A/N: Sorry I've been gone for a while. Exams and end of semester stuff had me busy and then the holidays but I am back now. :D

Chapter 7

"I don't know what to do." Zuko murmured.

He was leaning with his back against Katara's. They were sitting beside the pond crumbling bread and feeding it to the turtle ducks.

"You don't want to risk civil war." Katara said quietly.

"You're agree with them?" Zuko demanded, jerking away from her.

She glared at him after catching her balance. Katara placed her palms on the ground and turned slightly so that she could look at him as she spoke. She had been avoiding looking at him since that seemed to cause her mind to wander but she needed him to understand what she was saying.

"No! It is appalling what they are asking but what other choice do you have? Think about it. If and I am saying if, not when," Katara stressed. "The child doesn't live. You'll have to do the same thing anyway, won't you?"

He glared into the water. She bit her lip, holding back the urge to retract her statement. She hated the very idea but this wasn't about what she did or did not want. It was about a nation and politics. Appeasing the people was never an easy thing. It was becoming increasingly apparent to her that peace was far more difficult than war. She wanted to shout and complain but she needed to be level headed and firm with her decision so that she could help Zuko be strong.

"Do you have a better plan?" She asked.

"No." He muttered gloomily.

She chose to be silent, allowing him to come to his own final decision. Zuko noticed and couldn't help a small smile. Katara knew when to press and when to give. In moments like these, she was like an extension of his conscience. With her, he could voice his true opinions and feeling while letting her be the politician for a while.

"Mother says, to do the right thing, first one may have to do something wrong." He mumbled; his golden eyes staring at the clear surface of the water. He knew his statement wasn't a necessity in this conversation but it seemed fitting to get Katara's opinion on this view.

"She's right. Everything about the request is wrong but it seems to be the only option." Katara agreed quietly.

"I hate to do this at the same time. That says I expect my wife to fail. It should be after." He said.

"It should be." She stated, looking at him knowingly.

"But it cannot be." He agreed seeing the look.

She placed a hand gently against his arm in a comforting gesture. He took a deep breath, resisting the urge to shiver at her touch. It was difficult to have these conversations with her because his mind was always straying from the topic at hand. Her presence drove him to constant distraction which only added to his worries at present. There was so much going on and it was hard to think with a lust addled brain.

"How am I going to tell Mai?" He said dropping his head into his hands.

Katara was silent. It was a horrid thought that came to her mind. Horrid in that it was scheming but her heart was in the right place. Mai was hurting and Katara didn't know how much more the poor woman could take.

"What are you thinking Katara?" Zuko asked seeing her brow furrowed in thought.

"Nothing." She said shaking her head.

"It is something. Say it." He encouraged.

"It is a horrible thought." She said.

He raised an eyebrow. "I doubt that."

"But it is. I was thinking, perhaps she doesn't need to know. If your child lives then the other woman and child could be kept quietly as promised by the council. It's not as though Mai knows where all the royal funds are going." Katara shrugged apologetically.

"And if the child didn't survive?" Zuko pointed out.

"Then you'd have to tell her… or not…" Katara said as quietly as possible.

"Or not?" Zuko frowned.

"What if you told her the child was hers? She'd be so happy Zuko." Katara's face showed her torn feeling of disgust at the idea and hope at bringing joy to Mai.

"Your heart is in the right place but you were right the first time. That is horrible trickery." Zuko chided.

"I'm sorry." She murmured.

"It's alright. You were only trying to be helpful." He said.

They fell into silence; both watching the turtle ducks.

"Who would you have?" Katara asked after a while. She tried to look as though the answer didn't really matter to her but she was curios. Zuko and Mai had been together since their youth. If she hadn't been around, what kind of girl would Zuko be into? What was it he was looking for in a bedmate?

"What?" Zuko asked his wandering mind returning to the present.

"Which of the courtiers?" Katara replied, swirling her fingers in the water and keeping her eyes down.

He winced. "I hadn't thought of that."

She nodded. She knew he hadn't thought of it but he would have to now. She couldn't help the twinge of jealousy as she thought of the young women in his court. One of them would be fortunate enough to give him his heir if Mai was unable to.

Katara shook her head. Her attraction to him was stirring all sorts of desires within. She shouldn't be jealous of the woman who would bare Zuko's children. The only children she should be thinking of having were Aang's. Her eyes rose to the sky contemplating this notion.

"It would have to be someone I can trust . . . which excludes everyone at court." He laughed humorlessly.

"What about Ty Lee?" Katara suggested.

"She's in the Earth Kingdom with the Kyoshi warriors . . . and engaged from what I hear." He said.

"I didn't know Ty Lee was engaged. To who? Aang never tells me anything." Katara pouted. This news instantly wiped away her contemplations of a family with Aang and gave birth to the bitterness that came with feeling left out.

"Oddly enough, Haru." Zuko chuckled. "They seem to have hit it off at the coronation."

"…well that certainly is odd." Katara said. "Grr, when I see Aang he's going to get it."

"Don't be too hard on him. I'm sure he's just got a lot on his mind." Zuko said.

"Well he could share it. It's not like I've got much on my mind these days." She grumbled.

"You don't want to grow up, Katara. It comes with far too much stress." Zuko chuckled, folding his hand behind his head and laying back in the grass.

"But I do. I do want to grow up. I do want adult problems. I want to deal with real issues. I want to help people again. I want to do something, anything, to feel like I'm a part of something again." She sighed.

He pat her hand gently as dispirited blue eyes fell to the grass beside him.

"Is the life of a healer really so boring?" He asked, turning on his side and propping his head to look at her properly.

