A/N: Holy effing crap! I'm pleasantly surprised at all the positive feedback I got! Thank you so much!

Anyway, I don't have much to say this time around, so here you go!


A nameless face stares down at her, confused, if a little curious.

Katara feels nervous, excited, and terrified all at once. She bites her lip, fiddles her thumbs and altogether avoids looking into Nameless' eyes.

"What's up with you? You've been acting weird."

Katara coughs, looks at her feet, his shoulder, his hair, and then finally his face. "I'm…" she begins, but she can't seem to finish her sentence. The news to her is happy, but it is also unexpected. She isn't sure how he'll react.

"I'm pregnant," she blurts out, and then winces at the way she let this news tumble unceremoniously out of her mouth.

Nameless' eyes go wide. He opens and closes his mouth a view times, as if he isn't sure what to say. Finally his face splits into a wide smile and he lets out a shout of excitement. Katara is quickly pulled into his warm embrace and she feels incredible relief as he starts chattering on about how excited he is. Her arms curl around him and she sighs with contentment. This was going to be a happy time, and she could feel the bliss sink into her bones.


Katara jerked awake.

"—can't possibly be good for you, sleeping out here in the stable. That's how ya get backaches when you're my age!"

Katara blinked rapidly in an effort to clear away the sleep that may have been still lingering. She looked up at the plump innkeeper who was staring down at her with irritation.

"Sorry," she said sheepishly as she got shakily to her feet. "I couldn't sleep last night so I came out here to visit Appa." She cleared her throat and gave the woman a small smile.

"Well I'll have you know that it's not very proper for a pretty girl like you to sleep out in the stable! We used to have bandits crawling around these parts—"

"I'm sorry," Katara repeated. "I just…I just didn't want to be alone." She flicked her eyes downwards, trying to appear properly scolded.

She heard the innkeeper heave a sigh. "Alright then. I can understand the bound some girls might have with their animals. But I like to think I run a fine establishment, and having my customers sleep outside with the animals just doesn't sit right with me." She eyed Katara. "What's a pretty young thing like you doin' traveling around by herself anyhow?"

Katara tried not to scream. It had been a little over two weeks since Aang had left for Guru Pathik and Katara had been slowly making her way through the small villages that surrounded the Western Air Temple.

She had been getting the "aww, what're you doing all by yourself helpless woman?" thing from everyone. It was starting to get extremely annoying. It was also the least of her problems.

"I'm just on my way to visit a friend," the waterbender answered, trying to be vague.

The innkeeper raised an eyebrow. "Might I ask who? I could send them a message, let them know when to expect you—"

"I'm actually not sure which friend I'm going to visit yet." She bit the inside of her cheek in an attempt to not snap at this woman.

The innkeeper crossed her arms over her chest and gave Katara A Look. "You're not very organized, are you?"

Katara balled her fists up at her sides but refrained from speaking.

The innkeeper gave her Another Look before gesturing to the open stable doors. "I'm warning all of my customers that the rain clouds are coming in. The rains are coming early this year. If you have to get somewhere, I suggest you head out before you're caught in the storm."

Katara resisted the urge to laugh. Water falling from the sky would probably make her day. "Thank you for letting me know," she said instead.

The woman eyed her again before making her way out of the barn. Katara figured she'd better hurry up and move on out. Never had she had an innkeeper act that suspicious around her.

And all because she hadn't been able to sleep.

She leaned against the wood paneling of the stall—the only stall big enough to house Appa. The past couple of weeks without Aang had been sort of nice. Not that she didn't miss him, because she did, but it had been pleasant to have some time to self reflect and to be alone. It had also been nice to decide who she wanted to visit on her own without Aang's influence. She had thought about going to the South Pole and visiting her family, or maybe staying with Toph in Ba Sing Se. Staying with Zuko had also crossed her mind, but she knew that he was also busy running his country.

But last night had changed everything.

She had been sitting on the small but comfortable bed in the small but comfortable room that the innkeeper had rented out to her when she had felt it—life. It had stirred within her, and it was so small that Katara thought for a moment that she had imagined it, but she hadn't. She was carrying another life now; it had been born into existence inside of her. She wondered if women normally realized their pregnancy as early as she had, but then most women didn't have their bending element running within their very bodies. As a waterbending healer, she was more connected with her body, and the human body in general, then most others.

She had frozen in the bed, too shocked to feel anything. She gathered up her bag before stumbling out into the stable to be with Appa, to be with something that was familiar to her. It had baffled her—these past two weeks she had relished being alone, but now she wished she was anything but.

I'm going to have a baby.

Still leaning against the wooden panel, Katara let the realization completely wash over and envelop her. Her breath hitched and her arm curled around her stomach protectively. She felt her lips curve up into a smile. She'd make a great mother. Taking care of people was just something she was inherently good at. Knowing that in nine months she'd have another member of her family, someone who'd she'd helped bring into the world was exhilarating in the most beautiful way.

I'm going to have a baby.

Reality washed over her. She was an unwed woman traveling by herself with the father of her child off doing who-knew-what and who would be back who-knew-when. Panic rose in her throat and she shoved herself away from the wall and buried herself into Appa's soft fur in one swift movement. The tears welled up and spilled down her cheeks as her sobs wracked through her body. She inhaled Appa's scent, anything that might remind her of other times, anything that might soothe her. What was she going to do? Where was she going to go? At the moment she didn't even have a home to give to this child once it was born. For the past seven years she had been, for all intents and purposes, a nomad. She could feel tremors moving from the core of her body to the tips of her fingers.

She was absolutely terrified.

Appa groaned and swung his head towards her and watched her out of one of his large, inquisitive eyes. She entwined her fingers further into his fur and tried to take deep breaths. Suddenly a large tongue swept over her, leaving her soggy. The great beast made a noise deep in the back of his throat, as if to say that he didn't know why she was crying but that he was there. Despite everything, Katara found her lips curving into a very small smile.

