()-()-()

My god, this is real! is all Shang can muster to think.

He jumps off the saddle and in one swift motion, takes a step and grabs Mulan up, almost crushing her with his strong arms.

"Shang!" she cries out, her head pressed against his broad chest, which heaves breathlessly. He cups the back of her neck and buries his face on the top of her head.

"I love you, Mulan," he murmurs. "I never said it when you left and you almost died. You have to know that now! You have to know I really do love you!"

"Of course I knew that," she answers with a shaky laugh, "And I'm sorry I didn't tell you either."

The baby lets out a feeble whimper from being smashed between her mother's arms and her father's torso. Shang's ears perk up at the sound and he pulls away in surprise.

"Oh my god!" he whispers. He gazes down at the tiny infant in awe and Mulan pushes her gently into his trembling arms.

"She's a girl, Shang," she reluctantly says. "I'm sorry it's not a son, but you know I couldn't possibly control-"

"Why would I care if it's a son or not?" he interrupts, stroking the child's head. "I'm just happy you're both okay! And I know she's going to be just like you, why wouldn't I want a little girl?"

She raises her eyebrows. "Oh. Well I just figured that you'd want a first-born son to take over your position someday."

"Any son of ours will do," he chuckles. "I'm not that old-fashioned! And who knows, maybe she will take over my position someday."

She cocks her head a little, pleasantly surprised. "That's...that's great you think that!"

"What do you want to name her?" he asks.

Mulan is hesitant, still trying to decide if he's truly happy. "Well," she starts, "I was kind of thinking Mei-Rong, but I understand if-"

"Beautiful glory?" he interrupts again, turning his head to witness a firework explode against the black night. He softly laughs. "That's perfect, Mulan. So perfect."

Mulan, now entirely relieved, sighs with joy and slips her arms around his middle, leaning her head against his shoulder. He counters by pulling her chin toward his, and he presses his lips against hers with an insistent, tender kiss. She smiles against his mouth and her eyes flutter open.

"I missed you," she whispers.

"'Aight lovebirds, break it up," intervenes Mushu, hopping up on her shoulder. "Don't want the whole country to watch ya make another baby now."

Mulan looks up. "The whole country?"

Her and Shang see them at the same time. What looks like the entire attendance from the Emperor's Palace running over the hills on the worn dirt road, cheering jubilantly.

"How do they know I got the Mongols?" Mulan wonders.

"I came back outside when we heard the explosions," Shang says. "I knew it had something to do with you, so I took off right away. As I was leaving, someone in a guard tower shouted that you blew up the dam, and they all started celebrating. They must've started following me after I left."

"Oh," she giggles. It still makes her feel a bit bashful whenever people cheer and shout for her saving of the country. "All that, just for me?"

Shang rolls his eyes good-naturedly. "Don't be so humble, heroine of China."

The stampede of citizens parade over the hill, now shouting in a syncopated rhythm, "Mu-lan! Mu-lan! Mu-lan!" The front of the line pools around the base of the hill, and they cheer even louder when they spot her and Shang with the child.

"I don't know, Mushu," Shang comments, "maybe I do want the whole country to watch me give affection to my wife."

And before he can protest, Shang wraps the arm that doesn't hold the infant around Mulan's waist and bends her over in another passionate kiss. The now-extremely thunderous cheering fades away in her ears as her mind wanders into a blissful façade.

()-()-()

"Mulan!" she hears her mother cry from the echoey stone porch. Shang helps her step down from the carriage that he'd ordered to be drawn behind Kahn and his white stallion, given her post-partum state and the simple fact that newborns should not be subject to three-day horseback rides. Yes, their still untouched estate was still waiting behind in the Imperial City, but Mulan insisted that they go back to her home village first, to which Shang agreed.

"Oh, my precious daughter!" Fa Li exclaims, squeezing Mulan the instant she steps onto the ground, to her surprise.

"Mama, Baba, I missed you!" she says. She extends an arm around her father's torso as her other one is stuck between her and her short mother, who does not relent in embracing her.

"Aiya! Mulan, I nearly forgot!" exclaims Fa Zhou, pulling away. "The village got word from the messenger that the Mongols brought you to the Imperial City with-child! And you delivered it!"

"Have you really kept a Mongolian...bastard?" Li ends in a whisper.

Shang and Mulan share a brief confused glance. "Mama," she says, "I was never raped when I was with the Mongols. Shang is the father of my child."

Li looks bewildered and raises an eyebrow in surprise. "But you weren't even married-"

Zhou clears his throat loudly. "Where is our grandchild?" he asks, before his wife can continue. Shang reaches back into the carriage and pulls out the baby basket; a new one actually meant for carrying babies. Her parents sigh at the sight of the sleeping infant.

"She's a girl," Mulan says. "We've named her Mei-Rong."

"Beautiful glory," they note simultaneously. "How lovely!" Li adds.

"Lovely indeed!"

Mulan turns her head. "Grandma!" she proclaims. The even shorter woman hugs her tightly and lets out a low rumbling chuckle.

"I told you my plan would work," she declares proudly. Shang laughs, lifting the baby from the basket and handing her to Li.

"So it was you who gave Mulan the idea of changing her face," he says with a grin. "I must admit, she would've gotten away with it had I not caught her in between re-doing it."

"Oh my!" says Li, "Do tell us what all happened!"

Zhou fondles Mei-Rong's tiny fingers and gives a loving smile to his daughter. "Why don't we go inside?" he suggests. "It's probably a long story."

"It is," Mulan returns. She looks up at Shang, who has just a hint of a proud smile, and she laces her fingers through his large ones. He squeezes her hand.

The family starts to filter into the house but Mulan stays put. "Are you coming?" Shang asks, stopping by the door.

"In a minute," she answers. She wants to use the time to talk to her almighty dragon guardian before he runs off and throws another fiesta with the ancestors. He hops out from the carriage onto her shoulder.

"We did it, Mushu," she tells him. "Again. Hopefully next time China needs saving, Shang won't be such a hardhead about letting me go. That would've saved me a lot of sorrow."

"Yeah," he mutters, glum.

"What's wrong?" Mulan asks. The cricket chirps from the carriage window, and from what she can see he rolls his eyes.

"It's just..." Mushu starts. "Well, now you done saved China three times, and ya got Shang to protect you, and now ya even got a little baby of your own."

"What are you getting at?" she asks suspiciously.

"You don't need me anymore," he says.

"What? Mushu, I'll always need you," she protests. "You're my guardian, you have to be by my side to get through all the tough things in life. Of course I need you!"

His red ears stick straight up and his eyes are round as wheels. "Really? You mean it?" Mushu wraps his claws around her neck for a brief embrace and then leaps onto the ground ecstatically. "That's fantastic news! We oughta have a celebration!"

As he dashes up the grassy hill to the temple with Cri-Kee, Mulan rolls her eyes. "How did I guess that one?" she murmurs with a grin. She starts to ponder about the past nine months's adventures, and she smiles.

"We really did do it," she says to herself proudly. "We really did."

"Cri-Kee! Call out for egg rolls!"

*upbeat 90s pop music blares from the temple*

THE END

()-()-()