We're finally going above ground into Ba Sing Si, and we're going to find out what's going on with Sokka and Katara.
It's all inside, folks.
Also, I hope you guys can stick with the time frames since this chapter kind of meshes them all together. Aang, Zuko, and co. have been traveling for almost two months by this time and. Katara and Sokka go searching for Aang about a few weeks after he leaves and have been traveling for quite a while, actually (since it does take long while to get pretty much anywhere from the South Pole). After almost two months of traveling Aang, Zuko, and co. finally make it to Ba Sing Si and Mai, Aang, and Azula have been down in the Black Jade for about two weeks.
There, that should clear some things up. I just didn't want you guys did get confused on how everything lines up.
And just as another warning, there are some very womanly issues going on in this chapter, so I'm just apologizing now to any guys reading this story. Just bear with me.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Such Discoveries Found
Toph,
I've arrived at Ba Sing Si to work on some further investigations for the rebellion. Turns out Long Feng's behind it and he's running it right underneath the city. Some of our team and I are going to be infiltrating the rebellion for a few weeks, but before I go, I wanted to send you a letter asking you a small favor.
It's about Katara. I've sent her letters when we first started the mission, but I haven't been able to send her anything recently and I know she must be worried. I sent her a letter as soon as I got to the city, but it probably hasn't made it to the water tribe yet. So, if you happen to hear anything from her, can you just tell her that I'm alright and I'm sorry that I missed spending my birthday with her and our six month anniversary. But, this rebellion is a lot trickier than we thought.
I hope things are going well with your parents and I'll see you soon.
Aang.
Toph received that letter and had it read to her a week ago.
At the moment, though, Toph and Yuexi were just enjoying a slightly overcast day in the gardens while Yuexi was on his afternoon break. Yuexi was simply looking at clouds lying side by side with Toph of the grass and talking about nothing in particular. In the absent minded fluff of it all, Yuexi reached out and loosely grabbed Toph's hand, which she didn't seem to mind.
"What is that thing?" Yuexi mused to himself while looking up through the clouds.
"Uh?" Toph mumbled while waking up from her slight sleep in relaxation she had fallen into.
"Oh, nothing, I just saw something in the clouds." Yuexi said and Toph stared up blankly.
"Well," she asked. "What is it?"
"I don't know…it looks like…like." He sat up, squinting to get a closer look and then gasped. He turned towards Toph. "Didn't you guys used to fly around on a flying bison?" Yuexi asked.
"On Appa, yeah. Why?"
"He's landing here." Yuexi said. Toph bolted upright as well.
"What!"
Toph felt Appa when he landed near the entrance and her and Yuexi quickly bolted to the gates of the estate. And next, two more familiar people jumped off of Appa that Toph recognized anywhere: Sokka and Katara.
"Sokka, Katara?" Toph said as they ran up to her. "What are you guys doing here?"
"Yeah, that was a warm welcome." Sokka joked. Toph just punched him and Katara gave her a quick—and highly uncomfortable for Toph—hug.
"I see you and Yuexi are still good." Katara nudged and Toph tried not to notice her faint blush.
"Yeah, we're still good." Toph replied, almost dreamingly, but she quickly snapped out of it.
"I have to hand it to you, Yuexi, you're a brave soul to tame Toph." Sokka added. Yuexi just looked around nervously, knowing he'd be in more trouble than it was worth if he answered to any part of that comment. But, still, he did anyway.
"Uh, yeah," was all he said, but it was still enough to get him a swift punch on the shoulder from Toph.
"No, but seriously," Toph switched gears and turned her attention back to Sokka and Katara. "What are you guys doing here?" Toph felt Katara's face automatically tense up and then drop in a way that only indicated sadness.
"He's been gone for almost two months, and I haven't heard from him in weeks." Katara explained.
"Katara wanted to fly all over the planet, but I suggested we come here, first." Sokka said. "I thought you might know where Aang is maybe?"
"I did get a letter from him a week ago," Toph mentioned and Katara's eyes glistened in relief.
"What did it say?" Katara asked in anticipation, Sokka placed a restricting hand on her shoulder to keep her from jumping out of her own skin.
"Just that he's in Ba Sing Si, everything's fine and he's sorry for missing all the things he planned with you."
