"Do you know what the heck is going on?" asked a maidservant to another girl.
"No, what's up?" asked the serving girl.
"The entire South Wing is covered in fog!" whispered the first girl slyly.
"What?" the serving girl asked, incredulous. Fog? In the Fire Nation?
"It's true! Go and see for yourself!" giggled the maidservant.
"All right, I will," said the serving girl, marching away to the South Wing of the Fire Palace. This should be interesting.
"What the..." said the serving girl when she saw the entrance to the South Wing. For there was, indeed, fog. It was very thick, too.
"I told you so!" said the maidservant to her friend.
"But, how? This is the Fire Nation. There's not supposed to be fog in the Fire Nation. Or inside a building, either. Where's it coming from?"
"I don't know. Truth be told, I don't want to walk in it for fear of getting lost," said the maidservant.
"Hold on. The South Wing has the Royal Chambers," said the serving girl. Things were starting to click into place in her mind.
"Yeah. So?" asked her friend, not catching on.
"So, Fire Lady Katara is from the Water Tribe," said the serving girl. "Now do you get it?" she asked with a grin.
"No. Explain it to me," whined the maidservant.
"You are so dense sometimes," complained the serving girl. "How do you get fog?"
"I don't know! I'm just a royal servant for Agni's sake!"
"When fire and water come into contact, they create steam. Or, in this case, fog," said the serving girl.
"So, you're saying the Fire Lord and his Lady did this?" asked the first girl, not quite ready to believe such a thing.
"I'm saying, we might have another royal in the family soon," said the serving girl, grabbing her friend and swinging her around in a "happy dance".
"You really think so?" asked the maidservant, catching her friend's enthusiasm.
"Yes, I do," said the serving girl. "But you have to keep it a secret. The Fire Lord and Lady will let us know when they feel ready. Swear on Agni that you won't speak a word of this, ever, until the Fire Lord says so. Swear," said her friend.
"I swear by Agni, goddess of Fire, that I will not speak of this...joyous news," said her friend reluctantly.
"Good. Now come on, we both have duties we must perform."
"Zuko, it's time to get up, love," said Katara, still sleepy herself.
"Mmm, five more minutes," he replied, turning over to hug her to his chest.
"What ever happened to 'firebenders rise with the sun'?" Katara asked, smiling.
"Mmm," was all she got in response.
"Come on honey, up and at 'em," said Katara, breaking his hold to sit up and throw the blankets off them.
"Gah! It's cold in here," said Zuko. "You should know better than to wake a man that way!" he whined.
"Oh hush. I gave you five extra minutes. Now come get dressed," said Katara, already moving to her bureau.
"Fine," grumbled Zuko, getting out of bed and stretching lazily. He walked over to his closet to pick out what to wear.
"Don't forget you have that meeting with the financial advisors today," called Katara from across the room. "Wear something nice. They're a little old-fashioned, so you need to show them you have strong values."
"Yes dear. How's this?" he asked, holding up a red shirt and black pants.
"Hmm. Do you have something a little bit nicer?" asked Katara, studying the clothing Zuko was holding up.
"Okay...how about this?"
"Great! Now put it on," ordered Katara, smiling.
"Yes, Oh Great and Wise Waterbender," said Zuko with a mocking bow.
"That's Oh Great and Wise and Superior Waterbender to you," said Katara, grinning and playing along.
"Well, let me make it up to you..." Zuko said, and grabbed Katara from behind, spun her around, and kissed her soundly.
Pulling back an inch, Katara said, "You'll be late if you don't hurry up, dear."
"Alright, alright, I can see you don't want me around..." he said with a fake-hurt expression.
"Come here," sighed Katara. He quickly obeyed, and she gave him a hug and a kiss. "Better?"
"Much. I love you, Katara," he said, hugging her back.
"I love you, too, Zuko. Now get going. Good impressions, remember? Make sure you play nice with all the other boys..." she laughed.
"Yes mother," Zuko said, laughing with her. "I'll see you for lunch in the kitchen?"
"That would be lovely. See you later," Katara said with a last quick kiss.
For the next few weeks, their mornings followed along a different, more serious routine.
"The advisors demand an heir," said Zuko, sitting on their bed one night.
"Well that's rude of them," huffed Katara. She and Zuko had only been married for fourteen months now. They were still teenagers. An heir?
"Welcome to the life of a royal," drawled Zuko, tired from arguing with the advisors. They were so long-winded and adamant that they knew best...
