A/N: Sorry this is a day late, guys :(. If you read this regularly, you've probably noticed that I always update on Tuesday. I had this mostly done over the weekend but I was busy vday on Monday and had ballroom dance class yesterday evening, so I didn't get to put on the finishing touches till today. I had better stuff in mind for this because I've wanted to write something like this for ages, but this didn't come out exactly as I'd hoped. There will probably be more, similar writings like this later, but for next chapter I promised ShockingRevelation something different :). Anyways:

I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.

She stood, leaning against the balcony railing and gazing out over their small Ba Sing Se backyard. Her hair was out over her shoulders, and she wore only a simple white robe over her undergarments. Getting dressed now was too much of a hassle if she didn't have to appear in public. It was no longer comfortable for her to bend over, and standing up while she looked in the mirror to fix her hair and look like a proper diplomat made her ankles hurt with the extra weight she bore from carrying Aang's child within her. It was much more convenient to simply do the minimum on days like these where her husband himself was the only one who would see her.

Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around her waist, and a head rested on her shoulder. She jumped in surprise at first, her heart dipping into her stomach before she caught her breath, catching a familiar blue stripe ending in an arrow on the hands that now rested against her swollen belly.

"Aang." She gasped.

"Spirits, don't do that." Her husband at last made his appearance in front of her, grinning sheepishly, and she couldn't help but forgive him instantly.

"I'm back." He said simply, and she laughed, allowing him to take her by the hands and spin her in a small circle reminiscent of the great deal of dancing they used to do before she'd gotten pregnant. He guided her through several more basic steps before he twirled her one last time and then knelt before her, tugging on the end of the sash that held her robe closed.

"Aang!" She hissed as the garment fell open, revealing her bare skin and undergarments.

"What?" He asked innocently, not hesitating to place his hands on her ever growing stomach to feel the life growing within. Aang, not to anyone's surprise, was not at all fazed by the slightly shorter temper Katara had often been showing and was in fact, more affectionate than ever, despite the fact that this had previously seemed close to impossible. He smiled warmly, feeling a small movement against the palms of his hands. Katara closed her eyes momentarily, wincing.

"Does it hurt?" Her husband asked, concerned.

"Not really, it's just a little uncomfortable sometimes, especially standing up…" She didn't even have to finish her statement, for Aang had already swept her into his arms to carry her back inside to their room, to which she didn't protest. It was always a relief to feel at least temporarily weightless nowadays. He laid her gently on the bed they shared, kneeling next to her with a loving smile. Then, he lowered his lips to her abdomen, kissing the bottom of the rounded bump and working his way up, over it, then across her chest and neck, where he paused to nip affectionately at the sensitive areas he had by now memorized, causing his wife's eyes to flutter shut in contentment.

"Aang…" She moaned.

"Mmm…" He pulled away to look directly into her eyes.

"Only for you." She told him, taking his hand.

"Thank you." He whispered sincerely.

"You have no idea how much I want this." He kissed her cheek, trailing his lips up her face, causing her to smile.

"If this kid's anything like you, I don't think we'll have any problems." She commented.

"I'm scared." She confessed. She knew it was silly. She knew they'd all had near death encounters before and she should just be grateful that Aang was alive and happy and doing this all right by her side. She knew she was the luckiest woman in the world to be carrying the child of the most compassionate, loving man that had ever lived. Aang's look of elation turned almost instantly to one of concern.

"About being parents?" He asked. Aang never said "about being a mother." He always referred to them as parents together.

"Not really." She replied honestly.

"I mean, I feel like I was meant to be a mother in a lot of ways. It's who I am. And I know our baby could never hope for a more caring father. You already love it so much…" She paused, giving him a bright smile, which he returned, squeezing her hand.

"What's wrong then?" Katara looked to the side and nervously stroked a fistful of her hair.

"It'll probably seem stupid to you…" She blushed. Aang draped a comforting arm over her shoulders.

"It won't. I'd never think that about any of your thoughts. Just tell me." He reassured, now only more curious and concerned.

"It's just…I'm scared of the pain." Saying it out loud made it sound even sillier to her than it had in her head. They had all been through so much so young, so much worse. Aang especially. Aang had lost all of his people and had come within an inch of death too many times, but always faced his fears bravely, as did the rest of their friends. But the rest of their friends knew pain in a way Katara didn't.

"The pain?" Aang asked. His tone didn't suggest that he thought she was being unreasonable, so she explained.

"It's just…almost all of our friends have gotten hurt really badly, except for me. You got struck by lightning, Sokka broke his leg, Toph got her feet burned, Zuko got that horrible burn on his face…and I've always been able to heal myself as soon as something bad happened to me. So, I guess subconsciously I think I won't be able to handle the pain of giving birth, and it makes me feel sort of weak, to be honest." She confessed. Her husband gazed at her tenderly.

"And then there's the fact that I've delivered a lot of other women's babies, and their pain is always so awful that they don't even act like themselves through it. I can't imagine how terrible that must feel." She spared Aang a glance, closing her eyes again as he smoothed his hands over her growing belly.

"It'll be alright." He told her.

"And it doesn't sound silly. If I were you, I'd be kind of scared too. Nobody likes being in pain. I know that probably doesn't mean much coming from a man, but I know you'll do great. You've always been so strong. And besides, I'll be right there with you through it all, I promise." He smiled. She returned it, softly, leaning her head on his shoulder affectionately.

"Don't ever leave." She sighed, her breath tickling his neck. Bending his head, Aang placed a kiss on her cheek and then another on her lips.

"I don't think I could even if I wanted to. I love you both way too much. Does that help at all?" He asked

"I don't think I'll be able to stop worrying until the baby actually comes, but you always make me feel better." Katara answered, looking with confidence into her husband's eyes.

"And no matter what happens, I know that this baby will have the world's greatest father."