"Well what is he doing?" Katara demanded to know.
"He said something about the rebellion is trickier than he thought or something."
"You see, Katara, Aang's fine, he's just taking care of business in Ba Sing Si." Sokka tried to ease his sister, but she still didn't look completely sold. "What now?" He asked in frustration.
"Something doesn't add up here," Katara said. "He was heading to the northern tip of the Fire Nation last time I heard word from him, why would he be all the way in Ba Sing Si?"
"Business?" Toph shrugged. "But, really Katara, I don't think it's something to get all bent out of shape about, I'm sure Aang's fine."
"But what if the reason he's taking so long is because something's actually wrong and he just doesn't want Katara to worry?" Yuexi added quietly. Toph nudged Yuexi's shoulder harshly.
"Oh no," Katara groaned. "What if Yuexi's right?"
"Way to go, Yuexi, now she's on a rampage again." Toph chastised him.
Katara turned towards her brother. "We have to go to Ba Sing Si, Sokka." Katara said and now it was Sokka's turn to groan.
"Katara, that trip will take weeks from here, especially since Appa is so tired from flying to here." While Sokka complained but Appa groaned in defense of himself and stood up a little taller than usual, proving that he wasn't going to be out for the count when Katara really needed him.
"Looks like we've got ourselves a flying bison ready for action." Katara mentioned and Sokka slumped a little. "And it'll only take around two weeks if you don't stop a lot."
"Alright," Sokka finally relaxed. "Let's go find Aang." Katara sprang up and hugged her brother, taking small notice in the back of her mind just how much taller he was getting; she had to be completely on her toes to hug him around his neck, now. They both turned to look at Toph and Yuexi, who were just watching the scene quietly.
"You guys wanna come too?" Sokka offered. "You've been stuck at home for a while now, haven't you Toph?" Toph looked up at Yuexi and absent mindedly worked out some kinks in her neck and back. She had been more focused on Yuexi lately she had been putting her earth bending on a burner further in the back, not to say she had completely forgotten all about though—she could never go a day without practicing her earth bending.
"Yeah, why not? A good couple weeks away from home sounds good." She turned towards her boyfriend. "What about you?" She asked him. "Are you coming?" Yuexi looked down at his feet for the moment.
"I don't know, I mean I'm not exactly as skilled in defense as all of you are." He flattered. Toph just rolled her eyes and grabbed her wrist, turning towards the house.
"Oh, come on, you're full of all the archery awesomeness, you'll be fine." She pulled her and Yuexi down the walkway. "We'll be packed a little while, just go inside and make yourselves comfortable for a little while."
Sokka and Katara looked at each other in a dumbfounded manner before shrugging and leading Appa and themselves into the gates of the Bei Fong Estate.
"Did Toph cut her hair?" Sokka asked his sister.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Suki was about to kill someone.
Aang, Mai, and Azula had been gone for about two and a half weeks so she was expected to be on call with the rest of her warriors if they needed back up. But, at the moment all Suki could do was blow out everything she ate constantly.
She couldn't keep any food down and it just made her hungrier.
"Geez, Suki you're going to eat my uncle out of a house and home." Zuko commented and took some of Suki's empty plates away from the lounging area she was slumped over.
"Bite me," Suki snapped. Zuko just glowered at her, wanting to just put her in her place, or just tell her to bite him, but he stopped himself. Someone had to be mature.
"Well, that was pleasant." Ty Lee joked, Lin-Lin on her heels.
"Yeah, what's been going on with you, it seems like you've gotten worse."
"I told you guys, I'm fine, it's just a stomach virus."
"I don't think so, Suki. Stomach viruses usually don't last this long." Ty Lee said, a little more seriously than usual. "Maybe you should see a doctor?" Lin-Lin nodded.
"I don't need to go to a doctor. I have a stomach virus!" Suki turned her body away from them on the couch, her face red and her breathing heavy.
"But, Suki-"
"Just leave!" She threw an accent pillow from the couch at them and Ty Le and Lin-Lin quickly scurried out, talking quietly to themselves.
Suki fell asleep quickly after that, her fit and yelling suddenly making her feel drained and when she woke up the sun was starting to set, telling her she had been asleep for at least three hours. She was growing more and more accustom to falling asleep unknowingly and waking up hours later, and every time she did so, Suki always wondered how she could just completely knock out for hours. A tornado could pass right over Iroh's shop and she'd snore right through it.
