BF: And, once again, we're back with another chapter of Not So Bad! Woo!
Zuko: groan
Katara: What're YOU groaning about! You're not the one with- urrp
BF: Heheheheheheheheheheheh...
Zuko: YOU MADE HER GET PREGNANT JUST TO TORTURE ME, DIDN'T YOU?
Katara: SHE'S NOT THE ONE WHO-
BF: OKAY, WE DO NOT NEED TO HEAR THIS!
BF: I don't own Avatar The Last Airbender, Mulan, or anything else to brag about. I just own this story. And I don't really think that's anything to brag about, so, yeah. Also, I tend to bring things of the future into my stories so please, don't mind me. I'm sorry if it spoils the feel or anything...
BF: Also, the main scene in this chapter is Zuko and Katara opening their wedding and baby presents together. Basically, I just wanted to put some more communication through the couple.
BTW, this story isn't going to be too much longer. Maybe a few more chapters. I AM going to finish it though, so please, bare with me. This would be the very first story I ever finish!
Labor
Katara giggled as she watched her two sisters bicker. The two of them had decided to spend as much time with Katara as possible, considering how her little bundle of joy refused to give her a moment's peace... or freedom of sickness.
Several mats and tons of fluffy pillows had been set around the floor so that Katara could lay on her pallet and Zula and Kianna could relax next to her. All of them were enjoying spending time together, and Katara was pleased that she had company when Zuko was off working. She faced Zula as the slightly younger girl made another statement.
"It's gonna be a boy, only boys would put their mothers through this much hell." Zula snapped, popping another grape in her mouth as she settled in her spot next to Katara.
"Oh, please. You put mother through way more when she was going to have you! When she was going to have Zuko, she NEVER got this sick! He was a quiet baby, too. All he did was coo and giggle." Kianna teased, actually telling the truth. Zuko hadn't even cried when he was hungry. He'd simply cuddle up to his mother and make cute little "Ah!" noises.
"No way! There is no way Zuko was a better baby then me!" Zula protested.
"He was cuter, too." Kianna taunted.
Zula chucked a grape at Kianna's head, smirking and "Ha!" 'ing when it hit her on the forehead.
"I still don't understand why it really matters..." Katara murmured quietly, rubbing her stomach gently. It had been two months since she had first told Zuko, and the healers were estimating that she was four months pregnant. The baby was guessed to be born on the day of the cloud. (I'm making this up as I go)
"Well, it does matter, kind of." Kianna said, propping herself up on her elbows. "What do you wanna have?" She asked.
"I kinda hope it's a girl..." Katara whispered, blushing slightly.
"As long as the girl takes after her mother, I'm good. The last thing we need is a miniature Zuko around here." Zula added, grinning as she said it.
"Actually, I'm curious to see what the baby will look like. You and Zuko both have good looks, so your baby should really be cute." Kianna reasoned, remembering how adorable Zuko had been. She guessed he was going to be a dotting father, and the thought made her smile.
"Okay, so, besides gender, what physically or personality wise do you absolutely pray that your child will have?" Zula asked.
"I want her-or him- to be a bender." Katara responded automatically. She had been thinking about it, and she truly prayed that she would have a little bender.
"Well, it'd make sense. Mothers of benders tend to get birth symptoms early on, and they vary drastically depending on the bending ability. Who knows, maybe you'll have a bibender. Which, by the way, means they have two bending abilities." Kianna added when Katara choked at the word "bi".
"Yeah, like Kianna. Only, Kianna's a tribender, and that's because she's a child of the gods." Zula said, actually agreeing with her sister for once.
"Oh, believe me, the gods are going to wanna bless all of your babies. They adore both you and Zuko. The thought of you two having children together makes them ecstatic. Now, I don't know if they're going to give your baby multiple bending or not, but I do know that you are going to have one unique child." Kianna kicked her feet back and forth behind her while she twisted small braids into Zula's hair.
"We don't need to talk about all of this right now, ya'know. She has five more months to go." Zula made braids and other little styles in Katara's hair, feeling a bit happier.
"Katara, I-" Zuko stopped when he saw his sisters, and the three girls giggled.
"We'll see you tomorrow, Katara." Kianna said brightly, hugging the girl tightly.
"Hope you feel better soon." Zula added as she gave Katara her own hug. The girls waved good-bye and left the room, Zuko waiting until they were gone before he walked over and snuggled up to Katara.
"Hello, Zuko." Katara giggled, kissing him happily.
"Hello, Kara." he muttered, his voice muffled against her hair. "And hello to you too, little one." He added gently, kissing Katara's stomach. Katara smiled and hugged Zuko, sighing in contentment.
"What did you wanna talk about?" She asked, leaning back against her husband and allowing him to stroke her hair.
"Hmm? Oh, not anything in particular. I'm done for the day, and wanted to come spend some time with you."
"Awwww..." Katara brightened up. She always loved spending time with Zuko. Even if he was the reason that there was a little person squirming around in her tummy.
(Almost Five Months Later)
Katara "Awwwwwwww" 'ed when she opened the next present. It contained a cute, light brown bear with big, adorable eyes made of onyx stone and fur made of the fluffiest material she had ever felt. The bear was so cute and soft, she wondered if her baby would ever want to let go of it. Katara set the bear with the large pile of presents and sighed as she reached for the next one.
