Wow! Ten reviews for one chapter? Thank you all so much! I'm sorry that I'm unable to find the time to reply to all your reviews… most of it will just be me being like 'thanks!' But really, I appreciate the reviews! The more reviews I get, the happier I am! (Unless they're flames, but you all probably knew that…)
Anyway, you're all probably mad cause I keep on chatting and you just wanna see what everyone's reaction is gonna be to Katara's pregnancy, so any notes I have will wait to the end. Lemme just put up a long-winded disclaimer and you'll be all set!
Disclaimer: …No…
"P-pregnant," Aang's eyes widened as he stuttered, "as in… pregnant?"
"Yes Aang," Katara said with a smile. "I'm pregnant."
"With… with a baby…?" Aang was in shock. He obviously hadn't expected this.
"Nice move marrying Aang," Toph said quietly, nudging Katara in the side. "He's a real smart one." Katara just shook her head with a wide smile.
"B-but how can you tell?" he asked. Sure, Aang wanted to have children, but not for at least another month or two.
"Toph told me," Katara replied simply. "She was able to feel vibrations of a baby."
"The vibrations were very faint, but I could feel a tiny spark of life if I concentrated hard enough…" Toph said with a shrug.
"Come on Haru. Let's go leave the proud parents alone." Haru nodded as Toph reached blindly for his hand. "Way to go Aang!" she exclaimed as she punched him on his shoulder when she passed him.
"Um, thanks…" the Avatar said, rubbing his shoulder.
Once Aang and Katara were alone, Aang sighed as he moved over to the couch and collapsed on it.
"Aang, are you alright?" Katara asked her husband as she sat down next to him.
"Yeah, it's just that… I dunno. This is just… too sudden…" he mumbled, sitting upright on the sofa.
"But I thought you wanted to have kids." The waterbender frowned as she put her hand on her flat stomach.
"No, no! I do!" Aang said quickly. "Just not right away, you know?"
Katara nodded as she sat next to her husband. "Well, how does nine months sound to you?" She smiled and laughed, taking Aang's hand.
"Well, we don't have much of a choice, do we?" Aang smiled as well.
"Guess not…" The waterbender said with a shrug.
The two were silent for a little while. Katara laid her head on Aang's shoulder while he stroked her hair.
"So," Katara said as she sat up, finally breaking the silence. "We have to tell everyone, don't we?"
"Uh, y-yeah," Aang said stuttering over his words. He was still a little overwhelmed that his wife of three weeks was pregnant.
"Dad," Katara called out when she got outside.
She saw her father talking to a few Northerners, pointing off in some distance as if he was giving them directions. Hearing his daughter's voice however, he turned to the two and waved them over before turning back to the men then bowing slightly as they thanked the chief and walked in the direction he was pointing to moments before.
"Hey Katara, hello Aang," Hakoda greeted them as the two stopped a few feet in front of him. "What's new?"
Katara couldn't hide the blush that crossed her face when he asked. "Well Dad, there's something we have to tell you." She said grabbing her husband's hand.
"Well, what is it?" He asked, though the look on his face suggested that he already knew judging by Katara's pink face and the way she was all over Aang at the moment.
"Well," she started with a smile. "Aang and I are gonna have a baby!"
"Katara," Hakoda smiled widely as he pulled his daughter into his arms. "Congratulations," he said softly.
"Thanks," she said as she gently pulled herself away from her father. "I wonder how Sokka will take it…" the waterbender thought aloud with a mischievous smile.
"Mommy, I'm hungry!" Suri whined.
Things were very hectic today, to say the least. Tayo wouldn't stop crying, Suri wouldn't stop complaining, and Sokka wouldn't stop being an idiot.
"I'm sorry honey. Mommy's very busy right now," Suki said as she held a wailing Tayo, trying everything; anything to calm him down. "Go ask Daddy."
"I did!" Suri said above the infant's crying. "He said he's busy."
Suki let out an exasperated sigh. "Sokka," she called out, quickly losing her patience. "Come out here and feed your daughter!"
"I'm busy!" Sokka yelled back.
"Sokka," Suki groaned in a 'you-better-get-out-here-now-before-I-kill-you' tone.
