Chapter 38 Plans

Katara sat on the small examination table and wondered how she might be able to get away with her secret of being pregnant. They had run some tests on her and the doctor had left the room, leaving herself and Zuko alone in an awkward silence. She thought she might be able to water bend the water dripping from the sink to destroy the documents when the doctor re-entered the room; destroying any proof of her pregnancy. Or perhaps she'd be able to quickly run up and claim that she loved the doctor and cause Zuko to go into a jealous fit and kill the doctor before he had a chance to reveal her secret. Did she really just think that?

I'm so horrible, she scolded herself. Thinking of a way to kill someone, jokingly but still it's wrong, because they're doing their job, what's wrong with me? This secret is really getting to me; maybe it's for the best if Zuko finds out, but not this way. Maybe if I tell the doctor that I want to be the one to tell Zuko he'll stay quite about it. That could work, but I need an excuse to talk to the doctor now before he returns. Katara looked at the door and any chance she had of ending the disaster before it struck ended.

The doctor stood in the doorway with a wide grin on his face and he said something but Katara couldn't hear it. But now she knew what she could do to stop her secret from being revealed; nothing.

She looked at Zuko and saw his eyes wide and his jaw practically touching the floor by how wide it was opened. She didn't know why the room had begun to spin or how it was suddenly getting so dark but maybe it had to do with the death of her freedom. Either way, she felt herself begin to slip into unconsciousness and when it finally came, she welcomed it with open arms as she sank into the dark abyss.

The Night Before

"Thanks for joining me for this talk Uncle." The Fire Lord sat behind his desk and watched at his only remaining family member pulled a chair up and sat with a grin on his face.

"How can I resist having a pleasant conversation with my nephew?" Iroh took one of the cups sat out on Zuko's desk and grabbed the water adjacent to the cup.

"Yes, I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that I offered you tea as well." Zuko smirked as his uncle laughed at the joke.

"Come now Zuko, what's bothering you? It helps to talk about your problems with someone wise; they usually know how to help fix said problems after all." Iroh poured the water into his cup and grabbed some of the flavored leaves, letting them drop into the water. He picked the cup up and heated it with his Firebending.

"Perhaps I should find someone wise then," Zuko smirked again and Iroh chuckled.

"You seem to be in a sarcastic mood tonight." Iroh smiled as the water slowly changed hues indicating the absorption of flavor. "But please nephew, what's on your mind?"

Zuko sighed and grabbed a cup but only to fidget with it; he wasn't thirsty but he needed something to occupy his hands. "Well, I've been having these nightmares for a while but those aren't what I really want to talk about, not tonight anyway. No I have something more troublesome on my mind," he paused and tossed the cup back and forth between his hands a couple times. "It's about Katara..." He let himself drift off as he waited for his uncle's reaction or for some comment.

Iroh only nodded his head in understanding and urged his nephew to continue. "Well," Iroh took a big sip of his tea, "Katara's getting rather fat."

Iroh spat his tea immediately out, literally spraying the desk with the sweet water. He coughed as he choked and Zuko offered him a rag which he used to wipe off the excess tea from his mouth. He then started to clean off the desk and some of the documents that he had accidentally drizzled on.

When Iroh finally regained himself he looked at his nephew, the boy's eyes were closed and he was rubbing at his temples. "I'd advise you to bring the subject up in a much better manner than that Zuko; unless you want to end up on the with a master Waterbending woman's wrath."

"I know but that's not the problem Uncle, I don't care if Katara's fat or not." Iroh sighed, he had rather hoped that Zuko wasn't that shallow and was glad to hear that. "It's how and why she's gaining this weight." Iroh froze in his seat and was glad that his nephew's eyes were still closed and unable to see his shocked reaction.

"Oh?" he asked as he decided it would be best to play dumb and see what Zuko's been thinking about.

"Uncle," Zuko opened his golden eyes, "I think Katara's pregnant."

Uncle placed a look of surprise on his face. "What makes you think that?" Then Iroh thought he might be able to distract this conversation if he switched topics. "When was the last time you two had bed activities?"

Zuko groaned and rubbed his eyes. "Not since we left the ship and that's what makes me think she's pregnant. It's been almost two months and she hasn't had her monthly visits since then." A slight blush crept over the Fire Lord's cheeks. "I normally know when she gets them and it's not like she can hide the bed sheets or anything." He chuckled at what Iroh thought was an old memory that the Fire Lord was probably reminiscing about.

