Contrary to popular belief, Ja'far didn't actually tell Sinbad everything.

Granted, he was no master of devious secrets like Sin. There were hardly any secrets he needed to keep-his entire life is basically comprised of keeping the company running, making sure Sinbad didn't try to dominate the world (again), and picking up after Sinbad's extraordinary messes.

And some of Sinbad's 'messes'... Sinbad didn't necessarily know about. But Ja'far was convinced that this was for the better.

It had been for the better… for a while. Ja'far didn't change his mind about this until a few days after the world had been "fixed" from whatever Solomon, David, and Sinbad had done to screw it up.

Luckily, only those who had been critical in the fight at the sacred palace with David knew that Sinbad had started the whole issue, and surprisingly, those who weren't fond of Sinbad were keeping it quiet. Ja'far guessed that they were busy enough as it was and were quite tired of the strife between themselves and the International Alliance. In fact, Sinbad was in far more danger from his friends: Ja'far had been held back from stabbing Sinbad in the face for forcing him to want to 'return to the Rukh!' To Ja'far's satisfaction, Sinbad did get a pretty loud lecture from the other generals all at once and a look from Morgiana that sent Sinbad off with his tail between his legs.

While the world was in a ridiculous amount of chaos, having been literally torn apart, friends still found time to celebrate once more before they were to be more permanently pulled to their responsibilities.

Ja'far had been standing by a table stacked with food and drink. The eight generals, their families, Alibaba, Morgiana, Aladdin, Hakuryuu, and… well Judar had just left after stealing some food and getting chased out by angry, powerful people with an old grudge-had been spread about the Sindria Trading Company's lounge (a majority of the city was miraculously intact), laughing and bickering and trying to dodge Masrur's kids that were on the loose.

While leaning against the wall and worrying about whether Sinbad was on drink number three or number five, Ja'far had heard Alibaba relax beside him while pouring himself some wine.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Alibaba had, taking a sip. "All that chaos, and we're still all happy together. I hope it stays like this."

"Yeah…" Ja'far agreed, smiling at Yamuraiha ruffling Aladdin's hair. "We'll have to keep a close eye on things."

By Alibaba's nod, Ja'far had known that he had understood: 'things' equaled 'Sinbad'.

"He really was just trying to protect people," Alibaba had offered, but he looked sad. "He's just… willing to go too far, and I still think he'll have problems leaning on us more." Shaking his head, he had let out a laugh. "You know, it's funny; I wasn't even sure if I should try to go to the Holy Palace and fight… not at first. I mean, everyone wanted what Sinbad did, and would it be just as arrogant as Sinbad had been trying to change it?"

Ja'far had been interested. "Really? What made you go?"

Alibaba's eyes had softened, and Ja'far had noticed them follow Morgiana around the room, where she had been lifting of Masrur's children onto her shoulders. "Morgiana. I wanted to marry her, and she wanted to return to the Rukh. It wasn't the woman I fell in love with. Sinbad was… forcing her to do something. I… I couldn't watch that happen to her. Never again."

"I see." Ja'far's smile had grown. "We're all very excited about the wedding.

A few months from now, was it?"

"That's right!" Alibaba had beamed. Draining his cup, his face had taken on a thoughtful expression. "You know, I wonder… If Sinbad had a family of his own, would this have ever happened? His wife could've told him when he was going too far and kept him in check, like Morgiana does for me. He would've probably been too protective of his kids to want them to return to the Rukh, and he'd be too busy with his family to do all of these stressful things on his own. He would have been forced to let his friends help and share more of his feelings." A shrug. "Strange, to think it might have changed so much… you think?"

The thought had never occurred to Ja'far before, but then he had stared at the blonde boy beside him. "I… Yes, that does make sense…"

Alibaba had wandered off towards his fiance, leaving Ja'far to frown in his master's direction. Sinbad was talking with Drakon and Hinahoho, his smile never quite lighting up his face like it used to.

Though Ja'far had always had faith in Sinbad, he had to admit that this whole event had shaken his trust. He was worried about how far Sinbad would go to do as he pleased… a way to keep him in check would be a Godsend.

Finding him a wife, Ja'far figured, would be out of the question. Sinbad was… Sinbad. Into women, but not into marital commitment. However, the other part of a family…

Now that was something Ja'far could fix.

Hey everyone! New story-came up with this with itsdanystormborn on tumblr, and posting because it's her birthday today!

This is a lighthearted little multichap (mixed with some good-ol' angst). I'm not shipping anyone with Sinbad-just a family/friendship story. There will be side ships mentioned of Alimor, Alakou, and Sharryamu, but not largely involved. Kind of a fix-it fic-Sinbad didn't die, basically.

I hope you enjoy! Happy birthday, Dany!

Mizpah,

~LoneStorm