"It's about time someone gave me a proper greeting," teased Katara, putting her hands on Zuko's shoulders and pushing him down onto the mattress. "How about, just this once, we let the advisors have their way?" she asked seductively.
"Oh, alright. But just this once..." teased Zuko, leaning up to kiss her.
The next morning, Katara woke an hour after dawn. She opened her eyes, and immediately felt like something was wrong. It was her stomach. It wouldn't settle down. Suddenly, she shot out of bed and ran into the bathroom. She was going to be sick, and would prefer not to do it in her and Zuko's bed.
"Katara?" asked Zuko sleepily. "Is everything okay?"
When he felt the bed next to him and Katara wasn't there, he got out of bed at once and moved into a fighting stance, prepared to attack any threat.
"Katara?" he called.
He heard a groan from the bathroom. Cautiously, he walked to the door and knocked.
"Katara, you in there? Are you feeling okay?" he asked, worried.
Again, a groan, and, "Go away, Zuko." That was definitely not in her character. He jiggled the doorknob. It was locked.
"Katara, open up!" he called, quickly becoming frantic.
"No. Go away," she said again.
"No," Zuko, replied. He kicked open the door to find Katara slumped over by the latrine. "Katara, what in the world is going on?"
"I just have a little stomach upset. I'll be fine," said Katara, squaring her shoulders.
"No. I'm taking you to see the doctor."
"No. I'm a waterbender, I can take care of myself," said Katara stubbornly.
"No, I'm taking you to the royal doctor," said Zuko. With that, he swooped down, picked up Katara, and walked into the hallway.
"What the heck?" he said, finding himself completely surrounded by fog. "Katara, what's going on?"
"I think I know...take me back to our bathroom!" said Katara, becoming excited.
"No, we've been over this, I'm taking you to see the doctor!" said Zuko.
"Zuko, I'm pretty sure I know what's going on. But I need a few minutes to think and do some...tests," said Katara, blushing a little.
"You're sure about this?" asked Zuko, torn between what he thought was right and his trust in his wife's judgment.
"Trust me sweetheart," said Katara, cupping Zuko's face in one hand. Zuko closed his eyes and leaned into her hand, conflicted.
"Alright. I'll let you do your...tests. But if you're wrong about this, I'm taking you to see the doctor immediately. Okay?"
"Yes, Zuko. Come on!" and she jumped out of his arms before he could ease her down and hurried back into their room.
"Katara, wait!" said Zuko. He walked in after her, to see their bathroom door being shut.
"Come on, Katara. Let me in!" he demanded, pounding on the door that Katara had frozen shut.
"Zuko, this is something I have to do alone," came Katara's voice from beyond the door. "It's private. It won't take me but a few minutes. Get dressed, and I'll be done when you are."
Zuko, instead of following her suggestion to get dressed, started pacing around the bedroom. What was taking her so long?
Katara took a deep breath and gathered some of the water that was in the basin to her. She lay down on the floor, put her hands on her abdomen, and closed her eyes, concentrating on the water in her body. She probed deeper and deeper, until she came to a small bump. An abnormality. With her water, she felt around it, feeling its shape and size. With a gasp, she opened her eyes and released the water. She melted the ice off the door and ran into the bedroom.
"Zuko!" she cried, tackling him in a wolf bear hug.
"Is everything okay? Are you sick?" The worry was clear in his voice.
"Zuko, we're going to have a baby!" Katara said into his shoulder.
"-what?" asked Zuko, confused. That answer was the last he had been expecting.
"You're going to be a father, and I'm going to be a mother!" Katara said, standing at arm's length from Zuko. She left her hands on his shoulders in case he fainted. Suki had told her that Sokka had fainted, and she'd been too far away to catch him in time. She didn't want Zuko to do the same. Fortunately, Zuko quickly recovered, then pulled Katara into a deep, passionate kiss. When he pulled away, he grabbed her hands and started dancing in a circle.
"I'm gonna be a father!" he sang.
Katara laughed along with him. "Yes, and I'm going to be a mother," she said, tears of happiness running from her eyes.
"Come on, we have to tell Uncle!" said Zuko, grabbing her hand and dashing out into the hallway.
"But Zuko, we're not dressed!" said Katara, laughing at Zuko's excitement, which almost matched her own.
"That's alright. You know why? 'Cause I'm going to be a father, that's why!" he said, spinning Katara and running at the same time.
