Chap. 14 The reason why

The finally honed instincts of all three of the adults spurred them to action at once, racing toward the suite where the horrific sound had come from. They turned a corner into a main hall, and a door ahead of them burst open, spilling out Zuko. Aang had never seen him look so scared, so terrified. His panicked gaze swept up the passageway, and when the saw the three, he yelled out, "Uncle! Avatar! It's time! Please, go get the doctor and midwife!"

Iroh stopped at the door, panting. He wouldn't make another run back through the house, but Aang asked, also a little breathless, "Where?"

Zuko relayed instructions as quickly as he could, and without hesitating, Aang tore back down the hallway and out of sight, a tremendous burst of wind pushing him along. Zuko beckoned the two into the suite, and Iroh followed without hesitation, but Toph, know really sure he'd meant to include her, hung outside the door until it swung shut behind the men.

With a sigh, she leaned against the wall opposite the mahogany door and folded her arms. One of the few times she cursed her hearing was when she heard suffering, and could do nothing about it. She could hear all five heartbeats in the room. Mei, Zuko, Iroh, and the soon-to-be twins. But she couldn't help them. She hadn't known any of the things Katara had done that day she'd delivered the refugee's child, Hope. All she'd been able to do was make a big earth tent, and listen to the woman scream, Katara cheering her on the whole time.

It was frustrating. And where was Aang? She could hear the men in the other room swiftly entering panic mode, and even Mei, who the Earthbender remembered as being constantly in control and almost bored with life, was screeching instructions, mostly unintelligibly. There were feet coming down the other hall at a run, but it was just one pair, and too light even for Aang.

"Toph? Is my mommy gonna be aright?" the little girl said as soon as she'd turned into the hall.

The Earthbender turned towards her and knelt down, putting her arms out. The girl ran toward her with a worried smile, and Toph lifted her up when she stood again, holding her tight as she whispered, "Your momma's going to be just fine, sweetie. She's strong, and brave. And your little brother and sister are strong, too."

She hadn't meant to say it, but the girl's eyes were wide, glistening with a mixture of fear and happy tears when she whispered back, "I get a sister and a brother? Oh well... I guess I can play with two of them, but mommy and daddy will have to get toys for them too, I can't share them all."

"I'm sure they will, sweetie. Your dad and mom are nice, and they love you very much." Reassured, Kendra put her head on Toph's shoulder and lay still. She had thought the child was asleep, but the looked up when Toph turned toward the other hall, hearing Aang approach with three other people.

"In here, in here, hurry! Zuk- the Fire Lord said he needed you at once!" Aang said, almost pulling the thin old woman over in his haste to reach them.

"Iroh and Zuko are with her," Toph said when they'd approached, "Should I keep Kendra out here?"

"I want to see mommy," the girl said sleepily, and the old woman answered, "It would probably be best, at least for now. There are sometimes complications when a mother is as far along as Mei has borne her child."

Toph nodded, and Aang took up a position sitting next to her in the hall, assuming his meditation pose and trying to control his breathing. She smiled when she realized just how nervous she was. Sitting down beside him, Kendra crawled over onto his lap, squirming to get underneath his tattooed arms. Aang didn't react to her as she crawled in, but once she was sitting still he pulled his arms in a little, holding the child close.

Hours passed, the door opposite the hall opened many times. Mei's parents came in, and her father left for a short while, and many others, mostly doctors or household staff, bustled in and out as well. Through it all, Aang sat patiently, even when the amber-eyed child crawled onto his shoulders, then down again, back up, and jumped over onto Toph's. The Earthbender, however, was having a much harder time staying calm. True, she hadn't had much experience with childbirth. Her own hardly counted, and she hadn't done much the other time at all. But this seemed like it was taking too long, even with twins to deliver.

Then the screaming, which had been growing quieter and less frequent for the last few minutes, stopped suddenly, and Toph jumped to her feet. The door opened almost at once, and Iroh called out, "Avatar Aang, Toph, we need you. Mei is bleeding far more than our doctors can handle. Can you do anything for her?"

The old man's face was extremely pale, and Aang couldn't help but see that his own hands were bloody. With a gust of wind, Aang was past the fat old man, but Toph took a moment to reassure the child, "Don't worry, Kendra. Aang's a good healer, he heals me all the time when I get hurt. He can help your mom too, so don't cry, OK?"

