Azula felt awful the whole morning, but she knew it wasn't all because of her nausea, but also because she was now pretty sure what 'sickness' she had come down with. She was constantly hungry, easily irritated, getting headaches over minor things, spent two mornings throwing up, and she was late. Still, her mind kept coming up with all kinds of excuses to not believe it and to not confirm what she already knew.

She was carrying her brother's child.

But the princess forced herself to be brave. Denial would be nothing but a waste of time, and she had many important things to do. She needed to focus, and she wouldn't be able to if she still wasn't absolutely sure. So, in the bright daylight, she found a way to justify going further into the forest with one of her guards so she could talk to Katara. The waterbender was healer and had examined some pregnant women, so she would be able to tell if Azula really was pregnant.

Azula walked by the man's side, fully lost in her own thoughts and fears, and he constantly had call her attention since she was absent mindedly going in the wrong direction. She was asked over and over if she was alright, and tried her best to pretend she was. When they made it to the cave, Azula immediately started ordering everyone to leave so she could speak to Katara in private.

But obviously things weren't as simple and quick as she had hoped. They were all asking what happened, if she was okay, if she was sick, if they should send a message to Zuko... in the end, Azula gave up and allowed Toph to be in there as well to support her. Zuko just had to make them all babysit her.

"Okay, what are you feeling? Any nausea or pain? Something else?"

"Can't you just do your waterbending and see for yourself?"

Katara ignored her "How long have you've been feeling sick?"

"Just examine me" Azula rolled her eyes.

"Look, princess, you wanted Katara to act like your doctor and that's what she's doing. Just answer her questions and you'll know what's wrong."

"I already know what the problem is, I just want to confirm it. Examine me and get this over with."

Toph sighed and stomped her foot, creating a bed made of rocks. Katara got a sleeping back, threw it over the 'bed', and told Azula to lie. The princess complied, and the waterbender started working, first pressing her hands to her forehead and temples, slowly moving them lower, reaching her neck and then right above her heart. She saw Katara's eyes widen as she moved her hands to her stomach, pulling away in shock, them pressing it again. Any doubt the princess still had disappeared.

"I'm pregnant, aren't I?" Azula asked, getting a simple nod as a response.

"You're..." Toph didn't even finish her sentence, simply stood there with a shocked expression in her face.

Azula sat up, feeling like she was going to pass out at any second, her hands and knees shaking, and her heart beating impossibly fast. When Katara and Toph sat next to her, pulling her for a hug, she didn't even think about pushing them away. The princess simply let her tears flow and accepted the comfort the two girls were offering her.

She would become a mother. But what kind of parent would she be? Her first concern was turning into Ursa, then she immediately feared being like Ozai... or even something worse. She had made so much progress... but only after making terrible mistakes. Even her relationship with Zuko was almost destroyed because of who she was and everything she did to him. Was this going to be the same? Could she really do this right on the first try?

Katara and Toph held her tighter, rubbing her back and stroking her hair, soothing her. Eventually she stopped crying, her thoughts becoming a lot less confusing, and her emotions way less overwhelming. Still, what really brought her back to reality was what the earthbender said next.

"You have to let me be in the room when you tell Zuko. Imagine how he'll react when finds out he's going to be a dad"

Azula laughed and the other girls joined her. She felt a weight being lifted off her shoulders. She wouldn't do it alone. She'd have her Zuzu helping her raise this child... and maybe another? Now that she thought about it, she wasn't really sure how many kids her brother would want. She didn't even know how many kids she wanted. Would they have a small family or a large one? Could they handle it?

Her head started spinning again.

"I'm already so bad at this" she said, burying her face on her hands.

"You're doing better than you think" Katara reassured her "And I cannot believe I'm saying this, but I think you and your brother will be great parents."

"I'm mean, you guys babysit Kiyi all the time and she seems to be doing alright" Toph paused, then laughed "She might throw a tantrum over not getting all your attention anymore."

Azula blushed. It still caught her a bit by surprise whenever people told her she was doing a good job looking after Kiyi and being a good sister to her, especially since she never meant to do it in the first place.

Despite still being unsure of what she was feeling, Azula left. Staying away from the camp for too long would raise suspicion. She went back to the cave at night, when practically everyone in her group was sleeping. She ended up telling Aang the truth since neither Toph nor Katara managed to hide that something big was going on. He was far more confident and excited about the whole thing than Azula was.

When she left again, it took her a long time to fall asleep, being kept awake by her concerns... and by one simple thought that just wouldn't leave her head.

Zuko is going to be so happy that we're starting a family.

She could almost see it. Her brother kissing her belly once she told him the big news, spoiling her during the whole pregnancy, holding her hand and encouraging her once she went into labor, looking at their child like it was the most precious thing in the world, spending years making the nation safer and stronger and allowing their heir to rule over it someday...

I wish I was with him now...

Slowly, the princess drifted off as her body relaxed, falling into a deep slumber.