Finally, after many spins, shouts, and hugs, they reached the doors of Iroh's private chambers. Not bothering to knock, Zuko opened the door and shouted, "Uncle, I'm going to be a father!"
"Wha-" was all Iroh managed. His nephew had woken him from a deep sleep.
"I'm going to be a father!" said Zuko again, only too happy to say it.
"Nephew, this is most wonderful news!" Iroh exclaimed, stretching. "When...?"
"We just found out a few minutes ago. So I guess...Huh. Katara, when's the baby going to be born?"
"You're so silly sometimes. We have nine months until the baby comes," Katara said, walking forward to give Iroh a hug.
"That long?" whined Zuko.
"Yes. You'd be surprised. Now that we've told Iroh, we need to have a private talk, Zuko, about the next year," said Katara firmly, grabbing Zuko's arm and dragging him to the door. "Sorry about waking you, Iroh, but it was kind of important," she said, then pushed the door open and dragged Zuko back to their bedroom.
When they got there, she sat him on the bed and told him about pregnancy. How she would become fat, moody, touchy, demanding, sore, get cravings, and morning sickness. How he wouldn't be allowed to be there to see the baby born, but could come into the room after. How they wouldn't be able to be intimate for awhile. All through her lecture, Zuko paid careful attention.
"What if I forget something?" he asked worriedly when she was done.
"I'll be there to help, too. We are going to raise this child. I am not going to have some Fire Nation nanny tell me how to raise my children," she said vehemently.
"Of course not, honey," soothed Zuko, slipping into his role of support easily.
"We have to tell Aang and Toph, and Suki and Sokka. And a formal proclamation...Then there's the clothes for the baby, the sleeping basket, and the furniture modifications..." Katara listed.
"Not to worry. I will take care of everything," said Zuko, who got dressed in under five minutes and left to tell the advisors of the heir-to-be.
The advisors seemed relieved when he told them the news. The next day, Zuko and Katara put on their ceremonial robes and stood out on the balcony of the palace to make the announcement to the populace. Cheers rang out from every corner of the crowded square, and Zuko, forgetting the formality of the occasion, swept Katara into a passionate kiss in front of the crowd. Hoots and whistles followed, and Zuko and Katara waved before heading back inside to continue preparations for the baby's arrival.
All through Katara's pregnancy, Zuko was there for her. He never complained about getting up in the middle of the night, never lost his calm in the face of her mood swings, and always jumped to do her bidding, even when it meant blowing off meetings with important nobles and dignitaries.
The baby finally arrived in the early spring. While Katara was in labor, Zuko paced back and forth outside the Royal Infirmary door, anxious. He almost set the door on fire when Katara started screaming from the contractions. Luckily, Iroh caught him before he could do any harm, and told him to be patient, that these things took time.
After three grueling hours, Zuko was allowed in to see his new son. He was sleeping in Katara's arms contentedly. Zuko rushed to Katara's side and kissed her forehead, sweeping her hair out of her face in the process.
"You are alright?" he whispered.
"I'm very well. Meet your new son, Zuko," Katara whispered back, exhausted after giving birth.
"We'll need to come up with a name for him," said Zuko, taking the baby boy into his arms the way Katara had showed him a few months ago.
"He's beautiful," Zuko murmured, cooing to the sleeping infant.
"Mmm..." said Katara, leaning back against the pillows.
"Oh, I'm sorry! I forgot, you must be exhausted! Nurse, could you...?" he said, holding the baby out to her.
"Yes, My Lord," whispered the girl.
Zuko placed his son into the capable hands of the gentle nurse and turned back to Katara. "Sleep now, love, I'll stay with you," he whispered in her ear. He pulled a chair to her bedside, sat down on it, and took Katara's hand. He rubbed soothing circles into her palm, and Katara fell asleep in no time. She slept until it was supper time. The nurse from before walked in and ordered Zuko out, saying the babe needed to eat, Katara to rest, and him to eat his own supper in the dining room or kitchen. Zuko left, with a kiss on both Katara's and his son's foreheads.
When he returned, he said, "I know the perfect name for him."
"What?" asked Katara, curious.
"I've always liked the name Kuzon. It was one of my ancestors' names, and I know he did horrible things to the other nations, but, maybe this little guy will change the legacy of the name," Zuko said in a rush.
"Kuzon. I like it," said Katara, already drifting back to sleep.
"Good night, Katara. And you too, Kuzon," said Zuko, sighing in content.