Suki sat up, looking at all the plates and food left that she had picked over that day and sighed. She had the same symptoms as the women in her village, but she didn't want to believe it. Didn't even want to fathom the possibility that she was….she was…
"She's awake," Ty Lee called. And the five other Kyoshi warriors entered the room with an older, strange woman in tow. Suki raised a brow.
"What's going on, guys?" Suki said, a lot calmer since she had had her nap.
"I know you said you didn't want to see a doctor, Suki," Ty Lee started.
"But, as second in command, I have to step up and take action when our leader is ill." Ren explained further and turned towards the strange woman. "This is Doctor Peng; she's a specialist in woman's health."
"I told all of you that I don't need a doctor! Why won't you guys just believe me when I say it's just a stomach vir-" She stopped mid-sentence and covered her mouth. She knew that feeling. She had been sleeping, her stomach had digested all the food she had ate before she dozed off, and that burning, nasty taste was rising up in her throat. Suki ran towards the washroom. Staying in there for a good ten minutes before her stomach finally leveled. She rinsed out her mouth before looking at herself in the mirror, seeing her fatigued and bloated nature very clear in front of her. She shook her head.
"No," she told herself. "I'm not pregnant…I'm not. There's no way I've gotten myself into this situation."
Leaving the washroom Suki was not surprised but not delighted to see the Kyoshi Warriors and Dr. Peng still inside the room.
"How long would you say you've been throwing up frequently, Suki?" Dr. Peng asked calmly, patting the seat on the couch next to her. Suki sighed and sat next to Peng.
"A few weeks." Suki groaned.
"And how long is a few Suki? I need a number or an estimate."
"About four or five, maybe six?" Suki said, running her hands nervously through her hair. How did she get herself into this?
"Have you been eating more than you usually do?" Suki nodded, looking more and more defeated with every passing second. "Do you feel fatigued and nausea, especially when you don't eat?"
Suki nodded.
"Have you been experiencing tenderness in your breasts and maybe lower back aches?"
"A little," Suki sniffed. She had her hands buried in her face at this point, Ren was gently rubbed her back while she hunched over in full defeat.
"Just one last question, Suki," Dr. Peng said. She paused so Suki would look at her and Peng gave her a very serious expression. "When was your last cycle?" Tears finally started to fall down Suki's face and she buried her face back into her hands, mumbling:
"Two months ago." Ren continued rubbing Suki's back while Peng wrote down some things.
"Okay, well, as I' sure you already know, you all the classic symptoms of a pregnant woman, Miss Suki." Peng informed and Suki was just silent. "I'll just need a sample of your urine for clarification and if everything checks out than I'll need to check your abdomen."
"Okay," Rena answered for Suki. "Is there anything she can do?" Peng wrote down a list on a small scroll she pulled out of her bag.
"Have her drink this special water and honey drink," Peng said, handing Ren the list. "She should drink it right before she goes to bed, and if she wakes up in the morning or the middle of the night with abdominal distention or cramps than you can almost be one hundred percent positive that she's pregnant."
"Thank you Doctor Peng." Ren said, bowing to the doctor when she was at the doorway, now having a large enough sample of Suki's urine.
"You're welcome, please tell Miss Suki to take it easy, and I'll probably be here around early afternoon tomorrow with the results."
"You see," Jiao comforted quietly. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"
"What do you mean it wasn't so bad!" Suki exclaimed in a teary rant. "Jiao, I don't think you understand…I'm pregnant! It's not a joke and I'm not going to wake up any moment from this nightmare…I'm pregnant…I'm really pregnant!"
"Hey don't yell at my sister that way!" Anci stepped in for her twin. "Jiao was just trying to help."
"How can any of you help me? It's not like you can take the baby out of my stomach and put it in yours!"
"That's enough, Suki." Ren said calmly when she finished taking to the doctor. "Dr. Peng said to take it easy today."
"How can I calm down when there's an actual child growing inside me! And an unplanned child at that!"