"She could be late." Iroh offered, obviously his plan wasn't working. He had hoped that his nephew would lash out at him for wondering about his nightly activities or at least get flustered and stumble with his words. But all he did was scowl.

"Late for two months? I highly doubt that." Zuko clasped his hands together and rested them on his desk as he continued to stare and study his uncle. Iroh sat still and carefully sipped his tea, if his nephew thought he could break the general down by watching him then Zuko was about to have one long night; The Dragon of the West didn't crack that easily.

"Uncle," Zuko's scowl fell and for a moment Iroh swore that he saw a smirk before his expression turned into that of a disappointed look. "I know you and Katara have been talking and getting really close lately and I know you got her those loose fitting robes that she has been wearing; you two have a secret. I can respect that there are things that Katara might not be willing to share with me now but..." Zuko wasn't really sure where he was going with this. He sighed and unclasped his hands as they slid off the desk and hung at his sides. "You'd let me know if something big was up with Katara, especially if it was concerning me, right?"

Iroh mentally kicked himself, Zuko was playing the 'make Uncle feel guilty game' that he use to play when he was little and wanted to do something that he knew he shouldn't. Iroh always lost this game and it looked like he was about to loose again because he'd feel guilty if he told Katara's secret and of course he'll feel guilty for lying to his nephew as well. A loose-loose situation, curse his nephew for doing this to him.

"Of course Zuko," Iroh smiled as he sipped his tea. "Don't worry about Katara, she'll tell you when the time's right."

Zuko sat next to the unconscious Katara on the bed and replayed the night before. Doesn't seem like Katara has to wait until the right time now Uncle. Zuko scowled at his uncle's betrayal; he had known that Katara was in fact pregnant but had still kept it from him, even when confronted with it. How could his uncle keep something so important from him? How could Katara not tell him that she was pregnant with his child?

He suddenly froze as a thought crept in his mind. Maybe she didn't want to tell you because it isn't your child. Zuko quickly pushed the thought away. How could it not been his child? Katara's first was him just like she was his' first as well. She could have lied just like Uncle did. Zuko stood from the bed and started pacing. He hated this voice in his mind that taunted him every time he began to have doubts. Yes, Zuko was hearing voices and he knew it was a bad sign, but he couldn't tell anyone, they'd think he'd gone crazy and the Fire Lord can't be crazy.

You don't need my help for people to think you're crazy. The voice continued to mock him and Zuko growled as he paced around the room faster. Katara thinks your crazy, your uncle thinks your crazy, your soldiers think your crazy, your nation thinks your crazy, and you think your crazy; face it, you are crazy. The voice taunted as Zuko's pace slowed.

Maybe he was crazy, but he knew that he had enough sense in him to know that Katara had no right in hiding his unborn child from him. He did understand why she would though. He was crazy and who knew how he would react to her being with child. Perhaps he would do something drastic and harm her and the child; he had hurt her before when his temper got the better of him, it could happen again. But did she think that if he was being kept in the dark about this information could help him control his temper? Did she think that if he didn't know about her being with a child he would be able to straighten his head out and collect all his thoughts? Or did she simply think that he wasn't ready for the commitment a child meant? He would show her.

Yes, he would show them all that he was serious about his love for Katara and that he was serious about spending the rest of his life with her. He would be the greatest father to this child, much better than his own father; he would vow to that.

Zuko walked across the room and shuffled through his wardrobe until he found the carefully hidden black box. He pulled it out and smiled at its' contents as he snapped the lid open and closed a few times before he decided that he was serious about this, he was really going to do it.

A moan from behind him turned his attention from the box to the recovering girl.

Katara groaned as she slowly sat up. What happened? She opened her eyes and saw Zuko accross the room staring at her while he held something in his hands. But she remembered being in the doctor's office last, how did she get in her bed all of a sudden? Then her memory came sailing back to her with the force of a rampaging Platypusbear.

He knew. Her stomach heaved but she forced herself to keep her remnants down as her gaze locked with Zuko's. She didn't know what to say, what to do now that her secret was out. What could she do? More importantly, what was he going to do? Would he keep her around on a leash now to make sure she was always safe? Would he simply keep her in a cage all day to insure her health? Or would he simply go mad and lash out at her from keeping such a secret from him?

