After the Shi children had awoken, Maomao was walking towards the tent where Lakan was recovering. Two guards held up their weapons to block her progress.

"Hold up there, no one is allowed beyond this point but the Moon Prince or members of the La clan."

"Good thing she is a member of the La clan then." Jinshi spoke up as she stepped up behind her. "Would you care to explain to Lakan why you prevented his dutiful daughter from tending to her fallen father."

"I apologize," The men stepped aside quickly. "I did not realize that this was the daughter of the Grand Commandant. Please, enter."

She nodded her thanks and stepped into the tent. "Makes me feel dirty in some way." She complained to Jinshi as he followed in behind her.

"You were the one that insisted on coming here." He reminded her. He winched as his words stretched his wound on his face.

"Are you sure you don't want me to restitch that?" Maomao offered. "Or perhaps, execute me for being the cause of such a scar?"

Jinshi gave her a look that let her know that last part was never to be brought up again. "I might ask you to look at it later." He said in a non-committal sort of way. "I'll leave you too it."

Maomao approached the bed where her wounded father rested. He looked up in surprise as she approached. "Maomao, you came?" He asked in disbelief.

"Well, I couldn't trust the quacks with your health." She said, keeping her tone neutral. She took out a wet cloth and wiped his forehead.

She worked in silence while she checked him for signs of infection. Once she was sure the doctor had done his job correctly, she cleaned his monocycle that was sitting next to the makeshift bed.

"Maomao…" Lakan started.

She shook her head. "You should save your strength, Grand Commandant." She rose and returned the cloth to the water. "I'll check on you again before we begin the trip back to the palace."

She took a step away and stopped by the flaps of the tent. "You came for me when I was in danger. I won't forget that. Thank you."

He shook his head. "I know I failed you, Maomao. I regret it every day. I keep going over in my mind how things could have been different. I'm so sorry."

She nodded. "Dwelling on the past won't change it. We have to embrace what we have and move forward. A wise man told me that."

"Our Honored Uncle." Lakan laughed. "I often wished he had been my father, when I was young. I was a little jealous that you got to live with him too, you know."

She smiled. "I was jealous of the way he praised your instincts. He taught me to be meticulous about evidence but praised you for not needing it. It irked me."

Lakan started to laugh but winched at the pain. "I wish I had spoken with you like this at first. Maybe then, I could have been in your life from the start. Maybe we could have been family, even if you didn't live with me."

"Maybe." Maomao sighed. "Rest now. If you die, I'll make sure you get a proper grave."

"Hey, that's better than you dumping me in a ditch. I was sure that would be my fate one day. Good night, my daughter."

"Good night."

She left the tent. She couldn't honestly say that all the issues she had with the man were gone, of course. But perhaps she considered him with a little more acceptance and less contempt now.

A/N: Another little story that has been floating around in my head. This was likely posted before the second part of Season 2. We will see though, I might have saved it to avoid spoilers. See you next time!