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Now, this chapter has a bit of humor in it (along with some Katara/Sokka brother/sister talk). So, enjoy! Oh, and Heishui is about 23 months.

The Zutara Family

Summary: Following the struggles of Katara and Zuko as they have a family (nine kids) and Zuko decides with his taking the throne...

Rating: K+ or T

Major Characters: Katara (27), Zuko (29), and kids (oldest to youngest as they'll come): Heishui, Little Zuko (Lil' Z as kids call him), Zarina and Zerifina, Jailia, Kaelea, Annalea, Kiki, and Heziah.

Pairings: Katara/Zuko, Toph/Aang, and Sokka/Suki and family relationships

P.O.V.: Third Person Omniscient

Baby Nights and Talking Frights

Katara groaned and shifted her weight, opening her eyes when she heard Heishui crying...again. This would've been the fourth time he'd woken up, and this time, she'd had it. It was Daddy's turn.

"Zuko," she sat up, nudging his shoulder. "Zuko, wake up, the baby wants you." When he didn't wake up, Katara huffed and tried again. "Zuko!"

The Firebender's head lifted. "Mruwhat?" He looked groggily at Katara.

"Get the baby," Katara sighed, laying back down. "I've done it twice already."

Zuko dug his head deeper into his pillow and whined, "I wanna sleep!"

Katara looked in his direction, sat up again with a huff, and tore the pillow off his head. "Get. Your. Kid. Now!"

Zuko jumped at this and sat up bolt right. "All right, woman! Sheesh!" he threw the covers off himself and got out of bed, Katara settling back down contentedly.

She loved it when she won.

Zuko walked groggily into Heishui's room and strode over to his crib. "Hey, hey, hey," Zuko picked up his son and cradled him gently. "You're going to wake the whole palace there, Buddy," he smiled as Heishui gradually began to quiet his cries. "That's my boy," Zuko smiled at him. "I'm guessing you wore Mommy out more times than she could count, huh?"

It wasn't long before the silence came, than another cry came. Zuko guessed it to be one of Toph and Aang's twins and guessed right when he saw Toph walk by, rubbing her eye. "You too?" she asked.

Zuko nodded, then asked, "Which one is it?"

Toph sighed. "Akito...I'll be up forever."

Zuko laughed. "Stubborn and tough?"

"Like me," Toph rolled her eyes. "Later, Zuko."

Zuko looked back down at his own baby. It was unreal that just a few weeks ago, Katara had him. And about two days after that, Toph and Aang had twin boys, Akito and Taru; both boys had not been born blind, unlike their sister.

"I heard that my great grand nephew woke up."

Zuko looked up and smiled, seeing Iroh standing in the doorway. "Yeah--again as Katara was complaining. She was begging me to go."

Iroh nodded. "You still have not taken the Fire Lord position...or given it much thought."

Zuko sighed and closed his eyes. "Please, Uncle, I don't want to talk about it," he looked down at Heishui and allowed the baby to take his index finger.

"But you can't avoid it forever," Iroh pressed. "Especially when Katara is counting on you to keep your promise."

Feeling guilty all over suddenly, Zuko swallowed hard. Indeed he had told Katara that he'd take the position after Heishui would be born, but she had seemingly forgotten about it and hadn't bugged him about it since. He liked that and was enjoying his freedom from the worry and thinking of it.

But now...now the subject had been brought up after so long and Zuko didn't want to talk about it. "I--is it so wrong to not want it?" he asked, allowing his baby to suck on his finger. "Is it so wrong to not rule?"

Iroh sighed. "Zuko, this nation needs a leader. Ever since your father d--"

"Yeah," Zuko interrupted softly. "I know. But it's not what I want. Why can't Azula do it?"

"Because," Iroh looked at Zuko, then to Heishui. "You were my brother's first born...and the first born takes the birthright."

Katara stirred when she heard a knock on her door. "Mmhuh?"

"Sorry," Sokka said, walking in with a sheepish smile on. "I didn't mean to wake you, especially after being up with the baby again, but--"

''Just, tell me what you want," Katara said, shaking her head tiredly.

Sokka fidgited, shifted, then said, "I wanted to talk to you."