He started advancing toward her and she slowly, subconsciously, slid back in the bed until her back was pressed against the headboard. Her breath caught in her throat as he sat in front of her on the bed and he slowly held the box up to her. What was in the box?

She looked at him and he motioned for her to take it from him. She hesitated before she took it and then she stared at it for a full minute before she began to open it. She gasped and her free hand rose to her heart and she felt something hard over it. The ring Zuko had given her. She removed it from beneath her shirt and she stared at the glowing pink radiating off of it. She still remembered all of the colors and their meanings.

Red stood for anger, she had seen that enough times from when she had run from him. Blue for sadness, another all too familiar color and emotion that showed when he thought about her. Green representing peacefulness and had been seen once when they were lying next to each other on the ship coming back, that was when he was last truly at peace with her. Yellow standing for happy, he had almost matched the amount of times that he was sad with being happy. Black for scared, she hadn't seen that one on the ring yet. Purple stood for neutral and she had seen that during times that he was away from her. And then pink, for love, the emotion that they both shared on their rings right now. Love for each other and they both knew they felt it at that moment.

Katara gripped her ring tightly in one hand and the box in her other as she felt tears threatening in her eyes. She nodded her head as she stared in absolute joy at the piece of jewelry in the box. It was a simple enough looking necklace, but it meant the world to her because of everything it represented. It stood for him trying to accept her culture, her ways, her family. It meant that he wanted to accept her fully and that he would desperately try to. It meant that he cared. It also stood for the fact that he wanted to and was willing to spend the rest of his life with her. But most importantly, it stood for something far more significant to her and something that she had always wanted someone to mean for her, towards her.

It meant that he loved her now and forever and that he meant it now and forever.

She nodded her head in an unspoken yes as she released her hold of her ring to lightly run her fingers over the necklace. A black piece of fabric similar to her mother's necklace's feel held a tiny red and blue yin-yang symbol in the center of it. She looked closer at the carved symbol and noticed a blue, significantly smaller Water Tribe symbol on the side of the red half and a red equally small Fire Nation symbol on the blue half. She knew the reason for why he had chosen a yin-yang to adorn the betrothal necklace; a yin-yang often stood for completion, a whole. That's what they were together, complete.

"Katara," he wiped away some of her fallen tears, her tears of sheer joy. "Will you marry me? Will you be with me for the rest of our lives? Will you be my Fire Lady? Will you love me forever?"

She continued to nod her head as Zuko took the necklace from its' container and slipped it around her neck. He minded the thin wire that attached the ring to her at all times as he tied the necklace securely in the back. The tears continued to stream down Katara's face as she gently touched the pendant.

"Yes Zuko, I'll love you forever and I want everyone to know that." She wrapped her arms around his neck and brought him into a heart filled kiss. So much had been understood that night and so many doubts and questions that both had held now seemed to have never existed as they held each other passionately. So many words left unspoken that they were capable to share with that one kiss. So many emotions passed through them as their lips locked and that made the kiss all the more enjoyable.

When they finally broke the kiss they remained in each other's hold, fearing that they might loose the moment. Katara rested her head on Zuko's shoulder and he lovingly stroked her hair. He glanced outside for a moment and he noticed how bright and beautiful the moon seemed to be. But it will never be as beautiful as my fiancé Katara. He grinned as he loved the thought of being able to Katara his fiancé now. He couldn't wait until he'd be able to call her his wife, his Fire Lady.

But on that same night, something happened that would be known as the beginning of an uprising in the Fire Nation and the end of the hundred year war. On that night, a group of rebels had finally gained enough support from the nobles to take down the monarchy. Then said rebels began to plan the day that they would finish their plans and claim victory over the Fire Lord, while he continued to plan his wedding day.

But one person out of the group of rebels couldn't help but think of his sister as his mind began to wander from thoughts of revenge to thoughts of a happy future. His sister was also thinking of a happy future. Too bad neither of them would end up with their perfect future.

I'm foreshadowing something for the future! Oh no, I actually have an ending planned for this fic! Okay, not one of my best chapters I know, but I'm suddenly lacking inspiration for Zutara and gaining interest in writing some other fics. I'm not sure if I'm going to update in two weeks or three, but it's going to be painful for me to continue writing this unless I get back some inspiration.