"You, know, Suki, my older sister had an unplanned child when she was younger than you, actually." Ren explained. "And watching my sister go through what she went through, I can assure you one thing: it's not the end of the world like you think it is." All Suki did was sniff, wanting to counter what Ren said but not finding anything reasonable enough to say. "You got yourself into this," Ren explained further, "so now you have to step into the roll and own up to your decision. Just be glad that you at least know who the father is."
Suki's eyes widened. In this whole situation she had completely forgotten about Sokka. Usually when Suki thought about Sokka, she just thought about how much she just wanted him to take her in his arms and tell her there was absolutely nothing wrong. She missed just lying together in bed at night, but then, looking back, that's probably what got her into this mess in the first place. She never knew why every time she thought she might be pregnant that she didn't relate that to Sokka. Probably because she didn't see it as his fault.
But then again, he was always the one to say "don't worry about it," or "I'm sure we're fine" whenever she expressed any kind of worry at the fact that they hadn't planned out when they would interact in such 'activities'.
Now, all Suki's eyes did was narrow as she grabbed her stomach.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Suki woke up with a sharp pain in her slightly bloated stomach that she knew was a result of drinking the honey and water the previous night. Ren told her that Dr. Peng had said if she wakes up with cramps and distention (aka bloating) than she was pregnant, and Suki just wanted to hurl at the realization. Making her way to the washroom to relieve her turbulent stomach and splash some water on her face to get the sleep out of her eyes, she heard a loud thump outside Iroh's teashop. She put on her robe to find that everyone was outside.
"What's going on, Jiao?" Suki asked when Jiao seemed to be the last one heading outside. Jiao turned with a combination of a smile and frown on her face.
"Um," she mumbled. "The Avatar's bison just landed outside." She answered. Suki gave Jiao a skeptical before following her outside. On her short trek out the door Suki hade remembered that, of course, Appa wasn't with Aang. He had flown Toph, Sokka, and Katara to the Bei Fong Estate when they all left the Fire Palace, but she knew that the plan was for Appa to also take Sokka and Katara home.
Suki's stomach began to flip again, especially when she got outside and saw Sokka jump of Appa.
"Perfect," Suki groaned. She seemed to fall right out of the picture while everyone else took their time greeting and Iroh laughed at how his teashop had turned into a hotel for his nephew's friends.
"We'll explain everything inside, Iroh," Sokka told him and everyone started to make their way in the door. Expect for Suki, who was still, oddly, standing perfectly still near the doorway. Sokka smiled as he made his way towards her but as soon as he saw her face more closely he knew something was wrong.
"What's wrong?" Was his greeting.
"What no 'hi Suki' or 'how was your trip, Suki' or 'I'm glad to see you, Suki'?" She snapped and pulled back when he tried to put his arms around her.
"Of course I'm glad to see you, Suki." He told her and ran a gentle hand through her hair and brought it down to cup her cheek. You just look a little…" He trailed. Since he could see she was sensitive at the moment, he wanted to get his choice of words just right. Suki just scowled at him and swatted his hand off her cheek.
"A little what, Sokka? Tired? Pained? Sickly?"
Though all those did describe her overall nature perfectly Sokka chose to remain silent. And his silence only made Suki angrier.
"Suki, why are you so moody?" Sokka finally asked, trying to touch her again but finding that Suki just danced out of his every grip.
"Well, that's what happens when you're pregnant!" Suki finally yelled. She didn't exactly have a plan as to how she was going to tell Sokka about her recent discovery, but it didn't really matter, now. This time, it was Sokka's turn to have wide eyes.
He stood perfectly still for about a minute before wavering on his feet, as if someone had knocked him over and he was trying to regain his balance. Suki just watched him, feeling slightly evil that she had no mercy for him at the moment.
While Suki had slept that night she had come to revelation that she couldn't blame herself for what had happened all but so much. In her mind, she looked at it one way: she wasn't the one who had gotten her pregnant. It was him who had ruined everything. The man who stood before her, trying to regain his sense of reality.
"What do you have to say for yourself?" Suki asked him after another minute or so of silence. Sokka just blinked numerous times and scratched his head before answering.
"You-you're pregnant?" he asked, dumbfounded.
"Yes, Sokka, I'm pregnant…with your child. I've been suffering this entire trip; the girls had to force me to see a doctor."
"Wait, you've seen a doctor?" Sokka asked, as well.
"Yes, Sokka, I've been dealing with this ever since I left."
