The Palace – One Week Later
"I'm sorry, Lady Katara, there's still no news, either from the north or regarding Lord Ozai's escape."
Katara bit her lip in frustration, but held back the sigh she could feel building in her chest as she nodded and allowed the messenger to leave the room. Only after he was gone and the door closed firmly behind him did she allow more visible signs of her frustration to show. The sigh made its way free from her lips; when that proved unhelpful, she picked up a pillow, tossed it into the air, and kicked it into pieces. Standing in a shower of feathers, she sank to her haunches and tugged at her hair.
A quiet knock at the door brought her quickly to her feet, but no attempt at a serene expression and a calm pose was going to do anything to disguise the shower of white feathers still wafting in the air. When Suki opened the door and poked her head in, her startled glance took in the scene and she quickly closed the door behind her. "I know how you feel," was all she said as she crossed the room to stand at Katara's side. "Still no news?"
Katara shook her head, then pulled Suki over to sit next to her on the bed. Then she sprang back to her feet, too restless to sit. For the first time since she'd arrived in the Fire Nation, she felt her room was too small. "How can there be no news from the north?" she finally exploded after a few agitated minutes of pacing. "I can understand why we haven't been able to capture Ozai or even know anything about how he escaped or where he went, but how can an entire army go missing?"
"They're not missing, they're incommunicado," Suki pointed out, attempting reason when it was obvious Katara was operating strictly on emotions. "There's a big difference." She winced and rubbed her belly. "Hush, little one," she crooned. "No kicking mommy. Daddy will be here soon."
Katara felt instant remorse for taking her frustrations out on Suki. She rushed to her sister-in-law's side and sat next to her, gently pressing her own fingers against the other woman's belly. A belly that seemed to have grown even more since she'd last seen her two days before. "You should be resting in your house!" she exclaimed. "Not trying to calm me down." She smiled wryly. "Although I'm grateful you did."
"Good, then my work here is done," Suki grinned, relieved that the tension Katara had been practically vibrating with had eased. "We both know there's nothing we can do, whether we hear from the north or not." Her grin widened. "Hey, I got a message from the Kyoshi warriors, they'll be here any day!"
"That's great," Katara replied, but with less enthusiasm than Suki had hoped for. Of course, with everything weighing on both their minds, she wasn't surprised. "Their quarters are all ready, and of course Ty Lee can have her old rooms back if she wants them."
That brought an honest giggle. "You mean, if my girls are sick of her being so perky all the time and want some space for a while," she corrected.
Katara joined in the giggle, and the two friends spent an enjoyable few minutes gossiping about the other Kyoshi warriors. Suki was relieved to have found a way to get Katara's mind off things, even if only for a short time. A week was a long time with no news, especially when messenger hawks were dispatched every day. The fact that none were returning was ominous enough to set the Council to muttering. The reserve troops were on high alert, and an airship would be dispatched if another few days passed, but that didn't make it any easier on the rest of them forced to wait and wonder.
Katara didn't want to admit it, but she was relieved to hear that Suki's warriors would be joining them soon. With Ozai out doing who-knew-what, she'd feel a lot safer with the extra security they represented. Their loyalty to Suki was unquestionable, with the possible exception of Ty Lee. But after all this time, it was hard to doubt her; she'd never shown any signs of discontent, or so Suki had said.
"Should we worry about Ty Lee?" she asked abruptly.
Suki sighed inwardly. So much for getting Katara's mind off things. Oh well, at least she'd managed it for a few precious seconds. "No, she's completely loyal, to the Kyoshi warriors and to Zuko. He's the Fire Lord; she'd never betray him."
Katara didn't look convinced, but as Suki stood up and laid her hand on the other woman's arm, her fingers clutching Katara's sleeve as a sudden contraction rippled across her abdomen. She grunted in pain, squeezing her eyes shut tightly until the moment passed.
"Wow," she managed to gasp out as Katara helped her back to the bed, anxiously fluffing pillows and raising Suki's feet on the unused blankets folded at end. "I've had what the midwife calls 'practice contractions' before, but that one felt worse. It felt…real." She turned anxious eyes on her friend. "Katara, maybe I'd better see one of the Court Physicians, it's way too early for the baby to co—ugh!" She raised her head from the pillow and clutched at the sheets as a second contraction contorted her body. She fell back against the bed, gasping, as Katara rushed to the door.
"Get Chief Physician Urdai, quickly! And the midwife, tell them it's Suki. Hurry!" She hurried back to the bed, not bothering to see if her orders were followed. The sound of pounding feet gave her all the answer she needed as she took Suki's hand in hers and brushed her friend's hair away from her forehead. She was sweating, feverish, and alarmingly pale. "Let me get you a cloth for your forehead, do you want something to drink?" she asked, trying to keep her voice calm even though her pulse was hammering almost as heavily as Suki's.
Suki shook her head. "No, thanks. Just…don't leave me, okay?" She sounded lost, frightened, not at all like herself.
"Of course I'll stay," Katara said soothingly. Suki was holding her hand tightly, and she scanned the room for…there, a pitcher of water over by the window. She awkwardly brought a stream of it over and doused the hem of her skirt, for lack of anything better within reach, hitching it up enough to wipe Suki's sweat-stained brow. Was it always like this? It had come on so suddenly, out of nowhere. Katara fretted internally while trying her best to keep a calm demeanor.
She waited tensely by Suki's side as the contractions came and went at uneven intervals, never lasting longer than a minute but each time seeming to cause her more pain. Every time she allowed a moan to escape she looked furious with herself, and Katara took a second to scold her for trying to be stoic during such an ordeal.
"Kyoshi warriors don't cry like babies over a little thing like contractions," Suki ground out through gritted teeth. But she clenched Katara's hand tighter, and her sister-in-law had to bite her own lip to keep from crying out in pain.
It was with a great deal of relief that Katara heard the patter of rapidly-approaching feet. Chief Physician Urdai strode into the room, the midwife (what was her name? Sikifa? Safika?) hard on his heels. She bustled over to Suki's side, gently removing her death-grip from Katara's hand. "Please wait outside while we examine her, Lady Katara," the midwife said courteously, but something about those softly spoken words made Katara leap obediently to her feet, although she hesitated by the doorway for a moment.
Urdai turned to offer a reassuring smile. "Please, do as Midwife Sifoka says," he asked. "We'll call you as soon as we know anything, or if we need your assistance."
Sifoka, that was her name, was all Katara could think as she nodded dumbly and stumbled out the door. Urdai closed it firmly behind her, and she stood in the hall, clutching her elbows and staring at the wood as if she could bore a hole though it with her eyes and see what was happening.
She barely glanced at the two men standing on either side of that door; she'd become so used to her guards and their silent vigilance over the past week and a half that it took her a fatal moment to realize that it wasn't them. Before she could do more than open her mouth to shout for help, they were on her, a gloved hand shoved against her lips, other hands throwing her to the ground; one of the imposters holding her arms as she writhed and kicked while the second reached into the pouch at his waist and wrestled out a small vial. He wrenched the stopper out with his teeth, spitting it aside as he waved the open vial under her nose, holding her head still until the fumes did their work and she dropped into unconsciousness.
Occupied with the woman writhing in pain on the bed before them, neither Urdai nor Sifoka heard the muffled thumps that were all the noise Katara's kidnappers made. Once Suki was given medication to ease the contractions and Urdai was ready to readmit Katara, the only sign of a struggle was a scrap torn from her dress and the cork stopper he nearly stepped on as he exited the room.