The child nodded, fighting hard to hold back her tears. A nurse came out of the room to watch the child, and she followed Iroh into the busy room.

On the left, four nurses were taking care of two tiny bundles. On the right, three doctors, Iroh, and Zuko surrounded the almost unconscious form of Mei. Aang crossed over to her at once, pulling Toph behind him. The doctors made room for them, but Iroh and Zuko, each clutching one of the woman's small hands in their larger ones, didn't move. Mei was speaking to Zuko, but Aang had no idea what she was saying. One of the younger doctors, a male, asked quietly, "Avatar, if there's anything you can do for her, please do it," then bringing his head close and continuing in an undertone, "We have done everything we can, but the tear is too deep inside, and she is bleeding more rapidly than we could hope to contain. There's nothing we can do for her."

Aang nodded, looking lost. "I... I can heal her, maybe, but... I don't know where."

The glimmer of hope got Zuko's attention at last, and his golden eyes flashed toward the Avatar. "You can heal? I thought only the most powerful Waterbenders could do that. Like Katara."

Aang nodded and answered, "I learned a little watching her, and picked it up from other water benders we've seen since the war. I'm no master, but I should be able to help. I just... I don't know where the wound is."

More desperate than Aang had ever seen him, Zuko pleaded quietly, "Please, Aang. I can't lose her."

Nodding, the young man stepped forward, trying to release Toph's hand, but she held on tightly. "I can guide you. Step back, everyone. In fact, it would be best if you took the children to another room."

They looked surprised, and turned toward the Fire Lord for instructions. He nodded once, and all but Zuko and Iroh fled the room, taking the newborns with them. Toph could hear them bringing Kendra along as well.

Stepping forward now, Toph began to beat a steady rhythm with her feet, causing echoes to flood the chamber. Aang looked once toward Zuko, who gave another teary nod, then stepped between Mei's legs and raised the blanket between them, holding out his one free hand. The water in one of the basins flowed toward him and began to glow with a blue, pearly light.

The tall woman's breath was becoming even more labored, her skin dangerously pale, and Zuko looked close to collapse himself. But still, Toph continued to pound on the floor, occasionally calling out directions to Aang, but never once releasing his hand.

"It's... I've done all I can. I think she'll be OK," Aang said later, completely exhausted. To his right, Toph stopped her stomping and swayed on her feet until he reached out a steadying hand. Mei had been unconscious now for over an hour, but Aang insisted that was a good sign, that she could use the rest. Iroh slumped down into a waiting chair, but Zuko remained on his feet, thought he was looking more than a little exhausted himself.

"Thank you, Avatar," he said quietly, closing his eyes, not bothering to hide the tears leaking from them.

"Don't mention it," the young man replied, then slowly, using Waterbending, did what he could to begin cleaning the blood from himself, from Mei, the bed, and the floor. Weak-kneed, Toph simply stood there for a few minutes before walking slowly toward the door, calling out, "I'm going to get Kendra and the doctors."

The child tried climbing onto her mother's bed at once, but Zuko grabbed her, holding her tight before she'd gotten a leg up onto it. Mei was still asleep, Aang cleaning, and Iroh looked like he'd fallen asleep in the few minutes Toph had been gone as well. The doctors and nurses swarmed into the room, two of them still carrying the now-wrapped bundles with the quiet, rapid hearts.

After Zuko had explained, as well as he could, what had happened and reassured his daughter that Mei would be just fine when she woke up, the nurses presented the Fire Lord with his new children. Even less ashamed than before, Zuko wept, not from fear or anger, but from joy.

A/N: Sorry about the relatively short chapters on some of these. Real life sucks. I'll go back to double/longer chapters as soon as I can. Not sure yet if I'll continue this as another story (sequel) all together, or just let it ramble on until the whole story's told. We'll see. But this is the end of 'book 1' either way.

A/N 2: I have decided to continue this as a second story. Updates may be infrequent, may not be. I wrote most of the previous story in a day, only writing the last two chapters on another day, and I'm still sick, so I may finish another 10+ chapters today. We'll see. Haven't got a title, just look for my name. Oh, and thanks for the great reviews. You know who you are.