Family
Zutara month: Pride
Takes place after Third Time Lucky.
"How are you doing Katara?" Zuko asked stupidly to his wife, who was currently in labour. She was sweating immensely and her hair was plastered to her face. Her eyes appeared wild and raw.
"How am I doing!?" Katara screeched. "Why don't you try squeezing a human out of your body, before you ask me how I'm doing!" Zuko winced, the hormones were at their peak.
"You're right Katara, I'm sorry. I-"
"Shut up!" She bellowed, cutting him off. "Shut up you ignorant pig or I'll come over there when I'm done and-!"
"Calm down Katara!" Zuko retorted.
"Fire Lady Katara, I implore you to keep your voice down. Fire Lord Zuko, I advise you never to tell a pregnant woman to calm down." The healer delivering their baby counselled. Katara, who was breathing heavily at this point, looked at the woman, smiled and nodded. Zuko raised his eyebrows. Apparently she only wanted to slaughter men.
Zuko tried a more supportive approach and grasped Katara's hand. He was pleased to feel that she squeezed his back. Maybe a bit too much. Okay, she was cutting off his circulation. But he knew better now than to complain.
"The baby is coming." The healer informed them. "Be ready to receive him Fire Lord Zuko." Zuko's head snapped sharply to look at her.
"Now?!"He asked disbelievingly. Katara gave him a withering look.
"Yes now!" The healer snapped impatiently. Zuko became a complete blank. He had known he was going to be a father. Him and Katara had always spoken about it and he'd thought about it avidly during the nine months of Katara's pregnancy. But the fact had not truly hit him until that particular moment when Katara was in labour. In a few minutes, his child would become an existing human being and he would officially be a father.
"Zuko!" Katara yelled at her suddenly shocked husband . At the sound of his wife's voice, Zuko snapped out of his reverie and moved quickly to stand next to the healer.
"Get ready." She instructed. Zuko's heart quickened immensely and his stomach turned over in anxiety. He'd never felt so nervous in his life. Well except for when he'd proposed to Katara. He glanced at Katara and she gave him a strained but affectionate smile. Better than the death threats. He in turn gave his wife a loving and reassuring smile to match hers.
Suddenly Zuko heard a cry break the tension in the air. He turned his head. In the healer's arms was a beautiful baby boy. Zuko was speechless. This was his son. The healer wrapped the new born in a warm blanket.
"I'm pleased to present your new born son to you, Fire Lord Zuko." She said, handing the small baby to the astounded father. He gazed in wonder at the dark haired and eyed infant.
"Let me see him." Katara ordered weakly. Zuko walked over to her, sitting next to her on the edge of the bed. Carefully, he delivered the youngling into his mother's arms. Katara watched her son with absolute adoration.
Then she cried. Loud and uncontrollable sobs that heaved her shoulders and shook her exhausted body. Zuko looked at her in bewilderment. Why was she crying? The healer gave him a meaningful look. Zuko sighed. She'd carried their child in her frame for nine months, had painfully given birth to him and had just laid eyes on him for the first time. Of course she was going to cry. And there were also the pregnancy hormones to think about.
Zuko shuffled closer to the woman he loved and tenderly embraced her in his arms. Katara, with their son still in her arms moved to bury her face in Zuko's chest, her tears soaking into his shirt. Zuko suddenly felt overcome with emotion himself and tears threatened to spill. He buried his head lovingly into his wife's hair.
"You're the most amazing person on the planet." He said to her softly, his voice shaking with increasing sentiment and passion. "I'm so proud of you Katara. You brought our beautiful son into this world." Katara made a sound that combined of a laugh and a sob. She lifted her head from Zuko's chest to look into his eyes.
"I love you Zuko." She said genuinely, her bright, blue eyes shining to reveal strong emotion. Zuko's arms tightened around her, but took care of the baby's position. He kissed Katara softly as if she would break. She instantly leaned into him not hesitating to apply pressure on the kiss that he wouldn't. Pure bliss ran through Zuko's blood. This was everything he needed. Katara was everything, his son was everything, his family was everything. He pulled away.
"I love you too."
X X X
Hakoda, Iroh, Toph, Sokka, Suki and Aang were in the room with them now. Hakoda had had tears running down his face when he'd held his grandchild. Iroh had offered many words of wisdom about the gift of life when he'd held him. Now Aang had the infant in his arms. His eyes were trained on him in awe as if his eyes didn't believe what they were seeing. He looked up at Zuko and Katara.
"I can't believe you guys are parents now." He expressed quietly.
"Neither can I." Sokka agreed. "I mean it's great but it seems like just yesterday that we were home and you were yelling at me about not doing the laundry Katara." Katara laughed.
"You still don't do your laundry Sokka."
"I can believe Katara's a mother." Hakoda differed. "Because she's exactly like her own." Katara smiled genuinely and her hand automatically went to her mother's necklace.
"I can believe Zuko's a father." Iroh said. "Because he's nothing like his father." Everyone laughed but Zuko gave his Uncle an appreciative look.
"Hand him over Aang." Toph piped up. "It's time for the baby to meet his favourite Aunt." Aang grinned and carefully placed the child into Toph's waiting arms.
"You guys tell me," She requested. "Who does he take after?"
"He has Katara's skin." Sokka said.
"But Zuko's hair." Opposed Suki.
"Definitely Zuko's nose." Aang observed.
"We'll have to wait for the eyes" Zuko said. "Katara and I agreed that we won't name him until then." They all nodded in agreement.
"Okay Toph. Now you hand him over. Time for the baby to meet his favourite Uncle."
"I'm the Avatar! I'll be his favourite Uncle. He'll be asking for Uncle Aang all the time."
"I think it'll be better for his health if everyone kept you two nutjobs away from him." Toph joked, passing the newborn to the Water Tribe warrior.
"Look at his little fingers and toes!" Sokka marvelled.
"You were the same Sokka." Hakoda informed. "And your face was squished up like a walrus-elephant." Everyone laughed at Sokka's baby description.
"Thanks Dad." Sokka said sarcastically.
"I have plenty of stories of Zuko as a child." Iroh volunteered proudly. "There was one time when-"
"Uncle!" Zuko protested sharply. "Nobody wants to hear those!"
"I object." Toph opposed. Katara giggled naturedly as her son was passed to Suki.
"I'm with Toph, oh mighty Fire Lord." She mocked good-naturedly. "I'll hold you to those stories."
"You don't want me to tell your cactus juice story of last year Katara." Zuko countered, receiving strange looks from the others. "Suki, give me the darling boy." In a few seconds the baby was back in his father's arms, looking blindly into his face and attempting to move his fingers. Zuko looked back with love. Zuko regarded everyone else in the room with him. His wife, who was still tucked in next to him, his Uncle, his father in law, his brother in law and his friends. But now, with his son in his arms, they all felt like his family. They were his family.
Zuko had been worried about so many things while Katara was pregnant. He'd worried that he'd be a bad father. He'd worried that the Fire Nation wouldn't accept the child as his heir and he'd worried that the baby would cause a strain on his and Katara's marriage. But during that moment, with his son cradled in his arms and the people he loved around him he felt only pride. Pride for the strange family he'd acquired over the years and pride for the new addition. Zuko turned to Katara and kissed her head tenderly. It was because of this family that he knew everything would be okay.