Okay okay, I'll stop the suspense! Here's the second chapter. :P

"Why can't you tell me?" demanded Zuko hotly.

"It's… it's too hard to explain," replied Toph lamely.

Zuko snorted. "Isn't there anyone else you can ask for help? Aang? Katara? Your parents?"

"No, no, and HECK NO! Trust me, I wouldn't have come to you if you weren't my only option," informed Toph matter-of-factly. "The rest of the gang are leading their own lives now. Aang and Katara, as you know, are happily married and are too busy traveling the world to bring peace. I tried to tell you once about the horrible relationship between me and my parents, but you were too busy to pay much attention."

"What about Sokka?"

"Really, Sokka? You think he's a good person to go to for this sort of thing?"

"Okay, point taken. But what am I supposed to do?"

"I don't know. I hadn't figured that out when I came here. I was too desperate to think about it much."

"How… far along are you?"

Toph didn't answer for a while. "Three months."

"That long? You waited that long before you asked anyone for help?"

"I didn't know who to go to!" spat Toph defensively. "My hormones weren't letting me think straight."

Zuko clutched his head and moaned woefully, as if he was having a severe migraine. During most of his exile, Zuko had been anything but a selfless person; so naturally he had had a hard time considering the feelings of anyone outside his sphere of thought. However, his time with the Avatar and his service as Firelord of his people had since opened his eyes. Looking down at Toph's quivering bottom lip and shivering body, Zuko suddenly realized that Toph needed to be somebody's top priority, and that somebody had to be him.

"Okay, then you can stay here as long as you need to," offered Zuko.

Toph smiled gently and nodded. "Thanks, Sparky."

Zuko stood up. "We should probably get some sleep." He offered his hand to Toph, but she gruffly slapped it away, which caused Zuko to huff. "Typical Toph."

A smirk was Toph's only response as she briskly walked ahead of the insulted and definitely ruffled Zuko.

The next few weeks were relatively idle, being spent away with Zuko filling out paperwork and Toph lazily snoozing next to him. She had reluctantly agreed with Zuko that it was not the smartest idea to continue earth bending matches while with child. She sorely missed rumbling the ground supporting everyone within a fifty-foot radius, and pulling the earth like a rug from under the guards' cowardly feet. However, she was not planning on causing the untimely demise of her unborn child - no matter how much she yearned to fight.

One day, a knock at the door interrupted Zuko's busied train of thought and Toph's peaceful but bored doze. Zuko opened the door and saw one of his servants smiling pleasantly.

"A visitor has come to see you, sire," informed the servant.

Zuko's eyes brightened with delight, and he turned around to inform Toph, "Uncle is here!"

"YES!" whooped Toph. "MY EPIC BOREDOM IS FINALLY OVER!"

"C'mon," urged Zuko as the two of them scrambled to the front entrance like two little tots rushing to their father.

A loud "Oof!" escaped from Iroh's smiling mouth when he was tackled by an overenthusiastic Toph; Zuko hauled her off of his uncle, chiding her for not being more careful. Zuko then tightly embraced his uncle with a degree of amiability Iroh had rarely seen in him before.

"It's good to see you, Uncle," greeted Zuko.

"The feeling is mutual," returned Iroh kindly. "You didn't tell me Toph was here."

"He didn't?" said Toph as her brows arched into an obvious frown.

Iroh's eyes flicked back and forth between his nephew and Toph while he wondered if he had just made a poor choice of words. He patted his rotund stomach and remarked, "I'm starving. Do you have anything to eat, Zuko?"

"Uh, yes of course," answered Zuko, grateful for the distraction. "This way."

Zuko, Iroh, and Toph had a delectable luncheon of spicy, juicy meats, piping hot stews, and seasoned vegetables, all while continuing a steady, pleasant conversation. Iroh told Toph that business was a little slow in his tea shop in Ba Sing Se, so he had decided to have the place renovated. Thus, he had petitioned Zuko to allow him to stay at the palace until the shop was completely revamped with customer attractions.