"Suki, I'm so sorry, I didn't know you were pregnant," Suki just sucked her teeth, which made Sokka a little annoyed that she seemed to think they were supposed to have some kind of psychic connection and know when the other one was sick thousands of miles away. "So," he continued. "What are we…what are we going to do?" Suki just shook her head and began to walk inside the shop, but before she made her way in Sokka grabbed her arm to stop her. "Suki, please."
"We're not dealing with this, I am. You're not the one who's going to be as big as a house, and you're not the one who's been blowing chunks for weeks or feels like you've been rolled over with a Fire Nation tank every day."
"Suki…Suki, please," Sokka ran after her when she attempted to make a run for the washroom again. She slammed the door in front of him but he just made his way inside, holding back her hair while she emptied her stomach again. Suki seemed to be more out of it, by then, instead of mad while she hung over the wash pit and poured the contents of her stomach down the drain. Sokka stroke her hair evenly and gingerly, as if she were the most fragile and precious thing in the world.
"I hope you know that I didn't mean to do this to you." He told her, but all Suki did was cough, as if she was going to throw up again, but she seemed to be alright after the moment passed. "How far along do you think you are?"
"Probably about two months."
"Two months!" Sokka exclaimed, but he immediately calmed down, knowing it wasn't the best time to overreact. Instead he just hugged Suki's shoulders and kissed her forehead, and she leaned into them in exhaustion. Sokka knew she was probably pissed beyond all belief that he had completely ruined her life as a warrior, but even he knew that mood swings were common during pregnancy and, for the moment, he would just have to roll with the punches.
Alright, that was intense. I feel Suki is very susceptible to being seriously pissed at getting pregnant, and with her mood swings, Sokka would definitely be in the line of fire on this one. They're situation will be explored further next chapter, and so will the other romantic aspects of the story that have been put aside for the whole Black Jade storyline. So fans of Sukka and…yes Kataang, rejoice. You're going to love next chapter.
Review Responses:
Private LL Church: There wasn't so much Katara in this chapter, but there will be plenty of her in the next chapter, don't you worry.
Skyhigh18: Why thank you very much, I'm glad that this is one of your favorite stories (it makes me feel that my writing isn't going to waste). Oh, and BTW, my story hugs you back.
KimJuni2: When I was writing the previous chapter, I had what Aang and Azula were going to do all planned out, I just couldn't figure out what to do with Mai, so I just picked something I know she would hate. And I assume since she's so rich she gets a house next to the Fire Lord's palace she must have a billion cooks to make her food for her. Plus I can just imagine Mai in a hairnet XD.
Alastor X. Vega: I agree with you on that one, Long Feng does suck some serious lollipops. And as for Aang, I picked that job for him just because I knew he'd have a hard time, and I picked Azula's job because it helped the story have someone on the inside of the matter. And perhaps Long Feng does know about who they are…only time will tell. And, on a different note, I love how you say "have a nice day" at the end of your reviews. It's nice to see that chivalry isn't dead. Have a nice day, yourself.
Katsumara: I like my schedule as well. I like to think of my story as a manga sometimes, and they're usually updated weekly. Plus that should give me enough time to edit and change whatever I want before the next update. But I always like to be 3 or 4 chapters a head of myself so I don't fall behind. But, also, thank you for understanding about some of my delays, because, yes, real life gets in the way and should come first.
KageOkami-Kogo: The next chapter is actually titled "Reunion Two", so wait no more. And, if you've already read all the way through, Aang is officially thirteen as of chapter 24.
Kataang Sucktron: First of all, very interesting screen name. Secondly, I'm glad you got such a kick out of reading my story. I admit, the beginning of the story was more centered around comedy than the chapter's are now.
SeaTrollTakeover: Um, okay, hope you're caught up…thank you.
Unaccompanied . Minor14: I'm glad you found what you were looking for. And since Suki was in this chapter and I mentioned that Aang and Katara are going to be in the next one, I supposed your questions answered themselves. Thank you and happy reading.
Kirena45luvs-Fang: Thank you, a lot of people like the Mai/Aang relationship that I established, and don't worry the Kataang fluff will be back next chapter.
Thanks for all the reviews guys, lots of hugs for all of you. Next week's chapter will not disappoint, so see you guys next Friday.
