BF: I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack

Zuko: Lord please help us...

BF: Hmf...

Katara: Could we please just get on with it?

BF: O, right, srry. Hi peoples! Nobody tried to guess who's gonna die, which makes me really sad... plz guess? pretty plz? I don't kno how many of u r gonna get it right, but, still... I wanna see wat ur guesses r.

Zuko: Who are you going to kill, ne way?

BF: Pft, like I'm tellin U mister bully pants!

Zuko:...bully pants?

Chapter 12 Surprise!(not really)

Katara lay silently on the over sized, over priced bed. Zuko was out at some meeting with the people who had served Ozai the most. Chances are, he was firing most of them. Almost all of Ozai's workers- except the palace guards, who had never been loyal to him- were to be replaced with people Zuko trusted. This left Katara with nothing to do but stare at the ceiling and wonder when her husband was coming back. Gee, what fun that was.

The water bender groaned and climbed out of bed. She walked over to the window and pulled back the black silk drapes so she could see the garden down below, and smiled. The garden really was lovely, as were the lands surrounding the palace. Katara wandered out onto the balcony, leaning against the railing and watching the children of the phoenix members run around and play. It was nice to see them having fun after watching the obedient children of the harbor village.

A knock on the door brought Katara from her thoughts, and she walked to answer it. She slammed the door closed the second she opened it. Of course, she was about ready to kick herself for it. The skull mask of the guard had scared her, but she was still their Fire Lord's wife, so she shouldn't be so scared of them...

Ling (guard) took a deep breath, calming himself, and knocked on the door again. This time, Katara only opened it enough to peer out. "Can I help you?" She asked politely.

"I was just making sure everything was okay. Things were pretty quiet up here."

"Um, yeah... everything's fine. There's not really much to make noise with up here, afterall..." Katara responded quietly. Ling smiled warmly, and Katara felt better. He had taken his mask and helmet off, too. That really helped.

"Well, if you're bored, I could get a few guards and show you around the palace, maybe even the guard system? It should make you feel a bit more safe, knowing how the guard runs." Ling offered politely.

"That won't be necessary, Ling." Katara opened the door and looked down the hallway in the direction her husband's voice had come from. "Katara and I won't be living in this palace. Our home has just been labled as ready, and we will be going there tomorrow evening." Ling stepped aside to allow Zuko passage to his room, and his anxious wife. Katara threw her arms around his neck, kissing him soundly.

"Did you really miss me that much?" Zuko chuckled, hugging her back. Ling excused himself, leaving the couple alone.

"Yes, I did miss you that much." Katara shot back, pouting cutely. "Do you realize how boring it is up here?" Zuko chuckled again, leading his princess into the bed room.

"Well, I come bearing a lot of good news. One of which you've already heard." Katara smiled and sat down on the couch, looking at Zuko as if asking him to join her. Zuko took his seat and continued. "Another is that I already have your personal guard picked out."

"Zuko, this isn't good news! I don't want to be followed around by a group of guards!" Zuko kissed Katara, effectively silencing her. He smiled, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

"They won't be following you everywhere. Just where guards are required. Most of the time you will have at least one guard with you, but I'll make sure they are dressed casually. After all, many of your guard are females." Katara brightened at the last bit.

"Who was that, at the door?"

"That was Ling. He's a member of my own guard, but I instructed him to keep watch on this floor. He's really light hearted, I think you'll like him."

"Okay, so... what other news do you have?"

"Trinity is still your lady in waiting." Katara smiled and hugged Zuko tightly. There had been chances that Trinity would have been replaced, and Katara was glad that she hadn't been.

"And?"

Zuko smiled and shook his head. "And you can explore the palace as much as you'd like, just make sure to tell your guard where you're going, so one of them can come with you." Zuko yawned and toed off his shoes, exhausted.

"Alright..." Katara laughed, noticing how sluggish Zuko was moving. "I'm guessing you're tired?" She mused, giggling as Zuko nodded and picked her up. The young fire lord carried her to the bed and climbed in next to her, snuggling Katara happily. The couple sighed, sleep quickly grabbing a hold of them.

Katara awoke the next morning when bright beams of sunlight fell across her face. She groaned and turned onto her side, pulling the blankets over her head. She heard a sigh and then felt the covers being tugged off of the bed.

"Come on, Katara. It's time for you to wake up. Zula and Kianna are waiting to go out with you today!" Trinity insisted, pulling the pillows off of the bed before Katara could hide beneath them. The princess huffed and sat up, rubbing her eyes.

A sharp pang in her head made Katara slow down when she tried to get out of bed, and she sat back down, clutching her stomach. Trinity hurried over and put a hand to her forehead. She was burning up, and her skin was clammy.

"Oh, never mind! You've got a fever. Here, lay back down... OH!" Trinity jumped out of the way when Katara went rushing for the bathroom, and she winced as she heard retching noises echo off the walls. "Oh..."

There was an abrupt knock on the door, followed by Kianna and Zula walking in. They heard the noises, and Kianna rushed to the bathroom. Zula frowned and looked at Trinity, a questioning look in her eyes. "She woke up that way, miss."

"Alright. Well, we'll stick around with her for awhile. Why don't you go get her some medicine and stuff?" Zula stated, putting the bed spread back on. Trinity nodded and hurried out of the room, while Zula walked in to help her sister with... her other sister.

"Okay, you alright?" Kianna whispered soothingly, rubbing Katara's back. Katara nodded weakly, breathing through her mouth.

"I don't know what happened... it was just so sudden..." Kianna nodded and helped Katara get up, Zula coming over to support the other side as they helped Katara back into bed.

"Well, we planned on staying the day with you, so, that's what we're going to do." Zula stated calmly, placing a damp wash cloth over Katara's forehead.

"Thanks..." Katara murmured, wrenching her eyes closed as her stomach twisted and gurgled again...

LATER THAT NIGHT

Katara poked her stomach and sighed, more upset over getting fat than she was about what was causing it. Afterall, it was bound to happen sooner or later. It was just a little surprising that it was happing so... soon.

Zuko walked in and quirked an eyebrow, chuckling at the strange sight before him. Katara's dress was pulled up to her chest, and she was poking her tum. Awkward, but still amusing. "Katara, did you eat spicy foods again? I told you your body wasn't used to it enough to-" Zuko broke off when Katara shook her head, and she beckoned him to come over.

"Believe me, it was nothing I ate." Katara whispered, grasping her husband's hand the second he was close enough. Zuko climbed into bed next to her, wrapping an arm around her.

"Zuko, I'm pregnant." Straight forward sure was so much easier than beating around the bush.

Zuko didn't respond at all for several moments. He stared into Katara's eyes, the statement trying to register in his brain. When it finally did...

He fell off the bed.

THUD

BF: For this, I had in mind that thing that happens in cartoons, where they just randomly lose their balance and fall. Heheh, I know it was kind of, um, random, but... I like being random! And it's my own pathetic attempts at humor. I'm not very good at it, as you can see.

RanR! PLZ! And plz try guessin who gonna die!