Sam

Zuko and I sat together by the pond and watched the children play. Chang playing with her new toy and Izumi joining in.

"How did it go with Chang?"

"Good. She was scared out of her wits. She thought I was going to beat her." he said. I could tell he was upset by her assumption. Although he had a bad temper, Zuko was a gentle and kind soul. "I talked to her, though, and she came around."

"What happened at school?"

"She took a toy from one of the children and when he asked for it back she pushed him down. Sheeza ended up sending her to sit in the corner."

"Oh, man. I hope that isn't starting up again."

"I thought the same thing. I hope not, too. I did talk to her and it seemed to get through to her." Zuko said.

"Yes, and I think her new found friendship in Izumi will help her in the long run. She needs a friend. I don't think she ever had one before Izumi." I said and I looked sideways up at him. "She seems to have taken a liking to you, Zuko."

"Not just me. She likes you too. I think she is just fascinated that I won't hurt her. Poor thing. I always got so angry with her when she would pick on Izumi. Now that I know her home life, I can see why she was like that."

"It's like I always say, hun, you don't know what goes on behind closed doors." I said. Then something occurred to Zuko and he looked disgusted.

"Oh, Agni. Do you think he was abusing Chang like…he did those women?" I paused for a moment, considering.

"I don't…think so. She doesn't show any signs of it."

"But you said sometimes those children have a fascination with men."

"Not the kind of fascination she has with you. It's…different. She admires you." I said. I really didn't want to articulate what I meant by it being different. Thankfully, Zuko accepted this. I wasn't sure if he didn't want to know or he didn't want to ask me to elaborate.

One of the servants came out to us and announced it was dinnertime.

"Come on, girls! Time for dinner." I said. They both came running over and into the palace. "Girls! No running in the palace!" Zuko stood up and helped me to my feet. I took his hand and we headed into the palace.

The four of us sat down at the table and Chang sat her Turtleduck next to her on the table while she ate. She even fed some of her food to her toy. I thought it was adorable.

Later on, it was time for everyone to turn in for the night. I had helped Izumi bathe. She more or less bathed independently. She had inherited my thick curls so I helped her with her hair and I washed her back for her. Once I was finished with Izumi, I had decided that Chang would bathe tonight since she didn't the previous night. She wasn't happy about it though.

"But, Sam, I don't want to take a bath. I want to play with my toy!" she said, still clutching her toy.

"Chang, you didn't take one last night, so you must tonight. I will help you, don't worry." I said.

"But Mommy and Daddy only make be take a bath once a week." she said.

"Well, I'm not your mommy or your daddy. I'm Sam, and I want you to bathe. So you will bathe." I said, reaching for her to help her get her clothes off but she sat down on the floor and pouted.

"No! I don't want to take a bath!" I closed my eyes. I really didn't need this tonight.

"Come on, up." I said gesturing for her to stand. She continued to sit and pout. "Chang, now if I ask you to do something I expect you do it. Stand up. Now." I said using my no-nonsense voice. She sulked and stayed seated.

"Ok, since you don't want to bathe you can sit in the corner." I said gesturing to the chair. This is what I would have Izumi do when she refused to bathe. She didn't like that.

"NO! I WON'T BATH! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!" she shouted at me at the top of her lungs. Zuko came into the room and looked at me.

"What is all the shouting about?" he asked. He looked down and saw Chang sitting on the floor.

"Chang needs to bathe and she won't let me help her get ready." I said. I didn't want to involve Zuko in this. I always handled Izumi's misbehavior without resorting to wait til your father hears about this. I didn't want to instill a fear of her father in her, so I never used this tactic. But he was here now, and I wasn't going to lie to him. "She doesn't want to. Don't worry, hunny, I can handle this." He furrowed his brow and came all the way into the room. He took disrespect towards me very seriously. He looked down at Chang.

"Chang, if Sam tells you it's time to bathe, then it's time to bathe." he said.

"But I don't want to. Mommy and Daddy didn't make me all da time." she whined.

"I don't care, Chang. You are here now. And these are our rules." Zuko said. She didn't respond but she didn't get up either. Zuko looked at her disapprovingly and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Alright, Chang, if you won't bathe then you can sit in the corner." Zuko said. She still didn't budge. "Chang, now we don't tolerate this kind of behavior." he said. He went over to her, picked her up and placed her in the corner chair. "Since you're being so defiant, I'll take your toy for the evening." Zuko said, sternly, holding out his hand.

"No, please don't take my toy!" she cried panicked, clutching her toy.

"You have two options, you sit in the corner and pout or you take a bath and then you can play with your toy when you're done. It's your choice." he said. She lowered her head.

"Ok, I'll do it." she said, barely above a whisper.

"Good girl. So, you ready to bathe now?" I asked her. She nodded, still pouting. Zuko gave a quick nod in approval. He walked over to her and stroked her cheek.

"Good girl. Remember, Sam is a grown-up, so you must respect her and listen to her. Ok?" Zuko reminded her.

"Ok."

"Now, she is owed an apology." Zuko said. Even though he was being extra careful with her, he wasn't going to lower his expectations.

"I'm sorry." she said, halfheartedly.