Zuko walked into the room, grinning as he watched Katara pick another of the couple hundred presents she had yet to open. Some were presents in celebration of the baby, some wedding gifts, and a few had something for both. Zuko sat down next to his wife and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I guess we really should have opened our wedding presents before, huh?" He asked lightly, a smile on his face.
"Yeah, I think so." Katara giggled, handing him one wrapped in silver with a gold bow. "I think this is a wedding present, why don't you open it? Or, better yet, just help me open all of them." She said, sweeping her arm to show all of the presents. Zuko laughed and nodded, pulling the ribbon from the present.
"Hey Katara, check it out." He whispered, showing her the present. Katara gasped when she saw. The present was two necklaces that fit together to form the yin-yang symbol. On the back of each was a word. The back of the black one said Fire in golden lettering and the white one had Water in silver lettering. The piecies shimmered brightly, and the couple looked at each other in wonder.
Zuko helped Katara to clasp the white necklace on her neck, while she helped him put on his. "What a beautiful present!" She exclaimed, holding hers in her hand. Zuko nodded and looked at his own necklace, wondering who had given them the present. He hoped to find out who it was so that he could send them a suitable thank-you. The present really was remarkably fitting. Zuko and Katara were very much like Yin and Yang.
Katara started to open the next brightly wrapped present when she stopped and clutched her stomach, groaning. "I swear, this baby is trying to be a martial arts expert before they're one day old." She complained, wincing as her child continued to kick her stomach and ribs. Zuko put his hand on her stomach and smiled as he felt the kicks. He kissed her stomach and gently whispered to his baby.
"Come on now, be nice to mommy." The two of them giggled, and Katara's eyes widened a bit when the kicks stopped a moment later.
"Well, the baby sure loves you." She stated, wondering if the baby had reconized it's father's voice.
"The baby loves you, too." Zuko murmured against her neck before he kissed her and picked up another present. "Are you going to be alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Katara insisted, not wanting Zuko to get into worried mode again. He tended to panic at the slightest pains. "Oooh, look at this picture!" Katara showed Zuko the painting, her eyes sparkling. "Isn't this the lagoon we stopped at before Kianna's party?" She asked, definately reconizing it.
"Sure is." Zuko blinked in surprise. "Says it's from Hinara. She's one of Zula's friends, she was at the party." Katara nodded and carefully rolled up the scroll so that she could open another present. They weren't making very fast progress, so at this rate, they would be opening presents until the next morning.
"Oh, here's another one, and it's from Kianna!" Katara gasped, excited. Kianna's package contained several scrolls and a few pictures mounted on mahogany. "That's weird, some of them are all glossy... and they look so real." Katara was amazed by the quality of the paintings. It looked like Kianna had frozen the moment and put it on paper.
"Hey, I reconize that!" Zuko said, pointing to the glossy paintings. "They're not really paintings, they're called photographs. It's how people make pictures waaaaay in the future. Kianna said you make them with a camera, and you can print lots of them out from just one shot. She taught me how awhile ago, and I could teach you sometime, too." Zuko offered, examining Kianna's pictures. They were shots of the town she had held the party in. The pictures were from both before and after the canals with the glowing water were formed.
"I'd really like that." Katara said, putting the pictures aside. She wondered where Kianna had gotten the camera, but shook the thought from her head.
"Uh-oh, more clothes..." Zuko grimmaced as he lifted the cute blue shirt with the black pants out of the box. They had received so much clothes for the baby, they wondered if their child would get the chance to wear them all before it grew and wouldn't fit in them anymore.
"Aww, what an adorable little outfit!" Katara cooed, admiring the soft cotton.
"And what if we have a girl?"
"A girl could wear this outfit, too." Katara defended, folding the outfit up. She opened another present, finding a soft, silk, silver baby blanket trimmed with gold thread with a picture of a majestic-looking dragon on each side. Surprisingly, it was the first baby blanket they had recieved, and so she decided it was to be her baby's baby blanket. Just as she was putting it in the crib, however, she felt an incredible jolt of pain in her stomach.
She grasped her stomach and cried out, falling to her knees. Zuko rushed over, immediately wrapping his arms around his wife, panicking. "Katara! Katara! Katara, Lords Katara, please tell me you're alright!" Zuko tried desperately to get her to look at him, but she was curling up as much as she could, constantly gasping in pain.
"Zuko! AHHHHHHHHH! Contr-contractions!" Katara whimpered, wondering why she hadn't had contractions before. Her nurse had said that she would get small ones every once in awhile, then they would gradually become stronger and closer together. When they were about ten minutes apart, it usually meant that she was going into labor.
"What! But this is your first one, right?" Katara nodded and winced, but then began to calm down as the pain eased. "But your first one was supposed to be small and short!" Katara glared at Zuko, tugging him closer.
"I know what was supposed to happen!" She growled. Enter the mood swings.
"Sorry, I just, um... maybe I should get the nurse..." Zuko got up to go and find the nurse, only to have Katara grab his hand and clutch her stomach again, whimpering. "ANOTHER ONE!" Zuko breathed, calming himself. "Sorry, just a little jumpy." Zuko helped Katara to her pallet, calling for a guard to get the nurse.
Several other nurses soon joined the first ones, rushing to get what they needed to do done. Katara had just broken water.