As she was listening to Iroh, Toph was stuffing herself like a Thanksgiving turkey as she consumed more and more food than her bulging stomach could probably handle. She ordered odd concoctions for herself, combining such antipodal things such as dried fish and vanilla pudding, or blood sausage and peaches. Zuko pinched his nose and winced in disgust, while Iroh just stared blankly at Toph as she shoveled more food into her mouth. Zuko had no idea how he was going to explain this to his uncle. Finally Toph leaned back in her groaning chair and sighed contentedly from her unusual meal. Iroh noted that her stomach stuck out just a little more than it would have if it was only filled with meat, and squinted suspiciously at Zuko.

"Well, that was delicious," complimented Toph. "I think I'll let you two catch up one-on-one."

Before she could push back her chair and stand up, Zuko rushed behind her and edged it out for her. Toph blindly looked in Zuko's direction with an expression contorted with confusion, and told him that that was not at all necessary. Zuko replied with a shrug, nudged her out before she could argue with him any more, and shut the door firmly.

"Zuko, is there something that you want to tell me?" inquired Iroh in a tone suggesting that he already knew what was up.

Zuko, trying to think of a way to properly explain the situation, sighed heavily as he ran his sweaty hands through his greasy black hair.

Finally, he blurted, "Toph's with child!"

"Whose child?" asked Iroh lightly, unsurprised by Zuko's outburst.

Zuko sighed again. "I don't know."

Iroh spat back a sip of his favorite tea into his cup - which for him was a highly unusual occurrence; that statement wasn't the response that he had been expecting from his nephew.

"You don't?" said Iroh in a louder voice than he intended. "I-I thought that…"

"What? That it was my baby?"

Iroh awkwardly coughed and sipped on his tea again.

Zuko shook his head and insisted, "Uncle, she and I never - "

"Okay okay I believe you," interrupted Iroh as a flush of embarrassment permeated his wizened features. "So she hasn't told you who the father is?"

"No, and I have no idea why," replied Zuko frustratedly.

"Yet she sought refuge from you," pointed out Iroh.

Zuko nodded. "She came out of the blue demanding that I bring her into the palace. Not long after she confessed that she can't find help anywhere else."

"What about her parents?" suggested Iroh.

"We talked about that several times already," dismissed Zuko angrily, as if he were repeating this for the hundredth time. "Her parents will view her in dishonor and might even lock her up."

Iroh's eyes softened to a gentle, subdued expression as he stroked his beard pensively and pursed his cracked lips. "I suppose the best thing to do is care for her until she gets back on her feet."

"Really? That's all you got?" demanded Zuko. "I thought my all-knowing uncle would come up with something a little more helpful!"

"Well, what do you want me to say?"

"I don't know, something that goes beyond just physically taking care of her. Something that can help her emotionally - I mean I'm her friend and she refuses to tell me how she got pregnant! And she's so darn stubborn that she's not taking care of herself the way she should. She could hurt the baby!"

"You are showing an awful lot of concern for a child that isn't even yours," mused Iroh.

"Who cares if it's mine or not? It's the child of a close friend of mine."

Zuko bristled in agitation at his uncle, who didn't seem to understand how important this was to him. He clenched his fists, and angry flames appeared from them, brightening the room with their ghastly orange glow. Iroh calmed his nephew with a single touch on the shoulder, and the flames disintegrated into placid nothingness.

"I admire your passion, nephew, because it comes for the right reasons," complimented Iroh warmly. "Toph is lucky to have a compassionate friend such as you."

Zuko's mouth traced the outlines of a faint smile. "You think so, Uncle?"

"Yes," assured Iroh. "Now why don't you go fetch Toph? I'm sure she'd appreciate a steaming cup of Jasmine tea."

I hope I nailed everyone's character!