"Say it like you mean it, young lady." he said.

"I'm sorry." she said, more genuinely.

"Good girl. Now, go on and get your bath over with, ok?" He said, chucking her under her chin and smiling down at her. She gave him a small smile and nodded. He then left to give us privacy.

"Can I bring Gizo with me?"

"Who is Gizo?" I asked.

"My turtleduck. I named him Gizo." she said and smiled at her toy.

"Oh, well, that is the perfect name for a turtleduck." I said tapping her nose. "The sooner you get a bath, the sooner you can be reunited with Gizo." I said. She clutched him again.

"But what if someone takes him when I'm in the bath?" she asked, nervous.

"No one will take Gizo, I promise."

"But I was bad today and I really like Gizo." she said.

"Does that happen a lot? They take away something you like?"

"Yeah, and my daddy burns my toys when I'm bad and I'm not allowed to look away." she remembered sadly. I couldn't help but blanch at this. That man is a monster. Her panic over Zuko taking her toy for the evening made a lot more sense now.

"I'll tell you what, why don't we bring Gizo into the bathing room with us? You can't bring him into the tub otherwise you won't be able to sleep with him tonight because he'll be soaking wet, but we can set him on the counter so he can watch over you. Then when you're done, you can cuddle with him. Ok?" Chang smiled. She liked that idea.

"Ok! He will be good at it too!" she said. I followed her into the bathing room and, as promised, Gizo was sat on the counter to watch over her. She, like Izumi, bathed on her own but I did help her with her hair and back like I did Izumi. Once finished she climbed out of the tub and rushed over to Gizo.

"Woah! Wait a second, speedy! You need to dry off." I said chuckling. She turned around and let me dry her…mostly. Then she rushed over and grabbed Gizo and hugged him tight. We walked out of the bathing room.

"Alright, go on and climb into bed. Zuko and I will tuck you in shortly." I said. She nodded and sat on the bed with her toy. I walked over to our room and found Zuko getting ready for bed. He was wearing his night pants with no shirt, as usual. I loved seeing his cut body every night. He wasn't a casual Fire Lord. He worked out every day to stay in shape.

"Sam, did you have any trouble after I left?"

"Nope, she bathed just fine. Thank you for your help." I said. "I found out why she got so panicked when you said you would take her toy." Zuko looked at me in interest. "She said when she was bad her father would burn her toys and make her watch." I said. Zuko's mouth dropped at this and then a look of guilt spread across his face.

"Don't do that, hunny. You didn't know. And it was a reasonable bargaining chip for a six-year old." I said.

"I hate it that I traumatized her. She's had enough of it."

"You didn't traumatize her, babe. She is fine. Come on, let's go tuck them in." I said. Zuko and I left the room and went over to Izumi. Zuko and I took our places on either side of Izumi. Zuko, like every night, bounced her up and down on the bed, tucking the blankets under her tightly. And, like always, she giggled and laughed when he did it. He leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"Good night, Turtleduck." he said.

"Good night, Daddy," she said. The she looked up at him. "Daddy?"

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"Do you think Chang liked her gift?" she asked. Oh that was the understatement of the century. I thought lovingly.

"Yes, I think she loves it. And I think she loves it even more that her friend, Izumi, gave it to her." Zuko said. Izumi's little face beamed with excitement. She loved making people happy. He kissed her on the tip of the nose and she giggled.

I walked up to her and kissed her all over her face like I did every night. She giggled at that as well. I also kissed the tip of her nose. "Good night, Zoom."

"Good night, Mommy!" she said. At that, Zuko and I both left the room. We walked over to Chang's room and she was talking to her toy.

"Hey, Chang. Gizo being a good listener for you?" I asked.

"Yeah, he said that I'm his best friend!" she said. I thought it was sweet but it painfully reminded me that she really did need a friend. Perhaps Izumi would, after all, fill that role.

"Good, well, you hold onto him tight, ok? He will snuggle with you when you sleep." I said.

"Ok, Sam." she said. Zuko walked up to her at the side of her bed.

"Alright, kiddo. Let's get you into bed. Go ahead and lay down." he said. He held the blankets up for her to climb and then once she was under he, like with Izumi, bounced Chang up and down on the bed and Chang laughed hysterically. Zuko had to stop to let her catch her breath. He kissed her on her forehead. "Good night, Chang."

"Good night, Zuko." she said. I walked over to her and did what I normally did to Izumi: I kissed her all over her face, making her giggle.

"Good night, Chang." I said.

"Good night, Sam." she said.

With that, Zuko and I left the room and headed to our own room. We both climbed into our respective side of the bed and slid over to each other until my head was on his chest and his arm was around me.

"She seemed ok with me." Zuko said sounding relieved, referencing the incident with the toy.

"I told you she wasn't traumatized. She is finally learning that real fathers are loving and caring. You are giving her something she never had before. Ever." I said. He smiled at me and kissed the top of my head.

"You always know what to say, my love. I'm not doing anything special with her." he said.

"That's the point. You are just being you. And she is seeing that." I explained. "You're a good man, Zuko. It's one of the billion reasons why I love you so much." I said. He kissed my head again and we settled in for the night.