"Thanks boy," she said quietly, pulling away and patting the leg she had clung to affectionately.

She continued to take deep breaths until the tears cleared. She knew that now wasn't the time to panic. Now was the time to plan. She had to be strong, if not for herself, then for the life inside of her.

She couldn't go to the South Pole. It would take months to get there. She could go to Ba Sing Se, but she wasn't sure if Toph was even there. The nineteen year old earthbender enjoyed adventures as much as Aang did and had never considered the great Earth Kingdom city to be her permanent home.

Katara fought off the urge to groan. That left the Fire Nation. That left Zuko.

"I suppose when I get there I could send a letter to Toph and Sokka, let them know about the situation. Then maybe they'll make their way to me," she said out loud.

That sounded plausible. Although Sokka would make it his personal mission to neuter Aang.

If their father didn't beat him to it, of course.

"The Fire Nation Capitol City it is then."


Just when Appa took off in the direction of the Capitol City (Katara figured it would be about a half a day's journey) the sky opened up on them. The rains had begun.

Feeling her element pouring down on her and trailing over her skin was invigorating. Katara tilted her head toward the sky and let the water drench her face and hair. She felt clean, fresh, new. She let out a shout of glee. If the water could wash away her troubles so easily, maybe she could look towards her future with a sense of purpose. It wasn't about herself anymore. It wasn't about Aang. It was about someone she hadn't even met yet.

Katara decided that she loved the rains.


Four hours later Katara had decided that the rains sucked. The rain was coming down so hard that Appa couldn't see three feet in front of him, not to mention that raindrops kept falling into his eyes and impairing his vision.

Katara had spent nearly the entire journey constantly bending the water away from Appa's head and parting the cascades of water in front of the great bison so that he could see. Her arms burned with the exertion, and she had started feeling light headed about an hour ago.

Her arms were visibly shaking. She wanted to cry out because of the pain.

When she finally spotted the Capitol City below them she nearly wept for joy.

She spotted the palace and directed Appa towards it, and the great bison happily landed in the court yard. Katara all but fell off his head. Instead she slid down and landed in an unceremonious heap on the ground. She groaned before pulling herself up. She could barely see the servants and guards making their way towards her. She could barely see anything in this torrential downpour.

"Lady Katara what are—" the guard froze when he got a good look at her. She was soaked to the bone, her hair plastered to her head, and she was swaying on her feet, no doubt about to fall over from exhaustion.

"The Fire Lord was not expecting you," the guard finished weakly.

Katara waved him off. "Just take me inside!" she had to shout to be heard over the pouring rain. "I'll deal with Zuko later." At the guard's uneasy expression she tried to give him a comforting smile. "He'll be happy to see me. He usually is."

She turned and began to shuffle her way towards the palace, hoping desperately she didn't run into anything she couldn't see. She could hear people shouting, probably alerting the rest of the palace that she was there. Her vision began to tunnel and grow spotty. She would need to lie down soon.

She walked through the palace doors. It was eerily quiet compared to the noise of the clattering rain outside. She starting making her way down the great hall, hoping someone would come along and steer her in the right direction. She was going to fall over any second.

"What do you mean Katara is—"

She glanced up to see Zuko make his way around the corner, several servants flanking him. He abruptly stopped when he saw her. He took a moment to take her in and she watched as all the color drained out of his face.

She huffed. Did she really look that bad?

"Katara," he croaked. "You're all wet."

It took her a moment to realize why that might strike him as odd. She always bent the water away from her whenever she got wet, yet here she was, soaked and dripping in his front hall.

She shrugged, her eyelids drooping. "It hurts to move my arms."

His good eye widened. He whirled around. "Have the guest chambers prepared in the next two minutes with towels and dry clothes laid out on the bed for Lady Katara. Go now." The servants scattered.

He turned back to her before he began to approach her. "Come on, I'll carry you to your room."

She shook her head stubbornly. "I can walk."

"You're literally about to collapse onto my floor."

"Letting you carry me would completely strip me of my dignity."

He was looking down at her now and she was slightly surprised to see how worried he looked. "At least let me help you."

She nodded, too exhausted to continue protesting. She started to pitch forward but he caught her. She leaned against him heavily and tried to keep her head up. He had a firm grip on her waist and slung her left arm across his shoulder before he started to move forward, towing her along.

"I'm going to be really irritated with you if you've gotten yourself sick."

"It's great to see you too, Zuko."

"No. I am happy you're visiting me, you just picked a hell of a day to do so."

"I try." Holding her head up straight was too hard. She let it fall against his shoulder. He sped up the pace.

"What brings you here anyway?"

"Aang's on a spiritual journey. I had to visit someone."

"I'm honored." She could hear the hint of amusement in his voice. She bit her lip. Perhaps it would be best to keep quiet about her situation for the time being, at least until she was able to formulate a more solid plan.

Sounded good to her.

She could tell when they had reached her room. Servants were scurrying in and out of it and a couple of guards had already stationed themselves outside of the door.

"Okay Katara, why don't you get some rest? If you get sick, I'll feel really bad."

Katara snorted and Zuko smiled down at her.

A sleek woman appeared in front of them. She appraised the Fire Lord and the waterbender with quirked eyebrows. Katara felt Zuko's grip on her waist tighten. He sighed. "Katara, this is my friend—"

"Zuko," the woman snapped, cutting him off. Katara felt him stiffen. "There's no need to be so secretive." Her gaze snapped to Katara. "My name is Jien. I'm his girlfriend."


Next time…

In which Katara decides that Jien needs to choke on her own kidneys.

Review pretty please!