Katara took the covers off her and got out of bed, putting her hands on her arms against the chilly air. "Let me just grab my robe," she said. She went into her large, walk-in closet and grabbed her dark red and blue silk robe, throwing it on without the tie. "Outside?"

Sokka nodded. "That'd be nice."

Brother and sister walked out into the back courtyard where Zuko'd told Katara so many times where he'd spent it with his mother. "Where's, ah, Zuko?" Sokka asked.

"I made him suffer through the experience of getting up early and tending to the baby," Katara said with a laugh. "I'd done it three times already."

Sokka seemed a little thrown back. "Oh, Tara, if you needed to sleep, I--"

"I'm fine," Katara eyed him. "But I think that you're just making excuses to cover and keep from really talking to me." They stopped and she lifted her brother's head. ''What's on your mind? Is it Suki, the baby, what?"

Sokka shifted again. "I dunno..." he said lazily, letting his eyes wander everywhere but to his sister's face. "I dunno," he said again, this time with a shrug.

Katara didn't say anything for a moment. "Well, I'm here, ya know. Remember when we said that? That we'd hold each other up whenever we'd need it? That we'd always be there for each other?"

Sokka nodded. "Sure I do."

"Then talk to me," Katara begged softly. "What's on your mind?"

"I--I dunno...just, things have been flooding my head," Sokka said. "A little bit of everything, I guess you could say." He held a lazy smile.

Katara cocked her head to one side. "What's the 'everything'?"

"The baby...you."

"What about me?"

Sokka didn't say anything for a mere moment. "Remember when you were three? When that boy pushed you hard and I ended up beating the snot out of him until Mom came?"

Katara laughed lightly. She did. "Yeah. I do."

"Ya know, before you were born, I would always dream of having a little sister to protect. I was often bored and couldn't stand it," Sokka continued. "And while Mom was pregnant with you, I would always listen and hope and pray that my little sister would love me as much as I would love her."

Katara smiled and stared out to the sky, which was slowly becoming a orange/pink haze. "Didja get your prayer answered?"

Sokka looked at her. "I dunno. Did I?"

"Wanna know something?"

"Shoot."

Katara smiled. "When we were seven and eight, I always hated the way you'd smother me in absolute protection. I never went a step without you behind me. I often went to Mom about it, and she would always tell me that you just did it because you were worried about me. I hated it, but put up with it." She paused and ignored her brother's look. "By the time I was nine and you were ten, I remember fighting so much."

"Yeah...I remember that. Wasn't that the year you shot me to cold shoulder for a while?"

Katara laughed. "Yeah, that was after you pushed me pretty hard."

"And you punched me."

Katara looked at him and smiled. "Was it hard?"

Sokka rubbed his arm. "Yeah...you hit harder than anybody I knew."

Katara laughed. "I learned to put up with you...and you did the same."

"And I always told myself ever since you turned one that if any guy came within three feet of you, taht I'd beat them to a bloody pulp," Sokka added. "Then, you kind of grew up, learned, and I let you be for a while."

"Until Zuko and I started dating," she looked at him. "You were awfully against that for a while."

Sokka shrugged. "Worried...I didn't know how it'd end up." He paused and looked at her. "Now look at ya...got a kid of your own and doing just fine."

Katara nodded. "Yeah...I'm glad you let me be. I'd be miserable probably if you'd held onto that little saying of yours."

Sokka laughed. "You'll still always be my little Latara, though," he smirked.

"Ugh! That acursed nickname! Latara and Tara," she said. "I still haven't grown out of those yet?"

"Not to me ya haven't."

"How long did you call me Latara?" Katara asked.

Sokka thought. "Until I turned eight. Then I started calling you Tara."

"Why?'

Sokka shrugged. "I don't know. Guess it just came to me, I guess."

"Ya know, I never told you this, but I always liked it when you called me Tara."

"Why didn't you ever tell me?"

Katara shrugged. "I was in that age where everything I liked was kept to myself."

There was a long silence between the siblings before Sokka sighed. "Thanks, Tara. Thanks for everything." He stood up and Katara followed him with her eyes.

"Thanks for what?"

"Talking...and being there."

Katara only smiled.

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