"In the South Pole it is. It's mostly children with scrapes and bruises or the elderly falling ill. Being a midwife only reminds me that I'm a woman with no hope of ever having children of my own." She sulked.

"You're being quite dramatic don't you think, Katara?" Zuko questioned.

"No!" She said tersely.

"When the time is right you and Aang will have plenty of children." Zuko said, laying flat on his back again.

"Aang is a child." She said flatly. "I love him but he's in no rush to grow up. He keeps his serious life as the avatar separate from his life with me. I'm afraid he thinks that's what I want but it's not. A normal life is nice yes but…but not forever, not after what we've been through."

Zuko couldn't repress the feeling of happiness it brought him to know that things weren't entirely serious between Aang and Katara. Lately he'd felt oddly possessive of the water bender. He grit his teeth seeing the way the young men of his court were looking at her. Then he felt shame because he knew he was looking at her the same way. He should be looking at her as Sokka did, as a brother. Unfortunately, his affections for her were anything but brotherly.

Looking at her now, Zuko saw the sadness in her face. Sitting up, he wrapped his arms around her in a hug.

"Things will work out." He said, trying to sound optimistic.

"I don't know that they will." She sighed. She chewed her lip silently, her eyes trained on the ground.

Zuko waited patiently for her to speak. He could see she was conflicted by whatever thoughts were swirling through her mind. He wanted to help her. He needed her to open up to him again. He knew she had been trying to keep her problems to herself so that she could focus on him but he wanted the chance to return the favor.

"I have a confession to make." Katara finally said in a whisper.

"A confession?" He parroted, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. I don't know that I love Aang." She said, turning despairing eyes towards him to await his reaction.

Zuko was careful to keep his face blank of any expression. He wasn't sure he could be proud of his initial reaction of relief. He didn't know what to say to her. He puzzled over it.

Katara felt panic flood her. Zuko wasn't saying anything and it was making her nervous. What was he thinking? Was he mad at her? Was he disappointed in her? She felt the need to explain.

"I mean, I know that I love him as a friend and he's very close to me and has a special place in my heart. He will always have a special place in my heart but I don't know that he's the one for me. I just…I just feel that I'd be happier if I really loved him, don't you think? When you truly someone that should be enough right? You should be happy with them, not…not always sad?" She asked.

Zuko sighed. "I have no way of knowing Katara. As you can tell I'm not exactly the example to follow. Mai is really quite miserable…and it's my fault."

"It is not! Zuko it is very obvious that you love your wife." Katara said fiercely.

"I do." He said nodding his head. "But it's different than before… we're different than before."

They were both silent again.

He was watching her, his eyes scanning her face as she thought about what he said. In that moment he came to a decision.

"I can trust you, can't I Katara?" Zuko finally asked.

"I would hope so." Katara grinned. Her smile faded seeing his serious expression. "What?"

"I need you to have this baby." He said very seriously.

"What?" Katara laughed disbelieving what she'd just heard.

"I'm serious. I can trust you. You want a child. I can see it in your eyes. And you would never want to hurt Mai. You wouldn't scheme to put this child on the throne later if things work out for Mai." Zuko explained in a rush.

"This is all really sudden and kind of random." Katara breathed, trying to buy herself some time to think, to process what he was saying.

"Is that a no?"" He asked.

"No." She said shaking her head, trying to suppress her surprise and bewilderment.

"Is that a yes?" He asked.

"No." She said her forehead crinkling as she knew her answers were somewhat contradictory.

He frowned at her.

"I don't know. This request is… it's out of nowhere." She said shaking her head.

"Maybe it will help you figure out what you want and it's the only way to fulfill your plan without anyone screwing it up." He said.

"My plan?"

"Where Mai doesn't have to know. I trust you, you won't betray me. You won't hurt her."

"What about Aang?" She murmured.

"I'll talk to him." Zuko said.

"No… let me do it. He'll understand better that way." She said biting her lip.

"Are you agreeing?" Zuko asked.

"I'm not fire nation." She said absently.

"Mai's child will live. Our child has to live." He said more to himself than to her.

She saw the determination in his eye and the glimmer of fear within. Suddenly she understood. He'd be too ashamed to ask anyone else and there's no way he could trust anyone else to keep the secret should Mai's baby fail. If Mai was to never know she would have to ensure it, after all, it had been her horrible idea in the first place.

"If the baby doesn't… she'll know; my features are very distinctive…" Katara thought out loud, looking at her darker skin.

"If it comes to that, we'll tell her the truth." He nodded. "She'll understand. She knows you wouldn't want to hurt her. She wouldn't worry about you trying to replace her."

She pushed away the thought that her own lust for him was swaying her decision. She'd managed to keep herself from staring but her body's reactions to him hadn't lessened any since her arrival. If she helped him, he could put out the fire raging through her system. She could tell Aang it was strictly for the good of the Fire Nation and be done with her crush at the end of it. She'd be helping him and the Fire Nation. She'd be doing was what necessary to not hurt Mai. She bit her lip not able to completely rid herself of the guilt that came with knowing this wasn't just about helping.

Her eyes sought his, looking for an answer. She bit the inside of her cheek, his face was neutral. He was trying hard not to influence her decision. Her eyes trailed down his elegant nose to the sensual curve of his lips. Her throat felt dry and she found it a bit harder to breath as her eyes continued down his neck and to bit of muscular chest exposed by the deep V of his shirt.

"Katara?" His voice sounded husky as he reached for her chin and drew her darkened eyes back up to his.

She nodded helplessly.

"I suppose I can help." She breathed, feeling herself drowning in his golden gaze.

"Thank you, Katara."


Please review! Thank you.