Prompt: Tragedy

A/N: Written from Zuko's point of view. Please review!

There are three stages to a tragedy; at least, that's what Uncle tells me. The event, the denying of the event, and then the reprecussions. He says that acceptance is inevitable, that it is as natural as the pain and rage that tragedy entails. I don't believe him.

I didn't meant for it to happen the way it did. I didn't meant for it to happen at all.

We had been fighting. Banter was a regular part of our day, but this was different; this was accusations and tears and uncontrolled bending. Katara drenched me. I burned the curtains. Still yelling over her shoulder, she slammed the door of our Ember Island home pointedly and moved away, surely blinded by the rain.

"Katara!" I yelled after her, still seething, but worried despite my anger. It was dark, and the pouring rain didn't help matters much. "Get back in the house!"

"Go away!" I heard her reply, muffled by the distance between us. I lost sight of her. Panicked, I moved away from the shelter of the open doorway and braved the weather.

"Katara!" I yelled again. I could see her slim form running down the length of the beach. I raced after her, determined to stop her before she hurt herself; Agni knew she was anything but rational when she was angry.

I called after her again, but she ignored me, turning sharply and starting to claw her way up the rocks that closed the area off from the rest of the public beach, creating a private beach for Ty Lee. She continued climbing, barefooted and wearing nothing but a nearly sheer nightgown that now clung to her body.

"Get down from there!" I roared. She looked over her shoulder once, eyes cold, before continuing her steady progress.

I ran faster, determined to reach her; she'll hurt herself, she'll hurt herself, Agni, no.

I cursed underneath my breath as I reached the bottom of the rocks. She had reached the very top of the cliff now, her face was turned up to the rain.

"Katara!" I tried again, my hand grabbing the first jagged end my hands found and hoisting myself up. The rocks were cool underneath my hands. "Stay there! I'll come get you!"

"I don't need your help!" she yelled, moving out of my line of sight. "I never did!"

"Wait there!" Panic was laced into my hoarse voice.

"No! I'm done with the way you talk about the-"

Her sentence broke off with a piercing shriek, and it was a solid minute before I realized it was hers.

"No!" I scrabbled up the cliffs quicker, numb to my bleeding fingers and the jagged rocks that clawed at my uprotected skin. Her frightened cry still rung in my ears, and oh Agni why can't I see her?

After what seemed like an eternity, I reached the top of the cliff. My head swung wildly from side to side, trying to see through the curtain of rain.

She wasn't there.

I barely registered myself swallowing as I moved to the other end of the cliff and looked down. There she is, my churning stomach told me- splayed on a jagged rock, unconscious, because of you.

"Katara!" I roared, scrabbling my way down the rocks, hardly seeing anything through the sudden red haze. My breath was quick ad I fell a few times, but was hardly deterred- she's not moving, she's not moving, she's not-

"Katara," I breathed as I reached her. At this proximity I found her head tossing back and forth. She's alive. I placed a hand on her shoulder; she whimpered sharply and pulled away.

"My Lord?" I looked over the side of the rocks; servants.

"Get a healer! Now!" I roared.

I turned back to Katara, hands moving of their own accord to cup her face. "Talk to me!" I gasped.

"Zuko…." She hissed, her body stiffening.

"Tell me where it hurts," I demanded, my own voice ringing in my ears. Every second that the healer wasn't here felt like hours.

"My… stomach.." she panted. My heart stopped. Internal bleeding was practically a mystery to medical science. No. Agni. Please. She groaned softly and started to roll over, and I shook my head frantically.

"You're not supposed to move." It was becoming increasingly difficult to breathe.

"But it hurts…." She gave out a sharp scream and rolled over on her side, curling into a fetal position. I felt the blood drain from my face.

"'Tara," I whispered fervently, mind in a panic. "Hold on. The healers are coming."

"I'm sorry…" Despite the raindrops on her face, I was certain she was crying. "Please… forgive me."

I shook my head wildly. "No. Don't… don't apologize. I wronged you. I should be begging you…" My voice trailed off as she gave out another sharp hiss.

My eyes widened, and I suddenly despised myself for my lack of knowledge of the human anatomy. "Is something broken?"

She whimpered as her hands travelled to her stomach; then went even lower, disappearing between her legs. My brow furrowed; I had only seen this type of behavior when she was suferring cramps during her monthly cycle.

"Let me see." Carefully, I pried her legs open, rubbing her arm soothingly with one hand while the other reached between her tightly clamped legs. I felt unmistakeable liquid against my fingers; had she wet herself? Puzzled, I drew my hand out from between her legs; and although the rain immediately washed it away, it wasn't before I saw the unmistakeable crimson of blood.

Blood pounded in my temples as I stood on the balcony, clad in dry robes. It was almost morning, and the healers had been with Katara all night. The cries that wafted towards me from the bedroom tortured me. I closed my eyes tightly and prayed to Agni for the umpeenth time, senseless prayers that called for everything and nothing at all.

I heard a shift behind me and whipped around. The healer on the edge of the balcony. "Fire Lord Zuko."

I didn't bother with formalities. "Katara?"

He nodded, understanding. "Your wife shows no damages besides scrapesand bruises. She is very lucky."

"Then why did she-"

The healer held up a hand. "I'm not finished. She's fine, a few days of bedrest is all the healing she needs. The baby, however…." He sighed. "I'm sorry for your loss."

My stomach dropped. "The… baby?"

His eyes widened. "You… were not aware of it, my Lord?"

I shook my head, mute.

"Uh. Well, there's-" I held up a hand, silencing him. After a minute of staring him down, the healer bowed and returned to the house, grumbling to himself.

I stared off into the morning, blood pounding in my veins. It was a few moments before my gaze gew blurry, tainted by the sudden grief. I felt a sudden lump in my throat and tried to swallow it; I buried my head in my hands, ignoring the morning.

The denying of the event. Katara didn't speak to me for days. I tried coaxing her out of her self-imposed shell with kindness and gentle words; but eventually, the familiar rage won out. It was my baby, too.

Were you ever going to tell me? Was it ever going to matter? Why? Why not?

Will it ever stop hurting?

Sometimes, she was as inapproachable as the topic itself. Sometimes, she was wanton and needy and it was in those times that we held onto each other as a drowning man holds grasps a drifting log. My own moods fluctuated just as rapidly.

One day, she refused to let me touch her; she rejected my palms, my lips, the pads of my fingers. I realized that acceptance was not as natural as pain and rage. Acceptance was as slippery as an eel-viper, as tangible as air. And for me, it had disappeared with the blood that the rain had washed away from my fingers. For Katara… well. Perhaps it had never existed.