and wrapped up in red silk. "I found it and had it polished up, just like you requested."
"Thank you," said Jin with a smile, reaching to take it.
"Shall I take it to the Firelord then?" asked the servant.
"No, that won't be necessary," said Jin with a smile. "I'll take it to him. You're dismissed." The servant bowed and left respectfully and Jin headed for the one room she was certain to find her husband in.
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Zuko sat on the large love seat by the fireplace with a book in his hands. In his lap rested the head of little Kiri, his beautiful three and a half year-old daughter, sleeping peacefully as her father read silently. When the door slowly creaked open he peered up from the book and saw his wife enter, her face glowing and her stomach well rounded with their second child who was very soon to enter the world. Her eyes strayed to the sleeping Kiri and she smiled.
"Did she just fall asleep?" she asked in a hushed tone.
"Only a few minutes ago," said Zuko, setting the book down. "I'd carry her to her room but I was afraid to wake her." Jin walked around and sat on the arm of the seat beside Zuko and she placed a hand on his shoulder, admiring their daughter.
Zuko glanced at Jin's pregnant stomach and placed a hand on it, rubbing it affectionately. "I have something for you," said Jin softly, and she handed him the object wrapped in silk.
"What's this?"
"Happy anniversary," she said softly with a smile and he unwrapped it gently. His eyes widened when he saw what it was. Sitting there was the pearl handled dagger with the inscription along the side. Up until then it had been lost, but now...
"How?" he asked, looking up at her.
"I saw it in a pawn shop and had one of the servants get it." Zuko smiled at her and wrapped it up again.
"Thank you," he whispered. He glanced down at Kiri again and shrugged. "I supposed we better put this one to bed."
"I'll do it," said Jin, walking over to reach for her.
"Are you sure? I can carry her," offered Zuko.
"It's okay, I have her," said Jin. She lifted Kiri up with ease and Zuko walked with her to the child's bedroom. There were few moments where he could remember feeling this peaceful and happy, but lately it seemed every one of those moments involved his wife... and now his daughter. He hadn't known how much of a difference such a little person could make, but ever since Kiri had been born, he'd wanted to do everything he could to be the best father he could be. Grimly, he thought how his own father had been the opposite.
As Jin laid Kiri into her bed and tucked her in, she turned and saw the look on Zuko's face. "Zuko?" she asked softly. Zuko glanced up at her, just barely making eye contact. "What's wrong?"
Zuko walked over and sat on the edge of Kiri's bed and tucked a stray lock of her hair behind her ear. "I'll never understand it," he said softly. "I couldn't understand it then... why my father would hurt me..." He reached over, very gently stroking the left side of Kiri's face, and then stroked the left side of his own, his fingers tracing out his scar. "...and now that I'm a father... I don't understand how any parent could hurt their child..." He closed his eyes and lowered his head. "I'll never understand it."
Jin slowly approached him and placed a hand on his face. "You are not your father," she said softly. "You are stronger, wiser, and more loving than he ever was. And you're the greatest father our children will ever know. They love you and are glad you're their daddy, and I thank God every day that I have you as a husband." Zuko looked at her with a sad smiled and stood up, turning to her to kiss her.
"Thank you," he whispered. "Thank you."
"Mommy...?"
Jin glanced over Zuko's shoulder at Kiri who now seemed wide awake and smiled. "You are supposed to be sleeping," she said, sitting down on the side of the bed.
"Tell me a story, Mommy," said Kiri with a smile. "Please?"
Jin smirked, glancing back at Zuko who was smiling then turned back to her daughter. "All right, but only one, and then you have to go to sleep, okay?"
"Okay," said Kiri with a nod. Zuko turned quietly and left the room, hearing only the first few lines before he left.
"All right, now let's see... Once upon a time... there was a princess..."
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(A/N: Okay, the end for real now! I hope you liked it! It's been real, it's been fun, it just hasn't been real fun, lol. Kenshin fans, my next fanfic will be for Rurouni Kenshin which will start to be posted in a month at the most and it's called "Summer of the Never Dying MP3 Player," so I hope to see you there. Until then, cheers, I may do a few Jinko one-shots, and as always feel free to email or pm me any time, and you can always find me on youtube -my profile url is listed as my homepage on my writer's profile-. Cheers, and goodnight!)