"Fine, fine," Sokka sighed as he entered the room moments later.
"What were you doing?" Suki asked her husband.
"Nothing really," Sokka shrugged, not noticing the death glare his wife gave him.
"Daddy, I'm hungry!" Suri started whining again.
"Well, what would you like to eat?" he asked her calmly.
"I dunno," Suri shrugged.
Suki slapped a palm to her forehead. She was just like her father; Suki and everyone else were right about that after all…
"Let's just see what we have…" Sokka took Suri over to the cabinets where they kept their food.
While Suki adjusted a still screaming Tayo on her tired shoulder, Katara and Aang walked in.
"Hey Suki," Katara yelled over the screaming. "Having trouble?"
"He won't stop crying!" Suki said desperately. "I've tried everything! I tried feeding him, changing him, putting him down for a nap, nothing's working!"
"Let me see," Katara said, holding out her arms for her nephew. She began to rock Tayo back and forth, softly humming a lullaby her mother used to sing to her when she was little. Tayo's cries gradually softened, and soon, the baby was fast asleep.
"How did you do that?" Suki asked, shocked, though a little angry, that Katara was able to get Tayo calmed down so quickly.
"It's a gift I guess," Katara said as she smiled with a small shrug and handed the baby back to his mother, who walked into the nursery to put Tayo in his cradle.
"Hi Auntie 'Tara, Hi Uncle Aang," Suri said with a grin as Sokka appeared to be preparing a snack.
"Hello Suri," Katara said, kneeling down to hug her niece.
"Hey sis, what brings you here?" Sokka asked, momentarily turning away from the food as Suki came back into the room.
"Wow Katara. You're a natural at this whole 'baby' thing. Are you and Aang thinking of having any children soon?" Suki smiled at her brother and sister-in-law.
"That's actually why we came here," Katara said, looking at her husband. Aang seemed too scared to speak. Katara figured it had something to do with Sokka standing within arms lengths of the airbender. "Relax Aang," Katara laughed.
Aang forced a laugh, neither of the two noticing the knowing look on Suki's face, or the confused look on Sokka and Suri's.
"Anyway, Aang and I have something to tell you guys," The waterbender said. After a moment's silence, Katara spoke up again. "Aang and I are gonna have a baby!" A shocked silence greeted these words, broken moments later by Suki.
"Congratulations you two," Suki walked forward hugging Katara. "You'll be great parents!"
Aang cautiously looked over at his brother-in-law and noticed the stunned expression on his face. "S-Sokka…?" Aang said carefully, not wanting to upset him. Sokka looked Aang right in the eye, causing the Avatar to take a few steps back.
"Sokka…" Katara said warningly, making sure that Sokka wouldn't kill Aang.
Not taking his eyes off the airbender, Sokka walked towards Aang with an unreadable look on his face. Once they were less than a foot apart, the warrior shocked everyone greatly when he pulled his brother-in-law into a warm hug. "Congratulations." He said quietly.
"Uh… thanks…?" Aang said unsurely, not knowing how to act. He expected to be dead by now.
"Just take care of her during this time, okay?" Sokka said, pulling himself away.
"Of course," Aang nodded and gave a small bow in thanks.
"Come on, Aang. Let's go," Katara said from behind. After mouthing a soft 'thanks' to her brother, she left.
As Aang made to follow his wife, Sokka grabbed his arm.
"If you ever do anything to hurt her or the baby," Sokka whispered so Suki and Suri couldn't hear, "I will kill you!"
"O-okay… I-I'll keep that in mind…" Aang replied nervously.
"Aang," Katara's voice came from outside, "where are you?"
"Uh, I'm coming Katara!" Aang said as he took his arm out of Sokka's grip and ran outside to Katara, promising himself that he will do what ever he can to make the next nine months for his wife as comfortable as he can.
"Well," Sokka said more to himself as he served his daughter her snack. "I think that went pretty well!"
So… what'd you think? Anyway, as always much thanks to my beta, daydream11! Without her, this story would completely suck! Chapter 11 will hopefully be up within a week… Depends on how long daydream takes with the next chapter! Thanks for reading! Please review!